HalfTale

Chapter 5 (Magic)

(A/N): Last chapter was basically just explanation. This chapter isn't very different. I suggest not expecting much from the story as a whole. Oh and if you couldn't tell, I self-deprecate a lot. Not in a bad way. I just always think stuff I make could be better. 

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Xeno's POV

Chara was practically beaming.

"Really!? YES! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!" she shouted and abruptly started hugging me.

"No physical contact please." I said.

She seemed to only just realize what she was doing and stopped right away, blushing slightly.

"Sorry... I got excited..." she told me, as if ashamed.

Seeing the look on her face would probably make even a serial killer forgive her.

"Don't worry about it. Anyways, if you really want to learn magic, you need to listen for a second." I told her. Quickly, she calmed herself down and went quiet signalling for me to go on. "First of all, you won't be getting normal lessons." Her face drooped down slightly. "Now, now, don't get upset. The only reason why is because I'm not an actual teacher, so I'm not all that qualified to teach in the first place. I'm only doing this because you seem so devoted to the idea. Only time will tell if my teaching methods will actually work or not. So let's get started right away." I tossed my sword over to her, still in it's leather scabbard.

"Already?" she asked.

"Well, we need to find out if I can actually teach you or not so yeah. Right now."

"Yes!" she exclaimed... But paused for a second. " Why'd you give me your sword?" she asked.

"Think of it like training wheels on a bike. It makes it easier to get started with magic." I told her, "Plus, it help's channel your magic affinities into one. This sometimes can cause it to become unstable, which in turn can destroy the surroundings. The sword will also keep it stable though so no need to worry. Anyways, I'd like to know your affinities first so I can teach you based on those specific elements."

"What if I don't have any affinities?" she asked, visibly concerned.

"Don't worry about it." I replied, "Although it's uncommon, people can still learn magic with zero affinities. Certain spells are performed by simply using raw mana. One of my favourites..."

I waved my hand and caused multiple rocks around me to start floating.

"...Is Gravity Magic." I finished as Chara stared in awe.

"You have officially cleared my head of doubts. So, where do I start?"

I looked around. The area we were in was quite spacious, so I pointed to the furthest wall from where we were.

"Point the sword over there." I said, to which she quickly did. "Now close your eyes and imagine the sword as an extension of your arms. If you focus, the large amount of mana I put in my sword should also trigger your mana to react and cause you to properly feel it flowing through you."

Chara's POV

I silently did as Xeno told me. At first, I didn't feel anything. But then a slight sensation started going through my hands and into my arms, soon going towards my entire body.

"Good." said Xeno, "Looks like it's going well. Now for the next step: Try and push your mana through your hands, into the blade and right towards the tip. Once you've done that, try compressing it on the tip. I'll tell you if it's done right."

I continued, and tried to push the mana through my hands. It took a while but I managed to push it into the sword. Once it was there I pushed it to the tip.

He said to compress it right? That means I need a lot of mana at the tip.

I pushed more and more mana to the tip of the blade, until it felt like it was being pressed together.

"Alright! You can open your eyes now."

I opened my eyes and saw a dark red orb formed on the tip of the blade.

"Now try releasing the mana." Xeno told me.

I did as he said, and the orb went flying off of the blade. It shot off so fast my arms buckled like I was hit with the recoil of a gun.

"Shit..."

Xeno seemed to be semi shocked, before sprinting towards the orb. Well I say sprint, but it was definitely faster than that.

He quickly caught up with the orb, placed a large barrier looking thing around it and stopped. For a second, I wondered why he did it, but as soon as the orb touched the side of the barrier, it exploded. The explosion was so powerful, that it formed cracks all across the barrier, as well as send a shockwave that sent me flying back.

I braced for impact, but felt something catch me. I looked up to see Xeno, looking down at me with a grin on his face.

"Great job. You pass."

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And that's chapter 5 done. A bit of a shorter one, but I honestly like it when it's shorter. I feel like it just fits. Definitely moreso than the 1700 word chapter that hurt my brain...

Welp, not much I wanna say.

Anyways, enjoy your next 137 hours and 19 minutes.

(Time of writing: Monday, 6:41 am)