The Vestia Kingdom seemed to have been formed about 350 years ago by a pioneering merchant adventurer family in their search for new lands. It had great plains to build towns on and plenty of natural resources such as forests, rivers, and mountains around to provide necessities for the inhabitants. There was no issue with food either since the wildlife was flourishing and the climate was also fit to grow crops in.
In its course of history, there hadn't been any wars in this kingdom. The people seemed to love their king and it developed a healthy and prosperous relationship with its neighboring countries.
That is why this country was great for trading and living. The people here had faith in 4 major Gods which were: Mitia, Goddess Of Agriculture, Ghyva, Goddess Of Marriage and Childbirth, Onnas, God Of Crafting and Blacksmithing, and Ilena, Goddess of Love and Beauty. But other than these, one could find temples of other gods as well. All total, this continent had about 13 Gods. And they apparently did exist according to the records and played a fairly active role in this world.
Religion was a major part of this country's culture since people had absolute faith in gods.
I'm sure if gods existed on Earth and people knew about them, they would all have absolute faith in them as well. I mean, just look at the people who still have so much faith in God or gods on Earth when we don't even know if such an entity— or entities— exists. They probably don't.
In this world, there seemed to have been actual revelations from the gods in times of crisis and such. People faced divine punishment if they did evil in the world.
So, in conclusion, gods existed in this world. And this time they're real ones and not just based on some stupid book or anything from the past.
I wonder if they know I am here.
This intrigued me. If gods existed, they might know why I was sent to this world for no apparent reason. Perhaps they might even help me go back. But I had no way of contacting them. They're gods, you know. You don't just think of them when you feel like it and they'll appear to listen to your request.
"O mortal, thy hast summoned an almighty god. What does thy wish to knowth?…"
… Or something like that. They must all probably speak as Entranos did. Though, she didn't speak so arrogantly. Aren't I too biased and stereotypical about gods? Haha. I hope they don't rain down divine punishment for me thinking so rudely about them.
Damn, having real-life gods in your world seems stressful. They can literally destroy the whole world if they get angry or if they just feel like it.
Did gods have rules they must follow? I wondered.
But still, meeting gods was a possibility I had to keep in mind.
The book went on to discuss the division of regions inside the kingdom and the famous crops and livestock but I pretty much just skimmed through it.
Next, I picked up the recipe book and looked at its contents. It claimed to be a book for outdoor cooking. I thought it might be about time I graduated from the instant noodles and tea level of cooking knowledge. It's not that I did not know cooking whatsoever, but my knowledge was purely theoretical and I didn't have much talent in it. The biggest reason was still my procrastination, though. I just didn't like chores such as cooking. Cleaning utensils after was very exhausting.
It talked in brief about the right utensils to use and how to start a fire and manage the temperature. It then went on to show steps on how to cut vegetables and meat and roast them. There were even vegetables with soup and meat and that required not that many ingredients to make. I thought, if it's like this, maybe I can also cook. The recipe was very precise in its use of resources and didn't demand too much from the user. I liked that. For a noob like me, I would probably mess things up if it was any more complicated than this.
I closed the recipe book and looked at Shiro. It had been quiet for some time now. Turned out, that it was taking a nap(?) near my legs. Well, it was my assumption but it did give off such a vibe. I left it to rest and finally opened my last book.
The Introductory Magic Vol 1.
It was finally time. I had been somehow getting on with my half-assed magic tricks but I needed to know. Just what was Magic? Why did it exist? Why could only some people use it and not all?
I started reading with those questions in mind.
Prologue
Magical Power or Mana is the fundamental force of nature that is omnipresent and causes, to some extent, all known natural phenomena. Every living being, and some non-living ones, has magical power(MP) inside them. Huh, so MP isn't Mana Points but Magical Power. The monsters have cores inside them that have magical power in them and are used to power various magical equipment once extracted. Scholars have long debated and claimed that magical power is made up of tiny particles called Mana. It isn't something one can see with the naked eye unless it's in high concentration in crystals and in mana centers(Dragon Veins or World Circuits) which are naturally occurring sources producing mana. The mana that living beings, such as humans, demi-humans, and other races contain can be manipulated by some who are titled Mages or Magicians. Although rare in numbers, they are capable of producing various fascinating phenomena such as controlling the 4 natural elements, light and darkness, and with the help of catalysts, they are even able to perform summons.
There have been various recorded types of magicians some of which, like the ones using four elemental magic, are more common than the others.
Among the various races that reside on this continent, Humans have average magical abilities, it is even more so with the Beastmen races and Beast people who rely more on their physical abilities rather than magic. But on the other hand, the forest races such as Fairies, Pixies, Spirits, Gnomes, Elves, and such have a higher amount of mana on average. There are even special types of magic that are exclusive to certain races such as the Spirit Magic of Elves and Fairies.
It is unknown for how long, if not forever, magical power has existed. Some claim it's been there forever since the world came into existence. Some others claim magical power is a gift from gods to us in hopes we'll make use of it and advance our civilization.
In history though, magic has been used as a means to fight wars and harm others. Some of us believe it shouldn't be used just for that and rather we should use it to make the lives of people better. The utility of magic is nearly endless. So, to those who wish to learn magic from this book, I hope and pray that you will not just use it for destruction but also for the benefit of others.
-R. H. Dwitt, Arch Wizard, Lerin Empire, 928 LY
After the introductory prologue, the book went into the different types of magic and their basic spells.
The first step in using any magic was to sense the magical power or mana permeating around and inside. The step was called 'Magic Sensing' or 'Perception'. Next is trying to move that power inside, which is called 'Assimilation'. The easier way is to use spells but it was possible to, with enough practice, of course, cast basic spells without invoking the chants fully. But almost all beginners used spells since it made it easy to visualize the magic. Also, it was important to have a clear image of the type of spell you were forming. The magic usage will vary depending on how well you formed the image in your head. It usually takes about 2 weeks to 1 month to somewhat start using magic for beginners. It's easier for children to learn than adults who are at later stages of their lives and have dulled their senses that help perceive this power.
I was rather proficient at these steps. I managed to use magic proficiently in just a matter of a few hours. Maybe I would be considered a generational genius of this era?
Nah, who am I kidding? I can probably do these due to the System and Entranos's blessing.
But still, I never used these strange chants. One would have to practice and remember the chanting of each spell, which was different. Also, different elements had different chant syllables. But in the book, it mentioned most people could only use one type of magic with some uncommon exceptions using 2 and rare cases of more than 2. The ancient sage of the past was said to be able to use all 4 elements of magic.
What does that make me who can use more than just 4 elemental magic then?
Irregularity.
No. Shut up. I'm normal. Probably. Maybe they just don't know how to use all types of magic. And even I can't use darkness magic yet.
I learned the names and outcomes of all the basic and intermediate spells written in the book and decided to try them in the future if the need arises. It was certainly nice to know some spells from the Darkness, Lifestyle, and Space-time magic. Although the only Space-time magic mentioned in the book was a for instantaneous travel called
Also, I learned that Barrier magic had a lot more flexible use than I had originally thought. With certain adjustments, it could be made to have certain properties such as blocking sound or air, making the inside or outside not visible from the other side, and having it such that one can fire magic from inside but it'll prevent all magic from outside and much more. The barrier could also be made to last long, have a bigger area covered, and increase strength by providing it more magic.
I read a bit more of the Introductory Magic book and then went down to have my lunch. In this world, I ate only two times a day so it was important to not skip meals. Maybe someday, I'll have 3 meals a day in my own house cooked by professional chefs or go dine out in a good restaurant. But that dream was still far away. I'll have to work hard and save money to buy a house. And even if I had a house, it'll still be just me living inside along with Shiro.
***