Chapter 7: How to basic
'This is so different than what I was expecting the magic learning to be.'
At the start Sofia was suppose to go jogging every morning, but simply after trying it once, she had so many fractures to her legs that the idea was cancelled. It was decided that after she had gained few levels, the jogging could be started. Though now she couldn't walk either, for four days.
Also her left hand was starting to show signs of healing. It didn't function properly yet, but the feel at the end of her fingertips had come back. In fear of breaking the arm while jogging Sofia had insisted to have someone with her when she went to circle the mansion. Lisa was there walking and buzzing around her with her tail cleaning the road.
Sofia's days would start at five o'clock with light walk and physical exercises before breakfast to gain experience. After that she would be resting about half an hour while having breakfast after which, from seven o'clock to midday. She would be reading about sorcery at the third floor.
Henry, as Sofia now called the Duke when they were not in public, had given her a different room than the guest room she had been living for now. It was a small room next to the Duke's personal library. Between the rooms was a hidden door that was behind one of the bookshelves. Though now the door was almost constantly open connecting the two rooms into one. The personal library was exactly the chaotic room where the two other reincarnated people had talked with Sofia. And it wasn't full of alcohol, like Sofia had imagined, but it wasn't full of books either. There was about 25% chance to find a bottle of what ever liquor inside from any book one took out of from these bookshelves. If Sofia had been an alcoholic, it would have counted as some form of read or drink -game.
When the staff of the mansion had started to ask what Sofia was doing, it was declared that it was a recovery-exercises the Duke had insisted to strengthen young lady Rivermore's body. Same excuse was used when it was rumored that she was studying magic. Sofia bullshitted herself out of it by claiming that she had lost parts of her skills too. Being so unnatural occurrence that her body was so weak and the Duke himself was taking care of the Sofia by meeting her regularly, the excuse went through. There was simply one mistake in this excuse. It was to tell that they meet regularly.
Henry had made a list of basic magic theory books and would explain things to Sofia that didn't open to her from the books. But there wasn't anything that didn't open. The theory was straightforward and boring. It was easy. But counting to one hundred and adding one plus one was also quite easy. This though might have been because these were the basics of the basics.
'I thought it would be so much more ... mystical.'
She had a list of seven books to read through. From these she would learn the basics of all the other categories of magic except the black magic -- void magic.
The books Sofia had to read:
Introductions to walk with Raricuro Bazalai - basics of sorcery and gardening
Red magic basics - spells to destroy
White magic basics - spells to reconstruct
Green magic basics - nature's magic
Blue magic basics - conjuring magic and summoning
Violet magic basics - persuasion magic and curses
Yellow magic basics - kinetic magic
Short history of sorcerers by Raricuro Bazalai
Sofia had simply started from the first one like Henry had told her to do. It was made by a deceased sorcerer Raricuro Bazalai. Mostly the book was only talking about how plants live and explaining how sorcerer is suppose to gather mana from around them like a thirsty tree after rain.
There was simple three step procedure to cast spells for sorcerers.
Gather mana - chant spell - release mana.
The Duke had shown her a Tier one green magic "Illuminate". It was one of the most simple type of spells with one line of chant. The spell would create a continuous small light on what ever it was cast on - a stick, a wall or even palm of the hand. Don't understand wrong, it wasn't a huge sun that was created, but more of a small candle light. The trick with the spell was that after initial casting, it was suppose to be kept illuminating via feeding the spell with constant mana. If there wasn't enough mana, the spell would just end and if there was too much, the spell would create a small flash and end. Not completing the chant simply didn't release enough mana to cause harm and would just end the spell before it even started.
Henry had told Sofia that if she had time and strength, she could try to practice with this spell. The light was created from mana itself, there was no fire created, so the spell was the most safe to practice with.
There are ten basic rules for sorcerers:
1. Three-step-procedure.
2. Never try a spell you don't know about.
3. Always use chants that are found to be the most pure.
4. Never leave mana, that is not from you, unused.
5. Never use all of your mana, this causes death.
6. Avoid ending chants midway.
7. A tier equals one line of chant.
8. Avoid silent chanting, this causes unnatural development in spells.
9. Do not gather mana unethically, this will diminish the reputation of sorcerers.
10. Trying to chant or study void magic is punishable by death.
Sofia would have a dinner with her now teacher-maid around midday and after that until the sun was starting to set, Sofia had the Lisa teaching her.
Lisa was kept as Sofia's personal maid. After the magic training, which didn't yet include nothing else than theory and the spell "Illuminate", Lisa would continue teaching geography, history and decorum as well she could. Every second day the history was replaced with nature-science. What nature-science included was basics of healing-herbs and knowledge about plants. And what game down to geography, it was simply learning names of places via repetition.
Henry and Sofia had become to conclusion that learning decorum with novice-knights would be bad for all parties. As the young knights would not concentrate well for various reason, nor did Sofia feel that it would be an environment she wished to study in.
Lisa found the sorceress being so helpless funny. Every day she would ask if Sofia's memory had come back. And to the answer "no, not yet", Lisa would just smile like it was a good thing. After two weeks had passed, Sofia was starting to wonder if there was something bother Lisa. She was still pushing herself and found sleeping on duty for two times by Sofia.
The Duke had announced that Sofia was hired as the third sorcerer to serve Claudgester's family. One of the sorcerers was a nature specialist -- a green sorcerer. He had a bad habit, just like during the assassination, to sleep a lot.
The other one was still on his bed, but had come back to sign his name on the books' of the living. He was a red sorcerer specialist and this wasn't first time her hurt himself this bad. Before he started to serve the Duke, he had already amputated his left leg and his hair were burned to nothing. Being bald and one-legged with now soon getting his very first fishhook-arm, Sofia had started to call him a pirate. That had become his new calling name exceptionally fast. Apparently whole mansion had enjoyed the name, except its owner.
During these two weeks, thanks to the Duke's kick-ass curriculum, Sofia had gained two levels. She had gotten 20% more strength and durability and minor upgrades on mana pool. She was also able to cast "Illuminate". The was the most common after all and many normal common folk people could learn the spell too since it's requirements were extremely low. Of course the spells stability and duration would change person to person. That was the nature of constantly consuming spells.
'Even though I am level six, this hurts. I want to sleep.'
Sofia was wearing brown cloak and under it she had casual white shirt and pair of trousers. The clothes she them for magic exercises and no one would cry if they got muddy in the near forest. The original clothes she had with her had been taken by the duke. Every now and then when Sofia had her meetings with Henry, she would ask if there was any progress. To surprise her, the less Duke was able to get information of from her equipment, more he seemed to get excited day by day. He wasn't even drinking every day now.
Sofia laid sideways on an edge of a small fountain that was inside the garden.
'Ah, these rocks are so chilly. Wonderful...'
The fountain was not active. It would need mana to circulate the water. There was a magical device that would use mana to pump the water to shoot it up the the sky -- a small dragon head, four of them precisely. They all looked into different directions around the fountain. One would gather their mana into those heads, which would activate the mechanism to circulate the water in the fountain.
This was a training tool that Henry had recommended for Sofia. She would need to learn to gather and release mana as a sorceress soon enough or there was no future to learn any tier two spells when time would call for that.
"Miss Sleepy!"
Tok tok** Finger was poked on Sofia's forehead.
"Huh."
"Enough for today?"
"Yes." Sofia laid her head back on the rock.
"Mo-uh. But the Duke said you need to practice, didn't he?"
"It's not flying."
"But you started this exercise two days ago. Doesn't it normally take a long time? I see, it is because you are depressed as your powers are gone."
'What powers? Fucking Duracell.'
"My entire body is hurting. My head is dizzy and it's damn hot out here."
"Eh, but this isn't such a hard job to do for a sorceress. Even I can use enough magic control that I can make the water splash out a bit. Though it took me long time to learn it. A year or so. You must have lost all your powers, that must be hard."
"Huh?"
"Yeah. You proud of me now miss? Witness my power!" Lisa stroke a pose. She went and touched one of the dragon heads. After concentrating for a while, a little rainbow was sparkling in the evening sun's embrace.
"I am even more depressed now."
'For real this time.'
Pat pat**
Lisa head-patted Sofia.
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