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A few days later the group was outside of the hideout, getting ready to go to the Heart Kingdom. They each have their own goals, a determination within them to become stronger. Rena thought it was rather admirable how enthusiastic they each were. Finral activated his portal and they began the journey to the heart kingdom.
They soon arrived in front of an old building that looked like it was from Greek mythology. There were four other people waiting for them. A young girl with reddish brown hair eagerly getting Asta and the boy next to her did as well. He looked like one of the squad captains from the exam. Speaking of squad captains, the other two that were there were in fact squad captains. The youngest one with the spiky aqua-blue hair and the blonde woman with a braid resting on the left side of her head. Her hair wasn't in a bun this time and she was missing the armor. She was giving Rena an intense stare.
Soon a tall, tan skinned man with a scar running up his neck to his chin approached the group. He led them to see the queen. The throne room was not at all what Rena was expecting. It was enclosed, dark, and damp. Though the dampness was probably from the giant water undine who was behind the queen.
The queen was also not what Rena expected. She seemed to be dressed in casual clothes, her hair was not done up, and she had something on her lap. No wait, she had someone on her lap.
Of course everyone also noticed the someone sitting on the queen's lap. They all stared in confusion and amusement.
The girl with the reddish hair, who Rena learned was called Mimosa, spoke up first.
“I'm sorry, I know it's rude to interrupt but that person resting in your lap..”
“Why, it's Charmy obviously, “ the queen replied.
“No, trust me, we know who it is, but what the heck is she doing here!?” Noelle asked the question on everyone's mind.
Charmy chirped up “Wherever snacks may be, you'll find me!”
“Sounds about right.” Magna joked.
After some random comments the queen had tasked the tanned skin man, named Gaja, to begin to explain about the training and the individuals they called spirit guardians.
There were 6 spirit guardians that everyone was going to be rotating through to strengthen their mana. They were training to become something called ‘arcane stage’ mages.
The kingdom to the north called Spade had invaded the Diamond kingdom and everyone believed they would be coming for either the heart or the clover kingdom next. The two renaming kingdoms decided to come together to strengthen their magic to fight against their common enemy.
After Gaja had given everyone their assignments, he had asked Asta for a mock battle so he could determine his strength level. He had also asked Rena to stick behind because he knew nothing about her magic or that she was even coming. He wanted to gauge her level as well so he could understand what training she would need to undergo and what stage she was at.
Gaja was teaching Magna and Luck how to create mana words. Mana words were a necessary skill in the Heart kingdom. Gaja explained that by applying mana words to one's spell, you can give it a more complex directive. It took Rena a few tries but she got the hang of it quickly.
Before Astas mock battle, Gaja wanted to understand Rena’s magic so they could place her in the proper place for training. Rena was getting excited. She had mastered all the basic elements and was now going to try to combine them into their stronger forms. Aether had said there were a multitude of combos but the easiest ones for Rena would be lighting, magma, ice, and fairy. Rena figured since Gaja was the lightning spirit she'd start with that form.
“Before we begin, I would like it if you told me a little about your magic. I sense that you wield a special type and hold a strong amount of mana.” Gaja asked Rena with an even tone.
“Well, I guess you could say I was blessed by a guardian. I can actually use all 6 basic elements: air, fire, earth, water, light, and in rare cases dark. I'd like to train my abilities to combine these into stronger forms.”
Gaja’s face twitched a little as Rena explained her magic. “I don't think I've heard of anyone using more than two element types of magic before.”
“Ahh wellll I'm sort of from.. A different.. Continent..” Rena tried to explain while dodging the question.
“Is that so? Well then, I would like you to show me the basics of your magic. Then from there we can decide where to put you first.” Gaja said plainly.
Rena decided to show him each of the elements. She went through 5 of the basic elements showing him small spells for each,displaying just enough power to prove she wants a beginner but keeping her true power under wraps.
“Very impressive. You said you can use 6 base elements, what about the last one?” Gaja questioned.
“Ah, the dark element. To use that one requires a lot of concentration and a clear mind. It's the combination of all of the basic elements together. If I'm being honest, I would like to refrain from using that one.” Rena explained.
Gaja thought for a moment before nodding. “Understood. If you strengthen your other elements I assume the dark element will strengthen as well. It makes sense to focus on the others. Now, you said you can combine these to create other forms? How does that work exactly?”
“Well for example, my teacher said that if I combine fire and air I can create an electric element like lightning.”
“Why don't you try that, we can see how it works and if it would be better to focus on the combos themselves or strengthen the core elements instead.”
Rena activated her air element in full force, changing her appearance. Taking a deep breath she then focused on activating her fire element. This is sort of like when Aether had me activate everything to try the dark element, I'm just doing two at a time instead of five.
She could feel the fire flowing through as it tangled itself with the air. Suddenly it began to tingle and spark. With her eyes closed she can almost see the strands of magic flowing. She saw the light gray followed by a bright orange. Once they merged she could see it turning into yellow and blue.
Her appearance began to change again to reflect her new form. When she opened her eyes she could feel the electricity flowing through her.
“Well done. How do you feel?” Gaja asked.
“I feel fantastic! It's like I can feel both the base elements but also their strength when combined.” Rena said excitedly.
“Very good. Being in tune with your magic and feeling its natural essence is an essential part to strengthening your power. I think we will still have you train each of your attributes with each spirit guardian and make your way back here. Which base would you say is your weakest?”
“Hmm I would say Air, followed by earth. Water and fire are my strongest.”
“Very well. Let's send you over to Smurik, the wind spirit first. The following day to Sarado, the earth spirit. Then back here to see if your lighting has improved.”
Rena thanked Gaja as she headed out to where Smurik was training Finral. As she left, Gaja couldn't help but feel that there was something familiar about her magic. Really familiar.
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