The Puppet Master of the DanMachi World

"No—"

Ming Ge had already considered this last night. "Right now, I need to continue studying writing and language, as well as—magical knowledge."

So-called magic was a power capable of causing supernatural phenomena, generally recognized as an exceptionally powerful force.

Generally speaking, casting magic required chanting and the consumption of the corresponding amount of Mind. The longer the chant, the greater the power. Chants were divided into short chants, long chants, and extra-long chants.

There was also magic that did not require chanting.

Magic was divided into two types: innate magic and acquired magic awakened after receiving a god's blessing.

Innate magic involved one's racial bloodline and personal aptitude, possessing fixed attributes. Magical races could only learn it through their own potential and cultivation.

Acquired magic, on the other hand, was related to one's interest in and recognition of certain things, and was awakened through a god's blessing.

In other words, contrary to the usual settings, acquired magic required a god's blessing to be awakened and occupied fixed magic slots.

Under a god's blessing, every person had a fixed number of magic slots—at least one and at most three.

Moreover, innate magic was difficult to learn and could easily cause magical power to erupt and injure its user. Because of the existence of divine blessings, it had failed to develop further. Thus, many people abandoned innate magic after mastering acquired magic.

Therefore, acquired magic was a fundamental kind of magic that could not be mastered through study.

Innate magic, by contrast, was a power that could be mastered through study, but it was extremely difficult to grasp and was the privilege of magical races.

For example, spirits, elves, and the only magical race among beastmen—the fox people. Ordinary humans were not among them.

However, magical knowledge was not useless. Especially for professional magicians and mages, it was essential.

Aside from allowing one to better bring out the power of magic, magical knowledge was also necessary for innovation.

For example, Fels, the sage who created the Philosopher's Stone eight hundred years ago, had created the secret art of immortality and resurrection magic. She had even successfully occupied magic slots, turning them into acquired magic.

To accomplish that, a "line of thought" was a necessary prerequisite.

Only by precisely understanding the direction in which magic could develop, combined with the desire in one's heart, could one develop the magic one wanted.

"There are two paths available if you want to cure your illness."

"One is to awaken magic through a god's blessing that can seal or remove skills."

"The second is to accumulate magical knowledge and develop an item or magic with that kind of function."

Meitellia carried an item that suppressed the effects of skills, but it could only suppress them, not seal them.

But that did not mean it was completely impossible.

Accumulated magical knowledge and the desire in one's heart had a certain chance of awakening corresponding magic.

Meitellia's frailty stemmed from a negative skill. It was as though she was constantly losing health, and the skill would grow as well, causing Meitellia to become weaker and weaker.

Therefore, as long as Meitellia's negative skill was sealed or removed, her "terminal illness" could be resolved.

"Acquired magic is related to one's interest in and recognition of things. It is the ultimate manifestation of a person's current understanding of magic, and also magic of the heart—therefore, anything is possible."

Hearing Ming Ge's words, Meitellia nodded gently, hope and motivation rising within her heart.

This was not only for herself, but also for Ming Ge and her older sister.

Meitellia and her older sister, Alfia, possessed the same type of skill. The difference was that Alfia's talent stood at the pinnacle of the current age, while Meitellia lacked the talent to become an adventurer.

She had certainly gained something, but her thinking was nowhere near as broad as Ming Ge's.

After all, she was a member of the Hera Familia, so she had seen enough. Thus, she knew there was nothing wrong with Ming Ge's theories and line of thought.

With their spirits lifted, neither of them remained in bed. They got up and began working hard.

After washing up and eating, the two began that day's lessons once more.

That afternoon, Meitellia left the church for a while.

Ming Ge waited for her with both anticipation and unease.

It was not until noon the next day that Meitellia returned with several girls, bringing many books.

Those girls were logistical staff from the Hera Familia. When they saw Ming Ge, they curiously crowded around him, their mouths full of topics related to "romance."

Meitellia's personality was far too gentle, while her body was far too frail. This formed a stark contrast with the group's astonishing combat strength.

Whether it was Hera or the other members, they all liked Meitellia. Because of her terminal illness and lack of talent for becoming an adventurer, everyone was especially tolerant of her.

Thus, Meitellia was practically the Familia's beloved little sister.

Especially since Meitellia seemed gentle, yet was actually strong-willed within. Once she decided on something, she would not waver.

Hera must have already learned of his existence by now. Yet she had not come to see him, probably because Meitellia had stopped her.

As long as she saw Meitellia's attitude, even hot-tempered Hera could only accept it helplessly.

Knowing this, Ming Ge had no intention of facing Hera directly.

What a joke. Even if he had to meet his future mother-in-law, he needed to produce results worthy of showing first.

Right now, he was entirely living off Meitellia. It would be normal for others to look down on him in this situation. Ming Ge was not a masochist. If there had been no choice, that would have been one thing, but now that Meitellia had stopped Hera, he would be an idiot to go see her on his own.

He had no confidence at all. Besides, a monster that had lived for hundreds of millions of years could probably see right through him at a glance. Just thinking about that feeling was utterly awful.

After seeing off the Hera Familia members, Ming Ge steeled his resolve and murmured, "Face the future, change the future, and then welcome a happy future."

"Let's begin."

Ming Ge smiled and made an inviting gesture before studying together with Meitellia.

He studied the common language of the continent and magical knowledge while sharing intimate interactions with Meitellia.

Because Meitellia herself had also wanted to "cure her sister's terminal illness," she had researched magical knowledge for some time.

Though she did not know much, both her language skills and magical knowledge were enough to guide Ming Ge.

Conviction and companionship greatly increased Ming Ge's learning efficiency.

He had already achieved basic communication in just two weeks, which showed how strong his learning ability was.

Now that Ming Ge was going all out, his learning efficiency reached an unprecedented level.

In only half a month, Ming Ge's command of the common language of the continent was no weaker than that of a native, and even his magical knowledge had surpassed Meitellia's.

Moreover, Ming Ge's ability and hard work had strengthened Meitellia's confidence.