Wizard of the Abyss - Chapter 18

WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 18 - Rising Above (1)

"Linmel...! I’ll miss you a bunch!”

"Rianne…!”

The day the Knight came to take Linmel away, the orphanage almost drowned in tears.

"Sniff… Linmel! I’m going to miss you, ugh!”

The director was bitterly sobbing, blowing his nose with a handkerchief as if someone died. Since Linmel had been so close with everyone here, not only the kids her age, all the children came out to see her off.

...Well, I felt like it was a bit much.

It wasn’t like she was getting executed or something. The place she was going was just a 20-minute carriage ride away. A distance she could easily walk.

Well, if it was Linmel it might even take just 10 minutes if she hurried.

Still, I didn’t want to ruin the mood with such tactless remarks, so I just stood there quietly. That was when a carriage made its way through the orphanage gate.

It seemed luxurious, made out of expensive oak, but there wasn’t a single ornament on it. Truly a Knight’s carriage.

The door opened and a mustached middle-aged Knight stepped out of it, flinching at the sight of dozens of people weeping bitterly.

"Ehem, I’m right on time, but… what might this be?”

"Sniff, Sir, you’ve arrived.”

"Erm… Yes. What is going on here?”

"All of us have gathered here to see Linmel off. Sob."

"...Well, my daughter seems to be quite blessed with friends it seems.”

As the Knight stepped down from the carriage

"..."

Everyone fell completely silent.

This is my first time seeing a proper Knight as well. Wow.

Sure, I had seen plenty of aspiring Knights at the Academy, but there was just something different about seeing a proper Knight.

He looked a lot less like a human and more like a gorilla, his muscles clearly visible even though he was wearing quite thick clothing.

His whole body made him seem like a weapon designed to kill humans.

At least that was the impression I was getting.

Holding a sheathed sword far too small for his massive build, he stepped before Linmel with a stern expression on his face.

"Linmel. My name is Gwallan, vice-commander of the Red Knights. A Knight who has struck down five necromancers, seven Demon tamers, and a witch. Am I right in assuming that you standing here before me means that you accept becoming my daughter?”

"Ye-yes!”

Even though her voice was a bit choked, Linmel answered confidently.

"Then, my daughter, this sword and armor are now yours. I swear before your family that you will one day become the greatest Knight of this era. That is my goal, so never forget these words.”

"Thank you!”

Linmel bowed, accepting the sword, which was still too large for her, and drew it.

-Shrrring!

The sound it made when it was unsheathed made me realize that this sword was special. The blade was pure white, so it couldn’t have been made out of ordinary steel.

"This is a Roderite blade. No matter what foe you face, it will never break.”

"Wooow..."

Linmel blinked at the beautiful weapon before swinging it a few times.

"Ooh...!"

Gwallan’s eyes widened as he saw doing that, his hands trembling slightly.

"So it’s decided…”

"What?”

"It’s nothing.”

He wiped his nose, wearing a satisfied expression, then, as if he just remembered something, he pulled a box out from the carriage.

"Director, this is for you.”

"Huh? Just what… gasp!”

When the director opened the box, he nearly fainted in shock.

"I-I haven’t done anything to deserve that kind of money.”

"Please take back those words. It belittles the kindness you raised my daughter with. From this day forward, I will make monthly donations to this orphanage. And as for the children, I have prepared this.”

He pulled out another box.

Inside was something even more precious than silver coins.

"R-Ruinel candies!”

"Those are incredibly expensive…!”

"I tried to find some sweets that children might like best, but this was all I could get. Still, there should be more than enough for everyone, so please distribute them fairly.”

And like that Gwallan’s reputation skyrocketed in everyone’s mind.

He might seem rather stiff, but considering that he even thought of preparing gifts for the kids proved that Linmel probably wouldn’t suffer under his care.

While the other kids were completely distracted by that box of candy, swarming it like piranhas, I approached Linmel, who was still checking out her new sword.

"Linmel."

"Ah, Jern!”

When she saw me, she sheathed her sword and showed me a bright smile.

Aside from the few tear streaks on her face, she looked no different from usual.

"..."

She looked at me with bright, expectant eyes.

I just came here to say goodbye, though.

"Erm, do your best, okay?”

"Yeah!"

"..."

"...Is that all?”

"What else do you want me to say? You’ll be coming here every day anyway. Crying now would only make our next meeting feel really awkward.”

"Pffft..."

Linmel puffed up her cheeks to show her annoyance before bursting into laughter.

"It’s fine. I already knew you’re just an idiot, Jern. I can endure as much!”

"What? Wait, I’ll take that from anyone else, but not from you—”

"See you tomorrow!”

"Aaaargh!!”

Linmel hugged me so hard that it felt like my bones were about to break, then she hopped onto Gwallan’s carriage.

"..."

I collapsed to the ground, glaring at the carriage, seeing Linmel wave until it was completely out of sight.

"Sniff… I’m so proud… Jern? Why are you lying there?”

"...I’m watching ants."

She really loved to kick up a fuss until the very end, huh?

* * *

After sending Linmel off, I went back to my usual routine of listening in on Academy classes.

By now, the clearing behind the children’s classroom felt as cozy as a home to me. I even managed to find my own secret spots… Places where the sound carried best, or where the shade was just right.

Today, the sun was practically blazing, so I hid away in the shade, eavesdropping on the class while pretending to clean. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.

"Hehehe..."

And the reason for that was tucked under my arm.

A textbook. A human-made monster worth 599 silver.

One could buy a house with just one of these books. I still didn’t quite understand the noble’s sense of money, but at least it was worth it.

Swish, swish. I swept with my broom as I read the book floating in the air. Doing stuff like that as natural as breathing really made me feel like a proper wizard.

"And that is why you’re not wizards yet.”

"?"

Or maybe not.

Today’s class was more or less over, so I was reviewing in the remaining time when I heard something strange.

The kids had been pestering the teacher to tell them about their first love or whatever, so I decided to just ignore them, but then the teacher suddenly started talking about stuff that seemed to be important.

I put the textbook away for a moment and listened more intently.

"Why aren’t we wizards yet even though we’re already using magic?”

"Uhm, what you’re using isn’t exactly magic strictly speaking.”

"...What?"

"How should I put this… Ah, can you see that?”

After a moment of silence, the teacher clapped their hands and held something up.

I couldn’t see what it was, of course.

But maybe this could work.

I activated my Tide Sense and flooded my consciousness throughout the whole classroom.

In an instant I could see the classroom unfold within my mind.

...Why didn’t I think of doing this before? Anyway, the teacher was holding up a fan.

"When I wave this around, it creates a breeze, right? So couldn’t you call this wind magic as well?”

"That’s ridiculous! In what way is this magic?”

"But it does the same thing, right? If we’re going by that logic, striking a flint to create fire is fire magic, pouring water is water magic and farming is earth magic. They all produce similar results, so why are they different? Is it because one uses mana? Then should we count waving a fan as a muscle technique since it requires us to use our muscles? Should we give everything a different name based on what source they use?”

"...Not really, but still, they’re just completely different. Magic is way stronger…”

"Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying magic isn’t something special. Mana is the most efficient fuel there is. I just wanted to point out that using mana and performing actual magic are not the same thing.”

-Tap, tatap. The teacher wrote something on the blackboard with chalk.

My Tide Sense seriously was the best. I could even see that.

"Magic is– creating something that doesn’t exist in reality within your own world, and then projecting it back into reality. That’s what it means.”

"??"

The children didn’t seem to understand what they were being told.

The teacher gave them a wry smile before explaining it in a way that fit their level.

"There’s already fire and wind in the real world, right? There’s light, water, land, plants, and trees as well, right?”

"Yes."

"So, in the end, all you’re doing right now is bringing things that already exist in this world, the real world, into your inner world and then spitting it back out. You’re not actually creating something. You’re just using mana to output what you’ve taken in. That’s no magic, that’s just regurgitating.”

"Is that a bad thing?”

"No. The level of one’s output is actually the biggest factor that defines a wizard’s skill. However, what you take in is just as important.”

"But everything already exists in reality. What could there be that doesn’t exist here?”

"That is when you start combining elemental magic to create something new. For example, if you compress fire so that it won’t go out, solidifying them into an arrow, and use wind magic to propel it forward. This is what we call magic. Fire arrows don’t exist in reality, right?”

"Yes."

"Now if we go one step further, if you combine dozens of different elemental spells… Uhm, that’s something for later. But let me show you something a bit simpler. Have you ever seen something just suddenly float up in reality, without any cause?”

"No."

"Right? That’s why it’s magic.”

Whoosh—One of the students slightly nodding off in the front row was suddenly lifted into the air.

"H-Huh?”

"Telekinesis. Once you reach the Calm Sky, the bare minimum for being called a wizard, you’ll be able to do similar things.”

"Woow...! How do you do that?”

"It’s still a bit early for you guys. But if you study hard and grow a bit more, your family’s elders will teach you themselves.”

"................."

Ah.

Right.

So they’d be learning upper level magic from their family’s huh?

"Looks like I do need to get adopted or something…”

I sighed, feeling annoyed.

Marriage could be another option, but if a noble actually accepted the proposal of a lowly orphan like me that would make them actually insane, so declined.

So in the end, becoming Dercia’s disciple was the most pressing task at hand. Letting out another sigh, I decided to just do the best I could right now.

Using wind magic, I gathered together all the trash around me.

I could use the currents, but what I was trying to do here is raise my proficiency in wind magic.

It felt kind of awkward.

Well, rather than awkward…

Unfamiliar would be a better word since I had already grown so accustomed to the abyssal sea.

It felt as if I was trying to eat or write with my left hand while tying my right behind my back.

Still, I had to do this.

"Telekinesis…"

I finally could see a path, albeit faintly, how to meet Dercia’s requirements.

With that in mind, I diligently gathered the trash using wind.

"...Hmm?"

Then, I suddenly felt something.

Someone was approaching.

It seemed to be a young student going by their height. Nobody ever came to this empty lot, so they probably were just passing by or something.

I quickly stepped to the side to block the textbook I made float with my body, and continued to collect the trash with the broom, using wind magic.

-Vrrrrrrrm...

"?"

However, my magic started acting strange all of a sudden.

'Just what the…?’

The broom shook uncontrollably, as if something was blocking it.

The control over my spell slipped slightly.

Something was clearly wrong. Wondering what the problem might be, I grabbed the broom, noticing that a student was walking over to this place.

I could worry about this later. First, I had to keep up my act.

As I calmly swept with my broom, the student who had sat down on a nearby bench let out a deep sigh.

"Haah...."

Of course, I blatantly ignored them.

"Haaaaaaaah....."

They let out an even deeper sigh. I felt like I might get caught if I stayed here any longer so I planned to just sweep a bit longer, grab my broom and leave.

That was where I made a mistake.

"...Huh? You’re that janitor, aren’t you?”

I knew this student.

Well, I didn’t really know her, just her face.

Trying to soften the frown forming on my face, I replied.

"I think you’re mistaking me for someone.”

"What are you talking about? It is you. Hey, why did you just run off without saying anything last time? You should have at least let me thank you!”

Elisia tapped the spot beside her as she spoke.

That probably meant that she wanted me to sit there. No matter how much I really didn’t want to do it, she was a noble, so I couldn’t really refuse.

Gritting my teeth, I sat next to her, and not long after I did Elisia started to babble as if she’d been waiting to dump all this on someone.

"First of all, thank you for last time. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve been in serious trouble. But why did you run off so quickly?”

"I’d get scolded if I rested too long.”

Actually, I just didn’t want to hear her whining.

Could it be that she was here because she was getting chased by Hughins’ gang again?

"Is that so? Ah, right. I’m not trying to complain here or anything, but couldn’t you have told me what you were planning on doing before completely wrapping me up in those bandages and throwing me out of the window? I almost had a heart attack from that shock…”

"..."

Blablabla.

I sighed, feeling that this was a complete waste of my time, so I discreetly cast some wind magic further up over our heads.

It seemed like she would keep chatting for a while, so I should just use this time to get some more practice in. Her head was deeply lowered, completely averting her case, so she definitely wouldn’t notice. That was what I thought.

But my spell didn’t activate.

Well, it did kind of… but only very weakly, creating a faint breeze.

What the hell was going on? I was utterly confused, feeling my mana draining away.

Was something wrong with me?

...Or could it be…

"Hey, excuse me for a second.”

I cut off Elisia, stood up, and moved slightly away from her.

"Wha-what is it?”

Ignoring the puzzled Elisia, I activated a wind spell again. It worked, albeit a bit shaky.

Then I stepped closer again.

With every step I took towards her, the more unsteady and weak the wind spell became. There was no doubt about it.

This girl’s inner world… definitely had properties that destabilized magic itself.