Magic...?

Arc 1(Prologue Arc)

Chapter 3: Magic...?

***×××***

"Oh, good morning, K! Slept well?" Takayuki greeted me. To be honest, there are only a few occasions where I sleep better than last night.

"Yeah... *Yawn~* That was one of the best sleeps I've had in a while, old man. The bed was comfortable and I was tired."

"Ugh... I don't look that old, do I? Come on, I'm just 35 years old! There's no need to call me old man, just Takayuki would be fine, alright?"

"I wasn't insulting you or anything. Grandpa told me to respect my elders, even phoney respect would be fine he said. Putting that aside, have you already forgotten about the deal? Let's do it. Also, tell me a little about this world, I'm clueless."

'Oh, I guess he was taught alright? It's been a long time since I've been respected. Moreover, I guess it's to be expected since he is a child, but he isn't following that advice all the way through, though?'

"Of course, I haven't forgotten about the deal, what makes you think that? And about the information about this world, I will naturally help you with that. It was my fault that you got Amnesia after all."

"Good to know that you didn't forget about the deal."

"You don't look like the type to be excited by this, and I suppose that's true. What does the Garden sound like? And let's test your Common Sense while we're walking."

"Sounds good."—Common sense? Old man, you're talking about a strange thing, I've discarded that useless concept a long time ago—"And what about my Common Sense? I don't think it can feed me, so I'll pass."

"Hey hey, don't discard it that quickly! You know, Common Sense can help you find Jobs, you can use it to earn a living. Doesn't that interest you at all?"

"No. I can just hunt animals, and sell their skin in exchange for money. I don't think there are that many hunters around here?" Also, I can proudly say that I'm a great hunter.

"Well...I guess you're right. I can't win an argument with you at all, can I? You're really smart, to make me speechless. But anyway, hunters are very rare these days because Adventurers do similar stuff and earn way more than a hunter does, so most hunters quit their profession and become adventurers. Not many hunters are left, so you can earn a hefty price by being a hunter because there will be close to no competitors in that line of business."

"Well that's good to hear, I won't have to think too hard when I'm cornered, financially. For now, you need to feed me. I'm your adopted son, right?"

They continued having small talks along the way to the Garden. The Kujou Household is pretty large, so by foot, it took longer to reach there; plus, K is still a 4-year-old kid technically, so he can't be walking as fast as an adult anytime soon. His legs were short.

From what K could remember, he was taught how to hunt by his Grandfather in fear that K will die a fool's death of starvation while in a war or emergency situations. Taking that into consideration, he taught K how to hunt anything, from humans to animals.

"Your Garden is impressive. Your wife must've worked hard to make such a beautiful Garden. By the way, what is your Job?"

Yeah, come to think of it, what is his job? To feed a family, it must have a pretty good pay.

"...I don't want to have that talk. And let's start with the deal, shall we? I will start with the basic knowledge that you need to know about Magic. Magic is dangerous. That's the first lesson you need to learn, and probably one of the most crucial lessons that most just forget. However, it can be ignored by Masters of Magic because they are Masters and will never mess up unless they did it intentionally or are interrupted at crucial points. The next lesson is, do not hurt others with Magic. This is written on paper, so you don't have to worry unless you're caught hurting someone. That's all you need to know right now, so let's get to it."

'That's...pretty strict. And I thought this was a lawless world, but I guess I was wrong. Or maybe it's just a law in this part of the world?'

"Alright, and don't mess this up."—Although I accept him as my guardian, it doesn't mean I trust him, especially with something that involves my life.

Takayuki looked at K, upset. "Who do you think I am?"

"...a Truck driver?"

"...Face the other side, kid. Sit down, relax your body, and don't move. I'm gonna start."

Hiding a snicker, K faced the other side, sat down and did as Takayuki told him to do. Next, the latter took out a strange Artifact from his pocket which is in the shape of a Necklace. He put the Necklace around Shun's neck and poured some of his Mana inside of it to help the Artifact do its job.

From what K read before this whole shenanigan, normally, a Magician injecting Mana inside a person would result in a strong rejection, and the stronger Mana wins the clash, if you can call it that, and the result is that the person who lost will, at most, die. But if that person is fortunate, the result will only destroy his Core, which is the main reason why a person can wield Mana. However, since he does not possess Mana, it's fine.

Now to the main topic, Cores. These are formed by solidifying a spherical Mana somewhere in the body. They are very crucial for the lower-class Magicians as they need this Core to wield Magic. It doesn't matter for high-level Magicians as they can manipulate the Mana within the world with just their thoughts.

'Inside my body...nothing is happening, and it isn't supposed to. I cannot feel a thing. No merging of the soul and mortal shell or blood-curling pain. Not even a sense of something foreign formed inside my body.'

The process is coming to an end and so does K's musing. The necklace lit up, but not to the point that it can lit a dark room. It glowed just enough to know that it came to life, or that's what it looked like. The necklace is Unique, be it its appearance or its Effects.

It has this eerie Aura that will make a normal person back away from it by instinct. Its specific couldn't be seen because of the black substance that moved ever so slightly. It's more like a fog, but it's close to its appearance. The Effect of this Artifact is that it allows a person to wield Mana. However, nothing has yet to happen to me.

Huh?! My consciousness... it's being pulled somewhere! Ugh...

***

[Inside the Necklace]

[K's POV]

Hmm? Where am I? Wasn't I Awakening my Mana just a moment ago? I think it didn't work. And I feel like...I don't feel anything. I can't feel my muscles or joints, paralysis? But I can move my body just fine. Perhaps an illusion or hallucination? I remember Grandpa telling me about this. Prisoners of War would often get into these kinds of situations; well, that's what happens when Grandpa handles the Prisoners.

"*Ahem!* Could you quit musing and focus on me? You're hurting my pride as a Mythical Grade Artifact, you know?" I looked towards the sound, and there, I could see a dark fog. And it was talking. "Well, even if I'm the lowest of the low currently, I'm still a Mythical Grade Artifact. And also, I can hear your thoughts."

"And who are you? Don't tell me...you're that Artifact? I didn't know necklaces could talk." And have a foggy form...

"I told you, I can hear your thoughts...anyway! That's right, I can talk, you have a problem with that? Anyway, as I was saying, I'm a---" I cut him off right there. It has already introduced itself, no need for a second.

'Mythical Grade Artifact, I know. Well, since you can hear my thoughts, I guess there's no need to tire my mouth. So what can you do? Even if you're the lowest of the low among the Mythical Grade Artifacts, I think Mythical Grade Artifacts are still pretty impressive, right?"

"...You sound quite greedy, but I will let it slide since you're my new host. The only thing I will tell you now is that I can store any kind of Energy and provide you with Mana or other Energy. If I'm given enough time and growth, I can theoretically provide Infinite Mana. And I can grow. Not literally, but in the sense that I can grow to be better, just like how you humans grow stronger. You will probably die after a few years anyway, so enjoy the few years you still have. Also, when asked, tell that person I'm a High-Grade artifact. Goodbye, that's all I wanna say."

***

And with that, I regained consciousness. It was a weird sensation. It felt like I was conscious in both locations, inside the Artifact and outside. It was like having my Existence cut in half and being conscious on both ends.

Still though...what a rude Artifact. But I guess the Artifact has the right to be so, Mythical Grade sounds impressive. And growth ability? I will grind the hell out of this and exploit the hell out of it.

"Well now, this is a strange situation. I'm pretty sure something happened, but why do I not feel any Mana Core inside you? What happened? What about the Artifact?"

"Hum...it has this growth ability which, according to it, allows it to grow given the right circumstance. According to the Artifact, it is a High-Grade Level Artifact, but it doesn't tell me anything about its specific Grade or Effects."

"A High-Grade Level...ha...hahaha...K, do you know just how lucky you are? High-Grade Level Artifacts are no joke! They easily triumph over anything below their Grades!! Do you know just how amazing this is?!"

"Alright alright, I get it, stop yelling, old man. And what's the reason for its arrogant ass attitude?"

"Old man...*Ahem!* What was it? It's arrogant attitude? Well that's normal, High Grade Artifacts are the epitome of Artifacts, the ideal Artifacts, so they naturally are very conscious of it, thus the reason why they are so arrogant. Also, there are four sub-grades in the High-Grade Category, namely–National Grade, International Grade, Legend Grade, and Mythical Grade. Even if you get a National Grade, that'd still be good luck. Still, I can't believe that you lucked out a High-Grade Artifact, even if it doesn't tell you its Abilities..."

"I see. So it has that much value. I'm going to stretch my body, I'm feeling stiff all over for some reason. I will be back in a few hours."

"*Ahem!* Alright, be back before dinner, you have the day for yourself."