"Why don't you teach me about this... magic," Zoe had said after a long moment of silence.
"It isn't as simple as you think, but I can teach you. Just that you will have to keep it a secret between us." Sam finally answered after giving it some thought.
"Meet me here at night time if you truly want to learn magic."
~~~~
Standing in the middle of a little stream, Zoe, with her eyes shut, slowly breathed in and out. She could feel the faint essence of the water-energy passing through and into her newly formed core.
It's been close to a month since she asked Sam to teach her magic. With her magic core formed with the help of Sam, she discovered she had awakened the water element.
.
"Mana is everywhere and at its peak in some certain places." She remembered the saying of Sam when explaining little things about magic to her.
"You must attune with the energy, becoming one with it, and meditation is one of the ways of doing that."
He had shown her the process, shutting off all the noises, trying to feel the energy within the atmosphere and connecting with it.
"Water is the element of change and flow of life. Flows around obstacles, changes form, and nourishes life."
"By ripple, storm, and tranquil stream, I invoke your aqueous might, guide my path, fulfil my dream, In water's dance, find endless light." Zoe slowly chanted the words which she had been taught, tapping into the flowing currents of the spiritual energy of water.
The water emitted a soft glow swirling around her. Time flew by as she remained in that state. The day was beginning to get dark. Zoe could feel the flow, the connection, as she rapidly absorbed the energy over the area.
Standing up, she said, "I think I'm ready now."
Sam sitting on a rock came down, " Alright, follow the steps I thought you and don't forget to focus."
"Hmm." Breathing softly, she raised her hand over the water. A little bubble of water slowly rose up before crashing down.
"You did great. C'mon, give it a try again."
Sigh*
This time around, she closed her eyes and tapped into her magic core. She lowered her body and, with fluid movements, raised her hands up. A large blob of water had separated from the river floating before her.
"That's awesome!" Sam said to her. 'She's doing great, she's really a talented one. To think she would be able to do all these without proper training.'
Zoe opened her eyes slowly, "I did it!" She exclaimed jumping in excitement. The body of water had dropped back to the river causing water to splash.
"C'mon, this is just the beginning. Although I'm not proficient in the water element I do know some few things. Let's get to work!"
~~~~
"It's happening! He's on the verge of forming a magic core!"
Fen had exclaimed as he could feel the magic core getting repaired and the process getting completed.
"He should rest for the time being," he said walking outside the hut.
"Pheew! That was a close one." He thought finally getting some fresh air. He paced around with various thoughts and a wide smile gracing his face.
"He really did it, forming a dantian and a magic core at this young age. The first person to have ever done it!"
"Ugh!" Alex groaned as he regained consciousness. "My chest hurts a bit," he muttered pushing himself up. The contraptions had been removed already and he got down from the bed.
"Whoa! Why do my body feel so... light?" He thought walking towards the door. "My senses also, they have increased greatly."
"Ohhh! You are already awake," Fen said with a smile.
"Did it worked? Was I able to form a magic core?" Alex asked in excitement.
"Why don't you see for yourself,"Fen replied going into the hut. Alex had settled down on the ground, entering a meditative state. He could feel it, energy flowing from two different areas. One which was his dantian, surprisingly which was larger than before.
And the second one, "I did it! I formed my magic core!" Fen walked out carrying some tools with him. "Yes, you did it, the process was a success." He said.
"C'mon, let's check the element you awakened." Fen had set the device and instructed Alex to place his hand on the round ball. Doing so, the ball let out a soft silver glow.
"The metal element," Fen said. "I thought as much. Let's see your talent rank."
[ Alex Mikado ]
[ Element: Metal ]
[ Talent: B ]
"Not bad," he said rubbing his chin. "Alright, now you've successfully become a mage. There are some things you need to know, the difference between Qi and Mana."
"Basically, Qi refers to the vital energy or life force that flows through the body. It is mainly used in martial arts, to develop and utilize Qi for techniques and self-defense."
"Mana is the magical energy all over the universe. Mana is everywhere; in creatures, plants, the air, the water. Creatures capable of utilizing Mana store the energy in their Mana core or Magic core as it is called. It's the outer energy surrounding us while Qi comes from within."
"So first of all, you're going to learn how to control mana and use it on a basis. Also you will learn how to absorb it from the surrounding and into your magic core."
Alex closed his eyes listening to the instructions being passed on to him. He tapped into the energy surrounding him replenishing himself amd slowly gaining control over it.
A week had flew by with Alex honing his control, exhausting all his mana and replenishing it, with Fen teaching the basics on magic.
"That's great, I think you're ready for the next step. Joining the Mage academy would benefit you greatly since they have the resources needed for by mage"
"Well, I got you these spells, hope you would be able to master them." He threw a total of four scrolls and then stepped backward.
The first was a basic metal manipulation technique. And the remaining three where spell scrolls.
The first one a [ Metal extraction ] spell, the second one an [ Silver skin ] spell and the last [ Metal infusion ] spell.
"Take your time and learn them," he said before walking away .
Alex got to work, he spent his days reading through the scrolls and meditating. A few days later he was able to manipulate pieces of metal but unable to cast any spells.
He continued diligently each day deepening his understand. Finally he hadanaged to learn a spell. The Silver skin spell, due to his Iron body technique he found it easier in casting the spell.
[ Silver skin - Rank 1 spell: A spell that temporarily enhances the caster's skin with a layer of metal, providing increased protection against physical attacks. ]
He didn't forget about his warrior techniques as he took time in learning both.
"It seems you've grown alot since the first day. I suggest we have a little spar to see how your progress." Fen said to him after analysing him.
"A spar! You and me?" Alex couldn't help but ask with wide eyes.
"Don't worry I'll go easy on you."