Chantless Magic.
It was one of the highest-tier techniques a magic user could master.
"Y-You can use magic without chanting?"
"Fufu, of course. I am a Platinum Rank adventurer, after all."
"...Huh?"
A Platinum Rank adventurer.
Hearing that, a rather pathetic squeak slipped past my lips.
I glanced over toward Ryan-san and Reina-san as they watched our training.
Both of them nodded, confirming that Olivia-san's claim was genuine.
"U-Um, I really don't have the kind of money it takes to study under a Platinum Rank adventurer..."
"Oh, don't worry about that. In the first place, I was the one who asked the Guildmaster to find me someone with potential. I used to teach magic at the academy, but I left because I never met a student who matched what I was looking for."
"Eh? If that's the case, wouldn't spending your time on me be even more of a waste?"
"Well, the Guildmaster and the others made quite the pitch, which is why I returned to the royal capital. Though I certainly didn't expect the boy I might take as an apprentice wouldn't know a single spell."
With that, Olivia-san effortlessly manipulated the spell she had conjured.
On top of that, she brought forth a Water Ball, a wind ball, and an earth ball, actively controlling four distinct types of magic all at once.
"That's incredible..."
"This much is second nature to me. If what you said earlier is true, Erik-kun, you could aim to become an even greater mage than I am."
With that, Olivia-san began my training in Elemental Magic.
There were seven varieties of Elemental Magic: fire, water, wind, earth, light, dark, and null.
Among them, the one she would be teaching me first was Earth Magic.
"Did you find it underwhelming when I said 'earth'?"
"No, not at all. I think Earth Magic would be amazing to use."
"Fufu, make sure you never lose that mindset. While some elements are popular and others are neglected, mastering any of them will make for incredible magic."
Saying so, Olivia-san pulled out a book.
The title printed on the cover was An Introduction to Earth, and the author was Olivia-san herself.
"Did you write this, Olivia-san?"
"Yes, I compiled some of my research back when I was a teacher. Well, I've only finished Earth and Fire so far, though. I'm planning to move on to researching Water next."
At her invitation, I flipped through the pages.
The opening section detailed the absolute fundamentals of Earth Magic.
It also laid out the training method, stating that the very first and most crucial step was simply playing with dirt.
"Playing with dirt?"
"Yes. Right now, there is earth beneath the ground we're standing on, right? A faint trace of mana flows through it. If you have the skill, you can sense it clearly. Even without the skill, though, some people can pick up on it if they concentrate, so give it a try."
"Understood."
Following Olivia-san's instructions, I sat on the ground and rested both palms flat against the earth.
For the first few seconds, I felt nothing, but after a minute had passed, a distinct sensation reached my senses.
"Good. Just like that. Now, pour your own mana into it and converse with the earth."
"Converse with mana..."
Just as she instructed, I attempted to direct my mana.
Using mana wasn't entirely foreign to me.
I had focused it into my eyes when trying to learn Appraisal, and I used it regularly for Physical Enhancement.
I channeled mana into my palms and allowed it to seep into the ground.
As if responding to my mana, the soil beneath my hands began to ripple and shift.
◇
You have trained in Earth Magic.
Gained 1 EXP.
1/100 until skill acquisition.
◇
◇
You have trained in Earth Magic.
Gained 1 EXP.
2/100 until skill acquisition.
◇
The experience points were steadily accumulating.
I still didn't have a complete grasp of Earth Magic.
Even so, having Olivia-san guiding me in person made the EXP rise noticeably faster.
"All right, that's enough! You can take your hands away now. Take a break."
"Y-Yes..."
I wasn't sure how many minutes had slipped by.
All I knew was that I had spent the entire time in quiet dialogue with the earth, channeling mana from within my body.
The mana consumption hadn't been particularly harsh; quite some time seemed to have passed, yet I was nowhere near running dry.
"Very impressive. You have wonderful instincts. Erik-kun, do you truly not have any magic skills?"
"I don't. Would you like to see my status?"
"You mustn't. You haven't officially become my apprentice yet, have you? Showing your status to other people is dangerous, so you shouldn't offer it so lightly."
A status laid bare everything about a person.
That was precisely why common sense dictated you only ever showed it to someone you trusted completely.
It was the same reason Ryan-san hadn't asked to see mine when I had acquired my skills earlier.
"By 'officially become your apprentice,' do you mean after we see whether my special skill is real?"
"Yes, exactly. Our training just now made it clear that you don't possess Earth Magic. If you somehow manage to use Earth Magic after this, that will be the moment you officially become my apprentice."
"Understood. In that case, I'll do my absolute best in training."
With my resolve set, I spent the remainder of the break reading the book Olivia-san had written.