Kyōi closed xeir hand, extinguishing the flame tornadoes dancing on xeir palm. "For as long as I can remember, I've never needed to do anything in particular to use magic." Xey dropped xeir voice into whisper. "Is that not something that normally happens?" Zoryn nodded several times, responding in a whisper as well. "Even prodigies need at least a gesture or a word when they start out. Only a few mages can use silent magic nowadays, which is magic without any chants or hand gestures."
Zoryn finally decided to have Kyōi practice on xeir own, since xey didn't need any spells or hand gestures to practice. He sat down to meditate, which he explained was a way for mages to restore their mana.
Kyōi sat on the grass, focusing on the mana concentrated in xeir chest. Xey wanted to see if xey could create a new skill. Concentrating, they gathered fire in xeir hands, focusing the heat into a small sphere. The fire became brighter and brighter, slowly becoming a bright shade of blue.
[Skill Unlocked: Azure Flames]
Kyōi grinned upon discovering xey could create xeir own skills, as long as xey had the knowledge and mana to do so. If only there was a way to get chemicals, then xey could've created green or even purple flames, which would've looked so much cooler.
Xey stood up, carefully controlling the blue fire to swirl around them, the flames and sparks dancing in the wind. Xey held out one hand, transforming the flames into the shape of a dragon, its body thin but long. Xey wound the dragon around the arm xey had held out, while creating a man of red flames to be the blue dragon's opponent. The two figures made of flames flew through the sky, sparks flying each time they clashed.
While Kyōi was focused on the battle in the sky directing each of the figures carefully, the mages who had been meditating, and several of the fighters who were taking a break, had created a loose circle around xem, watching the show with awe.
Kyōi showcased far greater control of the fire magic than most of the adventurers present, and they were at least twice xeir age, not to mention xey did it all in compete silence. As the battle ended with the blue dragon devouring the human figure, a round of applause arose from the crowd. Startled by the sudden sound, xey, jumped back, confusion apparent in xeir expression.
In this world, mages often took apprentices, training kids who had talent with magic. Having a talented apprentice meant a higher amount of prestige. If a mage's apprentice became famous, the prestige was increased exponentially. Apprentices often wore a badge or crest with a marking specific to their master, especially if their teacher was a famously strong mage, as a sign of pride, and to make sure other mages would not bother them about becoming an apprentice.
So when the mages saw Kyōi, a talented fire mage with no sign of a badge indicating xey were already an apprentice to someone, all of the mages who could use fire magic immediately began clamoring, yelling out offers of apprenticeship to xem.
When Zoryn saw the mages crowding and overwhelming the kid, he immediately rushed to xeir aide, quickly casting a wind barrier to gently push away the crowd. "Sorry folks, my son isn't currently looking for a teacher." The crowd hesitated, most of them still wanting to give their offer to Kyōi.
Suddenly, a white-robed figure stepped out of Zoryn's shadow, a wand with a glowing orb attached to the end clenched tightly in their hands. "Malak, my love!" Zoryn grinned and threw his arms around the tall mage. The appearance of a dark magic user finally convinced the crowd to disperse, most of them returning to their training.
Kyōi stepped closer to the duo, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people who had previously crowded around xem. Xey had never enjoyed crowds in the previous world, and in this body, everyone was almost twice xeir height, which made the experience slightly terrifying. "Was what I did really that impressive? Should I not do it in public anymore?" Malak nodded. "If you don't enjoy the attention, I would say yes to both questions. I only saw the end of the magic, but what I saw was impressive. Most mages, unless they have trained since they were very young, can't create figures out of magic that are that detailed, let alone do it all with silent magic." Zoryn spoke up at that moment, as he just had a great idea. "Kyōi, want to try wind magic? As a bird type creature, you should have an affinity for wind mana. Malak can also set up a barrier to block us from view."
Kyōi nodded, excited. The more magic xey learned, the stronger xey would be. Also, wind magic could help strength xeir fire magic.
Zoryn had Kyōi sit down on the ground and close xeir eyes. He began channelling wind mana to concentrate around xeir body, allowing xem to know how the wind magic should be felt when it was controlled. Meanwhile, Malak cast a spell that created a dome of shadows around the duo. It would allow light in, but no out, hiding them from the view of everyone outside of the dome. As the spell was finished casting, he disappeared into the shadows.
~~~~~~
Malak stepped from the shadow of a burly man in full armor into a dimly lit hallway, which few would recognize as one of the halls of the Krow Manor. The spell he used was called Shadow Step, and was only able to be done by a magic with both dark and spacial affinities. While his spacial affinity was low, too low for most spacial magics, it was enough to use Shadow Step to move from place to place, especially when he didn't want to be seen.
He clapped once to gain the attention of the armored man. "Warren, I have returned." The armored man immediately snapped to attention, holding one hand up in a salute. "Ah, Young Master Malak! As you have instructed, we investigated the master of the house that threatened the child Zoryn took in. I can call in a scout to give you the full report, or I can relay to you the summary." Malak gestured for Warren to follow him as he began to walk. Warren was one of the men he commanded, and a loyal retainer. "The summary, please. I should return soon, before the barrier runs out of mana."
Nodding, Warren rushed to follow behind him. "Well, the house itself is owned by the Larkcaster Family, but the residents are merchants favored by the Larkcasters. According to the scouts, one of the merchants, a rather unsavory man by the name of Gill Piron, collects rare and magical beasts. There are rumors about how he acquired several of the creatures in his collection, and none of them are good. We believe that is was this Gill who ordered the men to capture the child. Do you want us to interrogate him?"
Malak thought about it for a second. "Yes. I want Kyōi to be as safe as possible. If it turns out to be the merchant, make sure he knows not to mess with us. And like always, make sure he doesn't have any idea we are from the Krow Family. I don't want to cause more trouble for the family, they have enough rumors to deal with already."
Warren bowed before turning to follow through with Malak's orders. "As you wish, Young Master Malak, your will shall be done."