54 Happy Childhood (2/2)
”So, what do you th…”
”It was not the first time he casted a [Flame] and since it is one of the most basic spells, it can't be that he doesn't understand how to do it. If it was a normal occasion, he would have been fine and I already saw him nearly form a small [Fireball]. Based on that, he could be a 2nd Circle magician in a few months. We can rule out his ineptitude or his inexperience. He broke his concentration, that's a fact, as for why, well, he is the oldest child here. He will be 11 in a few weeks, and his hormones are reacting. The moment he casted the spell it was fine, but right after, a small ray of the sun pierced the clouds and fell directly on Istuienn. The most plausible thing would be him looking at the sleeping beauty, forgetting himself, provoking that situation. After realizing what he had done, he was ashamed and scared to be found out, so he became confused and finally fell on his hand. The solution, don't be attracted to little girl.”
The cold voice of Leilade retraced the exact event of what she was supposed to see. In fact, she was sleeping well when the Viscount jokingly told her about that. The moment she raised her head, she saw the pupils of the boy expanding and his disastrous misadventure. After that, because nothing else was interesting, she resumed her well-deserved rest. As for the old man, she wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible, so she resolved his small problem.
Oscar still had his mouth wide open after hearing everything. He was still unsure of what broke the concentration of the kid, but he did remember that the class was lightened right before the accident. He didn't think about it that way, mainly because they were still children, not teenagers ready to be married. But it was also true that this type of accident happened quite a lot at the end of the year, he just didn't expect it to be so soon. Without bothering any further the strange girl, he returned near the boy, to check the theory of Leilade.
He didn't even have to do it, the sneaky stares that the boy regularly did was the only proof he needed. Now he had another problem, how to not let anyone realized what was the truth. While thinking about that, his stare passed on Owen and he quickly approached him to ask what was his answer. After conversing a bit, the old man breathed in relief, since it was absolutely not from the same point of view. Leilade described the event via the disturbance that happened while Owen academically talked about that in relation to the minor errors in the casting of the spell.
After letting the brother of Jorien avoid the awkward reason for the failure, Oscar Moo let a small girl that still had a hard time with the basic spells go on stage. Once again, he reiterated his numerous instructions.
”Take a deep breath before doing anything. Exactly like that, forget about the class for the moment. Later, you will be under dangerous situations, with a certain risk of death if you can't cast a spell in time. But even those hardened veterans still started at the bottom, and some were making even more mistakes than you. Always remember that magic is not just saying some words in the air. It is you that make it happen, not the words. This time, you will cast [Water]. Now, go.”
The slightly scared girl executed the standard actions that Moo had given them at the start of the course. She breathed a bit, put her feet at a certain distance of each other, to have a better stance. Stability of mind was as important as the stability of the body, that was the catchphrase pronounced. After that, she closed her eyes, to not be disturbed, and tried to feel the mana inside her. Because she was not the most talented, she took a bit more than 30 seconds before feeling it.
No one spoke or made noises during this. Even Leodagan or Ronald wouldn't perturb the rest of the class. Even without anyone accented the importance of silence, they were not stupid. Intentionally making things hard for someone else would provoke a reaction that some could call disproportionate. In the end, they were all from the Massalia Kingdom and even if they hated each other, they will maybe work together in a few years.
Still, with her eyes closed, the girl broke in a smile and began to chant [Water]. The moment she finished to pronounce the words, a small stream of water began to leak from her hand. She had curbed her fingers to not let anything drop and a few moments later, the improvised bucket was filled to the brim. Even as she smiled, she was still extremely concentrated, because it was the easy part.
Everyone had a favorite hand, either being right-handed or left-handed. While manipulating mana, the same concept was also applied. It was easier for some to feel the mana flow in a certain part of their body and to use it efficiently. For the girl, she often failed to produce water in her right hand while it was a breeze to do it in her left one. And the principle of this exercise was to receive the pointers teacher Oscar while casting a spell.
Because she already had a good grasp on the mana inside her, she effortlessly began to make it move toward her right arm. When she was ready, she said again [Water] and as expected, water was beginning to form. But the smile left her face and she began to furrow and wince. Her entire right arm was shaking and she couldn't help but let out a small shout of pain. Because of this, she lost her concentration and the spell was interrupted. Feeling dejected, she saw the old man smiling at her as nothing happened.
As usual, the class cooperated and gave their feelings about what happened. Two more kids passed before it was the end, but the noises provoked by the numerous discussions never faded. But unlike every day, there was another thing that everyone was discussing. What will they do in the afternoon, instead of having free time to study and train?