Despite all the mana and firepower being concentrated within the spherical lump of fire, Toz and the cats could feel the tremendous explosive power the fireball contained. It left waves of heat in the air it passed through before disappearing into the Void.
Toz felt it was a shame that there wasn't anything that he could target since he wouldn't be able to see the full effects of the spell if it didn't hit anything. And he didn't dare use a part of the island as a practice target either since, based on the power the spell displayed, it would be one-time use and would result in Toz and the cats ending up without shelter from the Void.
Still, Toz wasn't quite satisfied with the spell, despite the power it had displayed before entering the Void, and he continued sending them out and getting more comfortable and proficient with the spell each time. Compared to the first fireball he cast due to a burst of inspiration, the following ones were more refined. They didn't leak as much of their power and were more concentrated.
The fireballs didn't affect their surroundings as much, but there was no way to compare the explosive power of each fireball as they merely disappeared into the darkness of the Void.
Toz played around a bit more with the fireballs but eventually settled down and started talking about fire with Mindle. Since both of them had learned their own fire attribute spells, they had a lot they could learn from each other. And since neither of them had worn out their grimoires entirely, they could learn from each other before reading from the grimoire to make sure they comprehend the spell before the grimoire is empty.
While Toz and Mindle got caught up in their ramblings about fire, Nil and Scrael comforted Lucy with some fish. Although, Lucy didn't need that much comfort since he had also seen Mindle's spell and the havoc it wreaked against the swarm of void fish. While he was slightly dejected that Toz had chosen fire over darkness, Lucy couldn't say he would have done differently in Toz's position.
So after telling Nil and Scrael that he was fine and that he understood Toz's decision, Lucy started training by himself. There wasn't much Nil and Scrael could do if Lucy was adamant about not being bothered, so after taking one more fish each, they also went off and trained on their own.
After spending some time talking, both Toz and Mindle decided to try out what they had talked about and see if the other's understanding of fire held any value to themselves.
Toz found Mindle's understanding of the fire attribute insightful but also very intuitive and instinctive, something he couldn't really imitate, so after pondering for a bit, he decided to rest up before his next refinement.
Reaching the fourth level with his fire attribute hadn't been as taxing as Toz had first expected, so after eating and sleeping a bit, he prepared to do the same with darkness.
Even if darkness was another attribute, it was still the same general process, and having already done it twice, with metal and fire, Toz finished refining his mana before any of the cats barely had time to notice what he was doing. Though this time, he didn't have any flashy spells to show off with, so after accepting a snuggle from Lucy, he merely made sure to rest before preparing to get his lightning attribute to the third level.
With the affinity and control over mana Toz's three attributes at the fourth level gave him, reaching the third level with lightning was like talking a walk in the park for him, and it barely caused a commotion.
Since it wasn't an actual refinement or crossing divisions, Toz didn't have to do much more than increase his mana pool's capacity for lightning mana and make the gaseous mana slightly denser.
A mage refining their mana several times didn't only increase their magical abilities, it also enhanced their bodies. Toz, who had just been lazing around aside from when he was actually refining his body, hadn't gotten the opportunity to test his newfound strength out.
And after the repeated strain he had put his mana pool under, it was starting to feel a little sore. Toz decided to let it rest by not using his mana for a little bit and instead get used to the physical power his body was now capable of wielding.
Since the roots he was sitting on creaked as he stood up, Toz felt like he should learn how to control his strength and relearn the silent footsteps he had worked so hard to perfect. And, of course, so he wouldn't accidentally harm any of the cats while petting them. Even if they were at the fourth and fifth level, Toz didn't want to take any chances. And even if he doesn't actually hurt or injure them, he can still unintentionally inflict pain on them if he isn't careful.
So until Toz learned to fully control his power, the roles would be switched. It was the cats' turn to pat Toz all over while he wasn't able to retaliate.
Though, it didn't take too long for Toz to get used to his newly strengthened body. And since he was able to control his strength with enough delicacy to peel a grape, he could exact vengeance on the cats without worrying about accidentally hurting them.
Though even with his powerful body, Toz couldn't catch up to Scrael when she honestly tried to escape his hands aiming to pet and tickle them all. Scrael only joined the other three on the ground next to Toz when she felt like receiving Toz's attention, which was happening more and more as she was getting closer to the other members of their tiny group.
The swarm of fish had relieved the group's hunger and temporarily secured their future survival, allowing the group to relax and enjoy each other's company. Constantly looking for resources and gold and grimoires had been boring and slightly more taxing than they had noticed.
And hadn't their goal always been to see and do interesting things? What could be more awesome than floating through the Void on a deserted island of magical trees?
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com