Chapter 7 - Arcane thermodynamics
"Fireball."
A large ball of fire shot out and struck the ground followed by a small explosion. Scarlett observed the scene with her lips slightly upturned. It didn't matter what her current circumstances were. Seeing real magic would always be exciting. Well, as exciting as anything could be in her current circumstances.
She looked down at the black wand in her hand, the gem at its top gleaming a dull red. The [Wand of Fireball] worked exactly as it had in the game. Without any cost to her, she could now cast [Fireball] four times per day.
She lifted her gaze to look at the area where the spell had hit. The stone might have become slightly charred, but it was hard to tell. The whole area surrounding the point she'd aimed at was completely defaced from years of abuse. It was clear she wasn't the first to practice magic here.
She was currently behind the Hartford mansion, between a hedge garden far too large for just one family and the outer wall that enclosed the whole estate. As it turned out the Hartfords did have a training ground. As did probably many of the noble families who used magic in this world. Where else would they train, after all? The servant she had asked about the matter the day before had likely been too surprised—and probably nervous—by her request to reply. Scarlett couldn't blame the woman. Knowing how the original Scarlett had been she wasn't sure if she would have fared much better in the servant's shoes.
A little over an hour had passed since Scarlett returned from her little excursion in the old Zuverian ruins. Since then she had spent some time organizing the loot—mostly old Zuverian coins—she'd found, and after that she'd had another meal prepared by the mansion's chef. She didn't know who it was but they deserved all the praise. She imagined this was how it was like eating at a Michelin-ranked restaurant every day.
But now her focus was on magic. The training ground set up by the Hartford family was essentially just a long stone courtyard with several wood and stone targets set up at one end. She hadn't tried attacking those yet but she assumed they were enchanted in some way. Otherwise they wouldn't really put up much of a challenge against most spells. Apart from those targets, there was also a shed at the edge of the training grounds right next to the wall. She hadn't bothered seeing what was inside just yet, however.
Bringing her attention to the targets Scarlett crossed part of the training ground and stopped a couple dozen or so meters away from them. Pausing for a moment, she focused her eyes. It was faint, but she took a few steps closer and made out a slight shimmer that surrounded the target. It was similar to what she'd seen around Kat when she had looked at the woman with the effect from the [Charms of Apperception]. She brought her left hand up to her ear where one of the earrings hung. It seemed their effect wasn't limited to just people, but every kind of magical defense.
A thought struck her. She lowered the wand and placed it in her belt for now and instead raised her hand towards the target. The shifting movement of the magical barrier that surrounded the target was much slower than Kat's had been. There were also a lot more of those instabilities in this one. Creating a ball of fire above her palm through pyrokinesis, Scarlett then moved it towards the target. She hadn't had much time to practice this yet so it was a bit wobbly, but she managed to bring it all the way to the target. She then brought it right against the wood itself for almost thirty seconds before letting the fire dissipate. She walked over to the target to get a closer look. It didn't seem like the fire left any mark.
She repeated the process once again, but this time she aimed the fire towards one of the weak points in the target's enchantment. After waiting for another half a minute she let the fire disappear and took another look. She had to lean over closely, but she did see a black burn mark on the wood.
Could she make the fire stronger? She only had [Minor Pyrokinesis], but it gave her a decent amount of control. She was pretty sure a single ball of fire wasn't her limit.
She created a new flame, this time immediately next to one of the target's weak points, and with all her focus she imagined it growing hotter and hotter. She could see the fire slowly glowing a brighter red as she focused on it. After a while it had turned a clear red, almost a little orange, and she felt as if she was starting to lose control. She let the fire dissipate once again and leaned forward to see the results. There was a large burn mark next to where she'd aimed the fire now. Part of the wood had even started crumbling into black charcoal.