The class began with the teacher's single instruction.
"Do some self study for now. I expect you all to have a basic understanding of what magic suits you best in two weeks." [Urth]
He left the class to their own devices, so they went about their own business.
"Solace." [Fina]
Popping out of thin air, I greeted Fina with a twirl through the air.
"Hehe, good to see you too." [Fina]
She tapped me with her finger, smiling at my appearance.
"We have class to ourselves today. What do you think we should do Solace?" [Fina]
Fina asked me a question that I found impossible to answer, but I tried to reply anyway. Looking around my surroundings, I tried to find an activity that intrigued me.
("Hm? Is that… a shooting range?") [Solace]
I spotted an area that appeared similar to a shooting range, and decided to check it out.
("Over there please!") [Solace]
I faced the shooting range and tried to motion towards where I wanted Fina to go. After a considerable amount of movement, I finally got Fina to understand.
"You want to go to the magic testing zone?" [Fina]
Though I didn't really get what she meant, I kind of guessed it was the name of the shooting range.
("Yes! I want to go there!") [Solace]
Bobbing up and down, I gestured for a "yes".
"I see. Then let's head over there right now." [Fina]
Levitating by her side, I followed her towards the shooting range. As we got closer, I noticed some other students shouting something with their hands extended.
"-Together with the ashes of my enemies, |Ashen Arrow|!" [Loud Student]
I watched the student whom I deemed an idiot scream his lungs out. By the time he finished, a black arrow formed within the palm of his hands.
("Woah! That's hella cool!") [Solace]
I found myself fascinated by what the student had done. I watched with excitement as the student fired it off at a metal wall painted with a bullseye from afar. Unlike my expectations, the arrow fell short and landed halfway.
("Was that magic?! The chant was super cringe, but that's awesome!") [Solace]
"-olace? Solace?" [Fina]
I heard Fina call my name, and realized that I was drifting away from her. It seemed that my habit of being too focused on something crossed over as well.
"Jeez… What are you doing?" [Fina]
She took me within the palm of her hands and led me to the starting line of one of the targets. After Fina had confirmed whether or not I'll leave her by looking at me with a not so intimidating glare, she let me go.
"You better not go off somewhere on your own." [Fina]
Nodding with as much motion as I could, I convinced her with a little game of charades.
"Now that we're here, I might as well practice a few of my spells as well." [Fina]
("Oh?") [Solace]
The word spell was brought to my attention. I did know Fina was capable of magic, but I was still curious.
("What kind of magic will she use this time?") [Solace]
Fina lifted a hand and pointed it like a gun towards the target. Within moments, a circle with inscriptions on it appeared at the tip of her finger.
"Heed my call from the seas! |Liquid Bullet|!" [Fina]
Immediately after she spoke, a small body of water fired out of the circle. Barely keeping up, I managed to see it cut through the air and strike the target.
("...Bullseye?!") [Solace]
It seemed that Fina herself wasn't very surprised. In fact, she wore a smug look as soon as her spell hit the target.
"What do you think of that, Solace?" [Fina]
I honestly had no clue what to say. Unable to simply say "amazing", I did a twirl.
"So you think it was cool?" [Fina]
("That's what I'm trying to convey, yes.") [Solace]
"Hm… I think I did pretty well. Though I've managed to shorten the chant to a single line, I'm still far away from going chantless." [Fina]
She returned to what I call study mode. Analyzing and improving herself seems like something Fina does often, so I made it easier on myself and referred to it as study mode.
"You have acquired |Liquid Bullet|." [Spirit Guide]
("Huh?") [Solace]
Surprised as I was, I was beginning to become used to the Spirit Guide's voice.
("What do you mean by "You have acquired |Liquid Bullet|"?") [Solace]
"The spirit, |Solace|, may now use the spell |Liquid Bullet|." [Spirit Guide]
Gears churned in my head as I thought about what just happened. After thinking for what felt like minutes, but was actually seconds, I figured it out.
("Does learning the chant of the spell allow me to use it?") [Solace]
I tried asking the Spirit Guide for information, but it wouldn't reply.
("How about seeing the spell?") [Solace]
There was no reply.
("What about knowing both the spell, and having seen it in action?") [Solace]
There was no reply.
("...I'll have to experiment with it later.") [Solace]
After several attempts of trying to get the Spirit Guide to talk, I gave up. I returned my attention back to Fina, which led to me finding that she had just finished talking to herself through study mode.
"...I think I'll test some other spells as well." [Fina]
("...A chance?!") [Solace]
Seeing as how she was going to use more spells, I thought it perfect to try to learn the spells.
("Let's see how it goes.") [Solace]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Fina began to fire off multiple spells, most of which hit the target. Some of them lacked the power to cover the distance, but that was okay. I was watching the entire time, so I managed to add a few new spells to my repertoire.
"You have acquired |Ashen Arrow|. You have acquired |Flame Cannon|. You have acquired |Rock Bullet|. You have acquired |Wind Edge|." [Spirit Guide]
("It worked!") [Solace]
Though I only got about half of the spells Fina used, I figured out the requirements to acquire a spell.
("So all I had to do was learn the chant, and have basic understanding of how the spell works!") [Solace]
It was exciting to think I would be able to use these spells, but I found a single problem with that.
"Now… how do I use it?" [Solace]