Raela was in a rather sorry state. She was biting down on her lip so hard that blood trickled freely down her chin, and she was positively drenched in cold sweat. Her nose itched something fierce while her eyes were somehow both watering up and painfully dry at the same time. Then there was the absolute state of her lungs and legs, which felt like they were on fire after spending the last three hours running endless laps around the guild grounds. Such aches were nothing compared to her hands, which were actually on fire thanks to the burning golem-shaped lump of wood she was holding.
“Gnnnnrrrarg!”
The young lady let out an extremely unladylike grunt as she reached her limit and tossed the flaming sculpture aside. It clattered across the floor of the tomb-like stove chamber and crumbled to smoldering pieces. Raela similarly collapsed to her knees and urgently plunged her grilled hands into a bucket full of a transparent, jelly-like substance. A sigh of relief escaped her dry throat as everything below her elbows went completely numb and a refreshingly cool sensation crawled up her arm and into her chest. This feeling of relief wouldn’t last long before the chill intensified to the point of making her teeth clatter, but in that instant it was pure bliss.
“Thirty six points.”
Not even Fifteen’s emotionless assessment could bring her mood down.
“By the way, what do those points even mean?”
Raela had been wondering about that ever since these agonizing exercises started, but she usually had bigger concerns on her mind. That she could calmly ask about it now was a sign that she’d gotten rather used to her new routine over the past week.
“I am grading your performance.”
The initial answer was, as usual, both factually accurate and functionally useless.
“Sure, but how are you grading me?”
“I count.”
“Count what?”
“Nothing in particular. I start when I ignite the statue and stop when you drop it.”
“… That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“Seems kind of… I don’t know… arbitrary?”
“Mhm.”
“Wouldn’t an hourglass or a clock do the same thing, but better?”
“Mhm.”
“Then why bother?”
“It motivates you.”
Raela groaned. There was no denying that it felt nice to beat a record, but that triumph was soured by the revelation that the points were made up and didn’t actually matter. Her mood promptly worsened further from the intensified chill of being elbow-deep in Slimotrax-B. It was one of several compounds derived from various species of gelatinous monsters collectively called slimes. When the spreading numbness reached her shoulders, she pulled her arms free and shook off any residual jelly. As feeling returned to her limbs she was assaulted by a persistent tingling sensation that she could feel all the way down to her bones. The intense pins and needles would gradually fade over the next ten-to-fifteen minutes, but the slime-derived compound had already worked its magic. Though her hands and fingers were wrinkled from the freezing moisture, there was barely a trace of the horrible burns that covered them just minutes ago.
“Any issues?” Fifteen asked.
“No, mistress,” Raela curtly replied.
“I told you to stop calling me that.”
“And I will, once you stop treating me like a slave.”
“I never have.”
“Then what do you call this?” she waved her tingling hands around.
“You follow my instructions of your own volition.”
“It’s not like I have much choice.”
“You can quit at any time.”
“Ugh…”
The girl groaned again. Raela respected the Sage’s wizardly wisdom and arcane abilities and had gotten used to the aloof act and communication issues, but that personality of hers made it impossible to have a normal conversation. From the apprentice’s perspective, the sorceress was a bossy know-it-all with a deep hatred of losing. She always had to have the last word no matter the topic. At least, that was how she was when it was just the two of them. It was possible she acted differently in public, but the girl had yet to see any of that since the two of them didn’t actually spend all that much time together.
Fifteen had a rather hands-off approach to Raela’s training. Every morning she’d give her a bunch of tasks and exercises to complete, then she’d go off to do her own thing until it was time for her endurance training. Even then all she’d do was light something on fire for Raela to hold then read quietly in the corner of the stove facility. The girl was the one who always had to strike up any actual conversation, and they all turned out like that last chat. Wait, hold on. Now that she thought about it, the apprentice realized something was different about that last exchange. For once it had been Fifteen to speak first. Why was that?
“Are we doing something special today?”
The sorceress glanced up from her novel in mild surprise. She hadn’t expected Raela to discern that much already, and the girl in question almost fist pumped in triumph when she saw that reaction. She held it in because the last time she acted out like that she was heartlessly told that if she had the energy to goof around then she should run another lap.
“We are. Once your arms recover we’ll do some conjuration practice.”
“Yes!”
This time she couldn’t contain herself and threw both hands up in celebration. Even though it had been a week since her apprenticeship started, Raela had done nothing but run, read, and get burned. There was nothing magical about any of it. Granted, studying books certainly seemed wizardlike, but all of the titles were dreadfully mundane. Nothing but academic texts and technical manuals that related to combustion in one way or another. That knowledge would obviously be useful for an aspiring pyromancer, but Raela was dying to do some actual magic. She was tempted to practice it in secret, but was expressly forbidden from conjuring so much as a spark without her mentor’s say-so. That made absolutely no sense, but much like the pointless scoring of her endurance tests, there was sure to be a practical reason behind the ban. She just hadn’t bothered to ask since she trusted the Sage would enlighten her when the time came, plus she kind of liked the mysteriousness of it all.
Once the tingling in Raela’s fingers had fully subsided, Fifteen stopped leaning against the scorched wall and reached for the burlap sack on the ground. The soot-covered bag rustled and clattered as the sorceress fished out one of a dozen crappy statuettes. This particular article was a fair bit larger than the others. Usually these carvings were small enough to serve as decorative ornaments on desks or shelves, but this one stood tall enough to reach the woman’s knee. Its shape was rather curious as well. It looked like some kind of knight standing at attention, yet had the head of an animal. Hard to tell which one since the craftsmanship wasn’t exactly stellar. A donkey, most likely. It was the first time Raela had seen or heard of such a creature, but she couldn’t help but feel it was oddly familiar.
“Mistress, what kind of monster is this?”
“Just something from my nightmares. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay… Anyway, what do you want me to do with it?”
“Throw your fire at it.”
“And how do you suppose I do that?”
“You’ve never tried?”
“Didn’t have the chance.”
Because she was almost always under supervision by her family’s servants, the only time and place Raela was able to secretly practice her conjuration was in her bedroom late at night. She was so scared of accidentally starting a house fire or being found out that she didn’t dare do anything more than that pilot light she showed Fifteen before.
“Then it’s time to learn.”
“Alright!”
Though Raela was pumped up more than ever, there was a sudden and awkward silence as both ladies looked at each other expectantly.
“Uh… So how do I throw my fire, exactly?”
“You just do it.”
“See, that really doesn’t help me,” she got a bit frustrated. “Isn’t there some, like, mental image or magic words I need to say?”
“Those are for spells. Conjuration is about feeling.”
“Huh. Alright, I’ll give it a shot!”
Like before, she held her arms out as if holding an invisible ball and summoned a steady orb of flame in the space between her palms. It came out so quickly and smoothly that it actually startled her a bit, but she managed to keep it from fizzling out. She then thrust her hands forward only to have the flame stretch out and vanish as if it were snuffed out by a strong wind. Raela was disappointed but not discouraged. She tried the same thing and, unsurprisingly, achieved the same result. Same for the third attempt. No signs of improvement. The apprentice turned to look up at her mentor, but she neither said nor did anything. She just stood there, watching intently with that piercing yellow eye of hers. Fifteen clearly expected her to figure this out on her own, so it was somewhat awkward to ask for her help.
“I could really use a hint or something,” the girl did so anyway.
“Don’t overthink it. Throw it naturally, like a stone.”
“A stone, huh?”
She’d never done that either, but chucking rocks certainly seemed simple. She glanced around the floor and stepped aside to pick up one of the charred remnants from the last round of endurance training. It was still hot, but not so much as to hurt. She pulled her arm back and lobbed it across the tomb-like chamber. She grabbed another piece and did it again, this time with a bit more force. Raela grabbed a third chunk and walked back to her previous spot, then threw it at the weird carving. It missed, of course, but she wasn’t particularly trying to hit it. The apprentice closed her eyes and reached down with the same hand. There was nothing for her to grab, yet in her mind she certainly grabbed something. She then repeated the earlier motion, and heard a distinct fwoosh followed by a sizzling crackle. By the time she opened her eyes, there were only a few fading sparks still floating in the air.
“Did that work?”
Fifteen nodded.
“Yes!” Raela cheered.
“Again.”
She didn’t need to be told as she chucked her flame again, this time with her eyes open. The fist-sized lump of fire fizzled out just short of hitting her target, though it would have missed regardless since her aim was so off.
“Again.”
“Y-yes!”
Raela wasn’t given a chance to assess her failure as Fifteen’s firm tone made her spring into action. It was almost a conditioned reflex at this point. She pulled her outstretched right arm back and used the other to make another attempt. This one also missed, though at least it flew far enough to crash against the wall just behind the statue.
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“Again.”
“Yes!”
Changing hands once more, Raela’s third flame-toss was another miss, but it certainly felt cleaner. More solid, for lack of a better word.
“Again.”
“Ey!”
Whether luck, talent, or practice, the fourth attempt actually struck the wooden dummy in its chest. As before the flames dispersed like a splash of sparks before fading completely. It would seem there wasn’t much ‘oompf’ behind it since the timber showed no signs of igniting. Not just yet, anyway.
“Again.”
“Hiya!”
Raela was nevertheless emboldened and was already mid-swing when Fifteen repeated herself.
“Again.”
“Hup!”
This was incredibly fun. She wasn’t even sure why she was making those noises, but she couldn’t help herself.
“Again.”
“Ey!”
She’d dreamed of this sort of thing, even before that chance encounter with the Sage of the Sands. Real, tangible power was at her fingertips. Something truly her own.
“Again.”
“Ha!”
Sure, she’d been doing wild magic in secret for months, but being able to finally give it a purpose felt like scratching an itch that had been there since she was born.
“Again.”
“Aye! Huh?”
Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to do much before she suddenly found herself unable to conjure any more fire. She tried a few times more and was sure she was doing it right, yet not even a spark came out. Also, was it just her, or did the stove get awfully cold all of a sudden? It wasn’t as bad as that burn medicine, but the chill was still strong enough to make her hug her shivering shoulders once she noticed it. At that point she realized this wasn’t just a nip in the air. It felt like it came from somewhere in the pit of her stomach, like she’d just swallowed an entire bowl of ice.
“You’ve exhausted your inner fire,” Fifteen clued her in. “Remember this feeling. It’s a sign you need to stop using magic for a while.”
“And if I d-don’t?” her teeth clattered a bit.
“You will pass out and possibly die from hypothermia.”
It was a term that Raela was unfamiliar with until a few days ago when she saw it in a medical journal detailing the effects of extreme high and low heat on the human body. Honestly, a lot of that stuff was pretty gruesome, but it was certainly better to be aware of it than not.
“I undersst-t-tand.”
“Good. I’ll make you some tea to feel better, but first.”
“Ow!”
Raela couldn’t help but flinch and squeal in pain as Fifteen suddenly pulled one of her hands away from her shoulders. She really didn’t use all that much force, yet her palm stung something fierce. Looking down at it, she was shocked to find it covered in bright red patches of skin. She’d seen these kinds of relatively minor burns far too often to not instantly recognize them for what they were. She checked her other hand and confirmed it was in a similar state.
“Bucket. Wrist-deep.”
Incidentally, Fifteen was the one to apply Slimotrax-B to the girl’s burns at first, but found it was too much of a hassle, so the bucket quickly became a staple training tool.
“Y-yes, Mistress…”
“And stop calling me that.”
The girl did as instructed without engaging in the usual back and forth. She was still flabbergasted. How could she injure herself this much and not realize it? Was there something wrong with her? Her worries must have shown on her face as Fifteen promptly addressed them.
“This is normal. Your nerves dull as your body adapts to your inner fire.”
“Ah.”
Now that she mentioned it, Raela had noticed that her hands weren’t as sensitive as they used to be before this grueling apprenticeship started.
“Will they go back to normal?”
“You don’t want them to.”
“I suppose not. Is this what that endurance training and weird medicine were all about?”
“No. This was going to happen regardless.”
Humans were never meant to have magic of their own, so it was inevitable that its practitioners would experience some growing pains. Fundamentally, it was no different from swordsmen developing calluses. Fifteen’s approach certainly accelerated the dulling process, but that was merely a desirable side-effect.
“Then why did you make me hold all those burning statues?”
“To overcome your fear of fire.”
“… I see.”
Though Raela herself wasn’t sure when it happened, at some point she became more concerned about having to run extra laps than the literal child abuse she was subjected to. It was only natural. The burns faded almost instantly thanks to the slime treatment whereas the physical exhaustion would exhaust her for the rest of the day, possibly longer. Thinking back on it, it didn’t even occur to Raela that she should check if those burned pieces she was throwing around were cool enough to handle. Pain was still scary, but there was no doubt that she’d overcome her instinctive aversion to fire. That realization left her feeling a bit conflicted about her mentor’s methods. On one hand, they were certainly effective, and clearing that mental hurdle was surely the reason why her wild magic flowed much easier. Raela was thrilled that her apprenticeship was already showing tangible progress, yet she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that she’d just been brainwashed.
“That’s long enough. Here.”
At Fifteen’s behest, she pulled her re-healed hands out of the slime bucket and took the offered cup of tea. When and how the sorceress brewed up the piping hot beverage was both a mystery and irrelevant as the girl took her first mouthful, only to immediately spray it all over her mentor.
“Koff, koff! I’m so sorry, Mistress! I didn’t– Koff! I didn’t mean to!”
“It’s fine. I should have warned you.”
The sorceress was clearly annoyed at her sullied attire, but she had only herself to blame. The drink wasn’t just steaming hot, but also quite spicy and a bit bitter, which was what really caught Raela by surprise.
“What kind of tea is this, anyway?”
“Ashplume. From my homeland. It will rekindle your inner fire. Sip it slowly.”
The girl did just that while her mentor tried to wipe off the brown smudges. Thankfully she was still wearing her hydrophobic raincoat so they came off quite easily. If these had been her usual yellow robes – the ones designed to absorb and retain alchemical oils – then there was a chance the ashplume tea would permanently stain them. That herb was notoriously potent no matter how it was used. As for the flavor, it left much to be desired. It wasn’t disgusting or undrinkable, but definitely unpleasant. After a few small and careful gulps, Raela was certain she’d never get used to it. On the bright side it did indeed prove effective at soothing the uncomfortable chill in her belly.
However, as she nursed her hot-in-many-ways drink, the apprentice couldn’t help but look at the donkey-headed knight with disappointment. This was the first time Raela had ever launched her flames beyond her arm’s reach, and that felt great. Yet despite landing a few direct hits on something as flammable as wood she still failed to ignite it, which didn’t feel so great. Was her magic really so weak? Or was she simply not applying it correctly? Bit of both, perhaps? It took a certain amount of energy for solid timber to start burning, after all. That was why things like kindling and lighter fluid existed. While her magical output wasn’t great by any means, the fact that her hurled flames dispersed into sparks at the point of impact wasn’t helping. She needed to figure out a way to either raise the intensity or duration of her conjuration.
“Mistress, I’d like another go at the target.”
Raela had almost finished her tea and felt strong enough to give it at least one or two good shots.
“No need.”
“But I feel like I can properly set it on fire this time!”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? Isn’t that the point of this lesson?”
“No. This is to exercise your inner fire so it grows stronger, like a muscle. Let it rest for the day.”
“I… I see. I apologize, Mistress.”
“For the last time, stop calling me that.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to, but my tongue slipped. Seems it’s already become a habit, Mistress.”
The sorceress sighed silently and went back to reading her book while Raela smirked mischievously. She was using that word on purpose precisely because it made the older woman feel uncomfortable. It was the girl’s way of getting back at the Sage for all that endurance training or desensitization or whatever she wanted to call it. Sure, it served a purpose and produced results without permanent damage, but holding all those burning statues was painful as hell, not to mention scary. Yet even a sheltered child like Raela was bound to get used to it after doing the same thing five or six times a day for an entire week.
“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, but when did you find the time to carve all these?”
The apprentice didn’t exactly have a place to stay – she ran away from home with nothing but the adventuring outfit she’d thrown together in secret and a handful of silver coins – so she’d been bunking with Fifteen in the dorms. Despite sleeping in the same room, Raela never saw her mentor practice her supposed hobby, nor did she find traces of it. No raw lumps of timber, no woodcarving tools, no smelly varnish, not even a stray splinter. And yet about forty of those statuettes had been burned to nothingness before her very eyes and there was still an entire bag’s worth of leftovers. Where the hell did they all come from?
“I didn’t. I paid some children in the church’s care to make them.”
“Really? A miserly coin-pincher like you?”
This wasn’t just Raela’s warped opinion as a former noble or her rebellious side flaring up again. Having lived with Fifteen for a while, she was left with the distinct impression that the sorceress was incredibly stingy. All her stuff was incredibly cheap and bought in bulk, from staves to clothing to food. Only her adventuring gear looked to be of decent quality, but even her trademark yellow robes gave off a worn and frayed impression from up close. The utter lack of luxury and class stood out like a sore thumb in the eyes of the former noble, though Raela swore to herself she’d never complain about her new lifestyle. Not only was she mooching off her mentor, but these circumstances were the result of her own decisions. Even so, she couldn’t help but get a bit prickly now and then.
“I am not miserly. I am frugal.”
“But why, though? Didn’t you just get a huge reward? Surely you can at least afford some real food instead of just hardtack and jerky.”
The girl was there when her mentor received a giant bag of coins from the scary receptionist lady just a few days ago. It caused something of a stir within the guild, so she overheard some details from the onlookers.
“That money’s gone.”
“Already? How?!”
“I ordered a new leg. It was… expensive.”
“Oh. I see.”
Come to think of it, she did hear the sorceress liked to frequent some big shot artificer’s shop, but her spartan living conditions cast doubt on those claims. It was reassuring she was actually spending the coin instead of letting it go to waste by hoarding or gambling, but that still didn’t answer Raela’s original question.
“But if money’s really so tight then why waste it on these things?”
She gestured dismissively at the ass-headed knight statue, though that one was probably carved by Fifteen herself since it supposedly came from her nightmares. All the other ones were shaped after monsters she had already seen in that encyclopedia she came across while secretly looking for books on magic in her parents’ private library. There was obviously no reason for nobles to have arcane texts lying around, so that encyclopedia was the closest she got to achieving her goal. In hindsight, whoever made those carvings probably followed the illustrations and diagrams within, given how strangely familiar they looked. That also implied Fifteen had to buy the orphans that book, which was another unnecessary expense. Surely simple blocks of wood would have served just as well since they were all going to get reduced to ash and cinders anyway.
“It is not a waste. I am giving those children a chance to develop practical skills that will secure them a job when they are older.”
Raela couldn’t help but smile a little. It was reassuring to hear that, for all her antisocial tendencies, Fifteen was a kind person deep down. Granted, the church’s orphanages were never struggling for funding, but more coin and learning opportunities were surely always welcome. Lastly, there was one other benefit to the woodcarving arrangement that she had yet to consider.
“Also, it’s more fun to burn monsters than logs.”
“No argument there. Though, if we’re done for the day, I’d like to make a selfish request.”
The sorceress didn’t say anything, but she looked up from her novel to indicate she was listening.
“The spell you used to cook that cockatrice back then, could you show it to me again?”
“I don’t mind, but which spell was it?”
While that incident might have been a defining moment for the young lady and she no doubt remembered it vividly, it had been a routine occurrence for Fifteen, so some of the details slipped her mind.
“I’m not sure. I couldn’t hear your incantation at all since I was inside the carriage, but I remember you made a beautiful glowing circle on the ground and blasted the monster with this huge burst of fire that practically made it disappear.”
Well, that narrowed it down for sure.
“Alright. Stand behind me.”
“Yes, Mistress!”
Raela was so excited that her tongue did in fact slip that time, but the sorceress didn’t seem to notice the embarrassing nickname. Her mind was already in work mode. She positioned herself near the entrance of the twenty-meter wide circular stove chamber, directly opposite her intentionally unflattering rendition of Brother Tacitus. She grabbed one of the training staves the guild often left here and tapped its bottom against the stone floor, invoking the amplification ritual circle tattooed on her back.
“This is so cool!”
The apprentice was peeking out from behind her mentor as instructed and didn’t even bother to contain her amazement. She also didn’t question if it was safe to be standing in a magical formation meant to agitate and draw out one’s inner flame beyond its usual limits, mostly because her power was so immature that the effect on her was minimal. The same obviously couldn’t be said of the ritual’s invoker. She instantly started emitting a roaring campfire’s worth of heat and dense black smoke that wrapped around both herself and the girl clinging to her raincoat, but Raela didn’t budge. The entirety of the girl’s attention remained fixed on the questionable carving on the other side. She didn’t want to miss a single moment of this.
“Ignum expulso fortis decantus dionis.”
The stone chamber was rocked by an eye-blinding, ear-splitting, breath-stopping, bone-rattling explosion. Most of the scorching winds and choking fumes kicked up in its wake flew upward and outward through the facility’s enormous chimney. The residual heat was so intense that the light rain drizzling across the guild grounds stopped for a few moments while every window in the facility rattled ominously. It was an impressive amount of thunder for a fire spell to say the least, though the one who requested it was in no condition to formulate any words.
Being so near the source of the tremendous blast, even with Fifteen shielding her from the bulk of it, Raela was left completely overwhelmed. She could only stare blankly ahead with mouth agape, eyes wide, tears flowing, and chest gasping for air. The sorceress felt as though she might’ve overdone it, and not just because of the girl’s extreme if satisfying reaction. The training staff and the statue were obviously gone, but it would appear she’d also wrecked a significant portion of the stove’s inner wall. Again. She’d probably get a stern reprimand from Daisy after, but Fifteen couldn’t care about that right now. She’d been so preoccupied with arranging things for the girl’s training and their upcoming expedition to Vigil Valley that she hadn’t had much chance to let her inner fire out for real, so she felt quite refreshed right now.
As for Raela, this was the moment that would define which aspect of her pyromancy she wanted to focus on in future. She felt it six months ago when she first encountered Acolyte Two-Fifteen, and this demonstration confirmed it.
There truly was no problem that couldn’t be overcome with a big enough fireball.