How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 80

89. Let’s Learn Magic (3)

Despite my urgent efforts, it wasn’t until around the sixth day that I began to see results.

“…….”

Now that I have a decent understanding, I can somewhat manage to guide the flow of mana, gather it in my core, and trace a circle.

The problem lies in fully establishing it.

It demands meticulous work.

To draw an analogy, it’s like welding, striving to create a flawless seam without the slightest tremor.

‘I guess I have no talent…….’

It would be premature to draw such a definitive conclusion.

There’s nothing as subjective and inconsistently defined as ‘talent’.

But it’s undeniable that I lack a natural aptitude for controlling mana.

“…….”

I can tell simply by the way Cruise is observing me.

She remains silent, but I occasionally catch a rather pitiful expression in her eyes.

Just tell me I’m talentless.

It’s more irritating when you try to say something but hold back.

‘……Should I resort to using Influence Points?’

I checked my remaining Influence Points and decided to consider using them.

It would be preferable to succeed through effort, if possible.

But when that proves impossible, I can’t afford to stubbornly persist.

Time is of the essence.

Because there’s a chance that a crisis might erupt soon.

‘What do I need right now?’

To use Influence effectively, I need to identify my shortcomings.

‘It’s not that I have too little mana.’

Increasing my mana capacity would be beneficial, but a sudden surge during this training would be counterproductive.

Moreover, I intend to attempt crafting a high-grade elixir after this training, so it’s not an immediate necessity.

Let’s consider other abilities.

‘What I need is a better sense for manipulating mana and improved concentration…… I suppose.’

Then I need to seek out talents that enhance those aspects.

In the original story, several individuals are hailed as genius mages.

Cruise is a prime example.

Let’s examine their characteristics.

‘……The problem is that Cruise’s case isn’t helpful.’

Emulating Cruise’s abilities is too dangerous.

I likely wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Then let’s consider other individuals.

Mages who are particularly skilled or possess exceptional intuition.

Um, will that be enough?

These three traits were the most I could acquire with my remaining points.

‘That was a close call.’

This alone won’t significantly impede my training, so it’s acceptable.

I’ll use Mana Visualization to visually track the flow of mana.

Mana Sensitivity is a talent that grants meticulous control over all mana that comes into contact with my body and skin at an atomic level.

More importantly, it also facilitates the opening of mana pathways in my body.

Lastly, Magical Sense is a luck-based ability that generally increases the success rate of spellcasting.

Possessing even one of these traits would make someone a competent mage even with minimal effort.

I probably won’t be able to fully realize the potential of these talents, but simply having them will greatly simplify my training.

Okay. This will improve my chances of success.

“……Aileen? Your concentration is wavering.”

“Ah! Yes! Oh, I dozed off.”

“Would you prefer to resume tomorrow if it’s too strenuous?”

Cruise, unaware of my actions, asked with a concerned expression.

She confidently asserted that there wouldn’t be any issues under her supervision, but nothing is guaranteed.

Furthermore, if my concentration is compromised, I’ll only repeat failures, so she must have concluded that it’s best to stop unless I have a penchant for self-inflicted suffering.

“It’s alright. Ah~ I feel like I’m finally getting a good grasp of it this time.”

I made an excuse and refocused, attempting again.

Indeed, the sensation itself changes after acquiring the talents.

The feeling of mana flowing is mapped out in my mind in intricate detail, like a network of blood vessels.

Yes, this is the shape.

I feel certain of success this time.

What terrifying talents.

I never imagined that having them or not would make such a profound difference.

The world is truly unfair.

‘……I see. This was the problem.’

Compared to following this new sensation, my previous mana control was a complete mess.

And I was once again reminded of Cruise’s extraordinary skills.

It means that she is capable of even more precise mana control than this without the aid of these talents.

I can succeed this time.

I was convinced of it.

“…….”

The completed mana circle is stabilizing, and my concentration is gradually relaxing.

As it stabilizes, I feel more at ease [余裕 – yoyu, meaning leeway or room to spare].

‘I should have achieved this sooner.’

Gradually…… I relinquish conscious control over the mana and rotate the established circle.

And as the circle rotated without my conscious awareness.

“It worked!”

I widened my eyes and exclaimed.

I finally created a mana circle.

“……You startled me.”

Cruise, who was observing, blinked and took a deep breath.

Ah, I was so excited that I forgot she was watching.

Cruise stares intently at the area near my chest as if trying to assess my condition.

Her gaze is peculiar.

“Wow…… I’m a little embarrassed when you look at me like that.”

She couldn’t have detected that I acquired a talent I didn’t previously possess, right?

I deliberately made a joke.

Perhaps finding my attitude absurd, her gaze returned to normal.

“Don’t say strange things. ……Anyway, the circle itself seems to have been established correctly. Still, it’s strange. To succeed so suddenly.”

Nice!

I clenched my fist and celebrated.

I can finally learn magic.

Welcome! Magic!

“So, I can use magic now. Hehehehehehe.”

“Why do I feel like I’m teaching a dark sorcerer when I’m just teaching ordinary magic?”

“Don’t indirectly imply that my laughter is evil. Geez.”

Is it wrong to be a little happy?

Anyway, if I can use magic, the possibilities for the future will expand significantly.

Life will become much more convenient.

“Okay. So, what kind of magic should I try using?”

“…….”

For some reason, I raise my tingling left arm in front of Cruise, who has been quietly watching without saying anything for a while.

“……Ah.”

I couldn’t do anything.

Creak. Creak…….

I slowly turned my head and asked her, who was looking at me with an ‘I knew it’ expression, about what I had just realized.

“Setting aside creating the circle, so how do you…… use magic?”

“……You’re asking that now?”

Magic and spiritism are fundamentally different.

Spiritism is when the spirits 알아서 [araseo – a Korean term meaning ‘on their own’ or ‘they take care of it’] accomplish it if I properly establish the image and give the command.

Magic is not like that.

Nothing happens with imagination alone!

No matter how vividly I imagine it, not even a tiny spark appears.

“It seems you’ve finally realized the difference.”

Cruise must have been observing my foolish actions to make me recognize the distinction myself.

“I’ve never used spirits, so I haven’t experienced the difference, but after seeing your reaction, Aileen, I understand for sure.”

“……The principle of using abilities is different.”

I had read about it in the settings, but ‘desperately realizing it’ is a different matter.

You won’t know unless you experience it.

“You can’t use magic yet. Creating the circle is just the beginning.”

“To use magic…….”

“You need to learn the theory…… calculation method, and how to execute it.”

That’s what all the textbooks Cruise dumped on me are for.

The thick books she entrusted to me.

“So, I have to learn all of that…….”

“You have to learn it all. No, you have to memorize it.”

There’s no compromise.

“Homework…… that’s quite annoying.”

“That’s the simplest one, though. It’s just the theory of the 1st circle.”

Well, it’s truly the basics among the basics.

“To use magic, you need to send the mana contained in that circle in a specific way and convert it into a phenomenon.”

“Those methods are incantation or magic circles.”

“Yes.”

The major difference between mages and spiritists.

To cause magic, a process to reach that point is necessary.

“For example…… Tiny spark, defying the flow of heat, stay before me.”

Cruise held out her hand and slowly muttered something.

“Firebolt.”

Then a ball of fire the size of her fist appeared in front of her.

1st circle fire magic, Firebolt.

“The incantation itself can be considered a kind of code. It controls the flow of mana based on words to increase the calculation speed of the magic formula. The incantation texts are slightly different for each school.”

What Cruise is teaching is the general method of the White Tower, where she belongs.

“Then will I succeed if I do the same incantation?”

“Try it once.”

I guess she thought I would understand for sure if I tried it.

I recited the same spell as she told me.

“Tiny spark, defying the flow of heat, stay before me. ……It doesn’t work?”

But the same phenomenon does not occur.

“Without knowing any theory, it won’t change even if you do the same incantation.”

You can’t use it unless you properly study the textbook and understand the calculation formula and incantation.

It’s difficult.

In terms of electronics, it means you have to know all the current and blueprints that go into turning on the power.

It’s definitely difficult.

“But I’ve hardly ever seen Cruise-ssi [a polite Japanese suffix often used in Korean] do an incantation?”

When she fights, she concentrates to increase her power, but she hardly ever says a spell out loud.

“Once you get used to it, you don’t have to say the incantation out loud. It activates just by consciously calculating the necessary formulas. Of course, that’s more efficient if you want to increase the power.”

She created a firebolt this time without saying anything and explaining it appropriately.

“Like this.”

After erasing the created fireball again.

“It’s faster once you get used to it. It’ll be harder for the enemy to read your moves in a real battle.”

“……Um, that’s definitely more practical.”

“Aileen, you have to learn the incantation by saying it directly and consciously using the magic circle.”

“I know.”

You can’t compare an expert and a beginner.

Even though she seems casual, Cruise must have dedicated a lot of time to learning the basics.

I nodded and tried to understand the method of learning magic by drawing incantations and magic circles as she instructed.

The path to hardship is clear.

“It’ll be less difficult than creating the circle. Especially in your case, who has already learned spiritism.”

Cruise said something strange while looking at me, who was working hard to memorize magic.

I soon understood the meaning.

Several hours later.

I recited the spell from earlier intermittently and activated the magic.

This time, it’s smaller and the firepower is unstable compared to hers, but a ball of fire was definitely created.

“Oh, it works!”

“See? It works, right?”

As she said, it’s only 1st circle magic and the power is still unstable, but it definitely succeeded.

But…….

Apart from being happy, I can’t help but realize one problem with this.

“……It’s going to be difficult to use this in battle.”

“That’s why there are so few spiritists who learn magic.”

Magic is not bad.

It’s definitely a useful skill to have.

But I already have spiritism.

Even the current fireball can be made more powerful by Salamander, even a dozen of them in an instant.

There’s no need to force this into battle when there’s a powerful alternative.

‘It’s not a big problem…… but it’s a shame.’

Life isn’t just about fighting anyway, and I’m learning magic to improve the quality of life.

For now, it’s better to learn various auxiliary magics rather than combat magic.

‘The incantation problem. It can be solved if I acquire enough influence in the future.’

There is a solution, so there’s no need to worry about it.

More than anything, the user has to somehow prepare the usage of the skill.

What Cruise teaches is only the ingredients, so it’s up to me how to complete it.

Let’s learn the basics now.

My choice is never wrong.

I’ll learn it as a sub-skill rather than a main skill.

I have the will.

The goal is to first master the 1st circle magic textbook that Cruise gave me.