Though her close combat skills couldn't even measure up to some Level 1 adventurers, Lefiya was, after all, still a Level 3 in her own right.
She had her own ways of dodging enemy attacks, and the moment Alice's strike appeared beneath her feet, she reacted instantly.
Alice's sudden assault forced Lefiya to cut short her chant, swiftly leaping away from where she'd been standing.
A moment later, a narrow pillar of flame erupted from the spot, its scorching heat washing over her. Having dodged the attack, Lefiya began chanting another spell.
"Proud warriors, archers of the forest—"
"So slow," Alice remarked, lifting a hand once more. Icicles materialized in the air above Lefiya's head. With a gesture from Alice, they came crashing down. Again, Lefiya's chanting was interrupted.
Beyond the icicles, Alice casually waved a hand, launching simple magical attacks one after another—wind blades, fireballs, more icicles—all raining down on Lefiya in an endless barrage.
Faced with this relentless assault, Lefiya was stunned. Not only did Alice cast without chanting, but the variety of elements she wielded was astounding. Each spell was born from a different magical element, meaning Alice commanded far more types of magic than any ordinary person—or even an elf—could ever hope to learn.
Lefiya burned with questions about Alice's magic, but she knew now wasn't the time for that. What mattered was the duel. Under this constant barrage, she realized that if she wanted any chance of winning, she would have to master parallel chanting—weaving her spells while evading Alice's attacks.
There were no allies here to protect her, no one to buy her the time to complete a full incantation. Only by achieving parallel chanting and successfully releasing her magic could she possibly defeat Alice.
Just as she steeled herself to attempt it, Alice spoke.
"Lefiya, what do you think is the essence of magic?"
"Huh?" The sudden question caught Lefiya off guard. She barely dodged another volley from Alice, her focus fractured.
Not waiting for an answer, Alice continued, "Maybe 'essence' is too grand a word. I'm just a beginner who's barely started learning magic myself—far from understanding anything that profound." She paused. "So, Lefiya, how do you think magic actually attacks? What is it that truly carries out the attack?"
Alice's assault ceased abruptly. Lefiya let out a quiet sigh of relief, then looked at her, puzzled. "Magic… just attacks. That's what it does."
To Lefiya, that was all there was to it: you chant, you gather mana, you form the spell, and you attack.
Hearing this, Alice smiled slightly and raised her hand again. Lefiya immediately lifted her staff, poised to dodge. But then her eyes fell on Alice's palm, and her expression shifted to one of sheer astonishment.
Floating above Alice's hand were seven glowing orbs of mana, each a different color. As an elf, a race naturally attuned to magic, Lefiya could sense clearly that these orbs held no destructive power. They seemed to be nothing more than pure mana, gathered effortlessly in Alice's palm.
Yet this simple display made Lefiya's eyes widen as if an entirely new world had opened before her—a path some had imagined but none had ever successfully walked.
She hurried closer, staring at the mana orbs until her face flushed with excitement. "Alice-chan! This…! Can it be that you can directly control mana to form magic?!"
Lefiya stared at Alice, utterly stunned.
A look of 'I knew it' crossed Alice's face.
In this world, magical civilization had clearly developed over a long time.
As a magical race, the elves must have deeply researched magic. And where there are living beings, there is desire—whether for beauty, wealth, or knowledge.
For the elves, the pursuit of magical understanding was a powerful craving.
Driven by that thirst for knowledge, they would inevitably have researched ways to cast without chanting.
The need for incantations was a huge waste of time, especially in battle where every second counted. But in this world, even the elves had no such magic—not even abbreviated chants existed.
This could only mean one of two things: either they never researched it, or they tried and failed. The existence of parallel chanting was proof enough—a technique developed so mages wouldn't be interrupted while casting.
It clearly showed that attempts had been made to achieve chantless magic, but they had failed.
After reading books at the Guild and listening to Eina's explanations, Alice had already formed some ideas about this world's mages and their magic. Now, having seen Lili's magic granted by Falna and Lefiya's learned spells, she was sure of her theory.
The people here had focused solely on studying magic and its incantations. They hadn't researched the distinction between mental strength and mana—to them, willpower and mana were one and the same, not separate forces.
That was why Lefiya was so shocked to see the seven elemental orbs hovering above Alice's palm, formed through pure mana control. Alice could manipulate the mana within her with ease, as naturally as moving her own limbs.
But Lefiya, like everyone else, had to rely on 'commands' to control her mana.
Having confirmed the root of the issue, Alice understood just how much the knowledge she possessed could impact this world.
She looked at the stunned Lefiya and smiled. "Lefiya, do you want to learn? I can teach you now—not just chantless magic, but other magical knowledge too."
A curious light shone in Alice's eyes. Lefiya had the talent to use all elven magic. Under her guidance, just how powerful would Lefiya become if she could wield it all without chanting?
Alice was truly looking forward to finding out.
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