Lima Bean was rudely pulled from her sleep by a large hand yanking her away from Bo. She complained about losing her soft and small pillow until she realized it was the fox. Then she complained harder.

'Shut it, mouse,' the fox snapped. 'We're going to be busy today.'

She curiously stared up at him. The fox never used her for anything besides teaching Bo, who was currently asleep. In one terrifying moment, she feared he might force her to create lesson plans. Not that she knew what they were, but they sounded terrible.

'I'm gonna start teaching you magic,' he said, climbing up the entrance to the surface.

'Magic? But...why?'

'Why? So you won't be a drain on resources!'

'I-I teach Bo!'

The fox snorted. 'Are you protesting using magic? The greatest tool in the universe?'

'Well, no...But there used to be a mouse mage when I was a pup and he was a bit...odd.'

'Aye. We mages are a bit odd; it comes with learning the arcane arts. It, uh, warps our minds a little, you could say.'

Lima Bean twisted in his firm grace, a horrified expression on her face. 'Then why would I become one?'

'Like I told you: to stop being a drain on resources. You don't think I couldn't teach Bo myself?'

'Then why don't you?'

'I'm lazy,' he admitted. 'Training that darned leveret is draining what little energy my old body has left! He needs something better...So I chose you. And since you're already halfway there, I might as well teach you some things that you can pass on to Bo.'

Then his voice turned low and gravelly as he stared up at the sky. 'Besides, he's gonna need some extra protection when the Time comes...'

'Eh? Just how old are you, fox?'

He gave her a rough shake, returning to his old self. 'Old enough to not be given any lip from rowdy youngsters. Now, I'm going to talk and you're gonna listen, do you understand ?'

'Yes, sir,' Lima Bean grumbled.

'Show me your stats, mouse.'

Lima Bean complied:

Character Sheet

Stats

Strength: 41 | Constitution: 47

Endurance: 46 | Dexterity: 53

Intelligence: 867 | Wisdom: 814

Perception: 54 | Luck: 463

Health: 470/470 | HP Regen: 46/min

Stamina: 410/410 | SP Regen: 46/Min

Mana: 8,670/8760 | MP Regen: 8,140

Abilities

The fox recoiled. 'How come a level 30 Leaper Mouse has such high Intelligence and Wisdom?'

'I got the stat boosts from when you tried to force your will on me.' Lima Bean was passed that point now, but a tinge of bitterness leaked out into her voice.

The fox was unperturbed, however, and just nodded her head. 'It's good. Real good. However, your Perception needs to be higher. It'll help you sense mana better. But we'll get to that later. For now, look inside yourself and try to feel your mana.'

Nodding, the young mouse closed her eyes and concentrated. After five minutes of absolutely nothing, she sighed loudly. 'Nothing's happening. Why can't I just use my [Mana Sense] spell? Wouldn't it work just like my other spells?'

The fox rapped his staff against her forehead. 'Fool! Those spells are instinctual! How do you think you could use such spells at a young age? Real magic must come from practice!'

Lima Bean huffed: 'What about [Torpedo]?'

'What is that? I've never heard of such a spell.'

Smugly, Lima Bean faced a small rock she could see in what remained of her vision. She focused the spell into the most impressive display she could and the rock shattered.

'Hmm. It seems to be a wind version of [Mana Bolt]. Interesting...well, it seems you at least have some amount of competence. Now, let's start with sensing your mana gain...'