- General Quest ▶ Basic Magic Training (0/10)

After awakening his mana, the quest details changed.

The new content was to begin serious magic training.

Currently, the only magic books in Leon's possession were one labeled “Basic Earth Magic,” of which the specific magical category was unknown, and the “Brem Family Potion Making Magic (Part 1)” he had seen earlier in the old magic library.

Leon planned to gradually search the old magic library for magic books related to the water, wind, and earth elements, which corresponded to his affinities, but for now, he decided to proceed with training using just these two books.

Apprentice-level magicians didn’t require advanced magic just yet. High-level magic or unique magic established by advanced magicians could only be used by those at the arcane level.

Leon eagerly opened the Basic Earth Magic book.

The basic magic book slowly explained the process of bringing magic into reality.

The most fundamental step was the calculation of the spell formula. Whether it was a formula created by someone else or one established by oneself, if the result of the calculation was the same, it could be considered the same magic. The only differences would be in efficiency and intensity.

Once the formula for the relevant magic was calculated, it would go through the process of conceptualization, where it was envisioned in the mind, followed by the incantation stage, where it was called forth into reality.

To summarize, magic is manifested through the three steps of 'Calculation - Conceptualization - Incantation.'

Apprentice magicians had to go through each of these steps without skipping any. Since each step was unfamiliar and difficult, it often took a long time to manifest the magic.

Although magicians at the arcane level or higher could significantly shorten the time required for each of these processes, apprentice-level magicians like Leon had to learn memorization magic to reduce the time even slightly.

Memorization magic allowed a magician to store a spell in advance so that it could be activated immediately by simply reciting a trigger word.

An Apprentice 1st Rank magician could memorize one spell.

Leon focused on learning the memorization magic, a few basic earth magic spells, and potion-making magic.

Since the spell formulas were easier to calculate once memorized, academic study was necessary, and in order to cast more proficient magic or increase the total amount of mana, he had no choice but to repeatedly practice casting spells.

"O Master of Earth, respond to my call. Earth Wall."

As he stretched out his hand and chanted, a stone wall the size of a person rose in the middle of the dense forest.

"Huff... Huff."

Leon had already cast several spells.

In fact, it was normal for an Apprentice 1st Rank magician to deplete their mana after casting just two or three spells.

Leon wasn’t far from this limit, but the dense mana in the space within the orb was a great help.

No matter how many spells he cast, his mana kept being replenished.

The long time it took for him to manifest magic contributed to this.

Of course, after chanting six or seven times, his mana would still be depleted. However, after sitting cross-legged and breathing deeply, his mana would quickly recover.

This was clearly a good sign for his training, but Leon was actually facing a dilemma.

The problem was that he couldn’t train in magic while working as a librarian.

It wasn’t just at the magic library—there weren’t any suitable places to train magic in the real world either.

As a result, his quest progress was stagnant.

He filled that emptiness by consuming the potions he had collected.

“Nom.”

When his mana was depleted, Leon would leave the orb’s space, sit down, and gulp down the essence of the Nol fruit.

As heat rose through his body, a strong force surged into the core located in his solar plexus.

“Whew…”

He felt that his core had grown, albeit very slightly.

Since consuming potions had no connection to the space within the orb, he spent time stabilizing himself after ingestion.

After stabilizing his mana for a while, Leon returned to the dormitory and fell asleep.

A month had passed since Leon had arrived in the magical city of Widia.

The solution Leon found was to focus solely on memorization.

He spent his working hours in the library finding and memorizing all the magic related to water, wind, and earth that he could find. After reading, he would practice in the space within the orb.

Recently, he had confirmed all the basic magic related to his affinities and had begun exploring some unique spells.

Since it was an old magic library, there were indeed many fascinating magic books. Although all of them were obsolete spells.

Thud—

Apart from the sound of Leon turning the pages of a book, the quiet space was interrupted as someone entered.

When Leon closed the book and turned his head, he recognized the face and, in delight, jumped up from his seat.

“Leah!” “Leon!”

Leon accidentally hugged Leah as she ran towards him.

It was a reflexive action driven by the emotion of seeing her after such a long time.

Leah, who was jumping up and down in his arms, soon withdrew from his embrace. It was unusual for her to express such joy, as she was usually quiet.

Knowing this, Leon pushed aside his surprise and asked with a smile.

“Did you come looking for me, knowing I was here?” “Yes. I asked some of the other friends, and they told me.” “Ah, the other orphanage kids?” “Yes, yes.”

Leah seemed to be in a good mood. Her gray bobbed hair swayed as if to reflect her feelings.

After surveying the library, Leah cautiously asked.

“Are you learning magic properly?” “Me? Of course.”

Although Leah seemed to express concern after seeing the other kids from the orphanage, Leon responded calmly, indicating there was no need to worry.

Leah looked at Leon for a moment and then smiled softly.

“You’re still as confident as ever.” “There’s no reason to hide anything from you.”

At that comment, her expression suddenly became somber as if she had drifted into thought.

“I’m sorry… for disappearing alone that day…”

Leon glanced over her outfit. Now dressed in luxurious clothes that were hard to believe she once lived in the same orphanage, it was clear how well she was being treated. It seemed that she was also aware of the difference in treatment between herself and the other kids from the orphanage.

“There was nothing you could do when the magician suddenly took you away.”

Leon thought that it didn’t make sense to refuse such an opportunity after discovering her talent, even if there had been something she could have done.

“But still… Oh, do you need merit points?” “Merit points?” “Yes, I heard from my master that there will be a competition soon with the entrance residents.” “What kind of competition?”

Entrance residents referred to regular people who did odd jobs like Leon.

“It’s a strength competition, and the first-place winner will receive 50 merit points.”

Leah hesitated slightly before continuing.

“Actually… my master is hosting it because they need a strong worker. You might be called in to work for my master for about a week.” “Ah… I see.”

Now Leon understood why she had hesitated.

Although the competition ostensibly offered the valuable 50 merit points to the entrance residents, it was ultimately just a way to recruit a strong worker.

If Leon participated, it might seem like he was falling for a trick.

Normally, he would have disliked the idea because it would reduce his training time, but Leon was pleased to hear this news.

He couldn’t train during his librarian hours, and he needed merit points.

He currently had 20 merit points, earned from a month of work and herb-gathering errands.

And it took 100 merit points to be assigned a private room.

If he could earn 50 more, he would be able to secure a private room soon.

Most importantly—

Lower Strength Magic. Written by Spinel.

This was the magic book he had been reading just a moment ago.

The news of the strength competition that Leah had mentioned was soon announced to the entrance residents.

On the day of the event, Leon participated after using the memorized lower strength magic in advance.

The competition was conducted modestly.

The event consisted of participants coming out one by one to move heavy stone slabs.

The crowd gathered in the square consisted entirely of entrance residents.

Even the host was an ordinary person.

It was a competition that failed to attract the attention of the magicians.

Fortunately for Leon, who had preemptively used magic, no one would know whether or not he was using it.

The last two participants remaining were a muscular man and Leon.

The stone slab had now reached a weight that an average adult male could not even budge with both hands.

“How can such a young boy have that kind of strength…?”

As Leon lifted and moved the slab, the muscular man’s face turned pale with shock.

“Wow, where does such strength come from in that small body? Next up is Gale, the muscular man who works at the repair shop!”

In the end, Gale couldn’t lift the slab, and the competition concluded with Leon as the winner.

Since he had won by using magic, Leon returned to the dormitory with the merit points, feeling rather indifferent.

The next day—

Leon followed Leah to the center of the magical city of Widia early in the morning.

It was his first time coming to the central area of this city, and his eyes sparkled with curiosity at the different sights.

Unlike the ordinary people he usually saw, there were people walking around who were clearly identifiable as magicians from their appearance.

Light robes, conical hats, and wands in hand.

As Leon curiously scanned his surroundings, Leah spoke to him.

“You’ll be dressed the same way once you become a magician. No, actually, I’ll give you your first set as a gift as soon as you awaken your mana!”

I’m already a magician, though… Leon didn’t bother to mention it. He didn’t particularly feel the need to hide it from Leah, but he also thought it wasn’t the right time to say it yet.

While chatting about various things with Leah, she stopped in front of a building.

It wasn’t a particularly tall building. It looked more like a private residence than a place of business.

They entered and immediately headed up to the second floor.

Following Leah as she opened the door, Leon saw a woman sitting in a chair with long silver hair cascading down her back.

“Is that you?”

The woman’s red eyes turned toward Leon.

Sensing a slight sharpness in her gaze, Leon carefully chose his words.

“I’m Leon, currently working as a librarian at the old magic library.” “Leah’s childhood friend?” “…Yes.”

The woman stood up from her seat and with long strides, approached Leon.

She looked down at Leon intently.

“Interesting.”

What does she find interesting…?

While Leon was confused, expecting questions like how he won the competition with such a body or whether he could do his job properly, the woman suddenly spoke again.

“When did you awaken your mana?”

A chill ran down the back of Leon's neck.