Fairy Tail: Swallow the Fire

31. Hitting the Books

A/N: This is largely an exposition chapter

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If someone told me that someone could be a wizard without having any intelligence then I would instantly label them a lobotomite. 

Even spells as simple as the cantrips that are sold in convenience stores as pamphlets or the various types of holder-type magics require some degree of understanding of magic. Most cities even have magic shops entirely dedicated to certain types of magic, with Celestial Spirit Keys being a common commodity even in non-wizard households with various types of Celestial Spirits being treated as pets.

Am I saying that wizards can’t be idiots? No. 

In fact, I would label most wizards as idiots due to the eccentric behaviour commonly attributed to us. Wizards often lack the common sense needed to live in a non-magic-based society, especially the more studious of them. The longer they spend growing their beards inside their arcane towers, the longer they go without human interaction. Guild Halls could be considered the opposite situation, as instead of lacking human interaction there is an overabundance of it.

This “mutation” in social behaviour removes the wisdom you can find in the common citizen. But while a wizard can lack wisdom, they must have intelligence in at least their field of magic.

The difference between wisdom and intelligence? Intelligence is knowledge that allows a wizard to cast spells such as the common fireball. Wisdom is the knowledge that you shouldn’t cast a fireball in your own home. It's books smarts against street smarts.

This is all to say that knowledge of the arcane is one of the key powers that separates strong wizards from the common rabble, with the other being magic power. Both of these attributes are extremely important. Knowledge of how to cast a fireball is one thing, but the amount of magic power put into the spell is the difference between lighting a candle and levelling a kingdom. 

Magic power is something that can only increase with patience and, if you’re rich, surgery. Implanting hollow lacrima isn’t an unheard-of process to allow for a quick boost in magic power, but the short-term boost is often not worth the risk. These hollow lacrima, unlike the likes of elemental or dragon lacrima, don’t get absorbed by the body and become weak points that could instantly kill a wizard if it cracks.

Knowledge on the other hand is something that can allow a wizard to perform more powerful spells regardless of their magic power. A more intelligent wizard can play their cards right and beat a wizard with the same or weaker magic power, but a wizard of equal intelligence and higher magic power can easily defeat someone with weaker magic power even if they use the same spells.

It is because of these rules that can be broadly applied to magic duals that many would often prefer to focus on magic power over intelligence. But these people are wasting their potential. Not a single one of the Ten Wizard Saints would be in their position if they didn’t have the knowledge to back their magic power. They know spells that give them power, and they have taken advantage of the broad categories of magic with many of them taking advantage of rare or unknown types of magic that not many people would widely know about.

A single spell can mean victory or defeat.

There are even scenarios where a mage was able to defeat their opponent by deciphering the inscriptions of their magic glyphs before the spell could be completely cast. Think of glyphs as instruments for caster-type magics. A person can use a tool to whistle, but someone with the proper talent and knowledge can whistle without an instrument. Mages are the same way, with glyphless spell-casting being a sign of talent.