When Scarlett and Rosa returned to Freymeadow the next day, they were surprised to see Arlene standing from her chair and stepping down from the porch as they neared.

“Follow me,” the woman told Scarlett before turning around and walking away.

Scarlett shared a look with Rosa. “I will see what this is about. You remain here.”

The bard glanced after the departing woman. “…If you say so, boss.”

Scarlett began walking after Arlene, who had exited the village square. She caught up with her as they passed the simple wood and stone buildings that made up these people’s homes and proceeded towards the wall that surrounded the settlement. Eventually, they reached a section in the wall where a small gate led out into a spot near where the villagers kept their livestock. Arlene continued past the enclosure where the sheep grazed, and Scarlett upped her pace to keep up. Two men tending to the animals watched as they walked by, but neither seemed to offer any greetings.

Soon they reached the edge of the forest, where Arlene continued into the thick underbrush without an ounce of hesitation. Scarlett followed, trying her best to avoid the errant thorn branch and other bothersome vegetation. They trekked through the thicket for several minutes until they reached a small clearing where rocks and dead trees littered much of the ground.

Arlene stopped near the mouth of the open space, turning back to Scarlett. “Alright. Show me what you’ve got once more. Give it your all this time.”

Scarlett eyed the raven-haired woman for a moment. This wasn’t exactly the best place to test her abilities… But if this was what she thought it was, she couldn’t very well say no.

“Don’t worry about the forest,” Arlene said. “Just focus on your own work.”

…Alright then.

Scarlett looked down at her waist for a moment, where the [Pouch of Holding] was. She had tested the [Fireguard Knife] the day before, and its empowering effect seemed to work with her pyrokinesis as she’d hoped. The effect wasn’t massive, but it was better than nothing. Though perhaps it was better to do this without the aid of an artifact like that.

She raised both hands. With a reasonable amount of mental effort, she summoned a dozen medium-sized Aqua Mines; the limit of what her current hydrokinesis would allow her. Centered on a large tree trunk nearby, each Mine blazed like a tiny miniature star. She detonated them in order, and splinters blasted away with each impact as pockets of steam burst forth. When she was finished, the trunk was left with several large chunks missing.

She glanced at Arlene, who held an impassive expression at the display.

Taking a deep breath, Scarlett gathered even more of her focus. A wave of heat drowned the clearing as four large spheres of fire flared into existence, each enough to swallow a person whole. If she hadn’t activated [Sidhe’s Flowing Garbs] before starting, she probably wouldn’t have been able to handle the increase in temperature.

The flames were a dark red at first. As she concentrated, their color turned lighter and lighter. Soon, they passed a whitish orange into an almost bright white. Scarlett kept them as they were for a few seconds, narrowing her eyes as the image threatened to burn itself into her retinas. Finally, she moved all the spheres together, morphing them into a behemoth of a fire that would have engulfed even an elephant with no trace.

She paused as Arlene started walking towards the flames.

“Keep it up,” the woman said.

Scarlett blinked, then returned her focus to the magic. Sweat had started running down her brow. This was eating through her mana stores quickly, but she could maintain it for at least a bit longer.

Arlene stopped to study the giant mass of fire, apparently not bothered by the heat at all. Scarlett blanched as the woman then stepped into the flames.

But she didn’t let her magic dissipate.

After a few seconds, the woman reappeared with a calm expression from where she had entered.

“That’s enough,” she said.

Scarlett immediately dismissed her fire.

A warm gust blew across the clearing as the temperature dropped. Her gaze passed over the surroundings, but none of the nearby vegetation seemed to have been affected by the flames, save for a small segment precisely under where her spheres had been.

Arlene walked towards her, not a hair out of place after walking into a literal fire.

Scarlett hadn’t been expecting her magic to be at a level where it could do much to the woman. That much was true. But that it would be completely worthless point-blank like this? When she was giving it her all? That was insane.

It was also a good showing of how powerful Arlene truly was.

Not that Scarlett actually knew her level. In the game, certain characters had question marks instead of numbers for levels when you first met them. Arlene had been one of them. The question mark didn’t necessarily mean they were incredibly high level, though. Just that the game simply wouldn’t tell you their actual level at the time. Often it was revealed at some later point. But there were instances—like with Arlene—where you never learned their real level even after completing the relevant questlines. As such, much of what Scarlett had to go off when it came to the woman’s strength was from context clues. There was just one occasion where you actually saw a level for Arlene, but she was pretty sure it was artificially lowered for that specific quest.

“You’ve got some drive behind your flames, but there’s too much flair.” Arlene stopped in front of her. She held up a hand and a small fire appeared above it. “What do you see?”

Scarlett inspected the flame dance in the air for a few seconds. “I see nothing beyond a fire.”

A frown grew across Arlene’s face. “You haven’t learned to perceive mana?”

“I have not learned spells of any kind. That includes ones that would aid me in observing mana.”

“…That shouldn’t be possible,” the woman said. She went quiet, brows furrowing even further. After a moment, she lowered her hand—her fire dissipating into the air—and waved her hand to the side. “Alright. You conjure a flame.”

Scarlett summoned a simple ball of fire.

“You seem fond of spheres,” Arlene noted. She pointed at the fire. “What do you see?”

Scarlett turned an eye to her. The woman had realized she had a way of perceiving her own mana, at the very least. Turning back to her magic, Scarlett scrutinized it closely. What was she supposed to see? “Beyond the fire, what I see is an accumulation of mana.”

“And what does that consist of?”

“…It is gathered in clusters of mana.”

“And those?”

She stayed silent for a bit. Next would be the strands of mana that made up those clusters, but was that was the woman was asking? “…Are you perhaps referring to the mana itself?”

“Yes. What does it consist of?”

“…I do not know,” Scarlett said. “If I were to speculate, I would say it is some form of energy. At least I would gather that much to be obvious.”

“Energy?” Arlene raised her eyebrows, seeming to consider the answer. She nodded her head. “That’s about as good an answer as any, I suppose. Then, how would you say that mana—or energy—creates fire?”

Scarlett turned to her. “I will admit that I am at a loss in that regard.”

Arlene gave her a long look. “…You aren’t much of a mage, are you?”

“I have never claimed to be.”

The woman shook her head. “It’s a miracle you can do as much as you can. You can release your mana for now.”

Scarlett did as she said.

“What do you think the difference is between this—” Arlene raised her hand again and performed a simple motion. A small flame appeared in the air. “—and this?” Another flame appeared beside it.

Scarlett eyed the two flames. She couldn’t see a difference, but that didn’t say much. “One is evanescent magic, and the other is manifest?”

“Wrong. One is evanescent, and the other is true pyrokinesis. The same thing you are doing.”

Both flames disappeared.

“The difference between manifest magic and pyrokinesis is miniscule. They could even be said to be variations of the same technique, depending on which mage you ask. What they aren’t, however, are true manifestations of their elements.”

Arlene looked over at Scarlett. “Have you heard of the term ‘true pyrokinesis’ before?”

Scarlett shook her head. “I have not.”

“What do you think it means?”

“…From your previous words, I would imagine it refers to pyrokinesis which creates actual flames?”

“The opposite.” Arlene’s lips curled upward slightly. “The nomenclature among mages isn’t always the most descriptive. In truth, manifest magic and normal pyrokinesis are the closest thing you can get to actually recreating the elements they draw upon. A flame created through normal pyrokinesis will bear almost no difference compared to a real flame. It also shares the same limitations. True pyrokinesis, however, isn’t bound by those laws. It draws from the root of the element itself. It’s the hallmark of a true beginner to believe that the element of fire is the same thing as actual fire. True pyrokinesis is shaped more by the will and skill of the user than anything else.”

Scarlett considered the woman’s words. She did not mind being referred to as a ‘true beginner’ as much as she would have thought. It was the truth, anyhow. “If I am understanding you correctly, does this not mean that true pyrokinesis is a superior variant of pyrokinesis?”

“Not necessarily. It’s more difficult to use, yes. I’ve only known a handful of people capable of it. But it could be compared to using a great sword to cut bread, when a knife would both be more precise and efficient. Still, it has its uses. Mainly when it comes to the development and application of some higher-level spells that require bending the laws of the world to even work.”

“Such as primordial spells?”

“Exactly like primordial spells.”

Scarlett nodded slowly. “If so, why have I not heard of true pyrokinesis before this?”

“Have you ever spoken with a mage about it before?” Arlene asked.

“Of course.”

“Then they likely didn’t know the difference. Some mages never learn the correct theory. Just look at yourself.”

“…Very well. Let us say that is the case.” Scarlett looked Arlene in the eyes. “What does this mean for the application of my magic?”

Arlene regarded her for a few seconds. “It means you’re holding yourself back trying to learn unnecessary things.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s like I said. There’s a difference between pyrokinesis and true pyrokinesis.”

Arlene turned to the side. Another bright-red flame appeared in the air, this time without any movement from the woman’s end. “This is normal pyrokinesis,” she said and gestured at the fire. The color intensified, shifting towards a bright white before finally reaching a bright blue. “What do you think this color means?”

Scarlett eyed the flame. “It has reached a higher temperature, has it not?”

Although she was far from an expert on the subject—she only remembered minor details—she at least knew that temperature was one of the main things that affected a flame’s color. Blue equals hotter. Other factors was the fuel that was burning and different kinds of chemicals, she was pretty sure.

“You’re…mostly correct. Though I suspect not for the right reason. It is hotter. But more importantly, when mana is the source for the magic, this color shows you’re utilizing it more efficiently, cycling the mana as you need to, and ensuring it gets the air it requires to breathe properly. You’re taking these factors, and several more, into consideration, in order to make sure there is less waste.”

Another flame appeared beside the first, bearing an orangish, bright white color.

“This one is the same temperature as your fire was earlier. So, which one is hotter?”

Scarlett eyed the flames. “The blue one, no?”

Arlene shook her head. “The other one is twice as hot.”

Scarlett raised a brow.

The white flame suddenly changed color, turning a clear yellow. “Now, which one do you think is hotter?”

“…I presume it is still the yellow flame. Although I cannot claim to know why.”

“It’s three times as hot as the blue one right now.”

Arlene dismissed both fires and turned back to Scarlett. “Like I said, true pyrokinesis isn’t bound by the same laws as manifest magic and normal pyrokinesis. The problem is that you’re treating yours like it is. That’s no different from tying your hands behind your back when riding a horse and trying to steer with your legs. This is the most fundamental of mistakes you’re making, but there are many others.”

Scarlett eyed the woman for a few seconds. “Can I take this to mean that you have decided to teach me, despite your previous stance on the subject?”

“You’re asking if I’m willing to take you in as a disciple?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know. But after seeing the change between the you two days ago and the you today, I decided it would be a sin to let all that potential be wasted on basic mistakes such as this.” Arlene’s face turned darker. “But I think we both know that having me as your master wouldn’t bring anyone much good.”

“I disagree. I believe it would be beneficial for the both of us,” Scarlett said.

“You’ll most definitely want to take those words back one day.”

“We will see.”

The woman gave her a long look. “Yes. We’ll see. Regarding both things.”

Scarlett gave a short nod and glanced to the side.

[Mana: 343/4646]

Her earlier display of her magic had been a bit wasteful. But now that they were here, she didn’t want to go back just yet.

She turned to the center of the clearing and conjured another small flame. “For now, perhaps you can tell me what it is I can do to improve. I would not want to have my hands remain bound forever, after all.”