Chapter 26: Chapter 26 A Mage’s Insight

“Daaad! You're being really rude! I told you Nathan’s all good. You're not just insulting him, you're insulting my judging of character” Stella’s yell interrupted the man-to-man moment, and Dalo shrugged apologetically. The gesture seemed to say 'I'm sorry, but I had to check.' He gestured Nathan forward with a slight bow of his head.

Nathan entered the ring, feeling sheepish. Stella looked annoyed, and Kullal was giving her husband a knowing and not-entirely-pleased look. Then she turned to Nathan and said “We know how to teach magic, but that’s not what you need, is it? Stella says you want to experience more spells and mana types, but how? If you don’t have a way to manipulate mana, how can we demonstrate spells?”

Nathan looked around the room, then shrugged and walked to its center, before sitting on the stone ground and removing his shirt. He looked up at Dalo and Kullal. “Yes, that’s about right. The way I learn about spells is by absorbing them. It takes a while before I get good at it, so please go easy on me at the start. I’ve got the most experience with Fire and Force because of practicing with Stella, but I’ve got some experience with Earth, Shadow. And I guess Mental from Giantsrest and Necromancy from the Grave Tangle?”

Kullal rubbed her hands together. “Most mental spells just require basic mana actually. And we call it Death mana. But it appears somebody is volunteering to be a target dummy. Dear, I think you’re best suited to starting out.”

Dalo shrugged, then zapped Nathan with a small lightning bolt.

It happened instantaneously. One moment he was fine, the next there was a crack and his muscles gave a brief spasm. Nathan looked up to see Dalo inspecting him curiously.

“Can you do that again? A few times please, with at least five seconds in between.”

Dalo’s face split into a wider grin. “Indeed I can.” Then he zapped Nathan again. And again.

Now that Nathan was expecting it, he focused his mind on the feeling of the magic. It was clearly a type of mana Nathan hadn’t experienced before. The mana felt like the buildup and release of a static shock, and carried a faint vibration like the hum of a high-voltage power line. Now that he had a grasp of it, Nathan focused on the spell, picking it apart as the fourth bolt struck him. It was simply a packet of insulated charge sent across the air and into him. He didn’t understand how it was isolated and directed, but the source of danger was obvious enough.

I swear he’s just sending free high-energy electrons at me with some kind of containment. But they’re magical somehow? Where do they come from? Honestly, it’s like asking where the conjured earth behind those [Earth Balls] comes from. Magic!

He saw Dalo point to cast the next bolt, and focused on controlling and guiding the magical charge around the surface of his skin, where it grounded out. He’d been meaning to ground it into the floor, but just guiding it around him had been sufficient for the charge to be… absorbed?

Nathan felt his [Magic Resistance] flex, the otherworldly sense sending a faint tingle through him. It was an intuitive feeling, but Nathan suppressed it, closing his eyes and thinking of nothing but quieting the bending.

I think the Talent wants to develop. Not yet, I can still learn more, expose myself to more magics. I’ll hold onto the thought that triggered it for later. Absorption. Absorption is the key.

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Meanwhile, Dalo was looking at him, perplexed. “How did you do that?”

Stella responded, pointing one directly at Nathan. “It’s amazing dad! That’s exactly what I wanted to show you! He’s gotten really good at getting rid of fireballs. Here.” She tossed a fireball at Nathan underhand.

Nathan rolled his eyes. Stella had been trying to surprise him during practice recently, wanting to see how well he could resist her magic without warning. It had been useful practice, and at this point it required next to no attention to deconstruct the fireball and absorb it into him.

Dalo raised his hand again. “Very interesting. Nathan, are you good to continue? You appear unhurt, but I should check.”

Nathan nodded up at him, a feeling of excitement building. He was pretty sure he had this Insight on lock. “I’m just peachy! Please move onto other mana types as quickly as you can.”

Kullal raised an eyebrow at Nathan’s strange choice of words, but proceeded nonetheless. “Let us proceed through the basic elements then. I skipped ahead with lightning, and you have already experienced Earth and Fire, but we will move onto Air, Cold and water now.” He raised a hand and a jet of wind assailed Nathan.

The spell was narrow and controlled, more like being the target of an air hose than a gust of wind. It was continuous, and though the force threatened to push Nathan backwards he resisted and picked apart the feeling of the mana. Despite the speed, the mana felt… slow. Like it was always in motion, but never in a great hurry regardless. The spell itself was more complicated than the last, with some sort of spiraling pattern and a construct at the end to deliver force effectively. Nathan bent that construct, causing the wind to jet to the sides and destabilize the spell. It sent a puff of air in every direction as it broke.

Kullal frowned again, shaking his hand slightly. “Fascinating. Every spell reacts differently. Now for Ice.” He gestured, and the temperature around Nathan dropped. The spell chilled the air around him and tried to dig into his flesh. It slid off with no concentration on Nathan’s part. The mana was absolutely still, conveying the impression of complete stasis. Nathan shook himself and the spell shattered as he imparted motion onto the mana around him.

The elderly mage didn’t bother speaking, just stared intently at Nathan as he gestured again.

An orb of water appeared around Nathan’s head. He hadn’t been expecting it, but he had been expecting something weird, so he didn’t panic, merely holding his breath. The spell only affected his head, and moved with his motions. The water was formed of mana, and its constant motion reminded Nathan of the air mana, but even slower. It damped his motions, suppressing and absorbing any energy released into it. The spell itself was surprisingly complicated, locking the mana in relation to his head. He poked it with a finger and the water/mana flowed around his hand, resisting the attempt to flick it away.

Instead of trying to push the mana away, Nathan pulled on it, absorbing the mana into his pores, then into the bloodstream. His Talent flexed again, and it was all Nathan could do to keep it steady. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

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