Lord of Charm

"I know there are 3 Empires and we are in the Olam Empire. How is our kingdom's strength compared to the other kingdoms of the empire?"

"This doesn't concern you right now. it won't be relevant before you can at least become an Advanced Mage. However, I heard some countries have different ways to use their magic."

"How many Advanced Mages do we have in our kingdom?"

"Only a few thousand. Unless you go to the capital, finding more than 2 or 3 of them who aren't companions would be quite challenging. Enough of all that now. Let's start with basic magic."

She created a stick with earth magic and drew a 10 meters long and half a meter wide line in front of Gale.

"Just focus, sense the mana around you, and will it to send a fireball forward. You pass this test once your fire passes the 10 meters mark without going out of the lines. Good luck."

"That's it? No more explanation?"

"Are you an idiot? What is there to explain? Sense, will, and shoot. That's all."

"All right."

It didn't sound simple to Gale but he didn't have a choice other than to give it a try. He closed his eyes and slowly felt the mana around him until he grew accustomed to it. When he felt ready he opened his eyes and ordered it to throw a fireball forward as he raised his hand. A wave of fire was sent from his hand, spreading everywhere and coming to a stop 3 meters ahead.

"What was that supposed to be? Ask it to condense into a fireball, why is it so spread?"

"I don't know, it just wouldn't listen! Maybe Mira's affinity wasn't fit for a fireball?"

"It was her main spell ever since she was a Novice Magician. I've already made my research."

Gale wisely stopped making excuses and tried kept trying repeatedly, giving the mana a detailed request of what it should do. However, the more details he added, the less the mana listened to him.

"Lena, it doesn't work. The more detailed my request is, the worse the results I get."

"Are you… communicating with the mana using words?"

"Yes, why?"

"Do you think mana cares about words? How do animals use it then?"

"Then what should I do?"

"Just imagine it and ask it to happen. Don't imagine the fireball to be huge as it would consume a lot of mana. Just imagine the fireball with a 10 cm diameter. Remember, even a friend will lose their focus if you talk too much, let alone someone who just acknowledges your existence."

"But such a size wouldn't do anything in a real fight!"

"If it's a condensed fire it would make a hole in the chest of a True Magician. Unfortunately, you can't cast sophisticated spells like my snakes before you become a mage. Sophisticated spells are spells that have a long term effect, for example, my snakes would keep chasing the target after the initial attack, while your fireballs only need to be dodged once."

"Do you know what exactly Mira's types of affinities with fire are?"

"No, you'll have to find it out for yourself by meditating and casting different spells."

Gale tried imagining a fire condensed into a ball and being shot forward. This time, it was a ball with a diameter of 30 cm, and it flew 20 meters before it dissolved. Unfortunately, it went out of the lines around the 2 meters mark.

"Hey, the large size means I accidentally made it too strong?"

"No, it means you suck and you couldn't condense it properly. If you shot that at a talented True Magician, he would be able to block it by himself."

Hearing Lena's words reminded Gale of more exciting activities he had with Mira.

"I don't mind sucking."

He mumbled and kept trying to throw a proper fireball. By the end of the day, he could condense it to a 12 cm diameter, only 2 cm away from the goal Lena has given him. Additionally, his fireball occasionally didn't even go out of the lines. It still did most of the time though.

"Am I really so bad at magic?"

He felt discouraged. He tried his best the whole day and couldn't finish the basic spell Lena has given him.

"What happened?"

Nina asked at the dinner table when she saw Gale sulking. She knew he was practicing his magic in the yard and even came out to watch him a few times. It seemed he was doing well, and she didn't believe the world didn't give him an outstanding grade when he gave him recognition to use the mana.

After all, he should be considered as only a few days old Advanced Magician baby in the world's eyes. While he lacked the natural instincts of a beast, he was still blessed by the world with a similar affinity.

"I trained the only day, yet I could only condense my fireball to a diameter of 12 cm, and I still miss the target most of the time. Lena was so impatient I felt like she was going to give up on me entirely."

He complained to Nina, glad he had someone to grumble to about his day. To his surprise, he didn't find an ounce of sympathy in Nina's expression. The word bitterness was written in big letters all over her face.

"So you just wanted to brag? Do you know that True Magicians on average can only condense their fireballs to a diameter of 15 cm, and except for very talented individuals only Advanced Magicians can get it down to 12 cm?"

"I am an advanced magician, which means I only got to the average level after all my hard work."

"BUT THEY NEED A WEEK TO GET TO THAT LEVEL!"

"What? A whole week?"

"YES! Even I, who is considered a genius needed could get it to 12 cm after 4 days of training as a True Magician, and it stayed as my limit until I got to the next stage. You got to this level within a day without prior training as a Novice Magician. As for your aim, it's more about training your reflexes so you won't have to think about the direction you want the fireball to go. There are no shortcuts in training your aim."

"What about Lena? How long did she take?"

"Ahm. She is an anomaly. She made it to 10 cm within 2 days as a True Magician. She could get it down to 7 cm when she got to the next stage."

"And now?"

"I don't know. But she wouldn't use a simple spell anymore. She only uses the sophisticated ones now."

"But aren't you a wind magician? I remember you used a wind spell to put off the fire when I practiced magic and had an accident the other day."

"No, all the students of the Fire Witch have fire as their main affinity. My wind affinity is so weak I can't even strengthen my body with it. I only used it because it was the least messy method to put off the fire, and it wasn't anything serious that required me to use my full powers."

Gale felt slightly awkward at his question; it was quite obvious she had a fire affinity since she was a student of the Fire Witch.

"So, do you think getting to 12 cm in a day is good for an Advanced Mage?"

"It is. It's basically comparable to Lena's achievements, which are records as far as I know. The reason she is so impatient is that she is Lena. She just wants you to succeed on your first try and forgets she also needed time to get it right."

"That makes sense."

Feeling more joyful, Gale ate his dinner.

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