10 The First Touches of Magic
When Evin said they would be stuffed full of knowledge, he wasn't kidding. But it wasn't in the traditional sense where they sat around a classroom, listening to a teacher lecture.
No, the Neil Clan was more special than that.
With Evin in the lead, the rest of the children followed after him like baby ducklings. Alec, right after Evin, to make sure that he wouldn't be left behind.
They stopped right before a vast expanse of trees, causing them to look at their teacher in wonder.
Evin looked at the five children before him, feeling nostalgic. All those years ago, he had the same lesson from his teacher.
"This is one of the Neil Clan's forests. We call this The Great Expanse. Yesterday, you ran just outside of the boundary. How was it?"
One of the boys, Cyrus, raised his hand cautiously.
Evin nodded at him, indicating for him to go ahead.
"Teacher, I heard many sounds yesterday, but nothing ever came out."
Evin resisted the urge to curl his lips at the familiar statement. Of course they didn't. The monsters and animals in the forest weren't stupid. Time and time again, they had tried to break past the boundary, but the barriers that the Ancestor had left in place protected them.
It reached the point where every being in the forest knew that they should not approach the boundary unless they wanted to court death!
But, of course, Evin wouldn't tell them that. Fostering a sense of danger was useful in learning. This way, their survival rates would shoot up exponentially.
"That's right. There are many monsters and animals that live in the forest. At night, they are particularly active. So, one day, if the beings from the forest break out into the open, if we want to protect our Clan, we have to make sure to train hard and acquire knowledge."
Everyone with the exception of Alec nodded. Alec eyed the man sceptically but didn't refute.
The boundary was so large, yet there were no guards stationed anywhere. What did this indicate? It indicated that the Clan had utter faith in whatever was protecting them!
Not to mention, being able to bring children to go and learn, did this not indicate the Clan's confidence in their safety?
Their Teacher brought them into the forest, where the children looked around nervously.
Though they had already been 'outside' the boundary, it was, after all, only a small distance away. With what Evin had told them earlier, this caused them to increase their wariness towards the dangers lurking in the forest.
Walking forward, the sounds from outside the forest abruptly closed off, causing them to be enveloped in the silence of the forest. As they walked deeper, the unfamiliar sounds of many birdcalls as well as noises filtered into their ears.
Tatiana was already tearing up slightly, taking solace in the fact that she could keep Alec's figure within her sights at all times.
She didn't want to be here at all, but her parents said that this was something that brought glory to their family. Tatiana wanted to be at home, happily reading the books she was so fond of, not out here in this dark and creepy forest.
Likewise, the other three boys aside from Alec were feeling slightly nervous, but the sight of their Teacher's straight back caused them to put aside their inhibitions. Although they were nervous, they tried their best to keep it from showing. After all, even the baby wasn't nervous! Why should they lose to him?
Evin stopped before a large, towering tree.
"Look at this," Evin said, pointing at the tree. "It's called the Edelles Tree. This is a special landmark that you can use if you ever lose your way in our forest. This tree is a lot taller than the rest of the trees, so if you climb up a tree's branches and look for it, you'll know where to go."
They looked at the majestic tree. Its trunk was large enough that to walk around it, it took several minutes. With its wide-spread branches and tall stature, the majestic tree could weather all winds and storms.
Lush, green leaves, the size of one leaf was bigger than a grown man's arm. Each leaf had a distinct circular shape, with jagged ends.
Just standing and staring at the Edelles Tree, one felt a sense of majesty radiating from the tree. It gave off a worldly, serene feel. The awe that came from staring at the tree originated from the fact that this was the largest tree in the forest.
As children, the impact was even harder. In their short lives, when had they ever encountered something that made them feel so small and helpless?
Alec reached forward and touched the tree, feeling something. He couldn't help but feel that life was really unpredictable. Who would have ever thought that he, a System, would one day have to live life like those transmigrators?
Under his palm, the tree pulsed, sensing his touch. Alec's eyes widened.
"That's the tree's magic," Evin said, placing his palm on the tree as well. The rest followed suit. "Can you feel that? Unlike humans and monsters, plant life with sentience sometimes develop a branch of magic on their own. This makes each plant with magic different. There are no two same that can be found out there.
The Edelles Tree is friendly to humans, so if you ever need any, as long as you provide the tree a bit of magic, it will provide you some dried leaves and twigs."
The five children were still silenced, basking in the awe they felt.
Evin sat down, his back resting on the trunk, understanding what they were feeling.
"Close your eyes and reach deep inside yourself. Don't think of anything. Just listen to my voice."
One by one, their eyes closed, even as they leaned on the tree's sturdy trunk.
"Feel the tree's magic and feel the magic in the air. Breathe in, breathe out," Evin murmured, his voice taking on a strange quality that made one pay attention.
"The magic in the air touches the tree leaves, sinking in, moving down… down to the trunk, down to its roots, and back up to the leaves, birthing new life. Do you feel it? Now, visualise the same thing happening to you. The magic in the air, touching your skin, and let it in."
As Evin talked, Alec fell into a sort of trance, for the first time, feeling the wonders of his body.
Tatiana seemed to have reached a state of understanding as the magic gushed into her body consciously for the first time. She gasped, her eyes shooting open. As she looked at the tree again, the awe that had been previously there increased a few folds, as she witnessed the tree's complexity with clear eyes for the first time.
She looked around, realizing that she was the first to find her magic. Then, she fixed her eyes on Alec, who looked like he was so at peace. She hid the anticipation in her heart, looking back at the great tree.
Similarly, the other boys also started to wake up from the trance as they touched their magic for the first time.
On the other hand, Alec was so deep within the trance that his teacher's voice had brought on that he never noticed the exclamations that the other children let out one by one.
Evin struggled to hide the slight disappointment that he felt, realizing that the boy, though exceedingly smart, did not possess much talent in the way of magic. Not only was his body weaker than his peers, his magic talent could not keep up as well.
The man sighed inwardly but resolved to put more attention onto the boy. He could not bear to see such talent wasted. If he worked hard enough, then… no. Unfortunately, he also possessed the Awakening Magitype.
Evin firmed the resolve in his heart. He had to make sure that if the boy passed, he would have all the necessary magic and more. If he couldn't face dangers head on, then he could just run and hide.
Though unconventional, the one who survived the longest indeed won.
Alec, unconcerned about anything outside of his mind, basked in the wonderous feeling of magic for the first time. As a System, when had he ever experienced such wonders? Not to mention, before he was a System…
Alec shook his head. Those days were over.
Slowly, the boy opened his eyes, but not one noticed as they glowed faintly with magic, disappearing.
Evin stood up. "Come. There is more to learn before the sun sets."
