Magic Discovered

Chapter 10

James was panting heavily, but he had done it. He had finally done it. With a flick of fingers, he collapsed the massive stone wall he had created into a pile of rubble and then slumped against the wall. He had just finished replicating a basic Earth Elementalism spell, one that raised a wall of rock for protection. Although this would seem like nothing to most Earth Elementalists, for a Pure Elementalist to have come so far in such a short amount of time was simply astounding.

Giving himself a slight break, James took a drink of water and considered the training schedule he had made. Originally, he had just started out with basic shapes on the Imager, but as time passed and he grew more experienced, he had created more and more complex things. Eventually, he had begun using the Imager while also doing basic tasks, like stacking rocks or running. After a monumental amount of work, he had progressed to doing basic math problems while creating images, and, finally, he was able to increase the orb's resistance up to the highest level, which had strengthened his mind up to the point that he could create that wall, even if it took him about 2 minutes to form.

"I think that I still need to push myself further. I'm already using one Imager to its limit, but it's still not enough." James considered his options.

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"You really want me to make another orb?"

"Of course! The first one worked incredibly well, but it won't be enough. I don't need you to change anything, just make me another so I can practice concentrating on more things."

Lydia scratched her chin. "Alright. With my current schedule, it'll be done in about 5 days."

"That's great! Do you need me to pay for the materials?"

"No, I'm getting them as part of my project. But I'll have to make sure that I put this in my report."

"Thanks so much!" James started walking away before he turned around. "This is a bit of a stretch, but do you actually think you could make 6 more instead?"

With the new orbs, James' training shot up by leaps and bounds. He was able to control more and more of the elements each day. The only downside was that he was always tired because he trained every day after his classes and during the night while Delta slept. He still hadn't told either of his friends about his training though, in the event that he wouldn't be strong enough to participate with them in the competition.

Several months passed quickly, with the Mid-Year tournament getting closer and closer. James continued to rise in power, and even though he was still below the level of a normal Elementalist, he was miles above where he had been before.

"You know, you're quite ahead of where you should be. Did you realize that?" Master Rell walked over to James one day in class after seeing him complete a fireball with very little effort. The Pure Elementalist was a master, and as such was able to recognize that even though James was taking his time, he was not exerting as much effort as expected from a 1st-year student. Instead, he made it seem as though he was a 2nd or even 3rd year instead!

James bit his lip and took a small glance at the other Elementalists who were training nearby. He didn't want to reveal his training method, especially because he wasn't sure if it was going to completely fix the problem or not. Making the other students annoyed or angry, the ones who had become strong after years of training, would not be a good idea, especially because they had accepted him as one of their own and liked him a lot. However, lying to Master Rell didn't seem to be the best option either. Eventually, he just settled for a shrug.

Rell appraised James with a long stare, then nodded his head. "Come over here." He led James into his office, which was a small room filled with books and boards of all sizes and shut the door behind him. "Now, I know that you are above the level you are supposed to be at right now. While we're away from the other students, do you mind telling me why exactly?"