The rest of the magical theory was pretty uninteresting as it prepared us for our rune and enchantment class tomorrow. They involved a lot of magical circles and writing with mana, so Kasla took the time to ensure we were adequately prepared and understood everything.
It seemed weird, as wouldn't we learn this in that class? but I guess they overlap enough that it isn't a waste of time. Moving on to the next class, though, this one will most likely be my favourite.
Being able to apply my magic was a dream come true, and hopefully this way I will be able to protect myself. It may not be now, but right now I am a little afraid of my own magic. Either let it go free and cause a massive blast like I did on day one, or let out a tiny flame. I had no control over the output other than going to either extreme.
Hopefully, this class will teach me how to better manage my mana so I can finally start using it regularly.
'The last thing I want is to kill myself or harm someone like Lyra in the process.' Although I doubted I would have the courage to use magic against a noble, there was also the adventurer path Lyra suggested, where magic would be useful.
Approaching the class, I was fortunate enough that no one decided to harass me and made it to the training arena where we would practise.
'I guess the thought process is to accidentally shoot magic into me.' It was a likely outcome, but there was nothing I could do other than pray that the teacher would step in.
Just like many of the other arenas, it started off as just a regular grass plain as far as the eye could see. A little off in the distance was a person whom I assumed was our teacher. The students and I all walked up cautiously towards this person, as he gave off a dominating presence.
"Welcome, students, to your first magical practical class. You will call me Mr. Ragen." A male half-dragon turned around, facing us. His eyes were bright gold and sharp, giving him quite an intelligent look. There were also two prominent horns scaled like a dragon, which was what differentiated him from a demon.
His short, dark red hair flowed back, instantly making me label him as the fiery type, but for some reason, he looked very refined. His appearance gave the vibe of someone violent or very explosive, but the way he stood and spoke was very refined, like a strict math teacher.
'It doesn't help that he is wearing a red suit, making it harder to tell the kind of personality he has.' I stood there, making my analysis of the teacher, which he somehow noticed I was doing.
Ragen made direct eye contact with me, and I quickly looked away as I didn't want to accidentally piss him off.
"Good, it looks like everyone is here. I want you all to form a line, and we will be repeating the same test as you did in homeroom. This way, I can see with my own eyes what kind and how much magic you have."
Every student followed his instructions, and we all formed a line, with me, of course, a little further away from the others. Ragen then instructed us to shoot a spell out in the distance with our prefered element.
I was the last to be examined, and just like before, I let the mana within me burst out of my hand. A massive blast of fire turned the grass into ash, and if this wasn't a magical field, a wildfire would have occurred.
"Interesting, just as the report says." Ragen rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment before turning around.
"Well done everyone, as I can see most of you don't have any proper control over your mana. This class will focus on that, and by the end of it, I expect you to precisely control the output." Laying out the agenda for the class was the exact kind of thing I needed, now I just needed to master it.
**
<30 minutes later>
We all sat down on the ground, cross-legged, with our eyes shut. It was some kind of meditation to make us feel the flow of mana within us. Apparently, the key to controlling our output is to only take the amount needed out of our mana reserve.
"Remember, do not try to strain your body by forcing it. You need to imagine your desired spell and how powerful it is. By doing this, you are trying to grasp how much mana you have so you can quantify it. If you can do that, you will have full control over the output. I can easily give you a simple answer on how to achieve this, but the most efficient mages think of their mana in different ways."
Periodically throughout the class, Ragen reminded us of the method as well as gave subtle hints on how to do it. The biggest one so far has been trying to quantify our mana, which sounded rather self-explanatory.
'I guess I've been too focused on actually pulling the mana needed rather than understanding how much there actually is.' It wasn't clear in my head how much mana I had, but I knew whenever I tried to take some, it was like a tidal wave would try pushing through.
'Metaphors, I somewhat have an idea of how much mana I have, but what would be the best way to describe it.' It bothered me because every time I tried to picture it in a glass, it would explode. I tried to visualise my mana as a pool, but now it was too big for me to grasp.
'Damanit, this is beginning to get frustrating.' I was making no progress whatsoever, and I heard students were starting to finish.
"Stop trying to force your mana into a certain form. The reason for this is to find out what shape your mana naturally forms. For some, it is easy to think of it right away, but for others, it can be harder as their mana does not fit in nicely like others who harbour less mana." As if the teacher were speaking directly to me, I took his advice right away.
I focused on my mana, and instead of trying to imagine it taking a certain form, I tried to see what form it was already taking. I didn't know how this would help, as I imagine it to be an entire ocean, and that is something that would fry my brain if I tried to comprehend it.
However, I still tried, as maybe I didn't need to fully understand it. I only needed to know its form so I could take only what I needed.
Once I began to let my mana naturally try to take its own form, I entered a trance of sorts. I suddenly found myself underwater in my own mind.
'Huh?' I was extremely confused, as despite being in what looked like an ocean, everything was dark. Bubbles came out of my mouth, but I didn't feel like I was drowning. It was a weird sensation, but as I turned my body, my eyes caught attention to a bright yellow core.
'That must be my mana core!' It was quite a beautiful scene to see the core light up the dark ocean. I didn't know what came over me, but I instinctively swam towards it, trying to reach it.
I half expected it to be something extremely far away, and in reality, it was a massive core, but that wasn't the case.
I floated next to the core, which was about the size of a regular basketball, and it was really warm. I couldn't help myself and hugged the core, which made it glow brighter than ever before. Shutting my eyes while hugging the core, suddenly I was brought back to reality, and in my mind, I was finally able to see the form of my mana.
Just as I imagined, it was a vast ocean of mana peacefully swaying inside me. Now that I understand what form my mana takes, I should be able to control my output.
Opening my eyes, I saw that not much time had passed since I entered the trance, and now all there was left to do was test it out. I held my hand out wide and focused once again on the ocean of mana.
I imagined creating a decently-sized flame in my hand, and instinctively I was able to draw out the mana needed. Now that there was a solid image in my head, as if I grabbed a bucket and took a scoop out of it, the mana traversed through my body.
This time, instead of a pitiful or massive burst of flames, it came out exactly as imagined. I couldn't believe how simple it was, but I was just happy I could even do it.
'Although the method is quite different from how I imagined it, I guess I can't complain if it works.' We were supposed to quantify the process, but I was still unsure of how it worked because I had no idea how much mana I actually had. My best guess was that we are able to use our mana effectively because we are aware of how much of it we have.
"Well done, Saki. Despite having the most mana in this room, you were able to control it." Suddenly Ragen's voice came from behind, scaring the hell out of me.