I stared at my ceiling till I passed out I woke up under a tree the sun was beaming onto my face through the gaps of the branches, I was on a grassy field I took a minute to observe my surroundings it was stretched with grass on my right to the end was a forest with trees around 50 meters tall to my left was a stone wall, that's all I could observe with my head on the ground so I sat up and looked around I could see the roof of a house, it took me a minute to realize that I fell asleep on my bed and woke up here.
I decided to get up and I realized I was still wearing my school clothes, hoodie, and jacket, I walked over to the stone wall and vaulted over and there was a path to the right was a village to the left was a lake 'The hell is this place and ahead was a two-story house, I decided to go up to the house and knock on the door, a man answered the door he looked like he was 90-100 years old he had a long ivory white beard brown eyes that had the light drained out of them, his face was wrinkled he had long white hair he was wearing a grey hoodie with the hood up, light yellow shirt and grey trousers.
"Can I help you, young man?", "I woke up under that tree" I pointed behind me "and I was wondering where I am", "Interesting, would you mind coming inside?", "ok, thank you sir", he invited me in, his house was small but nice and cosy, he had notes flung everywhere and one bed a chair and a desk in the top right corner of his room and a candle holder on the left wall adjacent and behind a set of stairs, "take a seat on the bed", I walked over to the bed and sat down, the man pulled out a chair and placed it facing me and he sat down.
"So you say you woke up under that tree did you fall asleep under there?", "No sir I fell asleep in my house and woke up there", "Interesting, what's your name, young man?", "Shirou, Shirou Ryder sir", "Shirou Ryder ay haha", "Anything wrong sir?", "No not at all young Ryder but I think I know why you woke up underneath the tree", "And that would be?", "you are still asleep but this also isn't a dream, you see my name is Atlas Ryder", "This is freaking me out are you sure this isn't a dream", "I'm quite sure this isn't a dream I believe you are here because it was your destiny", "My destiny?", "yes, you see our bloodline of mages was kept dormant because years ago I made a seal that locked up the 7 devils and the 7 gods which used up so much of my innate mana that it kept taking the mana of the new generation but the seal is breaking letting the mana leak out and letting you awaken as a mage, so I believe you are here for guidance on what to do since you have no idea how to be a mage".
"So you're saying that I'm here for guidance on how to control my magic and how to be a mage?", "Precisely, Shirou could you tell me what spells you already know?", "Ok, so I know mana speed, mana gain, mana heal, mana traversal, and mana eyes", "Ok so you know the basic spells, do you know how to get to rings past level 1?", "I have to deplete the mana in every ring before unlocking the next", "Yes but that's not the whole of it there are 4 criteria 1, you need to be in a near-death situation 2, you need to have perfect control of that amount of mana 3, you need to have a fatal wound and 4, you need to have no mana left in your existing rings".
"So greed only told me part of what I needed to know but why?", "Well it's because greed wants you to rely on his power so he can try to get control of your body to use it as a vessel, but be warned if your body can't handle the great change in mana you will be incinerated and it would be risky to use the mana gain spell while meeting the criteria".
"So what are the chances of me dying when I use mana gain?", "Around a 65% chance of you dying", "So how am I supposed to gain more mana if my chances of living are slim?", "Well, there is a spell called mana enhancement it allows you to focus mana into a desired body part or your entire body to increase its durability or strength".
"How would that help?"," Well if you end up getting killed by mana gain it will disintegrate your physical body so mana enhancement will strengthen your body giving it less chance to be disintegrated", "I get it now so mana gain will affect my body"," correct".
"Would you mind teaching me the spell?", "of course, I will Shirou I just need to check your mana so please show me your wrist", I pulled up my sleeve on my left arm and revealed my wrist <380/600>, "600 mana good, good though you've nearly used half of it, it's not a problem it's best to have your mana full at all times since gaining back your stored mana takes a while to restore",' mana gain', my mana started rising but very slowly, "I see what you mean it's slow as hell is there any way for me to increase the speed?", "yes, but I can't teach you it", "Why not?", "ill tell you that later but for now let's get to learning the enhancement spell".
"Right", Atlas got up and walked over to the candle holder and he waved me to him, I got up from the bed and walked over to him, as soon as I got to him he pulled down the candle holder and the wall from the stairs opened up revealing stairs that lead to what seemed like a basement, "I'll teach you down there", "right", I started waking down the stairs to the basement it seemed to get longer and longer every step I took it felt like I was walking down forever till I reached the bottom, my jaw dropped the walls were pearl white and stretched 20 feet tall with gold lining with a marbled black floor, I stood there for a while 5 minutes at most.
"Shirou!", "Yeah?", "I called your name for a while thought I lost you" he chuckled, "Sorry about that", "it's alright I'm guessing you weren't expecting this", "I'd be lying if I said I was", Atlas chuckled as he walked to the center of the seemingly endless room "Shirou come here", without questioning it I started walking over to Atlas "step one to learning mana enhancement, breath in deep breath till your lungs feel like they're going to burst", "step two imagine your mana flow tightening", "step three focus on the part of your body you want to enhance", "step four think about how much you want to enhance your body part or just your entire body this spell can use up to ten to ten thousand mana depending on how much you want to enhance", "question" "go on" "how do I imagine enhancing my body part or body?", "think about it like armour", "Then step five cast mana enhancement".
"Shirou once you figure out how to use mana enhancement break these walls", Atlas created 5 walls from thin air they towered around me I felt like I was surrounded well I was but it didn't feel like I was surrounded by walls but more like predators, "Alright I'll give it a try", I took a deep breath until it started hurting, then I imagined my mana getting tighter, then I focused in on my right hand, I imagined it being enhanced with iron then I tried to cast the spell 'mana enhancement', 'ok' I rushed to the wall Infront of me and hit it with all my force... I heard a cracking sound I fell to the ground as I screamed in pain "Shirou are you ok?", "I think I broke my hand", "Let me see", Atlas walked over to me and grabbed my arm with his left hand, and with his right hand he held it above my broken hand and I saw a bright light emanating from his right hand, my broken hand started to feel better, the light died down till it was gone.
"What was that?", "It's a spell called mana restoration or just restoration", "when can I learn it?", "in time Shirou in time, now you should get back to learning the enhancement spell", "right", I stood back up and checked my wrist <380/600> "My mana didn't go down", "I'm guessing you're having trouble learning the spell?", "I did everything you told me to do and it didn't work", how did you imagine enhancing your hand?", "I imagined it by being enhanced with iron", "like a casing around your hand or your hand becoming iron?", "like my hand was encased in iron", "that's why it didn't work Shirou you were trying to do another spell with the same steps but a difference in the name and enhancement, try it again but instead of an encasing imagine your hand turning into iron", "alright", I slowly got up not wanting to apply pressure to my right hand but it felt fixed "Woah my hand that spell is amazing", "it sure is Shirou once you learn it you'll be doing more reckless things each day", "no kidding anyway I'm gonna break those walls down", "that's the spirit kid".
I cleared my mind and started to cast the spell going over everything Atlas told me 'mana enhancement' I rushed to the walls and hit the first with all my force I closed my eyes because I was scared I messed the spell up again but I started to hear cracking so I slowly opened my eyes and saw the wall started to crumble then after a few moments the wall all fell "well-done Shirou the first of 5 walls has been broken, now try to enhance your legs your, left hand, and your head", "alright ill give it a shot".
breathing in I imagined my mana getting tighter and I started to focus on my right leg then imagined my leg being turned into iron 'mana enhancement' 'Right here goes nothing' I rushed to the wall to my left and kicked with my right leg and it felt weird due to the fact I never use my right leg to kick but the wall crumbled I looked up to get a view of the top falling then I saw a piece of the wall heading straight for me it looked ginormous 'mana speed' I got out of the way just in time thanks to mana speed.
"Shirou are you alright", "Yeah I was able to get away from the wall just in time", "alright that's good you scared me for a second there", "Sorry about that old man", "OLD!? I'm only 110 years old Shirou", Atlas started to chuckle "get back to practising the spell now Shirou", "got it", I checked my wrist to see how much mana I had left <320/600> 'my ring has 220 mana left it should be enough for the rest of the walls, "Atlas should I fill up my ring again its got 220 left?", "it should be fine to be left as it is", "alright".
in about ten minutes I got done with destroying all the walls, I checked my wrist again to see how much mana I had left <260/600> 'ok so I have 160 mana left alright, "Hey Atlas I finished destroying the walls", "good now let's test your ability to enhance your whole body", "alright", Atlas used a spell to grab all the debris from the walls and turned them into spears there was about 500 of them, "ok Shirou ill throw each of these at you and with mana enhancement try to turn your body to something strong enough that will break the stone", "alright got it", "also you'll have to cast the spell faster", "alright ill try", Atlas threw the spear and it went through my chest I fell to the ground while screaming in agony, Atlas walked over and healed me, "get up Shirou try again", "alright".
I wasn't able to cast the spell quick enough and the spears kept ripping through my body each time felt worse than the last, Atlas kept healing me, it happened over and over and over again I was there for what felt like days but in reality, it couldn't have been more than a few minutes after 100 goes I could no longer stand up due to the pain, Atlas started losing hope, "Kid I don't think you're ready for this spell yet I'll send you back to reality", "NO! Atlas please I can do it I know I can, don't give up on me" I said whilst starring at Atlas, "fine I'll give you a couple more runs only because I can see the determination and fire in your eyes", "thank you Atlas", "alright kid get up", "alright".
I got up from the floor and started to focus I imagined my body becoming titanium 'mana enhancement', the spears broke but after the first 100 spears I could feel my body becoming weaker and weaker after every spear after the first 200 spears I fell to my knees "kid are you alright", "yeah I'm doing just fine don't stop", "alright kid", the spears continued after 400 spears I was barely conscious, I was so close to the end until I passed out, I woke up on a bed did Atlas carry me back to the first floor, "Shirou your awake", "Atlas please don't send me back yet I need to learn this spell", "kid what are you talking about you did it, you somehow stayed conscious long enough to get to destroy all the spears but your mana went into your natural mana and you nearly died you had me frightened I can revive people and mages who died in battle or of normal causes but mana exhaustion I cant ", "sorry to scare you old man", "hey I'm not that old", we both chuckled for a while.
"Hey, Atlas how will I become a better mage outside of your help?", "go to a school for mages", " how do I find one?", "you don't they find you", "How?", they notice your abilities through Scouters all around the world, and you'll get a letter if a scouter thinks you have potential, there is one school you should hope to go to is equilibrium Academy", "how come?", "its the best magic academy its been that way since I was first enrolled anyone who enters and graduates become one of the most powerful mages but they have a 0.01% graduation rate", "you think I would be able to graduate from the academy?", "with your determination and being my descendant you have a decent chance", "ok thank you Atlas", "you can thank me by getting in and graduating kid but I should send you back to reality now kid", "right, it has been fun Atlas", "it has kid, I'll see you later", Atlas soon after sent me back to reality where I woke back up in my bed.
I checked my phone for the time <09:00> 'It's early' I got up and threw the clothes I was wearing in my laundry basket by my skateboard and guitar then I opened my wardrobe and grabbed my towel 'Mum must've washed it and placed it back' I opened my door and started walking to the towel strung over my shoulder and entered my bathroom and locked the door behind me, I placed my towel on the towel hook and turned on the shower while waiting for the shower to warm up I checked the mirror to see if I needed to shave, it was a bit rough round my chin and upper lip so I decided to shave.
I finished up and started brushing my teeth then I got into the shower, took about 10 minutes before I got out, I grabbed my towel from the hook and secured it around my waist and I unlocked the door and went back to my room and closed the door behind me and I grabbed my hair dryer and started drying off, I took my towel off and started getting dressed, I decided to wear my black cargo jeans, my black shirt, and a black hoodie.
after getting dressed I looked at my phone to check the time <09:15> "Might as well go on a run", I went to my door and on the way, I grabbed my keys then unlocked my door and closed and locked it behind me I started walking round to the gate and jumped over I decided to go to the city 'mana traversal
"Hey there you are, Jesus I told you not to run off like that, thank you, guys, for keeping her company", "yeah sorry about that", one of the guys that were harassing this girl grabbed my hand and I looked back "I don't think you two will be going anywhere", the other 3 guys reached for their hoodies and pulled out switchblades and knives, "using knives jeez you guys sure are scary", the guy that grabbed my hand tried to punch me in my face but I was able to dodge, "did I piss you off big guy", I turned to the girl, "run", she gave a nod and ran out of the alleyway and round to the bank, "now where were we?", the guy closest to me grabbed a knife from his hoodie pocket and tied to stab me with it 'mana enhancement
"3 to go", I was rushed by all three of the guys 'mana speed' I moved around them and stood behind them waiting for them to move, "behind you", I tapped the guy to my left on the shoulder, before he could turn around I kicked the back of his knee causing him to fall to the ground then I kicked him in the back of the head to knock him out or kill him, either way, doesn't matter, "2 to go", I think I scarred the other two because they started running off 'mana speed' i ran up to them and grabbed there necks and forced them to the ground, "and done, I might take some money for some compensation though.
As I walked over to the unconscious bodies I noticed they were all broken I was only able to scrape together £10 from the first 3 guys but with the fourth, I noticed he was still conscious, "hey you should probably call an ambulance for your friends", he pulled out his phone and called an ambulance, I checked my wrist to see how much mana I used <510/600>, then I started to leave the alleyway and tried to find the girl, as I turned round to the bank I saw the girl with a couple of police officers, "hey boy can we speak with you for a moment", "yeah sure", they walked over with the girl to the alleyway, "kid did you do this all by yourself?", "yeah I saw her being harassed by these four and I decided to step in and help her", the officers looked down at the girl "Is this true ?", "yes", "alright", the police looked back up at me, "What you did was very brave but you should have called the police first so we would need to give you a fine but we'll look the other way since you're young", "I understand, and thank you officers", "no problem now have a good day and stay out of trouble", "you too and will do".
The girl walked over to me, "Thank you for what you did", "I just did what was right no need to thank me", I pulled out my phone to check the time <10:30> then I put it back in my pocket, "hey what's your name?", "My name is Shirou Ryder what's yours", "wait for Shirou ! I didn't recognize you, it's me Elise", "from school?", "yeah were in the same English class remember", "Yeah I didn't recognize you, you look different from when you were in school way too different", "I can say the same for you as well", we both just laughed for a bit, Elise is someone in my English class we don't talk unless it's in group projects she has blonde, hair brown eyes and is around 5"9 so decently tall, "hey wanna get a bite to eat?", "yeah, sure I have time, where to?".
"There's a nice coffee shop near here if you want to go there?", "sure lead the way Shirou", we walked through the city for a while, about 25 minutes until we arrived at the coffee shop, it was a small place with bricks on the outside for 1 3rd of the way up the wrest was wight, near the entrance was a sign saying
"Welcome to grimoire café what would you like?", Elise went first, "can I have a cappuccino with 3 sugars and a ham sandwich please", "alright one cappuccino with 3 sugars and 1 ham sandwich, what about you sir?", "Could I get i black coffee with 10 sugars and a ham sandwich please", "of course so that's one cappuccino with 3 sugars, one black coffee with 10 sugars ,and 2 ham sandwiches, ill be right back with your order", the waitress walked away and Elise was starring at me as if she wanted to say something, "what's up?", "oh nothing, you must have one hell of a sweet tooth", "yeah I don't know why but I've always had one", "I used to as well but then I just stopped eating so many sweets and I don't really have much of a sweet tooth anymore", "now that I think about it we haven't really talked outside of group projects", "you're right, I'm kinda glad that I ran into you", "same here", "wait why were you in the city anyway?", "oh I came here to go on a run then I ran into you what about you?", "I can't even remember I guess I just got bored from being in my house all week after what happened", "about that do you know when we will be back in school?", "no, I'm not sure I think my mum got an email from the school about something like 2 weeks I think everyone's still on edge", "yeah that makes sense", "anyway about what happened everyone is calling you a hero for how you saved the school", "oh really?", "yeah everyone's talking about it online haven't you heard?", "nope, I'm not really in any groups or anything so all of this is news to me", "oh".
The waitress came back with the order "One cappuccino and ham sandwich for you and one black coffee and ham sandwich for you to enjoy", the waitress placed out are drinks and food on our table, "thank you", "Your welcome", we started to eat and drink our coffee's, I was just starring outside, "Shirou, hello earth to Shirou", "sorry I must've zoned out what's up?", "I had a question about what happened at school", "Oh go ahead ask away", "Well you got shot didn't you so how come you were able to get up and take him down?", "Good question I'm not too sure about that myself", I just laughed it off since I couldn't tell her about the whole mage and demon thing I'd look insane, "alright if you say so Shirou, by the way, could I have your number so we could make plans to hang out?", "yeah sure", I grabbed my phone from my pocket, unlocked it, and handed it over to Elise, "thank you", she gave my phone back with a smile I looked down to see what she saved herself as
"So how are you liking the food?", "is great thanks for taking me here Shirou", "It's my pleasure really", after a couple of minutes we finished our drinks and food and the waitress came to get our bill, "that will be £6 ", "alright", I pulled out the £10 I managed to get from those thugs luckily they were in pound coins, "here 6 for the food and you can keep the rest", "thank you ", Elise and I got up from our table and started to leave, "want me to walk you home?", "if- if you want", Elise looked down to the ground as if she was embarrassed, "alright ill walk you home lead the way", after about an hour or so of walking we reached Elise's house, "thank you for walking my home Shirou", "no worries see you soon?", "yeah see you soon", Elise had a smile on her face then she turned around and started walking to her door, I started to leave once she got inside, 'I'm like 40 minutes away from my house might as well just teleport there', 'mana traversal