Chapter 40: Chapter 39 – Support Mage

Yuki thought about the conversation he just had as he walked to the classroom his smartwatch was leading him to. When that elf girl whose name he now knew was Yuna had initially sat next to him, he had tensed up expecting the worst. But she was actually quite normal and didn’t come to insult him or be annoying and ask too many questions.

 

She also had invited Yuki to go shopping which is something that Yuki was originally planning to do once he had gotten money but now he didn’t need to if she was going to do the paying. Yuki didn’t understand why she was trying to get close to him, but if it benefited him then he had no reason to complain.

 

He arrived in front of a room that was located on the third floor of the Magic Hall. The plate on the door labeled it as the entrance to the beginner support mage class. Yuki opened the door and walked right in.

 

This classroom was much smaller compared to the training room and the General Magic room. Like those classrooms, the inside was quite barren with no decorations. But due to its small size, the room didn’t feel empty. At the front of the class was a familiar face. The instructor of this class seemed to be Mabel.

 

Her eyes cracked open when she heard Yuki enter the room and a faint smile formed on her face.

 

“Welcome, Yuki,” she greeted him. “I see you are early again. You can sit where ever you like.”

 

Yuki nodded and sat in his usually location of the corner of the room nearest to the doors. Then he did what Mabel was doing and began to meditate. His mind calmed and he waited for the class to begin.

 

The bell rang and Yuki opened his eyes to see that the classroom was exactly how it was before he sat down. There were no other students in the room other than him and the only other person was Mabel.

 

Mabel opened her eyes and looked at Yuki with a small grin.

 

“I know. Yes, you are the only student for this class,” she confirmed. “You were the only first year to select a support mage class.”

 

Yuki nodded.

 

“Supporting isn’t a role people really enjoy,” Mabel explained. “Most people enjoy fighting rather than helping. They would much rather have glory even if it means contributing less.”

 

“I understand,” Yuki replied.

 

“That’s good. But this is great for you as we will be having one on one classes and you’ll be able to learn more,” she said cheerfully. “I also should thank you for picking a support class. If you didn’t then this class would have been closed for the year and I would have been quite bored.”

 

Yuki again nodded in response.

 

“From what I saw, you have the class of Buffer if I’m not mistaken?” she asked Yuki.

 

Yuki didn’t reply immediately. He was deliberating on whether or not to tell her the truth or go with the misunderstanding that his homeroom teacher had created.

 

‘I’ll just tell her the symbol of my class and see if she comes up with the same conclusion that Nataru-sensei did,’ Yuki decided.

 

“The symbol for my class was a sparkling staff,” he answered.

 

“A sparkling staff?” Mabel repeated. Yuki nodded and she scratched her cheek. “That’s not the symbol for a Buffer. But I can see why Nataru got confused. A Buffer’s symbol is a staff but should have no sparkles.”

 

She quieted and began to think.

 

“What class is that?” she mumbled to herself. “Hmmm.”

 

Then her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp. She quickly looked back up at Yuki.

 

“What color was the class when you chose it?” she asked urgently.

 

“Gold,” Yuki replied. Mabel inhaled sharply upon hearing that word.

 

“Oh my gods,” she whispered, her hand over her mouth. “A special class. I think I know what class you chose. It’s a class that has only been seen once before in history. You are a Support Mage?”

 

Yuki nodded with nonreactive eyes.

 

“Please keep this a secret,” Yuki requested. “I don’t want to stir up any commotions. I would prefer to keep attention away from myself.”

 

Mabel tilted her head and stared at him for a little bit. Then she started to giggle lightly to herself.

 

“You aren’t like the others,” Mabel remarked. “Most people would love to have the fact that they received a special class advertised to everyone in the world.”

 

“I’m not from here,” Yuki replied.

 

“I can tell,” Mabel said in return. “The culture of this world is the complete opposite of your personality.”

 

“How so?”

 

“To begin with, fame is the most sought after thing, second only to strength,” Mabel explained. “Here, you gain more respect and prestige the more you flaunt your skills. This is also why support classes aren’t picked often by students now a days.”

 

‘I see,’ Yuki thought.

 

“Is that why combat classes are chosen so often?” Yuki asked.

 

“Yes,” Mabel answered. “Warriors and fighters are the most respected people in our society. Magic warriors even more so. Mages are often looked over. That is not to say that they aren’t respected, but rather warriors are put in higher regard.”

 

She started to sigh softly to herself.

 

“Support mages are the ones that are looked down upon,” Mabel said sadly. “It’s because of our inherit role in combat. We stay in the back to help the warriors and the mages and we ourselves do not do any of the fighting. Even though many battles are won because of us, since we didn’t do anything that was visible we are labeled as useless or weak.”

 

Yuki nodded with understanding. Support was usually the most unrewarding role in terms of respect.

 

“I will keep your class a secret,” Mabel announced. “It’s not like anyone would really care even if you did announce it to the world. But do you know what a Support Mage is?”

 

“I have an abstract understanding but I do not have any details,” Yuki replied.

 

“Support Mage is even rarer than my class which is Priest,” she said. “From the books written about the one Support Mage that we ever had in history, Support Mages are suspected of being able to perform any type of support magic. They can do things like enhancements, healing, purifying, weakening spells, and other things that may not have been recorded.”

 

Yuki expression didn’t change despite this incredible news.

 

“Not only that, but it is also suspected that Support Mage encompasses all support classes including the ones that aren’t recorded yet,” she continued, her eyes gleaming. “This is going to be very interesting. I’m so glad that I am the one that will be the one to teach you.”

 

‘I can probably learn holy magic from her,’ Yuki thought to himself. ‘Possible healing and enhancing as well. The other parts I may need to use Ancestral Knowledge to learn.’

 

“Is there anything you are confused about?” Mabel asked him.

 

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Yuki shook his head.

 

“Perfect, then we can start the class,” she said, clapping her hands. “First thing I want to know. Do you need a medium in order to use raw mana?”

 

“Do you mean something like a weapon or a wand?” Yuki asked.

 

“Yes,” she answered, nodding. “Do you need anything like that?”

 

Yuki again shook his head.

 

“Really? Do you mind showing me your mana then?” Mabel asked.

 

Yuki spread his palm open and circulated mana into his hand. Then he began to force it out into the world, light brown energy slowly seeping out of his palm like smoke.

 

“Can you give it a form?” Mabel inquired with an excited look on her face.

 

Yuki complied and began to focus intently on his mana. Within his mind, he created a simple circle and shaped his mana to bend into that. Above his palm, a small circle slowly formed as Yuki’s arm shook. When he could handle it anymore, Yuki released the flow of mana and dropped his arm, tired.

 

“Good, good!” Mabel exclaimed. “We don’t have to go over the basics than. We can go straight into the more exciting parts of this class.”

 

She saw Yuki’s questioning face and explained more.

 

“Since you can use magic using yourself as a medium, then I don’t have to teach you that,” she said. “You will understand later when you see the other mages. Support mages shouldn’t need a tool in order to utilize their mana because they must be able to cast spells as quickly and efficiently as possible. Using a medium extends the casting time and increases the mana cost, though it is easier.”

 

Yuki nodded his head.

 

“General Magic may seem boring to you now,” Mabel remarked. “We will be teaching the basics which you seem to have a good understanding of already.”

 

“I don’t mind,” Yuki replied.

 

“Anyway, let’s begin with a simple spell. A small personal strength enhancing spell,” Mabel announced. “Simple repeat what I say.”

 

She began to chant a rather lengthy line while flowing mana into her two hands. As she spoke, a magic circle formed between her hands and glowed a dull yellow. Then her chant finished and the circle pulsated once before disappearing. A yellow shimmer appeared around Mabel.

 

“And that’s the spell,” she said. “Now my strength is amplified for the next five minutes or so by about five percent. It’s not the strongest of spells. Why don’t you give it a try. You can ask me to repeat it if you want me to.”

 

Yuki said nothing and mulled over the chant in his mind.

 

‘It’s as redundant as the bonding spell was,’ Yuki thought. ‘Maybe it’s to prevent any side effects from occurring? In any case, I think if I keep my intentions as clear as possible I could cut out most of the chant. Or maybe I can just picture the magic circle the spell made and create that. But let me do it her way first.’

 

Yuki closed his eyes and circulated his mana to his hands. Then he put them near each other and began to repeat the chant perfectly. The mana followed his words and formed to create the spell. Then the golden brown circle pulsated and Yuki was filled with a feeling of power.

 

He opened his eyes and saw the glowing eyes of Mabel as she watched him.

 

“Excellent,” she said. “I think I just need to teach all the spells I can and we will be good for your whole time at the Academy.”

 

“Mabel-sensei,” Yuki started. “I have a question.”

 

“Go ahead,” she replied, nodding her head.

 

“The spell seems too long to be used in combat,” he said. “Is there a shortened version?”

 

“You can picture the spell circle in your mind and create that using your mana,” she answered. “That’s why I wanted to see if you could use mana without a medium. Because if you can, then this method would be the quickest way for you to use a spell.”

 

Yuki paused and thought to himself for a little.

 

“How about the chant itself?” he asked.

 

“That we don’t know,” Mabel replied. “Maybe if we understood the meaning of the chant we could. But since we don’t then it’s impossible for us to do.”

 

Yuki nodded his head. That would make sense. Now he had something to experiment with tonight.

 

“May I try to do the picturing method?” Yuki asked.

 

“That would be fine, I don’t see why not,” Mabel said. “If you can do it then I will just give you books with spells in them and we can just research in this class. I wouldn’t need to teach you anything.”

 

Yuki closed his eyes again and brought back the image of the spell circle in his mind. He remembered the order of the runes and the way the runes were connected. He recalled the size and the shape of the circle itself. Then, slowly, he flowed mana out of his hands to form the spell.

 

As he did this, Yuki realized two things. The runes were the written form of the language Mabel called the language of the gods. As he was writing them with his mana, he discovered that he could read the script and that it mirrored the chant. The other thing that Yuki found was that the lines that formed complex patterns within the spell circle connected the runes. They linked them together and acted like a circuit that flowed mana in the spell in a specific order.

 

Yuki released the spell and he was once again filled with a feeling of power and strength. He reopened his eyes and saw that Mabel’s face was filled with fierce joy and excitement.

 

“Great! I don’t actually need to teach you anything then!” she exclaimed. “We can just research how to simplify spells and make things.”

 

“Make things,” Yuki repeated.

 

“Yes, make things,” Mabel said. “Support classes also include classes that can create support items. They don’t make weapons but they make things like bracelets and other accessories with enchantments on them to help out in combat.”

 

“That is good to know,” Yuki said nodding. “I would like to learn that.”

 

“I could teach you how to create holy artifacts but for other things I’ll send you to the craftsman classes to learn,” Mabel informed him.

 

“That’s fine.”

 

“Great! Then let’s start,” she said.

 

She went to a wall and opened a compartment that Yuki never noticed. Then she took out a bundle of books and scroll that she dumped in front of Yuki.

 

“Just memorize those and we will be good for the whole year!” she said happily.

 

Yuki stared at her then let out a sigh before grabbing the first scroll. The title read, “Enhancing Spells Vol. 1”.

 

‘This might take a while,’ Yuki thought before he started to read.