The crisp winter wind felt delightful against Elianna's skin as she crossed the garrison grounds. She was still breathing a little heavily, with sweat clinging to her skin, after just completing another training session with her father. Now that her father was going to return to his usual duties as the knight commander, Elianna was going to take this opportunity to hang out with Nicholas, like usual.

Approaching the first battalion area, Elianna's lips curved into a smile when her eyes settled on Nicholas. Nicholas looked deep in concentration as he manipulated a small ball of lava the size of a chicken egg. Standing before Nicholas was Freya, who smiled proudly as she watched her nephew manipulate the lava magic. However, Elianna's smile faded a little when she noticed Celine wasn't standing with Nicholas and Freya.

Elianna's eyes darted around the area when she noticed Celine standing not too far away from Nicholas and Freya. Curiosity filled Elianna as she observed Celine wasn't alone. Standing beside Celine was a beautiful elven woman with long teal hair and bright purple eyes. Elianna's eyes looked the woman up and down, seeing she wasn't in Tri-Union knight or mage apparel, but she was wearing teal mage robes that complimented her hair and fit her slender body nicely.

Elianna watched as Celine nodded to what the woman had told her before forming a mana barrier around her, which looked like a dome of pure white magic. A moment later, the elven woman took a staff out of her spacial ring. The staff was made out of light brown wood, with an intricate design running along its shaft. A mana gem was situated at the tip of the staff, secured by the wood of the staff, holding it in place like a snake coiled around a stone.

The elven woman raised her staff into the air, and several swirls of fire magic formed above her before a barrage of firebolts shot out toward Celine. The firebolts struck the mana barrier repeatedly, and Celine grunted a little but held strong. Once the last firebolt struck the mana barrier, the elven woman smiled, lowered her staff, and said something to Celine. Celine returned the woman's smile before dispersing the mana barrier and approaching her.

"Lia!"

Elianna jolted with surprise, and her eyes darted to Nicholas and Freya, seeing that they were both looking at her. Nicholas gave Elianna a friendly smile and waved her over. Elianna returned his smile before walking toward him.

"What were you just standing there for?" Nicholas asked as Elianna approached them.

"I was on my way to see you," Elianna said before she looked toward Celine and the elven woman. "But, I got distracted by what they were doing."

Nicholas and Freya curiously followed her gaze. "Ah," Freya said and looked back at Elianna. "That would be Zera; she's an old friend of mine."

"Is she a part of the mage order?" Elianna asked.

Freya shook her head, "No. She's actually an adventurer. I invited her here to train with Celine a little since she will be taking Celine on her field training soon."

Elianna looked at Freya, a little confused, "Field training?"

Freya nodded and gestured around her, "We can only learn so much in a controlled environment. That's why it's good to go out into the open world and train as well." Freya looked toward Celine and smiled warmly. "Seeing that Celine will be sixteen soon enough, Matthew and I decided that after her birthday, she will be old enough to go out and train. I asked Zera to escort her, and she was more than happy to accept."

"Training in the open world," Elianna said, feeling a little excited just thinking about it. "That sounds so cool!"

Freya chuckled, "Zera thinks so too. It's why she became an adventurer. She loves exploring and fighting magic beasts."

Elianna watched Zera, watching as she spoke with Celine, who nodded to whatever Zera had told her. Zera then placed the end of her staff on the ground, and particles of earth swirled around like a cyclone before conjuring three stone torsos that looked like training dummies. A moment later, the ground beneath the stone dummies began to radiate teal energy, and vines shot up from the ground, wrapping around the dummies. With the torsos now entangled, Zera waved her staff, firing three crescent-shaped arcs of water that sliced through the dummies and the vines, with the top halves of the torsos falling to the ground. Zera then looked at Celine and spoke with her again.

"Woah," Elianna said, her eyes wide in awe at Freya's display of magic. "That was pretty cool."

Freya nodded, "She was demonstrating how to trap an opponent before striking them."

"That plant spell. That was entangling vines, right?" Nicholas curiously asked.

"Yep," Freya smiled. "Nicely done recognizing the spell. Have you been studying your grimoire?"

Nicholas nodded, "Yeah. I didn't realize there are so many spells to learn."

Freya chuckled, "Magic opens up many possibilities. The amount of spells one could think of is almost endless. Just remember not to try to cast multiple spells at once."

Nicholas smiled and nodded, "I remember."

Elianna looked puzzled, "Why not?"

"Because it is mentally impossible for us to multitask," Freya began. "Spells take a certain amount of concentration and mental focus. If we split our focus, the spells can collide, and the result could be chaotic."

"Kind of like trying to do math and reading at the same time?" Elianna curiously asked.

Freya chuckled humorously at the analogy, "Kinda, yeah."

Elianna nodded in understanding, "Got it."

Nicholas looked at his aunt inquisitively, "Besides casting multiple spells at once, is there anything else we can't do with magic?"

Freya hummed for a second, thinking before she nodded, "There is some. Controlling someone's free will or manipulating another's emotions comes to mind. Many have tried through magic and potions, and all have failed, thankfully. Manipulating time is another example."

"Time?" Elianna said with a curious look.

"Time is a complicated concept and a fundamental force to existence," Freya explained. "All who have tried to manipulate this fundamental force failed or became obsessed with the idea and lost their mind. It is a power beyond our control."

"So, in other words, don't try it," A voice said.

Elianna, Nicholas, and Freya looked toward the voice, seeing Zera and Celine approaching them.

Celine smiled at Elianna and gave her a small wave, "Hey, Elle. How're you?"

Elianna returned Celine's smile, "I'm good, thanks! What about you?"

"I'm doing good." Celine gestured to Zera, "Zera is showing me a few combat techniques."

Elianna looked at Zera and politely smiled, "Hello."

Zera returned her smile, "Hello there."

"Zera, this is Elianna," Freya said, gesturing to Elianna.

"Ah, yes," Zera said with a look of realization before she grinned a little. "Your nephew's friend you were telling me about."

Nicholas looked at Zera curiously, "Aunt Freya told you about Lia?"

Zera simply shrugged, "A little. Just that you two are always hanging out together, and I shouldn't be surprised if she showed up." Her grin grew a little, "Oh, and she told me how you're the only one who calls her Lia. How cute."

Nicholas' and Elianna's cheeks both turned a little red, and they shared a quick gaze before looking to the side.

"Zera," Freya said in a flippant scolding tone. "You're embarrassing them."

Zera chuckled lightly, with a lighthearted smile, "It's all in good fun."

Freya playfully shook her head before looking at Zera curiously, "So, how is training going?"

"It's going good," Zera said and smiled at Celine. "Celine is very receptive and catches on to training well." Zera looked away from Celine, her eyes skimming over the knights training around the area. She smirked a little, "Even with the distractions."

Freya looked a little confused and followed Zera's gaze. Her brows raised once she realized what Zera was talking about. She sighed and looked at her with a lighthearted, narrowed gaze. "Zera."

"What?" Zera chuckled and innocently shrugged. "It's not every day I get to be surrounded by young muscular men in uniform."

Celine hummed in agreement, her eyes tracing over the knights, watching them dash around and swing their weapons at each other or at training dummies. "They can definitely be a distraction sometimes."

"Celine!" Freya said in shock.

Zera chuckled, "She is fifteen." She grinned a little, "And girls do love muscular men."

"They do?" Nicholas asked.

Freya, Celine, and Zera looked at Nicholas, seeing him looking at them innocently and confused. Nicholas looked at his skinny arm, pondering. Elianna's brows furrowed in bewilderment as she watched Nicholas poke his arm a few times.

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"What are you doing?" Elianna asked, confused.

Nicholas looked at her, brows raised high before he looked away, and his cheeks turned a little red, "N-Nothing."

Celine and Zera grinned humorously, knowing precisely what he was doing. Freya smiled a little, thinking Nicholas' actions were a little cute.

"You know, my dad exercises every morning," Celine simply shrugged. "I'm sure if you ask him, he would let you join him."

Nicholas looked at her for a moment before his eyes fell to the ground, seeming to think, "Maybe I'll ask him."

Zera grinned a little humorously before she looked at Celine, "Anyway, are you ready to continue training?"

Celine nodded to Zera, "Yeah. What are we doing next?"

"We're going to practice channeling. This way, we will be used to channeling each other."

"Channeling?" Nicholas asked, looking confused. "What's that?"

Zera looked at Nicholas before looking at Freya, "Have you not gone over channeling with him?"

Freya shook her head, "No, not yet. He only recently got his second circle." Freya looked at Nicholas, "Channeling is when a mage uses the power from another magic user to make themselves stronger."

"But there are limits," Zera cut in. "Our mana channels grow with our mana core and can only conduct so much magical power at once. Because of this, we can only achieve a power two levels past our own when channeling."

Nicholas looked at Zera bewildered, "I don't understand."

Zera hummed for a moment, "Hmmm. Well, for example. You are currently a second-circle mage. When you channel someone, you can achieve fourth-circle magic at most. If you try to use more power than that, you risk destroying your core and mana channels."

"Oh," Nicholas said, turning a little pale, finally understanding. "That doesn't sound good."

Zera chuckled a little, "No. Not at all."

Nicholas looked down for a moment before looking at Freya inquisitively again, "Wait. You said we could channel a magic user. Does that mean they don't need to be another mage?"

Freya smirked, "Nice catch. No, it doesn't. We can channel the power of another person's core, be it mage or augmenter." Freya's eyes flicked to Elianna, and she smiled, "Elianna, dear. Would you like to assist in a demonstration?"

"Me?" Elianna said curiously before smiling with excitement. "I'd love to!"

"Splendid," Freya smiled. Freya looked to the side, took her wand out of her spacial ring, and waved it, conjuring a target out of earth magic a few feet away. Freya looked at Nicholas, "Alright, Nicholas. First step, I want you to see the difference between second and fourth circle magic. So, I want you to cast the spell blaze."

Nicholas nodded and looked toward the target. He raised his wand, pointing it at the target. He projected his mana into the atmosphere, taking hold of the ambient ruby fire mana around him, and started to draw it in. Fire magic began to swirl in front of Nicholas' wand, and suddenly, a small stream of fire shot out of his wand.

Elianna flinched slightly and stepped back a little in surprise at the sudden release of the spell. But she soon relaxed, and her eyes widened in awe as she watched the stream of fire strike the target on its chest.

After a few moments passed, and seeing Nicholas was still holding the spell, Freya said, "That's enough, Nicholas."

Nicholas nodded while looking at the target. He canceled his flow of magic, and the stream of fire slowly died out. Once the fire dispersed, he observed that the target still remained, but a small part of its chest glowed red hot from the fire.

"Remember, Nicholas," Freya began and smiled at Nicholas. "We must be careful with continuous spells. We can end up expending more mana than we intend to if we are not careful."

Nicholas smiled and nodded, "Understood."

"Continuous spell?" Elianna said, looking curious. "What is that?"

"It's a spell that requires a constant flow of magic," Celine answered. "The spell Nick just used is a continuous spell because those types of spells require a constant flow of mana to maintain the effect or function of the spell. Mana barrier and shield are more examples of a continuous spell. Then, there are finite spells. These are spells that only require a specific amount of magic to take form, like firebolt or illuminate, for example."

"Continuous spells also consume more magic since they're a constant flow, which is why they can be dangerous," Zera added. "That's why using them all the time isn't a good idea. Whereas finite spells use a fixed amount of mana. Plus, some finite spells have a lasting effect, like illuminate. Meaning the spell will hold until the effect eventually cancels out or is dispelled, needing little to no mental focus."

"Does that Make sense?" Freya asked. Elianna smiled and nodded. "Good," Freya said and looked at Nicholas. "Alright, now we will practice channeling. So, take a hold of Elianna."

Nicholas flinched a little at the instruction, and his cheeks grew a little red. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out and taking Elianna's hand. Elianna's cheeks turned red in an instant as soon as Nicholas took her hand, and her eyes widened in surprise.

Freya's brows rose in mild astonishment at Nicholas taking Elianna's hand, as she expected him just to grab her by the shoulder. However, she, Zera, and Celine couldn't help but smile a little at the development.

Freya cleared her throat, trying to keep herself from laughing, "Okay, now, first things first." Freya looked at Zera. "Can you please stand behind the target and form a shield to prevent the fire from escaping."

Zera nodded, "Of course." Zera moved and stood behind the target, creating a small rectangular mana shield.

Freya looked at Nicholas and Elianna, "Now, here comes the tricky part. Nicholas, what you need to do is cast the spell incinerate. It's a level four fire spell, the next level up from blaze. So, act like you're casting blaze, but use more mana. Understood?"

Nicholas nodded, "Understood."

"Good," Freya said, and her eyes flicked to Elianna. "Elianna, while he is focused on the spell, what I need you to do is push your mana into Nicholas, just like how you push mana into an item or your sword. Once you reach his core with your mana, you will be able to absorb the mana from his core to yours, forming a connection, or link, with each other. Nicholas, when you feel Elianna begin to pull at your mana, don't resist. Do you both understand?"

Nicholas and Elianna both nodded.

Freya smiled, "Good. Now, give it a try. Don't be surprised if it doesn't work the first time, as it can be complicated."

Nicholas took a breath and looked at Elianna. His cheeks were still red, and he felt a little weird holding her hand, but he managed a smile, "Ready?"

Elianna looked at him, returned his smile, and nodded, "Ready."

Nicholas and Elianna looked forward, both determined to successfully channel their power. Concentrating, Nicholas began to project his mana into the atmosphere, taking hold of the ambient ruby mana. He began to gather the ruby mana together, and a swirl of fire magic started to form in front of his wand.

Gripping Nicholas' hand, Elianna began to push mana from her core through her arm, directing it to Nicholas. Nicholas felt the warmth of mana in Elianna's hand, and his grip tightened as he flinched a little, feeling the electrifying warmth of her mana flow into his left arm. Elianna pushed her mana through Nicholas, eventually reaching his core. She felt her mana touch his core and latched onto it like a tether, feeling the radiating power of his mana core. Feeling the power of Nicholas' mana core, she began to absorb it through the tether back to her.

It was a strange sensation for Nicholas, feeling mana being pushed and pulled from his mana core by someone else. It was almost like a tickling sensation. But, taking his aunt's advice, he focused on the spell and didn't resist as Elianna pulled his mana from his core.

Elianna smiled a little, feeling the warmth of Nicholas' mana flow into her arm. She found it to be a strange yet comforting sensation. The mana flowed through Nicholas' and Elianna's channels, and the moment Nicholas' mana reached Elianna's mana core, forming the connection, they breathed in sharply.

In an instant, it felt like they were attached to each other, almost like they could feel each other's very presence. The feeling blasted through them, and their eyes glowed brightly with pure white mana.

"W-Woah," Nicholas and Elianna breathed out at the same time.

Freya's smile immediately faded, Celine looked a little concerned, and Zera's eyes widened in surprise as a flame of pure white mana engulfed both of them. The swirl of fire magic in front of Nicholas grew tremendously, and a significantly large beam of fire shot out but was directed to the right of the target.

Freya, Celine, and Zera flinched from the powerful, searing spell and looked in horror toward where it was directed. Knights dashed around and struck the training dummies to the side of the first battalion building, unaware of the spell heading toward them.

"Incoming!!!" Freya yelled desperately, amplifying her voice.

The knights immediately looked toward Freya, and their eyes widened in fear at the oncoming enormous beam of fire.

Zera quickly composed herself, narrowing her eyes with determination to protect the knights. She slammed her staff on the ground and conjured a gigantic mana shield in front of the knights as fire closed in on them. Zera grunted as the spell hit the shield, erupting in a powerful explosion. Zera's jaw clenched as she desperately held the shield, feeling the intensity of the fire spell constantly beating against her spell.

The blast from the explosion shot out in all directions, and Freya quickly raised her wand, conjuring a tunnel of icy wind around the fire to contain the raging inferno. Freya and Zera gritted their teeth, focusing intently on holding their spells.

"Nicholas! Elianna! Stop!!!" Celine shouted in horror.

Elianna and Nicholas flinched, snapping out of a daze, and let go of each other, breaking their connection. Nicholas' spell was immediately canceled, the white flame around them died out, and the glow in their eyes subsided.

Freya and Zera both shook but began to relax as the fire slowly subsided. Once the fire died down, Zera and Freya let out breaths of relief, canceling their spells, and fell to their knees in reprieve.

The noise around the garrison had died out, and everyone looked toward the area of the spell with surprise, seeing that the once grassy area was nothing but black scorched earth.

Elianna and Nicholas shared a confused glance, looking around. "W-What happened?" Nicholas asked.

"D-Did we do that?" Elianna asked, a little shaken.

Nicholas and Elianna looked between Freya and Zera, seeing they were looking at them in bewilderment.

"N-Nick? Elle?" Celine said, approaching them cautiously.

"Is everyone okay?!!"

Everyone looked toward the voice, seeing several people running toward them. In front of the group were Lucian, Maurus, Matilda, and Mathew.

Lucian looked at the scorched earth in confusion and worry before looking at his daughter and feeling relieved to see that she was okay.

They slowed their approach, and Matilda looked at the area curiously, "H-How?" Matilda looked at Freya intently, "Experitor Argyle. Explain. What happened?"

Freya shook her head, snapping out of her daze, and slowly stood up, "T-Training accident gone bad, Arch-Mage."

Mathew approached his wife, smiling at his daughter and nephew, seeing they were unharmed. Mathew looked at Freya and reassuringly grabbed her shoulder, "What do you mean?"

"S-Sorry," Nicholas began, and everyone's eyes shot to him. He looked down, his expression downcast, "W-We did that. I think."

Matilda grew confused, "We?"

"Nick and I," Elianna said, also looking down. "W-We didn't mean to?"

Matilda shook her head in confusion, "I don't understand."

Freya looked at Celine. "Celine, please take Nicholas and Elianna to the tree line to relax." She looked at Nicholas and Elianna, smiling, trying to show them everything was okay. "We're done training for today."

Nicholas and Elianna, both a little shaken, shared a gaze before looking at Freya and nodded.

Celine approached them and smiled, "Come on."

Nicholas and Elianna followed Celine as she started to head toward the tree line, away from the first battalion.

"Why don't you have Celine take them inside the battalion building?" Lucian asked, looking at Freya, a little confused.

"Because," Freya said and looked at Lucian. "I don't want them being bombarded with questions about what happened."

"What did happen?" Zera said, approaching them and looking at Freya in confusion. "What they did is impossible."

"What do you mean?" Matilda asked, looking at Zera. "And, who are you?"

"A friend of mine who I invited," Freya said. "And what she means is this. Nicholas and Elianna were practicing channeling on each other. Nicholas was supposed to cast incinerate but ended up casting solar flare," Freya gestured to the scorched earth, "Resulting in this damage."

"What?!" Matilda said, going wide-eyed in shock. "What core level is Nicholas at?"

"Two," Freya said.

Matilda shook her head in disbelief, "T-That's impossible. Even with channeling Elianna, there is no way he could have cast a sixth-level spell." She looked at Lucian, "Right, Lucian?"

Lucian didn't answer and stood there with his eyes fixed on the scorched earth. He had a thousand-yard stare, seeming deep in thought.

"Lucian?" Matilda asked again.

Lucian flinched with surprise, being knocked out of his thoughts. "Right," He looked toward Nicholas and his daughter. "It is impossible."

"Well, it happened," Zera said, looking toward Nicholas and Elianna as they approached the tree line. "How they did it, I have no idea."