Garden Of The Abyss

--Eleven Months until Purgatory--

--That's how I found myself in the position I'm in now. After last month's agreement with Beatrice, I've been working twice as hard to improve myself.

"So you want to learn the inner workings of magic, do you? You've come to the right place. If Sora tried teaching you magic, you might find yourself six feet under through his idiocy."

The man standing in front of the chalkboard adjusted his glasses, his sharp gaze fixating on Ren. He was the Outlander he was least acquainted with out of the ones he had met so far--"Donatien". Through Beatrice's recommendation, or rather, her orders for him to be prepared for the Purgatory Trial--Donatien accepted the role as his mentor when it came to the concept of magic.

The classroom itself, built by Beatrice's scarily accurate magic, resembled a modern day classroom, only lacking modern day technology.

"So, you said your affinity was dark, correct?"

"That's right."

"A fine affinity, one that comes with a wide arsenal, a beautiful scope of versatility, however," Donatien paused, "do you know if that is your only affinity?"

That question struck something within Ren, opening his eyes to a possibility he never considered. Donatien grabbed a piece of chalk before he began to swiftly draw up a batch of words on the board--"The Theory of Magic".

"My only affinity…? I never really thought about that."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up. Upon entering this world, we're blessed with talent surpassing even noble lineages, but having multiple affinities is rare even amongst us."

Donatien removed his round-rimmed glasses for a moment, wiping the lenses with the handkerchief from his breast pocket. As he set his glasses back on his fair face, the color in his hazel irises returned. Ren was confused by the random action before he saw the man focusing his gaze, holding his hand out.

The still air began to move, shifting from a subtle warmth into a chilling frost as a clear crystal formed in front of Donatien's extended hand.

"Eis--this is my magical affinity, the power to conjure and manipulate ice."

Just a clench of his hand caused the shard of ice to shatter into small particles, allowing the air to settle back into the previous warmth.

"Woah…that's amazing! Wait, I thought the only affinities were the four natural elements and dark-light?"

"--An affinity such as my ice is categorized as a "sub-affinity", which just means it derives from another of the main elements."

Donatien averted his gaze, shakily adjusting his beloved ocular lenses. It was clear as day that the grown man was blushing, it seemed compliments went to his head pretty easily.

"Even if you did possess another affinity, it may not make itself known for quite some time. That, and the fact that dark was the aspect that came to you first means it will be your primary element."

The slender teacher explained, tapping the chalk against the board.

--He didn't even write anything else down, I think he just likes acting like a teacher.

"What about "innate abilities"?"

Ren asked, catching Donatien off-guard with the sudden question. It left the professor of magecraft to a moment of pondering, staring intently at the wall before shifting his sight back to his student.

"That is a topic for another day...but I suppose I can part my curious student with some information."

Donatien turned his back to the young man as he wrote down the term on the board, effortlessly gliding the chalk across the canvas as if it was a work of art.

"Innate abilities are a very rare form of magic in Gaia. To say it is rare would be underselling it--it is seldom seen even among prestigious noble bloodlines. These abilities work on a different theory than normal magic, usually bypassing the cost of magical energy entirely and working by their own, unique rules. Each of these abilities are unique to the user, and that makes battles that much more dangerous--the level of unpredictability that comes into play can spell death if you aren't cautious."

As much as he loved magic and the idea of flinging it around like the all-powerful main character he knew he was destined to be, Donatien's lessons were excruciating to sit through. As a jobless, high-school dropout--his mind wasn't ready to be overloaded with such dull teachings, so what came was inevitable.

"Wake up--!"

"Gah!"

Ren yelled out, feeling the impact of a solid, heavy object crash against his skull. The scornful, razor-sharp look in his magic mentor's eyes was enough to acclimate him to the situation.

"Sorry…"

Ren chuckled nervously, running his palm over his aching head. If he didn't know any better, he would've guessed a hit like that wouldn't dented his head in a bit.

"Such a shame. You've been in this world for what, three months? And you've already grown bored of its mysticism."

"That's not it…"

"Then what is it?"

Donatien asked, an awkward silence filled the scarcely-populated classroom as the man awaited his answer. The reason was something like, "Your teaching is more boring than watching paint dry!", but knowing Donatien's snappy attitude--

"Nevermind...I just didn't get much sleep."

He chose to lie. The threat of that thick book being slammed against his head again was enough to deter any inkling of truthfulness he held.

--Sometimes lying is good! Some philosopher said that right? If it benefits the people, then lying is fine--and this is saving me from getting another book to my head.

"As I was saying...to put it simply, in terms you will understand--most practitioners of magic in this world fall under the category of being "spellblades", focusing on both physical and magical skill sets. In essence, the general consensus is putting all of your stock in just flinging spells comes with diminishing returns."

"So you're saying the stereotypical mage with a long, white beard and pointy hat doesn't exist in this world?"

"I'm only saying it isn't common. Those who devote their entire being to just the theory of magic tend to be those with an extremely high-aptitude for magic. Which brings me to the next section--the different forms of spellcasting."

Donatien announced, jabbing his chalk against the board.

--Did he realize he was being dreadfully slow before? He's flying through this lesson.

"Tell me, Ren, during your time at the Althaus estate, did you attempt to use magic?"

"Yeah, I did...how did you know?"

"Your mana flow is scrambled."

"Huh?"

"It is a common issue with mentorless people, attempting to learn and use magic without the guidance of a mage. If you don't know what you're doing, you could end up disrupting your mana flow. To put it simply, imagine your mana as a flowing river, then when you attempted to cast a spell, you placed a blockade in that river. In essence, you've halted your flow of mana."

He looked down at his palms, clenching them shut before looking back up at Donatien.

"I don't get it--I'm able to use reinforcement though."

"Reinforcement is simply changing the properties of your magical energy, casting a spell is an entirely different beast. Give me your arm."

"Eh? Alright…"

Ren raised his arm as Donatien approached him, watching as the man rolled his sleeve up. The glasses-wearing man ran his finger-tips over his forearm, inspecting the young man's arm closely before a sharp jolt travelled through his arm.

"Ah--! What the hell?"

"I've adjusted your mana flow, I corrected it by sending a portion of mine through your flow."

Clenching his fist a few times, he did notice a difference. It was that same feeling after you got after a day of eating healthy, as if his body had shed the skin of his previous weaker self.

"Now, enough distractions--back to the topic at hand, "spell casting". The most common, easy to learn method is via "Incantations". I'm sure you're well aware of the concept."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure anyone from Earth would be."

"Anyways, there are different stages of incantations. As you may have noticed, it is common for mages to parodize spells with short, simple calls such as "Eis Glace". Short incantations like that are simple and efficient, but they yield less potent magecraft."

He raised an eyebrow as he watched the teacher fling words around, noticing the lack of effect when the man called forward an example of spell incantations.

"Why didn't a spell form when you said that "Eis" stuff just now?"

"I didn't have any intention of casting a spell, that is the most fundamental concept, Ren. Maybe if you didn't sleep half of our lesson away, you would remember that. Moving on, there are longer chants that will conjure forth powerful magic--even without intending to use a spell, speaking such words will weave such magic into reality regardless."

"Sounds awesome, can I learn one of those chants then?"

Ren sat up in his seat, his lust for magic bubbling up inside him.

"Normally, I'd deny such a request to a beginner, but time is of the essence. It is sink or swim in this world, so with that being said--let's go outside."

"Awesome!"

He misjudged Donatien, by his initial impression he gave, he showed himself to be a snotty, intellectual who probably flooded forums, getting into internet arguments constantly during his time on Earth. In reality, he just had trouble showing his emotions--it was easy to tell he cared about the Outlanders deeply through his actions.

--I'm totally not changing my initial impressions just because he agreed to teach me some awesome magic. Definitely not. I'm not that shallow. Am I?