Mornings were never kind to me. The entire concept of the early bird never encouraged me enough to want to tear ass out of bed at the crack of dawn and start the day. The same can't be said for Alice, however. Her enthusiasm woke me, urging me to get dressed and meet with Gianni for training. Sadly, I don't think I'm ever going to get used to having her inside my head; her every emotion combating with mine. It was strange.
I crawled out of bed with a whine and retrieved the basin on the chair, taking it downstairs; a routine Alice stuck to. Lucia was in the kitchen cutting up potatoes and carrots as I walked into the living room. Her bright eyes widened in surprise upon seeing me.
"Early to rise, are we?" She asked.
I nodded.
"Master Gianni agreed to teach me magic."
Lucia hummed.
"Did he now? He never struck me as the teaching type."
"I may have annoyed him enough about it," I said with a laugh.
Lucia snorted.
"You have always been rather persistent," she mentioned. "But what reason do you want to learn magic now?"
I can't tell her the truth; that I'm not Alice. She'd never believe me.
"Someday, when I'm older, I want to travel," I answered.
It was the truth; only I had no plans to come back.
Lucia narrowed her eyes and sat down her knife.
"I wasn't aware how interested you were to travel, dear."
Was she worried about me? Alice had been with her since birth. It made sense for her to have an attachment to Alice.
I smiled.
"Not right now, though. I'd miss you too much."
Alice would; I knew so.
Lucia narrowed her eyes and smiled.
"Come now dear, you're going to make an old woman cry," she uttered. "Let me get you some water to wash your face with."
Walking around the table, she took the basin from me and filled it with water from the pot over the fireplace.
"Go and get dressed while the water cools. Your clothes are on the line outside," Lucia ordered.
I thanked her and rushed outside to the line. The sun was coming up over the horizon, barely awake, but a few people were roaming around, setting up their kiosks for the travelers.
I learned that Gondolia was a port city that made its gold – the currency in Erdrea – by trading everything from fish to wares to explorers who passed through. There was a lot of history here to learn; I was eager to hear it, but not at the moment. I picked out an outfit; a pair of trousers and an olive-colored shirt, then went back inside to wash my face and get dressed.
"I'm heading out," I announced once I was done.
"Don't forget to put on your shoes. I better not see you without them after what happened yesterday," Lucia reminded me.
Of course. I slid on a pair near the door, then rushed out into the street. According to Alice's memories, Gianni lived in a shop with a sign that read DeLuca on it. I located it a house down from the orphanage; a large shop with a wooden stall that a familiar slime rested on.
"Good morning, Tempest," I greeted him.
He bounced with glee.
"Is Gianni home?" I asked with a laugh.
Tempest leaped from the stall and bounced through a wooden door into the shop. I took that as a yes. Following him into the main room, the scent of earth and flowers permeated my nose. What sort of wares did Gianni sell? There were stands lined along the brick walls covered with strange items that I had never seen before, and barrels loaded with wooden swords and axes. It reminded me of an old country store; it smelled like one too.
I picked up a soft, fluffy staple fiber, admiring its rainbow-colored threads. Was it cotton? I had never seen anything like it before.
"Master Gianni," I shouted. "What is this?"
A door opened near me, and a familiar mage walked out into the room.
"You're earlier than I expected," the said man stated. "And to answer your question, that is Faerie Fluff."
What an unusual name.
"How did you get it?" I asked.
Gianni walked over and took the fiber from me, spinning the stem between his finger and thumb.
"I obtained it from a Gnawchid; a nature beast. This one material can be used to craft clothing and costs 250 gold, so be careful not to destroy it."
I shot him a glare. I'm more responsible than that. On another note, it was interesting to learn that monsters could be farmed for materials. Maybe I could even learn to craft items.
"So, you are a greedy merchant, and a mage," I stated.
Gianni grunted.
"I'm resourceful is all."
Tempest rammed into his side, urging a groan of discomfort from the mage.
"Knock that off," Gianni snapped.
Tempest recoiled and jumped into my arms. Poor darling. I nuzzled him.
"He likes you," Gianni mentioned with a grin. "Most slimes are afraid of humans, but some have been known to attack humans weaker than them."
"But I'm not a bad slime," Tempest stated with a slurp.
Did he just speak? My eyes grew wide in disbelief. I don't recall him talking in Alice's memories.
"Interesting," Gianni hummed. "Very well then, come along. We've wasted enough time."
He walked back through the door he came out of, leaving it open in his wake. Tempest leaped from my arms as I followed Gianni into another room as open as the last. This one was mostly empty except for some straw figures tied to pikes in the ground. What were they used for? Perhaps a training room.
"Do you know the fundamentals of mana control?" Gianni asked.
Hard no. I shook my head.
"I thought so," he confirmed with a sigh. "Every creature and human have mana. It is an intentional force used to cast spells."
Okay.
"But there is a limit to how much mana a being can use," Gianni continued to explain. "For instance, you are new to magic, so your output is only at 2%. A common slime could beat you."
How reassuring. I understood though. No mana meant no magic. It was like a fantasy RPG.
"Is there a way for me to recharge it?" I asked.
"Only rest can replenish mana," Gianni answered.
Damn. That was a problem. In Erdrea, there were no potions to restore mana points; health points too I imagined. I'd be a sitting duck out there.
"Has your enthusiasm deterred?" Gianni asked.
"No," I uttered. "I still want to learn, but now I believe magic alone will not be enough."
I needed to learn to fight or at least defend myself.
"Of course not," Gianni laughed. "But I see that you are serious about leaving Gondolia one day."
I was.
"I understand the feeling, Alice. I too wanted to see the world once," Gianni mentioned.
He whistled twice and Tempest peeked into the room.
"A dagger please, my old friend."
The slime disappeared for a moment, then returned, bouncing into the room. He spat a wooden dagger out onto the floor, watching me with hopeful eyes as I picked it up.
"Do your best," Tempest cheered.
Do my best at what? I had no idea what I was meant to do with it.
"Let's not act hastily," Gianni uttered. "You have yet to cast a spell. Face the targets."
I sat the dagger down and turned towards the straw figures. There were three of them, so I chose the one on the far right to focus on. But what was I meant to do?
"How do I cast magic?"
"Start at the beginning," Gianni answered. "Raise your hands and envision fire. Once you have that in mind, form it into an orb and project it at one of the targets."
Okay. One fireball coming up.
I closed my eyes and raised my hands, envisioning fire as I was instructed. It sounded easy enough. But nothing happened. Was I doing it right?
"Why is it not working?" I asked, peeking open an eye.
Gianni snorted.
"It's not about just seeing the fire, Alice. You have to feel it too; understand its fundamentals."
I knew casting spells was not going to be a cakewalk. Once again then. I pictured an open flame, dancing madly in my mind. Something about it drew me to it as I understood it. What was fire, but a reaction in which substances combined and combusted? It was straightforward. But was that enough?
You have to feel it too, I recalled Gianni saying.
Damn. What did fire feel like?
The closest memory I had was the time I burned myself attempting to smoke a cigarette to impress some high school boy I barely knew. The cherry fell off when I flicked the ashes and burned through my pants, leaving a mark on my thigh in the process. It was embarrassing and hurt like hell. But I could never forget it. The slightest contact produced an instant, blinding pain.
A sudden heat surrounded my hands. Good. I formed the flame into an orb and imagined it being emitted from me. Opening my eyes, a fireball no bigger than grapefruit appeared from thin air and shot towards the target, missing by a few inches. Luckily it vanished before catching anything else on fire.
I did it, but damn, my aim was terrible.
A wave of exhaustion consumed me, and I leaned down panting. Where did it come from? The feeling was so sudden.
"It's just as I thought," Gianni mentioned. "Your mana is only good for one spell."
I shot a glare at him. Next time I'll aim at him.
"It's expected, Alice. You have a low mana output, but training will increase it," Gianni explained. "We will discuss more on it once you are rested. Take a second to catch your breath, then take up the dagger. Let me see how well you can fare against an old man."
Was he serious? He wanted me to spar with him. I took an uneasy breath and retrieved the dagger, holding it in my hand. For some reason, I had a bad feeling about this, but I lunged at him regardless, going for a direct strike. But as I expected, Gianni deflected my arm and used my momentum to throw me to the ground with an oomph.
Damn that hurt. I groaned in pain.
"Try again," Gianni ordered.
I snorted in annoyance and got up, putting some distance between us. Again, I tried and again I was thrown to the ground.
"Again," he ordered.
For the next few minutes, I tried to reach him, but over and over he tossed me to the ground, sometimes going so far as to taunt me for failing. I had enough. I was exhausted and sore; there was no way I could beat Gianni. He had to have known.
"I'm done," I declared, sitting up on my knees.
Gianni hummed.
"Are you giving up already?"
Did he have to phrase it like that?
"I just need to rest. I can't beat you," I answered.
"Do you think monsters will allow you to rest? The answer is no. You may be lucky enough to escape, but what if you aren't? And how do you expect to land a hit if you keep coming at me the same way over and over?"
Gianni had a point. I barely knew how to hold a dagger. What was I even doing?
"Show me," I ordered.
He grinned. Taking the dagger from me, he positioned it in his hand the correct way, demonstrating a slash with it.
"You are young and mobile, Alice. You should have no problem catching me off guard."
But Gianni was experienced. I had no real ––
No. I couldn't think like that. Taking the dagger from him, I positioned it in my hand and put some distance between us. There was no time for excuses. I lunged at him, faking a direct strike, but at the last second, I darted to the right and spun around him, aiming for his back. But all at once, Gianni beat me to the punch. His reflexes caught me off guard, striking me with the back of his hand. For an old man, he was fast.
It was strange, but I knew that I would fail again. I let myself get too riled up, thinking I could win. The adrenaline was intoxicating. I hit the ground with a thud and lay there in defeat.
"How do you feel?" Gianni asked.
"Like a failure," I sobbed.
How did he think I'd feel?
"Not to me," he mentioned. "I saw an improvement."
I widened my eyes. He was right. There wasn't much of one, but it was much better than before. The characters in an RPG leveled up through experience; they didn't start at cap out. In order to get stronger, I needed to level grind.
"I want to try again," I stated.
Gianni grinned.
"I am happy to see that this was not a wasted effort. But perhaps you should rest. I am going to start your real training tomorrow. From now on you come here bright and early every day and practice until you can bring me some Faerie Fluff from a Gnawchid."
I nodded in understanding, wiping the tears from my eyes.
Mornings were never kind to me, but for Ann's sake, I will bare them.
For the next nine years, I boosted my mana output and trained like mad crazy. There was still much for me to learn, but Alice and I were ready to brave whatever storm Erdrea had to throw at us.
If only we knew the danger that loomed over the horizon.