Chapter 3: It's Just a Pinky

I think the smartest decision I’ve made in this world was making that book store run with Mia. I just turned five and I have a kid brother now, plus mother’s pregnant again. There’s enough going on to keep both my parents and our attendants busy, so I can do as I please during the day. As long as I show up to dinner, no one even asks me questions anymore.

Mornings are for sword and strength training in the yard, midday I work with Mia (though we’re basically just learning together at this point) then in the afternoon I say I’m working on my stamina, which is sorta true. My family thinks I’m running through the wooded area behind the estate, but I actually sprint deeper into the forest to practice magic. I only have two hours free hours a day between tutoring and dinner, so it’s not perfect, but it has made a huge difference in my training.

For instance, the way my father uses his magic to create fire is by pushing magic out of his body while visualizing it changing form. I can do the same, but there’s a better way to do it. The fog I’ve been seeing since I was a kid is definitely some sort of magical energy, but it doesn’t do anything unless you tell it to.

It’s taken years to get a hold of this concept, but I think of it like magic that doesn’t belong to anyone. And to use it, I send my magic out while visualizing turning this unowned energy into the phenomena I want to create. It’s way more efficient and it lets me activate magic at a distance so long as some of my magic is in the air.

Everyone is leaking magic as they go about their lives, and with all the training I do, I seem to have a lot. Anywhere within 10 meters of me I’m able to activate magic instantly. If I spread my magic purposefully, that range goes up to about 50 meters.

I've been thinking that I need to develop some stealth skills. Two hours in the afternoon isn’t enough time to work on everything I want. And with the influx of siblings I’m not being watched too closely, so operation sneak out of the house to train is a go.

***

I asked Shayna if I could have a full-sized mirror moved into my room under the guise of caring more about my appearance since I’m a big sibling now. It’s really part of my stealth training.

I set-up the mirror a few meters in front of me so I can see my entire body in it, then I visualize my magic coating the outside of my body and think invisible thoughts. Nothing happens.

Ok what if I push my magic out and form a circle around myself? Instead of imagining myself disappearing, I should use some past life knowledge. Light bends and distorts things in water, so I want to visualize the light around me bending, I think this was called refraction? I create a dome of magic around myself and visualize the light moving through it bending.

Holy hell I look pencil thin in the mirror! Bending light is the key here, maybe if I push the dome farther away I can totally disappear. I back up to the wall to make as much space as possible and push my magic as close to the mirror as I can and.. I’m gone.

Ok, how far does the dome have to be from me to disappear? I pull the dome closer and closer and there! Looks like it has to be at least 3 meters away from me for light to bend enough so I’m not seen. It’ll probably still work while moving too, but I guess I can’t do anything about the sound I make.

Regardless, this is the breakthrough I needed. Now can I command the energy in the air into a dome and have it bend the light for me? I send the command through my magic and a barrier made of my magic and the energy in the air forms around me.

It works the same way, though it’s not much more efficient considering I’m already leaking enough magic to make the dome by the second. Maybe I can work on that in the future, but for now I should be able to sneak out without too much issue.

***

Sneaking out was a cinch, my room is on the third floor of the estate, so the only real concern is not making too much noise when landing on the ground. Luckily my sword training book has a trick that came in handy. It doesn’t seem like anyone in this world uses magic to strengthen the inside of their bodies, but swordsmen and martial artists push magic into the ground to help their footwork.

This typically destroys the ground, but if I moderate it like when I run magic through my body and imagine creating a foothold in the air I get a sturdy magic step. I think I could use this to walk on water too, though I wouldn’t really be walking on water, I’d be placing a layer of solid magic between me and the water. It’d look legit though since most people struggle to see magic clearly.

Late that night, I hike a kilometer into the forest behind my family’s estate. Ever since I started running magic though my eyes and inner ears a few years ago my senses have greatly improved. I’m not sure how my vision compares to animals that hunt at night, but I never run into anything and I’m pretty aware of my surroundings.

Now for the purpose of tonight’s training. I was able to manipulate light to make myself invisible, but that made me think – can create light like I can with other elements? I visualize the light I want to make, a little lightbulb shape would do. I suppose that'd just be a point that emits photons in every direction so.. FUCK ME, BRIGHT AS SHIT.

It’s bright, proof of concept is great though. I imagine fewer photons, enough to dimly cover the 10 meters around me. It's better, I move it left, then right, up, down. Neat. I manipulate it to fly back and forth.

Interesting, I can manipulate every element in a similar way, but making it fly side to side I can’t see the ball of light anymore, it just looks like a tube light you’d see at a large store in my old world. It’s quite fast too. Can I hold it? I lower the ball of photons into my hand.

FUC. It’s hot. It’s bright and it’s hot, good information.

My nighttime routine has a changed a bit since I first experimented with hardening my wooden sword with magic. In addition to sending magic through my body, I also send it into the knife I took to practice healing magic. It should be pretty formidable by now, which means I can finally cut one of my fingers off.

Left hand pinky is the only option. I’m not certain I can make it grow back with healing magic, but from how easily I can patch up my skin and nicks to my muscles or bones it should be doable. On the count of 3. One, two, three - SLICE.

JESUS TITS, this hurts way more than I thought. I shake my hand around like the pain will go flying off.

Enough panic. I cover the air around the stub with magic and pull energy from the air towards the wound. I visualize what I want to regrow - bone, connective tissue, nerves, muscles, skin and nail. Layer by layer a new pinky takes form.

It’s all there, and it moves how I want it to. I’ll need to focus on it during my nighttime magic infusions, but I can regrow body parts. At least the smaller ones.

***
My youngest sibling should be born in about two months so anything I need from my father I need to get now. And I have just one thing in mind..

I walk into my father's office where he's flipping through a stack of handwritten letters.

“Father when is the new baby coming?” I ask.

He looks up at and smiles.

“Should be in two months Alfred, are you excited to be a big brother again?” father asks.

“I can’t wait!" I nearly shout, "I’m hoping for a baby sister this time, but I know you’ll be busy once she’s here so I was hoping we could go into the capital once before they come..”

Father tightens his expression.

“The capital.." he mumbles, "that’s a bit of a trip with your mother so far along.. why do you want to go?” father asks, and lifts an eyebrow.

“I heard there are going to be magician and swordsmen exhibition matches in the capital two weeks from now" I answer, "I really want to see them, and it’d be fun to go with you before you’re busy with a new baby” I add shyly.

Father sighs.

“I understand son, but I can’t be away from your mother for that long. Would you go with Shayna?" he asks, "she’s been teaching our new attendant how to care for your little brother Oliver, so until the baby is born we have a surplus of help”

“I’m sad it won’t be with you father” I say with a pout, “but I’d still love to go if you can spare Shayna”

It’s not an ideal outcome, Shayna will watch me much more closely than father would, but I’m under the impression that my magic usage far outstrips what’s seen in this world and I need to know if that’s correct.