I stayed in the water way too long.
While I lay at the bottom of the pond, holding onto some stones so that I wont float up, the sun started to rise above the forest.
Golden rays of the sun covered the nearly clear sky and as the time passed they even reached me at the bottom of the pond. I had my eyes closed but the strong light tickled my nose and I sneezed.
Not a single bubble was created by this.
Well, at the moment there is no air in me that could rise up with a sneeze.
There is only that airlike mana stuff passing trough me all the time.
No actually its not airlike. It's waterlike.
The mana didn't behave any different but on a micrological level it [felt] thicker.
…
Weird.
So mana is different in the water than in the air?
I stretched my concentration on a point where the stony area merged with the forest. I could [feel] the ground all around me in a quite wide range but only now I tried to really [see] it with much more observation.
Nnng~
…
Yes.
The mana in the ground is different too.
So does everything have a slightly different kind of mana?
Is that the reason why I couldn't use the magic? Is my mana not compatible?
...
That… could be…
Uhh~
I hope not.
In that case it could mean that I can't use magic until I find out what I am compatible with.
\\Or I can never use it as I am not compatible with anything because of what I am…
//Shut it, rational me. I can't give up my dream of becoming an evil forest witch!
Sigh…
Maybe I should [look] at the mana and it's flow in living beeings a bit more?
Yes, why not.
Nearby was one of those weird squirrels, obviously looking for food.
I [stared] at it.
There is a small amount of mana in this squirrel, but even considered its size, the amount is nothing compared to what the humans have.
That small girl in the woodcutter village had hundred times the amount of mana and even on a percentage level the girl, of which I thought didn't have much, still had overwhelmingly more.
Is humankind blessed with mana? Or are this only the gifted ones?
But there were no other children in the small village.
//What are the odds for all of them to be some kind of blessed child?
\\Too small. And I don't think that they got gathered in the village because they are all gifted. Not when there are highly developed cities.
//Ah, you are so clever, rational me. In the city there has to be some kind of school for magically gifted kids.
…
I want to go to school.
I lifted my hand in front of my face and slowly opened my eyes.
Staring at the dark grey colour of the skin and the pointy, black fingernails I only could come to one conclusion.
It wont be possible for me to go to school as long as I am "this".
…
Sad...
//Enough with the depressing line of thoughts. Being me is quite enjoyable too, even without school.
\\You are right, silly me.
Hmmm~
Thinking nothing in particular I let my [sight] wander.
I stretched my field of perception as far as possible for a while. Concentrated on other small animals and insects – none of them really had a noticeable amount of mana – and just let the hours pass as I [looked] around.
Yep, being me and existing in this moment really is nice.
The sun slowly started to set and was soon completely gone.
Without the warmth of daylight the air cooled down a bit. I don't really care because my pond has a comfortable temperature. It could be a bit warmer though…
Huh-?
Warmer?
…
There is some kind of warmth below me…
…
No… this is actually heat!
!
Waitwaitwaitwaitwait!
I deeply breathed in the water without even noticing that this should not be possible.
Slowly counting till ten helped me calm down.
I [looked] trough the stones below me.
There is definitely some heat about twenty meters underground.
And it moves.
I got exited again.
Uhhhh~~~!
There is a hot stream of water below me.
If I could connect it, then I would get my hotspring back!
Wait a minute!
I obediently waited.
Pah, stupid!
Back to the topic.
If I would make this pond a bit bigger and somehow connect it to the hot stream of water, then it would be exactly like my hotspring…
The matching coordinates… This really cant be a coincidence…
But then there is the question of what happened in the few weeks of my absence, that it could become like this?
…
Nnng~
…
Kiii~
…
Grah!
My head hurts from thinking about it so I grabbed it with both hands and started to float up.
There are a few ideas that my head spat out about what could have happened but each one was more absurd than the previous one so I don't want to think about it anymore.
I need some distraction!
Using my tail to hold onto some stones I drew myself to the edge of the pond and climbed out.
Quickly putting on the coat, I stomped into the woods.
Don't mess with me, you stupid pond or I will abandon you.
…
I lied. I could never abandon my little oasis.
A bit insecure I looked back on the small pond.
Phew~
It doesn't seem offended.
…
What the fifteen? How should a pond be offended?
I puffed my cheek and stomped away even more fiercefully.
That will show it who's the boss.
…That would be the pond, actually…
Meh!
I walked far enough so that the pond - and of course the road too – weren't in my field of perception anymore.
I got a plan.
Lifting one hand I drew the symbol for water magic into the air again.
…
Nothing happened.
Uhg…
Concentrate, awesome me. I know that I can do it!
Once more my finger moved in the already known way. Once more the flow of mana didn't follow and nothing happened.
Hnnng~ more concentration!
I tried it again.
Slowly moving my finger and the mana started to follow until I finished the first line. Followed by another and another and even more.
The magic circle was nearly complete as my finger drew the last line in the air and the mana followed.
It connected to the starting point of first line.
An explosion occurred!
Ah fifte-!
A loud bang! Instantly followed by a shockwave that swept me of my feet and send me flying until I crashed against a hard treetrunk.
There was no air in my lungs as I have not started to breathe since I left the water but it still gave me the feeling of air getting pressed out of my body by the force of impact.
Uhnn~ that hurt.
I could feel some blood on the back of my head so I [looked] at it. Yeah that's quite the laceration. I need to heal it up…
\\Uhm, silly me?
Somehow there was the odd feeling in being disappointed in myself.
//Yes?
\\Did I really forget what happened the last time when I tried this?
I started to sweat in my mind.
//Uhm… no?
\\Then why got I kicked back again and am bleeding now?
/Uhhhh… experimental failure? I had to try it out again to see if I could reach the same conclusion.
…
Why am I trying to lie at myself?
I completely forgot.
I sighed.
Okay then I need to confirm the other ones.
Even if I get hurt again…
Something started to flow down my back. Ah yes, I maybe should prioritize this.
Concentrating.
I [looked] at the back of my head and watched the fake cells getting regenerated in a normally impossible speed.
I observed them for a moment and then started imagining them getting created faster.
Slowly getting the hang of it I already saw the fully healed back of my head and my body hurried to keep up with the imagination. It only took 113 seconds until there was no trace of an injury anymore.
So this is the way to do it huh?
I will try again when I get hurt again to confirm it.
Wait what?
I waited a few seconds.
So do I really want to get hurt again?
No actually not. But I assume that the other types of magic will send me flying again and in conclusion I will get hurt again. Not the nicest prediction but I have to confirm it or it won't give my mind any rest.
So I got up again.
Deeply breathing in I started to draw the symbol that the woodcutter woman used to create water for the meal.
The mana followed.
This drawing had a lot in common with the one that moves water… So somewhere in this must be the basic symbol for water I guess.
I expected it but the explosion knocked me over again as soon as I finished the magic circle.
It pushed me backwards and I rolled over the earthy ground for a few dozen meters. Some small sticks and stones slightly pieced my skin but nothing serious. This will heal up fast even if I don't concentrate on it.
I pulled myself together and got up again.
A failure again, huh?
So one more to go…
My arm feels sore so I should try with the other one.
Or maybe..?
I lift my tail and concentrate on the flow of mana as I moved it. It followed.
So it doesn't matter what I use as long as I can draw?
\\I got an idea!
Eh?
The movement of my tail stopped and the half drawn circle of mana just vanished in the air again.
\\Silly me I need all my concentration now so don't be stupid for a moment.
//?
I concentrated on the point where I had started the drawing with my tail but nothing happened.
After a few minutes my body started to tremble and some strong dizzyness overcame me. I didn't mind it.
I feel sick.
But this was of absolut no importance.
In front of me the mana in the air started to gather and formed a small line.
It surprised me but even that shock couldn't interrupt my concentration.
The minutes passed by as I completed the first part and perfectly passed over to the next.
The progress was slow but it got more and more steady as the minutes vanished into an hour. The lines of mana in the air where very thin and looked quite sloppy but it was nearly complete.
A millimeter every few seconds it would be done in thirteen seconds.
…
Nine.
…
Five.
…
Two…
…
One…
…
It exploded.
Deeply sunken in concentration I had leaned forward without noticing it so the shockwave felt like a way to hard hit in the face as it threw me against a boulder a few meters behind me.
I tasted blood. My back hurts like eleven and the nose was definitely broken. With a gross feeling I spat out some teeth that got crushed by the shock.
//That was the biggest failure until now...
\\That was the biggest success until now!
//Am I stupid? Look what it did to me!
\\Am I stupid? Look what I did there!
Hmpf!
Because I couldn't stand the feeling of my tongue touching the gums where the front row of my teeth should have been, I concentrated there first.
But how do I recreate a tooth with the imagination of copying the process of cell division?
Unn~
I [look] at my other teeth.
The form, the structure and the way in which they are created by mana… Now this should be on the other place too…
For exactly 46 seconds nothing happened. Then some new teeth just popped out in an instant and took me completely by surprise so that I bit my tongue.
Ouch!
I licked over the new teeth. Everything seems to be in order.
So onto the nose.
This was easier, as it was just the "normal" selfhealing process and only took me a few dozen seconds.
But all the small bruises on my back kept me occupied for quite a while as I had to concentrate on every single one separately to speed up the fake cell division.
Yosh!
So what was so amazing now other that I found the best way to do something never again?
No, I will probably do it again.
Most certainly…
Did I just create a magic circle without any physical movement?!
Yep, I surely did!
So I could technically create magic wherever I want as soon as I get the hang of it…
That would be awesome!
And even though my magic fails again; when I create it while being away far enough, then it shouldn't be able to hit me.
But I need training for that…
Loads of training.
The amount of time was way too much and just now I realized, that I didn't use my field of perception until the drawing was complete.
That actually scared me.
Not that there is much change. Only a few animals were in places they weren't before but still.
What if something like the hornet showed up?
What if some humans got to the pond again and decided to check out the nearby forest?!
My body started to tremble.
I feel sick again.
I want to go back to the pond and check if everything is fine. Maybe I could try to dig until I reach the hot water below.
Yeah I should do that.
There is nothing I have to do anyways so I can try this out another time. But not without my field of perception.