"Okay, take a deep breath and try to channel your magic gradually while I push mine into you." Scy's says softly.
Michael's body shivers as he feels the boy's magic flow in from Scy's hands. His bare back feels warm for a moment as a tingling sensation spreads from his core to his limbs, and the bright pink and red glow of Michael's aura is dazzling. Scy's focus wanes for a moment as he sees Michael's skin change.
"Wow..." Scy says softly.
"Focus!" Michael grunts.
The feeling of tingling turned to crackling electricity as Scy's control over his magic weakened, but with a quick tightening of his magic power he brings the stimulation to a manageable level. Scy's gaze continues to wander to Michael's skin as it changes with the flow of magic power.
"What are you getting distracted by?" Michael mutters irritably.
Scy thinks for a moment, and a light blush reddens his face before he shakes his head in exasperation. He's not thinking anything amorous about Michael at the moment, as the process of manifesting is simply fascinating to watch.
"Your skin is changing as you channel your magic... It's interesting." Scy explains coolly.
"What's changing about it?" Michael asks curiously.
There's a moment of contemplation before Scy slides a finger along the soft pale skin of Michael's upper back. The sensation surprises Michael for a moment, and elicits a soft gasp which brings a blush to both of their cheeks.
"I-It's just getting smoother, and softer!" Scy stammers.
"Dude! Stop making it weird!" Michael replies flatly.
All tension is evaporated by Michael's reply, and the two boys let out relieved laughter as they realize how tense the situation had gotten. Neither of them have known each other that long, so romance is something neither of them are comfortable with. At least not yet.
Sadly this moment of friendly warmth is spoiled by Michael's body being zapped by Scy's rampant magic power before he gets it back under control. The both of them quiet down as Scy finishes pushing his magic power through Michael's body, and Michael makes the magic his own.
"Well... That was awkward." Scy says.
Michael gives him a look before slapping his hand on Scy's thigh. The gesture confuses Scy for a brief moment before a shock of magic worms its way into his body through the contact, and suddenly Scy is yelping as Michael tases him with magic power.
"No shit! You made it weird!" Michael teases.
Michael's antics slow to a stop as they banter on about their day at school with the occasional joke about Michael's manifest being both a curse and blessing. Eventually the comfort of sleep calls them both, and the evening ends on a positive note for the two boys.
~
"Today you'll be learning your first combat spell." Professor King states.
The class immediately clamors about combat, dueling, and the art of war. These little conversations fly in the face of Professor King's classroom policies, and with a growl he slams his paw onto the podium. The action is accompanied by a magically created roar of lions echoing throughout the classroom.
Voices fade to whispers as Professor King's intimidation tactic seems to have worked, and with a sigh he lifts his paw whilst channeling magic power. The spell the students got so excited over is revealed in the form of a semi transparent membrane which hovers above Professor King's paw. The classroom grows humid as he channels his spell, so he stops before giving the class a teasing smile.
"By combat spell I mean you'll be learning the most basic of defensive spells." Professor King says smugly.
Michael is hardly surprised by this turn of events as teaching a bunch of rookie mages something dangerous would be asking for trouble, and something like this shield spell will be useful for self defense in case a talented student tries to bully a less talented student. In Michael's case he can use it to block attacks from his goat headed tormentor.
"To cast this spell you'll need to focus your magic into the edge of your skin, and then push the mana into a thin membrane outside your body." Professor King explains.
The class is then given permission to practice the spell while keeping a safe distance from other students, and little explosions of magic erupt throughout the classroom as failed shields turn into controlled explosions of magic. Michael notices the gifted students pick up the spell with ease while David fails over and over again. The stable membrane is never formed as he constantly creates a blade of magic which shatters under its own weight.
"I'm surprised he's having trouble..."
Scy and Jamie are gradually getting closer to the real thing, while Michael hesitates to try the spell here. Last nights magic injection session proved Michael could use magic without instantly feminizing himself, but it would be tricky and require precision.
"You've got this, dude." Scy encourages him.
Michael smiles at his friend while pushing magic gently through his palm, and letting the smallest splashes of bright blue and white show. The inkling of magic power smooths Michael's skin and lightens blemishes, yet his facial structure doesn't change abruptly like it had multiple times yesterday.
With a careful push of magic and a crackling sound Michael feels his magic breach his skin, and float outwards like a ghost. The translucent mass of magic power is shaping into a membrane meant to be a shield while he focuses on controlling both the shield and not manifesting.
"Woah..." Jamie says in awe.
Both Scy and Jamie have stopped to watch as a massive shield starts to form in front of Michael, and without much fanfare the whole thing shatters into a million invisible shards of magic. The disappointing sound of the spell breaking apart bring a frown to Michael's androgynous face, but he refuses to give up.
"I have to keep up with the other students..."
Michael's conviction pushes him to try again and again while Scy and Jamie both gawk at his appearance gradually shifting. Of course Michael doesn't realize that even if he slowly ekes out his power he'll still build up a manifest over multiple spell attempts.
Patreon
I really wish M wasn't so scared of her manifest like everyone else, their manifests are supposed to reflect their inner most being, honestly it's horribly sad seeing not just her but everyone else reject it so vehemently :<
Sometimes rapid changes are scary and frightening, but hopefully with time progress can be made and it will be treated differently as our protagonist grows more comfortable with it!
Silly Michael's about to be forced to reveal their manifest aren't they xP
@LightNovelNovice
The best excuse would be that Michael needs to channel more to keep up in class. He is forced to choose between allowing manification of his femininity or failing the caster classes.
When he has turned into a girl, it can be shown that she no longer needs magic infusions and his female version is a real prodigy in support magic (healing, buff, debuff, defense).
romance is something neither of them are comfortable with. At least not yet.
This chapter was good but the next one is gonna be even better
Btw you haven't updated "the phoenix blade" in a while, is it in hiatus?
I'll most likely be putting it officially on hiatus as my three biweekly stories keep me quite busy as is-!
I'm hoping to continue it eventually, but for now its not a priority. I'm glad you enjoy the story regardless!