Chapter 29 The Development of Magecraft

The first day of his tutelage under Celly came with a nice, good-weathered day to greet the two. It was a bit windy, causing the coat that the silver-haired young woman wore, that reached down to her knees, to sway in the passing breeze as she held onto her hat.

“It’s a nice day today. Perfect for what we’ll be focusing on,” Celly said with a smile.

“What’re we doing today?” He asked curiously.

Celly looked back at him, “I was told you favor the winds, right?”

“Yeah,” he nodded.

It was true; he definitely held his wind magecraft above all other elements under his belt.

“Can you tell me why you favor wind, Emilio?” Celly asked with a smile.

It felt more like a test than a genuine question being prompted, but he played along as he put his hand to his chin, pondering the answer.

“For me, wind is really versatile. I’m not very fast or strong, so I use wind to make up for the differences between me and my opponent,” he said.

He gave a little demonstration as he manifested wind silently beneath his feet, hovering in the air a solid meter.

Celly looked up to him with a surprised look, “…It’s true; you really can use incantation-free magic.”

“Yeah,” he said.

Coming back down to the grass, he exhaled as his gray coat settled back down from the abrupt winds.

“What you said is half-correct,” Celly told him.

“Huh?”

“Wind is indeed versatile, but every element is. I believe you have a natural affinity for wind; though, I think it’s safe to say you hold a good affinity for most elements already,” Celly told him.

The praise made him chuckle bashfully for a moment before he watched Celly retrieve something from under her coat.

“What’s this?”

The silver-haired girl handed him what looked like a stick of smoothly-carved wood with emerald stripes along its length.

“A wand,” Celly told him, “While it’s not necessary, a catalyst will improve a mage’s proficiency greatly.”

He was silent for a moment with his lips slightly parted in curiosity as he held the want between his fingers.

“Catalysts come in different forms: wands, grimoires, tattoos, and most prominently–staffs like mine,” Celly held up her staff with a smile before looking at him, “It’s only a basic wand, but it should amplify your abilities. Give it a try.”

“Right now?” He asked.

Celly gave him a nod as she pointed over to the bush near the short, vine-clung stone fence that sat around their property, “Aim for that hedge.”

“…That far? I don’t know,” he said.

It was a good ten meters away, which was outside of his effective range of control. He usually didn’t put much thought into refining or condensing his spells, and tended to just simply use wind blasts to knock away whatever was directly in front of him.

“Relax and focus yourself. Just imagine the wand as an extension of your body; allow the mana to flow gently from your fingertips and through its shape,” Celly guided him with her gently spoken words.

He stood there silently, focusing as he kept the wand held tightly in his grip while holding it forward, pointing towards the verdant hedge.

Through his visualizations, the ticklish sensation of mana fluttering from his fingertips into the wand was felt, and as he felt it, he squeezed the wand and invoked the desired magecraft–

FWOOSH.

A swirl of wind shook the hedge, propelling the leaves from its thin limbs as he looked up in both surprise and awe while the luscious, green leaves swayed in the air above him.

“–I did it!” He smiled wide.

For a moment, there was a look of somber surprise in the emerald eyes of his tutor, who watched the mystical winds carry the leaves in a soft spiral.

“As I thought, you’re a natural–well done, ” Celly held a gentle expression, “So, could you feel the difference?”

He looked at the wand then at her, nodding, “Yeah. It felt like I had complete control over my output…”

“That’s what catalysts are for, usually. They allow us to focus and control the output of mana. Have you ever experienced numbness in your limbs or a type of “ache” after casting a spell?” Celly asked.

Thinking about it for a moment, he did recall something like that when he was back at the trafficker hideout.

“Yeah…I used magic that was stronger than normal–it made my arms feel like pins and needles!” He nodded a few times.

Celly smiled, “With a catalyst, you’ll be able to prevent yourself from that happening. It’s an important element in a fight; if you cause your body to go numb in the middle of a battle, you’re practically setting yourself up for loss.”

“I see…” He replied quietly.

For the next half hour, his instructor had him adjust to using the wind as he uses gusts of wind, water spheres, and controlled flames to practice.

Around his wand, he moved a sphere of azure water that jiggled and bounced around as he guided it; it followed the movements of his wand before he finally released it.

“Phew…” He exhaled.

It was draining in its own right to simply stand around and cast spells, even if they were mostly small-scale, basic invocations.

Celly looked at him, “Tell me, what’s the highest order spell you know?”

“–“

He didn’t answer right away, scratching his head with a nervous chuckle as he averted his gaze. A curious look came from his half-elf instructor who tilted her head slightly, “You understand the classifications of spells, right? Such as the ones you’ve been using so far–they’re all ‘novice’ rank.”

“Yeah, I know that, it’s just…”

“What is it?”

“…The one I learned is…well, can we take this somewhere else?” He asked with an innocent smile.

Celly raised an eyebrow, confused to what the young boy was acting strangely about as she nodded, “…Alright, then.”

The two headed out to a clearing that was a good twenty minute hike away from the Dragonheart residence, tucked away over some hills and walled off by the verdant mountains as a calm lake extended.

It was a secluded spot he came too at times when practicing spells that were a bit more “wild”, like the one he was scared to show by his house.

…Did he want to come out here so that he didn’t create a mess by his home? What kind of spell is this boy planning to show me? Celly thought, looking on towards the lake.

“I’ve only really learned novice spells and a few intermediate castings, but this one…” He said.

“Show me,” Celly gave him the go ahead.

It was something he learned recently from peeking into the back of the “The Scripture of the Element King, Aelor”–he found a spell that caught his eye.

After that encounter with the Chaos God Style swordsman, I had to find my own “trump card”…He thought.

He held his wand up, beginning the incantation, “Four spirits of the world’s nature order of creation and destruction: Great Gnome of Rock, Undine of Water, Sylph of Air, and Salamander of Fire! Elemental Sentinels!”