I Ask You, What Is Magic?

Go on, I'm listening. I nudged the serious sounding Codex to elaborate.

[You remember the cold you were feeling a few months ago?] He asked instead.

Yeah, that I do. That was annoying, to be honest. No matter how much I covered myself or how long I stayed in the blanket, the chill never went away.

[Well, that's because it wasn't a normal, weather induces chill. It was the pure mana in the atmosphere you were feeling. Maybe because it was winter, the mana had taken on a colder tone, and you — being part spirit — felt it.] He explained.

You never really explained what a spirit is, though. I pointed out.

[That's because I didn't know the answer myself.]

Now you do?

[Yes. Although I am not certain on the details, a spirit seems to be some form of energy based entity that oversees and manages a branch or element of magic. Though I still don't know what being a hybrid entails. One thing I am sure of, though, is that the rest of your family is purely human, or at least not the same human-spirit hybrid as you.]

I, with some difficulty, sat up on the counter with my back leaning against the wall and my thumb supporting my chin.

How are you so sure, though?

[Simply because my database says there is no such thing as a part spirit hybrid.]

Huh? Wasn't it also your database that said I am such a hybrid? Where are you getting all this data from anyway? I asked, chewing on my thumb to not let my frustration show.

[That was what the nanites told me after examining your body. As for the source of this information, I am not entirely sure, but I suspect these are my own — or rather, your dad's — memories, that are slowly trickling into the nanites' database. How he knew all this, I have no idea.] Codex put forward his thoughts.

I see. Stupid stuff. Just tell me the things you think would be interesting to me whenever they pop up. I commanded, conveniently ignoring the details related to my... past life.

[Very well.] He accepted.

Although not being the same race as that of my family implied me not being biologically a part of the family... I was fine with that. They had already shown me enough love to bypass such lowly mental restrictions.

Oh yeah, show me my status again, please. I asked, remembering something.

[Sure.]

[Status:

Given Name: Ryan

Age: 12 Months

Race: Hybrid (Human/Spirit)

Affinities: —

Runes: —

End]

Once again, a translucent panel materialized in front of my eyes, displaying parameters unknown to me.

Giving the status screen a once over, I asked with a slight raise in my eyebrows: 12 months? Why not 1 year? Or does that mean...

[Yes. Velaris follows a sixteen month annual cycle, with months, weeks, and days being almost similar to their counterparts on Earth.]

Ouh. Any particular reasons?

On earth, one annual cycle was marked by a single complete revolution around the sun, what about here?

[Here, the seasons are also mostly the same as back on Earth, but the year cycle is measured by the shifting of moons. There are three moons here on Velaris, all changing positions and colors based on the time of the year. When all three of them align in a certain pattern, it is marked as the end of one year, and the start of another.]

Cool, cool. So that means I don't have any memories of being six months old and younger. Seems legit, kids' brains purge all neuron connections made at young age to wire the memory systems correctly. Oh right, I forgot it in all this spirit bullshit. I was asking, which of the original features of ENAMAL are still there? Are there any other surprises?

[I am unaware. Due to the extremely low levels of power, it has gone into hibernation protocol, I probably would not be to access the core controls until it has been charged back to a hundred percent.]

Oh well, it was worth a try. I sighed dramatically.

[Also, I think you would be pleased to know that we should be able to start experimenting on your capabilities to do magic.]

Nice! what do I need to do? I inquired, excitedly rubbing my chubby hands. If there was one thing I looked forward to besides my new family, it was the ability to do magic.

All the fantastic spells and small tricks I had dreamed of implementing in my dream game, I will be able to perform in real life. I could hardly contain my excitement.

[Don't get your hopes up too high, we are just experimenting, we might not end up anywhere.] He tried warning me, but it's too late now.

Yeah, yeah. What are we trying first?

[Your spirit nature indicates that you should be able to feel mana just by existing, you feeling that incessant chill during the winter, and the cozy warmth now, are proof enough that you are able to feel something. So let us start from there. Can you try to meditate while focusing on just the feeling of that warmth passing through your being?]

Sure, I accepted. I didn't really knew how to meditate, having always failed to grasp the essence whenever I tried it in my past life. But for the sake of magic, I had to try it.

Shaking out my shoulders and cycling through a deep breath, I straightened my back and closed my eyes.

The warmth was definitely there. Having grown comfortable in it, I rarely paid it any mind.

Having located the source of my attention, I focused on it solely. After a few moments of concentration, I could feel a gentle flow of feeble wind passing right through me.

I tried to picture myself as a leaf being carried in a gentle breeze.

No, not quite. The figurative wind has no tangible force on me. I corrected myself.

More like a porous rock letting warm wind pass through its numerous holes.

No, still not accurate enough. Although there isn't any force, the warmth is still sticking to me nonetheless.

Feeling myself doing great, I leaned into the feeling, letting my instincts carry my decisions.

Soon, I was able to picture myself in an empty space, surrounded by a constant ebb and flow of mana. Being a small porous rock in a grand river, causing some of the water to stick around me, forming a layer.

Honestly, this is so easy, why didn't I do this before? It would have been so much easier in winter, too. I gloated to myself, feeling a triumphant smile form on my face.

Wait. Huh?

[You did well for your first try.]

No, why did you disturb me? I only lost concentration for a moment, I could have caught myself. I tried deflecting the blame.

[That is fine, you can try again later. I have some data to model our next tests on.]

Okay, let's give it another try. I commanded excitedly. I could almost taste mana on my tongue.

[Let us not. You need to take some rest, get some energy back and then we will continue. We don't want you fainting and then chewing my ears off asking 'when can I go back out'] He rejected harshly.

Alright, alright... I sighed. I looked around and noticed the sun has started to set.

As if on cue, mom emerged from behind the doors and smiled at me brightly. She then proceeded to close the doors and windows, and picked me up with a smooch to the cheek.

"Hehehe," I giggled.

What else could be better than this life?