Unnatural Holoccurrences (DISCONTINUED)

The mystery of the storm

The air around a wooden dummy exploded as I continuously snapped my fingers.

"The sound of the cannon roars.

The firing of the guns shall commence", I chanted.

While chanting, I was snapping my fingers and creating Noisy Rests. The air around the dummy continued exploding.

"Come forth, Rapid Bombardment!"

However, nothing happened. Even if I finished my chant, the magic didn't activate. It seemed I failed once again.

Magicians needed chants to reform their subconscious so they could interfere upon the principles of the natural world. Chants were a group of keywords that could activate the spell embedded in the subconscious of a magician.

Using Storm Processing was more difficult than I thought. When a magician chants, they should focus on what they were trying to say in order for their subconscious to be reformed. Otherwise, they would just be "speaking" and not "chanting."

The problem with me was that my subconscious was also getting reformed whenever I was doing chantless magic. By snapping my fingers, I would use Noisy Rest. Since my subconscious was busy using magic, I couldn't make it use another different magic. It was like looking left and right at the same time.

"Don't beat yourself up, Fely. It took me some time to be able to pull off Storm Processing", mother said as she walked towards me and handed me water.

I took the water and began drinking it. After quenching my thirst, I focused my attention on the dummy again.

"The sound of the cannon roars", I chanted while snapping my fingers.

This time, no explosions happened. Tch... If I focused on chanting, then I couldn't cast Noisy Rest but if I focused on casting Noisy Rest, I wouldn't be chanting anymore.

"Arrrgggh! Why is this so difficult?" I asked.

"What do you think you are lacking?" my mother asked.

"I don't understand Storm Processing! What am I supposed to do? Split my subconscious into two parts so one will handle the chants while the other will do chantless magic? This is just plain impossible!"

"Fely. You've seen that I can do Storm Processing. If you call something impossible despite happening in front of your eyes, then you are not suited to seek the mysteries of this world."

"I know. I know. It's just hard to wrap my mind around Storm Processing. You said it took you some time to do Storm Processing but I don't have that time. I'm not sure when the next bounty hunter would come after me and I'm sure all of them are warriors trained to kill. The pressure is getting into me!"

"Perhaps it's too early for you to try Storm Processing. How are your training sessions with Oga?"

"I'm getting experience. It's not much but I've been thinking of when I could use a certain magic. I've been doing trial and error to figure it out but it's too slow. The best bet I could have is to master Storm Processing so I could be stronger."

"Like I said, Fely, you are rushing yourself. Even if you are a genius, Storm Processing needs lots and lots of practice. Be patient and it'll come to you. Who knows? You might've stumbled on the solution already and you're not just seeing it."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"In any case, I see that Storm Processing is too early for you. That's why I went to my friend and asked her a favor", she showed me a small crystal.

I gulped down when I saw the crystal. There was powerful magic in it but I couldn't understand what it was. Mother handed me the crystal and it began glowing.

When the light died down, I was in the middle of a room. Crystals of different sizes were scattered and when I looked at the floor, there was a huge magic circle.

A bone-chilling killing intent washed over me and on instinct, I jumped out of the way. Several sharp rocks crashed on the spot where I used to be standing. A rock headed towards me and I dodged it once more.

I then felt something hitting my back and when I looked at it, it was another rock. That was weird. I was sure of the attacker's direction... Unless I had more than one enemy.

Several rocks emerged from the ground and I looked at them warily. More crystals shot at me and I avoided them. However, when they hit a rock, they ricocheted off and were heading towards me again.

"Protect!

My fortress!" I made a barrier to shield myself from those attacks.

A few crystals slid below the barrier and they exploded. Tch. What kind of crystals were these things? And if those rocks could ricochet, then where was my enemy?

"With my eyes, I observe.

With my ears, I listen", I chanted as my senses sharpened.

I then felt a mana source in one direction and focused on it.

"The sound of the cannon roars.

The firing of the guns shall commence.

Come forth, Rapid Bombardment!"

Several magic circles appeared above me and shot out bolts of mana. They hit an invisible wall and a large crystal appeared. After a few more hits, the crystal shattered and revealed a woman with white hair.

The woman took out a crystal from her pouch and a bolt of lightning shot from it.

"Protect!

My fortress!"

The lightning bolt hit the barrier and was stopped. But what happened next was scary. The woman took out five crystals and pointed it at me. Five bolts of lightning shot from them and instantly destroyed the barrier and electrocuted my body.

I snapped my fingers multiple times as the air around her continuously exploded.

"Single Bombardment!"

A bolt of mana shot from a single magic circle that materialized near my palm. A rock emerged in front of her and protected her from my attack.

It was great that I was able to use Storm Processing for simple magic like that but I had no time to appreciate my success.

Four large crystals emerged near me and they began glowing. Red beams connected the four crystals and before I knew it, I was in a cage. It was draining my mana.

I see.... If it was trying to drain my mana, then I should give it what it wants.

"Arcanum Primera!!"

My mana output increased as the first seal of my Arcanum was released. I decided to overload the crystals with my mana and I succeeded when they exploded.

The silver-haired woman clapped her hands.

"As expected of Mary's son, you can use your Arcanum despite being young", she said.

"You know my mother?" I asked.

"Of course. She's an old friend of mine. When she said she needed a favor, I had to say yes."

"Who are you?"

"Mistral Lucinde Celeste."

I gulped down.

After all, I was talking to the Lady of the Crystal Maze.

###

A/N: This'll be the last chapter for the next few weeks. I'll be taking a break cause college is seriously kicking my ass. I'll be back on November 19, 2021 with a new chapter.