[21] Learning Magic (4)
Etella walked through the Spirit Zone with an ease uncharacteristic for someone inside it, and continued her explanation.
"Now, this is the basic form of the Spirit Zone. It occupies the whole space evenly. But in real combat, except in special situations, you rarely get to use the entire area. For example—"
Etella snapped her fingers and a target appeared twenty meters away.
"You can't apply a magical effect to that target with a ten‑meter‑diameter sphere. You either have to move closer or enlarge the Zone. But if you change its shape, there's another way."
Etella stretched her Zone toward the target. The volume stayed the same, but the shape changed to reach it.
"If you alter the mental shape, the Spirit Zone's form changes too. Then like this…"
Etella extended her hand.
"Fire."
A burst of flame shot out and incinerated the target twenty meters away. The students in their first lesson blinked wide. The mild‑mannered Etella they had taken lightly suddenly looked impressive.
"But this method has a fatal flaw."
At Etella's words, the new students felt a bit embarrassed—the demonstration they'd just seen had actually been a bad example.
"The Zone's form can be varied in many ways. But on a battlefield where seconds count, constantly recalculating shapes would be inefficient. So mages pattern a few standard forms. Those are the Spirit Zone's four styles—the four directional patterns."
Hearing a new concept for the first time, Shirone's chest thumped.
"The first of the four is the defensive type."
Etella's Spirit Zone tightened and transformed into a faceted polyhedron with twenty triangular faces—crude up close, but from a distance nearly spherical.
"The defensive type is built on a framed structure. You create a mental skeleton as a frame. The more frames you have, the greater the durability, and it's the form that can protect the largest number of allies. Next is the offensive type."
Etella changed the Zone again. The sphere's surface seemed to shrink as dozens of long spines jutted out in all directions.
"The offensive type is called the star shape. Rather than a large central area, it extends numerous zones outward. It covers all directions, so you don't need to care about a target's exact position, and it's useful against many enemies at once. Next is the target type."
The Zone shifted once more. Around her, it extended north, south, east, and west, forming a cross.
"The target type is based on a cross. Among the basic four, it has the longest reach. Its firepower is less than the offensive type, but it can lock onto targets easily. You rotate the Zone around the mage and lock on."
She snapped her fingers and the targets began circling Etella. She tracked them with a keen eye.
"Forty‑five degrees to the flank. Fire."
As the rotating cross swept like a whirlwind, flames shot out whenever it caught a target. Magic fired simultaneously in every direction, precise as if she had eyes in the back of her head.
"What you must master in the target type is the Zone's rotational speed. There is an extreme linear form with maximum range, but unless you're a sniper you won't use it—the mage stands at the end of a straight form, making direction changes extremely difficult."
After demonstrating the three shapes, Etella paused to clean her glasses.
"Lastly, the detachment form moves the center of the Zone. In other words, you move your mind."
Shirone didn't understand. The center of the Zone was the mage's head—how could you move that?
Etella returned the Zone to its basic form.
A moment later the Spirit Zone kept its spherical shape but began to move.
After ten seconds the Zone separated completely from Etella's body.
Shirone was stunned. If the Zone represented the mage's mind, then what exactly sat at its center?
"This is the detachment form. Among the four patterns it's special: if the Zone usually unites mind and body, the detachment form unites the body with the external. The farther you detach, the smaller the Zone becomes, and it's so difficult that specialist mages train exclusively in it. But of the four, it's the fastest to move and activates instantly."
Etella then cycled the patterns in succession—hardening into a faceted frame, sprouting into a star, stretching into a cross, shrinking back to a sphere, and finally detaching to whirl rapidly around her.
"Wow…"
Class Seven finally understood. The continuous transitions between the four patterns weren't something you learned in a year or two. The teacher before them wasn't a bumbling softie but a certified Rank‑6 mage.
"You will train these patterns from now on—repeating the four forms. We'll start practical exercises by class."
Students trained in groups by difficulty. Shirone joined Class Seven for Etella's lesson.
"First, we'll look at the defensive form. Mages tend to specialize according to their inclination, but defense is something you should steadily hone. It lets you maintain focus on a chaotic battlefield and, most importantly, gives you resistance to anti‑magic."
Shirone remembered the warning he'd heard yesterday. The staff hadn't explained everything, and questions remained.
"Teacher, I have a question. Ah—may I ask something?"
"Heh heh, ask away. 'May I ask if I may ask' isn't a question, is it?"
"Right. Why is anti‑magic a prohibited magic? Many mages legitimately study anti‑magic."
"Hm. Anti‑magic comes in two kinds: a mage's anti‑magic and artifacts. Know that?"
"Yes."
"Anti‑magic is less a spell and more a Spirit Zone with a special property. Its effectiveness varies with a mage's mind, which is what makes it different from artifacts."
"So approaching it clumsily could be dangerous."
"Exactly. If you cast it poorly, accidents can happen. A mage who majors in anti‑magic spends their life training only that. Most are cold in temperament. The school doesn't want to recommend that path to students like you."
Shirone nodded. It made sense—this was a magic that could destroy minds, not something to be casually researched in the school.
"Now then—back to practice. Perform the four patterns."
Class Seven students went to work. Shirone practiced the defensive form. The method was to build the mental skeleton first, then connect it.
After a long time practicing, Shirone felt his Spirit Zone harden and opened his eyes. He couldn't check visually—it wasn't the Image Zone—but he clearly had achieved something.
Shirone's inclination was convergent, so he had an advantage, but even so it was an impressive result. Six years of focusing on the Spirit Zone had paid off.
"Wow! Look at that!"
Classmates pointed at the Image Zone and shouted. Class Four students took turns on the Image Zone, and Amy was currently putting on a spectacular display.
Amy used the target type. Her cross twisted—turning ninety degrees to the right, then spinning three hundred and sixty degrees to the left—contorting angles and spitting flames.
The Zone's reach was about twenty meters, reasonable for the target type, but its rotation speed was beyond imagination.
Targets rose from all directions, yet the number of flames fired from the four directions felt like a rapid barrage.
Amy annihilated 120 targets in an instant and retracted her Zone. Pretty and powerful—underclassmen looked up to her with sparkling eyes.
"That's Carmis Amy, right?"
"First‑class rank, and look at that face—and the skill. If someone could date her, school life would be over."
"Hush. Over a hundred guys have tried to court her. She doesn't even glance at them."
"Carmis is a family known all over the kingdom, after all."
Listening to the Class Seven kids, Shirone suddenly wondered why such a well‑born girl had been keeping company with delinquents six years ago.
A tug at his awareness pulled him back. Amy was stepping down from the Image Zone and staring directly at Shirone. Other students naturally turned their gazes to him.
"What? Do they know each other?"
"No, right? He just enrolled yesterday."
"Could she be into him? She hates making eye contact with guys."
The murmurs reached Amy and she hastily looked away—she'd made a mistake, and honestly it was making her frantic.
Amy was the only person who knew of Shirone's reckless past. She wasn't exactly mature either, but since she began learning magic she had purged those old ways.
'No. I can't. Graduation's coming, and if a rumor spreads here everything could fall apart. What do I do?'
Amy returned to her seat, but no one else wanted to use the Image Zone now. She was the undisputed top of the advanced class; anyone who tried would only embarrass themselves before the juniors.
Shirone thought this was his chance and approached Etella.
"Teacher, if it's all right, may I go in?"
"Huh? Into the Image Zone?"
Etella tilted her head. Why would a student who'd just learned the four patterns want to use the Image Zone?
"Wait a moment… By rule, seniors go first."
Etella hesitated, but with no volunteers she decided it was better to give the expensive device some use and let him gain experience, so she consented.
"Fine. It's good to try things ahead of time. Just don't raise any physical targets. Someone could get hurt."
"Yes. I just want to see the defensive image with my own eyes."
"Hm?"
Etella looked puzzled, but Shirone ignored it and took his place.
Seniors whistled and clapped as he stepped onto the Image Zone. It felt less like encouragement and more like an audience waiting for a show, but Shirone ignored them and walked to the center.
Amy, drinking water, turned at the commotion. The moment she saw Shirone she spat the water out.
"Whoo!"
"Amy, are you okay? What's wrong?"
"What is that guy even doing? Class Seven—what does he think he's doing up there?"
The unexpected scene turned the lesson into a near break, but Shirone concentrated seriously.
As he entered the Zone, the Spirit Zone swelled rapidly. Seeing it with his eyes took his breath away. Overwhelmed by the image, Shirone involuntarily stopped expanding.
The noisy students fell silent. The Zone's diameter had become twenty meters. Considering Class Seven's average was thirteen meters, it was fair to call this a large freshman.
"Wow! That's big."
"Hmph. Just getting big doesn't make it magic. It's like blowing a soap bubble."
Shirone felt panic. Before stepping into the Image Zone he'd succeeded with frames that now wavered like noodles.
'Why won't it work?'
Had seeing the Zone scattered his mind? That was possible.
But Shirone didn't think himself that fragile. The problem was more fundamental.
'Ah—right!'
If he tried to perform the four patterns in this state, the Spirit Zone would collapse. As a novice, Shirone needed far more mental power than an expert to shift forms.
It was like trying to build a structure without enough material. At a twenty‑meter diameter he couldn't construct a frame as strong as steel.
'I have to shrink it as much as possible.'