[FIRE]
A fluttering flame of fire spontaneously combusted into existence in my palm as I silently observed it with strange eyes and thought plainly to myself in my room:
"...I can use magic now..."
When it clicked finally I unconsciously cancelled the spell and fell to my bed, hugging myself in genuine heartfelt laughter.
'I can use magic...I can cast spells. I really can do it now...a magic knight doesn't seem so far and distant anymore...!'
But I knew better than to delude myself into naively thinking so. I had merely taken the first major step towards that ambition, yet I still had a lot to learn about magic. And Mana
And if there really is anything like a Magic Swordsman in this world... Finding out there is would actually kind of defeat the purpose of becoming One a little.
The first ever Magic-swoirdsman had a nice ring to it, not 'just another Magic-swoirdsman.'
But if course, I couldn't be too picky.
Bummer as it may be, I would still be satisfied as long as I manage to achieve my ambition. I would learn and raise my proficiency in swordsmanship under my father and Mr. Ridge, and make up for my lacking areas with magic.
It was a simple but well thought out plan actually.
Just imagining myself casting fireballs while swinging my blade...
'But let's hope it doesn't come to that .. ' if I ha to use my abilities, that would mean something bad would have to happen.
I also had to remember the standards of this world. I already had a little idea now after having the old book, but I'll still have to be careful.
The goal is to live a slow and simple life; in order to do so, I need to grow stronger to defend my lifestyand protect what truly mattered to me. I was aware of my abnormal talents and characteristics, and it might sound arrogant if me to say, but chances are I could develop into a monster.
A subtle coldness laid seed in my mind
'But if it's the price to pay for my desires, then I'd be the greatest monster. '
My schedule became even more tighter with longer periods of all-nighters.
I had to split the time I spent translating the old book, to fit in short sessions if meditation and breathing exercises to perfect my mana flow control, before i coyl move on to tge next official step in the Cultivation Stage.
I had to begin the actual refinement process of my Mana Core.
With my schedule stretched out even tighter, it took a while longer to decipher the rest of the book. But yet my knowledge of the language helped to smoothe out the process a little. The only bit was, I had to be extra careful and cross-check my translations to avoid another misunderstanding in the text like before.
I was only lucky I ran into the woods to practice Flow control, if I had remained in my room then the whole house could have burned down.
Speaking of which, the forest fire was still a hot topic among the villagers for a while. It was written off as tye work if dry lightning, but even still events like that weren't at all natural or frequent in such a small and remote village like this; it was only normal that it would incite the people for some days.
It went without saying...that I never snuck out into the forest at night anymore, ever since that day.
The guards had doubled the security and patrol rounds, the risk was just too much.
This meant that I couldn't have actual practical sessions, therebye delaying a little of my progress.
I began the refinement process, which was the expansion of my Mana Core and purification.
By the book, one of the easiest and most effective way to enable progressive expansion of one's Mana center, was to consistently cast spells and use Mana actively. Although this method was most effective for beginners and at the same time slower and much dangerous for them.
After a Mana Core is formed, a person is finally able to store Mana in the body. But each person's Mana pool or magic power capacity varies from people and depends on all types of circumstances and variants.
Beginners tend to have smaller Mana Cores compared to actual veteran mages; this meant a beginner couldn't begin to cast spells comparable to a master Mage. There was simply a gap years and experience in progress of the Refinement process.
But beginners had an advantage yet. Like a baby or a child, they experience quicker and more effective growth after their Magic core is newly developed. So that was the first part of a mage's life that could determine how far the person went on the path of magic.
However, this also meant beginners would immediately run out of Mana if they were to use this method and could cause a peculiar illness called Mana Depression which was a lack of Mana in tge body. That was only side by side to a much dangerous side-effect; the method could put a strain on a person's Mana Core if the organ isn't strong enough to whitstand the constant depletion of Mana on a frequent basis.
Certainly, it was a quick and assured way for beginners to grow their Mana and core, but it also came with a price. It was advisable that an aspirant take caution when using this hack.
Usually, I wouldn't even consider risking my Mana Core and chances of me using magic in the future, but as the book limited itself to only mentioning this one method to refining my Mana Core, I had no other option left.
I followed the book instructions and would constantly conjure flames to exhaust my Mana during my free times. At some point, after some practice, I could hold a spell while splitting my mind between other tasks like studying the books which led to killing a bed with two stones.
I could study with the light of my flames, and at the same time refine my core at night.
Except there was a problem I noticed eventually.
This was merely days after I began the next stage; to consistently engage my Mana, like casting spells and constantly using magic can force my Core to grow and expandand by also enlargening my Mana pool. Each flames I conjure would burn through what meager Mana I had, emptying my core and forcing it to expand to accommodate the next time I did so again.
And like that, the process repeats, ever slowly growing my Mana capacity without having to move.
'But...'
Never once had my Flames gone out before.
I had never run out of Mana strangely. I could hold the flame for hours upon hours, and cast it over and over endlessly without feeling my mana take a hit. Neither would the quality of the flame flicker or go down, neither would it dim or pale.
At best, all I felt after about a few hours of maintaining the conjuring was a slight migraine and dreariness. And that was only because casting magic also took a part of one's mental energy — focus so to say.
I extinguished the singke flame in my hands somberly by shutting my palm then sighed deeply.
Feeling a little dreariness, and indifference, I gathered my thoughts and tried to straighten up on my bed.
"It appears I have Infinite Mana."