Chapter 100: Twenty-Nine vol.2

Rose watched a mana orb disappear in her grasp, its luscious blue dying until it became fragments that soon became nothing as well. The swirl of that gas like energy entered into her as she placed the object at her chest and her core took it hungerly. Just like so, her charge jumped to 100%.

'That's 4 currently in my possession then,' She thought, unworried, as she retied her shoes, tighter, 'I wonder what the next level will be about.'

She stood, running a hand through her black hair and the length of her ponytail. Perhaps, she'd have to ask Elsa to help her comb it when they returned home. She glanced over to the girl who was busy resting her mind and body. Though, that went up to the extent of glaring at her pad, scratching her head at a math problem.

The white space was quiet for the most part and—when she focused—Rose could still hear the hum of mana in the air.

"This is perhaps a good place as any," Lilia's voice rang, stepping towards her, back facing the door to the third floor of Alos's Great Dungeon, "I can teach you true magic here. In the next floor between floors, we'll spar with nothing but our swords. Alternating as we climb the dungeon."

Rose blinked her golden eyes, staring at the extensively serious girl that seemed to have already began walking the thin line of a teacher. She smiled, nodding.

"Let's start then."

She sat, legs folded, upon the white floor of the space as Lilias stood behind her, able to see her outstretched palms face each other.

"Do you know why we can't simply retrieve mana from the air and use it as an energy source that way?" The dragonian asked, "In place of collecting mana cores from mana beasts?"

Rose shook her head. She didn't know, and she wondered what such a question had to do with true magic.

"No, but I'm curious," She replied.

"It's simple," The dragonian explained, "The surrounding mana simply cannot be used that way. It is a force of nature, an energy belonging solely to Merim itself. It is the thing that creates the ground you walk on, the air you breathe, and the sandstorms of the desert. Mana belongs to the world, and true magic is merely an individual's ability to tap into and borrow that force."

Rose nodded, understanding then that the mana within mana cores and that of the world itself were identical, but different energies. One belonged to the world while the other was stolen from mana beasts. It was no wonder her weapon burned the surrounding mana to create flames, merely copying the power of Merim itself.

"All elves can tap into and ask the world for power, dragonians of the mana path can do so, and some extremely few humans can do so to limited degree, but no beastmen can ever hope to wield true magic," The girl said, "Their souls are simply incapable of hearing the hum of mana in the air and connecting to it."

Rose nodded once more as the girl moved on.

"An individual who can wield true magic is guaranteed to be able to tap into two different frequencies of mana, their so-called individual elements of nature. . ." Lilias spoke, her voice seeming to blur until it became a distant echo, "Your first is lightning. . .the most chaotic of the six. . ."

The world blurred.

Rose found herself, standing shorter than any of the previous memories she had experienced, blonde hair reaching to her hips as she faced a woman before her. Gray hair, amber eyes, and wearing clothing resembling robes more than anything, the woman, a beauty that, though having the air of authority and age, looked no older than perhaps twenty-seven.

Bandages fell onto the floor, unwrapping from Rose's arms through the actions of the woman. Then, the individual furrowed her brows, sighing.

"You should cease your practicing. . .lightning is no toy," The woman said, "You will kill yourself some day, child. I wouldn't want to see such a young death."

Rose smiled amiably, lightheartedly. Young and perhaps naive to a fault, running towards a goal she hungered for and knew little of. The woman sighed again as she saw that familiar face still brighten even after running here early morning before school..

"You understand, child, do you not?" She asked.

Rose spoke, a childish voice leaving her lips, "As you wish, elder."

The woman sighed again, clearly not believing her.

"Lightning is chaotic, the most destructive of the 7 elements one can wield, but it requires the highest focus and control amongst any other. Master it well, and you can fry your enemies," She proclaimed, then her amber eyes glared down until they wished to burn a hole into Rose's azure, "Fail to do so and you will die, frying both yourself and your allies to death.

Fire was powerful, the element of the common fighter, and losing control meant nothing but a whimpering flame that sooner flickered away than harmed. Water was malleable, though lacking power. It was transformable to any shape and size with flowing ease, and losing control meant little but a splash. Ice remained less powerful than the first, and less malleable than the second, yet it took the strength of both, and losing control breathed nothing more than a chill. Wind was nothing more than an auxiliary element, used to fly, accelerate objects, or as pseudo-telekinesis for those who mastered it, and failure to control it provided nothing more than a gust. Earth lived as the versatile element for those who dwelled upon land, able to flip entire terrains and build constructs from nothing; failure to control it meant nothing more than a crumbling mound of sand.

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Then there was lighting. The most destructively powerful. The sole element banned for use within the city of Alandrea itself. Save for those beings termed Guardians, those individuals Rose could only look up to as much as she did the great dungeon, no one else was allowed to wield it for as long as they remained within the walls of the city.

She didn't like the taste of being stopped. Never.

"One day," She spoke as her azure eyes stared firmly into her mother's mystifying pair of amber, "I'll master my lightning and stand side by side with the Guardians."

The gray-haired woman sighed, eyes falling down to glance at the girl's arms. Trailing from her hands to the base of her elbows were marks of burns, chaotic markings far too randomized to have been birthed by flames. And, yet, the little girl still stood before her, proclaiming her goal with such vigor.

"Perhaps you will," She replied, "Now, come, remove those bandages around your neck as well, and let me heal you."

Rose grinned, chuckling a laugh at having escaped punishment once more.

"Yes, mother," She replied as she tugged at her neck, showing more of her burns.

The woman sighed. "Better yet, strip, I'll check your body in full."

Rose's world blurred back into place. For some reason within her, seeing the woman, and hearing her voice again. That mother of another her, saddened her. There was something telling her, no, loudly acclaiming that she had long ago lost the woman to fate. Yet, Lilias's voice entered her ears, standing behind her and welcoming her back to reality and breaking her stupor.

"Focus, hear the humming of the world, listen to your own frequency, the tune that rhymes with your soul, and pull, pull mana until it revolves in your hand and wish it," The dragonian said, "Wish it to spark."

An azure radiance danced between Rose's outstretched palms. She focused, listening. And in that moment, she heard the hum of the world, and she grasped the chaotic rumbling calling out to her, almost wishing to birth itself. It was faint, perhaps nothing more than a frequency really was the right word, but it was there, acknowledging her ability to borrow its might.

A crackle rang. Lightning rumbled, followed by the faint clap of thunder as the air itself singed and white, burning, light dancing

"Out of the seven elements, the lightning element is the one most closely tied to your state of focus. It requires high concentration and discipline. It is, after all, the most dangerous," Lilias said, "Able to harm both your enemies, yourself, and your allies without proper control."

Fire birthed from emotions of anger and rage. Water from malleability, the desire to change something or another. Ice from rigidness, standing still and as cold as ice, believing forever in your ideals. Wind from the knowing sense of freedom, that you could walk anywhere you pleased. And earth from standing, aware of yourself and the world around you, that everything and everyone was connected to something. All the six elements required focus and concentration to a degree to control them, but lightning—as chaotic as it was—hungered the most for a master, someone who could stamp it down with willpower alone. Someone that never gave in the face of a challenge.

"That's another perk of you being you," The dragonian stood before her, having walked around to obtain a better look, "You might not be able to instantly master it but, your focus, your attention, your brain hardwired with your core, should make learning true magic easier."

Rose stared at the sparkling lighting in her hand. She had a sense for it. She could feel it. Yet, at the moment, she also knew that it refused her orders. It was as if it was scoffing at her, daring her to try and tell it what to do.

'Willpower?' Rose thought as the world blurred. One moment, she was atop a tree's branch, facing a city unknown, watching as the element crackled into her hands and shot up her arms. The next, reality struck her with pain as it did just that again, scorching her with its heated burns that threatened to rupture the veins in her body. 'I have all the willpower in the world.'

She tapped into it, pulled it down away from her person, and ordered it—golden eyes looking at the dancing sparks—firmly willed it to stop.

The cracking of lightning floated between her palms once more, stamped in place by her will.

"You took two minutes to call lightning into existence, and you took another five minutes to put a stop to it frying you." The dragonian looked down at her, crimson eyes placid. "That's rather fast for a first trial, but still currently useless in any manner of a battle."

She had been so focused on the energy, the chaotic element, that she hadn't realized the passage of time's ticking. Rose stood up, the crackling of lightning disappearing as her arms naturally began to heal.

"I'll continue to train," She said, "Let's enter the next floor."

She had mastered it once before.

She would do so again.