: Mana Users

Kayda couldn't help but surveying Gerrin up and down at every angle. His form completely changed right in front of her. It was baffling.

"Before we leave, try to learn the spell. It's relatively simple so it shouldn't take too long."

Clouse leaned against the wall in amusement as he watched Gerrin get increasingly uncomfortable under Kaday's gaze.

Gerrin was an intimidating person but was actually as tame as a teddy bear. It was a funny contrast. And because of his looks, he scared away any small creature be it children or animals.

So now that he wasn't being feared but blatantly stared at by such a small person like Kayda, he didn't know how to react.

Of course, Clouse was the kind of person who was amused by others misfortunes.

Kayda was very intrigued. She had never seen something like this before.

Quickly realizing that her stare seemed to disturb Gerrin, she quickly retrieved her gaze and introduced herself.

"Kayda."

Her voice was still slightly hoarse but it was much better compared to yesterday when her voice could remind someone of the crackle of dried leaves.

And after saying her name she didn't bother opening her mouth again and just silently waited

"Great. Try to learn the spell as quickly as possible or it will make traveling a hassle. We'll be leaving before sunset. So try to get as much down before then."

And with a wave of his hand he walked off. Dimitri had disappeared at some point in time without anyone noticing so Kayda and Gerrin were the only two left at the entrance.

"Follow me."

Gerrin turned around and walked outside. Kayda soon followed behind him but kept her distance.

As they walked to a clearing not far off from the Cabin, Gerrin felt as if he was going to bury himself in a hole. The entire time they had walked, Kayda's gaze would remain stubbornly on his back and he swore he could feel two holes drill it's way through him.

"Ok!"

Turning around abruptly, Gerrin stared at Kayda as she looked up at him.

It was now Gerrin's turn to look her up and down.

She was so small and thin. Her wrists like twigs and her cheekbones were prominent with a few silver scales in the corner of her eyes. Behind her was a long silver scaled tale, catching rays of light. And her horns were about as long as his entire hand.

Looking farther down, she wasn't wearing any shoes as her feet were claws with sharp nails that dug into the earth.

After surveying her, he only had one word in his mind. Weak.

She looked so weak he wasn't even sure she had enough mana to even activate the spell much less make it work.

Taking in a breath, he held the bridge of his nose with one of his paw-like hands as if he had a headache.

"First, I have to ask, do you even know how to conjure runes?"

Kayda tilted her head, and Gerrin could actually feel a headache starting.

"Ok. Scratch that. Do you even know how to use mana?"

This time, Kayda didn't tilt her head and just nodded.

Gerrin sighed. Now they were getting somewhere. Why did his captain even task him with this?

"Ok. Just, show me what you can do with your mana and we'll work from there."

Kayda listened to him and then nodded.

So, just something she could do with mana.

Thinking for a little bit, Kayda finally thought of something and raised her hand.

She didn't need to show him much but she should at least present a decent amount of what she could do.

With a little bit of concentration, mana started to gather at her fingertips.

She could feel a small strain but she was out of practice. She could only start sensing mana when Clouse had taken off the inhibitor around her neck.

Gerrin was initially surprised but kept silent and continued to wait and see what she would do.

Within a second, Kayda had gathered, compressed and formed a thin wisp of mana at her fingertips.

Seeing the thin wisp, Gerrin narrowed his eyes. It looked small but anyone with any sense of mana could tell that it was a dangerously large amount if you could see it with the naked eye.

Taking a glance around, Kayda turned her body towards a tree in the distance. Taking in a small breath, she closed her eyes for a second.

With a flick, the small wisp of mana in her hand shot forward before disappearing.

Seeing this, Gerrin raised a brow and looked at the tree for a second before giving a sigh.

He intended to turn to Kayda to give her his assessment but when he intended to look at her, all he saw was air.

Kayda walked over to the tree. With her hand raised, she pushed a delicate finger forward and tapped the tree.

There was a russle of leaves. Silence filled the air before the tree gave a creek and without resistance, it pounded into the forest floor with a loud bang.

Gerrin stared deafly at the fallen tree. It's trunk seemingly cut with what seemed to be a molten saw. The bark untouch but the inside of the tree was burnt along the clean cut.

Kayda looked back at Gerrin's surprised face. His jaw opened revealing his fangs and his brows scrunched up in confusion. It was an amusing sight but it made Kayda doubt whether she had used too much power earlier and had revealed too much.

Gerrin returned his gaze to Kayda and quickly regained his composure. He was caught off guard. He didn't expect that someone who barely even reached his chest to exhibit such control and manipulation of mana.

But having seen even more bizarre things in his life, regaining his composure and returning to a sound state of mind was a piece of cake.

"Do you know what kind of mana user you are?" Gerrin could assess her power but not her profession with that earlier show. All different types of mana users could manipulate mana to some extent. What Kayda did just now was something only someone who was proficient at their profession could display. Of course, if she was a certain type of mana user, that would affect how efficiently she could learn the spell he used to disguise himself.