Amanda's days fell into a routine of practice and study. She spent hours poring over the old tome the shopkeeper had given her, memorizing its teachings and testing her magic in secret. Each night, she ventured beyond the town's bounds to a secluded clearing, where she pushed her control over fire, water, earth, and wind.
Her progress was remarkable, even to herself. With each passing day, she felt her powers deepen, her control growing sharper. But she wanted more. Her desire for revenge on the nobles who had destroyed her village drove her forward, pushing her to explore every limit of her abilities. She had motivation and was determined to see it through. She would not rest until she was their ashes.
One evening, she decided to try something new. Until now, she'd been practicing with each element separately, cautiously testing her control. Tonight, she wanted to see if she could manipulate more than one element at once. She began by summoning a small flame in her left hand, focusing on its warmth and energy. With her right hand, she reached toward the earth beneath her feet, willing the soil to shift and rise. She did not try water and fire, for she felt it was going to backfire.
At first, it was a struggle. Her mind could only focus on one element fully, and the fire flickered as the earth trembled. But Amanda took a deep breath, centering herself, and tried again. She held the image of both forces in her mind, imagining them working in harmony.
Slowly, she felt a connection take shape. The flame in her left hand steadied, growing brighter, while the earth under her right hand rose, forming a small mound. Amanda felt a rush of exhilaration. She was doing it—commanding two elements at once.
But just as she began to revel in her success, a wave of exhaustion washed over her. The flame sputtered, and the earth crumbled back to the ground. Amanda gasped, clutching her head as a sharp ache pierced her temples. She fell to her knees, struggling to catch her breath. She was drained of mana for how could a mere F-rank being dream of welding multiple elements at the same time? Once again she was blasphemy to the world.
"Too much," she muttered, realizing she'd overexerted herself. Her body wasn't yet ready for this kind of strain. She'd have to build her endurance slowly and train herself to withstand the demands of wielding multiple elements. Despite the pain, she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. She had glimpsed the power she could one day wield, and it only fueled her resolve. You might be wondering why train her endurance and not mana?, well mana needs a container and if the container is not big enough how would the mana ever increase, here is where endurance comes in. The more you overexert your body the more your container grows. Endurance is not the only way to train it but one of them but still an important factor.
The next morning, Amanda returned to the shop, seeking more knowledge. The old man behind the counter raised an eyebrow as she walked in, her face showing faint traces of fatigue.
"Back already?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his tone. "I take it you've been busy."
Amanda nodded. "I've been practicing. But… I need more. There has to be more to this than what's in that book."
The man chuckled, his eyes gleaming with a knowing light. "Magic isn't something you can master overnight, girl. It's a lifetime of study and practice. But… I may have something else that could help."
He led her to the back of the shop, to a locked cabinet. From it, he retrieved a small, ancient-looking scroll. The parchment was yellowed and brittle, but Amanda could see faint runes scrawled across it, symbols she didn't recognize.
"This is an old meditation technique," the man explained. "It's used by mages to strengthen their minds, to help them focus on multiple spells at once. It's not easy, but if you're serious about this path, it might be what you need."
Amanda accepted the scroll with reverence, her eyes wide. "Thank you," she whispered. She sensed that he was taking a risk by giving this to her, and she felt a flicker of gratitude. For the first time, someone was helping her, guiding her on her path to power.
As she left the shop, Amanda's mind buzzed with anticipation. She couldn't wait to try this new technique, to push herself further.
That night, Amanda returned to her clearing, the scroll carefully unrolled in front of her. She studied the symbols, tracing them with her finger as she murmured the instructions to herself. According to the scroll, this meditation would allow her to enter a state of deep concentration, enhancing her connection to magic. It would take time, patience, and a lot of practice.
Amanda closed her eyes, steadying her breathing. She let go of her surroundings, allowing herself to sink into the darkness behind her eyelids. She focused on the flow of magic within her, imagining it as a river, calm and steady.
Minutes passed, then an hour, as she maintained this state. Slowly, she felt something shift within her a warmth spreading through her chest, like a tiny spark igniting. She felt the elements around her earth, air, fire and water all pulsing, responding to her presence.
Her eyes snapped open, and she held out her hands. To her astonishment, a faint glow appeared around her fingers, shimmering with a mix of colors, each representing an element. She felt connected to them in a way she hadn't before, as though they were part of her.
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Over the following days, Amanda continued her meditation and practice. She grew stronger, more adept at holding multiple elements. Her endurance increased, allowing her to sustain her magic longer without feeling drained.
But as her power grew, so did her ambition. She no longer wanted revenge alone. She wanted strength, and influence something more than the life of a peasant girl. She wanted to reshape the world, to make it bow to her will. She was getting greedy and she welcomed it with open arms.
One evening, as she gazed out over the landscape, she made a vow. She would rise above the nobles, the mages, and everyone who had ever looked down on her. She would become someone they couldn't ignore, someone they couldn't defeat and feried.
Amanda clenched her fists, feeling the power pulsing within her. The path ahead was uncertain, but she was ready to face it. She would become more. She may not have known it but that was the beginning of a long journey, even beyond Pandora, for she was destined for greatness or in her case something more sinister and evil.