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Chapter 16 - chapter 16: Practice

There was no dedicated classroom in the castle, so Owen had someone redecorate a reception room yesterday to use as a temporary classroom.

This would be the place for learning from now on. Fanny followed Owen into the temporary classroom. Looking around, she couldn't help but exclaim in her heart, "This place is absolutely wonderful!"

"You can sit over there," Owen said, casually pointing to a seat.

Fanny nodded and walked over, sitting down obediently in her seat.

Owen first placed some items on the podium, then came before Fanny and placed a rather simply bound book on her desk.

"This book is lent to you. You can take it home to read, but please remember to take good care of it."

This book was transcribed by Owen during his studies at the Magic Academy, and it also contained some of his own insights, hoping to provide some help to Fanny.

Carefully picking up the book, Fanny flipped through a few pages and was deeply attracted by the magic knowledge within.

She never expected to study magic again, and to be personally taught by the Lord at that! It was truly miraculous! Her parents' hopes for her could finally be realized.

Just as Fanny was feeling moved, Owen walked onto the podium and began his first lesson.

"Alright, let's start directly with your weak point, mana manipulation. First, turn to the page in your book..."

And so, Fanny and her sister began a new life in Border Garrison Town, completely bidding farewell to their past hardships.

...

As the Lord, Owen had many matters to attend to and could not teach Fanny every day. Moreover, magic was not something that could be learned by theory alone; one had to actively practice and gradually comprehend it through practical application.

Therefore, most of Fanny's magic lessons were practical sessions, practiced in the courtyard, under the guidance of Chief Knight Mapel. As a Magic Knight, she was quite skilled in mana manipulation.

Only when Owen was free would Fanny attend theoretical lessons in the temporary classroom.

After several days of study and practice, Fanny's mana manipulation abilities had improved significantly. It seemed she was indeed a promising talent, just lacking sufficient cultivation.

Watching Fanny's increasingly fluid use of magic, Owen felt as if he had stumbled upon a treasure.

One morning, Owen specifically came to the courtyard to check on Fanny, who was practicing. At that moment, she was practicing the Fire Pillar, a fire-elemental magic needed for cement firing.

Starting from a ball of flame, it rapidly converged to form a blazing Fire Pillar. Next, this Fire Pillar became thicker and shorter, turning into a fiery disc. After a while, it returned to its original shape, then transformed into a fiery disc again.

After repeating this exercise several times, Fanny finally withdrew her magic without any hesitation.

"Very good," Mapel, who was nearby, commented, "You can now freely change the shape of your magic, and your level of mana manipulation is considered proficient."

"This is all thanks to Young Miss Mapel. Thank you for practicing magic with me," Fanny said gratefully.

After a few days of getting along, the two had become quite familiar. Fanny even privately called Mapel by her first name, instead of the initial "Knight Jarvis's Young Miss" address.

"Not bad, you're already practicing quite well."

At this moment, Owen walked over with a smile.

"Good morning, Lord Owen."

"Good morning, Marquis."

Seeing the Lord arrive, Mapel and Fanny both bowed and greeted him.

"Fanny, how about you observe the cement firing process at the cement workshop today? The firing room is starting work today."

Owen estimated that it was about time for Fanny to learn at the cement workshop. Perhaps in two more days, she could officially start the firing work. At that time, he would be freed from the cement workshop and could begin preparing for the next phase of work.

"Really? That's great!" Fanny cheered.

Her reason for happiness was that the days of basic wages were drawing closer. According to the contract, once Fanny could fire cement independently, her daily wage would multiply several times, reaching one silver coin per day.

In the past, this would have been a huge sum for Fanny.

"Mapel, you go with her too. Your magic assistance is needed during the cement firing."

The Frost Cloak was extremely expensive, and currently, there was only one. Owen gritted his teeth and ordered another from the Royal Capital, but it hadn't arrived yet. Therefore, they could only rely on Mapel's magic for cooling for now.

"Yes," Mapel nodded.

...

Arriving at the cement workshop, Fanny curiously watched as the raw materials for cement were processed step by step into raw meal. Although she didn't quite understand it, she felt it was very impressive.

"Eh? Uncle Garcia?"

At the entrance of the firing room, Fanny actually saw a familiar face; that person lived next door to her house. At this moment, Uncle Garcia, as she called him, was wearing a Frost Cloak and holding a staff inlaid with a very high-quality hot magic stone, preparing to enter the firing room.

Perhaps hearing his name, Garcia turned his head and looked over.

"Isn't this little Fanny? How are you..."

Seeing Mapel beside Fanny, he immediately understood: "Oh! So you are the second fire-elemental mage the Marquis mentioned."

"Uncle Garcia, so you're a mage too! You've kept it well hidden."

Fanny had visited this neighbor's house, where only Garcia and his wife, who had difficulty moving, resided. Both of them were particularly fond of Lilika, and through these interactions, everyone became familiar with each other.

Fanny had never seen Garcia wear a mage's robe or mention being a mage, and coupled with his honest and simple appearance, she had thought he was a local of Border Garrison Town.

"You're the same, aren't you?"

Similarly, Fanny had not mentioned her own identity, and the clothes she wore were gifted by the Lord.

Because Owen saw that she and Lilika didn't have many decent clothes, he had Ryan send them a few sets. The patched mage's robe was kept as it was a precious memory for her.

"Hehe," Fanny giggled foolishly, "Oh, right! The Marquis asked me to observe the cement firing process. I'll be troubling you, Uncle Garcia!"

"No problem. First, let me introduce you to the equipment used for firing cement. This is..."

Garcia introduced the equipment on his person one by one. Fanny listened attentively, her eyes filled with envy. The Frost Cloak and that staff were very Advanced equipment. She truly hoped to start working on cement firing soon and personally try out that equipment.

Afterward, the three entered the firing room, all wearing long cloth strips as required.

Before starting work, Garcia said to Fanny, "When I fire the cement later, I will explain all the steps. If you have any questions, don't ask me yet, because I need to focus on manipulating my mana and cannot be distracted to answer. All questions, wait until I have finished firing, then you can ask me, understood?"

"Understood," Fanny nodded solemnly.

"First is the drying stage..."

After saying the first step, Garcia raised his staff, chanted an incantation, and cast the magic Fire Pillar.

Throughout the entire process, Fanny diligently noted down the steps and carefully observed Garcia and the furnace, afraid of missing any detail. There was also an hourglass in the firing room, and she noticed that Garcia strictly adhered to the firing time at each stage.

Halfway through, Fanny was already feeling uncomfortably hot. Fortunately, Mapel was by her side, and her magic made Fanny feel a bit more comfortable and cool.

Only after experiencing it firsthand did Fanny deeply realize the difficulty of firing cement, no wonder one needed to wear a Frost Cloak to work.

After the firing was complete, the three exited the firing room. While waiting for the clinker to cool, Fanny asked Garcia a barrage of questions.

Most of the questions were answered, but Garcia himself couldn't clearly explain a few. For example, what is Celsius? Why is temperature expressed that way? How is the required temperature measured and known?

These questions, perhaps only Owen could answer for Fanny.

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