… …
Still in front of the fireplace.
Hulim was still squatting there all day, but unlike before, this time she no longer just stared at the flames—she had begun to attempt magic.
“(۱۳۵۰۰۰۸۴*۲۵۶۰۸.”
The fire element around the hearth flickered inconspicuously, then settled without further movement.
“… …”
Hulim did not get discouraged and continued to try.
“(۴۳+ ۲۰۱۴۴۰۵۲۵۶۰۸۰ת【””】۴۳+ ۲۰۱۴۶۰۸۲۵ת….[۴۳۰۰۰۴*۲……”
The practice process was tedious and agonizing, something no young child could sit through.
Even Hulim, who had only just met Semilis, was no different.
But after an occasional inner growth, her obsession with victory and defeat became hard to shake.
Even when thinking about the ridicule she would face if she lost, Hulim calmly suppressed those thoughts deep inside.
For her, the only thing that mattered now was to learn that magic—nothing else, no concerns over winning or losing.
And so, a day passed.
“۴۳۰۰۰۸۴*……”
The fire element did not respond to Hulim.
Two days passed.
“[۲۳۰۰۰۸۴……”
The fire element wavered slightly.
Three days passed.
“You were…”
The fire element showed obvious fluctuation.
“Four days passed, and finally, the fire element moved, drifting toward Hulim.”
“【FP+<……””On the seventh day.”】F+>۳۶۶۰۸۰*۰۸۴ת
”Hoo!A small flame leapt to life at Hulim’s fingertips.“
“Suc…success!”
Hulim’s eyes widened as she stared intently at the faint flame dancing on her finger.
After a full seven days, she had finally cast the most basic fire magic—the Spark.
The joy of success made Hulim’s heart race.
But as her emotions surged, her mana slipped out of control, and the flame at her fingertips went out.
“Ah… it extinguished.”
Her excited heart calmed down with it.
Hulim adjusted her mindset, quickly recalling the sensation of success and deeply engraving that feeling in her heart.
“Hoo~!”
Hulim closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, then suddenly opened them wide, lips moving.
『ɭɮɊʈɘɱᴍɴʍɸɨʚ』”Hoo—!As she chanted the spell, a faint sense of lost mana returned, and the warm, familiar flame reignited at her fingertips.
Hulim had finally mastered her first magic.… …Hulim sat on the stone steps outside the manor, resting her chin on her hands, staring at the sky with a rare look of confusion.
Although she was happy to learn magic,But…It had taken a full half month!
Only half the agreed-upon month remained, and she still had six magics left to learn!“What am I going to do?! I have to learn six magics in half a month, but it took me half a month to learn just one. How could I possibly finish in time?!”
Hulim clutched her head, distressed, the joy completely gone from her face.
After a long time, she calmed down, lying back on the steps.
She raised her right hand, letting the sunlight leak through her fingers as she looked up at the sun in the sky.
Then she sat up again, patting her cheeks.
“No matter what, I have to try before I know!”
Hulim carefully recalled the past half month.
Although it took her half a month to master one magic, much of that time wasn’t spent on practicing magic—actual practice totaled about ten days.
Within those ten days, quite a bit was spent just sensing the fire element.
Also…Magic is interconnected.
Although the elements differ, experience can be applied across them.
With this in mind, learning the next magic would definitely take less than ten days.
“…Alright! Time to start practicing the next magic!”
Hulim jumped up from the ground, reigniting her determination.
She chose the second magic: the first-level water magic—Water Flow.
Because there was a river just outside Ment Town, providing a perfect environment to practice water magic.
—
After that, Hulim went out early every day and returned late, spending whole days by the river.
“【۸۱۲X۰۸*۱+۱۲۴۰[BRF】”
By the riverside, the sound of Hulim chanting spells echoed continuously.
As she had expected, with experience, she quickly sensed the water element and was able to communicate with it on the first day.
However, making the water element move as she wished was still difficult.
After all, water and fire are opposing elements, and among the Seven Great Elements, their transferable experience is the furthest apart.
But by the time Hulim realized this, she had already spent quite some time and it was too late to switch.
So she resolutely continued.
Hard work pays off.
Five days after Hulim started practicing water magic.
“【۸۱۲X۰*۱+۱۲۴۰[BRF】”
Splash!
A stream of water, about the thickness of her thumb, swirled around Hulim’s index finger, then flew forward.
After successfully casting “Water Flow,” Hulim was a little excited but immediately adjusted her mindset, carefully recalling every detail.
Then,“【۸۲۳X۰۸*۱+[۴۰[BRF】”The same scene appeared again.
Hulim successfully mastered the first-level water magic—Water Flow.
After practicing many more times to confirm no mistakes, Hulim looked at the gently flowing river in front of her, happy yet a bit worried.
“Only ten days left…”This meant she would have to master a magic every two days on average.
Hulim didn’t give up but threw herself even more resolutely into practicing the other magics.
And then, during practice of the third magic, a breakthrough came.
—
“۸۳۵۴۲۰۱۶۵۴*”נוח”י”
Crack!
Looking at the fist-sized rock in her hand, Hulim was momentarily dazed.
She tried to launch the rock forward.
Whoosh!
The rock flew out and shattered against a large boulder, leaving a clear impact mark.
“Suc…success?”
It was no wonder Hulim was surprised, as this was only her second day practicing earth magic!
Mastering the first-level earth magic—Rock Chunk—in just two days was a stark contrast to the previous two magics.
Hulim stared at her hands, disbelieving, and tried again several times.
Each time, she successfully cast Rock Chunk, and the mana consumption felt genuine.
Only then did she finally believe she had truly learned the first-level earth magic, “Rock Chunk.”
But how had she done it?
Hulim was filled with questions.
At this time, she did not yet know that mastering two opposing elements had propelled her understanding of magic leaps and bounds.
When she returned to learn other elemental magics, this understanding became her greatest advantage.
The result was that the third magic only took two days to master.
“Two days… it’s doable, it’s doable!”
Hulim’s eyes shone brightly as she became excited.
She saw hope of winning the bet!… …Eight days remained until the month’s deadline.
Hulim arrived beneath the windmill outside town.
The narrow terrain of the hills on both sides sent gusts of wind from time to time.
Listening to the creaking and groaning of the windmill’s turning blades behind her, Hulim carefully sensed the magic elements floating in the air.
Soon, she saw streaks of green light darting through the air, passing through the windmill’s blades.
Every time the windmill slowed, it would spin faster again at these moments.
“X۰۳۲۴۰NPTM*…….”
“Seven days remained until the deadline.”
【X۰۳۱۴۰NPTM*۸۱۳۸۰N++】
“Hoo~!A sensation of mana consumption came.A force pushed against her palm, and then Hulim saw the nearby bushes shake.”
The first-level wind magic—“Breeze.”
Mastered!With that, all four major natural element first-level magics were mastered.…