"You've gotta be kidding me…"
Nico stood by the entrance of the Hostess, watching his brother sing his heart out for the dancing audience, as the waitresses had apparently moved the tables and chairs around to make room, and were now rushing around delivering steadily frequenting orders for drinks.
[Nico? Did you find him?]
He suddenly heard Hecate's voice speak inside his mind. This was the telepathic two-way network granted by the Guardian Child skill. They rarely made use of it in the dungeon, with only Nico periodically giving updates, as Hecate did not want to accidentally distract him while he was in the middle of a fight, but outside, they frequently talked like this.
It was a new and strange experience for both of them, being able to directly speak inside someone's head while far away, and the novelty had not worn off yet. So they spent quite a lot of time conversing like this, either between them or with Nico acting as the middleman between Cassian and Hecate.
[Yep, apparently he decided to throw an impromptu concert in the hostess of fertility.] He answered with clear mirth in his voice as he watched Cassian with a grin and a chuckle.
Their goddess had sent him out to look for his brother when he didn't come back for a while. He had checked the guild, and Rose told him that Cassian had left already, so the Hostess was his next destination. And lo and behold…
[Huh? Concert? You mean he's singing in the middle of a bar?] Incredulity filled her voice.
[Yep, doing a pretty good job at it too from what I can tell. The whole bar is either dancing or cheering.]
[Hahahaha, never would I have imagined Cassian to be the type to do that…]
[Well, he is kind of wasted out of his mind right now.]
[Oh? Last time he drank more than the three of us combined and didn't even feel tipsy. How'd he manage to get drunk now?]
[Not quite sure, but there is some kind of barrel standing close to his seat. Maybe Mama Mia brought something heavier out?]
[Hmm, and here I was worried about him being so late, guess it was for nothing. And he is singing right now? Is it the usual drunken croaking people let out?]
[No, he's actually pretty good at it. He used to play an instrument or two a bit, but I've never heard him sing before, so I'm quite surprised myself.]
'Wait, now that I remember, wasn't one of his perks about musical talent? Guess it played a part.'
[How interesting. To think he would hide this from me. I'll have to force him to play some for me too, then, in the future.]
Nico could hear the amusement and anticipation in her voice. He couldn't blame her after he was grinning like a fox, too. 'I can't wait to rub this in his face!'
[Guess we'll have our revenge for the previous incident. After all, there's definitely no way he's not getting a massive hangover tomorrow.]
[Hahaha, that we will. We'll see how he likes not having any potions around then.] She spoke with a bit of sadistic glee leaking into her voice. [Anyway, since he's fine, you can come back now.]
[Should I just leave him here?]
[It'll be fine, I doubt he'll follow you home, and he's strong enough to take care of himself, plus Mia won't let anything happen to Freya's object of interest. Come back so we can continue our lesson.]
[Alright.]
Casting one last look a his brother, Nico deeply lamented the fact that he did not have a camera to record this, but there was nothing he could do, so he sighed and walked back to their new manor.
—------------------------------
Entering the grounds of the newly christened 'Styx Manor', Nico took the time to admire it once more.
'Still having a hard time believing this whole place is ours!' Cheerful thoughts kept swirling in his head as he took in the place.
The place was in need of renovations, and Hecate would be contacting Goibniu familia soon enough about it, but it was still a beautiful place with spacious and blooming grounds.
"I'm back!"
"Grab some potato puffs from the kitchen and get over here!"
Complying, Nico took some of the famous Jagamarukuns from the cabinet before making his way over to the study he and Hecate commandeered for their magical studies.
"Oohh, I was starving!" Hecate quickly snatched the plate from him from the couch that she was draped over and started munching away.
"If you were starving, why didn't you get up and get it yourself?"
"Because I'm comfy and didn't wanna."
"...You're quite lazy, aren't you, Hecate?" Nico asked while snorting, making Hecate let out a dramatic gasp.
"Such a travesty! To slander a noble goddess so! Have you no shame, mortal?!"
"Pft, wipe the crumbs from your mouth first before claiming nobility."
"Siiigh, my own children do not even respect me! How tragic…"
"Yeah, yeah. Oh! Did you finish with that design?"
"Yes, quite an interesting usage of wind currents, I must say."
"Well, yeah. I have enough offense and with Vortex Shield I've solidified my defense, now I need to work on some type of mobility spell to allow me rapid movement to keep up with Cass."
Their magic studies and development of new spells were going splendidly well. Too well, in fact. Having Hecate's aid turned out to be a massive boon, as Cassian suspected, as with her help, the speed with which they could come up with and refine magic was excellent.
As Nico didn't have any books or resources on magic theories and practices, he would've had to spend months simply trying to grasp the basics, much less creating new spells, but with Hecate's assistance due to her instinctual understanding of magic and flawless mana shaping, that she used to do the initial heavy lifting of magic comprehension and imparting it on Nico, he was able to jump start his growth with a huge leap.
"So you came down to these two options. A type of air burst spell to propel you at rapid speeds in chosen directions, or creating a miniature tornado below you to envelop you up to your waist and lift you up before quickly moving you around."
"Yeah. Ideally, I'd want to simply be able to fly, but such a spell is beyond me at the moment, so I came up with those alternatives. What do you think? And which one do you think we should work on developing?"
Hecate closed her eyes and considered the advantages both would bring and the requirements each would take carefully before responding.
"Both have their ups and downs. Wind Leap, if that is what you want to call it, would cost much less mind than the Tornado and have a shorter chant, however, it would also require greater physicality from you. The endurance to withstand being launched like that, and the reflexes to quickly cast and launch yourself away from attacks."
"True, plus until I managed to completely eliminate the chant, I would essentially need to spend seconds chanting between every leap."
"Yes. With the gliding tornado, on the other hand, you won't need to chant between every movement as it will stay active, however, it will consume a lot of mind to stay active. Also, forget having both it and Vortex Shield active simultaneously, as it would drain you dry extremely quickly."
"But that would be fixed as I increased my magic stat, right?"
"It would, so you'll have your work cut out for you."
"Hmm, both sound appealing, which one do you recommend?"
"I… would go with the second one. Wind Leap seems like a spell more suited to your brother's fighting style rather than yours. Having to devote concentration to leaping around the battlefield while taking into account the various factors like distance, force, landing, trajectory, and so on, would cut into your spellcasting. But, it's your choice ultimately."
"Mghhh, okay, I'll go with the second one. I'll have to come up with a better name than 'Tornado' though." Nico immediately set his mind to brainstorming a name.
"Do that after we start developing the spell design." Hecate started setting aside papers.
"Ah, yeah. Oh, by the way, I've been meaning to ask. What's the point of studying magic?" Nico asked a question that's been on his mind ever since he started his studying sessions with Hecate.
"Huh? What do you mean? How else would you grow?"
"I'm not talking about myself. I'm referring to the other mages. If I remember correctly, they can neither learn more than 3 spells nor shorten their chants or anything of the sort. The only thing I can think of is concurrent chanting. So, exactly what does learning and studying magic entail for others? And how is it important? With Riveria being referred to as a great scholar and stuff."
"Ah, that, hmm, well, let's start with the fundamentals and mechanics behind classic magic then." Entering lecture mode, something Nico had grown very well acquainted with by now, Hecate began her explanation.
"Elven and Falna magic work by channeling and focusing metaphysical knowledge of reality through which the world around them is shaped to bring about the effects of a spell being cast, whether it be shooting lightning or healing. Normally, a mortal does not possess this knowledge as it is beyond their understanding; however, while concentrating and reciting the spell-associated chant, this knowledge is injected into their subconscious."
Nico listened intently and tried drawing parallels with his own magic and how it functioned to relate.
"Then that subconscious knowledge is manifested into the world in conjunction with the chant of the spell to shape the world around them and cause the spells to take effect. That's why mages cannot simply cut out parts of their chants."
"Because they would essentially be cutting out parts of that knowledge as well, making the spell incomplete?"
"Correct, in that situation, the spell fails to fully manifest, leading to a casting failure with the unstable spell falling apart. If the mage in question is not skilled enough to harmlessly let the spell dissipate, then they may even suffer from Ignis Fatuus as the uncontrolled mana goes wild and lashes out."
"I see. So, how does that tie back into magic studies?"
"Because those magic studies are centered around that exact metaphysical knowledge which allows the spells to take effect. A mage devotes their time to gradually comprehend that knowledge, which, while it does not automatically grant the ability to break through the 3 spell slot limit and learn more spells, still brings about numerous advantages."
"Ah, like what? Sounds mind-bendingly complicated to try to comprehend something like that."
"It is, that's why no mage in history has ever attained full comprehension of the metaphysics behind their magic. However, they all still keep trying, because the rewards are worth it." Taking a breath, Hecate put her thoughts in order and decided to start with the basic benefits.
"For starters. Channeling that kind of knowledge, massive in size and not meant for mortal minds, puts stress on the brain. The reason people use the word 'Mind' to describe the fuel for spells instead of 'Mana' is because spellcasting is sustained through two aspects, magical energy and mental resilience. Mind is a composite word accounting for both of those, making it more accurate than simply calling it Mana."
"The magic stat not only increases the amount of magical energy one holds, but it also increases how much stress one's brain can withstand. A Mind Down is more closely connected to pushing one's brain beyond its limits rather than running low on Mana. That's why it's so incredibly dangerous, as you could potentially even render yourself braindead, and why it cannot be fully staved off by consuming Magic Potions."
"That's where studying comes in. Mages work to comprehend the metaphysical magic knowledge, because the more they comprehend and commit to memory, the less the size of the sudden information injection during casting is, essentially decreasing the stress put on the brain, allowing them greater magical endurance due to consuming less Mind. This means they can cast more spells before needing to rest, their mental faculties are clearer during battles, and it even decreases the chances of Ignis Fatuus due to them having greater control over their spells, as they understand them more."
"That's… fascinating. I never thought there was that much complexity behind magic. Especially since most people who have magic don't exactly strike me as the type of people to dedicate that much time to studying." The new information made Nico more appreciative of the standard mages, gaining them a healthy amount of respect in his eyes.
"That's the difference between adventurers who simply use their magic as just another tool and dedicated mages, who devote their lives to perfecting their craft." Hecate pointed out cheekily, not even bothering to hide which ones she favors more.
"And those are just the basics?"
"Yep. The passive benefits brought by that are the basics. However, there is so much more to be gained. After all, how do you think Concurrent Chanting came about?"
"It's unlocked through that knowledge?!"
"Quite so. There are two ways of learning it. The first and most prominent one, the one that was the original method, was by achieving sufficient comprehension of metaphysics. Once a mage reaches that point, their control over their magic is strong enough that they do not need to devote all their focus to chanting and can carry out other activities, like moving."
Is that why it's such a prestigious ability among mages?"
"Yes. It is a point of pride and honor to have advanced enough to achieve it among the mage community. It denotes one as a Scholar of Magic."
"And the other?"
"The method used by non-dedicated mages. They have simply acquired so much experience in combat and their spell that the chant has essentially become second nature to them. As simple to carry out in combat as combat techniques, if one develops far enough."
"Heh, and I'm guessing the mages aren't exactly happy about that?"
"It stings their pride, so there is some bitterness among them. But they have collectively decided to simply label it a different approach and ignore it, while placing the knowledge route as the prominent one for scholars." Hecate chuckled.
"Hahaha, well, a mage's pride is a delicate subject." Nico joined in the amusement.
"Oh, you don't need to tell me about it. I've been dealing with them since forever."
"Wait, I didn't use either of those methods, though?"
"You-" Hecate said, stressing this part. "-are an exception. A headache-inducing one, though no less fascinating. Your magic completely defies every single magical convention. Your concurrent chanting came about in a completely different manner. Though I'd rather not talk about it at the moment, as I am still in the process of properly grasping the nature of your magic."
"Hmm, okay then. And how about Riveria?"
"Ah, yes. Riveria is the one with the greatest understanding of magical metaphysics in this era, earning her the admiration and envy of every single mage in the world, as well as the title of the Great Scholar. It's also how she earned her alias, the 'Nine Hell'."
"You mean…?"
"Yes. Her greatest technique, one that allows her to bypass the normal limits of a mage and effectively have 9 Magic Spells, Chant Connection, is the product of her exceptional insight into the inner workings of this world. And even with that, she has only scratched the surface of the vast secrets and mysteries that magical metaphysics hold."
"Something like that to be enabled through knowledge alone… wow. You… said she's the greatest in the current era? Not throughout history? Who went the furthest in that field?" Nico was genuinely curious about who could be greater than Riveria in that matter. 'What wonders could they wield?'
"The Great Mage and the High Queen of the Elves, the one who fought against the One Eyed Black Dragon. Celdia Ljos Alf."