Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 047. Magic (2)

Magic.

A mysterious power that uses Yeom—human desire, wish, will, and mental strength—to manifest one’s thoughts into reality.

It was so mysterious that even his talented master said he didn’t really know much about it.

‘Honestly, I think he was bullshitting….’

Anyway, what mattered was that Sphinx had offered to teach them magic.

“Can you really learn something like that so easily?”

It wasn’t a bad offer, but Anagin voiced his doubts first.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Sphinx; he just didn’t think magic was something you could pick up that easily.

He’d already seen the magic used by the Harpy Witch and her disciple. Magic definitely didn’t seem like something anyone could learn on a whim.

“Of course it’s hard. But some kinds of magic can be learned easily.”

“Can be learned easily, huh…. What kind of magic?”

“You shout out your technique names every time you fight, right?”

“…Not every time.”

"But you do shout them, don't you? Why do you shout them?"

“Because it looks cool.”

“…….”

Sphinx made an awkward face, as if she hadn’t expected that answer.

"Well, it also seems like the power gets stronger."

“That’s right, exactly that. You threw me off for a moment.”

“That’s magic? Me shouting my technique names?”

"Yes, it can be called a type of magic. The shout itself contains the desire for the power to become stronger. Besides that, the hoeing of a farmer who diligently farms every day, hoping for a good harvest, can also be magic, and a craftsman pouring his heart into creating an exceptional piece can also be magic ... Magic isn't necessarily something only a special few can wield."

“Hmmm…….”

Anagin hummed and nodded.

It sounded plausible enough.

Magic was based on Yeom, and Yeom was the manifestation of human desire and will.

‘So that’s why he made me shout out the technique names?’

Anagin recalled his past.

Whenever he sparred with his master, he would steal and use his master’s techniques one by one. And every time, his master would smack him and shout:

‘Shout the technique name! Shout it! Loudly!’

‘How am I supposed to do something so embarrassing!’

‘Embarrassing your master? Are you ashamed of your master?!’

‘Yes!’

‘Shouting your technique name is cool! I’ll convince you!!’

His master earnestly convinced him with both fists, and in the end, Anagin was convinced. After getting beaten so soundly, shouting the technique names really did start to feel kind of cool.

“Mister, why’s your face like that?”

“I just remembered something from the past. Anyway, you were saying you’d teach that kind of magic… huh?”

Anagin trailed off as he noticed Kori and Pais, who had approached at some point.

Both siblings had eyes sparkling with excitement—the prospect of learning magic thrilled them.

Sphinx warned them gently.

“Don’t get your hopes up too much. I’m not teaching you some grand magic. All I’m teaching you is a spell that helps you throw stones a little more accurately.”

“That’s still great!”

Pais shouted energetically.

His older sister, Kori, asked eagerly:

“How do we use magic? Do we chant an incantation?”

“Chanting is a reliable method, but chanting a spell every single time you sling a stone is inefficient. Magic doesn’t always require an incantation.”

It was news to Anagin too, but he found it reasonable.

He didn’t shout the names of all the techniques he stole from his master, after all.

Footwork, defense, grappling—he never gave names to the things he used constantly. His master didn’t shout out the name of a technique every time he moved either; even he thought that would be too embarrassing.

Sphinx raised her index finger.

“The important thing is to focus your mind and form the image in your head. The image of the stone flying straighter, the image of the stone hitting its target.”

The siblings nodded in perfect sync.

Sphinx picked up a stone, closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and threw it with full force.

Bang-!

The stone flew with surprising force—far too strong for her delicate arm—and struck directly on top of the stone Anagin had thrown earlier.

“Whoa! The power got stronger too!!”

Pais gasped in admiration at the force of Sphinx’s throw.

"Did you cast a magic that makes the power stronger too, sis?

“Of course.”

Sphinx grinned as she answered.

Then her eyes met Anagin’s.

“…….”

“…….”

“…So? How was it?”

“You go pick up some stones too.”

* * *

Training always has an order.

Anagin told the overly excited Pais and Kori to pick up stones first. And Sphinx, too, while they were at it.

“Then give me something to carry the stones in. You two grab one as well.”

The three took sacks from Anagin and went off to gather stones.

It was tiring work that ate up a good chunk of time, but perhaps because they were excited to learn magic, the siblings collected stones even faster than before.

Sphinx’s help surely contributed too.

Whatever the case, once Kori and Pais quickly recovered the stones, they immediately resumed training.

“Let’s start with meditation. So you can push out other distractions and focus solely on the stones.”

Sphinx taught them a meditation technique to improve concentration.

Not mandatory, but she said increasing concentration was more effective for using magic.

Kori and Pais believed her and started meditating, and soon after, they held stones in both hands and imbued them with Yeom.

Not that “imbuing” meant much—it was just focusing the image they had in mind onto the stone.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh-! Thwack!

The stones missed the target, similar to before.

Anagin asked Sphinx:

“You’re sure they can learn magic like that?”

“It’s not certain. Magic is a field that requires talent, too. I’m only showing the path; the one who reaches the goal depends on their own skill. There are people whose desires are strong but still can't use magic."

“So how do you know if they’re actually learning it properly or not?”

"If they learn it properly, Yeom will be felt from the stone."

“When does that happen?”

“When those kids actually learn magic. Until then, you won’t know. Whether they’re learning it properly or not.”

“Hm, feels kind of irresponsible.”

“That’s just how the study of magic is. But isn’t it fine? Even if they don’t learn magic, practicing like this will improve their throwing anyway.”

“Well….”

Since it wasn't a wrong thing to say, Anagin didn't say anything further.

Improving the siblings’ slingshot skill was the original goal. As long as that goal was achieved, anything was fine.

Learning magic would be ideal, but even if not, improving their throwing skills was still a good outcome.

More importantly…

"That thing called Yeom. It's somehow similar to a muscle."

Anagin used what he’d learned from Sphinx to deduce the nature of Yeom.

It required talent, but also repetition and training. The more you used it, the stronger it became—like a muscle.

Not surprising at all.

It was similar to how diligence worked.

A diligent person stayed steady even when facing difficult tasks; someone who wasn’t diligent couldn’t endure even easy ones for long.

“Right, think of Yeom as a mental muscle. Concentration, willpower, mental strength…. People who’ve used them more are better at them, right?”

“It must consume a lot of stamina.”

Once his deduction was confirmed, Anagin immediately voiced another.

The hood of Sphinx’s robe rustled.

“That’s true as well. The more you use Yeom, the more mentally fatigued you get.”

No sooner had she said that than Kori swayed.

“S-sorry. I just… got a little dizzy…….”

Kori insisted she was fine, but her complexion said otherwise. She was feeling something like anemia—a wave of mental exhaustion. It wasn’t because she had practiced throwing over a hundred times.

“Is that a side effect of using magic?”

“I don’t know if she actually used magic, but she definitely concentrated too hard. The mind isn’t infinite. She just needs to rest a bit. Don’t worry too much.”

Sphinx answered while checking on Kori.

Kori, startled, tried to insist she was fine.

“I-I’m fine. I was just dizzy for a moment—”

“—Rest.”

Anagin cut her off firmly as she tried to stand.

If Sphinx, who was a mage, told her to rest, then she should rest.

“B-but…….”

“Did you forget the promise you made with me?”

“Promise…?”

“You obey everything I say. No matter how unreasonable the order.”

“Ah….”

Kori let out a small sound.

But then she gathered her courage and spoke.

“B-but if I rest, that means… we have to stay here, right? Because of us.”

She was referring to what Anagin had said before training.

If they couldn’t hit the X-mark, they wouldn’t move on.

Naturally, Kori didn’t want to cause that to happen.

She knew better than anyone that the two of them, being children, weren’t much help. But to become a burden on top of that… she hated the thought.

“Why does that matter? We can just camp here. Are you upset because the bedding’s uncomfortable?”

“…N-no. It’s not that.”

“Then what? You afraid I’ll abandon you?”

“…….”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to do it like that. If I ever decide to throw you kids, away, I’ll tell you properly. I’ll say I’m abandoning you because you’re useless.”

Anagin spoke harshly—blunt to the point of cruelty.

But because he was so direct, Kori strangely felt relieved. There was no hidden meaning to guess at or intentions to interpret; she could just take his words as they were.

Anagin continued.

“What’s urgent right now isn’t the time. It’s you two being able to pull your own weight. So don’t get stubborn for no reason, just do as you’re told. If I say train, you train. If I say rest, you rest. If I say eat, you eat. I’m not accepting complaints. Got it?”

“…Yes, thank you. Then I’ll rest for a bit, and once I’m okay again, I’ll practice.”

Kori finally let go of her nervousness and complied.

Anagin nodded and then looked toward her younger brother, Pais.

He hadn’t even asked, but Pais answered vigorously:

“I can keep going! If I get tired, I’ll rest!”

He sounded excited, but Pais clearly understood what Anagin meant.

When Anagin nodded, Pais resumed his practice.

“Pinku-Pinku. Keep an eye on the kids for a bit.”

“Where are you going?”

“To catch something for lunch and dinner.”

Anagin spoke based on Pais and Kori’s condition and what he’d learned about magic.

He couldn’t tell if the two brats were actually using magic or not, but their stamina consumption had definitely gone up. It didn’t seem like they’d be able to travel today.

Maybe they’d have to stay here for a while….

“You sure about this?”

Sphinx asked.

She meant: was he okay with wasting time like this, when he was normally so driven?

“It’s not that urgent anyway. I’ve got something I want to practice too.”

Sphinx tilted her head, not understanding what he meant.

Anagin left her there and slipped into the forest.

Once he’d gone in deep enough, he looked at his right hand and focused his Energy.

Pa (pa), the technique of concentrating Energy to one part of the body.

In that state, Anagin tried using Ek (ek) again, the technique he saw and used in his fight with Paia.

Ssssss….

He felt the Energy in his hand slowly release in a form somewhere between light and smoke.

It wasn't particularly difficult. After all, he had seen it once, been hit by it once, and used it once.

But something felt off.

It was like he had imitated the outer form but hadn't established the inner substance. After sparring with his master, his master would explain the imitated technique in detail, allowing him to establish the inner substance, but unfortunately, he couldn't do that with Energy.

He probably needed to find someone who could teach him about Energy properly.

He remembered what the late old man had told him: Practitioners don’t freely teach one another how to handle Energy. You have to pay a heavy price, or have connections, or something like that.

Back then, he’d brushed it off, but now it made more sense.

“Well, it’s not urgent anyway.”

Anagin gathered back the Energy he had released and sat down in a suitable spot.

Then, just as his master had taught him, he sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and entered meditation.

Within that meditation, Anagin replayed his fight with Paia and recalled the way he manipulated his Energy during the battle.

So that next time… he could fight better.

* * *

Thwack!

Thwack!

The next morning.

Kori and Pais finally managed to hit the X-mark Anagin had carved into the tree.

“Big brother! Did you see that?!”

"W-we succeeded...!"

Whether it was thanks to magic or simply improved slingshot skill was unclear, but one thing was certain: the stones had hit the target accurately.

Which meant the two kids were now capable of at least protecting themselves.

“Hm. I think I can feel a faint trace of Yeom from the stones?”

Sphinx muttered this as she touched one of the stones that had struck the mark.

Pais reacted immediately.

“T-then does that mean we can use magic?!”

“Maybe…. But don’t get overconfident. This might be the limit.”

Magic is a profound study. Even if they could use magic, slingshotting might be their limit.

Just because they could handle Yeom didn’t mean they could suddenly conjure fire or summon wind.

“So what do we do to learn those kinds of things?”

“You refine your talent through steady study and training. It’s not something you can do right away.”

Pais, who had been bubbling with excitement, showed a hint of disappointment, but soon composed himself as if deciding to be satisfied for now.

Anagin also chimed in. Whatever the case, they had succeeded in the slingshotting he had requested.

“For now, be satisfied with what you accomplished. You worked hard, too."

“Yesss…!”

Kori beamed at Anagin’s praise.

But that smile vanished almost immediately.

“Then finish the remaining 100 shots, eat, and we’ll depart.”

“…Huh?”

“I told you. Even if you hit it once, you still have to throw a full hundred.”

That’s right. Success wasn’t the end—they had to complete the full set of one hundred accurate throws. And they hadn’t yet.

“If you get sloppy, you start over from the beginning. I’ll be watching, so throw them properly. Sphinx, you handle the food prep. We leave after lunch.”

“Mister, I get the food thing, but we’re leaving right away?”

“That’s the plan. Even after we finish eating, the sun will still be up. You want us to just sit around doing nothing?”

Anagin wasn’t just firm—he was the kind of person who followed through with whatever he declared.

He stood behind the two and watched to make sure Kori and Pais threw properly while they waited for lunch.

By the time they finished all their throws, Sphinx had brought the food. They ate quickly and immediately began preparing to leave.

And of course, they didn’t bother cleaning up dishes or tidying anything afterward.

Maybe because of that—

Sphinx’s eyes and the eyes of Pais and Kori started to look strangely similar as they stared at Anagin.

“What?”