Jane knew he had been reckless. What with how he disappeared during the day, and caused a ruckus at night, it wouldn't be strange if his brother ended up suspicious. Ironically, he was still surprised when he got caught.
'Isn't this like, the worst possible situation?'
A mysterious stranger, clad in only a robe and blindfolded, was waltzing into his house like they belonged. Jane seriously could not think of any way to explain the current situation. So, he didn't. Jane stepped further in, and deactivated his locket.
In front of the illusory puppet, Jane materialized. His brother, who had been reaching for a knife, paused.
"A lot has happened, and it'll take a while to explain, so... do you mind listening?"
---
After careful consideration, Jane decided to explain everything, or at least as much as he understood. He began with the strange rabbit he killed, how it ended up attracting his teacher, and how he began learning magic. Some of the more mundane or overly gross parts were left out, but it was already morning by the time he finished going over the past three months.
"...So, I might be immortal now, but that doesn't mean I'm fine with dying. The puppet over there—"
Jane gestured towards the blindfolded puppet, which had been standing in a corner of the room ever since he started talking.
"—is what I'll look like from now on. There's a lot more things to do in the city, and you'll be able to learn how to read there. Do you want to come with us?"
Jane did not ask him to go, since that would be unfair. The two of them didn't have much attachment to this village, but Jane still wanted to check. His brother stood up, and walked over to where Jane was sitting.
His brother stopped right in front of Jane, then quickly pulled him into a tight hug. There may have been a smile on his face, but Jane wasn't able to see from his position. He may also have been wearing an expression of concern.
"That... I guess I'll take that as a yes?"
In truth, Jane already knew how his brother would respond. Asking for confirmation was just his way of showing gratitude to him, who must have worked twice as hard while not knowing what his little sibling was up to. Jane had worked harder, as well, to avoid disappointing him. It paid off, in the end.
---
'Why does this hurt so much?'
Jane was currently holding his severed arm to its stump, and healing it with 'Grow'. Having it cut off was decently painful, but it could not compare to the pain spreading throughout his entire arm as it reconnected. Even after he had healed the wound completely, the pain still radiated throughout his limb.
"My disciple, you are still too slow when repairing your wounds."
"I wouldn't have to... if you didn't cut my limbs off to begin with..."
He complained, but he knew what his teacher said was true. In a real battle, it was unreasonable to think that he wouldn't get hurt. And if he lost a limb without recovering it later, it would be difficult to regenerate it. Learning how to quickly and effectively heal wounds while in the midst of battle was an important combat skill for mages.
Jane sighed, and shook his newly-healed arm around a few times. While he waited for the pain to subside, he started thinking of quicker ways to repair wounds.
"One more. I still have mana."
Obviously, recovering wounds faster would require a more concentrated effect of 'Grow' runes. It would also need to be focused, or else the surrounding region would balloon up.
"I wonder, would you be able to recover from losing all of your limbs?"
"What's wrong with you?"
Knowing his teacher's evil intentions, Jane activated the locket around his neck. He then retreated as far as possible. Nothing good ever happened when he got too close to his teacher. From right above the latter, his voice rang out.
"Brace your neck—!"
Calex did not respond to the provocation. He was already intimately familiar with his disciple's tricks.
'But is he prepared for this, too?'
Various powerful spells came from every direction of the forest, all aiming at his teacher. The experienced mage countered each and every one of them with ease. Right behind him, an incredibly powerful spell rang out, blended in with the others. This one, too, was deflected using the perfect amount of magic.
The sheer number of spells Jane was casting was far too much to allow any living being to survive in that area. He knew this, and so he mixed in fake spells made with 'Illusion' on the path he was taking towards his teacher. But since Calex would definitely notice fake spells coming from only one direction, Jane still put his body in the way of a few of them. In addition, he replicated the effects of the spells which hit him with illusory equivalents.
From far away, he used 'Sound' to produce his voice again, making some half-baked insult. His teacher smiled, then formed a sinister-looking circle in midair.
'Wait, how many "Amplify" runes is that—'
An entire direction of the forest was instantly vaporized by the sheer amount of heat unleashed by his teacher's spell. Even though he was completely outside of its range, Jane began sweating.
"Oh dear, have I ended my disciple for good this time?"
The spells continued to rain down upon his teacher, rendering his comment meaningless. All this while, Jane was still inching forwards, trying to keep up the act.
Jane had long since realized that he would be unable to match his teacher without first getting close. Indeed, defensive magic would always win against offensive magic from a range. If his teacher was given even the slightest amount of time to react, he would definitely get away unscathed. Therefore, Jane had to use as strong of a spell as he could, and from as close of a range as physically possible.
There were now only a few steps between them, but it looked like an unbridgeable gap to Jane. Indeed, if his teacher decided to use his mana to sense right now, it would...
"You're right here, aren't you?"
...be the perfect opportunity to strike.
As Calex spread out his mana, Jane immediately formed the spell he had been visualizing in his head. One which would take the most thought to counter.
Jane wrapped a 'Project' around 'Pulp', 'Lightning', and 'Grow' runes, and then constructed as many 'Amplify' runes as he could around the outer structure.
'The ability to carry lightning, combined with a solidity and speed, and constantly repairing itself.'
The root of a plant shot out straight towards his teacher's abdomen. Too late, Calex tried to stop it with a wall of 'Rock', but the half-formed barrier crumbled easily. The still-accelerating root reached his teachers abdomen, and then pierced him straight through. A significant portion of him had been carved out.
"Brilliant."
His teacher looked elated, proud even. In complete ignorance of the magic piercing him and threatening his life, he formed runes again in midair. It was the blade of air he liked so much.
'Didn't I win, though?'
Jane barely had time to form a thought before his head was cleanly separated from his body.