Lili and I stand in the grassy field as she walks to the middle.

-- Leon, listen to me carefully. As I told you yesterday, power is not the only factor in being a great magician. Control is the basic fundamental of magic. --

She casts a water spell, and the water spins smoothly around her body, moving like a creature floating in the air.

-- Mastering control and having power means you can freely do things beyond your imagination, like this. --

The water forms into the shape of a dragon. It becomes massive, yet she continues to control it effortlessly, floating the dragon in the sky as if it were real.

-- This is what it means to be creative. Magic isn't just about shooting projectiles. You can use it to create things like this. --

The water dragon reaches the clouds, absorbing the moisture. Suddenly, the dragon explodes in the sky, and water droplets start pouring down like rain.

Lili moves her finger slightly, and the droplets turn into ice, shaped into spheres that rain down, piercing the ground. The grassy field transforms into a cold, Antarctic-like landscape.

-- This is creativity—thinking beyond the norm and creating spectacular things with magic. And last is efficiency. Doing something like this costs a lot of mana, so creativity must be paired with efficiency. Notice that even though I used mana to create water molecules, most of the water wasn't from the spell itself. Water is everywhere— in the grass, the soil, and the clouds. I used those external sources to power the magic.

By doing that, I can create more destructive magic without using too much mana.

The magic you did yesterday was impressive, but you created fire purely from your mana, which I bet consumed a lot. Let me show you how it's done. --

She points her finger at the ground and releases a small fireball. It hits the grass, which catches fire. She then uses wind magic to spread the flames, making them stronger. The ice begins to melt.

Then, she gathers all the fire in the area, forming a huge ball of flame. She compresses the ball, turning it blue and, eventually, white.

-- What I did is similar to your spell, but instead of relying solely on my mana, I created a catalyst first and used the natural elements around me to fuel the fire. This is much more efficient than using your mana as fuel for the flame.

This fireball is weaker than what you created yesterday because the catalyst wasn't enough, but you can always add mana to make it stronger. Efficiency is about cost-effectiveness. In battle, the one who can last the longest is the true victor, not just the one with the most power. --

She dispels the fireball. Lili seems very knowledgeable about magic. I hadn't considered that, even though I sometimes use the natural elements around me to cast spells, I didn't realize how important that was.

-- Now, for your first activity, I'll use my water magic to shoot projectiles at you. Your job is to control them and fire them back. I want to see your power, control, creativity, and efficiency. Think of this as a duel: if you successfully hit me back with the same water ball, you win. --

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Lili starts firing water balls at me. I release mana into the air, trying to connect with the water molecules in the projectiles, but they're too fast, and I can't fully control them.

I notice she's using the water from the melted ice, shooting it at incredible speed. I just need to wait until she exhausts her mana before I counterattack.

"System on."

The system screen appears in my vision, and to my surprise, Lili's mana only decreases by 0.5 per water ball, and she's shooting 5-10 per second. That means she's using 2.5 to 5 mana per second, but her mana regenerates at 1% of her total mana pool per second, meaning she replenishes 5.2 mana per second. There's no end to this...

I need to find another way. I try using wind magic to block the incoming projectiles, but it's consuming too much mana. I have to think of something...

Oh, I see! I'll slow down the projectiles using wind magic, then connect my mana to the water molecules and shoot them back at her.

I don't need to generate air with my mana. All I need to do is connect my mana to the air molecules and create a wind barrier.

Lili keeps firing water balls, and as expected, they slow down when they hit the wind wall. As soon as they slow, I take control of them and send them back. I then surround myself with wind walls from all directions. Every time she fires a water ball at me, I return it, but her speed is incredible. She dodges every single one.

As she runs around me, she continues launching water balls. She's not just skilled in magic, but also very agile.

Then something strange happens. Every fifth water ball hits me, and it feels disconnected from my mana.

*/System on.

I examine her mana and notice something odd. She uses 0.5 mana for each water ball, but every fifth one consumes 1 mana instead. This means the fifth water ball isn't created from the water around us but directly from her own mana.

So instead of returning all four water balls to her, I only send three back and use the fourth to block the fifth one. Since she's using her own mana to create the fifth ball, I can't control it—the mana inside it repels mine.

-- Oh, did you already notice? -- Lili asks.

This is inefficient for her since she can adjust the fire rate and the number of water balls she's creating with her mana.

I'm overwhelmed by the number of water balls and finally get hit five times. Each impact is as painful as a boxer's punch. My five-year-old body can't handle the pain, and I feel like crying.

-- Well done, Leon. You noticed the trick behind the water balls, but you're still not efficient enough. Your control is good but slow, and your creativity isn't bad. You should have created a water ball from the melted ice, as I do, and fired it back at the same rate. That would improve your control. Sometimes, you don't need to overcomplicate things. Remember the rule? You'll win if you hit me using the same water I've been using—the water on the ground from the melted ice. --

I'm lying on the ground, twisting in pain.

This woman… Can't you carry me before explaining things?

-- Listen, Leon. Magic is limitless. Magic isn't just elemental. Stella was a fine magician, an Elementalist, an invoker at the peak of elemental magic. However, you should know that the world is vast. As you travel through kingdoms and continents, you will encounter other types of mages. Besides Elementalists, there are Necromancers, Curse Users, Holy Mages, Shape Shifters, and many more. -- Lili explains.

Her voice begins to fade, and I can barely understand the words coming from her mouth. Time feels like it's slowing down.

-- Think about this, Leon. What do you really want? What do you desire? Are you studying magic because it's the only thing you know to move forward? Or are you just learning magic to progress in this story? --

The surroundings become dark. I can see my sister in the real world, sitting on a chair.

-- Bro--ther -- she says.

You can finally talk! -

As I walk toward her, someone calls my name.

-- Leon..? --

I look back and see Stella and Gustav standing there.

What do I really want? What do I desire most? -

I want to learn magic to go back to my original world and cure my sister.

I want to protect Stella, Gustav, and everyone in my new life here in this world. The people I've met… they're kind and have become part of me. I want to protect them all.

*/System: Main Quest Created...

*/System: Kill Demon Lord (2373 days remaining).

*/System: Sub Quest Created...

*/System: Sub Quest "Elemental Masteries".

-- Leon, you need to become stronger as fast as possible. No, you don't have a choice. You must be stronger to protect everyone—Stella, Gustav, and Alyce... --

Who the hell is Alyce? My sister's name is Illya.

The voice slowly fades away.

Leon... Leon...

As I open my eyes, I'm lying in my bed. Stella is standing in front of me.

-- Are you okay, son? -- she asks, touching my cheek. Her warm hand always comforts me.

Lili is standing in the back, waving.

-- Well, getting hurt is part of training -- Gustav says.

I look at Lili. - I want to protect everyone! -

Lili looks confused. -- Huh? -- Then she bursts into laughter. -- What just happened to you? HAHAHAHAHA! --

You asked me earlier why I want to learn magic. -

-- Are you still dreaming? I never asked you that. You passed out immediately when 5 water balls hit you -- she replies.

That's weird. I thought I heard your voice. -

-- anyway if that's your goal, I'll help you with it. For the next 7 years, I'll teach you magic, until you're 12 and ready to enter Magic School. --

She pats my head.

Then flicks my forehead.

*/System: New Quest Created..

*/System: Kill "Lili Eilin" ( 1086 Days Remaining )

Wait...WHAT!???