"Ngn…" I struggled to open up my eyes. I was still a bit sleepy.
(Five more minutes…) I thought while trying to go back to sleep.
For some reason, the whole room and even my bed started shaking…
"Oh god! An earthquake!?" I was completely woken up by that…
I raised my body in panic and started looking around.
Everything looked normal… Nothing was being shaken anymore...
Huh?
"What was that…?" I was extremely confused.
I swear I felt everything shaking around me…
"Could it be that I was just dreaming?" I smiled awkwardly.
If that's the case, then waking up in panic just because of my own dream is a bit embarrassing…
"Well, I guess if I'm already fully awake, I should just get up from bed. Maybe I could go and play with the twins." I talked to myself as I moved towards the edge of the bed to put on my boots.
As I was putting on my boots, everything was shaken again.
"What the hell!? What's happening!?" I was dumbfounded.
I decided to put on my boots quicker and go out to investigate.
As I rushed out of the room towards the living room, I found out there was no one there. However, the entrance door was slightly opened.
Without hesitation, I went out of the house to investigate the cause of the sudden tremors.
As soon as I got out of the house, I saw Lilia who was sitting on a wooden chair with a very relaxed expression on her face alongside Liliana and Luna who had pretty serious expressions on their faces.
"That's what a [Grade 5] spell looks like. What do you think?" Lilia asked her daughters with an amused expression.
The first one to speak was Liliana.
"It feels too difficult for us to do…" Liliana looked very troubled.
"Of course it will be difficult. You two are still novices after all. Intermediate Grade spells are way out of your league at the moment." Lilia replied honestly.
"Even if the two of us used all the Mana in our body, we wouldn't be able to cast the spell once… Yet Mom was able to cast the spell 3 times in a row… That feels frustrating..." Luna was looking a bit annoyed.
Luna wasn't acting shy as she did with me when we met…
"Of course, you can't do that right now. In the future, the two of you will have enough mana to cast the spell as many times as you could possibly want! Your mana reserves grow daily, so don't worry too much about that and just focus on learning how to use magic properly." Lilia explained to her daughter with a smile.
So, the cause of the tremors was actually magic… That's interesting! It is a real shame that I wasn't able to see it though...
I wonder if I could learn how to use magic...
While I was thinking about the possibility of me gaining magical powers, I was noticed by the twins and Lilia.
Liliana started giggling a lot for some reason while Luna's face was dyed in several shades of red.
Using hand gestures, Lilia was beckoning me to come to them.
Of course, I walked toward the three of them. I was really excited about the possibility of seeing magic closely.
"Did you sleep well?" Lilia smiled at me. "I hope we weren't too noisy. Hehehe~!" She looked at her twin daughters while giggling.
"I didn't hear anything until I got out of the guest room." I shook my head rapidly.
"You don't need to lie, you know? The walls are thin, so you can hear everything coming from the outside. It is fine to get annoyed because you were disturbed while sleeping. Also, it is your room now, you have to call it as such." Lilia looked at me and spoke with a very serious expression.
"Sorry…" I smiled bitterly and apologized for lying.
Lilia just smiled in response before changing the topic.
"So, I'm guessing that you came here after noticing the effects of my magic and you came to investigate, right?" Lilia asked me with a teasing smile.
"Yes..." I nodded shyly.
"So you must really like magic huh… I don't mind showing off for a bit!" Lilia said proudly while puffing her chest.
Oh! I can get a live demonstration! Hooray!
"Julius, do you know how to use magic as well? I want to see what you can do!" Liliana was looking really fired up.
Oh…
"Actually… I don't really know how to use it…" I smiled bitterly as I scratched the back of my head.
"You don't know?" Liliana tilted her head.
At first, she had a confused expression, but then she smiled and turned around to face her sister. Liliana then got closer to her and whispered something in Luna's ear.
So… It is apparently normal for children my age to know how to use magic huh...
Lilia, seemingly being able to read my mind, started patting my head before she started talking.
"Don't worry. It is very normal for kids of your age to not know how to use magic. Even for kids of Liliana and Luna's age, it is quite rare for them to know how to use it. The normal time for kids to learn how to use it is when they are 10 years old." Lilia explained with a gentle smile.
"I see… That's a relief then…" I smiled bitterly.
I looked at the twins who were still whispering at each other.
"In case you're wondering, I started teaching the girls how to use magic because I was bored." Lilia said with an easy-going smile.
"You must be a good teacher then." I smiled at her.
"Oho! It looks like we have a little gentleman here. Hehehe~." Lilia giggled. "As a special thanks for the compliment, how about I show a good magical spectacle?" She smiled confidently.
I nodded vigorously. I was going to engrave in my very soul the memory of seeing magic clearly for the first time.
"Alrighty then, let's get…-" Lilia was about to stand up, but she was stopped by the twins.
"Mom, can we show him our magic instead?" Liliana asked with a grin. She then looked at me and smiled warmly.
"P-P-Please!" Luna was still as red as a tomato. She even stuttered a bit.
"Well, I don't see why not." Lilia nodded in agreement. She simply stayed seated.
Liliana grinned from ear to ear and then nodded to her sister.
Luna and I made eye contact for a few seconds before she looked back at her sister. She seemed pretty embarrassed for some reason.
"Okay then! We are ready!" Liliana seemed very excited.
"P-P-Please watch closely!" Luna said while trying to look at me without averting her gaze. She was still blushing a lot.
The two of them looked at each other and nodded again.
The twins extended their arms and then closed their eyes.
Lilia and I simply looked at them in silence…
Then, it finally happened… I was finally able to see what magic looked like in this world…
A small fireball had appeared over Liliana's hands while a larger sphere of water was hovering over Luna's palm. The two orbs of fire and water were completely defying the laws of gravity...
"Whoa!" I could only look at the twins with amazement.
"Nice execution. I see that you still aren't able to access [Grade 2] spells, Liliana. You should study a bit more. But it was a nice [Fireball]. You get a passing mark." Lilia was rubbing her chin while examining the magic of her daughters.
Liliana was looking very proud of herself.
"Luna, although your control is wavering a bit, you still made a superb [Water Ball]. Good job." Lilia gave her thumbs up to her daughter.
Luna smiled very happily. She was looking at me very intently.
"Hehehe! Isn't Luna incredible, Julius? She's a genius when it comes to magic!" Liliana looked even prouder than before. This time she was proud of her little sister.
"The two of you were amazing!" I nodded vigorously.
"Hehe!" Liliana was looking very smug. "Although you haven't seen anything yet! Luna, show him what you can really do!" Liliana pointed at her twin.
Luna nodded shyly before closing her eyes in order to concentrate.
Suddenly, the wind started blowing towards us… No… The wind was being concentrated on one specific place; Luna's palm.
A transparent sphere of wind was hovering over one of her palms while the [Water Ball] she had previously summoned was still hovering over her other palm.
The strong winds were making the hair of the three long-haired women around me flutter in all directions. They didn't seem too bothered by it.
"Two [Grade 2] spells at the same time huh... Not bad. Just like with the [Water Ball], your control is wavering, but the spell is passable." Lilia nodded to herself.
Unlike Lilia who reacted calmly to Luna's spells, I got way too excited…
I forgot to control myself thanks to my excitement and quickly got closer to Luna.
"Incredible!" I could only look at the young girl in front of me in amazement.
"See? I told you Luna is a genius! This kind of thing is a piece of cake for my little sister!" Liliana looked understandably proud of her younger sister.
I nodded vigorously before trying to examine the two mysterious orbs from a closer angle, meaning that I had gotten even closer to Luna.
I couldn't see what kind of facial expression she was making because my view of her face was blocked by the two magical orbs.
"Are they safe to touch?" I asked Lilia.
"If I were you, I wouldn't try to touch the [Gale] spell, but the [Water Ball] is completely safe to touch." Lilia said with amusement.
I nodded in understanding and then touched the [Water Ball]. My finger obviously sunk into the sphere… The water didn't really feel that different from normal water. It was very cold though.
Yet… I couldn't believe that I was actually witnessing the effects of real magic…
"This is so amazing!" I couldn't hide my excitement at all.
I was on cloud nine thanks to this experience.
I kept messing up with the [Water Ball] with a smile on my face.
"Isn't Luna amazing, Julius?" Liliana asked with a smirk.
"Yeah, she is! Your [Fireball] looks pretty cool too!" I said with excitement.
But just as I said that the [Water Ball] suddenly exploded… We didn't have the chance to say anything or even scream.
Water traveled in all directions… Since I was right in front of it, I obviously took the worst part of the explosion…
I was covered in water from head to toe… My clothes were completely drenched...
"So cold!" I shouted with surprise thanks to the sudden cold shower.
The water was unbelievably cold… It was even colder than when I touched the sphere of water just a few moments ago...
Because the [Water Ball] was no longer there, I was able to see Luna's face again.
"Uuuuu…" Her face was painted in several shades of red. She was extremely embarrassed.
Just like me, Luna had taken the worst part of the explosion of the [Water Ball] since she was also in front of it. She was completely drenched.
The other spell she was using had also disappeared.
"Well… That was to be expected… Luna, please focus on mastering using only one [Grade 2] spell before trying to use two at the same time, okay?" Lilia seemed to be a bit amused. She still gave advice to her daughter.
"O-O-Okay…" Luna replied with embarrassment.
"Mom! Why didn't you use a [Barrier] on me as well!?" Liliana was pissed off.
I turned my head only to see that Lilia had not gotten wet thanks to the explosion of the [Water Ball]... There was a thin yellow wall right in front of her.
Liliana was standing beside us, so of course, she also got completely drenched.
"You were too far away for me to do anything." Lilia said with an easy-going expression.
"Lies! You taught us the effective range of a [Barrier], and I know for a fact that you could have created one regardless of the distance!" Liliana was outraged.
"Then I didn't have the chance to react. I protected myself by instinct." Lilia smiled at her daughter.
For some reason, it doesn't feel like Lilia was telling the truth…
"Achooo...!" I sneezed…
Thanks to the cold water and the wind blowing in our direction, I ended up sneezing loudly…
But I was not the only one...
"Achoo...!" Luna sneezed after I did…
"Hehe…" Liliana, who was previously pissed off at her mother didn't look pissed off at all now… She looked really pleased for some reason.
"Well, I guess we could say that we're done with our magic practice for the day." Lilia said as she got up from her chair and walked toward us. "The three of you should take a warm bath though." Lilia smiled bitterly.
"Don't worry, I'm fi… Achoo!" I sneezed very loudly mid-sentence...
Lilia shook her head with disapproval. In fact, she looked a bit annoyed.
"No child under my care will catch a cold! So the three of you will be taking a bath now!" Lilia said with a very imposing tone.
Even her posture was a bit intimidating and imposing… She was crossing her arms while frowning.
"Okay…" I just nodded.
I don't know why, but my instincts were telling me that I should never make Lilia angry…
Nothing good would come out of it… I instinctively knew that...
"Does anyone else have a complaint?" Lilia looked at her twin daughters.
The twins quickly shook their heads vigorously.
"Good." Lilia smiled. "Let's go back inside before you three catch a cold, okay?" Lilia's gentle and kind demeanor returned.
Am I really safe in this place…?
While I was thinking of that, my hand was grabbed by Lilia. She was holding it tightly… She was also holding the hand of Luna who was, in turn, holding the hand of Liliana…
Lilia simply smiled at me. The four of us started walking back to the house (Lilia dragged us). The twins and I were silent while Lilia was humming happily...
"I'm in heaven… I wish I could live in the bathtub…" Liliana relaxing on the other side of the bathtub.
Only Liliana and I were inside the bathroom. My mother was setting up a bath outside of the house for Julius.
He said that he was a bit uncomfortable being seen naked by us. Liliana was a bit annoyed that he wouldn't join us, but she got over it quickly.
I, however...
"..." I couldn't really focus on the warm water, if anything, it just made me think about what happened a while ago…
I don't like to admit this, but I lost my concentration on the spells because I was complimented...
I shouldn't have gotten so embarrassed… Just a few compliments and I lost all of my focus…
I sunk myself underwater, hoping that the warm and relaxing bath would help me forget about my embarrassing mistake…
Just as I got my head out of the water, I was met by my smiling sister…
"Jeez Luna! You must be sooooo disappointed that Julius is not here with us! I kinda wanted to show him the cool boat I made!" Liliana was holding a small wooden toy boat in her hands.
"That's not it…" I averted my gaze.
She's going to start teasing me again…
"Oh! C'mon! You can't hide what you're feeling from me, your twin! I can guess what you're thinking just by looking at you! Don’t underestimate your older sister!" Liliana grinned from ear to ear.
Liliana can read me like an open book, yet… I cannot say the same about her… I don't know what she's thinking most of the time…
My sister is like that; wild and unpredictable. There’s one certainty I have about her though… She lives for the sole purpose of teasing me...
"You're pretty embarrassed that you failed a simple spell because he thought you were amazing, right?" Liliana moved closer to me and started elbowing me.
"..." I didn't reply.
"Jackpot huh... Well, I was more or less expecting that. Hahaha! Luna is such a maiden in love~." She smiled at me before turning around. She started playing with her toy boat.
That comment annoyed me for some reason…
"Now you are annoyed at me. You shouldn't be reading so many romance novels with Mom after dinner. Especially the ones with love at first sight as the main focus of the story." Liliana turned her head and showed me a teasing smile.
I couldn't help but splash some water on her smug face… It was very annoying that she knew exactly how I was feeling...
"That only proves that I'm right, you know?" She kept smiling at me.
"You talk like you don't read those novels too…" I said with annoyance.
"Yep, I do read them. I would even say that I love those novels. What about it?" She tilted her head before grinning from ear to ear. "Could it be that you want to know whether or not I like Julius as you do?" She said with a teasing smile.
"I told you before, that I just want to get to know him more…" I averted my gaze and looked at the window in the corner of the room.
The blue sky was fully visible. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky.
"You're no fun! This is the part where you're supposed to get jealous and declare your undying love for him! You had also said that you thought he was cute!" Liliana stood up and spoke with excitement.
I just frowned at her…
"Sheesh, I thought that you would be happier that my plan to make you look good in front of Julius worked almost perfectly…" Liliana sat back in the bathtub and then shrugged. "If it had gone perfectly, he would be here playing with us in the water. But oh well, it is just as Dad says: ‘You can't win them all’." My older sister smiled before she started to focus on her toy boat again.
"You had a plan…? I don't think you really did anything other than saying that I was a genius and that I was amazing…" I was skeptical.
"Exactly! And that's what made my plan almost perfect!" Liliana nodded vigorously.
"Didn't he end up praising us both though?" I said while raising an eyebrow.
"In other words, the plan was a great success! I'm not going to lose my chances!" Liliana was getting fired up.
"Do you really like him…?" I looked at my sister with a serious expression.
"Of course! Didn't I tell you before that I do like him?" She nodded vigorously.
I couldn't tell if she was joking or if she was being serious. My older sister is like that…
"You don't seem too happy to have me as competition." Liliana frowned. "But if it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't take him away from you since I have a great idea!" She looked at me and grinned. "This situation is just like the plot of that novel we read with Mom last week! So, why don't we do the same as the main characters did? The two of us can share him! Isn't it a great idea?" Liliana said with a smug expression. She seemed a little too proud of herself…
I could only smile bitterly thanks to my older sister's idea…
"Didn't all the main characters in that novel die at the end?" I asked her while frowning.
"Don't mind the little details! Look, this idea is great! Instead of competing with each other, we can just support each other and attack him from two sides!" She was now looking extremely proud of herself.
Hmmm…
"Hehe! By the looks of it, you seem almost convinced!" Liliana grinned at me.
"Okay… Let's say that I like him and you also like him… What do we do from there?" I asked with a bit of embarrassment.
"Hehehe! That's a cute expression! Julius would definitely fall for you if you show him that expression that you're making!" My older sister nodded to herself.
I got annoyed because she was teasing me again…
"Could you answer my question…?" I said with annoyance.
"We have to become closer to him obviously. After that… Well, I'm not really sure what to do..." My sister looked troubled.
"Didn't you have a plan?" I raised an eyebrow.
"I do, but I never have liked someone this way before..." Liliana looked a bit embarrassed.
It was such a rare sight… Even with this rare sight, I couldn't tell whether she was serious about this or not...
"I guess that's when dates, holding hands, and kissing come into the picture. We'll figure everything out from there." Liliana said with an easy-going smile.
Well, I'm not really sure about what to do either… Just like Liliana, this is the first time I feel like this about someone…
Sigh...
I still don't even know whether or not this could be called 'love at first sight'...
"Turn that frown upside down, Luna! The real fun will start from now on!" Liliana then stood up with a proud expression. She looked extremely excited.
I think Liliana was serious about liking Julius after all…
I guess I should be glad that the two of us are teaming up though...
So warm… I want to live in this bathtub forever…
Well, calling it a bathtub is not really accurate.
I'm currently inside of a barrel filled to the brim with warm water.
"So how's the temperature of the water?" Lilia asked me with a gentle smile.
"Perfect…"
I was in heaven…
"That's good! Just tell me if you want to adjust the temperature, okay?" Lilia kept smiling.
I just nodded in response.
Lilia had prepared this bath for me using magic. I was a bit embarrassed about taking a bath with the twins, so I told Lilia that I didn't feel comfortable being seen naked by them.
She said she understood and then prepared this bath for me outside her house. It took her only five minutes to prepare everything.
It was amazing! Magic is super convenient!
I am a bit embarrassed to be taking a bath in front of Lilia though… She said that she had to be here in order to regulate the water temperature and to make sure that I didn't drown…
I reluctantly agreed...
"Okay then, let's wash your hair!" Lilia said with excitement.
There's apparently a primitive version of shampoo and soap in this world. I don't know how good they are going to be compared to the ones I used on Earth, but it is certainly better than nothing.
I suddenly felt how Lilia's hands were massaging my scalp and taking care of it properly.
"Thank you..." I thanked my benefactor for her kindness.
“It’s fine! You don’t need to thank me! Just let me spoil you for a bit. You were in a pretty scary situation today, so please relax and forget about everything!” Lilia kept washing my hair.
Ah… I see… She must be trying to make me forget about the incident with the goblins in order to not develop some trauma over it.
“Thank…-” I was about to thank her again, but...
“Stop thanking me.” Lilia said with a little bit of annoyance…
“Sorry…” I smiled bitterly.
“Don’t apologize either. Just relax, okay? You can treat me as if I was an Auntie or your own mother, I don’t mind.” Lilia spoke with a gentle tone.
I was about to open my mouth to thank her again, but I immediately closed it when I realized that. I was grateful to Lilia for her hospitality and her kindness.
I just nodded in agreement.
“Lilia, I have been wanting to ask this before, but I didn’t have the chance… Would you teach me how to use magic?” I turned my head around and asked her to teach me.
“Sure, I don't mind.” Lilia showed me a gentle and kind smile. “Well, I do need to check if you have the talent for it. I’m very strict as a teacher, so do you still want to learn?” She asked with a serious expression.
So, not everyone is able to use magic… I’m a bit nervous now...
“Okay! I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Despite being nervous about the possibility of not being able to use magic, I still nodded vigorously.
Lilia smiled before speaking again.
“Okay, stay still and close your eyes. Focus your mind on your heart, your head, and your stomach.” Lilia instructed me.
I immediately did what I was told.
“We are about to check the reaction of your body towards [Elemental Mana] and [Mana] in general. Tell me if it feels funny, okay?” Lilia spoke calmly in order to not make me nervous.
“Okay.” I nodded at her.
“Let’s begin.” Lilia whispered as she placed both of her hands on top of my shampoo-covered head.
Just as she said that my head started feeling strange and warm… That strange and warm feeling started traveling from my head towards my heart and then my stomach. The strange feeling then started spreading all around my body, as if it was like blood.
I quickly got accustomed to the warm feeling… You could even say that it was relaxing...
So this is mana… It doesn’t feel unpleasant…
“Oh…” Lilia sounded a bit dumbfounded.
“Ummm… Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Ah! Yeah! Everything is perfectly fine!” Lilia sounded a bit suspicious…
Uh oh… I don’t know if I should start getting worried now…
I opened my eyes only to see Lilia smiling excitedly at me.
The warm feeling was still traveling through my body...
“We are done... Congratulations, Julius! I think you will be an awesome magician!” Lilia said with excitement. “I will be expecting a lot of great things about you as my student! Please catch up quickly with the twins, okay?” Lilia appeared to be looking forward to teaching me.
"I'll give my all!" I nodded at her with excitement.
Woohoo! I'm going to be able to use magic! I'm so happy right now!
"Well, why don't we start with the first lesson right now? If we are going to talk about magic, first we need to talk about [Mana]." Lilia started the lesson right away. "[Mana] is an infinite energy present in all creation. Plants, animals, people, and even objects have [Mana]. But do you think you could tell me how [Mana] came to existence?" Lilia asked me a difficult question.
Hmm…
"Melius created it?" I tried to guess using the name of my other benefactor.
Lilia nodded in agreement.
"That's what most magicians and people tend to believe. But there are books about when Gods used to live among the people that tell an entirely different story. Supposedly, Lia, The Goddess of Knowledge, told a famous sage that [Mana] came to exist thanks to the combination of two invisible energies that came to exist way before our own world. Lord Melius merely gave us the capacity of using [Mana]." Lilia explained to me with a serious expression. She also seemed to be enjoying herself though.
"I see… So, which one do you believe in?" I asked Lilia.
"The latter one. Even though there's not a lot of evidence, I believe Lady Lia would never lie about it." Lilia nodded to herself. "Well, what we believe to be the origin of [Mana] is important to know, I prefer to dwell more into how it interacts with [The Six Primordial Elements]."
"Could you elaborate further?" I asked Lilia with a bit of confusion.
"Julius, this is something that you must absolutely remember, okay? So please pay attention. The [Six Primordial Elements] are as follows: Light, Darkness, Water, Earth, Fire and Wind."
Oh, so basically the four elements but with Light and Darkness included… This world is literally an RPG...
"I see…" I nodded in response.
"Those six elements are the base of all magic. You can manipulate their raw power, or combine them to be able to use other types of magic. We have to pay a price to be able to use magic. Naturally, that price is the invisible and infinite energy that is [Mana]."
Just as I imagined…
"But before we go too deeply into that, we need to talk about magic. What is Magic? Magic is a tool at our disposal to alter the environment without lifting a finger. Magic happens when a person spends mana in order to get the desired effect like creating water or fire." Lilia then took a deep breath.
I see…
"That would usually lead you to think that if you spend more mana, your desired effect would be stronger, but that is not always the case. Skill, Imagination, and Knowledge are far more important than the quantity of [Mana] used. Remember that, because you could hurt yourself in the future if you don't." Lilia warned me.
"Understood." I nodded at her.
"Good." She looked satisfied with my answer. "Anyway, even though I'm saying quantity is not as important as being skillful and having a good imagination, the quantity of [Mana] DOES impact the desired result of a spell. Remember that the spells that the twins used had [Grades]?" Lilia asked.
"Yeah, I remember hearing you say something like that." I nodded again.
"Magic has a ranking system for spells. We call this ranking system [Grades of Magic]. Well, I say it is a ranking system, but you could also call it the [Restrictions of Magic]. You see, every spell depending on the quantity of mana and the skill needed to cast the spell, would fall under one of these Grades." Lilia frowned for a second.
Ah, I remember that Luna used two [Grade 2] spells while Liliana used one [Grade 1]...
"There's 15 confirmed [Grades of Magic]. The spells under the 1st to 3rd Grades are considered common magic, 4th to 6th are intermediate magic and 7th grade is advanced magic. The 8th, the 9th, and 10th are Saint Magic, Heroic Magic, and Angelical Magic respectively. Each of these grades are increasingly more difficult than the last. Finally, the last Grades are something that no mortal can access… Divine Magic." Lilia explained with a very serious expression.
I see… I see… I think I understand these limitations of magic.
"So, each grade requires more mana, skill, knowledge, and imagination than their predecessors, right? That's why you call them restrictions. Some people might get stuck at one of the Grades because they reached the limits of what they can do, while others might get past that limit easily." I said while rubbing my chin.
"That's correct. You are a good student~." Lilia seemed very pleased by my answer.
I wonder what my limit will be on this ranking system…
"Well, I think that's enough for now, Julius. Think of this as a short introductory lesson to magic. Tomorrow we'll go through everything in detail as well as having your first practical class. Please look forward to it!" Lilia was undoubtedly excited.
Me? I was sad that the class ended so soon, but I was already waiting for tomorrow to come quickly.
Afterward, I had a fun time with Lilia discussing the concepts that I learned from her.
"Ngn…" I struggled to open up my eyes. I was still a bit sleepy.
(Five more minutes…) I thought while trying to go back to sleep.
For some reason, the whole room and even my bed started shaking…
"Oh god! An earthquake!?" I was completely woken up by that…
I raised my body in panic and started looking around.
Everything looked normal… Nothing was being shaken anymore...
Huh?
"What was that…?" I was extremely confused.
I swear I felt everything shaking around me…
"Could it be that I was just dreaming?" I smiled awkwardly.
If that's the case, then waking up in panic just because of my own dream is a bit embarrassing…
"Well, I guess if I'm already fully awake, I should just get up from bed. Maybe I could go and play with the twins." I talked to myself as I moved towards the edge of the bed to put on my boots.
As I was putting on my boots, everything was shaken again.
"What the hell!? What's happening!?" I was dumbfounded.
I decided to put on my boots quicker and go out to investigate.
As I rushed out of the room towards the living room, I found out there was no one there. However, the entrance door was slightly opened.
Without hesitation, I went out of the house to investigate the cause of the sudden tremors.
As soon as I got out of the house, I saw Lilia who was sitting on a wooden chair with a very relaxed expression on her face alongside Liliana and Luna who had pretty serious expressions on their faces.
"That's what a [Grade 5] spell looks like. What do you think?" Lilia asked her daughters with an amused expression.
The first one to speak was Liliana.
"It feels too difficult for us to do…" Liliana looked very troubled.
"Of course it will be difficult. You two are still novices after all. Intermediate Grade spells are way out of your league at the moment." Lilia replied honestly.
"Even if the two of us used all the Mana in our body, we wouldn't be able to cast the spell once… Yet Mom was able to cast the spell 3 times in a row… That feels frustrating..." Luna was looking a bit annoyed.
Luna wasn't acting shy as she did with me when we met…
"Of course, you can't do that right now. In the future, the two of you will have enough mana to cast the spell as many times as you could possibly want! Your mana reserves grow daily, so don't worry too much about that and just focus on learning how to use magic properly." Lilia explained to her daughter with a smile.
So, the cause of the tremors was actually magic… That's interesting! It is a real shame that I wasn't able to see it though...
I wonder if I could learn how to use magic...
While I was thinking about the possibility of me gaining magical powers, I was noticed by the twins and Lilia.
Liliana started giggling a lot for some reason while Luna's face was dyed in several shades of red.
Using hand gestures, Lilia was beckoning me to come to them.
Of course, I walked toward the three of them. I was really excited about the possibility of seeing magic closely.
"Did you sleep well?" Lilia smiled at me. "I hope we weren't too noisy. Hehehe~!" She looked at her twin daughters while giggling.
"I didn't hear anything until I got out of the guest room." I shook my head rapidly.
"You don't need to lie, you know? The walls are thin, so you can hear everything coming from the outside. It is fine to get annoyed because you were disturbed while sleeping. Also, it is your room now, you have to call it as such." Lilia looked at me and spoke with a very serious expression.
"Sorry…" I smiled bitterly and apologized for lying.
Lilia just smiled in response before changing the topic.
"So, I'm guessing that you came here after noticing the effects of my magic and you came to investigate, right?" Lilia asked me with a teasing smile.
"Yes..." I nodded shyly.
"So you must really like magic huh… I don't mind showing off for a bit!" Lilia said proudly while puffing her chest.
Oh! I can get a live demonstration! Hooray!
"Julius, do you know how to use magic as well? I want to see what you can do!" Liliana was looking really fired up.
Oh…
"Actually… I don't really know how to use it…" I smiled bitterly as I scratched the back of my head.
"You don't know?" Liliana tilted her head.
At first, she had a confused expression, but then she smiled and turned around to face her sister. Liliana then got closer to her and whispered something in Luna's ear.
So… It is apparently normal for children my age to know how to use magic huh...
Lilia, seemingly being able to read my mind, started patting my head before she started talking.
"Don't worry. It is very normal for kids of your age to not know how to use magic. Even for kids of Liliana and Luna's age, it is quite rare for them to know how to use it. The normal time for kids to learn how to use it is when they are 10 years old." Lilia explained with a gentle smile.
"I see… That's a relief then…" I smiled bitterly.
I looked at the twins who were still whispering at each other.
"In case you're wondering, I started teaching the girls how to use magic because I was bored." Lilia said with an easy-going smile.
"You must be a good teacher then." I smiled at her.
"Oho! It looks like we have a little gentleman here. Hehehe~." Lilia giggled. "As a special thanks for the compliment, how about I show a good magical spectacle?" She smiled confidently.
I nodded vigorously. I was going to engrave in my very soul the memory of seeing magic clearly for the first time.
"Alrighty then, let's get…-" Lilia was about to stand up, but she was stopped by the twins.
"Mom, can we show him our magic instead?" Liliana asked with a grin. She then looked at me and smiled warmly.
"P-P-Please!" Luna was still as red as a tomato. She even stuttered a bit.
"Well, I don't see why not." Lilia nodded in agreement. She simply stayed seated.
Liliana grinned from ear to ear and then nodded to her sister.
Luna and I made eye contact for a few seconds before she looked back at her sister. She seemed pretty embarrassed for some reason.
"Okay then! We are ready!" Liliana seemed very excited.
"P-P-Please watch closely!" Luna said while trying to look at me without averting her gaze. She was still blushing a lot.
The two of them looked at each other and nodded again.
The twins extended their arms and then closed their eyes.
Lilia and I simply looked at them in silence…
Then, it finally happened… I was finally able to see what magic looked like in this world…
A small fireball had appeared over Liliana's hands while a larger sphere of water was hovering over Luna's palm. The two orbs of fire and water were completely defying the laws of gravity...
"Whoa!" I could only look at the twins with amazement.
"Nice execution. I see that you still aren't able to access [Grade 2] spells, Liliana. You should study a bit more. But it was a nice [Fireball]. You get a passing mark." Lilia was rubbing her chin while examining the magic of her daughters.
Liliana was looking very proud of herself.
"Luna, although your control is wavering a bit, you still made a superb [Water Ball]. Good job." Lilia gave her thumbs up to her daughter.
Luna smiled very happily. She was looking at me very intently.
"Hehehe! Isn't Luna incredible, Julius? She's a genius when it comes to magic!" Liliana looked even prouder than before. This time she was proud of her little sister.
"The two of you were amazing!" I nodded vigorously.
"Hehe!" Liliana was looking very smug. "Although you haven't seen anything yet! Luna, show him what you can really do!" Liliana pointed at her twin.
Luna nodded shyly before closing her eyes in order to concentrate.
Suddenly, the wind started blowing towards us… No… The wind was being concentrated on one specific place; Luna's palm.
A transparent sphere of wind was hovering over one of her palms while the [Water Ball] she had previously summoned was still hovering over her other palm.
The strong winds were making the hair of the three long-haired women around me flutter in all directions. They didn't seem too bothered by it.
"Two [Grade 2] spells at the same time huh... Not bad. Just like with the [Water Ball], your control is wavering, but the spell is passable." Lilia nodded to herself.
Unlike Lilia who reacted calmly to Luna's spells, I got way too excited…
I forgot to control myself thanks to my excitement and quickly got closer to Luna.
"Incredible!" I could only look at the young girl in front of me in amazement.
"See? I told you Luna is a genius! This kind of thing is a piece of cake for my little sister!" Liliana looked understandably proud of her younger sister.
I nodded vigorously before trying to examine the two mysterious orbs from a closer angle, meaning that I had gotten even closer to Luna.
I couldn't see what kind of facial expression she was making because my view of her face was blocked by the two magical orbs.
"Are they safe to touch?" I asked Lilia.
"If I were you, I wouldn't try to touch the [Gale] spell, but the [Water Ball] is completely safe to touch." Lilia said with amusement.
I nodded in understanding and then touched the [Water Ball]. My finger obviously sunk into the sphere… The water didn't really feel that different from normal water. It was very cold though.
Yet… I couldn't believe that I was actually witnessing the effects of real magic…
"This is so amazing!" I couldn't hide my excitement at all.
I was on cloud nine thanks to this experience.
I kept messing up with the [Water Ball] with a smile on my face.
"Isn't Luna amazing, Julius?" Liliana asked with a smirk.
"Yeah, she is! Your [Fireball] looks pretty cool too!" I said with excitement.
But just as I said that the [Water Ball] suddenly exploded… We didn't have the chance to say anything or even scream.
Water traveled in all directions… Since I was right in front of it, I obviously took the worst part of the explosion…
I was covered in water from head to toe… My clothes were completely drenched...
"So cold!" I shouted with surprise thanks to the sudden cold shower.
The water was unbelievably cold… It was even colder than when I touched the sphere of water just a few moments ago...
Because the [Water Ball] was no longer there, I was able to see Luna's face again.
"Uuuuu…" Her face was painted in several shades of red. She was extremely embarrassed.
Just like me, Luna had taken the worst part of the explosion of the [Water Ball] since she was also in front of it. She was completely drenched.
The other spell she was using had also disappeared.
"Well… That was to be expected… Luna, please focus on mastering using only one [Grade 2] spell before trying to use two at the same time, okay?" Lilia seemed to be a bit amused. She still gave advice to her daughter.
"O-O-Okay…" Luna replied with embarrassment.
"Mom! Why didn't you use a [Barrier] on me as well!?" Liliana was pissed off.
I turned my head only to see that Lilia had not gotten wet thanks to the explosion of the [Water Ball]... There was a thin yellow wall right in front of her.
Liliana was standing beside us, so of course, she also got completely drenched.
"You were too far away for me to do anything." Lilia said with an easy-going expression.
"Lies! You taught us the effective range of a [Barrier], and I know for a fact that you could have created one regardless of the distance!" Liliana was outraged.
"Then I didn't have the chance to react. I protected myself by instinct." Lilia smiled at her daughter.
For some reason, it doesn't feel like Lilia was telling the truth…
"Achooo...!" I sneezed…
Thanks to the cold water and the wind blowing in our direction, I ended up sneezing loudly…
But I was not the only one...
"Achoo...!" Luna sneezed after I did…
"Hehe…" Liliana, who was previously pissed off at her mother didn't look pissed off at all now… She looked really pleased for some reason.
"Well, I guess we could say that we're done with our magic practice for the day." Lilia said as she got up from her chair and walked toward us. "The three of you should take a warm bath though." Lilia smiled bitterly.
"Don't worry, I'm fi… Achoo!" I sneezed very loudly mid-sentence...
Lilia shook her head with disapproval. In fact, she looked a bit annoyed.
"No child under my care will catch a cold! So the three of you will be taking a bath now!" Lilia said with a very imposing tone.
Even her posture was a bit intimidating and imposing… She was crossing her arms while frowning.
"Okay…" I just nodded.
I don't know why, but my instincts were telling me that I should never make Lilia angry…
Nothing good would come out of it… I instinctively knew that...
"Does anyone else have a complaint?" Lilia looked at her twin daughters.
The twins quickly shook their heads vigorously.
"Good." Lilia smiled. "Let's go back inside before you three catch a cold, okay?" Lilia's gentle and kind demeanor returned.
Am I really safe in this place…?
While I was thinking of that, my hand was grabbed by Lilia. She was holding it tightly… She was also holding the hand of Luna who was, in turn, holding the hand of Liliana…
Lilia simply smiled at me. The four of us started walking back to the house (Lilia dragged us). The twins and I were silent while Lilia was humming happily...
"I'm in heaven… I wish I could live in the bathtub…" Liliana relaxing on the other side of the bathtub.
Only Liliana and I were inside the bathroom. My mother was setting up a bath outside of the house for Julius.
He said that he was a bit uncomfortable being seen naked by us. Liliana was a bit annoyed that he wouldn't join us, but she got over it quickly.
I, however...
"..." I couldn't really focus on the warm water, if anything, it just made me think about what happened a while ago…
I don't like to admit this, but I lost my concentration on the spells because I was complimented...
I shouldn't have gotten so embarrassed… Just a few compliments and I lost all of my focus…
I sunk myself underwater, hoping that the warm and relaxing bath would help me forget about my embarrassing mistake…
Just as I got my head out of the water, I was met by my smiling sister…
"Jeez Luna! You must be sooooo disappointed that Julius is not here with us! I kinda wanted to show him the cool boat I made!" Liliana was holding a small wooden toy boat in her hands.
"That's not it…" I averted my gaze.
She's going to start teasing me again…
"Oh! C'mon! You can't hide what you're feeling from me, your twin! I can guess what you're thinking just by looking at you! Don’t underestimate your older sister!" Liliana grinned from ear to ear.
Liliana can read me like an open book, yet… I cannot say the same about her… I don't know what she's thinking most of the time…
My sister is like that; wild and unpredictable. There’s one certainty I have about her though… She lives for the sole purpose of teasing me...
"You're pretty embarrassed that you failed a simple spell because he thought you were amazing, right?" Liliana moved closer to me and started elbowing me.
"..." I didn't reply.
"Jackpot huh... Well, I was more or less expecting that. Hahaha! Luna is such a maiden in love~." She smiled at me before turning around. She started playing with her toy boat.
That comment annoyed me for some reason…
"Now you are annoyed at me. You shouldn't be reading so many romance novels with Mom after dinner. Especially the ones with love at first sight as the main focus of the story." Liliana turned her head and showed me a teasing smile.
I couldn't help but splash some water on her smug face… It was very annoying that she knew exactly how I was feeling...
"That only proves that I'm right, you know?" She kept smiling at me.
"You talk like you don't read those novels too…" I said with annoyance.
"Yep, I do read them. I would even say that I love those novels. What about it?" She tilted her head before grinning from ear to ear. "Could it be that you want to know whether or not I like Julius as you do?" She said with a teasing smile.
"I told you before, that I just want to get to know him more…" I averted my gaze and looked at the window in the corner of the room.
The blue sky was fully visible. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky.
"You're no fun! This is the part where you're supposed to get jealous and declare your undying love for him! You had also said that you thought he was cute!" Liliana stood up and spoke with excitement.
I just frowned at her…
"Sheesh, I thought that you would be happier that my plan to make you look good in front of Julius worked almost perfectly…" Liliana sat back in the bathtub and then shrugged. "If it had gone perfectly, he would be here playing with us in the water. But oh well, it is just as Dad says: ‘You can't win them all’." My older sister smiled before she started to focus on her toy boat again.
"You had a plan…? I don't think you really did anything other than saying that I was a genius and that I was amazing…" I was skeptical.
"Exactly! And that's what made my plan almost perfect!" Liliana nodded vigorously.
"Didn't he end up praising us both though?" I said while raising an eyebrow.
"In other words, the plan was a great success! I'm not going to lose my chances!" Liliana was getting fired up.
"Do you really like him…?" I looked at my sister with a serious expression.
"Of course! Didn't I tell you before that I do like him?" She nodded vigorously.
I couldn't tell if she was joking or if she was being serious. My older sister is like that…
"You don't seem too happy to have me as competition." Liliana frowned. "But if it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't take him away from you since I have a great idea!" She looked at me and grinned. "This situation is just like the plot of that novel we read with Mom last week! So, why don't we do the same as the main characters did? The two of us can share him! Isn't it a great idea?" Liliana said with a smug expression. She seemed a little too proud of herself…
I could only smile bitterly thanks to my older sister's idea…
"Didn't all the main characters in that novel die at the end?" I asked her while frowning.
"Don't mind the little details! Look, this idea is great! Instead of competing with each other, we can just support each other and attack him from two sides!" She was now looking extremely proud of herself.
Hmmm…
"Hehe! By the looks of it, you seem almost convinced!" Liliana grinned at me.
"Okay… Let's say that I like him and you also like him… What do we do from there?" I asked with a bit of embarrassment.
"Hehehe! That's a cute expression! Julius would definitely fall for you if you show him that expression that you're making!" My older sister nodded to herself.
I got annoyed because she was teasing me again…
"Could you answer my question…?" I said with annoyance.
"We have to become closer to him obviously. After that… Well, I'm not really sure what to do..." My sister looked troubled.
"Didn't you have a plan?" I raised an eyebrow.
"I do, but I never have liked someone this way before..." Liliana looked a bit embarrassed.
It was such a rare sight… Even with this rare sight, I couldn't tell whether she was serious about this or not...
"I guess that's when dates, holding hands, and kissing come into the picture. We'll figure everything out from there." Liliana said with an easy-going smile.
Well, I'm not really sure about what to do either… Just like Liliana, this is the first time I feel like this about someone…
Sigh...
I still don't even know whether or not this could be called 'love at first sight'...
"Turn that frown upside down, Luna! The real fun will start from now on!" Liliana then stood up with a proud expression. She looked extremely excited.
I think Liliana was serious about liking Julius after all…
I guess I should be glad that the two of us are teaming up though...
So warm… I want to live in this bathtub forever…
Well, calling it a bathtub is not really accurate.
I'm currently inside of a barrel filled to the brim with warm water.
"So how's the temperature of the water?" Lilia asked me with a gentle smile.
"Perfect…"
I was in heaven…
"That's good! Just tell me if you want to adjust the temperature, okay?" Lilia kept smiling.
I just nodded in response.
Lilia had prepared this bath for me using magic. I was a bit embarrassed about taking a bath with the twins, so I told Lilia that I didn't feel comfortable being seen naked by them.
She said she understood and then prepared this bath for me outside her house. It took her only five minutes to prepare everything.
It was amazing! Magic is super convenient!
I am a bit embarrassed to be taking a bath in front of Lilia though… She said that she had to be here in order to regulate the water temperature and to make sure that I didn't drown…
I reluctantly agreed...
"Okay then, let's wash your hair!" Lilia said with excitement.
There's apparently a primitive version of shampoo and soap in this world. I don't know how good they are going to be compared to the ones I used on Earth, but it is certainly better than nothing.
I suddenly felt how Lilia's hands were massaging my scalp and taking care of it properly.
"Thank you..." I thanked my benefactor for her kindness.
“It’s fine! You don’t need to thank me! Just let me spoil you for a bit. You were in a pretty scary situation today, so please relax and forget about everything!” Lilia kept washing my hair.
Ah… I see… She must be trying to make me forget about the incident with the goblins in order to not develop some trauma over it.
“Thank…-” I was about to thank her again, but...
“Stop thanking me.” Lilia said with a little bit of annoyance…
“Sorry…” I smiled bitterly.
“Don’t apologize either. Just relax, okay? You can treat me as if I was an Auntie or your own mother, I don’t mind.” Lilia spoke with a gentle tone.
I was about to open my mouth to thank her again, but I immediately closed it when I realized that. I was grateful to Lilia for her hospitality and her kindness.
I just nodded in agreement.
“Lilia, I have been wanting to ask this before, but I didn’t have the chance… Would you teach me how to use magic?” I turned my head around and asked her to teach me.
“Sure, I don't mind.” Lilia showed me a gentle and kind smile. “Well, I do need to check if you have the talent for it. I’m very strict as a teacher, so do you still want to learn?” She asked with a serious expression.
So, not everyone is able to use magic… I’m a bit nervous now...
“Okay! I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Despite being nervous about the possibility of not being able to use magic, I still nodded vigorously.
Lilia smiled before speaking again.
“Okay, stay still and close your eyes. Focus your mind on your heart, your head, and your stomach.” Lilia instructed me.
I immediately did what I was told.
“We are about to check the reaction of your body towards [Elemental Mana] and [Mana] in general. Tell me if it feels funny, okay?” Lilia spoke calmly in order to not make me nervous.
“Okay.” I nodded at her.
“Let’s begin.” Lilia whispered as she placed both of her hands on top of my shampoo-covered head.
Just as she said that my head started feeling strange and warm… That strange and warm feeling started traveling from my head towards my heart and then my stomach. The strange feeling then started spreading all around my body, as if it was like blood.
I quickly got accustomed to the warm feeling… You could even say that it was relaxing...
So this is mana… It doesn’t feel unpleasant…
“Oh…” Lilia sounded a bit dumbfounded.
“Ummm… Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Ah! Yeah! Everything is perfectly fine!” Lilia sounded a bit suspicious…
Uh oh… I don’t know if I should start getting worried now…
I opened my eyes only to see Lilia smiling excitedly at me.
The warm feeling was still traveling through my body...
“We are done... Congratulations, Julius! I think you will be an awesome magician!” Lilia said with excitement. “I will be expecting a lot of great things about you as my student! Please catch up quickly with the twins, okay?” Lilia appeared to be looking forward to teaching me.
"I'll give my all!" I nodded at her with excitement.
Woohoo! I'm going to be able to use magic! I'm so happy right now!
"Well, why don't we start with the first lesson right now? If we are going to talk about magic, first we need to talk about [Mana]." Lilia started the lesson right away. "[Mana] is an infinite energy present in all creation. Plants, animals, people, and even objects have [Mana]. But do you think you could tell me how [Mana] came to existence?" Lilia asked me a difficult question.
Hmm…
"Melius created it?" I tried to guess using the name of my other benefactor.
Lilia nodded in agreement.
"That's what most magicians and people tend to believe. But there are books about when Gods used to live among the people that tell an entirely different story. Supposedly, Lia, The Goddess of Knowledge, told a famous sage that [Mana] came to exist thanks to the combination of two invisible energies that came to exist way before our own world. Lord Melius merely gave us the capacity of using [Mana]." Lilia explained to me with a serious expression. She also seemed to be enjoying herself though.
"I see… So, which one do you believe in?" I asked Lilia.
"The latter one. Even though there's not a lot of evidence, I believe Lady Lia would never lie about it." Lilia nodded to herself. "Well, what we believe to be the origin of [Mana] is important to know, I prefer to dwell more into how it interacts with [The Six Primordial Elements]."
"Could you elaborate further?" I asked Lilia with a bit of confusion.
"Julius, this is something that you must absolutely remember, okay? So please pay attention. The [Six Primordial Elements] are as follows: Light, Darkness, Water, Earth, Fire and Wind."
Oh, so basically the four elements but with Light and Darkness included… This world is literally an RPG...
"I see…" I nodded in response.
"Those six elements are the base of all magic. You can manipulate their raw power, or combine them to be able to use other types of magic. We have to pay a price to be able to use magic. Naturally, that price is the invisible and infinite energy that is [Mana]."
Just as I imagined…
"But before we go too deeply into that, we need to talk about magic. What is Magic? Magic is a tool at our disposal to alter the environment without lifting a finger. Magic happens when a person spends mana in order to get the desired effect like creating water or fire." Lilia then took a deep breath.
I see…
"That would usually lead you to think that if you spend more mana, your desired effect would be stronger, but that is not always the case. Skill, Imagination, and Knowledge are far more important than the quantity of [Mana] used. Remember that, because you could hurt yourself in the future if you don't." Lilia warned me.
"Understood." I nodded at her.
"Good." She looked satisfied with my answer. "Anyway, even though I'm saying quantity is not as important as being skillful and having a good imagination, the quantity of [Mana] DOES impact the desired result of a spell. Remember that the spells that the twins used had [Grades]?" Lilia asked.
"Yeah, I remember hearing you say something like that." I nodded again.
"Magic has a ranking system for spells. We call this ranking system [Grades of Magic]. Well, I say it is a ranking system, but you could also call it the [Restrictions of Magic]. You see, every spell depending on the quantity of mana and the skill needed to cast the spell, would fall under one of these Grades." Lilia frowned for a second.
Ah, I remember that Luna used two [Grade 2] spells while Liliana used one [Grade 1]...
"There's 15 confirmed [Grades of Magic]. The spells under the 1st to 3rd Grades are considered common magic, 4th to 6th are intermediate magic and 7th grade is advanced magic. The 8th, the 9th, and 10th are Saint Magic, Heroic Magic, and Angelical Magic respectively. Each of these grades are increasingly more difficult than the last. Finally, the last Grades are something that no mortal can access… Divine Magic." Lilia explained with a very serious expression.
I see… I see… I think I understand these limitations of magic.
"So, each grade requires more mana, skill, knowledge, and imagination than their predecessors, right? That's why you call them restrictions. Some people might get stuck at one of the Grades because they reached the limits of what they can do, while others might get past that limit easily." I said while rubbing my chin.
"That's correct. You are a good student~." Lilia seemed very pleased by my answer.
I wonder what my limit will be on this ranking system…
"Well, I think that's enough for now, Julius. Think of this as a short introductory lesson to magic. Tomorrow we'll go through everything in detail as well as having your first practical class. Please look forward to it!" Lilia was undoubtedly excited.
Me? I was sad that the class ended so soon, but I was already waiting for tomorrow to come quickly.
Afterward, I had a fun time with Lilia discussing the concepts that I learned from her.
