"Jared is definitely worth teaching!" Alphonse declared, smiling at me.
I beamed in response. That was definitely a close call. If I hadn't resorted to using my Magic Pressure, I wonder what his decision would have been.
"So, let me ask you a question, Jared…"
I looked at the old man, our eyes interlocked, and I didn't turn away. Instead I boldly stared at him.
"Why do you want to study magic? Why do you pursue it? Your mother mentioned to me in her letter that you've always been enthusiastic about it as a kid… why?"
'Um, Mister Tutor, those are already three questions. Didn't you say you wanted to ask me one?' I thought to myself.
Still, those three only required one answer from me. There has only ever been one reason for any endeavor in magic, ever since my last life and even now.
It was so simple, that anyone could say it. But, to me… it was reason enough.
"I love Magic. That's all there is to it."
Silence pervaded our midst, as both Anabelle and Alphonse smiled at me. They looked at each other and nodded.
"Very well, Jared. I respect your resolve."
Alphonse stood to his feet and approached me. I wondered if I was supposed to stand in situations like this, but before I could come to a decision, he was already before me.
Placing his hand on my shoulder, this man spoke.
"Now, I shall officially take the position of tutor, training and guiding you in the way of magic. I shall be your tutor, and you shall be my pupil. I hope you have no problem with that."
I shook my head, standing up as well.
"I wouldn't have it any other way!"
My mother who was still seated, watched the two of us. She seemed pleased by the newfound bond between me and my new tutor. Meanwhile, I was still confused about the relationship she had with Alphonse.
"Now then, let us begin."
His voice cut through my thoughts, and my eyes bulged.
"H-hold up, you mean now?" I was definitely caught by surprise.
"Of course. Or would you prefer another time? Is that what all your love for magic amounts to?" He grinned in a teasing fashion.
'This old man… he dares to look down on me and question my love for magic?' I gritted my teeth.
From my perspective, he was my junior. The only reason I accorded him with respect was due to the knowledge he possessed, as well as his ability to use magic to a degree I never could.
Still, he was my teacher. So I would have to endure the humiliation I was going to be receiving, hoping to surpass him one day and then give him a taste of his medicine.
"Bring it on!" I grinned.
_________________
"What do you know about magic?"
Alphonse and I were on the massive field of our manor when he asked me this question.
Anabelle excused herself, saying she had other matters to attend to, and left me all alone with Alphonse. Of course, she whispered some words of warning to his ears before leaving.
I couldn't hear anything she said since her tone was hushed, but from the paled expression Alphonse gave, it couldn't be good.
The field was located in the backyard, filled with nothing but mowed grass.
I remember there used to be quite a number of beautiful flowers, a garden for butterflies and pretty insects
'Mother must have had them removed in preparation for my training…'
Now, with nothing but short grass which served as warm cushions for our feet, the vast field was empty.
"Magic is the ability to cause supernatural phenomena by using the laws of the world," I answered.
"What fuels magic?" He further asked.
"Mana!" I responded.
"Where is mana found?"
The correct answer would be 'everywhere'. Since mana existed in everything and everyone, it could be said that the whole world was filled with mana. But, I had to restrict how I answered his questions since I wasn't a scholar, but a seven-year-old.
"Mana is found in our bodies."
Upon hearing this, Alphonse let out a huge amount of laughter.
"Hahahahahaha!" His voice echoed through the field.
I felt embarrassed, like the man was mocking me. It sucked being a kid, but as a patient man with the wisdom of many years stacked up, humiliation was something that I could endure.
"What a funny kid. Well, I can't fault you. You're still only a brat, after all." He said, still letting out small bursts of laughter.
'Keep laughing. We'll see who the brat is…'
"Well, you're only half-right. Mana exists all around us. In the air, the waters, the lands… this entire world is brimming with mana."
'I already knew that, genius.' My eyes rolled.
But, I still had to act my age and give my dear teacher the respect and awe he expected.
"W-whaoh! Really?! That's amazing!!!"
Alphonse made a proud expression as soon as I beamed. Bathing himself in the words of a child, Just how petty was this guy?
"Hehe, of course. Mana is all around us. However, even though it's all around us, as Magic-users, we can only use the mana that's inside of us to cast spells."
Of course, he was wrong. However, I wasn't going to expose the results of my research to him.
"That's why we have to form our mana core before we become able to use magic. Drawing power from the core, we emit mana and transform them to magic through the use of spells!" He explained.
"Wow! Amazing!" Was what I replied with.
Everything this man was saying were already things I knew. I was impatient, wanting to be thrust into the advanced realm of magic I had no clue about.
Still, it was unavoidable that as a kid, I would need to be taught the basics.
"Now then, it's time to tell you more about the relationship between magic, mana, and spells. Pay attention, okay? I'm only going to say this once!"
My mind was already zoning out. It wasn't even up to an hour and I was bored already. My tutor's voice faded little by little, vanishing into the background.
'Ah, how much more do I have to endure? When do we get to the interesting part?'
And thus, day one of magic training with my Tutor kicked off in such a manner. My expectations were not met, at least not yet.
Still, I had hope. It might take a while, but I wasn't giving up.
Magic, everything there was to know about it, would be mine! And now, with my ability to use mana, I would be able to rise above anything I ever achieved in my past life.
It has been a few months since I started my lessons with my Tutor, Alphonse… and now, at long last, I will be having my first actual fight!
It was boring for the first couple of weeks when Alphonse began teaching me the basics of magic. They were stuff I already knew, so I just had to endure and hope for a more thrilling curriculum as time passed.
Fortunately, my expectations were met. Upon seeing that I caught on quick to his words, and my knowledge was far beyond what he taught me since I made use of my house library, Alphonse acknowledged me and decided to take things to the next level.
He began by teaching me to cast staple spells, the basics of spells.
While it was still a far cry from the experience I wanted, having practical classes was far better than just sitting and hearing a bunch of stuff I already knew.
When it came to knowledge, I was certainly better than Alphonse. However, what he had that I desperately sought… was the experience of using magic.
And I finally got it.
"[Fire Ball]" I chanted.
Imagining what I wanted to bring forth, as well as channeling the power from within my mana core, I emitted mana and produced the desired result in the palm of my hand… a stable ball of flames.
"A-Amazing… you got it on your first try!" Alphonse beamed.
I was certain that from his perspective, he viewed me as a genius, however that was far from it. It was only easy for me to display such a result since I had a very in-depth idea of how it worked.
Plus, even before our practical magic lessons began, I had been practicing on my own while reading various books on basic magic in order to refresh the knowledge I had of them.
Of course, things would have been a lot simpler if I used SPELLCRAFT, but I wasn't going to give away my trump card for some petty trick like a Fire Ball.
"Can we do something more complex?" I asked him.
The faster we progressed with the basics, the closer I would be to performing truly incredible spells. Although, everything that was going on… was pretty exciting!
'Ahhh, fire on the palm of my hand, just like I wanted in the past! This is so wild, so amazing. I'm doing magic. Hehehehe!' I laughed internally.
As much as I wanted to do so much more, the little magic I had been able to do was enough to send me into shivers of excitement.
Truly, learning and practicing magic are two different things.
And so, months after our time together began, it was time to take another drastic step in my magic training. This time, it would be a combination of knowledge and practice, a point where they intersected… a magic battle!
"[Earth Golem Summon]" Alphonse chanted.
Immediately, mana particles flowed from his body and affected the ground where we stood. It was no longer covered in little grasses, unlike when we had started. Because of all the time I practiced my magic, the ground had now become bare, having only soil as a covering.
From the brown soil emerged rock formations that joined together rapidly. They had the faint glow of mana, clearly being affected by my tutor's spell.
The rocks were forming and by the time they were completely joined together, they formed a golem. The golem was humanoid in shape, though having none of our features and possessing somewhat beefed-up arms and legs. It had no face, but the small rock that signified its head dangled atop its broad shoulders.
In size, one could say it was about my height, perfect for sparring.
'My first battle at seven years old… let's see how it goes!' I beamed, as my body trembled slightly in excitement.
My mother was also present, a small distance from the field as she watched what would happen. From the corner of my eyes, I also spotted multiple maids and servants staring excitedly as their young master fought his first opponent.
Most of them had worried expressions though, especially one of them in particular. She was always so cute and friendly around me, so I supposed it only made sense.
What was her name again? Liliana, right?
In any case, it seemed my excited throbbing got misinterpreted to be quivers of fear. I wasn't scared, though. So long as I stuck to what I knew, this Golem wouldn't be a challenge.
"Are you ready, Jared?" Alphonse asked, ready to activate the golem to fight me.
I stood uprightly, calming my overexcited body, and took a deep breath.
"Yeah. Let's do this!"
He smiled, snapping his fingers. The Golem whirred to life as the small rock on its head suddenly developed two glowing eyes to see.
I wasn't surprised, I had seen my fair share of golems and knew how they functioned.
Not to brag, but in my past life, I developed many golem designs as well.
>Vwoosh<
The rock contraption dashed toward me, moving its quick body very nimbly.
I smiled, instantly opening up my palms as I focused mana on them.
"[Fire Ball]"
Throwing the orb of flames at the golem, I leaped backward, preventing it from drawing too close to me.
>BOOOM!< My magic exploded on the golem's body.
Smoke emanated from its body as it continued approaching me, seemingly unharmed by my attack. Alphonse sure made it durable.
"Heh, as expected." I grinned.
I expected this much. Magic Ball was a weak spell, it wouldn't even cause much damage to a sturdy object. Its main strength was in the heat it generated, so when it came to power and impact it was lacking greatly.
"[Fire Balls]" I chanted, creating two spheres of flames on both my hands and throwing them at my opponent.
As they were launched, I ensured to take constant steps backward, creating an even greater distance between us.
>BOOOM!<
>BOOOM!<
The flames hit the golem at multiple angles, causing smoke to emanate from its body.
'Its body temperature should have risen to a considerable degree.' I smiled.
The spectators weren't too convinced of my victory.
"Is he panicking?"
"Fire Ball won't do much good against that Golem though…"
"Can't he use something else?"
Hearing them whisper amongst themselves made me nearly burst out in laughter.
Of course, I could easily overpower it with a higher spell, but what would be the point in that?
I wanted to savor and enjoy my first battle properly. Plus, there was something I wanted to try.
'It's about time to wrap things up!'
What does Jared have planned?
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