Chapter 43 - Extra Effort

Lily had a very distracted day, which almost everyone around her noticed. Despite their accusations, she wasn't trying to cause mischief, but she couldn't help but keep wrapping her head around the magic words Arakil had taught her and manipulating the Mana to coalesce within her throat.

Lily didn't dare combine the two until she was in the safety of her room, but at lunch, she asked Rose if she had any tips on chanting. To Lily's dismay, the answer she received seemed incompatible with her situation.

"Oh, chanting? That's easy!" Rose said with a nod. "I'm glad the old book is finally keeping up his promise. Anyway… It naturally happens as soon as I pull on my Mana and say the chant. Poof. Like that."

Lily frowned. "What about visualizing the spell and getting the Mana to focus in your throat?"

Rose grinned and pointed a thumb to herself. "Did you forget who you're talking to? I'm a Dragia with Mana flowing through my veins. When I want to cast a spell, it better listen if it knows what's good for it!"

Lily was not pleased. She had thought that once she had acquired her own Mana flowing through her, the advantages would disappear, and she would catch up. But now Rose was telling her that she was just a natural at casting.

"Actually… I think it's kind of similar to that situation you mentioned with the wrinkled alchemist," Rose said while Lily was ruminating.

"The same in what way?" Lily asked.

"Remember she drew that really crappy glyph?" Rose asked, to which Lily nodded, so she continued. "Well, I think I have so much Mana that even if I make mistakes in my pronunciation, it still works for me!"

"Ugh… That's so unfair…" Lily mumbled.

"Well, maybe it will work that way once your Mana Core is bigger?" Rose suggested. "But, knowing you… It probably won't matter eventually. Look how perfect your glyphs are already!"

Lily blushed. "They aren't perfect… I still can improve them."

"If that's not good enough for you, then I have no hope of ever drawing them," Rose giggled.

Lily nodded.

I'll just work extra hard!

***

That evening, she was finally ready to combine her two thoroughly practiced tasks. She hoped she wouldn't struggle too hard since it was supposed to be a straightforward spell.

But before she did that, she tried enunciating it a few times for Arakil and sought some pointers for her work. He had told her to emphasize a few sections of the words a bit more, but otherwise, he was very happy with her progress.

Lily took a deep breath as she spun her Mana Core and released the magical essence contained within. Then, she began trying to focus it on her throat. Once she felt she had accumulated enough, she held out her upturned hand and said the chant clearly.

As she spoke, she felt the Mana within her start to come alive. It began twirling and twisting as if guided to form a pattern by the words. If she hadn't been so distracted, making sure to keep the Mana focused and correct in her chant, she would have loved to have studied the pattern it was forming.

Lily felt the Mana in her throat vanish, and faintly apparating within the palm of her hand was the tiniest star she had ever seen. It let out an extremely faint light, barely brighter than dying embers.

"I… Did it…" Lily whispered.

Her worries from earlier in the day seemed to vanish so quickly that she wondered why she had been so negative in the first place. Her self-doubt had been infecting her mood, and she had somehow built it up as an almost impossible mountain she needed to surpass, even if she knew it was a simple spell.

She clutched her chest with her left hand while keeping her right hand outstretched as if it prevented the star from falling. Rapturous joy filled her, and she couldn't stop a few happy tears from spilling.

She stared at the tiny star until it finally dispersed. Arakil had briefly mentioned that the spell could be maintained if she continued to channel Mana. Part of her wanted to keep fueling it so it would continue to exist, as if worried that she wouldn't be able to reproduce it.

Lily gathered her courage once again and repeated the process. This time, she was a little more focused, and when she cast the spell, the star that formed seemed not only slightly larger but more substantial.

Lily giggled happily, bringing the star under her bed to illuminate the darkness. Arakil had mentioned that once she was more proficient in Mana manipulation, she could guide the spell with but a thought, but at the moment, it was anchored to her hand.

When her second star winked out, she finally saw what Arakil had to say.

"I did it!" Lily exclaimed, her voice filled with joy. "Twice!!"

[Excellent work! I knew you could do it. As you continue to practice it, it will further improve. Now tell me, did you notice anything in particular while you did the chant?]

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"Yes, I did notice something…" Lily admitted. "When I was saying the chant, my Mana seemed to be making a pattern?"

[Precisely! I'm proud that you noticed it so swiftly. That pattern is the structure of the spell, and depending on how adept you become with glyphs, you might start recognizing the intricacies being formed.]

"Wait… So chants are just… Glyphs?" Lily asked.

[Not exactly… The magical chant is like instructions telling your Mana how to flow and form, further guided by your visualization.]

"Rose mentioned that she doesn't have to bother with any of that…" Lily mumbled. "She said it was like how Miss Camilla could get her bad glyph to work even if it was drawn poorly."

[That is actually a rather apt comparison. Rose's potent bloodline is either aiding her greatly or perhaps she has a greater visualization than she gives herself credit for? One researcher even studied the effects of teaching magical exercises to very young children as their visualization prowess often received a boon thanks to their overactive imaginations.]

"So… Because Rose believes it will work so strongly, it does ?" Lily asked.

[To overcome the natural order through magical phenomena? Yes, you could describe her unwavering confidence in that as one of the reasons why her magic is so potent. Obviously, it's not the full story, but it has a notable effect, and even you are subject to it.]

"It works for me, too? But I don't have a powerful bloodline or anything…"

[Oh? So you're telling me your second spell wasn't drastically more potent than the first one?]

"No… It was…" Lily admitted, feeling a bit suspicious. "How did you know? I thought you couldn't see until we fix your eye?"

[While I give you an A+ for effort and determination, you tend to dwell too negatively on things outside your control. No doubt you were concerned about being unable to cast the spell, even though I had emphasized it as a beginner spell. Your emotions and disbelief made manifesting your will against the universe harder . Once you cast it the first time, even poorly, it cleared away those festering sentiments and made your second attempt much more fruitful.]

Lily blushed deeply and buried her face in her hands. She had never expected to be read like an open book, by a book!

Arakil can't even see me! Am I really that simple to read?

"Yes… The second starlight spell was much better," Lily admitted. "I thought I had been distracted and missed a pronunciation or something."

[Well, I can tell you for a fact that your chant on both attempts was so similar that it wouldn't have made a difference. The only possible failure point was if you struggled to focus your Mana on your vocal cords. However, you practiced that extensively for days ; I doubted that would happen.]

"Thanks…" Lily whispered, blushing furiously.

[You're very welcome. I'm proud to call you my apprentice. I want you to continue as you have been but try to focus your attention on the flow and pattern of your Mana while you chant. Try to familiarize yourself with that feeling as much as you can, and once you move on to the gesture version, do your best to notice the similarities between them.]

"I will… But... What's the purpose? Is it so I can learn new glyphs?" Lily asked.

[That is a possibility. However, the true goal is to start getting you down to the fundamentals of being able to cast shorthand and, eventually, chantless. If you can get your Mana to flow and form as desired, then the chants aren't necessary.]

"That's like how Rose controls fire with her bloodline!" Lily said excitedly.

[Not… Quite… The end goal is to get your Mana to form the spell. If you can partially shape it yourself without the words, then you can convert it to shorthand. You can even combine multiple methods for complex spells, like chant and gesture. I don't expect you to do anything like this anytime soon, but the more familiar you become with shaping your Mana and how spells are formed, the better you will be prepared when the time comes.]

"Okay, I will, thanks, Arakil," Lily said with a determined nod. "Although… Won't I need to do something chantless for the test? At least if I need to pretend it's my bloodline."

[That is something I am working on a solution for. I'm scrutinizing my archives with what Mana I have. My current hypothesis is that if we set your Core's affinity to Astral, then you will be able to mimic control over it like Rose does with fire. Otherwise, we could try a crash course to learn one spell's shorthand. Or perhaps even some sleight of hand to hide the somatic casting?]

"What would having an Astral Core do? Are there any side effects?" Lily asked. Arakil had previously seemed rather negative about it, so she was concerned. While she loved the idea of stars, she didn't want to damage her potential and growth.

[Astral spells would become easier to form as if you'd been using them for years or were a natural prodigy with them. However, you'd have greater difficulty with spells not of your affinity, like I'd be willing to bet Rose struggles with ice or water spells. Anyway… Astral is neutral, so you do not need to worry about that; you'll receive neither bane nor boon with other spells.]

"That sounds wonderful! Is there anything I can do to help?" Lily asked excitedly; she wanted that Astral Core as soon as possible.

[Other than trying to find more Mana, I'm afraid there is little you can do to help at this stage. I don't know how feasible getting more resources is, so I'd recommend you just continue your Mana control and eventual Mana imbuement.]

"Okay!" Lily immediately agreed. "I'll make sure to not slack on learning that; plus, I need it if I ever want to imbue my own glyph ink."

She spent the rest of the evening repeatedly casting the starlight spell, trying to focus on the patterns forming while maintaining the concentration required to cast the spell successfully.

Each little star formed made her feel absolutely giddy, and before she went to bed, she had placed five little stars about her room, giving it a soft, illuminating glow. That little fun had bottomed out her tiny Mana Core, and so she was finally forced to stop for the evening.

At least now I have another way to empty it, so hopefully, this will improve my regeneration. Now, I just need to find a better way to help it grow… I wish Rose wasn't leaving so soon.

At best, Rose could give her one more outing before leaving. They would unlikely encounter another nest of gremlins like before, so she doubted it would be as fruitful.

Part of her immediately wanted to show Rose her successful spell, but Lily restrained that desire and began plotting to put on a bit of a show once she had become more proficient in it.

I'll make sure to send her off smiling… Lily thought hopefully as she drifted off to sleep.