To learn something outside chore magic, one had to either enrol in a magic academy or buy very expensive books.
Young man, do your best! Count Lark's voice was full of enthusiasm.
Ricker had done that exercise countless times, but always alone. This time he was surrounded by commoners, clearly hoping to watch him fail and get the chance to ridicule him.
Even worst, count Lark was putting a lot of pressure on him. In Ricker eyes this wasn't a simple test, but a matter of life and death.
Feeling countless eyes on him, he lost his concentration while performing the hand signs and stuttered the magic word.
I-Infiro!
He produced a chestnut big fireball, that almost missed the lettuce. Yet with a small boom the head of lettuce got knocked off.
No one applauded except for count Lark.
More than one "That's it?" could be heard among the crowd.
Nana walked slowly to the vegetable, bringing it back for the Count to examine.
He messed a few key hand signs, stuttered the magic word, and missed the lettuce entirely. It only got knocked off because of the explosion. Nana remarked coldly.
I would not keep my hopes up, Lark. When I was his age, I was able to actually hit my target without performing signs nor using magic words. They admitted me only because of my perfect silent magic. Nana's grey eyes were staring at Ricker in contempt.
Well, he is still young, that's why I brought him to you. He has another full year to prepare for the exam. There is still time to fix the small mistakes. I was hoping you could mentor him.
I would be glad to, I really would. But between the villagers and my disciple, I already have my hands full. I'm too old to take care of two youths, and my apprentice takes precedence. As you know, a magician's word is her bond.
You have an apprentice? Count Lark was shocked no one had informed him about such critical matter.
Yes. She nodded, smiling in Ricker face.
He learned to read and write and the age of three, and by that time he had already learned chore magic all by himself.
Marvelous! Count Lark excitement was a slap in Ricker's face.
Yeah, he is also my disciple. Selia stepped forward, adding fuel to the fire. She and Nana politely detested each other, but between her and a stuck-up obnoxious brat, she would always choose the devil she knew.
He hunts in the Trawn woods from the age of four. Even if he can only hunt blinkers and critters, he would never miss a moving target, let alone some deadweight lettuce.
She then whispered to the count's ear: "He is actually the you-know-who that provided the you-know-what."
Fantastic! Excellent! When can I meet him? His monocle jumped out of his eye orbit from the happiness.
Ricker was on the verge of exploding out of anger.
"Can't he see they are just leading him by the nose? How can someone with such a high social status like the Count trust even one word from these commoners?
Lying and cheating is in their nature. They are just trash, trying to stoop us at their level to make themselves feel better about their pathetic lives! If that old bat is a magician, then I am the crowned prince.
Why do I have to bear with all her nonsense? And how come even a gut-stinking hunter can freely speak to a Count? This evening could not turn any worse. How the heck I managed to let my father convince me to come to this pigsty?"
Here he is! Bromann shouted triumphantly, forcefully dragging Lith by his arm.
He had no idea what was happening. Lith was with his family, nibbling at a caramelized apple, when Bromann appeared out of the blue, babbling about the village honour or something.
Too many eyes were on him, Lith's intuition told him that something was wrong, so he decided to play it close to the vest.
Count Lark, I'm honoured to meet you. It didn't take a genius to understand that the overdressed beanpole with the monocle had to be the lord of the land.
Lith greeted him cupping his fist, performing a deep bow. He then proceeded greeting the village chief, Nana and Selia, making his bow deep according to the respect they deserved.
Lastly, he turned towards the ill looking kid standing next to the Count. He had to be around ten years old, 1.4 metres (4'8") high. He was wearing a silk white shirt over high-end leather pants. His face was all red and sweaty, like he had either run for his life or been bitten by a venomous snake.
The situation made no sense to Lith, but since no one seemed worried about the kid's health, Lith did what he was supposed to.
Greetings, honourable guest. I hope you enjoy your visit in our village. Lith cupped his fist again, making only a small bow. He had no idea who that kid was, and Ricker could not find the strength to introduce by himself.
The Count seemed to have completely forgot about his existence.
Oh, oh, oh! Nana laughed. "See, Lark? Manners. That's something so many youngsters lack nowadays."
Lith kept looking around, waiting for someone to explain what was happening.
Can I be of assistance? He asked.
Ricker once again needed all his willpower to prevent himself from throwing a fit of rage.
This is their prodigy? A toothless bum? I should ask the Count to whip them all to death for their blatant lies! Simply outrageous!
Yes, Lith. Selia stepped in again. "Count Lark loves magic in all its kinds and forms, and I was just telling him about how you kill blinkers without ruining even a feather. Would you mind to show him?"
She took out a wooden stick, holding it up for the Count and everyone else to see.
Lith sighed with relief.
All this fuss for chore magic? They almost gave me a heart attack. If it's just to entertain some bored nobles, why not? If the village thrives, so will my family.
Brezza! After twirling twice his middle and medium finger, a small vortex enveloped the stick. Outwardly it was just like the ones every housewife used daily to clean their houses, but looking at it closely one could notice that it was actually two different vortexes, one spinning clockwise and the other counter clockwise.
This way the spell applied a huge strain to the stick in the point where the two vortexes connected, causing it to break almost instantly.
Lith had invented it after Selia had started bothering him too much about how he killed the blinkers. He could not show her spirit magic, so he came up with this trick.
Ricker wanted to rebut saying that Lith was standing barely a meter (1.1 yards) away from the stick, but even he knew how hard it was to use two different spells at the same time. He also knew that such an objection would be met by the old bat requesting him to do the same. And he had no idea how to.
Nana waved her hand, and a villager put another head of lettuce on the stump.
Lith, be a dear and knock that out, please.
Lith was getting more and more confused. The Count now had stars in his eyes, looking at him like some mythical beast had descended from the heavens, while the noble kid was as pale as a ghost.
What the heck is going on here? Why the Count is so engrossed by cheap magic? And why no one cares about that poor kid? Whatever he has is getting worse.
Lith shrugged before flickering his middle finger while saying: "Jorun!"
An ice dart hit the lettuce dead center, making it roll a few meters away.
Without using hand signs! The count gasped, his voice so faint that Lith could not hear him.
One last thing, dear Lith. If you manage to indulge this poor old lady, I will treat you and all your family for free until you start your apprenticeship. Are you willing to humour me one last time?
Lith had no need to think before accepting. Despite his best efforts, Tista still needed constant care. From time to time they had still to seek for Nana's help and it wasn't cheap.
Nana smiled, full of confidence enough for the both of them.
Bromann, toss one of those as high as you can.
Bromann threw a head of lettuce with a lob shot, sending i
t about three meters (10") high. When it reached its peak, Nana made a simple gesture, cutting the air horizontally with her extended hand and fingers, conjuring ten ice darts.
Five struck its left side, five the right side. When the head of lettuce started falling, Nana cut the air again, this time vertically, splitting it evenly in four parts.
Then she simply opened her palm toward the sky, conjuring four small vortexes that brought down the four pieces slowly.
"Damn! Not only Nana's mana flow is still superior to mine, but her skill level is above and beyond my expectations. I could probably achieve the same result, but I'd need both hands and something more than just a casual wave of the hand.
Now I understand why everyone in the village holds her in such high regard. She is likely to be the reason why the village of Lutia is so peaceful. If she can do so much with simple chore magic, I can't imagine what she can do with a real spell. Lith thought."
Now is your turn. Bromann!
Another head of lettuce, another lob shot.
Lith knew it wasn't a contest, he wasn't supposed to perform as good as Nana.
Until Lith could get a clear picture of how much talent was considered good, how much to be considered a genius level and how much for the "burn that monster" label, he had to play it safe.
When the shot reached his peak, Lith made hands signs with both hands shouting "Jorun!", conjuring four ice darts, two per side. When the lettuce started to fall, he used "Brezza" to cut it unevenly in half, using it again to summon two vortexes to bring the pieces down. Once again, they were rotating in opposite directions, the phenomenon highlighted by the slowly spinning lettuce.
In for a penny in for a pound. They already know I can do it, if I have to entertain the Count, might as well do it with a little swag.
The crowd exploded into an applause, soon joined by and ecstatic Count Lark that still could not believe his own eyes.
Nana sent Lith away to his parents, reassuring him that she would keep her side of the bargain, before speaking again to Ricker Trahan.
And that, young man, is what real talent for magic look like!
Ricker could not hear her, thought. Back when Nana had showed her skill, he had fainted standing up.
His mind could not accept that all the certainties he had grew up with, had proven to be nothing more than convenient lies.
Chapter 25: Ambush
After the end of the spring festival, nothing major happened, and Lith's life returned to his usual routine.
Solus proved to be of invaluable help for his magical training. Despite having lost all her past knowledge and being quite naïve in the ways of life, she was by far the brighter of the two.
Solus was not limited to the humans' five senses, but actually had twelve. Solus was certain that by regaining her powers she would be able to awaken even more.
Solus' sense of mana helped Lith to better understand the laws of magic that determined the innate talent and the mana capacity.
Her mana sense was similar to Lith's Life vision, but much more profound and accurate. Solus could see the mana flowing even from blades of grass or pebbles. When looking at someone, she was immediately able to grasp their magic talent.
Even more important, she was able to use her mana sense even on Lith's memories. According to Solus, all the information needed for the mana sense were also contained in the visible spectrum, but the humans lacked the means to interpret them.
"When you were on Earth, you had no mana core. Your native world had basically no mana at all. The same thing happened on the alien spaceship.
But when you were born here, you started with a very little blood red mana core. By absorbing and processing the world energy with your breathing technique, you managed to develop it from red to orange."
Four years of unrelenting practice just to promote it to the next rank? Lith was quite depressed by the news.
Not quite. Your mana core also keeps changing and developing as you grow up, and this happens to everyone else too. At the moment of your birth, Tista's mana core was already field poppy red, and turned brighter every year. Right now it's light orange, and it would not surprise me if after her final growth spurt it turned yellow, or even green. She seems to be fairly talented for magic.
And that where does it leave me? Lith kept feeling worse about himself. "Am I really a complete failure in everything? Looks, talent, can't I do one thing right?"
Stop moping around and listen to me. You keep forgetting that you are two years younger and I have no idea if males and females develop their mana cores at different rates. Also your constantly skipping steps makes hard for me to understand what your base talent is. After every cycle of expansion and compression, your mana core would turn one shade brighter. Every time you expel impurities from your mana core, it skips to the next level. Right now is deep green.
Is it me, or this mana core strength seems to be somehow related to the light spectrum? Lith pondered. "A prism can break down white light in its basic components: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple."
Agreed. Solus mind nodded. "But it could also somehow be related to fire. Flames follow the same principle, a yellow star is colder than green one and so on. Our real question is: Is the final step for a mana core to turn purple or white?"
Lith shook his head.
I'm starting to get a head splitting headache. We'll face this like I did for college back on Earth, one exam session at a time. Even back there, if I started to think about all the exams that I had to pass to get my degree, only to start right back for my master, I would go into a deep depression. The memory made him shudder.
So let's focus on the present. I'm deep green, what about Nana?
She is the only person with a light cyan mana core. To be born with such talent, she is really impressive.
Is there anyone else talented in the village? Lith had to be aware of the possible competition.
No. The ill kid count Lark brought along had a bright yellow mana core, but I don't think he lives close by.
Lith sighed, all that information overwhelming him. For so many years he had deluded himself into thinking he was special, stronger than anyone else.
Now he felt like the proverbial frog in the well, finally discovering the vastness of the sea.
Enough moping around, let's roll up our sleeves and work hard. Nothing that's worth having comes easy.
Lith and Solus kept practicing together for the whole year, growing closer and closer like fraternal twins.
Lith's birthday was on fall, but all major activities in the village would be suspended until the next spring. Since Nana's offer was to replace the two years public school with an apprenticeship, Lith too had to wait until spring to begin his magical education.
In the late winter the weather cleared, and the trades between the village and the farm houses became more and more frequent.
Thanks to this, Nana was able to let Lith know the date she had set for starting his apprenticeship, entrusting the message to one of his neighbours that had come to her to heal a nasty wound suffered while repairing the roof.
When the day came, Lith woke up early, determined to keep his routine of cleaning both his house and Selia's before going to the village.
The huntress had done so much for him that Lith considered her as an aunt. A stingy, nagging one that would make rip-off deals, but an aunt nonetheless.
That morning the house was in turmoil. All his loved ones were so excited at the idea of having a future mage in the family, to be barely able to eat their breakfast, spending all their time and energies giving him unwanted and obvious advices.
Do not be late. Is better getting a little early rather than late.
Be obedient and respectful. Nana is giving you a great chance!
The reason why everyone was on edge was that despite they considered the first day to be of vital importance, Lith he had to go to the village alone.
The house was in dire need of repairs, and wi
th Orpal gone they needed all hands on deck to also take care of the fields and animals.
Lith didn't mind it at all, it was just a thirty minutes' walk that he had done countless times. Raaz and Elina, though, felt like they were abandoning their child in his hour of need.
Lith rushed out of his house, to escape from that barrage of worries. He had been very calm about the apprenticeship, it wasn't his first rodeo, afterall.
But they had managed to make him nervous like a teenager at his first date. After finishing the chores at Selia's house and collecting his usual payment, Lith restlessly looked at the sun.
Dammit, it's still barely dawn. And here I was, shuddering in fear. I still have a lot of time.
Lith walked briskly toward the village, hoping that at his arrival Nana would at least be already up. Arriving so early to give her the wake up call would have been quite embarrassing.
When he arrived midway, Lith noticed something odd. There was a horseman standing on the side of the road.
It was already unusual finding a stranger so early in the morning, but what really alarmed him was that the man wasn't moving. Whoever he was, he was clearly on patrol.
As soon the horseman noticed Lith, he took out a silvery whistle from under his shirt, emitting a high-pitched noise.
Lith kept moving forward, but slowly, ready to react at any moment.
Soon the scout was joined by four other horsemen, and they started trotting toward Lith in an arrowhead formation.
Lith stopped moving, many spells ready at hand.
Kid, are you Lith? Son of Raaz and Elina? Said the horseman on point. He was a middle-aged man, with brown hair and eyes. He had perfectly trimmed moustaches, and everything from his straight up posture to his commanding tone identified him a military of some sort.
Looking carefully, all the horsemen had the same vibe, marching perfectly aligned. Yet they wore casual clothes, white shirts over leather hunting pants.
Isn't a little earlier to go out without the matching leather jacket? Lith thought. "Unless of course they need to avoid showing any household insignia."
Who are you, mister? My mother always tells me that I am not supposed to talk to strangers. Lith decided to stall for time, while he and Solus checked their surroundings for lookouts or possible reinforcements still in hiding.
Fight for a Living Page 15
