Chapter 37

To master magic, one must first activate it.

To do this, one must repeatedly chant the spell, using the chant to grasp the starting point of activation.

Once activated, the chant becomes more precise, and from there, one must repeat the process of success and failure, following the sensation.

Through continued use, the precision naturally increases, and one can eventually use magic efficiently.

"Come forth, spirits of the earth! Messengers of the soil, obey my command and become warriors of the earth!"

In front of the sandbox, Serena repeatedly chanted the spell, continuing to fail.

"The key is to use magic until your magical power is almost depleted..."

The young member of the [Giants of the Earth] looked worried as Serena's fatigue became more apparent.

They knew that creating a Clayman was not a task for beginners.

Misha let Serena take a break after a moment, and Flow approached her with concern as she sat down.

"Hehe..."

Serena smiled and patted Flow's head.

(I can't do it like Will...)

Serena muttered to herself, seeing no signs of progress with the magic.

Serena was good at magic.

She had never lost in terms of learning speed compared to the other children, at least until Will's talent blossomed.

However, Serena was not anxious.

Even when she heard that Will could use magic just by seeing it, she thought it was amazing but did not feel jealous.

She still finds it strange to this day.

Serena had a natural big sister personality.

By the time she was old enough to understand, she already had a younger sister, Nina, and then Will was born.

She would take Nina's hand and walk with her, and when Will started walking, she would take his hand as well.

She would tell herself that as the eldest daughter, she had to be strong.

Her parents noticed this about Serena and would let her be pampered when they had free time.

So Serena never felt lonely.

Surrounded by her parents' love, Serena grew up to be a reliable person, to the point where even adults were surprised.

Now, she stands beside her parents, watching over her younger siblings.

So when she heard from her mother about Will's talent and the danger it posed, she felt proud as if it were her own achievement, and if it was dangerous, she decided to help her parents protect Will.

Therefore, even if it was a difficult magic to learn, she had no time to be discouraged.

"Can Will already use a Clayman...?"

Serena, catching her breath, asked Will, who was playing with Levi next to her.

Will stopped petting Levi and turned to Serena.

"I think I can..."

It was an odd way of saying it, but it seemed Will was waiting for Serena to successfully activate the magic and had not yet created a Clayman.

"Can you see the difference between me and Mr. Morgan?"

When Serena asked this out of curiosity, she received an unexpected response.

"I can see it..."

"...Huh?"

"Serena-sama, mixing is faster..."

The adults who heard this exchanged glances.

"Will, can you use magic to explain?"

Cecilia asked, and Will tilted his head.

"Mr. Morgan...?"

Cecilia nodded, and Will stood up.

"Earth... gather, put in the seed, mix, mix, and finally, paint with darkness..."

"Ah, I see... indeed, it's separated..."

While Morgan muttered to himself, Will raised his staff and lantern and began chanting the spell.

"Come forth, spirits of the earth! Messengers of the soil, obey my command and become warriors of the earth!"

Will's magic activated, and a Clayman of about Will's height was created.

"Done! ♪"

"Oh..."

The members of the [Giants of the Earth] exclaimed in surprise.

They had seen Will's progress yesterday, but it still seemed unbelievable.

Cecilia, who had been watching silently, raised her staff.

"Come forth, spirits of the earth! Messengers of the soil, obey my command and become warriors of the earth!"

The released magical power was absorbed by the sandbox, and the magic activated.

"Ah, it worked..."

"Ah, so easily..."

Morgan stared at Cecilia's Clayman in disbelief.

Comparing Will's and Cecilia's Claymen, Will's was more precise.

It seemed that Will, who could see the flow of magical power and mimic it, had the upper hand.

"I think I understand. When creating a Clayman, imagine giving magical power one by one in a continuous manner... Serena, maybe you are mixing everything at once because you are being pulled by the chant?"

Cecilia stated her idea, and Will nodded.

"Right, that's it..."

"Maybe..."

Serena placed her hand on her chin, deep in thought.

"I'll try again."

Serena stood up and faced the sandbox.

She took a deep breath and focused.

"Come forth, spirits of the earth! Messengers of the soil, obey my command and become warriors of the earth!"

The magical power was drawn by the chant.

First, she imagined storing a certain amount of earth element.

Then, she embedded the gathered tree element as the core.

Once it formed a human shape, she covered it with the darkness element.

The activated magic took effect, spreading across the sandbox and creating a Clayman.

Morgan's jaw dropped as he looked at Serena's Clayman.

"It worked..."

"Unbelievable..."

Morgan muttered, barely managing to speak.

The shock was even greater than when Cecilia did it.

Serena moved her Clayman to check its function.

"Clunky..."

Serena expressed her dissatisfaction, but her expression was bright.

Just being able to activate it was a significant achievement.

Repeating this process would improve the precision.

"Great job!"

Will clapped his hands, looking at Cecilia's and Serena's Claymen.

(Poor Morgan...)

Shiro smiled wryly at the frozen Morgan.

At the same time, he decided to add some color to the reward for Morgan.

Indeed, it was Shiro who had begged to be taught magic.

However, mastering magic involves repeatedly failing and experimenting to teach the body the proper form.

Even the chanting of spells is not infallible.

However, Will could see how the magic was activated.

He knew from the beginning how to make the magic work.

Even so, both Cecilia and Serena, who were skilled in handling magical power, could succeed just by hearing the explanation.

To have their signature magic, which they had honed through practice, easily mastered was a significant blow.

Adding some color to the reward would not bring any bad luck.

"Well, creating a golem won't be possible right away."

Shiro added a subtle comment.

Even if the magical composition was similar, the amount of magical power required would make it impossible to practice repeatedly.

"For now, we'll just have to practice with the Clayman we can activate."

"Yes!"

Serena understood and responded strongly.

She recreated the Clayman she had just dispelled.

"Alright, let's try moving it a bit..."

Morgan, regaining his composure, accompanied Serena as she began checking the Clayman's movements.