Fire mage

Thomas kept meditating the whole night as he didn't feel any tiredness, actually it was due to him getting stronger. The mana was refreshing his mind so if he kept meditating he would never feel tiredness anymore.

The next day he was guided by the boy outside of the tree, it was the first time he got out from the tree after going inside, he looked around and was astounded at how tall were the trees. The tree he was in was even bigger as it reached the clouds at it's peak, it looked more like a mountain than a tree. At night it's branches appeared like thousands of hands grabbing the stars and the moon, a magnificent sight that Thomas didn't have to experience yet.

"Now that your eye has awakened the first ring I'll tell you the method to use mana. Focus on your third eye, when you feel like you are in complete control open it."

He did as he was told and closed his eyes. He saw his eye that was shining brighter than ever, he focused on it for a long time until he felt something. It was as if the eye was slowly opening on its own, it shone brighter and brighter at each step. Seconds later the eye was fully open and the mana in the surrounding went inside at an insane rate, at the same time a golden wheel appeared behind Thomas's back. He opened his eyes and saw the shining halo behind him, it was magnificent ! It looked like tons of golden blades assembled together to look like a ring, the outside seemed extremely sharp and it was as big as his back.

It kept floating there behind him while emitting a warm light.

"This is a ring ? It looks awesome."

"Every ring is different, yours is pretty unique ; it's the first time I see one that looks like this, usually they have a more ethereal vibe. They are often limpid but yours seem almost physical, this is insane as it means that your mana is concentrated to an unseen point."

"I see... it only confirm the theory that I'm a genius."

Thomas said proudly. A genius amongst mages, he really wanted to boast it to the world.

"Stop being so conceited, in addition to talent you have to hard work to reach the highest levels. Now listen to me well we are going to use magic for the first time, be careful as this isn't a game ; one misstep and you could get injured. Gather mana in your palm, as much as you can, then mold it into a ball and throw very fast, if it explode in before you throw it... at least you'll lose an arm."

"Wait ! Isn't there a less dangerous way ?! Do all the people that train mana in this world risk blowing their arms every time they use it ?"

"Actually there should be less dangerous methods... I'm just ignorant, I was born in a poor family so I couldn't join any magic schools. I was taught magic by an old man that was passing by my village, I don't know who he was but this is the method he used to teach me."

'Seeing his manners I could have swore he was from aristocratic birth...'

"There is no other choice, let's do this."

As mana gathered in his hand it started to appear at the naked eye, he didn't need to use his third eye to see it. A warm white glow appeared and started to slowly release heat, soon it was infused with a red hue ; when the ball became completely red it started to flicker, it had became a flame.

'I can't feel the heat... is it a fake flame or is it because it's mine that I don't feel it ?'

"Throw it !"

Only now did he remember the instructions, he took a baseball pitcher's position and threw it the furthest he can. It didn't go fast at all, would using this in fights be useful ?

Soon it came in contact with a tree, the small flame that was the size of his palm expended and enveloped an area of 10 meters, the grass was burning and a few trees were caught in the fire.

"Wow did I just do this ?"

Thomas said with his mouth gaping.

"Yeah... throwing this way is useless, when you throw use a bit of mana to propel the spell. You are a fire mage... there are different type of mages in the world, fire are the one with the strongest attack but also the weakest defense."

"Like no defense at all ? This sucks how will I survive if I happen to be in a chaotic fight ?"

"You don't have to worry, there are a lot of ways to protect yourself. You can use fire as a shield, it isn't as efficient as earth, water or wind shields but it can prevent a certain type of attack's from reaching you. There are also Artifacts, items infused with mana to release a spell when the owner is in danger. Lastly there is magical wear, armors and weapon that were strengthened by mana."

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Thomas kept training his spell for the morning until the sun was at the highest point in the sky, now that he felt the hunger he remembered that he hadn't eaten anything for a day and a half.

"Hey little boy, I'm hungry !"

The boy was seated at the entrance of the tree watching the sky while Thomas trained for the whole morning.

"My name is Thomas, call me by my name ! If you're hungry just hunt for some animal in the surrounding, strong beasts are afraid of the tree so they won't come near, only small animals that don't feel mana will come here."

"I've never hunted anything how do I do ?"

"Never hunted ?! How did you live your last life ?"

"Well I could buy everything in stores..."

"I hate rich people the most! You guys are so useless you can't do anything by yourself!"

Thomas could only smile wryly, nobody still hunted for a living on earth, the only hunters remaining were people that did it for fun.

"Follow me."

Said the little boy, then he made Thomas do everything, as he didn't have a body he could only guide him. He made him break a branch from a small tree, sharpen it and taught him how to use mana to propel it. Actually the method was the same as the one used to propel the fire ball. Then they spent a long time looking for a prey, it was a very long task and finally when the sky started to darken they saw a boar lying in the shade of a tree.

"Do it now, don't miss your shot or we'll have to keep looking for a long time."

Thomas took a deep breath and focused, his look became so sharp that the animal felt it. It turned it's head toward him but it was too late as the lance was already planted in its eye. The scene took only a second to happen and even the little Thomas couldn't believe it

'His eyes were so sharp that the animal felt it ? Who the hell is this guy...'

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Back at the tree Thomas started a fire, it was way easier now that he just had to use a bit of mana to start a fire, the hardest work had been to carry the heavy boar and to gather the wood but he body was slowly becoming stronger, he felt it.

'How am I going to cook this without condiments...'

He was a chef so he had tons of ways to cook this boar but he couldn't use anyone of them as he lacked the cooking materials.

He just used cut the best parts of the boar and put them on the fire, he had to be careful not to burn them so he stayed there and rolled the meat every few seconds. Slowly the meat became red and greasy, a delicious odor started to waft out and infused in the surroundings.

"What are you doing ? It smell so good..."

Said little Thomas while floating over.

"Ghosts can smell ?"

"Of course I can smell ! What do you think ghosts are ?!

"Oh... my bad ! So can you also eat ?"

"Are you playing with me ? Of course I can't !"

"Oh... too bad, I don't like eating alone. Why don't you sit with me while I'm eating ?"

Thomas said with a big grin but little Thomas didn't seem to like the idea.

"Do you know what I miss the most after becoming a ghost ? Eating ! I'm not gonna watch you eat. I'm going in the tree, call me when you are done."