“That was amazing.”

“Wh-what was?”

“The battle.”

“Oh, the battle. The battle. Right.”

He remembered catching the orcs.

He was talking about it. His face flushed for no reason.

“It was good that you went into battle.”

He comforted the woman.

“But I didn’t do anything, did I?”

“Even so. Usually, people can’t compose themselves and can’t do anything. Have you fought a lot before?”

“It was my first time alone.”

“Then that’s amazing. You fought well enough.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“…Thank you.”

The woman smiled.

He remembered the woman having slightly wet herself.

He didn’t mention it.

Thinking about it, it seemed like there was still a smell. He distanced himself a bit.

“I actually haven’t even received proper training.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not even an intermediate mage, I’m an assistant who hasn’t even shed the apprentice label.”

“…”

“So, about that!”

Amelin grabbed his hand.

Her hands were much finer than Lorina’s.

Perhaps because the girl climbed mountains to collect herbs, her hands were a bit rough.

In comparison, Amelin’s hands were soft.

“Can’t you teach me magic?”

“Me?”

“Please, I’m begging you!”

“That’s a bit difficult. You want me to teach you without any compensation?”

“I will pay the price. With a secret that only I possess, one I haven’t told anyone else.”

“A secret?”

“Could you hold my hand for a moment?”

I took the woman’s hand.

I swallowed hard.

I didn’t know what she was planning, but holding her hand felt nice.

As we did so, something strange happened.

The woman used magic.

Just like in the carriage, she conjured fire from her hand.

To be honest, it wasn’t particularly impressive magic.

That’s because she was only at an apprentice level, not even a low-level one.

But it was different from before.

I could feel the mana moving.

Each time she chanted a spell, the arrangement of mana changed.

And depending on the words she uttered, I could feel the mana forming into an orderly structure.

Normally, I wouldn’t feel it in such detail.

Now, I was even grasping every single detail of someone else using magic.

The process of systematically moving mana gradually transforming into elements.

Even the final bloom as it became a fire flower.

Watching that, I had an epiphany.

The woman extinguished the fire flower and said,

“I have the ability to share senses.”

“Sensory Sharing?”

“Yes. By observing each other manipulate mana, we can gain enlightenment.”

“Is this the price?”

“Is it not enough?”

“Hmm…”

Honestly, it was excellent.

The way she moved mana was different.

Although it couldn’t compare to the Protagonist’s magic, there was much to learn from the way she moved mana.

The Protagonist uses magic by recalling images.

That’s not very good.

Originally, he should have learned the theories properly and understood the meaning of all the spells. Only then would he achieve proper efficiency.

Nevertheless, the Protagonist’s ability to use magic properly was largely due to his ability to see and smell mana.

Thanks to that, he could imagine with much greater intensity.

However, there were many inefficiencies in how he moved mana. This was a part he had no choice but to overlook.

On the other hand, the woman had definitely learned the theories.

Since her magic was driven by theory, the mana moved like a disciplined army.

If he learned that method, the time it took to cast spells seemed like it would shorten.

The unnecessary consumption of mana also decreased, which was much better.

Since he had seen that method, he felt he could just copy it even without knowing the theory.

Having the sensations conveyed directly felt like knowledge was being directly implanted into his mind. He was confident that even just imitating her method would lead to progress.

It was a sufficient price.

However, the woman seemed to have interpreted it differently.

She displayed an anxious expression, as if she judged that the other party was not interested in the Protagonist’s offer.

“You don’t like it?”

“That’s not it.”

“If there’s anything you need, I’ll teach you!”

“What?”

“I have a few Basic Texts. If you see anything you need, I’ll teach you.”

The woman took out a book from the bag at her waist.

Six thick books popped out.

Each one looked expensive.

He was about to say it was fine, but he closed his mouth. There was no need to refuse when she was offering to take care of more things for him.

“May I read a little bit?”

“Yes.”

He picked up one of the books.

He read a little. It was a book that systematically explained how to handle mana.

It was the book the protagonist needed.

The Old Man explained the theory.

However, that lecture was an explanation given on the premise that he had learned basic fundamental knowledge.

The Dream Self knows, but the Protagonist does not know the basic knowledge.

So, he couldn’t learn properly.

That was also why he clung to the method of reproducing the smell of mana.

But what the woman was holding was precisely the book containing that basic knowledge.

“Can you teach me everything?”

“Everything?”

“Would it be difficult?”

“Oh, no. It’s just a little gnoll. You really must have studied toxicology.”

Earlier, Rael reluctantly said he had a master.

But the woman now seemed not to believe it.

If he had a master, there was no way he wouldn’t have learned such basic knowledge.

She seemed to have taken out the book just in case.

The woman became even more confused.

She also said that he couldn’t have such skill without a master.

But when the Protagonist showed her magic, she understood.

Sharing senses just now, she trembled as if struck by lightning.

“Mister Rael.”

“Yes.”

“Can you see mana, by any chance?”

He kept his mouth shut.

The woman saw the Protagonist create a Water Mass.

She received the sensations directly.

It meant she had seen the entire process of mana moving.

It might have been what she felt from that.

He thought there was no way to pretend ignorance if the woman had noticed.

After a long deliberation, he nodded.

He was also curious about what it meant to see mana.

An ordinary Mage cannot see mana with their eyes.

The Protagonist was different from an ordinary Mage.

He was special.

He wanted to know how special he was.

Amelin had said the Protagonist had great talent.

She didn’t explain in detail because she kept pestering him to show her Magic.

She looked like she was about to bang her head on the floor.

He reluctantly created a Water Mass.

Then the woman created a Fire Flower.

They took turns showing each other Magic.

In the process of doing it repeatedly, he carefully observed the process of mana moving.

A training session continued where they learned each other’s methods.

There was an unexpected gain.

More precisely, a problem was found.

Flower Mana was the problem.

Amelin pointed it out.

The Protagonist didn’t know.

There was mana hidden inside his body.

If he hadn’t observed his inner self, he would have never known about it.

He remembered how much it hurt, like an upset stomach, when he ate the Blue Flower.

At that time, he was fighting a Goblin, so he quickly forgot about it.

But looking back now, it seemed he hadn’t fully absorbed the medicinal effects.

He had to subjugate the mana separately.

Upon closer inspection, there were also slight problems with handling mana. It wasn’t like this before he ate the Blue Flower.

Amelin also pointed out several other problems with Rael.

She had a lot of minor knowledge as a Mage.

He was gnoll-ed every time she pointed out problems that even the Protagonist didn’t know about.

The Protagonist thought it was a disadvantageous deal, but it wasn’t entirely so.

She also had Basic Texts.

To understand Magic theory, he had to learn these Basic Texts first.

This was because there were many technical terms in the theory.

Learning this would reveal the true nature of the terms the Old Man mentioned.

That meant he would now be able to understand theory to some extent.

She was gnoll-ed. Twice gnoll-ed.

The Protagonist was weaker in theory than he thought.

The woman said that there were almost no people like the Protagonist.

She added that even if there were, their skills were very poor.

She said it was right to learn theory.

She said it was very difficult to use magic by just imagining the image intensely, like the protagonist.

She also said that Mana Sight was a great blessing.

They all became great Mages, apparently.

I felt good because she spoke as if the protagonist would become like that too. It would be great if it really happened.

For now, I focused on subduing the Flower Mana.

It was hard doing the Breathing Technique the Old Man taught me.

It seemed to be because it was a Breathing Technique for accumulating mana.

Amelin said she had a separate Breathing Technique for controlling mana.

The woman even taught me that.

When I asked if I had to pay a separate fee, she said it didn’t matter.

I wondered if she wanted something, but she truly didn’t want anything.

She was already seeing more than enough progress in magic.

Water and fire.

She and the protagonist had trained differently.

But by sensing the protagonist’s perception, she was seeing things that ordinary Mages couldn’t.

She added that this itself was a great opportunity for her.

When she said that much, I started to think that seeing mana was no ordinary feat.

She wasn’t a fool.

Nor was she an idiot who couldn’t speak her mind.

At least she spoke her mind.

For her to give so much more without any compensation meant that it was truly a great opportunity, so amazing that she would give it away so freely.

Amelin’s Fire Flower seemed to have grown slightly larger.

It seemed that the results of her training in the Castle for a few days were greater than what she had learned under a Mage for several years.

Now that I think about it, the woman seemed to be deeply moved by the very act of learning magic.

The woman’s master barely taught her any magic.

Even if she wanted to learn, she had to pay an enormous bribe.

Perhaps because of that, it felt like progressing in magic came at a much higher cost.

It was good for the protagonist.

Flower Mana occasionally moved on its own.

It was like an untamed beast.

The protagonist had to make it their own.

It was slowly starting to show signs.

The more it did, the more comfortable it became to move mana every time magic was used.

It felt like the power itself was getting stronger.

Before, it felt like holding a sword hilt with two fingers.

Let alone swinging the sword, just holding it was overwhelming.

But now, it felt like properly wielding a mouse with one hand.

Swinging the sword also became fully possible.

The regrettable thing was that there was no opportunity to see its effect.

Currently, Water Ball had been trained to its limit, so there was no change.

A Water Spell Blast seemed like it would be different.

The old man had chanted the spell for a long time to demonstrate.

He said that with proficiency, the casting time would decrease.

Even so, its lethality wasn’t great, but it seemed much better against multiple opponents.

It also looked quite flashy, so it seemed like it would have the effect of lowering enemy morale.

Morale was important in battle.

Even if goblins were far more numerous, they would all flee if their morale dropped.

Otherwise, there was a way to use or destroy terrain features.

A Water Pillar was enough to instantly collapse even a village’s wooden gate.

Even if that wasn’t the case, improving the skill of handling mana was good.

Later, when learning ice magic, it could be learned quickly.

The key was when the old man would teach it.

Occasionally, he felt curious about the woman.

Sensory Sharing.

This wasn’t something learned like Magic.

Nor was it something she was born with.

He wondered where she had acquired such an ability.

But the woman absolutely refused to tell him that much.

It was suspicious.

It seemed to be related to why she had come to this place.

Her bookbag was also strange.

Besides the basic texts, there was one more book.

It seemed like an incredibly important book.

He wanted to know what kind of book it was, but he felt he shouldn’t ask.

Whenever he asked why she had come all this way from that distant place, she subtly changed the subject.

He looked into Amelin’s eyes.

Her emotions were clearly visible.

She was fidgeting.

The protagonist was like that too. It was after he got the staff.

He would get that look in his eyes when he possessed something beyond his means.

Greed began to grow.

He might be able to find out if he tortured the woman.

But he didn’t do it.

The protagonist wasn’t bad enough to cruelly beat the woman for an uncertain reward.

Beating people was Dorian’s specialty.

The carriage rolled on.

The journey was good.

Time passed quickly with his training.

Usually, this would be a waste of time, but Rael dedicated his free time to improving himself.

He was making good use of his time.

Perhaps that’s why he didn’t give it much thought even when the Carriage rolled along leisurely.

That was also the reason he didn’t specifically take on Guard requests.

If he had joined the Trade Caravan as a Mercenary, he would have had to stand Night Watch, and even if he trained, he would have had to be considerate.

Because it was a job for which he was paid a separate fee.

But as a passenger, he didn’t need to do that; he could just have his own time.

It was good.

However, the regrettable thing was that Orcs had appeared on the way this time.

It had been 5 days since the First Attack.

They appeared again.

It was the Second Attack.

This time there were a few more, so the confusion was greater.

But the Protagonist did not step forward.

There was no reason to step forward in the first place.

Then the Book owner at the front rode up on horseback and shouted, asking for help.

“Please help! Mage!”

“Why should I?”

“Are you saying you won’t help?!”

The Book owner got angry.

“People are dying! Are you really going to abandon dying people! I’m disappointed!”

From his tone, he sounded like a genuine Castle official who cared about people.

His tone was as if he had known the Protagonist for a long time.

He had only exchanged a few words with him.

It was funny.

He was now shouting to protect the Protagonist’s wealth.

What was really funny was that the people in the carriage started giving them dirty looks.

From their perspective, they might have felt it was a shame.

But Rael didn’t care.

If he were to volunteer to take a loss just because people were watching, that would make him an idiot.

Moreover, this was a battle where lives could be lost.

They must have thought he was naive because of his young age and were trying to take advantage of him.

His participation on the first day was the root of the problem.

When he showed goodwill, they took it for granted.

No matter how much the caravan master cried out, Rael didn’t lift a finger until the battle was over.