Chapter 39 – Lightning Magic Training

Third person POV

 After that, being struck both by a possibility and an opportunity, Russell looked at the three royal spies and asked them, "Hey, can I have a question for you three?"

 "Yes, what is it?" Alder asked.

 "Does anyone of you possess lightning magic and know how to wield it?" Russell replied back.

To that three spies from the capital looked at each other while grasping on the question's meaning.

Then, Cassius looked back at the young bus driver. "I do. Why?"

 "Um…" Russell replied back while trying to gather the remaining words to say.

But Adrian responded on his behalf, "It happened that he also has it, too, my good sir."

 "Yes, that one," Russell finally spoke up.

Cassius and his two friends were surprised to hear that.

 "Wow, you do?"

 "How come?"

Russell wants to explain about how he did it in words, so he did so to the best of his ability but excluded the fact that Kelly was a Silver Dragon, and so her twin daughters.

 Moments later, the three royal spies got it and understood it. "That's how…" Taryn commented. Russell then nodded. "Yes, and I was thinking about getting some basic training from someone who possesses that kind of magic."

Then, Cassius responded readily with optimistic confidence. "I'll train you, May-san!"

His two friends were a bit annoyed by his overconfident part of his attitude.

 "This overconfident geezer…"

The May party and the dragon family were stunned that Cassius will train Russell in his lightning magic.

 "Are you sure about that?" Russell was a bit astonished.

Cassius then replied back, "Yes, and I'll make sure you'll have the basic training you will need to enhance your magic in the future!"

His two friends were as annoyed as ever, knowing that their friend was too overconfident on his abilities.

Eventually, because of Cassius' guarantee, Russell nodded in agreement. "Yes, let's do it."

Hearing that made Cassius happy while his friends were unsure if that would be successful and fruitful.

 And so, at a field outside of town, Russell and Cassius are now having their first training session on lightning magic. The others are nearby watching it. Russell had taken off his blue suit and necktie, making it easier for him to train without being constrained by these accessories. "Alright, May-san," Cassius said to him with bright confidence, "wielding a magical ability may sound easy, but in reality, it's hard if you don't know how to control your mana properly."

 "Mana?" Russell asked back.

"Yes, mana is basically the energy within you. Mana comes in different types depending on your magic. For example, orange mana often connects to fire magic."

Russell listens to him while trying to take note of the most important points in his mind so he would write them down later.

 "Ah, okay," he said to Cassius, "so, the first step is how to learn to control my mana?"

 "Exactly," responded Cassius.

He then demonstrated the power of his lightning magic to him first by firing a strong Lightning Throw at a tree in the distance.

This obliterated the tree into ashes, and that stunned Russell and his group.

 "Yeah, he is that strong," Taryn commented.

 "That's lightning magic for you," Alder added.

 "Oh…" Adrian responded.

Rai nodded.

After that short demo, Cassius glanced at Russell. "So, are you ready for our first lesson?"

Russell then looked at him and nodded with sheer determination. "Yes!"

 And so, his first lesson in lightning magic training began. The first lesson consisted of Russell being trained how to harness and control his lightning mana using his hands at first, then with his mind second. Cassius tells him some tricks and advice on how to do so. But Russell's first, few tries were fruitless, but in his fourth attempt, he managed to do so with a small spark of lightning in his right hand, before it disappeared due to the little amount of mana being used for it. Cassius, however, considered that as a good, steady progress. "Good, good, you're getting the hang of it."

 "Yeah, it was," Russell replied back as he tries to achieve the same outcome as much as he can.

Then, for the seventh time, it worked with the same amount of mana being used, and by the eleventh time, it got stronger with more mana, creating a small ball of cackling lightning in Russell's hand.

The May party was stunned to see that, remembering what had happened yesterday at Kapeton's forest.

Cassius' two friends were also a bit stunned at Russell's hard-earned achievement.

 "Now, throw it at this tree over there!" Cassius told him while pointing at a tree near the burned one for a few seconds.

Russell nodded and did so, striking the tree with power.

But it wasn't strong enough to set it on fire, so the possibility of a forest fire there is eliminated.

Russell was amazed to see that, knowing that he had did it in less than 14 attempts. "Woah…"

He then looked at his right hand and said to himself, "If I continue to train more, I'll be stronger in no time."

Russell became confident at this point.

Then, impressed by Russell's action towards that tree, Cassius said to him, "Impressive, kid, you're getting stronger by the hour."

Russell then looked at him. "Yes, I'll do my best to train more to get stronger."

 "That's the spirit, May-san, let's continue training!"

 And so, both of them continued on their lightning magic training so Russell would be strong in no time as the others kept on watching them nearby. At this point, once today's training session with Russell was over, Cassius would write a letter of update to the capital on their successful hunt for Russell May. Russell also gained some points at his current level, and Russell was positive about his little improvement.