The Price of First Magic

Part 1

I woke up in my own bed. I must have spent too much mana healing that flower and lost consciousness. Apparently, Lira wasn’t just saying it for no reason when she told me I was still too young to use magic. Next time I need to be more careful, otherwise they’ll forbid me from using magic completely.

— Eiron, you’re awake?

I slowly turned my head. Lira was sitting there, looking absolutely terrified.

— Yes, I’m fine, don’t worry.

— I told you, you’re still too little for magic! Why did I even listen to you?

— Sorry.

— And what if our parents had come back? I could’ve gotten punished because of you.

— …

— Alright, it’s my fault too. I shouldn’t have made you try casting again right after your first failure. Next time we’ll practice slowly, gradually increasing your mana reserves.

— I understand, thank you.

That turned out pretty badly. I knew something wasn’t right when the headache started, but I was too fascinated by magic and ignored it. Next time I’ll pay more attention to my condition.

Part 2

Another year passed. During this time, I learned all the beginner-level healing spells. I decided not to wait until I was enrolled in school and instead studied magic at home. Lira told me that for the first two years of school we would only study reading, writing, and a bit of magical theory, and only in the third year would we start actual practice. I had no intention of waiting that long, so when my sister wasn’t around, I secretly took her magic textbooks and read them.

Alak also loved reading. He often read to me in the evenings and allowed me to take books from the bookshelf. As it turned out, my father was far from twenty-five as I initially thought — he was already fifty-eight. Apparently this was a feature of the Aurion race. Elvarin also turned out to be much older than she looked. She was forty-two when she gave birth to me. Once I asked her about Aurions. She said Aurions can live up to five hundred years, and some even lived up to six hundred. Elvarin was a descendant of healers from Illusion. She studied at a local academy, where she met Alak. After they married, they moved to my father’s homeland.

Alak had once been an adventurer. Since he possessed a Special Rank in healing magic, his skills were highly valued. He studied magic at the National Academy of Illusion, named after Xserion. Besides healing, he also wielded destructive magic at an advanced level and even studied alteration magic a little. I don’t fully understand what alteration magic really is, but from what I’ve gathered, it includes all types of magic that don’t fit into other categories. For example: telekinesis (or gravity magic), transformation magic, enchantment, mana absorption, and curses. The last one is apparently banned almost everywhere in the world — but whatever, I already have enough other types of magic to be interested in.

Although… it would be interesting to know how curses work in this world.

Part 3

Time went on. Every day, I practiced magic. Casting silently turned out to be quite difficult. The thing is, when I try to reproduce a spell without words, I need to imagine the spell’s effect in my head and direct the flow of mana into my hands. But if I cast with words, I don’t need to imagine anything — everything sort of happens by itself. So I need to practice as much as possible. Maybe with destruction magic it will be different.

The only problem was that in our house there were only books on healing and enchanting. And even in Alak’s home library, among all the magic books, I did not find a single spell of destruction. Damn it, healing magic is too boring for me. I need to get books on destruction magic somewhere, but for now, I don’t have such an opportunity. Maybe I should somehow earn money and buy a book to study this magic.

Recently, Father took me with him to the city. Lorelin was a port city located on the coast of the Central Sea. A very beautiful city. Its special feature was the abundance of greenery. There were trees and bushes everywhere that decorated the city’s architecture. Most of the buildings were made of white brick and marble. In this city, I saw humans for the first time, as well as beastfolk.

We walked through the shops with Alak. I would soon turn five, so I would be sent to school. Since I had grown up, my parents decided to buy me some new clothes and everything I needed for school.

— Eiron, let’s stop here, they sell pens and notebooks. — All right.

We entered a shop called Neltor’s Goods. An ordinary store with books, pens, and other similar items. But in the right corner of the shop, I noticed books on magic, as well as various scrolls. While Alak was talking to the shopkeeper, I went over to those books. Maybe there were books about destruction here. I started searching for the one I needed. Among all the books, there were textbooks on different types of magic, which meant destruction should be there too. After a few minutes of searching, I found it. The book was called “Fundamentals of Destruction. Author: Xserion Latra.” While Alak wasn’t looking, I took the book from the shelf and quickly glanced through the contents. It described the history of destruction magic and also contained all spells from beginner level to advanced.

My eyes lit up. I desperately needed this book! I had to somehow convince Alak to buy it; hopefully, he wouldn’t mind since the price was quite reasonable.

— Dad, please buy me this book!

Alak turned and looked at me calmly. Then he smiled and said:

— Eiron, you’re still too young for such books. I understand, you’re smart beyond your years, but for now, I can’t buy this for you. — But please! I’m bored studying healing! — One day you’ll understand that healing is much more important than destruction.

Damn it! And I really hoped I could finally create fireballs, just like in games! God, I’m so tired of this stupid healing magic.

I lowered my head a little, feeling upset. Alak noticed it, thought for a bit, then sighed and said:

— All right, I’ll buy you this book if you bring good grades after your first year of school. — Okay, I’ll do my best!

The conditions were pretty simple. I was sure I would become an excellent student, since I had already mastered beginner-level healing, and I could read and write. The only problem was that I would have to wait another year, but one year for aurions is like a month for humans. I hope this time flies by quickly.

Part 4

Summer had come. For some reason, the school year here begins in summer. I guess that’s just how it works in this world. For me, summer was always associated with vacations, but here it’s the opposite. Well, whatever, I don’t really care. As long as this year ends quickly and I get my report card.

The Primary School of Magical Arts, where I would be studying, was located about ten kilometers from my home. It was an ordinary school, one of hundreds across the Aurion continent. As Lira told me, the first two years we would only study theory, and only in the third year would we move on to practice.

To graduate from this school, you only need to study for five years, and if I want to continue, I will have to enroll in the secondary school. Not all graduates of this institution are even capable of healing magic at the intermediate level. So I doubt I’ll learn much new here. I need to finish this place as quickly as possible and get into the secondary school. There I’ll be able to reach even the Advanced level.

When I entered the classroom, I saw that not only Aurions would be studying here. There were also humans, though more than half of the class were Aurions.

Looking around, I sat at a desk in the middle row. Next to me sat a beautiful Aurion girl. Her hair, like liquid gold, flowed over her shoulders, shimmering in the sunlight. Light played in it, sometimes becoming bright like a sunray, sometimes soft like moonlight. Her thin, pointed ears, typical of Aurions, were almost hidden in her golden hair, yet gave her a special charm.

She’s pretty attractive. Okay, that’s not what I should be thinking about.

— Dear students, may this Day of Knowledge become a bright and joyful celebration for you. We wish you a cheerful school life, good grades, a thirst for knowledge, and new discoveries. May your first year of study be successful, vivid, and interesting.

While I was lost in thought, our teacher delivered her welcoming speech. She didn’t look very young. Knowing the peculiarities of the Aurion race, I could assume she was at least two hundred years old.

She also said that especially gifted students could finish school earlier. There were even cases where a child studied no more than three years, then graduated from primary school and moved to secondary. This was excellent news for me. I could finish my studies here in just three years.

Then she explained the school rules and what we would study over the next five years. While she was speaking, I glanced at my classmates. Among them was an Aurion, but his skin was slightly darker, and his hair was black. I thought all Aurions had pale skin and light hair. He’s probably from another subrace, what were they called… Sindari. I thought they only lived in the south, but whatever.

The first lesson was history. In this lesson they began telling us about the very beginning of this world. The teacher said that our entire world was created by a certain Creator God. He created the land, the sea, animals, and intelligent races. He also created all the non-absolute gods. As I understood, in this world there are absolute and non-absolute gods. Their difference is that absolute gods possess divine power and are capable of creating entire worlds. Little is known about the absolute gods, since they do not interfere in mortal affairs, and among all mortals no one has ever seen them. Meanwhile, the non-absolute gods live right on our planet and maintain the laws of existence. Unlike absolute gods, non-absolute gods are limited by a curse. These curses were placed upon them by the Creator God so they would be forced to maintain order in this world.

Later we were told more about the non-absolute gods. There are only six of them: Azur (God of the Seas), Dryad (Goddess of Nature), Kaien (God of Earth), Aeris (Goddess of Winds), Foreus (God of Flame), and Spherum (God of Knowledge). Each of them performs an important function. For example, Kaien, using gravity magic, holds the planet together so it doesn’t break apart into space. Azur controls the flow of rivers and waves, and also holds the northern glaciers in place so they don’t flood the human continent. Foreus controls the heat of Etheria’s core, preventing it from cooling (which would lead to global freezing) or going out of control (which would cause constant super-eruptions). Aeris controls all the winds of the planet, moving clouds (which Azur fills with water) across the continent. Without her, rain would fall only in one region, causing drought elsewhere. Dryad controls photosynthesis, the growth rate of plants, and the metabolism of animals. She ensures forests don’t grow too fast, deplete the soil, and turn the world into chaotic jungles. And then there’s Spherum — the most useless among them. Simply put, he was given by the Creator God to develop intelligent beings so we wouldn’t live like cavemen. Thanks to him, cities, writing, and all other achievements of civilization appeared. Why do I call him the most useless? Because the world could function perfectly fine without him. Without Kaien, the world would explode into fragments; without Dryad, all animals would die; without Azur, rivers would stop flowing and everything would become a desert since he creates the clouds. Compared to them, Spherum seems rather useless. Still, thanks to him, I sit in a classroom, studying history.

That concluded the first lesson. It was very interesting. I never imagined everything here was so complex. Maybe one of these gods knows how I reincarnated in this world. If I ever meet one, I’ll definitely ask.

The second lesson was alphabet study. For me, someone who already knew how to read and write, the lesson was unbearably boring. In my previous life, I would’ve just scrolled on my phone during such a class, but here all I can do is stare out the window and count birds.

During the lesson, my desk neighbor suddenly spoke to me.

— Are you even listening to what the teacher is saying?

I stopped staring out the window and looked at her. She seemed a bit annoyed. But looking at her pretty face, her anger was honestly just adorable.

— I already know how to read and write. Why do I need to study the alphabet?

— I know a bit too, but reviewing doesn’t hurt.

Yeah right, like she’s the one to lecture me.

— What’s your name?

— My name is Aria, and yours?

— Eiron.

We talked for a bit. Turns out Aria also learned reading and writing at an early age. Unlike me though, she had no relatives who were mages. She was born into an ordinary Aurion family.

— Have you studied magic before? — I asked.

— No, my parents are farmers, so they never taught me magic.

— I see.

— What, did you already study magic?

— Yeah, I can use healing magic at the beginner level.

— Wow, that’s amazing. Could you maybe show me a couple of spells sometime?

I could, but I’ve already got plenty to do. Lately I’ve been having trouble studying intermediate healing magic. Basically, because I’m still too young, my mana reserves are quite low, so I can’t handle healing magic of the intermediate level yet. But looking at her, I just couldn’t say no.

— Fine, I’ll show you a few spells.

— Great! Then let’s meet after classes tomorrow?

— Alright.

I don’t know if agreeing was a good idea, but whatever — we’ll see how it turns out.

Part 5

The next day, I went to school again. Today’s lessons were quite interesting. We were told a bit about magical theory.

— Children, today we will talk about Alteration magic. It is the most complex and diverse type of magic. Alteration covers the manipulation of space, matter, energy flows, living beings, and objects.

As it turned out, Alteration magic consists of seven schools: telekinesis (manipulation of movement and spatial position of objects), influence (manipulation of the physical state of living beings), teleportation (manipulation of spatial positioning), transformation (manipulation of the form and composition of matter), mana absorption (manipulation of another’s mana), enchantment (embedding mana into non-living objects), and curses (manipulation of negative effects).

Classes ended. As I was about to go home, Aria approached me:

— You didn’t forget yesterday’s promise, did you?

Damn it, how could I forget? Yesterday after class I got so carried away with history that I completely forgot about it. I needed to pretend I hadn’t.

— No, I remember. Let’s go to the school courtyard, I’ll show you everything there.

We went outside. First, I needed to explain how to use magic.

— To learn a spell, you first need to read it. After that, close your eyes and imagine healing someone or something. While reading, try to direct mana to the hand you’ll be healing with.

— Got it!

— We’ll heal that bush over there.

I walked up to a small bush and bent one of its branches. I would teach her the same way Lira taught me.

— Try to heal this bush using this spell.

— Alright.

I gave her a magic textbook. First, she looked at it for a few seconds, then stretched her free hand toward the broken branch.

— Let water carry pain away as a river carries a stone. Let the earth give strength as a tree gives fruit. Let light fill the wound as the sun lights the field.

Mana began to concentrate in Aria’s hands. Her hand glowed bright green, and in just a second the broken branch healed completely, looking brand new. Even I couldn’t restore a flower that fast on my first try. Strange, considering I am descended from healers, yet she’s just the daughter of some farmer.

— I did it!

— Good job, now do the same thing, but silently.

I broke the branch again. Now I had to carefully watch so she wouldn’t collapse from mana exhaustion like I once did.

— Heal this branch, but be careful. If you start feeling unwell, stop the spell. Otherwise, you could pass out.

— Don’t worry, I’m fine.

Aria stood in front of the bush, stretching her right hand forward. Then she closed her eyes and stood like that for at least ten seconds. Maybe it was hard for her to imagine the spell in her mind, or she couldn’t concentrate mana in her hand. Maybe I should tell her to stop? The last thing I needed was for her to collapse on the ground from mana loss.

After standing there for a while, her hands slowly began to glow. The glow grew brighter with each passing second. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, clearly struggling. After a few seconds, the branch slowly started to mend. Before I even realized it, the bush was completely healed.

— Eiron, I did it!

— Wait, does your head hurt? Are you feeling alright?

— What are you talking about? I feel fine, nothing hurts.

Wait a minute, she just used silent magic for the first time — and she didn’t feel even a little unwell? Then why did I pass out, while she’s totally fine? She doesn’t even have mages in her family… or do I not know something? Damn it, looks like she was just lucky to be born with a large mana reserve. Then what exactly affects mana capacity? I should theoretically have more mana, yet somehow it’s the opposite. Alright, I’ll have to figure this out someday.