NOVEL WEB Chapter 30 – What Kind Of Spell Does She Have?
Chapter 30 - What Kind Of Spell Does She Have?
"Royal Thunder!?"
Hearing Hestia's explanation, Bell's expression grew more confused.
He just wanted magic that could turn him into lightning, but what he got was "Royal Thunder."
Especially after learning about the annotations like "Quick Attack Magic" and "Command Thunder and Lightning," Bell realized this magic was over the top—even more than "Firebolt" from the anime.
In the anime, Bell was casting magic, but commanding thunder and lightning? Is that even magic? Could it be Arcanum?
But can Arcanum come from a magic book? Bell, while open-minded, was still confused by the possibility.
He didn't want to have Arcanum, but this kind of ability didn't seem like magic at all.
After hesitating for a while, Bell finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Hestia-sama, is this magic or Arcanum?"
Bell's question made Hestia respond immediately.
"Of course, it's magic."
"Arcanum and magic are completely different things. Arcanum is the law of truth, while magic is something manifested through chants and mana as a medium."
"To put it simply, magic requires preparation and power to be constructed, while Arcanum is a power that gods can use instinctively, without needing to prepare or construct it."
"Some forms of magic may seem similar to Arcanum, but they only show a fraction of its power through mana."
But after explaining it like that and rethinking the concept of Arcanum, Hestia realized how close Bell's awakened magic was to Arcanum.
A strange thought popped into her mind. She stiffened her neck and turned to look at Hephaestus behind her.
"Hephaestus, what do you think?"
Hephaestus froze.
After hearing Hestia's breakdown of magic and Arcanum, she realized the same thing.
Arcanum and magic are different; magic requires preparation, while Arcanum is instant. Arcanum has a wide range of uses, far beyond what magic can do.
But… didn't these same things describe Bell's awakened magic?
"Is this an Arcanum awakening?"
"Can Arcanum be awakened by a child of the lower world?"
Hephaestus struggled to believe it, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
Even demigods couldn't awaken Arcanum, so how could Bell? This was absurd.
"Hestia, even demigods can't awaken Arcanum."
"I know, but what's going on with Bell? Based on the descriptions, this feels like authority."
"Demigods can't awaken Arcanum, let alone a mortal child."
Hestia, as one of the three virgin goddesses, knew this truth very well. That's what made this so weird.
Even she could tell that Bell's awakened magic wasn't normal.
To put it bluntly, this felt like Arcanum disguised as magic. Magic shouldn't have such broad applications.
And the word "command" was strange. Can magic command anything? Isn't Arcanum all about command?
The more she thought about it, the more she doubted Bell's magic.
"Maybe it's just lacking control."
Hephaestus didn't know how else to explain it because the more she thought about it, the more complicated it became.
This was the first time she had ever seen someone awaken Arcanum.
Or maybe this was the only case like it in all of Orario.
And if this really was Arcanum, then no matter what, Hestia had just hit the jackpot.
Gods weren't allowed to use their Arcanum freely after descending to the lower world.
Maybe it wasn't completely forbidden, but everyone knew the limits.
If they went too far, they'd have to return to the heavens.
But if Bell's magic was really Arcanum, it was like Hestia had a god who could use Arcanum without restrictions.
In that case, their Familia would have a massive advantage. They could even rival the Hera and Zeus Familia.
That realization made Hephaestus look at Hestia—the fool—again.
"Did this idiot save the world somehow?"
How else could she get this lucky?
Hephaestus began to question her own luck.
All gods should be lucky—except for the truly unlucky ones.
But why wasn't she as lucky as Hestia? How did this useless goddess end up with Bell living under her roof?
"Wait, didn't Bell come to me first?"
Hephaestus paused.
When Bell first arrived in Orario a few days ago, he came to her Familia. His expectations were low, and he didn't ask for much. His position was clear.
She was the one who recommended Bell to Hestia.
Thinking about it now, Hephaestus felt a bit of regret.
But that regret disappeared when she saw Bell smiling.
'Well, I guess this is just Bell and Hestia's fate.'
Hephaestus sighed and shook her head.
***
"Ahhh... wahhh..."
Countless gray, unmoving humanoid bodies closed in while Finn tried to get a handle on the situation. But the blonde girl rushed straight at the nightmarish creatures.
"Wait! AIS!"
Lefiya ran after Ais, trying to stop her, but Ais didn't react. With one jump, she struck a monster. In a single hit, several of them turned into black ash.
"You never listen, Ais," Finn muttered, then quickly gave orders to the others.
"Everyone, follow Ais! Stay right behind her!"
The moment he said it, the members of Loki Familia focused, falling in behind Ais and taking out the monsters that came their way.
Later, they found a safe zone.
Finn let out a breath, trying to figure things out.
It had been three days since they started this expedition, and they had already taken a lot of losses. He couldn't ignore Ais' weird behavior either.
He had known her since she was a kid, so it was easy to notice. Over the past year, the usually emotionless Ais had started showing feelings—deep ones, like she had experienced countless things.
Looking around, Finn saw Tiona and Tione bickering like always. Bete had his usual sour face.
But it was Riveria that really had him worried. She'd been acting strange ever since their encounter with Evilus ten years ago. Finn had heard rumors that after visiting her family, her father died that same day... Something wasn't right about it.
He had asked Loki about it, but she kept quiet, only frustrating him more.
He'd even asked Loki if he could train Ais, but Loki refused, saying Riveria was better suited for it... which made him more suspicious.
Finn couldn't shake the feeling that Riveria had something to do with Ais' changes.
'Was it Riveria who caused this?'
He couldn't figure it out.
'What kind of spell does she have on Loki?'
