Arc 5: The Heart Within
Road to a Hero:
Three chances in another world
Chapter 7. English Class
Gray wakes up a little early and begins to get ready for the spirit boot camp. He puts on his jacket, shoes, jogger, and ties his hair into a neat bun at the back of his head before he walks out of the house. And not forgetting to kiss Rosemary on the forehead before he does so.
Gray {That…was rough…I need to make sure she’s okay, but she needs to rest and I need to get as strong as I can before we take back Walgonia….wow I never thought I would say something like that.}
He thinks and mutters to himself while walking in the snow. Though, he stops for a second to see his breath in the air, and releases it.
Gray {I should see if I can get more clothes made out of similar materials. Because the clothes here suck.}
After reassuring himself for a moment he continues walking to Gordons' training grounds and sees all the Leviathan soldiers practicing. He then walks up to a meditating Ryo and sits down beside him.
Ryo: “Are you ready to learn your spells?”
Gray: “Yep, you said I was gonna learn and practice with... El-Cenic, and two other spells right?”
Ryo: “Exactly right.”
Gray has always loved the idea of magic and superpowers. The idea of doing something impossible. And he can perform those impossible acts due to the extraordinary circumstances he currently finds himself in. But with some bad luck, he cannot do most types of magic. But with Ryo's guidance Gray can at least learn spells that he can comfortably use, without hurting or killing spirits.
Ryo: “The first spell that I want to teach you is the most dangerous.”
Gray: “Is it an attack?”
Ryo: “It is a power increase, which you can give to yourself or your allies.”
Gray: “Oh, so a buff. What makes it so dangerous?”
Ryo: “First of all, it isn’t a proper spell. I spent a lot of time researching spells, until I crafted this. And before I tell you how to do it, tell me the basics of magic."
It was a hefty question that a lot of people would struggle to answer. Not because it was difficult to find knowledge on but completely the opposite; there was so much to know that forgetting something about it far transcends not knowing it at all. However Gray Kyojin was not only born in an entirely different realm but also hasn't been informed of such things in high detail, or in much detail at all. So he pulls in ever situation he's been in and heard of and allows it to fall out of his mouth.
Gray: “Uhhhhhh, I don’t have a finite answer but with some inferences and experience. Every body has mana, the stronger the connection. You can then be born with an elemental ability, absolute affinity, or a mark of providence, but if you're not, you're outta luck. I'm pretty sure that fire magic is “Ig” spells, water is “Wig” spells, and earth is “Dig” spells. Then things like “Num” are balls “Ignum” is a fireball and so on. And I think “Al” is like a shield or wall.”
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Ryo: “Excellent. Now, do you know what “Ic” means?”
Gray: “Um…I know “Cenic” and “Satic” both have it at the end…but I don’t know what “Ic” means.”
Ryo: “Essentially “Ic” means spirits make the mana go around. So I made a spell called Knightic, which uses the "ic" suffix."
Gray: “Okay, so the prefix depends the type of power and the suffix changes the application of such."
Ryo: “Great! You know more than you let on. Now, when you use Knightic on yourself, spirits will strengthen your body for some time. But when it’s over your stamina, mana, and physical strength will drop drastically. You can also use it on your teammates who suffer from the after-effects.”
Gray: “That’s gonna be useful in the raid. And the other one?”
Ryo: “This one is a pretty simple spell that I didn’t make. It’s called “Walnic”. To put it simply, it’s just a shield made out of mana.”
Gray: “What kinda shield? Like it looks like a normal shield, or it’s like a half dome or something?”
Ryo: “It’s better if you use it yourself.”
Gray: “Didn’t you want me to use Knightic first?”
Ryo: “I want you to practice with Knightic the most, but it doesn't matter which one you use first.”
Gray stands up and shakes the snow building up on him off of his body.
Gray: “Now what do I do to use Walnic?”
Ryo: “Put your hand out, focus mana into it, and cast it.”
Gray: “Alright!”
Gray stretches his hand out, focuses his mana, and shouts.
Gray: “WALNIC!”
A solid, clear, curved, light blue shield forms in front of him. He notices the shield is connected to his hand, feeding mana from Gray into the shield.
Gray: “Looks like the normal magic shield. But I can’t move my arm.”
Ryo: “That is due to the strength of the shield. The more mana, the stronger the connetion. And the stronger the connection, the stronger the shield. And since it needs more mana it needs to connect to you.”
Gray: “And I assume with better control the easier it will be to make a strong shield, and I’ll be able to move?”
Ryo: “Pretty much.”
Gray stops the flow of mana and the shield disappears. He shakes his head and readies himself to use another spell.
Ryo: “Are you ready?”
Gray: “Hope so…KNIGHTIC!”
Gray becomes overwhelmed by a sudden influx of power. He gets coated in an aura of golden spirits and throws a punch. The punch picks up a bit of wind, blowing the snow away. He feels something dangerous approaching his head, so he ducks. He moves forward so he can get a good look behind him to see Ryo sheathing his sword.
Gray: “HEY! What the hell!”
Ryo: “Sorry, just testing. And I would have stopped my strike if you weren't gonna move. I see your reflexes have gotten better.”
Gray: “Yeah I guess…but this power increase helped a lot. How long does this last? Because I like this feeling, it’s like I’m made of iron, and yet I’m lighter than air.”
Ryo: “Because I made the spell, and not the spirits, it forcibly uses half of your current mana amount. Though because you're not an expert with mana control, it may not pay off in the way it should. So if you used it while you had almost no mana, the strength it gives you would be the same if you used it if you had all of your mana.”
Gray: “So I just wasted a bunch of my mana?”
All of the spirits quickly exit Gray's body, leaving him writhing in pain. It takes him a few seconds for the pain to wear off and he can stand. He immediately falls on his back and sighs happily as the cold snow acts like ice on his wounds.
Ryo: “Now for the final spell.”
Gray: “Yep…gimme a sec first…”
Gray jumps up on his feet and casts the last spell.
Gray: “El-Cenic!”
A massive amount of black smoke swirls around the two, completely taking all of Gray's senses away.”
Gray {What…the hell…can’t…see…can’t…think….can’t do….anything….”
Gray begins to feel light-headed and almost falls unconscious. But he bites his lip, overloads himself with mana, and proceeds to try and punch the smoke away. But to no effect, the smoke continues to swirl around him, keeping him consumed until it suddenly stops moving and fades away. He then falls on his back again and gets a sudden headache due to the return of his senses. He tilts his head up to see Ryo sitting down, completely fine.
Gray: “What the hell was that!?”
Ryo: “That was the enhanced Cenic. You haven't mastered the base form of Cenic, so I don’t see you being able to handle El-Cenic for a while.”
Gray: “Normally people just strike the air and make all the smoke go away. But the smoke just kept on moving so it just returned. So the sense nullification, the constant movement of the smoke, and just the pure amount of smoke is a heavy upgrade. It’s almost a completely different spell.”
Ryo: “I’m glad you like it.”
End of Chapter Seven