The following morning, at the Astraea Family training grounds, sunlight filtered through the foliage, casting dappled shadows across the sand. Solon stood in the center of the clearing, flanked by a serious-looking Ryuu and Kaguya, whose eyes were gleaming with anticipation.
"Let's start with the basics," Ryuu's voice was steady. "Solon, please use your magic."
Solon nodded and extended his right hand. He spoke only the name of the spell, and a flickering arrow of fire formed instantly in his palm.
"Fire Bolt!"
The palm-sized sphere of flame streaked out, accurately striking a wooden target thirty feet away and leaving a charred mark. Ryuu's eyebrows rose slightly. An ultra-short chant... no, that hardly qualifies as a chant at all. It's a completely different system from ours, she thought, though she maintained a calm exterior.
Kaguya walked over to the target to inspect it and let out a whistle. "The power is at a Level 1 standard, but that speed is basically instantaneous. Give us a few more."
Solon proceeded to demonstrate his other cantrips—the frost of Ray of Frost, the crackle of Shocking Grasp, the golden glow of Guidance, and the purple beam of Eldritch Blast. He followed up with Control Flames, instantly igniting a fire, and Mage Hand, summoning an invisible force.
"Stop," Ryuu raised her hand. "How many did you just use in succession?"
"Seven," Solon replied. "I feel like I can keep going. I barely feel any drain from the cantrips."
Ryuu and Kaguya exchanged a look. In Orario, a rookie using seven spells in a row would typically be at their limit. This guy's mana endurance was wrong. Ryuu's heart sank slightly; she had originally thought otherworldly magic was just a "different system," but now it seemed it was something else entirely.
"Interesting," Kaguya rubbed her chin. "What about First-Tier spells? Can you use those?"
Solon answered frankly, "I can, but I should clarify—using a First-Tier spell right now consumes about a tenth of my mental energy. After using them, I need to rest to recover, or..."
"Or use this." Kaguya tossed him a small vial. "A mind-restorative potion. Drink up, and let us see what you've got."
Solon tilted his head back and downed it. The cool liquid transformed into warm mana that surged through his body, rapidly restoring his mental energy.
"Then I'll start with healing." He raised his hand and spoke softly: "Cure Wounds."
Solon touched a damaged sapling at the edge of the training ground. The cracks on the trunk visibly healed, even sprouting new green buds. Ryuu's pupils shrank. Accelerating growth... that's an effect only found in high-level healing magic. She had initially estimated that Solon's magic was simply "diverse," but now she saw it could even exceed conventional understanding in terms of its results.
"There's more." Solon turned to Kaguya. "Could you please make a shallow cut on my arm?"
A flash of light from a blade, and a cut several inches long appeared on Solon's left forearm. He raised his hand again: "Healing Word."
Gold light flashed and was gone. The wound healed instantly, leaving not even a scar. There was a faint intake of breath from the sideline. Alise, Lyra, and several other members had gathered unnoticed, watching with wide eyes.
That recovery speed... Ryuu's fingertips unconsciously curled. And he said this was only a "First-Tier" spell? If this counts as First-Tier, what would his high-level magic look like?
"Continue," Ryuu's voice was still steady, but her gaze had changed.
Solon nodded and began his systematic demonstration. The translucent force field of Shield expanded before him; the golden halo of Shield of Faith enveloped his body; and the iridescent barrier of Absorb Elements took the water ball Kaguya tentatively tossed and converted its energy.
"This protective spell can absorb elemental damage and strengthen my next attack," Solon explained. He pressed his hand, which had absorbed the energy of the water ball, against a training dummy. The dummy's surface instantly frosted over.
He demonstrated the destructive power of the Evocation school—three silver-white bolts of Magic Missile automatically tracked and pierced the centers of moving targets; the golden flames of Divine Smite attached to a wooden sword, slicing a stone pillar several meters deep; and the cone-shaped fire of Burning Hands swept across ten feet in front of him, melting the sand into glass.
"Jim's Magic Missile," Solon specially demonstrated. Three missiles traced an eerie arc in the air, bypassing the target Kaguya had set and hitting it from three different angles.
"Automatic tracking, able to bypass some obstacles, and the power can be distributed as I wish," Solon said. "From what I can tell, this is one of my strongest attack spells currently."
Kaguya's expression had changed from curiosity to gravity. She looked at Ryuu, and the two exchanged a glance—they both understood what this meant. An automatically tracking magic solved the problem of missing, and it could avoid teammates, preventing friendly fire.
"Find Familiar." Solon chanted the spell, light gathered, and a small owl flew out of the glow, landing on his shoulder.
"It can scout, deliver items, and even assist in attacks," Solon said. "In the Dungeon, a flying scout can avoid so many traps and ambushes—you all know that better than I do."
Alise couldn't help but whisper to Lyra, "That's not fair! I want a flying partner too!"
Lyra shook her head helplessly. "Alise, that's magic..."
A flying pet... Ryuu watched the owl, her mind quickly evaluating. Information advantage was decisive in dungeon exploration; this spell alone was enough to make any Familia value him.
The Jump spell of the Transmutation school allowed Solon to leap ten meters high, Expeditious Retreat let him weave through the field at incredible speed, and the colorful glow of Faerie Fire marked out a hidden dummy. When he cast Charm Person from the Enchantment school on a dummy, the surrounding mana fluctuations showed the spell had taken effect.
The Necromancy school's False Life enveloped Solon in a gray shield of life force; the dark energy of Inflict Wounds caused a dummy to decay and crumble in a single hit. The Illusion school's Silent Image created a lifelike dragon image in the air above the training grounds, causing gasps, and Disguise Self allowed Solon's appearance to turn into Ryuu's within seconds—though it was only a visual resemblance and had flaws in detail, it was still enough to shock everyone.
When Solon demonstrated a cantrip from the Transmutation school, he gave Ryuu a special look.
"This spell is called 'Shillelagh'." Solon placed a regular wooden staff on the ground, touched it, and chanted. The surface of the staff took on a polished wooden grain, and one end swelled slightly, emitting a faint natural aura.
"It can temporarily turn an ordinary wooden staff into a quite good weapon," Solon picked up the staff and swung it; the sound of it cutting through the air was noticeably different. "Although my stats are currently low, with this, I won't be completely behind in terms of weaponry."
The whole field went silent. Solon had consecutively demonstrated over thirty spells, covering seven major schools of magic. Even having drunk the restorative potion, this sustained casting ability far exceeded any adventurer of the same level in Orario!
I originally thought he just had "potential," Ryuu looked at Solon in the center of the field, a trace of ripple passing through the depths of her ice-blue eyes. But this is no longer a matter of potential... this is an already formed, complete, and entirely different combat system. Lady Goddess said he was "infinite possibilities"... I finally understand the weight of that word.
"Now," Solon looked at Kaguya and Ryuu, "I want to demonstrate the true use of multi-casting."
He took a deep breath and raised both hands simultaneously. In his left palm, the three silver-white lights of Magic Missile began to gather. In his right palm, the translucent force field of Shield flickered.
Then—released simultaneously!
The missiles whistled out, hitting three moving targets in different directions. And almost at the same instant, the force field of Shield fully expanded, blocking the training dagger Kaguya had thrown, seizing the opportunity.
"Two different spells used at the same time?" Kaguya's voice finally betrayed her shock.
"That's not all," Solon said, his breathing already a bit labored. "Cantrips can be used together, for example—"
He didn't even raise his hand. With a focus of his gaze, the purple beam of Eldritch Blast and the frost of Ray of Frost burst out simultaneously from his left and right sides, hitting two dummies.
"What about three?" Kaguya pressed, a light of challenge in her eyes.
Solon shook his head. "Not now—two is already my limit, and it's very draining. But if it's two cantrips and one First-Tier... maybe I can try later, after more practice." He looked at his palm. "I can feel that as my 'Magic' stat increases, this restriction will slowly loosen."
A long silence followed.
Then, Ryuu spoke slowly: "Solon, do you know what this means?"
Solon nodded. "It means I can switch roles at any time depending on the combat situation, and my magic system is different from what currently exists in the Lower World. This means that against monsters with high resistance, my spells might still be effective."
On the sidelines, the Familia members couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"This is too exaggerated..." Lyra murmured.
"He alone can provide the functions of a whole squad!" Neze's eyes sparkled.
"And his growth potential is immense," Noin added.
Alise charged over directly, her green eyes flashing with excitement. "Solon! Let's team up for our next dungeon exploration! Your magic plus my sword will be absolutely invincible!"
"Alise, don't put pressure on Solon," Ryuu said gently but firmly, then turned back to him. "Your abilities are indeed beyond imagination. But remember, the greater the ability, the greater the danger."
The stronger he is, the more likely he is to become a target. As Ryuu looked at Solon, her worry became concrete—not just about monsters, but... other Familias, and even the gods. He must be protected.
Kaguya walked up to Solon, setting aside her usual playful expression for a rare moment. "Hah, I think if your abilities were to leak out, the whole of Orario would be shaken." She looked at Ryuu. "We need to set a strict secrecy plan. At least until he has the ability to protect himself, the full information of these abilities cannot be leaked."
Ryuu nodded. "I agree. Everything seen today must be kept secret by everyone. To the outside world, we will only say Solon is a healer with a special potential for chantless magic."
She looked around at the members present, and each one nodded solemnly. A healer... Ryuu gave a wry smile in her heart. I don't even believe that myself, but at least it will buy some time.
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Danmachi: My Magic Style is Different from Yours (30 Chapters – Ongoing)
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