Bev was being Tutored in the details of telekinesis while Kennon got a quick lesson on runes.

  Honestly she only picked out every third word. But it was enough. Targeting, force, conversion. It was a little over her head. But that was what she had Kennon for.

  Then she woke up.

  Arcane magic level 2 reached.

  Arcane blast unlocked.

  “Why did I level up arcane magic? And why do I know I will never use the spell it gave me?”

  “Probably for the same reason I know the rune for ‘a force that penetrates one inch of durability one steel.’ speaking of which, why is such a rune even a thing!” Kennon said.

  “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.”

  “Seriously though, what happened? I dreamed I was being taught about enchanting. Most of it was fuzzy, simple concepts. But it felt real.”

  “Well, that is exactly what I did yesterday. But it would make more sense for me to dream about it.”

  Kennon thought for a moment. Then said, “Maybe you did.”

  “You mean we shared dreams again?”

  “Yea.”

  Bev shook her head, “It is more than that. I know the dangers of arcane blast. At least vaguely. That wasn’t in the dream.”

  “Well, I learned that too. Maybe it wasn’t just the dream that was shared. But knowledge too.”

  They went quiet.

  Then Bev said, “if it is more than just when we dream about something. That would be amazing. I’m only just now realizing how good telekinesis is.”

  Kennon laughed, then said, “I guess I should go learn more magic for the both of us then. And to be clear, arcane blast is scary, it can burn your soul. Don’t use it.”

  “Tutor, why do you want me to practice this terrifying power?”

  Kennon was telekinetically flourishing the saw blade, preparing for another cut.

  It may be scary, but it is the perfect way to train counterforces. Besides, who knows when you will be attacked by a mana sprite and this will be the only weapon you have that can touch it?

  “Ok, explain counter forces again please?”

  As I said, it is an application of will to a spell that limits its scope. Countering any side effects. If you would just do what I told you you would understand!

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “You told me to fire a hundred mana less than a meter from my face!”

  I also told you to focus your will on projecting it away from you.

  “And if I fail? It will be a massive explosion!”

  In this case taking risks is the only way to succeed.

  “You promise I won’t die?”

  Silence.

  Whatever Tutor had never steered him wrong before.

  He dropped the saw and began casting. Throwing a full seventh of his mana into a single spell. Unlike normal casting there was no intricate weaving. Simply forming a ball of mana in front of him. He tried to focus on directing it away from himself. But it was hard. Most of the time it just moved the mana. And that was not what he was supposed to do.

  Tutor did say counter forces were hard to detect. Maybe he made them and simply couldn’t see them?

  Trusting he wasn’t about to blow himself up he triggered the spell. There was no fancy weaving, or shaping. He just sent a signal to his ball of mana and it turned into a chaotic unstable mass of death.

  Primal fear surged through him as he saw the ball of destruction. It fled out in all directions, consuming all in its path. It also went towards him! Then it seemed to bounce off of something, a wall of, something. It was created at the exact moment he triggered the spell. He could sense it. But he couldn’t describe it. The arcane bounced off of it and rejoined the destruction heading away from him.

  It wasn’t till it was over that he realized the scope. And he started laughing uncontrollably.

  “You could have mentioned that one hundred mana made a blast smaller than my fist!”

  If I did that you would not have been afraid. Self preservation is a wonderful tool to teach shaping will. Good job with the counter force by the way. The wall of will you sent was especially potent.

  Kennon shook his head. It was right though. After seeing it in action he felt he could replicate it.

  Now try to form a narrow tunnel of will to direct the arcane forward with more focus.

  He smiled. That sounded reasonable.

  The spell was soon ready. And he noticed the counter forces forming before it was actually cast. He could instinctively tell that it would only affect his own spells. In a way it wasn’t even a real phenomenon. It was simply a mental instruction in his own mind that affected his own mana.

  Still, a tunnel with a closed end appeared around the gathered mana, constricting it. He triggered the blast and it shot forward. A rush of air flew in to fill the void it left. It was terrifying. Eating even the air it came in contact with.but despite that it was still rather weak for the mana involved.

  He assumed it would work against incorporeal creatures though.

  Exactly. And just as importantly counter forces apply to all spells. If you want a lightning bolt to kill a dragon without blinding the nearby town, or to use an empowered gust without knocking yourself over they are vital. One last question, what do you think counter forces would look like on a wind blade?

  He thought about it. Honestly it was hard to picture. Stopping side effects. The only side effect was a little puff of air as it traveled. The entire point of the spell was that it created a thin blade. Moving any extra air would be inefficient.

  Then it hit him.

  “It would make it more efficient!”

  Exactly. Perfect counter forces put all the energy where it belongs. A perfect torch would be invisible. And radiate no heat. But the affected area would be boiled even at low mana usage.

  Wait invisible? Could this be used for stealth?

  In theory, though the mana itself will be visible. So those with mana sense will know something is there. Even if they can’t detect it. And perfect counter forces are incredibly difficult. That is why arcane blast is ideal for testing. It doesn’t take a strong counter force to redirect it.

  Kennon laughed. This really was planned out well wasn’t it. He figured Bev would have very interesting dreams that night.

  Thank you for sharing my journey. To help me walk it I have a set up. It is 20 chapters ahead and releases at the same time as the Royal Road chapters.

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