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I still remember all the magic Grandpa taught us. Even if you call it magic, once you break it down, there are tons of categories and systems, and some of them are spells even I can technically use.

But…

“…I can use it, but it can’t be used.”
“What does that mean?”
“Umm, there are spells I can cast, but their potency doesn’t make them any useful.”
“…?”

Doesn’t seem like that explained it well. Hard to put into words.

“Let me show you.”
“Will you be okay, Alice?”
“Yeah.”

I nodded to the worried Sufi and turned my palm upward. Doing this drains my mana completely, but today’s work is done, so it should be fine.

“O Seven Crowns of the Genesis, divider of the great sea, silent current of the ocean; thy name is the Abyssal Sea, Leviathan. I am the weak, I am the one who wishes, I am the one who swears. Grant once more unto this hand the fangs of wrath that sank the arrogant city of the gods beneath the waters…”

Spells are subdivided in many ways, but broadly speaking they fall into two groups: ones powered solely by your own mana, and ones that borrow power from supernatural beings

What the world commonly calls magic or alchemy is the former. Summoning, spirit arts, and the Church’s divine miracles are the latter.

While it is technically categorized as Magic, the kind of magic I can use actually borrows power from higher beings. After listening to today’s lecture, it’s probably closer to summoning in theory.

You offer your mana to a higher entity, and in return you temporarily borrow a portion of their power proportional to what you paid.

“I call for the mythic tidal roar. With this hand, return all life to the sea.”

You’re borrowing attacks that mythological beings unleash in legends, so of course they’re insanely hard to activate and control. But the higher the spell rank, the more absurd the return becomes.

The highest known ones can produce 1000 results from 1 mana, though the difficulty to perform it is also 1000 times higher.

The good part is that there’s no minimum mana requirement. Even my tiny amount, barely enough for household magic, can still activate it.

“Devour all — Maelstrom.”

My mana was completely ripped out of me, and a whirlpool of water formed in my palm.

It sprayed tiny droplets like a sprinkler, then after a few seconds disappeared along with the water.

“That’s the strongest spell I can cast.”
“……Nya?”

Everyone tilted their heads like that’s it?

“I mean, using magic is amazing, but for such a long chant, its potency is… uh…”
“It’s pathetic, right? Totally useless.”
“…………”

Nick and the others couldn’t respond.
Honestly, I think so too.

“By the way, that used all of my mana.”
“Don’t say that proudly…”

I struck a pose anyway.

“Well, we weren’t expecting much there anyway.”
“Sounds rough.”
“Alice has lots of other amazing things though.”
“We know, nya.”

While petting the sulking Sufi, I leaned against her. I felt exhausted after running out of mana.

“This kind of spell depends heavily on mana quantity, so when I use it, that’s what you get.”

Everything else I can do is like making a little water or lighting a flame.

Since my resources are limited, alchemy frankly gives me more options.

“So that’s how it is…”
“I wonder what kind of magic I could learn.”
“The guild said we can borrow textbooks, right?”

They immediately lost interest in my pathetic spell and got excited about studying magic themselves.

“If it depends on mana, what happens if someone else uses it?”
“Hmm…”

In the original myth, a Sea Divine Beast destroyed a divine city with a massive whirlpool after being challenged by a War God.

Even amplified through borrowing its power… with human mana…

“Probably nothing impressive.”
“Aw.”

I learned this spell from a grimoire called Secret Script of the Seven Divine Beasts, supposedly written by the founding archmage of the Mage Guild. But the conclusion of the book basically was: “Normal magic is way easier to handle.”

I memorized all the grimoires in Grandpa’s house, but most were rare texts except for the basic and intermediate ones. At the time, I felt like it was fine since I only needed to memorize them for myself, but it’s inconvenient when trying to explain them to others.

“Guess our party has nothing to do with magic, nya”
“Sufi actually has the highest aptitude though.”
“…Sufi… isn’t confident.”

When I pointed it out, her ears drooped.

“You can use magic too, Sufi?”
“Mm…”
“Why not try practicing?”
“You could use magic this whole time, nya…?”

Noche looked horrified. Since their sword skill is about equal, she’s probably feeling competitive.

“First-tier spells should be fine, right?”

Magic is classified into tiers 1 to 10 based on difficulty and power, the same structure as guild rankings.

The torch spell that the magician guy used was equivalent to a first tier spell. Then again, the judgment to what spell falls to what tier was supposedly quite loose, so it mostly served as a rule of thumb.

“But…”
“I’ll be fine.”

Sufi’s trauma of using magic came from accidentally blasting me away once. But magic is also her greatest weapon, she has to overcome it eventually.

“I’m not forcing you, but if you can use magic you’ll become really strong.”
“Eh, it’s okay, nya. Don’t push it if she can’t, nya.”

Ignoring Noche’s slight panic, I kept persuading.

“But… Alice…”
“It’s okay. I trust you. I can protect myself now.”

I’ve gained a lot more defensive options than before. If Sufi can use a trump-card spell, that’s huge.

“Let’s practice. I’m counting on you, Sufi.”
“…Okay. Big sis will try.”
“You don’t have to try that hard, nya.”

Noche’s rivalry unintentionally helped, so I gave her a thumbs-up in my mind. At the same time, seeing how motivated Sufi becomes, I really should distance myself from her.

“I’ll do it!”
“No, no…”
“Huh, Sufi’s gonna learn magic too?”
“Eh? Sufi, you can use magic?”

…Filia gathered with Nick and his group, curious about Sufi, but I pulled on her sleeve and asked her to carry me.

“Filia, carry me away.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Please.”
“O-okay…”

Filia looked bewildered, but she carried me to the edge of the training ground.

I watched Sufi from a distance, and she looked slightly relieved.

Time to show everyone how amazing my big sister is.

“Here I go! Flowing water, strike the wicked! Aquastream!”

Sufi finished her rather easy chant, and a large volume of water began violently swirling in front of her.

“………..Nya?”

Seeing it from close, Noche’s mouth twitched.

“Yaaah!”

The spell was unleashed with great force, scattering waves to the left and right, leaving tracks in the training ground and crashing into the wall of the Adventurer’s Guild in the direction of travel, shaking the building.

After about 10 seconds, the release finally stopped. Noche and the others were blown away by the aftermath, getting soaked, and the water quickly disappeared from the wet ground that had been scraped away.

In an instant, the training ground dried up, leaving only the splashed mud behind. All that remained were traces of the powerful magic that had been unleashed.

“………..Nya”

Noche looked displeased, soaked. At the same time. Nick and the others’ eyes sparkled.

“Th-that’s insane! What kind of high-tier spell is that?!”
“Sufi’s amazing.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Cute, strong, and powerful magic… unfair…”

The other adventurers who had quietly arrived at the training ground joined in the praise, staring wide-eyed at the scene.

Meanwhile, Sufi and I were trembling with emotion. The smooth chanting and activation proved just how diligently Sufi had been practicing.

Before, the blast would be directed right behind her, and because that’s where I stood, she’d sweep me off my feet into the river. This time, it properly converged forward. There was almost no collateral damage, outside a few people getting knocked over or soaked.

“Alice! Sufi did it! Sufi used magic properly!”
“Sufi, you’re awesome!”

While we waved at the excited Sufi, a no-longer drenched, scruffy Noche walked over.

“You knew, didn’t you, nya?”
“It’s much more refined than before.”
“ ………”

Trying to make an excuse wouldn’t do justice so I decided I’d set it aside.

I know. I have a slightly moral problem, especially seeing how little I care about dragging others into our mess while I just saved myself.

I’ll properly explain everything later, so please forgive me.

***

#Author’s Note: #

* **“Great Vortex of Expiation / Maelstrom” 8th Tier Magic. Proxy Magic. Forbidden Magic.**

The origin lies in the Age of the Gods, when a new deity—the God of War—attempted to cross the sea to reach the outer world, inadvertently entering the protective domain of one of the Seven Divine Beasts.
Though repelled once, the enraged God of War rallied his followers and launched an expedition to slay the Sea Divine Beast.

The Sea Divine Beast grew even more furious than the God of War, sweeping away the great city ruled by that god—along with hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants and all its buildings—in a massive whirlpool of seawater.

Centuries ago, during a war in a small nation, a court mage activated this spell at the cost of his own life, annihilating thousands of enemy troops in an instant.

* **“Knocking Current / Aquastream” 1st Tier Magic. Physical Magic.**

Generally, it projects a water stream about the diameter of a fist.

Its power equates to a single, forceful punch from a full-grown adult male. Its moderate effectiveness in combat makes it primarily used for suppression and control.

Sufi’s version possessed enough destructive force to shatter rocks head-on.
Though Grandpa Wasel (the foster parent) couldn’t quite reach that level, he could still generate enough power to crack rock surfaces. This caused Alice’s perception of it to become distorted.