Miss Monica

Right around when the sun started going down, the Envoy set up a campfire for everyone. When they finished lighting it with fire magic, they brought out 'chairs' for everyone to sit on. They weren't actual chairs, just logs they got from the forest to the East.

'I wonder how they carried all these logs over here? Everyone was busy doing their own things, so where did they find the time to transport it?'

"You severely underestimate mana control, kid. Did you think people had to drag these over here?" Mr. Auger said with a smug smile while sitting down on the same log I was on.

"What? No... I was just thinking that these are nice logs." I responded with sweat dripping off my face.

"Right... well those logs you're so enamored with, were all cut down, and carried over, by that woman over there." He pointed to a woman who was cooking over the fire.

The woman I was currently looking at, was skinny with almost no muscle, and couldn't have been over the height of 5'5. She currently had her dark purple hair tied up in a messy bun, so as to not let any of it get in the food, and for clothing... I could only describe it as casual. She wore a black T-shirt and a tight pair of jeans.

'I guess casual clothing in the Empire is about the same as what was on Earth.'

"Are you sure Mr. Auger? She doesn't look capable of pulling something like that off." I questioned.

"I told you, brat, you're underestimating mana control. Out of everyone here... she has the strongest control over mana. Let me call her over here so you can see." Mr. Auger said while flagging her down.

"What is it? The food's almost done, so make it quick." She said while looking down at him with sharp eyes.

"Calm down, Monica... I just wanted you to show my pupil here, your capabilities in mana control." He said while winking at her.

"I told you to never call me my name without Miss in front of it, didn't I?" She said while threatening him with a wooden spoon.

"Right, you did say something about that... I think. Who cares about the small details though, just show this brat here, your abilities." He said while smiling.

"I hate you... so no." She responded while walking away.

As she was waking away, Mr. Auger had this devilish smile on his face.

"What if I told you... this child has recently lost his parents... and hasn't felt motherly love in a while?" Mr. Auger said while slowly talking softer.

She stopped in her tracks instantly and started shaking.

"Is she crying?" I asked.

"Hehe, give it a moment... since she can't bare any children of her own, she goes all crazy when she hears a child needs motherly love." He said while snickering.

After a couple of seconds, she stopped shaking and pointed a finger at me. I don't know what happened, but my body locked up and I started floating towards her. When I was within a couple inches of her face she smiled and hugged me. Her sharp, purple eyes, didn't leave mine for even a single second.

'Woah ok... it's getting... harder to breathe lady.'

Eventually, she held me away from her chest and asked me a question.

"Are you truly in need of motherly love?" She said with a massive smile.

I didn't know what to say, so I looked over at Mr. Auger, and all I saw was him nodding his head while mouthing the words 'go for it'.

"*Sigh* why yes... I miss my mommy so much, but she's no longer here *sob*... if only somebody could show me the same love and affection she did." I said in the most monotone voice ever.

"*Sniffle* you poor baby! Don't worry, I'll look after you while we stay here." She said while hugging me again.

"Woah, that kid's acting skills are next level." Mr. Auger said under his breath.

'What is wrong with everyone here? Does everyone from the Empire have a couple of screws loose?'

After she finished throwing me around and hugging me, she showed her mana control abilities. The only thing I didn't expect... was that she'd be so freakin strong.

In the blink of an eye, all the people sitting on the logs were lifted into the sky, along with the logs they were sitting on. She kept them up there for around a minute, moving them around until she gently placed them back in their original spots.

Unfortunately, everyone was either passed out or too dizzy to stay sitting up on the logs. The only people that were sitting up still, were Victor and Mr. Auger.

"Brilliant display of mana control Monica. Now do you see how strong magic and the ability to control mana is?" Mr. Auger said while looking at me.

"It's Miss Monica to you, Auger, and if you do it one more time, I'll throw this spoon so hard at your face you'll end up talking like Victor." She said while putting me back on the ground.

After they finished teasing each other, I smiled and thanked both of them from the bottom of my heart.

"Yes! Thanks to you, Mr. Auger, I know how strong magic can be, and thanks to you, Miss Monica, I now know that mana control is far more important than I thought. It seems I've only touched the surface." I said while smiling as wide as I could.

I don't know why, but the excitement I felt from Miss Monica's display... was amazing. I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning.

'Could I be capable of that, in the future? I thought since I didn't have a lot of mana... there would be no point in training such a thing, but... if Mr. Auger showed me this... then it must mean I'm capable of it.'

"Please, just call me Monica, and don't be afraid to ask me questions when it comes to mana control." Monica said with a kind smile.

"Hey, Monica... I think the food's burnt." Victor said from the side.

After he said that, everyone that was still standing, looked over at the food. The pot that was above the fire, had black smoke coming out of it, and Monica was quick to react. When she pointed her finger at the pot, it instantly levitated off the fire and was placed carefully on the ground.

"OH NO! That would've been the best stew I've ever made, too." Monica said with a pouting face.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think Victor will still eat it." Mr. Auger said as he pointed to Victor.

"Absolutely not! I'll just make another stew, all you have to do is wait another hour." Monica said sternly.

While Mr. Auger was laughing at Victor drooling over the burnt pot and Monica firing up another stew, I walked over to a tiny stick and tried picking it up with mana.

After a while, I was able to make the stick shake, but was never able to fully pick it up. As I sat there, thinking about what to do, Mr. Auger snuck up behind me.

"Wrong!" He said with his face only inches away from mine.

"By the gods! What did I tell you about sneaking up on people like that Mr. Auger?" I said while clutching my heart.

"You need to envision mana with all of your senses... not just your eyesight. Then, and only then... can you try picking things up with mana." He said while walking away.

'I hate these guys, all they do is give you random hints, and expect you to figure it out on your own. I seriously hope not every Master is like this.'

After that, I spent a good number of hours trying to envision mana with all my senses. I did this until I fell asleep on the ground.

'Now that I think about it… I forgot to eat Monica's stew before I went to bed, man am I hungry.'