Chapter 639 - Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

Richard had a taciturn yet foolish father and a tenacious but equally foolish mother. They were a pair that truly matched each other, including the way they loved their son in such a foolish manner. It felt like wearing clothes that didn’t fit, suffocating and out of place. Richard believed he was different. In his mind, the shimmering Celsius family seemed to be where he truly belonged, rather than in this outer district. If only he hadn’t been born in the outer district. If his parents had shown even a bit of determination, if he was given just a sliver of opportunity. Richard believed he could become something greater. He had heard that the heavens help those who help themselves. His opportunity came when a mage descended from the floating city to impart teachings to all impartially. Casas, the missionary, shared this information, and Richard seized the opportunity to sneak into the academy. He was disheartened by the harsh reality he first encountered, but the mage was neither arrogant nor vile. Simply cold. "You have talent. A talent too precious to discard, yet too bothersome and ambiguous to nurture." He affirmed the boy’s potential with a chilling indifference. "If you’d received a proper education in a normal district, becoming a mage wouldn’t have been difficult. Depending on your efforts, you might even have ascended to the floating city. However, you’ve grown in this outer district, and your foundational knowledge is severely lacking. That day when you properly learn magic will never come." Richard knew this too. He understood that no matter what methods he employed now, it wouldn’t work. The outcome had been determined in a place unrelated to him. "I cannot say your efforts are lacking. Magic furnaces, mana lamps, ice crystals... All these items are of magic. Too expensive for the outer district to possess, and you can’t even afford the mana for fuel. In that dark house, groaning from hunger and thirst, what achievements could one make studying in the brief time after labor?" From a strictly binary viewpoint, even simple magic tools could be used by anyone. However, they couldn’t maintain or utilize magic devices properly, lacked mana to fully leverage them, and above all, they had no money. Even in a magic federation, those from 'the outer' cannot freely use them. "Moreover, magical books and crystals are legible only through understanding magic. Isn’t it ironic?" T1NrUTkreFYvQUZ1VEE0bGdJSWROMVducFR2VEdlVXJnZTg4NVlJK0JHYldpTVcrbGVVTzJwc3BNQU9oUWd2dw Learning magic requires magic. This paradoxical reality was the greatest barrier separating the boy from magic. "You do not have the talent to overcome such a barrier. But that doesn't denote a lack on your part. One cannot blame the seed for failing to bloom amidst the harsh winter." Richard nodded. It was a hundred times correct. Blaming the environment was just an excuse? Even excuses were a luxury in the outer district. For them, life, let alone magic, was a privilege that had to be granted. "I will not teach you light magic. In three months, I will neither care for nor support you to the extent necessary for your talent. To me, you are exceptionally ordinary." Three months. It might not be an insignificant period, but Richard was moved to tears by those words. It was an affirmation by the most outstanding mage Richard had ever known. If only he had adequate support for those three months, he could become a mage. It showed he possessed talent far surpassing ordinary students at such a mediocre academy. "In return, I will teach you ritual magic." Upon hearing the words ritual magic, Richard initially felt a sense of aversion. He had an inkling that the magic federation was a place for white magic and that other forms of magic were frowned upon. Yet he didn’t feel an excess of repulsion. Because, truthfully, Richard didn’t even know what ritual magic was. "Ritual magic is an exceptionally simplified form of spells and chanting, conjuring magic within your body. The effects are weak but this can help you overcome many of the issues that plague you. Not only can you activate magic tools, but you can use light magic to read magical book crystals too. By learning ritual magic, you will reach the start line. Will you accept?" The mage spoke only the truth. If Richard could just overcome the vague fear of new magic within him, power would indeed be granted. Facing the devil’s proposal, Richard asked. "How long does it take to learn ritual magic?" The mage looked Richard straight in the eyes and said. "One hour." *** Richard learned ritual magic. It wasn’t particularly astounding. Despite the disparities, the educational standard of the magic federation was superior to that of the militaristic states, especially in the field of magic where it excelled like no other. Richard, who had absorbed magic lectures covertly in the outer district, was no exception. Being naturally academically inclined, the simple ritual magic was quickly grasped. "Setta, Ri, Lux." Richard’s fingertip emitted a bright light. Holding magic in his hand that he had longed for, Richard spoke with a hollow expression. "Was magic really this easy?" "White magic is something even simpletons can learn. It wouldn’t make sense to have difficulty with something simpler like ritual magic." Controlling one’s body should naturally be easier than controlling a machine. I gave a brief explanation. "Ritual magic uses your body, especially your fingers, as a catalyst. When likened to white magic, your fingers are akin to a magic staff. Just as the gems used as catalysts, your physical structure becomes damaged as a trade-off for exercising magic." The reason mages use gems as catalysts is due to their uniform structure. Depending on the type of gem, they emit magic suitable for different kinds of spells, ensuring consistent effects regardless of who casts them. The magic within gems is akin to a brick - a solid and uniform element of a fortress. In contrast, the human body’s structure is less uniform compared to gems and degrades over time. It’s akin to a foreboding, damp piece of flesh. If white magic builds a tower by stacking bricks, black magic sculpts using pieces of flesh. If sculpting a human form, using pieces of flesh might be better, but for something as grand and systematic as a tower, only white magic suffices. "If you use fire magic frequently, your fingers will get burnt. With water magic, your fingers will swell and burst. Light magic will make your fingers soft, and lightning magic can numb your senses through electrocution. Each carries a risk, so use them within the limits of what your body can handle. Abuse it, and you may have to amputate your fingers." "...I feel like I shouldn't have learned this." "You're right. Ritual magic isn't mainstream simply because it's not that useful. It's fine until you use your nails as a conduit. They offer relatively consistent performance and will regrow even if they crumble from the mana. But be wary of using your fingers as the medium. Lose them, and you lose your ritual magic too." I mostly used my fingers because of my need to maintain my nails for card tricks. Well, although I issued a stark warning, you might not need to worry much. Unless you use it excessively, there's no concern of damaging your fingers. "Remember, ritual magic is just a tool. How you use it will determine your future. And..." Watching Richard look wistfully at his right hand, I added one final remark. "If it comes to it, you don't have to use it." "Pardon?" "You can choose not to use ritual magic and instead learn white magic. Or use ritual magic merely to overcome your difficulties while learning white magic as you do now." "Can I still learn white magic after mastering ritual magic?" "Of course. Whether ritual magic or white magic, they're just tools. It's only natural to start with simple tools and eventually move on to more complex and superior ones." While it's often said that you can't learn white magic after mastering black magic, that's not true. The misconception arises because many who lack the intellect for white magic resort to infusing themselves with black magic tricks. The dream isn't over yet. Even though he's learned black magic, his potential remains open. He simply obtained what could be called a 'good tool.' "...Understood!" Richard jumped to his feet. "Thank you, teacher. Regardless of what this is, the important thing is that I now have magic in my grasp. I can now read magic book crystals." Whereas he previously had no means to read them, having learned ritual magic changed everything. Casting light onto the magic book crystal screen, its pages could now reflect clearly. Richard now possessed magic. Though it might be the sinister black magic, this power would serve him purposefully. "I'll give it a try." Determined, Richard left the mission to put his newly acquired power to use. Silence settled in the mission hall after the boy disappeared. A soft white light filtered through the windows of unmelting ice. The statue of the shadowed saint silently watched over us. After a moment, a loud thud resounded from the confessional booth. The wooden door swung open as Casas, who had been tightly bound, stumbled out. With eyes nearly popping out from the effort of glaring, Casas shouted across the mission, his voice echoing. "You, you wretched devil! Teaching black magic to an innocent child... ugh!" "Sorry, Father! Please bear with me for a moment!" The housekeeper, who had hurried after him, repeatedly apologized and quickly gagged the missionary. Just as she was about to drag him back to the confession booth, I gestured for her to stop. The housekeeper hesitantly released him after gauging my intent. Freed, the missionary pointed an accusatory finger at me and yelled. "Are you out of your mind?! Do you even realize what black magic entails?!" "Of course I do." "Black magic is forbidden knowledge that destroys one's self! A vile and horrendous power that corrupts the soul! Imparting that to a churchgoing child! You’ll doom both yourself and Richard to hell!" I shrugged and replied. "Yet you didn't stop me from teaching ritual magic midway." "That's because I didn’t know it was black magic!" Precisely. Ritual magic, due to its simple form and the phenomena it induces being similar to white magic, is hard to distinguish as black magic at a glance. To the magic-blind common folk, it appears as white magic. "To think there was even a secret method to pass down black magic without ritual..." "Oh, you know about rituals?" "Naturally! Who wouldn't be aware of the malevolent black mages who deceive people to use them as sacrifices!" Why is black magic often touted as an easy form of magic? It’s because it uses the body as a catalyst. It's obvious that utilizing one’s own body is easier than employing external tools. Yet, those who choose that path belong to two categories. Those who become ‘sacrifices’ through ‘rituals’ such as bodily catalyst modification by other black mages. And the black mages who command countless of them. In Casas’s eyes, I must have seemed like the latter. To him, I appeared as a rogue coaxing innocent children, only to later seize control of their bodies under the guise of granting them power. But his assumption was wrong. Ritual magic isn’t that kind of black magic, and I am not that type of black mage. "I didn’t do anything to Richard's body, did I? You saw everything." "That... can’t be! There must be some trick!" "Come on. I merely fiddled with his arm in your presence without any incantation. This is a church, with the statue of a saint watching over us. If you sensed anything amiss, you would've stopped me, don’t you think?" Would I have entered the church and taught black magic openly in front of a missionary otherwise? It's widely known among law-abiding citizens that a crime isn't one if it’s not witnessed. In other words, a crime should involve creating witnesses. And if those witnesses are as truthful and righteous as a missionary, all the better. "But the dark and ominous mana I saw was undoubtedly black magic!" "Originally, in the militaristic states, ritual magic requires the penetration of the biological terminal. That’s akin to the rituals you mentioned." The biological terminal leaves traces of bodily catalyst procedures. While the militaristic states use this like an ID, it’s purely for outward purposes. Teaching ritual magic to unaware children, or performing all sorts of taboo acts on criminals—such things were made possible because of these biological terminals. “However, I can engrave the method for using oneself as a catalyst without leaving any trace on the body, as you saw.” I was the one who had helped Tyrkanzyaka recover her memories. Given the current situation with the Lightning Thief and Tyrkanzyaka’s demonic entity, inscribing ritual magic into the nervous system of an ignorant child is no trouble at all. My demon leaves no side effects or traces. Casas, who had closely observed everything, knew this better than anyone. And he understood what it all implied. “That’s impossible… That means…” “You’ve finally realized.” Here we have a black mage. No signs of rituals, and nobody’s puppet due to drugs or spells. On the outside, just a talented and sly child. So, what grounds are there to label this child a black mage? “With no traces left, no apparent changes, all he’s gained is knowledge.” ‘This man harbors no malice towards Richard...! He actually holds goodwill towards him! He made a choice truly for Richard’s sake!’ If ritual magic—a magic so trivial it's almost dismissive to call black magic—isn’t used? If he does nothing and remains like any other ‘outer district’ denizen? “How can the magic federation discern who is a black mage and who is an innocent citizen? On what basis do they judge? How do they punish?” ‘His malice is rooted in the very order of the magic federation!’ A society that exists to teach magic. Hierarchical education. And the neglected outer districts. Those at the very bottom, born into ignorance, completely cast aside by magic and unable to climb back up. If they were to attain unwanted power and knowledge within the magic federation... “Do they have the right to trample the ‘outer districts’ they have excluded, with their own order?” I posed the question to the missionary.