Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Evin tried willing for a flame to appear atop the pile, but of course, things weren't so simple anymore. The energy inside him seemed to understand his order, but they didn't possess the knowledge to actually perform them. Perhaps they required better instructions, but sadly, Evin didn't really know anything more detailed than the fact that a fire starts if you strike at a jagged rock with a flint of some sorts.

"Well, I said that I'll teach you how to cast magic, but in reality, every mage does this differently. But... about 7 out of 10 mages will use Chants like me, so let's start with that," Leanne said and cleared her throat, "Chants are divided into two groups: Demanding and Pleading. Demanding Chants will go something like this: 'I demand the energy of Irratas to create a floating ball of fire in front of me!'"

As she demanded, a small ball of fire appeared in the air and burned playfully.

If Evin heard a non-mage chant these words, then he probably would've thought it was a joke of some sorts. The word choice wasn't anything special. There was no rhyme or rhythm to the entire thing to speak of… but Leanne said these words with such powerful emotions that Evin couldn't help but feel awe when hearing it. If he was this energy of Irratas, he would've definitely done his best to fulfill whatever it was that was being demanded from him.

"A Pleading Chant will go something like this: 'O, Mighty Creator of the ever-blazing horns, grant this lowly one the miracle of a small flaming orb!'"

Again, a noticeably more imposing and majestic ball of fire appeared in the room, one that also seemed to bend to Leanne's will. And again, although the words she used were simple, there was such a strong feeling of intent and yearning behind it, that Evin couldn't help but be shocked by its effects.

"As you can see, the effects of the two methods are different for each person. Since I'm not very comfortable demanding anything to go in my favor, the ball of flame I created through a Demanding Chant wasn't really impressive. The most important part of using this method is to be sincere with what you're saying. If you can't trust in your own words, then the Worlds will most definitely not bother with them. Now, give it a try."

Evin and Kon started chanting in their own ways, but needless to say, nothing really happened. The way they spoke was just not compelling enough to make the World energies inside their bodies to act for them. It was the like the difference between listening to a five-year-old and a court songster telling a story.

But aside from all this, they did solve one problem. Evin and Kon both settled on Pleading Chants, as it was very obvious that the two of them were not cut out for Demanding Chants.

They tried this for a while, before finally, Kon managed to plead some magic into existence. Evin didn't really see it happening, but Leanne was almost positive about the fact. Kon also seemed to feel something, and was giggling excitedly, a clear contrast to the timid girl a few minutes ago.

As for Evin, well, chant as he might, the flames were not willing to show themselves. They didn't even bother to throw a spark or two to satisfy Evin's wishes.

"I know it seems impossible now, but I've started very similarly to you two, so don't worry too much. Though I'll give you one advice. Don't be so embarrassed about the words you say. You're both very timid, and it shows a lot. Understand that it's natural for mages to chant words like these," Leanne said and rubbed the two's heads.

Evin and Kon nodded bashfully. But even with practice, Evin felt that this method of chanting wasn't suited for him in the first place. Like the woman said, maybe he could get used to it after some effort, but Evin himself preferred to cast spells in a different way.

"The next most popular method is the use of runes. Only 1 out of 10 mages will use this exclusively, but many mages are familiar with its details. Perhaps the simplest, yet the most expensive method of casting," Leanne pulled out two pieces of paper and gave one to Evin. It was made of very high-quality orange paper and had a symbol of circle with a few swirling lines drawn inside it.

"Just rip it in half."

Evin did as the mage ordered, and he immediately started feeling the change inside him. The hot flow of energy that was running through his body suddenly disappeared, and an orb of fire burst forth into existence. It burned magnificently for a few seconds before disappearing into nothingness. The same thing happened with Kon as a wave of air whirled inside the room a few times before dying out.

The two children started to pant heavily, sweat appearing on their foreheads. But rather than feeling tired, they both looked very excited. Evin didn't really know what he did, but this was his first time casting magic! He looked towards his father with excitement, perhaps expecting the other to look impressed, or even proud… but no. His father wore a scowl on his face, looking back at him with displeased eyes.

Weirdly, Evin expected the voice to make a snark comment badmouthing his father like it always did… but the voice had become silent for a while now.

"As you can see, the process happens entirely out of your own control. It forcefully takes the energy inside your mana-core and uses it to cast the spell that the rune depicts, so it's very costly on your bodies. And also, these papers need to be created in a very specific way, which makes this method very costly for casting stronger magics… But they can act as trump cards of some sorts, so they're still very popular among mages."

Evin focused his attention back to the mage's lesson, trying to forget about his father and the voice for the time being.

"Alright, recharge your mana-cores with World energies and let it settle inside your body," Leanne paused, and continued after a minute, "Another method that some mages use a lot is the use of gestures and body movements. About 1 in 10 mages use this method, and as you can guess from its name, it is the art of casting spells using specific hand movements and maybe even specific dances."

"Unfortunately, I'm unable to demonstrate this method to you, as it requires a certain amount of skill to carry out. But I can assure you that if you can manage to make it work, then you'll have a very powerful tool in your hands. I've heard people say that spells created through this method are almost twice as strong as normal ones and costs barely any mana. So if you're interested, the Academy's classes are open for you."

Evin thought about the issue for a bit before thinking that this method of casting wasn't suited for him either. Evin remembered that one time he tried to dance around a bonfire once… well, it wasn't a fun time for him and anyone else who happened to see him. The method to use Runes also didn't seem very plausible to him, as the things cost a lot of money.

"The last method is called Imagination Casting. This one's a bit hard, as you can't just will something to happen with your resolve. You can do it in the future, when your mana capacity is bigger, but for the current you, who've just awakened their mana-cores, it would be very hard… But it's not impossible. Let me explain."

According to Leanne, Imagination Casting was similar to what Evin tried to do after he filled his mana-core with Fire energy. At the time, he willed it to create fire, but it somehow felt as if the energy needed better instructions.

Apparently, he was right. Leanne explained that the more detailed one's imagination, or command was, the better their chances of casting magic without Chants, Gestures, or Runes were. Evin asked her what kind of details it was best to imagine, but the latter explained that Evin just needed to think of what needed for something to burn in reality, without the need for magic.

It was a bit confusing, but the two children still promised to do their best. Especially Evin, who finally found a casting method that resonated with him. He tried many different ways of imagining a fire, but he always felt that there was something missing from his imagination.

But many failures later, he started thinking of giving up.

'Maybe I'm just not cut out for casting spells?' he thought dejectedly, 'Even this 4th grade girl showed some promise with Chants…'

'No. I shouldn't give up so easily. The least I can do is try my hardest, and only then I can give up,' he said resolutely and focused on his imagination.

But right after he'd resolved his will, something weird started happening. The Fire energy inside his body suddenly became very active, as Evin could feel that they were starting to work on something. While he was trying to understand what was happening, the pile of paper started to crackle, before it started catching fire. The pieces of paper turned into smoke, but even then, the fire grew taller and taller before it finally burst into an array of sparks and embers.

<So that's how it works…> the voice muttered and seemed to hum thoughtfully to himself.

Evin really wanted to ask it if that fire was his doing, but he obviously couldn't. He looked around the room, and saw the surrounding people all making a shocked face. The most striking was Leanne, who stared at him with a look of uncertainty and disbelief.

"How did you do that?" she asked after a bit.

Evin tried to reply, but was unable to. After all, even he didn't know what exactly happened.

"I… I don't know," he murmured, before suddenly falling to his knees. His breathing became rough, and his head felt dizzy. Leanne quickly dashed over to pick him up, though her eyes still contained traces of suspicion.

"You've just overworked your mana-core a bit. You'll feel better if you rest for a bit."

Evin wanted to thank her, but the exhaustion seemed to take over his entire body as he could only offer a sigh. Leanne assumed a thoughtful frown the entire time. 

A few minutes later, when Evin started to get better, Leanne resumed speaking.

"With this, we'll finish for today. Thank you for paying attention to my lesson."

"If you want to learn further, then you can do so at our Academy. Trust me, you won't find a better place to study if you want to obtain knowledge about magehood. And thanks to King Seth's benevolence, every mage is allowed to study in it for a year without costs and even after that, if you're talented enough, you might be able to win yourself further benefits. These include more payments for your tuition, more World Shards for your mana-core, and even monetary benefits!" Leanne exclaimed, "That's right. The kingdom's willing to pay you money if you study hard enough!"

"In any case, a new set of classes are going to start the next 15th, so you can inform me of your decision in… let's see, 10 days," Leanne said smilingly, "But if you want to come before then for whatever reason, be my guest. I'll be here all year."

Everyone said their goodbyes and Evin went back home with his father.

-----