Chapter 4
As Kai and I stood out in the open field, I couldn't contain my excitement. It was the next day, and damn, was I hyped. Today was the day I got to learn magic! In the old world, I'd always had dreams of wielding it, and now, here I was, about to make those dreams a reality. I was practically bouncing with anticipation.
"Alright, so I've brought you out here just in case things get a bit... explosive during our training," Kai explained, his tone serious but with a hint of amusement. "Now, for the basic stuff: magic." I nodded eagerly, hanging onto his every word. But my excitement got the better of me, and I found myself drifting off into my own little world. "Mark!! Pay attention," Kai snapped, jolting me back to reality. "Huh? Oh, sorry," I replied, feeling a bit sheepish for letting my excitement get the best of me. Time to buckle down and focus.
Kai let out an exasperated sigh, clearly not thrilled about going over the basics again. "Anyway, to use magic, you gotta tap into what we call Mana. It's like the lifeblood of magic, flowing through everything in this world," he explained, sounding a bit bored with the whole spiel. "So, how do I harness Mana then?" I questioned, eager to get my hands dirty with some actual magic.
"Picture the wind wrapping around you, like a freaking tornado engulfing your entire being," Kai continued, his voice suddenly more animated. "Then, feel that energy seep into your very core, make it yours, and let it rip... Like this!!!" With a flourish, Kai unleashed a burst of blue flame that lit up the sky. "Whoaaaaa," I gasped in amazement, genuinely impressed by the display of magical prowess.
"Alright, now it's your turn," Kai urged me on, waiting for my attempt at tapping into Mana. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate, but suddenly I heard a strange voice in my head. "Calculating Mana percentage," it said, interrupting my focus. "Assessing mana density," it continued. Wait a minute... I recognized that voice. It was the same one I heard when my soul was being put back together... A.V.A. That's what it was called. So, this must be the A.I. that Iza gifted me.
"Magic power generating at 12%," A.V.A.'s voice echoed within my mind. What was this AI up to? As I felt my body being engulfed with some sort of energy, I couldn't help but think, 'Handy encyclopedia, huh?' "Charging... Magic power at 70%... shall I release magic power?" A.V.A. queried. "Uhhh, sure?" I replied, not entirely sure what I was agreeing to. "Calculating spell success... 100%," A.V.A. affirmed. Meanwhile, Kai remained oblivious to the internal dialogue occurring within my mind. "Hmmm, it does take some time to get used to, just keep trying," Kai offered his encouragement. Suddenly, I opened my eyes to find them glowing with a golden hue. Streams of golden flames burst forth from my hand with incredible force, soaring into the sky like a breathtaking firework display.
The explosion was enough to push Kai away, but damn, that was impressive. Iza didn't skimp on his blessings, that's for sure. "Did I do it right?" I asked Kai, who sat on the ground in awe. "What in the actual?!" Kai quickly got up and rushed towards me, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me back and forth. "MARK... DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID? Your natural magic power is GOLD!" he exclaimed. "Yeah, I like the color gold too, but aren't you overreacting just a little?" I teased. "The only known races to produce golden flames are either Divine Beasts or Angels, and you just summoned them with ease!"
"Yeah, I'm guessing that means I'm mega-strong, right?" I thought to myself. But before I could downplay the situation, Kai snapped back, "Don't you dare downplay this, Mark!!" How did he know I was going to try that? "It can't be a coincidence. When you got angry yesterday, your magic power was so intense I could see it. But now, when you release magic, it's greater than anything I've ever seen." Kai was nerding out right now, and it was refreshing to see someone like him so excited. Back in my old world, he would definitely be one of the popular kids. "Mark, I'm gonna teach you something simple: opening up your status board," Kai explained. "A status board? As in a board to see someone's stats?" I questioned. "Exactly. Now take this blue stone, all you need to do is to imbue a bit of magic power into it, and we can see your stats," Kai instructed.
As I imbued the blue stone with magic, it displayed something that looked like a character sheet:
Name: Mark Watanabe
Age: 15
Race: Human
Class: Summoner
Magic Affinity: Golden Flames
Skills:
∙ Golden Fire Manipulation
∙ Mana Absorption III
∙ Rapid Skill Acquisition
∙ Fortuna's Grace (Unique Skill)
∙ Language Comprehension
∙ Elemental Control V
∙ Telekinesis III
∙ Healing Touch V
∙ Shadow Manipulation
∙ Teleportation
∙ Time Manipulation
∙ Dimensional Shift
∙ Barrier Creation IV
∙ Illusion Casting
∙ Shape-shifting
∙ Enhanced Reflexes III
∙ Flight III
∙ Psychic Abilities
∙ Astral Projection
∙ Mind Reading II
∙ Energy Projection VII
∙ Force Field Generation
∙ Invisibility
∙ Enhanced Strength V
∙ Enhanced Speed III
∙ Enhanced Durability II
∙ Pyrokinesis VIII
∙ Cryokinesis VI
∙ Hydrokinesis VI
(And 288 more skills)
Stats:
∙ Strength: 39
∙ Agility: 38
∙ Intelligence: 40
∙ Wisdom: 39
∙ Endurance: 38
∙ Magic Power: 40
Kai looked at my stats in awe but he wasn't as surprised anymore. "I... I mean, what the hell?" Kai exclaimed, trying to comprehend the significance. He explained that having these many skills was an anomaly; not even the highest-ranked adventurers, royalty, or powerful monsters possessed such t doesn't matter for now. We should just keep training. We can figure out what you can really do later," he said finally, his tone reassuring.
Oh boy, for the next two days, Kai subjected me to rigorous training, and let me tell you, it was hell. We worked on my magic control for the most part, seeing how much magic I could harness without getting tired. The bright side is, I can control a lot without getting tired. The worst part? Kai told me to do it more than 200 times... I'm beginning to think I've become his lab rat at this point. "Again!" Kai yelled at me, urging me to try again.
Next, we did the basic things like combat practice with swords, bows, and other weapons. I gotta say, I was a natural. Kai created some training dummies with magic for me to test my strength. Apparently, I had archery and swordsmanship skills. Surprise, surprise. "Keep your movements steady, Mark. Don't be too hasty," Kai instructed. The dude was acting like some military commander, couldn't stop yelling at me. Finally, Kai was going to teach me some basic spells and how to use some of my skills. Well, my training has been easy thus far, thanks to my unique skill, which allows me to get any outcome I want, of course... Man, this training's gonna turn me into a frickin' superhero or something.
Oh boy, for the next two days, Kai subjected me to rigorous training, and let me tell you, it was hell. We worked on my magic control for the most part, seeing how much magic I could harness without getting tired. The bright side is, I can control a lot without getting tired. The worst part? Kai told me to do it more than 200 times... I'm beginning to think I've become his lab rat at this point.
"Again!" Kai yelled at me, urging me to try again. "You've got to focus, Mark. You need to control your magic better if you want to be any good at it."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," I grumbled, summoning another burst of magic. "This is getting old real fast."
Next, we did the basic things like combat practice with swords, bows, and other weapons. I gotta say, I was a natural. Kai created some training dummies with magic for me to test my strength. Apparently, I had archery and swordsmanship skills. Surprise, surprise.
"Keep your movements steady, Mark. Don't be too hasty," Kai instructed, his voice echoing across the field. "You're doing great, but you need to be more precise."
The dude was acting like some military commander, couldn't stop yelling at me. But hey, I guess that's what it takes to be a good teacher. Finally, Kai was going to teach me some basic spells and how to use some of my skills. Well, my training has been easy thus far, thanks to my unique skill, which allows me to get any outcome I want, of course...
Kai walked out of his hut, holding a book in his hand. "Alright, Mark, take this," he said, handing it to me.
"What is it?" I asked, flipping through its contents.
"It appears to be an advanced-level spellbook," A.V.A answered. A.V.A has been a huge help during these past few days of training; it's pretty handy. And wait, did she just say advanced level? I thought I was learning the basic stuff.
"Kai... why have you given me an advanced-level spellbook?" I asked Kai. He was taken aback and surprised I knew what it was.
"How did you... never mind. Since you possess a great amount of magic power, I wanted to experiment... I mean, I was curious if you can handle greater spells," Kai explained. He's really running a little experiment, isn't he? Well, he did help me come this far, so I trust him.
"Now, you already know how to control magic, but I'm gonna teach you how to use that magic to cast spells. There are two ways to cast a spell: an incantation or thought transfer. Incantations are spoken words that give our magic instructions to execute a command, while thought transfer is a nonverbal way of casting using your mind. It is a weaker version but very useful depending on the situation," Kai explained, his voice as clear as my WiFi signal. My brain was scrambled hearing Kai explain that, but I guess I understand.
"Right, right, but can you demonstrate?" I asked, hoping to see some cool magic. Kai rolled his eyes and demonstrated a quick spell. "Sigh, watch closely," Kai closed his eyes and chanted, "I bend the rules of nature to give me control over this power. Shine bright like the sun and release natural forces of light! Lucent sphere!" Kai released a powerful light sphere out of his palm into the sky, which exploded with a dazzling visual. I forget sometimes, Kai is a fox spirit, right? So his natural magic is enhanced with his spirit magic affinity. "There, your turn," Kai turned to me, urging me to try. "Right, here I go."
"Replicating spell," A.V.A said with a hint of excitement in her voice while I was trying to remember the words to the spells. "Casting Lucent sphere at 120% Efficiency."
"What whaa...?" I barely had time to finish my sentence before a giant golden sphere shot out of my hands, soaring towards the sky. But instead of dissipating harmlessly, it continued on its trajectory, flying straight towards a nearby tree. Before anyone could react, the sphere collided with the tree, causing it to burst into flames.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" I panicked as I watched the fire spread rapidly, engulfing nearby bushes and threatening to spread further. Kai quickly sprang into action, summoning a powerful gust of wind to extinguish the flames before they could cause any more damage.
"I told you to focus!" Kai scolded me, clearly frustrated by the unexpected turn of events. "You need to control your magic better, or else you'll end up hurting yourself or others." I hung my head in shame, realizing the consequences of my reckless actions.
Well, that was... almost bad, right? At least Kai put out the flames before I burnt down the forest. But Kai seemed to be angry; he wasn't happy with what went down. Suddenly, a green light flashed out of nowhere, catching our attention. As we turned to look, we saw a figure emerging from the trees, its form shrouded in an ethereal glow.
The figure stepped forward, revealing itself to be a towering creature with the body of a man and the features of a forest spirit. Its eyes blazed with anger as it surveyed the scene before it. "Who dares disturb the peace of the forest?" the creature boomed, its voice echoing through the trees.
With the forest guardian confronting us, tension hung heavy in the air. Kai and I exchanged worried glances, unsure of how to proceed. It seemed like our training session had taken an unexpected turn, and now we had to deal with the wrath of an enraged spirit.
As the guardian advanced towards us, I couldn't help but wonder how we would get out of this mess. It was clear that our actions had consequences, and now we had to face them head-on.