The next attempt burned through more mana that he liked. It wasn't as if he would pass out from mana exhaustion, but it was enough to worry him a little.
This time, the fire's usual shimmer fully connected with the thread of light. It flared up, and the mana haze caught the glow instantly. For a moment, the flames were like a mini sun. The clearing he stood in briefly looked like a white-gold blur.
[Mana: 26700/31000)]
He hissed in pain, snapping his eyes shut as fast as possible, quickly cutting off the spell.
Just like all those other times, light is massively amplified here. It will be much more effective than it would anywhere else. But I'll need to be careful, otherwise I might really lose my sight.
But it was truly successful this time. It really worked--he really did it.
Ping. A blue system popup appeared before him.
[Achievement Unlocked: Elemental Combination]
[You have successfully combined the Light and Fire elements for the first time.]
[Reward: Passive Skill]
[Description: You will now be able to add the Light element to certain spells to debuff enemies. You cannot use the element alone, but it will be easier to channel together with other spells. However, using Light will still cost more mana than your native element.]
Alright! That's exactly what I need right now! Once again, the system is making things too easy for me… I guess light needing more mana is a way to balance things out, even though theoretically it should be the same as any other element.
He rubbed his eyes, feeling both delighted and uncomfortable as he stood alone. Suddenly, he heard some rustling from farther off.
Huh? Is it a monster?
He scanned the nearby mana. Through the fog, he sensed something smaller, but still powerful. It probably wasn't a monster, but Julien quickly shifted into a battle stance just in case.
The sound grew louder, and branches snapped. Someone burst out from the forest, shaking leaves from his hair.
It was Little Julien. What's he doing here? Did he follow me?
Little Julien took a moment to compose himself, then confidently strode up to him.
"Ian! Are you alright? I saw a bright flash coming from here!" Little Julien said, looking him up and down.
"Oh, Julien. Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."
The younger boy looked at Julien quizzically. "Are you sure? You left so suddenly back there. And you've seemed off for a while," he pressed.
The [Character Guidance] has been off for quite some time now. He's probably picking up that I'm not quite being Ian right now…
He smiled gently. "Don't worry, I promise everything's good," he said, trying to do a better job of acting. "Anyway, why did you come out here?"
Little Julien looked away, seeming a little sheepish. "I followed you. Sorry about that… I just wanted to ask you a few things."
"No worries. Ask away."
"Um, so, you really can't hurt the Draconian?" Little Julien began.
Julien nodded. "That's right. It's a fire-type one. You've probably already learned about elemental immunity--it's a real double-edged sword. Since I'm a fire mage, nothing I can do will affect it. But I might be able to counter that. It's what I came out here to test, actually."
Little Julien's eyes widened in interest. "Really? How?"
Julien could practically see the cogs in his mind turning.
"I'm planning to try using an elemental combination. Light with my fire, since light's good for blinding enemies."
"Wow…" Little Julien murmured. "Isn't that supposed to be super hard? I heard that it's really difficult, even for experienced mages."
Older Julien grinned, suddenly reminded of the wonder he'd always felt when learning something new. "Wanna see? I've kind of done it. I bet I can make it brighter than your light," he said, chuckling softly.
Little Julien's face lit up with excitement. "Yeah, but there's no way you can beat me."
Julien summoned up the fire blossom from earlier. This time, he slightly increased the size of the light thread. He didn't make it too big, even controlling the light came much easier now because of his new passive skill--but he carefully wrapped the thread around the fire, and flooded it with mana, closing his eyes at the last second. He could tell from Little Julien's shocked gasp it had worked wonderfully.
"Sir," Little Julien said, suddenly serious. "I always knew you were a genius, but until now, I've never truly had the pleasure of witnessing you in action."
"Why so formal all of a sudden? Besides, you watched me fight off that Petra all by myself. Isn't that a little more impressive than this?"
Little Julien shook his head vigorously. "Well, that was super cool--but combining is literally--you just looked so…natural with light. I now have a new theory about you: you must secretly be one of those legendary ultra-rare dual-element wielders."
He's not too far off the mark there. It's probably a good thing he doesn't yet know exactly how hard this is supposed to be, and how strange it is for me to suddenly do it.
Julien shrugged, feeling the last flickers of fire dissipate from his palm. "I promise I'm not one. Controlling light is harder for me than--well, you."
Little Julien turned serious. "I can teach you more about light, if it helps."
He wants to teach me? I know far more about wielding it that he does… but it can't hurt to hear him out.
"That would be great, thank you," Julien said with a smile.
Little Julien grinned. "Well, first things first. Everyone thinks light is just… light. That all it does is blind people and look pretty. Actually… that might be 90% correct… but to really control it, you should think of it like water."
I remember memorizing that metaphor way back in first year, in elemental theory class. Everyone thought it made no sense--I was the only one who actually got what the professor was talking about, since I was the only one who could actually use light.
"Like water?" Julien echoed, watching as the boy crouched down, beginning to draw a diagram in the dirt.
"Yep. Light floats around in the air, just like water in a pond. It's always flowing, and it's not easy to control where."
Little Julien drew a circle with a few lines inside. Then, he drew lines leading outside it.
"But if you can imagine a way to force it down the path you want it to go, you can concentrate the line into one direction or area. A cha–"
"A channel," Julien said, interrupting him mid word.
Shit. Didn't mean to say that out loud.
"You know it already??" Little Julien gasped.
Julien had to scramble to think of a response. "Uh… I heard it years ago in class. It was interesting, so it stuck with me."
Little Julien sprung up from the ground, scratching out his diagram, not even noticing anything was off about the reply. "Then you probably get it! That light I saw was you, wasn't it?" He didn't wait for confirmation before raising his sword. "You're a natural. Let's practice!"
Julien agreed, and stepped back to put some space between them.
He decided to try creating a thicker rope of light. He shaped his normal mana into something else--the "words" of that theory, the ones he already knew how to say. Now, it didn't feel as natural as the fire did, but the four days of being Ian hadn't begun to shake the years of light.
From his left hand, sparkles began to gather. Then, they gathered together, forming what he wanted to. Thanks to the system's reward, it wasn't so hard. But he knew he would never have the control he once had.
"That's it," Little Julien said brightly. His own sword was glowing, more so than Julien's rope, but Julien wasn't finished yet.
No need to warn him. He's immune to light anyway, he'll be able to see through it.
In his right hand, he quickly conjured a ball of fire. For the fourth time, he brought the two elements together. Before it was like trying to put the two opposite poles of a magnet together. Now, it was the opposite.
Finally, he actively shoved more mana into both spells, increasing their power concentration. He instantly closed his eyes and then--
The two elements became one.
[New Skill Unlocked: Burning Star Marble (B-Tier, Lvl.1)]
[You have obtained a brand new unique skill thanks to your efforts.]
[Description: A small, radiant orb of flame and light. When thrown, the orb leaves a dazzling streak in its wake, and explodes on impact, blinding and burning all enemies within a 15-foot radius for 3 seconds.]
[Cost (Lvl.1):1500 Mana Points]
[Each level extends the debuff duration by 0.09 seconds and increases mana cost by 10 points.]
He read the stream of notifications in his mind. Wait, what?
He tentatively opened his eyes. Little Julien was staring at his hand with awe, where what looked like a mini sun was resting in his palm. It seemed like there had been no immediate explosion.
I got a new skill. It's a powerful one, too. Three seconds--that's a long time to be unable to see attacks. And it increases each level. If the max level for this skill is 80, like usual, then… But the mana cost is quite high, even higher than Conjuring. 1500 per shot is a lot.
While Julien couldn't look at it too long, Little Julien was examining the ball with fascination.
"So this is an elemental combination, huh… Usually, light by itself isn't hot, even though it can somewhat burn things. But this sphere is radiating heat--it's almost uncomfortable to be near for me."
Julien dispelled it with a flick of his fingers. "I probably shouldn't throw it here. Might start a forest fire."
I'm going to keep the fact it's a skill as a secret for now. If Inferno, or whoever he was before then, were to hear about Ian Mooring unlocking a new powerful skill… a dual element one, no less… he could come after me sooner than he came after Ian in my past life.
Little Julien was practically glowing in excitement. "I bet that Draconian won't stand a chance now. We've got you, me, all the instructors and fifth-years. Even if it is S-tier, we can definitely do it!"
He smiled wide, twirling around his sword and bouncing from foot to foot. "While we're out here," he began, "let's spar!"