Chapter 18: Fundamentals
"S-s-sleep together!?" Elise blurted out in surprise. She immediately backed away from Zeus with her cheeks slowly turning red.
Grasping her coat, she glared at Zeus and pointed her fingers at him.
"Y-you cannot!"
Zeus shrugged his shoulders as he grabbed his bag full of his belongings.
"Why not?" He replied nonchalantly. He glanced at her now blushing face and he teased playfully. "It's not like I'm going to do something to you."
Seeing the scheming smirk on Zeus' face, Elise steeled her mind to not be deceived by this kid. Even to call him a kid is an understatement now. In her eyes, with his prodigal ability and mature thinking, he was like a middle-aged man trapped inside a kid's body.
If not for the subtle hint of baby fat on his face, it's even hard to guess his true age.
Sensing her disordered emotion, Zeus stopped playing anymore and assured her to prevent further misunderstandings.
"Well, if you don't want to sleep together, I'm not going to force you. Just be careful of snakes when you sleep on the ground. They like to bite people's butts."
"You!" Her eyebrows furrowed together as she frowned.
"What? I'm telling the truth." Zeus shrugged before he began to set up the tent in a flat area.
He added, "Look, I'm not sure why you are acting like this or something but I assure you, I'm a cultured man…" Zeus paused for a second and then continued, "...I mean principled."
"Then can you show me any proof?"
"No."
"Then you can't blame me. I'm just being cautious. My family has strict rules so I'm not used to being alone together with a man." Elise said as she slowly regained her composure.
"Strict huh?" Zeus murmured.
'If they are that strict you wouldn't be here.' He thought but quickly shook his head. In his mind, this woman is just overreacting.
He knew that women are vulnerable to men but that was in his old world. It's not like she couldn't protect herself right?
What's more, he's only 12!
Lil Zeus is still in his process of development.
Deciding to end this misunderstanding, Zeus glanced at her with a curious gaze.
"Do you think I'm going to force myself on you?"
"I didn't say that." She defended.
"Even though you did not, it looks that way."
Seeing her unresponsive expression, Zeus sighed in dejection. He really couldn't understand women.
'She's stronger than me…and I'm just offering her help. Is it really that bad to help?"
At the same time, a puzzled look appeared on his face.
'Do I look like a bad guy?' He thought as he reflexively touched and squeezed his face.
'My looks aren't bad either.'
"Nevermind. I'm just going to sleep outside." Elise didn't press the issue any longer. Furthermore, it's not like she's new to sleeping on the cold ground.
However, the weather at this mountain altitude is too cold. Just looking at the ground, she could see areas where the floor was freezing white. Even if they set up a bonfire, they cannot keep it burning up all night long as it could attract unwanted attention.
"Really?" Zeus, who was almost finished setting the tent, asked in concern.
"Yeah. Don't worry about me." Elise smiled softly. Maybe she was just overwhelmed earlier and she misunderstood that Zeus was just worried for her safety.
Hearing her assurance, Zeus didn't mind either. He nodded but still gave her a warning.
"Alright, just be careful out there. But if you somehow get bitten by a snake, you can come inside. I'll suck the venom for you."
"You want to die that badly huh?" Elise said with a sinister smile on her lovely face.
Zeus paused for a second. Then, he glanced at Elise and winked. "Already did."
"Huh?"
"Nothing." Zeus averted his gaze as he picked up his weapon. Attempting to deviate from the conversation, he looked at the dark path ahead and said, "I'm going to see if I can hunt a beast. Don't play around and wait for me here."
Elise rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Who are you to boss me around, I'm not your servant…bastard."
Although her voice was as low as mosquitos, Zeus still managed to hear her. Though, he just shook his head and galloped away from the area.
Even then, he left chuckling at her remarks.
…
It took him 10 minutes before Zeus went back. Fortunately, he managed to find a wandering beast. With this, they wouldn't need to worry about food for the time being.
As he gradually approached their resting place, he saw Elise setting up a large amount of woods in the middle of the open field. Sensing his arrival, she glanced at him before going back to her work.
"I never knew you do this kind of thing."
"You think I'm lazy?"
Zeus shook his head as he sat in an open space.
"No. I just thought nobles don't do this laborious work. Aren't you guys spoiled by your parents?"
"Well, we have servants." After she finished setting up the woods, she aimed her fingers forward and launched a small flame ball.
As soon as it collided with the woods, the flames burst out before gradually slowing down. The dark area shrouded by the night was slowly illuminated by these small undulating flames.
Shelly, who was sleeping on a tree branch, opened one of her eyes before closing it again.
She's really unbothered.
"In the academy, we were taught how to survive in the wilderness. Be it noble or commoners, they must participate, or else our graduation is at stake."
Zeus picked up the skewered beast and set it up for a roast. Scents or the burning smell spread around the surroundings. The smell lingered in the air before the passing winds blew it away from them. However, as soon as they reached a perimeter, the smoke vanished.
"A barrier?" Zeus looked at Elise with confusion.
"Just a simple one. It could isolate the sounds and smells inside it."
"That's really convenient."
"When you awaken your aether, this kind of spell is just as simple as breathing—not that hard."
At that moment, the curiosity of Zeus was upped by a whole level. Now that he had a chance to inquire more about spells, he didn't hesitate to ask.
"Can you tell me more about Aether and magic spells? I was self-taught since I was a kid so I'm oblivious to this kind of thing." Zeus asked as he rolled the lever to cook the meat evenly.
Elise tilted her head. "I thought you had a teacher?"
"Well, I have but we mostly train. But he did teach me about the basics though."
However, even when he trained with Sera, he only managed to get a minuscule amount of information about magic spells.
Usually, they'd just focus on his physical training and physical mana control. Combat thinking and fighting styles came after.
But when it comes to spells and Aether, Zeus knows little to no information.
It was hard to ask sometimes as Sera and the others would come back late from the mine. When that happens, he's already exhausted, and sometimes he'd just straightly forget it.
Elise glanced at Zeus. Looking at the enthusiastic atmosphere around him, a soft chuckle escaped her lips.
"Really?"
"Yep."
Elise pondered for a while before nodding in agreement.
"According to the studies, Aether is formless energy that is floating everywhere around us. But, as they are invisible and intangible, it's hard to sense their existence and only a handful of sorcerers can truly touch their sources." Elise paused for a moment and asked Zeus.
"You're 12 right?"
Zeus nodded.
"In the kingdom, the academy would conduct an Aether awakening. All 15 years old would be required to enter to determine whether or not they have a chance to become a sorcerer. If you're lucky, you might awaken fire-attribute aether or other elemental attributes."
"Is it required to be 15 before you're eligible to awaken?" Zeus questioned.
"Well, not really. If you missed it, you can always apply anytime. However, the threshold would always be 15 and up. If you're 14 and below, you're just going to blow up and die."
"Why?"
"No one knows. Researchers have been trying to find answers but till now, there's no answer. Theories maybe… but it's just a theory after all."
Zeus nodded.
"Magic spells, on the other hand, are quite a complex topic. It involves several things and I think I won't be able to give you a clear picture. If you want to know more about it, enrolling in the academy or reading books in the kingdom's library would be more beneficial."
At that moment, Elise stood from her seat and shifted her gaze towards a nearby tree.
"Actually never mind, it would be easier to explain if I do this."
Elise pointed her fingers at a tree and she took a deep breath.
"If you want to release a spell, you need to follow the 5 fundamentals. It's a rule all must follow. Watch. The first one is called Aether Release."
The next moment, a red hue of aether flowed around her palms to her fingers. Its color gleamed brighter as it transformed into a pointy shape.
Elise secretly peeked at Zeus. A proud smile formed on her lips as she continued, "Next, you have to draw the circles."
Zeus watched as Elise effortlessly drew perfect circles with her fingers. Reflexively, he glanced at his palms and tried to make them steady. Unfortunately, it cannot do that.
"After you build a circle, inscribe the characters."
Inside the circle, unfamiliar characters began to appear and they shuttled around it in a spiral manner.
"If you're not aware, these characters are the name of your spell. However, this part is one of the two hardest parts as once you're short of a character, the spell would fail instantly."
"Are those characters a language?"
"I'm not sure but according to old books, they are described as 'language of the ancient sages'."
"I see."
The moment Elise inscribed the characters completely, the surrounding temperature began to rise.
"Next one, just like the third part, is also a hard one as it requires you to control this circle as if it were a part of your body."
Zeus narrowed his eyes as he saw the circle harnessed the excess temperature around the area. As soon as it happened, the temperature began to go back to normal.
Elise controlled the circle until it was stable. With it done, she looked at Zeus and smiled.
"And finally, the last one which is the easiest of them all. With the power of your thoughts, let go of your control."
At that moment,
[Flame Beam.]
Swoosh!
A bright streak of red light flashed from her fingers and collided with the tree before exploding with a bang.
Bang!
Looking at the scorched donut-like tree, Zeus gulped in awe. His pupils twinkled as it turned into stars.
"That's the 5 fundamentals if you want to cast a spell."
Elise turned around and sat on her seat, leaving behind Zeus who was still in the process of amazement.
At this moment, he's like a kid seeing a magic trick for the first time.
'He looks cute.'
Staring at his proud back, a sweet smile bloomed on her lips.
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