Dragon God Mirelia Alta Teaches Magic

Mana. It was said to be behind everything that exist in the vast universe. Whether it be in the stars, the planets, or living things, a trace of it could be found anywhere. And everything in this cosmos, including the laws that allows the world to operate, was made possible due to the existence of this energy.

Regarding this topic, Yuki was still in disbelief. After all, he knew for a fact that no traces of mana had been discovered back on Earth and even magic was only in the realm of imagination. As for what the Dragon God thought about his bewilderment, it only snorted in response.

"Idiot. Of course, no one will know of it. Mana definitely exists back in your home world. It exists in everything, after all. It was just that it was not thick enough to be felt. Even you… You only felt it when you touched the mana I gathered on my claw, so it is no wonder that no one in your world even knew of it."

"That… certainly makes sense. But how are you so sure about it? You've never been to my world, right?"

"True. But this monarch had been in a dimension similar enough where the natives could not make use of mana. And while they could not sense it, it was definitely there."

It was hard to believe. The fact that he had been living with mana everywhere all this time made it even more surreal. But he had no choice but to take it as a fact seeing that an incarnation of fantasy was literally right in front of him.

"Hey, servant. Tell this monarch if you know of humans back in your world who were unnaturally stronger compared to the average or people who claimed that they could see things that others could not. These types of people exist back in your world, right?"

Yuki nodded in agreement. Certainly, humans capable of such feats did exist back on Earth. There were even contests about pulling vehicles with a rope or tossing metal barrels up in the air. Looking back, those types of competitions were indeed absurd from a normal person's point of view.

Not only that, there were also people who were quite gung-ho about the supernatural stuff like it was real. No, maybe, it was actually real. Back then, he never really understood their zeal about it since it could not be seen by everyone or proven by science. But if what the dragon said was even the least bit truthful, then everything made sense. If mana, the energy needed to perform the impossible truly existed, those people he thought to be crazy might actually have some credibility in them.

"You see. The true nature of mana is that of a glue that holds the laws of the universe together. It is the reason why everything came to be or why the world works in a certain way like the physics you told me earlier," Mirelia explained. "Do you know why I asked you about those humans who could do absurd things?"

"I think I kind of get it now."

The reason that those people were able to perform at higher level or perceive things differently than others was because of mana. At least, that was how Yuki thought of it.

"That's right. It is how you think it is. Those people definitely have a bit of mana inside their bodies. This monarch is sure of it. They were able to ignore or transcend the laws of the universe due to the mana that they were holding even if it was just for a bit. If mana is behind everything, then the only thing that could go against it is also mana itself. Just like this!"

After saying so, Mirelia raised its claw, and a moment later, an infernal flame burst forth out of it, bathing the entire underground in a sea of flames. The heat was scorching, unlike anything Yuki had experienced until now. That was the power of magic… the power of mana that they had been talking about!

"P-Put it away! Hot! Hot! Hooooot!"

"Oops. This monarch forgot that you are quite fragile."

"Liar! You just wanted to do that didn't you?"

That was definitely not the Dragon God's intention. It was definitely not getting back at him for not treating it with reverence. Not at all, alright?

Well, ignoring Mirelia's shenanigans, he felt astonished with the magical display. He was still in disbelief about all of this, but he was not stupid enough to not acknowledge it. After being shown and told that much, there was no way he would not be able to understand what the dragon wanted to tell him.

Basically, magic was the practice of going against nature. No, to be more precise, it was more about the modification of nature and reality than going against it. If it could bring laws together and bind them into what they were, it could surely do the opposite and rearrange everything to what one desired, thus manifesting the impossible into the plane of reality.

"Now then, let's start by having you do the same thing?"

"Oh!"

Mirelia chuckled, seeing the enthusiasm in Yuki's face. With its conversation earlier with him, the dragon knew that his world did not have the least bit of magic in it. This must have been something amazing for someone who spent his life living as an ordinary human.

"Concentrate and close your eyes, I'll tell you on what to do."

Yuki followed the Dragon God's instructions and sat cross-legged. His eyes were closed tightly as he trembled, excitement bubbling in his chest in anticipation. Not good! He had to concentrate!

"Since you already know how mana feels from earlier, you just have to do the same and feel mana once more. However, this time, you'll have to sense the mana contained in your body."

"Alright."

Reigning his enthusiasm, he focused his senses in his body. That warmth that he felt from Mirelia's claw, he needed to search for it once more. And as if it was the most natural thing to do, like a gear clicking in its rightful place, he managed to catch a warm flow inside his body immediately. It was a strange sensation, as if he was bathing inside a hot spring. He was sure that he found it. It gave off such a comfortable feeling that if he so much as let his guard down a little, he would surely fall asleep.

"Well done. You found it, right?"

Mirelia's voice snapped him out of his trance, his head nodding.

"Now, will it to move, when you feel it go 'foooosh', you go 'grghhh'. This is the most important part, alright?"

Yuki's lip twitched slightly. Just when he thought that his master finally figured out how to teach, it still ended up like this. He did as he was told, though, applying the little bit of information that he gathered from Mirelia's "lesson". At least, from what he understood from the dragon's onomatopoeia or whatever, it should be possible to influence the movement of mana with his thoughts. And correct, he was. Just thinking about it made the warm current in his body move. It was more difficult than he had imagined. The experience felt like how one would move a limb or two, but the process did not feel as natural. It was as though a third arm was added to his perfectly symmetrical anatomy, ruining his body's balance and coordination. With practice, however, and his strong desire to use magic, he managed to gain enough proficiency in it no matter how tiring it was.

"Good. Now, 'fwoosh' it towards your hands or wherever you like."

He rolled his eyes following the next step. At least, this one instruction was a little bit more understandable than the first one. To summarize how it felt, it was as if something was crawling underneath his skin. Ticklish, his body shook a little, dispersing the mana that he had already gathered into a stream. Having failed, he was not discouraged and persevered as he tried to will the energy into his palm once more.

"Then, to cast magic, imagine a flame go 'whooooom'."

In order to manifest a magical phenomenon, a good visualization was necessary. While the Dragon God was not too clear about it with its instruction. Yuki assumed that an appropriate image was needed in order to activate a spell.

Flame. He needed an image for it. He went through his memories to search for a reference to use. Candle? No… it was too small. Gas stove? It was still not satisfying enough for his first magic. He had to make it grand for his first milestone. And then, an image of a flame thrower came into his mind. This one! Having chosen what he wanted to do, he put his hands forward, and as if by instinct, words came out of his mouth.

"Flame Thrower."

Wooosh!

A stream of flame, like a mini dragon breath, emerged from his palm, shooting right in front of him without pause. Amazed, Yuki's eyes flew wide open in a circle. He could not believe that he was actually using magic. The next second, however, the magic went out all of a sudden as his body went limp. He fell into his knees as his breath quickened. It was as though he ran a marathon.

"W-What is that? Isn't this too tiring?"

Seeing Yuki fall into an exhausted mess after a few seconds, Mirelia chuckled, poking fun at its servant.

"It's only natural. You're weak, after all."

He was definitely weak. That, he was aware of. He knew just how true the dragon's words were after seeing the flaming havoc that it had unleash earlier. This little magic that he made happen did not even reach a single percent of those infernal flames that Mirelia had manifested. A sigh slipped out of his mouth. The gap was just too big, but he did not get discouraged. He was going to be stronger from here on, too.

"Alright! Now, you know the basics of mana control. We can start with the real thing."

"And that would be?"

"Beating the shit out of you."