The last embers of their meal had long gone cold, and the evening breeze swept through the quiet street outside the tavern. The mood had finally settled from earlier's dramatic display of explosive magic and emotional outbursts. Arizona leaned back in his chair, sighing deeply as he stared at Rei with renewed curiosity.
"By the way," he began, his voice more thoughtful than accusing, "how did you even make that magic formation? I mean… You didn't use a single standard symbol."
Rei tapped his fingers on the wooden table, looking up at the night sky as if searching for the answer among the stars. "I didn't use symbols because I don't know any," he admitted without shame. "So I took a different approach—I chose elements that naturally synergize when combined, forming a compound magical reaction. And to prevent any backlash from uncontrolled flow, I designed something I call 'switches.'"
Arizona frowned. "Switches? What do you mean by that?"
Rei leaned forward slightly and pointed at the now-rolled-up burnt parchment where the magic formation lay. "Remember those three lines Emilia touched? Each of them was designed to regulate the mana flow, like a guided current. Instead of flooding the formation with raw energy like you did with your Flame Cannon, it allows the mana to pass through specific conduits. It disperses recoil."
Emilia nodded beside him. "It's true. I didn't feel any backlash at all. It was… smooth. Unlike what you described, Arizona."
Arizona grunted, rubbing the inside of his palm reflexively, the memory of the heat still faintly lingering. "And you think fire, lightning, and wind are easy to combine?" he challenged.
Rei gave a small shrug. "Actually, yes. At least easier than combining more polarized elements like water and fire, or earth and lightning. But…" He scratched his head sheepishly. "There was a slight miscalculation. That Lightning-Powered Firestorm wasn't the spell I intended."
Everyone paused. Emilia blinked. "Wait… miscalculation? What were you trying to make then?"
Rei smiled wryly. "A spell I call 'Destroying Sun Blast.'"
Ben, who'd been quietly sipping his drink, choked. "Destroying… Sun… Blast? What even is that supposed to be?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Rei said calmly. "It uses fire aligned with the sun to incinerate the target in an instant. It's a form of elemental mimicry, drawing on the concept of solar fire rather than ambient flame."
In this world, where modern scientific terms like plasma, radiation, or nuclear reactions didn't exist, the sun was still revered as a source of divine fire—sacred, overwhelming, and untouchable.
Arizona stared. "You're insane."
Rei raised an eyebrow. "What's insane about it? With enough study, Sun-aligned spells should actually be among the most basic forms of high-level fire attacks. People just don't approach it that way."
Alya groaned, resting her head in her hands. "It's probably a good thing you don't have magic. You'd burn the continent down."
Emilia gave a dry chuckle. "Don't celebrate too early. He doesn't have magic, but that's why he created an entirely new branch of energy manipulation. He calls it Sorcery. It uses spirit arts to control and shape elemental forces."
Arizona's jaw slackened. "A new branch of spellcasting? That's so unfair. Some people are just born talented."
Rei looked down for a moment, silently digesting those words. Born talented. Was that really how they saw it? As though he'd simply been gifted this ability, when in truth, it was the result of a lifetime of effort—an entire previous existence filled with obsession, study, and sacrifice. But there was no way he could explain that to them, not without revealing the impossible truth of his reincarnation.
Still, the comment lingered like a splinter beneath his skin.
Alya asked, "Hey, Rei—can you show us some of your sorcery?"
Rei looked up and nodded. "Sure."
He lifted his palm and summoned a small whirlwind that spun above his hand, drawing dust from the ground and nearby shadows. The miniature vortex began to swirl more rapidly, whipping bits of loose sand into the air until a full dust storm had formed in his hand.
Arizona and Alya stared, unblinking.
"If you're surprised by this," Rei said, his voice low, "watch this."
He guided the storm to the center of the table with a flick of his wrist. The swirling dust held its form as though suspended by invisible threads. Then Rei whispered a word under his breath and created a tiny ember—just a single spark—and dropped it into the eye of the storm.
A muffled boom followed as the dust ignited, scattering in all directions like an invisible hand had slapped the table. Arizona and Alya both flinched.
"W-What the hell was that?" Arizona gasped.
"Dust doesn't carry the fire attribute," Alya muttered, shocked. "How did it… explode?"
Rei smiled faintly. "I embedded an ember into the heart of the storm. While it's true that fire is generally weak against earth, when fine particles of earth are suspended in air at high density… the result is volatile. Think of it like this: I didn't use fire on Earth—I used fire inside Earth. The difference is combustion."
Arizona leaned back slowly, clearly impressed. "You learn something new every day. Honestly, that dusty cloak you're wearing doesn't do you any justice."
Rei glanced down at the plain, slightly oversized cloak. It was worn at the edges, with an odd cross-stitch at the shoulder. "Well… Emilia sent it to me for my first birthday. So I like it."
Arizona smiled, softening. "Yeah. I get how that might be."
Rei stood, brushing off his hands. "It's getting late. We should head back."
As the group got up and began making their way down the darkening street, Arizona suddenly turned. "Hey, Rei. Would you like to drop by tomorrow? I'm working on a new magic formation. I think your insights could help."
Rei nodded. "Sure."
Ben caught up beside Rei. "Can you really make a sun-aligned spell?"
Rei looked at him and answered without hesitation. "Yes. It's actually not that hard."
Emilia raised an eyebrow. "Could you do it using sorcery?"
"I'd need some time," Rei admitted, "but yes. It's possible."
Just then, Emilia's foot landed on something soft. She stepped back, looking down to find a crumpled parchment lying on the cobblestone road. Curious, she bent down and picked it up.
"What is this?" she murmured.
It was an advertisement—ornate and gold-embossed, bearing the seal of one of Levenna's grand auction houses. Her eyes scanned the contents until one particular item caught her attention: The Distant Lands Cloak.
Her breath caught. It was said to have come from a traveler outside the four known kingdoms—a man who brought with him the knowledge of a new kind of grain that revolutionized harvests. Though not the most practical cloak for Rei, it was special, exotic, and perhaps the only one of its kind in the region.
A small smile touched her lips. This… this would suit him.
"Emilia!" Rei called from ahead. "Come on, we're leaving!"
Emilia folded the parchment and tucked it into her belt. "Coming!" she called, already plotting how she would win that auction in four days.