The next day has arrived. I had pretty much forgotten everything that happened after I had gotten back to the cave. I was just too tired from staying up that late. This also caused me to wake up later than usual. I don't really know how much later, but I just know it is later than when I usually wake up.
"Morning sleepyhead," Ana says in a teasing tone when she sees me.
"How long was I asleep?" I ask while yawning in between.
"It's nearing noon at the moment," she replies to me, "your breakfast is already cold. By the way, you were supposed to make the food for today."
"Sorry," I say sheepishly.
"It's fine," she says. "Besides it gives me more chances to cook. You will have to make our food tomorrow though. Otherwise it won't be fair."
"Yeah, yeah," I reply indifferently. "What happened after I went to sleep?"
"Don't worry, I already burned the note," she says. "They didn't come in the night, nor during the morning. They definitely lost us."
"Don't be so confident about that," I say, trying to discourage her unfounded confidence. "They may know where we are, and are just biding their time. It never hurts to be cautious."
I was going to continue talking, but my stomach rumbled, signifying its emptiness.
"I guess that's enough talking. For now, let me get some food."
I ended the conversation as such, and headed to the kitchen. There I found the food that was supposed to be my breakfast. As Ana said, it was cold. I could have heated it up, but I didn't care about that, and just ate it as it was. Even though it was cold, it was actually pretty tasty. It still had a delectable flavor. The only thing I disliked was the texture that came from eating cold food. While I was eating, Astra came up from the dismantling room.
When I finished eating I asked, "why were you in the dismantling room?" After all, their were no bodies to dismantle. She also doesn't seem to be carrying any food either, which could be the only other reason to go down there.
"Had to get some dismantling practice," she responded curtly.
"I thought we already finished dismantling yesterday?" I asked, still confused.
"I went out with Ana to hunt some demonic beasts to practice on," she responds. "I want to master dismantling quickly."
"Oh okay," I reply. "Sorry for waking up so late. I could have helped you guys hunt, and help you with your dismantling."
"It's fine," she says.
"Okay then, so what is the plan for the rest of the day then?" I ask. They have already hunted so I don't think we'll be doing that again. Wait a second, they went out hunting, so how did they hide themselves without me. They couldn't have just gone out without hiding. I mean Diego and his group are out their hunting for us.
"Before that," I quickly say, "how did you guys hide yourselves?"
Astra and Ana seemed to be confused by my question, so I clarified.
"You guys went hunting, but Diego and his group should still be looking for us. Did you guys just recklessly go out to hunt?" I ask in fear that that is what they did.
Once I clarify my question Astra responds saying, "we were able to create our own hiding spells."
"What how?" I instinctively ask. After all, from what I know of magic the fire and water elements aren't really known for their stealth. In fact, the only element known for its stealth is the dark element. In fact, if it wasn't for the wind element being known for its versatility, then I wouldn't have been able to create so many spells.
"We have been constantly working on our mana control," Astra says.
"And we are now able to only use one element through our links," Ana continues.
"So, you guys are now able to use my spells perfectly," I say in a downcast tone.
"Yep," the both of them respond cheerily, "and we don't need to chant."
After they say this, I slump down in defeat. They have literally surpassed me in everything. Their mana quality and quantity is better than mine, they have stronger bodies due to being demonic beasts, and now they are even able to copy my spells. That was the one thing that made me superior to them. Even now, they don't need me to dismantle, as Astra can already do that. My cooking is also worse than Ana's, and to top it all off, they are younger than me. In the end, my only advantage is my experience, which will also be caught up to soon enough.
"Well now I feel useless," I sigh in desperation. Luckily, I say it in a low tone, causing the both of them to be unable to hear it. Otherwise, they would try to comfort me, and that would just make things worse for me.
Burying these feelings deep in my heart I say, "I'm glad for you two. I'm sure just the two of you will be able to fight all the demonic beasts in this forest."
They weren't able to detect the bitterness in my voice, since they were happily rejoicing in my praise. Honestly, even I can tell the bitterness. I know I should be genuinely happy for them, but I just can't be. After all, I have spent a lot of my time working for these skills, and now despite those efforts, I'm weaker than someone younger than me. As such, I began to fall into a slump for the rest of the day. They would try to talk to me, but I wouldn't respond to them. Maybe I did respond, but just didn't care enough.
I tried to think of what I should do. Most of the time, my thoughts led to just leaving. They would grow stronger without me, and wouldn't be implicated by Diego. After all, Diego wants to kill me in order to force out the king. However, if I leave, then the king would come out on his own, but I didn't want to stay here. Staying here would just remind me of my inferiority. It seemed like there were no good options for me. This family doesn't need me in it, but I also can't leave.
If that is the case, then let's just get stronger. Let's retake my position back in this family. I'll need to redouble my training efforts. My physique has just recently been on par with Astra's, but let's strengthen it more through training. Let's also create new spells that'll be of great use for us. I'll also ask them to teach me the method to use spells without chanting, and to use only one element through our links. With this my thought process changed, and I realized that I wasn't useless. After all, they can't just create new spells like I can. Our physiques are also similar. Also, I can use magic circles, which is something beyond them.
I will have to research magic circles more thoroughly in the future. They'll help me increase my combat power, especially if I can imbed them within my clothes. I really have been neglecting magic circles even though they are just as useful as spells. With this, I definitely won't have to feel inferior. Of course this is only the case if I can actually use them and show their prowess. I then began to throw myself into researching these ideas.
I first started with researching spells. This way, I could make more useful spells for all of us. Also, I felt it would be easier than researching magic circles, training to cast without chanting, and training to use one element. After all, I have made around 8 spells and used them countless times. On the other hand, I have only made 2 magic circles, and have made no attempts on the other things mentioned. Either way, I focused on my modified dismantling spell first. I wanted to perfect this one first, so I could continue dismantling. The main problem with this was the "destroy" part of the spell, which needed to be changed. However, I don't know how to change it. I first began to think of different words that could replace "destroy," but realized that this approach was taking too much time.
Then I began to think about it from a different angle. Why was "destroy" used in the first place? Well the reason "destroy" was used, was because that is what is needed to be done to the enemies. The enemies needed to be destroyed by the spell sword. So following this logic, when I want to dismantle something I should use "dismember." Once I thought of this, I felt like it would work. As such I immediately chanted the spell.
"O spell of wind, form from my hands a sharp dagger that follows my movements to dismember my enemies."
With the spell chanted, a dagger appeared in my hands. It had exactly the same look as when I used "destroy" instead of "dismember." However, it wasn't the look that mattered, but the stability of the spell. As such, I began to move my hand. The dagger followed my movements, and this time there was no shaking. The spell was completely stable. After this success, I inadvertently yawned. I went outside, and headed to the entrance of the cave to approximate the time. Once I was at the entrance, I could see that the sky was dark. This meant that I had spent an entire day just to stabilize this one spell.
I know that I didn't really spend the entire day on this. After all, a good portion of the time was spent wallowing in self pity. Also, in the beginning, I was using an inefficient and time wasting approach. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be able to create a new spell that is useful to us. The next day had come, and I woke up early. The first thing I did upon waking, was exercising. As I said before, I doubled my training so I could get stronger. Although this effect would only be seen months in the future, I have to start early.
Once I had finished exercising, I went to the kitchen. It was my turn to make food for all of us. I quickly made something simple. Even though I made it quickly, I'm still confident about its taste, so there shouldn't be a problem. I then quickly ate the food I had created. While I was here, I also made lunch and dinner for all of us. I then placed a note under their plate of food to tell them what I was doing, working on a new spell. After that was done I brought my lunch and dinner into my room, before throwing myself into spell making.
Now there are a couple of spells that I wish to create. The first is a protection spell, while the others are ranged spells. These will be extremely useful in fights, and important things that need to be created. I think I should start off with the protection spell first, since I already do have some ranged spells. The first thing I need to do is figure out which element to use. The elements that I can use are wind, water, and fire. I feel like the best combo would be wind and fire. Wind to create the actual shield, and fire to help enemies see the shield, and deter them from attacking.
Since I am using two elements, I would have to integrate dual commands into this spell chant. I should usee wind as the main element, since it is my element, and since it will be what is creating the shield. The action the spell should take is simple, protect. I would want the shield to encompass people, so I should do something similar to the detection spell. With these thoughts flowing through my mind, a spell chant came immediately. Without thinking, I began to chant it.
"O spell of wind, combine with the fire to form a barrier that spread with me as its center to protect my allies."
After I chanted this spell, it failed. I honestly wasn't expecting to fail with this, but it couldn't be helped. After all, creating a new spell isn't easy. In fact, the only chant that I created that worked on its first time was the hiding spell, and that one is a relatively simple spell despite its usefulness. I continued to think of different things, and change the spell in a multitude of different ways. Finally, I was able to get the desired effects with one of my chants.
"O spell of wind, combine with the fire to form a barrier that surrounds myself."
I realized that I was too focused on trying to protect multiple people, when all I had to do, was focus on one person. Also I was trying to force the word "protect" when "barrier" was already there. The two were canceling each other out. It honestly took a long time to figure this out. It was already past lunch time, and nearing dinner time. That was how long it took me to make this spell. In the end, I got it working. It was a great spell that didn't need a constant supply of mana to maintain. However, it would disappear once it reached its limit, or ran out of mana. However, the limit of damage it can sustain is unknown. Another defect is that it can't be moved from its original position. However, it is still a protection spell that can be applied to allies with a simple modification. Once I had finished making the spell, I decided to leave my room and go eat dinner with Ana and Astra.
"How is the spell creation going?" Ana asks immediately once she sees me. She looks to be in the kitchen, heating up food. I'm pretty sure that she is heating up the dinner I had created. After all, I made it in the morning, and it should be cold by now.
"Can you heat my dinner up to?" I ask, and once I receive a nod from her, I give her my dinner before answering her question. "I've created a new spell. It is a protection spell. I don't know how much it can protect though. I've already tested it out in my room, and it works. However, I have an idea for a couple of new spells, so I'm not going to do any more tests at the moment."
"You're going to be creating more spells?" Astra asks in a surprised tone. "What about our little competition?"
"Huh, what competition?" I ask genuinely confused.
"You've already forgotten about it?" Ana asks in an exasperated tone. "We all agreed we'll make some spells, and judge them based on their usefulness. The winner will be able to command one thing from the loser. I can't believe you've forgotten about this."
"Oh that," once she said this, I immediately remembered the competition she was talking about. "I completely forgot about it. However, creating multiple spells shouldn't be a problem right? I can just pick a spell that I feel is the best among the ones I've created."
"I guess you can do that," Astra says, "besides we haven't really made any rules for the competition."
"Yeah, I guess we should make some rules for the competition," I say. "Let's keep it simple. One spell per contestant. We'll all give our accurate opinions on the spells once it is shown. The competition will end in a month, and it doesn't matter if your spell isn't created yet. Finally, it has to be a spell that has been newly created. You are all good with these rules."
"They are fine." I don't have any problems."
"Okay, we'll go with them," I say. "Oh by the way, I was wondering if you could teach me your way of using the mana links. I feel like they will be able to help me create new single element spells, since when I wish to use another element, I have to integrate double commands. That is just a great hassle."
"That's fine," Ana immediately replies. "I'll be the one to teach you."
"Okay, we can start right now then," I say excitedly. If I can learn this method, then I can use their mana, meaning I won't need to worry about my inferior mana. Of course, I'll still be using my spells that need my mana, but this will give me new options that will increase my strength.
"I'll tell you what we did then," Ana begins. "We used up all of our mana so it wouldn't interfere. Then, after using up all of our mana, we used our links. This way, we could get a feel for controlling another's mana without interference. Once we had this sense, we then moved on to controlling another's mana, when we still had mana. It was just constant practice until the mana didn't mix."
"That seems surprisingly easy."
"It's not. It'll take a long time to even be able to use another's mana when all of your mana is gone. I guess this is because the mana being used isn't ones own which makes it harder to control. However, once you've taken that first step, it does get easier, but it still needs much practice."
"Okay, don't worry about that then. Every night, before bed, I'll try to train my mana control in this way. I won't do it today though since it is already so late."
"That's fine, just have a good rest tonight."
"I can say the same to the both of you. Goodnight."
I left the kitchen as I was saying those words, and only entered my room after I have said Goodnight. Once I was in my room, I quickly went to sleep. The next day, I woke up early and began my exercise like normal. Once that was done, I went to the kitchen to get some food. However, Astra hasn't finished making it yet, so I just waited till she was done. Once she had finished cooking, I quickly ate the food. It was still hot, so I burned my tongue and mouth. However, I finished it quickly, and then went back to my room.
Now, I'll be making two ranged spells. I hope I'll be able to make both ranged spells today. That way, I'll be able to focus more on spell circles, exercising, and my new mana control training. To make it easy on myself, I'll only use one element to create the spells. I'll make two ranged spells from the water and fire elements. The problem with this, though, is that if I don't master the use of one element control through our links, these spells would become useless. Well, let's make the spells first.
I don't exactly know what I want in my ranged spell. I know I wanted it to have a long range, and be dangerous or lethal, but I don't know what else. I don't really have a basis for the spell other than it's element. I guess for now, I just create some arrow spell. It will be easy, and useful. With that decided, I based the spell of previous arrow spells my mother had passed on to me.
"O spell of water come forth as an arrow to pierce my opponent. O spell of fire come forth as an arrow to pierce my opponent."
These spells came out, and an arrow of water and fire were shown briefly, before being fired at the wall in my room. I looked at the spot where they connected, and was able to see the wall had been scratched by these arrows. This is enough to prove their strength at close range. I would have to do further tests later. I should also be able to modify this base spell as I need to. One idea that comes to mind is to modify it to create multiple arrows in one cast. Now, I have finished expanding my spell arsenal, so I should focus on magic circles. I'll do that after a quick lunch though since I'm famished.