Nearly two weeks had flown by in the blink of an eye.

On this day, as usual, Severus was tutoring Lawson magic in Lily's room after lunch.

Thanks to the handsome profits from selling paintings these past days, the middle-aged wizard was in an exceptionally good mood, and his gaze towards Lawson was much gentler than it had been initially.

Lily kept a close eye on them at all times, which also greatly increased Severus' tolerance for the boy.

After all, one couldn't afford to get on the wrong side of the Galleon.

"Master, I think I'm starting to get the hang of the Spellhand technique. Last night, I managed to lift a feather using it," said Lawson excitedly, as if he had accomplished some incredible feat.

Lily couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Lawson, I bet you just blew that feather up with your breath. There's no way you lifted it with magic yet."

Lawson immediately argued, "No, I definitely used the Spellhand to grab it!"

"Why don't you try again now and show me?" challenged Lily.

"I can't, I used up all my mana," Lawson replied awkwardly.

"See, you just blew it up with your breath!" concluded Lily triumphantly.

"You..." Lawson was about to retort when Severus interjected.

"Alright, that's enough, you two!"

Severus sighed inwardly. 'It's been almost two weeks and the boy still hasn't mastered even the Spellhand. He really is as dull as a bag of rocks!'

He recalled how Lawson had slipped into deep meditation right away at first, leading Severus to believe he might be a natural talent in magic. How mistaken he had been!

Seeing how the boy's face was flushed red from embarrassment at having his claim doubted, Severus gently reassured, "Don't be discouraged, lad. I can sense you're close to getting the Spellhand down."

"Yes, Master! I'll keep working hard," declared Lawson, pumping his fist as if psyching himself up.

Then he eagerly asked, "Master, once I've learned the Spellhand, can I use it to grab rocks and throw them at people to hurt them?"

Severus was taken aback. "Throw rocks to harm people? Where did you get such an idea?"

Lawson gave an 'innocent' smile. "The other day, I saw a guard shoot a thief in the leg with an arrow. So I was wondering if I could do something similar with magic."

Severus was aware of the incident but thought nothing of it. He laughed amiably, "A reasonable line of thinking, but not very practical in execution."

Lawson looked at him curiously. "Why not?"

"That involves more advanced magical theory which I can't fully explain yet," said Severus evasively.

"For now, just understand that while magic originates from imagination, aimless and unrestrained flights of fancy will only lead to chaos and disaster."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"A stable and safe spell must be built upon rigorous logical frameworks..."

He was interrupted by the bedroom door suddenly swinging open as a neatly dressed woman rushed in. She whispered something urgently into Lily's ear.

Lily's expression shifted subtly. She waved the woman away, "Wait outside for me, I'll be right there."

Turning to Severus, she said, "Something urgent has come up and I need to step out for a bit. Please continue your lesson."

"Go ahead," said Severus indifferently, but Lawson noticed his eyelid twitching uncontrollably several times.

After Lily hurried off, Severus was visibly distracted.

Sensing an opportunity, Lawson immediately pressed, "Master, what did you mean by rigorous logical frameworks?"

"Oh, that involves a field called 'geometry'. Using geometrical principles, we can construct intricate spell frameworks..." Severus caught himself. "But why am I telling you this? Such knowledge is far beyond your current level."

Yet Lawson gave him no time to think, asking straightaway, "Then Master, how can I throw stones far away?"

"Well...that requires the caster to have exceptional elemental affinity, say for fire or wind, preferably both in combination."

"Of course, dual affinities are a mid-to-high level technique, far beyond your capabilities right now... Listen Lawson, that's enough for today. I'm rather tired and need to rest."

With that, Severus swiftly got up and left the room before Lawson could respond.

Highly unusual behavior, both from Lily and Severus today.

Hearing the door close next door, indicating Severus had entered his room, Lawson's mind churned. He stealthily crept to the peephole and peered at the mirror on the wall, adjusting his angle until he could observe the other room through his adventure log.

Soon he saw Severus rush to a cabinet in the corner, fling open the second drawer, and take out a crystalline vial containing deep blue liquid that shone like sapphire.

Severus uncorked it, downed the contents in one go, then opened the third drawer and retrieved a hooded cloak embroidered with silvery threads.

Donning the cloak, he waited briefly as the silvery threads began glowing faintly. After several seconds, the light around the cloak started warping and rippling like disturbed water.

Amidst these optical distortions, Severus's figure completely vanished!

No, not vanished - just turned invisible.

Lawson saw the door open and close again, clearly someone slipping out. He tiptoed over and pressed his ear against the door, holding his breath. Sure enough, he heard soft footsteps hurrying away.

Lily had left abruptly after receiving urgent news, and it seemed Severus knew something about it, hence sneaking out under an invisibility cloak.

It didn't take much thinking to deduce Severus had likely followed after Lily.

But where were they going? And why the sudden urgency?

Lawson had no clues, and lacked the capability to investigate further. For now, the safest course of action was to feign ignorance and stay put in the inn room, watching how events unfolded.

Having decided this, Lawson set aside his questions and focused on practicing the Spellhand.

Contrary to appearances, he had successfully used it the very night itself, and by the next day, had gathered enough mana to lift a teapot.

After almost two weeks of constantly teetering between life and death during Limitsphere meditation, Lawson's mana reserves had grown substantially.

Yet he had no idea how they compared to Severus's, nor how to utilize this strange new power safely. Naturally he didn't dare experiment recklessly.

Recalling Severus's words - 'fire or wind affinity, structured with geometrical rigor' - and a sentence he'd read in the spellbook notes three days ago:

'For low-tier spells, the side effects of mana excitation are negligible. Simply mimicking real-world physical structures suffices for similar functionality.'

Putting it together, Lawson couldn't help but think:

"My mana should be fire-aspected. So if I construct a mental image of a modern firearm, could I shoot rocks rapidly like bullets?"

If successful, it would grant him a potent combat skill. But the idea was also highly risky, and any mistakes could cost him his life.

Under normal circumstances, Lawson would have continued accumulating magical knowledge before attempting anything daring.

But recent developments filled him with a sense of impending crisis.

If he didn't take action soon, when danger came calling again, he would still be helpless prey, his fate hanging by others' whims.

Steeling himself, he thought, "I survived the Limitsphere through sheer luck, so why not try my luck with magic too?"

Suddenly, inspiration dawned.

"It doesn't have to be a real gun, no need to mimic all its mechanical parts. Just imagining a metal tube filled with explosive powder and a single open end should work!"

Wasting no time, he began constructing the spell in his mind.