Chapter 63 - A Star in the Shadows (1)

Before I knew it, three months had passed since I entered the academy, and we were heading into the fourth month.

That meant the final exams, which would wrap up the semester, were just around the corner.

My grades weren't bad. No, they were quite good.

In the practical exams that measured actual combat ability, I was able to secure a top rank since my basic skills had improved so much…

And for the written exams, the experience of a test-taker engraved in my soul played a big part.

Yes. There were no longer any major obstacles in my academy life itself.

There was a bit of a happening at the award ceremony last time, but… well, I haven't been in any difficult situations since then.

I haven't run into Robelia since then, at least.

‘But it was too impactful of an event to be reassured just by that.’

Even thinking about it over time, there were too many questionable points.

Why did Rain Enlight feel such fear towards Robelia?

Why did the mental attack resistance of 『Iron Will』 activate at a single word from Robelia?

Of course, for now, there was no way to know any of it.

Showing my weak side to Regina… was not good news either.

We were working together as allies now, but the essence of Regina's character in was that of a villain.

Of course, I had to consider that she was used by Claudio… but she was still someone to be wary of.

‘Still, for some reason, it feels like she treated me a bit more comfortably…’

Though it was hard to judge accurately since it was when I was weak.

Well, anyway, it wasn't an urgent matter, so I decided to think about it slowly.

The seriousness of the matter was significant, but… there was an event that was both highly serious and imminent.

To talk about that, let's turn back the clock a bit, to when I was still hospitalized.

Yes, specifically, to when Arien came to visit me.

***

The time was 1 PM, two days before my discharge.

Bored of just lying in bed, I had dozed off for a nap.

Since I fell into the world of —no, I don't even know how long it's been since I last took a nap.

As I slept for a while and my hazy consciousness began to faintly return… I could feel the cool breeze blowing through the window and the sunlight streaming onto my eyes.

But what was even more comfortable was my body's condition, which was much more relaxed than before I fell asleep.

And, the soft sensation I felt in my hand.

…A soft sensation?

I opened my eyes, questioning it. And, in front of my bed was…

“You're awake.”

…Arien, holding my hand, though I didn't know when she had come in.

Arien, who proudly held the title of 'Star Seeker' in the original .

“…Miss Arien?”

“Yes, it's Arien.”

No, that's not what I was asking.

I thought as I looked down at the hand Arien was holding.

“……”

And I looked at Arien once more.

“…?”

But Arien just tilted her head as if to ask what the problem was.

Right, this one. She wasn't someone you could communicate with non-verbally…

“Um, may I ask why my hand is being held?”

I had no choice but to ask so directly. Then-.

“I was briefly tuning the Arcanic Loop fixed to your magic system, Rain-ssi.”

“…Pardon?”

“Correction. I was tuning your magic, Rain-ssi. You should probably feel much better.”

Hmm, I couldn't understand it completely… but I understood it as her having fixed my magic somehow.

In fact, I felt much more refreshed than before I woke up.

“Thank you. You're right.”

“You're welcome.”

After that exchange, the conversation died down, and the hospital room fell silent again.

Arien was still holding my hand, looking focused.

‘Tuning must be a task that takes quite a long time.’

It wasn't a particularly uncomfortable silence. Arien wasn't the type to enjoy talking much, and the Rain my spirit inhabited also seemed to enjoy quiet.

Another 20 minutes or so passed like that. Arien was still holding my hand, focused on tuning.

‘I feel bad asking for too long.’

Naturally, such a thought came to me. It's not like I could give her anything in return, and she probably wouldn't ask for anything either.

“Miss Arien, roughly how long does the tuning take? I feel sorry for asking for too long.”

And at my question, Arien calmly turned her gaze to me, tilted her head, and said.

“…? The tuning was finished before you woke up, Rain-ssi.”

At that confident response, I was at a loss for words.

“…I see…”

That was the only appropriate response that came out.

“Hmm.”

I just turned my head again and looked at the scenery outside the window.

And after a little more time passed, this time Arien was the first to speak.

“Rain-ssi, may I ask a question?”

“Go ahead.”

She said in her characteristically stiff tone. Of course, my tone was no less stiff.

“Compared to before you fainted, your magic power has increased with surprising suddenness.”

“……”

“Even if you consume an elixir, it's difficult for a low-level magic power to show this much permanent growth. Do you have any idea as to the reason for this?”

Hmm. That was sharp. Can you even tell the change in magic power while tuning?

-[System : The balance of the inherent origin is collapsing.]

-[System : Proficiency, 『Origin Magic[F]』 is acquired!]

-[System : Magic power increases to [D]!]

The increase in my magic stat appeared after I came to my senses after the end of 『Prelude to Ruin』 last time. The acquisition of Origin Magic proficiency was also the same.

“…I was going to tell you, but after I fell into a coma… I vaguely gained an understanding of Origin Magic. I can only assume that the increase in magic power is also due to that influence.”

I didn't hide it. There was nothing to gain by hiding it, and no reason not to tell her either.

After all, Arien was a member of the main cast of .

Also, my opponent was Arien, who would later become the unrivaled number one in the magic field, so trying to hide it clumsily would only backfire.

And Arien's reaction to that was…

“I see.”

As expected, it was as dry as ever.

After acquiring 『Origin Magic Proficiency』, I could feel a rather strange sensation.

Before, I didn't have any magic-related proficiency, so I couldn't understand it well… but magic proficiency definitely felt different from other combat-related proficiencies.

To describe the feeling right after a magic-related proficiency first appeared… what should I say, it felt like I had grown a new body organ.

Should I say it felt like an organ that could perform the act of Origin Magic had been created?

To put it simply, it might be close to the feeling of having another arm.

It seems like an unfitting impression for magic, which has an image of being a collection of intellect.

And, Arien, who heard my impression…

“I judge it to be an intuitive and appropriate metaphor. Originally, the primordial form of magic is closer to sense than to knowledge.”

At those words, I couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled.

Doesn't magic have the image of a mysterious power derived from knowledge?

“…Is that so? But I understand that when learning magic in general, one approaches it with knowledge, such as formulas and magic circles…”

I laid out the general perception of magic. Then Arien replied again.

“It's not an incorrect perception. However, that is only limited to magic for which 'existence fixation' has been achieved through 'existence proof,' including the 10 Laws.”

“Existence proof, fixation…?”

Those were words I had never heard of even in , truly the first time I'd heard them.

“The process of fixing the causality by which primordial magic is activated into the form of formulas or magic circles is 'existence proof.' The result is 'existence fixation.'”

“So… you mean that magic, which was in the realm of senses, is fixed into the form of knowledge through existence proof.”

“Correct.”

Hoo, this was information that didn't appear in the original work. I liked reading these miscellaneous background settings, I guess they were more detailed than I thought.

“Then, it would be inappropriate to use the expression 'learning' for magic for which existence proof has not been done.”

“That would be the case.”

However, obtaining this knowledge itself was not the goal. There was a separate intention.

“Has existence fixation been achieved for Origin Magic? If it has been fixed as knowledge like that, I thought it would be plausible for something like a textbook to exist.”

And at my words.

Blink.

Blink.

Arien blinked twice, then opened her mouth again.

The answer was…

“Well. Not much is known in detail. Origin Magic itself is a lost magic. It might exist.”

“…Is that so.”

Hmm.

I see. It seemed Arien hadn't completely opened her heart to me yet.

***

The reason I asked such a question was simple.

‘Because I need to learn Origin Magic.’

As it was a magic that touched upon the foundation and laws of this world, there were many useful spells in the original .

But for me, who didn't know the first thing about magic, to learn Origin Magic through self-study, and without any teaching materials, was close to impossible.

I had no understanding of how to master magic.

And, that's when I remembered it. A mention from the original work.

To be precise, it was a story from Arien's background story.

-After Arien was born, she was confined until just before high school and learned various magics, mastering them.

-But among them, only Origin Magic remained elusive even to Arien's intellect, and she could only use basic level magic.

Well, to summarize the flow, it was something like that.

The important thing here was the description that Arien 'learned' Origin Magic in that process. And the description of her struggling because she couldn't understand it.

Well, I couldn't remember and describe the entire content in detail… but the point was that Arien had clearly learned it.

And I was thinking of getting a hint from Arien on how to learn Origin Magic.

In fact, I wasn't sure if Arien had the method, so at first, I was just trying to sound her out.

But after hearing Arien's explanation of 'existence fixation' and 'existence proof,' I knew for sure.

If existence fixation had not been achieved, and the magic was not bound by formulas or magic circles… there would be no reason to use the expression 'learning.'

But, Arien had clearly 'learned' Origin Magic.

And that meant that the existence proof of Origin Magic was already complete.

And that it could be learned in the form of knowledge was also… as good as proven.

‘Still, she won’t tell me easily, I guess.’

It seemed her wariness hadn't completely dissipated yet. Although she had been acting quite uninhibited recently.

“That's that.”

After Arien left, I sat on the hospital bed and muttered so.

In fact, it wasn't that important to learn Origin Magic right now.

The most important thing now was that the story of 's Part 1, Chapter 2—『A Star in the Shadows』—was approaching.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.