“Hyperthermia,” Dante pronounced and immediately felt the shift in heat above his palm. It has been over a week since his meeting with Karl and he had been rather busy. In the end, he wasn’t quite ready to accept Karl’s heartfelt gratitude, so the wristwatch had been hidden behind a loose brick somewhere in the warehouse. At the moment, Dante was sprawled on the roof, occasionally glancing at the moon while practising his magic. On his left lay the book, Dante’s tutor in magic, clearly telling the boy that his progress was abnormal.

What the book called ‘the 5 basic spells’ should have taken him months of practice. And yet, all he had to do was figure out the evocation that fit him. He was still debating whether to consult Arianne or whether to hide his strange talent. Just like with the dreams, he was hesitating whether to trust her with something that might paint a target on his back for reasons he couldn’t quite yet understand.

“Clairvoyance,” Dante added and the heat was no longer only perceived by his skin. He could clearly see the disturbance in the air caused by the first spell, presenting itself as crimson wisps of smoke, reflected in his eyes. Then with a slight nudge, the wisps moved, rising and falling before they carefully wrapped around his wrist. Although the heat the spell produced was great, enough to ignite paper at least, Dante had been training his control whenever he had a chance and the progress showed. At least with those two spells. His skin was just slowly heated rather than scalded.

“Brand,” he turned to the book and touched it with his other hand. When his head turned back towards the heat spell, he could still feel exactly where the book was. He hadn’t gone out since learning the spell, so there was no telling how far away he had to be for the spell to fizzle out, however, the accuracy definitely decreased as he got further away, something he still had to practice hard.

“Auscultate,” he eventually added. He had the least practice with that particular spell because he needed a dictionary just to figure out the evocation. Suddenly the sound of insects became much clearer while each also became more distinct. Easier to tell apart. He could vaguely feel how much of the sound was coming from each direction while his own breath became annoyingly audible, the latter something Dante would need to get used to. Like that Dante practised the four spells, observing his control over the ‘heat’ while he tried to feel his ‘mark’ and ignore the deafening sound of his own heart.

His perception of time became vague as he focused on his practice. A tacit understanding had been reached that Dante would be allowed to ‘sneak out’ on the roof after the afternoon’s usual training, mostly consisting of getting bullied by the ‘truth ward’. Every night he would spend a bit longer practising, quickly realising that he didn’t need nearly as much sleep as he had been getting. That night Dante would likely only sleep for about 5 hours, testing whether he would finally show signs of sleep deprivation or whether his body was strange enough to withstand the continuous lack of sleep. The pale sphere cruised across the dotted black heavens until Dante eventually sighed. He wasn’t sure how long had passed during his focused state but it must have been hours, yet he didn’t immediately remove his spells.

“Cease,” instead he pronounced the last of the so-called ‘5 basic spells’. The augmented sight vanished in a blink, Dante felt the spell get literally torn apart. The same happened to his hearing and the ‘heat’ stretching from his palm. As for the brand, the spell was not immediately destroyed, instead, it had been disrupted and collapsed two seconds later ceased to be. Dante was honestly impressed by what he had seen of the ‘dispel’. Perhaps it was only more efficient for his own spells but the speed with which they vanished when in the direct path was significantly faster than what the book had described. And Dante was looking forward to the future of the spell which, with sufficient mastery, supposedly could temporarily disable powerful wards or even halt some natural phenomena.

Satisfied, Dante stood up and turned towards the roof exit, freezing again immediately. There, in the exit doorway, stood a silhouette in an ornamental dress. Although Dante could not properly see its facial features in the arch's shadow, there was only one person who would wear such clothes in the warehouse.

“Oh, I didn’t notice you,” Dante said awkwardly. He should have heard her approach with his enchanted hearing, in fact, even her breath and heartbeat should’ve been audible enough to snap him out, “How long have you been watching?” Dante couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s very impressive to see someone maintain evocations for hours,” Arianne stepped out of the entrance, revealing a smirk underneath the moonlight.

“I…,” Dante hesitated with a slight gulp. She obviously saw his magic earlier. The progress he couldn’t really understand, much less explain.

“You don’t have to keep such simple things from me, Dante,” she shook her head with a sigh, still maintaining a slight smile, “I believe that you don’t understand what is happening, so instead of hiding the anomalies, help me help you explain what they mean,” as she talked, she walked over to Dante and sat down next to him.

“It’s just too strange,” Dante sat down again too, sighing in surrender, “According to the book, it should take much longer to properly cast these spells for the first time. Yet all it takes for me is the correct word. It basically defies the basics as far as I understand.”

“Yes, I have thought about it ever since you suffered from mana starvation after casting for the very first time,” Arianne nodded and ignored Dante’s surprised glance, “It was just too strange, especially after learning that you had plentiful mana in you. Anything within that book just wouldn’t be able to drain you that way. So, I dug up some old books and stumbled upon something rather interesting: A researcher, who coincidentally shares your name, had found that an apprentice who had suffered, among other things, from amnesia after a serious head trauma could still use the spells he had forgotten as long as he used the same keyword.”

“Really?!” Dante almost yelped as he took in what that implied, “What else did it mention?”

“It was only a short off-handed reference in another publication,” Arianne shook her head, “Getting your hands on magic research can be rather difficult, especially for someone like me who avoids contact with the mage families. Damien’s organisation has many sources, however, its purpose is not academical. Apparently the research was conducted by Dante Angello if you somehow stumble onto some of his publications you might learn more. The last I heard, the man is known for researching various edge cases of magic.”

“Still, this means a lot,” Dante didn’t let that get him down, “I don’t have to spend as much time learning but instead discovering new spells,” his eyes sparkled.

“Not quite,” Arianne shook her head, “Your control and efficiency have obviously regressed compared to whoever you may have been. Although what I had just seen you perform is impressive for someone who had been learning for such a short while, it is nowhere near even skilful. Activate your sight, I will show you.”

“Clairvoyance,” Dante pronounced with a nod focusing on Arianne.

“Heat,” she said, likely evoking the same spell Dante had used during his training. However, the difference was worlds apart. What expanded from her palm was a veritable inferno. In Dante enhanced sight he could see wisps so crimson they neared black and burned with power that made his eyes water. Yet despite the obvious might hidden within, the heat was restrained, perfectly controlled. Sitting not even a meter away from a raging volcano of power, Dante didn’t even feel warm. Perhaps giving Dante time to adjust, Arianne waited for a couple of seconds before her manipulation started. The wisps converged into beasts and creatures, both real and mythical. And then they either jumped off or flew away from the palm. Dragons and gulls dispersed into the night while tigers and unicorns scattered all around the roof. And all of that was casually directed by Arianne who seemed to be barely paying attention.

“Amazing,” Dante gasped. One of the gulls circled around him and then landed on Dante’s palm when he offered it. In his sight, the animated bird clearly possessed enough energy to seriously burn him. Yet Dante felt as though what stood on his palm was not hot whatsoever, “How do you achieve something like this?” he asked, stunned by the performance.

“Decades of rigorous practice as well as talent,” she said as she beckoned, all of the creatures rapidly returning to her palm and disappearing, “You seem to have the latter. I will be looking forward to seeing whether you can supply the former,” she then laughed, the sound strangely honest and unrestrained. As though she allowed herself an uncharacteristic moment of vulnerability in front of Dante, "Your sparkling eyes remind me of Shin when I first showed that spell to his 'sight'."

"Shin can use magic?" gasped Dante. He had never seen Shin use or even suggest he could cast spells.

"Of course. He might not show it but his ability is good. Even great if we exclude the standards of the Mage houses," Arianne smiled and looked up towards the moon, "Thinking about it, tonight is really similar to the night I took Shin under my tutelage. I remember he told me a myth from his parents' homeland. Of the Great Salamander Jorg, the giant jealous of the moon's beauty. A creature that would every month swallow and then spit out the moon, an old story trying to explain the lunar cycle. But ever since that day I had been wondering: Just how would it feel to be powerful enough to swallow the moon whole?

“Would you teach me too?” Dante didn't comment on her memories, instead, after a short pause, he leapt at the opportunity. He always knew that Arianne was far superior when it came to magic. However, what he had just witnessed put them into perspective. And he understood that she would be the best teacher he could possibly hope for.

Arianne laughed heartily again at Dante’s question after a moment, a wide smile spread on her lips: “I thought you would never ask.”