The Golem Adventurer

Chapter 4 - Oracle

Did someone just enter my network and give me a new update? Who's this System Administrator?

[I cannot answer that query. System Administrator has terminated the connection. Access to previous database has been lost.]

Something strange is going on here. The servers or whatever they call it here are obviously down. No one should be even alive who would know how to do something like this! It's been over several millennia.

"Arlan, you've been quiet for some time."

Tessa was still there staring intently.

"O-Oh. Uh, don't worry. I was just sorting thing out on my end." I need to take a break from all... this and focus on something else. "Can we go back to practicing magic?"

"Oh, um, sure. But you know, you did surprise me with how much Mana you gathered. Not even novices show that much [Mana Control] for their first time."

"Indeed. If you had a human body, I'd say you were a prodigy. But it's obvious that your golem body is even more advanced than we thought."

Hina had finally spoken up after examining me closely.

"It's starting to get late, Arlan and you already have a solid grasp of [Mana Control]. Why don't I show you a practice fire spell to help you get started. You can practice on your own tonight."

Tessa held my hand from underneath her left palm. Hina made herself more comfortable on the grass. She seemed intent on watching the lesson now, compared to before. Tessa held up her right hand, she whispered the phrase- 

"Oh sacred flame, bestow upon me a meager blessing and grant me a light with which to illuminate the darkness."

A small, red and intricate circle appeared and hovered just above her right palm. It was just like her staff from before.

"[Ignite]"

A tiny flame appeared in the air, hovering just above her palm. Seeing up close was quite amazing. And a bit disconcerting. Watching a flame suddenly appear out of nowhere, just burning in midair. It's like there's a disconnect going on in my head. And this is just a novice spell. I'm shuddering at the thought of what more advanced magics could do.

"This should be easy for you. All you have to do is channel the Mana you've collected towards your hand. Keep the idea of a tiny flame inside your head, and chant those words. The magic circle that forms is your intent. A symbol of what's to come. The chant verbalizes your actions. In this case, bestowing you a flame. The keyword, or the spell name, combines it all together and creates the spell into reality."

I took it all in and let out an exasperating sigh. The normally bubbly Tessa was in complete Serious Teacher Mode. A full 180 degrees from what she usually is.

"Huh. This seems way more complicated than I thought."

"This is just a 1st tier fire spell. Other spells in this tier are similar in difficulty. The next tier requires an even longer chant and much more Mana. You'll need to develop your [Mana Control] if you want to be able to cast those at a reliable pace. And without blowing yourself up. Here, go ahead and give it a try for now."

Alright, I'll give it a go. Just channel the mana towards my palm, think about a tiny flame, chant the words and say [Ignite]. When I say it like that, it sounds easy but from what I got from Tessa it seems like-

A red circle appeared above my hand. A tiny flame stood alight in the darkness... what?

"W-What!? I didn't hear you chant! How were you able to cast that!?"