Today: Rudeus's defeat

Even though Radeus and Rudeus taught them a lesson every time, those little brats kept coming back to pick fights without ever tiring. Even Radeus, who had always disliked them and hit them hard, began to feel afraid.

He and Rudeus agreed that these guys were masochists and wanted nothing more than to stay far away from the bastards.

Only later did they discover that these brats' mothers liked Paul, so they deliberately had their children pick fights to give themselves an excuse to see him.

Good grief, what a boring reason!

In the blink of an eye, spring had turned to summer. People's impressions of summer were always cicadas, soda, and youth, and the youth of boys and girls was innocent yet passionate.

Cicadas chirped incessantly by their ears. The merciless sun hung high in the clear blue sky, its light falling on Rudeus as he swung his sword beneath the trees.

Sweat kept running down Rudeus's face, and his clothes were already soaked through, but even so, the sword in his hands never stopped moving.

Radeus lay in the shade watching Rudeus train, offering him a few pointers now and then.

"Rudeus, your big brother wouldn't steer you wrong. How about giving up on sword training?"

"Hey! Weren't you the one who encouraged me to practice swordsmanship in the first place? You're giving up way too fast!"

Rudeus complained as he swung his sword.

"How the hell was I supposed to know you couldn't cloak yourself in battle aura? After all these years, even a stray dog would've made it to Intermediate Swordsman, right? Yet you're still stuck at beginner rank!"

Just talking about this made Radeus angry. Even with him and Paul coaching Rudeus every day, they still couldn't get him to advance. Paul had already given up hope for him. It was all because Radeus had encouraged Rudeus back then that his own sentence had been extended.

Radeus wanted to slap himself twice. Why had he opened his big mouth?

"Have you been waiting long?"

Sylphiette's voice came from beside them, and Radeus and Rudeus looked her way.

"Not really!"

Rudeus stopped swinging his sword and wiped away his sweat.

After several months of training under the two of them, Sylphiette could already use all kinds of magic proficiently. Though it was only beginner rank, that was already very good for a novice.

The two had also discovered that their hypothesis was correct: using mana frequently during childhood increased one's total reserves. Sylphiette's total mana had increased considerably over these past few months.

This also proved that the claim that "total mana has an upper limit" was incorrect!

"I did it!"

Sylphiette successfully used ice-type intermediate rank magic in front of them. Roxy had taught it to them back then, and now they had taught it to Sylphiette.

That makes Sylphiette Roxy's grandstudent now!

Rudeus thought as he watched Sylphiette's rapid progress.

"Congratulations!"

Radeus and Rudeus offered their sincere congratulations.

"This time, I want to learn Rudeus's magic that makes hot water!" Sylphiette said, walking over to Rudeus.

"That's easy. You just have to use water magic and fire magic at the same time!"

Rudeus gave Sylphiette a demonstration, naturally using the chantless method.

Neither of them had any habit of reciting incantations. After all, the windup was too long. In a real fight, a warrior would probably kill them in their first exchange.

Heated by the flames, the water ball gradually released steam, and its temperature began to rise.

"Just like this!"

"Why do you and Rad never say anything when you use magic, Rudeus?"

Sylphiette posed a devastating question.

"You mean chantless casting? That might be a little difficult for you right now," Radeus told Sylphiette.

"Chantless? Is that the way you two do it?"

Sylphiette tilted her head as she looked at Radeus.

So cute!

Radeus thought, though he remained quite composed on the surface.

"That's right. Activating magic directly without reciting an incantation is called chantless casting. Its advantage is that you can cast instantly, without needing teammates to cover you while you cast from the rear like traditional mages."

"As for disadvantages, we haven't found any so far!"

Radeus explained to Sylphiette.

"That's amazing!"

Sylphiette's eyes shone as she listened, and she looked at Rudeus and Radeus with admiration.

"If you want to learn, you can have that idiot next to you teach you. When it comes to chantless magic, this guy's an expert."

Radeus pointed at Rudeus beside him. Though he didn't want to admit it, Rudeus really was damn good at magic.

"Teach me, teach me!"

Sylphiette leaned toward Rudeus until their faces were almost touching.

"All right, all right!"

Rudeus couldn't refuse a pretty boy pleading sweetly with him.

A man acting cute is absolutely lethal!

At that moment, Radeus heard Rudeus's thoughts again.

Gay, gay?

What does that mean?

Rudeus looked baffled when he heard Radeus's words.

Nothing. It's a good thing!

Radeus gave Rudeus a meaningful smile.

"Sylphiette, can you feel the mana gathering at your fingertips when you normally use magic?"

Teacher Rudeus's little class on chantless casting had begun!

"Yes!" Sylphiette nodded.

"Then this time, try doing it without an incantation. Picture the magic in your mind, in as much detail as possible!"

"The key is imagination. You absolutely have to imagine it, because a certain idiot corporate slave once said, 'The essence of magic is imagination.' You can only cast it successfully if you first have an idea of the magic in your head. Start with simple magic at first!"

Rudeus glanced at Radeus as he explained to Sylphiette.

"Mm-hmm!" Sylphiette kept nodding.

"You can leave out the 'idiot,' you bastard shut-in!" Radeus shot back.

Heh heh heh. So you're not going to deny the corporate slave part? Rudeus thought.

Then Sylphiette took Rudeus's wand and began practicing.

"Umm..."

Sylphiette strained for a long time, swaying this way and that, but no matter what pose she took, there was still no sign of magic.

Is chantless casting too difficult? Radeus asked Rudeus.

Obviously. Even Miss Roxy still hasn't learned it! If it were that easy, everyone would be using chantless magic by now! Rudeus replied to Radeus.

True!

Radeus stopped paying attention, closed his eyes, and lay back down on the ground. A little while later, however, his eyes suddenly opened, and he sent Rudeus a telepathic message.

Hey, hey, hey, here it comes!

Huh? Here what comes?

Rudeus didn't understand what Radeus was talking about, but he soon found out.

Traces of water slowly began appearing in front of Sylphiette. There was very little at first, but it gradually increased, forming a water ball in no time.

"I did it!"

Sylphiette hopped joyfully around on the grass.

Radeus had sensed an unusual flow of mana just a moment earlier and knew Sylphiette was about to succeed.

"Huh?"

Rudeus stared at Sylphiette, who had successfully used chantless casting, his mouth hanging wide open.

He had been hoping it was a skill exclusive to him and Radeus. It seemed that hope had been in vain!

Today's conclusion: chantless casting could be learned!