In a quiet wood somewhere in Olympus, a dark blue orb suddenly shot across a meadow and coming to a stop after embedding itself into a rather large oak tree. A moment later, another ball shot past the oak tree, clearing the meadow and disappearing into the trees. A couple of seconds later, many small animals scampered out of the trees, trying to find safety.
One of the few things Raymond learned about combat magic from Adrastea in the last few days was that when faced against a magic user, your best chances of winning usually require the element of surprise. Allowing any skilled magic user time to prepare, then they could have all sorts of spells ready to use.
Ray also learned that most of the Supernatural magic users are usually weaker in physical prowess compared to non-magic users. It was like nature's way of finding balance. Of course, there were always exceptions like his kind. They had the physical capabilities of the Titans as well as powerful magic.
"Slowly, you don't want it to expand too fast, or it will blow up in your face," Adrastea warned as Ray made a dark blue orb appear. His second magic lesson involved him manifesting the ball as fast as he could before willing it to attack a dummy. She had placed ten meters in front of him.
The tricky part wasn't making the orb appear but rather regulating the orb's power and size. Under normal circumstances like the one he was in, he had all the time in the world to bring out the orb and then think about shooting it. In a real fight, Ray knew he would be totally screwed.
The first time it was too big, and Adrastea mentioned it was too dangerous if his opponent was close to an ally and prone to collateral damage. Since then, they had tried to make it as small as possible while still retaining its power. That was where all the problems started.
Typically, he made it as small as he could and ended up with a cannonball that went right through a dummy and raced into the forest, drilling holes into several trees before disappearing out of sight. When he switched to pure energy, it created an explosion that was large enough to hit several other dummies in the vicinity.
This was the first obstacle Ray met when he started using magic. It didn't take long before he realized magic was like any external ability one could get. A good example is an ability like superstrength. Imagine waking up with Superman-like strength.
One will then have to worry about squishing anyone they hug, breaking glasses, or crushing hands every time they shake hands, all the way to the most mundane things like ripping off or breaking a steering wheel when driving. All the little details that most people usually take for granted every time they use a bit of strength will suddenly become a problem.
Magic to him almost immediately became a problem when he began his training. Gone was the novelty only to be replaced by monotonous practice on control. If it weren't for his patience, Raymond would have long since dropped it.
The first thing he noticed when using raw magic was that he had to mentally determine and adjust his output depending on the target. The amount of magic required to drop a dummy was not the same as the one needed to bring down a wall.
What was even worse was that if he was dealing with a hiding target or running in a crowd, he had to determine how much was enough to put down the target without affecting anyone else.
Whether it was pure energy or hard constructs, the chances of creating a large AOE or an unstoppable cannonball—like the one he just made—that went through several obstacles before stopping was a reality he was still battling with.
The second obstacle came in controlling the orb once he commanded it to shoot a target. One thing he noticed immediately was that he still retained control over the ball regardless of the distance it traveled. But this controlled varied. If the orb was still in sight, he could alter its course, but once the orb left his sight, he could still feel his connection to the orb but couldn't alter its path blindly.
Lastly, if the target was near and the orb was too fast, the window to control it also diminishes. This forces him to sacrifice precision over speed. But if he could slow down its speed, his control and precision increased, but so was his target's ability to react and counter him.
Raymond gave Adrastea a sheepish smile before they started working on his manifesting technique again. It had improved a bit, but she still chastised him about putting too much power into it. Today he would get to hit multiple targets, and there were several dummies erected all around them, forming a circle.
"Most supernatural would resort to simple evading tactics if they can, once they realize your arcane potential. The last thing you want is to have a powerful spell on the loose. I think you learned that lesson the hard way."
Ray let out a sigh and tried again for the thousandth time. The words too slow, too fast, too strong echoed inside his head until he began running out of breath.
"Take a break," Adrastea said.
Her idea of a break was to read a combat magic guide with illustrations, Ray was sure it was meant for three-year olds. Some of the things inside he was sure he didn't need the guide to know, especially the dos and don'ts.
Soon they were back to training. Standing in front of ten dummies, arranged with four at the front, two in the middle, and four more spread out at the back. Adrastea spoke.
"There is a difference between using spells during combat and purely using your instincts we've been doing." Adrastea came and stood behind Ray.
"Form an orb." Ray did as he was told. "I want you to aim at the dummy straight ahead of you. Try and hit it without hitting anything else this time."
A dark blue orb formed between Ray's hands and, without waiting, shot straight at the dummy. On impact, the dummy dropped to the ground. At the same time, the orb continued forward until it almost hit the next dummy before it disappeared.
Ray gritted his teeth in frustration. Although he had come a long way from blowing up everything in his path, he was still far away from the skill he saw Emma use during the M.A.R.S rescue. He still felt like he was using a chainsaw to cut a thread instead of a pair of scissors.
"You don't have to get it immediately. What you're learning is what most people take years to master. Now use the spell I taught you to hit the next dummy."
Ray trembled; he was finally going to try his first combat spell. Ever since he started training, he had never used a single spell. He had to rely on his physical control of the orbs which left him with little room to relax. From the moment he formed an orb to the moment he hit a target, he had to remain focused throughout the whole process.
Ray focused on the next dummy and another orb appeared, but unlike the last orb, he didn't will forward but used a short spell. Suddenly the orb shot forward again, but this time after hitting the dummy, it disappeared on its own.
"When I combat, spells can be an advantage or a disadvantage. As you have noticed, it is much easier to attack with a spell. Your control over the orb improves significantly. Again."
Raymond formed another orb before uttering another spell. The orb shot out of his hands and hit another dummy before disappearing. Soon he got into a rhythm and started dropping dummies, one after another.
The transition from will-casting to using spells was much smoother. Unlike relying purely on his will, once the ball hit its target, it unraveled. It wasn't long before he got into a rhythm until he was exhausted. The whole place whole up in smoke as most of the dummies were up in flames.
Raymond's body was drenched and he was panting by the time his training was done. He went back inside and took a shower and rest. He still had his evening training with Charles. Ray groaned.