The skill list on my status screen was an eye-opener. Learning that I could potentially use abilities not explicitly listed there was a massive tactical gain. The only question was how that potential would manifest for me. I figured I could test that out by using the beginner's primer Evangeline had given me to try a basic wind spell or something similar.
But for now, I had a more immediate problem to deal with.
"That is exactly why I am asking! I am formally requesting—no, demanding—that you teach me magic as well!" Ayaka shouted.
"I don't care," Eva shot back, looking utterly bored. "Why should I bother with something so tedious?"
Ayaka wasn't just asking; she was practically interrogated the vampire. Even Chizuru seemed interested, standing behind Ayaka with a small, silent nod, radiating a subtle but palpable pressure. Despite having eighty percent of her power back, Eva looked like she was being driven into a corner. I wondered if that "pressure" was some kind of unique Chizuru skill.
Interestingly enough, Chizuru's own status screen remained completely blank.
"Hey, hey. You guys haven't forgotten about me, have you?"
Chachazero came clattering over, her joints making a wooden tock-tock sound. She was still clutching those two massive cleavers from our match, swinging them idly as if she were looking for something to do. I'd forgotten I'd left her lying there after my slime swatted her away.
"Oh? So you're the Master's favorite, huh?" The doll turned her painted eyes toward me. "Nice to meet ya properly. Now, let me have another crack at slicing up that slime of yours."
Like master, like servant, I suppose.
Wait. If that was the case, was Chachamaru eventually going to end up like this too? I cast a worried glance at the silent automaton standing nearby.
"Is something the matter?" Chachamaru asked, tilting her head.
There was no way she'd end up like Chachazero. Or rather, I really didn't want to imagine it. To me, Chachamaru felt less like Eva's servant and more like her guardian. If that guardian started acting like a homicidal battle-junkie doll, it would be a disaster.
"No, it's nothing," I said, shaking the ridiculous thought out of my head and walking over to Ayaka and the others.
"Eva. Forget about offensive spells for a second. These two have been dragged into my mess. It would be a huge help if you could at least teach them some basic defensive magic."
I felt I could trust Konoe, the Dean of Mahora Academy, and his right-hand man Takahata seemed reliable as well. Even this tiny vampire—who was roughly my current height—was probably the most trustworthy mage I knew. But they were part of a larger organization. And where there's a hierarchy, there are always rogue elements.
To someone like me, who came from a world where telekinesis was a recognized military asset, "the duty to keep magic a secret" sounded like a joke. But as long as the Kanto Magic Association existed as a power structure, there would be "hawks" among them. In my experience, those types usually shouted the loudest and held the most influence. I couldn't rule out the possibility that some hardliner would try to mess with Ayaka or Chizuru just because they were "outsiders" who knew too much.
I knew the Yukihiro and Naba families were powerful conglomerates that donated heavily to the academy, but that was all "surface world" influence. Whether a secret society of mages would hesitate to lay a hand on them because of a bank balance was a gamble I didn't want to take. If they could at least defend themselves—or hold out long enough to run to me—I'd feel a lot better.
"…Fine, fine. Take them," Eva sighed, looking at me with a contemplative expression before reaching into her cloak. She pulled out two beginner's staves and tossed them to Ayaka and Chizuru.
"I'll give you the staves. As for the magic, if you read the book I gave Axel, you should be able to grasp the basics. Finish that book, and if you're still interested, come back to me. I might consider training you into decent mid-boss material. However! Axel, listen up. This is a favor. You will be paying me back for this!"
"Oh, Master," Chachamaru chimed in. "That was a top-tier tsundere moment."
"Sister, where on earth did you learn that word?" Chachazero asked.
"I learned it from a manga Chao-sama was carrying."
"Argh! You stupid robots! Stop learning such useless things! I'm winding you up!"
Clearly irritated by the "tsundere" comment, Eva produced a winding key from nowhere and jammed it into the back of Chachamaru's head, turning it furiously.
"Ah... please do not turn it so quickly. It is... distressing."
"Um... Axel-kun? Have we caused you a lot of trouble?"
I turned around to find Ayaka and Chizuru looking genuinely apologetic. It seemed Eva's comment about me "paying her back" had struck a chord.
"Don't worry about it," I said. "That's just Eva's way of hiding her embarrassment."
Honestly, watching her bicker with her dolls, she didn't look anything like a six-hundred-year-old vampire. Then again, maybe I only felt that way because I'd faced the Einst—horrors that defied all reason. Compared to them, a vampire was almost cozy.
"Regardless, you've got the staves now. Please, at least learn enough to protect yourselves if something happens."
I opened my Spatial Vault in my mind and pulled out the magic tome Eva had given me yesterday.
"Here. This is the beginner's manual."
I handed the book to Ayaka.
"Thank you so much. I will study this diligently so that I can protect you whenever you need me, Axel-kun!"
"I think I'm more interested in healing magic," Chizuru mused. "I often volunteer to look after children, so it would be quite practical."
"Hmph. Learn what you like, but don't forget the secrecy," Eva grumbled, though her tone was more a warning than a threat. "The only reason you avoided having your memories wiped was a special exception. It won't happen twice."
Ayaka frowned slightly. "So, you're saying that if anyone finds out we know about magic, their memories will be rewritten?"
"That's the long and short of it. Though, if you're going to get involved with magic, you're going to get involved with the underworld. For most people, having those memories erased is actually the kinder option. Oh, and by the way... this villa is saturated with mana. Even beginners like you might find it surprisingly easy to cast spells here."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. This entire villa is powered by magic. Oh, and I forgot to mention—once you enter this villa, you can't leave until a full day has passed."
Ayaka and Chizuru froze in place.
"Wh-wh-wh... WHAT?! But we have classes tomorrow!"
"Oh dear, I wonder if Natsumi-chan will be alright with the meal prep..."
"C-C-C-CALM DOWN, YOU IDIOTS!"
Eva, who was being shaken back and forth by a panicked Ayaka, floated into the air and brought her paper fan down on the girl's head again.
"I told you, it's a magical artifact. A day inside this world is only an hour in the outside world. Relax. By the time we leave, it'll still be evening out there."
"You can... control the flow of time?" I asked.
The only time-related technology I knew of was the Time Flow Engine from the Excellence. Or perhaps the powers of Aguyeus and Lykeios, though those were in a league of their own.
"Only within the confined space of this villa," Eva clarified. "True time travel is considered impossible, even with magic."
"Phew. Really, please don't scare us like that," Ayaka panted.
"You're the one who jumped to conclusions."
"Rare to see someone who can rattle the Master like that," Chachazero added with a cackle.
"Oh? And who is this little doll?" Ayaka asked, finally noticing Chachazero.
"Look, Ayaka-san," Chizuru pointed out. "I believe she was the one Axel-kun's slime blew away during the match..."
"Ah! You're right! Evangeline-san was being so violent I completely forgot!"
Leaving them to their chatter, I opened the beginner's manual to the section on Wind magic. I adjusted the bracer on my arm and focused my mind.
"Practe Bigi Nar... Wind!"
The moment I spoke the incantation, I felt the air around me stir. Only a tiny bit, but it moved.
"Success on the first try again? Honestly, your talent has moved past 'impressive' and straight into 'annoying,'" Eva said, looking truly exasperated as she paused her argument with Ayaka.
I ignored her, lost in thought. I had poured about 10 SP into that spell. Yesterday, when I used roughly the same amount for a beginner's fire spell, I'd nearly burned the living room down.
Why the massive discrepancy? Was it the efficiency loss of the bracer that Eva warned me about? Or was it...
I pulled up my status screen again. Under skills, I had Magic (Fire), Magic (Summoning), and Magic (Shadow). There was no mention of Wind.
I see. So that's how it works.
Whether it was a rule unique to this world or a limitation of my own soul, the "Skills" on my status represented my affinities—powers I was naturally suited for or had acquired through my slime's absorption. I had absorbed Fire, Summoning, and Shadow magic, so those were "unlocked" at full power. Since I hadn't absorbed Wind, even if I could cast it, the output was pathetic.
I didn't have hard proof, but my gut—that pilot's intuition—told me I was right. If that was the case, my path was clear. I needed to prioritize Fire, Shadow, and Summoning. I could learn other elements like Ice or Wind, but they would never be more than utility tricks.
"Eva, this manual doesn't have anything on Shadow magic," I noted.
"Of course not. It's a beginner's book. Fire and Wind are straightforward. Shadow magic, or Umbra-mancy, is a high-level discipline. It's significantly more difficult to control."
"I see. You can use it though, right?"
Eva paused. "...I can, but I don't recall ever showing you any Shadow spells. How did you know?"
"You're a six-hundred-year-old vampire. Shadow magic just fits the aesthetic. Besides, you mixed darkness into that blizzard earlier."
Hearing this, Ayaka and Chizuru—who hadn't been privy to the details of Eva's true nature—stared at her in disbelief.
"Is it... really true? That you are six hundred years old?" Ayaka stammered.
"Yes. Didn't Takamichi tell you?" Eva asked.
"No, I heard it from him this morning at the faculty office. They weren't there. Anyway, what can Shadow magic actually do?"
Eva's face darkened, looking slightly annoyed. "Unfortunately, my mastery of Shadow magic is limited to warp spells. I never had much of an affinity for the more complex shadow manipulations."
"Being able to teleport at all is incredible, though," I said.
Back home, we'd poured blood, sweat, and tears into developing System XN just to achieve warp travel, and here was a mage who could do it personally. And from the way she said it, there were likely other ways to teleport besides using shadows.
If Shadow magic was as difficult as she said, I'd have to focus on Fire for now. As for Summoning, she only knew the "subdue-and-contract" method.
Fire is basic, Shadow is intermediate, Summoning is advanced. That's the hierarchy I'll work with.
"I can't do much with Umbra-mancy, but there is a mage student here who specializes in it," Eva added. "You'll probably see it eventually. Though, knowing the mages at this school, they can be quite self-centered about their techniques."
"How do they use it?"
"Usually, they materialize shadows to act as familiars. I've also seen it used to create shadow spears... actually, in practice, it's quite similar to how you handle your slime."
That sounded incredibly useful. materializeable shadows and teleportation—it was a perfect fit for my style.
Eva's magic lecture, despite her constant complaining, ended up lasting the entire "day" inside the villa.
By the end of it, Ayaka and Chizuru discovered that learning magic in a single day was a tall order; they couldn't even produce a spark or a breeze. But that failure only seemed to light a fire under them. From that day on, their training became a fierce competition, and their growth started to accelerate at a frightening pace.
Name: Axel Almer
LV: 38
PP: 625
Melee: 262 | Ranged: 282 | Skill: 272 | Defense: 272 | Evasion: 302 | Accuracy: 322
SP: 462
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consumes SP to increase Slime performance)
Growth Type: All-rounder/Special
Terrain: Air: S | Ground: S | Water: S | Space: S
Spirit Commands:
Accel (4 SP)
Effort (8 SP)
Focus (16 SP)
Direct Hit (30 SP)
Awakening (32 SP)
Love (48 SP)
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9, SP Regen, Concentration)
Telekinesis LV.10
Attacker
Gunfight LV.9
Infight LV.9
Morale Limit Break
Geass (Gray)
Magic (Fire)
Magic (Shadow)
Magic (Summoning)
???
???
Kills: 376
-------------------------------
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