The Fundamentals of Magic

Conrad's eyes snapped open.

Here it was. Again. All too familiar. All of his senses were confirming that he had begun another life. He had a physical body. He could touch, he could hear, he could perceive.

But why?

The last thing Conrad had remembered experiencing was what he believed was his death. The orc had defeated him. He laid on the ground, head in Carmela's arms, everything slipping away, everything fading. Wasn't that the end?

"My goodness. Still you persist. Good show, lad."

Conrad exhaled slowly, priming himself for a conversation with the shadow that followed him across the timeline. He turned his head slowly in the bed he was sprawled out in, and addressed the goddess lounging casually next to him.

"Good day."

Conrad blinked. A little bit of a deeper voice than what he was used to.

"And to you as well, dear boy."

Nana leaned in, her fingers steepled together.

"Let's take a little break to gain our bearings. How are you feeling?"

"Far better than I thought I should feel. I figured that orc had killed me. And you've made it clear that you're not going to bring me back if I die during this experiment. What even ended up happening?"

"Jeremiah's soul has been returned to his body. You didn't die, but he did suffer permanent brain damage as a result of that battle. I know that you, in all your nobility, likely feel terrible about the state that you left his body and mind in. But all things considered, you shouldn't."

Conrad was troubled, but heard out Nana in earnest. "Why's that?"

"Because in the original version of this particular timeline, the one without your influence, Jeremiah died on the day of that battle. You taking his body and changing the original events of that day actually improved the outcome for him significantly."

Conrad was flabbergasted. "Wait. This...this world that we're in right now. This book you put me in, back in the library. You're telling me my actions are altering history for this world?"

"You must assuredly are. And in the case of young Jeremiah in particular, you've certainly improved things for him. Brain trauma is a massive issue, but it's a huge step up from his fate previously. Throwing you into his body certainly worked out for the best. So be proud of yourself, Conrad."

Conrad nodded resolutely, but his thoughts turned to Carmela next.

"...Nana. It seemed you had no problems, but let me ask you directly. Did you take any issue with me telling Carmela about you?"

"Not an issue to me at all. Sure, she knows that the presence of the man named Conrad Walters is the work of a great, transcendent force now. And she knows that you may see her again one day. But even with her knowing that you're tied to a god in some capacity, it's not like she can threaten me. Nor would she even have a reason to in the first place. The two of you met because of me, after all."

Conrad nodded. It all made sense. Nana had certainly been giving him a great deal of autonomy since he arrived in the book, after all.

"Oh, but just a heads up, don't count on me setting you up with a body that's near Carmela a third time in a row! As a matter of fact, the two of you are on different continents altogether at the moment."

Of course. He should have seen something like that coming.

"I can't count on her support this time, then? So be it."

"Well, not unless you want to find a ship and sail to a different continent. Not that I'd help you do that, of course. But, hey, still an option open for you to attempt, I suppose."

Conrad chuckled. "Nice try. You always put me somewhere that's perfect for me to grow, to develop myself. What's the plan this time?"

"You demonstrated your strength, discipline, and mental fortitude on the farm. You demonstrated your ability to act and persevere well under great stress in the capital, not to mention your moral integrity. But you've been fighting more and more capable enemies as time goes on, and you're probably starting to see the limit of what a well-trained physical body can do for you. This time, you'll have the chance to equip yourself with a new skill set...and show me how capable you are as a leader while you're at it."

Conrad cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Nana winked. "Welcome to the Magic University of Granmeta, lad."

The process of learning magic came to Conrad about as naturally as learning a new language. Which was to say, not very naturally.

Nana had set him up in the body of a prospective mage that had recently enrolled at Granmeta. Getting to know his classmates was nice in and of itself, but Conrad noticed very quickly that his current body was his oldest yet. Not to a ridiculous extreme or anything, but enough that he had five to ten years on all of the other novices among him. Conrad remembered Nana saying she wanted to see what his leadership skills were like next, and surmised this may have something to do with that.

Learning how to generate and manipulate the effects of the earth's elements was a deeply fascinating process to Conrad. He learned very early on that he had an affinity for manipulating nature. The essence of life and the soul itself. On the surface, this may look terrific, but as Conrad directed his soul, his mana, into the planet to manipulate life energy, it drained him quickly. Manipulating life energy was, as his instructors made clear, one of the most exhausting things a mage can do. It was far easier to manipulate and speed up the growth of pre-existing plant life than it was for him to create whole new branches and flora from the ground.

Over the course of his time at Granmeta, his mind turned to his mother frequently. Since he had mentioned the issues that his father had caused with himself and his mother to Nana, she had been on his mind more regularly. If Conrad regretted anything about the fact that he accepted this deal with Nana, it was the fact that he had left without explaining anything to his mother. To further Conrad's stress and worries on the matter, he was quite certain that time was still progressing in his world while he was here. Nana had told him back on the farm that his body was still aging, so that was the only conclusion that made sense to him. Nicholas had at least been present when Conrad had been taken away, but all his mother had to go off of at this point were reports from Nicholas and Deacon.

The process of being trained in magic required more discipline from Conrad than anything else he had done since entering the book. There was much less of a purely physical component, much less that felt inherently familiar to Conrad. Nana would still pop in from time to time, which he appreciated, but he missed Carmela terribly. Days turned to weeks, which turned to months. After half a year of doing almost nothing but sensing, generating, and manipulating elemental forces, he could finally feel reasonably pleased with his progress.

And that was when one of his professors approached him and a few of his classmates with a practical test. One that would involve a measure of danger.