Chapter 12: Qiu Nuoya’s First Magic

Because of that, their bodies seldom reached the point where they instinctively craved more magical power.

The standard method of increasing mana capacity was to repeatedly exhaust one’s magical power until the body adapted and learned that it needed to store more.

If someone already possessed an unusually large amount of magical power from birth, increasing it further became much more difficult.

"Still, with twenty thousand magical power, Nuoya should eventually be able to use most kinds of magic. I don’t think it’s something he needs to worry about too much."

Qiu Nuoya was still unsure how impressive that really was.

He had no idea what the average amount of magical power was in this world.

Out of curiosity, he asked how much magical power Igor and Viktor possessed.

"I have around fifty thousand," Viktor replied with a smile.

At the same time, Igor clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Igor mainly specializes in physical combat and hardly uses magic anyway, so it doesn’t really matter."

"Even so, I still wish I had a little more."

"Does Igor have a small amount of magical power?"

"I think it’s around four thousand," Viktor answered. "That’s still more than enough compared to an average person. It might be a little low for an adventurer, though."

"I see..."

Qiu Nuoya quietly compared the numbers.

His twenty thousand magical power was five times Igor’s.

That certainly sounded like a lot.

However, Viktor then explained that the average mage typically possessed between twenty thousand and thirty thousand magical power.

That meant Qiu Nuoya’s reserve was high, but it was still within the normal range for a professional mage.

"All right, that’s enough about magical power. Next, I’ll explain the difference between magic and magic arts."

"The difference between magic and magic arts? Aren’t they the same thing?"

"They are, in the broadest sense. Magic is the general term. However, magic arts refers to more advanced magical techniques. A mage is someone who specializes in using magic arts."

"I see..."

That made sense.

Viktor had explained earlier that everyone in this world used everyday magic in their daily lives.

Magic was something woven into ordinary life and accessible to almost everyone.

Magic arts, on the other hand, were something entirely different.

"All right. First, I’d like you to show me some basic magic."

"Eh...?"

Qiu Nuoya froze.

He was being asked to perform magic without any practice at all.

People in this world might use magic every day as part of ordinary life, but Qiu Nuoya had spent more than forty years in a world where magic did not exist.

There was no way he would know how to do it.

"I... don’t know what I’m supposed to do."

"Anything you can use is fine. Light a small flame, create a breeze, draw some water, produce a light. Those are all common everyday spells that everyone normally uses."

Viktor paused for a moment before tilting his head. "Although... you did mention having a family name. Were you perhaps raised as a noble? Did your servants always handle those things for you?"

Qiu Nuoya fell silent.

He was not the child of a noble.

He had never had servants, either.

Still, he could not use everyday magic.

Perhaps he could simply nod and pretend Viktor’s assumption was correct.

But Qiu Nuoya had always been terrible at lying.

If it was a lie that would eventually be exposed, he would rather not tell it at all.

"Feel the magical power inside your body."

Igor suddenly spoke from beside him.

"Picture your magical power taking shape, then release it. Give it a try."

The magical power inside his body?

Qiu Nuoya was not even sure whether he could sense such a thing.

He closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath.

Maybe it’s something like internal energy?

He remembered hearing long ago that internal energy was centered in a place called the dantian, located just below the navel.

So he imagined the energy there spreading throughout his body.

Then he pictured gathering that energy into the palm of his hand.

And then, he released it.

Qiu Nuoya tried to imitate the way the heroes in the manga he had read as a child used their powers.

The instant he did, a tremendous boom echoed across the training ground.

Startled by the deafening sound, he instinctively flinched.

"Huh? What... what happened?"

"...This is completely unexpected."

Viktor and Igor stared blankly in a direction far away from Qiu Nuoya.

The other adventurers training nearby were also looking the same way with expressions of shock.

Unable to understand what was going on, Qiu Nuoya followed their gazes.

In the distance, one of the practice targets had been completely knocked over.

Since this was a training ground, having targets there was perfectly normal.

He had noticed them earlier out of the corner of his eye.

But what exactly had happened?

"...Nuoya, were you forbidden from using magic until now?"

Viktor looked at him with a bewildered expression.

But that only left Qiu Nuoya even more confused.

He had simply done exactly what they told him to do.

"Wasn’t that magic art rather than ordinary magic?" Igor asked.

"Judging by its power, it certainly could be called magic art," Viktor replied. "But the way it was cast wasn’t a proper technique. More importantly, casting something like that without an incantation shouldn’t be possible."

He folded his arms as he continued.

"Magic arts are built on structured formulas. If you perform a certain sequence, you get a specific result. Experienced mages can eventually create new formulas of their own, but a child who claims he has never used magic before should never be able to produce a spell with that level of destructive power."

He said it was impossible?

Qiu Nuoya was surprised.

He had imagined magic as something much more intuitive, something guided by instinct rather than strict theory.

The idea that it operated through carefully organized formulas was completely unexpected.

And what exactly is a spell formula?