It’s frustrating to be unable to do something I’m told I should be able to do.
What, you ask?
Magic manipulation, of course.
During the practical part of the magic lessons, I’m still working on refining my magic manipulation as usual. I feel like I’m getting a little better at it, but I’m still far from meeting the commander’s expectations. That’s what’s so frustrating. I wondered if maybe the commander was just being too strict, but a court mage I recently started talking to told me that’s not the case. Apparently, even what I’m experiencing is the commander holding back. According to the mage, when the commander trained them, it was way harsher.
“I never want to go through that again.”
With a distant look in his eyes, he began to tell the story. It happened right after the entire Court Mage Corps had finished tackling a massive pile of paperwork.
“Every once in a while, I need to train the next generation, don’t I?”
The commander had supposedly declared this with an unusually bright smile. Since it was training led by the top of the Court Mage Corps, quite a few ambitious mages gathered at the training grounds. By the time it was over, the grounds were littered with a mass of exhausted bodies. The training they went through was apparently just a slightly lighter version of what the commander usually does. Yes, compared to the training he does to further improve his already overflowing talent.
The mages in the Court Mage Corps are an elite group, even among those who can use magic. They’ve got a decent amount of pride too. But even they were worn out in just one day. That’s how tough it was.
It was honestly too intense. They wanted the difficulty lowered a bit. Voices of complaint rose here and there, but the commander didn’t pay them any mind. While the battered mages lay there, he breezed through the same regimen with a calm expression, tossing out pointers to each of them in between. This went on for a whole week, apparently.
It seems the paperwork had eaten into his research time, and the commander had built up quite a bit of frustration. It almost feels like he was just taking it out on them, but since his guidance was spot-on and those who went through the training improved their skills, no one could really complain. Still, after that incident, the amount of paperwork sent his way decreased even more than before. Seeing the mage tell me this with a look like his soul had left his body, I figured it must’ve been pretty rough.
So, according to the mage who survived the commander’s hellish training, even what I’m going through is tailored to my abilities. If he’s adjusting it for me, that means he thinks I can handle at least that much, right? With that in mind, I figured I could probably do it and spent the next week diligently working at it.
But today, once again, I didn’t reach the goal. Frustrating. Maybe I should practice outside of lessons too. I thought about it a bit.
After some consideration, I decided to enlist the help of the Third Knight Order. I’d thought about staying at the training grounds after lessons for extra practice, but just casting ‘Heal’ on myself felt like a waste somehow. At first, I considered going to the hospital to practice on patients, but then I remembered that after the recent incident, most of the patients had already been treated. So I thought a bit more and had an idea. What about the Third Knight Order?
Given their line of work, the knights train at their barracks when there’s no subjugation to do. I’d seen them training when I delivered potions to the Third Knight Order before, and since they focus a lot on close combat, quite a few of them end up with bruises or minor injuries. I wondered if they’d be willing to let me use them as practice dummies. No time like the present, I consulted the captain right away, and he gave me permission without a hitch.
The day after getting approval. After the magic lesson ended, I headed to the Third Knight Order. I went to the captain’s office to say hello, and he offered to come with me to the training grounds. As we walked, we talked about the healing magic practice I’d be doing. We exchanged some ideas, but in the end, we decided to follow the commander’s approach and do it combat-style with the Third Knight Order too.
When we arrived at the training grounds, the knights were in the middle of training, with many of them engaged in mock battles. I’d seen it from a distance on my way to the barracks before, but up close, the intensity was something else. I was watching in awe when they noticed me and the captain arriving—everyone paused their matches and turned their attention to us. There were some familiar faces, but having so many eyes on me at once made me nervous.
The captain explained in a loud voice that starting today, I’d be using healing magic during their training. The method was simple. The knights could train as usual, no problem. The only difference was that healing magic would be flying around during it.
I’d considered having only the injured knights come to me for healing, but the captain pointed out that’d be a hassle for them and wouldn’t be enough practice for me. Since they usually let minor bruises heal naturally, they probably wouldn’t bother coming over for healing magic. That’d mean fewer chances for me to cast, so if I wanted to get more reps in, we’d need a different approach. In the end, we agreed the best way was for me to cast healing magic at my own discretion, like I would on an actual subjugation mission.
After the captain finished explaining, the knights went back to their training. I watched the mock battles, timing my moves, and started my practice too. It’d be nice if, like in a game, everyone had HP bars and numbers above their heads showing max and current HP so I could easily tell who needed a ‘Heal,’ but sadly, there’s no such convenience here. With no other choice, I observed them and cast ‘Heal’ on people who looked injured and might’ve lost HP. I made sure not to neglect my magic manipulation while doing it. Recalling the lessons, I cast spells one after another at about the same speed. Since I’m gathering magic power faster than I did at the hospital, the amount of HP healed is probably less. If I get better at magic manipulation, I should be able to gather more magic power in the same amount of time, so even a short cast could match the effectiveness I had at the hospital. I got so focused that time flew by, and before I knew it, it was about time for the knights to wrap up their training.