***
The next day.
City Library.
The library door opened. Adel, who was arranging the books on the shelves, immediately turned her attention to the door.
How surprised she was to see that the visitor was Aiden, the young man who had come one week ago with four herbs for Master Sylas.
"Aiden? Do you need anything? I can help you," Adel replied.
"Yes. I came to see Master Sylas. Is he here?" asked Aiden.
Adel squinted, not knowing when Aiden had started calling Sylas Master.
Master Sylas was actually in the library, on the second floor to be exact. Adel never knew what the old man was doing because Master Sylas forbade her to go up there.
This made Adel confused. He didn't know what to call Master Sylas, coming directly to the second floor would be against his rules, shouting loudly seemed impolite.
"He's on the second floor. Do you need something with him?" Adel asked.
Not long after, Master Sylas suddenly walked down the stairs. The old man's eyes turned and looked toward the entrance, seeing Adel and Aiden talking.
"Welcome, Aiden," greeted Master Sylas.
"Greetings, Master," Aiden said.
"You seem much better prepared than yesterday," Master Sylas said, walking over to Aiden.
"Come with me. We're going to practice in the backyard," he said, making Adel even more confused.
Aiden said yes. He said goodbye to Adel and went to follow Master Sylas from behind. Because Adel was so curious, she tried peeking through the back window of the library, able to get a clear view of the training Sylas was talking about.
Master Sylas was teaching Aiden how to cast the second of the level 1 fire magic spells after fireball, Fire Wave.
Unlike fireball which was a ranged magic spell, Fire Wave was more of an Area of Effect. This means that certain areas will become Aiden's target, which in fact can hurt the enemy.
With ease, Master Sylas conjured up fire magic above his palm and swung it sideways. It set the area in front of him ablaze with the ground turning red and flames blazing.
"You can use this magic to protect yourself or attack your enemy if he gets close to you," Sylas replied, Aiden nodding.
Aiden jumped far back, focusing his mind on transmitting his magic energy into his hands. Slowly, a speck of flame ignited above Aiden's palm.
[Magic Element: Fire Wave]
The young man immediately swung it sideways, just as Sylas had shown. The fire flared up, burning the soil in the backyard until it turned red, the temperature of the air around Aiden warmed up.
To Sylas' surprise, the old man had not expected Aiden to be able to immediately practice what he had shown him.
Aiden smiled. He looked back and did the same thing, now the circle of fire was exactly surrounding him.
Adel was amazed, never expecting that Sylas would teach magic to someone for the first time, especially since he was not a noble.
'What exactly is their relationship?Why would Master Sylas want to teach Aiden?He clearly refused to train the mayor's son last year,' Adel said.
"Good. You're showing good progress in magic control. Keep practicing like that, maybe you can expand the area of effect from that magic," Sylas explained.
"Expand? I think I can give it a try," said Aiden.
The flames in front of and behind his body slowly subsided until they were gone. Aiden focused his attention forward, taking in the vast backyard.
[Magic Element: Fire Wave]
A speck of flame appeared on Aiden's right hand, then moved that hand forward instead of sideways.
Sure enough! The flames attacked the large area in front of him, much better than a sideways area attack.
Master Sylas gasped, then responded with a slight smile. Aiden was unique, he could quickly understand what Master Sylas was saying.
The large area in the backyard of the city library burned in a blaze of area flames. Aiden fell limp, his breath catching right after casting the magic spell.
"The amount of MP in your body doesn't seem to be enough to cast a large amount of magic," Sylas replied.
Master Sylas took out a potion from his magic pouch, a blue-colored potion that contained a liquid capable of adding to the reduced amount of MP.
If consumed by Aiden, Aiden's MP would return to full as it was before the training began. Aiden accepted the potion and downed it quickly.
Slowly, Aiden's limp body began to recover and become energized. Aiden got up and looked at his hands, magic in this world worked mysteriously beyond the rules of Earth physics.
"I think you've gotten pretty good at using the Fire Wave spell, maybe it's time you learned the third magic spell, Fire Shield," Master Sylas replied, and Aiden turned his head.
"Fire Shield?"
Master Sylas demonstrated the magic spell to Aiden. Fire magic elements were created and formed a square shield in front of Master Sylas.
According to him, the fire shield could withstand several attacks of the same level until it was completely destroyed. So, it could be the mainstay of Aiden's defense.
"The fire element is identical to offense, but that doesn't mean its defense is fragile," Sylas replied.
"You can try it, then I'll attack you with leveled magic," Sylas said.
Aiden cleared his throat. He brought up another magic rune and cast the third magic spell, Fire Shield.
[Magic Element: Fire Shield]
Aiden gasped, red magic energy formed a square board in front of him, temporarily protecting him.
Master Sylas smiled, he simply pointed his hand forward and released a magic attack of the same level to Aiden.
The young man still stuck out his hand, defending the shield with all his magic energy.
The old man continued to attack Aiden with light magic at level 1. What Sylas said was true, Aiden's fire shield could withstand other magic attacks at the same level.
"The mage candidates who will join the academy mostly learn level 1 magic spells. If you can maximize your abilities, you can win easily against them," Sylas replied.
"I see."
Not long after, Master Sylas stopped his attack. He noticed a small scratch on the wall of Aiden's fire shield, a sign that the shield was still not very strong.
"We'll leave the training for today. You can practice your magic by yourself at home," Master Sylas replied.
"Don't push yourself too hard, Aiden. Overdoing it will only hurt your body," Sylas advised, to which Aiden fully complied.
"I'll practice carefully."