I burned my three days learning about reading, writing, and arithmetic. Finally, it was time to practice magic! Yet, my doubt remained. Would it be okay for someone incapable of manipulating mana to teach about magic?
My first impression of her, particularly after that night, still lingered. It worsened after the last two nights. She stroked my hair and then wrote something on the paper in her lap. I woke up when it happened but pretended to be asleep so she wouldn't be startled. I considered her a weird woman. When it came to doing her job as a teacher, she was great. To be honest, she confused me.
It's not proper to judge something before being certain of it, they said. Perhaps, that was true. Not to mention, my parents paid Farida ten Abbas silver coins per month.
Based on Farida's explanation during the arithmetic class, I asked her about her salary and what she could buy with it. I concluded that her salary was equivalent to 500 USD. Compared to the salaries of teachers in my previous life, Farida's was below average. However, in this world, that amount was considered expensive.
Based on that, I shouldn't judge Farida at this point. Despite my doubts, at the very least, I should put more trust in her. Moreover, Farida was not someone who would ruin her reputation with a falsehood.
"Ms Farida, what should I do?"
"Wait a moment, please," she said.
I stood in the backyard as Farida was getting ready. We used the backyard this morning after Rosch cleaned the snow piles. Even so, all I could see were the snow-covered white plains. Despite these thick clothes, I could still feel the cold air.
Farida approached me after putting odd gloves on her hands. She said, "All right. Now get ready."
"What is that, Ms Farida?"
"Oh, it's a device to absorb mana from the body and forcibly control it."
"So you can use magic because of this thing?" I deduced.
She smiled. "That's right. These gloves allow me to teach you the knowledge of magic, Damna."
For someone who could not use magic, she found a way to use it despite being cursed. Such a great dedication by a young woman like her.
Yesterday, I asked about her age, and Farida replied that she was 23 years old. Two years younger than Rosch and my mother. And ten years younger than me. At such a young age, she can be such a dedicated teacher. I admired her a lot.
"Damna, are you listening to me?" she called out.
"Sorry, ma'am. Can you repeat that one more time?"
Ah, how careless of me. I should be focused!
"That's fine. Okay, I'll explain it again."
Farida stood beside me and started explaining the basics.
"The power inside humans is called Mana. For a mage, Mana is the main source of magic. When Mana runs out inside a person, they can faint or at worst, die. Then..." Farida continued to explain the basic theory of mana, magic, and the concept of spells.
All of her explanations confirmed the hypothesis I had summarized. Although some were disproved.
She explained from the base level, Sphere Spell. "Sphere magic does look useless in battle and other fields because you cannot throw it from your palm. However, Sphere magic is the best way to understand mana manipulation."
I could only nod in awe. The explanation was concise. But, there was something I didn't understand.
"Ma'am, I don't quite understand what the safety distance means."
She immediately stood in front of me. "It's easier if we try it right away."
Without chanting a spell, Farida managed to summon the Fire Sphere in the palm of her left hand.
"Look at the distance between my palm and the Fire Sphere," she asked.
Farida lowered her hands, so I could observe it without having to get on my tiptoes. Her other hand pointed in the direction where I should pay attention. True enough, there was a distance that I had never realized before.
"It's a safe distance that our bodies create unconsciously. It's about three to five fingers long. However, if your mana manipulation ability is high, you can make it smaller like this." Instantly, the gap between the Fire Sphere and her palm shrank.
"Wow!" I was stunned.
"Don't get excited yet, Damna. It's still not finished," she said. "Take a good look at my hand once again."
The Fire Sphere continued to shrink its distance. And Farida's hand is showing something. Something like a membrane was enveloping her hand.
"That's the Mana Coating. A subconscious protection mechanism is used by every mage. When a mage casts attack magic, such as fire magic, the heat can damage the caster's palm. That's why our body secretes a protective layer. However, if the attack magic gets too strong, this layer will get thicker and the safety distance will grow on its own."
At the end of the explanation, the Fire Sphere in her palm suddenly accelerated its rotation. It was constantly spinning and emitting high heat. The Fire Sphere condensed and grew to the size of a car wheel. The safety distance between Farida's palm and the Fire Sphere also grew. I had to take a few steps back to avoid the heat.
Everything was going just like the theory she mentioned.
"How is it, Damna? Do you understand?"
I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
Her explanation was in line with my experience. However, I was still curious about her silent incantation. Could an ordinary person do it? Or did it require the help of a tool?
After Farida ended her Fire Sphere magic, she fell to the ground. I quickly approached and extended my hand.
"Are you okay, ma'am?"
"Thank you. I'm fine. It's a common thing." She stood up and brushed the snow off her dress.
I could see her face sweating in the middle of winter. She was pushing herself. Yet, she kept smiling.
"Now it's your turn, Damna. Try practicing what I have shown you."
I nodded and took a step forward.
I stood up, focused my mind, and maintained my composure. Okay. I began.
First, I chanted the Fire Sphere spell and made sure everything went smoothly. Then I flowed the mana from inside my body into the Fire Sphere. The Fire Sphere, which had been motionless, began slowly rotating.
I continued to flow mana until the Fire Sphere became denser, spun faster, and grew larger. At the same time, it rose and moved away from my palm. The fire sphere became big and bright. For my first attempt, this was quite impressive.
Okay. The next step was to end the magic.
…
"Huh?"
Normally, deactivating magic was an easy thing, like pressing the off button on the remote. Yet, this time my body did not respond. I tried numerous times, but nothing changed.
Calm down. I could try another way. I should be able to stop the mana flow.
...
What the hell? It didn’t work either!
The Fire Sphere sucked my energy without stopping.
"Damna? Are you okay?"
“It’s … okay,” I put on a fake smile so she wouldn't worry.
Damn! I shouldn't fail here! Not after witnessing her strong dedication to teaching.
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The out-of-control Fire Sphere grew larger until it reached the size of an African elephant. My hands burned from the heat generated, which also melted the snow around me and pushed the cold away.
If it continued, I might faint and that would be dangerous. Despite my best efforts, I was still unable to stop the mana's flow.
Damn it!
"Damna, use Fire Blast!" she shouted suddenly.
Huh? Fire Blast? Why? I don't think–damn! I have no time! I’m gonna trust you, Farida!
I quickly aimed for the sky even though my hands were difficult to move. After checking the distance, I cast an incantation. "O Creator of the Flame! Let the blaze fly and scorch my target now, Fire Blast!"
The wild Fire Sphere flew like a rocket into the sky. After a brief period, it blasted, lighting up the yard like a massive firework show.
My breath caught in my throat. The air vapor coming out of my mouth condensed and blocked my eyes from seeing my surroundings.
It was close. I could have been burned alive if I hadn't followed Farida's command. I thought turning uncontrollable magic into another form was impossible.
The relief that came to my chest made my legs limp and dropped my butt to the ground. Farida immediately supported me and cast warm water magic to wet my body. Then she used magic to heal the burns on my hands and other spots.
"Sorry, Ms Farida. It seems I pushed myself too hard."
I thought she was going to scold me. However, a smile was carved on her beautiful face.
"You did well, Damna. Unfortunately, you have to learn Mana Coating first and restrain yourself."
I blushed with embarrassment. It was the kind of sentence I liked. A gentle piece of encouragement.
Short, a flick of a finger landed on my forehead.
"Huh?"
"If you get into trouble, don't hesitate to seek help. That's the first rule of living in this world, Damna. Keep that in mind."
Her sharp gaze made me unable to do anything. I just nodded and felt sorry for myself.
Could it be that I became arrogant because I already had life experience from the previous world?
Realizing that, I put on a wry smile. I still had a lot to learn.
Then, I heard a loud sound from the direction of my house. They were Rosch and Mom, coming to check on me.
"What was that just now? Are you okay, sweetheart?" Mom immediately hugged me and checked every inch of my body.
"I'm fine, Mama. It was just a little awkward situation."
"Awkward? Is that true, Farida?" Mom asked, her intonation rising.
"I am sorry, Mrs Rosch." She bowed her head. "There was a little accident, but Damna resolved that matter in no time. Everything is fine now. But if you are angry with me, I'll gladly accept it."
Mom's expression was stern. And she looked at me. I shook my head and told her, "I am okay, Mama. Farida saved me! You should not fire her. Please..."
Mom's worried face slowly relaxed. She kissed me and finally showed her usual smile. "Thank goodness. I cannot win against my precious son. Okay, Farida. But don't let my sweetheart go beyond your control like this again. Do you understand?"
Farida bowed once again and threw her gloomy face away. " I understand. Thank you so much for giving me another chance, Mrs Rosch."
Rosch, who was by her side, breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Everything is good and we lose nothing."
Luckily, this first training session ended without any grave accidents. After the training, Farida gave me a task to summarize the training session. Sure, she told me to rest first.
With that, today's lesson was over.
***
A new morning had arrived, and we were in the backyard.
Today's lesson was learning to manipulate Mana Coating. In theory, I should be able to do it. Somehow, I failed.
Ms Farida looked confused. She asked me to stop for a moment. Then she instructed me to do it again. The same thing happened several times.
Afterwards, she told me to stop. Then her face looked even more confused. Her brows furrowed.
"Damna, since when did you learn Battle Aura?" she asked.
Huh? Battle Aura? Didn't I try Mana Coating?
"What does that mean, ma'am?"
Ms Farida stroked her chin. "It's also the first time I know that there's a mage capable of doing Battle Aura as fast as you."
I didn't know if she complimented me, but it was enough to boggle my mind.
"What is Battle Aura?" I wasn't familiar with this new term.
"Just like Mana Coating is used to protect the caster, Battle Aura is more focused on coating the entire body while strengthening it."
To be honest, I still didn't understand. How could I possibly do that if all my attention was on my palm?
"Try doing it again. This time grasp this wooden branch and try to squeeze it." Ms Farida picked up a piece of wood from the snow and handed it to me.
I followed her instructions. After the conditions were met, I immediately squeezed the wooden branch. For a logical reason, there was no way I could crush it. It was a 3-centimeter diameter branch that Rosch had cut from a tree. It should be solid.
Crack!
The result slapped my face on the right spot. The wooden branch crumbled. After I squeezed harder, the object in my hand no longer looked like a wooden stick.
"Just as I thought." She took off her special gloves. "We'll postpone the magic lesson until you can use Mana Coating, Damna."
"Eh? Why?"
"If you don't want the same thing to happen, we better focus on the basics. Let alone using Intermediate class magic, even basic magic can hurt you."
When Ms Farida mentioned it, my hands trembled. I could feel the burning sensation for no reason. Yesterday's incident was odd. I had never lost control of my magic before. What exactly happened?
I had no lead which left me with one option. I should trust Farida.
I still had a long way to go. Unlike Aila, I didn't treat myself as special from the beginning. Although that incident made me a little big-headed and thought I might be a little unique. It was a wrong assumption after all.
I sighed. "What's the cause, Ms Farida?"
Ms Farida didn't answer. Instead, she invited me to go inside.
In the house, we sat close together in front of the table. Ms Farida explained about Mana Coating and Battle Aura, also known as Battle Coating.
Mana Coating only coats the part of the body that was used to collect Mana while Battle Aura was not. Battle Aura focused more on strengthening the physical body as a whole. Usually, it was done instinctively.
As a general rule, a mage did not have good Battle Coating if he had a high level of Mana Coating. Because of that, doing both at the same time was difficult. Or nigh impossible. Until now, Ms Farida explained, only those in the Emperor Class had ever been capable of doing it.
"And what surprises me even more, how can you do it when you were born on New Year's Eve?"
New Year's Eve was mentioned again. I wanted to continue talking about Mana Coating. But, this might be the right time to ask in detail about the curse.
"Ms Farida, what's wrong with being born on New Year's Eve? I still don't understand why being born at a certain time can cause excessive fear. Even to the point of calling those born at that moment cursed children."
The first time I heard it, I wanted to know the truth. There was no way a person was labeled as a cursed child based on the day they took their first breath. It was absurd.
Sure, this was very different when I was on earth. At that time, I was indeed a cursed child. Unable to feel empathy, I had problems forming relationships with others.
However, everything was different this time. I could feel all those emotions. I didn't want my parents to continue feeling guilty because they gave birth to me on New Year's Eve.
"Unexpected. I cannot believe you have an interest in that matter." Ms Farida looked at me. "It seems I don't need to ask your reason."
I didn't feel wrong for putting a heavy tone on my face. For me, this was important.
Ms Farida cleared her throat. "I will explain it from the beginning. Slowly so you don't miss anything."
She told me a long narrative. Starting from how and where the cursed appellation came about, to how the people of the Main and Southern Continents responded to it.
From her explanation, I gained new insights.
First, the title of a cursed child had been around for 400 years. Right after the Continental War ended.
Second, cursed children would usually have certain disabilities. Either physically or mentally. As my parents feared in the past. They worried that I would be born mute. The disabilities that appear most often in the historical records of the Abbas Kingdom were dumbness, deafness, and the inability to manipulate mana.
The interesting point was the third one. Ms Farida said, although cursed children were born with disabilities, all those born would gain the same ability. That ability was called Spiritual Eyes. The cursed child's eyes had the ability to see a person's aura or mana flow coming out of their body.
Wait a second.
"So Ms Farida asked me to observe your palm during Fire Sphere practice yesterday. Was it to confirm whether I am a cursed child or not?"
Her face looked surprised when she heard that. Could it be that she didn't expect me to be able to guess it?
My question created a mesmerizing silence. Until the crackling of burning wood filled the room.
"...You're right. I'm sorry if I've been disrespectful to you." The bespectacled woman bowed her head slightly. It was a formal act of apologizing.
...
"Did you do it to help the other cursed children?"
After hearing my last question, she raised her head and the eyes behind the glasses fell on me. Her brown eyes were wide and unblinking.
There was seriousness, kindness, and determination on her face. I could see it from the look in her eyes, the trembling lips, and the tightly clenched fingers.
Her hidden intentions were so beautiful that I couldn't help but feel happy. At this moment, in the middle of the holy winter, this woman seemed to glitter in my eyes.
"No need to apologize, Ms Farida. I should be the one thanking you. Although I can't do anything, Now I can take part in helping them through your research."
Tears fell from her eyes. Yet, she offered me a warm smile, just like the one my mother used to give me.
She wiped away the tears and said, "I guess I couldn't hide it from you, Damna."
I felt honored. I returned her smile and extended my hand. "Let me assist you, Ms Farida."
She hesitated at first, then welcomed my hand.
“Thank you.”
Somehow, the empty space in my chest began to fill up again.