After hearing Master’s insistence, Aria couldn’t help but feel somewhat relieved. If Master said so, as a magic knight role model herself, that must mean it was true. In the end Aria just needed to work towards it, and that she would do.

“Please train me, Master!”

“Mhm,” Master nodded before continuing. “As you become a magic knight, you will also find your own unique strength or style as well.”

“Once you master this unique strength and style, you will have become a true magic knight!”

“I’ll do my best!” exclaimed Aria.

“Alright, we’ve talked long enough. Let’s get started, the sooner the better. We’ll start with magic for the most part of today then touch on swordsmanship before we finish."

Aria nodded in anticipation. Her first step towards her goal! Master clapped her hands to signal the start of training.

“First things first, [Appraisal].”

The moment Master casted the spell, Aria felt a shiver run up her spine. What washed over her was an odd feeling, an unpleasant one, one that made her feel vulnerable and exposed. It was as if she could feel someone watching her at every angle and couldn’t escape it, though it lasted for only a brief moment.

“Hmm, it’s as I thought. There are some interesting things, but other than that all is as expected.”

“Master what was that?”

“That was basically an advanced version of your [Status] skill, one that you can use on others. Don’t worry about it for now, Aria. I simply have a better idea on how to go about training you now.”

Aria nodded before Master continued.

"So at this point you understand the feel of manipulating your matom to create magical phenomenons thanks to the book right? In that case, I'd like you to cast me a new 'type' of magic instead. Hmm.. manipulate the earth, the ground beneath us, to build a wall that separates you and I."

Aria blinked. She was ready to jump right into whatever Master asked for whether it be a new spell, a stronger version of [Water Sphere], two [Water Sphere]s, three [Water Sphere]s even… but she didn’t expect to be asked to cast a different ‘type’ of magic. She could easily ‘create’ a wall of some sort with her matom, or so she thought, but using the ground itself to make the wall was… different.

Aria knelt and pressed her hand to the ground, hoping to sense anything that could give her a lead. She glared at the ground as she felt her matom course through her, but was unable to do anything. There was a disconnect between her matom and the ground, and she didn’t know what to do.

When casting a spell like [Water Sphere], she just ‘felt’ her matom and controlled it. Her matom was a part of her so it was simply a sixth sense or an extension of her body. But the ground, the ground itself wasn’t something she could simply control or ‘feel’ like an extension of her body. It was entirely separate from her with no bridge to connect them.

“Can’t do it?” asked Master.

Aria reluctantly shook her head. Her brows furrowed as she continued to struggle with the Indirect Magic.

“Don’t worry, I suspected as much. The better one is at Direct Magic, the harder it is for them to grasp Indirect Magic,” said Master. “Incidentally, my strong suit is Indirect Magic but my Direct Magic isn’t anything to scoff at either.”

She knelt down and touched her hand to the ground. Immediately, the ground rumbled as a wall of earth grew rapidly from the ground, separating the two.

“This is Indirect Magic. The difference between the two types is subtle but significant. You can know all about the two types, but until you ‘feel’ the difference and understand it within your soul, you won’t make much progress with using it. So in the meantime, we’ll focus on Direct Magic.”

Aria frowned as she watched the wall created by Master crumble and return to the ground. Ideally she would have liked to be good at both Indirect Magic and Direct Magic, this would give her more options and more power to aid her to overcome any situation, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. She would just have to make do with Direct Magic for now.

“I’ll actually just go ahead and teach you how to train, that way you won’t need me to practice. The secret to training Direct Magic is to simply practice. Your Direct Magic is like a muscle, and you need to use it to get stronger with it,” said Master. She created an earthen pillar before continuing to speak. “To be more specific, you have to go through the process of creating the image of the spell, and then willing it to existence through your matom. You have to train your control over your matom and hone your mind. Have a go, conjure a [Water Sphere] but turn it into a projectile and launch it at the pillar. Of course, it doesn’t have to just be water, but you can use anything you want to try and damage the pillar. We’ll save the dummies for the sword.”

The remaining dummy seemed to shiver fearfully in the corner of Aria’s vision. She simply dismissed it as her imagination. Getting back on track, Aria casted [Status] in her mind again.

STATUS

Subject Name - Aria

Race - Half-Human

Age - 7

Condition - Healthy

Unique - N/A

Skills (* = New) - [Guide], [Pocket Dimension], [Status], [Infinity’s Eyes] (restricted), [Creation]

Passives (* = New) - [Sharpened Senses], [Weak Regeneration], [Pain Reduction], [M. LIMITER]

*Sub-Skills - [Guide]: [Spell List]

The first time Aria had casted [Water Sphere] she got notified by [Guide] about the spell being added to [Guide]’s sub-skill, [Spell List].

Hmm.. [Spell List]

After Aria casted [Spell List], words immediately inserted themselves into her mind. They were spells she ‘learned’. Currently there was only [Water Sphere], [Heat], and [Aura Manipulation].

Aura Manipulation? What’s that..? Ngh, I’ll save it for later.

“[Spell List: Water Sphere],” said Aria.

Instantly, a decently sized sphere of water was created above her palm like before. To turn it into a projectile... Aria raised her hand as the [Water Sphere] followed and remained hovering near her palm. Then, as if throwing a ball, she swung her arm down throwing the [Water Sphere] towards the pillar. It flew and collided with a splash. All it did was make the pillar wet. She looked up towards Master for further instructions.

“Mmm, well at least it hit the pillar. That’s good. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to give 0 points,” said Master, eliciting a surprised ‘eh?’ from Aria.

“With your skills, it looks like spells you learn can be saved and remain available to cast without any effort. Merely a chant of the spell’s name lets you activate it with no image necessary. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to ban you from using this trick. It won’t help you in honing your Direct Magic skills. Understood?”

“Yes Master,” replied Aria.

Well. On the bright side, it was more fun to cast the spells the normal way rather than using [Spell List] to automate the process for her. Plus, she didn’t need to actually chant with Direct Magic. The book only recommended it because it made the process easier through having a complete picture of what was wanted. The name, a picture to help imagine it, and the caster’s will or intent for lack of better terms. That was the formula the book had used. In reality, all Aria needed was her mind’s imagery and her intent.

Aria raised her hand and aimed it at the pillar. Something that could cause damage… thoughts of Leo and Wendel’s fight against the Xilisk flashed through her mind. That was it. Wendel’s magic, or more specifically: [Water Pierce]. They were a mass of water as well, but shaped like a needle. Aria closed her eyes, having found a new spell to try.

“[Water Pierce],” said Aria.

Similarly to the [Water Sphere], matom coursed through her body and flowed to her hand where it rose to join the mass of water that began to take the shape of a needle. Moments later, Aria held a large needle made of water over her hand. It was not quite the same as what Wendel had created before, but she went forth with it.

“[Water Pierce], not bad. Definitely more effective than a plain [Water Sphere].”

Following a motion similar to the last attempt, she swung her arm, launching the needle towards the pillar. Perhaps due to her intent of using the needle of water as a weapon, it flew much faster than the [Water Sphere] she just threw. However, it simply crashed on the pillar with a stronger splash.

“Well, that’s better. Remember, with Direct Magic, the main thing you want to improve is your control of your spells. From the image you have in mind, its intended effects, and its actual formation, you want to hone all of these to perfection to produce the exact results you want. Cast another. Deliberate repetition with the intent to improve each time will be of extreme importance in your training.”

Aria nodded, taking in the advice Master gave and engraving it into her mind. She held her hand up...

Image, intent, and formation… image, intent..

…and whipped her hand down to launch the projectile at the pillar. To simply say it flew would have been an understatement. It pierced through the air and struck its target with a boom as parts of the pillar were blasted away by the impact. The pillar crumbled as the damage done caused what support it had left to give away. A simple mound covering the base of the pillar was all that was left as the dust clouds settled.

“Well done, that was much better,” said Master while nodding approvingly.

Aria smiled in response as she opened and closed her fist, remembering how it had felt to control that spell.

“Though, I feel that the damage was done less by the formation of the spell itself and more the sheer force you gave it, but I digress,” muttered Master before speaking up again. “Alright, let’s move on to swordsmanship now that you have a better understanding on how to train yourself on Direct Magic…”

Master began giving her pointers on how to move efficiently, how to handle a bladed weapon, and her style of wielding the sword that effectively balanced both offense and defense.

Before she knew it, the sun had risen high and ambient ruckus had grown louder with the city’s awakening.

“Let’s call it here, Aria.” said Master. She gave a light stretch before gesturing towards the exit. “Let’s go. I have some duties to fulfill as a Guildmaster and you must be fatigued. I presume that you have enough matom left to be fine, but people who begin actively casting magic, Direct or Indirect, feel drained at first until they become accustomed to the usage of matom.”

A-Ah… she saw through me.

Aria had kept up a tough act to hide her fatigue, but Master wasn’t fooled in the slightest.

“Why don't you rest in my room again when we get back?”

Aria simply nodded in resignation and, while holding on to a small hope that her body will quickly get used to casting magic, she walked with Master until they returned to the guild.

Along the way however, they had not noticed a girl's sharp green eyes watching them intently from a decorated carriage used by nobility.