In A Noble Magic Academy, The Only Spell I Know Is Scan

"Thanks for coming to this little meeting." Roko said.

"Well, we're probably the only ones left in this school who can talk to you about things like this." Edea said as she placed down her tray of macaroni and cheese with lemonade and caesar salad.

"I'm not that knowledgeable about magic." Lavinia said as she sat down with fairy bread, strawberry melon crepe and fountain soda, "I'm more of a history teacher at this point."

"Well, you're still the foremost human experts in magic that I know." Roko said as he munched on a fry from his french fries along with a grilled chicken wrap and onion rings.

"Oh yeah, we got you this."

"Oh good." Roko said blankly as the two placed down a cup of tiramisu and hot chocolate in front of him, "Haven't had this in a while."

"So?" Edea said as she picked up her fork and poked it into her mac and cheese, "I assume this is going to be a brief primer on everything that you've learned since arriving at Granreveria?"

"Well pretty much." Roko replied, "I still have to figure out how to improve my techniques."

"Let's hear it then."

One lengthy conversation later...

"This...spell hacking, you called it?" Edea said, "This is...interesting."

"So it's like you're tricking the spell into thinking you're its caster?" Lavinia said, "I've never heard of doing something like that."

"It's definitely only thanks to my scan spell." Roko sighed, "The problem is that my archeomancy is still so poor that I can't use it on the fly."

"Plenty of spells don't really have the instantaneous use most spells you see have." Edea replied, "That doesn't make it useless."

"Plus most people won't even know what's happening." Lavinia added, "That means you can use it as much as you like. Who'd think to slightly modify their spell to avoid this one specific technique? Most people probably won't even figure it out."

"I don't know about that." Edea said, "You said that most people aren't even aware of this seal you're making but I think it's important to remember what kind of setting you were in. Elves are inherently magical. They cast spells without thinking. They have no concept of these magical seals outside of enchantments and rituals. But humans do. It's how we learn Intentional Casting. Someone skilled enough in magic might recognize the seal you've made resembles the one in their head and once that happens, they could think of counters to your technique. I'm not saying it's likely but it is possible."

"So the fact that we humans suck at magic makes us more likely to be able to counter hacks?" Lavinia smirked, "How ironic."

"That doesn't make me feel better." Roko sighed.

"Well at least you're aware of the weakness." Edea replied, "That's good to know."

"I suppose."

"I wonder if this would've worked in the age of the gods." Lavinia mused, "Back then, we all just casted spells on their authority. Spell seals weren't a thing back then."

"Now that's an interesting question." Edea nodded, "If we assume these seals are needed for the formation of magic then theoretically the gods used them too. We might've been as blind as the elves back then since the gods controlled whenever we used their spells. If I had to make a guess, then the gods' spells would be like passing down a single magic seal down to their subjects meaning every fire spell might've looked the same."

"So not only are humans more prepared to counter spell hacking nowadays, it would've been stronger in the past?" Roko sighed again, "This deal just keeps getting worse."

"I mean..." Edea shrugged, "You still got your third spell."

"That spell is never going to see use." Roko scowled.

"Surely there has to be a use for it." Lavinia said, "I can't imagine a spell that exists for no reason."

"It's not like it does nothing, it's just dangerous to use. At least, it'd be dangerous to me."

"Then why'd you learn it?"

"I didn't LEARN it. It's just a natural spell that I apparently always had."

"You didn't accidentally cast it in the past?" Lavinia asked.

"Apparently not." Roko scoffed.

"Well, natural cast spells are quite rare in humans." Edea explained, "It's not unheard of, especially in this era when there's no god for them to claim just favored them when they were young. Still, this doesn't usually happen until much later in their life. Perhaps it's different for elves who can start casting magic the moment they learn how to talk but for humans it seems to require enormous magical talent as well as reaching a sort of 'magical maturity' for miscasts like that to happen."

"Well in my case, learning about the spell just sort of...unlocked it for me." Roko said, "So now I have to be careful with my words again."

"Well at least you only have one word to worry about." Edea shrugged.

"Man, things must've been so much simpler back in the god's time." Roko sighed.

"Well, miscasts were basically non-existent since we casted spells on authority." Lavinia said, "But if you couldn't get the favor of the god of fire then you're basically never learning how to use fire magic so there's some benefits to modern times."

"I wish I could the god that gave me my spell to give me something else." Roko growled, "Information is great and all but it doesn't help in most fights."

"Hmmm..." Edea and Lavinia exchanged curious glances before turning back to Roko, "What kind of god gave you your powers?"

"I don't know!" Roko snapped, "I wish I knew so I could lodge a complaint! Do you two have any idea?"

"Well what are the spells you know?" Edea said, "Scan, Analyze and...this new one… does it have anything in common?"

"Aside from the fact they're all information based?" Roko scoffed, "I dunno, was there a god of information?"

"There's not a god of information per say..." Edea mused, "All gods were basically referred to by what kind of magic they could provide. And humans were too divided to create a god of collective knowledge. If one did exist then it'd have to be a pretty weak god. Perhaps a patron to a small cult-like religion? That's not really my area of expertise. Lavinia, do you have any idea?"

"..."

"Lavinia?"

"Have you ever heard of the legend of The King Who Knew Not Of Death?" Lavinia asked, more serious than she has been since they arrived here.

"No?" Roko raised an eyebrow.

"I remember that legend." Edea mused, "Are you saying..."

"Let's explain it to Roko first." Lavinia said, "It's not a long legend. Basically as the story goes there were people who returned from near death experiences who reported seeing some sort of ghostly figure watching over them as they passed away. Well...nearly passed away. A concrete description was never compiled since the only people who reported about them were well...dying. But one king came across the idea that this figure was the god of death. And by killing this god, he'd destroy the concept of death across the entire world. So he started a sort of manhunt. Not a war or some sort of serial murders but a crusade. A hunt for any dying people in the world to find this figure before they could disappear from the eyes of the dying. As the legend goes, the king eventually succeeded in finding and killing this god. But as you can tell, nothing changed. People kept dying. So they weren't the god of death. Which bodes the question, what kind of god WERE they?"

"I recall that legend back in my studies." Edea nodded, "But it was more a curiosity than it was anything with any legitimacy. Most considered it as just a story not even much of a legend. It's not exactly that detailed either."

"Well, if you went looking there's a little more information." Lavinia explained, "Though not exactly any more detail. The common idea around the identity of this spirit thing was that it was more an observer of death. Something that could tell the lifespan of people and be there to...guide the souls maybe? Like your spells, there is no known magic that can do something like determine the lifespan of anything so this was never taken very seriously. But considering your situation..."

"You're saying my spells are from a dead god?" Roko frowned.

"Well it's the closest approximation I can think of." Lavinia shrugged, "Most people aren't even sure if that was even a god."

"None of my spells can tell me when someone can die though..."

"Well, there might be more magic you haven't tapped into."

"Hmmm..."

"What's up?" Edea said, "Want to lodge a complaint to a dead god?"

"No. Just...is that a common thing? Killing a god?"

Edea and Lavina looked at each other again.

"That's your field isn't it?" Edea said.

"...Right, so..." Lavinia sighed, "To make it clear, none of us have lived back in the god's age so it's pretty hard to tell for certain. There are stories of gods killing gods. Or perhaps a god's champion killing a god. These stories are quite well known, not that much anymore but there are children's books that originate from the era of the gods about heroes that fought evil gods and beat them with another gods help. That's how well known this concept is. On the other hand, it should be impossible for a normal human to kill a god. The idea alone would offend a lot of the gods and the gods certainly wouldn't suggesting doing something like that. Historically, there are no credible events of a human killing a god. But there are a handful of stories of humans killing gods, including the story of the King Who Knew Not Of Death. They're not particularly well known probably because such stories were probably considered blasphemous back in the day. But there's just enough for me to think this can't be just wish fulfillment fiction. Some of these stories include characters that are well known, that appear in other stories and we know existed at some point. But even these stories aren't usually considered canon nowadays."

"So in conclusion, it should be impossible." Edea confirmed.

"Unless you can think of a way to kill them."

"I think Roko might." Edea said, glancing over to Roko whose been in thought all this time while listening, "Care to share your guess, Roko?"

"...There's only one spell I know that can repel the powers of a god."

"Holy?" Edea guessed.

"Yes." Roko nodded, "If we consider holy as a spell that can kill gods then things start making sense. It's a magic that cannot be taught, meaning it can't originate from a god's authority. In fact, given that no other race can use it, holy might be the one true magic that humans can cast. Everything else was just...introduced to us."

"Humanity's one true magic." Edea nodded, "That's certainly a luxurious title."

"Using a weapon that's barely known by society to back stories that most don't know and should be impossible." Lavinia said, "That's one way of doing things."

"But we do know holy exists."

"Yeah, it's kind of crazy to think that little Corissa could kill gods." Edea said, "Though that's still just a theory I suppose."

"I see no reason why it shouldn't work." Roko crossed his arms, "If she can destroy the eldritch god's creations, and magic that was cast without their authority, I don't see why it can't destroy the god's magic."

"A god's magic and the god itself are two different things." Lavinia explained, "The god's magic can be beaten, sure, but the god itself? They're said to be these perfect immortal being. They're like living concepts. So long as the concept of fire exists, the god of fire, Ashurno, will still live."

"Then how do gods kill other gods?"

"I..." Lavinia stopped, trying to come up with an answer, "In...one of the tales, Ashurno killed the god of volcanoes and absorbed their authority."

"So gods are susceptible to being absorbed." Roko nodded, "But it's not like their existence or their authority's existence is the basis for these concepts. They exist without either of those things existing now."

"Well, the fanatics will tell you that the gods are still with us in thoughts and spirit which is why the world still runs." Lavinia rolled her eyes, "But I'm not one for much religious zealotry. My question is; are gods really that similar to standard magic? I mean, holy hasn't killed any of these eldritch gods right? So what proof do we have that it could kill an equivalent god?"

"Well for one, I think these eldritch gods are stronger than your traditional gods."

"I'm not saying I don't believe you but you have to understand, these gods were crazy strong already. How much stronger do you think these eldritch ones to be?"

"From my point of view, the eldritch gods are the true god-like ones. These conceptual gods are probably just extremely advanced magic."

"Okay Roko." Lavinia frowned, "I know you weren't there for the age of the gods but they're still super strong. Praying to the god of water in a desert could create an oasis in an otherwise desolate land. Worshiping the god of fire in a cold climate could bring an unnatural warmth to your entire city. They're stronger than even the strongest mages in human history."

"And yet, they're human creations."

"What?"

"The elves have no belief in a god and can cast magic just fine. To them it was humans who created gods and worshiped them for a power they have been proving that they were inherently capable of. If humans created gods to give them magic then why can't they be erased like magic?"

"I don't..." Lavinia said baffled, "I don't think they're just...what, masses of highly complex magic? I mean...magic can record and carry information but it can't...generate thoughts. Like, it can't create feelings or sentience like the gods had. We've been trying for ages to create life and the best we've gotten are homunculi. And they're just more human shaped golems basically."

"And that's the factor that I think separates conceptual gods from eldritch gods." Roko explained, "For one, the eldritch gods have proven to be able to create monsters with some level of intellect. In comparison, creating intelligence was never a feat that the gods could give right?"

"Well no, we've never been able to make magical creations with an intelligence equal to a human's. That's why the gods can't be a human creation."

"Not the creation of a single human, no. But what if the conceptual gods were born from innumerable human's wishes? That their worship gave shape to a body of magic?"

"Okay, you keep saying they're sentient magic but magic or mana doesn't have the ability to create or give sentience."

"I think it does."

"Do you have proof?"

"Yes. Remember when I went to Momokami?"

"You mean when their castle was attacked by a giant sentient tree?" Edea asked, "Yeah but why bring that up?"

"Because when we first fought the tree it showed no signs of feeling damage. You can cut it but it'll just keep attacking like a mindless drone. But the moment it absorbed Momo and Murasaki and drained their mana to cast spells, the entire tree could feel pain. I remember clearly attacking it with a waraxe and the branches of the tree recoiling in pain. The only difference was the heart of mana it created in its roots from draining Momo and Murasaki that I had to destroy in order to kill it."

Lavinia and Edea looked blankly at Roko.

"Roko...how long have you had this observation?"

"I mean, ever since the incident. It just never came up so-"

"One year." Edea sighed, "You kept this from us for an entire YEAR."

"It was never relevant!"

"You could've put it on your report!"

"It was a thought, not a fact! It was barely even a theory!"

"Well, at least we have some proof that god can be killed." Edea said, "Though all that serves is to legitimize the story of the observer of death."

"Honestly with how vague the story is, this observer could even be human."

The conversation, having lost it's momentum now fell to a welcome silence as the participants rested their voices and process everything they've discussed. Then in the pensive silence the sound of growling stomachs made their protest.

"Ah, we should probably start eating." Edea said as everyone quickly picked up their utensils.