Wind Slash
"What do you think the chances are that we'll be recognized by the Greatest Mage?"
Bell smiled faintly and closed his eyes.
"There's an infinite chance he'll recognize you, as long as you keep growing."
Marc frowned slightly.
"Ehhhh? Isn't that a bit exaggerated? And what do you mean, me? What about you?"
Bell replied calmly,
"Just close your eyes and sleep."
"Ehhhh…" Marc muttered.
----------------------
..
….
Morning came, and the three of them ate breakfast together.
While eating, Bell suddenly asked,
"How did the meat not spoil overnight?"
Juro replied casually,
"Oh, before I went to sleep, I used ice magic to keep the meat we didn't finish cold."
Marc replied excitedly with his mouth still full,
"Whhaaaabt yownow ayce makjic?! (Whaaaat, you know ice magic?!)"
Juro laughed and gestured for Marc to chew properly.
"Eat first before talking," he said before adding casually, "Yeah, I know a good amount of magic actually. That includes ice. Aren't you kids glad I'm your teacher? Hehe. ( ¬ ͜> ¬ )"
Marc clapped his hands in amazement, while Bell simply stared at Juro blankly.
Ice magic.
A magical element similar to earth, water, and fire. However, what made ice magic special was that it was uncommon. It required deep fundamental knowledge of how it formed and functioned. It was a completely separate magic, not derived from water.
Marc tilted his head and asked,
"Hmm… can I use ice mana magic?"
Juro nodded.
"Of course you can. But it requires more mana than normal. Ice magic already consumes a lot of mana, and using ice mana magic on top of that requires even more."
Bell then asked calmly,
"Can you use ice mana magic?"
Juro smiled proudly.
"Of course I can."
He raised his hand and pointed it toward the campfire. A thick flow of mana poured out, and the instant it touched the flames, the fire froze solid, encased in ice.
Marc jumped up in excitement.
"Wooooaaahhh! That means if I learn and work hard enough, I'll be able to do that too??"
Juro nodded, then paused.
"Wait… why do you want to use mana when creating elements?"
"Oh," Marc replied, "Bell recommended it. He said it suits me better to use mana instead of magic."
"Oh?" Juro responded, turning toward Bell with a smile.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, Bell simply looked away and continued eating.
Juro spoke up,
"Well, he isn't wrong. Using mana to form elements or magic suits you well, considering the amount of mana you have."
After they finished eating, before continuing their journey, Juro decided to teach Bell and Marc an offensive technique first.
Both Bell and Marc stood in front of him, waiting for instructions. Marc's heart was pounding with excitement, while Bell waited casually, calm as ever.
"Alright," Juro said. "For today, I'm going to teach you two how to use Wind Slash magic, or Wind Slash mana."
"Wooooaahhh! I finally get to learn magicccc!" Marc exclaimed. "And it's an offensive one too!"
"Don't worry," Bell said calmly. "This will be easy for us."
Juro nodded.
"Bell's right. You're already familiar with the flow of wind. I saw it back at the orphanage when you showed me the elements on each of your fingers."
He continued,
"Now then, if you want to use Wind Slash magic, focus on pressure and speed. Visualize a thin slash. Don't think of it as just moving air. Think of compressing it, making it thinner and denser. When you release it, the speed reaches a velocity that can cause damage."
Bell thought to himself, His explanation isn't bad. It's good he's not diving too deep into logic since he's teaching a kid.
Marc listened intently.
"Oooo… can I try?"
"Sure," Juro replied. "Try hitting that boulder over there with Wind Slash magic."
Marc aimed his hand toward the boulder and focused, trying to visualize the magic. Wind began to flow from his hand, but it failed to form into a slash.
"Aww…" Marc muttered, disappointed.
Bell spoke up,
"Try saying it. 'Wind magic, Wind Slash.'"
Marc nodded, raised his hand again, and exclaimed,
"Wind magic, Wind Slash!"
The moment the words left his mouth, a condensed blade of air shot forward from Marc's hand. It struck the boulder, leaving behind a clear, decently sized slash across its surface.
"Wooooaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Marc exclaimed in pure excitement.
"Hoh… I'm surprised you knew about that," Juro said, turning his gaze toward Bell.
"Doesn't almost everyone know about magic incantations?" Bell replied casually.
Marc looked at Bell, confused.
"Then how was i able to do it now, when I couldn't before?"
Juro answered before Bell could.
"Saying a full magic incantation makes it easier for the brain to visualize the magic. It removes the burden of having to imagine and construct everything yourself."
Marc nodded slowly, then looked back at Juro.
"So… is magic without incantations hard?"
Juro smiled.
"It's not exactly hard. It's just rare. Most mages rely on incantations."
Bell raised a hand.
"Like this?"
Both Juro and Marc turned toward him.
Bell's hand was aimed at the boulder.
A sudden surge of wind burst forth, forming a sharp slash that nearly cut the boulder in half.
Marc's eyes sparkled as he rushed closer.
"That was amazing! You did it so effortlessly!"
Juro, however, narrowed his eyes slightly.
"This kid might actually be beyond just a genius…"
He smiled to himself and continued the lesson.
"Alright," Juro said. "Now that we've covered Wind Slash magic, let's talk about Mana Wind Slash."
He gestured with his hand as he explained.
"With Mana Wind Slash, instead of using magic directly, you use mana to form the slash, then convert it into wind. The key is density and speed. Make it thin, fast, and sharp enough to cut."
Marc raised his hand again and aimed at the boulder.
He focused, letting mana flow out. As the mana took the shape of wind, it began to strengthen and compress.
"Just a little more…" Marc muttered as he poured in more mana, condensing it further.
"Now!" he thought.
Marc released the Mana Wind Slash.
The condensed blade of wind shot forward, slicing through the boulder. Rubble cracked apart and fell to the ground.
Marc looked down at his hand, feeling proud of himself for being able to pull it off.
"Ooooo, that was one strong Wind Slash," Juro said. "Though you still need some work on sharpening it. If it were denser, you'd be able to cut cleanly next time."
Bell walked over and gave Marc a nod.
"That was really good for your first time using Mana Wind Slash."
He then added,
"Oh, and Marc, there's an alternative way you can do it too."
Marc tilted his head in confusion.
"Alternative way?"
"Watch this," Bell said.
He took a stance, positioning his body like he was about to swing a blade. Mana began to gather along his arm and hand. In one smooth motion, Bell slashed forward his arms.
The mana coating his arm burst outward, instantly transforming into a condensed, razor sharp wind slash.
It struck a nearby tree, cutting it cleanly in half. The force continued forward, slicing straight through another tree behind it.
"Wooooaahhh! You can do that???" Marc exclaimed.
Juro smiled.
"Not just him. I can do it too. And so can you."
Bell looked at Marc and nodded in agreement.
..
…
After a few more minutes, the three of them continued their adventure, following the path ahead.
While walking, Marc asked,
"So, Juro… where does this path lead again?"
Juro smiled.
"I have no idea. But it's supposed to lead to a village."
Along the way, several carriages passed by. They tried asking if they could ride at the back, but every one of them refused.
"Tsk," Juro clicked his tongue. "Such selfish carriages. We even offered free protection if they just took us along."
"I don't think one man and two kids is convincing enough for them to believe we can protect them," Bell replied flatly.
"Hahaha…" Marc laughed.
After a long walk, they finally reached their destination.
"Wooooaah! I see a village!" Marc shouted.
"Finally," Bell said. "We can get some rest and have lunch."
As they walked closer, Juro suddenly grabbed both Bell and Marc and pulled them back.
With a suspicious smile, Juro said,
"Uhm… kids, why don't we go this way instead, over by the border wall? Wanna fly? I can lift us up and fly into the village!"
Bell stared at him blankly.
"Ehhh…"
"We can fly???" Marc asked excitedly, then paused. "I'd love to, but… why don't we just enter the village normally?"
Juro scratched his head.
"Well… uh… uhm…"
"It's because this village charges an entrance fee for anyone who isn't a citizen," Bell said calmly. "Anyone who wants to enter has to pay."
Bell continued,
"Oh, and before we left the orphanage, I saw him give Jenna a pouch of coins. He said it was just something for the orphanage and the kids."
Marc tilted his head.
"Eh? What's the issue? Isn't Mr. Juro loaded? He even gave coins to Jenna."
"That's because," Bell said flatly, "when he gave Jenna those coins, that was all he had."
"Eh."
Marc slowly looked at Juro.
Juro looked away.
"Ehhhhhhhhhh?!"
Marc stared at him.
"Why would you give all your coinssss?!"
Juro pouted slightly and scratched the back of his head.
"I… didn't wanna be seen as broke…"
Marc sighed.
"Then… is the only way to enter the village illegally?"
"We don't need to," Bell replied.
Bell reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch filled with silver coins, with even a few gold mixed in.
Marc and Juro's eyes immediately shined.
"How did you get that many coins???" Marc exclaimed.
Juro quickly chimed in,
"Yeaahhh, let me hold onto those for you so they don't get lost."
Juro reached for the pouch, but Bell immediately pulled his hand back.
"No. I'll hold them," Bell said firmly.
"Aww…" Juro muttered.
"Anyway," Bell continued, "Grenold lent me some of his savings before we left."
"Oooo, Mr. Grenold," Marc said. "I didn't know he saved that much. That's really kind of him."
"Yeah…" Bell replied. "Anyway, let's go enter the village."
When they reached the front entrance, two guards stopped them.
"Do you have a citizen card or village papers?" one of the guards asked.
"Nope," Juro replied casually. "We're just adventuring."
"Do you have an adventurer card?" the first guard asked.
Juro shrugged.
"Also no. We're just staying for a few days, then leaving."
"That'll be six silver coins," the second guard said.
"Woah, that's expensive," Marc whispered.
Bell calmly handed over six silver coins.
The guards stepped aside, allowing them to enter the village.