As it would seem that trying to absorb the pinnacle of spellcasts with a beginner’s spell would take more time than probably the lifetime of the planet, Marissa and I returned to our original endeavor, practicing each other’s spells.

Our little debate, while it wasted a share of my mana, allowed us to take a well-deserved rest. Marissa also filled her mana pool thanks to this, and to be honest she was the one who needed it the most.

“I’m going to do it one more time.” I told her, while she was carefully inspecting me.

“Okay.” Marissa responded with a concentrated look and a firm nod.

I slowly spellcasted the arcane version of Slow Fall. It wasn’t to show her the intrinsic structure of the spell, that was already well documented in the grimoire, but to allow her a better image of it.

We were now trying wizardry, not the all-reliant imagery of sorcery, lest it did not mean that not having a solid concept of the spell was a negative. The world’s greatest artist still needed a reference, so to speak.

I stood up and climbed my chair, I looked down at Marissa. Slow Fall wasn’t the most perceptive spell to the eye, so I had to be a little more proactive. Instead of jumping, I just let myself fall down by taking a step forward.

While Marissa already had a crystal-clear image of her Slow Fall, mild currents of wind that helped her landing, I wanted her to understand the difference between my Slow Fall and hers. She needed to see how I was affecting my own acceleration, reducing the speed and force of the fall, rather than manipulating air to help me descend.

“I… I think I got it.” Marissa doubtfully affirmed.

“Try it again, then.” I sat once more, caressing my left ear.

I couldn’t understand the logic behind it, but elemental affinity had an effect on the learning of the specific spell’s element. I can get behind the idea of more affinity equals more mana efficiency, but why could having more affinity to something make you better at it?

Hmm… Well, when I phrase it like that, it did make a lot more sense.

Either way, it was a well-known fact that the higher the affinity of the spellcaster, the higher their proficiency with that school of magic. This was why I could spellcast four different arcane spells at my age of this caliber, when Marissa was at a more solid two three-star spells. But I felt I was cheating because Mana Vacuum and Mana Pond were pretty similar, and Arcane Chip was the stronger version of Magic Chip. I honestly believed Marissa’s efforts had a lot more merit than mine.

I could notice the mana flowing around her, she was mid-spellcast by the looks of it. Mana Pond’s mana control did help on following Marissa’s steps on the spell formula. She was obviously spellcasting it slowly, not risking any failure or mana leakage. A conjuration which would take seconds to me, she was taking minutes. Then again, it wasn’t a bad thing. Practice made us progress forward. Never backwards.

Magic, whether it was sorcery or wizardry, was based in mastery, after all.

Marissa’s manaflows were correct, and I could perceive with detail the inhalation and exhalation of residual mana. It didn’t mean I had a remote idea what was going on her spellcasting, I could only assume in which part she was at by the consumption of mana.

While magic seemed like a science, a subject worthwhile of a study, I hated when it did things without any foundation or apparent sense. Magic had rules, yet they were sometimes contradictory. If you understood the spell at the most intricate detail, therefore by logic, you should be able to cast it. Yet that didn’t happen because of one’s affinities.

“I did it!” Marissa’s exclamation snapped me out of my trance. “I believe?” Her celebration was short lived, though.

“Hmm…” I inspected the spell, at least, the visual part. “You indeed spellcasted it, but something is falling. It’s unstable. Hop a bit, let’s see if it works.”

Marissa stood up and did small jumps around the table, her feet contacting the ground after a few hundreds of a second of delay.

“As I feared.” Marissa stopped to look at me. “Slow Fall isn’t working every time, only sometimes. Look at the bright side, we’ve made some progress.”

“But I spellcasted it, didn’t I?” Instead of being deflated by the spell’s malfunction, Marissa boasted her accomplishment.

“Yes. Yes, you did.” I congratulated her, and subconsciously patted her head.

“Then, now’s your turn.” She responded with a sweet smile, her icy blue eyes sparkling as they reflected the light created by the Mana Pond.

I couldn’t hold a sigh after her words. I had an advantage of imagery over her. It is difficult for a child to understand the concepts of gravity and acceleration, even if they know what they are and experience it constantly. But a breeze? That’s an easy thing to imagine.

Marissa and I had the same affinity in Arcane and Air, respectively. Mediocre, to say the least. So, we were tied in that aspect. I could only beat her in raw spellcasting. Which, to be honest, wasn’t a complicated matter. There were plenty reasons why I greatly preferred it over sorcerer’s casting.

Mana flowed around my body, I weaved it in tethers, mastery was none-existent, but patience was plentiful. Unlike the hyperactive Marissa, I could handle indefinite silence. Basic spellcasting formulae was instinctive to a point, I had almost everything done passively.

Actively trying to hold the spell structure gave a greater boost in its formation. I was wasting insane amounts of mana, it didn’t look like the efficient wizardry, but the wasteful sorcery. I didn’t care, if I spellcasted Slow Fall before my mana pool depleted, it was a win to me.

Subtle breezes formed around me, which I ignored. I couldn’t afford to lose concentration, but at least they gave me confirmation on the spell’s success so far.

I knew I could cancel the spell or release it already; it wasn’t required to have it done at the first try. Yet, I wanted to do it on my first spellcast.

A droplet of sweat trickled down my neck. “Done.” I taciturnly stated. My head spun around because of my own stubbornness. I didn’t know if it was because of mental exhaustion, or a byproduct of consuming such quantities of mana.

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I knew the spell was stable as a matter of fact. I didn’t bother with hops on the ground, I repeated the same motion of before, dropping down from my chair. I descended at the same speed I would do with the arcane variant.

Marissa clapped at my showmanship. “I’m not done yet.” I said with a smile.

This time I climbed the balcony’s wooden table, and I spellcasted the arcane counterpart, dual wielding the elements of the arcane and air to make the ‘Slower Fall’ as Marissa had called it.

I took a step forward, one foot out of the table. Another one was taken. There was no fall.

I began laughing like a maniac. “Slower Fall? More like Levitation!” Indeed, both versions of the Slow Fall spell synergized into something of greater power.

Marissa simply stood beside me with her mouth widely open. Her brain stopped functioning.

I waved my hand before the paralyzed Marissa. “Hello? Are you there? Marissa Farlon?”

Getting no reaction beside astonishment, I spellcasted a low-powered Magic Chip, its force equal to a finger prick. I shot the projectile at her thigh as to not hurt her.

“Oww!” She finally stopped gawking at my figure. “You can fly?!” I didn’t know if that was an exclamation, or an interrogation, but most likely, it was both.

“Sadly, no.” I took a step to the side, walking carefully on the air. I was waddling around the air, feeling like I was floating in water. The movement was clumsy and slow. “I am levitating. Or floating. I don’t know what’s the difference between them.”

“Can you do it indefinitely?” She circled around me, like a starving shark ready to eat its prey.

“I am afraid I cannot.” I shook my head. “I’m slowly falling to the ground, I don’t know how much time it will take, but I will surely fall.” I hadn’t truly tested it, but my instinctual control over the spells told me I wouldn’t just permanently levitate.

Unlike at my experiment when I stacked three Mana Ponds to boost mana regeneration, and instead of a triple increase to regeneration I measly got a unnoticeable increase; both Slow Falls stacked additively, not multiplicatively. I wasn’t falling half as fast as if I had spellcasted a Slow Fall upon another one, but the synergy had a multiplicative effect, slowing the fall tenfold. No, even more.

Hmm, I may have used some of the terms wrongly here. Even my eyeball math appeared to be greatly exaggerated. Meh, no one can criticize me in my mind except myself.

Baseless theory and rambling incoming. Arcane Slow Fall manipulated gravity, Air Slow Fall made ascendent air currents. The only logical explanation behind my pseudo-levitation was that I was very close to nullifying gravity. The effects of both Slow Falls were near exact to the gravitational pull of the planet, therefore simulating a levitating effect.

How did my calculations said that an overloaded Mana Vacuum couldn’t increase a quarter of a degree of water at room temperature, but with this low amount of mana defying gravity itself was possible? I was literally applying a constant acceleration to my body as to cancel the planet’s attraction, and yet I didn’t spend more than a third of my mana pool. A child’s mana pool at that.

Hello, universe? Where’s the principle of conservation of energy?

“Well, the next step is that you do the same.” I told Marissa, trying to ignore my sense of physics being broken. “First you will have to spellcast a stable Slow Fall. Then, you can try ‘Levitation’.”

“Yes!” Words were needless when you put pseudo-flying on the table. Marissa instantly started practicing the arcane spell.

I mean, present a child with a chance at flying and they would do anything to achieve it. Especially if it was as easy as… this. Edrie, relax yourself, this is magic, magic ignores physics. Just… ignore it.

I took a deep breath and enjoyed an instant of zen transcendence. When my feet touched the ground, that illusion was broken.

“Excuse me for a moment. I have to consult something.” I said to her, even if it fell on deaf ears. ‘Fell’, ha! Good one.

I entered back home and directed to my father’s office. The living room was empty, mother probably went shopping at the market. I knocked several times on the door until I heard a ‘come in’ from beyond it.

“What do you want, Edrie?” Father asked, taking a sip of his teacup. He was currently examining some blueprints from one of his inventions.

“Can you come to the balcony? It’s better if I show it to you there.” I suggested him.

“Sure. Can you give me a minute, son?” I nodded as he grabbed the fountain pen.

I left his office and waited for a couple of minutes outside until father came out. I motioned him with my hand as to follow me to the balcony, there we found Marissa still practicing. She was unable to make the spell stable.

“So, I created a new spell?” I told him. He responded by frowning his eyebrows, not believing what I was telling him. “Let me show you.”

More minutes passed as I couldn’t spellcast the air variant of Slow Fall as fast as the arcane one. Father waited patiently, examining Marissa’s spellcasting. He also noticed the instability of her spell.

I finished both spellcastings and climbed on top of the table. “This is what I wanted to show you.” I took two steps forward then I began levitating. Father’s eyes shot wide open as I stood a head above him.

“What’s happening here?” He asked even though he just saw what I just did.

“I spellcasted the arcane Slow Fall on top of the air one and suddenly I didn’t fall anymore.” I waddled my arms around a bit. Staying upright was a rather tricky maneuver.

“Hmm.” Father scratched his chin. “Are you telling me that both spells synergized to create a better version?”

“Yes?” I responded with doubt. “I supposed you would know the answer.”

“I do, indeed. Spell synergy is something that happens, but people don’t go around trying every single spell with each other.” Father repeated the same motion Marissa did before, circling around me and admiring my figure. “One of the most know synergies are Fireball and Shatter Earth which make a makeshift version of the Lava Shock spell. Synergies are normally used to create a high-star spell with lower ones. Or maybe combine it with another mage to make new spells. Either way, because of their rushed nature, synergized spells are always weaker than the real ones.”

An interesting prospect. I doubted Air and Arcane had a lot of synergies, but useful, nonetheless. Air and Fire would have probably been a better combination, but I was afraid I couldn’t dictate my own innate affinities.

“What you have here is not the Levitation spell, but a considerable downgrade.” Father explained, he continued examining me. “Levitation lets the user move around freely, and it doesn’t make them fall. Still, it’s noteworthy how you managed this feat.” Father patted me in the head, which was a bit awkward because I was as tall as him at the moment.

“Do Arcane and Air have synergies?” I asked already fearing the results.

“Not many that I know of, or none at all. This may be the first one I’ve heard of.” Father looked at the sky, as if searching for answers. “Arcane is known for not being compatible with other elements.”

What a way to sunder one’s mood.

“Wait, I phrased that incorrectly.” Father hastily corrected himself. “Arcane is compatible with all elements, unlike others that actively disrupt each other, but the synergy between them is atrocious. What you managed here is either a miracle or a lucky coincidence.”

What’s the difference between them, honestly? The Lady of the River finding me and reincarnating me was a miracle or a lucky coincidence?

“Yey!” Father and I were startled by Marissa’s cry. We honestly forgot about her. “I made it!”

She indeed had managed to spellcast the arcane variant of Slow Fall.

“Well, you know what you must do now.” I told her and she instantly got up on the table.

Unlike the arduous process of spellcasting a spell you weren’t familiar with, Marissa only took a few seconds to conjure her Slow Fall. She fearlessly took a step forward and jumped in the air. Out of reflex I grabbed her so she wouldn’t fall. A fool errand as she was coated with two Slow Fall spells.

“Hehe.” She giggled on my arms.

Father also looked at us with a grin plastered on his face. “A miracle, then.” He snored. “Well, I will leave you, children, playing around.” He gave us his back and returned to his office. “Don’t get hurt!” Was his last message before closing the door.

I was feeling pretty cheeky about this event. Two children floating in the air under the gaze of the sun. I would have preferred the moon’s embrace.

“Marissa Farlon, would you grant me this dance?” I roguishly asked.

“Of course, Edrie Nightfallen.” She said between giggles.

It was awkward and awful. We couldn’t move around, as if trapped in the air, our movements sloppy. Clearly the arcane Slow Fall sluggishness overtook the freedom the air Slow Fall granted. And yet, we couldn’t stop laughing as we performed our awful and unstable dance.