Chapter 3

"Since you're coming with me, I want to see how capable you are."

The next day, I invited Fin to test his magic, and we went out at the back of the inn I was staying at.

Fin told me he's a student at some famous magical academy. It seems that his skills were highly regarded by the teachers there and they labeled him as a prodigy. That's why, I was kind of excited to see what kind of magic he would show off, but...

"Fire magic! Fire arrows!"

"Water magic! Water slash!"

"Earth magic! Earth wall!"

And so, he continues to cast mediocre magic. I thought he was just preparing for a better magic spell to cast, but it seems those really were his best already.

"H-How is it, Eria-sama?" looking confident, he asked.

"Mm... Aren't those just basic-level magic spells? I'm pretty sure even kids can easily cast them..."

Fin's jaw dropped in shock at my reaction. He was so confident and proud just a second ago, but now he's turning into a mess.

"But my mentors said these weren't basic-level magic, but mid-level! And even they can only go that far..."

"Those were definitely basic-level magic."

"No way..."

Fin slumped his shoulders in dissapointment. If he didn't have his trusty staff to cling onto, he would've already fallen on the floor.

Well, I don't really know the standard level of magic capabilities the people around me has anymore, since I practically went solo for a decade already and haven't seen anyone beside myself cast a spell for so long. Surely, Fin was telling the truth when he said that's the best he can do, and so were his mentors. It looks like the standard of magic dropped while I was not paying attention... Still, to even mistake basic-level spells for mid-level magic...

"Okay, I'll show you what a mid-level spell looks like," saying so, I raised up a hand and casted a spell, "Fire magic: Fire Javelins!"

With the spell casted, tens of fiery one-meter-long javelins manifested in the air. Not wanting to damage anything around, I launched them into the sky, and they shoot out like rockets, carrying a sharp, air-piercing sound.

"Amazing, Eria-sama! Those can definitely shoot out wyverns in the sky...! So this is what a legend can do...?"

"Don't fool yourself, that was only a mid-level spell. It's still incomparable to advance-level magic."

"Seriously?"

Fin's eyes widened. His voice sounded doubtful, but I can tell that he's actually very much excited.

Fufu... That's a nice reaction. It's been a while since I've seen that look on someone's face. It's fun to see people start to doubt their common sense once they see something beyond their beliefs.

But still, that's not even a fraction of what I could actually do. I wonder how Fin will react if I show him just a bit more? Well, of course, I'm not much of a show off, so I won't do that.

"Let's see... I can teach you ways to improve your magic, but are you prepared?"

"Gulp... Y-Yes!"

Since I sounded serious when I asked, Fin was nervous when he replied.

"Well, then... Since we still have some time, I want you to exhaust your mana pool now. You can rest after that's done."

"Exhaust my mana...?" he repeated, clearly not understanding my intentions.

"Umu... Just think of it as building your muscles. When you work and exhaust your muscles, it will recover and gain more mass. It kind of works the same way," I explained. "Ah! But make sure to only spend enough that you won't lose consciousness," I added.

"You're making it sound easy, but that's really difficult to do, Eria-sama...."

"Just have the guts to try it," I shrugged my shoulders and said, "It will help you build your mana pool. After that, I'll help you improve your magic control."

And so, for the next five days, Fin went to practice all the spells he knew to exhaust his mana. He also obidiently did everything I told him to do, so he was able to overcome things decently well. Well, he's clearly determined. It seems he's excited at the thought that I, some kind of an idol to him, is going out on my way to watch over him.

"Umu," I nodded in satisfaction, "You should take your rest tomorrow. Since we're about to leave town, you need to be at your best. You need to not only recover your mana, but also your body and psyche."

"I understand, Eria-sama!"

After we finished for the day, I saw Fin off in his room just beside mine. I thought he would be resting soon, but strangely, I can hear some strange noises coming from his room. The wall that separates us were thin, so the noises were not completely blocked off.

Well, I don't really care what he's doing, I would just prefer it if he was a little more quiet...