“Casting? You mean, like, the activation of spells?” asked Chara, her mana swirling in anticipation.

  “Ihe art of [Spell Casting] is a profound and mysterious discipline, enpassing many fields of study and c a vast array of topics… But for now, we’ll focus on just its three basic steps,” Curiosity passionately introduced.

  “I’ll be demonstrating each step as I teach to ensure you uand, so watch closely,” she added sternly.

  Without dey, Curiosity dove straight into the lesson.

  “Step one is [Envision]!” she decred, in a tone of absolute certainty, leaving no room for doubts. heless, after a short pause, her swirling became turbulent, and her mana quivered.

  “Oh my~! It seems like I fot how to envision. Would you be a good spirit and remind me of how to do it?” she pleaded ily while soundiremely embarrassed.

  Who are y to fool with that poor ag!

  Chara was not vinced. Regardless, she obediently answered the chartan’s question, if only so they could move on. “Envisioning is like Imagining, but with i.”

  “Oh my, what a smart spirit. I think I remember now~!” praised the swirling teacher while sounding very proud.

  “Ahem, so, for the first step of casting, you must envision the desired effect of your spell. It’s best to visualize the entire process, step by step, including the desired oute. The more detailed the visualization, the better.

  “For this demonstration, I’m going to envision this piece of obsidian floating through the air and nding on your desk.”

  Following her decration, the room went silent.

  …

  ……

  “Uhm, you ’t see it, but I’m doing it right now,” assured the greater spirit.

  Chara certainly couldn’t see anything, but she could vaguely make out some kind of gaze directed at the area in front of her. She didn’t know how to describe this feeling; she just k was the case.

  “Step two is, perf an [Invocation]! It’s a bit tricky, but basically, you must perform some kind of a that clearly expresses the underlying principles of the intended effect of your spell.

  “Sihe goal of my spell is to make this rock float, I’m going to try to vey the principle of [Buoyancy]. That is, an upward force exerted by liquids and gases on objects less dehan themselves. Unfortunately, this principle is a little abstract, making it rather challenging to express. So instead…” the greater spirit chattered on endlessly without ever running out of breath. After all, spirits didn’t have lungs.

  The longer Chara listehe more fused she got over time.

  Miss, I came here to learn about magiot fluid dynamics…

  “…Hence, I will recite a poem~!” cluded Curiosity—a statement that Chara might have found reasonable if she had been paying attention.

  …What?!

  The little spirit was in disbelief. Nay, she refused to believe! This was a huge crisis. How could she be made to engage in a round of sm poetry or sing a song every time she had to cast a spell? Wasn’t that too inve and too embarrassing?

  Lamentably, the curiosity spirit was pletely serious, and after doing the spirit equivalent of clearihroat, she began her recital.

  “Ile waves, it softly sways,“A buoyant spirit finds its way.“Lifted on the breeze’s hold,“Floating where the stars unfold.”

  A mystical quality infused her voice. With eaote she sang, the mana surrounding the ominous bck rock grew increasingly restless, as if being affected by some unseen force.

  “Guided by steltions bright,“We sail through the velvet night.“In the vast expanse, our hearts ignite,“As we chase the stars, our souls take flight.

  “Through moonlit paths and silver streams,“Guided by the night’s soft gleams.“With each crest and ebb, we roam,“Expl realms far from home.”

  When Curiosity finished her poem, her mana swelled with pride at her own stunning performance.

  Speechless, the little spirit could only stare in astonishment and disbelief.

  What the heck? That sounded really good!

  Sensing Baby’s admiring gaze, the swirling teacher giggled bashfully before remarking, “By the way, steps one and two be done iher order. It doesn’t really matter, as long as both are performed around the same time.”

  The little spirit bobbed up and down to show her uanding.

  “Finally, step three, supplying mana! By this point, assuming the previous steps worked as intended, you should have created something known as a [Spell struct]. While you may not be able to perceive it directly, your intuition should give you a rough idea of how much mana you o activate it.

  “Pay close attention to this feeling, it’s extremely important! And, if you ever feel like something bad might happen if you plete the spell, abort immediately!” warned Curiosity while soundiremely serious, as opposed to her usual sing-song voice.

  “Y—Yes,” answered the little spirit while looking off to the side.

  Curiosity gazed at her ily before tinuing, “If you don’t feel anything, then it means the spell failed. But if you do, then just follow your instincts, supply the [Spell struct] with mana, and bam—you’ve got a spell!”

  Following her instrus, a small amount of mana broke away from her ethereal cloud-like body. Without warning, the initially calm mana’s swirling grew increasingly intense as it shoh an aqueous light. Then, the mana surged towards the ominous bck rock, permeating into its surface. Suddenly, the piece of obsidian broke away from the pull of gravity and asded into the air.

  Chara marveled as it journeyed across the and op her desk, letting out a sharp cck as it smacked against the stone surface.

  “That’s pretty much it. Envisioning, perf an invocation, and supplying mana; the three steps of casting~! Iy, there’s a lot more to each step than just that, but we go over that ter,” cluded Curiosity while swirling cheerfully.

  After a brief silehe little spirit g the object atop her desk, only to be taken aback by its intense, shadowy dark appearance.

  Whoa…

  Given obsidian’s gss-like properties, under normal circumstances, each facet of its surface should catch the light in unique and iing ways, refrag into a spectrum of dark hues. Yet, the stone in front of her simply absorbed all light, as if she were staring into a miniature void. It was too ominous.

  Obsidian? Are you sure this isn’t a piece of the Devil?

  heless, as she put this out of her mind and gnced between the rod the greater spirit, her mind was enveloped with only ohought.

  I want to do that too!

  Notig her rea, the curiosity spirit giggled. “Since you look so eager, why don’t you try returning it to my desk?” she suggested in a pyful voice.

  maury