Two weeks have passed since Sumara Manjuvad, a member of the Manjuvad Demon Clan, was chosen to be the magic tutor for Lakshman by his parents. Indra and Lakshmi were very impressed by her and decided to alter the schedule which their son was trained in. They also allocated a room for her upstairs.
Beginning early in the morning, Lakshman would conduct his physical and sword training with his father. After breakfast, he studies the educational subjects and the literature of the world under the watchful gaze of Mariana, their maid. After lunch, he would learn to use magic instructed by Sumara till evening. After dinner, Sumara helps with his magical studies till bedtime.
One day, Lakshman was a given a test by Mariana. She had felt he was slackening slightly and was putting him to the test. She conducted the test by making him answer the questions from various other subjects. The final test was how to read the time of the day and the calendar.
“Alright, young master. I will ask you a few questions and you answer me correctly, alright?” Mariana asked him and he nodded his consent.
“How many months are there in a year?” “Nine.”
“Correct. How many days are there in a year?” “Uh… Three-sixty days.”
“Good. Now tell me how many weeks there are per month and how many days there are per week.”
“Let’s see… There are four weeks per month and… um… ten days per week.”
“Very good. Now please list the names of the months in their correct order, please.” Lakshman listed the names of their months by their correct order.
- Amdane
- Bondeit
- Aporos
- Zageil
- Shadien
- Beitec
- Yaagan
- Tyfon
- Reiked
“Excellent! You were able to list them in their correct order and even remembered their names well!” she said and caused Lakshman to smile proudly.
“Now tell me what year we are in right now according to the calendar year.”
“I think its 8088 PX, the PX standing for the Phoenix. The month is Zageil and the day is… um… twenty-four?”
“Very astute!” she said and he sighed in relief. She smiled at him and said, “Don’t be so frightened, young master. Even if you have doubts, please go ahead and state it. I assure you there is no harm in saying it, even if it turns out to be wrong.”
“Yes. Also, I have a question, Mariana,” he asked her with his hand raised in the air. “Ask away.”
“Um… Why is our year using PX and what’s with all the month’s names? Is there any particular reason they are named like that?”
“Ah,” Mariana said and smiled. “You see, master. Eight thousand years ago, there was a mighty warrior called the Phoenix Titan! Wars erupted with all the races around the world.
That was when this mighty warrior came to the rescue and saved the world at the cost of his life. That’s why the year was set after him and so were the name of the months because they are the previous Phoenix Titans.”
“Ah,” he said as he rubbed his head which suddenly hurt painfully.
“Are you alright, young master?” she asked him while looking concerned.
“I see. I think we’ll take a break then since you are feeling tired,” Mariana said and he smiled happily.
After luck, Lakshman practiced using magic in the backyard of the house where Sumara watched him. While Lakshman was using magic spells, Sumara decided that it was time to explain a few things about the concepts of magic and energy.
“That’s good! Now let’s take a break. There are some things you should learn,” Sumara said in satisfaction.
“Yes!” Lakshman said and he breathed with ease after an hour of exercising magic spells.
Sumara made Lakshman practice using various different magic types like Water Blast and Earth Wall. Apparently, she only knew Water Magic Spells and Earth Magic Spells which were the only ones she could teach him at that time.
So they walked to the back of the house where there were chairs and a table set. Once they reached them, both Lakshman and Sumara sat down. Then they relaxed as Lakshman let out a soft moan contentedly. For a while, they sat in silence due to the relaxation.
Lakshman then straightened up and said “Miss Sumara...?” “Mmm...?”
“I was wondering... On the fourth of Zageil, you used telepathy to speak to me, right? You know... When dad was asking me whether I would choose magic or sword or both?”
“Yes. What about it?” “How did you do that?”
Sumara opened her eyes and straightened up on her chair and turned to look at him. She thought for a moment about how to explain it. Then she smiled to herself at the realisation that she did not know how she could do it as well.
“You could say... It’s natural?”
“Natural? Is that some sort of ability?”
“You could say that, yes. Our clan has had this ability to speak telepathically to anyone since the ancient times. In fact, barely anyone remembers how we came to possess such an amazing ability.”
“Probably because your clan never liked using spoken words?” Lakshman asked with a cheeky grin on his face.
“Very funny!” she said and she rolled her eyes in exasperation. Then she said, “Anyway, you’ve gotten the grasp of using magic in almost a week, impressive.”
She praised his efforts in getting a firmer grasp of his magical strength. In these past two days, she focused on improving his magic proficiency. Initially, he cast magic that were powerful, but he couldn’t control it. So, instead of explaining things, she wanted to make him perfect his magic control.
“Before we get into different types of energies, you must grasp the fundamental use of your energy,” Sumara said.
“My energy? Do you mean the energy I burn every day from exercising?” Lakshman asked in a puzzled voice.
“Yes. Everyone burns energy to stay alive and need food to replenish that energy. Recovery magic can also work, but it will deplete your Magic Force.”
“Eh? Magic Force? What’s that, Miss Sumara?” Lakshman said in surprise
“It’s the energy that our magic spells use when we execute them. Take, for instance, our Water Blast magic spell. Each time you use it, you feel a little drained, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“That is the energy that you apply to use magic which gets drained. Most people refer to it as Mana in their attempt to shorten it, but the correct term is Magic Force.”
“Question!” Lakshman said as he raised his hand in the air.
“What is it?” she asked while making a face of amusement at his way of asking questions. “Why is it called Magic Force?”
“Oh, right. I haven’t told you more about the forces. Actually, there are three types of Force. One is Magic Force, the other two are Weapon Force and Energy Force.”
“Weapon Force and Energy Force… I see. So those two are the ones dad was talking about earlier…” he muttered to himself.
“Each Force is used in its individual way. Take, for instance, Magic Force. It is applied to magic spells. Weapon Force is used by channelling your energy into weapons, I think. Energy Force is the raw energy used in neither magic nor sword.”
“I understand, but can you explain more about the Weapon Force? Your explanation feels a bit vague.”
“Ah. I’m sorry, but I’m not that familiar with it. I believe it is more useful to ask your father. Ask him, he should be able to tell you more about it than me.”
“Ah, sure! I’ll ask him later!”
“Good. Now, let’s return to your magical training. I want you to do this…”
They returned to their training without further ado. Sumara gave explicit instructions to Lakshman and these instructions were to mentally and physically train him to command his magic without losing control over it.
An hour later, she concluded his training for the day and they returned to the house. Lakshman sat briefly before lunch to rest from using magic spells constantly.
“This is delicious!” Sumara said during dinner when they all sat and ate the food.
Both she and Lakshman ate their food quickly. He choked a few times, but Mariana was there to pat his back and help him cough it down. Sumara then praised Lakshmi’s and Mariana’s cooking with a curious expression on her face.
“I’ve been meaning to ask… Would it be alright for me to have some cooking lessons with you?” she hesitantly asked Lakshmi.
“Of course!” Lakshmi said brightly. “I don’t have a problem. Do you, Mariana?” When
Mariana shook her head, she said “Good. I think we can get started with teaching you how to cook when you take a break from training Lucky. Is that okay with you, Mariana?”
When she turned to look at her, Mariana inclined her head in a semi-bow and said “I will do my best to teach you, Miss Sumara.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it,” Sumara said, sounding happy about this arrangement.
That night, Lucky lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling. He was exhausted from the day’s training and he sighed tiredly. Strangely, though, he smiled as he was having a good time training in the morning with this father, studying the normal subjects with Mariana in the afternoon and practicing magic in the evening with Sumara.
Because of all the fulltime he is training, there was no chance of him to feel bored. He was happy to constantly work rather than sit idly by doing absolutely nothing.
Just then he heard a knock on his door. Grudgingly, he rose to his feet and walked over to the door. Opening it, he saw Sumara holding a load of books in her arms and looked bright red in the face. She was puffing as if she had run for miles.
She suddenly glared at him and asked “Won’t you take these heavy books from me and put them on the table? They aren’t light weight, you know…!”
“O-Oh... Right! Sorry!” Lakshman said quickly and he took the heavy books from her.
Lakshman placed the books on the table in his room. Then he tried to make his way back to his bed. Then he noticed Sumara come into his room and close the door behind her. She sighed in relief and looked at all over his room with satisfaction.
“I’m glad to see you keep your room neat,” she said impressed. Then, in surprise, she asked “Hey, why are you lying in bed?”
She asked him when he returned to lay on his bed. “I want to rest,” he said shortly.
That day was particularly harder than the previous. Sumara had made him use up most of his energy using difficult magic spells. It seemed she was assessing his capabilities at this present time.
“No. You got study to do,” Sumara said flatly which caused Lakshman to groan. “Do I have to?” he asked and Sumara looked unimpressed.
“There’s still time before bedtime,” she said crossing her arms and looking serious. “So, I and your parents decided we’ll spend this remainder of time teaching you the theory
behind magic.”
She pointed at the books which she brought with her. He groaned again when he looked at the books. He had helped her carry them into his room and placed them there.
“My favourite subjects,” he said sarcastically.
“Don’t be like that,” she said cheerfully. “Once you get into it, it’s quite fun to learn.” “Yay…” he said half heartily.
“Oh, come on,” she said and, grabbing his arms, she pulled him off the bed and over to the table.
Lakshman sat and stared at the pile of books. He resigned to the fact that each night he will spend time like this with Sumara in studying magic.
Thus, their study began and he listened to her speak while taking down notes on a piece of paper. He used black ink and feather to write them down. These were bought by his father, Indra, a few days ago anticipating this very day.
For an hour and a half they immersed themselves in studying from the books that Sumara brought. She did not stick to one book for teaching. At certain things like the creatures of wilderness, she would use other books to find better descriptions of them.
Lakshman learnt Humans were not the only race occupying this world. There were other races like Beasts, Demons, Angels, Fallen Angels, Demi-Humans, Spirits and many more. Most of them inhabit different continents, but they all exist in this world.
During his magic studies, he also learnt of the history that brought these races together. Over Eight-thousand years ago, the world was ruled by one man who possessed incredible power. He commanded the demons, ordering the angels and controlling the spirits at will. He had no equal and no one ever challenged his authority.
This man was forever known as Zekadraite Askajengret, the ruler of the world. Later, his sudden disappearance sparked the war between the races; each in their attempt to take over the world. It was then the Phoenix Titan made his appearance and, through his sacrificed, stopped the war and restored peace to the world.
When he heard that name, Lakshman’s head hurt him. It felt like his head was pounding from how much pain he received. Then the pain slowly dissipated and he did not think much of it.
At learning the existence of various races, he remembered something he wanted to ask Sumara.
“Miss Sumara, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” he said tentatively.
“Oh? What about?” she asked, looking up from the book she was flipping through. “Um… how… how old are you?”
“I’m twenty-five years old,” she said a few seconds later.
Lakshman widened his eyes when she told him her age. He did not want to doubt her age, but her appearance was clearly of someone around the age of eighteen. With this in mind, he was about to void his doubt, but she spoke before him.
“I know my age doesn’t match my youthful appearance. It’s not at all surprising considering I am a demon,” she said in a matter of fact tone.
“I see. So it’s because you are from the demon race. Is that why you have those diamond shaped eyes and that blue diamond pressed onto your head?”
“Well... Each demon is different depending on their clan heritage. My clan, the Manjuvad, has blue diamond eyes and this blue diamond embedded into our foreheads,” she told him as she gently touched the gem on her forehead.
“Oh I see, but what about that blue diamond embedded on your forehead? Doesn’t it hurt you at all?”
“It’s something that’s been embedded in my forehead as long as I could remember. Everyone in my clan have this diamond crystal embed into their foreheads.”
“Wow...! It must feel strange to have a crystal inside your head.”
Sumara laughed and said “Actually, I don’t even fell it. It’s almost as if it’s part of my skin and not a foreign object.”
“Wow!” Lakshman said in amazement. Then he remembered something and asked “Oh...! So that’s why my parents were surprised to see you when you took off your cloak, Miss Sumara?”
She nodded at him and said “Anyway, we’re getting side-tracked here. Let’s get back to training.”
Another hour later, Lakshman started yawning as he continued to study with Sumara. Noticing his increasingly yawning, she pulled out a small object and flipped it open. On it a design of the sun and the moon were drawn. She moved her eyes to see the arrow’s position, which was closer to the moon.
“I think we’ll wrap it up here for today,” she said closing the object and putting it back inside her robes.
She closed the books and stacked them once more.
“Lucky,” she said and he turned to look at her. “Let’s talk about a few things about tomorrow’s training.”
“Sure,” he said wondering what she plans to make him do.
“I think you’ve nearly got the hang of using most of Intermediate ranked magic spells. So, I’ll be putting you through some tests.”
“Ah, ok,” he said and nodded his head. Then, wondering about the rank name she keeps using, he asked “What is that ‘rank’ name that you keep on using, Miss Sumara?”
“Oh! I forgot to tell you. These are the ranks that function as a level of competency and proficiency your skills are allocated at.”
“The ranking system Does it apply just to magic? Is it also applied to the sword?”
“Yes, these ranks are applied to all kinds of things,” she said with a nod of her head. Then she listed the ranks for him to note down.
- Beginner Intermediate Advanced Saint
- Sage King Emperor Titan
“The higher your rank is, the more powerful skills you can perform. However, make sure not to get confused between ranks and titles. It can get really confusing when the ranks and titles are mixed together,” she told him warningly.
“Wow. That means you’re… Um… You’re an Advanced Ranked Magician. Right, Miss Sumara?”
To his surprise, she shook her head and said “I’m a Saint Ranked Magician, Advanced Healing Magician and Advanced Earth Magician.”
“There are more types of magic?!” he said in a surprised voice.
“That’s right. Currently there are…” and she listed the types of known magic types.
- Attack
- Defence
- Healing Summoning Illusion Gravity
- Transport Amplify Sensor
“Oh I see… T-There are l-lots of them…!”Lakshman said as he yawned hugely with his hand covering his mouth.
Seeing him yawn, Sumara said, “I think we’ll wrap up here. I’ll leave the books in your room so I won’t have the trouble of carrying them back and forth.”
“Yay…” he muttered in exasperation. “Oh geez,” she said with a sigh.
Just before she left the room, she turned around and said “Goodnight, Lucky.” “Goodnight, Miss Sumara,” he said before she closed the door shut.
He yawned one last time before slowly walking over to his bed. Once he was on it, he said “Lights Out!”
In an instant, the lights emitting from the crystals all around the room went out, causing the room to suddenly go dark.
So one day of hardship in training finally ends. Lakshman is relieved the day is over. Now, he looks forward to the new training that awaited him from now on.
Hmm....
My mom made me do the same... I admit I enjoyed it..