Learning Magic

After revealing everything to Lyra and finding out she was in a similar predicament, we immediately began my training. The weekend was upon us so it was a good chance to teach me magic. 

My mother had also returned home and gave Lyra a chance to talk about moving. Our account had more than enough money to move somewhere more comfortable, but that's if my mother wanted to move. 

"Unfortunately, she doesn't want to leave this place. However, she did permit us to make renovations or we can move out on our own, but she didn't sound too keen on us leaving." Lyra came back into the bedroom with the news and I expected that to be the case. 

It seemed like my mother moved here deliberately and if my theory was correct, we are from a noble family, so money might not be an issue in the first place.

"Not much we can do then. I guess it wouldn't hurt to upgrade this house at the very least." Since most things were powered by magic, it was just a matter of hiring someone capable. I also imagine magic makes renovating easy and what would usually be a couple-week job turns into a one-day job. 

"Mhm, I already organised some renovations with Kurumi... should I call her mum?" Lyra wasn't sure if she should seriously call her mum. Even though we have known each other forever, Lyra had only met her the other day. 

"Hmm, perhaps give it a month." I figured to give it some time, despite how welcoming she may be. 

"Alright. I'll start preparing your magic crash course for tomorrow." Lyra took refuge at my desk and took out some books from her endless pouch. Lyra then started writing in what looked like a journal. 

*

With the weekend here, Lyra and I paid for a small training hall for ourselves in the city. It was the same magical room as in the academy, with magic-reinforced walls and customisable scenery, but on a much smaller scale. We decided to go for a peaceful forest vibe since we didn't know how to actually change it from the default setting. 

"Are you sure you need to be that close?" After Lyra explained some of the basics, that I was familiar with, we began applying them. However, she treated it like some tennis practice and pressed her body against my back. 

It didn't help that she put on her "battle" clothes, which were a very fancy qipao that exposed her legs and a thigh-high fishnet. She also had detached sleeves and I began to wonder if she got this outfit because it made her look hot rather than something more practical. 

I was the total opposite, as I didn't have clothes for this sort of thing. So I ended up just wearing shorts and a white shirt that was beginning to be a bit too small. 

"Well, you need to be comfortable, no?" At my comment, she proceeded to place her hand on my waist and used her other hand to adjust mine. I definitely couldn't complain, but it was impossible to concentrate on using my magic. 

"Y-you're not wrong, but I also think being able to concentrate is nice." I knew we had all day in here, but if it continued like this, I wouldn't last for much longer. 

*sigh* "I can't argue that." I could hear the disappointment in her sigh as she backed away from my back, which made me feel bad. 

'I need to treat her after this.' It felt like I had been the only one getting spoiled, so to repay her for teaching me, I wanted to at least do something. 

"Okay, when it comes to spell casting, it is rather simple. Since we come from a different world, this process is a lot easier, as you may have discovered. By understanding our element, we can shape it in any form and with that in mind, we can create spells." 

"It is literally any fantasy anime you watched that bothers to teach how their magic works. Incantations help you visualise what shape you want it to take and it's just a matter of pouring your mana out." 

I followed Lyra's instructions and thanks to her making references to shows I've watched, it made the process so much easier. 

Pictured in my mind is a sword made out of the golden flames coming out of my hand. Pouring mana into my palm, the image in my mind began to manifest. Eventually, a floating golden sword was in front of me, but I had no idea how I was meant to manipulate it further. 

"Amazing! Now that we have manifested something, the next part is probably the trickiest. Since you are not used to mana, you probably don't realise it is like an extension of the body. To move it, all you have to do is think about the direction." It certainly was weird to think of it like my own body, but nonetheless, I thought about shooting it forward. 

As soon as the thought occurred, it fired forward and burst into flames when it made contact with the wall.

"I wish I was this quick when learning magic, I guess starting late in life has its benefits." Lyra looked genuinely impressed at how quickly I was picking this up. 

Now that I had the basics down, we proceeded to practice casting different spells and trying to improve my speed. A lot of magic battles come down to your raw power and how efficient you are with magic. 

Lyra also wasn't wrong about incantations, even a basic couple of words like golden sword allowed me to manifest it in a few seconds. The part I struggled with the most was controlling my magic, if I lost concentration for a moment, it would fall apart. 

It amazed me how Lyra was able to move, create and shoot magic in such a short time. The immense amount of practice she must have needed to make it feel like second nature. It made me wonder if I could reach that kind of level anytime soon. 

*

"I'm impressed you haven't run out of mana yet." By now, Lyra was watching from the side as I tried to get the hang of sending out different spells quickly. 

"Well in Kasla's class, my mana was like an ocean, so I'm guessing that's why." I knew I had a vast pool to pull from, but even then, I did start to feel rather exhausted. However, I didn't want to give up now, as I felt like I was so close to mastering it. 

I had been moving around while shooting off spells of different sizes. Some were simple flame bullets, while others were massive spears or daggers. I did try to create more complex shapes, like a dragon head, but I wasn't able to quite maintain it. 

It also got me curious if I could wield the fire sword, but once again, I lacked the concentration to maintain its form. As soon as I wanted to swing, the flames would just lose shape and disappear. 

*

<1 hour later>

"Hmm, I think I know the problem." Lyra had been quiet for a while as I continued to try new things. I really liked my weapon-wielding idea, so I tried different sizes of weapons to see if that would make a difference. 

*huff, huff* "What am I doing wrong?" I hadn't realised it, but I had been exerting my mana for an hour straight and I was beginning to feel the aftereffects of using so much mana. 

"Now that you can manifest your flames if you want to make it an object, you need to see it as such. It's hard to explain since I have ice, which is a lot easier when it comes to creating objects, but the same rules still apply. You are seeing the fire as a flame, which is something that can't be grabbed. I hope that makes sense." It was certainly a weird thing to explain, but I think I understood what she meant. 

Because ice is a physical element, it allows itself to be grabbed, whereas flames are gases. 

With that in mind, instead of trying to make flames, I tried to manifest a sword instead. Surprisingly, it worked and a sword was beginning to form. It took me a bit longer than usual, but once it was done, I was able to grab it and it didn't fade away when I lost concentration.

It did require a small flow of mana to maintain, but I had achieved my goal. 

'Let's see how strong of a swing I can do.' The amount of sword training I had done was all learned from a mediaeval channel that reviewed a lot of swords and I hoped that would be enough.

Pouring more mana into the sword, the flames that shaped the sword became more unstable, but it created a cool effect. It had felt like I put a status effect on the blade and would do holy damage. 

Raising the sword in the air, I went to swing, however my head suddenly started to spin. Before I could even test my new flaming blade, my vision turned dark.