The doors of the dining room closed, leaving Fabio and Lily face to face.
"Welcome back."
"...."
Lily smiled innocently and let both friends take their seats.
Then, the machinery began to turn.
As if they were finely tuned gears, Sophie and Lily’s parents began to eat, laugh, and talk cheerfully, taking turns with each other, without a single interruption.
As if the dining room itself were a music box made for Lily.
And, for the first time, Fabio was not part of it.
The poor Fabio watched as dinner unfolded on its own and how, despite having an orchestrated rhythm, the atmosphere emitted an overwhelmingly dissonant aura, so much so that it made Fabio eat as quickly as possible.
After finishing, he stood up, causing everyone to stop talking.
"...Excuse me, I have to leave, I'm not feeling very well."
"Of course."
Lily nodded in response, and the same girl who had guided him opened the door again, letting Fabio out.
Fabio left without looking back.
...
When dinner was over, Lily showed up in Fabio's room.
Knock, knock, knock.
Not hearing anything on the other side, Lily forced the door, entering on her own. She turned on the magical light and saw Fabio lying on his bed.
Fabio turned to her, disheartened.
He saw how Lily's hands held a mana-filled artifact: black sneakers with white soles and white tips.
"It's your gift for becoming a mage."
Lily smiled at him, as usual, before continuing.
"These sneakers allow you to walk without making any noise. I'll leave them here for you."
"..."
Fabio said nothing, so Lily left the room, leaving him alone again.
His mind was a mess.
...
The next day, Fabio left the mansion in the morning with his new sneakers.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
No one stopped him.
He walked through the streets he had walked with Sophie, getting some fresh air, until he reached the bakery of the boy that had given them the bagels.
At the door was his father, who greeted Fabio.
"Hey! Don't you want some bread for breakfast?"
Fabio looked at the man.
"...I don't have any money."
"Don't worry, Lily's treating you."
"..."
The man entered the bakery and pulled out a chocolate-filled croissant, offering it to Fabio, who took it and began to eat.
"You'd better go back to the mansion now. Your friends are waiting for you in your room."
Fabio looked at the man once more, somewhat puzzled by Lily's straightforward approach.
"...Okay."
With nothing else to do, he walked back to the mansion.
...
Fabio entered his room and saw Lily and Sophie. Nolva had also returned to the mirror.
"Fabio, sit over here."
Lily offered him a seat next to Sophie.
After Fabio sat down, Lily continued speaking:
"Nolva has prepared another animation, why don't we watch it?"
Lily sent Sophie to turn off the lights.
The liquids coming out of Nolva's blood began to glow inside the mirror, forming different images, as if they were a short film.
With their help, she began to introduce the concept of magic.
"As you know, our world is full of mana, forming the souls of all living beings.
The bodies themselves are just vessels for those souls, which become stronger the more mana your soul has.
But it is said that the first mage of legend was able to artificially infuse the world's mana into his immortal body, making it much more powerful.
Magic consists of using that same mana to twist the world, creating miracles that border on the impossible."
The drawings were really beautiful, as always when Nolva was inspired to do these explanations, but Fabio looked at her without understanding very well the reason.
Then, among the drawings, a doll identical to him appeared, casting spells into the air.
"Now that you're a mage, isn't it time for you to learn to use magic?"
"..."
Fabio's eyes subtly sparkled.
From that afternoon on, Fabio would dedicate himself completely to learning two spells under Lily's tutelage.
And
Fabio had awakened as a two-star mage. The classification depended on the layers surrounding his mana structure.
The more powerful his spells became, the more layers would appear in his inner mana, making him stronger.
The spells had to be practiced by oneself, envisioning their effects and then attempting to manifest them.
If your mana was capable of using the spell, there would come a point where you would be able to devise and recite its incantation.
Similarly, with practice, it was possible to make spells silent, omitting their chant.
It all depended on how well you understood your own mana.
...
Before the end of the year, Fabio mastered his first spell: