Marius, unable to enchant a bag no matter how many times he tried, decided to seek advice.
There’s a saying in this world, it seems: “Asking is a moment’s shame, not asking is a lifetime’s shame.”
He already felt utterly shameless from his ignorance, so he had a feeling of defiant resignation – what was there to be embarrassed about now?
When it came to asking for help, it was best to consult an expert.
Marius’s go-to people for advice were Lucas and Nilson, with whom he’d become friendly after sparring matches, and Raymond.
He didn’t know the exact duties of the Court Mage Chief or the Commander of the Magic Corps, but he could vaguely imagine they were busy.
To put it bluntly, Raymond seemed to be the most free.
Raymond, a court mage and a battalion commander in the Magic Corps, was drilling his subordinates in the training grounds.
Not all of them, though.
The Magic Corps numbered over six thousand men, with the corps commander and vice-commander each leading three-thousand-man regiments.
Each regiment consisted of three battalions, and each battalion comprised a thousand men.
This meant that Raymond, as a battalion commander, was a high-ranking officer with a thousand subordinates.
As vast as the training grounds were, they weren’t large enough for a thousand people to simultaneously practice magic.
About a hundred men, divided into two groups, were firing magic in the same direction.
“**Fire**!”
“**Thunder**!”
The spells cast simultaneously merged into a composite spell, intensifying before exploding.
It appeared the technique of merging spells by identifying them with the target magic was widespread.
Of course, this was the result of countless hours of practice.
Raymond, who had been issuing commands from behind the two groups, interrupted his instruction and walked over when he noticed Marius.
“Lord Marius, is something the matter?”
“I had something I wanted to consult you about, but it seems like an inconvenient time…”
Marius glanced at the soldiers.
While none of them showed outright hostility, they were either watching with interest or wearing expressions of annoyance.
“No, no, I was just about to call for a break. Please don’t mind us.”
Raymond said this cheerfully, but his demeanor didn’t feel entirely trustworthy.
If the magic soldiers looked happy about the break, it would have been some consolation, but they clearly seemed inconvenienced.
Marius decided it was best to get straight to the point and explained the obstacle he’d encountered.
“Ah, Nungaro? It’s the material for the pouch you carry into battle, so it shouldn’t break so easily. May I see it firsthand?”
Marius obediently followed Raymond’s skeptical request.
He had assumed that if Emma and Lovisa hadn’t mentioned the Nungaro pouch’s durability, it wouldn’t be fragile.
He took out another piece of Nungaro, minimized its power, and cast “**Another Room**” on it. It shattered with ease.
“Whoa. It should take at least a fifth-tier offensive spell to break it.”
Raymond’s surprise was almost exaggerated, but the murmur of astonishment from the magic soldiers watching secretly suggested it wasn’t an act.
Murmurs of “No way,” and “How can Nungaro break just from enchanting it?” could be heard.
While it was good that the magic soldiers’ expressions had shifted from annoyance to awe, Marius found it rather unwelcome.
“Just to be sure, Lord Marius, are you skilled in spatial magic?”
Marius, unable to grasp the intention behind Raymond’s question, tilted his head.
“No, I’m not particularly skilled. Besides Warp, Teleport, and Divine Shield, I’m rather weak in it.”
“I-I see.”
Marius simply meant he didn’t use them often, but Raymond’s face clearly twitched.
“My specialty magic?”
Seeing Marius’s genuinely puzzled expression, Raymond hesitated for a few seconds before answering.
“No. Spells in one’s specialty category are more powerful. I thought perhaps spatial magic might be yours.”
He spoke as if it were only natural for the Nungaro to break if Marius had used his specialty magic.
*So, if it’s a specialty spell, the power increases… is that a setting?*
This was news to Marius. In the game, hitting an enemy’s weakness attribute increased damage, but that was all.
Raymond fell into thought, but not for long.
“The specifics of the item-bag creation process have actually been lost, so it’s highly probable we aren’t using the correct method. Nevertheless, your magic’s power, Lord Marius, is on a completely different level.”
Magic Items, in principle, were made by enchanting them, which is why materials resistant to magic were chosen.
Marius had already figured that much, and it was precisely why he was so puzzled.
“If your magic power is too great, perhaps it would be more direct to be involved in the manufacturing of Nungaro itself.”
Raymond explained that Nungaro was made from a fabric called Noog, which was convenient because it was easy to imbue with magic yet resistant to breaking. His proposal was that if Marius imbued the fabric with magic during its manufacturing process, its durability might increase.
“Fortunately, Nungaro production is a state undertaking, so if you wish, Lord Marius, you should be able to participate in its production relatively easily.”
He also explained that when enchanting an object that had already been imbued with another’s magic, like Nungaro, it was not strange for it to become more fragile.
However, the explanation had a forced, tacked-on feel to it.
“Breaking Noog requires the power of about a fourth-tier spell. The difference between one tier is substantial. It might be a small difference for you, Lord Marius, but…”
Raymond laughed cheerfully as if to encourage him, but Marius couldn’t share his sentiment.
The problem was precisely that it might be a “small difference for him.” He had too many reasons to believe that.
He felt his excellent specs often backfired.
“If it’s a state undertaking, wouldn’t I need to seek permission from His Majesty?”
“Indeed. He should be in the King’s study, so there will be no problem.”
Raymond seemed to have no qualm about Marius interrupting the King during his official duties.
*Can I actually stop a king from performing his duties?*
If so, that was an incredible display of authority.
Marius, who had been an ordinary person in his previous life, couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
He had focused solely on mastering the Taliant Language, so he hadn’t truly experienced the power of titles.
While he couldn’t argue against the relevance of the Magic Corps, he told himself that the impact would likely be minor.
He felt like he was constantly reading other people’s expressions, but this was a prime opportunity to learn about the values and common sense of the people living in this world.
Reading books alone wouldn’t allow him to grasp half of it. For Marius, this was a situation “more valuable than gold.”
If he got tired of it, he could always escape.
There would be considerable chaos, but Marius wasn’t so good-natured as to prioritize responsibility over his own safety.
However, it would be a shame to abandon Filat in its current state.
He lived a life free from the anxiety of tomorrow thanks to taxes, and more importantly, Lovisa and Emma were here.
Lovisa was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman he had ever met, even including his previous life. Emma was also quite stunning.
He didn’t know if he could find such a comfortable life in another country, so he felt no need to push himself.
There were magic spells to erase memories and magic to brainwash others.
The security of knowing he could do anything if he wanted to ironically prevented Marius from taking bold actions.
In essence, too many options were limiting his actions.
“Understood. I will pay a visit to his office. Thank you very much.”
As Marius offered a polite thank you to Raymond, he sensed a sharp intake of breath from the soldiers behind him.
They had likely perceived him as an unpleasant person who relied on his power and status.
“By the way, Lord Marius, as a humble mage myself, I’m curious, what is your specialty magic category?”
Raymond’s eyes sparkled with childlike wonder as he asked the question.
It didn’t seem like there was any lie in his curiosity, but Marius found himself at a loss for an answer.
However, he quickly concluded that being called “extraordinary” or “unconventional” was nothing new to him.
“I have no specialty or weak category. There are spells I haven’t learned yet, like Freezing, so perhaps those are what I’m weak in, if anything.”
Raymond merely hummed in thought, but a murmur arose from the soldiers behind him for the umpteenth time.
Marius thought Raymond should probably make a comment, but the latter was too engrossed.
“So you’re strong across the board, truly extraordinary! Though it is surprising you haven’t mastered Freezing! Are you from a cold region where there’s no need to learn it? No, many learn it even from cold regions…”
He spoke his excited monologue aloud.
Marius silently took two steps back, observing Raymond who was like an otaku in his previous world passionately discoursing about his favorite subject.
Glancing at the soldiers behind him, their expressions conveyed a “Oh dear” sentiment.
It seemed he had stepped on a landmine.
As Marius began to ponder what to do, Raymond abruptly turned back towards him.
“Lord Marius, if you have the time, would you be willing to teach me!?”
As Raymond’s words reached his ears, the soldiers simultaneously thought, *He said it.*
In fact, there had been talk of Marius teaching them magic for a while, and if they ignored their emotions, no one was against it.
However, they lacked the opportunity to bring it up and were adopting a wait-and-see attitude. Raymond’s statement was, frankly, a reckless act.
“I don’t mind.”
Therefore, the soldiers were even more surprised that Marius readily agreed.
However, this could also be attributed to Marius himself.
Because he had only interacted with specific individuals who could communicate with him, Marius’s true character was not widely known.
He had earned the trust of those around the royal family by appearing unlikely to cause trouble, but conversely, his reputation among those he hadn’t interacted with was not good.
One couldn’t achieve everything at once.
Sensing this on some level, Marius agreed to Raymond’s request to improve his standing with the soldiers.
“However, I’ve never taught anyone before, so I can’t guarantee I’ll be good at it.”
If there was any uncertainty, it was this, and also that his knowledge of magic in this world was incomplete.
He had to work hard so as not to disappoint them after readily agreeing.
“No, no, even just practicing with you would be enough.”
Raymond smiled magnanimously at Marius’s cautionary words. He took it as mere humility.
Marius decided to try it immediately, to gauge his future prospects.
“Do you know the magic called Refrain?”
“Yes. It’s a tenth-tier magic to cast the last used spell again, isn’t it?”
He knows it? Marius’s expectation was unmet.
If he knew it but didn’t use it in practice, perhaps it was unusable, unlike in the game.
Even so, he couldn’t back down now.
“Since Fire and Thunder are being cast by different squads, perhaps those are their specialty magics?”
“Yes.”
“For example, if one squad casts Fire and another squad immediately uses Refrain, you can achieve consecutive Fire attacks.”
“I know that, but it’s pointless if everyone doesn’t know it, right?”
Marius was surprised by his response.
“Is magic sharing or something not possible?”
Magic sharing was the act of distributing magic power to those around you. It could be used to support those whose magic recovery was lagging, or to supply magic power to someone who knew a spell effective against an enemy if few others knew it. In essence, if there was someone who could cast magic, their power could be amplified by the number of people. There were pros and cons, and although players appearing solely to provide magic power led to system changes, it never completely disappeared. Marius had assumed magic sharing was possible, just as it had existed in the game.
“Magic sharing…? W-what is that?”
Raymond’s comically surprised reaction was so unexpected that Marius felt like he should be the one expressing surprise. He explained it simply and then demonstrated. He shared his magic power with Raymond.
“I-incredible… Is this your magic power, Lord Marius?”
He had held back to avoid harming Raymond’s body, but even so, it felt like a significant power.
“I imagined halting it just before casting a spell and transferring a mass of magic power.”
“I see… It’s not working. Is it impossible to return?”
“No, it should be possible. Please practice hard.”
Raymond looked disappointed, but success didn’t come instantly.
“However, if combined with mastering Refrain, it seems like it might be possible. Thanks to you, I can see a path toward improving our combat strength.”
Marius waved his hand dismissively at Raymond’s thanks. Deciding it was time to leave, he accepted Raymond’s persistent gratitude and promises to teach him summoning magic later, then departed.
*Still, I wonder why they don’t master Refrain.*
Unlike Marius, if they couldn’t cast spells without incantations easily, it should be an even more useful spell.
As he thought this, Marius finally realized his premise was mistaken.
Marius had been thinking in terms of the game, against monsters. But Raymond and his men were part of a military, a national magic corps fighting against humans. While useful against monsters, repeating the same spell against humans would likely result in it being defended against.
*Perhaps they pretended not to know because it’s only effective against monsters.*
Marius wished the ground would swallow him up. The reason “Refrain” wasn’t used was something he would discover much later.
