8 Inferno Purgatory
Sarena looked at Nova, more pissed than anything else.
『Did you think that was gonna work?』[Sarena]
『Uh… Reischneid.. why?』[Nova]
「Run up to her and try to land a hit on her!」[Reischneid]
『Alright! Let's do it!』[Nova]
Nova screamed while running at Sarena blindly.
Her response was raising her sword in the air, and swinging at Nova's feet.
Immediately, a black whip coiled around his legs and caused him to fall over.
『What was the plan this time?』[Sarena]
『Uh...』[Nova]
A moment later, a blade was inches away from Sarena's neck.
「Wh-what?!」[Sarena]
She was sweating beads as she slowly turned around.
Behind her stood a sharply dressed young man with long bright white hair tied into a long ponytail and golden eyes wielding a white blade pointed over her shoulder.
『So, how does it feel to be bested by this old man?』[Reischneid]
『Reischneid! How?』[Nova]
Sarena fell onto her butt and looked up at the sword.
She looked at the hilt, before realizing what the cause of this man's appearance was.
『You're..!』[Sarena]
Reischneid gave her a wink and pressed a finger to his mouth.
『Shh. You'll spoil the surprise.』[Reischneid]
Sarena had shut her mouth.
He disappeared without another word.
『He.. Wasn't so well dressed last time.』[Nova]
Sarena just looked at him with a gaping mouth.
『You… really are a monster.』[Sarena]
--------
『Alright, I'm going to teach you the chant. Don't forget.』[Sarena]
「Don't worry if you forget. I got your back.」[Reischneid]
「Thanks, Reischneid.」[Nova]
『It starts as, "Birthed from the stars, Burnt to ashes, burn my enemies into nothingness."』[Sarena]
As she spoke, her words began to float in front of her.
『Oh. It's not that bad.』[Nova]
『...From ashes to ashes, to stardust and nothing, incinerate the enemy into eternal night.』[Sarena]
『...I stand corrected.』[Nova]
Moments later, she used her mana to draw into the air and used both of her hands to focus mana into the shape.
『Inferno Purgatory!』[Sarena]
Half a mile away, a gigantic magic circle appeared in the sky, causing a barrier to appear around the area.
Immediately afterward, flames burst from the ground and impaled the sky before meteors rained down from above.
『What? That's insanely strong!』[Nova]
『Well, if you had to sit still for 3 seconds, say an entire 2 sentences, and draw a complex magical circle while pouring mana into it, it'd have to at least be that strong.』[Sarena]
『It's only a few seconds.』[Nova]
『A few seconds in a battle can decide your life.』[Sarena]
Sarena stared at Nova with a dark expression.
『I.. I understand.』[Nova]
『Good.』[Sarena]
She fixed her appearance.
『Now, you try. The entire point is to visualize what you're going for and pour enough mana in to create that visualization. The circle's shape doesn't actually matter- it just acts as a visual reminder for what I want it to be, causing it to be similar to other ones I've cast.』[Sarena]
『Okay, let me try.』[Nova]
He focused on the chant.
『Birthed from the stars, Burnt to ashes, burn my enemies into nothingness. From ashes to ashes, to stardust and nothing, incinerate the enemy into eternal night!』[Nova]
「Master Sarena ripped apart the land and earth, so..」[Nova]
Concentrating mana to his fingertips, then using both his hands, he ripped down and poured mana into the shape he formed.
「What.. Is he doing?」[Sarena]
『Inferno Purgatory!』[Nova]
Immediately afterward, just about 10 meters away, a large area on the floor got ripped into shreds and flames erupted from below.
『Huh? Why did it come out completely different?』[Nova]
『Because like I said, its dependent on your imagination of it, along with your mana.』[Sarena]
『But I thought that you said that as long as I imagined it like yours it would work?』[Nova]
『It would, but how you drew that magical sigil affected the spell.』[Sarena]
『So, would I be able to create my own spells too?』[Nova]
『It all depends on the chant, as long as you follow the rules of a spell cast. 』[Sarena]
『Rules? What do you mean by rules?』[Nova]
『The rules of a spell are written in its cast. In Inferno Purgatory, the rules are that an area has to be defined- the purgatory, and the inferno is the flames. There has to be some way to define an area- that's the barrier I set up, and yours was a rending physical attack onto the area before hitting it with a blaze.』[Sarena]
『How do I know the rules?』[Nova]
『Well, if you cast it and your interpretation is wrong, the effect of the rules you get correct will occur, whereas the ones you don't do not get casted.』[Sarena]
『So, no mage will cast the same spell?』[Nova]
『No, many casters do- because their spells are relatively simple. Chanters have much more complex spells, which cause their spells to vary. Not to say that casters can't have variations in spellcasting.』[Sarena]
『Wait, so what's the difference between a caster and a chanter? This kind of hurts my head...』[Nova]
『Well, a caster has many spells that require a singular word, a magic circle, or even just the simple act of raising their hands or doing something. These are all "rules" that they must abide to, in order to cast their spells. They ARE able to use chanting spells, but they don't have as much of an effect comparatively. so they tend not to.』[Sarena]
『So, Rai can use caster spells, and so can I?』[Nova]
『Well, the efficiency is different for everyone. I heard Rai's mana control was a little lacking in comparison to yours, so he wouldn't be able to use any chanting spell effectively. And for another reason, you wouldn't be able to use his Qi Acupoint abilities either.』[Sarena]
『His what?』[Nova]
『Qi Acupoints? The thing where he stimulates his mana points?』[Sarena]
『Acuqi?』[Nova]
『What kind of dumb name is that? I'm talking about the thing where he pokes himself and starts absorbing mana. His Extend form?』[Sarena]
『He called it Acuqi.』[Nova]
『Is he good at giving things nicknames?』[Sarena]
『No.』[Nova]
『Then, there you go.』[Sarena]
『Oh. So what's next for-』[Nova]
Nova's sentence was cut short before he suddenly fell unconscious.
『Nova?!』[Sarena]
She grabbed him before he hit the ground.
『..Stupid kid. I told you not to push yourself.』[Sarena]
Nova's forehead glowed dimly, but Sarena missed it.
『Looks like one cast is all his mana will allow right now. 』[Sarena]
--------
「Hey, kid.」[???]
Nova opened his eyes.
「..Where am I?」[Nova]
He felt like he was looking at something that already happened.
「This... Is like before.」[Nova]
There was a man who placed his hand on Nova's head.
He spoke, but Nova didn't hear anything.
「What… did he just say?」[Nova]
The man spoke again.
『Become… Great.』[???]
『..What?』[Nova]
Nova's head started splitting.
The man gave Nova a large grin.
A singular word kept pounding in his head.
Nova suddenly woke up.
『Area!』[Nova]
Nova's perception freaked out.
A moment ago, he was sitting in a car, then he found that he was looking downwards on a sea of trees.
『Wh-WHAAAAAAA!!!』[Nova]
「Call me, partner!」[Reischneid]
『Reischneid!』[Nova]
The hilt appeared in Nova's hands in a burst of blue flames.
『Good! Leave this to me.』[Reischneid]
Hovering above the gem was a magical circle that changed rapidly.
『Flight!』[Reischneid]
Nova and Reischneid began to gently hover downwards.
『Thanks, Reischneid. You really saved me there!』[Nova]
『What happened there anyway?』[Reischneid]
『I had a dream, and I can't really remember what happened. I just heard a lot of "Area", and I screamed it when I woke up.』[Nova]
『Oh! Seems like your seed has grown a bit. Congrats.』[Reischneid]
『Huh? Why did it grow now?』[Nova]
『Well, if your mana is high enough, your seed will grow and expand. There's also a bunch of other factors that go into it, but the main thing is mana, knowledge, and growth.』[Reischneid]
『Grow how? Know what?』[Nova]
『Who knows?』[Reischneid]
「I can imagine him smirking...」[Nova]
『I am smirking.』[Reischneid]
『Wait, did you say that out loud?』[Nova]
『Yeah, I've been able to.』[Reischneid]
Nova gently hit the floor.
『Since when?』[Nova]
『Since you manifest me as a weapon.』[Reischneid]
『And you didn't say anything why?』[Nova]
『If your teacher heard, she'd probably dissect you.』[Reischneid]
『Well.. I mean.』[Nova]
『Anyway, go walk in that direction.』[Reischneid]
A little white trail shot out of the hilt of Reischneid towards a random direction.
『Alright. But, more importantly- you can cast spells?』[Nova]
He started going ahead.
『With enough mana in the orange gem, I can do anything.』[Reischneid]
『So, do you think I can just store mana in you and stockpile?』[Nova]
『Well, you can. But you should train yourself first. I can absorb mana on my own.』[Reischneid]
『You can?! Aren't you really strong, then?』[Nova]
『I'm about average for a guardian. Sarena didn't even use any of her guardian's ability on you.』[Reischneid]
『I have a lot to learn, huh?』[Nova]
『Yeah, but don't worry. I'll be by your side till you eventually slip up.』[Reischneid]
『Hey, don't say that. If I really do slip up, I'll take you with me.』[Nova]
『Well, that's fine too. Hahaha!』[Reischneid]
