Ray could hardly contain his excitement.
For weeks, he had been pestering the Baron for access to books about magic. Maggie, the librarian and keeper of the Barony's finances, was as committed as a bouncer at a club—no magic books for you! She claimed it was for his own good, but Ray wasn't easily dissuaded.
Determined to break through the barriers, he was persistent in his quest for approval. At first, Harold sided with Maggie, trusting her judgment on the matter. But Ray, like a child on a sugar rush, didn't stop. Day in and day out, he made his case, throwing out different reasons each time— a puppy asking for a treat with wide, innocent eyes. Eventually, Harold caved, but with a strict condition: the books could only be read for knowledge, not practice or experimentation.
With the seal of approval, Ray was granted access to the Barony's secret collection of elementary magic texts. Hidden away in the far corners of the minimalist library (no one could blame him for getting lost), these books were packed with knowledge and mysteries he had long yearned to uncover.
He dove in headfirst, exploring the new and exciting concepts. Maggie, who knew of Ray's potential, was sure it would take him a while to grasp the basics. But to her surprise, he sped through the material faster than a student cramming for finals. The little books couldn't keep up with his quick understanding and insatiable curiosity.
When Ray approached Maggie to delve deeper into her vast knowledge of magic, she was skeptical. She doubted he could have absorbed the material so quickly and decided to put him to the test.
Her questions started simple: How does mana operate? What's the deal with channeling elemental magic through spirits? The basics. But soon, she found herself asking more advanced stuff, like how mana works in non-elemental applications.
To her astonishment, Ray answered every question correctly without fail. The books had given him a solid foundation, but they were like training wheels—there was still so much more he didn't know about the other branches of magic, like augmentation, weapon arts, and conjuration. Fields of magic that were still mysteries to him.
Gene—or, should we say, Ray—being the former scientist he was, couldn't be satisfied with theory alone. He wanted to see magic in action. And since he had an elf—a species practically born with magic in their blood—as his guide, he wasn't about to waste the opportunity.
He requested a simple demonstration from Grand Mage Maggie, a Tier-Six Triple Mage. Ray didn't know how the tier system worked, but he was sure that if there was a "Most Likely to Be a One-Man Army" award, she'd win it.
Maggie hesitated, downplaying his request. She didn't want him to get disappointed. The whole reason she'd been trying to keep him away from magic was because of this exact situation. She felt it would be cruel to tease him with the idea of magic when he couldn't practice it himself.
She tried to shift the conversation, but Ray wasn't having it. He kept pushing for the demonstration. Finally, Maggie gave in, using Harold as an indirect way of refusing him. She told Ray to get permission from the Baron.
To her surprise, Harold humored the boy, and Maggie found herself cornered into having to follow through with the demonstration.
They moved to the back courtyard, where a large tree stood, looking like it had seen one too many windstorms.
"Okay, Ray, I'm going to show you a simple wind spell," Maggie said. "Watch carefully, because I'm only going to do it once."
She set her staff aside, deciding to demonstrate a spell that didn't require much mana buffering or concentration. Nothing too fancy—just a little wind to get the point across.
Maggie stood before Ray, the cool air of the courtyard swirling around her. Her stance was calm, almost meditative, as she eyed the tree in the distance. Ray stood still, eyes glued to her, practically vibrating with anticipation. If he had a tail, it'd be wagging.
"Watch closely," she said, her voice soft but firm. "This will only take a moment."
Maggie chanted a few words, connecting herself to the spirits, then raised her hands with a deliberate motion. Ray could feel the temperature drop slightly, the wind picking up just a touch, as if it was taking a deep breath before going full force.
"Wind Blast!" Maggie announced with a flourish.
A gust of wind shot forward, bending the branches of the tree and causing a flurry of leaves to take flight. It wasn't a powerful spell by any means, but it was enough to demonstrate the basics of how magic worked. Ray raised his hands, clearly thinking about trying it for himself.
Maggie moved quickly to stop him, reminding him that performing magic required both an innate aptitude and sufficient mana reserves. But her words fell on deaf ears.
Ray was already replaying the demonstration in his head, using Liza as his inner analysis tool. And as described in the books, he understood that to cast a spell, you needed to establish links with the spirits.
Ray entered a calm state, using his newfound knowledge to attempt the spell. First, he needed to gather mana—something he hadn't yet felt but knew was there. His unique constitution made this tricky, though. His new body, combined with his old soul full of electrons, created a barrier, preventing his energy from interacting with the world around him. This made it seem like he had no mana at all, when in fact, the opposite was true.
His soul vibrated at a unique frequency, drawing in mana whenever his energy interacted with external forces. To cast the spell, he needed to reverse this inversion and align with the new frequencies. On his own, it would have been a struggle. But with Liza's help, it was practically effortless.
Once the alignment was complete, he streamlined the casting process. He realized that chanting was mostly a time-waster—conveying intent and connecting with the spirits could happen in parallel without the long-winded rituals.
Ray took a deep breath, focused his energy, and with a flick of his hand, released a blast of wind. The gust was strong enough to knock leaves off the tree, sending them flying into the air. Dust swirled around, and the wind bent the grass as if it was in a hurry to get somewhere.
Ray wasn't satisfied though. As he observed the spell, his scientific mind kicked in. Bernoulli's principle—something about pressure differences in fluids—popped into his head. If he could manipulate the airflow, he could amplify the effect. Channeling this idea, he adjusted the flow of mana. The result? A gust so powerful it snapped a branch clean off the tree.
Ray grinned as the dust settled. The wind calmed. He had done it. His first successful spellcast. He turned to Maggie to share his excitement, but the grin faded as soon as he saw her face.
Maggie stood frozen, her grip tight on her staff. Her breathing was uneven, like someone who had just run a marathon. The air was still buzzing with Ray's mana, and the pressure left her momentarily disoriented. She blinked several times, still processing what had just happened.
"Ray…" she said, voice shaky. "What… was that?"
Maggie knew that kind of mana pressure could only come from the most ancient and powerful beings. And Ray? Ray was not supposed to be one of those beings.
"I think," Maggie said slowly, her voice tinged with nervousness, "we need to redo your aptitude test. And maybe find you a collar to wear, just in case you're secretly a magic hurricane."