Chapter 15: Fireball and a strange man

The streets were already alive with morning activity. Vendors were opening their stalls, the smell of fresh bread and grilled meat wafting through the air, while townsfolk bustled about in clothes of all styles and colors.

Lylia walked alongside Slade, hands swinging behind her back, humming a random anime opening that had suddenly popped into her head. She even added a little skip to her steps.

Slade glanced at her. "What are you getting so happy about?"

"Nothing~," she sang, still humming. "It’s just… boring to walk in silence, you know?"

“…Hmmmm."

Before long, they reached the same gate she had passed through yesterday.

"Good morning, everyone!" Lylia greeted the guards energetically, waving both hands.

The guards chuckled and greeted her back warmly. When her eyes landed on the female guard, Lylia’s grin widened.

"Big sister guard! Morning!"

The woman raised a brow, amused. "Morning."

"I’m heading out to train and gather some monster loot today!" Lylia announced proudly.

"Good luck out there," the guard replied. "Stay safe."

"You too!" Lylia clenched her fists. "Being a guard must be tough, so good luck to you all! Fighting! Bye bye!"

The guards were left a little fluttered as she skipped off.

A few steps later, Slade finally spoke, his voice even. "…Until when are you going to follow me?"

"Hehe," Lylia only grinned mischievously.

He continued walking without looking back.

"Well, hmph!" Lylia pouted and stopped in her tracks. "See you later, I guess! I hope you get a shabby sword!"

Slade raised one hand lazily in farewell, never turning around.

Lylia watched him go for a moment, then spun in place. "Now… where should I go? I don’t wanna get lost, so I shouldn’t go too far."

She wandered a few meters off the road and found a small tree. Setting her paper bag of bread against its base, she clapped her hands.

"This spot will do nicely."

Looking around, she confirmed the coast was clear. "No one around. Perfect! Finally, I can practice some magic properly."

Her eyes gleamed with excitement. "If I’m going to fight, I need more power! I can’t just rely on the destructive book forever. Its premium version only has, like, two days left before it expires."

She opened the book to page twenty-three: Beginner Combat Spells. 

The very first spell listed was Fireball.

"Oooh, the classic fireball." she whispered, practically giddy.

The instructions were written as casually as always, like the god himself was chatting with her.

Step one: You probably already know what a fireball is, right? Picture a ball of fire. Oh, and don’t forget to use mana.

Step two: Now that you have a staff, you should use it, of course. Point it in the direction you want to shoot the fireball.

Step three: Chant this in a single breath: "O radiant heat of the crimson blaze, gather in my palm, spiral forth and ignite the path before me!"

Lylia tilted her head. "Hmm. Okay, picture a fireball, use mana, point staff. Got it." She nodded to herself like a diligent student.

She took a deep breath and practiced the chant out loud several times, repeating it until the words flowed smoothly from her tongue. "Pronunciation check, perfect." she said with a grin.

Taking position, she aimed diagonally at the ground. 'I can’t aim at the tree,' she thought seriously. 'Must not harm nature.'

Her eyes slid shut as she gathered mana. She focused on the image of a fireball, repeating it in her mind like an echo.

Finally, she began the chant.

"O radiant heat of the crimson blaze..."

But just a few words in, her chest tightened. By the halfway point, she was completely out of breath. She stumbled, gasping like she’d just sprinted a marathon.

"Haa… haa… what the hell…" she wheezed.

A few seconds later, her breathing calmed. She frowned in realization.

"So it works like this, huh? This is harder than I thought."

Determined, she tried again, this time speaking more quickly. She managed to reach halfway without issue, but by the final words, her lungs were screaming for air.

She forced herself through it, practically shouting the last part between pants.

As she chanted, even with her eyes closed, she saw it. The tiny orbs gathering and swirling at the tip of her staff, fusing into a single glowing ball.

The moment the chant ended, the fireball released on its own. Whoosh!

It fizzled out pathetically less than a meter away, barely reaching the ground.

Lylia slowly opened her eyes, still panting. "…I did it, right? Right!??"

She squinted at the spot where it landed. "…Probably just like the cleansing spell. That ball must’ve been the fireball."

Taking another deep breath, she clenched her fists. "Repetition is my best friend now."

She reset her stance. 

But then.

"What was that pathetic fireball?"

The unfamiliar, mocking voice made her freeze.

"Huh?" Lylia turned around.

A tall man stood behind her, smirking arrogantly. His loose, wavy violet hair glimmered unnaturally, as if lit from within. A monocle-like goggle covered his left eye, while his right eye glowed a vivid violet, a Roman numeral XVI tattoo overlapping the iris. His long, twin-tailed coat flares as the wind caught it.

Lylia instinctively gripped her book warily. '…He doesn’t look like a normal person.' she thought.

Then, casually, she greeted, "Hey, mister. How’d you color your hair? And is that glowing eye natural kr contact lenses? You look cool."

The man threw back his head and laughed, loud and theatrical. "HAHAHA! I KNOW, RIGHT? I am cool!" he declared, striking a ridiculous pose. "And yes, both are natural. After all…" He pointed at himself. "I am the thunder!"

"…Okay," Lylia said, blinking.

He strutted closer, voice booming. "I abandoned my shop, came hurtling through the winds of destiny the moment I heard, there was someone who could wield all the elements, just like that old man Grant? But to think it would be such a cute girl! What a delightful surprise!"

"Eh?! Well, thanks for calling me cute." Lylia stepped back, startled but still keeping her calm. "Though, how did you know that? And… who are you, exactly?"

The man’s jaw dropped, eyes wide with exaggerated disbelief. Then he threw his head back and laughed even louder. "HAHAHAHA! Oh, this is rich! You really don’t know who I am?!"

Lylia tilted her head, smiling sheepishly. "Well, if you’re supposed to be someone famous, then… sorry, no clue."

His smirk twitched. "Is that so? Even though I have shops in almost every corner of the world, there’s still someone so ignorant that they don’t know me?"

He raised his left arm, revealing it to be fully mechanical, humming with energy.

ZAP!

Electricity surged from his palm, shooting straight at Lylia. Her eyes went wide.

But just before it struck her, the bolt veered sharply and blasted into a nearby tree instead.

BOOM!

The tree exploded into flames, reduced to blackened ash in an instant.

Lylia froze, stunned speechless.

The man spread his arms wide, a showman basking in the spotlight.

"The most sparkling, the most brilliant, the greatest Magi-Engineer in existence…"

He pointed straight at her, his glowing eye blazing.

"Rai! Does that name finally ring a bell, little girl?"