Mana Control Training
After hearing the elf’s story, I explained the theory of water creation magic to the Vice-Guildmaster.
The Vice-Guildmaster was able to immediately reproduce the mana mist transformation because I made the water from the water magic visible as mist. Dad was beside me doing it too, but he said it was really tough to change it starting from water droplets.
The hardest part seemed to be the step where you gather the misted mana and squeeze it.
It was difficult to explain using only water magic’s water, so Dad lent me his handkerchief, and when I practiced the squeezing step with that, I was able to do it right away.
Removing the mana from the finished water didn’t seem hard either, and I was able to reproduce it quickly.
“This here is something I gotta make sure I’ve truly got down before I pass it on to the teacher. Vio, thank you kindly for teaching me such a marvelous magic.”
By the time I finished the explanation, it was already getting late, and it was decided not to do martial arts training after we got home since it would be dark.
It was disappointing, but since tomorrow is also a day off, we decided to do the martial arts training starting from noon tomorrow.
On the way home, Dad carried me back.
After eating dinner slowly, it was bath time, but since we had already stored hot water with creation magic during the day, we only needed to heat it.
“Vio, I reckon you’ve been practicing mana control before bed, right? Mind if I ask how exactly yer go about it?”
While drinking tea waiting for the water to heat, Dad asked me that.
We do stretches together in the morning, but at night I practice until I fall asleep, so Dad doesn’t really know what I’m up to.
“Well, usually I move the fluff inside my belly all around—up to my chest, then both hands, from my head down to my toes—kind of circulating it through my whole body.
Since yesterday, I’ve been practicing magic too, by making leaves float. Just wait a sec.”
I said that, jumped off the kid’s chair, dashed to my room, pulled out two leaves I’d put in my magic bag, and returned to Dad.
He immediately sat me down on a chair and I handed him one of the leaves.
“See, on windy days, or when leaves are falling and floating around, right? I imagine that, and move it slowly from my right hand to my left hand like that.”
As I said that, I turned my right palm up and placed the leaf on it.
“Like it’s floating gently... (Hmm? Yesterday I thought about moving it with the wind, but at first I didn’t blow any wind to lift it.)”
I repeated what I did last night as I stared at the leaf in my hand.
(Floating, rising, softly…)
The leaf slowly began to lift, but there was no wind.
So does that mean the leaf’s weight disappeared? Maybe there’s gravity magic too? But this is probably not gonna work either, right?
When I hurriedly stopped the mana flow, the leaf returned to my hand.
Since throwing too many new elements at Dad and the Vice-Guildmaster would cause confusion, this one’s not gravity…
“Oh! You made those water balls with the massage, right? Let’s try making a wind ball with the same kind of element!”
The air-version of the water balls I made with Hot Reflex.
It’s basically a balloon, but without the vinyl membrane. When I made a thin wind ball on my hand, the leaf moved gently on top of it.
If it’s floating, it’ll fly easily if I blow wind on it.
“You blow a gentle wind at the floating leaf, moving it from right to left, then left to right. Strong wind will tear the leaf up, and too weak wind won’t move it, right?
It’s good practice to make just the right wind... hey, Dad?”
“Huh? Oh, no, this is mighty impressive. This ain’t no bedtime training level, but if yer using that many fine magics, it’s surely good magic practice, and good mana control training too.
Vio, would yer mind watching over my training sometimes?”
Dad, who’d been blank-faced, said that with admiration, which made me feel a little shy.
And then he asked me to watch his practice.
“Dad, you always help me out with stuff I can’t do, right? And tomorrow you’re gonna train me in martial arts, too, ain’t ya?
I only got a bit good at mana control ‘cause Mom taught me. So if there’s something I’m better at, I’d be glad to teach you something, too, y’know?
Oh, that reminds me! I wanna sleep in the same room as you.
Even after I practice and fall asleep, you come cover me up sometimes, right? If we’re in the same room, I can practice with you till I fall asleep, and it’d be safer for me too, right?”
“... Ha! Hahaha, that’s right, that’s right, it’s safer that way.
Well now, Vio, you’re a real sweet one. Then how ’bout you teach me magic?”
The room I’d used on the day they helped me was actually my son’s room, and I’d been using it since, but when I suggested sleeping in the same room as Dad so I wouldn’t oversleep in the morning, he burst out laughing.
Wood, fire, and earth are Dad’s specialties, so he’ll teach me those, but my mana control training is pretty unique, and since he’s not good at it, I decided to practice with wind magic.
They said they’d move my mini bed into Dad’s room, so I took a bath while that was happening.
The water was completely mana-free, but I couldn’t tell the difference. Water magic was okay for baths after all.
Maybe hot water made with water magic lets mana seep in through the skin and helps recovery?
I’ve never run out of mana, so I don’t know, and I’m not keen on experimenting, so I left it alone.
While shampooing in the washbasin, I thought about the usual isekai problem of no soap or shampoo—but here, they exist.
The soap doesn’t foam much and has no fragrance. The shampoo is a simple rinse-in kind with oils, scrubs, and natural fragrance.
Dad usually just uses the “Clean” spell, but on days he sweats a lot, he washes with soap. Since I came, he even bought shampoo from the general store. I think washing short hair would be easier, but Dad says my long hair is cute, so I keep it long even though it’s a hassle.
I wet my hair with warm water, applied shampoo, and massaged my scalp. My hands are small, and my fingers short, so the massage doesn’t feel all that great. Hmph.
I remembered those octopus-like wire scalp massagers I used to have—I want one. Too fine to make with wood, though. Wonder if magic could help?
I can only picture fire turning my hair into an afro, and maybe wood magic could manipulate vines? No, I only have attack magic now, and cutting my own head off would be scary, so no.
Maybe I can make something with earth magic? I’ll try making an earth doll first.
Water might be the most effective? Nah, it’d just wash stuff away, so no. Maybe I can try making a shower with that mist magic later.
Dark and holy magic don’t seem to have handy uses like that.
Tomorrow I’ll start with making earth dolls and see how far I can manipulate the earth. If it doesn’t work, I’ll have Dad make some branches with good flexibility!
Having made plans for tomorrow, my shampoo had settled in. I combed my hair, prepared water balls with the “Water” spell, adjusted their temperature to match Hot Reflex, and touched them to check. Yeah, nice.
I moved the water balls above my head and released water little by little like a shower. Changing the size of the water balls lets me prepare quite a lot of water—this magic’s really handy.
I checked with my hand that no shampoo was left behind, then dismissed the water balls. I cleaned the washbasin water with the “Clean” spell.
Finally, I soaked in the bath again, finishing my bath time.
After the bath, Dad dried my hair with the “Dry” spell. I could do it myself, but Dad wanted to brush it while drying, and it feels really nice, so I let him.
After he neatly arranged my hair, it was Dad’s turn for his bath. He took less than half the time I did.
While waiting, I went to check the room and was surprised. Dad’s bedroom door was gone, replaced by a curtain that covered about half the doorway.
Sure, the room I’d been renting also kept its door open at night so I could go to the bathroom, and I didn’t think the door could be closed... but it had been there until this morning.
The curtain hung higher than my height, so I didn’t have to duck like passing through a noren.
It was my first time in Dad’s bedroom, and it was super simple—just a bed and a dresser. Maybe they moved stuff to fit my little bed in, though.
On the right side of the room, my little bed and a small dresser for me were placed, and on the left side, Dad’s big bed. It was about as tall as me, and about as long as the whole room’s depth. Dad is big, after all.
The dresser was next to the bed and covered half the window, so I figured the dresser was originally where my bed was. I felt a little sorry about that.
"Well, I see you made it over here. I brought the bed just as it was, but with the way down all switched around, is it feelin' a mite awkward to use?"
While I was looking around the room, Dad came back.
Fast, too fast, Dad.
“Yeah, I was surprised the door was gone.
Hey, Dad, wasn’t this dresser in the place where my bed was? Won’t blocking the window make it dark?”
"I'm plannin' to move the dresser back to the next room, so don't you fret about it. Just think of this here room as your sleepin' quarters. Your study desk is still in the old room, so you can keep usin' it there. Would you rather change your clothes in that room instead?"
Dad said, “You always want to change by yourself, huh,” then hoisted the dresser and took it back to the old room.
It’s a solid wooden dresser with about eight drawers—not a plastic clothes case. Dad’s dresser is about twice the size of mine. I wonder if he can really lift something that heavy so easily?
Since it was right after the bath, we decided not to move the big dresser and started mana control training right away.
Dad sat cross-legged on the carpet between the beds, practicing gathering mana in his palms. I repeated the earlier practice, making a wind ball and flying the leaf. Felt like juggling.
Dad couldn’t quite imagine the wind ball, so he made one with color to make it easier to see. Wind is often represented by green, so he tried to make it darker and ended up with a light green fluffy ball.
He gripped it in his left hand and tried hard to reproduce it with his right.
He said he didn’t understand how wind could curl, but when I asked if there were crafts made with twigs, he seemed to get it and was able to reproduce it without much trouble. Dad’s pretty handy, huh.
What do you think about this chapter?
