Self-Check

Nova woke up in the dark space of his room.

He looked out the window, realizing that it was already dark out.

『...Ggh? Who carried me here?』[Nova]

『I did.』

Contrary to Nova's expectations, he received an answer.

Nova turned his head and saw Oswald sitting there.

『Os-bro?』[Nova]

He nodded and loosened up his posture a bit.

『Do you know what happened before you passed out?』[Oswald]

Nova tried to recall the memories, but could only vaguely remember the concentration of the flames' mana.

『...I think I pooled all of my mana into one place with Inferno Purgatory and healed Rai's Zhulong..?』[Nova]

Oswald stared at Nova for a moment before breaking the stare and sighing.

『...That's what I thought.』[Oswald]

Nova felt slightly uncomfortable.

『Did I do something bad?』[Nova]

Oswald shook his head.

『You didn't. You just accidentally created a variant spell is all.』[Oswald]

Nova glanced at Oswald with a confused look.

『...Variant spell?』[Nova]

Oswald nodded.

『A variant spell is something that uses a common base, then changes the outcome of the spell with some type of alteration. For example, if I were to cast a normal fireball, that would be the base spell.』[Oswald]

He flicked his finger, then a flame hovered above his finger.

Nova nodded, staring at the flame.

『Then, if I applied another spell or ability involving mana, I can get a different result from the normal fireball.』[Oswald]

He opened his palm, before closing it shut around the fireball.

『Command.』[Oswald]

He opened his hand, then, a bright flaming bow materialized itself in his hands.

Nova pushed himself a bit closer to see.

『What?!』[Nova]

『This is a combination of fireball, Command, and the weapon conjuration spell Reagan should have taught you.』[Oswald]

Nova stared in awe at the endlessly burning bow that seemed to shine as bright as the sun.

『That's amazing! How can I do that?!』[Nova]

Oswald was happy to get some praise from Nova, but he seemed reluctant to teach Nova.

『...Well, you have a guardian. I'm not sure if you need this one in particular...』[Oswald]

When Oswald said that, Nova seemed to get put down a little.

『...Ah. Right.』[Nova]

Oswald felt a bit bad when Nova deflated.

『Well... maybe you can learn something else. Do you know what macro spells are?』[Oswald]

This caught Nova's attention.

『No! Will you teach me?』[Nova]

Oswald nodded before he loosened himself up even more, preparing to be there a while.

『Macro spells are a string of spells that are used in conjunction. For example, imagine the whole process of you saying the chant of Inferno Purgatory, but with your Blessed Rebirth Flames healing the person.』[Oswald]

Nova thought of the bright blue flash of light that occurred when he healed Zhulong and nodded.

『If you can create some kind of cue for that, even just making a new name for that string of abilities- you can effectively skip the entire casting process and just use it like you would your Area.』[Oswald]

Nova nodded intently.

『So… What does that mean again?』[Nova]

Oswald broke out into laughter.

『Hahaha! Add a name for the entire thing and just say the name as the cue to use it!』[Oswald]

Oswald began to get really into discussing mana and magic with Nova.

『For example….』

Oswald and Nova talked for another few hours about several different topics.

...

In the early morning, Nova had decided to do some self-assessment of his status before class.

He stood in the training yard, despite the fact that it was closer to midnight than the beginning of breakfast.

He stood still in the training yard, his body illuminated by the stars that shined above him.

『...I think now should be good.』[Nova]

Most of the other students tired out after a day's worth of lessons, but Nova stayed awake at night due to his Blessed Flame Rebirth.

Whenever he got tired, he would regenerate his own energy and continue on- probably one of his most favorite uses for his ability.

『...I can't destroy school property without staff here... Looks like I can only test out the non-destructive things.』[Nova]

He sat himself down on the floor and flipped the bracelet on his wrist open.

Pouring some mana into it, it detected his current measurement of mana.

『...790 units of mana?! Why is it so high now?!』[Nova]

Now that Nova thought of it, Reischneid has promised to teach him several things when he had reached a certain amount of units.

『I think it was the infusion technique to restore him… and the bloodline infusion technique to make me stronger faster?!』[Nova]

Nova suddenly grew a bit bitter.

『...If I had those techniques, wouldn't I be really strong right now?』[Nova]

After a bit, he loosened up and gave a sigh.

『Nothing I can do about it now. Reischneid.』[Nova]

The sword caused a quick blaze before it appeared before Nova.

『Let's see…?』[Nova]

Nova looked at the gem that was no longer on fire.

Actually, it had changed from an orange gem to a red one.

『Reischneid? You in there?』[Nova]

Nova held the sword, expecting something now that the flame was gone.

Nothing happened, so he just put the sword down by his feet and continued looking at the statistics on the bracelet.

『...10 units of mana regenerated per minute?! And the stats on the mana flow speed is pretty great too… Aren't I getting kinda strong?』[Nova]

After he was done, he flipped the bracelet closed then looked at the sky.

『The stars are so far away. I wonder if one day I'll have enough mana to teleport there...』[Nova]

After a while longer, he stood up and looked toward the school.

『...Actually, why is the training yard so far away from the school?』[Nova]

Judging from there, it was a good five or ten miles away.

The school looked no more than a few glints of lights that are turned on to keep the students inside.

『No wonder Reagan teleports us here...』[Nova]

Nova got up to stretch before he left, but suddenly…

『GRRRAKKK!』

A giant shining white magical circle appeared in the sky and something loud assaulted Nova's ears.