~ Chapter 27: Effort or talent? ~

[Leonidas' point of view]

 Today was the big day!

After reaching the age of seven, aunty Eliza was finally going to teach us how to cast our very first spells. Despite this being the first time when we were actually going to do it, both me and my sister already read several tomes of magic from beginner to intermediary level. In theory, we already knew the incantations for several spells. However, knowing and doing were two very different things when it came to magic.

All those tomes on magic warned us of the how important 'feeling' the vibration of the spell and understanding the entire concept of each spell had in casting. A better 'feel' could result in fine-tuning the effect as well as grant it more power or even lower it to whatever degree we pleased.

Basically, I wasn't as lucky as those heroes in the books Cassandra read and wrote about. They were individuals who could learn magic just by reading a few words on some ancient ruined wall or from some crummy old book. I, on the other hand, had to understand, feel, and envision the whole process as I cast the spell. The words of an incantation were there just to quicken the process and allow us a better visualization of the spell, nothing more and nothing less.

Back on Earth, there were countless stories of young heroes who as soon as they were born could cast countless spells or had the abilities far beyond normal. In my life, however, I experienced that even with talent granted by 118 gods, things weren't that easy. I couldn't just snap my fingers and do something. True, there were some things I could handle on the first try because I relied on logic and instinct, but when it came to stuff like magic, reading, writing, or art, I ended up stumbling quite often just like any other normal person would.

The only possible way I could see myself achieve such feats was if I had completely ignored my social life. If I ignored my playtime with my little sister, the story time with mother, the housework helping with Luthecia, and the visits to town with father when he let us, one at a time, ride on his shoulders to view the city better. If I ignored all of these things which took almost half of my time, if I ignored the moments when I wanted to have fun and laugh like a normal child, then yes, I would have reached a level right now befit to be called a young monster.

So I made the conscious decision to sacrifice the possibility of gaining double or triple my current battle power in order to have fun with my family, in order to have something to remember them by, in order to feel the joy and happiness in my previous life I was deprived off.

So, was I expecting to be an Ace in everything I picked up on the first go? Definitely not, I was perfectly fine with the possibility that I would fail miserably.

Even aunty Eliza warned us about this and told us not to feel depressed about it. After all, failing was but a part of the process of learning and understanding how anything in life worked. We were warned that there were many young mage disciples out there who cared only about the result, which for them had to be a complete success, as a result, they failed to enjoy the process of achieving it, and when they did, if they did, they always felt empty on the inside.

There was also a more dangerous part to spell casting. A lot of the hotheaded and stubborn young mages tended to practice without any safety precautions, leading them to either cause unnecessary destruction or even end up seriously injuring someone around them. While this also counted as part of failing, it was better to be safe and prepared for such events than being sorry after it was too late to do anything about it.

Besides, there was no hurry to learn this stuff, seeing how normally these sorts of things were thought to children far older than us. After going to that birthday party a few years ago, I fully understood why this was so. Those children were a danger both to themselves and those around them if allowed to learn how to cast spells.

Speaking of which, regarding the other invitations we received, we pretend to be sick or in the process of doing something very important, so we had to politely decline them. I felt like a certain character in a comedy anime who broke his own arm when he was asked to carry the coffin of the deceased they did not know or cared about. Mother, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief every time she saw the messenger return to those nobles. I had a feeling that what she hated the most wasn't us showing up at those parties but rather her being forced to taste the 'tea' made by them.

Anyway, at this moment, both me and Cassandra were outside, in the middle of the field near our house. Luthecia was the one who suggested to take all exploding matters as far away from our flammable house as possible. Father was here as well, but unlike mother, who was calmly sipping from a cup of tea, he was wearing a full plate body armor and hiding behind a sturdy tower shield.

It was a ridiculous sight...

“Dear, are you sure all of... 'that' is necessary?” mother asked him.

“Melissa, my love, most definitely yes. As much as I love our children and they love me back, I'm afraid little Leo has the unnatural tendency to accidentally shoot or throw stuff at me whenever he tries something new.” he replied in a calm and gentlemanly tone of voice.

Speaking of which, that did happen several times, but those were indeed harmless coincidences. Father was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

“Sigh... you are just worrying for nothing.” mother shook her head and returned to drinking her tea in peace.

“Here!” aunty Eliza walked up to us and showed us two scrolls. “One is for the fire element and the other for the water element. Pick one.” she told us.

“Wouldn't it be better to learn the same thing?” I asked her curiously as I picked the left scroll.

I got the fireball one.

“After you master this one, you can exchange them between each other and offer tips on how to cast them if you see your sibling struggling with it. Now, Leonidas move in front of the lit candle. Cassandra go and sit in front of the bucket of water.” she told us.

I nodded and did as told. According to the theory, this was the first step we had to take in order to get a better feel of the element. Affinity allowed us to speed up the process, but it didn't guarantee a successful cast. Once we managed to do this, almost all the spells of that element could be cast after properly understanding them.

“Using Magic Energy Manipulation, send your Magic Energy into the candlelight and water respectively. Once you are done, try to picture the energy binding to its element. Keep your mind clear and focus solely on trying to feel the element in front of you. Allow your Magic Energy to accept and change to that respective element. When you can move it around with ease, it means that you completed the first step.” she explained calmly.

While listening to her words, I focused on the flame of the candle and poured my Magic Energy into it, imagining it change and bind to the element of fire.

This was far harder than I initially thought it was going to be. I had nothing to compare this feeling with and before I knew it, I put out the flame.

“You used too much Magic Energy. Try again, Leonidas.” aunty Eliza told me.

I nodded and started from scratch, but just when I was about to pour Magic Energy into it, I was splashed with water, drenching me and putting out my flame.

With a slow movement of my head, I turned to look at the culprit, Cassandra. She was pouting because she expected to do it on the first go, but just like me, she used too much Magic Energy and caused the water to spill out violently.

I showed her a smirk, and she glared at me.

Oh! It's on, little sister! I declared in my mind as our childish competition took start.

Luthecia made sure to resupply us with water and candles as well as dry towels and spare clothes.

After two hours of doing this repetitively, the results didn't seem to be too promising. The good news was that father didn't need his armor. The bad news was that both me and my sister failed each and every time. It was quite hard to grasp the right 'feel' even with affinity for the elements.

I couldn't even begin to imagine the trouble those without this helpful ability had.

“Don't look down, children. This much is normal, especially at your age!” aunty Eliza laughed.

Well, I guess geniuses who learn everything on the spot can be found only in stories... Reality is harsh no matter how many past lives or Blessings one has. I thought as I tried to comfort myself by believing this to be the natural order of things.

“I don't like this! Why couldn't I do it?” Cassandra complained.

“Nobody was able to do magic on their first try, not even those renowned as geniuses.” aunty replied with a soft, understanding smile.

“But I'm not nobody, I have three Blessings!” she complained.

“It doesn't matter even if you had 100 or more.” she calmly shook her head.

“Maybe we don't have affinity for these elements?” I asked curiously.

Thanks to my [Status Window] skill, I knew we both had it, but I was wondering what aunty thought about it.

“I highly doubt it since even those without Blessings have more or less an affinity to at least one of those two elements.” mother explained.

“It's as my sister said. In general, human beings have the highest affinity for water and fire, but having or not Magic Affinity to a certain element only determines how fast you learn spells of that element. There's also the belief that those with a specific high affinity will be likely to do more damage if they cast the right spells. For example, someone with Wind affinity can cast more spells of this element than someone who doesn't have it. In the end, everyone can learn spells of any element regardless of their affinity, it just takes a bit longer for those without it.” aunty explained.

“Then why weren't we able to get the feel for it?” Cassandra pressed.

Aunty let out a sigh and scratched the back of her head, trying to find another way to explain this to us, but the answer came unexpectedly from father.

“Children, it's the same as walking or Leonidas' tailoring. Even if you know the theory, it's far harder to learn to feel and adjust to something you never did or felt before. You are basically going through a trial and error process until you get the knack for it. The fact that you could keep up with this small exercise for such a long time at such a young age is more than enough to put you two among the top mages in this country. If we were to compare you to the Ruthmerry family's child, you both basically did in one day the same amount of training he did in an entire month. If he tried to do what you two did, he would have been exhausted after the first five minutes.” he spoke using a calm and respectful tone of voice.

It didn't feel very good to be compared to that guy, but I was beginning to understand what he meant by that. In short, we were awesome.

“By diligently practicing and improving yourselves, you'll be able to cast any spells you want in no time at all!” he finished, he showed us a broad smile, but then the helmet's face protector fell over, startling him. “Uwa! I have to be careful with this thing or else it will chop off my nose!” he complained.

I shook my head.

Father's explanation made me think back at everything we did and learned so far. Even sword fighting was strange and difficult at first, but as we kept practicing, it became easy, and we were able to learn more complicated techniques. This coming from someone who at the beginning couldn't even hold the sword right.

With a sigh escaping my lips, I looked back at my little sister, and I had the feeling she was thinking about the same thing. This wasn't talent, just diligent hard work and training.

Even a diamond could look like a useless cheap stone if it wasn't polished properly. Talent was the same, it was there, but if you let it rot away, then you would allow yourself to be surpassed by those who had none but were instead hard workers.

“Well, I don't know about everyone else, but I'm absolutely famished! Shall we head back in and grab a bite to eat?” mother suggested with a charming smile.

In front of this offer, our stomachs gave a clear loud answer.