Millana placed the book on the table. Looking at the open book, Lothar read the title page with letters decorating it in bold font.
"I can't read this." Lothar placed the book back on the table, his eyes glancing towards the tiny elf with a questioning gaze. "Although for a book, it's pretty thin."
"That's because the author of this book split his lessons in various books, numbering from one to… How many books did the author have again, Elora?" Millana looked at her right-hand woman, the elf, adopting a thinking pose as her maser asked a question.
"If I'm not mistaken, I think four… Maybe five…" Millana thanked Elora before looking at Lothar, who was busy observing the duo.
"As Elora said, there are maybe four or five books. As for your other question, the title here is read as 'Magic of the World - Book 1'." Millana grabbed the book and flipped over to the next page. "Sadly, the author didn't write down his name; his identity lost for eternity in the annuls of history."
"… Aren't you all long-living species? Maybe one of you had known the author." At my words, Millana and Elora sighed. Sensing the discomfort his words caused the two, he decided to forgo that line of questioning.
He could always learn about it next time.
"I'll answer your question next time. For now, we're here to learn magic, not a history lesson." Millana moved to sit in front of Lothar. "As you can guess from the title I read, this book is about magic and its basics, but with a little more information than the last lesson I gave you."
Lothar listened attentively to the elf, his fingers tapping on the table to endure his anxiety. Whether Elora or Millana noticed this, they didn't react to it, which made Lothar sigh mentally in relief.
"First of all, I've already told you about the six main elements and the special element, so let's skip that." Millana droned on as Lothar felt his attention shift slightly. "As for the technicalities of affinities. To be simple, gaining an affinity for one element makes it easier and faster to learn, while its opposite element is harder. An example is that you have a fire affinity. Learning fire magic is easy, but learning water magic is hard."
Lothar nodded, understanding the logic behind the affinities.
"But having an affinity for the void element is different altogether." Millana closed the book shut as she stared into Lothar's eyes. "If you have an affinity for the void element, the result is that learning all other elements is next to impossible."
Lothar gaped as Millana's words entered his ear and were processed by his brain.
"Wait… You mean to say I can't use any other magic except void!?" This got Lothar panicking. It was already hard that he couldn't stand anything remotely related to the void, but learning that it was impossible to learn other elements because of his affinity was a nightmare come true for the man.
"I did not say impossible. I said next to impossible. The possibility is there, just not realistic." Millana replied, but it wasn't the answer Lothar wanted to hear.
"So it might as well be impossible…" Lothar slumped in his chair, a loud sigh escaping his lips.
The room stayed silent for a few minutes before Millana grew tired of the silence.
"Let's proceed." Garnering the attention of the seemingly depressed human, Millana raised her hand, palm facing up, and conjured a ball of water similar to the one she had conjured in their last lesson.
"My affinity is for the water element. As such, I have an easier time learning, controlling, and, overall, using the water element." Millana once again snapped it out of existence. "That said, though, even if I had an affinity for the water element, making it easier to learn and control, that didn't mean I didn't have to work for it."
Lothar stared at the elf with newfound respect, eating up the words Millana spewed out of her mouth.
"Talent is useless when a person lets his capability wither." From the side, Elora nodded her head in agreement. "Lothar, I could garner a guess that the reason you have a problem using the void element is because of past trauma. Because of that, me teaching you how to learn magic will be naught but a tragic tale of failure."
Millana got off her seat as she stared at Lothar in the eyes. Lothar couldn't help but stare back, once again mesmerized by the deep green eyes the little elf had.
"So please, tell me… What's ailing you, so that I may help you." Millana stopped in front of the stiff man, his body rigid like a statue due to his anxiety skyrocketing.
"Well… I… Uh… That… That is…" Lothar kept on stuttering words that weren't really connecting with each other. He then closed his mouth to stop embarrassing himself even further. His eyes closed shut as he recalled his time in the void.
Alone.
Lonely.
Dark.
DarK…!
DArK..!
DARK!!!
"Lothar!"
"Wha-!?" Lothar was snapped out of his downward spiral by a slap to the face thanks to Elora, her hand outstretched to the side as his cheek stung.
"Thank goodness. You were about to have another panic attack." Millana said worryingly, her hands clasped together as she stared at him with her still expressionless face, except for a minor frown and tilting eyebrows.
"I… I'm sorry…" Lothar could do nothing but apologize. Sure, he may be some kind of slave based on the contract, but he wasn't treated like one. Plus, he also got a conversation buddy in the form of an elf maid named Ashryn.
So, for all that's worth, Lothar owed them an apology for worrying them again with his panic attack.
'Am I developing Stockholm Syndrome…?' Lothar couldn't help but think of the emotional response that was a tad bit too relatable to his current situation.
"It's okay, but first. I need to test something." Millana all of a sudden sat on Lothar's lap, prompting the man to briefly forget about breathing and everything and stiffen up. "Could you please conjure a void ball?"