—Just what kind of magical monster am I dealing with right now!?
Zhan screamed in his thoughts, his voice going all high-pitched and falsetto like he just got his balls crushed by a hammer, which honestly made him sound pretty gay. But let's be real here, no guy in their right mind would act normal after watching some random five-year-old kid pull off magic that could probably level a small building without breaking a sweat. That's exactly what Zhan was feeling right now, and his brain was having a complete meltdown trying to process what he just witnessed.
"H-hey..."
"T-that spell isn't in any of the magic textbooks I've ever read... DID YOU JUST CREATE YOUR OWN SPELL FROM SCRATCH!?"
Zhan ran over to Ryn faster than a crackhead chasing after free drugs, moving like a lizard that had just been fed pure sugar and was bouncing off the walls. He grabbed Ryn's small shoulders with shaking hands and crouched down to get on the same eye level, his face looking like he had just seen a ghost or something equally terrifying.
Ryn really didn't want to tell the truth about his whole reincarnation situation because that would open up a can of worms that he definitely wasn't ready to deal with. If he actually told the truth about everything, then all the high-ranking mages in the entire country would probably come after him like hungry wolves, making his life exhausting and miserable for the rest of his days. But it's not like he had a ton of other options to choose from right now, and making up a believable lie on the spot wasn't as easy as people think it would be when you're under pressure.
"Y-yeah, I did create it myself. Please don't tell anyone about this!"
Ryn bowed down like he was begging for his life, closing his eyes shut tight and hoping that Zhan wouldn't rat him out to every mage in the kingdom.
"Don't worry bro, I won't snitch on you. But that was some crazy shit you just pulled off back there."
Zhan suddenly manned up and started acting like a real bro to his fellow magic user, which was pretty cool of him. He tapped Ryn's shoulder twice in that universal guy way that basically meant 'I got your back, dude' without having to say it out loud.
"Haaah..."
Zhan let out the longest sigh in human history while clutching his forehead like someone had just dumped every single problem in the world directly onto his shoulders, being dramatic as hell about the whole situation.
"How exactly did you manage to do that kind of advanced magic..?"
—I definitely can't tell him the real answer to that question, because if I want to become the strongest person in this world, then I'll have to keep all my secrets to myself and not trust anyone completely!
Ryn grinned like a devil who had just been given human rights and permission to cause chaos wherever he wanted, which was probably terrifying to look at. He paused for a dramatic second and looked Zhan straight in the eyes with the most serious expression a five-year-old could possibly make.
"I'm really sorry Teach, but I'm afraid I can't tell you that information..."
Ryn bowed down once again while asking him not to dig too deep into his personal business and magical secrets. Luckily for him, Zhan turned out to be a pretty decent guy who understood boundaries and didn't want to push his student too hard on sensitive topics.
"Sorry about asking too many personal questions. Anyways, let's not waste any more time and actually start your real training already."
"Okay."
<-<-<-<-<-<-༒︎->->->->->->
Zhan cleared his throat with a sound that made it seem like there was about a million years' worth of nasty mucus stuck in there, which was honestly pretty gross to listen to. He stood up from the grass and grabbed his fancy staff that looked like it probably cost more than most people's houses, showing it off like some kind of magical fashion accessory. It was obviously a staff, and at the very top of it there was this cool-looking orb that was shaped and designed to look exactly like a dragon's eye, which was pretty badass if you asked anyone.
—Damn, that thing looks really cool and I want one just like it.
Ryn stared at the staff like he was romantically attracted to it, which sounds weird but he was just really impressed by how awesome it looked.
"Alright, let me ask you one important question before we continue: What do you think magic is actually for?"
Ryn paused for a second and started thinking about it really deeply, feeling worried that depending on how he answered this question, Zhan might teach him completely differently or judge his understanding of magic. He didn't want to mess this up and look like an idiot in front of his new teacher, so he tried to come up with the best possible answer.
"Uhm, to make the unnatural become natural, and to make the impossible become possible?"
Zhan sat down on the green, soft grass while looking at Ryn with an expression that showed he was pretty impressed, because the kid had already reached a level where he understood at least half of what magic was really about. He knew this because Ryn's answer proved that he had actually read the entire 'Beginner's Guide to Magic' book, since that exact phrase had been written by the legendary Great Mage Alfonze himself many years ago.
"That's a good answer, but it's not quite complete. The real correct answer is that magic exists to help people surpass the limits of themselves and become stronger than they ever thought possible."
"And you might be thinking to yourself right now, 'Why are you asking me this weird philosophical question, and how is this even related to learning magic?' Well, there's something called an Essence, and each element of magic has at least five different essences that you can unlock and master. To get to the essence of a certain element, you have to understand it as deeply as you possibly can and really connect with it on a personal level. Right now, I'm still stuck at the Second Essence after years of training, while the highest level that anyone in recorded history has ever managed to reach was the Fourth Essence."
Zhan explained everything while looking directly into Ryn's eyes with a completely serious expression that showed how important this information was. And Ryn was totally absorbed in everything his teacher was saying, listening carefully to every single word that came out of Zhan's mouth during this important lesson.
"I understand completely, Teach!"
"If you really do understand, then let us move on to the next step of your training."
Zhan paused for a dramatic moment while standing up and wiping all the dirt and grass off his butt, making sure he looked professional before adding the next part.
"We're going to start ACTUALLY practicing Wind Magic itself in real combat situations. What you learned from reading those textbooks is still not even close to real magic compared to actual face-to-face training with a real teacher."
"NOW, STAND UP AND FOCUS YOUR ENERGY INTO YOUR HAND!"