"Macy, it's been a week, I don't think I can do this," I tell my cousin.

"You have 9 Magic," she says. "The Wind-Charged Title, and are in the Wind Shrine. You'll make it."

That's easy for her to say. She grew up here and had already taken on her second magic-based Class before she learned her first wind spell. I'm pretty sure that being the Wind Guardian also comes with perks for using wind spells and Skills, too.

Regardless, I give it another try, focusing on the slight feeling of magic within me. According to Macy, that sense for my own magic and mana will grow stronger as I grow more used to sensing it, and that it's only faint because I've never really used it before. Even more powerful adventurers would only feel it faintly at first because they're used to relying on the System doing all the work.

Pushing with my power, I attempt the spell again, attempting to form wind out of the tip of my right index finger as I point at a leaf resting on the table. Once again, nothing happens. Despite the failure which number I've lost track of, I listen to Macy's encouragement and try again.

Focus on my inner power, draw upon my mana, visualize the spell, and cast. A small breeze, pushing out of my finger and into the leaf. The actual steps to cast the spell are a little more complicated than that, but that's the basis of it.

Following Macy's instructions, I try again and again. Drake's been recovering from having a portion of his essence drawn out of him for a week now, and Macy's pushed for me to do this for at least an hour every day. Apparently, the need for people to use spells rather than System Skills extends to someone who already has a magical bloodline and will naturally obtain new spells over time, which means I'd have my own ways to increase my magical power and my own spells to use.

I think the real reason Macy's doing this, even if she won't admit it, is that she isn't really sure how to teach someone how to cast a spell, and so is using me as a test run. The minor changes to her teaching style every day tells me that.

Almost twenty minutes after I nearly gave up again today, I feel a slight dimming of my magic, and the left is blown away.

"Managed it," I say. "Though that feels exhausting."

Extremely exhausting. It feel likes I just tried dead-lifted Drake, but with my brain. Complete with a strong headache.

"Yeah," Macy says. "I forgot about that. When I first started casting spells, I ignored the headaches, and just kept casting them over and over. Knocked myself out eight times before learning my lesson."

"You can knock yourself out casting spell?" I ask in horror.

"Only if you're careless," she tells me. "And it's mostly a starting thing, though if I try to cast a really powerful spell, and it's pretty far beyond my limits, I'll pass out as well. How much did that cost you?"

I give my Mana a quick check.

"3 Mana," I answer.

"About what it cost me," she nods. "Did you notice a difference in your magic when you cast the spell? Other than the mental deadlift you just did?"

"It dimmed a little," I tell her.

"Dimmed?" She asks.

"Erm," I think about it. "Well, that's best explanation I can give for how it felt. It just felt like it dimmed, it's not like I could see it or anything."

"It differs from person to person," she tells me. "Though it's not like it's completely unique. The Fire Guardian and I both sense our magic as some sort of pool of power, and when we use it, that pool shrinks. Though we're both used to sensing our magic and can visualize it, and our visualizations are different. His is this mass of energy within him, while mine is more 'another level of existence' kind of pool of magic. Once you get used to feeling your power, you'll probably figure out why it feels like it dimmed."

"Okay," I say. "Should I wait to cast this until the headache goes away?"

"Depends on you," she tells me. "If the headache's not too bad, you can keep going. But as soon as you start feeling a sharp pain between your eyes or needles poking at your skull, stop. Another one to three casts will knock you out."

Considering I only have enough mana to cast six of them before needing to rest, I doubt I'll run into that here. It's still good to know, though, for when I have a bigger pool of mana. Picking up the leaf, I return it to the table and cast the spell again.

The leaf blows away, and my headache worsens. I only manage one more cast before I'm feeling both needles and the sharp pain.

"And you manage to do this regularly?" I groan and sit at the table, rubbing my temples as I squeeze my eyes shut, the light in the room hurting.

"The headaches stop once you're used to magic," she says. "I did say that. Our theory is that it has to do with the fact that we aren't used to casting magic. Normally, the System activates a spell and draws the mana out of us directly. We don't do any work other than giving the Skill's name and aiming it."

"Whereas with casting spells," I say. "We're doing the work ourselves, and it's not something we're used to?"

"Pretty much," Macy nods. "It's our magic actually having to move, rather than an effect occurring because we said something."

"Makes sense," I say. "How long does it take for the headache to pass?"

"Up to a couple of hours," she answers. "I'm not going to lie, I'm actually impressed."

"Really?" I ask. "Why?"

"Because if magical talent," she says. "Is directly related to both your innate talent for magic and how high your Magic stat is, then managing three basic wind spells before getting to the 'wait, you're doing too much' point is impressive with only 9 Magic."

"How much did you have?" I ask. "And how much could you do?"

"Well," she says. "I had around 30 Magic when I became the Wind Guardian, and I was born and raised here, so my affinity for wind magic is also higher. I managed six."

"That's twice as much as me," I say. "And I have a magical bloodline, even if it's based in another type of magic."

"I'm not denying that," she tells me. "I think an ordinary person with 9 Magic might only manage one of those blasts. Actually, I think your mother contributed to you managing the third one. Even if she didn't give you a magical bloodline, she did grow up in an area saturated by an Elemental Crystal."

"Don't remind me," I groan, putting my head and arms on the table, stretching my arms out.

"Not looking forward to seeing her?" She asks.

"Not in the slightest."

My mother is the Water Guardian, though she became so when I was six. Because she became it after I was born, being an Elemental Guardian who learned spells wouldn't have turned into a bloodline I inherited. After all, the bloodlines come about based on what they could do when the child was conceived.

Most Elemental Guardians don't have children, and I doubt any of them trained their spells as much as Granny trained hers. Those two things combined are likely the reason we're the first known magical bloodline.

Once my mother became the Water Guardian after receiving the position, she moved back to the island of her youth, where she'd met my dad while he journeyed as an adventurer a few times as well as on his way to the eastern continent. Because it takes about a month to travel straight to or from the island and this continent, she can't visit often. As a result, I didn't see her very often between when she became the Water Guardian and when I moved out to Silent Valley.

Much like with my father, I haven't seen her at all since moving out to Silent Valley. I suppose she's never had an issue seeing Calvin after he learned to teleport over greater distances, and she's been visited by Granny recently through Calvin's power, but I'm definitely the son she's interacted with the least. Because she still visited the capital every couple of years, she's seen Taylor a few times since I moved.

Chances are pretty high she's going to scold me for not coming to visit once I visit her. Unless she's had a massive personality change since I moved, though, it's doubtful she'd refuse us entry into the Water Trial or intentionally delay it over that. At least, delay it too long. She might make us wait an extra day just to ensure she can spend a little time with me before we go into the trial, but that would probably be it.

"That's what you get for running away from home," Macy claps me on the back. "Once your journey is over, make sure to visit her more often."

"Yeah," I tell her. "I'll do that, though with my own duties once I finish both of these quests, it probably won't be much."

"It'll probably be more than these past seven years," Macy pulls her hand away. "I'm going to fix some dinner for you and Drake."

"I told you," I sit up and open my eyes. "I'm cooking while Drake's recovering. No offense, but while your cooking's improved, mine's better."

"Yours is definitely better," she says. "But you're suffering a nasty headache right now and I don't want to wait for my own dinner."

"I can cook with a headache."

"How well?" She folds her arms across her chest.

I'll probably mess up a fair few times, the headache is making it hard to focus on things.

"Fine," I relent. "But only because my headache is too harsh to argue."

Macy chuckles, then leaves the room, and I locate the leaf and play around with it for awhile as I think about things.

I'm not going to be fighting with spells anytime soon, the main purpose of this really is just to build up my own magical abilities that aren't through the System. I'll probably never learn more than a basic spell or two outside of my bloodline magics, mostly as an additional form of magic practice. Even if I did start using magic to fight alongside Drake, I'm much too weak to be of much use right now.

Especially considering that casting spells gives me nasty headaches. How long can I expect for that to stop?

Eventually, Macy returns with a tray of food. It looks like rabbit that was segmented and grilled up, seasoned with herbs and coated with a thick sauce, served with seasoned mashed potatoes, a salad, and mixed berries, along with a cup of cold ale. The serving portions are massive, more than I'd normally eat.

"Thanks," I tell her.

"You're welcome," she sits beside me. "I already gave Drake his dinner and ate my own. Don't give me that look, I learned the hard way not to eat until the headache had mostly subsided, and from my own experience and what was mentioned in the logs, you only started to find relief recently."

"Yeah," I admit. "The last ten minutes or so is how long it's been more than manageable."

"You'd have gotten sick if I brought you food when I finished mine and Drake's," Macy tells me. "Eat up, you're going to feel famished in a few minutes. Casting spells can starve you."

I nod and dig into my food, and I'm only a few bites in when the hunger hits. She wasn't kidding when she said it would be pretty intense. I'll make sure to be able to eat soon after the headaches end anytime I do train casting spells.

"How was Drake doing?" I ask after I finish.

"Not bad," Macy answers as we stand, and I grab the tray. "He looked like he's recovered, so you two can probably leave tomorrow."

"Alright," I say as we begin walking down to the kitchen. "Has Jennifer and her team finished yet?"

"No," she answers. "They're still a few floors from the end. Unlike you two, they're very cautious in their progress through the trial. I'd expect them to finish in two or three days, and spending eight to ten days in the first trial is actually normal."

"Oi!" I exclaim. "We did act cautiously. We always rested between fights that pushed Drake too hard. Drake barely used his Skills at all, so there wasn't much Mana recovery needed. If we felt tired, we rested. We even got a full-night's sleep between clearing the last floor and fighting the final boss."

"Sure, sure," she says.

"Wait," I realize something. "You can tell where they are?"

"There's a chamber in here where I can check the current progression of a trial, as long as one is going on," she tells me. "And you're right, you two did. Teams with over-powered members can do them a little faster, and Drake definitely counts. Normally, though, there are a few more over-powered members. And members overall."

"Yeah, we're a bit of an exception," I say. "It'll be a long time before I'm more than just someone who disables traps, leads the way, and tends to wounds, though. Even using spells long before I have a combat class won't help. Speaking of that, how long can I expect to deal with the headaches when I train?"

"It took around three years for mine to stop," she tells me as we enter the kitchen. "According to our logs, two to three years is normal."

Yeah, I'm not going to be providing magical attacks unless they're Skills for awhile. In fact, I probably won't during the quest unless it's an emergency.

"I cook, you do the dishes," I say. "You cook, I do the dishes."

"Yeah, yeah," she moves to the table as I step over to the sink. "Planning on continuing to train in spells, then?"

"Maybe once the quest ends," I tell her as I begin washing the dishes. "While I can't do anything to help continue a magical bloodline, I can still contribute to putting more natural magics back into the air. With how old Granny is, if I live as long once I take over, I'll have plenty of time to contribute to that."

Now that I think about it, how much of the magic I can feel at her island comes from her Crystal of Power, and how much of it comes from her own use of magics? Or is her own use, by itself, insignificant?

"I'm going to make sure I do, too," Macy tells me. "Once you leave, I plan to offer the chance to train under me to some of the locals. I've spent the time since Drake told me about the situation deciding on which ones to go with."

"So you've decided?" I ask.

"Yes," she confirms. "There are ten of them. Two who are younger than ten, four who are ages ten through seventeen, and four who are eighteen or older."

"How did you decide on who to pick?" I ask.

"Three of the adults," she tells me. "Are linked into the System and have a little bit of higher magic, and they're all Wind Mages, so I'm sure they'd be happy to learn more spells. One is eighteen, and she seems to wish that she could have become the Wind Guardian, but accepts that she'll likely be too old once I die to do so. I've known her for years, and she's rather nice. There's a sixteen-year-old who likes to help out around here, so he'd probably end up seeing or hearing the lessons anyway, a fourteen-year-old who's dreamed of being a Wind Mage since he was little, a pair of eleven-year-old twin brothers who are calm and focused, the eight-year-old sister of one of the adventurers, who looks up to her big brother and would probably come along for his lessons anyway, and a five-year-old boy who I just get a feeling of the wind from."

"A feeling of the wind?" I ask.

"Yeah," she answers. "It's nothing like your sensing abilities, it's, I dunno, just a feeling of the wind in him. He might be little, but I think I could find a way to teach him."

"Good luck," I tell her.