Dreambreaker

Chapter 110: Time flies—where is butterfly?

After drawing the flame rune, I combined it with the mana rune, consumption rune, nourishment rune, and solidity rune.

This finally gave birth to the [Bindrune of fire].

In 'General magic', to create fire, all you need to do is create friction in the air while channeling mana into your palms, using your mana core's fire affinity (if you have a fire affinity, that is).

After that, the mana core itself does the work to manifest the fireball.

This whole process is called a 'spell'.

But in my case, I had no mana core, and I couldn't perform spells.

That's why I had to learn runic magic, where the equivalent of a spell was a bindrune.

A bindrune— it's a symbol formed by combining two or more runes together.

First I had to carefully draw runic symbols in calligraphy, on a spellbind parchment.

Spellbind parchment —it was a special type of paper on which you can draw without using any ink.

By simply using your finger or pen and infusing mana into the tip, you can create marks on it.

Every runic symbol I was learning to draw, was magical. An ancient knowledge from the [Book of Indrajala].

Channeling mana through certain runes, activated certain properties of nature and brought them from the absence or void of nothingness to the physical world.

Bringing something from the non-physical to the physical through the use of mana is called magic.

But, since I did not have a mana core, I had to manually input the properties of fire into the bindrune.

I used the Flame rune to imbue the bindrune with the essence of a hot, glowing body of ignited gas.

The Mana rune created a circuit, a doorway—a pathway through which the flow of mana could be supplied into the bindrune.

The Consumption rune facilitated the process of utilizing mana and fuel.

The Nourishment rune added fuel in the form of oxygen. The Solidity rune ensured the stability of the bindrune.

Combining all the runes I got the [Bindrune of fire]. Applying slight mana to it...

?????????!—The paper in front of me erupted into flames as I channeled mana into the bindrune caligraph, which I previously drew on the parchment.

"Haha! Look, Master, I did it!" I triumphed, grinning from ear to ear.

However, Seraphina did not share my same level of excitement. She rather looked... disappointed.

"It took you a whopping twenty minutes to grasp such a simple fire magic," she criticized, her words sharp and cutting. "Even a ten-year-old kid would have learned to cast a fireball in their first one or two tries."

The once gleeful smile on my face froze, replacing the joy with a heavy dose of embarrassment.

I tried my best to maintain composure, swallowing down the shame that threatened to engulf me.

"Now, do it again. But, do it faster," Seraphina demanded, her gaze still fixed upon me with an intensity.

'At least praise me a little...'—I thought while looking at Master Seraphina.

Shaking off my thoughts, I refocused my attention on the task. I began sketching another [Bindrune of fire] onto the parchment paper.

Thankfully, the recent gift from Nano—my photographic memory, proved useful once again.

I had already memorized the intricate runes, making it easy for me to reproduce the symbols with precision.

I unleashed a surge of mana onto the parchment.

??????????!—The paper burst into flames immediately.

Beaming with pride, I turned to Seraphina and exclaimed, "Hey, Master! This time, it only took me two minutes-"

But before I could finish my sentence, Seraphina interjected with a cold tone, "Do it again."

She was strict or unhappy, I couldn't tell.

So I did it again.

This time I did it in one minute and the paper ignited with a —??????????!

"Again!"—Seraphina commanded.

I complied and started to do it again.

??????????!—The paper burst into flames again, as I repeated the process with determination.

Each time, I hoped that Seraphina would finally acknowledge my progress and offer a word of encouragement.

.

.

.

"Again."

—??????????!

.

.

.

"Again!"

—??????????!

.

.

.

"Again"

.

.

.

"Again"

Seraphina pushed me to recreate the [Bindrune of fire] over and over again..

I had lost count of the number of attempts.

Had it been a hundred times already?

??????????! —Yet another flicker of flames engulfed the paper as I injected my mana into it.

"Master... I can't do it anymore"— I pleaded, desperation clear in my voice.

But Seraphina remained unyielding, her expression showing no sign of softening.

"Why can't you do it again, student?"—she asked, her frown still etched deeply on her face.

"I am out of mana." I admitted, hoping she would understand my struggle.

But instead of sympathy, Seraphina reached into her dimensional bracelet and retrieved something, tossing it in my direction.

"Drink the mana potion and get back to it," she commanded, her tone leaving little room for negotiation.

"What? No way! I need a break!" I protested.

"Don't 'No' me, do as you're told," Seraphina snapped back.

"W-why are you suddenly acting so strict and cold?" I blurted out.

"Oh, so now you want me to coddle you instead? Noah, stop fooling around," she retorted sharply, her words cutting through any hope of me getting a break.

Curses...

I cursed under my breath, realizing that I would be repeating the same process for the next six long hours.

'I'm starting to question if asking to be her student was a mistake'.

***

It has been three days since I began learning runic magic.

Each day past with me being tortured by Seraphina to practice for eleven hours, per day.

During this time, five things became clear to me.

Firstly, unlike 'General magic', in runic magic, there is no requirement to have affinity to a specific element in order to perform magic related to that element.

That's also why I can use [Bindrune of fire]

Secondly, runic magic consumes less mana compared to "General magic".

This means that if I were to create fireballs using the [Bindrune of fire], it would consume less mana than it would for someone to create an equivalent fireball using a spell.

Thirdly, runic magic holds less power compared to General magic.

But, it compensates for this by offering greater versatility in its application.

Fourthly, spell casting is much faster than casting bindrunes.

But that problem can be solved if I practice enough.

'And lastly...', I extended my right palm towards the sky.

At the same time, just few cms away from my palm, golden glowing runes began to materialize into the thin air.

The air crackled with embers and sparks flew haywire.

It looked as if someone was 'inscribing' in the air, like a welding of hot iron—each runic symbol formed, stroked from right to left.

The runes shimmered with an otherworldly light, like inked in plasmatic electricity or carved with laser beams. Gradually, the runes merged together, forming a octagonal shape —the [Bindrune of Fire]. It levitated, hanging in thin air, emanating a pulsating, radiant glow.

"That stupid calligraphy practice was simply to train my mind to be able to do this"—??????????!—a powerful ball of fire was launched into the air which burst into flames in the sky.

A stupid grin formed on my face as I watched the fire works.

I was currently laying beneath a Jakaranda tree—in the Enchantress' woods.

An arboretum near Thorn grove forest.

The ground beneath me was adorned with a carpet of amethyst leaves.

It was said that this garden earned its name, Enchantress, for its spellbinding beauty—a resemblance to an Enchantress who can ensnare the hearts of those who beheld her.

At least, that's the bullshit I heard from a butler.

Lost in thought, I lay there. My gaze fixed on my outstretched hand.

And then, as if from a dream, someone entered my view—a white, ethereal angel.

Although her face appeared inverted from my perspective, it did little to diminish her beauty.

Her onyx hair tumbled down like a waterfall, but my eyes were fixated on her rosy lips, which commanded attention.

My throat reflexively tightened, and I swallowed my rising emotions, until finally, our eyes locked—her lapis lazulis gazing into mine.

Swiftly, I sat up. "Svetlana? What are you doing here?" I asked, desperately trying to avert my gaze from her lips or the mesmerizing mole adorning her chin.

With a gentle and soft smile, she replied, "I was nearby, when I heard an explosion."

Feeling embarrassed, I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "Uh, I am sorry. I was just... experimenting with something." As I spoke, I couldn't help but notice her dress.

She was adorned in a knee-length chiffon frock of a rich shade of midnight blue.

Every graceful movement she made brought the dress to life.

And as she sat down beside me, her frock moved ever so slightly, revealing a golden thigh ornament encircling her left thigh.

!!!

My pupils dilated and I immediately closed my eyes, tilting my head towards the heavens.

But it proved unnecessary as she immediately fixed her frock.

"No need to apologize. What were you doing, though? I'm curious," she asked, her melodious voice entering me.

'Why is she sitting so close to me?!'

Hiding my true emotions, I extended my palm and showed her, "I was doing this"—??????????! ??????????!

Immediately, two fireballs were sent from the materialized [Bindrune of Fire].

But before they could explode in the sky, Svetlana stretched her hand towards the sky, and two hazel orbs of light flew at supersonic speed, swiftly canceling them from view.

"Wow! What was that?" I asked, genuinely impressed. "I've never seen magic like that before."

She giggled before replying, "It's just 'wind magic', silly! What's with that overly dramatic expression?"

"Wind magic? I seriously have never heard or seen anyone use wind magic like that. Blasting with wind is not ...very common."

"They don't?" Svetlana asked, confusion etching her face.

"Of course they don't! It's a simple fact?"

She gently caressed her ear before replying, "Well, I wouldn't know. I have rarely been to the outside world."

"Ah..." I gasped, finally understanding her situation.

"If you've never been to the outside world, what about academics?"

"Mama teaches me magic, and I am mostly homeschooled," Svetlana started, her voice filled with a tinge of sadness. "I have never had the chance to go outside, play in parks, go to movie theaters, have friends, attend an academy, or explore dungeons. Due to my illness, I mostly stayed in bed."

Her words blended with my memories, bringing forth a certain conversation to resurface in my mind.

-"So, Noah you never go outside?"

-"Nope. Maybe sometimes, but am mostly sick, so I... just stay in bed. I guess I never had the chance to enjoy life?"

"Noah?"—Svetlana's voice jolted me back to the present.

I looked into her eyes, and a sense of sadness began to emerge within me.

I could somewhat empathize with her.

"Sorry, I just remembered something there," I quickly changed the topic.

"So now that you're cured, aren't you going to explore the world? You know, enjoy life and pursue all the things you couldn't before. Don't you have a bucket list?"

'I know, I did. But...'—I dismissed the poignant memories which were trying to resurface.

"Mm... maybe I want to enjoy youth? Perhaps join an academy?" she pondered.

We continued talking for a few more minutes, and the conversation eventually turned to the Arcanum Blades Academy.

To my surprise, she expressed her desire to join the academy since I was also there.

I initially dismissed her claims as a joke but...could it be that?

Nah! No way! it wasn't in the novel.

***

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