Chapter 20: Magic Training[2]

After debating on it for a little bit and asking Viola for tips, I decided to make this attack wind based. Not only would it be hard to see, but it would be extremely effective. After all, it was essentially traveling in its own element. Once I created this skill, I would also attempt to gain air magic. Viola had suggested that I try leveling up more of my magic skills so I could use different strategies in battle. And if I kept on leveling up air magic when I got it, I might even be able to fly.

Walking out of my earthen house, I looked for a suitable area to train. The ground I was standing on had cracked tiles and various patches of earth sticking out. If I cut my foot while I was training, my concentration would be ruined, making it harder for me to create a spell. Luckily I had a solution for this. Placing my hands on the ground, I manipulated the earth until most of the area around me was flat. I kept on pouring my mana into the ground until I couldn’t see a single bulge or blemish in the ground. Once that was done I sat down and began to meditate.

After all of my mana was restored I began to think. What I wanted was a long ranged wind attack. The problem with doing this was that there were several ways I could go about it. For instance I could create a wind blade that I could launch, a wind bullet that would devastate my enemies, or even create a ball of air that could suffocate my enemies. There were just so many options to choose from. But which one should I choose?

Right now I was leaning towards the launchable wind blade. The reason for this was because I had already created a wind blade. Therefore making the spell this way would be easier than the other ways. After concentrating on my arm for a few seconds, a wind blade appeared. Since I was so close to the wind blade, I could see how it distorted the air around it. Once my enemies saw this distortion, it would be far too late.

Now that I had created a wind blade I needed to figure out how to launch it. If I was able to do this, my wind blade would become even more fearsome in battle. My opponent would be hard pressed to dodge my wind blade if they didn’t know I could launch it. Just jumping back to dodge my strike would no longer be an option. If they did that, I could easily launch my wind blade and kill them.

With an intense gaze I studied my wind blade. My mana was the only thing that was stopping my wind blade from dissipating. The moment that it left my hand, my wind blade would simply vanish. I needed to figure out a way for my wind blade to last without a continuous supply of mana. If I didn’t I could kiss a launchable wind blade attack goodbye. Hmm, this would prove to be quite challenging.

In order to make a launchable wind blade, I first needed to understand it. The way I made a wind blade was by combining my mana and the wind. Once they were together, I formed them into the shape of a  blade. After I did this, I would constantly supply my mana into the blade so I could keep it together. Using it on a weapon was quite similar, but it wasn’t the same. The spell still worked the same, but it was still two different methods. Maybe I could create the spell using the other method instead of the one I was using now.

When I made a wind blade on my weapon, I put a small bit of my mana into the spell. I then gathered the mana and the air from the surroundings to fuel my blade. By doing this I was able to save more of my mana than I usually would. It wasn’t that much, but it was better than nothing.

Sticking my hand out in front of me, I gathered my mana into the shape of a ball. Once that was done I began drawing the air around me into the ball I had created. A couple minutes went by as I attempted to combine the two. Once my mana and the wind were combined I began drawing mana from the air. In order to do this I needed to use some of my mana to sense where the mana was. The moment I could feel the mana around me, I began pushing it towards the ball that was in my hand. My eyes narrowed unconsciously as I began the process of combining the three.

Ten minutes later my mana, the air, and the mana around me was combined. I was forced to rely on my concentration skill in order to keep the ball together. My mana and the mana in the air didn’t want to combine together. However I wasn’t asking. They would stick together whether they liked it or not. Now that I essential had a wind ball in my hand, I needed to figure out how to launch it. I needed to be careful to because if I messed up, I would have to do all of this again.

By manipulating my mana, I was able to mold my wind ball into a cylinder. I kept on doing this until it took the form of a wind blade. But the more I pushed, the more unsettled the ball became. If I wasn’t careful it might…..But before I could finish my train of thought, the ball of wind exploded in my hands.

I gritted my teeth in pain as my body flew back from the force of the blast. As my body rolled painfully against the ground I gulped several breaths of air. That blast had forced all of the air from my chest leaving me with none. The experience was painful to say the least.

Picking myself off from the ground, I walked back to the stop I was at previously. Although the explosion hurt, it wasn’t as bad as the time I got injured with the bat. My eyes were forced to widen as I glanced at where I was before. In the spot I sat stood a big dent in the ground with various gouges decorating the side of it. What? My face scrunched in confusion. Was creating a spell always this dangerous?

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As I fixed the ground Viola decided to take a good amount of distance away from me. She had been on my shoulder previously when the blast went off. We both ended up flying in the air but unlike me she had wings. Therefore she ended up flying in the air safely while I tumbled across the ground. After I fixed the ground, I once again resumed my sitting position. This time however I was concentrating solely on my spell. I did not want to suffer another attack like that one again.

Placing mana in my hand, I repeated the previous processes until I had my combined wind ball. Although the process still took me around twenty minutes, it was slightly easier than before since I knew what to do. Manipulating the ball slowly, I forced it to take the shape of a blade. Although I say blade, as I molded the ball, it began to look more like an arrow. Whenever I felt like the ball was going to bust, I would wait a couple of seconds before resuming. Blowing myself up again wouldn’t accomplish anything.

After a few minutes of concentrating, I had a shivering wind blade against my hand. Unlike my previous wind blade, this one wasn’t connected to my arm. Raising my right arm slowly I aimed toward a distance wall. I didn’t need to figure out how to launch it since I assumed it was the same process as my earthen spike. Pushing more mana into my spell, I ejected it away from my hand as quickly as I could. My spell went soaring through the air and hit the distant wall in just a few seconds. Before I could examine the wall it hit, a blue box appeared in my vision.

Skill Gained!

Wind ArrowSkill Type: ActiveSkill Rank: CommonSkill Level: 1Exp: 5%Effect: Allows the user to create an arrow of wind that can attack distant enemies.

Thanks to an hour of hard work, I had gained a long ranged skill. I probably should’ve had a type of skill like this a long time ago but oh well. I had it now and that was all that mattered. Swiping the blue box away, I walked over to the wall I hit. I wanted to see just how powerful my attack was.

After walking a couple of feet, I arrived in front of the wall I had damaged. A long hole now adorned the cracked sewer wall. Rather than creating a clean hole, my attack had created several cracks along the path it took. The only explanation I could come up with was because my attack was quite unstable when I launched it. If I was able to stabilize it, my attacks would be more accurate. But what would happen if  I kept on making my wind arrow unstable. Would I be able to launch it before it exploded? If I could it would be one hell of an attack.

Once I was done with examining the wall, I sat down and began to meditate. By absorbing the mana around me, my mana bar was soon completely filled. As I sat down with my legs crossed, I concentrated on the air around me. After a few minutes of doing this, I realized that this process was easier if I had my eyes closed. After I closed my eyes, I began the process of understand the element of air.

Time flew by as I immersed myself in the element of air. What exactly was air? Without it we would die yet there were still plentiful amounts of it. Wind could be calm such as a cool summer breeze. Yet it could also be wild like a tornado. What made it all the more dangerous was that it was everywhere. The only other places it wouldn’t be were in the other elements. It would be quite a challenge to look for air in the middle of the ocean.

As I thought of this, a small patch of wind began to swirl around me. Whenever I needed it, it would be there. Although you couldn’t see it, it was always there. It stood there poised, all powerful, just waiting for a moment to strike. When I used the air to attack, I wasn’t using it to its fullest potential. This was because I didn’t understand the element. But how could I? There was just so much of it and so many mysteries that I couldn’t even begin to fathom. Yet I still had to try.

Unlike the element of earth, the air was free. It could move to and fro with just a thought. The earth was plagued to stay in one place while the element of air valued freedom. It just wouldn’t allow itself to be contained. The more I understood, the more the wind around me quickened.

Taking a deep breath, I immersed myself in trying to understand air. Was the air always like this? Or did it change because of the change in the world. I felt as though the air was sentient. Sentient and ancient. I tried to understand more about what was around me, but my mind wasn’t capable of fathoming it. Not yet. I would to train up my air magic in order to understand more.

Opening my eyes, I watched as the air around me began to swirl in a mysterious pattern. Infusing my mana into the air, I felt myself combine with the air. It was only for a second, but it was enough. I now understood what I needed to know.

Wind….no air. Air could be harmless one second and then deadly the next. It could protect and it could harm. It could be a blessing on a hot summer day, or it could be a curse in the dead of winter. The choice was up to me. Whatever I needed it could become. The moment I thought this a blue box appeared in my vison. I had finally gained air magic.