Ethan felt weird. His eyes opened wide, and he became so shocked that he could not close his mouth. "Ma- magic... is... real?!?"
"See big brother! I told you that magic is real! Hahahaha!!!" Eli said to Ethan proudly.
"No way! It must be a trick! I know it! There's no way that magic is real!" Ethan is trying to reason with himself.
Amazement can be seen among all the kids. Even Bertha herself was shocked by the unbelievable sight. Even many passersby stood in shock watching the scene. Orion only smiles at all of their responses; it is a normal reaction from people who have never seen magic in their whole lives.
"Sir! How did you do it?!? There must be a trick to it!" Surprisingly, it was Ethan who asked Orion with so much shock in his voice.
"As you can see, it is real magic, boy." Orion replies calmly
"How come you still don't believe it? You just saw it with your own eyes! It's magic!!" Eli said to her brother.
"Cause there's no way it's real! It has to be a trick!" Ethan rebuked her.
"Hahaha! There's no need to argue, kids. Ethan, there are so many things in this world that you haven't seen. This simple magic is just one of them. The world is vast and mysterious." Orion told to Ethan.
"It's just unbelievable. I cannot explain how you did that." Ethan replied.
"It's actually very simple, boy. Magic is born from mana, and mana is everywhere. It's just that not everyone can feel or see it. In simple terms, I just use the nature mana in the air and mold it into snow." Orion starts explaining to the crowd.
"I don't get it. If mana is everywhere, can everyone do magic? Then why is nobody able to do magic in our village? Even the merchant who frequently comes here never talks about magic." Ethan still cannot accept Orion's explanation; he still believes that all that magic is just a trick.
"Everybody can try to learn magic, but first they have to train how to feel mana. After that, you have to learn how to control and manipulate mana. Not everybody succes in learning magic; the better your affinity with mana, the easier it is for you to learn magic." Orion still explains patiently.
"Can I learn magic?"
"Please teach me magic!"
"Me too! I also want to learn magic!"
"Grandpa! Please also teach me to make snow like you!"
All the kids instantly make a ruckus about magic. Even Eli shouted with passion, not caring about her brother's disbelief. They didn't care about the explanation. In their mind, they are already imagining all the incredible things they will do with magic.
"Slow down, kids! Don't force Sir Orion too much!" Mrs. Bertha tries to control all the children.
"Haha! Relax kids. How about this, while I stay in your village, I will slowly teach you how to feel mana. But hold your excitement, okay. Learning magic is not an easy task." Orion gives good news to all the children.
"YES!"
"Woohoo! We will learn magic!"
"Soon I will learn how to fly!"
All the kids are drowned in excitement without minding Orion's warning.
"Sir Orion, I'm sorry about the kids. This ball of energy is too excited about magic. But isn't it dangerous to teach them magic?" Mrs. Bertha said apologetically to Orion. Deep down, she's afraid of what these kids will do with magic. After all, magic is new information to their village.
"Don't worry, all that I will teach is feeling natural mana in the air. Many kids across the continent learn how to feel mana when they are still 5 to 7 years old. And besides, the adults in your village can also join in to learn. It's perfectly safe to learn." Orion quickly explained to Mrs. Bertha and the adults who watched all the commotion.
Orion did this not just because of kindness. Learning magic is normal in the Valeria Kingdom; everyone can learn it freely. But he is also trying to gain the trust of Carne Village, and he wants to know all the information about the Greeshia Forest. Teaching them how to feel magic is a small price to pay.
"How about this, I will show a little example. Ethan, would you help me a little? I will help you learn how to feel mana. And you can prove it by yourself if magic is real or not." Orion suddenly turns his attention back to Ethan.
"Me? Learning magic? Is it possible?" Ethan asks with curiosity. Only by experiencing it himself will he truly believe all of these things.
"Shall we try? Come sit in front of me." Orion said to Ethan.
Ethan steel his heart and walked to the front. He sat cross-legged on the grass in front of Orion.
"Close your eyes, boy. I will bypass the process of absorbing mana and help you guide mana in the air to circulate in your body. Just relax and feel it with your whole body, don't use only your five senses." Orion put both his hands on Ethan's shoulder.
Orion took a deep breath and began to concentrate. On the outside, people only see Orion and Ethan stand still. But actually, Orion absorbed the mana in the air into his body, and he then channeled the mana to Ethan's Body. He manipulated the mana to slowly circulate inside Ethan's body. Mana is part of nature, so there is no negative effect on what Orion's doing.
In the beginning, Ethan didn't feel anything. No strange feeling, no strange sensation. But after a few minutes, he started to feel a new sensation. He feels something moving inside his body. It's neither warm nor cold. It's a new sensation for him. It feels familiar to him, like his been experiencing this multiple times. For some odd reason, he feels calmer and calmer.
While Ethan is experiencing all of this, Orion also learn something about Ethan.
'This kid has talent in magic. There's no resistance at all while I circulate mana inside his body. Magic flows freely inside his body without any problems. As I thought, you can find a talented person even in the most unexpected place.' Orion is thinking to himself. He is a firm believer in true talent; there's no need for a special status or a certain family background for you to be talented. Everyone has the same chance.
Ethan is going deeper and deeper into his consciousness. He likes this feeling. It feels like he's inside his mom's embrace. 'Plea..se..'
He can feel it. The mana is everywhere in his body. 'Re..turn..'
When his heart is beating, the mana also flows together with his blood. 'Come..'
He started to play with the energy in his body; he could feel all the strange energy pulsating. 'Ne..ed you..'
He's trying to grab all of this energy; he's reaching his hand and starting to feel all of this energy converging in his hands. 'Please return to me my prince!'
'Eh? What is that?' Ethan suddenly broke his concentration and opened his eyes.
A few seconds before Ethan opened his eyes, all the kids and adults were so focused on Orion and Ethan. They watch as Ethan suddenly raises both of his hands.
"Whoa!!"
"What is that?"
"Is it magic?"
"HAHAHAHA!!! MY BROTHER IS A MAGICIAN!!!"
Surprised by the crowd reaction, Orion opened his eyes at the same time as Ethan. What greeted them was a green coiling vine around Ethan's arms. There's a multitude of colors of flowers growing from those vines.
"What?!? Ethan, you learn how to manipulate mana in this split second?!?" Orion suddenly asks with surprise on his face. He only wants to help Ethan to feel mana, not use it.
"Eh? I do what? Wait, is this magic?!? Did I just do magic?!?" Ethan was so shocked, he didn't know what to respond first.
"Wahahaha! You are talented indeed! I have never met a person who can manipulate mana in such short times! An elemental manipulation nonetheless." Orion excitedly told Ethan.
"Wha..? So it's really magic? So it's real after all." The shocked Ethan could only look at the writhing vines around his arms; it looked bizarre and beautiful at the same time.
Ethan stared at the vines coiled around his arms, the flowers blooming as if they were breathing with him. The colors shimmered under the morning sun, bending gently toward his fingertips like loyal pets recognizing their master. His heart pounded so loudly he thought everyone could hear it.
"I… I really did this?" Ethan whispered.
The vine tightened softly, almost affectionately—like the forest itself was answering him.
Ethan swallowed hard, unable to look away."Magic… I can really use magic…"
Wonder and fear twisted inside him, and for a moment, he forgot how to breathe.
His legs felt weak.His chest felt too small.And his world, once small and ordinary, suddenly felt impossibly big.