It seemed like he’d gained some kind of skill… But then, what the hell is a ‘spell’ if not a skill? Ban suppressed the disappointment that sneakily raised its head at the sight of the L rank he was seeing for the first time, thinking ‘just in case,’ and began reading the skill information.
[Congratulations! Spell Steal (L-rank) acquired!
▷ Spell Steal (L-rank): You can Steal and register spells. The performance of stolen spells is proportional to your proficiency.]
……That’s it? So what the hell is a spell? He frantically rummaged through the information window and alternately viewed the status window, but there was nothing he could learn. When disappointed Ban let out a deep sigh as if deflated, Orma, who heard the sound like a ghost, threw Gail aside as if tossing him and immediately approached Ban.
“What’s wrong all of a sudden? Is something wrong? Are you worried about Jaena?”
“Ah, no… it’s nothing.”
Ban immediately answered with an expressionless face as if nothing had happened, but unfortunately, his slightly lowered eyebrows and corners of his mouth were caught by Orma, who had been admiring and observing Ban’s face at every opportunity.
“Really? You look dejected though?”
“……Where? It’s the same expression as usual for Ban?”
“Huh? How did you know I was dejected?”
“What, really? How did you know!”
“I can see everything, well… Move aside a bit, Gail.”
Orma forcefully pushed Gail’s head away, saying he was clinging disgustingly. Watching this, Ban realized that the more he got to know Orma, the more Orma was also getting to know him well. Hmm… it felt somewhat reliable.
Hesitating, Ban thought it was ridiculous in his head but eventually carefully opened his mouth and confided his concern.
“By any chance… do you know what a ‘spell’ is?”
If Ban had played other games, he might have caught on, but unfortunately, Ban had never played any game other than <MOX NOX>. Ban asked worriedly, wondering if he was asking about game terms like ‘system window’ or ‘NPC.’
However, contrary to expectations, Gail, who had been scolding Orma to use less strength, sparkled his eyes and said:
“Spell? I know it well! Dragons are the race of spells after all!”
“Yes? What is a spell?”
“A spell is a spell!”
“……It’s magic.”
Orma added with eyes that said ‘that’s very helpful.’ So a spell is magic… Then what’s the difference from a skill?
“You know, that transparent lighthouse-making magic tool I gave to Lebesi. He made that.”
“Haha, how’s that! Amazing, right?”
“……Ah! Magic tool! I see, so being able to create such things is a spell…….”
“But why are you suddenly asking about spells?”
Gail tilted his head and looked at Ban with puzzled eyes. Ban pondered for a long while about how to explain this, then opened his mouth and answered vaguely.
“I think I might be able to use spells……?”
“Huh? Haha, what’s that? I don’t feel any mana from Ban!”
“Mana?”
“Yeah, mages need mana to use spells.”
Though he couldn’t quite understand, it seemed that to use spells—that is, magic—there was a condition called ‘mana.’ At those words, Ban scratched his cheek and secretly opened his information window inconspicuously. Not the faith or level-related one, but the status information window where stats were displayed.
[Ban Lebesi Van Ruvessi / 22 years old / Human Male
<Knight of the Black Wildwood>
Item equipped: <With God>
Strength: 781
Agility: 803
Wisdom: 459
Willpower: 625
Charm: 942
<Additional Stats>
Attack Speed –
Evasion –
Attribute Resistance –
.
.
Mana –
Additional stats are displayed in summary.]
Though he had raised his stats through various daily quests during that time, once he reached a certain level, there was no need to check individually, so he hadn’t viewed it often. Still, when he looked carefully, ‘mana’ did indeed exist in the additional stats. When he carefully selected detailed view for additional stats, the exact mana value appeared.
[Mana: 17]
17? Not even a three-digit number but a two-digit number, and one under 50 at that. No matter how he looked at it, there was no stat lower than mana. Ban’s pupils involuntarily shook in confusion upon seeing his surprisingly low mana.
……Having confirmed that he had no talent as a mage, Ban began asking Gail hurriedly, feeling like he wouldn’t be able to use the skill called Spell Steal at all at this rate.
“H-how do you raise mana?”
“How to raise mana… Well, that’s a rather difficult question. I’m naturally abundant in mana…….”
……In other words, he’s saying he’s overflowing with talent. Gail noticed Ban’s eyes beginning to sink and quickly added before getting hit by Orma again.
“A-actually, I do know how to raise mana, but it’s a bit difficult right now. Mana basically follows the communion resonance with nature…….”
“Communion resonance with nature?”
“In short, it’s becoming friendly with nature’s abundant energy! But as you know, right now it’s called the ‘Erosion of Light’ because days are getting longer and the sunlight is harsh.”
“Can’t you resonate with sunlight?”
“That was originally possible too. But it’s difficult now. It’s polluted, so you can’t resonate.”
“Then…….”
“Ban, do you know why mages have become beings that only appear in legends, and magic tools are regarded as relics with special abilities? It happened like this as humans who could resonate with nature gradually disappeared.”
Gail’s words were difficult to understand immediately, but after mulling it over, it could be simply summarized as ‘evolution toward deleting the genes that could become mages.’ Well, it seemed closer to devolution than evolution though…….
Anyway, it seemed there was no way to further raise the mana that was only 17—no, that was as much as 17. What on earth could he do with this?
“Orma, it seems Ban wanted to become a mage?”
“…….”
As if even a god couldn’t solve that realm, Orma only wrinkled his nose bridge. Then, as if remembering something, he grabbed Gail’s collar again and pointed at him, saying:
“From now on, he’s your exclusive magic tool. That works, doesn’t it?”
“……What?”
“Aaagh! He’s treating me like a magic tool again!”
“Finally even a pig dragon like you has a use. Congratulations. You’ve been employed as Ban’s exclusive magic tool.”
“No! No! I don’t want to work! I hate living busily!”
Only at this point did Gail reveal his true feelings of wanting to live comfortably while playing and struggled. He thrashed around whether Orma looked at him pathetically or not, but being in human form, he couldn’t seem to escape Orma’s grasp no matter how much strength he used.
……Wait, human form?
“Gail-nim, is the fact that you’re currently in human form also a spell?”
“Uh, yeah, well, that’s right…….”
Gail, who was answering Ban’s question saying it was called Polymorph, gradually escaped from Orma when Ban showed interest. He also seemed to want to boast about his abilities a bit proudly.
“With Polymorph, you can change into any appearance! Like how I’m a dragon but changed into human form.”
“So even species transformation is possible. Then is it also possible to change appearance while maintaining the human species?”
“Of course. Look, like this, red hair and… I can also change to sky-blue eyes like Ban. How’s that, amazing?”
Gail changed his hair color and eye color in an instant while speaking. When Ban found it fascinating, he grinned and continued changing colors, then endlessly changed his appearance, saying he could even shrink or grow in height or change gender.
“Woah…….”
“Hahaha, cool, right! Amazing, right!”
“Yes, you’re like a chameleon.”
“Ch-chameleon?”
“Pfft…….”
Orma, who let out a dry laugh, nodded his head and teased Gail. Gail huffed and said he didn’t just change colors like a chameleon, busily transforming into a woman, an old person, and a child. Only then did Ban acknowledge the utility of Polymorph and nodded.
“Can you cast Polymorph on beings other than yourself?”
“Of course, it’s a spell after all.”
“If you Polymorph, how long can you maintain that form?”
“Until mana permits. For a dragon abundant in mana like me, you can consider it until you want to.”
Then how long would be possible for me with 17 mana? 17 seconds? ……That’s a bit too much. But if it’s about 17 minutes, it might be okay.
“Still, you couldn’t imitate the eyes of a god like Orma-nim, right?”
“Well, that’s the realm of gods after all. Conversely, changing a god’s eyes to a different color is also impossible.”
Then in an emergency, I can make it look like Orma-nim can’t see by putting an eyepatch on him and just change his hair color. Ban nodded and requested Polymorph from Gail once more. And the moment the excited Gail changed his appearance once more, he muttered quietly.
“……Spell Steal.”
[Spell Steal successful!
▷ Polymorph: You can change appearance as desired, and duration is proportional to mana.]
