When I was eight years old, I finally began to formally learn magic.
With dedicated teachers providing instruction, life finally began to become more enjoyable.
"Magic Power is in a sense Essence of Life and Communication of Spirits. It's both your vitality and your communication channel for talking with the Elemental Spirits in the air. The more you communicate with the Elemental Spirits, the purer your Magic Power will become, greatly increasing its Power..."
"Magic Spells on the other hand are manifestation of the Caster's Fantasies and derivation of the natural phenomenons. There is a saying amount the Mages, the greater your imagination, the greater your Power. There is no limit to Magic, only limit to Human Imagination..."
"Our main subject today is to learn how to communicate with the Elemental Spirits. Young Master Robert, please try to imagine tiny Spirits floating in air and release your Magic Power. Since your Attribute is fire, fire Elemental Spirits will respond to your call. You can watch me then try..."
Although I have read the Basics of Magic Theory, the teacher's explanation was better than my personal understanding. So I listened and watched him intently, as he released fiery red Magic Power.
Vaguely, I saw tiny balls of lights moving around him. Were they the so called Elemental Spirits?
Hm! If it comes to Imagination then what is an Elemental Spirit for me? Is there even a need to ask? Of course it's a tiny loli with wings behind her back.
Imagine...
Imagine...
Imagine...
Now release Magic...
[ Magic +0.00001 ]
[ Magic +0.00001 ]
[ Magic +0.00001 ]
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Strange yet soft noise suddenly entered my ears and I opened my eyes, only to see tiny red balls of light floating around me. Some even rubbed against my cheek and and hand.
"Is this a Spirit?"
I was fascinated by the scene of tiny Spirits floating around me.
"Young Master Robert, your talent is quite good. You've succeeded on your first try." The teacher praised earnestly.
...
...
Time passed and I slowly learned Magic, turning theoretical knowledge into practical knowledge. My Magic Power also began to increase with the help of the System.
After completing the communication with the Spirits, I began with the most basic spell—Ember.
I didn't know what level my Magic Power had reached in this world. So I deliberately only one tenth of my Magic Power. As a result, I created a flame two to three times the size of a lighter out of thin air.
It made me realise that it was good thing not to use all my Magic. Or else this basic Ember spell would have turned into a tiny fireball in my hand. By then, it would definitely attract everyone's attention.
For the first month, I focused on familiarizing myself with Spirit Communication and refined my Magic Power. I also learned flow, control, and release of Magic Power. Only with perfect control, could I utilise My Magic better. Plus, continuous use can increase my proficiency and make me closer to Spirits.
My teacher said magic requires continuous use to gradually master. The reason is that Spirits become more familiar with us as we use Magic, greatly increasing our power.
"Alright, that's enough for today."
"Yes, thank you, teacher."
It's getting dark, time to go eat.
"...I've been wanting to say this for a while now, Young Master Robert, you're really different from other noble children. Generally speaking, no one would say thank you to me or anything like that."
"Yeah?"
Respecting teachers and elders is a value I brought from modern society, which is obviously not the case for others. I also cannot imagine how Lucius and Aisha would thank their servants.
But after he said that, I became a little curious about how other people took magic classes.
"What are Brother Lucius and Sister Aisha's classes like?"
The teacher visibly frowned.
"Do you really want to hear it?"
"...Never mind."
I always felt that he had a lot of grievances bottled up inside, and I probably couldn't handle it if he vented them all. Being a teacher to nobles must be a tough job, I really sympathize with you....
After finishing my meal and taking a shower, I was walking back to my room when I suddenly heard a commotion ahead.
The commotion within the manor was unusual in itself, and curiosity compelled me to change course and head towards the source of the sound. There, I found many servants anxiously gathered around a room, whispering amongst themselves.
Several soldiers in silver armor stood at the doorway; if I remembered correctly, they were Marquis Bahadur's private guards, and they wouldn't normally enter the manor unless absolutely necessary.
What happened?
My gut feeling told me that something big must have happened. This scene was just like in modern society when a murder has occurred and the police are preventing onlookers from entering the crime scene. A sense of danger was palpable.
"What happened?"
I tugged at the skirt of the maid who was closest to me.
"Young Master Robert… I'm not quite sure either."
She probably thought I was too young to tell her things I shouldn't, but whatever. Oh well, I couldn't be bothered to ask any further.
Whose room is that?
"This is Mrs. Lilica's room."
Mrs. Lilica...Lia's mother...Could it be...?
"Young Master Robert?"
I pushed my way through the crowd without hesitation, and with the strength of a child, I easily reached the door guarded by the soldiers.
I almost forgot.
I've been reincarnated into this other world for three years now, and having grown accustomed to the life of a noble young master, I almost forgot.
It's not surprising that something like that happened in this family; I've become so numb that I almost forgot about it.
"Young Master Robert, you can't go in."
Although I was stopped by soldiers at the door, my eyes still quickly swept over the scene inside the room.
Marquis Bahod and a man who looked like a sergeant were talking about something.
What caught my attention even more was a woman lying on the ground.
Although I had very few conversations with Mrs. Lilica, and although I couldn't see the woman's face clearly, judging from her attire, there was no doubt that she was Lia's mother—Mrs. Lilica.
My heart suddenly started pounding.
"Where is Lia? Where is Lia?"
"...Don't worry, Miss Lia wasn't in this room to begin with. She's in her own room now, being looked after by a maid."
The soldier seemed to sense my worry and patiently answered me.
Oh, I see. Lia isn't here. Should I be happy...?
"Leave this to us, Young Master Robert, you can go back to your room first."
Staying here won't change anything, so I decided to leave with a heavy heart.
While this kind of thing isn't unusual in another world, but... but... this is just too much!
Oh, right, Lia, I need to go check on her.
But where is Lia's room?