Skill Learned! 【 Arcana 】 PREREQUISITES Mid-Tier Spell Comprehension (【 Human Adaptability】, 《 Relic 》) ☑ 10 Spells Learned ☑ 1 Spell Mastery ☑ 1 Skill Mastery ☑ Elemental Shaping Skill Lv.5 ☑ Attuned ☑ English Vocabulary of 5000 ☑

Magic is the art of shaping and interacting with the world around you, using energy known as mana and your own willpower, both given form by the Arcane Tongue. Your grasp of the Arcane Tongue and experience with magic grants you greater insight into spells, boosting your spell comprehension even further.

You are now able to study and even attempt modifying Mastered spells or skills without using the System interface.

You can now summon your own unique Grimoire, which details your Mastered spells as well as any you create or modify.

You can now use Chants to empower existing spells or skills.

You are now capable of consciously perceiving and controlling the flow of mana in your own body.

Your connections to your innate magical elements have deepened.

Kira pressed her lips together and sent an S.O.S to Ailsa about the new, unexpected skill gain after learning all the cantrips her classmates chose. That list of prerequisites had her extremely concerned about its potential implications regarding rarity or value, and she needed to know if it was yet another thing she needed to conceal from her peers.

Once everyone learned their cantrips, their group headed to the closest training zone and claimed a room all to themselves. In the center of the large empty chamber, they formed a loose half-circle in front of Kira and stared at her expectantly.

Their gazes made her nervous.

Kira glanced at Brigit, who nodded encouragingly, before taking a deep breath to steel herself.

"Okay. Um. First of all, Command: MP."

The training zone floor briefly glowed blue, outlining a strange magic pattern. The air felt just a bit cooler, more refreshing, and Kira inhaled sharply in surprise.

It felt like being back in the Gate again!

'Did the Gate have an MP array built in, like the training zone? Or is this from something else?' Kira wondered to herself, but left those thoughts behind for later consideration. Everyone was waiting for her to play Teacher, she couldn't get distracted! She cleared her throat and squared her shoulders before speaking again. "So, we'll start with Jump. Chen?"

The Demi-Orc nodded, moving away from the group to cast the spell. "【 Jump 】!" His large body bounded forward in a beautiful arc covering several meters worth of distance, landing gracefully at the other side with very little visible impact. He looked down at his feet and burst out laughing, glancing back at the class with sparkling eyes. "That was amazing! Drains all my mana for one cast though, guess I'm pretty heavy huh? Hahaha!"

【 Jump 】 Lv.1 / 20 ELEMENT BASE COST REAGENT Kinetic 2 MP per 10kg of caster weight None

Coat feet in mana then jump, increasing height and length of the jump. Maximum distance and height both determined by mana used when casting.

Physically jumping while casting the spell add additional height or distance to the jump based on the Caster‘s STR and DEX stats respectively.

Landing spot is determined by the combined vectors of the spell and the physical jump. Half the mana is used for the jump, and half is used for a safe landing.

After Chen was done, Kira cleared her throat and displayed the spell description for 【 Jump 】, dragging the corners to enlarge it. "Uh... Similar to 【 Throw Rock 】, it says you jump after coating your feet in mana, right? But the next line says physically jumping increases height and distance, uh... So it's referring in the first line I think to the act of jumping forced by the casting of the spell? But if you physically jump while casting the spell, it enhances your action instead of forcing one."

"Forced?" Simon asked, tilting his head. "What do you mean forced?"

"Um... You know. How it feels kinda... Automated. When you just cast a spell? Right?"

Simon looked baffled, and he wasn't the only one. Everyone exchanged confused glances, while Kira scratched her head trying to find a way to explain herself. "Does anyone remember the first time you used a spell or skill?" she asked, glancing around.

"Hmmm... I dunno, it was so long ago..."

"I was just a kid, so..."

"I was pretty little."

"Nuh uh."

"Don't remember."

"No."

Even the snooty twins shook their heads.

Kira nodded, a thoughtful expression on her face as she picked her words carefully to avoid incriminating herself with too much information. "I remember mine. I learned the spell, and... You know how you learn something through the System and it's like information just flows into you? Thoughts, impressions, instructions, melting into you?" She waited for everyone's nod of confirmation proving that wasn't a unique experience, before continuing with a tinge of relief on her face. "When I cast a spell for the very first time, my body just... Moved. It reacted according to what needed to be done to make the spell work, because I had the right amount of mana, and the right reagent on hand, otherwise the spell would have fizzled. I had a rock, and I threw the rock while coating it with mana. And I remember it so well because of how weird it was.

"I didn't know how to manipulate my mana, or sense it, or anything. But I could still use a spell thanks to the System. Gramps, my uh, teacher? Taught me to focus on the reagent when I wanted to cast a spell to increase its power, with the mana flow increasing based on my level of concentration, since I couldn't just perceive mana and control how much I wanted to use with any precision. I could only impose my will via the System, he said.

"So, uh. Chen. When you cast 【 Jump 】, you just spoke the word to cast right?"

"Yeah. It's how I use my skills, too."

"Is your mana back?"

"Yup, all full! This MP array thing is great! I don't have access to it with my Bronze Scholarship..." Chen laughed, scratching the back of his neck. "Not that I usually need it much, to be fair. But it's still nice."

"Um, let's see... We need to mark a spot on the floor. We're gonna have you 【 Jump 】 again like before, twice, and mark the distance each time. Then we'll have you try physically jumping while casting the spell, instead of casting while standing still. See how it feels different, and the difference in distance."

"Okay." Chen nodded, marking a spot some distance away with some athletic chalk from his inventory. Both of his next 【 Jump 】 casts were identical down to the angle of their arcs and the distance covered: a more than decent 15 feet covered each time. Just to illustrate the difference, Chen did one standing broad jump for comparison, and only crossed 9 feet.

For the third attempt he crouched low to the ground, tensing the thick muscles in his powerful legs, arms swung back like he intended to attempt another standing broad jump. He kicked off the ground while springing forward, snarling "【 Jump 】!" simultaneously.

THUMP!

He landed gracelessly 20 feet away from the starting point, staggering as his feet impacted the ground and falling forward onto his face. The Demi-Orc lay there with a stunned expression, before staggering to his feet and looking incredulously back at the marks he so easily surpassed. "Whoa..."

Kira grinned. "Felt different?"

"Really different! Casting it alone was springing me forward in one big bounce, but jumping first it felt... Effortless? No, I still had to jump... Natural? No, how did it..."

Chen sank into silence as he tried to sort out his feelings, but Kira nodded like it was something to be expected. Words were tricky, after all. Using a spell through the System was like autopilot, it followed a strict route and didn't allow for deviation or unexpected changes. Using a spell while consciously using your body as a conduit was still using the System, but providing guidance for errors or minor alterations.

'What would magic without any help from the System at all be like,' Kira wondered silently, thinking back on the Arcana skill she just gained.

Simon, Brigit, and Asim all did the same 【 Jump 】 test as Chen while Kira was busy sinking into her own thoughts, Ribbon watching them nervously on the sideline. Two regular 【 Jump 】 casts, then one while they physically performed the leap themselves. Brigit landed with surprising grace, but Simon had to pirouette to avoid falling over a prone Asim, who lay face down to hide his embarrassed expression.

"Wow, that really felt like a whoosh instead of a fwing, huh?" Simon laughed, pantomiming the different kind of feelings with his hands.

Meri gave him a withering glare. "What are you even talking about, Elderwood?"

"Like, normal casting was all fwing and rigid but then the jumping 【 Jump 】 was fwoosh!"

Mint stomped her foot. "That doesn't even make sense!"

"You guys didn't get 【 Jump 】 so it's hard to explain," Chen said with a shrug. "Kira's right, it feels different."

Hearing her name snapped Kira back to reality, and she glanced over at the twins.

Gramps once told her how everyone had an elemental affinity. That didn't mean it was ingrained into their body, to the point where a water elemental person would evaporate in hot weather or take extra damage from fire spells. It meant they had a mysterious tie to an element, that made it easier for them to comprehend magic or concepts related to it, and made it more difficult to learn or master other elements.

Some affinities were stronger than others, some people had multiple affinities, and some had none at all. As a side effect of having affinity, people tended to take on certain personality traits shaped by the elements they had ties to. Gramps said she had a strong earth affinity, with fire scorching the edges. Fire was the source of her temper, feeding on her earth-based stubbornness into a very unfortunate behavioral trait - petty spitefulness.

It was something she had to actively work to combat. Her instinct was to flip them off and leave, maybe with a few choice parting words, but...

Kira already decided she would help them out too since doing so helped the class as a whole, yet every time she saw their faces she just felt a great reluctance to open her mouth. Her desire to lay down and nap just got stronger and stronger.

She exhaled a heavy sigh and rubbed the back of her neck. It was so tough being nice! Ignoring them, and the rest of the class, would be so much easier. 'But I already made up my mind to not be as lazy as before,' she thought with a wince. 'I can't always take the easy way out... Right? Ugh...'

"Lemme... Lemme see your highest level spells," she muttered, avoiding eye contact while shuffling over to the twins.

The way they clicked their tongues before obliging a request that was for their own sakes really made Kira want to kick them both in the shins and run.

【 Gather Water】 Lv.8 / 20 ELEMENT BASE COST REAGENT Water 1 MP per second None RANGE 30 Feet

While casting the spell, caster chooses a spot in line of sight. Water within range will be drawn towards the marked spot as long as the spell is maintained.

【 Whirlpool Shield】 Lv.3 / 10 ELEMENT BASE COST REAGENT Water 5 MP + 1 MP per second 1 or more liters of water RANGE 10 Feet

Use existing water to create a spinning barrier. Capable of blocking projectiles and melee weapon strikes through careful manipulation of the water.

Kira let out a soft whistle. Those were some good spells! She pointed to the spell windows, then used voice commands to set up some stationary targets and provide a few bottles of water. "Show me how you use them."

Mint rolled her eyes, but she and Meri both grabbed two bottles of water each and poured them on the ground a short distance away.

"【 Gather Water 】," Meri said, holding out her palm. Water lifted from the puddles and rivulets on the ground, swirling in the air around a centralized point of glowing mana.

"【 Whirlpool Shield 】," Mint said, holding out her hands to either side. Water gathered by Meri's spell twisted around, reaching snake-like tendrils toward Mint's slender figure and wrapping her in a domed bubble of spinning water that looped continuously between the 【 Gather Water 】 point and the whirling shield.

Despite having copious amounts of water the shield dome looked almost patchy, leaving large open gaps in its structure - to its credit, the water was also constantly in motion while the spell was in effect, so those gaps were distorting and changing position at a rapid pace. To test it, Kira lobbed a rock from her inventory at the shield, and the poor thing bounced right off as water moved to block the projectile.

A few moments later, all the water splashed to the floor as the twins ran out of mana. Kira frowned at the wet stone floor, tapping her finger against her chin.

Several ideas ran through her mind, but without actually casting the spells herself, she couldn't be sure it would work. The idea of recommending something that didn't work out, and having the twins ridicule her over it, made Kira's skin break out in goosebumps.

"What, you can't just tell us how we've been doing everything wrong all this time?" Mint sneered after the silence dragged on for more than a minute. "Go on, enlighten us unfortunate plebeians with your mighty magic wisdom!"

Kira scowled before walking away. She really had no clue why the twins had such a huge bone to pick with her, but she wasn't going to deal with their attitudes if they weren't going to at least pretend to be civil.

And to think she was making so much effort to be nice!

"Hey! Come on, didn't you want to tell us how to do our Class!" Mint snapped, rushing forward to grab Kira's arm.

Kira flinched, wrenching her arm out of the other girl's grasp. "Don't touch me!"

"Then don't walk away! You said you'd help, so go on! How can we improve then?" Mint gesticulated wildly, her voice reaching an almost hysteric level as words rapidly spilled forth in a jumbling tumble. She snarled, completely oblivious to Meri tugging on her hand, trying to pull her away from Kira. "How can we use these stupid simple spells any better than we already do? What can you, a little 1-F Geomancer, tell us about how to be better water mages?"

Brigit and Ribbon both hurried over upon hearing Kira shout, interrupting everyone's spell practice across the training zone. The Drakke glared at Mint and Meri, moving to stand between them and Kira before anything escalated further, while the short little Kobold did her best to do the same. "What's going on?"

"Mint is-"

"Mint is what, Meri? What am I doing? Is anything I said actually wrong? We're weak because our spells are weak, there's nothing we can do about it! No stupid 1-F Geomancer kid is going to help rejects like us get strong enough to-!"

Meri clapped her hand over Mint's mouth, silencing her twin in the midst of her tirade while contributing a sharp shout of her own. "Enough, Minthe!"

Silence fell over the training zone as everyone turned to look at the twins, before exchanging glances among themselves. No one else felt like they knew each other well enough to get involved in the spat, but just watching while half the class argued felt awkward and uncomfortable too.

Kira gently ruffled the soft fur between Ribbon's ears to show her appreciation for the Kobold's help, then glanced over at the twins. "Earlier... I was thinking. It took awhile, because I'm not a water element. But... Your shield is inefficient. Why is it a dome?"

"It's a shield barrier," Meri quickly answered before Mint had another chance to open her mouth.

"Mhm. But the spell doesn't say it has to be a dome. It doesn't have to stay in the same place, either. And with 【 Gather Water 】 I was wondering... Could you use it to divert other water mage's magic? Steal their water for your spells or shield or what have you? ...Is what I was thinking before you started yelling at me."

Meri glared at Mint, who had the grace to look embarrassed for her impulsive tantrum.

But Kira just waved her hands and turned away, walking toward the exit. "I'm done for today, though. I'm tired of trying to help then getting treated like garbage."

Brigit exchanged glances with Ribbon, then both of them hurried to follow the girl out, the Kobold bouncing along on all fours to keep up with the Drakke's lengthy strides.

Chen looked around at the rest of the class, then sighed. "Alright, guess that's it for now."

Dani looked at the twins, let out a heavy sigh, then shuffled out while shaking her head in disappointment. Simon and Asim were close behind, talking excitedly about different ways to try using 【 Jump 】. From the sound of it, they were going to wreak havoc across the entire campus for the rest of the evening.

After a few short moments, only Chen and the twins were left in the training zone. The Demi-Orc looked over at Mint and Meri, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "Ladies."

Mint clicked her tongue and looked away when even Meri gave her a withering stare. "Everyone keeps pandering to the stupid Geomancer, it's really-"

"She's genuinely trying to help us and we're grateful," Chen said, emphasizing his words carefully.

"Oh, how nice of some privileged brat to stoop low enough to bestow us peasants with her bounteous grace," Mint snapped, stamping her feet. "How did a Geomancer get a Gold Scholarship? And a spell comprehension passive? Gold quality Scan? Bossing around higher leveled classmates! Who the hell does that brat think she is?! It's not fair!"

"Life's never fair," Chen sighed. "But her background doesn't matter right now. What matters is, she's our classmate and she's helping us. Brigit has a Gold Scholarship too, you know, and you aren't nearly as toxic to her."

"Brigit's a Squire! At least her Class has viable potential!"

"It's not such a stretch to think a Drakke Squire earned a Gold Scholarship," Meri said softly, finally interjecting into the conversation.

"I'm telling you, whether she earned it or not is none of our business. Her background doesn't matter, so knock it off! You're making the entire class uncomfortable with your tantrums, and picking on someone who's trying to help, even if she's coming from a position of privilege, doesn't make you a hero! Because of your outburst, we all lost the opportunity to practice a bit more and have her point out some tricks with our spells. She might not even want to help anymore, all because you can't keep your mouths shut and act civilized! We need to look out for each other, not tear each other down! The other classes will do enough of that in the Trials!"

Chen's voice rose with each sentence, until the twins felt cowed by the booming power of his voice. Mint opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again after Meri vehemently shook her head. "We're sorry," Meri said, reaching out to squeeze her twin's hand.

The Demi-Orc snorted, scratching behind one floppy ear. "You said sorry earlier too, and still went off on her again! We don't know anything about Kira, or even Brigit, other than they're trying to be helpful and apparently have enough potential for someone important to recognize. Acting like she's some rich scion swaggering around throwing money at our feet while treating us like dogs is completely uncalled for. Yeah she had money, but she used it to buy everyone a bunch of spells! They aren't even charging interest for the loan! Just stop antagonizing her, alright? You don't have to like her, even I'm not sure if I actually like her as a person or not, but at least stop picking on her. It's not like your only options are friend or foe, you know."

Neither Mint nor Meri could bring themselves to answer after Chen finished his impromptu lecture. He sighed and shook his head, then left the training zone as well.

The twins stared silently at the exit for awhile. Finally, they both turned to the bottles of water still sitting on the floor behind them.

"Doesn't have to be a dome?" Meri muttered.

Mint bit her lip, then nodded. "Alright."