Chapter 17) Playing With What You Have

After delivering divine punishment to my little sister for her poor manners and respect issues, I casually strolled back to our parents, who had remorseful smiles on their face. 'How did we manage to raise a little demoness, only to realize the elder sibling is the true Queen of Demise?' With stiff smiles plastered on, they proceeded to meet me halfway through the courtyard.

"Father, I plan to make my way to your study to learn the new formations for the runes I have, so that I may broaden my spell pool. May I have your leave?"

He let out a light cough before shaking his head.

"Now why would I do that when I could just have you do as many as your mind can handle, right here, and right now? I'll show you a rune formation, and you will simply copy my actions. Until I watch you pass out, you will get no rest! I am going to see what the limits are for my dear prodigal child! Who knows? You might reach the peak of the basic rank by nightfall!"

My face at first was annoyance, followed by excitement, and then finally horror. 'I only just broke through and he wants me to reach the peak of basic before bedtime?! Demon! Idiot! Slave Driver!' I gave him a final grimace before nodding my head.

"Fine then! Let's see if my willpower outlasts yours old man!"

He took a step back in shock. 'This is the first time in all her years of living she hasn't lovingly or begrudgingly called me father. Oi Oi Oi, I still have feelings sweetie! Wait. She called me old man? I'm not that old!' A fire burst forth in father's chest as his competitive spirit ignited in full force. The air grew tense as daggers were shot back in forth between us.

Mother decided it would be best to scoop up Jess and leave before she got dragged into the whole mess. 'Like father, so daughter, I suppose. I just hope those two don't ruin my second favorite courtyard.' With that she fully left the vicinity.

"Lucy it is now time to show you combat spells. I hope you can handle getting thrashed soundly by your, as you call it, 'old man'. Hmph!"

'Hit a sore spot with that one huh? Oh well, he wanted me serious, he got my serious!' I watched as rune formation after rune formation manifested and I did my best to match his speed in creation of them all. From some simple thirty rune types, to a couple of 80 rune types, the elements of nature were stirred and coalesced into a multitude of shapes being fired rapidly across the courtyard. After only a few hours, well before the expected nightfall, I had managed to replicate every spell sent my way, with the exception of the two 100 rune type spells he had launched at the end. I had essentially reached the peak of the basic level with a few hours to spare! I couldn't believe it at first, but as I thought about all the different spells I replicated, they effortlessly came to the forefront of my memory. With a lazy smile, father walked over to me and clamped my shoulder.

"I see you figured it out, as I have. You have an intriguing ability to fully memorize a spell once it has been cast, and can envision it it within your mind perfectly. Granted you can't cast some of them as they exceed your level, however when you finally reach a stage when you can cast them, I believe this ability of yours is going to be quite terrifying for enemies."

How he could have possibly seen into my mind, I don't know, but I nodded anyway, as what he said seemed to be correct. He had showed me a few spells that had rune counts far exceeding the basic level, and when I tried to make them, I almost ended up suffering backlash for overstepping my boundaries. I looked up at him then, having something cross my mind.

"Father, when can you teach me the other runic alphabets? I will need them if I want to reach the next two stages."

He smiled widely at that.

"Silly girl. Each element that was cast was using a different 100 rune set. Did you not even notice something that simple?"

I could only stand there in shock. 'Wait, wouldn't that mean-' Before I could even finish my thought, I heard him laugh abruptly.

"Seems you understand what I'm saying. Yes, over the last few hours, you not only replicated different elemental spells at a glance, you completely devoured the new runic alphabets as they came, without even considering if they were the same as the previous set. You have effectively shaved weeks worth of time down with that, and truly stand just shy of breaking through to the True Mage stage. Hell, under normal criteria, you already have the qualifications to reach the middle or high tier of the true stage, as familiarizing yourself with all the runic sets is what is needed for advancement in that set. You only realistically need to practice those last two 100 rune spells, and you will achieve your second breakthrough."

My mind was racing at this revelation. 'Maybe I really can catch up to him if my learning speed is this monstrous. I wonder now just how high I can truly reach?'

Meanwhile, a similar thought raced through father's head. 'Besides myself, she is the third person in human history to breakthrough two major stages within a 24 hour period, as she will probably breakthrough before going to bed tonight. This brings a sense of pride, and sadness to me. It is good that she is so talented, but sadly she won't be needing her overprotective father anymore. (sigh) I guess this is what it feels like to be left behind.'

While father stood there with his hand on my shoulder, I imagined the 100-rune spells and forced one of them out. A small cracking sound could be heard as a lightning strike as wide as a man came down. 'Just one more push then.' I wanted this breakthrough to happen in front of father, as he would surely be shocked. I manifested the final 100-rune spell, and felt a force crashing around in my body. A flaming cyclone formed in front of me, signaling that the spell was a success, and acted as the herald to multiple loud cracking sounds. In my mind I heard a loud bang, and I felt a refreshing wave of mental clarity that didn't stop until my body fully adjusted to everything around me.

'Gods that feeling is intoxicating. Breaking through feels far too euphoric. It seems to only get better and more long lasting with each major increase.' As I slowly calmed my breath down, my father stared at me long and hard. 'It seems she managed to have done it faster than I originally anticipated. Who knew it would only take a few minutes before she would have her next breakthrough? That's my little monster alright.'

"Well honey, how does it feel to step into the second stage quite literally the same day you had your first breakthrough? Exhilarating isn't it?"

I nodded happily. I felt like an opium chaser, always seeking the first high.

"So how do I progress from here father? I assume there is a bit of a difference from Basic mages to True mages."

He gave me a side eye.

"The first thing we are going to do is eat. Then we are going to have you stabilize your foundations. You had two major breakthroughs darling. Some feelings will be out of place, and for the next full day, I only want you to familiarize yourself with your new senses and movements. The rest of the week, we will slowly push you towards the Master stage. As that is the stage you'll definitely have the most fun."

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In terms of having a courtyard, we have no courtyard.

When the only spells I needed to be practicing exceeded 80 runes on average, it was natural that the courtyard wouldn't last. We had to relocate our magic antics to the hunting grounds behind the castle, as that was the only place that could survive our onslaught. I could feel the bottleneck for the next stage already, but father still wanted me to fully grasp the essence of the current stage I am at. Over the course of this week, he had me slow down all of my spellcasting to a crawl, and had me feel every last moment of their continuous structure until I could grasp just how and why the spells formed the way they did. He also had me pull specific elements out of the mana in the air on what seemed to be a whim, although I have a feeling it has more meaning than he is letting on.

All I would have to do is visualize the mana of a specific element coalescing above my hand and then letting it dissipate before doing it all over again with a new element. Besides learning a few more 100 rune spells, this was my only task all week. After the first two days, he had me pull two elements simultaneously without them touching, before having me do it again with another two. Two days went by like that before he wanted me to do three, the finally today he had me pull four all at once. The exercise proved to be fairly challenging, and tested my newfound prowess. Today I will be breaking through to the Master rank, but father wished to speak to me first in his study.

As I casually walked towards the nearest door, I couldn't help but think about what he had in store for me. 'It is either a tip for my breakthrough, or some long winded speech about the Master rank. (sigh). Who am I kidding? It is definitely the speech.' I opened the door and saw my father sitting down behind his desk, drumming his fingers.

"Good, you finally decided to show up. I was beginning to wonder how someone could be late to a meeting in a room that is linked to any door in the castle. Go on then, explain yourself."

I could only start to whistle and find a new fascination with the lines of mortar for all the bricks in the wall. When I saw my bashful behavior did nothing for the atmosphere in the room, I sighed helplessly.

"I may or may not have been lingering in the bakery for an extra sweet roll or three."

His face gave way to a look of shock.

"Wait they have freshly baked sweet rolls right now? I'll be right back."

He disappeared out the door, leaving me in a state of amusement.

"Well I guess mother is right. I did grow up with more of his attitude. I wonder if mother is still in the-"

Before I could finish talking out loud, my father stepped back through the door with a sweet roll in hand, and sulky expression on his face.

"You know, as happy as I am that I got a sweet roll, your mother was none too pleased to see me sneaking a roll like a thief in my own castle. She just gave me a stern talking to, thanks to SOMEONE not mentioning she was in the bakery. Hmph."

"I highly doubt that is exactly what happened father. Go on, spit out what she said."

"(sigh) She asked 'Why does it seem as though you were happier to see the sweet rolls than your own wife?' To which I replied a bit too quickly 'Because these sweet buns are the closest thing to having your buns without having to beg.' She didn't like that one I suppose."

My mouth was hanging wide open, as I stared aghast at my father for his ridiculous power play. Does he not recall mother's father is ACTUALLY a baker? Our HEAD baker. May the gods above save this poor man. 'Wait just a moment. Now that I think about it, he must seriously not be getting anything from mother, and it seems to have been happening for while now. Is there a problem with their relationship?'

"Father, (ahem), it sounds as though you find your bedroom at the moment...cold? and lonely? Perhaps?"

My father shot up from his seat.

"All she does is sleep and read in the garden! Every time I ask, its always 'Not today darling, I'm not in the mood.' Blast it women, I AM THE MOOD DAMN! "

At this I couldn't help but start laughing hysterically. His tirade of melancholic sexual frustrations was single-handedly the funniest string of sentences I have ever listened to. 'Oh mother, please just let this poor man get what he wants soon. He is beside himself thinking its a "lack of technique" or not enough "divine energy" is being used.'

After my father had his meltdown, he sat himself down and slowly put on his serious face.

"Anyway darling I called you here so we can discuss what it means to be a Master mage and further on. As you know, there are multiple natural elements that float around within the mana of the world. Some are abundant no matter where you are, while others are so scarce you have to drag them from a larger radius to make spells as powerful as they should be. To learn runes is to understand the most basic of principles of mana so we can actually use it efficiently. As we raise in rank however, dependence on those runes starts to disappear, and eventually, your understanding of mana gets to a point where anything you think of can be achieved so long as you have the energy in the area for it. What I am trying to say is Becoming a Master means breaking off the first set of chains humans possess that limits their mana manipulation. To become a Master is to start fusing elements together to create the more abnormal and otherwise scarce elemental fragments of mana in nature. Such as ice mana in the air being scarce, so you would fuse wind and water to create a new surplus of the ice element. Not using enough of either, however, leads to having a different element being born from the fusion. A question I can pose to you right now with this new info is simple: What element would form when fusing earth and fire mana?"

I thought for a moment before giving my answer.

"I suppose it would be magma?"

He smiled.

"Yes and no. With too much fire mana in the fusion, you can achieve a magma element, however, if you use them equally, or even just have more earth than fire, than you would achieve the metal element. That is because of the underlying principle behind both. Look at it this way, with enough material, you can forge anything, but with too hot a flame, all structure and integrity is lost."