Looking up at the ceiling with a distant expression, Tyrus frowned. He rubbed his eyes–stopping briefly to yawn–and smacked his lips. Getting up from bed, a new beam of sunlight entered through the window, blinding those unready.
"Ugh… It's time already?"
Yesterday's events went by in a flash. On his first day in Valis, he didn't expect to stumble upon a group hosting a meeting in an abandoned warehouse and then being pursued by sorcerers. The magic shop incident was another thing that happened. Could they possibly identify Tyrus as the one who smashed the window and created a disturbance? What if they made him pay for the damages? Obviously, he was broke. They might even send him to work somewhere far away!
Thinking about the future soured his mood further. All he could do was hope that they didn't have the capability to trace his location or solve the crime. It was probable that sorcery would assist them in succeeding. If the owner can make objects float and target intruders, then it wasn't out of the question they have the means of tracking him...
Maybe it'd be best to lie low and forget about exploring the rest of Valis. That would have to come much later. Moreover, he was unsuccessful in his attempt to find a hat or something comparable to obscure his ears.
The failure of his primary goal of yesterday finally settled in. Tyrus scowled more intensely, struggling to get up and relying on the wall to steady himself. Nausea crashed into him like a runaway carriage. After waiting for it to pass, he moved towards the window. To the left, a trickle of explorers had entered the guild's open doors. Selena, Fiona, and her friends weren't among them.
Leaving the office saved him from being stuck reading until noon. By constantly reminding himself of the consequences of his actions, he had to forcefully pry his eyes away from the book. Intruding into a branch leader's office was probably a big deal and would have him kicked out, or something like that.
While he watched the explorers come and go, footsteps from beyond the door alerted him. The door creaked open as Fiona peeked in her head.
"Tyrus? You awake yet–" Her voice trailed when her eyes landed on Tyrus' backside. Fiona's jaw dropped as she slammed the door open. "What the hell happened to your back?!"
Oh, I forgot about that, Tyrus thought. Despite this, he had no extra garments, making it unavoidable for her to find out. Speaking of his back, he was positive the wound healed. Was it the rip in his tunic she was referring to or the scar it left?
"My clothes got caught on something and it ripped," he said hoarsely.
Fiona knitted her eyebrows. "Why does your voice sound like that? You know what? Forget it. I'll get you some new garments and footwear. We can't be late!"
Before he could ask Fiona what she meant, she spun on her heels, shut the door, and walked away, the sound of her shoes diminishing with every passing second. Tyrus turned and observed the fast-moving woman leaving the building.
Now that he was alone, it was time to get started. Tyrus took up the corner and assumed a meditative posture. In a quick manner, he entered the Sorcerer Plane and looked upon his innate domain with envy.
Next to lightning was the light element, something he never knew existed. It got him thinking about what other element besides light he was unaware of. The book he read covered only the four basic elements, and light as well. Following the completion of his back wound's healing, he observed several remaining pages, which he eagerly turned to. Not only was there the light element, but of course, darkness.
According to his reading, the primary function of the dark element is to exercise control over shadows and darkness. Once an individual attains a certain strength, they possess the power to manipulate the actions of others, deplete their life force, or even create the undead. It made sense that it's the opposite of the light element. As the saying goes, light and dark are two sides of the same coin.
A spell listed on the page was Shadow Bolt, which let the caster throw a projectile of dark energy at a target, sapping their strength. Similar to the light element, there were only a handful of incantations accessible compared to others. By few, there was only one, and it was… well, Shadow Bolt. Adding a chapter for the dark element with only one incantation listed was extremely odd. The useless information didn't matter to Tyrus, so he moved on.
Anyhow, the light element in the Sorcerer Plane was about the size of a small ball. Weirdly enough, it was still bigger than the fire element, which showed no changes at all. This intrigued Tyrus; why was an element he had just recently used larger than an element he unlocked days ago? One guess came to mind, and that would be that his attunement with the element was greater than fire.
I still have three elements under my belt either way, he wondered. One thing he was worried about was the time it would take to train them separately. His priority was to train lightning first, but the progress has been sluggish. It got him thinking just how long it would take an Elemental Sorcerer to master every element. Twenty years? Forty? Or maybe never. From the book, light was considered hard to train in its later stages.
Furthermore, he remembered what Fiona had said about primary affinities. Elemental Sorcerers use most of their spells with their primary affinity, and that you can only be average for the others. Complete mastery is definitely better than average. Would that mean training light and fire be a waste of his time?
Tyrus frowned at the swirling question in his brain. When he was about to meditate to ease the queasiness, he heard light but rapid footsteps approaching. Instantly, he knew who it was and rose. Three knocks from the door later, Fiona emerged holding a bowl of food.
"I'm back~ I got you some breakfast and a new pair of garments!" She put the bowl down on the table and held out her ring finger. A black tunic, trousers, boots, and a wool hat emerged.
"Ho-How much did this all cost?" Tyrus asked, afraid of the answer.
Fiona scratched her chin. "Not much, I suppose. Fourteen sil for the trousers and five for the hat. Twelve for the tunic and twenty-five for boots. So about fifty-six in total. Ah, and the simple breakfast was six sil, so actually sixty-two in total."
Tyrus glanced at the bowl and clothes. He then settled on the money pouch resting on his table and sighed. "Sixty-two sil… You can take all I have from the pouch. I can't accept all of this for free."
"Think of it as my goodwill, or a gift," Fiona insisted.
"Please take the sil, Fiona. I already owe you a lot, and I'll pay you back whenever I can."
"Alright, fine. I'll take it," she grumbled, taking her share from the pouch. "I'll leave and let you finish your business and meal. After that, I'll take you to the back of the guild. When you arrive, my aunt will show you how to do silent casting. Remember you asked her for a demonstration?"
The meaning of what Fiona had said finally dawned on him. He completely forgot that he had requested Selena to demonstrate spells without an incantation! Having knowledge of what the day had in store, Tyrus smiled.
Skipping over to the table, he picked up an apple from the bowl. Soon, he would take another step to learning all he could about sorcery. As he took a bite of the crunchy apple, thoughts about his harrowing escape evaporated.
****
An open field filled with stone dummies and circular targets painted red lay behind the Explorer Guild. Selena stood in the middle, facing one of the dummies with a smirk plastered on her face.
"I was not expecting an audience," she said, glancing to the side. Tyrus, Fiona, Reo, and Grant, all dressed in their outdoor gear, were watching from the sidelines. There were also some more explorers watching from the inside, peering through the windows curiously.
When Tyrus was ready, Fiona brought her friends to watch Selena with him. Although Grant was looking straight ahead, Tyrus saw Reo giving him a scowl. His intense gaze seemed to penetrate his own flesh, making it impossible to disregard him. The fact that he overheard him mumbling about 'confirming his suspicions once and for all' worried Tyrus greatly.
"Since that's everyone, I would like to begin," Selena said. "In order to please Tyrus, I'm focused on teaching him the skill of silent casting. It is the practice of casting spells without using verbal incantations, as you know. Before I get into the details, I want to give a quick lesson to our new sorcerer."
"To begin with, I shall use a spell that necessitates an incantation. By employing a specific set of words, an Elemental Sorcerer can conjure spells using this method. Pronouncing the words acts as the catalyst for invoking the spell in this manner."
She extended her arm towards the dummy and exclaimed, 'Fire Bolt!' A spherical flame emanated from her palm and propelled forward, striking the dummy directly in the chest. The moment the flames made contact, it dissipated into nothingness. Selena smiled and lowered her arm.
"Through an incantation, I have cast a spell known as Fire Bolt, which has a rank one classification. By reciting an incantation, the spell can easily manifest with minimal concentration. However, to bring the spell to fruition, it is crucial to have a satisfactory amount of mana and the activation of the fire element in your Sorcerer Plane. Tyrus, are you familiar with what that is?"
"It's been a few days since I've entered it, so yes. Right now I have three elements unlocked: lightning, fire, and light."
When Tyrus finished speaking, an uncomfortable feeling raced across his neck. He cast a sidelong glance to see the three explorers staring at him.
"You already learned three elements?!" Fiona cried out. "How the hell did you accomplish that?"
Grant gave him a quick nod. "It seems Tyrus is quite the proficient sorcerer."
"What a monster," Reo said with a chuckle. "The guy's a quick learner, I'll give him that."
Tyrus's face reddened as he pulled his cap down. "I-It's nothing much… As long as I have enough mana in my mana heart, I can learn an element easily. Training every single one is what's difficult."
"That is a problem all Elemental Sorcerers experience," Selena said, catching everyone's attention. "Elemental Sorcerers have a reason for prioritizing their primary affinity. Time is a fickle concept for us humans, yet an indifferent one for other races with long lifespans. Human Elemental Sorcerers invest the majority of their time and resources in mastering the element they are most attuned to. They select a few essential spells to learn from the other elements."
"Achieving complete mastery of one's primary element demands decades of practice, while the mastery of another requires twice the effort. In the event that you ignore that, you also encounter the issue of performing worse in one aspect compared to the rest. It is recommended to prioritize one's area of expertise as opposed to pursuing tasks where one is likely to struggle."
It was just as he thought back in Valier Forest; spending most of his time on lightning was the effective choice. Fire wasn't necessary for him currently, since he already had the lightning element. Light, on the other hand, carried more promise. Being able to heal wounds with a single spell was an incredibly powerful ability.
In case of an injury and the nearest town being a day's walk away, Tyrus could heal the person or himself with ease as long as he had enough mana or if the wound wasn't too severe. It was a crutch that he was glad to stumble upon. Compared to the other elements, it would be beneficial to focus on training the light element alongside lightning.
"Now I will begin silent casting," Selena announced. Tyrus shook off his thoughts and eagerly watched the woman. "Silent casting is a method of spell-casting that allows the user to execute spells with no verbal trigger."
"In order to cast spells without chanting, the sorcerer must possess exceptional mana control. The act of casting a spell will require that you create a mental image of the desired outcome and then allow the mana within your mana heart to accumulate. "
"Should you wish to discharge it from your body, it is imperative that you prevent the mana from dispersing prior to deployment. Only when mastery over control is attained can we release the energy outward. The method requires the utmost concentration, owing to the considerably greater risks involved."
Once again, Selena elevated her arm and instantly discharged the Fire Bolt spell. The magic struck the same spot and fizzled away. "Using silent casting allows for a more efficient and effortless process, saving you more time. Moreover, you must possess the mana needed to cast the spell of your choice. While it brings more creativity to your magic, it also increases the risk. Similar to a blacksmith protecting themselves from burns while working in their fiery forge."
Twirling her neck around, Selena approached the group and halted in front of Tyrus. "Your request for me to demonstrate silent casting is driven by your desire to learn it, isn't it? If so, you should know one important detail. The body limits your strength to avoid damage to your bones and muscles unless it's confident you can handle it."
"It also applies to sorcery, too. Casting silently without enough mana can be harmful to your body. Your body is ensuring that the user doesn't experience unnecessary harm. The limit can be surpassed if your life is at risk or if you have the mana heart and concentration necessary to cast such spells."
Without a hint of forewarning, a sudden gust of wind materialized out of thin air, sweeping through the training yard with an unsettling force. The once-temperate atmosphere was swiftly transformed into an oppressive heat, causing beads of sweat to form on brows and foreheads, and turning the air stifling and uncomfortable.
Despite the climatic shift, Selena remained steadfast and observed her surroundings. But it wasn't long before an ominous spectacle unveiled itself behind her. Emerging from the ground at the very heart of the training yard, a flicker of crimson light sparked to life. What started as a mere ember soon evolved into a blaze, akin to the size of a fireplace, tendrils of heat and fury licking at the earth.
As if possessed by an arcane dance, the flames began to twirl and curl. Its form twisted and writhed, growing in stature with each passing second. In a matter of moments, the firestorm reached a towering height, rivaling even the clock tower that loomed nearby.
The temperature escalated to an almost unbearable degree. Waves of intense heat radiating outward in a pulsating rhythm. Observers who had gathered to witness the spectacle instinctively retreated, their faces etched with astonishment and awe. Their skin prickled with the scalding touch of the raging inferno, and they shielded their eyes from the searing brilliance that illuminated the scene.
It roared and raged with a ferocity akin to a tempest, swirling and spiraling like a vortex of destruction. The very air seemed to quiver in its presence, and the ground beneath trembled with each thunderous surge of suppressive energy.
Selena laughed at their fear and crossed her arms. "If you have aspirations to reach this level or higher, then training is a must. Time shows mercy to none, and you never know when it will slip away."
She snapped her fingers, and the firestorm slowly vanished. "Now that you've seen a bit of my power, what are your thoughts on the lesson?"