Still at four seconds. Am I just not cut out for this?

“You didn’t have to hide, you know.”

I glance over at Cruel who managed to find me in this thick forest.

“I just didn’t want you to see me like this.”

“Like what? Someone taking magic seriously?”

“Like someone obsessed.”

She looks at me with sympathy.

“Wanna hear a story?”

I don’t even bother responding and just let her start.

“I knew someone back then who started learning magic at about your age. It never felt like that was the case, though. He had all the talent in the world.”

“Thanks, that makes me feel better about myself.”

She’s irritated by my sarcastic comment.

“Let me finish.”

“Alright.”

“I was in that man’s party at one point. I knew him very well. He was truly gifted in the way of magic. He could do almost anything better than anyone else.”

I’ve never heard her sing someone’s praises before. She must have a lot of respect for this person.

“Eventually, however, he kicked me out because of a disagreement we had.”

“Oh…”

It definitely feels like she anticipated my reaction.

“Quite a while later, something came up. His party came face to face with a villain who threatened to destroy the world. Everyone thought this would end like any other exploit of his. Everyone thought that he would rise up to save the day. They all thought wrong.”

“What happened?”

“A symbol was etched with flames onto the continent. A lot of people lost their lives. The man failed when it counted the most.”

I can’t really see how this is going to uplift me. I’m just getting more depressed hearing that.

“Do you know why I’m telling you this?”

“Why?”

“It doesn’t matter if you have a talent for magic or not. I don’t care if you’re the best or worst mage in existence. What I want from you is to not fail when it counts. That’s it.”

The following day, I get taken to a pond complimenting the forest stillness.

“Alright, these next lessons go hand-in-hand, so we’ll be going through all of them today. You’ll be learning to control and create something everyone’s familiar with: water.”

“Wait, multiple lessons at once?! Isn’t that a bit too much?”

“Nonsense. You’ll be fine. Before that, however, you’ll have to learn how to shape your mana. Focus your mana and think of it as a bubble forming on your palm.”

I shape it into a ball, but it pops in an instant.

“Keep trying. Pure mana is actually very sensitive when it’s not sticking to your body. Not only that, but you’ll have to work fast because you can only focus for four seconds.”

A few more tries, and I manage to barely keep it from bursting.

“We’ll come back to that later. For now, put your hand in the water and feel it. Remember it. Remember how it looks. Remember everything you can remember about it.”

I do as she says. I reach my hand out to the pond. It punctures the flat surface with slow and spreading ripples. The water itself feels like a wet breeze dragging my hand towards random directions. Looking into the water was like peering into an otherworldly recreation of the surface fusing with the bottom of the pond. Then, I focus on its scent. I smell an overpowering aroma akin to eggs beyond their time.

“Think of a portion of the water as an extension of your hand, then focus your mana on it.”

I picture how having water for hands would look. It seems kinda ridiculous.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Take your hand out of the water.”

As I lift my hand from the pond, I notice some of the water following. Once it’s completely out, I see water forming random shapes around my hand before it all falls back into the pond.

“That’s what we call manipulation. You manipulated water to stick to your hand. Try it again and give it shape."

On the second attempt, I form an almost perfect dome of water on my hand.

“Now I’ll teach about force. This part of magic is completely separate from what you’ve learned so far. It is directly tied to your mental strength. The doctor used this on you last time if you still remember. Aim your hand at a nearby tree and think of pushing the bubble you formed.”

I still do recall what the doctor did. It didn’t feel like a gust of wind or anything similar to that. It actually felt like I was pushed by a giant’s hand. I envision that as I have a go at it.

The ball of water fires out of my hand like a cannonball from a cannon. It nearly destroys my chosen tree.

“That was quite the performance.”

I see a shocked expression on her face. Was that really something noteworthy?

“The average first-timer wouldn’t have been able to reach even half that distance. The speed’s also remarkable. You’ve managed to surpass even adepts in that regard.”

I feel something: something I haven’t felt in a while. I feel actual gratification. It feels as if all of my struggles this past week have been worth it.

“Let’s move on. For the last lesson, I’ll teach you about creation. Open up your hand and think of water spewing out of it.”

I feel my hand get wet. After that, I see my mana dripping from my hand. It wasn’t mana anymore. It disappeared instantly.

“The closer it is to the real thing, the longer it lasts. Give it a few more tries before we move on.”

I give it a good five tries before she tells me it’s good enough.

“Do what you did before, but with the water you’ve just created.”

This part is kinda tricky. I run into a lot of complications such as the water disappearing too soon or my bubble popping. I try for quite a while until I end up with this weirdly-shaped ball that’s a little long on some sides made up of water. The water’s as still as the pond.

I shoot it at another tree. It does just about the same amount of damage as before.

“They both do the same thing, but one takes a lot more effort than the other. You need to carry around some water around you and only resort to creation when you have no options left available. That’s all for today. Go get some rest.”

I drop to the floor. I was too sucked in by the magic to realize how drained I’ve become.

I then hear some clanging coming towards us. It must be Dryn with the stuff Cruel wanted him to get. She gave him some of our magic stones to sell or trade for things we can actually use to fight with.

“I heard an explosion. Did you encounter them?”

“No. It was all Soren. I’m quite shocked myself.”

She gestures to the tree..

“Astounding. You say he only started a week ago? That’s unheard of!”

I think my face is red. I scratch my head while processing the slew of compliments I’ve been getting.

“Oh, right. Here are the items you’ve requested.”

As I thought, Dryn comes by carrying a bag and a halberd. He tosses the weapon over to me.

“It’s heavy.”

I can barely carry the halberd. How do people fight with this?

“Really? I found it to be sufficiently lightweight.”

Cruel takes it from me. She waves it around better than I ever could.

“It’s lighter than anything I’ve handled before.”

“Ah, that’s to be expected. We’ve discovered lighter metals than the ones from your time.”

Dryn is stricken with pride.

“Pretty impressive.”

“And here’s the rest.”

He hands over the bag.

“The hell’s this?”

The fairly large bearded man rudely comments on the contents of the bag we were just given.

“Supplies. This is all that our employer gave.”

Of course I can count on Rod to deal with this like a professional.

“Is this a dagger? Aloe vera would’ve helped with my blasted back itch better!”

“They’re all yours. We have our weapons.”

The man didn’t take kindly to Rod’s words. He shakes the entire tavern standing up.

“You dare dump this hodgepodge of rubbish on—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Rod throws a punch that causes the gigantic man to fall and quake the place a second time.

“Listen here, you fat piece of shit. You have more in common with that bag than you’ll ever know. Now, I suggest that you keep that gaping hole of a mouth of yours shut or I’ll have to be forced to cut out some extra baggage.”

Off goes professional Rod. By that, I mean off he goes flying because the other man counters with his own punch.

“I WON’T STAND FOR THIS! YOU’VE INSULTED THE MIGHTY ELVA! FOR THAT, YOU MUST DIE!”

This is getting a little too heated. I’m gonna have to intervene.

“Guys, come on. You’re making a scene.”

I try, but they don’t listen. As expected, all of their senses are off. All they have to go by now are their primal instincts.

This doesn’t look good. Everyone else in the tavern looks to be joining in soon as well.

Then, we all feel an immense amount of mana coming from outside. This town’s located directly under the demon king’s symbol, and they’re still able to unleash such a terrifying amount. It could only be the guy who gathered us all here. One of Lady Marga’s apprentices: Ran of the east.

“All settled?”

He commanded total attention from us. Nobody in the room has the guts to stand up to this man. He’s on a completely different level to anyone here.

“I’d recommend resting up. We’re heading out soon. Our targets are more than likely in the nearby forest.”