"It looks like the spirit contract went well. Sylph granted you her blessing, didn't she?" Mond said, looking at Noel, who was still standing there in a daze.
Noel snapped out of it and realized Mond was now standing beside him.
"She gave me a blessing. I chose Breath of the Wind, and the other blessing was the Curse of the Storm," Noel reported honestly.
Mond's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Breath of the Wind was already a good blessing, and knowing Sylph's free-spirited nature, it was likely Noel had chosen it himself.
But the Curse of the Storm—that was an extremely rare blessing. It seemed Sylph had taken quite a liking to Noel.
"Is there a problem?" Noel asked, noticing Mond's uncharacteristic silence.
"No problem at all. Those are excellent blessings," Mond assured him. A sly grin crossed his face. "So? What did you think of Sylph?"
"She was really nice," Noel said, his eyes lighting up. "Gentle, kind, and beautiful."
Mond chuckled. "Seems you were quite taken with her. Well, you chose well. Sylph is the gentlest of the spirits you can contract with—someone who prefers to settle things without violence. As long as the summoner is kind and values freedom, anyone can form a contract with her."
Then Mond's tone shifted. "But you know… I've never seen Sylph give such high blessings to anyone before."
"My blessings are considered high-tier?" Noel asked, blinking. He had assumed they were ordinary, but Mond's reaction said otherwise.
"Absolutely. At least from what I know, the Curse of the Storm is incredibly destructive. You'll need to be cautious when using it, especially since, combined with Breath of the Wind, it will be even more powerful," Mond explained patiently.
"And now that you have a spirit's blessing, you should begin training your magic," Mond suggested.
Noel's heart raced. It was a good idea, and he was curious to test it out. Does this mean I've taken the first step toward becoming a mage?
"But, Master," Noel said, suddenly realizing something, "you signed a contract with Salamander, so your magic is fire-based. Mine is wind-based. Won't that make it hard for you to teach me?"
Mond laughed. "It's not that difficult. I can convert fire element into wind element, compress it, and release it. The power might be a bit lower, but teaching you won't be a problem."
"Watch carefully."
A red magic circle spread out beneath Mond's feet.
> "Deconstruct, reconstruct, Exchange: Blade of the Wind."
As he chanted, the red circle began to shift, turning into green.
In Mond's palm, a sphere of fiery energy, as large as a basketball, roared violently, wild and untamed.
But moments later, it transformed into a gentler wind-based energy, compressing further until it formed a razor-sharp blade.
The Blade of the Wind shot forward at high speed, slicing cleanly through a tree branch and leaving a deep groove in the tree behind it.
"Did you catch that? A bit tricky, isn't it?" Mond asked, slightly worried. Performing this type of magic was no easy feat.
Most mages became powerful simply by mastering an element's nature, but elemental conversion was an even higher-level skill. Mastering it meant your magic could take many forms.
Even a prodigy couldn't master every elemental type, but if you learned elemental conversion, you could transform your familiar element into others. While the power might not match that of native elemental spells, it made your magic flexible and versatile.
Noel ran through it in his mind, over and over. Elemental exchange… but how is it equivalent?
Error.
It doesn't work.
How can this be? Noel's mind was in chaos. The idea of exchanging elements for other elements seemed impossible.
Yet his master had just done it effortlessly. It was beyond belief.
"Noel, give it a try. Try casting Blade of the Wind. It should be easy for you, especially with Sylph's blessing. Don't worry about failing," Mond encouraged.
A green magic circle unfolded beneath Noel's feet.
> "Blade of the Wind."
He mimicked Mond's stance and words.
At that moment, he felt the gentle energy of the wind element around him, all the tiny wisps of green from nature gathering toward his palm, condensing.
The next step was shaping it. He had already practiced this during alchemy, so now he simply followed his instincts, forming the gentle wind energy into a blade.
The Blade of the Wind gradually took shape. For someone unfamiliar, the first time forming a spell was always slow, requiring time to adjust.
But within a few seconds, the blade was ready in his hand.
Now, if he wanted to launch it as Mond had, he needed to imagine the force of release.
He envisioned it firing, but the blade clung stubbornly to his hand, refusing to launch.
"Don't rush. Take your time," Mond said, noticing the issue and guiding him gently.
Noel steadied his breathing, calming his mind.
Suddenly, the Blade of the Wind shot from his hand like an arrow, whistling through the air and striking a tree.
It pierced straight through the trunk, leaving a clean cut before dissipating into the air as the tree toppled.
Noel couldn't believe his eyes.
> "I… I did that? That was my magic? That's so cool! I'm a mage now!"
He cheered, jumping around in excitement. It was the happiest he had ever been.
Mond was quietly overjoyed, too. A moment ago, he had been worried for the boy. Holding a dense mass of energy without releasing it was extremely dangerous.
If it had been fire, the situation could have turned disastrous. Wind was gentler, but with enough energy, it could still go out of control.
But now that Noel had grasped the feeling, the road ahead would be much smoother.
"You stay here and keep practicing," Mond said.
Noel nodded eagerly, continuing to cast Blade of the Wind repeatedly.
Fatigue soon began to creep in, but his mana wasn't fully depleted yet. The best way to train magic was to push until near depletion, as that was when mana would replenish and expand the fastest.
Over and over, Noel released Blade of the Wind, while Mond stood nearby, quietly watching his progress.
There was nothing more joyful for a teacher than to witness a child's growth.
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