In the duration of six days, Rume had shown decent progress. She would train everyday and the whole day. Fortunately, Lein and Galeila were with her to make sure she didn’t overdo it. That being said, Rume had rarely overdone anything because of the concerns being displayed by the two adults.

Every night, she would train by herself after eating dinner. Everytime she had new results she would jump in joy. However, not everyday she would get the result she wanted, nonetheless, she kept on moving even with moments of disappointment. Meanwhile, everyday she kept monitoring her berries, it was only a matter of time before she would be able to sell them. It was good timing since she was running out of money to spend.

Esmon occasionally comes after Rume returns home and brings her some ingredients for her meal. But even so, Rume gave some of her money to Esmon, of course Esmon would refuse the little girl. However, Rume being insistent, Esmon was left with no choice but to accept. Besides, he would still use the money for Rume.

In addition, Galeila would prepare various fruits for their lunch, and often they would eat her cooking. As expected, Galeila never failed to disappoint. Rume had never eaten such delicious dishes before. It always felt like a feast. Her belly would always be full everyday at lunch. Now she was gaining a decent amount of fat. Her thin build which would expose her bones and flat cheeks were slowly changing, which brought quite a satisfaction to both Lein and Galeila.

This was Galeila’s intention of course since she disliked seeing the little girl thin and frail as if she would break down at any moment or be sent flying in a single gentle flick of a finger. In any case, Rume was now healthier than before. That said, the little girl didn’t mind her physical build that much. She was just happy to taste more delicious food.

At the moment, beneath the usual spot underneath the shades of the world tree, Rume stood straight with a determined face. In front of her was Lein with a wide grin on her face as she stared at the little girl. Meanwhile, Galeila was nonchalantly watching them while leaning on the roots of the great tree with the Vilicus surrounding her. At the same time, she was contemplating on where she would take Rume and Lein next. She already had an idea, but they would require preparations.

In the meantime, they should focus more on Rume. This was the day she would begin to take her first leap further into magic. Rume was a bit nervous at the moment as she felt the tense atmosphere surrounding her while Lein standing in front of her looked a bit serious.

“Little Rume, it’s time to put your efforts into fruition. The days of training as you reached further into the rivers of magic shall show the results starting today.”

Rume swallowed. She felt like it didn’t make sense for her to be nervous at the moment. This was what she wanted, therefore, what could cause the anxiety she was feeling? It was the thought of moving forward into a new domain, sort of. Of course, along with it the thought of failure. She tried to be optimistic but it was all in vain as pessimistic thoughts came sneaking in.

The little girl took a deep breath.

“No need to be so nervous. Know that you will get there, do not worry. Gain your composure, Rume. If you want to be a great mage, you must be composed even in tense situations.”

Rume listened to Lein’s words. The child turned stiff as she deeply inhaled, trying to eliminate the unreasonable anxiety clouding her mind. The weight on her chest subsided only for a little. But that was a great help for her.

“... I’m ready.”

Lein grinned at her adorable student.

“Remember to not be hasty. We’ll take it step by step. Do you understand?”

Rume nodded her head indicating that she understood.

“Don’t be hasty, okay? I mean it.”

Lein for some reason repeated just what she told her. Rume didn’t think a lot about it as she nodded her head.

“Good. Let’s begin. I have already told you how this will go on. However, I will still be here to guide you. Now, concentrate on the mana surrounding you.”

Rume closed her eyes with firm legs as she focused on the air around her. What felt like a gentle gale revolved around her, touching her skin and enveloping her. In her closed eyes it felt as though she could see the azure river of mana flowing while coiling around her.

She was already familiar with the feeling. How they would crawl to her skin, the harmony of their movement, the essence of its very being. It brought about a relief to her heart, like they carry her in the winds, soothing her very spirit. It was a wonderful and beautiful feeling.

More beautiful than watching the sea from afar. More beautiful than the green of the forest. More beautiful than the glittering of the countless stars in the endless heavens.

How gentle, warm and welcoming was its embrace.

“You can’t grasp all of it, but take control of its tiny essence. Feel the mana, and absorb it into your body. Will it.”

Rume willed it. Like how she tried to grab that strand of light, she reached for it. But this time, her body didn’t move, merely her will. As was told, she was unable to capture all of it. But the difference between that strand and this flowing mana, this one felt whole and complete.

She took a hold of the mana and willed it to be hers. The mana in the air obeyed her and began to seep into her skin. They were like sprinkled colored glittering dust clouding and slowly falling into her, although invisible to the naked eye.

Rume turned stiff as some sort of pressure spread throughout her body as though they were crawling through her veins. She was told before that something like this would happen, but feeling it firsthand was still a surprise. She could feel her entire body tighten beneath her skin, but it wasn’t painful.

The mana channeled in her body all went towards the same direction. Rume couldn’t determine where precisely they were converging. Perhaps it was in her chest? Her heart? Her head? Her stomach? It felt like everywhere yet not at the same time. It was a peculiar feeling.

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But there was one thing she knew, the mana were going somewhere deeper, unreachable by any. Perhaps it was her soul? She wasn’t sure.

Then the mana suddenly halted, as though a wall were blocking their path. No, it wasn’t a wall, this was the doors. The doors that her teacher was referring to. The one she had to open.

“Push it open.”

She channeled the mana forward, but they wouldn’t move. The door was sturdy and wouldn’t move even a single inch. It felt like pushing a giant and heavy box that she wouldn’t be able to move even for a little, or a stuck door yet unlocked and all that required was to push it with all the strength one has.

But Rume lacked strength. Nevertheless, she was almost there. No time to despair but to keep going. She only needed to overcome this obstacle. If she did, she would be able to step into the world of magic. Where she could cast spells to create fire, give the ability to fly, create light in the moment of darkness, and so much more.

Why would she stop when she was this close? This door was tiny compared to her dreams.

Thus, she pushed with all her might. She felt her chest tightened, but she ignored it. Then, the doors moved ever so slightly. And her chest tightened even more. She could feel her breathing falter. But she continued on.

Just a little more, and she would succeed. On this day, at this very hour, she will succeed. The door opened slightly more, and her chest tightened. But, even though with her eyes closed, she could feel and see it.

Meagre amount of mana leaked out through the gap of the doors. They were the azure mana that she saw and felt on the outside. Her heart beat even more wildly in excitement. She was still far from fully opening these doors, but she was closing in.

The door opened slightly more, and her chest tightened. A little more azure mana leaked out. However, she felt something strange as she saw something different.

Now that the doors were slightly open, she felt the mana coming out of it was different. But not entirely different from the mana in the air, just a little. She felt somewhat connected to the mana within her.

Lein once mentioned a couple of days ago that the mana inside were a little different than the mana all around them. It was different because it came from themselves and not anywhere else. It was theirs alone. Rume was only a bit surprised and fascinated in the difference. She felt synchronized with the mana within her.

She pushed the doors even further, but her chest tightened even more, like something heavy was laid upon it. Her breathing was suddenly stuck around her throat, almost like being choked.

“Rume!” Lein exclaimed as she saw Rume’s face contorted.

She shook the little girl’s shoulders.

“Stop it! Now!”

The crushing in her chest forced Rume to open her eyes. Her eyes wide as she struggled to breathe. She collapsed into the arms of Lein as she gasped for breath. But it was hard to inhale. Her mouth opened wide as she did her best to take in air.

Galeila rushed towards Rume in panic.

“Relax your body, Rume. Loosen up. Let the mana out and it will be a bit better.”

Rume didn’t do anything anymore as the mana she absorbed was already vanishing with some going back into the air. But it was still hard to breathe. Tears began to flow from the little girl’s eyes.

“Just keep breathing.”

She could hear Lein’s voice, but it felt so distant. It was now that she realized the ringing in her ears. Her head also began to hurt.

Lein and Galeila couldn’t do anything about this. Even healing magic would be ineffective and pointless. All that was important now was for Rume to keep breathing.

Rume felt weak as Lein held her, she had her face in the open to freely take in air with no obstacles.

Rume was like this for several minutes until the tightening of her chest began to slowly recede. Her breathing grew stable at every moment. But her eyes were still damp with her tears.

Rume involuntarily held Leins hand as she had a tiny amount of strength returned. Lein gently held her hand back.

What did I do wrong? Where did I go wrong?

Rume began to ask inside. She had no idea it would be to this level.

“It’s okay now,” Lein said as she caressed Rume’s head.

“This is why you must not be hasty, Rume,” Galeila said in front of her with a gentle smile.

… So that’s why… I… I’m so stupid… I made them worry because of me.

Rume lowered her eyes avoiding everyone’s gazes. She was ashamed of her actions.

Lein knew something like this could happen. However, she didn’t tell the little girl since she thought that Rume would be scared to do this. She didn’t want Rume to feel afraid. That was why she told Rume to take it slowly, and something like this would not happen.

Lein felt a sense of regret. Should she have told her of the dangers? Maybe if Rume knew, she wouldn’t have been careless. But she didn’t expect Rume would go this far. Just how eager was Rume to learn magic? Lein wondered.

“... I’m sorry.”

Rume weakly said. Hearing this, Lein caressed the child’s head even more while taking her into her embrace.

“It’s fine now. Everything’s okay. Just don’t do it again, okay?”

“... I will take it slowly from now on.”

“Good, very good.”

In the end, Rume felt tired and weak the entire day that they weren’t able to continue her training. Thankfully, she was still able to walk with not much difficulty. She was just tired, is all. At sunset, Lein and Rume had arrived at the latter’s house.

Lein also entered Rume’s house to help her with the fruits and meals Galeila had them bring. This was so that Rume wouldn’t have to cook anymore in her weakened state. Lein placed the bag of food on the table then faced the tired Rume.

“Eat later if you’re hungry, okay?”

“... Okay.”

“Are you fine being alone with how you are now?”

Rume smiled at her.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. Besides, I can move now.”

Lein patted her head.

“... Very well. I’ll be going then. See you tomorrow.”

“See you.”

“Sleep early, okay?”

“Okay.”

After that exchange, Lein left Rume’s home.

The little girl peered around her house once more and heaved a deep sigh. She recalled what happened earlier.

That was entirely my fault.

The worried expression both Lein and Galeila had was still fresh within her mind. It was not easy to forget those faces. She decided she wouldn’t do something as foolish as that again.

She thought about food once she saw the table. But she was still full. Once Rume was able to breath with ease, Lein and Galeila made Rume eat every hour. They said it was so that she would recuperate faster.

Therefore, at the moment, she had no desire to eat anything. She was still tired, so tired, it reminded her of the time when she still had a weak body. At the time, she had her mother to be with her when she was feeling tired and about to collapse at any moment. And to be truthful, now she felt lonely.

But she pushed that feeling away and went straight to bed and laid down.

I need to be careful tomorrow.

Lein said that aspiring mages can unseal their mana within a couple of days. Therefore, Rume expected to finish it within tomorrow. She thought she would be able to accomplish it within this day.

However, the way she rushed everything ended up in undesirable consequences. She doesn’t want to end up that way again. That short suffering was not pleasant at all. It was painful and scary.

I have to be very careful… and shouldn’t rush.

Then gradually, she fell asleep.