Second Life: Mage and Youth - 11: Ammi, the Spoiled and her Dog, Doji.

Magic is hard to control…

It took me a while to understand, but magic is somewhat similar to welding a stick. Its nothing but an extension of your body.

Even as I conjured a rock to move, I could feel a connection to it which influences the way it moves based on my intent.

As of now, I was practicing one of the proper ways to fully utilize my control over using simple magic.

One of those practices written in the book was about expanding the limit of your control towards the connection between your spell and your body.

It was written in the book that even for grand master mages, they had the capacity to control magic by their will at distances that leaps over mountains and oceans.

That kind of level was just unbelievably to even imagine, but nonetheless, I had to try.

To expand my connection, one of the examples I was limited to do was throwing a rock out of my own conjuring and throw it at a target. The better the aim, the better control I have over my own magic.

Because of the field that Uncle Cole showed me, I really had a breezy place to practice. Right now, in the shade of the tree, I was about five meters away from a piece of a stabbed branch on the ground…this much distance was a great start.

“Okay…” at the first conjured rock I threw, I was able to miss by about a foot away…the branch was thin, barely could I hit it directly.

After a while, I finally hit it on the 16^th try.

“…Geez, I suck.” I said to myself.

“You can say that again.” said a voice from a distance.

“??”

When I turned to where that voice came from, I saw a girl behind me.

With a blonde hair that went down to her shoulders, blue eyes that resembled the sky, a round face that made me think of an apple, and a dog that was over her head, resting out of the sheer breeziness of the wind, a girl wearing a silky sun dress was there in front of me.

“…Um, who are you?” I asked.

“That’s for me to ask you…so, who are you?” she asked as she was a bit curious by my arrival in this place.

“…Thill…Thill Cicial.” I said my first name.

“Thill? Oh, the city boy!” she said.

She must have implied that since I went and attended the academy which was in the Empire’s City grounds.

“…Okay, and whats your name?” I asked.

“Ammi. Me and my dog come here from time to time to play…” she said.

“Oh, you must be the Elder’s granddaughter.” I said as I remembered what Uncle Cole said about a dog and a girl coming here from time to time to play around.

Looking at her age, she was about the same age as me.

“That’s right. By the way, what were you doing?” she asked as she looked at the twig on the ground.

“…I’m practicing magic.” I said.

“I-I know that!” she said as she screamed in a flustered manner.

“What I was asking about was why you were just hitting a stick with rocks? Does that do anything?” she asked.

“Well…in simple terms, this helps me use magic better.”

“I don’t get it…But this is my hiding spot! If you want to practice using your magic, go somewhere else!” she said angrily enough.

“No can do. I like this place…and besides, uncle Cole told me that it was alright to use this place here.” I said.

“…Cole? That hairy old man?…Hmm, if its him, fine I’ll let you play here.” she said.

“…Do you know uncle Cole?”

“He’s the village’s woodsman. Everyone in the village knows him. He was the one who told me this great play spot!” she said.

“…Hmm, since it was Uncle Cole who showed us both this place, lets just agree that we can use it together. Just…don’t bother me when I’m working.” I said.

“Fine, but don’t bother me as well! Doji and I are going to pick some flowers.” she said.

The Doji she mentioned must have been the Dog she has with her.

The Dog was just like any stray wild dog you could find in the street…it resembled Labrador more than any species I knew of. And he seemed friendly enough with how his tongue was sticking out.

With that said, she started picking flowers and I returned back to training my magic.

But fifteen minutes later, while I was meditating…I could feel the Girl’s eyes from the tall grass, stalking me as if I was prey.

“…”

“…Shh, Doji, try and bring one of the books he has to me! I wanna read what’s in them.” she said as she whispered to the dog.

And the dog barked in response.

*Woof!*

Without even trying to hide from me, the dog just went by my side and grabbed a book that was on the floor.

‘Nice!’ thought Ammi.

With its mouth filled with slobber, the dog puts down the book down to the floor, in front of Ammi.

Having to celebrate the success of her mission, she quickly grabbed the book and opened a chapter.

“…”

“…”

“Hmm..”

“…Hn?”

One minute later, she just puts the book back down to the floor.

“I don’t get it.” she said.

Well, obliviously she wouldn’t get it.

To some, learning magic is only felt to the privilege few. And what I mean by that is that those who were born with mana were the one’s capable of easily understanding and learning magic because what they feel and learn was more advance than a common person who did not have the privilege of being born with mana.

What they experience from the feeling of mana is simply what drives their capacity to learn more magic. Those without mana simply could not easily learn magic the same way they do. The people without mana could not fully encapsulate the idea of wielding magic because of their lackness of mana.

And that’s why to Ammi, even if she reads the book in front of her for an entire day, she can only learn a limited amount.

“…Hmm! This sucks!” she said.

Once she said this, I was thrown off of my own meditation.

When I turned to her, she was sulking in the corner like a child…but she was my age which was around 16 i think…but even at that age, she shouldn’t be acting like a spoiled child.

“If you’re just going to whine there like a child, can you just go away now?” I asked.

“Hmph!” but she only pouted in return.

“…Okay, what do you want from me?” I asked since I gave up entirely. If I asked her right now, maybe I can give her something and she might just go away, that way I can go back to studying magic.

“…F-fish!” she said.

“…Fish?”

Without telling me anything more than that, she just started running with the dog into somewhere deep into the forest.

“…?” I was a bit confused, but since she talked about it, I just followed by.

After a while we arrived a steady flowing river.

“…Oh, so you want me to fish?” I asked.

“Yeah!” she said excitedly.

“…But I don’t know how to fish.” I said.

“Eh? But you can use magic!” she said.

“My magic is too weak to be used in something like fishing. If you want fish so much, why don’t you go and get a fishing net and try capturing some.” I said.

“…I can’t, I’m afraid that I might slip and fall again…and grandpa won’t let me borrow his fishing kit.” she said.

“…Did you do this once?” I asked.

And in return, she only nodded her head, with a sad expression.

“Hmm…”

‘What should I do? I’m not really obligated to do anything for her…but then again, I’m starting to see some kind of opportunity here.’ I thought…

After a while, I finally had an idea.

This place was a perfect area to train my magic control on moving objects.

Although my aim in throwing rocks weren’t getting better, this was one of the ways I can use my magic on. If I throw a rock on a moving object, surely it could help me right in improving my skills?

So with that said, I started trying.

First thing to consider was how I should do this.

With how normal rocks might not be enough to kill a fish in one go, I decided to use some more edgy rocks I can use.

Next up was how to get those fishes in the river once I hit one.

Seeing as how the river was flowing in a steady manner, I needed to consider if I was tall enough to stand on it. I don’t really have that much memory coming to this river to swim, so I don’t know if its deep or not.

“Ammi, does your grandpa usually come here to fish?” I asked.

“Yeah, sometimes. But because his back has been hurting for a while now, he rarely has the time to go fishing. Usually he would bring Doji with him to fish…and Doji would enjoy himself by swimming down like one of those fishes. Sometimes he could even catch one with nothing but his mouth.” she said.

“Hmm, okay…anyway, lets just try this for now.” with that said I picked up three edgy and sharp looking rocks.

With the strength of my use in controlling rocks, it was capable enough to break a branch if it was struck right…so if I can do that much damage, surely I can catch a fish right?

Once I got on a good vantage point, I started looking for any fishes that were close by.

“…Hmm?” about seven meters way, I was able to spot a fish swimming against the current.

“Ohh, looks like I found one.” I said.

***

Thill squinted, focusing intently on the fish swimming against the current. It was a decent-sized one, its silvery scales catching the light as it darted through the water. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, raising one of the sharp rocks he had gathered.

“Here goes nothing,” he muttered under his breath.

With a flick of his wrist, he conjured the rock into the air and hurled it toward the fish. The rock skimmed the surface of the water, but the fish darted to the side, escaping unscathed.

“Missed,” Thill muttered, a bit frustrated but determined.

He quickly retrieved another rock, trying again. This time, the rock came closer, but the fish was quick, evading the attack with a sudden burst of speed. Thill clenched his jaw, realizing this would be more difficult than he initially thought.

“Alright, I can do this,” he reassured himself, tossing another rock with more force.

The rock plummeted into the water, creating a small splash, but the fish swam deeper, avoiding the strike altogether.

Thill groaned inwardly. Despite his efforts, the fish seemed to have an uncanny ability to evade his every attempt. He tried again and again, varying his technique—sometimes aiming higher, other times lower—but no matter what he did, the fish always found a way to escape.

By the fifteenth attempt, Thill was visibly frustrated. He had managed to scare the fish away more times than he could count, but he hadn’t caught a single one. Ammi watched from the riverbank, her excitement waning as she observed Thill’s struggle.

“You’re really bad at this, aren’t you?” she teased, her tone light but with an underlying hint of impatience.

Thill ignored her, focusing solely on the task at hand. His initial confidence had wavered, replaced by a growing determination to succeed. This wasn’t just about catching a fish anymore—it was about proving to himself that he could control his magic better than before.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself, his frustration melting away as he concentrated on the flowing river. He remembered what the book had said about expanding the connection between his magic and his body. He needed to feel the rock as an extension of himself, not just as a tool.

Thill closed his eyes for a moment, letting his senses attune to the environment around him. He could hear the gentle rush of the river, the rustling of leaves in the breeze, and even the faint, rhythmic pulsing of mana within him. When he opened his eyes, they were sharper, more focused.

He picked up another rock, this time holding it with a new sense of purpose. With a deep breath, he extended his hand, feeling the connection between his body, the rock, and the fish. He visualized the path the rock needed to take, the force required to reach the fish, and the precise moment to release it.

With a swift motion, he released the rock, propelling it toward the fish with more accuracy than before. The rock sliced through the water, and this time, the fish wasn’t quick enough. The sharp edge of the rock struck its side, and the fish flailed momentarily before going still, caught at last.

Thill’s eyes widened in surprise and satisfaction as he realized he’d finally succeeded. He waded into the water, retrieving the fish and holding it up triumphantly.

“I did it!” he exclaimed, turning to Ammi with a grin.

Ammi clapped her hands, her earlier impatience forgotten. “Wow, you actually caught one! I didn’t think you’d be able to do it.”

Thill chuckled, the tension in his body finally easing. “Yeah, me neither, to be honest. But I guess persistence pays off.”

Thill watched as Ammi admired the fish he had finally caught, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“You’re not as hopeless as you seemed,” she said with a mix of curiosity and admiration, peering at the fish.

Thill chuckled, shaking off the earlier frustrations. “Thanks, I guess. So, do you want this fish or what?”

She nodded eagerly, her beaming smile almost contagious. “You bet I do! Grandpa will be so impressed!”

As Ammi cradled the fish in her hands, Thill felt a renewed sense of determination. He could still feel the connection between his mana and the river, the flow of energy that guided his spells. If he could catch one fish, why not catch more?

He glanced back at the river, scanning the water for movement. Another fish swam into view, and Thill focused, extending his mana to the rock in his hand. This time, he took a deep breath, clearing his mind of any doubts.

The rock shot out, slicing through the water with precision. It struck the fish dead-on, and Thill quickly pulled it out of the water, another successful catch.

Ammi’s eyes widened in surprise. “You did it again!”

Thill grinned. “Let’s see if I can do it a few more times.”

He spent the next hour by the river, honing his control with each throw. The fish didn’t escape this time; each one he aimed at was caught with growing accuracy. The sun began to dip toward the horizon, casting a golden glow over the water, but Thill was too absorbed in his practice to notice. By the time he finally stopped, a small pile of fish lay beside him, evidence of his progress.

Ammi looked at the fish, then at Thill, her admiration now fully apparent. “You’ve really gotten the hang of it.”

Thill, feeling a sense of accomplishment, wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled. “Yeah, I think I’m starting to get it.”

As they gathered up the fish, Thill felt a deeper understanding of his magic settling in. The connection between him and his spells was stronger now, more instinctive. It wasn’t just about aiming or throwing—it was about feeling the flow, the rhythm of the mana, and letting it guide him.

“Grandpa’s going to be so happy with these,” Ammi said as she carefully packed the fish into a small basket she’d brought along.

“And you’ve got a pretty good story to tell him too,” Thill added, feeling a warm sense of pride.

As they walked back through the forest, the sun setting behind them, Thill couldn’t help but feel that today had been a turning point. He had a long way to go, but with patience and persistence, he was sure he could master his magic. And who knew? Maybe one day he’d be able to control his spells from mountains away, just like the grand master mages in the books.

But for now, he was content with the simple victories—a pile of fish, a new friend, and a little more confidence in his abilities.

As the sun was setting by, Thill decided to follow Ammi back to her home. Once he did, he saw the encounter of Ammi greeting her grandfather.

They were close…

“Hmm, where have you been all this time Ammi?” asked her grandpa.

“…Grandpa , you won’t believe what just happened! Thill and I went to the river and we started catching some fish with Magic, Here! I brought some with me.” she said as she showed a bucket of fish on her hands.

“Oh my.” once her grandfather saw this, he turned to Thill and showed his appreciation.

“Thank you boy for doing this. I’m really grateful for what you did…”

“Its no problem Elder, I just wanted to practice using magic, and your granddaughter just gave me the perfect excuse to use magic on something like this. She helped me just as much.” he said.

“Hmm, nonetheless, thank you for playing with Ammi. Not a lot of children can handle just how spoiled she can be, so I hope she wasn’t a bother…”

“Hmm, she was…but, its fine. I can manage that much.” he said. After a while, he waved goodbye and went back home.

But as he was going back home, he could hear say Ammi say her goodbyes inside the house.

“Goodbye Thill, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“…R-right.”it looks like Ammi was going to spend her time with Thill…more than he would like to.