Step By Step

The magnificent blue hue of the sky had now faded, and the skies above took on an orange color that seemed to inspire tranquility in the lands below. The grass was no longer rustling wildly in the evening winds; the birds had begun taking up residence in their high-altitude homes and even the pond now before me that was prone to the occasional ripples had been subdued by the presence of the shifting day. 

Splash! 

With a muffled pattering sound, the stone I threw skipped halfway across the pond's surface before finally being submerged once it reached the pond's center. This "stone Skipping" activity looked simple enough to do when watching Chelsea, but it had turned out to be a much more skillful task than I'd expected, no matter how close I stood or how much force I threw the pebbles with, they would never end up making it to the other side. 

"Hehehe....You're not throwing it properly" The chuckling girl beside me simply laughed at my plight, watching my countless failures must have been a form of entertainment for her. She approached me with her usual, carefully placed steps before prying the stone from my loosened grip. 

"Here, let me show you one more time." 

After saying that, she threw the stone with much less force than any of my previous attempts, and as I watched, the lone pebble skipped on the water's surface over ten times before crossing over to the other side. 

"Did you see what you were doing wrong now?" 

Her tone still held its usual compassion, but mixed into it now was a slight hint of sternness. As time passed, she seemed to be growing more and more into her assigned role of "tutor". 

"Just now, it wasn't the force or shape of the pebble that actually made a difference, so then it must be...the angle!?" 

"That's right, the angle you were throwing with earlier was an overhead loop, that's why it wasn't skipping across the pond." 

The fact that it had taken me over five tries to realize such a simple gimmick had inspired a hint of frustration that I could only direct at myself. 

"Then, let's see if I can get the angle right this time." 

Picking up another pebble, I threw it at a horizontal angle with no overbearing force behind it, and just as Chelsea had said, it skipped along the crystal-clear surface of the pond and crossed over to the other side. 

"There, you caught on in no time -You're a fast learner Arlen." 

Crouching down beside me, Chelsea began singing praises I was definitely unworthy of. 

"I don't think fast learners take over five tries to get something so simple..." I answered her in a somewhat sarcastic tone. 

"That depends on what you're learning, right? And besides most people take way more than five tries to figure it out." 

"Well if that's true then I need to start learning even faster." 

"Ahahaha!..... Arlen you're actually a pretty funny kid. I wasn't expecting this since you were being so shy earlier." 

"I was just surprised...." Smiling wryly at her, she returned my gesture in kind. 

"I guess today was full of surprises for us both then. Let's see how far I can take you as your tutor." 

Swept up in a subtle gust of wind, I turned my attention towards the flock of cawing crows now passing overhead. "Well, I guess that should be about it for today?" 

Matching my line-of-sight Chelsea slowly rose to her feet before shielding her eyes from the last semblances of bright vigor the descending sun had to offer. 

"Let's head back Arlen, I'll make sure to tell your mom how well you did today." 

I didn't particularly see it that way myself, but disagreeing with her here wouldn't benefit anybody. 

"If you would...." I responded to the girl now leading in front of me. 

"By the way Chelsea....what we were just doing.....did it have anything to do with magic at all?" 

"Hm? Oh, it wasn't directly related to anything magical, but it's a well-known test to see how you'd handle optimizing your mana control." 

"You mean you could actually tell that much just from watching me throw stones?" 

"Yea, surprisingly that little test actually works. I read somewhere that it supposedly relies on a person's instinctual habits to give an idea of how much mana and control they would be able to exert when casting new skills for the first time. Since you wouldn't be used to the technique, optimizing your mana control and the amount of mana you use will end up being pretty important when you're casting skills for the first time." 

"…....." 

"O-oh sorry if that sounded like gibberish to you, I get caught up in the moment whenever I start to talk about magical theories and stuff like that." Chelsea sounded slightly embarrassed; I couldn't see her expression from here, but I already had a pretty good idea of what it was like. 

"No that sounded really interesting, I'd love to hear more about it sometime." Adding a hint of sincerity to my childlike voice, I conveyed that message with all my enthusiastic vigor. 

"R-really!? T-then …...Ahem...of course Arlen, as your tutor I'm more than willing to help you learn as many magical theories as you'd like." 

"Hehe...Thanks Chelsea." 

Hearing my supposedly innocent response, I saw her divert her gaze the moment she'd met my eyes. Even though she had tried to hastily collect herself just now, her excitement had still managed to shine through her innocent façade. 

"So, what did you think of my control?" my voice was filled with a tinge of anticipation as I awaited her answer. 

"Hmm.....well your control itself was pretty good, considering the fact that you never fumbled a throw and your pebbles always stayed on course, not veering off in the slightest. Where I think you come out lacking, however, is in your execution. Despite your near perfect control, it feels like you're rushing the process' completion towards the end which was why your pebbles ended up sinking so often. That being said however, once you figure out the ins and outs of how the motion is supposed to be carried out, you're able to execute it instantly. So, while your control is good and your execution needs work, it's your adaptability that stands out to me more than anything." 

"...Did you get all of that Arlen?" Her voice sounded shaky just then, as if she'd come to a sudden realization. 

"Yeah every word, don't worry I'll let you know if you're ever going too fast." 

"Please do....." Chelsea's tone now sounded somber instead of shaky, it started to feel as if her emotions were constantly fluctuating. 

The magic in this world operated in a different way from what my soul was used to, I didn't have the memories to recount the exact details of the former style of magic I was previously capable of, but my very being felt this sense of unfamiliarity whenever I interacted with the mana in this world. Therefore, I needed to learn as much about this world's magic system as soon as possible and luckily, this girl was just as eager to teach.