I have no idea what I was missing to gain possession of the rare and powerful magic of metal. As evidenced by the number of tentacles I could create from sand, my control was excellent: I could control the grains of sand perfectly, if not flawlessly. But Metal Magic was still out of reach. There was only one ability that could have helped me in some way, but I never mastered it to perfection: seismosensitivity.I possessed its weakest form — I could sense the vibrations of the earth, but I couldn't understand where they were coming from. I knew that someone might be standing nearby, but I couldn't tell how many people there were. In the cave, I mastered this ability so that I could tell when someone was digging nearby. Without a teacher, however, I only managed to understand the basics necessary for survival, and books don't write about such things — it's unlikely that Tof would deign to put his thoughts on paper... and he wouldn't be able to. This ability would definitely allow me to feel metal more clearly, all its impurities and details.
I had to ignore so much material for practice and wander between the houses in the camp to try to find something important while my fame spread among the people of Earth. I looked for everything from strategic data and reports that could be useful to the Earth's army to food. Afka helped, greedily licking the scrolls of the Fire People, as if she wanted to drag everything here to the library. Not surprisingly, all of this data, without exception, was lost.
"Give me the map. If you're a spirit, is it so difficult to go and steal some strange books from the Land of Fire? - I pulled at the rolled-up parchment, trying to pull it out of the fox's greedy mouth.
"R-r-r...
"How evil we are, but what excuse do you have? Ha, you're caught! - Taking a small lump of sand, I threw it into her mouth, towards the scroll. Afka immediately began to cough and spit, releasing the map, which I calmly unfolded above my head. It was a map of the territories around Omasu, with my current location, the city, and various garrisons of Fire. It was useful... It would have been logical to get a choice from Anubis on what to do with it, but nothing like that appeared. Usually that means one thing: I can do whatever I want. "We could wait and deal with the garrisons while rumours about me start spreading. That would make it easier to get to Omasha, don't you think?
Lowering my gaze, I realised that the fox was no longer there. She was walking around the house, gathering books into a pile. As soon as our eyes met, she froze and looked away. I had to make an excuse, helping her pack the books into a bag for easy carrying. Since the people of Fire had no entertainment other than the works of their compatriots, the fox had to think carefully about which book to take, because it was difficult to carry everything away. The military books described the history of various generals' military campaigns, with minimal description of the technology used on different fronts, and there were also many books on fire magic. Surely, in such an ideological country, everyone wanted to master it.
According to the books, the fundamental difference between fire magic and other types of magic was the ability to create fire independently, using one's own qi and successfully drawing energy outwards. Water magicians, on the other hand, know how to work with the qi inside the body. Considering that I am quite successful at imitating water magicians, I decided, after reading the works of fire magicians, to try to repeat the techniques for releasing it, just for fun.
"Fire definitely won't work, but maybe something else? - I repeated a few movements, looking at the stone and sand next to me," - Huh?
And the effect was completely unexpected. The hand movements had no effect, nothing happened. But when I repeated a couple of movements with my feet, standing firmly on the ground, the stone turned into sand, and the sand turned into stone, creating a simple transformation technique that I had been honing all this time.
Qi should have been released from the body for this to happen, but I didn't feel it. Probably because of my weak connection with it. How interesting.
***
In order not to return the camp to the enemy, I threw stones at it. The mountains not far from it allowed me to conduct so-called "power" training, throwing stones at a distance. I managed to make serious dents, if not holes, in most of the houses, roads, and walls. Unfortunately, that was all I could do without full metal magic. Therefore, in order not to limit myself to half-measures, I went for a short run and began to calculate the garrisons of fire mages, thereby adding to the rumours about myself. I even had to wear a mask and hood again, as this image was easier to remember.
Troops of varying sizes usually sat in well-observed and protected places so they could keep a close eye on their surroundings. They had catapults and animals for quick movement, and dealing with them and making them run was much easier than with an entire camp, as the catapults were completely useless at close range.
My travels took several days while Afki was away. But by the time I attacked any of the camps while training, people began to recognise and fear me:
"Run, it's that sand mage!" the warriors shouted when they saw grains of sand rising from the ground. The exhausted soldiers watched in horror as I walked towards them with bare, dirty heels. The earth trembled, pebbles rose up without even a wave of my hand, turning into sand as I continued to experiment with releasing chi through my feet. The movements of the fire mages made it easier to twist the earth and manipulate single layers of matter. I never thought that making a stone out of sand would be so much easier, although it seems logical — direct contact with the earth is the basis of earth magic. But only the movements of the fire mages allow you to pour chi correctly in abundant streams.
Whether this qi carried any particular connotation could only be understood with greater skill, but the trend was interesting: with enough desire, all the styles of other mages could be adapted. I adapted by participating in battles with fire mages, learning their movements in real life. But when all the enemies were gone and there were no garrisons left...
"I'm floundering like a moth in a swamp. More details will become clear directly from the lessons of the water tribe masters, they are better at sensing qi than the rest," - it is very difficult to progress without lessons. But maybe it wasn't worth it yet, after all, there was something in Omashu that would surely take up all my attention," - Shall we go? Let's find out the secret of the abrasive.
Afka, who was still sulking at me, pricked up her ears and, shifting slightly from paw to paw, followed me. Overcoming the peaks of the secret passages of the fire warriors, we found ourselves on a giant rock, which offered a monstrous view of a network of mountains, in the centre of which, very much resembling these very mountains, was Omashu. Its ideal location protected it from invasion from the side; it could only be attacked with catapults. A single wide path led forward, wide enough for a cart to pass through, but a platoon of soldiers would have to crowd together uncomfortably.
"This is what we need to build using earth magic," I said enthusiastically. Afka was also delighted, giving herself away with her wagging tail. Moving forward, stepping onto the suspension bridge, I quickened my pace, turning the sand beneath my feet into stone. When I got closer, I realised that the city was not completely isolated. Guards were inspecting the people lined up in a queue and then letting them inside.
Some were turned away.
"Next time I'll definitely get in," said an old man disappointedly as he walked away. When it was my turn, everyone looked at the sullen guy in a hood and mask with the utmost suspicion. The guards pulled a couple of stones out of the ground and held them over me.
"Take off your mask. Who are you?"
"I'm one of you," I said, lowering my mask and pulling a small stream of sand out of the pumpkin. The soldiers froze for a second, studying the magic trick intently, then glanced at each other.
"Is he the one rumoured to be able to do that?
"The civilians who came in gave us a clear tip. Hey, boy... what's your name?
"Dagot," I nodded to the guards, returning the sand to the pumpkin. "I am the one you have heard about.
"An impostor!" the guards shouted sharply. "We have a description from the civilians. A sand mage, three metres tall, with muscles like rock and thousands of scars on his body from endless battles. He's a monster who managed to kill most of the enemy garrison, and this brat dares to call himself a hero?
It seems I was wrong to cause such a commotion.
"Just admit it, earth mage who learned how to control dust a little. They didn't take you into the army, so now you're pretending to be a hero?
Anubis, you cursed dog, why didn't you tell me it would turn out like this?
"In any case, go through. The real Sand Mage has cleared out all the filth, you should be grateful, because of him all civilians, especially earth mages, can enter the city," he spat contemptuously on the floor and ordered the gates to be opened. I can't imagine what was going through their heads or what logic they were following... but I accepted it with gratitude. Taking a couple of steps forward, I turned back strangely.
"And why did they chase the old man away?
"The cabbage isn't fresh.
***
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