Just as I saw her levitating, the blue lights around Kareena started dissipating quickly, causing her to hit the ground with her buttocks.
"Ouch. Oh, master! Welcome back."
Standing up and rubbing her bottom, she sweetly smiled at me.
"You tried to levitate using wind magic?" I asked, walking towards her with the rabbit carcass in my right hand.
"Yes, I tried to jump and use gentle updrafts to keep me in the air, but I didn't even get to float for a whole second."
Feeling her despondency and seeing the small pout on her face, I gently patted her head.
"Don't worry too much. It's only been around three hours, and you've already gotten this far. Nothing worthwhile comes easy. Just keep trying."
Rubbing her fluffy hair with my left hand, Kareena smiled.
"So master, do you know how to make me float longer?"
"I don't know. I've already transmitted everything I know to you about wind and stuff. You should try researching it. Or maybe you just can't control enough wind mana yet. It might be that you stop floating when you don't have enough wind mana. Actually, how do you increase the amount of mana you can control?"
Holding my hand, she tilted her head and thought.
"I don't know, master. From what I know, the degree of control just increases when you get older."
[Stronger over time, like muscles? The older you get, the stronger it becomes. And if you exercise, it also gets stronger. Maybe there's a way to exercise with magic and be able to control more.]
"Hmm, whatever. Do you know how to start a fire? And are you scared of blood? Since we'll be dissecting this carcass."
"I don't know how to start a fire, master. And I don't think I'm afraid of seeing blood and gore, master."
"Good, then here's a rabbit carcass we'll be eating later. I'll go get some dry wood and teach you how to make a fire when I get back."
Passing her the rabbit carcass, I went out to get some firewood. The forest was serene, with the chirping of birds and the rustle of leaves adding to the ambiance. It didn't take long to gather enough dry wood.
Coming back with some firewood, I taught Kareena how to make fire and cook the rabbit meat. She learned pretty quickly, which was quite satisfying.
"And as for the skin, we dry it and make something with it later."
Seeing Kareena cutely bopping her head, I went to dry the hides and walked back in.
"Okay, now we just need to wait for the meat to cook. I'm going to try and learn how to use wind magic while we wait."
Sitting beside the fire, I closed my eyes and looked at the blue lights lingering around Kareena's soul core. Trying to move it again, I felt that it was no different from before.
"Eh? Master, did you do that?" Kareena suddenly gasped.
"Hmm? Did what? Did you feel anything when I tried to control the wind mana?"
"I don't know... but I felt like something is being pulled inside me."
[Is it because this is her mana?]
"Let me try it again. Umm, maybe try not to go against that feeling. Tell me if you feel uncomfortable, okay?"
"Okay, master," she nodded.
Closing my eyes, I tried to move the wind mana from Kareena's core again. But this time, I was able to control it properly rather than it not listening to me. Moving the wind mana through my arm, I felt slight pain that was different from using soul mana, but it was tolerable compared to moving soul mana. As the wind mana reached my palm, I was able to make it exit my body as there were no barriers blocking it like with soul mana.
Seeing the small blue motes of light exiting my palm, the wind in the surroundings subtly gathered around it. Controlling it to move around, the wind mana made a small breeze anywhere it passed.
"... It's a bit weak. I need to find a way to increase the amount of wind mana I can control. Hmm, Kareena, try to go against that feeling again."
Nodding her head, she closed her eyes, and I felt the wind mana stop listening to me, dispersing into the surroundings.
"It feels more comfortable when I don't resist this feeling, master."
"Okay, you can stop now. It looks like the wind mana will only listen to me when you allow it to. So maybe you can increase the amount of mana I can control too."
Switching the already cooked meat with raw meat, I left the piping hot meat at the side for it to cool down.
"Really, master? How?"
"I don't know. We can just try everything and have trial and error. But let's not rush it, we might just injure ourselves. Here, it's still a bit hot, so be careful."
Handing her a stick of hot meat, I bit into one and thought of ways I could increase the amount of mana Kareena and I could hold.
[Since soul mana is most likely stored in the soul, maybe I need to do something to tear the soul and let it rebuild into something stronger, just like building muscles. But tearing my soul... No, that might be too dangerous... Wait... What if the pain I was feeling all this time when I moved the soul mana because it was tearing my soul? How do I make it heal? Should I not use soul magic when it heals? How do I know if it's even injured?]
Thinking of everything that could help in increasing mana control and capacity, I was lost in thought while occasionally taking bites out of the meat.
"Hihihi."
When I suddenly heard a giggle beside me, I turned to Kareena and saw that she was gazing at me and giggling by herself.
"What is it, Kareena? Is there a smudge on my face? And why haven't you started eating yet?"
"Ehehe, you look cute when you're like that, master."
"Like what?"
"When you're deep in thought," Kareena said with an adoring smile.
"Umm... thanks... So, why aren't you eating yet? You don't like the smell of meat?"
She smiled wider and blushed a little, looking at my reaction, then shook her head at my question.
"It's not that. The smell is okay. I'm just getting myself ready to eat this."
She said and looked down at the meat.
"Don't be scared. Meat is delicious. Well, this one isn't seasoned, but it's still good."