14 Magic and Mastery

Avrel was often a noisy city, until late at night. This did not mean that there were no quiet places.

The 'Meli's adventurer hostel', where Stella and Lilliana were staying, had an outdoor courtyard, far from the main roads.

Although the noise wasn't quite covered, it was better to train here than in their room, in an alley, or out of town.

Currently, the two girls are training in magic.

The ground was covered with luminous particles, which disappeared as quickly as they appeared.

"No, no, Lilliana. You're rushing this too much! You need to get your energy flowing more before you can cast your spell. Look at me. "

Stella closed her eyes, concentrating. Soon, a violent storm-like aura appeared around her.

"Lei"

A small spray of electricity appeared five meters in front of her, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

"This is the Paralysis spell, a basic spell of the lightning element. It is a monorunic spell using the rune Lei. It, therefore, lacks a bit of power, but it allows a quick numbing of the target to see a short paralysis on the weakest targets."

"If you wish to use a spell correctly you must first focus your magic correctly. Then you must visualize your spell. Willpower is extremely important. Finally, you must focus your mana on the spell's runes. Normally, you should be able to visualize them in your mind."

The invocation of magic was based on an important work of the mind and imagination.

Four factors were important: concentration of mana, visualization of the spell, visualization of the runes, and circulation of mana in it.

Only after these four steps could a spell be cast.

Thus, the time it took to summon a spell depended on a mage's ability to gather enough mana concentration for the spell, and the number of runes in the spell.

To help in the rune's visualization, many mages used a voice command or spell, which consisted of reciting the runes of the spell.

Thus, the probability of the mage failing to perform his spell due to the use of the wrong rune or the wrong visualization of one of them was greatly reduced in combat.

Of course, experienced mages with a very good knowledge of their runes and spells can summon the simplest spells without a formula and almost instantly.

"Alright, try it again. Use a barrier spell, combining the Lin and Juna runes."

Lilliana said nothing, closed her eyes, and concentrated. After a few seconds, small particles of light surrounded her body. This was the result of the visualization phase.

Shortly after these particles appeared, she began to sing:

"Lin. Juna!"

More particles appeared, and soon those particles that were vibrating in the air slowed down to a crawl.

The rune Juna had gone into action, fixing the relative position of the light particles.

"You see, it wasn't very complicated."

"Indeed, but it takes me more than 10 seconds, anyway, to get there. It's not yet possible for me to use it in combat."

"Don't worry about that, it's normal when you're just starting. In a week or two, you'll be able to cast such a basic spell in a few seconds. On the other hand, it'll take you several months or even years of practice before you'll be able to use it in an emergency in a fight."

"I guess I'll have to add magic to my daily training..."

Stella smiled slightly. As a mage herself, she knew that learning magic was a long and arduous process.

But magic offered significant possibilities. Without training the mind, it was impossible to reach the higher ranks.

Great control of his mind was the key to unlocking the locks that naturally limit human physical abilities.

So magic was also a means of improving physical abilities, albeit indirectly.

The two girls decided to train until sunset.

Unfortunately for Lilliana, she ran out of mana long before that. Even though her barrier wasn't originally mana intensive, her spirit stat value was very low, a testament to her low magic reserve.

Instead, she decided to meditate, which is normally the usual method warriors use to improve and sharpen their minds.

After that, they had dinner together at the inn's restaurant before going to bed.

The next day, the weather was very bad. Indeed, torrential rains fell on the region of Avrel.

From time to time, a gigantic streak of light tore through the sky, accompanied by a thud that even made the people vibrate inside.

The streets of the city were very calm. The market was empty, not a single shopkeeper had opened his stall.

Only those who were forced to do so would move. These few people were, for most of them, walking under a blanket that still got wet.

Even worse, the powerful gusts would sometimes send them flying, leaving these poor people in the lurch, unable to fight the forces of nature.

Only sufficiently talented mages could afford the luxury of protection via a barrier.

Unfortunately for them, Stella and Lilliana were not strong enough to provide such a barrier, and they did not possess the runes anyway.

They were hurrying, running down the street, towards the guild building.

Indeed, today was their first day as a scout in the service of the guild. Moreover, a third person belonging to the guild would join them for their service.

They both arrived, soaked. They walked calmly to Alice's office, and she waved as soon as she saw them.

"Hi, girls, how are you today?"

*Sighs*

"Soaked to the bone... What horrible weather!"

Alice laughed at Lilliana's lamentations.

"You aren't used to this kind of storm, I guess ?"

"No, I'm from the north, the desert is far too arid for such storms to occur. On the contrary, there, it would almost be seen as a blessing."

"I see. Is there anything I can do for you today? If I'm right, a third person is supposed to join you today, but he hasn't arrived yet."

"Well, after everything we've experienced recently, we thought it would be interesting to see how we've evolved. With luck, we could move up to rank G!"

This time, it was Stella who spoke, placing both hands on the desk with enthusiasm. A slight smile came over her face.

"I see you've recovered well from your misadventure! Very well, give me your maps, I will update them."

Alice took the two cards and scanned them at the terminal. Glancing slightly at the results, she couldn't help but smile:

Rank: H

Lilliana Vanilla :

Level 9

Vitality: 11(+2)(+3)=16

Strength: 15(+5)(+1)=21

Agility: 16(+3)(+4)=23

Spirit: 10(+0)(+1)=11

Rank: G

Stella Perseia:

Level 10

Vitality: 10(+1)(+2)=13

Strength: 7(+0)(+0)=7

Agility: 16(+2)(+6)=24

Spirit: 26(+8)(+4)=38

Both girls' eyes lit up. They had progressed so much, so quickly.

"So, are you the two ladies who will have the honor of accompanying me?"

They had barely had time to analyze their map when a deep voice sounded behind them.