Chapter 38: The Next Big Time Mage (2)
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[Third Person Point of View]
Mem-Cho was now sitting on Aqua's lap, as he was helping her motion her hands in a specific manner.
Mem-Cho found it a little hard to focus sitting on him like this. His large and protective arms around her as they taught her how to make signs, but she could barely focus. Did he not know it was hard for her in this position?
When she met this Aquamarine Hoshino for the first time, she was scared by the aura he released. She thought he was some Hero faction lunatic trying to kill her. She had had the bad luck of encountering a few people like that in the past, her half-devil bloodline was always a curse.
"Why aren't you following?"
"Hey, I am trying~"
She nudged closer to him as she said that, feeling his breath on her neck. This was the first time she felt comfortable doing things like this with a guy, and he was a decade younger than her. Could it be she was kind of fucked in the head?
Living in Japan, she was used to old people with young partners. However, after she became influential and got active on the internet, she realized this was not the norm. This was what the rest of the world called pedophilia. Aqua looked old, he had a huge body that made her feel hot, even right now, but wasn't he just a little boy? Mem-Cho was unsure about her ethics as she knew she was building something for him.
A strong, reliable man, who promised her greatness along with her family whom she had been protecting for her entire life. So of course, she fell for him, when he was so active with his approaches.
She had always been scared of being around men because if something happened and someone got a clip of that, even just kissing, it would go viral and she'd be in trouble. Sure, she's not an idol, but popular female influencers are better if their status remains single. Despite that, when he kissed her that day, she couldn't find herself to resist. She wouldn't say she had a crush on him or anything, but she liked him, despite him being a playboy. She didn't mind him doing… things to her.
"Your mind is distracted, Mem." Aqua said with a slow sigh.
"Ah, my bad, I was just…" She blushed a little, looking back into his eyes.
He shook his head, his earlier eagerness had vanished when he began to teach her. He felt oddly different now, Mem-Cho felt slightly afraid all of a sudden.
"Commonly, there are three ways to activate this kind of bloodline power," Aqua began to explain. "First is [Chanting], it's a common power system shown in any fantasy work, you should be familiar with it already. Then there is [Hand Gestures], which aren't just silly goofy Ninja hand signs but also different kinds of motions, like waving your hand and stuff. Lastly, there is [Will] where you just will for the power to activate, and it does."
"Chanting is statistically mid since it takes longer, you have to talk for it, and it is overall slow. Hand Signs are easier, you can do it silently and fast. Unless you have your hands locked, in which case you can use chanting. The willpower one is the most sought after, you just will it – think about using the power – and it is cast." Aqua finished.
"Looks like you're teaching me the second option?" Mem-Cho asked as she once again began to follow his hands' instructions to move her fingers in a certain way. "Why not the third? Is it super hard to learn?"
"A little," he nodded. "But I'm going to teach you that too. For it, however, you first need to know how it works, right? You can't 'will' something you've never experienced before, can you? Can you explain to a blind person what it feels like to see? Exactly that."
"Ah." Mem-Cho nodded.
"I'll teach you hand seals first, and then the willpower one. I'll teach you chanting at the very end, you need that as a backup." Aqua explained to her.
Currently, they were going through a series of hand potions in slow motion for her to get a gist of it.
"Um, isn't this kinda long? Why isn't it working?" Mem-Cho asked innocently, but that was a mistake as he sighed. "What?"
"You retarded little lass," Aqua suddenly grabbed her face from behind, making her Pause as he made her turn to look at him. "That is because you are not following my instructions correctly because you are busy thinking about your current position on my lap." He gently smacked the side of her head, making her blink in surprise with her mouth agape at the sudden switch. "Haah. I usually wouldn't explain, but I feel bad so let me go ahead and help you understand. I am teaching you like this, on my lap, with my arms hugging you because you can't afford to be distracted in a fight, so I am teaching you while you are distracted.
"Oh."
"Be better. I was being kind until now but you dare call my chantation slow? When it's you who is a dumb little girl with shit for a brain?" He squinted his eyes at her, and she breathed heavily, biting her lip. "You can't be serious if you're turned on right now."
"N- No? I am not." She cleared her throat. "I am just a bit surprised that normal Aqua and Master Aqua are so different."
Aqua shook his head, squeezing her waist as he did that. "Haah, you're distracting me too. I have other stuff to tend to, you know? Keep this up and I'll tear your clothes apart, and then…"
"And then what?" She gulped and grabbed his face gently. "Finish your sentence."
Aqua opened his mouth and she closed her eyes. She expected him to lean over and kiss her, but to her surprise she was greeted with a finger flick on the forehead.
"Oww!" She opened her eyes and looked at him, before laughing. "What was that for?"
He chuckled. "Focus. Don't lose yourself in the moment. Here, follow my movements again. And make sure to do it properly this time."
"Yes, baby." She took in a large breath and nudged deep into his embrace; this was the kind of romance she wasn't expecting in her life.
* * *
[First Person Point of View]
The night was lovely, the leaves on the tree above us were rustling as the wind blew over and the moon shone down at us. The lovely weather helped us proceed with the training smoothly.
Mem-Cho wasn't talentless, I noticed, she was just a bit distracted earlier. After a few more minutes, Mem-Cho got the hang of it. I stopped her from casting it right away and had her stand up.
I stood three meters in front of her and spoke, raising my finger. "I am going to shoot you, and you have to erect your barrier in time to slow down or outright stop the Qi bullet."
"Oh, alright." She nodded. "You're pointing your finger at the empty air, right? Because from here it seems like you are pointing your finger at my body."
I smiled. "I'm pointing at your shoulder."
I changed direction a little and pointed at the tree behind; a small dark orb of cloud leaped out, the Vapor Cloud's Bombardment technique activated, as it rushed forward and left a finger-sized hole in the tree.
I pointed back at Mem-Cho, who had wide eyes and a dumbstruck expression on her face. "Don't worry, I can heal your shoulder later if you fail. Can't do nothing about the pain though."
"Um, Aqua-kun, I think it's better if-'
I shot forward and she screeched, pulling her hand in front of her but managing to make cohesive hand seals as she did that. In a moment's interval, a circular green barrier erected out of her body, stretching an arm's reach away from her, just as the dark cloud slipped into it.
There, it paused. Bands of runes appeared around the circular orb and spun around it like the ring of Saturn.
"Oh." I smiled. "Good girl. Now do the other thing I taught you. If long enough time passes, that orb will disperse into Qi. So, while keeping the time stopped so that it doesn't move from its spot, make the time faster too so that it eradicates into Qi."
Mem-Cho panted as she looked at the orb cloud that was floating in front of her. "Can I move out of my way?"
"Good that you're asking instead of moving away on your own; no, you can't. Stand on your spot and do it. In that case, your mind knows that failure will be painful." I said.
"Ugh, okay, okay." Mem-Cho said as she raised her hands; green plates of magic circles formed on her palms as she gulped.
One wrong move and her shoulder will be gone. She knew that and she moved the plates in a certain way. This part was not just hand signs but hand movement in a certain and precise manner.
The bands of runes that were around the green barrier moved as she moved her hand, they were precise and careful. Mem-Cho was cautious, the level of focus needed caused sweat beads to form on her forehead that trailed down her brows and down her lovely chin.
"You have seven seconds," I snapped my finger as twelve orbs of cloud appeared around me like flying bombs. "If you don't succeed, I'll be shooting these- ah."
Before I could finish my speed, I grinned as I saw the cloud orb inside her barrier disperse into essence and vanish in thin air.
"Very good," I nodded my head, as she looked at me in joy.
"I did it!"
"Let me double this," The twelve cloud orbs around me are twenty-four. "You have to be fast because I'll shoot them fast."
"Hey- but! I can't move that fast! I am still human!" she exclaimed.
I smiled, tripling the cloud orbs as she got goosebumps. "Here is some free motivation. The current Humanity's strongest can fight Satans and the Leader of Fallen Angels on equal grounds. Humanity isn't weak, and you happen to have the powers of Devils too. There are people moving at the speed of light, love, you won't survive if you can't even move just your hands fast enough to dodge these."
"W-wait, wait!"
Then, I showered her with a bombardment of destructive clouds.
To my surprise, although she panicked and scrambled her hands all over the place, Mem-Cho remained unharmed till the end. Well, I mean, it is I who is her teacher, so of course she can do things like this.
….
Later, I began to teach her the Will-Power Casting. I really wanted to cultivate, but it doesn't feel right to leave her halfway through. So I decided to finish teaching her the three types first, and then I will move on with my own training.
"Let me explain the Will Power type a little. In its earlier stage, you can't just 'wish' for the power to activate it directly. At first, you have to will your Mana and make it circulate within you in a certain way, instead, and the certain movement will cause it to blossom into releasing your ability. At its medium stage, you can just will it and it will be cast. At its final stage, you can activate your power on instincts. No delay." I explained.
To give her some visual aid, I showed off a little. My hands crackled with electric energy as I harnessed the power of lightning. My palm faced the sky as bolts shot forth with blinding speed, illuminating the area. The sound of birds chirping filled the air, coming from the lightning. I displayed my control; summoning and recalling lightning at will. The display was a captivating dance of power and precision, leaving the girl who witnessed it in utter amazement.
"You're just showing off right now," she scowled.
"I am," I shrugged. "You should be able to do this soon enough."
It took me two hours to make Mem-Cho able to flow her Mana within her channels in the certain pattern that activates her power. She wasn't perfect at it, but she could make do. I spent five more minutes teaching her to chant it in emergency situations. Few situations would make it so that she would need to chant instead of just will her way through, but it was better to be cautious.
I suppose I will build her a [Spell Concept] later, I'll have to think about it. For now, though, the both of us returned to the resort. I wanted to fly off to the mountain right away, but we had to attend roll calls to make sure nobody went missing. At midnight, when the kids were asleep, I finally leaped out of my room and into the mountain above.
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IMPORTANT NOTE:
The first month of the Novel has ended, and with that comes the inevitable slower updates. Bad timing since I have exams too, but I'll manage. Expect 3 chapters per week, and 4 or more chapters if we are in a good spot in the Ranking (like top 15 or better). Plus, there probably won't be any more goal bonuses.
With that said, I will do one last Bonus Goal. Within the next 120 minutes, aka 2 hours, for 200 stones. If we reach that, I'll post the next chapter right away. Idk if we will though, but anyway happy reading. Vote!
Finally, if my Patreon is usually 20 chapters ahead of the public sites, so if you want to read there you are always welcome.
Link: Patreon.com/Master4thWall