***

I returned, we were given a contract to assassinate a certain nobody. 

It didn't work out as expected, an angel follows him and as long as she's around we can't get close. 

Regrettably we returned to palace hidden in shadow our clients domain. We entered into his throne room. His features were hidden, covered in ever changing shadow. 

"You arrived, I seen everything. You have a lot of confidence to show your faces here." 

He spoke, his voice echoed throughout the room.

We were the best assassins that anyone can turn to yet this being made of pure shadow made us tremble. One of my ten sisters spoke up.  

"You didn't inform us that he had an angel protecting him!" 

The swirling shadows that covered his body stopped. 

"Yet you had no problems killing demi gods and demons. What's changed?" 

"Nothing changed! That angel is Hera! The sword bringer! She is far above any threats we dealt with!" 

"Perhaps. Perhaps I judged you wrong." 

He extended his arm, twirling his finger. The sister that spoken her body deformed and twisted, her shrieks filled the room. We watched silently, none of us making sound but we were equally terrified. 

Her screams stopped and from her body he contorted her into a black jagged dagger. 

"With this you can now kill that angel" 

He handed over to me, I gripped it tightly. Despite it's small size it was heavier than it seems. 

We all kneel before him, before leaving. 

***

 

After a few hours I was woken up. 

Adric was lightly slapping my face.

"Wide awake bugger!"

He smiled. 

"Its your turn on night shift"

He yawned before laying down from where I slept. 

"Remember to keep you eyes open. I think Gurt is somewhere here" 

 

I left, walking near the fences of the barn, looking up at the night sky.  It's weird. When I think about its strange how I adapted quickly to this life. I looked at my dead bracelet. Once I get a power source I will no longer rely on swords and magic anymore.

Speaking of magic Kara did say that meditation is key to using magic much more easier.

Once I surely looked around and checked that there was nothing suspicious I sat outside the barn, a small lamp near me. 

How does one meditate though?

I attempted to meditate, its difficult to do when you don't even know how. 

Am I supposed to be doing it in a certain position? Am I supposed to be thinking a lot? Is there a trick to it? All these questions and no answers. 

I must've looked like weird, that's when Gurt passed by. 

"Uh sorry about that Gurt" 

He said nothing.

"I've been trying to meditate. I can't really do this thing."

I throw my hands to sky in defeat.

"Do you know how to meditate?"

He shook his head. 

"Figures" 

Maybe I should as Kara on how to meditate. She's sleeping though. I'll do it when its morning. 

Throughout the night I've been just practicing the sword while Gurt watched. 

***

"Huh? You wanna learn how to meditate?" 

Kara started to break down in laughter, her hand hits the table while eating breakfast. 

"Meditating is super easy to pick up" 

She shakes her head. 

 "You need to find a place to sit, close your eyes and breathe in for a while, clear your mind and when you mind visualize a place that's when you know you're meditating" 

"Is that true?" 

"Well it depends, people have their own ways to meditate, I like this way" 

She takes me to an open spot away from the farm. 

"This looks good." 

I sit down. 

"Breath in"

I breathe in. 

"Now breath out"

I breathe out. 

"Feel the wind on your face, the warm feel of the sun. Clear your mind and enter your space. "

It's weird, but soothing. 

Its similar feeling to when I'm creating tools back at home.

...

I haven't notice but time passed. 

I open my eyes, the sun was out. The clouds were gone. 

Kara was gone, I believe she's back with the others. 

"Ah you're done. You've been doing that for an hour." 

She was on the barn roof looking down at me. 

"Really?" 

She jumps down slowly.

"Yep. Never seen someone so focused" 

She walks around me. 

"Now let's practice some spells since you taken your first step into the realm of magic"

We returned to the field. 

"Let's cast a simple spell" 

She takes out here staff. 

"The mana that flows through me, manifest and cast magic bolt!" 

A blue bullet of pure energy forms before shooting at the trees, it lands breaking the poor tree in half. 

She looks at me. 

"Now take this" 

She hands me a small wooden stick, it looked carved, there was a small gem embedded in it. 

"Uh. What's this?" 

"That's a wand you idiot" 

I take it, twirling it around. 

"Wands and staffs is an extension of us. its help us focus and amplify our magic with precision and control."

"can we use magic without a wand or staff?"

"You could, its more challenging and less refine when you do it without a conduit. Its like painting a portrait without a brush."

she hands me her staff.

She then chants the same spell from earlier only this time it takes longer for her to say. The bolt of energy was formed, it was smaller than before. When she fired it at the tree line it went off course while also dealing little damage to the tree than before.

"You see it was harder to use even for an apprentice mage like me" 

she wipe the sweat that formed on brow while grabbing her staff. 

"Alright, now try to use the spell from earlier" 

I hold the wand, pointing it toward the tree ahead. 

"The mana that flows through me, manifest and cast magic bolt!" 

nothing. 

"Its fine, most beginners can't use magic on their first or second try. just keep saying it while thinking of the spell in your head."

"The mana that flows through me, manifest and cast magic bolt!" 

"The mana that flows through me, manifest and cast magic bolt!" 

"alright stop there-"

after the third time a large purple bullet of energy was forming at the tip of wand. Kara was surprised to see this, he mouth was agape before collecting herself. 

"Amazing. despite having no magic your potential is amazing"

The bullet didn't stop growing, it dwarfed the size of the wand. 

"Calm down. stop channeling James!" 

"How do I? how do I stop?!"

Kara starts to chant under her breath while pointing her staff at me. My body felt weaker, each time the bullet of energy grew i felt less energy coursing through. 

the world around me seemed dimmer, my arm felt heavy as I dropped the wand, collapsing to the ground below. 

***

 

"xxx!"

noise

"xxmxs!"

my eyes slowly opened. Kara was there looking down her face was close, too close. 

"James!"

I sat up, bumping head to head. 

"Ow!"

she yelled while rubbing her bruise. 

"What happen?!" 

I looked around. 

"you suffered a mana strain. Your body couldn't handle the overexertion of mana." 

she grabbed the wand, it was broken. 

"the magic you used was elementary level but the amount of mana used was beyond it. I tried to use a counter spell but you passed out before I could."

Her gaze look towards the tree line, I followed. 

A large gap of trees were missing, some of the workers were gathered around the mess of fallen trees, examining the damage.

"Despite all that, you showed potential. Not many can channel such amount of raw mana, even among experience mages."

She then pats me on the back. 

"we just need to train more"