Waking up, I felt dizzy, dehydrated, and like my body had gone toe-to-toe with the Hulk and come out worse than Loki.
"Hello," said a ball of light in front of me.
"Hello to you too," I replied, confused by the glowing orb.
"I am Informer 01, the power you requested from Alaya."
"Oh, right. I remember now. Sorry, I was knocked out from activating my magic circuits. I forgot they were supposed to hurt the first time you woke them up. So, you're the Informer. I was wondering how to activate you."
"The awakening of your magic circuits was the reason I woke up. Without magic energy, I can't function."
"Is that so? I didn't know that. I should get ready first before dealing with you."
I got up and dressed in the clothes I came with—a blue shirt, black jeans, and a blue hoodie. After brushing my hair and teeth and making myself presentable, I returned to my room to speak to the Informer.
"So, let's get down to business. What exactly can you do, and are there any limits I should know about?"
"My power is knowledge. As long as you know the slightest thing about the knowledge you want, I can find it and transfer it directly into your mind. My limits include being able to do this only once a month and being unable to provide knowledge about outer beings, like alien gods, as they are beyond Alaya's power."
"Okay. Thanks for explaining. I think I know what I want my first piece of knowledge to be."
"Warning: if you use this ability now, you will have to wait a month before using it again. Do you wish to proceed?"
"Yes. The first knowledge I want is the basics of magecraft. Since there are many types of magecraft, I want to understand the basics and foundation so I won't be surprised by something every magic user knows."
"As you wish. Searching data... Done. Searching for spells... Processing... Done. Calculating the amount of mana needed for equal exchange of knowledge... Done."
"Sir, please proceed with activating your magic circuits again."
Hesitating because of the pain I felt the first time, I channeled my courage and activated my magic circuits.
DR****
Expecting pain, all I felt was a warm heat coursing through my circuits.
"Collecting magic energy... Done. Are you ready for the data transfer?" asked the ball of light.
"Yes, I'm ready," I replied.
"Downloading information now. I advise you to lie on your bed. The transfer won't hurt, but having knowledge shoved into your brain for the first time is not a pleasant experience."
Taking the advice, I lay down and prepared for a nap.
"Downloading... Loading... Processing... Download complete."
After hearing that, I woke up feeling a little dizzy but otherwise fine.
"Okay, that feels weird. Having that much knowledge in my head and knowing magic is amazing, but I was only taught five spells to begin with. It seems I need to wish for knowledge about spells to learn more. This time, I only asked for the basics of magecraft, not a bunch of spells."
The spells I learned are:
Gradation Air: Also called projection, this practice involves materializing objects according to the caster's imagination through the use of magical energy. The created object slowly fades away after being created.
Alteration: The intermediary step between Reinforcement and Projection. It gives an object a property or effect it originally didn't have. A master of Alteration can drastically change substances, such as turning metal into rubber or fire into ice.
Reinforcement: Also translated as Strengthening, this is the most difficult magecraft. It enhances the existence of the target by pouring magical energy into it. Success requires a good grasp of the inner structure to fill openings with magical energy. It can increase the sharpness of a knife, the nourishment of food, or physical strength and durability in living creatures. When applied to the caster's body, it can increase their physical abilities, allowing them to perform feats of strength and agility beyond their natural capabilities.
Memory Manipulation: Alters the mind's records to make a person forget a certain event. Effectiveness is limited by the number of deviations between what the target remembers and what others around them remember.
Gendre: A simple curse originating from Scandinavia that decreases the physical health of the target. It's released from the caster's index finger and the target must be within the field of vision. A Gandr with so much magical energy that it becomes capable of physical interference is called Finn Shot.
Although it's a lot, these spells are very useful. Reinforcement might be the most useful because it aligns with the enhanced strength I wished for when talking to Alaya. This strength might allow me to match low-level servants with E-rank strength—not strong enough to match a Saber or Berserker, but at least as strong as a Caster if they're not using magic.
After everything I've done, I still need to find a job since this money won't last forever.
