23. First Training

We left New York and had been on the road for two hours. During this time, we communicated and got to know Ashley better. In parallel, she trained the shroud of matter.

At this moment, we just arrived at a deserted place. There was only a field within a radius of 20 kilometers. I asked grandpa to stop here so we could train Ashley for a bit and also continue mastering magic.

After getting off the bus, I helped grandpa get a deck chair so that he could rest and look after us. After that, together with Gwen and Ashley, we went further into the field.

- So. It's a good place here. Now, Ashley, how long can you support the veil? - I asked.

- About 6 minutes, if I am fully focused and do nothing else. And if I move, then only 4 minutes. - Ashley boasted.

- This is very good for just a few hours of training. Now let's move on to the next stage. All this time you were holding coins in your hands, that is, you had constant access to matter. Now you need to absorb matter and, shall we say, accumulate it. As you usually do with electricity, but now do it with metal in coins. When you succeed, throw in the coins and try to keep the cover. To make it easier, first cover only the fingers, then the fist and finally the wrist. There is no point in covering further, because you no longer have enough matter. Understood? - I asked.

- Yes. I'll do everything. What's next? Cover my whole body? - Ashley asked excited.

- Not. It's too far for that yet. When you can keep the cover without recharge for at least 5 minutes, we will move on to other materials. For example, to a stone or a tree. You need to get used to the special properties of materials. And then how it goes. - I said.

- Okay, then I will train. - Ashley said and began to cover her fingers with metal.

- Now you, Gwen. Show me your magic disc again. - I asked Gwen.

Gwen listened to me, raised her hand and after a couple of seconds a pink magic disk with a diameter of 30 centimeters appeared on her hand.

When the disc was ready, she threw it into the ground a couple of meters from us. The disc spoiled the ground a little and dispersed.

- So pink, yes. - I muttered and thought a little.

Why my mana is a different color? As far as I remember, both my grandmother, and Gwen, and my other cousin Sunny, who is also Anodite, all magical constructions are pink.

Of course Sunny's designs were completely opaque, while Gwen's were translucent. But I thought it was because Sunny is stronger and better developed her skills than Gwen.

It looks like there is something else here. In general, the original never showed a male Anodite. I am the first Anodite man I have seen or read about. There was also nothing in the Plumbers' database about the Anodite men.

Maybe it's something like the color of the essence. Because, in the original, everything around Ben was green and around me was blue. So is the color of the eyes.

But this is also illogical, because Gwen has green eyes and pink mana. I'll have to ask Verdona about this when I can meet her. Or I will look later in books on magic. So far, it makes no sense to think about it.

- What do you think? Gwen asked, distracting me from my thoughts.

- Very good. Well done, you were able to create a disc without my help, and it is also so stable. But did you manage to learn how to drive Mana through the body? - I asked, although I guess that it is unlikely.

- Not. I wanted to create a construct much more, so I immediately went on to this - said the quiet Gwen, seeing my displeased look.

- This is you in vain. After all, this is necessary, not only in order to increase physical characteristics, this exercise increases control over magic and makes it easier to pass Mana through the body, thereby increasing the strength of structures and the speed of their creation. Look. - I said and created a blue disk in my right hand. It was slightly unstable and slightly transparent. But he still looked better and more powerful than Gwen's.

- It was without Mana filling. And now with the filling. - I said and threw the first disc into the ground.

Then I launched Mana over the body. Because of this, a small haze of blue color came from my entire body. Raising my hand, I created another disc. Unlike the first, this disc was created faster.

And he was more than about 7 centimeters and was much more stable, and even stronger in appearance. Throwing it into the ground, the disk did 3 times more damage than the first one.

- This is what will happen. - calmly said and looked at the stunned Gwen. - Now you understand how important it is?

- Yes. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I just wanted you to be proud of me. - Gwen said, looking down.

- I'm proud of you, but just be careful. It may be dangerous. Better next time consult. - I advised.

- Understood. - said the saddened Gwen and lowered her head.

- Okay. Let me teach you one more construction, and then you will begin to train the filling Mana of the body. - I said in an encouraging voice and stroked her hair. From this, Gwen directly blossomed.

- Watch attentively. It's basically a simple mana wall. But she can help you a lot. Especially if there is an explosion. You will be able to protect, not only yourself, but, for example, your grandfather. This is done quite simply, just like with a disc, but with two hands. - I said and began to show.

Raising both arms to chest level, I began to create a construct. After 5 seconds, a wall of mana appeared in front of me, two meters high and three meters long. She seemed stable, but a haze of magic was constantly coming out of her, indicating a loss of mana and an imperfect design.

- This is how it looks. It can also be used as a platform. - I said and lowered the wall to the ground. Then he stood on her. But she immediately dissipated.

- As you can see, she's not perfect yet. But even a design of this level can protect well. Do you understand everything? - I said to Gwen that all this time she was looking at me and listening attentively.

- Yes. I can't wait to get started. - said the agitated Gwen.

- You will start right after you learn the Mana filling. Not earlier, do you understand me? - I cooled Gwen's ardor.

At my words, Gwen only nodded obediently. I started to tell you how it's done. After 20 minutes, I left Gwen alone and went to train in magic myself. You need to achieve perfection in the creation of the disc and the wall.

-

After a few hours, I decided it was time to finish. During this time, I was finally able to create a perfect mana disc, it was now dense and completely opaque. I also learned how to change its size from 5 cm to a meter, and all these discs were stable and dense.

I also brought the mana shield to perfection, although I could not change the size yet. But I learned how to make a ladder, like Gwen in the original. True, he could only take 4 steps, after which he immediately fell. This will take more time.

Slightly improved control and reduced mana cost. Now I can increase physical characteristics by 25%.

When I finished, I decided to check on Gwen. Apparently she has learned to filling Mana all over her body, but not yet well enough.

But still, thanks to this, its physical characteristics are improved by 10%. Not bad for a first try.

She can create a mana shield, but it dissipates almost immediately.

- I did my best. Let's continue next time. Let's go after Ashley, I already want to eat. - I said and walked towards Ashley. Gwen followed me.

- Ashley, how are you? - I asked, going up to the girl.

- Things are good. I can cover my entire wrist, without recharge, for 3 minutes. Your advice helped me a lot, it was much easier that way. Now if I hold coins, I don't need to keep concentration, the cover keeps on itself for more than 10 minutes. - Said, very pleased with her own progress, Ashley.

- Well done. Since everything is going so well, take this. - I said and handed her a stone that I found on the way.

- You treat a stone as you do with coins. But that's for later, now you need to rest. - I smiled and went to the RV.

Approaching the mobile home, I saw my grandfather lying in the sun and dozing.

Having managed to wake him up, we drove to the nearest roadside town. There are just a huge number of such towns in America.

There we ate in a simple cafe and went to bed. I am very tired for today, and not only me.