My very first spell was a success.
It formed a proper spherical shape, and its flight distance wasn't bad at all.
"You really did it! Erik-kun, you're truly incredible!"
It seemed that somewhere deep down, Olivia-san hadn't fully believed in my skill after all.
However, once I actually cast the spell, she showered me with praise, looking thoroughly thrilled.
"Even so, it really is a mysterious special skill, isn't it?"
"I still don't completely understand it myself, but I know it's an amazing special skill."
"It's only natural not to understand a special skill. Throughout history, only a handful of people have ever properly mastered a newly discovered one. Even the now-famous [Courage] only gained renown because the Hero mastered it."
"Speaking of [Courage], that reminds me—there was someone who received that special skill around the same time as me."
Listening to Olivia-san, I was suddenly reminded of the blessing ritual.
Upon hearing that, a look of genuine surprise crossed her face.
"Wait, there was a child with [Courage]!?"
"Yes. Huh, is that really so surprising?"
"Yes, anyone with that special skill has an extremely high chance of becoming a hero of their era. I'd imagine that the moment the Church officials present realized a [Courage] bearer had appeared, they probably took that child under their wing right away, didn't they?"
"Ah, that definitely felt like what happened. They were interested in my special skill at first because it was unknown, but as soon as the [Courage] bearer showed up, everyone's attention shifted over there."
The Church officials had likely decided that a known quantity like [Courage] was far more important than an unknown special skill.
"Well, but I think that turned out for the best for you, Erik-kun. You want to live a life of freedom, right?"
"That's right. I want to live freely."
"If you had stayed on the Church's radar and gone along with them, you would have had a secure life. But I don't think you would have gained your freedom."
"In that case, I really ought to thank the kid with [Courage] for stealing away all the attention that was on me back then."
I didn't know their name.
It wasn't a child from my village, but someone who, like Alan, had come from a neighboring village to undergo the ritual.
I offered my silent gratitude to that person whose name I didn't even know.
"Olivia-san, now that I've learned [Earth Magic], does this mean I'm officially your apprentice?"
"Yes, just as promised. Once again, I look forward to working with you, Erik-kun."
"Yes! I look forward to learning from you, Master!"
And so, our master-disciple relationship was officially forged.
After that, she told me that since I had learned [Earth Magic], she would teach me something new.
"This is something you could have done even without learning magic, but there's a skill called [Magic Control]. It helps you manipulate the mana inside your body."
"A skill like that exists? Wait, is there a reason you didn't teach me that first, then?"
"Two reasons. First, I wanted to verify whether your special skill was real. While [Magic Control] is certainly a skill, [Earth Magic] was much easier to observe. The second reason is that it's simply easier to grasp when you have an elemental magic to apply it to."
After explaining that, Olivia-san broke down how the skill worked.
First, you activate [Earth Magic], and then you use your mana to control the active spell.
This proved to be quite difficult; the moment my concentration wavered even slightly, the magic collapsed.
"Th-This is pretty tough."
"Yes, but that makes it the most effective training. Control the mana within your body, gather it in your palm, and picture channeling it directly into the spell."
As I struggled with the high difficulty, Olivia-san offered her guidance.
Taking her advice to heart, I put it into practice.
◇
You have trained in [Magic Control].
Earned 1 EXP.
1/100 toward skill acquisition.
◇
Then, within a minute of starting, I earned EXP for [Magic Control].
Having an instructor really did seem to make earning EXP easier, likely because it accelerated my comprehension.
On top of that, Olivia-san was a true magic specialist.
"Olivia-san, I gained EXP. I'll keep going like this."
"Oh, you've already gained EXP? That's even faster than with [Earth Magic]."
"It might just be that I was already doing it naturally before without realizing it."
"So that's how it works."
Convinced by my explanation, Olivia-san let me continue the training.
I kept at it for about an hour after that, and since it had reached noon, our session for the day came to an end.
Once the training was over, I checked my usual screen.
◇
You have trained in [Magic Control].
Earned 1 EXP.
9/100 toward skill acquisition.
◇
◇
You have trained in [Earth Magic].
Earned 1 EXP.
5/100 toward the next level.
◇
Thinking that since I was using two skills anyway, I had experimented to see if I could gain EXP for both simultaneously.
Sure enough, EXP had accumulated for both skills.
However, perhaps because my focus had been divided, the EXP for [Magic Control] hadn't accumulated nearly as much.