The first night since my journey with Elle began.
I set up a simple camp in the Ash Forest.
I swept the ash from the ground and deployed a minimal cold-protection barrier.
*Mana Ledger: Active*
**Cold-Protection Barrier**
- Consumption: 0.8 MP/hour
- Efficiency: 97.3%
- Ash Output: 0.02 kg/hour
Elle watches with curiosity.
"Mr. Kai, your magic doesn't glow at all."
"Glow is waste. Magic is about effect, not appearance."
"But all the magic I learned was sparkly."
"Do you know how much mana gets wasted on that sparkle?"
"...I don't."
"On average, decorative effects alone consume 30-40% of the mana. Meaning if you skip the sparkle, you can achieve the same effect with less than half the mana."
Elle's eyes go wide.
"That much...?"
"The magic circles taught in academies are deliberately designed to be inefficient. Do you know why?"
"...I don't."
"Because the vendors who sell magic circles profit from it."
Elle is speechless.
"Now then."
I point at the firewood.
"Elle, start a fire."
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
Elle thrusts both hands forward with enthusiasm.
I take a step back.
I have a bad feeling about this.
"*Fire Ball!*"
---
***
---
The forest nearly exploded.
*Mana Ledger: Active*
**Consumption:** 12,000 MP
**Effect:** Campfire-sized flame (excessive output scorched 5-meter radius)
**Optimal Consumption:** 0.5 MP
**Efficiency:** 0.004%
**Ash Output:** 240 kg (instantaneous)
**Damage:** 12 dead trees carbonized, Kai's cloak catches fire
"Hot!"
I tear off my cloak and beat it against the ash to smother the flames.
"I-I'm so sorry...!"
Elle stares at me, face pale.
"It's fine, it's fine! I'll put it out with water!"
"Wait, Elle—"
"*Water Splash!*"
---
***
---
The next instant—
I'm drenched from head to toe.
*Mana Ledger: Active*
**Consumption:** 8,500 MP
**Effect:** One bucket of water (excessive output produced waterfall volume)
**Optimal Consumption:** 0.3 MP
**Efficiency:** 0.004%
**Ash Output:** 170 kg
**Damage:** Kai completely soaked, campfire extinguished, firewood waterlogged
Midwinter night.
Temperature below freezing.
My body heat drains away rapidly.
"Awawawa! I-I'm sorry! I'll dry you off!"
"Wait, Elle—"
"*Wind Dry!*"
---
***
---
A gale.
Our tent blows 50 meters away.
I'm thrown back about 3 meters myself.
*Mana Ledger: Active*
**Consumption:** 6,200 MP
**Effect:** Gentle drying breeze (excessive output produced hurricane)
**Optimal Consumption:** 0.2 MP
**Efficiency:** 0.003%
**Ash Output:** 124 kg
**Damage:** Tent destroyed, Kai's hat lost, firewood scattered
"......"
"......I'm sorry."
Elle slumps to the ground.
Water drips from her silver hair.
Her emerald eyes glisten with tears.
Sitting in the ash, she looks as small as a wet kitten.
I take a deep breath.
*Mana Ledger: Active*
**Today's Total Damage:** 26,700 MP
**Total Ash Output:** 534 kg
**Household Equivalent:** Approximately 3 years of living expenses
**Deaths from Cold Prevented Equivalent:** Approximately 89 people
Three years of living expenses. Gone in 30 seconds.
Enough mana to save 89 lives—burned on a campfire, a bucket of water, and wind that destroyed our tent.
No point in getting angry.
This girl isn't "bad." She just was never taught.
But—
Lina's face surfaces in my mind.
A life that could have been saved with just 500 MP.
Just now, 26,700 MP vanished before my eyes.
Enough to save Lina fifty-three times.
"...Elle."
"Yes..."
"Sit down. We need to talk."
"...Yes."
---
***
---
I start a new fire.
With my own hands. Minimal mana.
*Mana Ledger: Active*
**Campfire**
- Consumption: 0.4 MP
- Efficiency: 98.7%
- Ash Output: 0.005 kg
A small flame, but warm, illuminating the gray darkness.
Elle stares at it with wonder.
"Mr. Kai's fire... it's not flashy at all, but it's warm."
"This is what magic is supposed to be. No flash needed. Only effect matters."
I sit down beside her.
"Elle. The three spells you just cast—total consumption was 26,700 MP."
"...Yes."
"What do you think you could do with that much?"
Elle tilts her head.
"Um... I don't know."
"A typical family of four could live for three years."
"Th-three years...!"
"In a frontier village, it could maintain heating for an entire village for half a year."
"..."
"Last winter, 1,200 people froze to death in the common districts. Eighty-nine of them—could have been saved with the mana you just wasted."
Elle's face goes white.
"Eighty-nine people..."
"You're connected to the World Tree. So your mana is infinite. No matter how much you use, it never runs out."
"...Yes."
"But the mana you waste falls on the world as ash. It kills the soil. It rots lungs. It kills people."
I look up at the sky.
Ash is falling.
Silent. Steady.
"Tonight's waste alone dropped 534 kilograms of ash on this world."
Tears begin spilling from Elle's eyes.
"I... I..."
"Don't cry."
I pat her head once.
"Your tears won't make the ash disappear. But—"
I begin drawing a magic circle on the ground.
"If you learn efficiency from now on, the world's lifespan extends."
A simple circle.
Inside it, just four rune characters.
"This is what *Fire Ball* is supposed to look like."
Elle wipes her tears and stares at the circle.
"It can really be... this simple?"
"It's not about 'can be.' This is the correct answer. Show me the magic circle you've been using."
Elle draws a magic circle in the air.
My Mana Ledger begins its analysis.
*Mana Ledger: Active*
**Magic Circle:** *Fire Ball* (Royal Magic Academy Standard — Advanced Elf Modification)
- Rune Count: 31
- Functionally Necessary Runes: 4
- Decorative Runes: 27 (unnecessary)
- Redundancy Rate: 87%
- Mana Pathway Distortions: 94 points
"This vine-pattern rune. What's its function?"
"Um... it represents 'gratitude to the World Tree'..."
"Expressing gratitude costs 500 MP and produces 10 kg of ash. Say it with words."
"Th-this petal rune is... 'a prayer to the forest spirits'..."
"Prayer: 800 MP, 16 kg of ash. Pray in your heart."
"This star rune is..."
"Pure decoration. 200 MP, 4 kg of ash. Complete waste."
One by one, I erase the decorative runes.
"The simpler the magic circle, the more efficient it is. Elaborate decoration only distorts the mana pathways and increases ash output."
Elle watches my hands intently.
"Why... why didn't anyone ever teach me this...?"
"Because if they did, magic circle vendors wouldn't profit."
"That's..."
"Half of what the world calls 'common sense' is lies created to benefit someone."
I show her the completed magic circle.
"This is the real *Fire Ball*. Try it."
Elle nervously deploys the circle.
"*Fire Ball*..."
A small flame ignites in her palm.
*Mana Ledger: Active*
**Consumption:** 0.8 MP
**Efficiency:** 62.5%
**Ash Output:** 0.3 kg
From 12,000 MP down to 0.8.
One fifteen-thousandth.
Elle's eyes shine.
"A-amazing...! It's so light...!"
"That's what magic is supposed to feel like."
I add wood to the fire.
"Elle, until now, you've been running with heavy chains strapped to you. In truth, you can go lighter, faster, farther."
Tears well in Elle's eyes again.
But this time—they're tears of hope.
"Mr. Kai... thank you..."
"Too early for thanks. That was just one spell. I'm going to optimize every spell you use to the same level."
"Yes...!"
"Real training starts tomorrow. One week to raise your efficiency to 50%."
"Fifty percent..."
"Can you do it?"
Elle clenches her fists tight.
"I'll do it. Absolutely."
Her eyes hold no hesitation now.