Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter SS4

Yue’s Magic Lessons 

“Hm? You want to know the trick to using magic?” Yue tilted her head in confusion. It was just past noon, and Shea had asked her what the trick was to using magic. Shea had absolutely no affinity for any of the elements. It was so bad that her affinity was around the same level as Hajime’s. 
In fact, the two of them had often spent evenings lamenting to each other how they wished they could use magic. However, despite these shortcomings, Shea had one thing no other beastman had. She possessed mana, and the ability to manipulate it directly. Because of that, she still held dreams of decimating hordes of enemies with magic. As nothing else had worked, Yue was her last hope. If even the strongest magician in history didn’t have a solution for her, then Shea really was doomed. 
“Yes, please. Maybe if I learn your secrets, I’ll be able to use a few spells in battle even though I don’t have any affinity for magic. At least, that’s what I’m hoping.” 
“Hmm... Okay, I’ll teach you. It never hurts to have more skilled party members.” 
“Wow, really!? Thank you so much, Yue-san! I knew I could count on you!” Shea’s bunny ears flopped happily. She was over the moon already, even though there was no guarantee Yue could solve her problem either. 
“Oh, is Yue holding a magic lesson? This sounds rather interesting. Would it be alright if I joined in, Yue?” 
“Yeah, I don’t mind. It’s kind of moving knowing a dragon wants to be taught by me.” Though Tio already had amazing affinity with most of the elements, she too was interested in Yue’s lessons. It wasn’t every day that she had the chance to learn from the greatest magician of the age, after all. 
For her part, Yue had grown up listening to stories of the wise dragonman tribes. It was a mark of pride to her that one such dragonman would be interested in learning from her. 
Hajime watched the three girls discuss the finer points of spellcasting with a forlorn look in his eyes. 
Sharp-sighted as always, Tio noticed Hajime’s gaze and tilted her head quizzically. “Master, what’s wrong? Would you like to join in as well?” 
“Nah, I’m good.” Hajime seemed unusually dispirited. Sensing an opportunity to tease him, Shea grinned and opened her mouth. 
“Fufufu. What’s wrong, Hajime-san? Could it be that you already received private lessons from Yue-san, but you still can’t use magic? Is that why you’re too scared to try again?” 
“Nah, that’s not it.” 
“Then why won’t you join us?” 
“Really, I’m good. In fact, you two should probably get out while you still have time. For your own sake, I mean.” 
Yue didn’t take kindly to that. She pouted and turned to face Hajime. 
“You’re so mean, Hajime. Are you saying I’m useless?” 
“Not exactly. It’s just, everyone’s suited to certain tasks and not suited to others...” 
“Huh, but Hajime-san, wouldn’t Yue-san be the most suited person to teach us magic?” 
“Precisely. I have lived a long time, but never have I seen anyone with as much talent as Yue. I consider myself a skilled magician, but even I would relish an opportunity to learn from her.” 
Hajime raised his hands in surrender. 
“Just remember I warned you.” 
They pondered his words for a few seconds, but the lure of being taught by Yue reeled them back in, so they put it out of their minds. 
Yue pulled out a pair of silver-rimmed spectacles—no one knew where she got them from—and began her lecture. She articulated with her hands as she explained the theory behind the original spells she’d created. About ten minutes into the lecture, Shea and Tio began to have an inkling of what Hajime had tried to warn them about. 
“So if you just go whoosh with the magic here, it’ll go all zap. Then, you just have to squeeze it like Gyuu and it’s done! Simple, right?” Yue smiled at her dumbfounded pupils. Nothing about that had been simple at all. 
“I see. Or rather, I don’t.” 
“Yeah, I have no idea what you just said.” 
“Huh!?” Yue’s eyes went wide with surprise. Tio and Shea timidly tried to ask for a more elaborate explanation. 

“What exactly is the zap part supposed to mean?” 
“What do you mean Gyuu?” 
“Like I said, it’s when your mana goes Gyuu. Then there’s that little fluffy feeling, and you just have to get to that floaty state where—” 
Shea couldn’t take it anymore. 
“Like I said, that doesn’t make any sense! All these weird sounds and stuff don’t actually mean anything! I’m begging you, please just use normal people words!” 
Yue tilted her head in confusion. How did that explanation not make sense? I tried to make it as simple as possible. 
Realizing this was what made sense to Yue, Tio changed track. She asked Yue if she could give a more theoretical explanation. Yue nodded, and did as she was asked. 
“So, the Gyuu state is basically when you accelerate your mana from 0 to 2.25. From there, you multiply it by a further 2.25 to 2.27 depending on the element and type of spell you’re attempting to cast. However, unless you restrict it with a resistance ratio of 3.95, you won’t be able to give the spell form. Fortunately, once you’ve cast it, the degree of variability is automatically accounted for, so you don’t have to—” 
“I meant a theoretical explanation people can actually understand!” This time it was Tio’s turn to explode. Shea’s rabbit ears were pressed flat against her head, and she was staring off into the distance with dead eyes. Yue grumbled to herself, confused as to why the two of them couldn’t get it. 
“That’s why I tried to give you a simple explanation first... Why don’t you two understand?” 
“Gah!?” Shea and Tio clutched their chests and collapsed. It seemed from Yue’s tone that she thought the two of them were idiots. In truth though, Yue was thinking no such thing. She was honestly confused as to why an explanation that seemed simple to her didn’t make sense to them. It was as obvious as the fact that the sun rose in the east, and that leaves changed color in fall. 
Shea had already known she knew nothing about magic so the hit wasn’t that bad for her, but for Tio it was devastating. She had considered herself if not a master, at least a veteran magician. However, the pride and knowledge she’d built up for centuries had been shattered by a single sentence from Yue. 
She crawled along the floor muttering, “A-Am I truly an idiot? Did I honestly believe I was a skilled magician when I don’t even understand the basics?” 
Shea tottered over to Yue and threw herself at Yue’s feet. “Please, please make it stop. You’ve already crushed Tio-san’s pride.” 
“Don’t worry, all you need is practice. Just follow the steps I said, and you’ll be able to do it too. Come on, stand up and give it a try.” 
Shea and Tio staggered to their feet. Even if they told Yue to stop, she wouldn’t. She’d gotten into the role of a teacher and was having too much fun to quit. 
“Okay, repeat after me. Gyuu! Paruparu! Soooi!” 
“Aren’t those sounds different from last time!?” 
Yue made a kamen rider pose and tried to lead Shea and Tio through a spell. Naturally, the two of them couldn’t understand her at all. However, that wasn’t going to stop Yue. 
“Come on, go Gyuu! Come on! What’s taking you guys so long!” 
“G-Gyuu!” 
“G-Gyuu…” 
“Okay, now roonroon!” 
“R-Roonroon.” 
“Once more, with feeling! Soooi!” 
“S-Sooooooi!” 
Their voices carried a long way through the empty plains. A few passing adventurers gave the trio odd looks. Shea and Tio were in tears by now. 
“I warned you.” Back when he’d been in the abyss, Hajime had hungered for more power, which naturally meant he’d asked Yue to teach him magic. She’d taken him through the same hellish routine Shea and Tio were suffering now. 
Geniuses were considered geniuses precisely because they operated on a different level from normal people. Hajime ignored Shea and Tio’s pleas for help and lost himself in thought.