Chapter 5 – An Ocean of Potential

Over the course of the next three years, we maintained a steady routine of magic, and body, training. I’d be 4 years old in 6 months, Ciel just turned 10, and Elena, who wasn’t actually asleep the night I discovered lightning magic, will be 8 in a few months.

Apparently, Elena had thought something was strange about me, especially after Ciel started learning magic, and chantless too nonetheless.

The only wrinkle in the sheets was that I was moved into one of the other bedrooms with Thurr and Ulrich.

It was Talia and Rukh in one room, Ciel and Elena in another, and Thurr, Ulrich, and I in the last one. Due to being in separate rooms now, I couldn’t easily teach the two of them my method for magic.

Speaking of magic, I couldn’t even make a dent in mine with just a fireball anymore. I wound up having to cast the intermediate spell Lightning Clad> to exercise my mana pool.

“It’s time for lunch guys! Cal, Elena, Ciel, come and eat!”

“Okay,” we said in unison.

Today’s lunch was a Yegni root soup with rabbit meat and bread. The soup tasted like ginger and I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t a normal rabbit, but solid food tastes so good compared to milk all the time.

“Alright kids since you’re all a bit older, I’ll be starting your basic education after lunch today. Who knows how to read?”

I hesitated, but I raised my hand along with Elena and Ciel. I mean, it’s not too farfetched that a 4 year old knows how to read… right?

“Then I’ll start you guys off on arithmetic and magic while I teach these guys how to read and write in the human language.”

Finishing lunch, we broke up into our groups and got to work. Rukh, Thurr, Ulrich, and Talia began working on memorizing the alphabet and then Chey came our direction. She decided to teach us all magic together, so she wound up using this worlds currency to teach us mathematics.

In order from lowest value, to highest, this continent uses: Stone, Iron, Copper, Silver, Blue Mithril, and Gold all in coin form. Stone coins were the equivalent of the American penny, or 1 cent, and everything following was worth ten times as much as the next. So, 1 Gold coin was worth 10 Blue Mithril coins, and 1 Blue Mithril coin was worth 10 Silver coins, and so on. She made us do some mock purchases using apples, then let us work out some basic problems until the other group finished with their work.

“Great, now that you guys are all done with that, meet me outside after break. It’s time for some magic!”

“Cal?”

“Yes, Chey?”

“Where’d you leave my ‘Introduction to Magic’ book?”

“I put it back on the shelf in your room.”

Recently, I’ve been carrying the book around and reading it, even though I’ve already learned everything that it has to offer, to see if I can gleam something that we may have overlooked. That, and it gives a realistic reason as to why I can read and write already.

We all gathered in the field out behind the building and stood beside one another as instructed. Chey knows that Ciel can use some magic, but she still has no idea that Elena and I can as well.

“I don’t know how much magic you guys know, or if you were properly taught what you do know, so I will be starting from the basics.”

She started by casting Water Ball>, the classless water spell with no rotation, size, or temperature modifications. After having everyone memorize the incantation, she instructed us to all cast the spell as best as we can, and to aim for the targets in front of us, starting with Thurr, the oldest.

[I, who understands the source of power, seek the essence of water] Water Ball>

A ball of water, about the size of a softball, unsteadily formed in front of his hand. After a few seconds, his face started turning red as the setting sun and his Water Ball unceremoniously fell to the ground with a ‘plop’, and soaked the ground beneath him.

“Good, you got it on your first try! How does your body feel?”

“Yeah, a bit tired, but that was easy!”

“I’m glad you think so, Thurr. Rest up and you’ll try again after we get through everyone.”

“Can I keep trying until you get around to me again?”

“No, you’ll run the risk of mana exhaustion and possibly faint. Okay Talia, you’re up.”

Talia did about as well as Thurr, manifesting the magic after completing the chant, and having it drop from the air.

Then, it was Ciel’s turn. As soon as Chey called him up, he cast Water Bullet>, the complete version of Water Ball>. The difference between the two is that Water Bullet> has one end tapered off to allow for better aerodynamics as it’s meant to be shot at a target; whereas, Water Ball> is just meant to create water.

The four projectiles orbited his body until he directed them towards one of the straw targets about 10 feet away. They flew through the air and impacted the straw doll, sending spray and straw flying. The target that was just set up for this class, was still intact, but a lot worse for wear after the beating it just took.

“Wow! When did you learn Multi-Casting?”

“A little more than a year ago, Chey.”

“You’re only ten, and you seem to have mastered some of the Advanced level concepts. Most people don’t even start learning magic until they’re ten, and you’re already at this level. You must be some kind of genius.”

“If you think I’m a genius, you should see Cal.”

“Cal… knows magic already?”

“Yeah, he taught me almost everything I know.”

“Ciel!”

“She was going to find out anyways Cal.”

Elena went up next. She has a bit more talent with magic than Ciel, and her aggregate mana far surpasses his as well, so she cast 8 Water Bullets> and they were spinning so fast that they were almost pointed. They whipped through the air faster than a professional baseball pitch and tore the straw dummy to pieces. After everything settled, only a broken post and several lengths of straw were left. This was all, of course, chantless.

After Ulrich barely managed to manifest Water Ball>, but the spell dissolved instantly after being completed. He was almost talentless. Rukh, on the other hand, had far more trouble. She could collect the mana, but it seems she was having trouble manifesting the spell.

“Alright Cal, it’s your turn, but I want you to cast the most powerful magic that you know.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, blow me away.”

“Let’s try and not do that. Could you have everyone stand back against the house?”

“You guys heard Cal.”

“Tch, what can the squirt do that we couldn’t?”

“Listen Ulrich, if you want to get fried, then just be stubborn and stand there.”

“Stop bickering you two. Now, go stand under the awning.”

Now that everyone was a good distance away from the targets, I had to choose between two of the more destructive spells that I’ve developed.

“I can’t use my most destructive spell, otherwise I’d cause too much collateral damage to the forest around us. Is my second most powerful alright?”

“Use your best judgment, Cal.”

I raised my hand towards the straw dummies, and gathered mana, but not in my hand. This time, I gathered mana in a single point in the center of the straw dummies. I created two hollow spheres of ice and spun the counter to each other whilst generating a small orb of heat in the center. Lightning Drop>

I completed every step in an instant, and in the next moment, a bright flash of light blinded everyone. The shockwave blew the tables and chairs away, and shattered the windows behind us. From start to finish it took me just a second to cast after I’d raised my arm. The result was a massive crater 15 feet across and 3 feet deep with no evidence of any straw dummies ever existing in the first place.

Lightning Drop> works by instantly creating a thundercloud and forcibly crushing it, cause an implosion one instant, and in the next an explosion of lightning at center of where I cast it. The original size is about the same as a beach ball, but it costs a lot of mana to make it any smaller as it requires you to be able to delicately handle mana. I’ve been practicing the fine control of mana, but it’s difficult.

“When did... Cal. When did you learn… lightning magic? That’s a Master level spell, and with your invocation time and chantless, the power might even reach Peerless,” Chey said with her mouth hanging agape.

“I think I was around 6 months old when I became conscious of how magic worked? I can remember that I cast something when I was born, but the spell was already partially complete because of my mother. I just took the spell and modified it to suit my needs.”

“You can remember things from when you were born?”

“Yeah, I even remember the first time you sang your lullaby to me with magic infused in it.”

“Hahahahaha! I knew it, you could understand me back then! You were always making sounds like you were answering me.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t figure out how to use my tongue back then, so I just made sounds and hoped that you understood me.”

Thurr had fainted, and the other kids we’re just now getting over the initial shock. Elena’s expression hadn’t changed, but Ciel was excitedly jumping around.

“Cal! Holy shit, you showed me lightning magic, but never like that before! That was amazing.”

Ulrich had fallen to his knees and Talia was just standing there with her eyes as wide as dinner plates. Their original bravado, shattered.

“What other spells have you been working on?” Chey asked, cocking her head to the side quizzically.

“Well, I don’t know what they are officially called, or if they even exist, but I can cast large scale spells from every element. I can make thunderstorms, tornados, lightning, explosions, ravines, a field of earth spikes, you name it. Now, I’ve only done them on a small scale, because I didn’t know if it was okay to show you, but I can tell you that it’s definitely easier to cast them larger, rather than smaller.”

I raised my hands towards everyone and cast a fire spell that was near and dear to my heart. Blue flames wrapped themselves around Chey and the other kids. I told them to just relax. It was the spell my mother used on me before she was killed.

“This is Phoenix Down>?” Chey asked, dumbstruck a second time.

“Is that what it’s called? It’s a Master ranked compound spell that heals the mind and body.”

“The old man wasn’t lying… that spell is a secret technique from the Rennant house that governs the continent.”

“The fire isn’t burning me…?

“Yes, Rukh. It’s a high class healing magic that recovers your mana and mends your body. It can even bring someone back from the brink of death. You should have noticed that the ringing in your ears has stopped.”

“Do you know how to do it, Chey?”

“No, I don’t dear. The only person in the world that can use it right now is Cal, and even if you could understand how to cast the spell, it takes a lot of mana to cast.”

“If you guys will follow me to the lake, I’ll show you my most powerful skill. I need to test my limits for once”

“Sure,” Chey replied, nodding her head energetically.

I cast Phoenix Down> to help everyone recover from the minor damage they took from Lightning Drop>, so that we could all make our way down to the lake. It was about half a mile downhill, so we reached the shore of the lake in about 10 minutes at walking pace.

“I’m going to cast my fire magic now, so don’t stand behind anything that can tip over, and don’t stand behind any trees because they’ll probably be uprooted.”

“What magic is it, Cal?”

“I don’t know Chey, so you’ll have to let me know afterwards. I can cast this one in an instant as well, so pay close attention.”

With that said, I gathered mana into my palm and instantly compressed the blue flame into a high intensity, violently rotating, ball of white flame. Then I pulled the trigger and shot it towards the center of the lake. It exploded out towards the center, creating a shockwave akin to the main battery on a battleship. It parted the surface of the water in its path. In the moment that it touched the surface of the water, the world around us stopped. Before our eyes could register what had happened, the world was dyed white and the series of shockwaves threatened to tear the surrounding forest asunder.

When our vision returned, we saw a monolithic pillar of smoke, violet fire, and water, rising from the center of the great lake, drawing its contents towards the cap of the mushroom cloud. The smoke rose high into the atmosphere and the darkened sky was only illuminated by the iridescent fire reaching for the heavens.

“Then you can combo another spell off of this if you want.”

With my still raised hand, I concentrated mana into the mushroom cloud and inverted the layers of cold and hot air, creating a current that would generate a terrifying amount of electricity. Lightning Barrage>

Columns of electricity erupted outwards from the center of the plume across its entire length.

After 20 or so seconds, the countless bolts of lightning stopped falling on the lake’s surface and utter silence swallowed the forest once again. Having used up too much mana, I sat down and smiled.

“How is your body feeling, Cal?” Chey asked after collecting herself.

“I’m almost completely empty, but I should be fine in about an hour. What was the first spell I used supposed to be called?”

“That’s good. I’ve never heard of a spell like it before, so I don’t know. Wait, did you say an hour?”

“Yeah, it’s a technique I developed with Ciel called Mana Breathing. I’ll teach you after I recover.”

“O-okay…”

I know how she feels. I experienced that a lot in my previous life as a teacher. I know it feels crummy right now, to have a much younger student surpass you, but it’ll become a sense of pride for you as teacher later on.

Just then, from where I was sitting, I heard a thud. Then I heard another. Then I started hearing several. It was raining live, slightly steamed, fish. It looks like they were drawn up the stem of the plume along with the surrounding water and air.

I shot a glance over at Chey, and she just looks down and shakes her head with her face in her palm. We ate fish for the next week. I also decided to name the magic Tsar Cannon>.

Fish is great.

I'm sorry this one took so long. i wasn't expecting a chapter of this size, nor was I expecting to work as many hours as I did at my regular job. Thank you for for your patience.

Cheers! Thank you for reading!