Thanks, Goldie, Adon sent, very carefully targeting his friend alone.

Are you all right? she sent back. Flap twice for no, and I will make an excuse for us to leave.

I’m just a little tipsy, Adon replied. Going to drink some water and try to let my body burn through the alcohol.

He found that he could reliably target who he wanted to receive his telepathic messages even while he was slightly intoxicated. He just had to focus a bit more.

Looks like getting buzzed isn’t that different across different incarnations, he thought.

Adon refocused on the Royal Family. The King was speaking on what Goldie had just asked about.

“The first mystic butterfly our family encountered taught us magic,” Alistair explained. “Ever since then, we have been curious about the relationships between our race and the nonhuman species that live peacefully alongside us. Gradually, that curiosity metamorphosed into an interest in scientific study. We have funded many researchers over the centuries. If you are interested in reading some of our books, I can show you to the library later.”

Adon allowed Goldie to lead the conversation for the next half hour, although he occasionally chimed in and added his own thoughts.

He kept himself carefully balanced between sober and drunk, which helped to alleviate some of his nerves at talking to the group of relative strangers. Besides the fermented strawberry beverage, beer, and sugar water, there were goblets of fermented peach beverage, ale, and flower nectar. Everything but the sugar water and flower nectar increased his intoxication.

By the end of the lunch, Adon had almost drained all of the cups, and he felt almost full enough to shed his skin again.

He had also become more confident and comfortable around the Royal Family. He managed to tell them bits and pieces of his life, both in this world and in others. They seemed surprised and oddly impressed that he remembered more than one of his past lives. Something told him they might think he was lying if he said he remembered details from all of them, so he kept his explanations vague.

And at the children’s request, he showed off how he could change from a clear crystal style of wing to multiple different colors and patterns at will.

He switched to being a parchment color at the end and decided to simply leave his body that color pattern for a while, to make it easier for everyone to see him. It was easy for Adon to control his color scheme now; all he had to do was think about his intentions once, and his body adapted. It was almost scary how much easier it had become.

I feel like I’m popular now, he sent to Goldie as the servants were coming to take the plates and goblets away.

Of course you are, she replied instantly. I told you that people cannot help liking you, as long as you are true to yourself.

Having a great wing-spider helps, Adon sent. Honestly, a little liquid courage didn’t hurt either.

You did mention being a little tipsy, Goldie replied. I am glad it helped. What is a wing-spider?

Adon explained the concept of a wingman in dating, which wasn’t easy for him since he had only read about it and seen it represented on entertainment programs. But Goldie seemed to get it on a basic level.

Someone who helps you find a mate, she sent, the words coming out slowly and thoughtfully. That makes sense. It is easy to imagine being shy, or simply lacking confidence in one’s judgment.

Adon nodded. That was close enough.

Then the arthropods were being carried on their pillows, back to the room where Adon had emerged from his chrysalis.

Princess Rosslyn followed after them, and Adon silently willed himself to sober up more quickly. He remembered that she had mentioned she would continue the magic lessons after lunch, and he didn’t want to embarrass himself by performing poorly just because he had consumed too much of the fermented fruit juices.

Despite his wish to become sober, Adon recognized that he must be a lightweight, since he had never consumed alcohol in this body before. The hall seemed to whirl and spin around him as if he was on a carousel, and it was all he could do to keep from vomiting or walking off the side of the blue pillow.

At least Rosslyn can’t really see me, he thought as he swayed uncontrollably from side to side. There was a bright side to being a nearly invisible Mystic Crystal Butterfly.

He looked down at himself and remembered he was parchment colored now.

Well, hopefully people will think I’m just swaying because I’m small and the servant is moving quickly with the pillow.

The servants placed Adon and the spiders back on the bed, and he managed to avoid toppling onto his back or stumbling off of the side of the bed.

I’d better not use my wings, he thought. Zigzagging flying patterns, or even flying in circles, would be a dead giveaway that I had way too much to drink.

As Rosslyn entered and sat down in a chair beside the bed, Adon steadied himself and did his best to listen carefully as she lectured on the fundamentals of magic as humans understood and used it.

Unfortunately, much of what she said was lost on Adon as he used most of his fortitude and willpower to simply remain awake and upright.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

But as she carried on, Adon’s body began to defeat the poison that he had inflicted on it, and he found himself better able to focus.

“The most important ability to make Mana useful is giving it an affinity,” she was saying. “Just pouring unaltered Mana into someone or something will not necessarily have the effect you want. You can enhance your own body with Mana, because when you pour it into a specific place, your body has an instinctive knowledge of how to use it. But when you push Mana into something else, the effect depends on a combination of your intent and the kind of Mana you use.

“For instance, you could push Mana into a wall or a stone, and you would probably just make the wall stronger. The stones in the wall, or the particles in the stone, accept Mana and use it to maintain their present shape and condition. But that might not be the best way to apply your Mana. What if you wanted to destroy something rather than preserve it? Or what if you wanted to change the shape of the wall? What if you wanted to specifically try to heal someone rather than just enhancing their body generally?”

Rosslyn looked at her students as if she expected them to have an answer, and Goldie dutifully tried to provide one.

You need to change the affinity, like you were saying, Goldie sent weakly.

“Yes, that is the best way,” Rosslyn agreed. “What I really meant to ask is, what do you think the result is if you just pour Mana in and try to accomplish those goals without changing affinity?”

It sounds inefficient, Samson transmitted, the words coming out slowly as he thought carefully.

That fits with my experience, Adon sent.

Everyone looked at him as if surprised he was paying attention to the conversation, and he felt awkward until Rosslyn spoke up again.

“Very interesting, Adon. What was it you were trying to do?”

I used a burst of concentrated Mana as a projectile weapon, Adon sent.

Rosslyn raised her eyebrows high for a moment, then seemed to try to compose herself quickly. Even as she spoke up again, Adon could tell that she was surprised.

“How well did that work?” she asked. “I mean, how far did it go, how much damage did it do?”

It burned through some plants, Adon sent. Then it buried itself into the ground.

“You must have had a lot of Mana to even achieve that result,” Rosslyn replied. “For a baby butterfly—I mean, a larva—to be so destructive is impressive.”

I actually did a little damage to your rooftop another time, Adon admitted. I killed a crow.

Goldie’s body shook quietly, and Adon could tell that in her own mind, she was laughing.

“Well, I am glad the bird did not get to eat you,” Rosslyn said, shrugging. “Anyway, all of you are right. You need to change the affinity to get the best possible results. Using standard issue pure Mana produced by your body, unfiltered, is usually an inefficient way to accomplish something, unless your goal is simple enhancement. If you wanted to kill someone by pouring your Mana into them, you would have to use a lot of it, or you would have to heavily concentrate it, like Adon did with his attack. To heal someone without using healing magic specifically, you would probably have to empty your full Mana reserves, depending on how bad the injuries were. Fortunately, that is the only magical affinity that has become common in every region known to man. And to change the shape of a wall, rather than reinforcing it, without channeling a specific Mana affinity—” Rosslyn shook her head and frowned a little sadly—“is probably impossible.”

Impossible? Adon asked. Not just difficult?

“If you just pour power into something, there is no reason to think it will reshape itself according to your will,” she replied. “Reality is stubborn that way. It does not want to be reshaped. A wall does not want to become a door. It needs finessing, not a brute force approach.” She chuckled. “Well, a brute force approach also works, if all you want is an opening where the wall used to be. Otherwise, you need earth magic or something similar.”

Can we learn these affinities from you? Goldie asked eagerly.

“It would be better if you practice manipulating Mana around your bodies first,” Rosslyn said. She paused, then added, “That said, there is no reason for me to assume that life in the palace will remain as calm as it is now. I might as well give you something to practice in the event that you get a good handle on controlling the movement and concentration of Mana. I should say that I cannot teach you many affinities. Our family only possesses two affinities besides healing, and I can only share one of those with, um—people who are not members of the family.” She looked slightly uncomfortable.

Which attribute is it? Goldie asked, with what Adon thought was a very deliberate enthusiasm, intended to reassure the Princess that whatever she offered would be valuable to the bugs.

Rosslyn smiled. “Fire magic.”

She began to explain the basics as she knew them.

“The key attribute of fire magic is rapid motion. The tiny particles of Mana vibrating so intensely that they ignite flame. Once you achieve the right level of intensity, you can set objects afire with a touch. Even at a weaker level, you can superheat an object that you touch with this affinity. If the object happens to be a living thing—” Her mouth twitched as if she had remembered something amusing—“well, suffice to say that it can be an effective combat technique.”

I remember when you used it on the Vendetta Ants, Adon sent.

Fire magic is scary stuff, he thought to himself.

“Yes,” Rosslyn said. “Fire magic is one of the deadliest affinities that we know of. Our family’s other primary affinity, light magic, is also deadly, but it has limitations that fire magic does not. Light follows stubborn rules. For instance, you only get out the amount of energy you put in, whereas a small amount of fire can grow by consuming objects nearby.”

You mentioned setting objects on fire with a touch, Adon sent. That’s how healing magic works, I know. I’ve used it.

Rosslyn simply nodded.

But when you killed the Vendetta Ants with fire magic, you didn’t touch them, did you, Rosslyn? Adon asked.

“No,” Rosslyn said. “I did not have to touch them.”

How? Goldie asked.

“There is another ability that runs in my family. Sometimes it skips a generation or two. We got it from some distant ancestor, but very few noble families have it. Telekinesis. Moving objects with our minds. Mine is fairly weak, but I can throw my Mana around very easily.”

Wow, Adon thought.

“What might be encouraging, if you find that ability interesting, is that it is not unheard of for nonhumans, whether mystic beasts or monsters, to possess the same ability. If you can get it, Telekinesis is very useful. Even if mine is weak, it could still give me the edge in a difficult fight.”

Very interesting, Adon sent. Thank you for sharing that.

Rosslyn shrugged, and Adon thought she seemed slightly sad, or perhaps even guilty.

“It is not as though I am behaving selflessly,” she said. “If it helps the two of you grow, I think it will be a good investment for my country.”

I hope so, he replied.

Adon wished that he could take away some of the invisible burdens that Rosslyn was clearly carrying.