"Magic refers to the conversion of mana into natural or unnatural phenomena," the now 3 year old Tara read aloud from a large book in her lap. "The actual application of magic can be divided into two parts; activation and manifestation," she couldn't contain her excitement as she continued reading. "Activation refers to how the user initiates a spell that leads to magic occurring. Users tend to activate magic through either intuitive activation or formulaic activation. Intuitive activation happens when the user is able to execute magic spells without the need for a formulated spell. Intuitive users are those who excel in matters of concentration and have vivid imaginations. A deep understanding of the final product of a spell is necessary to accomplish a spell safely when using intuitive activation. Alternatively, formulaic activation refers to a spell the has been quantified into a combination of words and/or numbers. The quantification of magic, while lacking in power, leads to a broader use of magic as well as lessening the stress on the user. Neither method is inherently better than the other, but one must spend time figuring out which of the two they are more suited for."

Christoph walked into the library while carrying a tray of snacks and drinks. "To think my little girl would be able to read so quickly, and she's showing interest in magic! I'm probably the happiest father in existence!" Although Tara was a bit annoyed by his appearance, she was quite appreciative of the snacks that he brought in. Christoph set the tray down next to Tara. He proceeded to pick her up, book and all, and placed her on his lap. "Do you mind if your father joins you in your studies?" asked Christoph. "Yes, I do," thought Tara. "Okay," Tara said as she tried her best to sound like the child she was. Tara continued to read the large book, "The next step in the magic process is manifestation. There are a multitude of ways the manifestation process occurs, for now we will focus on three in particular. The first one will be internal enhancement. This refers to the act of the user covering their body in excess mana to increase specific abilities. The most common use of this is to increase one's physical strength. Next is the creation of natural phenomena. Through the utilization of mana, the user can create elements such as water or fire. The construction of such elements is highly dependent on a number of factors that affect the power and speed in which the element is created."

"You know, I was a high ranking mage who excelled in natural phenomena," Christoph interjected. "In fact, your mother and I met after I joined the military and served under her command. She was the daughter of a viscount and I was just a normal citizen with an affinity for combat magic." Tara stared at her father. She had heard this same story dozens of times already. Christoph would tell her all the time about how the pair fell in love after getting lost in the field together. "I'm studying right now," Tara interrupted his monologue. "Oh, you're right my darling, continue on," Christoph felt a bit let down by Tara's words and got up to leave. Tara sensed that she had hurt him and decided to leave him with some parting words. "I love you daddy." Christoph was visibly touched after he heard her. He smiled and left the room in silence. Tara now had plenty of alone time to continue her studies.

"The third manifestation process that we will talk about is enchantment. Many things can fall under the tree known as enchantments, but it all stems from placing a spell, or series of spells, into an object. That object will usually be some type of mana dense material that can store spell code. Once completed, the object can be implanted into things such as golems or machinery to bring them to life. Do note, that while not impossible to create enchantments via intuitive activation, formulaic activation tends to be the more sensible route due to the complexity of enchanting an object to move independently."

Tara became tired of the tedious explanations presented in the book. All she wanted to know was how to start using magic herself. Her impatience got the better of her and she flipped through the book until she found the training section.

"For a user to actually use the mana in themselves and in their surroundings, they must first develop mana wells. The mana well is used to contain mana inside of the user, much like how a bowl holds water. Once the user is ready to use magic, they will draw the mana from their mana well as fuel for their spell. Construction of the initial mana well involves the insertion of foreign mana into the user's body. This can be accomplished through either another user or the ingestion of a mana rich material. Technically, users who were born with higher mana sensitivity can directly take in mana from their surroundings to create their first mana well, but the mass majority of users must use the prior tools to awaken their sensitivity to mana. Regardless of method, once a mana well has been formed, mana can be absorbed from the surrounding to store into the mana well."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Tara had a suspicion that she might be someone born with higher mana sensitivity. Since she awakened in this world, there were times she felt tingling sensations when in the proximity of objects that were engineered with mana. If she was right, she could start the process to create her mana well at anytime.

Tara read on, "After the user awakens their mana sensitivity, they must visualize the creation of the mana well. This step is completely dependent on the user's own interpretation of what a well should look like. When they have finished their visualization, the user has to draw the surrounding mana into their well. Once completed and a well is fully formed, in theory, the user can now start the construction of spells. In actuality, until the user grows both the size and amount of mana wells inside of their body, the user will be unable to use higher tiers of magic."

"If that's all I have to do, I can do this today." Tara thought to herself. She placed the book to her side and closed her eyes. She sat in silence and started to visualize what she wanted her well to look like. An image formed in her mind. It was the image of a battery. A large battery the size of a 3 story building came to the forefront of her thoughts. She imagined sparks of electricity pouring into the battery from it's top. As she imagined these things, the mana around her began to vibrate and draw into her body. More and more mana poured into her as she continued building her mana well. She was even able to draw mana out of some of the magically engineered objects near her.

The room began to shake as the completion of her mana well was in sight. Christoph and Ava ran into the room to identify the source of the shaking. They entered as soon as Tara completed the construction of her mana well. They could visibly see particles of mana floating around the 3 year old Tara. It was like she had been covered in a blanket of bright lights as they drifted in and out of her body.

"I did it!" Tara yelled out. She opened her eyes to the astonished look of her parents staring down at her. "Ava, are you seeing what I'm seeing? Did Tara construct a mana well? At just 3 years old?" Christoph asked his wife. "Honey, I think that's exactly what we're seeing. Our little girl is truly a genius!" Ava couldn't contain her excitement. "She just might be the youngest person to ever become a mage. As soon as she's old enough, we must enroll her into the academy. Who knows what kinds of things she will be able to accomplish." Ava said as she ran to hug her daughter.

"Academy?" Tara questioned aloud within her mother's embrace. "Yes, my darling. Saint Agatha Academy, a school for nobles with prospective careers in magic. They have the best resources in the Empire to nurture talented young mages."

"They're gonna send me to a school?!"

Tara thought about how restrictive a school would be. She always imagined leaving the house as soon as possible to become an adventurer. She wanted nothing more than to fight powerful enemies and get stronger and more famous along the way. Going to a school would severely cut into her time to fight demon lords and dragons. None of her dreams had ever involved a school filled with people telling her what to do. Before Tara could protest, Christoph dropped a figurative bomb on her, "Ava, I have something to tell you. Before Tara was born, I spoke to a professor I know at the academy. They agreed to allow Tara to enroll there, regardless of her aptitude. That means Tara is basically already enrolled!"

Ava got up and hugged Christoph. The two became lost in their own world as Tara sat in disbelief. This was the second time in her life that her plans had been thwarted before they could even truly manifest. Except this time, they were squashed before she could even formulate one.

Tara took a deep breath. She decided right there to spend her days in intense physical and mental training before the age in which she would be sent off to the academy. She thought that if she became strong enough, her parents would have no choice but to allow her to do what she wanted. "I'll spend the next however many years it takes to become the strongest person in the Empire. There's no way this won't work!" It wouldn't be until Tara's 18th birthday that she realized just how wrong her assumptions were.