The Greatest Sinner

"So this is my home for the next few months..." Mumbled Evan looking around. The house looked cozy, inside and out. There wasn't any fancy furniture or expensive decorations- it was just an ordinary house with a nice veranda and small rooms.

There was also a spacious room downstairs, where Evan could practice or experiment with spells if he wanted to. Evan was very tired, so he headed straight to the bedroom and just collapsed on the comfortable bed. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to sleep.

...

The next morning Evan woke up and immediately headed for the underground floor. Of course, he had to hand over his task to the Academy, but right now he wanted to occupy with something else - practicing and learning how to use - the "One-Eyed Raven`s Beam". The Magic Circle of this spell was already in his "Library," but that didn't mean he could cast it.

What's more, he didn't even know where to start. Usually the spellbook, besides the Magic Circle, detailed how to interact with mana and how to channel it to make it work.

<I only have the Magic Circle, that should be enough, but I'll have to do my best.>

Evan thought as he made his way down to the underground floor. Actually, it wasn't originally in this house, the old man just didn`t need it. But when Eric decided to rent this house out he spent a lot of money and built an underground floor specifically for magicians. That way, he was able to set a pretty hefty rent price.

Not only could the underground floor be used for various experiments, but also training. The walls were made of very strong material, they were stronger than the walls of the house that was in Mossy Vulture. Evan's "Magic Missile" of the first stage wouldn't be able to penetrate them.

  "So, where should I start?" Mumbled Evan. He concentrated and entered the "Library'.

Evan could clearly see every detail of the Magic Circle of "One-Eyed Raven`s Beam". He had taken some time to examine it carefully before practicing it.

<This spell is similar to 'Magic Missile", both in appearance and structure. I think I should be able to do it in a few hours.> 

  Evan concluded, and at the same moment, his "Warp" spun.

The raven usually fired a beam from his beak, but Evan didn't have to do it the same way. He directed his mana to his index finger and tried to cast the "One-Eyed Raven's Beam".

But it didn't work the first time. The mana didn't even transform into the desired form, it reached the tip of his finger and immediately dissipated.

However, that was exactly the result to be expected. This spell was a little different from the others because it was created from the ability of an evolved monster. 

Evan spent the next few hours trying to cast this spell. He remembered its Magic Circle perfectly, it was all about the difficulty of performance. It was unusual for Evan to use mana this way. Before the mana could turn into the "One-Eyed Raven`s Beam", it would have to change its shape several times to reach the right state.

Drop.

The drops of sweat fell from Evan's face to the ground. He'd already spent most of his mana, the left would be enough only for a few more tries.

<Damn, I have to admit, this is really hard. I`ve nearly made it a couple of times, but it was more luck than any progress. I don't understand what exactly it is that I'm supposed to do and why I am not able to cast this spell properly.>

Evan encountered something like this for the first time. Of course, when he had studied his first spell, namely "Magic Missile", he had spent a lot of time on it. But, thanks to the spellbook he knew what he had to do.

"Wait a minute, I don't know how to cast this spell properly, but I know someone who is a master at it! Reykar!"

Caw.

As Evan called out to his partner, the one-eyed raven was immediately on his shoulder.

"Will you teach me how to use that trick?" Smiling, Evan said.

Reykar nodded and opened his beak. The next moment, purple energy gathered in his beak and transformed into a dense sphere.

Boom.

The sphere turned into a purple beam and instantly reached the wall of the room. There was a deafening explosion, but the underground floor was not affected in any way. The material was so strong that not even the evolved monster could destroy it.

"Once again."

Boom.

Another explosion rang out. Evan wasn't looking at the wall, his attention was focused on how the energy was being transformed. He was trying to figure out what his mistake was.

<Hmm, he prepares himself before every shot, but I also try to turn mana into a sphere and then shoot a beam like I'm using a "Magic Missile". Maybe since I'm a human and not a monster I need some more preparation?> 

<Every time I tried to cast this spell at one point, the whole chain fell apart: either the mana dissipated, or I couldn't make the last step. I thought it was a lack of experience or that I was doing something wrong. But... maybe it was just the beginning. Unlike the "Magic Missile", there are a few more steps. Hmm, it can be compared to a foundation, you can't build a tall tower on a bad foundation. At some point, it will just collapse.>

"Thanks, Reykar. I think I`ve figured out what I was missing."  Evan mumbled and the one-eyed raven returned to "Nirvana".

For the next hour, Evan did nothing. He just tried to figure out what kind of "foundation" he needed. Of course, Evan could have gone to the library and tried to find the answer to his question there, but he didn't do so for two good reasons. First, Evan was sure that the library didn't have the information he needed. He got this spell because he had a contract with Reykar. Second, he wanted to figure it out for himself. It was like a math problem that no one had solved yet. You try, you search for the appropriate option until you succeed.

<Hmm, when you think about it, I don't have anything that helps me solve this problem. I use mana and act according to the Magic Circle...exactly...there it is...>.

Evan came up with a solution, he found that "foundation" that was constantly right under his nose.

Evan`s "Warp" spun and mana headed for his index finger, but it began to transform not into a beam, but into the Magic Circle of that spell. That was the "foundation" Evan had been thinking about.

Once the purple Magic Circle was created mana began to accumulate in the center of it and slowly transform into a purple sphere. Evan did everything slowly and smoothly, trying not to make a single mistake.

After a few seconds, the purple sphere turned into a beam and instantly reached the wall. There was an explosion, and Evan smiled contentedly. He'd finally made it, and he was amazed at the power of the spell.