Michael raised his hand, firmly setting the image of the spell he was trying to cast in his mind.
[Whispering Arrow.]
The spell snapped into place and an arrow of compressed air shot out of his fingertips, cutting through the air. The arrow struck the centre of the 'x' carved into the tree. It dispersed as soon as it hit, producing a smooth wound in the tree.
Unlike learning the traditional arrows that required months if not years of training, targeting a spell didn't, as it worked on the principle of intentions and imaginations.
Two days! It had taken him only two days to learn this spell. It was his first success in [Whispering Arrow].
[Level Up] * 2
Congratulations, You Have Levelled Up Two Times. You Are Now A Level 8 [High Practitioner].
Twice? From just learning a single spell?
"You did it," Liam said, slapping him across the shoulder, nearly sending him tumbling. Yes, Michael felt much better than two days ago, and he was recovering quite well, but he was still not there yet.
Michael glared.
Liam was his healer, shouldn't he know Michael was still recovering? Honestly, hitting him like that.
"What kind of doctor are you?"
"A what?" Liam asked.
"I mean a healer," Michael corrected himself. Calling Liam a doctor was just a slip of his tongue. So far as Michael knew, people of this world did not use the word, doctor.
Besides, there was no comparing the two. Doctors' methods may have worked back home, but they seemed barbaric now.
"I am sorry," Liam said as two of them sat on a rock near a small forest not too far from the village. "I forgot you were still weak."
"Where did you learn magic, anyway?" Michael asked, changing the subject.
He had wanted to ask that question to Liam for a while now. Yet, something always seemed to distract him from asking the question. "Did you go to a magic school, by any chance?"
"Magic school!" Liam said, Michael didn't fail to notice the mirth in his voice. "I could never afford to study at Black Coral Academy."
Ah, so there is a place to study magic, and it's called the Black Coral Academy.
Michael filed that information away for later consideration.
"Then where did you learn magic?"
"At first I learned it from the Foundation of Magic by Laras Windsnow."
Michael paused. "So did I."
Liam beamed at him. "I knew it! When you said you knew a spell to ward off insects … you were talking about Insectbane weren't you?"
"I was."
Liam's eyes glinted. "So? Did you learn all the spells from the book?"
"Yes, Why? It wasn't that difficult once I got the hang of it."
"Even the Thermo Domain?" Liam said, eyes widening. "No, wait … It makes no sense. If you mastered all the spells from the book, you should be a level 20 High Practitioner by now."
Michael sighed before speaking.
"For some reason, even after I mastered all the spells in the book, I couldn't advance past level 10 Practitioner. That changed when I fought a monster in the forest," Michael said, mixing truth with lies. Those were the best kind of lies he knew.
Michael had learned the art from his sister's friend, Nairobi. The women could veil truth within a truth and lie without saying a word that wasn't true.
"I suppose the World System works in mysterious ways," Liam said. "You should thank Naika that you advanced at all."
"Or my own hard work," Michael retorted.
"How did you manage to learn Thermo Domain? I could never maintain the mental image for that spell."
Liam changed the subject, clearly uncomfortable with the retort about this … Naika. Maybe he was a devout follower of this god he didn't know about.
Did I offend him? But no, he doesn't seem angry, only uncomfortable. I should be more careful next time.
Micheal opened his mouth to answer Liam's question, that he had seen plenty of effects of temperature on TV—from extreme to moderate. He had even felt some of them, Mars had extremely erratic weather patterns after all. Michael thought better of it and closed his mouth.
"Have you never felt changes in temperature before? Extreme hot or cold?"
Liam shook his head. "The temperature here in Naiker's field does not vary much. Even during this time of the year when it rains constantly, the change in the temperature is negligible."
"No wonder you can't visualise the spell," Michael said. "You have never experienced varying degrees of temperatures to do it. Of course, it is difficult for you to learn that spell."
"Difficult? Not important?"
"Of course not. Have you never felt the heat of the fire, or the chill of the rain?"
"I have …"
"But it's not enough, is it?"
"Not for me," Liam said, his face falling.
"Why so sad? If you experience various temperatures regularly, mastering the spell shouldn't be as difficult."
"But how will I ever experience them?"
Michael folded his arms. Was his friend always this dense? "You do realise I can use Thermo Domain, don't you?"
Liam's eyes widened in surprise. Wow, his friend was indeed dense.
"You would do that for me," Liam said finally. "Mastering that spell should help me level up."
"Why wouldn't I help you? You promised to teach me Healing spells and you've already taught me the Whispering Arrow. It's the least I can do."
"You do owe it to me, don't you?"
Michael laughed.
***
That night, Michael walked to the table in the hut that belonged to Liam, carrying the pouch with coral stones.
Of course, the mayor had offered him a place to stay, an entire hut for himself. Michael had refused it, explaining that he couldn't take a hut for himself when so many people were sleeping in cramped spaces after the landslide.
But his real reason to refuse the mayor was a different one. He didn't want to be alone if he could help it—not after his isolation. Now that he was surrounded by people, the thought of being alone sent a tremor through his soul. He couldn't be alone, not again. Never again! So he shared a home with Liam.
Michael dropped the pouch with the Coral stones on the table in front of Liam. "If I sell these, how much will it fetch me?"
Liam thought for a while, Picking up and rolling a single Coral Store between his fingers. "They are probably worth four or five silver coins."
Michael frowned. Only five silver for these?
"Don't frown like that," Liam said, slapping him on the back. Again! "Five silver marks is enough to stay at a decent inn for a month."
"Even so," Michael said. "Isn't it too little for something that can increase your Mana?"