Grandiose of things

Staring at the edge of a cliff, we walked carefully step by step, cautious not to slip.

Annaliese couldn’t believe the path we were taking. “How steep is this hill? If we miss a step, we’ll fall a long way. Except for Mistress Eilise…”

“Eh… You shouldn’t be too worried… I could bring you two to the other side without an issue.”

“THEN WHY ARE WE STILL… C… CROSSING THIS!!!” Marieka shook violently. “F… FIRST THE BOAR… AND NOW H…HERE?!!!! W… WERE SO HIGH UP…!!!!”

Mmm… I find her reactions entertaining… So I want to keep on going but… She might hate me for it…

“Fine fine… I thought you wanted to visit around the world… And yet you’re skipping these types of thrills…” I lazily raised my finger, then a magic circle was cast underneath us and in a flashーwe teleported on the other side, landing on the rocky surface.

Dust was blown away from the aftermath.

“T… Thank goodness…” Marieka dropped to the ground, trembling. “I… It wasn’t a good idea after all…”

Yawning, I replied. “You did suggest the idea of taking a shortcut… So we had to follow.” Then turned to Annaliese. “But If we did fall down, Annaliese would easily survive the cliff due to her reflexes… And as for… Yeah…”

She nodded, exhaling and looked at Marieka whose legs were still shaking. “It’s okay Marieka, obviously for you it’s normal to act this way.”

“ーMmmph……”

She continued to sulk.

I scratched the bridge of my nose, doing my best to keep myself from falling asleep, my attention shifted to the faint ringing sound near me. I turned from all sides trying to find out where it was coming from, only to realize that it had been Marieka's manaーwhich had grown to the extent where it’s visible to the naked eye.

At first I didn’t pay no mind, and then I realized, wait whatー,

….Huh??! Her mana grew???! Does she notice or what…?

“ーWell… Yeah! It’s normal because I’m incapable of doing anything!!!!!” She threw a fit. “I can’t fly!!! I can’t teleport!!!! And I can’t even fight! All because I don’t have enough mana… And talent…”

Annaliese scratched her head. “You’re comparing yourself to uhm… Two Pointed hats…”

“THATS THE POINT! I can’t do any of those because I’m not like them…”

…The way she’s reacting reminded me of myself, well… Past me I guess… But Gosh, Is this how I look like…? It’s not accurate but.

“ーMarieka, remember what I’ve told you before okay? Don’t stress… comparison is a thief of joy… You’d be more proud of yourself if you appreciate every little progress you make.”

She pouted, crossing her arms. “What have I even achieved so far…? It’s nothing compared to the average student in Vernhuld…”

Scratching my head, I exhaled. She doesn’t realize how much her mana has grown throughout the journey… She’s already at the level of a decent mage…

“....Marieka, Remember back in the Imperial Vascht? That you wanted to learn combat? I figured now's the best time to do that now, not here but somewhere else.”

She exhaled, still on the ground and hadn't stood up. “Okay… I guess… It was my suggestion in the first place… And I was eager to learn how to fight…. So… what’s the training, Eilise?”

“Firstly, I thought of giving you a little heads upーJust so you know, I won’t go easy on you. Even if you’re my best friend, do keep that in mind.” I sharpened my tone.

⇔ ⇔ ⇔ ⇔

Roughly twenty minutes later…

BOOM!

The ground shook, the field was covered in smoke from the aftermath of the explosions. Marieka in the middle of the open field held her staff tightly, pointing at me as her legs were shaking.

“ーMore focus Marieka, you wouldn’t get this much freedom in a real battle. Be upright.” Instructing her as I began another attack.

“Vue.” Skipping the chant once more, then multiple magic circles were cast above meーhurling controlled fireballs aimed at her.

“W… WAIT!!! I DON’T THINK I’M CAPABLE OF… WAAHHHH!!!!” She quickly blocked the strike by casting her shield, ricocheting as the projectile exploded the ground.

“Focus! What you're using isn’t the same shield that royal mages use so it's more prone to breaking, and I’m only grazing it as we speak. If this were a real scenario, then I’m afraid I’d be weeping in tears by now.

“BUT HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FIGHT THESE OFF??!! AHH!!!” She blocked off another strike.

I pointed my staff at the ground, temporarily disarming everything and giving her room to breathe. “Don’t focus on strengthening its entire structure, but rather specific spots. This will help you save more mana. And I’m telling you this because the high-grade variant will gulp your entire reservoir in less than ten seconds of usage.”

Marieka, panted heavily, then dropped to the ground. “My body is at its limit… I’m so exhausted…. What's even the purpose of this training…”

“Well… To increase your capacity, and to increase efficiency. The more you use magic, the more your mana grows.” I paused. “Though you haven’t realized that at the start of this journey, if you were to swap with your formerーyou wouldn’t be able to defend six of my barrages like you do now.”

She pouted in response, brows furrowing. “Hmmh!!! I know that continuously using magic lets your mana grow but… Is there a gentler way??!! I don’t think I can last another session at this point!!!”

“Nope…. This is the only way you could improve much faster….” Yawning, I covered my mouth.

Annaliese behind me responded. “ーMhm, that’s right Marieka. Remember, Mister Ewald didn’t go easy on me either… And I had the same reaction as you… Yet, look how I’ve turned out! Back in port Kalyiar, I previously never had any real battle experience until that point. And it was only thanks to my master who made my training as real as possible!”

She continued. “Besides, I’ve seen the average mage train. And it’s way harsher than ours as frontliners…”

I nodded. “To be expected, as a mage, you’re always on the lookout. If your magic fails you, you’re entirely to blame. Keep in mind Marieka, I’m a lot more softer than other teachers. Do consider yourself lucky.”

“Mmm…..”

Marieka held back her tears, sulking before she finally stood upーwobbling as she found her balance. “Then… Fine… O… ONE MORE TIME!!!” She yelled.

Surprised by her reaction, my eyes opened.

….Oh? Looks like she’s more resilient than I thought… That’s good to know. I scoffed.

“Then, try to ward this off… Annaliese, please step back a bit more.”

Nodding, she distanced herself as I prepared to attack Marieka once more. I aimed my staff directly at her center, narrowing my eyes.

“Brace for a bit, okay?” I warned her.

She nodded, brows furrowing as she tightened the grip on her staff.

I closed my eyes and stood still for a momentーmaking sure I don’t use too much of my reservoir considering I don’t plan to chant for this spell. It took a minute before suddenly, the world around us turned pitch black, the atmosphere changed.

Then a flash of light flickered at the tip of my staff, before a black hole was summoned.

Everything began being pulled by it, then a ring of light appeared on the edges.

They felt the weight of the gravity and began breathing heavily… The two were terrified, to think casting such a powerful spell without any safety measurements is absurd. And I’m sure Annaliese behind me was worried for Marieka…

Marieka didn’t know whether or not she’d be able to survive this and yet… Still, she stood her ground.

Her arms were shakingーher legs grew limp ever so slightly, yet she didn’t falter…

As funny as it seems, obviously this spell would kill her, and I would never do that. I was only testing to see if she were to faint by this…

I smiled proudly, softly chuckling before disabling the spell and lowering my staff. The black hole disappeared as everything returned to normal, like nothing had happened aside from the trees around us losing a few branches.

Marieka stood confused, who was still clenching her staff as her eyes widened. “W… wha? Y.. you were not gonna…?”

“Mhm… I was only joking… That spell would kill you of course… Still… You had an amazing look in your eyes… I’m proud of that…” I yawned. “Though… I am surprised you didn’t faint along the way… You’re quite resilient…”

“E… Ehh… So… It was only aー,” She collapsed to the ground mid sentence, her legs fully gave out, losing consciousness.

“Hueh…?!! M… Marieka are you okay…?” I called her anxiously…

…Oh dear, whoops, I only wanted to joke around… Yet she actually fainted…