Mana Prodigy

Pov Grey:

'My head,' I cursed, waking up to realize that I had fallen asleep on the desk. My memories of yesterday were still cloudy. I rose and turned on the shower, standing beneath it for a couple of minutes. Snapping out of sleepiness, I dressed myself and left my room.

Not too long after, I started walking and reached the training hall. I saw Lor standing there, grinning like an idiot.

Still grinning, he said, "You are 15 minutes late." He tried to sound disappointed, but anyone who didn't know him would think the same. Since I had practiced all day with him to learn and gain an understanding of mana, I knew him better than most.

I replied, "Well, I got up late, so let's hurry and start the practice." "Yeah, yeah, mana is it? Well, this time you will have to use all the spells of 'Ice Essence'. Now start with the most basic spell, okay?" He said, trying to sound strict.

As I started to concentrate on my spell, I began muttering the chant. After a minute passed, I suddenly said, "Crystal Shards."

Just when I shouted the name of the spell, several dozen sharp tiny pieces of ice crystals began forming out of thin air in front of my eyes.

After a few seconds, all of them launched at the wooden target in front of me. Many of the smaller shards scratched the wooden surface, some shards froze the wood white, and the bigger one at the end simply destroyed the wood into pieces.

Even though the spell was quite destructive, it lacked speed. Furthermore, it also took a minute for it to be manifested.

"Well, that was kind of better than yesterday," Lor complimented, "But, that's not the true power of that spell. Here, let me show you." He added before I could say anything.

Understanding that he was going to demonstrate the true power of that spell, I nodded. He stretched his arm and pointed one finger at the target, saying, "Look closely." Just as he finished speaking, hundreds of small crystal shards appeared in thin air, dozens of the bigger ones surrounded his arm. Many of them danced around him in the air. Just when he flicked his finger, they launched forward, and in just a blink of an eye, the wooden target froze and crumbled into pieces. The bigger ones that hit the walls covered them completely in a thick layer of ice; some pierced the wall, while others shattered parts of it.

Waving his arm in the air, he said, "This, Grey, is the actual power of this spell," his voice brimming with power. I gave him a nod and said, "I'll try."

With that, I began to concentrate, and just like the last time, it took me a minute to complete the spell. But, I had a different thought this time. Instead of concentrating mana in one spot to create a large shard and smaller ones around it, I tried to swirl the mana like a sphere and gather mana from nature into it.

Mana condensed in the shape of a sphere, ambient mana filled inside it, and a small whirlpool began to form with the sphere at the center of it.

Smaller shards of ice began to form and started spinning around the sphere of ice. I condensed it more, and it slowly began to shrink, eventually becoming the size that could easily fit in my palm.

I chose that moment to complete my spell and launch it.

"Crystal Shard."

The sphere shot with immense speed toward the stone target that Lor had put there in the meantime.

As soon as the sphere touched the target, the stone shattered, and the sphere launched towards the wall without stopping. When it touched the mana-enchanted wall, the sphere burst, and the ambient mana spilled over, covering the wall and target area with a dome of mana.

The smaller shards froze the mana entirely, and everything inside it crumbled to dust.

The sight of it was strangely beautiful.

Lor's eyes widened, his hands trembled, and his mouth hung open.

"WHAT—what in the world was that, Grey?" His voice trembled.

"I tried to do something new. So, it's the result of that," I said in a flat tone.

"That—Grey, do you realize that you are a genius?"

"What are you trying to say?" I thought, 'Has he gone crazy?'

"It's not like there aren't any kids your age who have made their own spell. But those who have succeeded in doing so are known as geniuses, a prodigy," he said with a hint of pride and acknowledgment.

"Is that so. But, it's still not enough for the entrance test of the academy," I said with determination.

"No, that's more than enough. Every kid who has done something like this, or something that can be compared to this, is all in the Eldoritha Academy," he replied.

"Ah, I see." 'Well, at least my passing in the exams is confirmed,' I thought.

I felt like a great weight pressing down on me was lifted up.

But, I still have a long way to go. Even if my own spell seemed stronger than Lor's spell, the spell cast by him was much stronger than mine.

Mine was destructive indeed, but it was still uncontrollable. Just like now when it destroyed the wall along with the target area. In the face of a problem, it can harm someone else along with the problem itself.

Whereas Lor's spell was controlled, though it destroyed the wall. It was what Lor was trying to show since he wanted to show me the true power of this spell.

"So, can I go now? I have to meditate since I exhausted my mana entirely," I asked.

"Fine. But, you don't need to come to practice from tomorrow," he said with a tone of sorrow.

"Okay. So I am going now."

"Bye. I'll see you at dinner," he said.

Looking back, I replied with a nod and returned to my room. I sat down on the bed in a meditative posture, closed my eyes, and began to concentrate on my mana center.

'It's bigger than yesterday.' Since I started to wield mana later than anyone, my mana center grew every day.

But, as I tried to concentrate deeper, my mind shifted to something else.

An energy center, completely black. I pushed deeper into it. I could see some colors in it.

Countless golden, amethyst, and azure glowing particles inside it.

'Astrum,' I thought. These were particles of astrum; they looked as if they were dancing.

In the center of them, I noticed something. Something strange. I tried to go deeper into the energy center, but the moment I entered it, I lost consciousness.