No sweat, only hydration

Making our way through the sand as particles flew in the air towards our direction. I held the map of the kingdom while simultaneously looking forward, the horizon disoriented as the heat continued to get worse. The land had nothing except coursed sand and rocky landscapes, barren and lacked life.

Such a dry land, utterly lifeless… I exhaled, sulking.

Marieka’s face was covered in sweat, her expression filled with irritation. “How big is this desert…? It’s been weeks since we left Port Schtark…!! We’ve been walking for seven hours… IT JUST NEVER ENDS!!!”

“This land makes up two fourths of the Imperial Vascht. So it’s quite big.” I replied.

“I’m hungry, and I’m thirsty… Can we stop somewhere, Eilise…” She groaned.

“We need to find a rocky shelter, then we can stop from there. There’s still a month till we get to the capital. So let’s try to have fun.”

Marieka turned to me pouting. “You know… I don’t see this part being fun at all…? When we find a village, I want to eat plenty of sweets and drink tons of water…”

“Just keep waiting for a little longer, we’ll find one.”

I halted before a ripple of mana came back to me.

“ーAnnaliese, swing your sword to the southeast.” I said without turning, eyes still on the map.

“H… huh…?” She turned her head, confused.

Annaliese was hesitant, but followed regardless and drew her sword, turning around to swing behind me before a large worm jumped out of the sand and was sliced open.

Marieka jolted, recoiling back.

“THERE WORMS HERE??! GIGANTIC ONES TOO!!!” She raised her voice, disgusted.

Soon after, the sand around us began to fluctuate as multiple worms underneath wiggled across.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Mmm…. These worms are disgusting… Why do they even exist…

Exhaling, I straightened my free armーa flash of light flickered before my staff appeared in my hand, aiming it at the ground. A magic circle was cast above the sand that nearly covered twenty meters of land below our feet.

I flew up high in the sky, stopping at a good distance and exhaled.

“Vue.” I skipped its chant. And in an instant, everything exploded.

The sound from the blast echoed through the quiet desert. The smoke covered the entire field as shockwaves traveled underneath the sand, rippling across the desert till it began blending with the environment.

As the smoke gradually faded, the two were left unscathedーprotected by a powerful shield before it flickered away. The aftermath of the blast left quite the dent in the sand.

Maybe… I went a little overboard… It’s fine, those pesky worms were troubling me… Exhaling above the sky.

I slowly descended, landing from the ground and tapping the dust off my cloak. I look to my shoulder to see Marieka’s face turn pale, holding her staff with both of her arms close to her chest. “EILISE… WHAT WAS THAT…?”

“ーHmm…? Vuelies Araglia, the normal one.”

“The… Normal… One…?” She slouched.

“I mean… It’s not a different variant or anything, it’s the one I usually used back then… It’s enough to kill ones that don’t use magic. I use a stronger variation for the others that do have mana.”

Annaliese stepped forward, proceeding to ask. “Mistress Eilise… Uhm, what about the shield…? With that kind of power, a normal shield would break…?”

“To put it short, It’s a stronger type used for us pointed hats. A few Mages are able to cast it at one point… But because it takes so much of your mana, it's not very optimal when you're fighting. Hence why mages often fight in the backline with a frontliner, or in an army.” I yawned before explaining. “There's a saying that ‘Those who deem one's amount, to wield is to fret.’ Which stands for; Mana reservoir is everything.”

Annaliese exhaled, before sheathing her sword. “....Pointed hats really are on another level. And to think even you, mistress Eilise is stronger than my master, is quite the headache.”

“It’s our duty after all… Well, my former duty… Our strength and intelligence is why we were appointed… Mainly the reason why we are called the perfect human beings. Because we’re all leagues above the strongest mages.”

Clenching my teeth, I scoffed at my own statement before shaking my head and recalled my staff using pocket magic. “Anyways. Shelter, we need to be under a rock or something… The temperature’s rising, so let’s try looking around.”

⇔ ⇔ ⇔ ⇔

We sat down on the ground above a blanket. I raised my hand to summon each one of us a cup to drinkーfilling it with water and handing it over to them without lifting a finger.

Marieka without hesitation took the cup and gulped down the water in one sitting. “Bahh!! More please!! I need all the water I can…”

“Marieka… You can pour yourself a drink right…?” I tilted my head.

She placed a finger in her cheek before the realization hit her.

“...Oh yeah, I can use magic… Sorry.” Moving her free hand, she aimed at the cup and closed her eyes.

“Vainschot.” A small magic circle was cast atop, and the cup began filling with water.

I exhaled and gave a long stare. “Marieka… Did you forget that you’re a mage…? Preferably… A student…?”

“I’M SORRY!! I DID FORGET!!!”

“....It’s fine, do you want me to teach you offensive spells? It’ll be useful for your staff.”

“H… huh…? Like Vuelies Araglia and other variants?”

“Offensive magic that most royal mages use. It’s only for self defense since you’re incapable of fighting…”

Marieka sulked… She drank her cup and exhaled loudly. “I’m not a genius nor a prodigy like you Eilise… I can’t learn as many spells as you do.”

“Do you realize who you’re talking to…? Don’t feel down, comparison is a thief of joy. And I’m not like any other teachers, so you can be assured. But really I think you should learn pocket magic first before anything. I’ve literally been pocketing your luggage…”

“Oh you’re right… BUT HOW CAN I EVEN LEARN IT!!!!??? I’VE BEEN TRYING FOR MONTHS IN CLASS BUT I NEVER PULLED IT OFF!!! AM I JUST THIS BAD AT USING MAGIC??!!” Marieka cried out.

“Then your teacher must’ve not taught you properly… It’s an easy spell to do.”

“Define easy, Eilise….” She pouted.

Exhaling, my shoulders slouched. “I’m dead serious… It takes a few steps. Once you understand, you’ll start to wonder if your teacher was spewing nonsense.”

“....Really?” Marieka put down her cup.

I summoned a notebook from my hands and passed it to herーlevitating as she took the book from the air, and opened the page. In an instant, her expression shot up.

“WHHHAAAAATTTT??????!!!!!!!!!!”

I covered my face, shrugging it off.