Ninya heaved as she handed the spell scroll back to Lord Antikythera. "I did it!" she said in joy. "I didn't know I could copy from spell scrolls, but I guess it's possible?!"

  "You have been trying to learn magic by reading. I believe it is only natural that you are able to do this much at present," Lord Antikythera reassured her. "What is more interesting is your ability to read runes on instinct once you realize what they can do. You do not know what they are called, but you can read them based on magical manipution alone."

  "Is that good?" Ninya asked. Most of what Lord Antikythera said went over her head, but it sounded positive! She didn't know what it meant as a whole, though.

  "Quite so." Lord Antikythera nodded and rolled the parchment into a cylinder. "I will teach you how to read runes so that you will be able to appraise a magic item just by running mana through it, and we will be conducting more tests on that. But now is not the time for such a task."

  "Uhm, what do we need to do then?" She knew that Lord Antikythera took her training step by step, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel disappointed when one of the lessons she was interested in got put on the back burner for another test. She knew the reason behind it, and she could even understand why Lord Antikythera was taking things slowly—magic was a votile process that could possibly end someone's life if practiced wrong.

  "I will teach you something familiar," Lord Antikythera began. He reached out with an open palm and guided mana through his limb. Ninya was able to read the energy currents much better now, and she focused hard on them to make sure she didn't miss a single detail.

  It started with a heavy gathering of mana at the center of Lord Antikythera's palm. It served as the main energy source for the spell and guided the strands of mana within the fingers, wrist, and air. A swirling pattern formed to gather more ambient mana from the surroundings before stabilizing. Lord Antikythera pushed this cloud of mana outward, multiple strands still connecting him to it. Using these strands, he solidified the mana cloud and guided it into a proper form—an animal—a sheep, to be exact.

  "This is called [Electric Sheep], a useful spell for scouting an area or disorienting enemies." The transparent ball of electrical fur baa'd at Lord Antikythera's expnation. "It is not alive, nor is it fully sentient. However, it is capable of thinking."

  "It's a summon?" Ninya asked, now interested.

  "The closer term for it is 'apparition,'" Lord Antikythera corrected. "It is no more than a wayward ghost whose purpose has been lost, traveling along until it dissipates or accidentally grows more powerful through a fruitful encounter with a mass of negative energy."

  "Okay." Ninya nodded. She didn't know there was a difference between that type of thing, but then again, she barely knew anything about magic.

  "Try to remake my spell based on your estimations of it." Lord Antikythera walked away, and Ninya could feel his anticipation for her attempt.

  She'd succeed on the first try. She knew she would. She'd impress Lord Antikythera with this! Definitely!

  Ninya pushed forward an open palm and imitated the magical currents she had read from Lord Antikythera's usage of [Electric Sheep]. She made a ball of energy at the center of her palm and formed a cloud around it. She viewed it as some kind of artificial storm, with the ball of mana at its center acting as the eye. She began to gather ambient mana, and after a few seconds, Ninya realized that the ball had started to absorb mana without her guidance.

  She assumed that now would be the perfect time to push it towards the ground, as it could now self-sustain—possibly even indefinitely. When the cloud of mana touched the earth, the spell became a simple task of visualization.

  The sheep slowly formed. Ninya made sure to keep it weak—less solid. She didn't know what would happen if she added more power into it, and she didn't want to accidentally create life. That would be stupid.

  She created the fur, then the limbs, and finally finished everything by forming its head. The doe-eyed creature made of electricity stared up at her once it fully formed, its innocence and ck of self-awareness made clear by its still nature right after coming into existence.

  Summons, according to her book, had desires of their own as well as a unique personality that would begin to manifest through a creature's first act moments after coming into existence.

  The sheep did not do any of that. It merely waited for her instructions. Ninya felt that if she added more mass to its head—possibly a proper organ—the sheep would be more lively, and it could even eat if she gave it a stomach. But again, she didn't want to create another life by accident.

  "I did it!" Ninya swerved her head towards Lord Antikythera, giving the automaton a smile beaming with joy. "First try too!"

  "Great work." That—that was high praise from the emotionless guy that was Ninya's teacher. She knew that Lord Antikythera rarely expressed anything through his voice, so he did it using gestures, and this time she got a slow cp! A slow. Cp! That was amazing! Probably!

  "What is it going to do now?" Ninya looked at her sheep. She didn't know what to do with such a tiny creature. She didn't even know what the spell did!

  "You can show it to your sister?" Lord Antikythera suggested. "After that, you can absorb it back into your body, or perhaps it would be better if I showcased the offensive capability of the spell and you followed shortly after."

  "The second one! Definitely!" Ninya grinned. She grabbed her sheep—it was a lot more solid than she thought it would be. It was also heavy. Like, two pillows kind of heavy. "I'll be back, okay?!"

  Lord Antikythera was silent as he watched her leave.

  Tsuare was in the kitchen when she arrived, making something—lunch, most likely. Ninya had been allowed to eat lunch after Tsuare said it might hurt her health. Ninya disagreed, but Lord Antikythera took her sister's side, so she couldn't argue. And when Tsuare saw the sheep Ninya was carrying, she let out a girly squeal.

  "Did you make that?!" Tsuare grinned.

  "Yep!" Ninya pointed at herself in pride. "All me! Lord Antikythera showed me a new spell and told me to replicate it, and I did it first try!"