"Like this?"
"No, less like foosh and more like fwaaa."
"You know I don't understand anything you're saying, right?"
"Then I won't teach you."
"Hahaha, I was joking, keep teaching me," said Kaito, pretending to apologize before trying again to manipulate the magic.
Last time, he had decided he would learn seriously, even planning how to do it once he returned to Gaia. As for the system rewards, those were almost completely discarded for now. The reason was simple: the rewards of a mission world varied depending on its theme. And since this world was set in an alien invasion scenario, Kaito was almost completely certain the reward would not be related to magic or magical skills.
Besides the theme, he had noticed a pattern, though he could not yet confirm it: the rewards of series worlds seemed to be greater than those of normal ones. It was too soon to be certain, since he had only entered one series world (Highschool DXD) and two normal ones, but with Gaia being constructed like an RPG with systems, it was logical to assume clear patterns existed.
Regarding special artifacts like grimoires or hidden treasures, finding them was even more difficult. Not because they were impossible, though they were rare, but because in such intense worlds, most had already been discovered and studied for generations. Finding one intact, without clues, was almost unthinkable.
The third option was to learn magic from others. But to teach magic required at least level 4 in that discipline, which made the process extremely inefficient. Not only was it difficult to find someone like that, but convincing them to teach was even more unlikely. And even if he succeeded, he would only learn one specific spell. The mere idea of spending days searching for someone and persuading them, only to end up learning a simple fireball, made Kaito feel like he was wasting his time.
Of course, there was the option of finding someone like Sonya, who had level 4 in shadow magic and could therefore teach any spell of that type. But finding such a person was even harder than winning the lottery.
Or so he thought… until he remembered he had by his side a fairy queen with absolute mastery over all elements. As soon as he realized it, he immediately asked her to teach him, and Mashiro agreed without hesitation.
Unfortunately, the progress was almost nonexistent for two main reasons.
The first was obvious: learning magic was not a short process. The only reason Kaito had learned it quickly before was his trait, which allowed him to easily master any spell with an evil inclination.
And the inclination of magic turned out to be a much more complex matter than he had initially thought.
At first, Kaito believed it was simply a matter of good and evil. His ability literally said:
"From the beginning of time, everything was divided in two: creation and destruction, Yin and Yang, white and black, good and evil. And from those original concepts, all others were born."
The system had never lied to him, but after analyzing it he realized he had misinterpreted it. Yes, everything originated from two extremes, but over the centuries, both had mixed, giving rise to infinite variations. Thus, nothing was completely good or evil, but percentages. And that theory was reinforced by his own experience when trying to learn magic.
Shadows, for example, he mastered with such ease that he concluded they were at least 90% evil.
Water, on the other hand, was much harder, but he managed to learn it; he then deduced 75% good and 25% evil. Fire was the opposite: relatively easy, but not as easy as shadows, so he calculated 75% evil and 25% good. Wind felt balanced, though leaning slightly toward positive: 60% good and 40% evil. Earth was the exception: the process was totally neutral, without obstacles but without help, a 50/50.
For now, Mashiro only taught the basic elements along with demonic and holy magic, so his calculations stopped there.
Some elements were combinations of others, like ice, born from water and wind, while others, like lightning, had to be learned independently.
In other words, what started as an attempt to learn magic ended up leading him to understand the logic behind his alignment.
The second reason for his slow progress was, ironically, Mashiro herself.
If there were a scale from 1 to 10 to measure how good a teacher someone was, even those who scored 1 would be offended to be compared with her. Mashiro had learned everything instantly, so her "teachings" were little more than instincts and abstract sensations, which did not help in the slightest.
Even so, there was some progress as Kaito slowly deciphered Mashiro, for example when she said: "less like foosh and more like fwaaa" while teaching him wind magic. Foosh is the onomatopoeia used in stories for a harsh wind, while fwaa represents a gentle breeze, so Kaito translated her instruction as:
"Stop trying to control it by force, instead let it flow through you."
"That's what I said."
"Yes, but I interpreted it."
"But I already said it."
"Yes, but… never mind."
Seeing Mashiro's confident expression, Kaito gave up on bragging about his "discovery."
"How much longer do we have to wait?"
Mashiro sat on the ground. Kaito, who had been training, dropped down beside her.
"It shouldn't be much longer."
Kaito looked up at the sky and extended his senses. He did not perceive anything strange, so he got up and walked toward the house.
Mashiro looked at him confused, then excited. But before she could speak, he cut in:
"I'll take a shower first and then we'll have dinner."
Mashiro immediately stood up and followed him, her excitement barely contained.
---
That night, at the table, they shared a simple dinner: rice with vegetables and stir-fried meat. But thanks to Kaito's cooking skills, even something so basic turned into a feast.
As they ate, they talked. Mashiro, who usually answered with monosyllables, began to participate a little more. She even started a topic herself, which was enough to bring a smile to Kaito's face.
"Why are you smiling?"
"For nothing," he replied, though deep down he was satisfied. Taking advantage of their time together, he was teaching her some common sense, and their mutual solitude favored progress.
Afterward, she even picked up her plate and washed it. Kaito, on the other hand, extended his shadow toward his own plate and made it disappear.
She looked at him wide-eyed, ready to scold him, but he spoke first while patting her head.
"There are plenty of dishes anyway, and this isn't our house."
"But you said…"
"I'm going to sleep. Rest well."
Before she could reply, he vanished in a flash of black and red, leaving only a gust of wind and Mashiro with her hair messed up.
---
So the days passed: between companionship, training, and jokes. Until suddenly, Kaito spoke:
"It's now."
Mashiro didn't have time to process it. A blink later, they were no longer in the house: they had appeared in the middle of a city, right under the enormous alien ship.
The third wave had begun. And in terms of mortality, it was the worst of all: it would wipe out 95% of the surviving humans.
"The Others" had modified the avian flu, making it far more deadly and contagious. They didn't have to do anything, they simply let the birds spread death across the entire planet. Once released, a virus like that was impossible to stop. The only option was to eliminate it before it spread.
That was why they watched the ship. And as he looked up, Kaito smiled: he had been right.
Above them, thousands, no, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of birds moved as a black mass. They were packed so tightly that they looked like a single organism, a sea of wings that covered the sky and cast a huge shadow over the city. The beating of their wings created a deafening roar, drowning out every other sound.
With a gesture, Kaito raised a dome of shadows that covered the entire area. What had been only darkness under the birds now turned into total night. Neither of them minded: neither he nor Mashiro needed light to see.
"The plan is to kill them all. Any questions?"
Mashiro shook her head. In seconds, the area turned into chaos: birds fleeing in terror as Mashiro's magic tore through them.
Kaito, however, did not attack. As soon as they had arrived, he had felt other presences and wanted to confirm whose side they were on.
Suddenly, a snap. The dry click of a gunshot. His senses alerted him, and in an instant he moved Mashiro out of the bullet's path.
The shooters, realizing they had been discovered, emerged from their hiding places. Soon, they were surrounded by hundreds of armed people, aiming at them without hesitation.
Mashiro opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"Why are they attacking us?" she murmured softly.
"Don't worry," Kaito reassured her calmly. "They aren't people. Looks like the Others are already aware of us."
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
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(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)