Blue light shone on the depths of the purple forest. The light itself was cold enough that it turns the humid air of the afternoon into chilly winds of arctics, freezing the water vapors on the surface of the leaves, barks, and even dirt.
The flame that emanated from my body reached the height of the trees, yet the recoil from my magic didn't feel as much as a burden as it was before. "Imaginary potential," as Velxia put it, is basically the ability to alter things that have a little purpose into things of different purposes depending on the user's desires.
His feathers, for example, were only for the purpose of flight and what he calls his 'majesty,' but he was able to give them another purpose, which is to become his weapons that could pierce his target. Although I'm not sure if my mana is supposed to have "minimal purpose," it seems to have worked since I also innately have the abyssal and infinite energy that molded my magic.
In short, since my mana usage isn't that prominent, to begin with, Velxia's ability made it so that the magic I expel would be stronger by giving it the other purpose of magic that is 'harmless to the user'. Of course, that doesn't mean I don't have a recoil now.
When a recoil hits me, although weak at first, would end up tremendous if I overuse it because of the recoil from the abyssal and infinite energy. Although it's possible to weaken the abyssal recoil, it wouldn't be that effective because abyssal energy is existentially stronger than mana. Still, the fact that I now have better control and less recoil is amazing.
According to Velxia, this may be because of my initial training before I even awakened, as well as my expulsion method that leisurely strengthened my body. I was honestly ecstatic to finally train my magic, but the old man set the condition of not allowing me to use my magic in this world. Meaning that I can only use my magic once I have step foot on the celestial reality, so it kinda felt all for naught.
It was understandable though, as even I myself wouldn't want the attention of people who may use me again for their sakes, nor do I have the ambition of gaining the attention of the Gods of Dorr Valia. I simply want to get strong to live my life to the fullest with no regrets.
A white figure landed soundlessly from the sky with fine wings that spread grandiosely before tucking it in an elegant manner. Although I say Velxia has been training me, he's actually just telling me to do this and that while he loafs around. Thinking that it wouldn't matter anyway since I was able to make results, I didn't bother to complain.
"It seems you've fully grasped control," he said as he walked towards me. My control over my magic had greatly improved in just a couple of weeks, and so did the quality of mana I can now use. From a normal person's perspective, it would take years just to increase the quality of mana from red to orange, but my body was able to adapt hastily because of my training method and unusual magic.
"Is it time?" I asked Velxia who sat on all fours just a few feet from where I sat. He let out a yawn before responding, "Yeah. You're already as powerful as a legitimate high-tier mage with your magic alone, and it would be an understatement to say that you're just 'good' with a sword."
The praise was good to hear, but his indifferent attitude made it seem like I was still a weakling in his eyes. I stood up and made a light stretch, before signaling Velxia who stood up as well. Sitting on his back, we flew back home to the old man.
Normally, we could have just walked, but since we trained in the deepest parts of the forest, that walk would take up more time than necessary. Training at our home was also possible, but since we didn't want anyone to catch on to my magic, we had to train in a secluded space.
The Hydrangaea, which I turned to ice, was also destroyed by master so that no onlookers can see it. When the old man asked master to destroy the Hydrangaea, he was reluctant and suggested that they should just sell it as it looked extremely artistic. Furthermore, it was made out of ice that never melts. But after a firm stand with the old man's request, master gave up and demolished the giant snake, burying the remnants under the dirt.
Kayla continued her training with master, and although she's still a bit childish, she seems to be taking her practices more seriously now.
The cool air produced by the speed Velxia was traveling at, slowly faded as we landed at the back of our house. "Oh, that was fast," the old man commented after noticing our arrival. "What's this?" For some reason, there was a lot of food on the table and everyone was here.
"Surprised you?" master asked with a grin on his face. On his back was Astesia, or Asia as she liked me to call her, eyeing me shyly with the Viola in her arms. Apparently, the concept of names didn't matter to celestial beings as they can tell who is who by simply looking at their egos, but since little Velxia is now a resident of this reality, Asia named her Viola.
"Did you forget?" The old man asked me. More than forget, I honestly don't know. reading into White's memories, there we're a day once every year that this always happens, although without other visitors.
"My birthday, is it?" I asked for confirmation. "So you really did forget, huh?" Kayla asked back whilst holding her laughter in. In my previous world, my birthdays didn't really have any celebrations of the sort other than my debut on my eighteenth birthday. Saying that it was grand is an understatement as it was also my debut to the political world that the continental empire had. However, it felt empty because of how everyone was just celebrating the "prince" and not "me."
On the other hand, this small celebration right here felt heart-warming because of the genuineness of these people. Although I know that they are celebrating the birthday of White, White now exists as a part of me. "Yeah, sorry about that," they probably would understand if I "forgot" it since the training has been hectic these days.
"Well, come now," Kayla pulled my arm, "It's a good day to be merry!" And so we did. Everyone started to cheerfully share their stories with each other. Master and the old man actually got along quite well, and I even learned that they knew each other before the great race wars, but they didn't want to elaborate as they said it would ruin the merriment.
Since it was probably more war stories, I just let them be. To my surprise, Kayla was able to drink alcohol even though she's only 8 yrs of age, and when she got drunk, she even forced me to drink alcohol which I didn't like, even in my previous world.
Surprisingly, it wasn't as strong compared to the liquor of my previous world and is actually pretty tasty. In the end, we wasted the whole afternoon and evening just fooling around without a care in the world, until we got wasted from intoxication.
...
The bright light of the blue sun shone down on my face, and the gentle breeze of the morning wind brush my cheeks. The first thing I felt was my dry throat screaming for water, followed by the sight of everyone looking like ragdolls just laying around, snoring carelessly. Even the majestic griffin was now laying down on the floor with his belly facing upwards.
I stood up and headed towards the washroom to wash my face, before heading to the kitchen where I found Sophia making soup for breakfast. "Smells great," I commented. Sophia, who didn't notice my presence, jolted in surprise.
"White?" She turned and looked at me before asking, "How did you do that?" "I learned it from Velxia, pretty cool right?" I responded. The ability to camouflage one's mana signature with the environment, basically erasing one's presence. Although Velxia never really thought me how to do it, I simply learned it as I was able to strengthen my control over my magic.
Sophia let out a small giggle as she continued cooking. "Are you ready, White?" She asks softly. She might think that I'm actually scared, but actually, I'm pretty excited about it. After all, today is the day of my departure to Ius Viride. Well, I thought it was yesterday, but it seems they wanted to celebrate my birthday first, not that I'm complaining.
"More than ready," I assured Sophia. "Ugh, my throat's dry," the old man who looked like a mess, sat beside me facing the counter while carrying something, "Sophia, can I have water?"
Sophia then served him a glass of water which he drunk aggressively, before letting out a sound of refreshment.
"Oh, yeah," the old man shifted his gaze towards me and transformed to his usual jolly self, as he presented me the thing he was carrying, "Happy birthday, White!"
"This is... a raincoat?" I inquired. It was a hooded grey-looking raincoat that reached just above my knees and has a huge neckline that's padded with an upward collar. Its sleeves that gape, reached until the end of my knuckles, making it look like an eastern coat, but the most eye-catching was the giant zipper that runs along its front.
Its design was lacking, but it looked comfortable to wear. "Can I try it on?" I asked. The old man nodded and handed me the coat. At first, it may seem heavy because of its size, but it's actually a lot lighter because of its materials.
The old man then grabbed his glass of water and splashed some on the coat. To my surprise, it was as if the coat denies any absorption from the water as it remains dry. "This is water repellant, huh" I commented on the old man.
He then nodded before he elaborated, "At this time of year, it rains a lot in Ius Viride, so I figured you might need this. By the way, this coat has repulsion properties, making it so that it never gets dirty."
"It also repulses things that approach you with great speed, making it a suitable undercover armor," He proudly says with a smirk on his face. "Isn't this too powerful?" I asked. Although this world seems to have more powerful relics and beings, I doubt you can simply find any random person in the street wearing something like this.
After a few moments, the old man closed his eyes, as if reminiscing before opening his mouth, "That was your father's."