51st of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd imperial era
Newt paid close attention to the interaction between Magmin Scales and the flas trying to burn him. It took several attempts and several long breaks to recover mana until he understood the defensive ability’s principles.
He originally believed Magmin Scales would absorb the heat, but that was not the case. The technique instead fought fire with fire, burning and canceling each other out.
“Shouldn’t it burn even hotter?” he asked without aning to speak his words aloud.
“What should burn hotter?” Magmin asked as they took another break for Newt’s mana to stabilize.
“When two flas collide, shouldn’t they result in even hotter flas?” Newt clarified his question, cursing the fact that the three years of isolation helped him develop a habit of speaking his thoughts aloud.
“The flas are not colliding,” Magmin explained. “Magmin Scales burn the heat produced by Magmin Flas, canceling it.”
“How can you burn heat? Shouldn’t things beco even hotter when burning?” Newt couldn’t make sense of how Magmin Scales worked. Siphoning, redirecting, or even overpowering and forcing the heat away, all made sense, but Magmin’s explanation made none.
“When you burn sothing, little is left. Sa when burning heat.”
Newt wanted to argue, or at least protest. He was certain Magmin Scales did not work as Magmin advertised, but he stopped himself. The argunt was a pointless one. Proving himself right and smart was once very important to Newstar Salamandra, but mattered little to Newt the survivor. What he wished and needed to do was to learn, not to feel superior. Superiority would co with knowledge and ability.
“That is the way of fire,” Magmin explained. “Ever consuming, ever growing. Once growth stops, nothing but death awaits.”
Newt considered the words. In a broad sense, they were true about everything. You grew, you reached your peak and then, then you either died while at your peak, or lived to see yourself grow weaker, frailer, until you ultimately perished.
“I see.” He nodded, still mulling over the words. “And what of earth?”
“What about earth?” Magmin asked.
“What is the nature of earth?” Newt clarified.
“I have not contemplated the nature of earth that much. I wish to fly. One day, I will make my nature one of air and fire instead of earth and fire. I will shed my earth nature, conquer the sky, and hunt the lesser, land-bound creatures.”
Shouldn’t that be impossible? Wait. Is that how it beca a dragon? Newt wondered whether such tenacity and oddity was what allowed a re serpent to evolve all the way until it beca a true dragon, soaring through the sky, looking down on all of creation.
“Now keep practicing. I will gather more crystals, and once you are ready, you will help face the mighty sharpbeak.”
“Wait,” Newt called as Magmin’s glowing outline turned back towards the cave’s entrance. “Could you explain how Granite Crust works?”
Magmin remained silent.
“You promised you would teach ,” Newt pointed out.
“I did. I promised to teach you if you manage to use Magmin’s Scales and Magmin’s Fla at the sa ti. Now, get to work. You have a lot of gems to consu before your realm reaches the desired state.”
Ti passed, and Newt struggled with the problems Magmin had warned him about. Magmin Scales and Magmin Fla were complentary skills. Once he learned one, using the other ca down to nearly identical manipulations with only minor adjustnts. But, until he mastered both, they were two nearly identical things he needed to do at the sa ti, with one slight caveat - using the wrong ability would burn him to a crisp.
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It took nearly an hour before he found the way to make that tiny change in his mana’s flow.
Newt yelped in pain as his whole body flared with flas. He cut the flow of mana almost imdiately, extinguishing the fire before it caused serious harm, but his torn trousers were gone, scattered to ash, and his butt and thighs stung from minor burns. The rest of his body had fared better, flas unobscured by cloth and free to flare away from his skin.
This won’t do. It’s too dangerous to wrap my entire body in flas. I first need to figure out how to direct Magmin Scales to cover nothing but my hand. Then, I can start working with Magmin Fla.
It took another two hours before Newt decided he was too exhausted from all the training and ntal strain. He laid down on the hot floor and went to sleep.
Nightmares followed. He was trying to shape his realm, but his heart demons attacked him, ripping the core out of his body and crippling him. He awoke with a scream.
“What is wrong?” Magmin asked, depositing another pair of sparkling crystals onto the ever-growing-pile.
“I dread that my heart demons had destroyed my realm,” Newt said, gasping for air.
“Do not worry,” Magmin hissed with surprising empathy. “Heart demons are constructs of your realm and could never destroy it. Only you can do that.”
Newt knew that was both true and not true at the sa ti. Heart demons by themselves could not destroy the realm in which they lived, but his father had explained the major danger heart demons posed. They could assault or distract an awakened while they are trying to advance, causing the breakthrough to fail, sotis killing or crippling the awakened in the process.
Also, any heart demons an awakened failed to overco would grow along with their realm, eventually forcing the host to overco them or perish.
“Thanks,” Newt thanked Magmin, then focused on his training.
He sent the energy into his hand, spread it across his skin, and ford the translucent scales with surprising ease. Hours of sleep, even if plagued by nightmares, helped clear his mind and increase his understanding of the technique.
“Not bad. You learned how to localize the effect.” Magmin paused.
“Sowhat,” it added.
Newt was first confused by the added word, but then noticed a problem. The outer scales, the ones closest to his elbow, were fraying and disappearing line by line. He believed he would be able to maintain the technique for minutes, but with this disintegration, he estimated he had around half a minute.
“Do you wish to test it?” Magmin asked and approached after Newt agreed.
The youth watched the serpent’s fangs glow and grow hazy from the heat before it bit down. The barrier held for a second, and then the scales started cracking. Magmin ended its technique a mont before the wave of heat brushed against Newt’s skin as his skill failed.
“It is weaker this way. You cannot hold lava with just your hand shielded. A pity,” Magmin sighed. “Do try to improve it. I could save so energy if you figure out how to localize the effect.”
While Newt’s heart started racing at the mistake he had almost made, the serpent nudged the manarium towards him.
“Consu these. They should help you advance your realm, and hopefully you will be able to maintain your techniques longer, letting you learn in fewer attempts, saving us so ti.”
“Thank you.” Newt’s voice shook, but Magmin failed to notice, nudging the crystals one more ti before leaving the cavern.
Newt consud them, then spent nine hours populating his realm with new Magmin Pines. Ti spent creating the structures increased with each new layer, and Newt could imagine himself spending weeks in ditation, sculpting the final two layers.
“Just the next one will take a day,” the youth grumbled, wanting to go back to sleep, his mind strained, his focus spent. But he couldn’t give up.
He stifled a yawn and decided to practice having Magmin Scales and Magmin Fla on his hand at the sa ti. Minutes blurred into hours, and in the end, Newt was left with a frustrating feeling of being at the cusp of making his breakthrough and with a throbbing headache in the back of his head.
He yawned and let his abused mind rest. He dread of planting trees, which grew at prodigious speed before he set them on fire. Flas danced, their tongues licking the wood, flickering up, towards the sky as they grew. The fire grew, consuming everything, surrounding Newt, who remained unhard, thanks to his shiny scales.
When he awoke, Newt found another small mound of manarium, but he ignored it. He focused on his hand. A layer of red scales enveloped it like a glove, and then a single fla, similar to that of an oil lamp, ca to life atop his palm.
The boy gazed upon the marvel dancing in his hand. His concentration snapped, and the fla disappeared, followed a mont later by the wave of heat from Magmin Scale glove dissipating.
“I did it!” Newt grinned and looked around, but Magmin was out gathering manarium.
The youth tried again and again, his mana sufficient to repeat the localized experint a dozen tis. With each attempt, the youth grew more confident. Flas obeyed him faster and his glove ford quicker. He still had a long way to go before Magmin Scales ford instantly and on reflex, but he was certain he would get there with enough practice.
“Well, call a toad, you have done it,” Magmin hissed entering the cave. “I guess I should make good on my promise and teach you Granite Crust.”
Newt looked at the snake, thinking that maybe, maybe, it wasn’t that bad.
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