The sun had barely crested the horizon when Sirius stepped once again into the clearing, now a scarred battlefield of his previous attempts.
Deep craters, gouged earth, and shattered trees marked the land like gigantic wounds. Birds avoided the place entirely. Even the wind moved cautiously, as if wary of provoking the walking calamity who trained here.
Mira stretched her arms with a groan. "Back again… I still can't feel half my ribs from yesterday."
Aria dragged her feet behind her, hair messy, eyes hollow. "If I die today, I want it on my grave: 'Killed by teaching basic spells to a mana demon.'"
Sirius turned to both girls, entirely serious. "I will do my best not to cause your deaths."
Aria blinked. "Sirius… that… that does not help."
Mira clapped her hands together to focus them. "Alright. Today's goal is simple: reduce spell time and use smaller mana amounts. We need to see how well you can manipulate the fraction you've already mastered."
Aria nodded, albeit weakly. "Yeah. Yesterday was… a nightmare. But today we're going to refine. No explosions. No cutting the sky. No giant geysers. Please."
Sirius inclined his head respectfully. "Understood."
Mira paced back and forth, tapping her chin. "Okay. Step one: Raw mana control. Step two: Water Shot. Step three: Flame Thread. Step four: Earth Spike. Step five: Combine reduced spell structure with raw control."
Aria stared at her. "You sure you want to end the day with combining spells? Are you insane?"
Mira shrugged. "If he's going to train and protect the villagers soon, we need to know if he can use weak, non-lethal spells. We don't want him teaching kids how to vaporize mountains."
"Fair point," Aria admitted reluctantly.
Sirius stood in the center of the clearing, ready.
Mira gestured. "Begin with raw mana."
Sirius raised his palm.
His mana stirred.
Mira and Aria braced themselves instinctively.
A small, stable spark of mana appeared.
Just a spark.
No wind trembling and no trees bending in fear.
Mira exhaled slowly. "Good. Very good. Hold that."
Aria crouched beside him. "We need to practice speed. Form the spark again—faster this time. But no larger."
Sirius nodded.
The spark vanished.
Reappeared instantly.
Mira blinked. "That was fast."
"Again," Aria said.
It appeared faster.
Then again.
Faster still.
Soon, Sirius was generating stable raw mana sparks in rapid succession, each as small and contained as required.
Mira smiled. "You've already improved."
Sirius lowered his hand. "The small amount is easier now. My body adjusts."
Aria rubbed her temples. "Why are you learning at a speed that makes teachers useless…?"
"Next," Mira said. "Aria, guide him."
Aria groaned, but stepped forward. "Okay… Water Shot. Small. Very small. The target is that stump. Try not to send the stump into orbit."
Sirius nodded, lifted his hand, and shaped the water mass.
A half-foot water sphere formed.
Then compressed it.
Aria screamed right on cue, "SMALLER!"
He immediately adjusted.
The water sphere shrank.
Ping pong size.
Then he overcorrected and made it too small, barely a drop.
Mira's eyes widened. "That's… that's actually perfect."
Sirius stabilized it.
No shaking or rumbling.
Aria swallowed. "Shoot it. Slowly."
Sirius flicked it forward.
It zipped across the clearing. Not like a cannon. But more like… a fast stone skipping over a lake.
Thwip!
It hit the stump, making a small dent, nothing more.
Aria fell to her knees, crying in relief. "He did it… HE DID IT—HE DIDN'T DESTROY ANYTHING!"
Mira covered her mouth. "Sirius, you… you actually made Water Shot non-lethal."
Sirius tilted his skull. "I followed instructions."
"YOU FINALLY FOLLOWED THEM RIGHT!" Aria cheered.
"Next," Mira said, "Flame Thread."
Aria flinched. "Please, please don't melt the clouds again…"
Sirius summoned a flame.
A small spark.
He compressed it.
A tiny, flickering strand of flame danced across his fingertip.
Aria slowly peeked between her fingers. "Is it… is it burning the air?"
"No," Sirius answered. "It is stable."
"Shoot it."
Sirius flicked it.
A tiny string of fire drifted lazily forward, and tapped a tree branch.
The branch smoked slightly.
Aria stared at it, jaw hanging open.
"That… THAT is how Flame Thread is supposed to work!"
Mira beamed. "Sirius! That was perfect!"
Sirius bowed slightly. "Your teachings are effective."
Aria puffed up. "Of course they are. I'm amazing."
"Earth magic next," Mira said.
Aria looked nervous. "This is the one I fear the most…"
Sirius placed his hand on the ground.
Previously, he had created building-sized pillars.
This time, a small, blunt spike formed.
It rose from the ground slowly, patiently and harmlessly.
Only knee-high.
Aria blinked. "That's… that's a training spike… That's EXACTLY how it should be…"
Mira tugged on it, testing its stability. "Look at this! Sturdy, safe, grounded… Sirius, you've done it!"
Sirius withdrew his hand. "It appears reducing mana input is now manageable."
"And SAFE," Aria added quickly.
Now that the spells were small and contained, Mira clapped her hands. "Time for speed drills!"
Sirius blinked. "Speed?"
"Yes," Aria said. "You need to cast these spells FAST. In battle, if you take too long preparing a spell, you die."
"Or explode," Mira added.
"Or explode," Aria echoed.
Sirius nodded.
The drills began.
Water Shot took two seconds.
Raw mana spark was instant.
Flame Thread was just one second.
Earth Spike which was slower, consumed three seconds.
Not fast enough according to Sirius.
"Again!"
They drilled.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Sweat dripped from Aria's brow. "Faster!"
Mira shouted, "Too much mana, reduce it!"
Sirius adjusted relentlessly.
Aria slumped to the ground. "He's… he's a prodigy…"
Mira laughed. "Prodigy? He's a monster."
Sirius stood silently, considering the results. His bones thrummed with mana, but he kept it tightly sealed.
"Next," Aria gasped, "we test tiny mana manipulation while casting."
This was the hardest exercise yet.
He had to use only the fraction he mastered yesterday, but while layering a spell structure on top of it.
"Okay," Aria said, voice shaking, "try combining the stable mana fraction with Water Shot. But don't make the water shot bigger. Keep it the exact same size."
Sirius obeyed and as he gathered his mana and controlled it, it appeared.
A gentle Water Shot.
It hit the stump softly and splashed without destruction.
Mira froze. "Sirius… you…"
Aria mumbled, "No… no… I refuse to believe this…"
Sirius looked down at her. "Is this incorrect?"
Aria shook her head. "No! It's perfect! You just cast a stable Water Shot using a controlled manna drop. THIS is what we needed!"
He repeated the process with Flame Thread and Earth Spike.
Both were perfect. They were small, safe, and controlled.
Aria collapsed backward, staring at the sky. "He… he really did it."
Mira sat beside her. "He finally has training-level spells."
Sirius looked at his hands.
The destructive force from yesterday…
The chaos and the crater.
He had subdued them. At least for now.
He clenched his fingers.
"I can fight safely," he whispered. "I can protect the village."
Aria pulled herself up and pat his arm. "You're ready for the next step."
"What is that?" Sirius asked.
Mira smirked.
"Spell combinations."
A thrill ran through Sirius's bones. There were new techniques, structures, and new power.
But this time, Power he could control.