Bookbound Bunny Chapter 6 - Apprentice

Even though Lily struggled to sleep that night, her excitent constantly bubbled up; when she finally did pass out, she had wonderful dreams. As Arakil had asked, she left the book open, although she wasn't entirely sure how that would let him wake up sooner.

Eager to check if he had recovered, she opened her inkpot and dipped the pen into the page. There was no response, so she spent so ti practicing her pressure and strokes.

"I need lots of practice to draw things like that spell..." Lily murmured, still perplexed by how beautiful and precise it had been.

Finishing up, she cleaned her equipnt and left for the day, trying her best to contain the excitent still threatening to bubble up.

While her lessons seed much duller now, she still put forth her best effort. Lily knew that if she started slacking, they might decide not to refill her inkpot when it ran out, and she figured that it would be her utmost priority to continue speaking to Arakil.

At lunch, she t up with Rose, who looked bored out of her mind.

"I don't know how you do it, Lily..." Rose muttered, "So much math. The numbers make my head spin."

Lily shrugged; while she didn't enjoy most of her lessons other than writing, she just had far too much free ti compared to the other kids who wanted to play outside or seek training.

"Teacher says practice makes perfect... And I have lots of ti to practice." Lily finally responded.

"Ugh..." Rose groaned, picking up a chicken drumstick and digging in.

"You've started magic lessons, right?" Lily asked. "How are those going?"

Rose was surprised by the subject being brought up, as when she had originally tried to talk about it, it just made Lily depressed. Not wanting to upset her little sister, she avoided discussing anything Lily could not do.

"It's... Interesting?" Rose eventually began speaking, hesitant to cause another depressive episode with Lily. "At first, I hated it; it was lots of breathing and ditation about feeling my Mana flowing through my veins. But lately, it's gotten better."

"How do you cast a spell?" Lily asked.

"Umm..." Rose mumbled, trying to recall her lessons. "At the mont, I can only cast from my bloodline. My teacher is trying to teach to cast with a chant."

Lily seed puzzled as she tilted her head and frowned, so Rose sighed and decided to try her best to explain. She snapped her fingers and made a little fla dance above her fingertip like she had done many tis before.

"This is casting from my bloodline. I can naturally cast fire without much effort. Hell, I could do this before even my teacher ca along," Rose tried to explain. "But proper mages can cast other spells, not just their natural bloodline magic, and to do that, I need to chant."

Lily nodded enthusiastically, her bunny ears flopping back and forth, even though she only vaguely understood what Rose was talking about. Rose was delighted by her cute little sister's enthusiasm for a change.

"Have you ever seen magic drawings?" Lily asked, then quickly clarified. "Like... Magic patterns that cast a spell, drawn on a piece of paper."

Rose scratched her head as she wracked her brain, trying to rember so of the theory lessons she had gone through. She silently cursed her lack of enthusiasm about her lessons—her big sister image was on the line here!

"Yes..." Rose eventually strained out. "Other than chanting, I think you can also draw... Glyphs? I think you draw it with blood?"

"Blood!?" Lily gasped.

"Well... Mana is in our blood, right?" Rose answered, although she only looked half sure herself.

But Arakil did it with just normal ink... How? Lily wondered, deep in thought.

"I'll ask my teacher about other kinds of magic next lesson," Rose offered.

"Thanks, Rose!" Lily said happily.

Rose couldn't help but smile at her adorable little sister. She just hoped her teacher wouldn't be too upset about revisiting old lessons she hadn't been listening to.

When Lily returned to her room later that day, she imdiately tried again to talk to Arakil. When there was no response, she figured he must still be sleeping. She continued to practice her penmanship before finally calling it a night.

***

A week passed, and Lily checked every morning and evening to see if Arakil had finally returned. A small part of her couldn't help but wonder if she had imagined the whole thing.

What terrified her the most was that Arakil's writing was in the book, and it had been her pillar of support that she hadn't just been delusional. However, one day, when Rose ca for an unexpected visit, she could not see his writing.

"Why did you write 'Thank you' on this page?" Rose had asked.

Lily had to hide her trembling as she made her excuse, "I was practicing to thank my teacher."

Thankfully the excuse worked, and Rose teased Lily for trying to suck up to the teacher. But internally, Lily was extrely shaken by that revelation, and her nightmares returned that evening.

Then, one night, her pen nib was drained dry while she was in mid-practice. It was so sudden that she couldn't help but let out a squeak.

[Hello again, Lily.]

"Arakil! You woke up!" Lily said excitedly. "I was so worried..."

[It's only been... 8 days? That's ahead of schedule.]

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"I know..." Lily admitted, feeling a little embarrassed. "But, my friend couldn't see your writing. I thought... Maybe... It wasn't real."

Even though Lily had placed ink on the page for him to respond, Arakil kept it swirling as he tried to take the ti to think. That was certainly a strange revelation; was it part of the conditions put on his seal? His mory of the event was extrely degraded, and who knew what those blasted fairies and devils put into that contract.

[I believe, as my owner, you are the only one I can communicate with.]

Lily's eyes sparkled as she read those words. Her childlike wonder imdiately believed those words were true; this was her destined book, which her mother had left behind! Only she could open it, and only she could read from it. Flawless logic.

"Thanks, Arakil," Lily murmured, her anxiety all but gone. "I loved the spell you did. The stars were so beautiful..."

[I'm glad it showed you the wonders of magic.]

"Did you put blood in the ink? Rose's teacher said that glyphs need blood."

[No. I imbued the ink with so of the Mana I collected.]

"How? Mana cos from blood."

[Mana is everywhere.]

"But I don't have any Mana."

After so back-and-forth, Lily convinced Arakil to investigate her blood. This was clearly so deep-rooted phenonon in the world he had awoken in, and Lily was adamant that she had no Mana. Arakil had even begun to wonder if the girl was perhaps right; after all, the ambient Mana had dropped to such pitiful levels.

Lily put on her best brave face and used one of the sharper pen nibs to stab a tiny wound on her finger. She still flinched and then placed the drop of blood into the book by saring her finger against a page.

Arakil examined the blood and was shocked; the girl did not even have a hint of Mana. Was this the conditions that those blasted fairies put on him? He could only bond with soone completely devoid of Mana? It was a startling revelation.

His mind began to whirl as he tried to think of a solution. Casting without any personal Mana was certainly possible; Lily had proven that by activating the scroll he had prepared for her. If that fundantal law of the universe had sohow changed, Arakil would have undoubtedly been dood.

I need to access my archives... But to do that, I need more Mana. Arakil thought bitterly.

It was a catch-22 situation. He was confident his considerable archives could provide a ritual, potion, or other solution that could grant Lily personal Mana. Arakil had certainly done many such things in the past to improve his own personal aptitudes and capacity. The only issue was that he would need far more Mana than he could reasonably collect to thoroughly search his archives.

[You don't currently have Mana. But we can fix that.]

When the first part of Arakil's ssage was written out, Lily wanted to cry, but thankfully, the rest ca before the tears.

"You promise?" Lily hesitantly asked.

[Yes. I've done so in the past. But I need Mana to search my archives.]

"How can we get you so Mana?"

[What if we collect blood from so people?]

"Blood? How much blood?" Lily asked hesitantly. She didn't like the idea, but maybe she could ask Rose for a few drops?

[Depending on the concentration... 30 to 60 liters should be enough.]

"H-how much is that?" Lily stamred. It sounded like a lot to her.

[Roughly 5 to 10 human bodies worth.]

"No! That sounds totally evil!" Lily vehently refused.

Arakil sighed internally. He knew it was a long shot since the child was clearly extrely goodhearted despite her desperate desire to seek magic. Still... If the people had changed so much in this new world, what about the fauna and flora?

[Does this world have monsters? What about potions?]

"Yes, there are monsters," Lily answered. "My parents were adventurers. Are you talking about healing potions? Those are quite expensive."

[Good. Okay... Maybe we can work with that.]

"What do you an?" Lily was confused.

[Monsters likely have Mana. I also theorize that the plants might contain Mana.]

"Why would plants have Mana?" Lily asked confusedly.

[The alternative ans that people are mixing blood into potions.]

Lily's face went ghastly pale.

"Do you want to ask people? I can try Rose... Or Rose's teacher?"

[Or you could pick so herbs and press them between my pages.]

"Like a bookmark?"

[Yes. That should be enough for to check for any Mana.]

"Okay!" Lily enthusiastically agreed. "I can ask Rose to pick flowers with ; she's strong and will keep safe."

[I'm glad you are happy. But I just want to set so expectations.]

"Okay..."

[If this works, it will be a long process. In fact, I predict we might need to start you off with glyphs. If the plants contain Mana, we could create imbued ink.]

"Wow..." Lily whispered. "So I can draw that pretty magic?"

[Yes. In fact, we should start your lessons imdiately. Your penmanship is already comndable.]

"Yes! Please!" Lily replied excitedly. "And thank you..."

[You're welco, my apprentice. Now, a new page, two portions of ink. ]

Lily nodded and followed the instructions. Arakil imdiately began another drawing that amazed her, although it was far simpler than the one he had first shown her. Still, even in its simplicity, it seed masterfully crafted, and Lily couldn't help but stare in wonder. When Arakil was done, she turned back to their conversation page.

[That was the layout for a simple magical projectile. It's a very basic offensive spell. There's no Mana in that, but you can practice the design until you can replicate it without reference. Next page, two portions.]

Again, Arakil repeated the process, and Lily recognized that a few symbols matched the previous one. Again, it was a relatively simple design, barely using up space on the page.

[This is a basic shield spell. Designed to protect you at minimum once. You should practice this one the most, as it will beco your best friend.]

"Okay!" Lily exuberantly agreed.

[Excellent! I'll be ditating, but call my na if you need to catch my attention. Otherwise, I'll wait until you have so plants to examine.]

"Thank you, Arakil! I'll practice super hard!"

Arakil was going to wish her the best when he paused. Was he really going to send a little girl out to collect plants? Lily said she had a strong friend and didn't seem too worried about the suggestion indicating potentially peaceful surroundings... But still, Arakil had doubts. Luck was never on his side, and contingencies were his forte.

[Two pages. One portion each. Tear out both pages.]

Lily was surprised but followed the instructions. Arakil repeated one of each spell he had previously drawn, except this ti, the pages shimred with magical energy. She removed both pages like the last ti without any effort.

"What are these for?" Lily asked curiously, holding the two pages carefully like delicate treasures.

[Use these in case of an ergency. Tear the page down the center and throw it to trigger it.]

"Okay, I will. But, are you okay?" Lily asked, worried that he had done two magic pages this ti.

[I'll be asleep for four days at minimum. But I wanted to ensure your safety. Good luck, Lily.]

"I will be safe!" Lily promised. "Sleep tight, Arakil."

He wanted to respond, but he was parched. He could already feel his consciousness rapidly slipping. He couldn't help but feel bitter at how low the once mighty Arakil had fallen. Drained dry from imbuing a single shield and attack spell... But if the flora had Mana, then creating homade imbued ink was feasible, and then... Well, the Mana from re plants would never be enough to search his archives, but once Lily had gained so confidence with her glyph work, then Monsters would likely hold a solution to their predicant.

Lily stared at the two pages in her grasp with joyous wonder. Then she realized that Arakil only used one portion of ink per page instead of two. Curious, she compared the pages to their original counterparts and realized that Arakil had made the first lines thicker for easier readability.

Lily couldn't help but giggle excitedly at how kind Arakil was to her, trying to make it easier for her to read. She cleaned up her equipnt and carefully put it away. Then she pulled out a pencil and roughly copied the first drawing as precisely as possible.

"Don't worry, Arakil. I'll get this perfect with pencil first and then ink." Lily said confidently.

With the excitent bubbling, Lily was burning the midnight oil until one of the staff mbers knocked on her door and scolded her for not going to bed already.

Lily sighed and headed for her bed. She carefully placed the two scrolls under her pillow. When her head hit the pillow, she yawned and slowly drifted off to slumber.