Chapter 205: Eldrin’s Lesson II

A week later...

The night unfolded as it had before, the moon and stars casting a gentle glow over the forest, their light spilling across the leaves in silver streaks.

In a quiet clearing, three figures gathered beneath the open sky.

The old man stood at the edge, leaning on a wooden staff, his gaze calm and focused.

The folds of his robe shimmered faintly under the moonlight, an air of quiet magic surrounding him.

Before him were two children.

The girl was encircled by a wide variety of floating weapons—swords, daggers, shields, maces, axes, even darts.

Each hovered in place, bathed in a soft, magical light.

Her arms were extended, fingers slightly curled as she concentrated, eyes shut tight.

A thin line of sweat ran down her temple, her focus unwavering despite the strain.

The boy some distance away from her presented a different scene.

Like the girl, his eyes were closed, but his expression was calm.

His snow-white hair shifted gently in the evening breeze, his breathing slow and even.

Four glowing spheres floated around him—one in front, one behind, and one on each side.

Within each sphere spun intricate magic circles, each radiating the power of a master-rank spell.

From the sphere in front of him came a crimson blaze, a heat that suggested destruction that could reduce everything to ashes.

To his right, a deep blue flame burned, compact and intense, as if it could melt through anything.

On his left, electricity flickered in yellow bursts, humming with paralyzing energy.

The sphere behind him glowed with a colder light, a pure blue lightning that crackled with quiet menace.

Eldrin was teaching both Aurelia and Regis magic further into the forest clearing a little distance away from their camp.

An expression of satisfaction could be seen on his face as he looked at them.

’I didn’t expect the little lass to improve this much in a week.’

He initially thought that it would take her quite a while to reach the state she was in now, considering her lack of talent in mana.

’Fortunately, she’s smart. She was able to improve fast due to her intelligence and efforts.’

The old mage caressed his beard, ’It’s good that she’s able to follow the training plan I’ve created for her.’

Since Aurelia informed him that she was going to join Regis’s party, he devised a path for her wherein she could complement the group the most.

’Their party already consists of a swordsman, a battle mage, and...’

Eldrin thought for a few minutes, but could not think of any profession that suited Regis.

’...let’s just omit him for now. With this, the only vital role that they’re missing is a priest. But since she’s a mage, the next best thing would be an array mage.’

Although Regis and Pandora also had knowledge about array magic, the division of work in a party was important.

Remembering his days as a passionate adventurer, a smile crept up on the old mage’s face.

’If her gift really works the way I think it does, then it will be enough for her to not fall too far behind the others...’

He thought as he looked at the way she was analyzing the structures of the weapons around her.

’Now, let’s check what Regis is doing...’

Eldrin once again nodded in satisfaction towards Aurelia before looking over towards Regis.

Seeing the four master rank magic manifesting in the form of spheres surrounding him, he sighed, ’As expected.’

Over the past week, he had been shocked by him so many times that he had grown used to it.

’It’s not even funny anymore.’

The old mage’s eyes had a strange light to them as he stared at the genius before him.

’He’s even more terrifying than Pandora— No, he’s the most terrifying human I have ever seen. I feel like with magic alone, only dragons could be compared to him.’

He knew that Pandora could instantly copy anything she saw, which was clearly faster than Regis’s learning speed.

’But this kid’s intelligence is on another level.’

Eldrin remembered when he first talked about the seven steps of casting magic spells and the theories associated with the most efficient and fastest way of casting.

Regis was able to absorb knowledge like how a sponge would when in contact with water.

If Pandora can copy anything she sees, Regis could derive a hundred things just by hearing a single sentence.

The old mage then observed the spheres floating around him.

’Hmmm, he’s able to multicast master rank magic spells, but his speed could still do some improvement.’

’But still, he had all the basics down. He only needs more practice to improve his mastery.’

Since Regis requested battle-oriented magic spells, Eldrin took it upon himself to recommend the best magic that fit his conditions.

In the past week, he had taught him four master rank magic spells as they were his priority.

’It’s a shame that I’m no longer suited to teach him.’

The old mage lamented, feeling bittersweet in his heart.

Having a student like Regis gave him joy, but it also made him realize that he was still severely lacking.

’He’s already more than I can handle... I’ll just impart my knowledge to him.’

Eldrin thought with a sincere expression.

This was one of the reasons why he did not dare make Regis call him a mentor.

’He’s already at the same star realm as me. He can even cast more master rank magic at the same time as I. Now that he had mostly made up for his lacking knowledge in magic...’

Before he could finish his thoughts, Regis opened his eyes, "Old man, can you tell me the steps for casting magic again?"

Without missing a beat, Eldrin responded with a teacher’s demeanor.

"Seriously, why do you always tell me to do that? Didn’t you memorize it already?"

"Well, yes. But I like hearing it while I’m training."

"Ehem..." The old mage cleared his throat, feeling something in his heart.

He then began speaking as he circled slowly around Regis, who had already focused back on his training.

"The first step is meditation. This is vital to every mage as it readies their mind for the casting of a magic spell. Maintaining the state of meditation at all times is the fundamental pillar that will support every magic you cast."

"Second is mana circulation. A step where you’ll use your mental power to utilize the mana in your heart along your mental vessels towards your head. This would give your mental power the resources to cast magic."

"This step includes the utilization of your magic field, thereby decreasing the amount of mana required for what you’re going to cast."

"Third is visualization, where you will need mental imagery to carefully plan your magic spell. This will affect its overall power."

"The fourth one is spell calculation. In this step, you will need to accurately calculate the amount of mana and mental power required for your magic spell. This will also decide the power, trajectory, range, and other aspects of the magic spell."

"Next is circle construction. As its name implies, it’s the part where you would be constructing the magic circle for your spell. This is the process of applying the framework you had created in your mind to the real world."

"Each pattern a magic circle has represents every aspect of your magic spell; make sure that not a single mistake will be present in it."

"The sixth step is incantation. This will be where you will chant the name of the spell, thereby making the world recognize its invocation."

"Finally, magic manifestation. It’s the step wherein all your effort will either be rewarded or disregarded. The very action of bringing forth a phenomenon through your own power."

Eldrin cleared his throat with a cough once again, "As I have always said, each and every step in the process of casting magic is vital."

"If you were to master it, then completing everything in under a second is not impossible."

"Do you understand?"

Regis smiled at him, "Thank you, Mento—"

But just as he was about to finish his words, Rowan’s voice sounded.

"Elder! Young Sir!! Young Miss!!!"

Both Regis and Aurelia’s concentration was interrupted, leading to the dispersion of their mana.

Eldrin looked at Rowan, who had just arrived, "What’s the matter? Did something happen?"

"It’s about Young Sir Killian and Young Miss Pandora."

Regis’s eyes squinted as a serious expression appeared on his face, "What about them, Sir Rowan?"

"They’re awake!" Rowan exclaimed with a joyful expression.

Eldrin immediately said, "Let’s go!"

Meanwhile, Regis and Aurelia glanced at each other happily before following after them.

They were only about three minutes away from the camp.

Thus, it did not take long for them to reach the area where the carriage was parked.

And there, they saw it.

Killian and Pandora sat at the edge of the carriage with sleepy expressions on their faces.

They looked around, their eyes filled with wariness and confusion.

However, it did not take long before they spotted Regis and the others running toward them, their faces lit with relief.

The two could not help but smile as their expressions brightened at the sight of familiar faces.