The next morning, Rei woke to find Tenko already up, his usual sleepy demeanor replaced by an unusual alertness. "Tenko, I've never seen you up so early! What happened?" Rei asked. Tenko responded with three happy barks, as if to say he simply felt like waking early today. Rei patted his loyal companion. "Well, let's get refreshed, and then we'll eat." As Rei turned his back, Tenko watched him with a sad gaze; he didn't like lying to Rei.
Rei drove the Midgard to a secluded spot and pulled out a barrel of water. After a quick refreshing wash, he prepared some food, and they began to eat. "Today too, you have to teach both of them, okay?" Rei told Tenko. Tenko barked once, showing his approval.
After finishing their meal, Bart and Eugene arrived. Rei took them into the Midgard and drove to the training fields. "Today again, you both will fight Tenko," Rei announced.
"But I want to learn sorcery! Why do I have to fight?" Bart protested.
Eugene added, "Yes, and I'm just learning magic. Why me too?"
Rei patiently explained. "You both need battle sense before you practice anything. A battle sense is a gut feeling that lets you determine which skills you have would be better suited for fighting. Take the example of Tenko: he used wind slices when you were far, used wind tackle to increase his speed, and dust explosion when you were close. That's the kind of battle sense you need."
Bart sighed. "Fine then." Eugene, with a newfound determination, took out a sword, and Bart gripped his two daggers. Tenko readied himself, and Rei gave the command, "Start!" As the battle began, Rei walked behind the Midgard to practice his lightning sorcery spells.
At the end of the day, they all went back to town. As a week passed, Tenko didn't have that strange dream again, and Rei continued to study holy magic from books, knowing he had to teach Eugene. Eugene and Bart, on the other hand, were gaining confidence during their training with Tenko. Eugene, with his sword, learned to block Tenko's wind slices. Then, they would both attack from different directions, making it difficult for Tenko to use his area-of-effect techniques.
Rei, meanwhile, finally achieved a breakthrough. He successfully created a complete lightning spell that he could consistently use. He named it Lightning Strike.
When Rei returned to the boys, he announced, "Wow, you two are doing great! I guess it's time to teach you." Bart and Eugene's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Finally!" Bart exclaimed, unable to contain his joy. Eugene, equally happy, simply said, "Yeah!"
"Okay, let's start with Eugene," Rei said. "I studied Holy Magic, and I can help you with it." Eugene nodded eagerly. Bart became completely silent, watching from a distance, not wanting to interfere in the slightest.
Rei began his instructions to Eugene. "Forget about incantations for now, okay?"
"What?" Eugene asked, surprised. "But that's important for a learner mage like me!"
"Come on, trust yourself," Rei urged, a gentle firmness in his voice. "You can do it."
Eugene reluctantly agreed. "Fine then."
"Now, stretch your hands out," Rei instructed. Eugene stretched his hands out. "Now, look for the warm feeling that is coursing in your body."
Eugene closed his eyes, concentrating. The problem was, he was finding that warm feeling everywhere. "It's everywhere! What should I do?" he asked, a hint of panic in his voice.
"Open your eyes then," Rei said. "I will tell you what to do next." Eugene opened his eyes. Rei then drew a diagram in the air that resembled blood veins in the human body, adding arrows to indicate a flow. "Eugene," Rei explained, "try to make all the warm energy flow where the arrows indicate, okay?"
Eugene nodded hesitantly, closed his eyes again, and concentrated on gathering the warm feeling. Then, he began to move it as Rei suggested. "I'm doing it!" Eugene exclaimed, his voice filled with wonder.
"Do you feel anything uncomfortable?" Rei asked.
"Yes," Eugene replied. "The area I'm moving it in feels hot."
"Then make the flow wider until you feel good," Rei instructed. Eugene started making the flow wider, and then he felt the heat spreading, becoming more comfortable. "Yes," he said, "I'm feeling okay now."
"Now stretch your hands out again," Rei said. Eugene stretched his hand out. "Now listen to these instructions. You would try to think that the warm feeling would ooze out of your hand and, along with that, turn into something spiritual, like how you felt before when anyone used Holy Magic on you, okay?"
Eugene nodded, taking a deep breath. He tried to visualize the process. Suddenly, a golden light appeared from his outstretched hand. He opened his eyes, wide with disbelief and excitement. "I did it! I did it! I cast Holy Magic!" He jumped up and down, overflowing with joy.
Rei smiled, a genuine one this time. "You not only cast Holy Magic, but also chantless magic. You might be the first person in the world to have used chantless magic at the learner mage level!"
Eugene became even more excited, almost bouncing. "Yeah! I am the first, yeah!"
Bart, who had been watching in stunned silence, was utterly surprised. A learner mage using chantless magic was completely unheard of. No one knew how to perform chantless magic, not even the most experienced mages who use chantless magic themselves. Yet, Rei, a person without any magical powers, had just taught Eugene how to do it. Bart was now incredibly excited for his own turn.
"Let's test how good your holy magic is, Eugene," Rei said. He led Eugene to a nearby withered plant. "Now, try to use your holy magic, but with your eyes open, okay?"
"Yes!" Eugene replied, still buzzing with excitement. Eugene took a deep breath and streamlined his mana again. Then, with a simple wave of his hand, he released a light, and a golden glow enveloped the withered plant. As soon as the light touched a small part of the plant, its withered areas immediately transformed, replaced by healthy, vibrant parts. As the light fully covered the plant, it began to grow rapidly, turning into a small tree and quickly expanding into a larger tree. Eugene stopped his holy magic immediately, his eyes widening in astonishment. "Wait," he whispered, "my holy magic is at mid-magic level? Then does that make me a master mage?"