Chapter 23

Magic was a fascinating thing.

Ever since the incident with Beso Naro has been praticing his magic in some manner or form, Void drains Mana without prejudice and until he could control it, he didn’t want to use it against people, especially when he didn’t feel he could give ‘back’ what he took.

Thankfully while hunting in the forest, he accidentally touched a tree while Void was still active and drained Mana from it, it wasn’t much but it showed it worked on more than people. Any plants taken out of the forest, so long as they are still alive can be taken back, replanted and regenerate. He wasn’t sure why Ava had that information but it had been his saving grace.

His room was now filled with yellowing potted plants, which when Nefi entered one day told him he had a terrible green thumb and then immediately left, without explaining why he came there in the first place. He was fine with that however as it was thanks to these plants he was understanding his magic.

Reaching forward he took hold of the leaf of a green plant.

“Void.”

Mana flowed through him and he redirected it with a practiced ease, the tingling sensation filling his body like cool water flowing down and through his body.

Energy surrounded his hand and he felt the familiar sensation of drawing in Mana, it felt like he was ‘sipping’ something, but through his hand, while strange he had grown use to the sensation.

He also realized he could ‘taste’ Mana as well, it was a faint sensation on his tongue but it seemed different each time.

He knew what it Mana ‘felt’ and ‘tasted’ like, thus when that sensation faded and he felt something else, he immediately canceled the spell, willing the magic away.

When he looked at the plant he noticed only the tip of the leaf was yellow and he smiled.

“I’m definitely getting better.”

He had been training himself to sense Mana more, to understand when it’s low and about to run out. He could now tell when he was draining life force, and compared to before and the many wilted plants that became his dinner, he was better at cutting it off.

The life of another person had a different feel than Mana, and thankfully had no real taste, it was as if he was drawing in static if he had to put it to words, a stable instability drawing in experiences in a haphazard fashion.

“If I have to take a life…it should be with intent, not on accident. Though not having to would be great too.”

He didn’t want to make excuses, slimes were mostly harmless but there were some higher ranked ones that had eaten people, survival was harder here and if he made that choice, then he needed to be ready to live with what followed.

“...it’d be cool if I could cast without speaking though. I mean yelling names is cool…but it really does give away what you’re doing.”

He didn’t intend on fighting anything other than Monters if he could help it, but some were smart and he read that some recognized magic. He was close to ranking up which meant fighting monsters that could fight back.

“Still the more I use it…the more I learn about it.”

It was a strange feeling, like he was gaining ‘experience’ each time he cast a spell, he felt as if he learned a little more about it, and at a certain point something clicked.

“Void Cast.”

Holding his hand out, purple energy flared and soon a stream of blue wisp like energy left the plant from the other side of the room and moved toward his hand, being devoured into the purple.

He learned a new spell after casting Void a bunch of times, it wasn’t anything fancy, it just allowed him to drain Mana from a distance, at a much slower pace, but a new move was a new move.

He could only focus on one singular target at once but his magic was growing.

“It’s still faster just to touch something…since it takes a few minutes this way with a slime compared to a few seconds, but I’m sure I can figure out a tactic with this.”

Bit by bit he was learning more and more about magic, unfortunately there weren’t any other mages around. The only mage that stopped by was the current Count and that was just to make sure the forest was in working order, as such it wasn’t someone that could help him learn magic.

“It’d be nice if I could go to a Mage School…but they’re more expensive than the ones in my old world. Venilis said there were scholarships but they don’t teach Shadow Mages anyway so that option is off the table.”

Ruffling his hair Naro couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh, in the end he could only learn by touch and go.

“I was fine with grinding anyway…” he mumbled lowering his hands. “No reason to feel down, my life is pretty good right now. Good in my stomach, a place to work, and a roof over my head. Compare to before a small hiccup like this is nothing. Aeli also gives me advice too…through Nefi.”

Naro slapped his cheeks and grabbing another plant returned to his training.

“I’ll be Rank E soon, then I’ll earn more money. I keep this up I’ll be able to repair the holes in this shack, Winter far away but it’ll be here before I know it if I dawdle.”

Through one of those very holes a golden eye was peering at the unaware Naro, focused on the purple glow surrounding his hands as he cast his magic, the clearly malicious looking spell coupled with the room full of dying plants, and the strange Mana signature that led her there spelled out everything.

“Found you.”

The Light Mage fists clenched as she found her quarry.

“Your end is nigh. Mage of Shadow.”