Let The Hellish Instruction Begin

"Alright. I'll agree to it. Whatever you need, your father and I will provide."

Margaret eyes me with resolution set in her gaze, and I can feel that she is completely and utterly serious about supporting us. Though she may harbor her doubts, she sees that my father is completely convinced. They will surely have their own little talk behind the scenes once me and Arthur have left.

Realizing this, I grab Arthur's arm and excuse us from the dining room.

...

"David," Margaret turned to her husband and eyed him strangely. He looked at her and shrugged with a helpless smile, then took a sip of his drink.

"Ever since she got better that day, Rachel's never been the same. She sees the world in a whole new way, and faces it with far more confidence and brilliance than anyone I know."

"What do you mean," Margaret tilted her head, "hasn't she been cooped up in this library for years?"

David smiled and shook his head while swallowing a mouthful of food, "She thinks I haven't noticed- or maybe she just doesn't care that I have noticed."

At this, Margaret's eyes widened and she leaned ever so closer to David. "She's been using teleportation magic quite frequently in the last four years. As for where she learnt it, I have no clue."

Margaret's mouth fell open and she sank in her chair, thinking back to the adorable young woman that was just present in the dining room. When she thought about the hardships that would surely come with mastering such magic, she could not picture the Rachel she knew being able to deal with them.

"When I realized this, I started to monitor her movement. She would visit various historical sites and random landmarks, and would even enter museums and browse their contents. I do not know exactly what she was doing, but I got a few of my students to masquerade as passers-by. They struck up conversation with her at these places."

"Their evaluations shocked me to my core, and convinced me that my daughter is no longer the girl I knew."

David and Margeret's eyes met and they both exchanged solemn sighs. At the same exact moment, their mouths opened and they said, "Then who is she?"

...

"Not like that, you dimwit! You're meant to be casting the RUNE, not a spell!"

Arthur winces at my angered remark, and he sheepishly nods before trying again. We are in the yard again, practicing rune magic. Arthur has managed to draw up his own rune with nothing but my instruction, and is now trying to cast the rune into his arm.

It is a simple application of runes that help strengthen the body, and is usually applied to those who lack the control or quantity of mana to strengthen their own bodies. I realized that trying to teach Arthur control is a lost cause; he does not have nearly enough experience dealing with his astronomical amount of mana.

So, I have to get him used to it in a way that does not require control.

Arthur holds the page on which he has crafted a simple body strengthening rune, and he tries to transmit it to his right arm.

"Focus on the rune. Direct it- just like telekinesis!"

A light shines in his eyes and the rune finally lifts off of the page and plasters itself to his arm. Like a glowing tattoo, it lies on the surface of his skin where it will remain until its power is used up.

"Now, when you activate the rune, don't panic. All it does it manipulate the mana for you; it's still your mana being used. It may feel overwhelming at first, but remember that you are safe and in control, okay?"

Arthur nods and looks at the rune on his arm. He has taken to looking at what he wants to focus on instead of closing his eyes, which is thanks to my instruction. The best way to practice using mental energy is to look at what you intend to use it for.

His energy surges and the mana in his body begins to become excited. The rune glows with intense light that covers his entire body in blue, reflecting the color of his mana.

"Ah! What's happening!? I feel itchy!"

Guffawing, I fold my arms and shift my weight onto one leg. "That's the feeling of your body strengthening. It's similar to when an injury is healing and you feel an urge to scratch it."

Arthur is, very quickly, overwhelmed. He falls to the ground while the rune continues working on drawing out his mana. Depending on how much mana you have, the rune is designed to either increase or decrease the amount of mana it withdraws. This amount will always be the equivalent of one ten-thousandth of your total mana which, in Arthur's case, is a lot.

"I feel so light! Like I can jump past the clouds!" Arthur repeatedly opens and closes his fist while staring at his hand, bewilderment on his face as well as excitement. When the rune finally stops, it locks the flow of mana and keeps the withdrawn amount from dispersing, allowing for a prolonged state.

"Alright! Now's the time to get used to the feeling of having this much mana course through your body. This is only a small amount, but in order to cast spells in the future, you need to grow accustomed to at least this much."

Arthur nods, and he hurries to his feet. The haste in his movement causes him to rise too quickly, and he shoots up into the air above the trees in the backyard.

"Holy shit! Rachel, I can see the Guild from he- whoa!"

"Bang!"

He hits the floor and leaves a dent in it, but is ecstatic to discover that he doesn't feel a thing from the impact. He immediately gets up and starts running around, but ends up flying up into the air a few times as well. While he is zipping about, yelling in surprise and crashing into the earth, my mind is busy focusing on numerous other things.

One such thing is the fact that Arthur has almost as much mana as I do, and will require brutal training in order to grow used to manipulating it. The other is that, unlike me, he needs to work even harder in order to reach a certain level of mastery in time for the exam.

I must work him beyond hard- dare I say: hellishly. Luckily for him, his human nature will afford him a serious advantage. His lack of experience can be remedied by the infamous adaptability of his race. With a few days time, I am confident that I can get him acclimatized to one-fifth of his total mana, which will be more than enough for him to get familiar with the low-tier spells I have in mind.

Time passes.

After two days, Arthur no longer requires the rune in order to draw out one ten-thousandth of his total mana. A week after that, he has grown accustomed to one five-hundredth. Two weeks later, after much blood, sweat and tears- and almost decimating the backyard- he has adapted to one-tenth.

With a little more than a month remaining, it is time for Arthur to enter the final stretch before training with spells.

As per usual, he is up at three in the morning and waiting for me under the trees in the backyard. The cold air kisses his bare skin as he removes his shirt, and his hairs flutter before his face. I am in my nightgown when he sees me, and he slightly bows his head.

He, more than anyone else, has felt the effects of my training and knows just how far he has come. Despite such simple training, he has been able to familiarize himself with his mana in a way he has never done before.

It would take him minutes to direct his mana and cause it to flow outward, but now it takes him less than a second. His gratitude is felt to be sincere, so I smile and nod.

"Let's begin."

"No runes?" Arthur does not see the materials in my hand, so he furrows his brows.

"No. Today, in order to make as much progress as possible, I'm going to have you force all of your mana out."

"Wh-" Arthur makes an odd experience as his words halt in his throat. Still sitting on the floor, he leans backward and props himself up with his hands, spreading his legs apart slightly. He ponders the difficulty of the coming day. The confidence that he has been cultivating for almost four weeks is shaken.

"I understand your hesitance; you have an insane amount of mana. However, you need to bring all of your mana out in order to survive what you'll be doing- even if just barely."

He gulps, "And what will I be doing?"

My canines peek out from under my upper lip as I smirk wickedly at him, "You'll be fighting me."

Unbeknownst to us, David and Margaret are peeking from behind the curtains.

"Oh, look David. Arthur is using his mana again, He's come so far, hasn't he?"

"He really has. Our Rachel is an outstanding teacher, isn't she?"

"Mhm! Oh, how lovely. Rachel is giving him a little punch to the shoulder for emotional support! Look, he's so moved he's crying!"

"Uh, Margaret, I don't think he's crying cause he's moved..."

"Oh? Now Rachel is using her mana as well. Black? That's an unusual color, huh?"

"Yes... Yes it is..."

"So nice. They're having a friendly match. And look, Arthur is going easy on his little sister. So kind."

"Actually, Margaret, I think Rachel is kicking his ass..."