Chapter 69 - Magic Words

After the lesson, Lily wasted no time asking Arakil what he thought of it and if there was any risk to the unfamiliar chants. Much to her relief, he noted that there were no issues with it and that she could follow along and participate in Instructor Richardus' teachings without any worry.

"Why were the chants so different?" Lily asked curiously.

[The simple answer is that there are multiple magical languages. When I was a young lad, history books told us that dragons gifted humans with the first magical words of power. The thrill of discovering these ancient languages was unlike anything else.]

"Really? Dragons ?" Lily gasped. "Rose really is lucky."

[Yes, dragons and some of the chants were indeed draconic. However, later on, I discovered this was not true, and the first gifted words were actually demonic in origin. Celestial chants were given out to restore balance, and only then did dragons step in and seize the credit for themselves. The revelation was a moment of wonder for me.]

"Woah, what's the difference?" Lily asked curiously.

[In the grand scheme of things? Nothing.]

"That's a terrible answer!" Lily whined.

[ However , understanding the origins and nuances of these languages can provide insight into the evolution of magic and the different schools of thought that have shaped our knowledge of it.]

"Okay," Lily said with a nod. "But then, why did you say there was no difference? Are these nuances not important, or does that not matter?"

[Most magical languages eventually find their own corresponding words of power. Early draconic magic was heavily emphasized on fire, demonic dealt with manipulation and dark arts, while celestial dealt with healing and banishment.]

Lily nodded along, finding the explanation fascinating.

[However, demonic eventually also gained access to flames and then even branched off into hellfire, something draconic had never even dreamed of. Then, draconic found its own version of hellfire, and so on. There are subtle nuances between the magical words, but they all eventually reach an equilibrium in the end, and an individual's talent and efforts play a more prominent role.]

"It sounds like a never-ending game of tag," Lily mused. "So, what magical language was the instructor teaching us?"

[I would've guessed initially it would be Draconic or perhaps Primordial. But, to my surprise, it was Elvish.]

"Elvish ?" Lily asked.

[Yes, Ancient Elvish, to be pedantic. It was the language of High Elves, although it was eventually dropped for a simplified version that didn't sound quite so snobbish.]

"Elves aren't real," Lily said. "Those are fairy tales."

[Says the Lagia, which most assuredly did not exist in my time. But I digress; perhaps they are simply not in this world. Or there is a possibility they've gone extinct. They were a race that relied heavily on ambient Mana, so I can't see the present situation going well for them.]

"That's kind of sad."

[Time marches on. But back to our original topic, I have no disagreement with you learning some of their chants. Just remember that you wanted to pretend to be partially incapable of doing it. I advise you to perform the chant perfectly, but starve the spell of the required Mana; a simple task since you can pull back on your Mana Core.]

"I guess I'll start practicing that tonight," Lily agreed. "But I really need to get going, or Miss Camilla will have my head!"

***

After returning home, eating, and cleaning, Lily was finally ready to attempt the chant. Arakil had made it sound simple, but she was still nervous, as she wanted to put on a believable performance.

Much to her relief, Arakil effortlessly rewrote all the chants the teacher had performed so that Lily could practice reciting. After some time spent practicing the enunciations, she was finally ready to cast the spell.

With a large mug ready, she would start with the water spell, which they had most practiced in class and which she felt safest attempting.

I'm going to cast it correctly first, just to prove it to myself, and then I'll work on my performance!

After pulling on her Mana Core, Lily took a deep breath and recited the chant. With each word, she felt the Mana being drawn upon, and when she finished, the water spell manifested and started filling the mug.

"I did it!" Lily said excitedly.

She took a hesitant sip of the magically conjured water and found it refreshingly clean.

I can see why the instructor said this would be a useful spell. I wouldn't mind drinking this every day.

Lily drained the mug and then worked on trying to starve the spell. At first, she tried taking away Mana during the chant, but none of it was getting the desired result that she was hoping for; she wanted a spell that still looked successful but greatly diminished.

This tale has been pilfered from NovelBin. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Arakil was right in that she could immediately pull back on her Mana Core by reversing the spiral, but if she did it at the wrong time, the spell would just fail entirely. But after a few repeated attempts, Lily seemed to have found a sweet spot between the last word of the chant and the spell finalizing its manifestation.

The result was a minimal amount of water produced—not even enough to fill a small glass, and Lily would need to cast it repeatedly if she wished to fill it up.

"I think this looks pretty good," Lily commented. "It strikes a good balance. If I withheld Mana from the start, it wouldn't manifest at all, which would make what I was doing obvious. But this way, it looks like I do have sufficient Mana, but something is going wrong."

Lily excitedly explained the results to Arakil. He praised her quick solution and confirmed that nothing was majorly wrong with her chant worth pointing out. She was delighted with that last part, as otherwise, people would say she was screwing up the enunciations intentionally or otherwise.

Lily practiced a few more times and eventually stopped when she felt slightly bloated from all the water she was drinking. Then, all that was left for the day was her routine of pouring Mana into the book's cover. But, when she checked her reserves, she found that they were almost entirely spent.

"Sorry, I don't have much Mana left tonight," Lily apologized. "Between Camilla and this evening's practice, I'm pretty drained. I wish I could regenerate my Mana faster without needing extra food."

[We are very close to fully saturating the cover; by my estimation, we should be done within a week or two. As for your Mana woes, there is a way, and I believe we should start working on it. You've shown tremendous growth and control, so we might as well press on.]

"More work?" Lily asked with a slight hesitation. "I've already got a lot on my plate… Should we not wait until I've completed something else? Or I've got a bit more free time? I'm happy to learn new things, but honestly, I'm a little stretched thin."

[Well, you are in luck then, as this can be achieved parallel to all your other practices except when you are actively casting spells. And with enough effort, you can even practice it while you sleep!]

"Umm…" Lily mumbled nervously. "I don't really want to give up sleeping. I've been having rather pleasant dreams lately and enjoy my sleep."

[You misunderstand me. You won't be giving up your sleep, or anything else for that matter. I wish for you to learn how to passively accumulate and cycle Mana by keeping your Mana Core in a state of perpetual rotation.]

"Oh!" Lily excitedly responded. "Then that's entirely different! I thought you wanted me to meditate in my sleep or something."

[You are definitely not at the stage where you can forgo sleep. In fact, I'd argue that you need every bit of sleep you can get, as you are a growing girl. But, once you master this, you will be able to rejuvenate your Mana at an elevated pace—something uniquely doable thanks to the Mana Core!]

"Others can't do this?" Lily questioned, feeling even more excited.

[Considering the state of the world? No. Other than you and myself, there is no draw on the ambient Mana that I've felt at all. Even when in a classroom full of prospective mages.]

"But the Mana is so scarce; will it really help? It feels like when I'm refining my Core, it's hardly growing at all."

[There's a big difference between nurturing your Mana Core and replenishing it. Likewise, this won't instantly fill your Core to the brim, as it merely supplements your natural regeneration.]

"Okay! Tell me what I need to do," Lily agreed.

[Well—]

A lengthy conversation went on between the two, with Arakil laying the groundwork for Lily's next step in her training. It could be summarized as Arakil wanting Lily to keep her Mana Core in a constant state of gathering, even if it was only a tiny spin.

While Lily thought it was a relatively simple task, she directly saw the issue when she tried it even once. As soon as her mind wandered to another activity, the Core would stop, and when she eventually looked at it again, it was dormant.

[You need to get your subconscious to handle it, and unfortunately, this is not something you will learn overnight. Eventually, it will be as normal as breathing.]

Lily asked for tips or advice and went through some meditation exercises, which seemed to be a recurring favorite of Arakil's—although they were from the opposite end of the problem. Arakil asked her to meditate while cycling her Mana and then try to split her focus on another mental task, such as reciting a chant or doing some calculations.

After seeing not even an inch of progress from her perspective, Lily was feeling rather frustrated.

"If I don't care too much about the extra regeneration, could I ignore this for later?"

[You could, although I'd recommend against it; even a few minutes of practice, when you get the chance, is sufficient. Not to mention that would delay another activity I wanted you to learn passively, one that I think you'd most enjoy.]

"Something I'd enjoy?" Lily repeated in question.

[I want you to practice keeping up your Nebula Veil for extended periods of time. You'd mentioned falling asleep wrapped up in it before; ideally, I'd have you be able to maintain that for a full day if required!]

Lily had to admit she liked the sound of having her Nebula Veil active at all times. Not only did she adore the look of it, but she felt very secure when it was surrounding her. Although, if she was parading it around like a fancy cloak, it would undoubtedly draw a lot of attention.

"Is that so it can protect me when I'm caught by surprise?" Lily questioned.

[That is one reason. The other is to further your mastery over it. I mentioned I want you to be able to summon it at a moment's notice, and this is one way to reach that goal. Eventually, should you wish, the spell could even be one of your signature spells.]

Lily nodded in agreement, ears flopping excitedly, but she still had one question, "Signature spells?"

[It's a bit of a colloquialism in the magical community. It's a label given to a spell that you've pushed and refined to the utmost extremes. So much so that it surpasses its original limits and, in some cases, evolves its purpose.]

"Woah! Do you have an example?" Lily excitedly requested.

[I once knew a mage who mastered the fireball spell to such an extent that it could even travel through icy water unimpeded. Furthermore, they only cost a fraction of the original Mana cost, and he could even cause them to pause mid-flight. He was so obsessed with the spell that he refused to use any other spells.]

"I bet Rose would love that," Lily giggled. "I'd definitely pick my Nebula Veil as my favorite spell of the bunch. Although that might change depending on what I learn later."

[A defensive spell is an optimal first choice, and it's not like you can't have more than one signature spell. Although I'd discourage attempting to split your focus on too many spells simultaneously. Regardless, returning to our previous topic, I hope you can understand why passively regenerating more Mana to sustain your spell permanently would be a boon.]

"I'm definitely sold," Lily agreed. "I'll keep trying until I can sleep all night in my comfy star cloak!"