I thought that I put my mother on the spot when I asked for those gloves. She didn’t say anything and just wrote a letter. A few days later, the guy who delivered the wooden sword brought those gloves to me.
I saw them glowing once, so I asked to study it, but they appeared to be only regular gloves. They were also a bit too big for my hands, but that could be adjusted.
While she looked very confused for a while, she didn’t ask anything about why I wanted that. She occasionally would spy on me training, so mother probably had some ideas of what I wanted, or maybe she thought that I wasn’t just thinking all that much.
‘At least she looks happy when she is teaching me how to write and read… the letters of this world sure are annoying to write down.’
Learning all that from scratch was a pain in the ass, but it was necessary. In any case, thanks to the gloves, I could train harder with the sword, even though my body shouldn’t be pushed that hard, I had to get used to some movements as soon as possible and learn what works and doesn’t work when it comes to fighting.
It was about time for me to have the chance to learn a new skill, but I was getting impatient since I was almost four years old and I was still unable to use magic. Having all that mana and not being able to use magic was starting to bother me.
‘The proficiency of Lightning Affinity is increasing, but incredibly slow… I guess being hit by a lightning bolt is out of the question, but I should be able to make something that can produce some electricity to hurt me just a bit.’
I had to make this work before I had the chance to learn the next skill… Still, with the materials I could find at home, I couldn’t make anything. The best thing I could do for now was to use the wool from my gloves, paper, and a fork or a knife from home.
After thinking for a while, I decided to build a simple electrostatic generator. I didn’t have the luxury of fancy equipment, but I had enough resources to try something basic, a Leyden jar. This device would let me store the electricity I was generating with the wool of the gloves, giving me a way to experiment with the energy in a more controlled manner.
I gathered the materials: the wool, a metal fork, a glass jar, and some paper. I never tried this experiment, but I had an idea of how it might work. The Leyden jar would act as my storage container, and the paper would serve as the conductive material.
First, I rubbed the wool against the gloves to generate static electricity. My fingers tingle as the charge built up, and I could feel the energy accumulating. I then used the fork to transfer the charge from the wool onto the inside of the glass jar. The jar was empty, but I wrapped the outside of the paper, ensuring it covered the bottom and part of the sides. This would create two conductive surfaces: one inside the jar and the other outside, separated by the glass.
Once all that was set up, I focused on creating and transferring more static electricity. As I rubbed the wool again, the charge began to build up inside the jar. At first, I wasn’t sure if it would work, but after a few attempts, I felt the tingling sensation on my fingertips grow stronger. The energy was being stored in the jar, just like I’d hoped.
I couldn’t fully discharge the jar all at once, but I decided to release small amounts of the stored energy at a time. I gently touched the metal with my fingers, and at first, the charge didn’t feel like much. But then, as I increased the contact time, I could feel a slight jolt running through me, a tiny electric shock that gave me a rush of excitement. The electricity wasn’t strong enough to hurt me, but I could tell it was being stored and released in the jar. It was like controlling a small lightning bolt, and the feeling of having that power in my hands was satisfying.
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The skill Lightning Affinity reached level five.
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The Treasure Mind of Steel’s proficiency reached level twenty- five.
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I couldn’t help but sigh… I pulled something off, but it wasn’t on time for what I really wanted. Perhaps I could wait a bit and not pick a new skill in order to focus on this, but it would be a waste of time. I needed to obtain an active skill in one way or the other, after all.
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List of Compatible Actions:Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Meditation
Earth Affinity
Water Affinity
Fire Affinity
Wind Affinity
Heavy Strike
Shield Slam
Discharge
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I furrowed my eyebrows a bit when I found the skills that I could obtain Heavy Strike was probably thanks to sword training and Shield Slam thanks to me swinging the shield around horizontally in some combos that I tried, but what about Discharge? It definitely was something related to my experiments, but I couldn’t tell which part.
‘Well, it should help me a bit when it comes to improving Lightning Affinity. Besides, if anything, it is definitely better than the other options.’
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Discharge - Lv 01 - (00/100)
Thanks to your connection with Lightning, you are able to generate the energy inside your body and electrocute those who you touch. It consumes fifty points of mana per second of use.
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It was indeed an active skill, but I couldn’t tell how I came to learn it. My only guess was that it was because I reached level five in the affinity. Or maybe the system recognized my constant focus to generate electricity.
I looked at my hands for a moment and then I activated the skill… a small spark appeared on the palm of my hand and I felt my mana being drained for the first time. I checked the skill again and confirmed its use.
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Discharge - Lv 01 - (01/100)
Thanks to your connection with Lightning, you are able to generate the energy inside your body and electrocute those who you touch. It consumes fifty points of mana per second of use.
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‘Good, now I just need to know how much mana I can recover every day and make sure to spend as much as…’
Before I could finish my thoughts, I heard a metallic sound coming from behind… When I turned, I saw that my mother dropped the pan. I messed up… I lost my notion of time and didn’t realize that it was about time for her to wake up from her nap and prepare dinner.
“Ai… was that… magic?”
Well now, how could I explain this? I couldn’t. I rarely talked unless my mother asked me things. I might not look stupid, but I couldn’t sound so eloquent.
“That is amazing! I never saw magic like that! Let’s show it to Luaria and ask what she thinks!”
As expected, things were taking such a turn… a proud mother who was happy obviously would show around her kid. Maybe she can even use this to make us go where my father was. The best option would be to play dumb and act like I didn’t know what my mother was talking about, but that would make her look like a fool.
‘I can’t do that. I suppose I have to deal with the results of my own actions and then see what happens. I might not be strong enough to protect myself, but this can be a good chance to learn a bit more about the world and perhaps even leave this village.’
I had to learn from this mistake. Losing track of time and letting my guard down wasn’t something I could do ever again, not when the stakes were so high. I needed to be more cautious, more aware of my surroundings, and more deliberate in how I conducted my experiments. This village might seem quiet and isolated, but I couldn’t assume my actions wouldn’t spread. This was such a world, where they began to train kids at the age of five to become soldiers.
Still, if this mistake did lead to problems. Whether it attracted unwanted attention or stirred up rumors, I couldn’t let it hinder me. If anything, it was a wake-up call to get stronger and prepare for the worst. If people came after us because of my abilities, then I’d have no choice but to defend myself and my mother.
‘I guess I’ll have to focus on a magic build. If things get bad, I’ll electrify anyone who tries to mess with us. Fighting with a body like this at close range is impossible.’
The idea of leaning into my lightning affinity and turning it into a real weapon was appealing. If I could generate enough electricity, then discharging it with precision could become a powerful tool, not just for self-defense but for taking control of dangerous situations. And if this village couldn’t handle what I was learning, then maybe it was time to think bigger.
In the end, indeed took me to meet Luaria… the sun was setting and her work was already over, so she didn’t welcome us with open arms for bothering her at her time off. Still, she couldn’t help but frown when she heard my mother’s explanation.
“That is simply impossible, little Elle. Lightning Affinity is very rare, and it only awakens on a handful of people. Improving it is even more difficult and turning into proper magic that can be controlled is even more unheard of. There is no way that a kid like this could do that.”
Little Elle… I guess she knew my mother since she was a little girl, but her tone was really dismissive and annoying. No one could treat my mother like a moron in front of me and live to tell the tale. Well, it would be too much to attack an old lady over that.
“Do that again, Ai.”
I opened my hand and then used Discharge. The energy and the power weren’t enough to hurt anyone… or maybe it could. I couldn’t tell given my magic value. In any case, the old lady jumped backward and opened her eyes widely. I guess my mother was the only one who could see electricity so clearly and not feel scared of it.