When Ryuji arrived back at the magic shop, he could hear the distinct boiling sizzle pop of eggs being cooked in bacon grease. He locked the door and made his way to the back where he displayed his treasure with a grin that was mirrored by the old dwarf. The moment was broken by a tufting sound that turned out to be the magic of the fire giving out.
The old dwarf then spent the next couple of minutes explaining the feeling of mana in one’s body. Once his explanation was over, he looked at Ryuji and told him to put his hand into the basin under the glowing magic circle. He explained that the magic circle would draw his mana and that would be the perfect time to try moving his mana around. Once he felt it he would be able to tell what it felt like and could then try using it to fill the stove’s enchantment.
Ryuji cautiously stuck his hand into the space inside the basin under the faintly glowing orange magic circle. The next moment he felt a sensation unlike any he had ever felt in his life. It was as if something was sucking the very heat from his hand but he didn’t feel cold. It also kind of tingled but there was no sensation that it was coming from his nerves. It suddenly dawned on him that there was something there that was feeling this sensation and it wasn’t his body. He began exploring this strange feeling and found that it extended throughout his whole body. He also, now that he knew what he was looking for, could tell how to feel and move that strange something.
He could tell that this thing in him was almost like a fluid but it moved like a thick fluid, cold syrup perhaps. The sensation in his hand was like something was melting that almost frozen syrup and drawing it into a flame or into a vacuum. He concentrated on the feeling of the melting and tried to apply it to the area of his entire arm. Suddenly the flame in the stove came back and the old dwarf wizard chuckled but to Ryuji’s ears, it sounded almost derisive.
Ryuji concentrated on that feeling and tried to move it to his whole body. At first, he had no luck but then he began to almost see an image of himself in blue with ripples forming on his surface. He concentrated on making all the rippled spread to all parts of his body but not letting them reach his arm. Once the ripples had spread all over the rest of his body, he opened the last area and pushed the whole lot toward his hand all at once. He lost his concentration from two things. First, the old dwarf screeching, and the second was the actual burning sensation on the skin around his arm.
When he opened his eyes, the flame was roaring out from under the stove and around the edge of the cooktop. He pulled his hand back and checked his arm to make sure that the skin wasn’t burned. Once he confirmed that he looked at the stove and realized that the fire would burn the eggs. While the dwarf was fiddling with the magic area of the stove, he began flipping the eggs.
Once the whole ordeal was over, they shared a hearty laugh before the dwarf spoke. “See if I underestimate ya again! I thought ye were okay when ya got the fire ta light but ye have a bit more control o’ your mana than I gave ya credit fer. I be wonderin just how much o’ your mana did ye tap inta? Did ye get the feelin o’ butter meltin out of ye?”
The old dwarf had a strange way of describing the sensation but it was understandable. “I probably only got to about five percent of my mana.” The strange look the dwarf gave him told him that either he had no idea what he was saying or that he couldn’t believe him so he tried again. “I think I only got one part in twenty of my mana.”
Suddenly the dwarf changed his look from unsure to downright disbelieving and the change was such that Ryuji could now easily tell the difference. “Ye think ye got that much mana do ye? How did ye come ta that amount then? Knowin’ yer level of mana like that is a skill that ye shouldna’ have yet. Tell me what ye saw or felt that made ye feel that way.”
As Ryuji told the old dwarf about the way he saw his mana as a blue liquid form of his body the old dwarf continued to cook. They both finished about the same time and the old guy slapped his back with a grin. “Well, rust me toes! Ya got a better feel for mana than I did after a year o’ practice. An’ I’ll be a goblin if you don’t have the most mana of anybody I ever met, beside meself that is!”
They then had a nice chat over a very hearty breakfast. Ryuji liked the sweetbread but this was so much better. During their chat, several topics came up for discussion. The first thing that Ryuji asked was what his new teacher’s name was. It moved through an explanation of his past and went through a bunch of the old guy’s past exploits in wizardry which Ryuji couldn’t get enough of. As they were wrapping up breakfast Dorn, the dwarf teacher, Told Ryuji that he had all but given up on ever finding anybody whom he could pass his knowledge along to.
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Ryuji then got a firsthand demonstration of the three types of magic known in the world. The first one Dorn demonstrates is the type that he’s proficient in, caster magic. In that type of magic, a person calls upon one of the six elements, air, dark, earth, fire, light, or Water. They then infuse mana into a powder or solution of that element and draw a magic circle describing a spell. Once the spell is complete the mana uses the power of the element or elements invoked to perform the actions described by the magic circle.
He demonstrated this by dipping his finger into a powder of coal and infusing his mana into it. He then drew a small glowing orange circle in the air with a triangle and several symbols in it. As soon as he finished, the circle flared into a flame and when Dorn snapped his fingers a small flame appeared on his fingertips. It followed them around until he closed his hand and the flame disappeared.
Dorn then told Ryuji about a type of magic that he could use but not very well. Summoning magic used the same general principles but slightly different and the end result was wholly different. He described the method a summoner would use to summon creatures to do their bidding. The summoner had to have a bit of that type of animal and would then make a magic circle by infusing mana into that. The description in the magic circle described the attributes and binding of the creature so that it would obey the summoner.
Dorn then searched around until he found a vial of white powder that he told Ryuji was the powdered bone of a rabbit. He dipped his finger in it like before and drew a glowing green magic circle in the air. When he finished a rabbit fell out of thin air and hit the floor running. It dashed all around the shop and knocked several things over before Ryuji could get the door open. The moment it saw an opening it bolted out the door and down the street with Dorn cursing it the whole time.
Dorn then tried explaining the third type of magic to Ryuji who was doing his best not to laugh. Dorn eyed him sidelong and began to chuckle, before long they were both rolling with laughter about the successfully failed summon. After a time the two noticed a third person in the shop and the young gentleman, a regular at the magic shop, was left bewildered at the never-before-seen sight of Dorn laughing. This prompted him to cast speculative glances toward Ryuji but he never spoke a word to him.
After concluding his business Dorn began explaining the third magic type in earnest. He told Ryuji that enchanting was the magic that made objects with a purpose perform that purpose with mana being supplied instead of effort. He explained that movement was the most commonly used enchantment right after mana storage. In enchanting the enchanter would carve or mold a magic circle on a common item and have it invoke that item’s normal function. The item would then perform its function any time Mana was supplied. Ryuji marveled at how much this was all so much like a manga, each of the different types of magic were things Ryuji had read and dreamed about in manga his whole life.
Dorn demonstrated this the second time that day with a different tool than the stove. He pulled out a small wooden wheel and used a knife to carve a magic circle into the soft wood of the wheel. The circle was very uncomplicated in its design and when he supplied it with mana it began to roll. It rolled at a leisurely pace across the room but stopped before it reached the other side of the room.
As Dorn was explaining all the things that are used in casting magic Ryuji was awestruck. The largest portion of the things used to cast magic were rocks that have to be ground down. He began to realize just how important his limited knowledge of chemistry and geology was to his future success as a wizard. He then thought that perhaps he should write some of his past knowledge down before he forgot it all. As he was thinking about that it led him to the thought that he needed a notebook to write things in. while he was at it, he decided a complete set of magic casting tools would be good to have and he started making mental notes about all of the things he might need.
After a few minutes of compiling mental notes between Dorn’s tidbits of lessons, Ryuji started to think of all the things that he needed besides magic supplies. As soon as he did, he remembered his date and started to panic because the time got away from him. He then had to wait impatiently for the next break in Dorn’s less-than-linear lecture to tell him about his other plans for the evening.
After a moment, Dorn paused to consider the best way to explain something and Ryuji had to interrupt. “Uhm, excuse me for a moment. I just remembered that at noon… I mean mid-day I need to go back to the inn. The waitress agreed to show me around town so that I could get necessities. I could really use a change of clothes so I can wash these!”
Dorn considered the elf for a moment then looked at the windowsill. The shadows on the windowsill were straight down and Dorn looked back at Ryuji. He chuckled for a moment as he shook his hand in a shooing motion. “Best get ye gone then, lad. No lesson I can teach ya is ever going to be as interestin’ as love!”
As he finished speaking Dorn gave another chuckle that soon turned into a roaring laugh. Ryuji could only smile and bow. But as he went to rush out the door Dorn threw one last demand at him. “Just be sure ye come back eh! I don’t wanna hav’ta go lookin’ for ye later.” Ryuji smiled as he bowed again and rushed out.