Chương 97: 94. A Cup of Tea

The pale yellow light illuminated the timeworn pages of the book as Adolin turned to the next page. The candle had been infused with herbs, as it gave off a fresh, minty fragrance. He frowned again. It had been more than a month since Lira had given him the tea-making spell, and he still had no idea how it worked. The spell was… incomplete. The spellbook taught the basic mana patterns, and they, too, were incomplete.

It taught a shortcut to produce the mana patterns with little effort, followed by a chant that completed the spell. That wasn't how spells worked. Every intricate step was necessary for a spell to take effect. Forming the mana patterns, changing the mana's nature and type, then adding enough mana to the pattern for it to work. Depending on the spell, there were many more small steps one had to go through to cast it.

The spellbook didn't teach anything except the most basic mana pattern the spell needed, and somehow, the chant completed the rest. He left the book on the table and leaned back. It was… he wasn't sure how it worked. It was a mystery to him. Adolin took out a teacup—the same one he'd liberated from the Count's estate—and put it down on the table. He focused on the mana patterns he'd learned from the book.

"Mother of Earth and Hearth, wake what rests within the leaf. Let water carry its essence, and the vessel take its form." As the teacup slowly filled, his whole body cringed at the incantation. No wonder Lissandra had muttered it. He wasn't sure if he could use a real incantation in public. Even the ones he'd made up made him feel awful… He released his hold on the mana patterns and stared at the tea. The spell had worked… but how?

The mana patterns alone weren't supposed to do anything, and yet the spell had worked. He glanced toward the cup. Steam rose under the pale light of the candle, and an earthy, floral aroma filled the room. Taking the cup, he swirled it while watching the amber liquid dance. Somehow, the spell worked, and he had no idea how, which bothered him greatly. He took a sip and closed his eyes. The tea was different from the one he'd had back at Lissandra's place. It tasted like his favorite tea, earthy with a floral hint.

The tea Lissandra had made him with the same spell had a fruity taste. Adolin's frown deepened. He took out another cup and placed it next to the other. He formed the mana patterns and started chanting the words slowly while focusing on the spell. Every word seemed to change and adjust the mana pattern. When he said the last word, the nature of the mana changed, though he wasn't sure what it had changed into. The cup filled moments later, carrying the same aroma as the last one.

He took a sip of the perfect tea and savored it for a few moments before standing and pacing around the room. They were staying on a small farm two days away from the city of Wolk. Thankfully, for the first time since beginning the journey, he had a room to himself. It wasn't anything special, but he had privacy, which was the most important thing for him. The room had a bed and a single table; that was everything inside. He'd replaced the straw mattress with the one from his inventory.

From everything he'd learned about the spell, it was… he wasn't sure how to describe it. It was as if the chant was completing the spell, while all he needed to do was form a basic mana pattern that slightly resembled it. That was everything he had to do to cast the spell, and it didn't make any sense to him. Spellcasting wasn't supposed to work like that. It had taken him less than a minute to learn the basic spell pattern and over an hour to learn the chant.

The words had a rough edge to them, and when he chanted them, there was some kind of magical feeling. As if the words… he wasn't sure how to describe the feeling other than magical. Learning the spell did make him understand the mages in this world better. The difference between learning spells like mages were supposed to and learning them with chants was like building something from the ground up compared to being handed most of it already finished.

Some spells had taken him months, even years, to learn to cast properly. With chants, it wouldn't take more than a few days. Maybe the most difficult ones would take a month at most, depending on whether the mage knew the basics of spellcasting. The simple tea-making spell had changed his whole worldview. It was something that would bother him until he learned why and how it worked. He needed to find more spellbooks and study them until he understood how the whole system worked.

The more spells he tested, the more he would understand what the chants actually did. The blessing, he thought. There was a high chance that everything was connected to the blessing. Or maybe the dungeons? The spellbook he'd studied had been found in a dungeon. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like the blessing and the dungeons were somehow connected. He could also be totally wrong about the whole thing, but it somehow made sense to him, even though he didn't understand why.

Learning spells that required chants was much faster than the method from his old world, yet it was the worst thing a mage could do. The method was only good for learning spells fast and nothing else. Casting a spell took too long, and all the small details one learned through practicing spells until they worked were lost. Even if he started teaching his method in this world, the mages would have a hard time learning anything. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen.

Please report the infringement. Through chanting, they skipped the most important steps in spellcasting, steps that usually took an average mage years to learn. He took another sip of the tea and continued pacing around the room. This discovery changed everything about the job Revel had hired him for. How was he supposed to teach people healing spells when they didn't even know the basics of spellcasting?

Maybe he was wrong, and the mages of this world learned the basics before going back to chanting spells, but somehow, he doubted that. If he was right, bringing healing magic to the mages of this world would be a massive headache. He would have to teach them like he was teaching kids. Just trying to break down their beliefs about magic and mana… If he'd known how spells worked in this world beforehand, he wasn't sure he would have ever accepted the job. He plopped down on the soft mattress and groaned.

"Whatever," he muttered. At least he could finally make tea whenever he wanted. Adolin stared at the ceiling of the room. There were a lot of things on his mind. The two mana signatures that had appeared outside the Count's estate just before he teleported out. They were… at least as strong as he was back in his old world, if not stronger. The organization. The corrupted. His life was really getting complicated. That was for later. For now, he finally had some time to take a break, some privacy, and…

a really comfortable mattress. He planned to take full advantage of it. Even the kitten had been taken off his hands. He smiled and closed his eyes. He had two days to enjoy himself until the merchant was done with his business on the farm, and Adolin didn't plan on leaving the room until then.

"Finally," he muttered. As he enjoyed the softness of the mattress and the silence of the empty room, a loud knock interrupted his peace. No. I must be imagining things. A few moments later, two more knocks came from the door. He continued ignoring them. They would eventually get tired and go away, hopefully leaving him alone for the rest of their stay on the farm.

"Dareth," a woman's voice came from behind the door. Well, it was Revel's, but that didn't matter. Dareth, he muttered inwardly. That would become a problem… wouldn't it? Especially when the Count's forces came north. He groaned. Why had he given his real name back then? How was he going to explain that? That… yeah. There was no way he could explain it. There wasn't an excuse that would save him there. At least, for now, maybe he would come up with something before they arrived.

Another knock came, louder this time.

"Come in," he said. There was no way she would just let him be, so this way, he could get it over with faster. He hoped. The door opened, and Revel entered, closing it behind her. She glanced at him.

"Did I wake you?"

"Something like that," he said with a frown. Revel shrugged and sat on the chair, studying the table.

"New spell?"

"Something like that."

"Master Eldritch finished the trade earlier than planned. Tomorrow, at dawn, the caravan will move toward Wolk." Couldn't he have his well-deserved two-day break?

"Umm… can we stay an extra day?" Revel shook her head.

"The caravan is already behind schedule. We lost a whole week waiting for you."

"Alright," he muttered.

"I'll be ready." Revel stood and smiled.

"The food is ready," she said before leaving the room. They really didn't want to give him any time to clear his head. It was getting annoying. All he wanted was two days… two days, and apparently, that was too much to ask for. He exhaled slowly as he continued staring at the ceiling. In the month since he'd left the Count's estate, he'd only managed to increase his level seven times, even though he kept using new spells every day.

Increasing his level was becoming more difficult, and he had no idea how many new spells he needed to use now to increase it. He kept track, but the level increases didn't make any sense. His first increase, to level fifty-two, had taken seven spells. The next one took ten, then the one after that only three. There had even been a level increase when he first cast the tea-making spell. He would need to find more information about the blessing soon.

Adolin cast a sound-isolating barrier inside the room and used another spell to lock the door. He wouldn't allow anyone to bother him until tomorrow.

"No one," he muttered as he closed his eyes.... Adolin sat at the front of the first wagon, Master Eldritch next to him. The wagon's wheels rolled along the road, stones cracking beneath their weight. The sky had an orange hue with a pink tint in the middle. The terrain was mostly mountainous, and the weather grew colder the further north they traveled. Soon, he expected to see his first snowfall in the new world. As soon as they passed the elevated mountain road, he saw the city of Wolk.

It was nestled between two mountains in a valley, with two rivers flowing down from the mountains and through the city. A large wall circled most of Wolk, while dozens of farms and buildings surrounded it. The closer they got, the more wagons he noticed moving toward the city. There were at least two dozen of them.

"Supplies," Master Eldritch said. Adolin turned toward the man with a questioning gaze.

"Since the frontline grew more active, the need for supplies has doubled, and every merchant in the vicinity is heading north for better opportunities and trade." Adolin nodded.

"There are always coins to be made in war." Master Eldritch smiled.

"That's true." The closer they got to the city, the more Adolin felt something familiar, though he couldn't quite tell what it was. The path soon came alongside the river, the water slowly crashing against the rocks. The sound had a calming effect on his mind. Maybe he could build his house next to a river. A river flowing through his garden would be quite nice. The conversation with Master Eldritch was… he didn't really mind it too much.

The older man wasn't annoying, and he kept giving him new information about the world. It was mostly about trade, but there was a lot of information Adolin could get out of it. Trade goods were one of the best ways to learn about what was happening in a region. The goods flowing north were mostly weapons, food, and alchemical herbs. That was usually a good indicator of war. The familiar feeling he sensed grew stronger the closer they got to the city. It was mana. And the familiarity didn't come from this world.

He focused on his Mana Sense … It was the last mana he'd sensed before his life ended in the Demon King's castle.