As he had led Gazelle to believe, Ron took the map and compass to locate the Dark Heart which according to him was located in the elven forest. Along with those tools, he grabbed some history and geography books to aid his search. As he flipped through the pages, he came across a mention of the Death Canyon, situated near a mountain. After spending a lot of time and effort, Ron finally found the location of the canyon.
"This is far," Ron muttered as he furrowed his brow in thought. "The Death Canyon is on the south-eastern side of the Vellehin forest, close to where the elves reside."
Ron knew that tricking the pure-hearted elves would not be an issue for him, but if he got caught, it would be a real problem. "Well, it's not like I'm going to go and say hi to them," he thought to himself.
"Still, I don't think I'll be able to get it with how strong I am" Ron paused as he looked down at the map.
"Unless I learn more and get stronger before the umbras gets hold of it," he said determinedly as he carefully stowed away the map and compass in his bag."
.
For the next few months, Ron and Bob diligently followed Gazelle's guidance and continued to work on removing their impurities. They made great progress and were now somewhere between Rank One and Rank Two.
"Now it's time for you to learn how to use basic magic spells," Gazelle announced. "There are two ways to cast magic. The first and easiest one is chanting, which is stable and easy for beginners. The second one is non-chanting, which involves memorizing the pattern of the magic spell inside your mind. It's useful for advanced mages during a fight when they don't have time to chant."
"I'll show you a basic fire magic," Gazelle said as she pulled out a wand and pointed it towards a dummy.
"Burn bright and hot, with fervent desire, until my enemies are naught but ash and pyre," she chanted, and a fiery ball shot towards the dummy, frying it. Bob and Ron could feel the heat even from where they were standing.
Again, she lifts her wand and shot out a fireball without speaking anything. "This is chantless magic,"
"Now it's your turn," Gazelle said, handing the wand to Ron. He pointed it towards another dummy and recited, "Burn bright and hot, with fervent despite, until my enemies are naught but ash and pyre." A small spark came out of the end, but there was no fireball.
"That's what control looks like," Gazelle explained. "The power of a mage also depends on their ability to control their magic power in a certain rhythm. Think of it like a heartbeat, you can feel it when you pass magic through the wand."
Since the purification of his impurities, Ron felt a significant increase in the amount of magic coursing through his body. However, he soon realized that having more magic did not necessarily mean he could wield it more effectively.
In this world, everyone's magic is limited by their innate talent, which determines the amount of magic they can hold. Gazelle, a rank 6 mage, had already reached her limit and could only hope to become a rank 7.
Ron took his wand out and again felt the magic fluctuation like a heartbeat, he channelled all his focus towards the rod and his hand to control the movement of the magic.
Suddenly, with a loud "Boom!" a fireball shot out of Ron's wand and hit the target dummy. However, it didn't burn it.
"That's the potential of your first-class magic," said Gazelle. "The purer your magic, the more powerful it will be. Keep practicing."
Ron felt exhausted and was panting with both arms on his knees, while Bob was lying on the ground, drained of energy.
"50 shots," said Gazelle. "Not bad for your age, but you need to keep improving."
.
After the training Ron mostly spend his time reading books from the library to understand stuffs that were not mentioned in the story.
Chantless Magic for advancing to second class.
Ron started learning about chantless magic because it is one of the important skills he has to master, if he wants to reach up to the protagonist.
Before attempting any magic, it's important to clear your mind of distractions and focus your thoughts on your intended goal. Take a few deep breaths and visualize the outcome you desire.
There are many different techniques for performing chant less magic, such as hand gestures, visualization and advanced magic manipulation.
Magic Manipulation books looked too confusing for him now, so he decided to learn the hand gestures or visualization.
"Once you have focused your energy, visualize your intention. See the outcome you desire in your mind's eye, and feel the emotions associated with it".
Ron held the book in his hand, staring at the words in front of him. "Finally, release your energy toward your goal," he repeated to himself. "Seems easier said than done."
He had been practicing hand gestures with some success, but the visualization technique eluded him. He turned his gaze to the dummy before him, housed inside the special artifact provided by Gazelle. As long as he wasn't up to anything shady, she allowed him to use it for his training.
Taking a deep breath, Ron closed his eyes and pictured flames in his mind. He focused on the sensation of heat and burning, imagining the energy flowing through his arms.
Opening his eyes, he directed his gaze to the dummy and visualized it bursting into flames. With a shout, he extended his arm and released a small ball of fire, but it fizzled out before it could even touch the dummy.
"Fucking hell," he muttered, frustration boiling over. He had been practicing all night, but progress had been slow. The strain of using so much magic was taking its toll on his body.
Despite the setback, Ron could feel his magic and balance becoming more stable. He was almost at the second-class level, but he knew he needed to push harder if he wanted to succeed.
"I have to get that heart, no matter what," he told himself, taking a deep breath and readying himself to try again.
.
For the next few months, Ron devoted himself to training with Gazelle and practicing chantless magic in his own time. With each passing day, he felt himself growing stronger and more in tune with his magic. He continued to expel impurities from his body, until he was almost at the level of a second-class mage.
After much effort and dedication, Ron finally managed to cast a spell without chanting. He lifted his wand and concentrated all his energy into it, causing a small pool of water to shoot out and hit the dummy, completely soaking it.
"Finally," he breathed a sigh of relief and threw his wand down, feeling the satisfaction of his hard work paying off.
Despite his progress, Ron knew he still had a long way to go to catch up to the MC, who was already at the fourth-class level. But he was determined to keep training and improving until he reached his goal.