A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

Chapter 59: The Village Elder - Part 9

Beam didn't even hesitate. It'd been on his mind the whole way home and the whole time home, even. He wanted to dismiss what had happened inside the Elder's house as a mere hallucination, but he just couldn't. He still felt a terror within him as he reimagined it.

"Is magic real?" He asked.

"Magic?" Dominus repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Ah…" He began nodding. "I suppose you would be asking that, mm?"

"So? Is it?" Beam pressed him again.

"Well, it depends on what you call magic, but, yes, to a degree, however—" Dominus began, but Beam cut him off.

"Really!? Does that mean there could be wizards hiding in the village? People who are capable of magic?" Beam asked, half excited, half nervous.

"No. That's just what I was about to say. Whilst magic is possible, it's a very limited pursuit… Hah… How do I explain this so you'll get it?" Dominus said, putting a hand to a chin in thought. "Well, let's put it this way, how many years of training do you think it takes before a man is capable of cutting through stone with a sword?"

Beam tilted his head. He hadn't even thought about it. But then, before meeting Dominus, he was quite sure it was impossible to perform such a feat. "I dunno…? A few years, I guess? Are you saying that's magic?"

Dominus shook his head. "No. No to both. It takes significantly longer than 'a few years'. It takes up to ten. Only a master swordsman can accomplish it. It requires such an understanding of the blade and of this universe that we inhabit that most people that attempt it will never be capable of doing it. But it's not magic. It's merely one of the highest demonstrations of physical effectiveness. Of martial technique. Magic is something different entirely."

"So… Since you can do it with a stick, does that mean you're even higher up than them on the mountain?" Beam asked.

The old knight merely smiled and shrugged as though such a thing was obvious. "Cutting a boulder with a blade is merely the first step, after all. It's like being able to see for the first time. See, magic is something similar. But it's a far more maddening pursuit," he said.

"I still don't get it," Beam told him.

"Well, just like I said, training to cut a boulder in half with a blade requires a decade, minimum, for extremely talented people. Magic is a similar pursuit. It would require AT LEAST a decade of training – most likely much more – to be able to use even the slightest bit of magic, the weakest of spells," Dominus told him. "And unlike swordsmanship, you can't see that you're progressing. You have no idea whether you're heading in the right direction. That's decades upon decades of training where you get nothing at all until the very moment where you can access mana in yourself and the world around you and make use of it."

"..? Really? Is it that rare? That must mean that basically no one can use it," Beam said, twisting his face in a frown.

"That's exactly how it is," Dominus said with a nod. "And the people that do make it, they're almost without exception, thoroughly insane. To put that amount of time in, to still believe that you can achieve it without seeing the slightest bit of progress – that's either the mark of a truly exceptional man, or a truly insane man. If you ever encounter a mage – which you almost certainly won't, for the chances are so low – then you would best steer clear of them. The last sane mage in known memory died centuries ago, as far as I know."

"Hah… So that's how it is," Beam murmured. Then whatever was off about the village Elder, it certainly wasn't magic related.

"Wait a moment, boy," Dominus said, seeing that Beam was readying himself to continue training. "This is important. Now that you've got me speaking of it, it's best you know, before you find yourself in trouble."

Surprised by how serious his master was continuing to be, Beam looked up with more attention than he usually might.

"Mages, without exception, are dreadfully powerful. Earlier I said that they needed decades of training even to use the slightest bit of magic – that's true. Except, that's never where it ends. The hard part is finally tapping into the mana inherent in yourself and in the universe. Once that obstacle is overcome, it unlocks boundless power. Even the worst of them could erase a whole village with a click of their fingers. They're such powerful beings, that almost without exception, they gain a following. People wanting to learn from them, to gain the same power – more drippings of insanity. Anyone involved with mages in any way is incredibly dangerous. And the mages themselves are even more so," Dominus told him.

"Could they slay the Pandora Goblin then?" Beam asked, thoroughly interested by now.

Dominus shrugged. "The best mages – as far as I know – have never been equal to the most powerful swordsmen. Once they overcome the ceiling of mana, there is another ceiling above that which they must overcome to become even more powerful. I don't know what that ceiling is. Nor do I know if anyone has ever broken it. There might be mages out there capable of defeating the Pandora Goblin, but don't see the value in exposing their skill. But then, the same might be said of swordsmen too."

"Hmm…" Beam said thoughtfully, as he picked his stick back up and readied himself for more sparring. "Then I suppose I had better get stronger," he said with a grin. "So that I never lose to any of these insane men that you're calling mages."

"Perish the thought," Dominus replied back with a grin of his own. "Go on then, show me how you're going to overcome the wizardry."

And then Beam ran forward, feeling refreshed, twirling his blade as he searched for a new angle of attack.