The day started off with Corvig showing Donis the "classroom" that they'll be staying in. Calling it a classroom was a bit of a stretch. It was closer to a modified office with a single desk and chair for Donis. The rest of the office was filled with neatly stacked books, papers and what looked like metallic trinkets.
It was a spacious enough room, with a sun facing window outfitted with blackout curtains. The floor was made of a teal soft looking carpet, and the walls were once again littered with bookcases. 'It seems the people of this world love their bookcases,' mused Donis.
"First things first Donis, even though you are gifted, you have no prior knowledge, nor do you have any experience in studying. So we shall start off with the absolute basics for you. Here," said Corvig as he passed Donis a book titled "Mana Manipulation – Classroom Basics".
It was a medium sized violet book with a leather-bound cover. Donis eyed it curiously wondering what ideas or gifts of wisdom it would hold. He knew he couldn't expect much from it, seeing how it was the classroom basics, which is aimed at 10 year old kids since that's when kids normally learned magic. Still, it was better than not having anything at all.
"I want you to read it all. There will be words you do not understand here so you are required to ask me for their definitions, or uses. I will guide you through this book, and so each time you finish a chapter, I'll test you on it's contents and provide further, and deeper, explanations that should help you going into the next chapter. A lot of this though will be self study, because I have my own research to get to," said Corvig taking a seat behind his desk, opening one of the drawers.
Donis nodded, opened the book and began reading with a drunken fervour. It helped that he knew how to read better than even his older sisters. One of the positives of actually being an adult mentally.
-[Basic Mana Emission 1/100]-[0% EXP] [The ability to use your will to influence mana from within] Ability Gained-
'Oh a new ability based on what I've read? So not only does it show that I've understood the concept enough, but the exact name of the skill being taught. Interesting,' thought Donis studiously.
The book described the basics of mana manipulation. How to sense it within, how to move it, how to control it, how to sense it around you, how to bring it in, how to change it and how to finally emit it from oneself. These uses seemed arbitrary at the beginning, but once combined with some practice and dedication you could use this level of magic to achieve very basic effects.
Donis read the book in silence for hours, with Corvig stealing glances at him while making a mental note of how devoted Donis seemed to studying. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
Donis saw that if he used his will to shape the mana, or guide it in a certain way, he would be able to move very light objects, or even change the colour of his mana emission. He looked at his hand startled when he changed his mana emission to red from his normal gold.
'It's actually this easy to manipulate it? I thought this would take me years like it always does in those novels' chuckled Donis excitedly. He began using his incredibly limited mana pool to affect the objects around him. He first cycled his mana emission through the colours of the rainbow, then he noted that it took him 3 mana to fully cycle the colours.
-[Mana: 62/65]-
'Hmm, that feels sort of expensive, but I guess it might be cheap since I already have 65 mana without even leveling up yet. I'll ask Corvig about this when I run out of mana to practice with,' thought Donis.
Using his will, he ended up levitating a pencil using his mana emission condensing under it, then noted it drained 2 mana per second (2MP/s). Then did it again while changing colours and noticed it drained 5MP/s.
- Ding!
[Basic Mana Control 2/100] - [2% EXP]-
'Oh hell yeah, finally, a level up in that elusive skill. It's such an addictive feeling, I can genuinely feel a minute change in my ability to control it... I suppose that's why it's called that.. anyway. Hmm, changing the intrinsic state of the emission seems to up the cost considerably. I wonder if this affects users who use spells that combine multiple elements. Fuck, every time I explore magic, I'm just filled with more questions,' grumbled Donis.
Corvig had long stopped his own research to watch this 5 year old use magic as if he were studying it for years. The kid picked up the book and after a few hours grasped the entire content of it, being able to not only use the mana within him, but even Mana Emission to influence the objects around him. 'He's also a fucking genius too. The worlds not really fair now is it,' mentally sighed Corvig, slowly getting up.
"Kid be careful, don't over-exert yourself, mana sickness is a real pain to deal with as an adult, let alone as a kid. Come, lets take a break, we'll get some food and talk to me about what you learned," said Corvig ushering Donis towards the door. As soon as Corvig said food, Donis realised that he's actually starving.
"Yes sir, I'm starving! My tummy hurts I'm so hungry!" said Donis, acting his age once again.
"Sure sure, come along don't lag behind too much," Corvig said as he led them out of the office.
The rest of the day Donis spent practising [Basic Mana Control] and [Basic Mana Emission]. Corvig eventually got used to the idea of teaching a genius and went back to his own research, scarcely peeking at his student. In the absence of prying eyes, Donis's abilities went up a whole level already.
-[Basic Mana Control 3/100] - [7% EXP]
[Basic Mana Emission 2/100]-[55% EXP]-
Satisfied at the results of the first day, went up to Corvig. "Sir, I have a question," Donis asked trying to sound awkward.
"Sure, what's bothering you Donis?" said Corvig, looking up from his research.
"Why does my mana run out so quickly? I have 65 mana but it doesn't last long at all! It's unfair I want to keep changing the colours, they're so pretty!" asked Donis half pissed, half curious.
"... You have 65 mana? Why do you have so much. Kids normally at 10 years old have 30. Ugh.. Okay so, the very basics of Mana Emission are highly inefficient because not only are you using mana which is not attuned to any element, you're also using the equivalent of a river to lift a pencil. The amount you output is far too great for the size of the object you're lifting. For the colour change, it's a bit unavoidable to lose some efficiency because you're changing the colour of the emission outside of your body and not from within where it originates," said Corvig with a more and more exasperated voice. Teaching this boy will not be as tame as he previously assumed.
"Does that all make sense Donis? If there's anything you don't understand please tell me now, I don't want you ruining your learning speed with a poor foundation," said Corvig, fully resigning to being pestered by endless questions.
"It all makes sense sir, thank you!" beamed back Donis.
'I have that much more mana than kids my age? Is that to do with the title I have, or is it because of my intelligence stat influencing my mana growth? Is there mana growth? Fuck, I have to stop asking questions or I'll give myself a headache,' grumbled Donis, yet he was still sporting a smile, the idea of having an advantage made his greedy heart happy.
The evening eventually came. The amber hues dyed the sky and a sleepy atmosphere took over the office. The carriage picked up Donis, who obviously practised the hell out of those abilities on the entire trip back.
He'd run out of mana constantly but found out he regened about 15 mana per minute (15MP/m). This allowed him to further progress his abilities. This time only [Basic Mana Control] hit the wonderful level up.
His family swarmed him the moment he left the carriage, unable to hold back their questionnaires to the confines of the kitchen. Donis swam in the love before being asked to be put down. They all entered the house, ate some dinner and eventually retired to bed.
'So every day is going to be like this. I cannot wait. I can finally get questions answered on how this all works! I can finally get a proper education and maybe even get ahead of everyone else for when I officially join the Academy. I wonder if they'll let me join soon, or will they keep the age restriction to avoid something like bullying..." thought Donis incessantly. Eventually, his mind drifted off to sleep, and his first official day of learning magic ended.