Elemental Cats

Just sitting there and trying to do something that felt like it was impossible made every minute feel like an eternity for Joshua. And considering how Lucy had fallen asleep, it wasn't only Joshua who felt like there wasn't any progress.

But Joshua didn't know what to do. None of the people or cats he had spoken to had mentioned anything about having trouble taking the first step and becoming a first level mage. However, now that he had already wasted so much time trying to figure it out himself, Joshua would be damned before he gave up.

All the hard thinking and frustration was giving Joshua a headache, so he decided to take a small break and just look at Lucy napping. If nothing changed by forcing it, Joshua might as well try and find a gentle way to do it.

As soon as Joshua relaxed his mind, he realized something. It would be impossible to change something if he couldn't even sense it. So that should be the first step. Becoming aware and sensing the mana all around him. And that was what Joshua began doing.

Previously he had simply tried to make something he couldn't perceive or understand follow his directions. But now, he was only trying to sense the mana surrounding him.

Joshua closed his eyes so he wouldn't see anything. Took shallow breaths with his mouth so he wouldn't smell anything. Thankfully he was in a secluded part of the island, and there wasn't any need to block his ears since it was already so quiet.

Joshua became acutely aware of the sensation of his tongue moving in his mouth and his clothes brushing against his skin, but soon enough, he managed to filter away those sensations as well. He didn't do it on the first try, but he did it. All he could sense was himself and the awareness of the world around him.

He wasn't using his bodily senses to perceive the surroundings any more. He was using his mind. Although Joshua had been forced to take a few extra steps, he was finally at the same point most people were before they could begin using magic and training their mana. Joshua could control his mind, which was a necessity to control mana.

As soon as Joshua reached that point, the world around him exploded in color and vitality. He could delicately sense the mana all around him, filling the air with magic.

And after that, it was like a walk in the park for him to control the mana and convert it into a suitable attribute. Joshua could instinctively tell that his inclination didn't have a specific attribute, so all he had to do was convert the mana around him into neutral mana before absorbing it.

Joshua gently guided the mana through his body and into his mana pool, officially becoming a first level mage. He wanted to try out his inclination as soon as he had enough mana in his mana pool to take out his ring. But it would be a waste if he could only spend a few minutes playing around before he had to absorb more mana, so he spent some time filling his mana pool.

Lucy had sensed Joshua succeeding, so he eagerly awaited the moment he would take out his ring and show what his inclination was capable of. It was the first time Lucy saw anything like the ring that Joshua had brought out, so he didn't even know what to expect.

However, Joshua didn't know what to do after taking out the ring. His inclination told him that the ring was an essential part of the way Joshua would be able to use magic. However, it didn't tell him how to use it.

Joshua looked at Lucy almost with tears in his eyes. He had awakened his inclination and become a first level mage, but he had no idea how to do magic.

Lucy's only direct experience with inclination was Toz's inclination, and his was pretty straightforward. But that didn't mean Lucy hadn't heard stories about how tricky some inclinations could be. While most helped the human in understanding magic and using mana, there were also some who were so incomprehensible and weird that it had taken years for their owners to finally use magic. Though, those kinds tended to be extremely,, rare cases of unique inclinations that were a mess to go against in a fight when they finally saw proper use.

Lucy didn't mention any of that to Joshua, though. And instead only told him to send mana into the ring. Joshua was slightly embarrassed since he had panicked at once before even trying something so basic.

The ring began glowing slightly brighter, spreading from where Joshua's hand was, and when the entire ring glowed in a colorless light, the area inside the circle rippled. After the ripples calmed down, Joshua could sense and see that an extremely thin and gleaming film of a completely translucent material had formed.

Joshua held up the ring between himself and Lucy and saw Lucy's face becoming distorted by the ripples that appeared in the film. He had managed to do something, but Joshua didn't know what to do next.

However, he was too curious to do nothing, and since it didn't seem dangerous, he touched the lustrous membrane with the hand that wasn't holding onto the rim.

Joshua's hand pushed into the thin film, distorting it. Joshua only felt a slight resistance from the weird material, and he continued pushing his hand further through the ring. Eventually, the film detached from the circle and enveloped Joshua's hand.

Joshua's hand was now stuck inside a translucent and gleaming magical bubble. The bubble swayed when Joshua waved his hand, and it squeezed together when he pulled his hand back out of the ring.

Neither Joshua nor Lucy knew how to react. The bubble didn't seem to be harmful or constraining in any way, but Joshua couldn't use his left hand.

Lucy tried popping the bubble, but until he applied a significant amount of force, the bubble only budged and let Lucy's paw make an indentation. However, when Lucy pushed hard enough the bubble burst with a satisfying pop.