To activate Compound Magic, you must apply mana to magic. Activating it together with Marie was fine, but I wanted to be able to do it myself. My idea was that at the same moment I ejected mana from my right hand, I could also cast mana from another part of my body.
Let’s say I have a hundred points of mana. I could emit sixty from my hand, leaving forty remaining in my body. What if I could emit that other forty from somewhere else?
Turns out the answer was yes, kind of. It was difficult to focus my attention on both my right and left hands, but I eventually figured it out. I had other experiments I wanted to work on, but discovering Compound Magic had me excited. Once I became better at simultaneous casting, then I’d be able to really start trying out Compound Magic.
Meanwhile, Graste dropped by to announce that all Electerns and Sparkers had sold out. This was quicker than I expected. He asked me to help him make more. It’d basically be like a part-time job for me.
I solely practiced my magic for a few days, then began working in Graste’s store. My new schedule consisted mainly of helping him with the forging, with my training done in my spare time. I spent my time in that new way of life until, before I knew it, I had turned eight years old.
Now, I was practicing my magic control in my room at home. I tried it out, casting mana from my right and my left hands simultaneously.
“Phew,” I sighed. “Guess I’ve pretty much managed it.”
From my right hand, I cast an orb about the size of a soccer ball. That took up sixty mana points. Then, from my left hand, I cast mana the size of a baseball. That was probably twenty to thirty mana points. This was about as much as Marie could cast. I managed to cast them at nearly the exact same time.
“Now I’ll finally be able to make new discoveries with Compound Magic! Hee hee, ha ha!” I chuckled to myself.
The corners of my mouth involuntarily twitched, letting out maniacal cackles. All right, calm down, me. I couldn’t get too excited yet. I had experiments to do.
With that, I headed downstairs, ready to begin. I paused to listen to the loud sounds coming from outside. It sounded like hooves. Were we expecting a visitor?
I went to the living room. From there, I saw Graste open the door open and enter. I’d spent enough time with him lately that he was a familiar sight at this point.
Graste spoke with Dad. We made eye contact, and I nodded as Graste raised his hand.
“Hi, Mr. Graste,” I said. “You’re not at your forge today?”
“Hey there, Shion. Nope, I’ve got some other stuff to take care of today.” Graste grinned and lifted up his bag. He took something out of it and showed it to me. “It’s what I promised you. Here ya go.”
Oh! It’s finally here! The item I ordered from Graste!
I took a small pair of gloves into my hand. They felt lighter than I expected. They were made of smooth leather with metal plates lining the back of the hand, joints, fingertips, and palm. They looked extremely tough.
“Introducing: the world’s first magic tool! As you requested, I took high quality mica strips and a tough, fire-resistant leather and sewed them together,” explained Graste with a self-satisfied look. “There’s Elecsteel woven into the palm. It’s connected with copper and silver, which’ll stop the electric charge. The back of the hands are lined with a pure, high-quality steel. That’ll make it so it also protects your hands in a pinch. The fingers are a top-of-the-line flint. You can start a fire with the snap of your fingers. All this, plus it’s tough, and it’ll last you for years.”
This was the real deal. I understood why he was proud of it. Meanwhile, Dad stood behind Graste with a resigned expression on his face. I had already explained exactly what I’d requested with the caveat that it was pivotal to future research. Since this favor was well within the bounds of reason given what I’d done for him before, it was a fair trade.
The gloves were perfect. The only problem I could see would be needed size adjustments as I grew bigger. I decided to call the gloves “Spark Gauntlets.”
I slipped them on and flexed my fingers. They were unexpectedly light and flexible. It was an amazing piece of work. They even had subtle ornamentation. They gave off an air of craftsmanship and expertise.
“This is amazing,” I said. “I never expected something this…this amazing.”
“I appreciate the praise, but let’s see the sucker in action already.” Graste chuckled.
I nodded. “Let’s go outside.”
“I’ve been dying to see this so-called lightning magic. I can’t wait,” Dad said.
I hadn’t shown Compound Magic yet to Mom or Dad. Not even Marie had seen it, since I happened to have only finally perfected my control over the technique today. I’d been practicing for over a month straight, progressing at a turtle’s pace. During that time, I mulled over how to apply it. Today, it felt like everything was coming together.
I can’t wait, I thought. I was so elated I could’ve started skipping.
“Uh oh,” Dad said. “Shion’s in his evil chuckle mode.”
Mom laughed. “That’s how we know something big’s going to happen! Is something going to go wrong?”
“I-it’s gonna be fine!” Marie exclaimed. “Probably!”
My family sounded a little bit concerned, but I certainly wasn’t.
There was a knock on the door. I opened it to find it was Rose. She must have had the day off.
“Oh, hello. You’re all together today, I see.”
“Yep,” I said, “and you are just in time for another powerful magic demonstration! Come join us, Rose!”
She giggled. “Very well, then. I shall.”
We all moved into the middle of the garden. I faced away from the house and held up my hand. I decided to start with something simple. I gathered mana in my right hand. Then I quickly rubbed my thumb and middle finger together. A clean snap announced a shower of sparks, setting fire to my mana. I had focused a specific command in my head: “Release mana into my palm and stay there.” When I snapped, a blue flame was born into the palm of my hand.
The Spark Gauntlet was resistant to both fire and electricity. I couldn’t touch either for long, but I was safe. So, now I could activate fire and lightning magic with my own body. Being able to make Flare with my hand was a huge step forward.
Behind me, I heard a chorus of impressed shouts. They sounded genuinely happy for me. My family and Rose had supported me this whole time, and Graste was an active participant in crafting this magic tool.
I held my hand forward and shot out the flame. This elicited no reaction from the crowd as it was an old trick, or so they thought! I quickly shot mana out from my left hand, and sent it shooting towards the blue flame that wobbled through the air.