The next day Kennon walked upstream with two nearly empty packs. And didn’t plan to come back till they were full. He had unlocked appraise as well by then. And Bev needed a supply of iron ore. At least she would. The smelter wasn’t even built yet.

  For now Kennon was on the lookout for useful materials. Throwing off an identify on anything that looked different.

  Sandstone - stone - T0

  Granite - stone - T0

  Slate - stone - T0

  Flint - stone T0

  They had uses. But all of them were easily found at their camp as well. He’d collect some if there was nothing better.

  He had to admit he was a little distracted by magic practice. As despite throwing out the odd identify he mainly practiced his rock throw.

  It was the more complicated of the spells. And he was learning quite a bit. He had been taught the basics of spell craft. But nothing could have truly prepared him for it. Forming the spell array over his palm in record time he held it at the moment of completion.

  It was a beautiful thing. The complete spell array. But it was also only half the picture. Clamping down with his will he slowed the process to a crawl as he let the spell fire.

  Despite being cast, mana was still draining since the rock needed to be formed. Though despite being automatic the process was not out of his control. He could speed it up, slow it down. He could even deny the spell the needed mana and suffocate it. Though he knew that failed spells like that could have dangerous backlash. The initial energy had to go somewhere.

  Kennon watched the lingering spell construct. Supplying just enough mana for it to stay stable. It almost looked like a living thing. Despite starting as a static shape he could have placed on paper it was writhing about. It was utterly incomprehensible to him, but it still did his bidding.

  As mana trickled into it bits of earth appeared, held aloft in its center. Without focus, the earth was little more than gross, poorly compacted, silt. He still remembered the results of identify on it.

  Manifested earth(low grade) - spell earth - T1

  He wanted to change that.

  As it coalesced above his palm he bore his will down on the spell. Forcing it to follow more than the base instructions, but his intent as well.

  The earth that was appearing now was not worthless silt, it had heft to it. And instead of new bits joining their neighbors like grains of sand, barely in contact, they merged almost into a single stone. The final result was half the size. And almost half the weight. Too much mana wasted keeping things stable to be efficient.

  Holding a fully formed stone above his palm he felt it yearning to fly. But again he held it back. This time so he could add extra power.

  Focusing on a small creature he poured mana into the stone, and then released it. It flew far faster than he could have thrown. And with almost perfect accuracy. Throwing the rabbit like creature in his bag he identified the stone again.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Manifested stone(common grade) - spell earth - T1

  Better. Far better. Still not that useful. But a proof of concept.

  Then two messages he was waiting for came at once.

  Earth magic level 2 reached.

  Earth mold unlocked.

  Bev: I got earth mold! This will make things so much easier. Thanks.

  Kennon chuckled to himself. This was exactly what he hoped for. He was far more interested in fire magic himself. But the more he and Bev practiced the same thing the faster they mastered it. And he couldn’t have hoped for a better next spell than earth mold.

  It would make Bev’s building far easier.

  He was a little surprised the system gave them the level at the same exact time. But it wasn’t that weird. If it was based on knowledge and skill then plenty had been shared between them. The villagers always looked at him weird when they said they helped each other study like this. But he supposed none of them were twins.

  Grabbing a random stone Kennon tested earth mold as he walked. It was pretty simple really. On activation the stone became more malleable the more mana he put into it. Though he decided to leave the detailed tests to Bev.

  Time for fire magic!

  Seeing as it was inscribed fire bolt was a little different. The spell array did not appear outside the body. It was already fully formed inside of him. All he had to do was charge it, and direct it. This meant there was almost no mana manipulation needed. He focused on filling the inscription and it came to life inside of him.

  He wanted to try hands free casting. So keeping his hands in his pockets he willed the spell to form directly in front of his face. Within seconds he was staring straight at a fully formed spell. Unlike rock toss he wanted to use this one quickly. He had already studied it. His goal was to see how fast he could maximize its power.

  He began pouring mana like it was water. The spell was already formed, and the instant he allowed it a ball of fire the size of his fist appeared. But it was weak. The temperature of a candle flame. Preventing it from flying he willed it to compress. All the while throwing more and more mana into it. The spell started to fight against his will. The mana yearning to be free.

  Clamping down on it he did not allow it to escape until it was almost impossible to tell it was the same spell. The fist sized dull orange had become marble sized blue. The center almost white. Suddenly he felt the fringes of heat brush against his face. It was unraveling! The heat wasn’t supposed to escape until launch.

  Releasing his hold it shrieked forward. He saw the area on a stone he had targeted glowing a dull red. Perhaps it was his imagination but he could have swore it had some new cracks. He smiled. Then as an encore tossed the spell rapidly at the same spot.

  He lost track of how many times he fired before the notification came in.

  Fire magic level 3 reached.

  Heat unlocked.

  He smiled again. He knew this spell. It targeted a specific area and gradually heated it up. Worthless for combat as it would be fighting against a creature's spell resistance. But for utility.

  It would be great for smelting, boiling water, cooking.

  Forming it he quickly saw that it was more complex than the previous fire spells. But nothing he couldn’t handle. A quick test showed that it required almost no mana to keep it active. And that he could target himself. It would even be an effective hand warmer.

  Forcing his attention away from magic he noticed something odd. A part of the river bed that was darker. Almost black. A quick identify and he hollered in success!

  Iron sand - ore - T0

  Sadly his mana was running low, or else he could have used earth mold to make it easier to move. But his pack didn’t mind depositing loose sand cupped in his hands. He dove into the iron sands greedily. He couldn’t have asked for a better find. It was clearly very pure. It would be perfect for smelting.

  He would probably have to slow his exploration a bit to help Bev build. Even if the smelter was ready it might take a day to refine two packs full of the sand. And it wasn’t. They also needed a smoke shack. And a freezer if Bev could pull it off.

  They would need a mill. Logs. There was so much to do. If he forgot about the circumstances he was almost having fun.