It has been a month since the Career Day. Mr Taka was watching his conjoined sons practiced stick strike from 10 m away. The boys have been diligent with their body training. Their prowess was remarkable. Just a few days of getting acquainted with the stick, and they had already possessed an air of veteran. Their battle sense was too abnormal for a 5-year-old. The evidence could be seen with their next practice.
“Father. We are ready!” The two boys got in fighting stance.
Taka began his routine. This spell “Lift”, he has been using for more than a century. He had mastered it to the point where he no longer needed to announce the spell to cast it. In a brief second, pebbles on the ground assaulted their position.
Calculating the trajectory, Ren and Gowen made a large swing. This strike connected to 4 pebbles sending them flying away. The next 2 pebbles, the twins let them slide through their body. The remaining pebbles were subsequently knocked down. The boys completed level 1 perfectly.
Taka started level 2. Unlike level 1 which comprised of assault from 1 direction, level 2 would have attacks coming from all sides. The difficulty was designed by the twins to test their ability to get a broad view of the battlefield. To complete this level, they needed an adequate processing capacity. They must not get overwhelmed by the number of pebbles. Only then can they program the best course of actions for their body. Just as level 1, the pebbles were either knocked away or dodged nonchalantly, and so Taka prepared for level 3.
This level was trickier than the first two. The speed of each pebble was different. Some pebbles even had a curved path or being deployed to attack a position Taka deemed his sons would move into in the future. There were also baits, pebbles that would retreat before they would be hit and attacked at another angle. As Ren and Gowen suggested, there were also couples of tracking stones. These guys would resume their assault if Ren and Gowen dodged. The only way to deactivate these pebbles would be to hit them. In comparison to making every pebble tracking-type, mixing tracking type into non-tracking taxed the twins more since they would have to confirm the type of the ones they just evaded.
Besides those mentioned above, there are also more types in level 3. There is a type that would keep on chasing after the twins even after it has been hit. Another one that hasn’t been showed is the ones that would change their path randomly. They could change once or twice. Their changed trajectory may not even aim at the boys which caused the boys to be cautious about whether they would change their path another time or not. Taka didn’t include these types. Even without those, his sons have already been hit quite badly.
After the set, Taka counted that they have successfully evaded or hit 30% which is a good improvement. Yesterday, the result was only 20%. They need to reach 100% before Taka agrees mix in all the types for level 3.
When the boys regained their breath, they asked their father to continue. As much as Taka thought they needed more rest, he obliged with their request. He didn’t want his parent instinct to obstruct their growth, especially when it comes to kids as unique as his sons.
Level 1 is to refine body control. Level 2 is to improve processing capacity in quick time. Level 3 is to assess real-time decision. These kinds of training were designed by his children which spoke volume of their understanding in stick fighting training.
However, anyone with experience in magic would tip their hat to Taka. Lifting a pebble is basic. Lifting many at once requires practice. Moving them from 10m away is a different beast. Programming them to move at different speed, at different paths, toward different targets is nothing short of skilled. Lastly, imbuing different types of reaction to each pebble on top of everything else that have been listed in here is the work of master.
One thing must be clarified. The man himself is no genius. He just happened to live long enough, and, in his lifetime, used Lift many enough to get a degree in proficiency that would allow him to demonstrate so expertly.
“We stop here. Let’s get inside, sons.”
“Yes, father.” The boys quickly ran toward Taka.
“You’ve done well for today.”
“Yes, father, but I have already felt like I am hitting my physical limit. I am unsure if I can even get 100% at this rate.”
Taka thought for a second. “True. However, you haven’t given up on magic yet, have you?”
“Yes, father. I am still practicing and studying the books. I haven’t got any better though.”
“Have no fear, sons. I have never heard of one that can’t use magic in their life. Even animals learn magic and become spirit animals.”
“Thank you, father.”
Last month, Ren and Gowen busied themselves with training while Taka worked his best to find a teacher for them. Sadly, all the people he found declined his request.
Taking in a kid with no affinity is a no go. What would happen if the kid remained magicless? In this world, there is a saying “A student’s capability reflects their teacher’s competency”. To a teacher in this small city, there is a clear connection between one’s reputation and their income. Understandably, those teachers went for the safe option.
Meanwhile, Taka is no teacher. He could use magic, but he couldn’t understand his sons’ difficulty in using magic. The other thing he could do for them was buying them books. Unfortunately, this place isn’t the centre of magic. Magic books within circulation of this city were mostly intermediate in level. Those can’t help a rare case like Ren and Gowen.
“Say, sons. What do you want to do when you grow up?”
“We want to be an adventurer.”
“An adventurer, you say.”
“Yes, father. We want to see the new thing and new place. There were just so many things we don’t know. It would be exciting to see them.”
“I see. So that’s why you have been pushing yourself.” He held their little hands, made eye contact. “Sons, the world out there is a dangerous place. Those that could afford to wander the wilderness are those wield both magic and might. Without magic, it would be too risky for you.”
“Uhm. You’re right, father.” They stared down to the wooden floor. Their dull eyes couldn’t find the courage to look up. Their erected ears full of excitement just a moment ago, now lost strength.
“Sons. Please understand that I just want you to be safe. It is good that you have great ambition but be careful not to lose yourself in it. I can not let you go into danger when you are ill-prepared for it.”
“We understand.”
“I am glad that you understand. However, I am not giving up on helping you in your magic and your dream of becoming an adventurer.”
“Eh?”
“There are plenty of time for you to learn. Even if you couldn’t make it by the Coming of Age, there is nothing stopping you even when you are 200 or 300 years old. Time has little constraint on you. As long as you are strong enough, you can be an adventurer.” He patted their head. “What I am afraid of is you focusing too much on training without noticing anything else. For someone with two minds, you guys are awfully one-minded. You need to keep your training at a suitable pace to not harm yourself.”
“Yes, father!”
“Good boys!”
“Uhm. Father.”
“Yes, sons.”
“Can we go with you to the bakery today? We promise we won’t get in the way.”
“Don’t you feel tired after the practice?
“We are really fine. We'll just watch everyone doing stuffs anyway.”
“Ok then.”
“Thank you, father.”
Being a kid without friends is really sucked. They don’t have many reasons to go out. Even if they had a reason, what good is there to go out alone. Thus, occasion like this was a godsend. Normally, they wouldn’t dare to ask father because he was busy. Today was different because their father was more relaxed this week.
Since they didn’t leave home very often, only Taka knew that there was a commotion on the street. A group of kids ran past them.
One of them told the slowest kid. “Come on. Hurry up!”
A pair of men walked in opposite direction of them was discussing heartedly. “…80?”
“No way!” The other man replied. “No one can beat it if it was 80. 70, max!”
“What if they were really strong?”
“I told you. No way.”
“For the past 241 years, no one has ever been able to pull off such a feat. The last time, something similar happened was the deer of Miller.” The man on the street told his lunchmates.
“I know that deer!” The old-looking guy sitting on the opposite claimed.
“Who wouldn’t know?” Another guy on the same table noted. “The story of the traveller Miller was common tale on the street for a couple of decades.”
“My father was one of the people examined the carcass. It blew his mind. A spirit deer over a century old being brought down by a single person.”
“That was a legendary feat!”
“Comparing the deer of Miller to those two persons’ story wouldn’t that feels kind of unfair? I mean that spirit wolf is mostly 80, and they got 2 people while Miller have done it alone.”
“I know but that’s the only instance one or two person ever took down a spirit animal in recent history.”
“Also, it’s a wolf.”
“Are you serious?”
“Do you even realise how terrifying a deer is? Not to mention the deer is over 100 years old. I would rather take three of those wolves than a single deer that old.”
Having all he wanted to hear, Taka tugged on Ren and Gowen’s hand. The three continued to the bakery downtown. That day passed by uneventfully.
Ren and Gowen looked at the direction they were walking toward with confusion. Three days have passed since the spirit wolf commotion. Nothing worth notice happened those few days. They kept doing more practices and achieved a 48% for the level 3 practice. With this pace, they might get 99% in one month.
That digressed enough from the main issue. Last night, Taka told them he found a mentor for them. Starting today, they would be learning magic under this mentor. They had an early meal and was brought to meet their teacher. What made them so confused was their destination, which is the small property on the city south. This empty house or, maybe, used-to-be-empty house was a new place their father bought 3 months ago.
Taka knocked on the front door and was quickly greeted by a pair of elves. By their look, they were mostly young adults. While the male was cheerful, the female had an air of composure and maturity. Taka introduced Ren and Gowen to the young elves ending with “they will be your students”.
The female dropped down to their eye level. “Hello, little ones. I am Clarinet Adini. Over there is my younger brother.”
“Hey there, kids. The name is Trump.” The male waved at them.
“From today, I will be your teacher.”
“I heard of your condition from Mr Taka but let’s start with a spell.”
The 3 pairs of eyes stuck on the two-headed boy as they readied themselves for a Lift spell. They took their time to clear their mind. Their target was a squarish pebble with a particular pale colour. Burning the visage of the pebble into their mind, they closed their eyes visualising the features of the object within their mind. They lost their perception of selves as their brain read the chanting.
A feeling slowly rose within their being. This feeling was similar to how they tried to use Shine before. It is a rare occurrence. Among the countless attempts during the last month, only a number gave rise to such sensation. This feeling always reached a peak which Ren and Gowen took as cue to call out the spell, but they have never succeeded.
As with before and so was then, the attempt this time was also a failure. Taka didn’t see anything noticeable, but it seems others had something to say.
“Magnificent!” Clarinet commented. “My knowledge is limited, but there should be no one that has this level of perfection.” She walked up to the boys. “The ways you took to concentrate on the spell were text-book example. You thought about all of these and practiced by yourself, didn’t you?”
It was the first time they were praised for their efforts even though it was a failed attempt. They nodded deeply, reminded themselves not to cry.
“I trust that even without being able to use magic, you should have no problem becoming a researcher.”
“Putting that aside. Ms Clarinet, do you know why they failed?”
“To be straight with you, this is the first time something like this has ever happened. I don’t even know it myself, but I do have some observations. Before I get into it. Ren, Gowen, do you have a feeling that something was moving inside you?”
“I… I did.” “Me too.”
“That was MP. It was also called magic point, magic particle, and many other names, but the common term was mana. Normally, you can not feel the mana. Only when a spell was about to be casted, and the mana being used; that you would be able to feel it. This is a crucial step in casting spell. Many people failed at this one. It results in a failed attempt to cast the spell. With you being able to feel it, I can now be sure that the mana was mobilised. The only thing I don’t understand is why it was not used to make the spell. No, scratch that sentence. The true is I don’t even know if the mana was consumed or not.”
“What do you mean you didn’t know?”
“I confirmed the mana was mobilised, which was the feeling they felt. Normally, the mana will be consumed. At that stage, there would be two outcomes, either the spell happens or it fails and the mana was ignited without any work done.” Clarinet eyed at the boys. “In their case, I just don’t feel that they failed. The timing, the focus, and everything else were as perfect as they can be. Therefore, I considered a possibility. The mana was not consumed at all.”
“Then what was the cause of that?”
“I hate to admit, but I have no idea. This is the first for me. May as well be the first in the world.”
“Ms Clarinet. I have heard of spell interruption and dispel. Could my sons have a curse similar to those?”
“I don’t think so. Dispel in general is the process of cancelling the effect of a spell. This means the spell must be successfully casted. Ren and Gowen clearly isn’t being dispelled. Furthermore, dispel is spell specific. A curse that can dispel everything a person can cast is a very complex one. Such a curse will be apparent to any of us at first glance. Now to Interruption.”
She stopped for a second, trying to find the best way to explain.
“Let me talk about the formula first. A spell formula is similar to a paragraph of text. You would need a support spell to be able to see a formula. This paragraph of formula must be absolutely correct, else the spell will be a failure. Spell interruption is the deliberate corruption of certain part of that formula, while the spell was being casted.” Clarinet put a spell onto herself then turned to Taka. “Mr Taka, please cast a Lift spell and throw that rock into the wall.”
Taka complied. A split second before his spell was complete, Clarinet casted her own spell.
Instead of flying into the wall, the rock flew vertically into the sky to the surprise of Taka.
“I replaced the part that defined the direction of the Lift spell you were using with what I had in mind. That was the result. With spell interruption, you can delete a part of the formula or replace with a new one like I just did. Replacing is more difficult and costs more mana. Thus, normally when it is about spell interruption, it was more about deleting. It looks neat to you but there are 2 problems. First, each spell has different formula, so you need to know in advance what kind of formula the other was about to use. Second, you need to complete casting the interruption spell before the opponent’s spell is finished.”
“I don’t see it as a problem. Couldn’t I just make an interruption spell that delete a letter from the formula?”
“It doesn’t work that way. When you cast spell interruption, you need to specify which group of letters to delete and where exactly were those letters within the formula.”
“I see.”
“Also, this may be irrelevant, but Mr Taka you have never seen anyone used Interruption before, right?”
“Yes.” Taka nodded.
“That is testimony to how out of use Interruption is. It is easier to guess what a person was about to say exactly to the letter and speak it before them, then to successfully interrupt a spell. Furthermore, there is also this.” Clarinet casted her spells on everyone. This was the same one she put on herself before.
“Now you all can see the formula. First, this is what the formula for the Lift spell Mr Taka just used.”
Upon seeing the lady moved the pebble, a paragraph around 4 lines appeared in their mind.
“And this is what is required for a bachelor graduate.” Clarinet casted 4 Lift spells in succession.
Each formula was longer than the last. The shortest was already twice as long as the formula Taka used.
“Lift is a universal spell. It has countless application. During the history of magic, we have developed countless formula to use Lift. The current number within our nation is 28 different ways. The complexity and differences of them were all designed to counter Interruption spell to ensure that no single interruption spell could affect more than 1 formula of Lift. This is the fruit of labour of thousands of researchers working for our entire history as a nation. Of course, there is also other spells than Lift. Let’s just say no one is using Interruption anymore. The existence of a curse that can interrupt all spells is, therefore, very unlikely.”
“Sister. Do you think that was because their magic affinity is 0?”
Clarinet made a difficult face. “I don’t know, Trump. According to the general consensus, magic affinity is a measurement that defined how easy one can use magic. It is not the cause for how well one can use magic.”
After the long talk about Interruption and Dispel, everyone was already on the edge. Judging that they wouldn’t be able to handle another one, Clarinet decided to leave it there. “Let’s forget it. Just know that magic affinity is not the reason for now.”
Taka let out an audible sigh. It caught the attention of Ren and Gowen. Taka noticed and put a hand on their head. “Don’t worry, sons.” He then faced Clarinet. “What do you suggest?”
“I don’t know what the boys want to do, but I know he will be a good researcher. I will say you let me teach him more about magic. Also, what do the boys want to do?”
“Adventure.” “We want to become adventurer.”
This is the piece of information Taka intentionally let out when he came to talk to the siblings two days ago. Clarinet thought it was weird, since parents would always tell a teacher what they think their children should become or what the children want to be. Now she understood why Taka didn’t mention this. Being an adventurer without magic is dangerous. When it is uncertain the boys can use magic, Taka didn’t want them to overexert themselves with training. What good is there to train if they won’t get to use it later on.
“If that’s the case, I can design some exercises for you to practice in combat against opponent that use magic.” Recognising Taka’s slightly furrowed eyebrows, Clarinet added. “Even if you don’t want to become adventurer when you grow up, it should serve as a good way to defend yourself against people with magic. After all, we can not be sure there won’t be any bully in this world.”
Seeing the logic in her reason, Taka relaxed.
“Father.” The twins called back to him.
“Yes, sons.”
“Can we also practice sword fighting with Mr Trump?”
As much as he didn’t want his children investing too much on being an adventurer, he still replied. “Of course, you will need to know how to use weapon.”
“Thank you, father.”
“Just remember to take good care of yourself.” He turned to the siblings. “I guess we will need to settle a schedule for their lessons.”
“Of course, Mr Taka.” Clarinet nodded.
Trump went up to his new students. He squatted down putting a hand on their shoulder. His voice was displeased. “Kids. Before we become students and master, be sure to never call me “Mr” until I get married. I am still young.”
“Yes, Big bro Trump.”
These kids surely know how to please the adults.
“Now that’s more like it.”
