'Mordhal, a level 3 teacher from the Institution of Magic.'
Reed pondered while following his recently acquired teacher as he led him into the woods.
It was now afternoon.
'Level 3, out of 6 levels, so he is quite a high rank for someone who is only tier 4.'
'A very good background then, making a friend of him may be useful.'
"This will do."
Reed stopped his thoughts to look at the location they reached.
A small opening in the forest, about 8 metres in diameter was the training spot that had been chosen for his first lesson.
"So tell me, what do you know of magic?"
HIs teacher turned to him and asked.
"Only what I've read from the books."
Hearing his response, Mordhal nodded.
"The books are a solid way to learn the basics, but one cannot truly understand what magic and mana is from just reading it, one needs to experience it."
"Mana, as the books put it, is the energy of the world, but that is hard to understand without feeling it, and everyone has their idea on what it entails."
"As your attainments in magic grow, so does your understanding."
"It is not possible for a mortal mind to comprehend what mana truly is, as it is, in of itself, a transcendent force, so only those above tier 7 have a complete understanding of it."
"However, not understanding does not mean that we cannot use it, like not knowing how or what a sword is made of does not stop a soldier from cutting down a foe."
"Do you understand?"
Reed maintained silence for a moment, digesting all that he had heard, before asking a question.
"But if someone above tier 7 can fully understand mana, can't they just inform the others?"
Mordhal chuckled.
"One of the most common questions from a beginner."
He took a deep breath.
"It has been tried, but it is quite literally indescribable, as we are on different levels of life."
"Trying to understand it would be like a common fish trying to understand the workings of a cart."
"A fish has little to concept of walking, and therefore, couldn't understand how it would work."
"A famous mage once tried to put his thoughts on paper, let me give you a few verses of his description."
"The strings meet the pressure, the strings pull inwards to push the pressure out and the pressure transforms into the broken chains which hold the strings apart."
"As the strings remain parted, they grow and join while remain apart, causing the pressure to break the chains and the strings to pull together."
"The strings now together call to the pressure, which responds by separating them again."
Mordhal let out a deep breath.
"These verses are the most easy on the mind, but still make little sense."
"In fact, he even contradicts it by saying that the strings do not meet the pressure later on."
As Reed was about to question him, Mordhal waved him off.
"No questions, if you want to learn more about this, go find someone more qualified."
"Let's start with a basic spell."
"For this first lesson, I will teach you a spell that I know, and think that is of most use to you currently."
"You have a few choices, so let me list them for you."
He started counting on his fingers.
"The fireball spell, the most known and most common spell across the entire world."
"The rock wall spell, also known as the most common defensive spell."
"The mana bullet spell, much faster to cast, and with the same damage as that of the fireball spell."
"The ice bolt spell, very good for stopping enemies, and with some practise, a very deadly one as well."
"And finally, the gust spell, very good for pushing foes back and giving yourself some breathing room."
"Five spells in all, I will teach you all of them if possible, but for now choose one."
Mordhal laid out his choices, and waited for Reed to choose for himself.
'So 3 offensive and two defensive spells.'
"On average, how long does it take a student to learn one of these spells?" Reed wanted to know the approximate time it would cost him to learn all five spells.
"For an ordinary student, it may take a few days to a month. Talented ones may learn a spell in a single day. You? I guess it may take about an hour or so."
Reed raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Why do you think that?"
Mordhal smiled, and did not offer a response.
'Is it like a spell to gauge potential? Must be a secret or something, otherwise he would have just told me.'
"Take your time, think carefully about what you want and how you could use it."
Reed stopped that train of thought.
'Fire, Ice, Wind, and Earth magic. Mana bullet can be learned by myself, I need to learn how to transform my mana into elemental mana.'
'Fireball, good offense, and few creatures have fire resistance. The spell can be used even in later stages. Very good choice.'
'Rock wall, good defence in the early stage, but punching through rock should not be a problem for tier 4 and above beings. I can learn if I have time, but other than that, best leave it alone.'
'Ice bolt, by how he phrased it, it most likely freezes it surroundings on impact, a hit to the head would most likely mean instant brain death. High lethality.'
'And finally, Gust. Maybe I can use it to slam opponents into the surroundings, or on myself to perform evasive manoeuvres.'
A sudden loud sound attracted his attention as a few trees fell over.
Mordhal had waved his wand and somehow cut down the nearby trees.
"Don't mind me." He gestured with the wand for Reed to pay no attention.
'Fireball, Ice bolt and gust.'
'I have no need for gust at the moment, and more power is currently my objective.
'So it's between fireball and ice bolt.'
Reed watched his teacher move the fallen trees and uproot the trunks.
'Fireball is likely to be explosive, meaning close area damage, useful for multiple opponents, and I can also damage the environment, set fires, break walls, etc.'
Mordhal smoothened the ground, and set up a few targets in the form of rock pillars.
'Ice bolt is most likely single target, meaning much less effective against multiple, and can't cause damage like fireball, but one good hit would cause terrifying damage.'
'So fireball for explosive, area damage, and ice bolt, for single, freezing, high damage.'
"Have you made your choice?"
Mordhal sat upon a raised rock platform.
"Fireball."
Mordhal chuckled.
"Of course, what better one to start with?"