We had just left the walls of the city of Ruks. The four of us were happily following the dirt carriage trail towards the village of Mulbik. The gra.s.sy fields and the sunny blue sky filled our vision. The scent of spring filled our noses as we continued on our path.

"It's nice to be out of the city. Those walls are so suffocating."

"I think you're the only one that thinks that Erana."

"Tael-san, I don't want to be rude to you, but as a druid large walls like that feel like a cage."

"Why do you keep adding the '-san'? We're party members now so we can be a bit more informal now."

"Oi, party trick magician, she's got her reasons."

"I actually am also curious as to why she keeps doing that."

"Are you ever NOT curious, Onii-san?"

"That's besides the point."

"Um… Please stop talking about me like I'm not here… I was just raised to do it this way. I'm sorry if it bothers you all."

"Well why do you call her Kany without adding an honorific?"

"Obviously it's because we're besties! Right, Erana?"

"Ah, yes. That's why." Erana gave a gentle smile in response.

"Well Kenji and I are besties too! Aren't we, Kenji?"

I simply stared at Tael when he said this. I wanted to make him as uncomfortable as possible.

"R-Right…?" Tael has begun to sweat a little bit. I think this is working.

"Onii-san, stop bullying the jun store magician."

Tael let out a defeated sigh and with that, I began to walk once more.

After around an hour of walking, we heard a familiar noise.

"Slurp… Slurp…"

"That sounds like a slime."

We investigated the area and found that our suspicions were correct. A small green slime was sliding on the ground near us.

"It's kind of cute…"

"Erana, it eats everything."

"So do pigs! Have you seen a piglet? Aren't they cute?"

"Yeah, but pigs don't eat literally everything."

While Erana and Kany were arguing with each other, I went up to Tael. This is my opportunity.

"Hey Tael, since it's a slime you can teach me how to cast spells! Come on, show me."

"Alright. What spells do you know?"

"How would I know that?"

"Hm? Oh that's right, you were level 0 up until yesterday. You probably don't know."

"Just tell me already!"

"O-Okay! Look, close your eyes for a moment."

Following his instructions, I closed my eyes.

"Alright, now I want you to look into yourself. I know this description is weird, but… try to peer into your stomach."

"Peer into my stomach? How does that work?"

"Well it's like how you know your body better than anyone else, I guess. You just have to feel your center."

I stood still with my eyes closed for a moment while trying to follow Tael's instructions.

"...I think I'm doing it wrong."

"Ah, Kenji-san. As a druid I may be able to help. Keep your eyes closed for me."

"They're already closed but… alright."

Suddenly I felt a hand gently place itself to my stomach. I had to fight back the urge to open my eyes.

"Alright, now I want you to trace the path that I draw out in reverse, alright?"

I could feel a sensation of a hand traveling upwards from my stomach to my eyes.

"Now follow it in reverse."

I began to trace the path that was drawn for me with her hand. Slowly, I could see something that was shimmering and red within some type of sphere.

"Do you see anything, Kenji-san?"

"I… I don't know. It's hard to describe."

"Tell me what the first word that comes to mind is."

I thought for a moment. A red, shimmering light inside of my stomach. Something that is a part of me…

"Fire."

That's truly the only word to describe it. A shimmering red light that resides inside of me.

"Oh so you're fire natured, huh?"

"Fire natured? What does that mean?"

"Open your eyes. I'll explain it for you."

I opened my eyes to see everyone watching me.

"I'm ice natured, personally. Fire is cool too, Kenji. Not as cool as ice though."

Kany groaned at that obvious pun.

"Mana natures belong to the 4 elements of the world. Each element has its own attributes and benefits to them. I personally am an earth nature."

"What do natures do, exactly?"

"Mana natures do a lot of things, but most importantly, they define what type of magic you get a specific bonus to use."

"So I don't get a detriment, but a positive?"

"Yeah, you saw my firebolts, right? My fire spells are as strong as any normal wizards firebolt, but a fire natured person such as yourself will naturally cast fire based spells with less mana and at a higher power level."

"Right! I also heard that mana natures are good personality tests!"

"So… what about my spells?"

"Okay, now that we know your attribute, I want you to think of how you would express your mana."

"Express… my mana? What does that mean?"

"Think about how you could mold it. It's like your inner energy. Surely you've felt your mana when it was used before, right?"

Now that I think about it, the mana stovetop at Ania's house gave me a good feeling for how the movement of mana felt.

"It's like a flow of water, right?"

"Exactly! That's the textbook way to describe it."

"Alright, what do I do now?"

"Think about how that water would take shape. Once you do this once, you'll automatically learn new spells without having to go through this process again. It's as if you unlock a new door in your own mind."

I closed my eyes once more and envisioned how I would form the flow of mana in my body. How would I best express an energy within me that flows like water? I thought of a squirt gun for a moment and realized that the water from a squirt gun resembled a spell I had witnessed before.

"I… I think it would be a firebolt, like Tael can cast."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Firebolt is almost always the spell that level 1 wizards get. I've heard of rare cases where people learn multiple spells at once, or learn a different spell, but about 90% of the time it's firebolt."

"Okay! How do I cast firebolt?"

"Point at that slime there and try to release your mana towards it."

I walked up to the slime and pointed my hand at the slime. I envisioned the flow of water from my stomach to my arm and tried to release it outwards.

"Hrrrng!"

"Um… Are you alright Onii-san?"

"K-Kenji-san, you don't flex spells out."

I've been trying to obliterate this slime for the past minute but I can't make the spell come out! What's the deal?

"Yeah, you need a focus man."

"A focus? You mean like your wand?"

"Yeah. Remember how I said it helps people cast their spells? It's not required, but it makes it way easier."

"But I don't want to go all the way back to town just to get a wand!"

"You don't need a wand as a focus, remember? I only said it just has to be something you're comfortable with."

"I'm pretty comfortable with my arm, Tael."

"Heh, yeah I guess that's my fault. It has to be something other than your own body, that way you can focus on pouring your mana within it. Your body will always have mana flowing through it so isolating it to a certain point is difficult to do."

"Kenji-san, I recommend holding your dagger and trying again. This time, envision your mana flowing into the dagger."

Taking Erana's instructions, I pulled out my dagger and envisioned the flow of mana once again, this time, I envisioned the flow of mana from my stomach to my arm and into the dagger. I could feel something like a slight drain begin to occur within myself, as if the dagger was siphoning my energy slightly. I knew this was it.

"Firebolt!" I shouted. A small red magic circle appeared in front of my dagger and a firebolt spewed out of it towards the slime.

"Nice one, Onii-san. I'll explain skills to you later."

I just cast a spell! That was awesome! Now I know why Tael is so confident all the time!

"Feels awesome, doesn't it?"

"This is the coolest thing ever! Why did n.o.body tell me about this earlier?"

"I did, remember when we first met?"

"I meant in a reasonable way."

Kany held Tael back.

"W-Whatever! Now that that slime's reformed, let me show you MY new spell! Behold the chill of winter! Frost!"

A magic circle emerged from Tael's wand as a gust of blue wind flowed towards the slime. After a moment, the slime was frozen solid.

"Dodge THAT you two bit pickpocket!"

Kany merely grumbled in response. I walked towards the slime that had been frozen solid.

"Is it dead?"

"No, the core is still intact so it's still alive."

"How long does it stay like this?"

"I don't know. It's frozen so I guess it will melt at some point?"

"Let's not let it melt then. Fore!" I shouted as I kicked the slime like an American football player would kick a field goal.

The frozen slime flew through the sky for a moment before it eventually landed and shattered into multiple pieces. The core had most definitely been broken.

"Yeah!" x2

Tael and I shouted as we high fived.