Some days after that conversation, Gin finally began his first lesson in concurrent chanting.
"Gin, do you understand why Ignis Fatuus happens?"
"Out of control magic power," Gin answered. "Magic control needs proper concentration. If the mage panics, their magic power will run wild across their body and get instinctively expelled, leading to an explosion of magic power."
Magic control sounded simple, but in truth, it was anything but.
You needed to limit the amount of magic power for the spell, will it to mold and take shape outside your body, and direct the output to the right target.
"Correct. Staying unmoving helps people concentrate solely on their magic power, which is why most mages need to stay still to cast their magic," Riveria continued. "Concurrent chanting requires you to divide your concentration while maintaining calm judgment in the face of danger."
A simple explanation again, but he knew it was harder than it sounded.
He already had experience with his spell exploding while trying to take a single step.
Imagine simultaneously moving your left toe, wiggling your right arm, tensing your ass, licking your front teeth, and alternating them with other nonsensical actions all while you walk.
It was hard. Concurrent chanting was at least three times harder than that.
"The first thing I require you to learn is to kill your magic power when it runs out of control. That way you will at least run free from the threat of Ignis Fatuus."
The first lesson's difficulty was akin to trying to stop yourself in the middle of peeing or ceasing your sneeze at the last moment, but he somehow managed to master it after three sessions.
"Good work." Riveria's proud smile appeared as Gin negated the incoming Ignis Fatuus for the fifth consecutive time.
"As expected of a genius mage, you mastered the method so quickly."
"Haha, genius mage? Wow, that's a first." Gin let out a dry laugh. "I respect you, Teach, but throw any more slander and I will lower your position on my list of people I respect."
"Oh? What position am I right now?" she inquired in amusement.
"You are in second place," he answered honestly. "Hel-sama is the eternal first, obviously. So you just have to work hard to stay as the undefeated second."
She shook her head in amusement. "Oh, thank you. I am honored to receive such an evaluation from you. Between you and me, Gin, you actually rank quite high in the ranking of people that I like too."
"What rank am I?"
"You are above the current Elf King. Be proud of that."
"Oh, that's cool," Gin said before realizing her words. He looked at her in confusion. "Wait, the current Elf King is your dad, right?"
"Did I stutter?"
Yep.
She was definitely not joking.
Either he was so awesome he trumped the Elf King, or Riveria just hated her father's guts.
Hopefully, it was the first one!
"You have a proper grip on your magic control already," Riveria commented during one of their sessions. "I know that you endured hits from monsters and finished your chanting on your previous adventures. Not many mages are able to do what you have done."
"Seriously?" Rather than being happy, Gin was actually cringing right now.
How much magic talent did the gods put into him?!
Didn't they realize it was an unfitting character build for him?
What, was he some kind of magic king in his past life or something?
"With that said, 'acceptable' is not enough, Gin. You need more than simply decent magic control to use concurrent chanting," Riveria added. "We will focus on improving that from this session forth. Do not let up on your magic even for a second."
...
The next couple of sessions were no different than studying how to dance while juggling knives and maintaining an egg sitting precariously on a spoon in his mouth.
It took him a whole month to finally succeed in chanting while walking.
Looking at Riveria's teasing grin, he was assured that this was an abnormal accomplishment for normal people.
He looked up to the sky, silently cursing the gods who trolled him into an identity crisis.
"I believe that you are already able, Gin," Ryuu said as Ginnungagap's black fog faded from her body.
"It will take some time to perfect it, but your concurrent chanting should be applicable in a real battle even now."
Gin received Ryuu's evaluation in a similar manner to a criminal hearing his death sentence.
His knees hit the ground, and not a moment later, his hands followed.
"Gin, is something wrong?"
"This isn't normal," he whispered, despair lacing his voice. "Concurrent chanting should be harder than this. Are you messing with me again, fate? Am I just a toy to pick at your fancy? Am I a clown dancing on a stage?"
"Ah, I don't get what you're going through, bro, but don't mind. Life being shitty isn't news at this point." Lyra patted his shoulder as they finished today's training session.
"This is the first time I've seen someone suffering from success," Alise commented. "Doesn't this mean you are talented at magic, Gin? What's so bad about that?"
"I'm supposed to be an archer first and foremost, dammit!!!" Gin hit the ground with his fists. He could see them getting wet from his tears.
"In what world would an archer need magic skills, huh!? What's next!? A mage who uses his fists!?"
"A fist-fighter mage would be kinda cool, not gonna lie," Lyra commented.
"Yeah, that actually sounds awesome," Alise agreed.
"…Yeah, the dude sounds cool, never mind," Gin sniffed, rolling onto his back and looking at the sky.
'Ah, the sky was so blue… Look at those clouds and birds.'
Why couldn't he be just like them? No ridiculous talent in magic, no identity crisis, just peace and quiet, happily floating around and enjoying life in the sky.
Ah, the sky was so blue… and then it got dark.
Someone was standing over him, casting their shadow over him. He glanced at the person.
It was Ryuu.
"Gin, I don't know what conflict you are going through, but I do know that the power you've gained here is not useless," she said slowly.
Was she trying to comfort him? That was unexpected.
"It might be something you don't want to accept, but it is still yours. You can make use of it. Use it to help people, to protect the things you want to protect, to get what you wish for," she went on.
"No matter what kind of talent or power you have, things won't change. You are still you."
"Ryuu… Thank you, I needed that." Gin wiped his tears with his sleeve. "So you are saying that your feelings for me won't change?"
"Yes," she nodded before realizing her grave error. "Eh?"
Well, too bad for her.
The audience didn't fail to capitalize on this!
A short distance away, Alise was already laying on her back, with Lyra standing over her, mirroring his position with Ryuu.
"O' Ryuu, so you are saying that your feelings for me won't change!?" Gin (Alise) said, blushing brightly.
"Yes, baby! My feeling actually burns even more!" Ryuu (Lyra) declared passionately. "My love."
"Ryuu…" Gin (Alise) puckered her lips.
"Gin…" Ryuu (Lyra) knelt and moved her lips closer to Gin (Alise).
Gin stayed silent.
Instead of his body, his mind worked at an accelerated rate.
The concentration he honed during training was finally put to good use. His brain calculated and came to the conclusion that the chance the sight he wanted to see happening was slim to none, but that was no reason to cut corners.
If something did happen, then he would store it in his mind and treasure it during lonely nights!
'Good, only 2.5 cm closer until their lips met!' His eyes stayed unblinking.
Not a moment should pass without him witnessing it!
"In the sky of a now distant forest. Infinite stars scattered in the endless night sky. Respond to my foolish voice, give me now divine protection of starfire."
Nani?
Gin looked at the source of the voice and decided to play dead, waiting for a good moment to crawl to safety.
Ryuu looked positively murderous.
"Wha-! Ryuu, we are just messing around!"
"That's right! We aren't serious about kissing, unlike you!"
"Alise, you bastard! Don't rile her just because you can run faster, dammit!"
Gin witnessed high-skill concurrent chanting firsthand as Ryuu chased after the retreating Alise and Lyra without pausing her chant.
"Give the mercy of light to the one who abandoned you. Come, wandering wind, the wandering traveler. Cross the sky and run through the wilderness, run faster than anything else. Imbue the light of stardust and destroy the enemy! Luminous Wind!"
As the two screamed and numerous blasts resounded, Gin slowly and quietly retreated from the place while fearing for his own life.
....
Gin Hvergel
Level 1
Str D 541
End H 119
Dex C 694
Agi G 274
Mag B 792
Gin paced around the room.
For once, he was actually not thinking about his previous status update or his mismatched magical talent.
No, this was more important than that.
This was about money!
It felt like forever ago since he fought that deadly battle against the Jack Bird and managed to score the golden egg.
He had entrusted that golden egg to the Guild in the hopes of making more money.
At a minimum, he would gain 1 million Valis tomorrow, but his target was still a bit above that: 1.4 million Valis, the amount he needed to score the dream house where he would welcome his future together with Hel.
Tomorrow would be the day of the Guild auction.
The moment of truth, where he might become a millionaire, leave the confines of Twilight Manor, and stay together with Hel again without the threat of Loki No-Tits triggering his trauma.
Honestly, he was pretty nervous about this.
It was weird to be nervous, because even if he didn't reach his target, the Loki Familia wouldn't throw him out on the street, and if he got 1 million Valis, he could still buy a smaller house.
He took a deep breath and exhaled it through his mouth.
'Alright, calm down. There was no need to worry about this. Whatever happens, happens.'
'Okay, so let's think about what to do for tomorrow.'
He didn't think he should go to the dungeon while being distracted, so he would probably take a rest, maybe walk around the city, visit the Demeter Familia, or even stay home and spend time with whoever was available.
And for the auction… He did have a ticket for the auction, but it wasn't like he could buy anything there.
His savings were only around 78k Valis, after all.
Did he really need to go?
Oh well, why not? It wasn't like he had anything to do during the auction anyway.
He only had one ticket, so he couldn't bring Hel along, but he reckoned there should be at least one or two familiar faces around.
With that decided, Gin dived face-first into his pillow, forcing himself to sleep.
'Let's hope i would cease to be a freeloader after the auction!'
...
On the day of the auction, Gin was greeted by numerous adventurers patrolling the streets.
He could guess which familia they belonged to.
Most of the familiar ones were from the Loki and Astraea Familias.
The masked people were Ganesha's.
The high-strung, bickering groups looking at everyone with disdain were probably Freya's.
Yikes.
The city really went all out to ensure nothing went south today.
Understandable, seeing the numerous fancy carriages—probably carrying nobles and wealthy merchants—driving along the road.
He couldn't imagine what kind of backlash would happen if these important people got caught in an Evilus attack.
Gin loitered around the city, witnessing items being brought into the auction venue.
The people guarding these processions, in his opinion, were a bit overkill.
Holy shit. He had never met them before, but he recognized the four pallums holding a greatsword, spear, hammer, and axe, and the blue-haired, stern-looking lady.
Bringar and Ankusha.
Freya's executives, along with Ganesha's captain.
Looking a bit further back, even Gareth was there too.
Yep, anyone trying to mess with this event was fucked!
...
As night fell, for the first time since coming here, Gin witnessed an almost festive mood settling down in the streets of Orario.
With Evilus at large, going out at night was a scary prospect, all the more so for people without a Falna.
Normally, the streets would be totally empty right about now, but today some stalls dotted the street and he could see people actually enjoying a nice nightlife.
This was the effect of the auction day, he supposed. Looking at the numerous high-level adventurers patrolling the street must have reassured the people.
Entering the auction hall, Gin saw Loki and Riveria already seated in the middle row.
Seeing that there were no free seats around them, he instead took a seat beside some woman he didn't know.
The rest of the seats were quickly filled with guests as the start of the auction drew near.
After waiting for a while, a man took the stage and said some words Gin didn't really pay attention to.
He took his place on a podium and rang a bell.
Everyone clapped, so Gin clapped along too before returning to throwing gummies into his mouth.
The woman beside him made a little cough, and Gin turned toward her.
She was glaring at him for some reason.
"Ah, my apologies, miss." Gin reached into his pocket and pulled out another pack. "Want some?"
The woman looked at him, opened her mouth, closed it again, sighed, and turned her attention back to the stage.
"No, thank you."
Gin shrugged and continued eating.
He could hear the lady mutter under her breath about "idiots everywhere" and "this is Hermes' fault somehow."
Oh well, whatever.
He also turned his attention back to the auction in time to see a bidding war explode over some Grimoire.
Branches of some elvish tree, some adamantine from the lower floors, magic swords, Hephaestus-brand weapons and armor, elixirs, various items came and went from the stage before a familiar item was brought in.
The golden egg was finally here!
Even before the host finished the introduction for the egg, the auction hall was already filled with excited chatter and whispers. Hmm, so the golden egg was actually this well-known.
"Jack Bird Golden Egg…!" The lady beside him whispered excitedly.
"We shall start the bidding at one million Valis!"
"1.2!" The woman raised her hand immediately.
"1.5!" Another followed.
"Let's make it quick, people. 3 million." Wow, Loki was loaded!
"3 million!"
"3.5!"
"3.8!"
"4.5 mil. Keep up, guys." Loki again.
Dammit, this was helping him, but somehow he didn't want her to be the winner!
'Someone, could someone bid higher!?'
He didn't want to live inside a house bought with Loki's dirty money!
The lady beside him took a deep breath before raising her hand again.
"4.9 million Valis."
The hall became quiet for a while.
Gin half expected another guest to pump the price again, but the only sound that came out was the hammer signaling the end of the bidding.
'Good job, unknown lady!'
Gin gave her a thumbs-up. She looked back at him in confusion.
...
The rest of the auction was an unimportant blur to Gin.
He was currently counting every Valis inside his head.
Rehmer had said the Guild would take 15% outside the market price.
Which meant 15% of 4.9 million.
That would still leave him with 4.165 million, add the 1 million, and he would get 5.165 million.
He was rich. Goddamn rich!
A house? He could actually buy three and a half houses with that money.
No, better yet, he could buy a new dress for Hel!
Hmm? Dresses are not important? Heretic!
Burn that traitorous brain cell right now!
Everything for Hel was important! Something that she could show him, all the more so!
As the auction drew to a close, everyone gave a polite clap for the host.
Forget that, Gin was giving an ovation for someone far more important.
He turned to the winning lady and gave her a standing ovation.
She looked back at him in confusion.
Gin quietly opened a compartment on his pack and took out his longest snack.
"…What are you doing?" She looked more confused.
Ah, she probably didn't know what this was, huh? He could show her how to eat it right.
Gin felt the full length of his snack, 19 inches of total goodness.
He took the top and offered it to the lady. "Here, take this side."
"Huh?"
"You do it like this." Gin guided her hand and divided the long, long snack.
He kept one part and left the other part with her.
"You can eat it as is. It's a custom-made long, long candy," he explained to her. "Just like this."
The lady stayed silent for a while, sighed, and put the confection into her mouth.
She chewed it slowly and looked back at him.
"…It tastes sweet. Thank you, I guess?"
"No, thank you." Gin grinned. "Enjoy the taste, you've earned it."
"…Okay?"
"Till we meet again, golden egg lady." Gin briefly saluted her and walked away from the premises, eager to tell Hel the happy news.
Leaving the auction hall, Gin sprinted non-stop toward Twilight Manor.
Darting past the gate and the lobby, he ran up to Hel's room.
He entered the room.
Hel was there. She was always there.
He happily made his way to her.
"My Goddess! O' Lightless Empress! We've done it! We are getting the house!" Gin lifted Hel up high by the waist and spun her around.
Hel accepted the gesture, spreading her arms wide and smiling softly.
"We will be free of Loki now! Hel yeah!"
"Umu, it is an occasion worth celebrating indeed, my champion. So the time has come for us to reside in the hall of the dead, Helheim."
Still in his arms, she lowered her own and placed a hand on his head, petting it.
"You have done me a great service. I am proud of you, Gin, my champion."
Gin could no longer keep his happy tears at bay. "Hel-sama!"
"Yosh, yosh."
To think he would get a head pat from Hel for getting his hands on a mere 5.165 million Valis.
This was the best day ever!