“The mistress is ready to see you.”
A slightly-quicker-than-usual exhale escaped my lips.
As I was sitting in the luxurious guest room for the last hour, sipping the best tea I’ve ever had (Earth included), and practicing my Light Orb cantrip, I progressively grew more and more nervous.
Rather than visiting a semi-retired old lady, this felt more like visiting a relative of a pri minister. Sure, she seed kind and benevolent back then, but now that I’ve seen Central in all its glory, I couldn’t help but feel a bit… out of place.
Still, this was a one-ti opportunity I couldn’t afford to miss.
Slowly getting up from the comfortable sofa, I followed the house maid out the door and up the stairway, not even daring to touch its exquisite oak railing.
At the end of the 2nd floor’s corridor, I walked through a set of imposing double doors, and into what looked like a study.
The room was even more spacious than the guest room, which was already close to 10 tis the size of my usual inn rooms.
Near the walls to my left, I could see massive bookshelves, hulking over in all their imposing glory, filled to the brim with books of various shapes, colors and sizes.
On the right were three large windows, their fras decorated with intricate carvings. On the wall between them, I saw a couple of painted portraits, which portrayed at least two dozen different people between them – likely the current and forr residents of this manor.
“It seems you rather dislike being late.”
The - presud - owner of the estate sat behind a large wooden table, resting in a velvet armchair, its crimson-hued surface trimd with thin silver lines.
Unlike her job, where she wore a Ministry uniform, here, Anne wore a long, elegant gray dress, sowhat reminiscent of what ‘old rich ladies’ used to wear a few centuries back on Earth.
The soft, flowy, yet also surprisingly firm fabric of that dress suggested it was far from ordinary.
In front of her were two balls of what looked like purple wool, with two needles slowly moving through the air, seemingly by themselves, sewing what appeared to be a scarf.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know there was a tram in this district.”
“Ah, it was no admonishnt.”
I slowly approached the second chair beside her, still unable to avert my gaze from the needles.
“Are you interested in this spell?”
Her voice was coy, like that of a grandma watching a small child eying her freshly baked cookies.
“This.. is this the Mage Threads cantrip?”
“Oh?”
The old woman’s eyes shone with interest.
“You’ve heard of it?”
“I t an apprentice artificer recently.”
The woman’s chuckle held a note of reminiscence.
“Ahh, you remind of my 2nd son. He, too, would often return to this very mansion, pestering about the latest cantrip he saw in the academy.”
Despite her words, there was no hint of annoyance in her voice.
“He.. is he a Wizard too?”
“He is, indeed. Should still be one of the ntors at his tower.”
“Shou-”
I was montarily surprised at the lack of communication between mother and child, but held my tongue a mont later, realizing this type of prying is probably very rude.
Seeing my reaction, Anne waved her hand dismissively with yet another chuckle.
“The last letter I got from him was nearly a decade ago. Not that I bla him, of course. He has his own children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren to worry about.”
While her tone did not completely contradict her words, I couldn’t miss the small hint of sadness underneath her dismissal. Suddenly the vast, luxurious manor felt much emptier than before.
Deciding it was ti to steer the conversation away from this subject, I took the books out of my sack, placing them on the table.
“Thank you very much for those. They’ve been invaluable.”
The woman’s eyebrow rose ever-so-slightly.
“You know you can keep them for longer. Just skimming the sections I outlined won’t be enough to move to more advanced topics.”
“As far as I understood, being able to cast Light Orb was enough to move to proper cantrips.”
“Oh? You can already do that?”
Anne’s eyebrow rose higher, her tone containing a mild mix of surprise and skepticism.
Instead of answering her with words, I closed my eyes for a mont, raising my hand and performing the well-rehearsed motions, while accounting for the ever-shifting currents of arcane particles.
A few seconds later, I opened my eyes once again, just as a bright orb appeared in front of my fingertips.
“Hmm…”
The old Wizard carefully examined the orb for a few seconds, before an inquisitive look appeared on her face.
“Can you keep it as is for a minute?”
“Sure.”
Following my words, I fully focused on the tides beside my sigil.
During my initial practice with this cantrip, or rather, near its successful end, I learned to sense the Arcane Tides without closing my eyes. Well, technically, I could do that already, but the sensory overload would put a swift end to such attempts.
The secret was focusing only on a small area around the sigil itself, akin to one squinting one’s eyes while looking at a bright projector. It took so practice, of course, but the result of that practice was also what allowed to finally keep this sigil stable after the initial materialization.
Suddenly, I noticed the tides starting to shift faster, more violently.
‘Ha. Bring it on!’
If this was just after I first managed to cast this cantrip, it would dissipate within seconds, but I’ve had a bit of practice since then, too.
Simultaneously, I did my best to counteract the many different currents threatening to collide with the sigil, while slowly expanding its lines, making them thicker and more stable.
I could already feel my ‘Arcane reserve’, as nad by the book, starting to drain.
Generally, cantrips were defined as such due to their energy usage being roughly similar to ambient energy recovery of a beginner Wizard. However, this was only true when the sigil was unmodified. Through my - once again - closed eyes, I could see the orb becoming brighter, but also starting to flicker.
After about thirty seconds, the relentless assault beca even fiercer. Grinding my teeth, I struggled to maintain the fluctuating lines, clearly seconds away from collapse.
In desperation, I tried to ‘push’ against the currents with my own, but creating such motion with my mind alone was exponentially more difficult than using my fingers, like trying to blow air with my mouth into a raging gust wind.
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‘Wait, fingers!’
I couldn’t use my right hand, which was occupied with the main spell, but I still had another free hand!
Instantly, I moved my left hand above my right one.
Using every shred of focus I could muster while maintaining the orb, I created fine lines, stretching from my fingertips, to form a cage around the sigil.
Well, it wasn’t really a full cage, as the lines dispersed into streams of arcane energy halfway through, creating five quasi-waterfalls. And, of course, this wasn’t enough to fully block the raging currents.
Still, like five wave breakers, my makeshift defense managed to keep them from completely overwhelming the sigil.
Then, the currents suddenly cald down, as abruptly as before.
‘I.. did it?’
“Huff.. Huff..”
Panting heavily, I dispelled the orb, and began opening my eyes, only to feel a sudden migraine assault out of the blue.
Keeping my eyes closed, I brought my hands to massage my temples, only to notice my hair was drenched in sweat. As was my back, apparently.
After a few seconds, I felt the pulsating pain in my head starting to calm down.
Slowly opening my eyes, I saw Anne’s face, the corners of her lips subtly curving upwards, and her eyes shining with sothing that almost looked like pride, like that of a professor whose student unexpectedly answered a question which was actually ant for the next-year course.
“To think you’d surprise once again…”
The old woman chuckled.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this particular usage of offhand-casting before.”
“What.. huff… is it usually used for?”
Despite my sudden fatigue, it was hard to restrain my curiosity.
“Hmm.. it’s not that it isn’t used for stabilization – in fact, many low-level techniques focus on stabilizing the Tides with the offhand. But it’s definitely the first ti I saw soone make a makeshift attempt like this, before even casting their first real spe-”
The woman suddenly froze, as if realizing sothing.
“Ah, forgive . I should have done this sooner.”
She reached for one of her pockets, pulling out a small bell.
ding
The sound was pleasant to the ear. In my current - hypersensitive - state, I could also feel the subtle movent in the Arcane Tides – which made sense, given that the actual sound wouldn’t pass the Sealsense barrier surrounding this, and every other room in this manor.
A few seconds later, the maid arrived, giving Anne a short, polite bow.
“My lady?”
“The young man here has a minor arcane depletion. Could you fetch so tea?”
“Of course.”
With yet another swift bow, the maid departed.
“I.. thank you, but I’m fine.”
“Nonsense. I know arcane depletion when I see it.”
The old Wizard waved her hand in dismissal, signifying she’d hear no argunt.
“By the way, you passed.”
She paused for a mont.
“In truth, you would have passed after the first part. Even though it was only a Light Orb, most early apprentices wouldn’t last 30 seconds on their first try.”
“I..”
I wanted to answer, but another pulse of migraine made pause for a mont, my face slightly contorting.
“Just relax for a bit. Ellena shall bring the tea shortly.”
The woman sighed.
“It was a really creative solution.. In fact, I’d even go as far as saying this is what the study of magic is fundantally about. But…”
Anne’s voice turned sterner.
“This is also a reminder – for all the wonders of magic, one must always be mindful of its dangers. Even an innocent cantrip, when slightly modified, can lead to.. this.”
Just as she finished speaking, the maid, Ellena, ca back with a small silver tray, carrying a pot and two fine cups, made of sothing that resembled china (or however that fine ceramic material was called in this world).
“Thank you, Ellena. Here, drink.”
Dismissing her maid, the old Wizard poured a cup of what looked like black tea. Surprisingly, within the herbal fragrance, I could recognize a vaguely familiar scent.
‘Arcane moss?..’
Well, it was likely an extract, as it was much more distinct than either the sll in the caves or the mushroom soup I ate that one ti.
“Thank you.”
Having finished my cup, I instantly felt its effects taking root, as the warmth rising in my chest spread throughout the rest of my body.
“It’s nothing. But, I would suggest you refrain from using that tides-stabilization thod. It was creative for your level, but also extrely inefficient – to the extent you could probably cast a real spell instead.”
I knew that my solution wasn't exactly elegant. In fact, using my own arcane reserve to ‘spray’ arcane energy from my fingertips was extrely wasteful, to the extent I'd be ashad to call it ‘magic’. And yet…
“Real spell?”
Anne chuckled, seeing my eyes instantly lit up at her words.
“It’s not that surprising. With your Path level, it's only natural you'd possess the capacity to cast 1st tier spells. However, you have a long way to go before your skill matches that capacity.”
Despite her words, I didn't get discouraged – not in the slightest.
“What’s the next step, then?”
“Hasty, aren't we?”
Despite her words, the old lady in front of was not deterred by my relentless drive. If anything, it seed to be one of the contributing factors to her enjoynt.
“Hmm.. well, since you passed the test - with flying colors, at that - I suppose I have no choice…”
She extended her hand, and a translucent outline of similar shape launched forward, aiming at one of the books.
“By the way…”
Looking at the cantrip, which reminded of the Pine Harbor receptionist - Jane - I couldn't help but notice with my newfound senses and understanding...
“Why is this Mage Hand cantrip so strange?”
“Ho? How is it strange?”
Judging by the undertone of her voice, there was definitely more to this assertion of mine.
“It’s incredibly fast, for one.”
“I am a High Wizard. It's not strange for to cast all cantrips at this speed.”
The subtly curved corners of her lips reinforced my suspicion.
“I’ve seen a dropout apprentice Wizard cast it at nearly the sa speed.”
“Then perhaps that dropout secretly continued training?”
“Hmm…”
Her words made logical sense, but that wasn't what bothered with this cantrip.
“It just seems too.. complex. And too precise. According to the book, sothing capable of exerting this much force, with such precision, over such distances, should have been a 1st tier spell.”
The corners of Anne's lips curved farther up. For once, she offered no counterargunts.
“So how can this be a cantrip?”
The contradiction was like an annoying fly buzzing around the room, eating away at my focus. Luckily, I wouldn’t have to tolerate it for long.
“Do you know what arcane beasts are?”
“I only heard the term.”
Thinking back, it might have been Anne herself who used it.
“Arcane beasts are any beasts capable of using arcane energy. Typically, such usage manifests as distinct abilities.
Arcane beasts can be divided into two groups: Divergent arcane beasts, whose species doesn't manifest such abilities in general, and true arcane beasts, whose kin always displays similar abilities. Many monsters are of the latter type, by the way.
If we apply the sa classification to Humans, we would be called pseudo-true arcane creatures. Can you tell why?”
“Because..”
I closed my eyes, rushing to think of a valid reason.
“Is it because all humans can beco mages, but not all humans do?”
“Correct. All humans have the innate capacity, but very, very few, who we call Sorcerers, develop the ability to naturally use magic. As for the rest, they need to spend months, years, or even decades painstakingly unlocking that ability.”
Anne raised her finger.
“So, by the initial definition of arcane beasts, what should humans possess?”
“Hmm… Abilities! Innate abilities, similar to beasts.”
“Correct. And, while we don't precisely fit into that definition, the fact that Mage Hand is one of our unique abilities remains uncontested.”
“But.. isn't it a cantrip?”
“It’s often referred to as such, due to having similar energy requirents, and being unlocked at roughly the sa ti, at least when it cos to Wizards. Also, for the purposes of Path advancent, it isn't considered an Ability. Still… without doubt, it is one of our unique abilities.”
“How do I unlock it, then?”
The old woman answered with a soft smile.
“Don’t rush it. I promise you – before you cast your first 1st tier spell, you will have already unlocked Mage Hand.”
She chuckled.
“An innate ability is called such for a reason, after all.”
She opened the book.
“Now, you asked about the next step?..”
I nodded my head in quick succession.
“You’ve touched upon the basics of magic. Now, you need to learn its fundantal principles. And then…”
The old woman’s lips stretched in a knowing smile.
“You may start learning real cantrips.”
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