Ch.106Chapter 106 – This Lady Talks Too Much

After discovering that my ability also works on ignition stones, I called Elena to my shop.

Why did I call Elena instead of Mina? It was because of the difference in their social status.

Mina is a commoner.

She’s a mage born into a common family that could barely afford a magic wand.

Now she’s studying magic at Glesius Academy, but before that, she probably didn’t know much about magic.

But Elena is different from Mina.

Though they’re close friends at the academy, there exists a difference in social status between them.

Of course, since they’re friends, they don’t seem to care much about such things.

Anyway, Elena was born and raised in a noble family.

Moreover, her father, Viscount Ielron Sandrios, is a Grand Magician of the Gelebrio Empire.

Born as the daughter of a Grand Magician, she clearly had talent as a mage, so she must have received early education.

In fact, between Mina and Elena’s magical abilities, Elena was clearly superior.

Though with Mina’s recent rapid growth, their skills might become comparable soon.

I keep going off on tangents.

Anyway, unlike Mina, Elena grew up in a noble family, so she must have been exposed to many magical tools.

“So… why did you call me here?”

Elena, who had entered the shop, seemed to have no idea why I had summoned her here.

And that was true.

I hadn’t explained to Elena why I called her here.

“I assume you’ve learned magic from a young age and been exposed to various magical tools… is that correct?”

“Yes. My father believed that an excellent mage should be proficient with magical tools, so he made sure I was exposed to many.”

“Is that so?”

Then it would be appropriate to move the conversation along a bit faster.

“Do you know much about the magic stones used in commercially available magical tools?”

“I know a fair amount. But why do you ask?”

“Have you ever used magical tools with top-grade magic stones?”

“Top-grade magic stones…? Do you mean high-purity magic stones instead?”

Huh? Not top-grade magic stones but high-purity magic stones?

What’s that supposed to be?

“Aren’t magic stones classified by grade?”

“That’s something alchemists do. Mages don’t particularly grade magic stones.”

Perhaps it’s a difference in perspective between mages and alchemists.

“Why is that?”

“The magic stones in magical tools are auxiliary means that allow people without mana to use magical tools.”

“Then what do mages use to power magical tools?”

“Obviously their own mana. So they can use magical tools without magic stones if necessary.”

In other words, they’re like living batteries that can supply mana themselves.

“So mages don’t need magic stones?”

“That’s not entirely true.”

Wait, if they can use magical tools without magic stones, why would they need them?

“When mages train, they often use magic stones to improve their skills rapidly in a short time.”

“How does that work?”

Mages use magic stones to improve their skills quickly during training?

This was intriguing information.

To fight against the Demon Cult, we need to quickly enhance our allies’ strength and skills.

I decided to listen to what Elena had to say.

“You know that magic stones are a type of mineral mined from quarries, right?”

“Professor Emelda told me about that.”

“Then I’ll skip the basic explanation. Mages need mana to use magic. And the way to increase mana capacity is to repeatedly use magic to intentionally experience mana exhaustion. This gradually increases maximum mana capacity.”

It’s similar to how bodybuilders damage their muscles by lifting weights, and then their maximum strength gradually increases as they recover.

“So how are magic stones used?”

“You carry a magic stone with you at all times—when eating, sleeping, bathing, studying, dating, whenever.”

Carrying a magic stone at all times?

What benefit does that provide?

“Specially processed magic stones release more mana than raw stones. This exposes you to more mana, increasing your familiarity with it.”

“What’s the benefit of increased familiarity?”

“Obviously, you can cast the same spells faster, stronger, and with less mana. And as your familiarity with mana increases, your body naturally accepts more mana, so your maximum mana capacity increases more quickly.”

“So the better the quality of the magic stone, the faster one grows?”

“Yes, exactly. But high-quality magic stones are hard to come by, so most mages train with stones of moderate quality. Of course, magic stones are so expensive that most mages can’t even dream of owning one.”

I noticed something strange in Elena’s explanation.

Magic stones are expensive?

Couldn’t one just use the magic stones in magical tools?

“The magic stones in magical tools are nowhere near sufficient. The amount of mana contained in a magic stone used in magical tools is enough for maybe five Magic Missiles, a Class 1 spell, at best.”

“Isn’t that a lot?”

“…Pardon?”

Elena seemed quite surprised by my question.

“Excuse me, Count Severio? Did I hear you correctly? Did you say that enough mana to cast Magic Missile five times is a lot?”

“Isn’t it?”

“Magic Missile, a Class 1 spell, can be cast over 50 times a day even by a Circle 1 mage. If you can’t do that much, you can’t call yourself a Circle 1 mage.”

Huh? So the magic stones in magical tools really aren’t that helpful?

“So the magic stones in magical tools don’t provide much stimulation?”

“Correct. That’s why mages carry magic stones that have undergone a purification process to achieve high purity mana. And remember when I said mana flows out from magic stones? To add to that explanation, during the purification process, they deliberately make the mana flow outward.”

So the special processing Elena mentioned earlier was this purification work.

I took a magic stone from my pocket and showed it to Elena.

This stone was also an ignition stone that I had used my ability on.

“What about this one?”

“This is… a magic stone?”

Elena looked shocked at the magic stone sitting in my palm.

How about that? A magic stone that emits a soft glow even in bright places?

“Can you tell me how good this magic stone is?”

At my request to judge the quality of the stone, Elena picked up the magic stone from my palm.

She closed her eyes for a moment, seemingly sensing something.

“Where did you get this magic stone?”

When she opened her eyes, she asked me about the stone’s origin.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because the quality is extraordinary. The purity of the mana is extremely high. This is a supreme quality stone that would be hard to find even at auction houses. Such stones can usually only be seen in magic towers.”

I was inwardly surprised by her statement that such stones could only be found in magic towers.

But there was still one more thing I needed to confirm.

“Elena, do you think carrying this stone would accelerate magical achievement?”

“If you carried a stone of this quality for about a month, your growth rate would increase by at least half, at minimum. It varies from person to person, of course. To be honest, if someone trains with this stone and only improves by half their normal rate, it would basically mean they have no talent as a mage.”

I couldn’t help but smile at Elena’s words.

What if I mass-produced these and distributed them to the magic students at Glesius Academy?

The students’ skills would grow rapidly, and if a battle with the Demon Cult occurred, they wouldn’t be helplessly defeated.

“Is that so? Then I’ll give this magic stone to you as a gift.”

“Huh? What? WHAT?”

Elena’s jaw dropped when I said I would give her the magic stone as a gift.

What’s this? Is it really that surprising?

“Y-you’re giving me such a precious item as a gift?”

“It’s not like I have much use for it anyway. I think it’s better to give it to someone who can make good use of it.”

That’s right. So grow with this stone, Elena.

When people learn that you’ve grown rapidly because of this magic stone, they’ll all be desperate to get one too, won’t they?

But such good magic stones aren’t easy to obtain…

‘Then I’ll casually give out magic stones as a service while checking their equipment.’

The magic students will grow through the stones I provide, and my future becomes safer as a result.

‘Wow, whoever came up with this idea is truly brilliant.’