Baby Steps

This changes everything. Can I do that? Do I have the ability to use magic too?

I mean, if it's genetic then there's a good chance I can do it since I just saw it being performed, but there's no guarantee.

I feel like a little kid, I'm almost shaking in excitement.

I mean, currently, I am technically a little kid but that's not the point here!

Magic! Real magic! The genuine article!

I doubt I'll be able to do much magic if I can't chant like I saw Damien, but that doesn't mean I don't want to try!

Oh yeah, I've also learned everyone's names. My father is named Damien and my mother is named Stephanie. My middle brother is named Terrance and my eldest sibling is my sister Teresa. I think my name is Antonio or Tony for short.

Teresa used to just stare for a strange amount of time into my crib and also occasionally reads to me so I appreciate that, whilst I barely see Terrance outside of looking at night.

Getting down from my stool, I take off toward the room I've been ignoring for the last few months. Not because I'm lazy, I just don't want to seem weird.

No, that's a lie. I'm just lazy.

After a long and arduous three-minute journey, I push open the door to the study. It's two doors down from my bedroom and one of the first rooms I found in this place, but since the language is nonsensical to me I haven't even bothered coming in here on my own.

For the last few months, I've been earnestly trying to learn the spoken language, paying more attention to the pronunciation, cadence, etc. of commonly used words.

It's not as if I've been neglecting the art that is written word, I've just been slacking a bit. Besides, the only time I have the ability to learn is when my mother or maids read children's books to me. So currently, with all of my effort and understanding, I read at best at an elementary level.

However, I'm not gonna let that stop me! I already learned a second language in my past life, I can learn a third here! The language here seems to follow the same orthography of letter and alphabet languages on Earth, so as soon as I find out what all of the letters in the alphabet mean, it'll be easy to grasp.

Walking around the study, I spot a number of books that interest me.

'Around the World and Back: A Dungeoneers Guide'

'Falderan's Monster Guide'

'The Eight Disasters - A Tale of Heroes'

All of them sound incredibly interesting, but there's only one my stubby little legs can reach. On the bottom shelf covered in dust.

'Magic: From Plebeio to Dominus Tier'

I may be a bit lucky that I can get my hands on this so early, so hopefully, I can get a head start on both magic and vocabulary.

///

Magic seems to be broken down into three fields of use, Incantation, Invocation, or Inscription.

Incantation is used most commonly, Invocation seems to be a more advanced technique, and the definition of Inscription seems vague, but I can gather it's the equivalent of magic items.

Incantation is what I saw Damien use, simply chat the magic lines, and bam some magic happens.

Invocation seems to be either drawing simple magic circles with mana or visualizing them, at the cost of them being more complex.

The casting of magic requires something the book calls somewhat disappointingly Mana. Man, I was hoping for a cooler name like 'Ammased Magical Influence', but at least it isn't some hacky name like Qui. I would have worried about the quality of the writer of this book if it was about the 'ultimate cultivation of qui'.

Actually, there does seem to be a method of improving mana capacity mentioned here, apparently, if you meditate within nature you can slowly increase your maximum amount of mana, as long as you train on top of it.

Cool! At least if I have a shit mana capacity to start with I have a way to slowly build it up.

Well, no point in think-tanking it. The best way to see what I can do is just by trying to cast magic!

///

After about three days of study, I think I finally understand every word in this magic incantation. It's for an air spell known as Push, and it sends a blast of air out of my hands, at least in theory.

"I call upon the air, bestow upon me a gift of strength, Push"

Suddenly, I felt a deep shiver run through my body, as something seemed to pull out of my chest and flow through my hand, eventually forcing its way out of my hand.

In the next moment, the dust kicked up and I heard a gentle 'Thud' against the wall that my palm faced.

I did it! I really did it!

As my excitement began to grow, I place my hand out again, this time aiming at a piece of paper left on the desk of the study.

"I call upon the air, bestow upon me the gift of great strength, Push"

Wait, that didn't sound right. Did I get the incantation right?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, I could feel my mana being forcibly dragged out of my body and ejected through my palm.

Thankfully, it seemed to work exactly as Push did. The force of air was sent out of my palm and blew the paper off the desk! I did it!

Walking back over to the book, the incantation I just said is wrong! Why did it work then?

Hmmm, I have an idea here.

Sticking my hand out, I face my palm outward and close my eyes. Instead of focusing on the incantation, I focus on the feeling.

The feeling of my body getting even colder than it is now, and the pressure. The pressure that feels like it's trying to escape.

It's like a weight, moving from my chest, traveling up to my shoulder, down my arm, and out my palm.

It feels as if I'm no longer imagining the feeling, instead I'm once again experiencing it.

Opening my eyes, the weight hasn't left, and it's as if a small breeze is coming out of my hand. I did it! I'm casting without an incantation or invoking a magic circle!

However, I can feel my consciousness begin to fall and the temperature of my body rapidly drop.

As the adrenaline of success fades, panic ensues, as I can't stop the gentle breeze of the spell.

Suddenly, it feels as if I'm standing in a blizzard and the weight disappears, and along with it, my ability to stand.

Falling backward, no energy or mana left in my body, I collapse with a 'Thunk'.