{Chapter 50} New Spell
"What happened?"
Not only did Anna and her group rush over, but even some bystanders and adventurers gathered at the training ground.
After all, the loud noise that had just echoed through the entire guild, so loud that even passersby outside were startled, was definitely real.
When they arrived at the training ground, they saw Helga leaning on her staff with one hand, grinning foolishly at a scorched mark on the ground.
"Helga? What happened?"
Anna immediately approached Helga, worriedly checking her for any injuries.
"Ah? Anna, you're here!" Helga beamed as she saw Anna and the others arrive, a goofy smile spreading across her face.
"I just tested a... new spell, but I didn't expect it to be so loud."
"A new spell?" Anna looked at her oddly. "Aren't you just an F-rank mage?"
"And? F-rank mages can't develop new spells?"
"I didn't mean F-rank mages can't develop new spells… I just mean… you're actually pretty impressive."
That was the truth.
In recent years, the research and development of combat techniques and magic had become increasingly difficult.
New spells and skills were usually pioneered by those with higher rankings.
A F-rank mage developing a new spell? That was something unheard of in years.
"Then watch closely! Hey! Get me a recorder!"
Helga shouted toward the gathered crowd.
After a moment of movement among the onlookers, a bespectacled man in a green adventurers' guild uniform stepped forward.
"Mage, do you need…?"
"I'm registering my new spell. Skip the unnecessary procedures!"
As she spoke, Helga swung her staff a few times.
The way she handled it made it look more like a battle club than a mage’s staff.
"Oh, okay, okay…" The recorder, clearly encountering such a mage for the first time, wiped his sweat before hastily pulling out a magic registry book and flipping through a few pages.
Meanwhile, the scorched training platform suddenly lowered, and a brand-new training dummy emerged.
The stark contrast between the pristine dummy and the charred ground made the scene somewhat surreal.
"Phew…"
Helga took a deep breath as she eyed the dummy. Her gaze suddenly turned sharp—
Then, she reversed her grip on the staff with her right hand, holding it like a war hammer with her left, and charged straight at the dummy.
"Boom!"
Even the spectators, let alone Anna, were dumbfounded.
Helga swung her staff down fiercely, and just as it was about to make contact, a fireball rapidly formed at the tip.
The "war hammer" slammed the fireball down, compressing it until it exploded directly upon impact with the dummy.
The explosion's force sent Helga flying backward, but she twisted midair and landed lightly on her feet.
"So? What do you think?"
Seeing Helga looking so proud and expectant, Anna pressed her lips together and hesitated.
"Uh… does this really count as magic?"
Whether it was the act of smashing the enemy with a staff or the seemingly unchanged fireball spell, neither fully fit the definition of magic, or battle technique, for that matter.
"Of course, it does! Look, Wind Blade and Wind Slash are essentially the same spell, but because they are cast differently, they’re considered separate spells." Helga planted her staff into the ground with both hands, now truly resembling a warrior.
"So my 'Fireball Burst-Press' should count as magic too!"
"…That's the name you gave this 'spell'?"
"Of course!"
As Anna and Helga chatted, the visibly nervous recorder approached.
"Um… Miss Helga, right?"
"Yeah."
"Regarding this spell… Based on the evaluations of the Mage Guild and the Adventurers’ Guild, I have one good news and one bad news…"
"Oh, come on, just tell me both already!"
"A-Alright…" The recorder swallowed hard and said, "According to the Mage Guild, the technique you just demonstrated… does not qualify as magic."
Seeing Helga's gaze instantly turn sharp and menacing, he hurriedly continued before she could explode, while Anna quickly held her back and signaled for him to go on.
"However! While it doesn't count as magic, the Adventurers' Guild has recognized it as a combat technique!"
Afraid of getting clobbered, whether by staff or fists, the recorder rushed through his words as fast as possible.
"Combat technique… Well, I guess that works too." Helga scratched her head, her enthusiasm suddenly deflating.
"A magic combat technique… If people didn’t know better, they’d think you were some high-ranking knight or magic swordsman."
"Don't rub it in. What a buzzkill." Helga patted Anna on the shoulder. "Let's go grab a drink!"
Then, she turned to look at Atala, who had been watching curiously, and Louise, who was smirking at her misfortune.
"You two are coming too!"
A Little While Later…
Completely ignoring the curious stares of the adventurers still discussing what had happened, Helga downed a mug of strong liquor in one go.
"I don’t get it. It was a good move, why isn’t it considered magic?"
"You’re a mage, yet you don’t even understand the definition of magic?" Louise, still nursing her own water drink, raised an eyebrow.
"Honestly, even calling it a combat technique was a stretch."
"Yeah," Anna chimed in, delivering another blow, "it's basically just you running up and casting a fireball at point-blank range. It doesn’t really have any special technique behind it."
"Hey, I compressed the fireball to increase its explosive power while reducing the burning effect! How can you say there’s no innovation?"
"You could just release the fireball normally, and then it wouldn’t be classified as a combat technique." Atala tilted her head in confusion.
"Ah, well… about that…" Helga's confidence suddenly wavered.
"The compressed fireball is too unstable, isn't it?" Having studied magic at the knight academy, Anna quickly figured it out.
"You probably can’t throw such an unstable fireball properly, can you?"
"…Yeah, pretty much."
"Well, that explains why it was classified as a combat technique then."
Louise glanced at her nearly empty cup and raised it toward Helga.
"Still, being able to set off an explosion that strong at close range without taking any damage is pretty impressive."
"Even if you flatter me, I’m not giving up on Anna, you know?"
"You could’ve just stopped before saying that last part!"
…Wait, how did this conversation suddenly turn into that kind of argument?
Watching Helga and Louise bicker for no apparent reason, Anna felt utterly lost.