Flamelord and Renose Collab (Part 6)

Serin went for a good half an hour (including the short breaks they would take), making sure that Thomas had a much greater grasp of the now completed Runic skill as well as the properties of other magics and more on how to connect his will to not only his magic, but the magic of others being thrown at him. Serin wiped his brow, taking off his hat as he did so before putting it back on. "Phew, I'll admit you have progressed alot in this short time. While it is far from being mastered, I would say you have a large enough grasp to use it in battle. As much as I would like to duel you now to see your progress I did say I was going to teach you two skills, so lets take a quick breather first, and maybe you can tell me about what you have learned so far and what you think of it all while we do so". 

Serin waved his hand at the ground, two large 'stumps' of tone coming up from the ground as Serin used the Stone spell to give them seats, Serin sitting down on his and gesturing for Thomas to sit down across from him. "You may not be one for meditating, and truthfully niether am I. That was more Oner's thing when I last saw him three years ago, but just talking it out and me going over any questions you may have will help you understand things more. Plus, I can't have you learning this next skill while being too tired now". He chuckled a small bit at this, waiting for Thomas to sit down so they could chat, offering the other mage a bottle of water when he did finally sit down. 

"Thanks," Thomas replied somewhat tiredly, sword dropping so the tip of the blade hovered near the ground, and his own feelings were somewhat evident as he moved over and sat down on the stone seat with a sigh, legs aching from the activity they had so recently had to do. He took the bottle of water gratefully and untwisted the cap, letting the cool, soothing water run down his throat and refresh him. He was so going to relax after this, now that it had become quite a different workout from what he had been intending. 
He took the time to think up the questions he did have, the ones he felt comfortable with or that he needed to ask to aid his understanding. there was only one he could really think of, the one he had wanted to know the answer to earlier (since the possible question about the barrier itself had been answered in due time) "So, 'Complete' Runic. Why is it weaker to wrap it aqround your body than the sword itself? I mean, your will and your Mana come form your body, so oculdn't you generate the runic around your body first, and then extend it to the sword? Just seems backwards to me that the weapon has a greater ability to absorb spells than the full body shield does".

Serin was enjoying his own bottle of water as Thomas spoke, but stopped drinking when Thomas asked his question, the mage scratching the back of his head as he set the bottle down. "Good question actually. In truth, I never really thought of it that way, but there is indeed a reason for it. You see, Runic is the ability to absorb magic through your sword. Your sword essentially becomes like a staff in a sense, capable of holding and storing magic, which you use to replenish your magical energy. The body is not meant to be a magic staff, as it is not meant to store spells inside of it like an object is. The Complete Runic is a unique concept I thought up where you take the Runic you have in your sword and also wrap it around your body. If you may have noticed when a spell hits the Runic around your body your body does not directly absorb the mana of the spell since it is still a spell. Instead it quickly grasps the spell, moves it along the Runic around your body, then traps it in the sword, where you are then free to control it as you please. The reason why it is weaker around the body is mainly because of the additional area you have to cover, but as I mentioned before with enough time and practice you can overcome this limitation and your Runic will hold the same strength all around". 

Serin nodded, thinking that was a good explanation, if a little bit long winded. "Does that make any sense? To be honest, it still confuses me just saying the explanation, but that is probably because it is so natural to me through my years of using it that I sort of forget how it works. It just becomes like breathing, so natural that you don't really think about the mechanics behind it". Serin chuckled a bit at this before taking another drink from his waterbottle, waiting for anymore questions that Thomas might have, or if he didn't have any questions maybe opinions on the things he had learned so far. Either way, they had some time to kill while they caught their breath. 

Thomas listened to the explanation calmly, taking sips from his water until Serin was done and asking if it made sense. "Yeah, I guess," he replied, glancing over at one of the nearby buildings. quesitons then failed him, and he sighed as he enjoyed the rest and water. there was the issue of what to say, and how to phrase it. He didn't want to reveal any insecurities to a practical stranger, how much he felt he needed this to bolster his confidence and such, his belief in what he was doing. He just wasn't sure what to say, hough something did occur to him, so he went with that instead. "Man, I wish I'd learned this sort of style when I was first starting out as a mage. I'd be a lot farther along than I am now," he commented idly, taking another sip.

"Well there is nothing wrong with what you were taught. In fact, I say that is a better way to start off. Even Reno started off that same way. What I taught you is what is called Master Magic. Attaining mastery over your magic using your will to the point where you command the magic based upon what you desire, not based on what is in a magic book. Great wizards like Merlin-sensei also use Master Magic. It is not something one simply learns at the start, nor something one learns at all. It is a concept that must be grasped by each individual mage. It takes alot of practice in magic to be able to build up to it. It is thanks to your own magical experience that you were able to grasp it so quickly. If I had taught you this from your first day it would have taken you forever to learn just one simple spell". 

Thomas had to keep from rolling his eyes amidst the response at the usage of that phrase again. It seemed that Rneo wasn't the only one to use that term with Merlin, and suddenly that little bit made a lot more sense. The rest though....He accepted it, but he had his own doubts on whether that was true. And there were differences as well, him growing up in a provincial town in the countryside rather than being trained for magic from the start. He couldn't help but wonder whether that had some impact as well and if a different childhood would have changed the calibre of mage he was today. But none of that was aired to Serin, rather his own thoughts that he kept to himself. No one wanted to know about his own childhood after all. Instead, there was just an "I see," before he finished the water bottle and looked over at the Red Mage, ready to go back to it.

Serin could tell from that one look that he was ready, so Serin quickly downed the rest of his water and stood up, stretching a little as he did so. "This next skill requires a high grasp of Runic, like the one you just achieved. It is a special skill that changes Runic from just a pure defense skill into a skill with large amounts of offensive power. It is one that I developed myself so only myself and Oner know it. You are about to become the third person to learn it". He drew his sword, waiting for Thomas to stand up before tapping both stumps of stone with the tip of his blade, the stumps retracting back into the ground to make their training area flat again. 

He took a stance now, facing Thomas from a ten yard distance. "The most powerful spell you can summon. Throw it at me with all you've got, put all of your will into it and hold nothing back. Show me more of the fruits of your training". He gave Thomas a somewhat intense look, waiting for him to begin.