Chapter 77: Lizards playing with Magic.

Chapter 77: Lizards playing with Magic.

Stroking the feather plumage on his head, Mister Kushlekzar muttered Create Water, producing a blue magic circle in his other hand which slowly poured water onto the ground, Custom spells. Ive asked Miss Tasianna about what she thought of you. Is it true that not only was she your first magic tutor but that youve also learned the basic four phases of magic casting from her?

Forming a wry smile, I nodded in response.

Ive promised not to ask your circumstance, but my curiosity grows ever more the more I learn how ignorant I am. Just like the God Istari, we mages will always wish to seek knowledge, Mister Kushlekzar said with a short sigh.

If I remembered Tasiannas theology lessons correctly, then this god should be a member of Aurenas pantheon. Acting as the God of Knowledge and Magic, Istari serves as the god that overwatches all mages.

Despite only being a subordinate god, Istari is considered an incredibly important figure among mages, embodying all the values that one should uphold as a practitioner of the arcane.

Mister Kushlekzar might be a priest in the service of Plesia and Xohulotel, but it seems he valued Istari as much as Tasianna mentioned.

I really wish to question how you grew up to be such a fine young lady with such extraordinary amounts of talent in the arcane arts while knowing barely anything about the world. I had about the same evaluation of your friend Saori, although, I found her maturity quite fascinating. You two mystify me, he remarked, still stroking his plumage.

Unable to break my wry smile, I could only nervously swallow my spit as I stayed silent before the saurians inquisitive glare.

Once he noticed that he was making me feel uncomfortable he quickly apologized, Well, that was terribly rude of me, apologies, Hestia. Do not worry, Ill keep my word to not push you into elucidating it, after all, I very much sympathize with you concerning your ignorance of the world.

You do? blinking my eyes in surprise, I reflexively asked him about it.

Nodding in confirmation, he continued speaking, Ive overheard Krim-slak speaking with you, so you should know about the saurian's history, yes?"

I nodded.

Good, then this should make it easier for me to explain. You see, the ships from the Caedhul expedition did not have enough space to transport all of us to Altrust. Every half decade, ships meant for our migration would come, but even now, many of my fellow scale-kins are still in the vast jungle of Aelozonia, he explained. I was among the few that had to wait a few decades to come over here, but once I did, I had to say that it was worth the wait.

He then took out his ID again and even revealed the party bracelet under the sleeve of his robe, "I was amazed by the technology. How could mortals create tools which complemented the God's System? Simply astounding. Compared to saurian society, we were embarrassingly behind."

He then packed everything back into his robe and continued, "I've learned here that traveling from Altrust to Aelozonia took time and money, and this money doesnt come from thin air. Many of us saurians have joined the Tide Watchers for this very reason. Being a Depths Guard was an honor, but I wanted to learn more of this continent while also earning money to help my scale-kins.

So when you mentioned that you sympathized with me, I muttered as I glanced as his party bracelet which bared the symbol of Plesia.

I meant that I also once felt overwhelmed by everything. As if I was transported into a whole new world, with how different this continent was to mine, he admitted, tugging a few of my heartstrings as I clenched my hands into a fist. If you wish to blend among society, then remember what I told you today, young scale. That also includes the magic lesson that I will give you in a minute, ha ha ha ha.

Listening to how much hes revealed about himself, I followed along with his laughter with a giggle, feeling a bit of a kinship with him.

Although my circumstances were a bit more complicated, I understood what he meant by it. Whether it was the System or the magic or how beautiful my first flying experience was, I could vividly remember all the WOW! moments I had in this world that just blew my mind away.

Yeah, I guess I was acting a bit childish today when you showed me your ID. That emblem change was a real surprise, I said with a grin, scratching my cheek in embarrassment.

"Oh, really? Well, speaking of surprises, did you know that saurians aren't considered beastmen?" he casually dropped. What? I uttered.

Beastmen are children between humans and monsters. We saurians do not share that link. We are spawn of the jungles of Aelozonia, Mister Kushlekzar mentioned. Also, I was also pretty intrigued by how varied the males and females are among the races of Altrust. Saurian males and females all look the same, among our three races.

HUH?!

And then there was that- he was about to continue but I quickly interrupted him.

Stop! Stop! STOP! Enough! I think Ive had enough random information dumps for tonight. Can we just skip all of that and get to the magic, please? I said in a rush, wishing to end this before it turned into Trivial Pursuit.

Hmm, a mage should always seek more knowledge, especially when you do not know much of the world, young scale. Still, if that is what you wish, Hestia, I shall oblige, seemingly quite disappointed at my abrupt stop to his trivial session, Mister Kushlekzar gave an elaborate sigh before looking at me with stern eyes. First, I require you to show me your full status board. No [Identity Blocker]. I cannot determine your current strength without all the information.

I guess it does make sense. Without showing my draconic skills and [Toxin Secretion], he wont be able to fully know what I can do. Still, I shouldnt show my titles, [The Light]'s spells, nor the SP System to him at all costs.

After tweaking my status board, I nodded to his request, allowing him to use [Identify] on me again. Needing a moment to process all the information, I waited for him to finish his thinking.

"Hmm, alright. Besides your draconic skills and abilities, you didnt hide many skills at all. Although, that [Toxin Secretion] sounds pretty dangerous," he said with a grim expression before shrugging. "Anyway, it seems you really do not have any advanced magic skills. I was wondering how you were able to cast so many spells this morning, but it seems your [Parallel Thoughts Lv. 9] was the reason. Interesting.

Stroking his raptor-looking heads jaw, the elder scale took another moment to think before continuing, The four processes of magic casting, recite now!

Huh?! Wha-?! Uhm," staggered by his sudden demand, it took me a second to work my brain. "Invocation, Incantation, Activation, and Release!" I responded, reluctantly remembering why I always hated this flash questioning that teachers would sometimes do.

Good. Invocation to command how your spell should work, Incantation to prepare your spell, Activation to fuel your spell with mana, and Release to cast your spell. This is the foundation of magic casting, proper mages can repeat it the second I ask for it, he scolded me.

Urgh, give me a break, I havent been to school for seven months now.

The reason why I am emphasizing this so much is if you wish to become a better magic practitioner, then you must master all four. Magic is as fluid as water, ever-changing and always adapting. Your vast mana will help you improve, but it will never be the reason why you became a true master, he explained. If you master the basics, then you will advance naturally to the next level. Invocation for [Fluid Cast], Incantation for [Multi-Cast], Activation for [Delayed Cast], and Release for [Continuous Cast]. I have those skills in my status board, so look the descriptions up now.

Identify, I diligently listened to my magic tutor.

Fluid Cast

An advanced form of magic casting made into a skill. Allows the user to morph and change a spells form depending on their will

Multi-Cast

An advanced form of magic casting made into a skill. Allows the user to directly control multiple spells simultaneously without needing to fully cast one. Its effectiveness is influenced by the [Concentration] skill

Delayed Cast

An advanced form of magic casting made into a skill. Allows the user to fuel the magic circle of a spell with additional mana to sustain it before releasing it

Continuous Cast

An advanced form of magic casting made into a skill. Allows the user to sustain a spell's magic circle for multiple casts, continuously draining more mana the longer it is sustained. Its effectiveness is influenced by the [Mana Efficiency] skill

Hmm, some of these techniques sound familiar.

Is something the matter? Mister Kushlekzar asked.

Nothing really. I just think Ive been able to do some of them for a while now, but havent gotten the respective skills, I answered.

Intrigued by my statement, Mister Kushlekzar requested me to display them for him. For [Fluid Cast], I showed him that I was able to materialize spells in different sizes depending on how I imagined it be.

Good, it seems youve understood the fundamentals of [Fluid Cast]. However, that is not the limit of Invocation. Observe, Hestia," with that said, he then began casting [Water Bolt], morphing the bullet-like form of the spell into a spear. "A mass of water hitting the head will stun people, but a sharp, concentrated water spear can even pierce armor. An offensive spell can also act as a defense. The potential of our God's spells is limited by your ability to control mana. Interestedly enough, this is the origin of custom spells."

For [Delayed Cast], I showed him my self-made bombs, showing him the magic circles that Ive attached to them, explaining that they will activate the moment I inject my mana into them.

"Fascinating, it seems your experimentations have caused you to accidentally start with the fundamentals of runecraft, however, as you are using the System-made spells, you haven't received [Runecraft] yet, he explained. Also, that [Storage Magic] you just showed me, that is [Space-Time Magic], right? How in the world did you manage to learn such a rare skill? I must reevaluate your potential once again it seems, ha ha ha.

As Mister Kushlekzar was laughing, I was quietly pouting at the fact that none of what I showed was enough to impress him. Lately, it seems my pride as a mage has been continuously tested, from my inability to cast my custom spell and my lack of mastery of the fundamentals of magic.

Ha ha ha, dont be so disappointed, young scale. Dont focus on what you havent learned yet, but on what you have already achieved. How old are you and when did Miss Tasianna teach you about magic theory? he consoled me. You are still young and youve already achieved this much. You already have the hard part behind yourself: leveling up your skills. Now you only need to master it, which only requires time and diligence.

Casting another spell on his palm, this time [Water Ball], he morphed the shape of the spell into a star, "Our time together is limited until we finish the Quest, afterward, my party must set forth to continue our duties as members of the Tide Watchers. That is why I shall teach you the basics of the four advanced skills and how to practice them. How fast you improve will depend on your willingness to learn. Now, let us start with [Fluid Cast] as this is what you need to construct your own custom spell.

This is where the real lecture started. Miss Kushlekzar would start with the theory behind each of the four skills while demonstrating an example as a reference for me. He then asked me to start practicing Invocation. In other words, he wanted me to acquire [Fluid Cast] first.

Whether I actually gained the skill or not was irrelevant for today. It only mattered that I understood his lecture, he explained. Polishing my foundation would be integral for me to learn more advance custom spells.

Doing this was actually the harder method. Usually, he would teach me one or two beginner-level custom spells like [Create Water] or [Greater Create Water] to help me improve, but as he only knew water spells in addition to my low affinity for that element made it hard for me to learn them, he decided that it would be better for me to just become a better caster.

I couldnt ask for a better teaching philosophy as this was exactly what my dance instructor always told me. Haste makes waste and Solidify the foundation before you start dancing on it, were two of his most often used phrases.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

While I was focusing on my own practice, Saori and Tasianna came over to us and also asked Mister Kushlekzar to tutor them on the basics.

Saori, compared to me, had the opportunity to learn [Water Magic] not by spending SP but naturally by increasing her proficiency for it through learning [Create Water]. Unlike a monster, most humanoid races learn magic by first learning how to cast a custom spell, then they would transition to the System-made spells like [Water Ball].

Tasianna, as she always mentions, was a simple maid before she met us, having only a limited magical education. To make up for neglecting to further her magic training during her time in the fairys village, she needed a water element specialist like Mister Kushlekzar as a tutor. Acquiring even one of his custom spells could benefit her immensely.

As they were doing this, I continued trying to gain [Fluid Cast].

Ok, Firebolt. Morph the form. Morph the form. Make it into an arrow to make it fly faster. Increase the speed and po-eaaaaakkkkk!

FOCUS, HESTIA! my magic tutor shouted into my ear, causing my eardrums to ring. On a battlefield, your goal as a mage is to continue the casting process while avoiding being distracted! You cant level up [Concentration] if you cant multitask!

Urgh, shouting into my ear and scaring me by splashing cold water at my exposed back, after I took off my cape, were the few ways that Mister Kushlekzar would use to disrupt my focus. It was honestly super annoying, but I understood the intent behind his actions. It really felt like this was the best training method for [Concentration].

I could technically use my parallel minds to help me multitask but that would be cheating. I couldnt avoid unpleasant stuff if I wanted to become better. It was the same thing with my dance instructors training. Repeating the same movements is super boring but how am I supposed to get better if I didnt? Diligence and determination, Ive been through this already, and I can do it again.

Eventually, Saori raised her hands up and asked us to follow her slowly, as the sight of smoke became clear to us. Once flames appeared, our parties stopped advancing to analyze the situation.

What we saw were two vehicles resembling wagons being torched to charcoal by a powerful pyre, while multiple men in ragged clothes with varying amounts of leather and cloth armor watched it happen. All of them were carrying some sort of weapon and some were even carrying food and trinkets onto an unharmed wagon.

There were also three carts that looked like mobile wooden prison cells that carried beaten up men and shivering women in them. Their clothes reminded me of the ones I saw in Carine village. Simple but patchworked clothing that looked extremely used, as if those were the only ones the villages had.

Ha ha ha ha, drawing my eyes away from those imprisoned people was a haughty laugh, sounding intentionally provocative. Flames, pure POWER! Ha ha ha ha, the strongest element is fire, so witness this everybody! In the name of the God of Fire and Destruction, Danterno, may you be graced by his eternal blessing! Now, who wants to convert to his religion?!

Oi, shaddup, Macklemor. The boss aint hiring you for ya damn sermons, ere. Kill them flames of yours so nobody can see us! a man with greasy hair, styled in a mullet, shouted as the pyromaniac. We need to get this ere loot back to base. Fucking lucky us that some dumb idiots were dumb enough to sleep in the forest during that rain. Ha, we aint got problems for winter with this amount!

Ack?! Killing my flames?! That is a sin as I have dedicated these flames to Danterno! Let them continue to burn! the pyromaniac said, as he rattled his red cape vigorously. "Come on, Jasper, give me some of your boys. Some of them have an affinity for flames and destruction. Danternos church needs people, so give me some time to turn them into-

WHO FUCKING CARES?! We only need one fire mage and thats you! Make a fire with ya fancy magic and kill them before some soldiers or mercs find us! We got da loot and we got them slaves, so we're leaving now! the mullet guy shouted.

Begrudgingly, the pyromaniac recited an Incantation as a magic circle appeared above the flames, before calling out Reduce Heat, turning the fire smaller and smaller until it was gone. He sighed in exasperation before getting onto one of the wagons.

Tasianna, Saori I uttered.

Yes! they answered back with fervor.

The bandits have been found. Lets go and save some people, I commanded.

By your will, it shall be done, Lady Hestia, Tasianna said with icy rage, unable to suppress her cold aura as she witnessed what happened with pure contempt.

Anata ga meijita yo ni, Hestia Oujo-sama, Saori responded in Japanese, as a blood-colored aura surrounding her eyes, locking onto the bandits like a predator would on her prey. (As you have commanded, Princess Hestia.)

A note from AbyssRaven

Well, that guy likes using fire.

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About the author

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Wednesday, July 22, 2020 4:27:48 AM Germany [Member of Zard Skwad]

Bio: Hey there, AbyssRaven here. I'm just an avid Light Novel and Fantasy story reader who randomly thought of a story and began writing about it.

I eventually found out that I've been spending a bit too much time with building, planning, and researching for the story, that I've decided to just share it with others.

Writing is mostly a hobby for me, but I would still love any kind of criticism to improve on it.

I'm also german, so please excuse anything that sounds a bit weird...I wouldn't mind you pointing it out though.

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