......

  ......

  Once again, Hulim Heyerar knelt before the fireplace, just as she had for days on end. But unlike before, she was no longer just staring at the flames—she had begun to practice casting magic in earnest.

  “【???????????????????】”

  The fire elements swirling around the fireplace flickered faintly, then fell still, with no further reaction.

  “......”

  Hulim did not let discouragement get the better of her. She kept practicing relentlessly.

  “【???????????????????】”

  “【????????????????......”

  “【??????????????......”

  The process of practice was tedious and agonizing—no ordinary young child could have endured sitting still for so long.

  Once, even Hulim herself—fresh from her encounter with Semiris Pan Gine—would have been unable to bear it. But after that unexpected moment of growth in her heart, her resolve to succeed could no longer be shaken. Even when she thought about the teasing she might face if she failed, she calmly pushed the thought aside.

  For her, there was only one thing that mattered now: mastering that spell. Victory or defeat, everything else faded into insignificance.

  And so, a full day passed.

  “【????????????......”

  The fire elements did not respond to Hulim’s call.

  Two days passed.

  “【??????????......”

  The fire elements stirred slightly, a tiny sign of progress.

  Three days passed.

  “【???????......”

  The fire elements trembled noticeably, as if on the verge of answering her.

  Four days passed.

  “【?????......”

  At long last, the fire elements stirred into motion, flowing toward Hulim like a gentle stream of heat.

  Then......

  On the seventh day.

  “【???????????????????】”

  Fwoosh!

  A tiny cluster of flames danced to life at the tip of Hulim’s finger, glowing warmly in the dim light of the fireplace.

  “I... I did it!”

  Hulim’s eyes widened, her gaze fixed intently on the faint, flickering flame.

  After seven long days of unrelenting effort, she had finally cast her first spell—the First-Tier Fire Elemental Spell—Ignition.

  The joy of success surged through her heart, filling her with excitement.

  But as her emotions flared, her control over her Mana slipped. The tiny flame at her fingertip flickered once, then vanished into thin air.

  “Ah... it’s gone.”

  Her racing heart calmed down instantly, the excitement fading away.

  Hulim steadied her breathing, quickly recalling the precise feeling of success. She etched that sensation deep into her memory.

  Hulim closed her eyes, took a slow, steady breath, then opened them suddenly, her lips moving in a soft chant.

  “【???????????????????】”

  Fwoosh——!

  As the incantation left her lips, she felt the familiar tingle of Mana being consumed. And once again, the warm, familiar flame bloomed at the tip of her finger.

  Hulim Heyerar had finally mastered her first spell.

  ......

  ......

  Hulim sat on the stone steps at the front of Heyerar Manor, her chin resting in her hands as she stared up at the sky. For the first time in days, a look of confusion clouded her bright eyes.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Mastering magic had made her incredibly happy, of course.

  But......

  It had taken her a full half-month just to learn one spell!

  Only half a month remained until the end of her one-month bet with Semiris—and she still had six more spells to master!

  “What am I going to do? I need to learn six spells in half a month, but it took me half a month just to learn one! How is that even possible?!”

  Hulim buried her head in her hands, frustration etched across her face. All trace of her earlier joy was gone.

  After a long while, Hulim calmed down. She lay back on the cool stone steps, lifting her right hand to gaze at the sun through the gaps between her fingers.

  Then she sat up abruptly, slapping her cheeks lightly to rouse herself.

  “No matter what— I have to try! I won’t know until I do!”

  Hulim thought back carefully on the past half-month. While it was true that she had spent fifteen days mastering one spell, much of that time had not actually been spent practicing magic. The actual time she had dedicated to learning Ignition was roughly ten days.

  And of those ten days, a large portion had been spent simply trying to perceive the fire elements. Besides......

  Magic shared a common core. Though the different elemental attributes were distinct, the experience of mastering one could be applied to others.

  If that was the case, then the time she would need to learn her next spell would surely be far less than ten days.

  “......Alright! Time to start practicing the next spell!”

  Hulim jumped to her feet, her determination renewed, her eyes shining with resolve.

  The second spell she chose to learn was a First-Tier Water Elemental Spell—Water Stream.

  To practice water magic, she needed an environment rich in water elements.

  From that day onward, Hulim left the manor early each morning and returned late each night, spending the entire day sitting by the riverbank.

  “【???????????????????】”

  By the river, the sound of Hulim chanting incantations echoed endlessly.

  As she had hoped, her prior experience made all the difference. She quickly perceived the water elements swirling in the river—and on the very first day, she managed to establish a connection with them.

  However, getting the water elements to move according to her will proved to be quite a challenge.

  After all, water and fire were opposing elements, the least compatible of the seven elemental types. There was little she could draw upon from her experience with fire magic.

  But by the time Hulim realized this, she had already invested so much time that switching to another element felt like a waste. So she resolved to keep going, pushing herself to master water magic regardless of the difficulty.

  Hard work truly pays off.

  Five days after Hulim began practicing water magic.

  “【???????????????????】”

  Splish!

  A thin stream of water—no thicker than her thumb—coiled around the tip of Hulim’s index finger, then shot forward like an arrow.

  Having successfully cast Water Stream, Hulim allowed herself a small burst of excitement. But she quickly steadied her mind, carefully recalling every single detail of the process.

  Then,

  “【???????????????????】”

  The same scene unfolded again—a perfect stream of water arcing through the air.

  Hulim had mastered the First-Tier Water Elemental Spell—Water Stream.

  After practicing the spell countless times to ensure she had fully grasped it, Hulim stared at the gently flowing river before her. A smile of triumph tugged at her lips, but it was quickly replaced by a flicker of worry.

  “Only ten days left......”

  That meant she would have to master a new spell every two days, on average, to win the bet.

  But Hulim refused to give up. Instead, she threw herself into practicing other spells with even greater determination.

  And then, a breakthrough came when she started learning her third spell.

  ......

  “【???????????????????????】”

  Crack!

  Staring at the small chunk of rock—no bigger than the palm of her hand—that had materialized in her grasp, Hulim felt a moment of disbelief wash over her.

  She raised her hand, hurling the stone forward with a flick of her wrist.

  Whoosh!

  The stone shot through the air, slamming into a large boulder and shattering into pieces, leaving a clear indentation on the rock’s surface.

  “I... I did it? Already?”

  It was no wonder Hulim felt so astonished. This was only the second day she had been practicing earth magic!

  Mastering the First-Tier Earth Elemental Spell—Stone Shard in a mere two days made her previous struggles with fire and water magic seem like child’s play.

  Hulim stared at her hands in awe, then tried casting the spell again—and again, and again. Each time, the spell succeeded flawlessly, the familiar tingle of Mana consumption confirming that it was no illusion.

  Only then did she finally believe it: she had truly mastered the First-Tier Earth Elemental Spell—Stone Shard.

  But how had she done it so quickly?

  Hulim was filled with confusion.

  Little did she know that mastering two opposing elemental magics—fire and water—had caused a quantum leap in her understanding of magic’s fundamental principles. When she turned her attention to learning other elemental spells, this deeper comprehension became her greatest asset, allowing her to master the third spell in a fraction of the time it had taken her to learn the first two.

  “Two days... I can do this! I can win!”

  Hulim’s eyes lit up with a brilliant glow, her heart swelling with newfound hope.

  She could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel—she could actually win the bet against Semiris!

  ......

  Eight days remained until the end of the one-month deadline.

  Hulim ventured outside Mentor Town, making her way to the old windmill standing on the outskirts.

  The narrow valley between two hills funneled a steady breeze through the area, causing the windmill’s blades to spin lazily.

  Listening to the creaking of the windmill behind her, Hulim closed her eyes and focused, carefully sensing the Mana Essence floating in the air.

  It didn’t take long for her to see them—streaks of shimmering green light, darting nimbly through the air, weaving past the windmill’s blades. Every time they brushed against the wood, the slow-turning windmill would spin a little faster.

  “【????????????......”

  Seven days remained until the end of the one-month deadline.

  “【???????????????????】”

  Whoosh~!

  She felt the familiar pull of Mana being used.

  A gentle push emanated from her palm, and Hulim watched as the bushes not far ahead rustled and swayed, stirred by an invisible force.

  First-Tier Wind Elemental Spell—Gentle Breeze.

  Mastered!

  With that, Hulim had successfully mastered the first-tier spells of all four major natural elements.

  ......