Playing With Fire Isn't Easy A Second Time

On her way through the town, Miko calls out to her from the Wanderer's Union, hoping to catch her along the way, only to be interrupted by Mizuki.

"I'll be back later!" she reassures in between breaths, slowing her run into a jog on the way towards the palace. Luckily, she doesn't have to travel all the way to the gates of the castle where she expects to be interrogated by guards on her messy appearance.

Somewhere around the steps leading up, she spots Adelia standing with her arms folded.

"Adelia!" Mizuki waves, catching her teacher's attention.

"I was starting to think you weren't going to show up—" Adelia starts, only to halt mid-sentence. She pushes her glasses higher up on her nose bridge critically. "There's something off about you. Show me your palms."

Mizuki, confused, eventually obeys. With cautious movements, she lifts her palms, eyes widening at the state of her skin. Stretching all the way until the veins on her wrist are bluish-purple burns, her skin almost split open. The center of her palms are scratched up and charred. Adelia lets out an audible gasp.

"What were you thinking?!" she chastises. "Do you not know better than to attempt magic before it's your time?"

"I didn't even know it was possible to use magic before I ranked up to a mage—By the way, I really needed it. I had to go against this weird shielded guy and the only way to destroy it was with an elemental force. This pendant is all I have," Mizuki lifts the locket. The injuries sting only mildly now that she has noticed her presence. Adelia clicks her tongue in annoyance, folding her arms in disappointment.

"Some things are done later in your journey as an adventurer for a reason. No one in their right minds would attempt such a complex form of magic. Lord, what would I have done if you muttered a false incantation," Adelia sighs, pressing the edge of her palm against her forehead. Mizuki tries to argue in defense, ultimately deciding to shut up once she's met with a venomous glare. "Come with me, we're going to my library."

Mizuki follows silently behind the infuriated Adelia as she's led down the street down around Mocha's place. She decides she won't speak up, only now starting to realise how reckless it might've been to play with fire, quite literally. Unlike what she'd expected, she's brought into a dark, unused bookstore.

"I come here when I'm not at the palace," she provides brief context, coughing as she dusts a couple of old books. Mizuki stifles a wheeze, pinching her nose to keep herself from inhaling dust.

"How do we practice here if you don't have plants?" Mizuki scans her surroundings, running her hands along the cement as she descends into a basement. It's nothing more than another room, though this one is a lot less cluttered and has some form of arrangement.

At least it looks like it's habitable. Adelia leaves her satchel on the ground, pulling out a couple of olive branches. Mizuki squints her eyes in doubt. How does she fit those in her bag?

"Magic," Adelia jokes. Mizuki scoffs.

"Either way, enough of that," Adelia sets the branches aside. "You're going to replicate the attack you used earlier and we're going to refine it."

"Eh?!" Mizuki argues. "Aren't I going to get myself any more injured? What about the burns on my arms? By the way, what am I supposed to do if I want to use magic through another medium?" she continues. Adelia nods, listening patiently.

"You're asking this after you decided to carelessly use a power you've never trained with before," she speaks calmly, though Mizuki catches on the bite in her words. She pouts.

Adelia clarifies, "Regardless, it's much worse practicing once your wounds are healed, considering they'll happen again if you use these powers. That pendant you have there—" Adelia points, "Is only an object for you to channel the element in it."

Mizuki raises an eyebrow in question. "I don't understand."

"Any normal Mage wouldn't have such a pendant or locket that their powers are affiliated to. Once you rank up, you choose what to work with and master it with training. That object, can probably only be crafted by extremely skilled Mages, to materialise their powers into a physical object to be manipulated," Adelia rambles and Mizuki tries to mentally note the key messages, awkwardly standing with her palms clasped over each other.

"Where did you acquire it in the first place?"

"I got it through a Side Quest," Mizuki admits.

"Right, I forgot you have those," Adelia purses her lips. For some reason, she seems vaguely disgruntled, like she doesn't enjoy the idea of adventuring as a whole.

"By the way, teacher, how'd you level up so high?" Mizuki asks innocently.

"By not making stupid decisions," she shoots a particular stare at Mizuki. Mizuki catches on the point, rubbing the back of her neck as she lets out an awkward chuckle. Adelia scoffs, "I used to study at a university in Sirius but it was burned down."

Mizuki pauses. Adelia averts her gaze. "Many have tried to bury the case under the rug but I'm so sure it has something to do with magic. I know there's something after us, if only I could tell what it was," she sighs. Mizuki's heart thumps as an image from the fateful night of the castle break-in flashes across her eyes. She remembers the cloaked figure, the mage who wielded the wind as her weapon so perfectly.

"Can anything be used as a source of power?" the words slip off her tongue.

"Of course," Adelia continues. "Depending on what you choose, anything could serve as a great weapon. For example, a Mage from an icy land would choose to use ice as their element, am I not right? Though, they would be at a great disadvantage if they chose to travel elsewhere. Regardless, it's why we have weapons. Magic only gives you a greater boost in ability." She lowers her eyes to Mizuki's wounds.

Mizuki nods in understanding.

"Have your wounds from Valkyrie's fight recovered fully?"

Mizuki checks her arms, running her fingers along the injuries lightly so she doesn't feel any more than a light tickle. She doesn't catch a hint of purple. She'll hope they're gone as she assumes. Mizuki nods. Adelia lets out a satisfied hum, "That's good then."

Mizuki recalls Adelia's initial request, holding the pendant in her hands. She glances towards the lit fireplace next to her and then back at the object in her hands. Closing her eyes, she attempts to channel any energy she can from the locket. She squeezes her eyes shut, a couple of tiny embers even conjuring from the object.

Mizuki opens her eyes a little too quickly and in the end, nothing happens. That was anti-climatic.