On the train back to Magnolia, Makarov and Kabe sat facing each other.
Kabe leaned his cheek on one hand, lazily watching the scenery stream by outside the window. Since he rarely traveled by train, this was one of the few times he could sit still and quietly enjoy the view.
Makarov, however, had all his attention fixed on Kabe's other hand.
To be precise, on the golden keys he was absentmindedly rolling between his fingers.
"You are not going to say anything to me about that?"
Makarov suddenly spoke, which made Kabe glance back in confusion.
Noticing the old man staring straight at his right hand, Kabe lifted it, saw the keys, and immediately understood.
"Oh, that. You mean these. Karen is done being a Celestial Spirit mage. Naturally she does not need to keep two Zodiac keys anymore."
Makarov drew in a long, deep breath.
"So what does that have to do with you?"
"It does. I have always wanted to be a Celestial Spirit mage."
Kabe lied with a completely serious face. As he spoke, he even held up Aries's key and muttered under his breath,
"Open, Gate of the Ram, Aries."
Makarov looked at him like he was an idiot and did not bother to sugarcoat it.
"Fool. Celestial Spirit magic uses a mage's magic power as the medium to open the gates and summon spirits to assist in battle. You do not have a single drop of magic in you, how are you supposed to summon anything at all."
He remembered very clearly that this brat had a special body. The energy he used was a type completely different from normal magic.
That power was incredibly pure, and like magic it was a mix of spiritual force and natural energy.
But it was a different system altogether, fundamentally incompatible with magic.
Kabe lowered the Aries key, shrugged without much concern.
"If I cannot, I can just learn.
"When I think about it, being part of a mage guild yet not knowing a single proper magic spell sounds a bit embarrassing."
"You really are the type to act the moment an idea pops into your head."
Makarov held his forehead, not sure where to begin with this.
Still, Celestial Spirit magic was a possession type magic. As long as you had the keys, you could use it. It was indeed on the simpler side among magics.
For a moment Makarov was interested as well, curious whether Kabe had the aptitude to learn magic at all.
Since they had nothing to do while riding the train anyway, he simply started from the basics and began teaching Kabe how to sense and control magic power.
Kabe had been half joking at first, but seeing the old man so into it, and given that he genuinely had some interest in magic, he sat up properly and listened with rare seriousness.
"Listen carefully. Magic power is a special energy that exists in all things and cycles through all things.
"You need to use your mental power to feel it, then draw it in and store it inside the magic container within your body."
Kabe frowned slightly and closed his eyes, using his mind to search for these so called magic particles in the air, just as Makarov instructed.
He did not know if it was real talent or just good luck.
Very quickly, he really did sense a type of energy in the air that was different from his ki.
"I can feel it." He excitedly shared the discovery with Makarov,
then started trying to draw this "magic power" into his body following the method he had just been taught.
"Huh? That fast? You really are some kind of prodigy."
Makarov was genuinely surprised. It had only been a few minutes, and this brat had already reached that step.
Yet in the very next second, his expression turned strange.
No. The magic particles in the surroundings were still scattered. There was not even the slightest sign of them gathering.
Just as he began to suspect the kid was messing with him again,
Kabe suddenly opened his eyes and looked down at his palm, where a faint blue energy was flowing. His face lit up with joy.
"I did it, Master. Look, this is my magic."
"This is…"
Makarov grabbed his hand and pulled it closer, examining it carefully.
From that pale blue energy, he did not sense the familiar presence of magic power at all.
Instead, there was a faint but very vibrant feeling of life.
"Tsk… there is something very off about your magic."
"What is off? I did exactly what you said, I absorbed energy from living beings. Look how pure it is."
Kabe said, pushing his palm closer, unable to stop marveling inside.
He had to admit it, the "quality" of this so called magic was insanely high, so high that in terms of purity alone it felt like it surpassed the ki he normally used.
These mages had access to such a refined kind of energy, yet their combat power was so weak.
Compared to magic, it looked like martial arts that focused on stacking raw energy and efficiency still had way more potential.
Thinking that, Kabe could not help shaking his head inwardly, feeling the people of this world were wasting what they had.
On the other side, Makarov checked again and again, and finally reached a conclusion.
He let go of Kabe's hand and folded his arms with a serious face.
"No. I do not know what this thing is, but it is definitely not the magic we mages usually use."
"Not magic?" Kabe raised his hand again in surprise. "Then what is it?"
Staring at that mysterious pale blue energy that flowed across his palm, a thought flashed through his mind and his eyes went wide.
"Wait. Do not tell me this stuff is ki of the origin, the original life energy itself."
Once that idea appeared, he almost could not believe it.
He had somehow, by pure accident, drawn in the life energy drifting inside living beings. The vitality known as ki of all things.
That was the ultimate technique of the King of Worlds in the original story, and the prerequisite for Son Goku's ultimate move, the Spirit Bomb.
With that in mind, the thin layer of energy in his hand suddenly looked a lot different.
Damn. I really need to be careful with this. If this thing goes off on a train, everyone in this carriage is going to ascend together.
Makarov had no idea what "ki of the origin" was supposed to be, but seeing the mix of shock and delight on Kabe's face, he knew the brat had created another absurd monster of a move.
Speaking of it though, both were energies drawn from the outside.
Could this thing called ki of the origin be used in place of magic to summon Celestial Spirits?
With that question in mind, Makarov could not help asking, with real curiosity,
"Want to try using that ki of yours to summon a spirit instead?"
Kabe had not expected the old man to have such a wild idea.
But the more he thought about it, the more exciting it sounded.
He quickly took out the golden Aries key again and carefully guided that thin layer of ki of the origin into it.
As he did, the Aries key suddenly shone with bright light.
A complex five pointed magic circle blossomed into existence under his feet.
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T/N:
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