Investigating Magic

I woke up the next day and bought a ticket for Magnolia, I had no intention of bothering with Fairy Tail at that time; The reason was to find a good shop to buy magic books, apparently, the magic shop in Hargeon didn't have anything that could help me.

So I entered a train for the 1st time in Fiore, it wasn't that bad at all, I actually enjoyed it. It was noon when I reached Magnolia, the Town looked very familiar as I expected it. Even the river that went through the middle and the houses looked familiar. I even recognized Lucy's house, or one very similar to it, I was not sure.

After touring the Town and eating lunch, I found a magic shop that had a rather extensive collection of books after asking around.

I entered the shop, it was spacious and very quiet. I could smell the scent of some sort of herb mixed with metal. The walls were filled with all sorts of strange items and books, I was awed by the sight.

"How can I help you?" Asked an elderly man who sat behind a counter and wore a pointy hat.

I looked at him, "I wish to buy magic books, what do you recommend for a beginner."

He smiled, "That depends, are you a wizard seeking to learn other magics, or are you just starting?"

I curtly responded, "Starting but I know the very basics."

He nodded and asked again, "Caster or Holder?"

"Caster."

He reached somewhere behind a desk and took a few books and put them in front of me. I carefully opened each one and inspected them.

He commented while observing, "If you want the best books, I am afraid you have to search a guild's archive. The best ones are usually stored there. For example, the guild of this Town which you might know of is called Fairy Tail. They have a very vast collection. I suggest you pay them a visit if you are looking for a special book. They are friendly and will surely help you out."

I nodded but remained silent, after a while, I asked, "These books are not what I am looking for, do you have anything on maker magic?"

I put the book down and waited for an answer.

The books were interesting but they didn't have any clue for me on how to get stronger; They just had a bunch of spells and magic circles and taught how to use different caster magics, very simple ones.

The shop owner raised his eyebrows, "So not a beginner, are we?"

He reached a shelf behind him and took an old brown book and gave it to me, "This is Earth-make magic, this should be what you are looking for, I have only this one; It is expensive, however."

I took it and after looking at the 1st page, I knew this was it. "How much?"

After paying, I quickly left the shop and searched for a hotel, I managed to find one in an hour, surprisingly, I hadn't run into any member of Fairy Tail yet.

I began reading the book, as I read more and more, my eyes couldn't help but widen.

'I have been going at this the wrong way...' That was the only thought I had.

You see, the book explained everything very thoroughly from the beginning.

Maker magic or Molding magic relied on imagination and skill. A good maker wizard was one with sufficient skill and a creative yet adaptive mind. The mind part was all about talent and experience so there was nothing I could do about it.

The book first explained that each person had a talent for a particular type of magic based on their personality and magic power. That was why some naturally awakened theirs, those people had very good talent with that type of magic.

A person with a fiery personality would have a hard time mastering magic types like Earth since they required patience and stability. And it went on to talk about how personality and emotions were essentially two external factors that affected the way magic power behaved. That was why wizards could do strange feats when affected by bursts of emotion. The more intense the emotion, the more effect it would have on magic power. Whether the effect was good or bad, that depended on the situation.

This made me realize that staying calm while casting magic was something I had to master. Especially during combat, 'staying calm would be very hard while fighting someone...' I thought and decided to train my mind. I didn't like the idea of unexpected things happening due to my lack of control over my emotions.

As for the talent of magic power, it was reliant on the environment a person was raised in and their body's characteristics; It mentioned that this could be trained or altered to a certain point with especial means.

For example, it stated; Some bodies were more resistant to cold or were trained to become as such so they could hold cold magic energy and as a result, the wizard could use ice magic.

And it expanded from that into many things, but these were the essential parts.

The book suggested that those without the requirements and talent don't practice Earth magic since it would be a waste of their time.

I ignored that obviously because my goal was research, not learning it.

I learned an important thing, my talent lied in Ether make and it was very great since it manifested itself so there was no need to worry. So I decided to focus on the skill part.

All the previous were about the talent part and couldn't be helped so I didn't dwell on it too much but memorized the content.

I read on till it began talking about skill.

This was where things took an interesting turn. It was written in the 'introduction and magical theory' part that I was reading:

"A Wizard's power, no matter the magic, relies on their skill that determines the efficiency and the amount of their raw magical power.

What is Skill?

Skill is the combination of 3 factors.

1. Control over magic power: A Wizard's ability to command magic power is the absolute essence of all magical abilities. The greater the control, the more precise can the wizard control his/her magic.

2. Understanding of runes and magical circles: All spells are made of these thus rely upon these in one way or another, mastery of the language of magic is a core part of being a wizard. A wizard who was mastered this to a certain degree can cast spells naturally just like breathing, without any sign of a magic circle even appearing. Most who manifest magic due to talent apply these unconsciously. A master of a type of magic can also apply these elements of spells unconsciously, essentially casting spells with their will alone.

3. The structure/conditions of spells and how to cast each one. Every spell is an action performed by the mind, sparked by willpower. Understanding the structure of a spell, how and why's has a major impact on the precision of a spell. Spells are similar to plants in a sense, instead of water, they take in magical power and perform something under certain conditions. Each spell is unique and is cast differently. This process often occurs naturally after a wizard casts a spell many times usually referred to as 'training', their unconscious mind master this aspect and thus they become better.

Now that you are familiar with these, we shall proceed with Earth make magic..."

And the introduction ended like that.

'So magic is like a machine, magic power is the fuel that we control and pour into the machine that is made of magical circles and etc.; Each spell is a unique machine that performs something. and this process happens mostly in the unconscious mind of a wizard...' I thought and looked at the book in admiration.

'Whoever wrote this knew what they were talking about... This gives me an idea on how to train from now on...' I read on.

I spent the entire day reading and finishing the book. Putting aside the theory parts, I learned many interesting things about maker magic itself and how to use my own ether make.

The next day, I woke up with lots of energy, I couldn't wait to test my ideas.

so I set out to train in the woods...