21 What?

"Let's see... today.."

Donne began our first magic lesson.

'I wonder, what will he teach me first? Since he saw that I'm capable of casting beginner-level spells, shouldn't we start with spells of higher rank?! Will it be some defensive tipe magic, like barriers or could it be some cool offensive spell?!'

Just the thought was enough for this silly grin of mine to be glued on to my face permanently.

"Okay! Today you are going to feel mana-flow!"

"What?"

"....."

"....."

" But, Donne.....I can feel mana. I wouldn't be able to use any magic otherwise! Why should I do...." As I was about to make my point, Donne stuffed my mouth with some kind of fruit. I was caught off guard and bit into the soft, creamy flesh of the fruit. Mmmm~

" Dohnne, whast ish thish?! * gulp* It's delicious!" All of my previous thoughts vanished and I just concentrated on savouring the sweetness of the fruit. I want to bring this fruit home and let Afald taste it.

" You sure are easy to distract... Well, this way you are even cuter."

Donne muttered something under his breath. I was too occupied to hear him though. He saw that I didn't react and I think he decided to repeat.

"Mirta, Can you feel the mana-flow in the fruit?"

Now I caught every word of his and got confused.

" How can there be mana in the fruit? What is the name for it, by the way?"

" It's called is Suriy. It grows in this Gousha forest and contains mana. Humans call it Gulla, which means ' restoration' on magus language. I think, 200 or so years ago , I heard from one Magi that the Suriy is considered as rare, magical herb that can restore ones mana."

" 200 years! Donne just how old are you?!" I asked in shock.

" I'm 350 years old. Why?"

" Nothing..."

Do all Ago-birds live that long? If so, then how come the flock in the sky only has like 40 birds in it?

My confused expression probably gave away what I was thinking, because Donne started laughing.

" Ha-ha-ha! Usually we, Agos, do not live this long. The lifespan of a normal Ago is about 40-50 years long and The King lives for around 600 years." Donne quickly got a hold of himself, cleared his throat and continued with our lesson.

" Khm, you asked how come the fruit has mana? But actually it's not only this fruit. Everything has a bit of mana, but it's either inside or outside. If even little mana is present inside, an object, a living being or a human are considered to be 'Magical' or a ' Magi'. If all of the mana is outside, the object is ' Normal'. What I want you to do, is to feel the flow of mana outside of your body that is part of your strength."

" Now I understand. So my goal for today, is to feel my 'other' power? Will it help? Will I be able to use it later on?"

It should be easy, right? I could feel mana-flow from the beginning... almost.... It wasn't hard. It can't be too difficult.

However, that mocking smirk on Donne's bird-face, made me a little uncomfortable.

" You are half correct. Your goal IS to feel your 'other' power, but it's not for today. It's for a month."

" W-why?" My mind became more and more disturbed.

" Heh, try and you'll see."