Hand's On Lesson

Sigurd's face looked quite adorable as he opened the cork with a pop, sniffing the fluid smelling of dandelion and honey syrup before downing it in one gulp.

The mixture caused his body to suddenly feel warmth, like a fiery flame was crackling in his stomach, spreading to all his organs before he felt a sensation of relaxation and his hunger completely vanished.

"What wonderful magic!?"

"Fufu... what is this cute boy? Nothing like the cheeky one from two nights ago."

The witch named Medea stepped forward before handing him a bundle of black and dark green clothes; it was a strange outfit.

A mixture of a raven black robe, with dark chain mail taken from his former armour and the church tabard, was now pure black, with the emblem removed.

"Don't worry; the emblem is gone because every witch will form their unique emblem once you become fully fledge, and all spells you cast will draw this emblem, which is both your identity and a symbol of your future direction."

"When you have yours, I will personally weave it into that tabard of yours."

"I see..."

'Exciting, my symbol and emblem. I cannot wait to have my own.'

She then stood and watched as he changed his clothes.

The new robe looked quite fancy. Sigurd resembled a noble who enjoyed pretending to be a knight, with robes covering his chain mail gloves, belt, chest and stylish leather pauldrons.

"Now you are dressed, come on. We needed to head into the forest and start your training."

***

The eastern gate led to a vast forest, likely part of the one from before, with a massive clearing of beautiful grasslands, nothing like the destroyed and desolate land he saw before becoming a warlock.

'It's beautiful. Do all witches hide such secret realms?'

'No, I should call them elves now. It's impolite to call them witches, a term used by the church to torture them without any proof.'

When they stopped, Sigurd realised a group of Horn Rabbits gathered under an Appa tree. While in the distance, a pack of Monstro Deer were grazing in the sunlight.

"Sigurd was your name, correct?"

"Y-Yes, my lady."

"Oh my, call me Medea. I am a greedy witch, fufu."

'What does a greedy witch mean? Does she eat a lot?'

"How many times can you cast your magic?"

"The one that you collapse to create should have a name in your heart already; all witches name their spells a different name, much like the emblem."

Sigurd was stunned for a moment because he was sure he had failed, but looking at Medea's youthful but lovely face, he felt like she was serious.

So he closed his eyes and remembered that night's feeling.

The centre of his palm gathered his violent elements rapidly, different from a normal witch.

His element seemed too dark and mixed with other strange elements, even for Medea, who primarily used a superior flame called Azur Flamme, which translated into a blue flame.

"My magic is called Noctra. That is all I know..."

Medea hummed for a while with her index finger tapping against her chin, looking like she was thinking about something important.

His magic formed, creating a black sphere similar to last time but with a green flame around it.

"Hmm... Interesting. Noctra means Darkness or nothingness but also means Devil in the ancient tongue... Hmmm... how interesting."

Medea nodded as though she figured out what the spell represented; she pointed at the Horn Rabbits eating delicious leaves near the Appa tree. "Show me its power and try to see how much one takes from your entire pool."

Sigurd nodded before aiming at the rabbits. "Noctra Blast!" He shouted as his pitch-black sphere flew towards the Horn Rabbits like a cannonball.

The sphere howled through the air and homed in on the smallest rabbit as the emerald flames, like a devil's hand, grabbed the creature, melting and burning its fur before the black ball smashed into its body, causing the poor critter to explode.

"Ugh..." Sigurd felt his hand tremble; the feeling of magic passing through his flesh still felt strange, but he found it amazing.

'I can almost instinctively tell that I can cast that spell five more times!?'

"Well?" Her low but alluring voice sounded as she narrowed her eyes at his current state.

"I can cast it five times, and then I'll be empty."

"Understood, well... the current state is a little primitive, and with this, there are no usable parts left of the rabbit. So you fail!"

"Eh, but!?"

Medea then tapped his nose, her face strangely close enough to taste her sweet breath blowing down his cheek and into his mouth before she pointed her right hand into the air and a blue flame formed.

"Here's a brief lesson to show you that spells are not as stiff as you seem to think."

Her flame transformed from a normal sphere to the strange flame-shrouded sphere as his Noctra, and then it shrank, slowly condensing into a ball the size of a speck of rice, compared to the first size from before her lovely pink lips parted.

"Azura Maxi."

She flicked the tiny ball that tore through the air towards the group of rabbits as it whistled through the air. The blue flame suddenly expanded rapidly the moment it touched the leading rabbit.

BOOOOOM!

An explosion erupted in the area, causing Sigurd to shield himself from flying grass and rocks before looking at Medea with wide eyes.

"See, spells are just like weapons you need to shape and make better for the purpose. This spell modification is called Maxima, or Maxi and involves you condensing the size to create a potent tension, so when the spell unfolds, it will turn into an area of effect spell."

"This is your reward for working so hard on the first night. Sigurd, my cute apprentice Warlock."

Her body wrapped around him, as if unfazed by the strong winds, as she kissed his cheek, "It's my first time being a master; come to me at any~ time you need me."

Sigurd felt confused dealing with this woman because before he could enjoy the feeling of her body against his, she vanished and appeared over five metres away, pointing towards a lone Monstro deer, about two metres tall... its huge horns bent in a deadly shape.

"Kill it with a single spell. If you succeed, then tonight's meal will be meat and fresh vegetables."

"Fail, and you'll be drinking another strange potion."

'!!!'

He felt a sudden test, but somewhere in his heart, he felt calm, watching the deer around thirty feet away from him and grazing. He believed that his blast spell would never work, then how...

'I don't want to ruin the ingredients... I cannot use Maxi... What about a sword... a piercing sword? Make my spell into a thin, piercing shape... like a beam?'

Sigurd closed his eyes, placing his index and middle finger against his forehead. A strange black line appeared on his forehead as the swirl of Noctra began to form before shrinking, much like Medea's Maxi spell.

"Oh? What is this... A strange pattern and magic formulation..." Medea whispered, her fingertips mimicking his spell but fizzling as she got the last parts wrong.

However, he focused on the image of him practising the sword, piercing a wooden dummy for hours until his fingers bled hundreds, thousands of times before a green sphere of energy formed at his fingertips, causing the air to vibrate slightly close to them.

'This is it!' 

—Noctra Beam!