"So, um, how are these two related? How are runes utilized I mean?" I asked Master at once so that he wouldn't start telling some long-winded story again.
My constant jabs at his inability to teach me ancient runes subdued his confident spirit quite a bit. Throwing that fat simplified rune book at me, he told me to open a certain page,
"You see, right there, that's the simplified rune of fire, as long as you manage to learn it from your heart, you'll be able to conjure basic fire elemental mana instantaneously, although you would need certain more runes for the guiding process, your learning begins from here–"
"This shouldn't be the case with ancient runes right? Also, why fire element?"
"You–You need to begin somewhere, if you can't even understand simplified runes, how would you understand ancient runes even if you had them within you? I'm teaching you fire elemental casting because it has the most offensive spells at lower ranks, though it will change as you reach Grade-3 and beyond, the lethal aspect of fire elemental mana would've given you considerable help till then. I'll give you one hour to comprehend this rune, and two more hours to learn the most basic Grade-1 fire elemental spell, 'Fireball'." Although Master Golver did stutter in annoyance at the start he kept his cool at my remarks and left after saying his piece.
I looked at the massive tome of a book in my hand and felt a burning desire to learn magic and spellcasting as quickly as I could, but it didn't work the way I intended.
I pronounced the simplified runes in the common tongue and then tried to repeat them, trying to get a 'feel' out of them, to 'understand' them, but there was a massive problem - although it seemed as simple as blowing a leaf, these 'runes' were just words written in a different language, how could they help me channel my mana?
The 'basic' fire elemental rune made me look like a fool, I kept trying different pronunciations and gestures while saying it, while not understanding much of it.
Same with the Grade-1 spell, although the spell chanting seemed cool, it looked very stupid when nothing actually happened. Moreover, there was also the problem with chanting out loud. No enemy would give mages time to chant their spells out loud in a fight, the only way around it was insta-casting. It basically meant that one's proficiency with certain spells was so high that they could envision it within their minds and channel the environmental mana without chanting at all. Usually, every mage had certain spells they could insta-cast to keep the enemy at bay and maintain distance while they cast their destructive spells.
But this was another steep challenge for the future since right now, I couldn't cast the simplest spell even while chanting out loud, not even a wisp of fire appeared.
I kept repeating the chant for the 'fireball' over and over again without any result. Since the runes can be read in any language, they can have wildly different interpretations in two different languages. Although, the resulting spell would roughly be the same. This fact was just mind-boggling to me. This wasn't logical, beyond my understanding.
"The everlasting–no eh?"
'How do I say this - perennial or everlasting? Ugh, how stupid is this chant? Why does it feel like I'm requesting someone else to cast the spells for me? Is there a supreme entity that regulates all this?'
Ranting alone in my mind, I started chanting again,
"The perennial ocean of fire that sparks the beginning of all life and burns all disorder, heed my call, FIREBALL."
'hmm, nothing happened again… am I wrong? How am I supposed to say this? If I say, fireballs? Would it summon multiple balls? How stupid? Chanting is stupid. Magic is stupid.'
I threw the fat book aside in anger but then quickly picked it up and dusted it off as I opened it again.
I noticed a thin slip flying sticking out from the side of the book. Curiously, I opened it and found few sentences were written on it in a very small size that read,
[This slip would only have come out in case you had thrown this book away. Hehe, now don't be embarrassed, I anticipated this. You're in too much of a hurry kid. It wouldn't do you anything good but muddle your mind further, making goals drift further away. Now don't throw the book again, this gift is a treasure, cherish it, kid. Also, put the slip back where you picked, I wouldn't notice it and you'd save yourself the embarrassment.]
I held it in my hands, speechless, completely seen through. I simply put it on the bed to indicate that I've learned my lesson, even though it was indeed very embarrassing.
From then on, I actively tried not to feel frustrated by the stupid chants and the basic fireball symbol but slowly I felt an urge to punch the walls again.
When 3 hours were just about to pass, my anxiety burst through the roof. I felt my face burning at how I asked for ancient runes when I couldn't even use the simplified runes to channel mana.
Words and runes that I didn't understand started swirling in my head meaninglessly as my brain just short-circuited.
'Fire, fireball, channel, understand, feel, touch, sense, why doesn't anything work? Should I just give up? Yeah, I'll ask master. I've been too complacent. Father was right, talent needs to be backed by diligence and experience, otherwise, it's the same as not having it. I… give up.'
Just as I decided to give up, my raging thoughts calmed down, making me aware of something I've been missing all along.
'Runes, runes, runes, I've been too focused on the runes, while the key is not the runes here, it's… mana.' I lightly waved my hand in the air, trying to remove any force behind them, letting them float in the air, copying what Master did in the beginning when he used mana to float in the air.
Although nothing happened, I felt it. For the first time in my life, I felt mana. Joy bubbled from the bottom of my heart as my spirit cheered up. As if responding to my calls, intangible and mild flickers danced around my fingers.
This… was the natural mana.
The boundless force of nature, the source of all life.
Suddenly, the basic rune of fire came to my mind, and I discovered the imperceptible cheery flickers on my fingertips turn a little hotter.
No thought came along with it, no joy, no surprise. It all just felt… natural, as if I was only playing my part in a grand scheme of things.
My state of mind reached an extraordinary sense of balance.
This was something I originally didn't pay much attention to when master was telling me the basics. At long last, I had finally conjured… fire.
Closing my eyes again, I mumbled the chant of the 'fireball' spell,
"The perennial ocean of fire that sparks the beginning of all life and burns all disorder, heed my call… fireball…" My fingertips felt hotter and hotter as I felt the interaction of runes and mana manifesting into the real world.
Suddenly, only a trace of warmth remained on my fingertips as all hotness subsided but by this time I knew, I had done it.
Opening my eyes, I saw a little pearl of fire that appeared very cute and round, flickering on my fingertips.
I had cast my very first spell as a mage, the 'fireball'.
"WHAT?"
Suddenly a sound of alarm interrupted my special moment as the fire elemental mana that had been playing with me rapidly dispersed as if it were a child that got caught.