"This 'F-P-G' is quite a work of art, Amy," Felin commented, scrolling through the public repository. "Any other time than this I'd try to meet the creator of it, this 'Felix', but there is a more pressing matter at hand."

After Amy's grave confirmation, Felin had broken down a bit, crazily ranting and running around the house until she calmed him down with the Grimoire. Even if it dispelled much of his despair, an undertone of rage was barely hidden under his every word, his claws out and digging into the table where he sat.

"And you are sure you've never heard of Esoteric Illusion, correct?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Amy assured, trying not to look too nervous. "When I first looked through the book I'd thought it was mad when it kept trying to write Illusion of as anything but Advanced, and even more confused when what it said worked."

"Of course it did; Illusion is... was one of the more well-known Esoteric Elements besides the obvious ones. One does not simply forget it. Illusion was used everywhere from magitech contraptions, to art, to combat, duels and wars; it... would be impossible for it to disappear with no one noticing."

"Yet... it did."

"Yet it did," Felin scowled. "I'm beginning to believe the 'can of worms' hypothesis more now."

"The one you didn't tell me?"

"Indeed. I fear fully describing it wouldn't be helpful and might... shock you so I will abstain from doing so until you reach Apprentice Tier."

"Apprentice? That's specific," Amy asked curiously, shifting forwards in her seat.

"When you ascend to the next Tier, you'll begin to notice something. Only then will I tell you the truth. Too early and... let's just say it's for the best we wait until Apprentice, at least."

"I think I understand," Amy said, it not being the first time some of her teacher's withheld information for her own safety, "I know there's some things I can't know this early on."

"Good. However, I think this device has expended its usefulness," Felin smiled, somehow shutting the Grimoire down with a swipe of his claws through its window. "It's too early on to say much about Illusion's disappearance; I simply do not have enough information available to me at the moment, but I fear digging into this would get us nowhere. For now.

"Something much more important is my young Mageling's hunt. You have an idea of what needs to be done?"

"Yes, I've got a few Spells in mind. Can you elaborate on how to do the Lesser Illusion though?" Amy asked as she took the FPG back.

"I can indeed. The first thing that needs to be done is about the Spellform, of course. Or, more specifically, how you channel mana through it. This is the version that needs no adjustment, after all. If you remember the outer lobes-..."

* * *

Mana fluttered upon Amy's skin as she kept low to the ground among the bushes of the forest grove. Her cat Familiar had stayed behind, planning to somehow watch it from a distance. Illusion attuned mana churned through her specialised Magecraft, keeping her submerged in a shadowy mist of pure monochrome. Directing her intent towards the Spellform, Lesser Illusion manifested itself like a suit that clung to her frame, fitting itself to her desires. Once the Spell was complete, the altered Magick sprung into effect, the edges of her vision becoming distorted. Within the cover of the Illusion, though she could still see, not all light could enter unaffected. Felin had warned of this however and she took it as a sign that the Spell was working as expected. To all but the keenest of animals' sights, she was invisible.

The unlikely pair of magical beings had been stalking their prey for an hour so far, following its tracks up until this point where the Archfey departed. About a dozen metres away a doe was grazing on some grass. Although it was now hard to see through the cloud of Illusion, Amy had detected traces of mana around the beast, its attunement shifting between various possibilities in real time. It seemed that after the event with the Mage Tower, the doe had been primed to become a mana beast. Similar to humans, all animals had the capability of using mana, only it was locked behind by a necessary infusion of mana that would awaken them to magic. Compared to the advantages of sapience that mundanes had, recognising and then properly connecting to this mana infusion was the tricky part. Relying on a bit of instinct and sheer luck to properly awaken, mana beasts were naturally very rare. The only exception to this was when there was a major magical incident like the one recently. There was always a sharp increase in the number of mana beasts, and, obviously, monsters. Not all beasts took to mana well and monsters were the result.

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Fortunately, Amy was here. Even if she'd never find out if the doe would become a monster or not, putting the awakening animal down was for the best.

Resolve cementing in her heart, Amy turned her attention to her Magecraft. She still had plenty of Illusion attuned mana, so the next step was obvious. It was time to hunt.

Before she had left for the hunt, she was undecided on what Spell to use from her Grimoire. So, she'd memorised both Spells she was wavering between, which really only meant one. Coruscating Bolt was a Tier 2 Bolt Spell so its Spellform was easy to remember but Light Beam was harder, an advanced Tier 2 variant of the regular Bolt template. Now that she was here, among the bushes, stalking her prey, she knew a Light Beam would be too excessive. Coruscating Bolt would be more than enough.

Focusing in on her mana pool, the attunement of her Illusion mana still spinning strongly, Amy split off a portion of it in her mind, keeping it to the same Magecraft. That would sustain her Lesser Illusion while the main Magecraft would be for the new Spell. Her mind focused in on her usual dance, that play on the stage of the universe, and began to imprint it upon the mana, setting it whirling. The dance was playful and carefree at first, spinning around and around in circles, endlessly. Slowly, the dance changed. Movements became harsher and more sporadic. The footwork was aggressive and assertive, no longer meandering.

Like a boulder tumbling down a mountain, the change began subtle then exploded into the scene, taking over all. That blank stage, upon all was set, creaked and groaned under a new kind of pressure. Building further, the air trembled and burned under the fires of passion, light illuminating every shadow, the dance proud and unobscured. Cascading down from the heavens, Light and Fire flew into the stage swirling around the dancer, around her. Fires twisted around in embers enhancing and emboldening the Light that outshone all. Amy's Magecraft wavered as something else intruded. Its influence penetrated all of her defences, lancing deep into her mana pool, attracted by her dance. Touching deep, it descended upon the dancer and touched it. And everything changed.

Light merged with Fire. Everything was swallowed in the Ignition of Possibility. Possibility that converged. Into Coruscation.

Coruscating mana burned into her being, erupting out of Light and Fire in a cacophony of scathing songs. It embodied all that burned. The flame of life. The might of the sun. The blistering light that existed at the end of everything and more. To Amy it was ecstasy incarnate, her self gradually overridden by the oneness she achieved with the Advanced Element. This was always the danger with Advanced Elements. Especially to her. There was a reason she called herself a failure of a Mage. Her pitiful Pure affinity, the affinity with mana itself, was a measly 31%. A number that never changed. Every test Amy had ever done yielded the same accursed results. 31%. Pathetic.

And it made it oh so easy for her to be overwhelmed by any Advanced Element she channelled. That's why in all her years of being a Mage she had only ever touched one Advanced Element. The only one that was supported by her other average affinities. The confluence of concentrated Light and the embers of Fire. Coruscation.

With the last flicker of sanity left within her, her Magecraft incinerated into ruin, the urge to burn to consume to disintegrate reaching closer, she blasted it out of herself, uncontrolled and manic. Her concentration finally returned, the mana no longer corrupting her mind, she could only focus barely any of the mana she had coalesced into the awaiting Spellform, her control too lacking. It was fortunate that the Spell activated at all, the Bolt lighting up in incandescent yellow so white it blinded.

In the second between when she had begun her attunement and her Spellcrafting, the doe had no time at all to react to the building light, as the Bolt of burning light crashed into her. With a resounding boom of mana and sound, the Coruscating Bolt exploded straight through the unaware beast, punching a hole through its neck. Caught up in the momentum of the Spell, the doe was sent flying back, its detached head spiralling in the air, any blood that might have sprayed from the neck cauterised shut. The corpse flopped to the ground unceremoniously, the head coming back down shortly after with a thump. Silence claimed the forest grove once more, now lifeless.

Amy stared at the corpse, the doe she had just killed, in a disturbed quiet, studying her 'work' intently. Never once had she hesitated in taking a life, in killing, until this moment where her brutality was on show to the world. Sickness welled up within her, throat closing up, as realisation attacked her. She had just killed something. Amy fought the urge to throw up, shaking slightly, and taking a step back unconsciously.

"Well done," Felin said into her ear, suddenly there next to her shoulder, causing her to jump. "I see that this is affecting you more than I'd expected. Considering your lack of apprehension before this I'd thought you'd hunted or done something similar before. I suppose that's not the case?"

"N-no," Amy admitted, still staring at the corpse, "I've... never killed anything before."

"You'll just have to get used to it then, my young Mageling," Felin said softly, prancing towards the doe. "Fate waits for no one and you never know what the future holds. I shall flay and dress the carcass for you since you haven't likely considered it. All you need to do is find somewhere to keep it."

"I-I can set something up... And I'll cure or dry most of it."

"Then let's get started, my young Mageling." Felin said, weaving some strange Magick about the corpse.

In that moment, all Amy could focus on wasn't the entrancing sight of something magical beyond her Tier, but the burned head not so far away. The blackened wound sealed shut still hot with embers. The hint of its putrid smell drifting across a stray wind.

"We've really got ourselves stuck in the mud this time, Amy."