Mor and his human used the travel time to take stock. One for what they needed to find out after the more than unsatisfactory revelations of Lorelai. Thinking about it after the fact made clear to them that the spontaneous appearance was not helpful to their interests, which was more than assuredly Lorelai's intent. The second thing they needed to take stock of was their abilities. With their stay at the Ice-kin village and the mental stress Mor had been under, there was no calm moment to reflect on everything he had mastered and learned. However, while traveling back to Soul-kin territory, there was nothing for him to do except wait. Meaning it was as good a chance as he would get.

°So with what should we start?° The human asked.

°Well getting our shit together might be of greater importance?° Mor replied.

°True, and it isn't like we have no time. What did your mother say was the plan?° The human said.

°We're flying to Amethyst Isle because it is the closest, and right now, only the mandatory people should be there. The students are still on break after all. Dino will get us there, and we're using those secret royal teleporters to get to Diamond Isle.° Mor repeated what his mother had told him when they were out of sight of the glacial fortress.

°Makes sense. One, you're home faster, which is the positive. However, I think there is an ulterior motive because Dino is getting you. Meaning the Soul-kin society is still not or only partly informed of the possible body changes. Bringing Mirage also would not help because there are no such things as tame monstrosities.° The human stated.

°I want to repeat that YOU wanted to keep Mirage. I would have let it go.°, Mor stated in return.

°Don't be like this. In the end, you're glad we brought little foxy with us.° The human stated, and Mor had to concede the point because it was hard to argue against while petting the fluffy creature.

°Anyway, let's get back on topic.° Mor said deflectively.

°Right.° The human graciously agreed. °First, your reservoir has grown considerably. We need to figure out your true limits. Second, that pulse spell magic might have more use cases, so we need to keep at it. Third, your basic combat abilities also grew, so we need to know how long you can enhance your body.° The human stated.

°Well, finding out the limits should not be too hard. You know I have that intuitive ability to know how often I can use a spell, right?° Mor asked.

°Yeah, that's nice at all, but I really wish we had some kind of mana bar or another more direct unit of measurement.° The human grumbled. °All this X rock throws and Y lightning strikes are making my figurative head spin.°

°What is a mana bar?° Mor asked.

°Some kind of numeric depiction of how much magic you have left.° The human quickly explained.

°I see, but why don't we make one ourselves?° Mor asked. °You know, by giving the spells a numeric value, we can easily calculate my reservoir from that. I still don't see the full value in that, but if it helps you help me, then I see no reason not to do it.°

°You're right! It's that easy! For value, knowing how much magic you have is an advantage in a fight. This means that by paying attention, I can also know how much we've spent instead of always needing to ask you.° The human explained. °Also, we should know your magic recovery rate so we can plan long enough breaks to be ready for a new fight.°

°The last one is easy. Going from nothing to full is always three days.° Mor stated. °And for the rest, we can go with giving things numbers.°

°Yes. However, to be as precise as possible, we need your lowest cost spell as a base and work up from there.° The human agreed excitedly.

Mor took his time and pondered which of his spells might fit that description. It was, of course, one of the lowest tier, something one person might be able to do without tools and without too much effort. He then chuckled because he knew such a spell, but it was more like a prank spell. Its function was basically to extinguish a candle by using a gust of wind. It was something children were using to annoy one another.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

°Got one?° The human asked.

°Yes, extinguish-candle. It's more of a prank spell and not practical because blowing out a candle without using magic is far more efficient.° Mor explained.

°Well, it depends on the range. I can see uses for being lazy. You won't have to leave the bed to turn off the light.° The human said, knowing that magic lights were making that argument void.

°The range is no further than you can blow yourself.° Mor stated.

°I see.° The human said. °So let's make that one magic unit.°

°Indeed.° Mor agreed, using the spell to get a feel for it, then nodded. °Let's get started.°

Mor did as he had been thought and let his magic flow inside him. After a moment, he opened his eyes in shock. °Lorelai had not lied about my growth, ° he stated.

°What's the verdict?° The human asked.

°I did both the little air spell and the enhanced rock throw.° Mor said.

°Well good for you, but stop stalling.° The human complained.

°The last time we checked, our rock throw capacity was three hundred. However, we knew it must have significantly grown with our stay at the Ice-kin villages and our training. I mean, we were up to four to five lightning strikes.° Mor stated, still not getting to the point.

°However, I did not expect such a result. If we go by the extinguish-candle-spell as one magic unit, then the enhanced rock throw would be around ten. This means my full reservoir is now at over ten thousand magic units.° Mor said, disbelieving. °One thousand and twenty-four rock throws. To be exact.°

°Wait, you more than tripled? I mean, doubling would have been great, but more than three times in just over a year?° The human asked, and Mor just nodded. °Also, what's up with that number? That can't be happenstance.°

°How so?° Mor asked.

°It's something from my world, a common binary number.° The human said.

° I see another strange thing. Still, I get why Lorelai said Dino, and my father must have noticed my growth. Even Mom should have noticed such an improvement.° Mor stated.

°True, something to ask those three. However, we don't know if a thousand is much for them,° the human cautioned.

°Easy to find out.° Mor said.

"Mom, do you know how much your wind affinity reduces the cost of your spells?" Mor asked his mother out of the blue.

"You mean in comparison to others?" She asked, and Mor nodded. "Well, the highest wind spell I can use is lightningstorm, but only once. Still, I know that kin without a wind affinity must double up to invoke that spell. So I guess about half?"

"Then can you tell me how often you can cast extinguish-candle?" Mor asked.

"That prank spell?" Sophie asked. "Why?"

"I want to know something," Mor said.

"If it helps you," Sophie replied, then thought for a second. "Adding my spent magic power from flying about 200.000 times? Not sure because it is such a low-demand spell."

°So her magic unit is around 100.000!?° The human said. °I see why so many people are scared of her. Comparing it to what you can do with a tenth of it is scary.°

"So why did you want to know?" Sophie asked.

"I told you about my visitor, right?" Mor said, and Sophie nodded with a frown on her face. She didn't like that whole thing, but she had decided to trust her boy.

"She told me that my growth was unnaturally fast because I cleared the ritual for the Ice-kin, and the stronger Soul-kin should have been able to sense that growth. But neither Dino, father, nor you have said anything about that to me." Mor explained.

"Really?" Sophie asked. I noticed you got more power, but it was about time, and I was only happy that you were finally growing again. I mean, there is nothing wrong with the way you are. I love you no matter what, but I'm still relieved that you will be able to hold your own against adversaries whenever I'm not around."

"So you didn't think it was strange?" Mor asked.

"No, you're my talented boy, after all." She answered with a motherly smile.

°Well, that was somehow expected.° The human stated.

"Thank's mom," Mor replied.

"No problem, sweety, anytime," Sophie stated, returning to concentrate on flying again.

°It might have been expected from her, but father and Dino will not get off so easy.° Mor decided. °At least Dino must have noticed but kept quiet. And I want to know why.°