章 11: Chapter 10 - Visitor
Despite the events that occurred in the Magic Association building, my days continued as normal.
In the mornings I would wake up, head to the training area and practice swordsmanship with Abraham, then in the afternoon I went back inside to the library to learn more about magic, mana and runes.
Regarding my mana attributes, according to Clarissa it means that when I cast magic of the same element, in my case light or dark, it would need less mana than when casting spells of other elements.
And in regards to the warrior's body enhancement, light attributed mana increases the speed of bodily healing, like a healing spell I can perpetually cast on myself, while dark attributed mana reduces the amount of presence emitted making it harder for people to detect where I am.
Fortunately it doesn't seem like the people of this world have a bias against dark attribute holders.
For the other affinities, fire increases the body's strength, water increases its flexibility, earth increases its sturdiness and wind increases the user's speed.
I also found out how the Magic Association building was cooling down the interior. Apparently another benefit of runes is that you can draw runic arrays with them. By continually channeling a small amount of mana into the array, the inscribed spell can be continually cast.
Of course, they don't have someone whose sole job is to work as a human cooler.
Instead they use mana crystals.
These are usually found underground in pockets of mana saturated earth, formed from the natural condensing and refinement of mana. Due to the mana being mixed with the earth it forms a solid instead of a liquid, however this also means that living beings are unable to absorb the mana from crystals.
Unlike fossil fuels such as coal or oil, mana crystals can regenerate so long as their core is still intact.
Similar to how it is in cultivation, refined mana crystals are able to attract unrefined mana. Once a refined mana crystal is formed, it will gradually attract more mana to it. As it grows in size, the center is condensed further, and once it reaches a certain level of purity, the centers are referred to as crystal cores.
Afterwards, it's a simple matter of chipping off the outer layers of crystal and keeping the core intact which allows for a steady supply of mana crystals. Unfortunately humans haven't developed an efficient method of detecting or mining for crystal cores so their use isn't widespread.
When I asked to learn how to draw arrays, I was rejected.
Clarissa wanted me to first solidify my foundational knowledge, and I can't exactly tell her that I already know more about the runic alphabet than anyone else, let alone that I'm even fluent in the language.
So for now I'm stuck pretending to memorise new rune words.
At least I'm allowed to practice magic, but only during my lessons.
Speaking of which, the word Clarissa used to light the candle when I was still a baby was apparently 'IGNITION'. After experimenting with it, I found out it was only good for setting things on fire.
It seems I'll have to use a different word if I want to become like the mage from that card game in old earth, whose defining spell was his Fireball.
But it wasn't all bad news.
During my private experiments as I was testing the differences between 'IGNITION' and 'FIRE', I discovered an important fact about runes. By limiting the scope of what words are used, I can reduce the amount of mana the spell requires.
For example, let's say I want to cast a fireball and to do so I use the word 'FIRE'. I have to spend mana to change the spell into the form I want before I'm able to cast it.
On the other hand, if I use 'FIREBALL' I'm able to skip that step and go straight into changing the properties of the spell, such as it's speed or direction.
Naturally this also increases the speed of my casting as well.
In any case, that's how I spent my days since the incident. Slowly improving my swordsmanship in the mornings, and in the afternoons my magic.
It's been a week since then and I'm currently lying on my back in Clarissa's garden behind the house, staring up into the blue, cloudless sky.
This is the good life.
Though I'm not just lazing around. Right now I'm practicing my magic control.
Floating above me is a tiny bird I conjured using wind, flapping its wings and circling above me.
I test myself by seeing how well I can visualise its body and set the parameters of the spell within a certain timeframe. Since it's made from wind and there's only a small amount of mana keeping its shape together it's only visible from very close up.
Right now though, it takes me at least a few minutes to get the details of the bird accurate and have it circle in the air. I could do it faster if I didn't put so much effort into making the bird look lifelike, but I resist the temptation.
How can I call it training if I go easy on myself?
Plus, it's quite the spectacle to look at. Maybe in the future I can attack my foes with phoenixes wreathed in flame and dragons made of wind.
But enough delusions. I've barely even started to practice magic and I'm already thinking too far ahead. I should focus on taking things one step at a time.
As my latest creation disappears into a wisp of air due to running out of mana, I hear a gasp coming from my right.
I panic, my adrenaline kicks in as I look around, searching for the source of the noise.
Did someone see me casting magic?
My suspicions are answered as I turn my head sideways towards the direction of the path leading to the garden.
I see a small child hiding at the corner of the house walls, peeking from behind it.
"Who are you?" I ask, walking towards them.
Seeing me approach, they back away slowly but fail to keep their footing, falling on their butt. I can see that he's shaking.
Now that I have a better look at him, he's pretty scrawny.
Thin limbs and a sallow face. Wearing a ragged shirt that looks more like a sack with holes cut into it than a piece of clothing, and dirty shorts encrusted with stains which only enhances the pitiful vibe he's emitting.
What's more noticeable though are the small black cat ears on the top of his head. This kid must be a Beastman.
Realising how frightened he is of me, I stop in my tracks.
'He must have lived a tough life.'
I can't help but feel sorry for him, looking at him now.
I should act like a proper adult.
"I'm sorry if I scared you. My name is Cain. What's yours?"
I do my best to imitate Clarissa's smile when she looks at me and hold my hand out. Hopefully he understands I'm not going to hurt him.
It seems to work, as he looks up at me and stops shivering.
"My... my name is Alex..."
Seeing as how he still isn't moving, I take his hand and pull him off the ground.
He's light.
"Nice to meet you Alex. What brings you here?"
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