This pattern continued for the next three days, with Kahari slowly getting better at the various weapons brought with them, though given his headstart with hammers basic drills were skipped in favor of going straight to sparring. He was picking up spears fairly quickly as well, and had even managed to score a hit with it last night, though it had partially been lucky as Bedora’s footing shifted from an unexpected mud patch. Still, it was a valuable lesson about paying attention to terrain as much as one’s opponent. Kahari still mostly kept to himself, though he was starting to get more involved with the idle conversation than he had before. Right now Bedora was hunting, and Nissa was preparing the wards for tonight, giving Kahari time to dig a fire pit, and gather firewood for them to use.

He hummed quietly to himself while he worked, a quiet little song that Aiyoko often hummed while she worked, something to help keep his eyes on his goal. Once he was done he moved to set out his equipment and get ready for tonight's drills, but Nissa stopped him with a shake of her head.

“Bedora could be hunting for hours, we’ll focus on a magic crash course and some reading practice today. Give me a few minutes to finish the warding, and then we’ll start with the basics of magic, practical stuff not theory. You can read basic magical theory when you get your starter kit from the Association, if you don’t decline it that is.”

“Uh...alright, I’ll just...be sitting over here then.”

Kahari said as he put his equipment away again, before sitting in the grass under the branches of the oak tree they were camped under for today. They hadn’t run into any monsters yet, Bedora and Nissa’s best guess was that with the attack on the town, the population and power drop reduced spawn rates in the region for now, though spawn rates tended to fluctuate anyway. No one was sure why, but the world was what it was, and so far no one had gotten strong enough to change any part of its rules. Kahari watched Nissa silently casting the wards, which took slightly longer than speaking the spell but was slightly cheaper as the trade off. Once she was done she came over and sat down next to Kahari.

“Right, basics of magic. Uhhh, it took me a few days to decide where to start with this, but for the most part theory is only for researchers so we’ll focus on practical stuff.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Please don’t be so stiff, we may be teaching you now, but given time you’ll be a full party member, and thus our friend.”

“Y...alright.”

“Good! Now, magic. Magic is one of the gifts the gods gave this world that lets us bend reality, it permeates the air, the soil, the water, basically everything that isn’t an anti-magic zone. Mana is what we call magic that hasn’t been told to do something yet. Be it a spell, or a martial technique, they all use mana, just in different ways. Converting it from it’s idle state into the desired effect. All living things have mana, and with the right rituals, you can pull mana from anything. The plants, animals, and monsters around us as well as each other. Now you can’t currently see how much health or mana you have, neither can we, until the Association casts the right status spells on you, marking you as an adventurer. Eventually you’ll learn to track that information with no effort, but early on you’ll still be having to take a split second to glance and see what your numbers are looking like. You good so far?”

“I think so. If everyone has mana, is that why the Night Talons kidnap people?”

“Correct. Blood magic, which can be easily combined with other magic types, is a very powerful way to boost one's power. To be clear, no magic is good or evil, not even blood magic. There are blood mages out there that use only the power they get from killing enemies and monsters, or their own blood. This however limits them compared to what large scale sacrifices can provide. This rule applies even to Holy and Infernal magic, some of the greatest tyrants this world has seen have been Celestial races who have a racial bonus to Holy magic. In fact, the tyrant ruling Ouroboros is an Angel of Temperance, I think he’s a Throne by now, but the Celestial hierarchy is inexact so I’m not sure. As a counterpoint, the current leader of the Adventurers Association is a Demon of Lust, she’s about as high up in the demonic hierarchy as a Principality, and is well known as a staunch defender of the people. She’s the one paying for the Night Talon quest out of her own pocket.”

“Bu-”

“Yeah, everyone thinks Celestial good, Infernal bad, but it’s not the case. Now it is true Celestial’s tend to be good, while Infernals tend to be more evil, but it’s not a hard set rule, and most of them are just...people like the rest of us. Even the Monstrous races, the sapient ones, aren’t good or evil as a rule, though they do have certain tendencies depending on race. Vampires tend to like order, but are tyrants, Ogres are brutes where might makes right, Trolls generally hate anything to do with civilization, and so forth. Marge is an example of an Ogress using the might makes right mentality to do good. The other Ogre’s no longer raid your valley because none of the ones that could try to claim the territory are strong enough to challenge her, so she brought peace to where you live.”

“We’re getting off track.”

“Right, sorry, it’s just nice to talk to someone besides Bedora for once.”

“Heh, it’s fine Nissa, you two seem...close.”

“We are. We may bicker, but we’ve been there for each other her entire life. Was a good lesson in how to deal with the various non-Fae races too.”

“I’ve only ever met elves before now, you’re...much less serious than them.”

“Elves are the youngest of the Fae, you could say their the first Fae truly native to Niesteria, though some argue Redcaps and Satyrs count. They feel a burden as the first ones truly of this world, and their culture has pushed them to try and shoulder it all on their own. Older Fae races tend to be a little more carefree, this isn’t our first home, and it’s much….more peaceful than the world we left behind, so we took it as a chance to relax, and it became ingrained in our cultures.”

“We’re off track again.”

“You keep distracting me.”

“Do not.”

“Yes you do!”

“Magic. Basics.”

“Use that tone again and you’re eating jerky tonight.”

“Whatever.”

“Ahem...right, mana. All spells are a framework for converting mana into an actual effect. Magic itself is actually rather simple. It’s also because of the modular nature of making new spells that there’s literally thousands of variations of the classic fireball with different tweaks.”

“Modular?”

“I’m getting there. Basically, when it comes to magic, you get a technique you can level, that being the specific spell itself, higher levels make it slightly cheaper, and slightly more effective. True mastery of the spell is a twenty five percent change in both directions, but that usually takes years unless you focus on a very small number of spells. Next to this you have the branch of magic. Fire, Water, Ice, Gravity, Infernal, Beast, Insect, Nature, Light, so on and so forth. These skills level anytime you use a spell that has that element. I specialize in Nature magic, and Air magic as a Wizard, both of which I have racial bonuses to as a fairy.”

“How many branches are there?”

“Hundreds. Metal is different from Earth which is different from Magma. Many overlap, but all have their own unique twist, even you with Jack-of-all-Trades couldn’t master them all without an extended lifespan.”

“Must be hard to counter spells then.”

“Not entirely, but it depends on both parties.”

“Whadda mean?”

“Well, it’s easy to make new spells. You choose if it’s ranged or touch. Then you can choose how many targets, though most touch spells are limited to one target. Is it AOE? If so, what shape does the blast take? Is it a cone extending from you, an explosion where you point, and so on. You can buy the basic templates, and alter them as you see fit. Firebolt, Iceshard, Rockblast, Spark, Gust, Waterblast, and so forth are all examples of this. Basically only the element has changed. They have the same basic form, function, and damage, only altered by skill and technique levels, and some racial or job bonuses.”

“Doesn’t sound too different from making different swords.”

“It’s a bit different, but the idea is the same. If you have the same design, but swapped out different equivalent materials, it’d be the same effect.”

“What about more advanced spells?”

“More complex spells have secondary effects, up to two, and tertiary effects, up to three, which are mostly weaker versions of secondary effects. An example of this is my Minor Regeneration spell. It’s primary effect is healing it’s target over a period of time. It however has a secondary effect of removing permanent damage as well, wounds that would have scarred don’t, blinded eyes get restored, and so forth. Though the injuries still have to be recent.”

“So what about attacks?”

“They tend to have statuses. Fire spells can apply a suffocation effect, though in enclosed spaces this can happen anyway. Ice spells can partially freeze the target, temporarily damaging their dexterity. Air spells tend to have illusion effects, and aren't as good at blasting as say, Electricity.”

“And status spells?”

“They’re where this system becomes the most tricky. Two people may have a Vine Whip spell, but for one it attempts to poison the target on impact, where the other is trying to restrain them. Another may have a sleep effect, another confusion. This makes spell battles hard to predict, and why magic resistance is so important. It’s hard to prepare for every possibility, though some casters try to stack protections through their gear.”

“Sounds like it’s simple to learn, hard to master kind of thing.”

“Exactly. That said, most people don’t have the patience or money to invent new spells, so with Vine Whip, it’s usually the entangling variant. With Fireball it’s usually a pure explosion, and so forth. Even at high levels this holds true, the material cost for creating a new spell is higher than copying an existing one, so while there is tons of possible variation, it’s limited by practicality. Only true researchers tend to have completely unique spells.”

“So in general I can prepare for the most common variation?”

“Correct. Which is why today I’ve prepared this.”

Nissa reached into her bag and pulled out a small rolled up scroll and offered it to Kahari, and unrolled it. He could make out what all the lettering on the scroll was, but he didn’t understand what any of it meant. Nissa pulled out a small knife and handed it to Kahari.

“See the box in the lower right corner? Prick your finger, and put a fingerprint there and you’ll learn this spell. This was a cheap one to make, Silverwood paper with basic magic ink, so I deemed it good for letting you learn your first spell. This is the Wind Blade spell, the most basic Air equivalent of Firebolt, it’s only competition being Air Piercer, which is a lot like a crossbow bolt or arrow, if a little stronger if you're a good mage.”

“What’s the advantage?”

“Cutting damage types, even from magic, are what heavier armors are best with, but it’s a bit cheaper than Gust, and easier to aim.”

“So it’s a training spell?”

“Most of the bolt family are, even Gravity Lance, or Infernal Bolt count as training spells.”

“Alright.”

Kahari pricked his finger with the knife, and once a good size drop formed, he pressed it into the indicated box. The runes on the paper glowed white, before the whole thing burst into flames. It was gone in an instant, and didn’t burn Kahari, though he jumped at the flames.

“You will now have Air Magic 1 (Level 1), and Wind Blade 1 (Level 1) on your status sheet.”

“I can’t look at that by myself.”

“I know, that’ll come later when you’re all registered.”

“Alright. What now?”

“Get up, take about ten steps that way, and then aim at the tree by the road, and raise your hand before chanting ‘Power of Air, Wind Blade!’. Casting it without a chant is beyond you right now, and higher level spells have longer chants. When you no longer have mana, we’ll stop for the day, though you will have a light headache.”

“Why couldn’t I understand the words you chanted before?”

“Unless you have a high enough level in the type of magic, it sounds like gibberish till the spell name is spoken. Gods did that so that rival casters have to think on their feet instead of just knowing instantly what kind of spell the opponent is casting, or so they say.”

Kahari nodded and got to his feet, noting that the prick on his finger was already gone. Probably a side effect of learning the spell. He moved to where Nissa had indicated, and looked towards the road, at the maple tree growing close in. He raised his left hand, chanted as Nissa instructed.

“Power of Air, Wind Blade!”

He felt light headed for a split second as a curved blade made of air was sent spinning from just in front of his hand. The Wind Blade slammed into the tree, cutting and cracking bark, though it didn’t go very deep, it was deeper than a normal swing of a wood axe.

“Nice! Keep firing, fast as you can, till the spell fails. When it fails you’ll get a headache, then come sit back down over here.”

Kahari nodded, and kept chanting the spell, firing it off as many times as he could. Four, Five, Six more times before the spell circle failed. Like Nissa said, his head started throbbing, though it wasn’t the worst headache he’d ever had. He turned around and walked back over to sit down in his spot.

“Seven shots, not bad for a first time spell caster. You probably inherited a high magic from your parents, as nothing you were doing would have really increased the stat.”

“I’ll have to ask the Association what they did, what classes they were, the marks on their badges are too worn down to read.”

“The archives will have that, I can take you there after we get you registered. Gotta stop by and drop off some materials to my friend that works there anyway.”

“Alright. How long does it take for mana to come back?”

“Wisdom and Magic determine that. Magic increases the amount you have, which slowly increases rate to keep the same ratio of refilling after about twelve hours. Wisdom accelerates this further, reducing that time. It’s not till high levels that it restores at anything appreciable in combat though, so early on Magic is the more important stat for number of spells, though Wisdom also determines your basic magic resistance.”

“What increases stats?”

“Winning fights. Even if the opponent surrenders, if you win the fight you’ll get XP towards the attribute. How much and where depends on the level of a person or rank of a monster, and what kind of monster they are. The Orb Weavers common in this forest give Vitality and Dexterity boosts, with a small amount of luck. Well, exercises of the right type as well. A monster gives a little to every stat, but most only give anything that matters to two or three stats.”

“How do I increase my level?”

“That’s the million Crown question. No one is entirely sure. My first level up I got during an arena fight against a level two Monk. Bedora got hers when after she defeated a Possessed Boar back home, a F4 Rank monster. I’d killed some myself but they didn’t level me. Some think it has XP the same way stats and skills do, but where high level spells can show progress on those, no one has discovered how to do level XP. Most agree that it’s some sort of milestone, sometimes a personal revelation does it, sometimes overcoming a particular challenge, and so on. Considering people level without ever killing, this has the most support, but even Channelers can’t get an answer from the gods on this.”

“So basically it’s luck, and you just keep pushing till it happens.”

“You got it, you’ll know when you level, this little flash of light appears in your eyes, and your status screen pops up. At least, after you’ve registered, people without the Association benefits only ever find out when they get their status check.”

Kahari stared at the ground, silent, his head still throbbing lightly. He could hear footsteps, it sounded like Bedora was back. Kahari looked up, and she had a brace of rabbits hanging from her belt. Nissa moved to help her butcher them to get them ready for cooking. While they did that, Kahari got the fire lit, though it took him a few tries, he had time. He stood up, and walked down to the little creek they were camped near, and filled the pot with water. Carrying it back, he set it over the fire to start warming, before beginning to chop up the roots and vegetables that Nissa had gathered for the stew. Everyone pitched in around here, even with his training Kahari wasn’t exempt from this. Bedora turned her eyes to him, before giving a smile, and speaking.

“Get some rest tonight, your first hunt is tomorrow. We’re going to need Crowns when we reach the city, and a nest of Orb Weavers is blocking the road up ahead. None of them are stronger than F6 so it’ll be a synch for us, and a good test for you. Plus we can gather the silk, as a Soft F class material, it’s common in the area for low grade armor above mundane materials.”

“Soft?”

“Right, you’ve only worked with mundane materials. All monster drops used for crafting are divided into one of four categories, some occupy more than one, though most of those are higher grade. Soft materials can replace cloth or leather. Springy materials can be used in the place of various woods, and Hard materials are used in place of metals. Horns can be Springy and Hard, so you can work them in a forge like you would steel or a bowyer can make a bow from them. The last kind are Alchemic, which are used for potions, inks, materials like that. Orb Weavers can drop F5 Hard Orb Weaver Chitin, F5 Soft Orb Weaver Silk, or F4 Alchemic Orb Weaver Venom. For F class monsters, they have some of the most valuable drops till you hit the F3s, and their silk is guaranteed because they make their traps and nests from it.”

“So we’re selling the drops in the city?”

“You got it, as low grade materials, they’re used for Bronze and Silver adventurers, and the venom can be used for level 2 and 3 spells as the ink. Depending on what we get we can replace much of your equipment with Orb Weaver Chitin, and Orb Weaver Silk. Plus with your smithing skill at 2, you can work F5 materials, though you have a low success rate, so the Chitin will be good practice for you. If you succeed, you’ll have better equipment, or something we can sell for more than the material value. If you fail, you got SXP so it’s not a big deal.”

“Are all Adventurers like this?”

“Gathering materials to sell? Yes. While all monsters drop some grade of Essence Stones that can be sold to the Association, materials are generally worth more than the Essence of the monster that drops them. Still, Essence Stones are always in demand so you can always get some money that way, other materials fluctuate much more.”

“I meant the crafting thing.”

“Not really, most parties don’t have someone with a high enough crafting skill to be worth equipping themselves. Even if they have crafting skills, they can usually sell the stuff they can craft to get better gear instead. If you keep your smithing in line with your level, it’ll be a big boon anytime we can rent you a forge.”

“I do like working the forge, it’s...strange to not be there, even now.”

“I get it, just remember not to let the longing overwhelm you. We need your head in the game if we’re going to get your sisters back.”

“I know.”

Kahari said with a sigh, he went back to being silent as they started dumping meat into the pot. Nissa and Bedora talked between themselves about how many spiders they thought there’d be. Kahari ate his food silently, his head still hurting though the pain was fading. They were both a font of knowledge, Kahari would never expect a big warrior type like Bedora to know even half of what she told him. It was slightly odd but...appreciated.

I wonder if all this teaching is annoying them. I know I’m slowing them down, they aren’t even tired at sunset, they’re only stopping for my sake. Guess I’ll just have to keep working so I can actually help them, not just drag them down with me.

Kahari closed his eyes as he settled into his bedroll. As he drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts were of him and his sisters playing while they were little. A tear came to his eye, but there was a smile on his face.