"But Master…" (Wendelin)
"I'm reaching my limit. Soon, I will lose all consciousness and reason. I don't want to turn into a zombie, governed only by instinct and driven to attack people." (Alfred)
For my final test I must use Purification, a form of holy magic, to cleanse Master so that he can pass on peacefully.
I am naturally hesitant, but Master is resolved. After five years as a talking corpse, it seems that all he wants now is to rest in peace.
"It is only because I am a truly excellent magician that I was able to maintain my body using mana. Otherwise, I would have lost my human consciousness and reasoning long ago." (Alfred)
Usually, talking corpses can only retain their human form for about a year. After that, their consciousness gradually fades and they lose all human reason. Over time, their flesh will rot and they will become no different than a zombie.
"Wendelin von Benno Baumeister, I don't have much time left. As my disciple, won't you assist me in passing on peacefully?" (Alfred)
"Master… I understand." (Wendelin)
I turn to the last page of the book that Master had given me; the page on holy magic. The book only covered the basic concepts. In the end, whether I succeed or not will come down to whether I have any affinity for the holy attribute.
At first, I couldn't even elicit a response, probably because holy is a special magical attribute (Ed. not directly affiliated with the primary elemental attributes: fire, water, earth, and wind). Gradually, a pale light particular to holy magic began to fill my hands until it was like a cup overflowing.
"I'm sorry, I can't demonstrate it for you." (Alfred)
Although Master's tone was apologetic, talking corpses are undead monsters, so it's only natural that he is unable to use holy magic.
After about an hour of careful practice, I finally reached a level of proficiency that would allow me to cast Purification and send Master to a peaceful afterlife.
"The time has finally come." (Alfred)
Tears ran down my cheeks as light accumulated on my fingertips. I cast the spell.
While alive, Master was a terribly powerful magician, so I had to collect a substantial amount of mana in order to cast the Purification with enough strength to cleanse him.
"Master…" (Wendelin)
"I'm happy. After becoming a talking corpse and enduring the depths of the Demon Forest in hopes of finding a disciple worthy of receiving my magic, whether heaven or hell, I can pass on peacefully." (Alfred)
"Master…" (Wendelin)
My tears won't stop. In this world, if you want to master magic you have to rely on your own hard work to learn it. That's because the probability of someone else's training methods suiting your learning style is abysmally low.
But, miraculously, Master's training method suited me perfectly. As a result, I have attained a level that would normally take many years of training by myself in only a few weeks.
I've even learned how to perform capacity matching, and my mana capacity has increased exponentially when compared to what it was before.
"I want you to continue training diligently without becoming conceited. Exactly like you've been doing till now. You, Wend, will become a magician that will leave his mark on the pages of history… Ah, one last thing." (Alfred)
Master didn't have a family. So, although he once possessed a mansion and a meaningful sum of money in the Breithilde Margraviate, it had probably been repossessed by the Breithilde House by now, so he hadn't brought it up.
But there was still the equipment that he had on him when he died. He decided to leave me his robe and hat for when my body matures, the magic sword that can be infused with various magical attributes, and the accessories like rings and necklaces he had on.
He also decided to leave me his most precious possession of all, his magic bag, which held the majority of his worldly possessions.
"Magic bag" is a term often associated with RPGs. It is a magic item that can hold a large number of items. That is to say, it had a capacity many times greater than that which the laws of physics would usually demand.
In this world, magic bags are classified based upon several different characteristics.
First, as with other magic tools, a bag could either be a specialized item that can only be used by magicians or a general-purpose item that can be used by anyone.
Next, bags could either be exclusive, meaning that each new owner or user must be registered in advance by the bag's current owner, or open, meaning that anyone can use it.
Few magicians are able to make bags that are open, so they're always expensive. They also tend to have capacity problems, although that problem varies from bag to bag based on the skill of the magician that produced it, so there are some that have fairly large capacities.
"The magic bag that I've entrusted to you can only be used by magicians and only if they have been registered, like you. In terms of capacity, it's proportional to the magic capacity of the owner so the capacity will increase as the owner's magic capacity increases." (Alfred)
As he said that, Master handed me a magic bag the size of a drawstring coin purse with a mana crystal in the shape of a bead affixed to it.
"It looks small, but the mouth will expand to accommodate larger items, so don't be afraid to use it. I'll be entrusting all of its contents to you. After all, it's better for you to have them than for them to decay in the Demon Forest. I'm counting on you." (Alfred)
"Yes…" (Wendelin)
When I finally released the holy light that I had accumulated, I could barely see through my tears.
In an instant, Master was wrapped in a vortex of pale light.
"This is a beautiful spell, Wend. I don't feel any pain. Instead, it's like I've been wrapped in a pleasant warmth." (Alfred)
Despite his words, Master's body was becoming transparent. It's painful to imagine that soon he'll be gone.
"Master, thank you for everything." (Wendelin)
"Thanks for letting me pass on pleasantly. Let's meet again in the next life, perhaps in a hundred years or so." (Alfred)
That last part gave me pause. However, I couldn't ask Master what he meant, because after those parting words the only things that remained were his equipment and magic bag. His body had ascended to heaven, carried away by the pale holy light.
These memories are the only record of my brief time with Alfred Reinford, a magician who, even years later, will be the only man that I ever recognize as my true master.