Elemental Cats

Toz and the cats wanted to take it slow while eating the fish just in case they were bad or would make them sick and so they wouldn't eat everything at once. But each fish gave very little satisfaction to their hunger, and before they knew it, all of them had already eaten several.

Thankfully, it had been a relatively large group of fish that attacked them. Even if they gorged themselves and satiated their hunger, they would still have enough to last some time, hopefully until their next encounter with void beasts or something else they can eat.

After eating their fill, the group could finally rest peacefully without being disturbed by the pangs of hunger.

The much-needed food and rest had Toz full of energy, and after waiting for the cats to wake up so he wouldn't interrupt their dream, he was ready to begin his second refinement.

All the elements he had access to, except metal, which was at the fourth level already, were on the verge of reaching the next level. Fire and darkness were close to catching up to metal and lightning about to reach the third level.

Although he had gotten the elements to those levels some time back, he had never gotten the opportunity to reach the next level with any of them. When the first element had reached the limit, Toz and the cats had been stuck in the fog, and when the elements began catching up, they were stuck in their hideout in the dig site for the tunnel the demons used to attack Dormant Thunder.

After the fog was sucked away, Toz and the cats had been running for their lives before they were swept up into the aftermath of the attack on Dormant Thunder and Treblor Forest. Toz had been blown into the Void and suffered several serious injuries that prevented him from breaking through. And when he recovered, he was too hungry and lacking in energy to properly refine his mana with another element or to catch up with lightning.

But Toz was finally ready to become stronger.

After informing the cats that he was going to refine his body and lift up another element to the fourth level, the cats placed some distance between themselves and Toz.

Although a refinement wouldn't be as flashy as a breakthrough, the cats could unknowingly disturb Toz's concentration if they were too close. And since there were no threats on the island aside from hunger and loneliness, they didn't need to guard him vigilantly until Toz was finished.

And since they didn't need to keep strict watch over their surroundings, the cats could watch Toz refining his mana and try to guess what element he would begin with. Though it was only Lucy and Mindle interested in which he would choose since Nil and Scrael already knew it wasn't going to be with their elements.

Nil knew since Toz was already at the fourth level with his metal element. And Scrael because refining mana was only done when reaching the same level as the highest level one attribute had reached. Toz's lightning was still not at the third level, and if Toz was going to reach the next level with lightning, he wouldn't be refining his mana.

Toz could only refine his mana with either fire or darkness, and Lucy and Mindle were eagerly awaiting what element Toz would choose to begin with.

Though, Toz had decided which element to begin with ever since their battle against the fish last night. Though since there wasn't any sun around, maybe it was always night.

The sight of Mindle easily decimating the fish with her spell had gotten Toz pumped to finally learn his own spell and bring out a similar firepower. So Lucy was, unfortunately, going to be disappointed.

Although the refining process was different from the breakthrough process, it was still mostly similar. All Toz needed to do was compress his fire mana and form a liquid substance in his mana pool, and then compress it as much as possible while forcing the mana pool to expand.

And since it wasn't a breakthrough to the next level, it wasn't as dangerous or risky, and Toz finished the process with ease. He finished with a flair as he surrounded himself with a cloud of flames before quickly retracting them so he didn't accidentally burn the roots he was sitting on.

Toz could see Mindle celebrating while nudging Lucy playfully, but he didn't want to get distracted. Bringing his fire attribute to the fourth level had given him a deeper understanding of and greater affinity for the element. And Toz felt especially close to the fire attribute right after the refinement with how his body was surging with fire attribute mana.

Toz didn't dawdle as he brought out the grimoire, and with the remaining focus he gathered for the refining and the power of fire burning through him started learning the Fireball spell like there was no tomorrow.

Although Toz didn't have the same talent for fire magic that Mindle had, he was still very talented at controlling mana, and with the bonus he got from his inclination, it didn't take long for him to start making progress in learning the spell. But the more he understood, the more there was to understand. The further Toz read in the grimoire, the less he felt like he knew about fire. But at the same time, he got closer and closer to understanding how to cast a fireball properly.

Toz's focus deepened as he peered into the secrets of the spell and the true nature of the fire attribute, and what casting a fire spell really meant.

Casting a fireball wasn't simply gathering a lump of fire mana and then sending it flying. A proper fireball utilized the full destructive properties of fire, and after awakening the fire mana gave it a target. The power of mana with its true nature brought out was something basic magic couldn't compare to.

It was the same with Mindle's Tongues of Flame. Each tongue was made of awakened fire mana. Even if it looked like a simple flicker of flame, it still held much more power than what something similar created by ordinary magic could hold.

It was also the reason why Nil's spell wasn't that much more powerful than ordinary magic. He hadn't managed to bring out the true nature of the metal mana he was using.

Toz's hard work finally paid off when he looked up from his grimoire and sent a fireball flying into the Void.