AME 70

Chapter 70

“I have magic too…?”

Kaon’s words still felt utterly unreal. If she truly had magic left within her, how had she failed to sense it all these years? And how had not a single one of the many mages in Ingelos noticed it? It wasn’t that she didn’t want to believe him—it just didn’t feel believable.

“Even if you can’t feel your magic, I can see it clearly. So I’ll tell you what I see. Better than knowing nothing at all, right? And if we keep doing that, we’ll eventually find a solution.”

Alesia Ingelos becoming a true mage by sensing and controlling her own magic—

Kaon spoke of it like one of those ancient language riddles—difficult but solvable with enough persistence. And somehow, when he wore that annoyingly confident expression, the deep-seated defeatism inside her began to feel almost meaningless.

She had grown used to failure, but Kaon Ferdinand was different. Though he may have learned compromise and humility, he was a natural genius who had never truly tasted personal failure. That quiet confidence of his seemed to affect her, too.

Once upon a time, that confidence had irritated her to no end. And now she was finding comfort in it. How ridiculous.

“First, I want to understand the ring. I’ve heard that there’s research going on into magic tools. But how far has it gotten? I thought only mages could use them?”

Alesia, caught in a swirl of strange emotions, nodded slightly a few times.

“You’re right. This was something Rishar developed on his own. It’s not officially known.”

Until now, magical tools could only be used by mages. As Kaon had said, one had to draw spell formulas into a magic stone and inject mana to activate them.

The idea was to make difficult or mana-heavy spells easier to cast.

The principle was simple. Magic stones contained condensed mana, and when met with the same amount of external mana, they reacted far more intensely than raw natural mana. It was similar to amplifying magical power.

“So… do you know how the ring works?”

“…No. I tried to figure it out, but it was beyond me.”

Unlike traditional magic tools that required at least a shred of personal mana, Rishar’s ring allowed even someone like Alesia—who had none—to use magic. It was revolutionary.

She, too, had tried to study the ring’s mechanisms on her own. But she had gotten nowhere.

“There’s no visible formula on it. If I want to decode it, I need to see the spell structure, but I think it’s inscribed with mana on the inside.”

Without a visible formula, she had no way of knowing what magic was embedded in the ring. In other words, deciphering it was impossible from the outset.

Alesia’s gaze dropped. Though she hadn’t lived as a mage, she’d never neglected reading and memorizing magic theory. She prided herself on knowing more theory than most—but in this crucial moment, it had proven utterly useless.

“Now that I think about it… isn’t it impossible to use someone else’s mana? That ring was given to you, so technically the mana inside isn’t yours.”

“That’s true—at least, that’s what I always believed.”

Alesia stared hard at the ring. Using someone else’s mana was unheard of. On top of that, Rishar’s ring wasn’t embedded with a magic stone—it had a ruby. A common gemstone without any mana amplification properties. That it could even contain such a massive amount of mana was already beyond comprehension.

“Why would the Young Duke of Ingelos create something like this? If it lets non-mages use magic, wouldn’t that diminish the role of mages?”

“Sure, but magical tools still have to be made by mages. Borrowing mana means there has to be someone who has mana in the first place. If mass production becomes possible, it’d make a fortune. Even if other mages resist at first.”

It would certainly hurt mages—people might no longer need to hire them. But that’s the fate of every successful invention. At first, people scoff and criticize, but in the end, they adopt it to avoid being left behind. Rishar and the Ingelos family would secure an unshakable position in the magical world.

Then why is it still so quiet?

That was the one strange part. Alesia had been at Ferdinand for over a year and a half now. The fact that she had been safe all this time implied there had been no issues with the ring.

If it were revealed to the world, it would instantly solve a mountain of debt and fund any number of research projects. And yet—utter silence.

“If the spell is inscribed with mana, does that mean I can’t see it?”

“To your eyes….”

Alesia paused mid-thought. Maybe it was possible. Until now, there had been no reason to involve Kaon, so she hadn’t considered it. But perhaps he could see it.

Installed magic always left traces. No matter how well you tried to hide it, the spell formula would eventually reveal everything. Inscribing a spell with mana, like Rishar had done, was no easy feat—and even then, a select few with the “gift of sight” could uncover it. No secret stayed hidden forever.

“I think you’ll see it. No, I’m sure of it.”

“Great. If we understand how it works, maybe you can make one too. I mean, what’s the difference between you and this Rishar guy anyway?”

Alesia couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her lips. No one had ever compared her, someone who couldn’t even sense magic, to the prodigy Rishar in such a positive way.

The only thing she and Rishar had in common was their last name—Ingelos. And yet, Kaon’s face was devoid of any sarcasm. He meant it. That ridiculous optimism, strangely enough, gave her courage.

I’ll never compare to Rishar, but things really have changed.

Even if she could decode the spell, it wouldn’t be useful yet. She still couldn’t feel or control her own magic.

But if she ever became a true mage, everything would change. She would know how to create magical tools—a secret only Rishar knew. It would shake the entire power structure, including Ferdinand itself.

Rishar was confident Alesia would never be able to read the formula. And for good reason—he was right. But he hadn’t accounted for Kaon.

That thought alone made her heart pound. Maybe she wouldn’t have to leave Ferdinand after all. Maybe she’d found a way to repay the people who first believed in her.

“Let’s put the ring aside for now. Should we get started?”

“Yeah.”

Without realizing it, Alesia had become excited. She forced herself to calm down. The fun could come later—for now, the priority was drawing out her own magic.

“Is there a type of spell that uses mana at a consistent rate? It’d be easier to observe something like that.”

“Defensive magic might work. It requires a continuous mana flow.”

“Wait, doesn’t your magic just burn things? You have defensive spells?”

“They’re not really mine. I’m only borrowing Rishar’s mana through the ring. He’s attuned to light and fire, so I can use any spells from those elements.”

“You can be attuned to two at once?”

Kaon frowned slightly, surprised. In Ferdinand, mages usually specialized in fire magic, so he’d rarely seen other elements in use.

“Magic is heavily influenced by innate traits. Water and fire, light and darkness, earth and wind—mages are usually born with one or more elemental affinities. It affects what magic they learn best and how powerful it becomes.”

In Ingelos, young mages underwent elemental testing at a certain age to determine their path. Alesia had been the exception. Without enough detectable magic, no one could determine her affinity.

Rishar was a rare mage who could wield two elements. Even one was enough to make a decent name for yourself—but he had mastered both.

Of course, even Rishar was nothing compared to the legendary Grand Mage Ingelos, who could freely command all elemental magics. But that kind of mage didn’t exist anywhere else in the world.

Anyway, elemental theory could wait. The important thing now was observing her mana. Snapping out of her thoughts, Alesia turned to Kaon.

“I need something to write with. Doesn’t have to be paper.”

“There’s nothing in this room. Hold on.”

Kaon stepped out of the training hall and returned shortly with a quill and ink. Alesia took them with a deep breath.

Can I really do this?

She’d always been afraid of draining the ring’s magic, only using spells in emergencies. Wasting mana on personal curiosity had never been an option.

Even if that weren’t the case, she’d never tried casting a spell through a magic circle before. Knowing the theory didn’t guarantee success.

I can do this. It’s Rishar’s mana—nothing to worry about.

She felt a jolt of fear, but quickly pushed it aside. This wasn’t Ingelos. This was Ferdinand. Even if she failed, no one would scorn her here.

Alesia knelt on the floor of the training hall and began to draw a diagram. Inside a palm-sized circle, two triangles intersected in reverse. Around them, intricate shapes interwove. The empty spaces between them were filled with tiny ancient letters.

“…Are you trying to summon something?”