Spellwork

It took a few seconds for everything to click in place, but once they did I immediately asked a question. 

"Mr. System?"

The figure gave a curt nod.

"No offense, but… shouldn't you know what happened here? At least, if you could come back here and save me, as I presume you have done, I have reason to believe that you know everything that happens in this area, likely control this entire place, even. Also, why are you a glowing outline?" I asked in rapidfire.

"I sincerely hope you answer my single question the next time you open your mouth. I do indeed know what has transpired previously in this place and many other areas simultaneously, you insolent brat. Although it should be noted that I do not control this place as much as I exert limited power over it, in accord with the access I have been given. However, I would like to hear a direct account from your perspective," the old man said with clearly strained patience.

"As far as I recall, I was doing target practice before the explosion happened. I'm not sure what could have caused it," I replied truthfully.

"Do you remember trying to do something with the wind?" the old man asked slowly, as if talking to a particularly unintelligent child.

Inwardly, I was extremely annoyed at his condescending tone, but nevertheless answered truthfully. 

"I remember trying to stop the wind, which kind of worked, though it barely paused for a few seconds each time. Why?" 

The old man shook his head, seemingly in amazement. "Your ignorance… it is truly astounding. You were somehow able to exert rudimentary control over mana, showing great promise for future development, but you seem to be lacking in the intelligence department." he stated, almost to himself.

"What made you think you could interfere with spellwork with such weak control? Mana is volatile and trying to prevent a spell from operating is a delicate and risky process - in fact, it is a much higher concept than what one might imagine. It was a miracle that an explosion didn't happen the first few times you attempted it." he concluded.

"Why would the mana suddenly become dangerous when a spell is forcibly stopped?" I asked curiously.

"It is not exactly a problem of the spell being forcibly stopped. The issue is that you do not know how to dismantle a spell properly. You seemingly instinctively used the most basic method of trying to command the mana to stop acting as it is, but this requires a certain amount of skill to back up. Your attempt backfired because you did not provide clear instructions," he replied candidly.

"I… did not understand a word of what you just said," I uttered somewhat meekly.

With a deep sigh, he set about trying to explain the workings of spells to me.

"The way spells generally work is that you manipulate the mana to flow in a way that is consistent with the spell you want while also holding an image of the spell's effect in your mind. For example, a simple breeze would be conjured by letting mana move in the way a small gust would, while also imagining the effect in your mind. Creating a jet of water is done in a similar manner. The spell's foundation is laid by the movement of the mana, then brought into reality by your will," he explained.

"Then… how would earth and fire spells be created?" I questioned.

"Well… wind and water are the simpler elemental spells to use. Wind especially so, since its characteristics are most similar to mana. Essentially, elemental spells involve trying to allow the mana to move in a similar way to how the element itself would move. Wind spells require the mana to move lightly and with a certain amount of swiftness, which is quite simple. Water spells are slightly heavier or sometimes unbelievably heavy depending on the spell, and further need the caster to imagine the nature of water and imbue it into the spell," he elaborated.

"You won't understand much of what I'm saying now, but it will make more sense later. Earth spells are much the same in the sense that the mana moves slowly and heavily, dense and compact. You must imagine the strength and hardness of the earth, the unyielding resilience and strength of it, manifested into reality by the power of mana." he preached.

"Fire is the most complex of the basic elemental spells. Rather than having one method of casting, it has two. The first is to move the mana like the fire you are imagining, always in motion, constantly searching for sustenance. Even if the spell you conjure is meant to stay in place, such as a wall of fire, it is nevertheless constantly in motion, blazing with life. Moreover, you must impress the insatiable nature of flame into your spell, the hunger to grow through devouring everything that comes into reach. This allows for more delicate and controlled spells to be cast, of the specific shape and strength that you want,"

"On the other hand, if you need to create a large blaze quickly, you can create a special substance by forcing two masses of mana to rub against each other rapidly, just as friction forms fire. This substance will take a bit of time to come into its own, but once properly created, it will rapidly devour any condensed mana you feed it to grow rapidly. After having a certain amount of mana, it will begin to also consume more tangible energy, much like a real conflagration would. This is a much more crude method, but it needs you to be able to move mana quickly and be able to compact mana into a form that the 'fire' will consume,"

"I am not really meant to tell you these things, nor will you understand them now, but trust that they will be helpful in the future. Now, good luck for your next Trial," he said.

Then before I could say a word, darkness swallowed me once more.