As it turned out, magic circles were both easy and difficult. They were easy in the sense that, conceptually, they were straightforward to follow. Those complex hand movements you perform to cast most spells? Simply draw that pattern in the circle, and you’re done. Want to cast it outward instead of on the circle itself? Draw an arrow from the center of the circle to the edge in the direction you want it cast. Super easy.

The challenge, however, came from the precision required. I hadn’t quite expected it to be this precise. Every line needed to be perfectly straight, every curve flawlessly smooth. Even the slightest deviation could weaken the spell or cause it to backfire.

Despite my prior experience with calligraphy, this level of exactness was harrowing. It demanded unwavering focus and a steady hand, qualities that tested my patience and skill to their limits. Each attempt only brought me a little bit closer towards creating a functional magic circle. However, after a week, I had my first success.

I had been practicing by the same river where I had cast my first spell, as it provided ample seclusion for me to work in peace. I decided that my first spell would be Light Orb, given how simple its motion was to draw; it was simply a circle. Plus, Light Orb isn’t a damaging spell, so there’d be no risk of recoil damage on failure.

For days, I had meticulously drawn and redrawn the circle, each attempt not even coming with a satisfying ‘poof’ upon failure.

“Just one more try,” I kept telling myself in frustration, like when you’re dying to a boss in a video game but don’t want to concede, even though you really need to go to bed for school the next morning.

Today, though, felt different. As I completed the final line of the circle, I thought, “This has to work.”

I closed my eyes and began to channel mana into the circle. As with most spells, I could feel my body heat up and a force pulse into my hands.

Please, let this be it, I thought.

Sensing a faint light, my eyes flew open.

“It’s working!” I shouted, my voice filled with a mix of disbelief and excitement.

The Light Orb hovered above the circle, emitting a soft, barely visible glow. I couldn’t help but laugh and collapse onto the ground.

“I did it! I actually did it!” I shouted, punching the air.

After a few moments, the Light Orb began to fade away as the mana supply ran out.

----------------------------------------

It took the better part of a month to progress from a single success to achieving near-perfect accuracy in drawing magic circles. My plan, as it turned out, had been spot on. I started by drawing magic circles three inches in diameter. As I mastered each size, I gradually moved to smaller and smaller circles. Now, the circles I can draw are no more than half an inch in diameter, perfect for the beads of the necklace Edgar had given me.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

I had long settled on the spells I would imbue onto the necklace. It had 21 beads, a lucky number in this world. I decided that at least half of them should be offensive magic, in case I ever needed to defend myself. To that end, I split them evenly between offensive and other types of magic.

Six beads were imbued with Firebolt, which, after a few years of practice, now resembled the flame of a torch and packed a serious punch. Another six were set to Spark, which felt like getting hit with a strong static shock. It wasn’t much, but it would certainly knock the wind out of someone. Two more beads were dedicated to Minor Illusion, which would help if I needed to run away from someone or something. Another two were imbued with Mana Shield, useful for fighting another mage.

At this point, I had five more beads to slot spells into. There were still quite a few fundamental spells I hadn’t mastered, some of which were extremely useful. It made sense for three of these beads to be used for Energy Sensing, allowing me to detect magic users around corners or in hidden areas. The remaining two beads were designated for Healing Salve, simply to play it safe.

With this, I was ready to confront Ophelia.

I had trekked back to the adventuring guild, correctly assuming that Ophelia would be drinking away her woes.

“Miss Ophelia, I’m back! I believe I’ve found a good reason for you to teach me,” I exclaimed.

She had been eating a pretzel-like snack, which she immediately snapped in two at the sound of my voice.

Ah, right, I said the no-no word.

“Apologies, teacher, I meant no offense,” I said, trying to brush off my mistake.

“So?” she replied, clearly annoyed.

I took off my beaded necklace and plopped it onto the table in front of her.

“This,” I said.

She picked up the necklace and began to examine it.

“Hmm…”

After a few moments, she exclaimed, “Whoa! Are these magic circles drawn onto each bead?”

“Yep! There’s a spell written onto each of them. Say you were getting ambushed—casting a spell regularly would take too long, right?”

She nodded.

“So it only makes sense to have a single-use item like this that you can throw at a foe.”

“You’re not wrong, kid. Nobody’s thought to use magic circles like this before. What gave you the idea?”

“Honestly, I just hated having to say the channeling phrase every single time.”

“Hah! I bet you could make a killing selling something like this…” Her voice began to trail off, lost in thought. Snapping out of it, she said, “But that still doesn’t answer why you want to become a mage.”

“I thought the answer would be clear: I want to develop a new form of magic.”

“Huh?! Kid, this work here is magnificent, but it’s still only applying known knowledge in a new way.”

“I know.”

“So how do you plan to invent something new?”

“No clue yet. But I know what it is I want to create, just not how I’ll get there.”

Ophelia glanced back at the necklace and said, “So, you’re aiming to enchant the necklace itself, right? That’d let you channel mana and cast spells repeatedly.”

“Exactly!” I said, beaming back at her.

“Well, kid, I’d call you crazy, but you’ve already created something worthy of worldwide recognition. So, I believe you’re serious about this.” She mulled it over for a moment before continuing, “Alright, I’ll train you.”

A smile erupted on my face. “Really?!” I exclaimed.

“Yes, really. But this won’t be easy, you understand?”

I nodded.

“You’re going to wish you were dead at times, clear?”

I nodded again.

“Alright, head on home for now. I’ll let Fyona know that I’m going to be training you.”

And just like that, I was now on my way towards officially becoming a mage!