Chapter 7: The Elven Tracking Spell
On the fifth day of their adventure, under Serie's guidance, Rhodes successfully learned the alarm spell. However, with the aid of his [Creation] talent and a touch of modern scientific knowledge, he transformed it into an entirely new concept of magic.
Watching the blue magic circle in Rhodes's hand pulse with waves of mana that expanded outwards, Serie felt a flicker of surprise.
"Did you combine the detection spell and the alarm spell into one?"
From what Serie could sense, the mana ripples spread out for hundreds of meters in every direction, yet the mana itself was so faint that it would be incredibly difficult to notice without paying close attention. It was a perfect spell for scouting without revealing one's own presence. Within Rhodes's magic circle, small dots were displayed, each one representing a life form he had detected. Even the direction of their movement was tracked on the display.
"Mm, I optimized it a bit," Rhodes said proudly. "What do you think of calling this new spell 'Radar'?"
The idea had come to him the moment he saw the two separate spells. The alarm spell could reveal an enemy's position, and the detection spell could perceive the enemy.
Rhodes: "Aha! I have an idea!"
And thus, the Radar Spell was born.
"A name without any discernible meaning. Is there some basis for it?"
"Well..." Rhodes trailed off, unsure of how to explain it. He couldn't exactly say it was the power of science, could he?
"Then let us call it the 'Greater Detection Spell'," Serie decided. It was apparent that our young Grand Master's naming sense wasn't particularly imaginative. "A pity its mana consumption is so high. It's not very practical."
Rhodes nodded in agreement and deactivated the spell. In that short time, he had already consumed a fifth of his mana, equivalent to casting his arrow rain spell three times in a row. Only a mage with an immense mana pool like Serie could possibly sustain it for an extended period.
"This mana thing... is there any way to increase it?" Rhodes asked.
Serie had already told him that the amount of mana he possessed was minuscule. According to her, any elf who could walk had a larger mana pool than him, a fact that had dealt a considerable blow to his ego. It couldn't be helped; he had been in this world for less than a year and simply couldn't compare to the natives.
"There is no method other than long practice," Serie explained. "However, among the magical beasts, there is a race that can plunder the mana of others. They can even absorb the residual mana left in corpses."
Serie's words made Rhodes tense up.
"Plunder mana?" he asked, frowning. "Is that race numerous?"
If a creature like that was common, he couldn't imagine how anyone could ever defeat the Demon race. After all, the Age of Myth was defined by war, and war meant death. If he had such an ability, he could simply find a battlefield, wait for the fighting to end, and absorb the mana from all the fallen. Rhodes didn't dare to imagine how powerful he would become; perhaps not even the future Serie, who would live from the Age of Myth to the modern era, could compare.
"They are few. However, that race is now known as the Demon race," Serie said, shaking her head.
Creatures whose souls were tainted by the abyss were collectively called magical beasts. Among them, those who developed higher intelligence came to be known as the Demon race. Compared to mindless beasts, demons were far more cunning. And unlike the elves, who were merely emotionally reserved, the demons were completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever. They were a terrifying kind of being.
Rhodes knew this, and his brow furrowed with worry. A race that could plunder mana and possessed considerable intelligence would be a fearsome adversary.
"That's truly troublesome," he voiced his concern. "If those demons are allowed to plunder mana endlessly, I fear not even the gods would be a match for them."
"That won't happen." Serie shook her head again. "The gods are powerful because of the divine energy within them. No amount of mana can contend with divine energy. Furthermore, plundered mana will eventually corrupt the soul of its host."
She gave Rhodes a meaningful look, her voice becoming unusually stern. "So do not even think about creating such a spell. Those demons gained extraordinary intelligence through their plundering ability, but because of that same endless plundering, they are destined to fall back into being mindless beasts once more."
Rhodes nodded thoughtfully. He understood the meaning behind Serie's words perfectly. His [Creation] talent had immense potential; if he truly put his mind to it, creating a spell to plunder mana might not be impossible. But as Serie had said, such power would come at the cost of corrupting his own soul.
"I suppose I'll stick to practicing slowly, then," he said with a smile, completely dismissing the idea of taking a shortcut.
"Mm. Your talent for magic is not poor. With time, you will surely become a powerful mage." It was a rare word of comfort from Serie. Rhodes was an important key to her own research into magic; she had no desire to see him stray onto the wrong path.
"In that case, I'll have to ask you to teach me a few more spells," Rhodes said, not standing on ceremony. Theirs was a relationship of mutual teaching. Serie taught him the most common elven spells of the era, he would use his [Creation] to improve and modify them, and then he would teach the new versions back to Serie.
"Very well." Serie didn't waste any words. She raised her hand. "While one should not rush the teaching of magic, your talent makes that less of a concern."
She pointed to a stone in the distance, but her target was not the stone itself, but the tree behind it. "The elves have a type of tracking magic. Even after an attack has been released, its direction can be altered mid-flight. When you apply that principle to an offensive spell, this is the result."
Serie unleashed her arrow rain, aiming it at the stone. But in mid-air, the arrows curved, precisely striking the small tree hidden behind it.
This was considered an advanced technique among the elves. It had taken Serie several years of practice to master it.
"That's a bit difficult to understand," Rhodes admitted, already feeling a headache coming on. He could manage to gather mana and attack, but how was he supposed to control a spell that had already been cast? He couldn't exactly attach a remote-control device to it like a tracking missile, could he? The thought of introducing technology to this world felt… wrong. It would completely break the atmosphere.
"Do not rush. You can take your time," Serie said with a faint smile. It would be perfectly normal if this man couldn't learn or even understand it right away. After all, it had taken her over a year just to grasp the principle of applying her mana to a spell that had already been unleashed, followed by endless, repetitive practice.
Once the principle was mastered, it could be applied to countless other spells, making it an incredibly powerful tool in actual combat. It was one of the core spells of the elven race, and now she was teaching it to Rhodes without reservation.
She was very curious to see how long it would take him to learn it.