“You’re a genius.”
An old man said to a child.
As the child smiled brightly, the old man continued to speak.
“…only in trivial knowledge.”
Soon, the old man’s finger pointed sharply at the child.
Both the expression and the finger were so intimidating that the child trembled, swallowing his dry saliva.
“Well, what about trivial knowledge, Master? I know it best. I’m the best at crafting magic spells. I’m the fastest at creating magic.”
In response to the earnest words of the disciple, the master, with a sly expression, change to pointing towards the chest of the child.
“It’s not here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mana.”
“Oh, no. I have mana. My circulation is filled with mana. Look at this.”
A vessel that could hold mana and various other things moved mana along the path of circulation.
As the child opened his hand, a butterfly made of flames fluttered.
Crack.
The master broke the child’s magic with his hand.
“Linel.”
The master raised his hand over Linel’s head.
“…Listen well.”
Linel’s eyes changed anxiously.
“You may not be able to use magic throughout your life.”
“Why? Everyone else uses magic, so why shouldn’t I? They say you’re a trash if you can’t use magic here, but am I a trash?”
Tears welled up in Linel’s round, large eyes.
“I can use magic. Master knows it too. Right?”
Linel grabbed the hem of the master’s robe and opened his mouth earnestly.
“Unfortunately, Linel. Mana has turned its back on you. The path of your circulation cannot grow.”
The master grabbed Linel’s hand.
“So… the vast knowledge you have can only be trivial.”
With a gaze that mixed compassion and understanding, Linel turned and left the room.
Years after, the child became a boy.
The boy became an adult.
Becoming an old man, Linel understood the meaning of his master’s words.
The path of circulation containing mana should have grown, but his own had not increased at all.
Like the mana during his childhood, it remained rigid, as if unable to grow.
Some called it an illness, and some called it a curse. This strange situation labeled Linel as a pitiful case.
But starting from childhood, Linel did not discard the so called trivia knowledge by his master.
Scribble.
Scribble.
Linel continued to draw complicated formulas, and his hand trembled.
“…I’ve done it.”
A magic formula created with a lifetime of effort, utilizing what others called trivial knowledge.
The only magic that could be used with his fist-sized mana.
The cursed path of circulation that had not grown throughout his life, had finally a magic that could make it grow.
“I’ve done it!”
Old Linel’s eyes widened, and he screamed to the point where the world seemed to fade away.
His appearance seem like he would run out of breath immediately.
“Why are you doing something useless again?”
Everyone scolded and criticized him.
“I’ve finally done it!”
Later, even his family turned away.
But he had to do it.
No, this was the only way.
Someone had called the fact that his curse was ingrave within him. The curse engraved on the soul, and the soul continued into the next life.
So if he couldn’t break this curse in this life, the pain would continue into the next life.
To avoid suffering like this in the next life, he had to do something now.
“In the next life…”
Linel expressed a small wish he couldn’t fulfill in this life.
“Please, in the next life…”
Hot tears streamed down.
Just like others.
Just enough to grow the path of circulation so he could use magic as much as others.
Linel used the magic he had devoted his entire life to finally be able to use magic.
Sunlight enveloped Linel like a bright light.
Feeling the growth of the long-sought path of circulation, Linel quietly closed his eyes.
Without knowing where the end of this magic was.
