Chapter 4 - Unique Magic
I had been surprised at how quickly Miss Fiona changed her tune...
Well, it had gone exactly as I had planned, so I couldn’t complain.
Miss Fiona, even in the original story, had been infamous as a “magic maniac”—a hopeless case who loved magic more than three meals a day.
I had figured that if I dangled the ultimate bait known as Void before her, she would practically roll over to my side.
It was worth asking my father to specifically ask for her.
“Then, let’s make a contract.”
I opened my desk drawer and pulled out the contract I had prepared in advance.
Normally, for something this important, people used a magic called <Contract>...
But since I still couldn’t use magic, I had to go with the old-fashioned way—writing it out on parchment.
“You... you sure are prepared...”
Looking surprised, Miss Fiona quickly scanned through the contents, confirmed there were no issues, and then signed her full name.
“The contract’s sealed.”
“Yes.”
Now, there was no way information about Void would leak from her lips.
If either party broke the contract, they would be judged by the God of Contracts—and die instantly.
“As you instructed, Lord Hollow, I’ll withhold any mention of <Void> from the Ministry of Magic and submit it as <Refraction> instead.”
“Yeah, do that.”
“But... won’t it get exposed later?”
Her gaze wavered with unease.
“There’s no problem. <Void> is basically the superior form of <Refraction>. Whenever I have to use <Void> in public, just limit it to effects achievable with <Refraction>. If I do that, no one will notice.”
“I see... you’re quite knowledgeable about Unique Magic.”
“Well, yeah.”
There were over a thousand Unique Magic in Ronzolkia, and I had memorized almost all of them.
Just as our discussion wound down, Miss Fiona cleared her throat.
“I still have unfinished business at the Ministry of Magic, so I’ll be excusing myself for today. Once I’ve wrapped up my current cases, I’ll return immediately, and when that time comes—”
“—I’ll let you study <Void>, just as promised.”
“Th-thank you...!”
Her eyes shone with an almost blinding light.
“Well then, while you’re away, I’ll just tinker with magic on my own.”
“Yes. A solid grasp of basic magic is essential if we want to research Void smoothly. Please do.”
“Mm.”
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”
After Miss Fiona left the estate, I immediately began studying magic.
With Father’s permission, I entered the study and pulled a random textbook off the shelf.
Hmm, hmm, I see...
After actually starting my training, I realized one thing—
Magic was freaking awesome!
“If I draw the magic formula like this... whoa, fire!”
“If I circulate my mana... incredible, water came out!”
“Ha! A spark! So this is lightning magic!”
Just skimming through the theory in a textbook was enough for me to cast spells right away.
As expected of Hollow von Heisenberg—my overwhelming talent was startling even to myself.
But damn... this is dangerous...
The surreal feeling of being able to use magic.
The godlike sensation of freely bending it to my will.
It was... absolutely intoxicating!
And most noteworthy of all was mana control—an art with endless depth.
Channel mana into your muscles, and your strength increased.
Infuse weapons with mana, and their hardness improved.
Let mana flow into water, and it could be manipulated at will.
Honestly, mana control alone felt like an endgame-level playground.
“Heh... heheh... hehehehehehe...”
Shut away in the study, I spent the whole night buried in magic tomes, trying out every single spell I learned.
And just like that, a month passed in the blink of an eye—until Miss Fiona, having wrapped up her work at the Ministry, returned to the Heisenberg estate.
“Forgive me for keeping you waiting,” Miss Fiona said, bowing her head. “However, you may rest assured—I have finished all of my work and secured a year-long leave of absence! Now, I can devote myself entirely to researching Void without distraction!”
“I-I see... that’s... reassuring,” I replied, a little taken aback by her almost manic enthusiasm, but I pressed on with the conversation.
“So, what’s on the agenda today? I assume we’re starting that research you spoke of?”
“Yes. First, I’d like to conduct a brief lecture on Unique Magic, and then proceed directly into studying Void!”
“And what exactly do you need me to do? I can’t handle anything too troublesome.”
“Please pay me no mind, Lord Hollow. Simply continue your regular training with Void. I will observe your every move in detail, gather data, analyze it, and conduct my own research independently.”
“Got it.”
Nice. That sounded easy for me.
“By the way, Lord Hollow, you’ve only been studying magic for... what, just over a month now, correct?”
“Yeah.”
In Ronzolkia, magic factors typically settled into the body around the age of ten, though it varied from person to person.
That was when the Baptism Ceremony took place, marking the beginning of one’s magical education.
“In that case, I’d like to first verify your basic magical capability. <Void> is something that could quite literally destroy the world. Without ‘minimum magical proficiency,’ there’s a real risk of losing control. I trust you understand?”
“Fair enough.”
“Thank you.”
To demonstrate my progress over the past month—and to show my current strength—I casually rattled off a few spells I had recently learned.
Hmm, his fundamentals are decent enough... wait, he’s already mastered all five elemental attributes? And even some general-purpose magic? No, no, this speed of spell construction is absurd! His mana control is—what?! This precise?!
Miss Fiona’s expression shifted from doubt... to admiration... to outright shock.
“Well? Do I meet your so-called ‘minimum magical proficiency’?”
“Y-yes...! But... is it really true you’ve only been studying for a month?! You haven’t been secretly training before this, have you? (For a normal person, reaching this level would take at least five years. Even for a prodigy like me, it took three...)”
“Don’t waste my time with empty flattery. This is nothing more than child’s play.”
Though each spell was properly formed, they were all only about seventy percent complete in refinement.
My magical skill might have been above average, but it still came with the unspoken qualifier: for a ten-year-old.
“As expected of the next heir to House Heisenberg... what extraordinary talent...” she muttered, before continuing,
“Now then, let’s refocus—first, I’ll give you a short, condensed lecture on Unique Magic, touching only on the parts relevant to Void.”
Her eyes sharpened, shifting into that of a true researcher.
“As a premise, the strength of Unique Magic lies in the fact that there is no magic tome for it. The weakness... is also that there is no magic tome for it. Do you understand this reasoning?”
“A person born with Unique Magic appears only once in every hundred thousand. Unlike conventional magic, there’s no established, systematic path of study. Without a tome, countermeasures are hard to develop—but without a tome, mastery is equally difficult. The advantages and disadvantages are two sides of the same coin.”
“C-correct... You know quite a bit, I see.”
Eyes widening slightly, she continued,
“Unique Magic are classified into four tiers, taking into consideration its destructive power, societal value, and rarity: Elite-Class, Epic-Class, Legend-Class, and Origin-Class. Your <Void> is the highest—Origin-Class. In history, only one other person has manifested it: the worst mage ever recorded, Xeno, ‘The Calamity’. Naturally, there is no magic tome for <Void>. To master it will be a long, arduous journey.”
She was right—mastering Unique Magic was no easy feat.
And among them, Origin-Class magic—especially <Void>—were the pinnacle of difficulty.
But I have ‘knowledge from the original story’.
I knew how to train <Void>.
I understood how to wield it.
I had experienced its applications.
The first thing I should master is... ‘Void Possession.’ No question.
While I honed my <Void>, Miss Fiona quietly observed me.
Those days repeated themselves—until one pleasant surprise emerged.
Miss Fiona’s aptitude as a teacher was far, far greater than I had ever expected.
She possessed a wealth of knowledge on general magic, could hold high-level theoretical discussions, and always gave perfect, instant answers to any question I threw at her.
My training sessions with her had been deeply rewarding.
I wonder... is there any way I could lure Miss Fiona into the Heisenberg household...?
The thought drifted through my mind—and in the next moment, a brilliant idea popped into my head.
Honestly… sometimes I come up with the most outrageous things...
Hollow’s brain truly was a marvel.
When the timing felt right, I would put my “Operation: Poach Miss Fiona” plan into motion.
And so, just like that, a whole year passed in the blink of an eye.
Today marked the final day of the long leave Miss Fiona had taken.
For now, this would be the last time I would train together with her.
Miss Fiona had done so much for me over this past year.
Thanks to her dedication, I had managed to draw closer to the very essence of Void.
As a small token of gratitude, I decided to show her something... interesting.
“What is it you wanted to show me, Lord Hollow?” she asked.
“You’ll see soon enough.”
I accompanied her in a carriage to Mount Garan—Heisenberg family property, and the same place I had used for sword training with Orvin.
“Hmm... this spot should do.”
Standing at the base of the mountain, I extended my right hand forward.
“—<Void Transfer>.”
In the next instant—
“Well, I suppose that’ll do.”
“N-no way...!”
The lush, green mountain vanished without a trace.
More precisely—it had been swallowed whole by the Void.
<Void Transfer> was a spell that sent a designated space directly into the void.
The output’s decent... but the construction’s a bit sloppy. My range designation is still loose... looks like there’s plenty of room for improvement.
While I was holding a quiet self-review, Miss Fiona collapsed to the ground with a soft plop.
A single spell... and the map itself has changed...! This is the Void—the very “Calamity” that once destroyed the world...!
She pressed both hands to her mouth, trembling ever so slightly.
Had her legs given out from sheer awe?
Well, whatever the reason, she seemed pleased—so that was fine by me.
Still… the scenery looked a lot barer now.
Last year, during sword training, I had sliced off that mountain over there... and now, this one is the second to vanish.
I was starting to think we’d need a new mountain.
I’d have to ask Father about it later.
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