Chapter 48 - Nebula

Lily pored over the instructions with unwavering determination. This was her chance to master a new spell, a challenge she was ready to embrace. The unfamiliar chant and the complex finger wiggles in Arakil's illustrations were like a puzzle she was determined to solve.

She repeated the chant in her head a few times before saying it out loud. Arakil was particularly critical of her enunciation, prompting her to ask a question.

"What is a nebula?"

Arakil was more than happy to provide an explanation.

[A nebula is like a vast, cosmic cloud of gas and dust floating in the infinite expanse of space. Imagine swirling wisps of smoke on a scale so immense that it stretches across hundreds of light-years.]

"Light-years ?" Lily asked, utterly baffled.

[ Apologies … You can ignore that. Imagine the entire night sky and beyond, the entirety of the heavens. Picture a glowing fog, where some areas are dense and vibrant, bursting with energy, while others fade into faint, ethereal shadows. Bright stars twinkle at the edges with light that pierces through the haze, while others nestle deep within, hidden but illuminating from within.]

Lily tried her best to visualize it, but there was a lot to unpack, and even though she thoroughly enjoyed Arakil's detailed explanation, it was very verbose.

Cycling her Mana and gathering it in her throat, she finally took the plunge and attempted to cast the spell. She felt an immense and sudden drain that caused her to flinch with fright. The spell began to partially manifest, and she held out her hand in an attempt to focus it down and partially complete the spell.

The spell's surface shimmered with iridescent hues, a mesmerizing display of deep purples and midnight blues. Like specks of diamond dust, tiny stars were embedded within the delicate folds, twinkling faintly, casting a bewitching wonder on Lily.

The edges rippled like tendrils with fluid and unpredictable patterns as if they might dissolve back into stardust at any moment. When Lily touched it, it felt impossibly soft, like holding a fragment of a dream, yet there was a faint warmth to it.

When the spell finally manifested, it was smaller than Lily had anticipated, barely larger than a handkerchief. She was in awe of its cosmic surface, but there was a major problem with its size.

"I failed…" Lily's voice was tinged with disappointment as she rubbed the tiny nebula handkerchief between her fingers, feeling the weight of her unsuccessful attempt.

She read Arakil's description repeatedly and compared it to her result. She now somewhat understood his descriptors, although she had certainly failed in the size department. Arakil described stretching across the heavens, while hers couldn't even cover her hand. With a sigh, she informed Arakil of the results.

[For a first attempt, it's considerably impressive. You can only go up from here, and at least you were able to partially manifest the spell rather than have nothing to show for it.]

Lily nodded as she continued touching the fragment, letting Arakil continue talking.

[You also got exposure to what happens when a spell fails, a valuable first-time experience in a safe environment. As you noticed, the deficiencies can be overcome with enough determination or narrowing the scope down. Throwing an abundance of Mana at the problem can also sometimes work.]

"Like Rose?" Lily asked. "I remember you saying that she has a good visualization mindset. Not to mention she has boatloads of Mana."

[Precisely. Of course, this isn't a foolproof solution, and you still need to be close enough to the culmination of the spell. Simple spells can be brute forced, but even Rose wouldn't be able to improperly cast a high-tier spell. No matter how much Mana, perseverance, and self-assertiveness she has.]

"So it's a crutch and not something to rely on…" Lily mumbled. "I guess that's why you keep telling me to practice and practice."

Lily stared at the cosmic cloth in her hand, rubbing it one last time before cutting off her Mana supply and watching it unravel into non-existence.

I'll get better!

***

Lily was twirling and tracing her finger with boredom across the table. She needed to let the potion simmer before continuing and had nothing meaningful to keep herself occupied.

Lily's frustration was palpable as she considered the jump in Mana cost for the nebula veil spell. It was far too much compared to starlight, and she knew she couldn't complete her tasks for Camilla if she attempted it.

If I didn't want another Mana potion, I'd quit… Stupid money…

While doodling with her finger, she found herself absentmindedly tracing out a spiral. She'd become so familiar with spirals lately that she practically saw them in her dreams. At the same time, she began thinking about her problem with imbuing. She just kept struggling to do it with any decent rate of success without the help of a tool.

I feel like Arakil has a solution for me but is keeping it from me until I'm ready or until he wants me to solve it myself… I understand why he does it; if he had given me all the answers straight away, I would never have learned anything or experimented, but it's frustrating to still not have any results for so long.

It was very conflicting for her. On one hand, she wanted the answer, but on the other, she did enjoy solving it herself. Not only did she relish having her accomplishments praised, but she felt like she understood it more if she discovered it at least partially herself.

I really thought if I did something similar to when I gathered the Mana from Rose's gift, it would work, just in reverse—a tight outward spiral of Mana.

The sad part was that it did do something. Lily found her Mana a lot more compressed and concentrated within her body. The only effect she noticed was that it gave her a rather euphoric feeling before giving her a mild migraine when she kept it going for too long. Arakil actually praised her for it and advised her to continue practicing alternating between the constricted outward and inward spirals.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Lily sighed as she traced another spiral in the dusty table. Now, she was alternating between inward and outward spirals in her doodles.

Why can't I form a spiral when brewing? If I could do that, then I could have the Mana gather directly in the concoction… But it would need to be an inward spiral, and I can't have two spirals!

Lily paused her finger doodle and slapped the tabletop.

Or can I? Could I make a second spiral that's fed by the first one? My outward spiral into another inward spiral?

Lily looked at the spirals drawn on the table and frowned. She rushed to her basket and pulled out some parchment and a pencil to try sketching an idea to help her visualize her thoughts better.

She started with her outward spiral, keeping it relatively small and simple. After a few loops, she reversed her line and started a second circle rather than adding another ring to the spiral. It was still connected to the tail of her first spiral, except now it was rotating in the opposite direction and becoming an inward spiral.

When done, Lily placed the pencil down and stared at the drawing. It looked vaguely like a figure eight, an infinity symbol, or a calligraphic S-shape, with excessive flourishing. Lily frowned at the lack of symmetry. If she had planned it out better, she could have made the second spiral a perfect mirror of the first.

Would this work? I think it would let me withdraw Mana from my Core and gather at the same time.

Lily wished she had Arakil to question, but she always kept him safe in her room under her mattress. The book was far too cumbersome for her to carry around regularly. Arakil had mentioned that the book could eventually change size, and she couldn't wait for the day he could shrink down and be kept in her pocket like a notebook.

She stared at the timer for her current brew and noted she still had plenty of time to wait. She nodded and decided it was worth a shot to try to replicate it with one of the small practice brews Camilla had left for her.

Camilla's idea for Lily to practice imbuing a brew was to have her work on some extremely inconsequential solutions. One of which was a hair dye that supposedly never faded. It was a magical concoction in the loosest sense of the word, but even then, Lily had failed to finalize the Mana catalytic step.

Lily grabbed one of the small bottles Camilla had prepared and poured its contents into a tiny pot. Igniting the burner to its lowest setting, Lily began stirring the solution while starting to spin her Mana core.

Lily always felt the rush of Mana flowing through her, but she kept it to a relatively small and simple spiral, as she figured she would need to replicate its counterpart perfectly. Nervously, Lily breathed in and out a few times before finally attempting to branch the tail of her outward spiral into another.

At first, there was a snag, and Lily almost immediately wondered if it was impossible. But, to her surprise, the Mana became malleable after some enticement and started to follow her will.

Lily kept her excitement at bay and tried to inverse her first spiral flawlessly. At the same time, mentally, she imagined the center point of the spiral congregating toward her hand rather than her Core, as she usually did.

Lily felt her Mana begin to leak out; her Core was being spent, and she giggled excitedly. When her spiral was complete, she finally opened her eyes and looked at the solution. What was once a dull yellow was now a golden, almost silvery yellow.

"I did it!" Lily shouted triumphantly.

Giving the solution one final stir, she let go and then realized she needed to end two spirals now. The problem only gave her a slight pause when she realized that she simply needed to turn the focus point into an outward spiral and her Core back into an inward spiral.

She took a deep breath and began reversing the Mana flow. It definitely took some mental effort on her part, but it seemed well within reason.

About three-quarters of the second spiral was siphoned back when Camilla abruptly entered the room. The door swinging open with such force caused Lily to flinch. She found the connection to the second spiral broke off and immediately felt the loss of the Mana.

"What did you do that was worth shouting the dead awake?" Camilla asked, looking particularly grumpy.

Lily frowned, feeling upset that she had needlessly lost some of her Mana, but she could do nothing about it now. Instead, she shook her head softly before smiling and pointing toward the pot.

"I finished the magical hair dye!" Lily said excitedly.

"Really?" Camilla asked, as if in disbelief. "That's a lot sooner than I thought you would…"

Lily moved out of the way while Camilla took her spot to inspect the tiny pot. She first stirred it before taking a big whiff, almost dipping her nose into it.

"Well, I'll be damned, you actually did it…" Camilla murmured, stroking her chin.

"Soon, I won't need to use the ladle at all!" Lily said excitedly.

"Hold your horses, girl…" Camilla said, pointing sternly at the bouncing bunny girl. "While you've certainly imbued this simple recipe, you're a far cry from working on the real potions."

"Why?" Lily asked, tilting her head curiously.

"This was supposed to be blonde hair dye. You've turned it platinum blonde! Or golden? Electrum? I have no idea!" Camilla shook her head.

"Uh…" Lily mumbled. "Why did that happen?"

"Too much Mana!" Camilla scoffed. "You flooded this mixture. It's serviceable but has gone somewhat beyond the original color."

"Oh… I'm sorry…" Lily mumbled.

"I don't care about the hair dye. I'm sure someone will want their hair looking absolutely magical."

"Then why are you so upset?" Lily questioned.

Camilla snorted and pointed to the big pot. Lily followed her finger and was immediately concerned that she had taken longer than she expected. But to her relief, the timer still showed she had plenty of time before she needed to do the next step.

Lily opened her mouth, but Camilla interrupted. "How will you finish my potion if you empty your Mana into this side project?"

Lily was left gaping before she giggled. Camilla began frowning, so Lily stopped. She touched her chest and took a deep breath, quickly measuring the Mana still in her Core.

"I think I still have enough left in the tank!" Lily confirmed reassuringly.

"Oh …?" Camilla murmured as she glanced at Lily skeptically. "Been holding out on me, have you?"

Lily gulped. Camilla smirked.

Damn it… Me and my big mouth…