Chapter 22: Practice by the Riverside

Although it was only a small success, Ren had managed to cast magic—and it made him want to practice more.

However, the backyard where he trained with his bow wasn’t ideal. His siblings were always around, and if he started practicing magic, they’d probably tell him it was “pointless,” just like they did with his archery. He could have trained early in the morning before anyone arrived, but he wanted to continue while the sensation was still fresh.

So he decided to go somewhere outside the estate where no one would be around. Leaving the village walls, he headed toward the direction of the river. It was a tributary branching off from a larger river—narrow enough that large monsters were said to rarely appear there. He chose the riverside without hesitation, thinking simply that practicing fire magic near water would be safer.

The gentle sound of flowing water reached his ears. A soft breeze brushed against his hair. Perhaps because large monsters didn’t appear in this area, there were no adventurers around either—no sign of people at all. It was very quiet.

“…I guess I won’t stand out here…”

Glancing around cautiously, Ren chose a spot shaded by trees so he wouldn’t be noticed if someone came by, then crouched down.

Closing his eyes, he began to gather his magic. Listening to the sound of the river and the wind, he imagined the magic flowing from his abdomen, through his heart, then into his shoulders and arms.

“…Wind!”

Shu!

He felt something slip out from his fingertips, accompanied by a faint sound.

“…Did it work?”

He opened his eyes and stared at his fingertips. Unlike fire magic, there was no visible flame, making it hard to tell if the spell had actually manifested.

“…I’ll try it on a leaf…”

This time, he kept his eyes open and brought his fingertip close to a nearby blade of grass.

“Wind!”

Shu!

One jagged leaf trembled slightly.

“Oh! …Wind!”

Shu!

The leaf swayed back and forth.

As he happily repeated the process several times, he realized something.

“Yeah… this might not work as an attack…”

He was glad he could use magic at all, but its power was only enough to move a single leaf. Even if he used it on a monster, it would probably feel like nothing more than a light puff of air.

“But still… I can use wind magic now! Alright! Next is water magic!”

Ren continued practicing.

At first, water magic only produced a single droplet that fell from his fingertip. But as he kept practicing, the amount gradually increased, turning into a steady dripping flow.

“…If I keep practicing, will it get stronger… even without a skill?”

He had always been told that effort without a skill was meaningless. But magic—something that could create fire or water out of nothing—fascinated him. And as he practiced, he could see small signs of improvement.

Plop.

A small lump of water formed at his fingertip and dropped into the river before him.

Splash! Splash!

Fish leapt where the water landed, their iridescent scales shimmering brightly.

“Oh, fish…”

Splash!

As he leaned forward to look into the river, one of the shimmering fish suddenly jumped toward him. Startled, he instinctively stepped back, and the fish struck the riverbank before falling back into the water.

“…That surprised me…”

He let out a small breath as he watched the fish swim away beneath the surface.