The food had already been served on the dining table. It was honey-grilled fish and mashed potatoes. Compared to the hard bread they used to eat, this meal seemed far more decent. Arianna pulled out the chair beside Ciel and sat down.
Ciel smiled softly. His eyes fell upon the dish before him. The golden-brown grilled cod looked incredibly appetizing. The layer of honey glistened, carrying the fragrant aroma of garlic. Unlike the grilled fish, the mashed potatoes remained just as they remembered. They were slightly coarse and completely unseasoned, relying solely on the natural taste of the potatoes.
Looking at the food, Ciel picked up a piece of fish with his fork and tasted the savory sweetness of the honey-grilled fish. He chewed slowly and leisurely. His hand shifted from holding the fork to a spoon as he ate the mashed potatoes.
While enjoying dinner, Arianna asked Ciel, "So, how was your first day at work?"
As she chewed her food, Arianna looked at Ciel, calmly waiting for an answer. Ciel smiled and replied, "Not bad. It was a truly extraordinary experience! Mr. Jonathan is very dependable at his job."
Ciel answered sincerely. Though of course, he said nothing about magic to Arianna. He did not even want to involve Arianna in this mystical world. After all, he had already promised himself that he would protect Arianna no matter what.
Arianna still appeared indifferent. The corner of her lips lifted into a gentle smile. Her tired eyes looked at Ciel as she spoke. "Oh right, don't forget that this Friday we're going to church for worship. Make sure to come! You've been absent for a whole month because of your university matters."
She raised her fork toward Ciel as she reminded him to go to church. Her eyes also appeared more serious as she spoke.
Ciel laughed awkwardly while raising his hands. "Alright! Alright! You know that university follows the Eternal Sun. They're people who don't care about anything except the rules made by themselves and their god. I didn't have any other choice."
Although Ciel was not a devout follower of the Goddess of Night, he usually never forgot to attend church on every Friday worship day. Other churches also had their own designated worship days, which drew criticism from many people. For example, the Goddess of Night on Friday, the Eternal Sun on Monday, and the Lord of Sky on Sunday. These three churches were the faiths most widely followed by the citizens of the Kingdom of Falheim.
Lowering her fork, Arianna let out a long sigh before returning to her meal. Ciel could only remain silent and continue eating dinner.
The sound of rain could still be heard from inside. Like gentle noises accompanying the quiet night. Normally, the residents of Blackpearl Street would continue working even after nightfall, or simply stroll through the market. Ciel, who had just finished dinner, had no intention of going for a walk at night. Considering that it was raining and he was too tired to walk, he decided to lock himself in his room and begin studying other spells. Arianna herself was working on her final assignment in the dining room because Ciel had asked her to stay outside until he finished studying and practicing magic.
After locking the door, Ciel did not light the gas lamp. Instead, he lit a candle and placed it nearby. Then he picked up the book Basic Sorcerer Magic from his study desk. He opened the maroon-covered book. Inside were the table of contents and various basic spells that he could learn. Compared to the first time he had read this book, Ciel felt that it had become much easier. Besides the fact that a sorcerer's mana and brain would continue to develop as they became accustomed to magic, mastering spells was also easier than he had initially imagined.
Every spell was written, recorded, and spoken in the Jotun language. Therefore, as long as the caster could properly pronounce the spell and channel mana into their wand, it was merely a piece of cake. Perhaps the most difficult part was that the caster had to trigger the natural mana in the surroundings to become a catalyst for their own mana.
Ciel opened the book to the Eighth Circle section. There were approximately ninety spells listed under Eighth Circle magic, and there were even more for the higher circles. Ciel searched for spells that suited him and that he might be able to learn over the next three months, considering how difficult it was to reach the next circle through meditation.
"...Wind Cutter, Fireball, Lumion, Protera, Mud, Self-Care, Air Cannon..."
"Look at this. Even a spell for cleaning yourself is here. Let me see, 'A Eight Circle spell that removes all types of low-level curses, dirt, and fatigue from the target.' Amazing. Could I save money on bathing if I could use this spell?"
Ciel thought for a moment before firmly deciding which spells he would learn. He chose to study Fireball, Lumion, Protera, Ghost Touch, and Self-Care.
He skillfully opened the page where the Fireball spell was located. "Here it is... page thirty..."
On that page was every piece of information regarding the Fireball spell: "Fireball Spell, the spell with the greatest destructive power among all offensive spells at the Eighth Circle level. This spell launches a fireball from the caster's wand with high destructive force. The weakness of this spell is its short travel distance and slow projectile speed..."
"The spell..."
"...Khar ur Jord, Allum Kharak. Ragnar Varek var Kharvorn. Varek sa Gor Kallum Vor."
Ciel read the spell several times in Falhemian to avoid triggering natural mana. Once he had memorized it, he closed his eyes. Trying to find the mana pathway of the spell.
The room became silent. Although practicing magic in his house was actually far too risky, he had no other choice. Ciel's mana slowly spread outward. Taking his wand slowly, he aimed it forward. Sparks flickered around the wand like fireworks. His mouth slowly recited the spell.
"Khar ur Jord, Allum Kharak..."
"...Ragnar Varek var Kharvo..."
"...Varek sa Gor Kallum Vor."
"Whoosh!"
A tiny spark of fire emerged from his wand, only to disappear a few milliseconds later.
Ciel's face tightened in disappointment, but he was also relieved. Because if he had succeeded, it was certain that his house would have been destroyed by the explosion. Even so, Ciel was very confident that he had already understood the entire mana structure of the Fireball spell.
He did not take his first failure to heart and continued analyzing the mana structures of other, less destructive spells.
***
Without realizing it, two hours had passed since he began analyzing his magic. The rain outside had already started to subside, and the streets had grown quiet. Ciel hurried out of his room and found Arianna still studying there. She looked as serious as ever. The most significant difference was the frown she wore when she saw Ciel come out of his room.
"Why did it take so long?" Arianna asked irritably. Her hair now looked slightly messy. Perhaps because her study material seemed more difficult than usual.
Ciel could only scratch his head and reply, "Sorry, sorry. My work is pretty difficult."
"So is mine!"
Seeing Arianna looking annoyed, Ciel could not respond any further and told her to go inside while he would wait at the dining table so as not to disturb her.
Arianna appeared indifferent and simply gathered her materials from the dining table before heading straight into her room and closing the door. Ciel could only stand there stiffly before walking to the edge of the room and turning off the gas lamp. Because they were considered poor, they had become accustomed to conserving gas, which was expensive. Even in his previous life, Ciel had always done this, so he was even more accustomed to it in this world.
The gas lamp that emitted a yellowish glow gradually went out, causing the entire room to become dark. Ciel slowly sat down on a chair and closed his eyes. This was the perfect time to meditate and attempt to improve his circle. Because when he tried to sense the chains around his heart, there was no sign that they had weakened or even disappeared. The number of chains around Ciel's heart remained the same, totaling nine chains. Each one still felt solid as it wrapped around his heart.
As he attempted to meditate, Ciel's mana flowed out around his body and connected with the surrounding mana, trying to merge with natural mana. In his mind, thousands or perhaps millions of particles of various colors surrounded him. Some were red, some green, some blue, but most of them were brown and dark. Whether it was merely his imagination or not, the mana around him—or more precisely, the mana throughout Blackpearl Street—felt strange. It was very different from what he had felt on Howscart Street. Even so, Ciel paid little attention to it and continued his meditation.