Chapter 14 Part3 (2/2)
”But you're ok. And... I'm curious.”
She probably isn't the type to like undead more than humans; Lee s.h.i.+n Woo tilted his head, wondering what he had to say, and replied in a way that went beyond his imagination.
”The way you use your magic. I want to learn it too.”
”Oh, you were curious about that?”
”I'm not asking to learn for free. I have a good grasp on magic as well. There's probably stuff that I can help with for you two as well.”
The situation was taking a turn beyond his wildest imagination. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had originally thought that it would be a waste of time and that he should just refuse, but he stopped for two separate reasons.
First off, no matter how he looked at it, she was a professionally trained magician, and would naturally know more about magic across the board. There's a chance he'd profit from this exchange of knowledge, but honestly, there was also a chance that he would gain absolutely nothing.
And secondly, he hadn't yet found a way to create a high rank administrative authority. If he were to get a hint from her regarding changes in the characteristics of mana, wouldn't this be considered progress as well...? He thought it wouldn't be bad to bet on this, rather than continuously hunting golems at a snail's pace.
”s.h.i.+n Woo, you're not going to, are you?”
”Well, it actually doesn't sound too bad...”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo commented in favor, and Jin weighed in with a slightly displeased tone.
”Is it because she's pretty?”
”I'd like to act immature and senseless like that sometime too.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo scolded, and turned his head towards Kratia. He'd made up his mind, and already finished talking with his partner, so now it was time to earnestly negotiate terms.
”We can't stay with you forever.”
”2 weeks.”
”Promise that you'll sincerely cooperate, even if you don't gain what you want.”
”You have my word. I promise upon the everlasting mana.”
”Promise that whatever goes on between us, you leak nothing to the outside.”
”Likewise.”
”Alright. Then we'll be in your care for 2 weeks. So...”
”Kratia. Nice meeting you, s.h.i.+n Woo.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo thoughtlessly extended his right hand, a habit from his time as a human, and Kratia unhesitatingly grabbed his bare bone hand. She really didn't care that he was undead, and proved that she was only interested in his knowledge and ability.
Though their purity was directed at different things, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo suddenly thought that in terms of innocence, she and Ye Jin Jin were quite similar. From right beside him, Jin then asked.
”Then what do I do...?”
”What are you talking about? You're the one who needs systematic instruction on magic. We're one plus one, remember?”
”I knew this would happen...”
Even whilst complaining, Jin strangely felt moved that Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was looking out for him. Seeing Jin, who'd come into possession of such a twisted feeling, Kratia seemed to be concerned about something and her eyes brightened; she soon tilted her head and turned her attention to Lee s.h.i.+n Woo.
”Then let's get going immediately. I want to know how your power works.”
”Hey, wait. Didn't you want to learn about all that common knowledge you were missing?”
”I can just hear that stuff with the time we have left over.”
She wasn't reversing their priority. From the very beginning, her primary objective was magic. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo thought he somewhat understood her personality, shrugged his shoulders, and with no alternatives, just began talking.
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo and Jin explained that they had a special contract, and using the resulting connection that came from using the Horseback Riding skill, could share their skills and resistances with each other; after hearing of this, it didn't take long before Kratia became disappointed.
”But it's fine. Since the way you use your mana is plenty interesting. There's a lot I can learn from your freewheeling style. The mana you've acc.u.mulated is amazing, seeing as how you went from not knowing anything to this.”
”I'm more jealous of the mana you've acc.u.mulated, though...”
Contrary to Lee s.h.i.+n Woo, who controlled the mana itself, Kratia had studied for countless years and ultimately, developed a special method of causing the mana to change.
If he changed mana purely through his will and the skill's ability, Kratia calculated the countless ways in which the mana could change beforehand, and brought about the desired change at the right time. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's method of handling magic was clumsy in comparison.
”It's not the way of a magician. But it's not the way a knight uses mana either. To be specific, s.h.i.+n Woo... you seem like a monster gifted with supernatural powers.”
”...Isn't it because I'm an undead?”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo flinched the moment she pointed that out, but he replied calmly for now. However, Kratia firmly shook her head.
”An undead being can't control this many mana patterns. You may even understand the essence of mana more than I do. If I can imitate even just a part of what you do, my magic could undergo a groundbreaking change...”
”s.h.i.+n Woo, I don't understand this at all.”
”You just memorize everything for now. It'll come up in the test.”
He was able to make some strides. Kratia taught Lee s.h.i.+n Woo the theory established by scholars and magicians on mana, and he was able to figure out how to more effectively handle his mana, which he'd been manipulating instinctually up until now; on the other hand, Kratia got a hint on how to improve her magic by learning about Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's skills and peculiar method of using magic, which went against common sense.
”Ah, so this is how you do it. Just by introducing a few basic patterns, I can apply my magic much faster than before.”
”H-How did you learn that already?”
Ultimately, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was successfully able to make large strides in magic one week into his contract with Kratia. She thought if she taught him, it would be helpful to him someday, but he had advanced at a speed which went beyond her imagination.
[The Low Rank Mana Bone skill has become Lv10, and evolves to the Intermediate level. Your understanding of magic deepens, and you can more effectively store more mana into your bones. The power of your mana increases as well. Magic has increased by 30.]
[You have fulfilled a portion of the conditions necessary to achieve the Joker's innate skill. You have only one step left remaining before you become a true Joker.]
And at that very moment... Lee s.h.i.+n Woo got a message that he hadn't expected at all.
[A quest has occurred!]
[Joker's mana]
[You are extremely free-spirited, and are capable of imitating anything. That's right. You can even imitate another person's mana. It's fine if you have a special mission, and if you don't, that's fine as well. Please acquire a high ranked administrative authority by copying a golem's mana.]
[Quest reward - 3 permits to G.o.d's secret shop, Joker's innate skill]
[1] T/N: Probably a loose Fate/Stay Night reference to the El-Melloi line of magicians.
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