How Many Times Have I Been an Apprentice?

Ever since that day of torrential rain, Isolte seemed to have taken the wrong medicine. She liked my magic lessons even more and even took the initiative to ask to learn water magic. Before, I had always taught her wind magic, since the elemental content in the air was higher and it was easier to learn.

She had always been enthusiastic about learning magic, but whenever she failed to cast a spell, she became dejected. She did not have the same unyielding drive she showed in sword practice, where failure never discouraged her.

Now, though, things were different. Even though she had no talent for magic, after failing she would ask me exactly why. But I was not a worm in her stomach, so I had no good way of figuring out why she had failed. Some things were simply things I could do on my first try. As for why she could not, that was difficult to explain clearly.

Sometimes I comforted her, telling her that everyone had things they were not good at. She was gifted in swordsmanship, but she could not expect anyone to be perfect and learn everything the moment they tried it.

Yet she still insisted on continuing to practice magic.

She had me completely out of options, so I decided to treat a dead horse as if it were alive. I thought I would try using my own mana to guide the mana in her body through a complete cycle, allowing her to formally cast a spell.

I held out both hands and faced Isolte directly, our palms pressed together like in those martial arts novels where masters passed down their inner power. In my eyes, it was not an embarrassing posture at all. Besides, physically, we were both children of four or five. There was no way this would stir up anything emotionally. What child had not held hands with a girl in kindergarten?

I separated a small portion of my mana and sent it into her body through my right hand. Then, within her body, I guided her mana along her meridians and through her body, forming a cycle. I hoped she could sense what it felt like for mana to flow through her body. Once we were done, I withdrew my mana through my left hand.

"Did you find the feeling? Controlling mana as it flows through your body is the first and most important step in using magic. Every spell requires mana to support it. If you cannot move the mana throughout your whole body, then you should give up on this path as soon as possible."

"I think I found the feeling. I'll try it first."

Following the chant I had taught her, she said, "May the great blessing of water descend upon the place you seek. Let a cool, shallow stream appear here—Water Ball."

After the chant ended, an egg-sized ball of water formed in her hand. "I did it!" she shouted excitedly.

It was the first time I had seen her so excited. Whether she learned a new move in the Water God Style or successfully defeated me, she had never been this thrilled. It seemed she truly cared deeply about learning magic.

Perhaps one only felt the greatest sense of accomplishment after making a huge effort, refusing to give up despite repeated failures, and finally reaching one's goal. Learning Water God Style swordsmanship had probably been too easy for her before, which was why she had never shown much joy.

"The water ball is still very small, which means your mana only completed one cycle. Normally, on your first attempt, your mana needs to circulate continuously through your body and keep producing mana. Also, Water Ball is supposed to launch the water ball. It is not enough to merely create a little ball of water in your hand. A water ball by itself is useless at most, other than for quenching thirst."

The happy expression on her face immediately fell when she heard my lecture.

I secretly laughed to myself. So she really is just a child. I thought she was some cool, aloof swordswoman with that expressionless face of hers.

"But this was a huge improvement. You can already be considered a magician. Congratulations on stepping through the gates of magic."

Her expression brightened again, and the corners of her lips slowly curled upward. Then she mischievously whispered into my ear, "Hehe, it's all because my master teaches so well."

...Was she really this talented at teasing people? I already felt exhausted thinking about my future teaching duties.

Another month passed like that. One morning after breakfast, the butler stepped forward and said, "Young Master Dolin, the magic teacher Master found for you has returned to the royal capital. He asked you to visit her today and do your best to study magic under her."

"Understood, Bertrand. Please prepare a gift for the visit and a carriage. Also, send someone to the Water God Style main dojo and tell my master that I will not be able to study swordsmanship with her today. Thank you."

"Yes, Young Master Dolin. Here is the detailed information on the magic teacher you will be consulting today. Please look it over."

I accepted the yellowed sheet of paper and read it carefully. (Bredikond Galanod. Court magician. Water King Tier magician. Her other magic has also reached Saint Tier. Long-ear Race. Age unknown. Enjoys dungeon exploration, writing books, and traveling everywhere.)

Could this person be the author of Travels Across the World? I remembered that the author of Travels Across the World was also named Bredikond. If so, she had to be nearly three hundred years old at the very least. I really envied the Long-ear Race. I brought my copy of Travels Across the World with me. Even if I failed to become her disciple, perhaps I could still get an autograph.

With those thoughts in mind, I set off on my journey to find a master.

As a court magician, Bredikond lived in the royal palace of Ars. Of course, the palace was enormous, and her residence was a room of neither particularly large nor particularly small size on its outskirts.

After knocking three times, I waited outside like a proper noble. We had been taught all this in etiquette class. I was not very interested in it, but it was not difficult to put into practice.

Just as I began to suspect no one was inside after waiting nearly ten minutes, the door opened.

My first impression was that she was a sloppy woman. She wore strange pajamas that looked like a white lab coat. Her eyes were bleary, her hair was unkempt, and her yellow curls resembled a bird's nest.

But I pretended not to notice that she had just gotten out of bed. Maintaining a noble smile, I bowed and said, "Good morning, honored lady. Even the morning light pales before you. I am Dolin Prodia Greyrat, recommended by Senior Minister Darius to study magic under you. I hope my presumptuous visit has not disturbed your sweet dreams."

Although it was already nearly eleven in the morning, I had no intention of pointing out that it was almost noon.

"Come in." (Precocious little brat.) The woman muttered so quietly that it was almost impossible to hear as she turned and went back inside.

I entered the room as instructed and presented the gift I had brought for this visit.

The room was so messy there was barely anywhere to step. Strange things were scattered everywhere: humanoid stone carvings, bizarre weapons, and in one corner, I saw several crystals that looked like mana crystals. A single mana crystal like those would be worth dozens of gold coins outside, wouldn't it? I marveled inwardly.

There was only one chair in the room, and the woman generously gave it to me. She herself lay back down on the bed.

Just when I thought she was about to go back to sleep, I heard her say, "I did owe Darius a favor once, but that was sixty years ago. I never expected him to remember it for so long. You look a lot like your grandfather when he was young, but I hope you do not turn into what he is now: a bald, fat, greasy old man.

"I may have owed him a favor long ago, but I never promised that I would definitely do things for him. I do not like staying in one place for long, nor do I want to teach someone with terrible aptitude. If you can prove that you are qualified to receive my instruction, I can consider staying to teach you for a few years. I am tired from traveling lately anyway, and I want to rest for a while."

Honestly, after hearing that, I felt a little awkward. Was my grandfather really as handsome as me when he was young? No wonder Master Leda had remembered his favor for over sixty years. Also, did this body's genes carry baldness? No way. My full head of red hair was one of the things I was most proud of. Hair this color was practically impossible to find on Earth. I needed to use magic to research how to prevent hair loss. From now on, this would be a top priority in my magical research. I would become the pioneer of hair-loss prevention in the Six-Sided World.

While I was researching hair-loss prevention in my head, the woman on the bed started to grow impatient. "Brat, did you hear what I said? If you can't do it, hurry up and get lost. Don't interrupt my sleep."

I immediately came back to my senses and said that I accepted, that I was willing to prove myself.

Since Bredikond needed to get dressed, I gallantly stepped outside the door. Less than five minutes later, Bredikond emerged in a standard adventurer's outfit. She wore a shirt and jacket on top, with leather armor protecting her chest. Her lower body was clad in tight cloth trousers with slight slits near the boots, and she wore classic hard-soled cowhide boots. She had no cloak. This sort of outfit was very common among adventurers. It completely clashed with my impression of a magician's attire—no pointed hat, no enormous staff, and no classic mage robes.

Once we reached an open area, Bredikond put some distance between us and said, "Use magic to attack me. If you satisfy me, I will accept you as my disciple."

It was the first time I had met someone who wanted to casually take one of my attacks. Naturally, I happily accepted. To avoid opening with a spell she could not dodge and getting her injured, I conscientiously called out my spell names. I did not take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

Knowing she was a Water King Tier magician, I had no intention of showing off in front of her.

I opened with Eye Hurricane, creating a tornado to block her vision and restrict her movements.

Then I followed up with Exodus Flame. The fire fed on the wind, and the wind fueled the fire, immediately forming a flaming tornado. Anyone caught in this combo would be severely injured at the very least. If I had not taken into account that she was a Water King Tier magician, I would have worried that one hit might kill her.

Yet moments later, a massive ice sculpture rose within my flaming tornado. Bredikond stood inside it, without a single burn on her body. Even her clothes were intact.

The wind was too loud for me to hear her cast any spell. I only knew that once the ice sculpture rose, my flaming tornado was broken. Still, with so much sand and dust in a tornado, how had she chanted her spell? Wouldn't she have swallowed sand?

After the tornado vanished, she did not immediately agree to take me as her disciple. Instead, she said, "Wind and fire magic work well together, but there is still room to improve the power of your fire magic. Now, try taking my attack."

Water droplets fall and scatter, covering the world in water! Water Splash

Azure Goddess descending from the heavens, wield your staff and freeze the world! Icicle Field

I had sensed it from the first line of her chant. She was going to cast Water Splash, but she chanted very quickly. There should have been a shortened chant as well. The air filled with water vapor, so much of it that a vast white fog rose up. It was completely different from the Water Splash I cast. At most, I could only condense dew.

I had already guessed that her next move would be Icicle Field, because this combination of spells was a required skill that even Advanced Water Magicians had to learn.

I prepared to cast Flame Armor around my body. This spell was not very useful; I often used it to dry my clothes. But at a time like this, it was the best way to keep from freezing.

However, I failed. The dense white fog created by Water Splash was practically liquid, and the fire elements around me simply could not support the casting of Flame Armor.

Once she finished the second part of her chant, I was frozen in place.

Still, it was fortunate that she had held back. If a Water King Tier Magician had cast it at full strength, I would have been frozen from the inside out. At that point, not even the gods could have saved me.

After the water mist dispersed, I cast Flame Armor and regained my ability to move.

Bradycond walked over and said, "Your chantless casting is very impressive and practical. But you cannot neglect training your magical power because of that. The same spell produces different results in different hands. I'm busy every day, so just pick two days a week to come study magic. The rest of the time, I need to lie in bed and sleep. Clean up my room today, then go home!"

...For the first time, I felt like slapping her. This was too infuriating. So you were busy because you needed to sleep? And why did I have to help her clean? As the Prodia Family's first-in-line heir of the third generation, cleaning was supposed to be something I would never have anything to do with in this life.

That was what I thought, but I still suppressed my true feelings, helped her tidy up the room, and then went home.

If you weren't famous, I would never humble myself like this.

What a pain. Next time I came, I would bring a maid with me. That way, I could escape the fate of cleaning.

Meanwhile, in a room in the court magicians' dormitory, Bradycond looked at the spotless room and mused, "I never expected a noble child to clean so well. What an unexpected discovery."

When I got home, I suddenly remembered something important. I had forgotten to ask for an autograph on the novel.

(Note: To make conversions easier, the original setting has been altered here. In the original work, every country had its own currency; for example, the Aras Kingdom used Asura gold coins, while the Millis Kingdom used Millis gold coins. Here, they are all collectively referred to as gold coins. Also, Green Ore Coins, iron coins, Scrap Iron Coins, and Stone Coins are currencies used on the Demon Continent. Ninsa is the currency of the Begaritt Continent. Gold coins, silver coins, large copper coins, and copper coins are used on continents inhabited by humans. Their corresponding values have been converted into RMB.

Gold Coin: 5,000 yuan

Silver Coin: 500 yuan

Large Copper Coin: 50 yuan

Copper Coin: 5 yuan

Green Ore Coin: 50 yuan

Iron Coin: 5 yuan

Scrap Iron Coin: 0.5 yuan

Stone Coin: 0.05 yuan

Ninsa: 5 yuan)