Chapter 21

Have you ever wondered how lightning is formed?

Well, I have!

It’s a natural phenomenon that’s caused by normal reactions in the surrounding, yet it appears so much like magic that I took an interest in it. Of course, lightning magic exists, but lightning itself is an amazing occurrence that piqued my interest during my past life.

As ice crystals within a thunderstorm cloud flow up and down in the turbulent air, they crash into each other and small negatively charged particles are knocked off some of the ice and added to another ice as they crash past each other.

These negatively charged electric particles are drawn toward the positively charged ones on the ground, and as the opposites attract, a stepping ladder is formed which results in lightning!

I had calculated these and recreated the phenomena with magic, generating a cloud, while making countless ice particles clash with each other, as well as charging the dormant circuit in the earth.

By snapping my fingers, I created the spark needed to spread the chain reaction, using Alphonse as the point of contact for the lightning strike.

I thought I calculated everything. In theory, it would have worked perfectly, without spreading across the whole field or causing more mayhem as it did. However… who would have expected this?

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!” Alphonse asked me with a deep glare in his eyes.

‘I know I made an error. Perhaps if I have more time, I can figure out what exactly the problem is.’

“I messed up. Things went a little out of control, but at least I won, didn’t I-”

Alphonse didn’t even let me finish my statement of defense before raising his hands and giving me a hot slap across the cheek.

SWAT!

The stinging sensation that I feltq on my skin sent a confusing jolt down my body. I was enveloped in confusion.

“E-eh…?!”

What just happened? Alphonse hit me on my face… a reaction I had not expected. Looking at him, he had a very enraged look.

The old man’s glare deepened, something I didn’t know was possible.

‘This is the first time I’ve been hit… since I was reborn…’ My mind trailed.

“W-why…?” I muttered in confusion, giving my tutor an angry look.

“Alphonse, it’s okay, you don’t need to blame Jared. He-” Anabelle, my mother protested in my defense, struggling to get close to us.

‘That’s right… I don’t deserve any blame for this. It was an accident, an unforeseen error. Besides, it wasn’t like anyone got hurt.’

“Anabelle, I won’t let this slide. He needs to learn the repercussions of his actions. What he did is unacceptable!” Alphonse spoke back to my mother.

It was the first time I had seen him respond so daringly to her. No, it was the first time I saw him so serious at all.

‘What’s his deal? Even after I worked my butt off to reach this level and won our bet, even after displaying such amazing magic… why was he treating me like this?’

My look intensified as I glared at him. He was my tutor and all, but that didn’t give him the right to say such harsh words to me and my mother.

“It was only a little accident, and-”

“Will you shut it, boy! That ‘little accident’ has sent your mother into a state of mana shock!” Alphonse glared at me, clenching his fists as though restraining himself from hitting me again.

“M-mana shock?!” I repeated, confused about what he said.

Mana shock is a condition within a person caused by the sudden use of a vast amount of mana from one’s core.

To prevent shock, spells are needed In order to ensure smooth a transitioning of the Mana flow. However, if a person tries to bypass the spell’s process or overtask themselves in a short period, they experience mana shock.

My eyes darted to my mother. She did appear pale and weak, but I had only assumed that it was due to her worry for me. All through my years, she was always a worrywart, so I had chalked this down to the same issue.

“Don’t you know the consequence of that? Depending on the level of the shock, a Mana Shock could lead to Weakness and a state of unconsciousness… in worse cases, death!”

Of course, I knew of this. However… to think my mom was going through that currently, yet she was still standing here, worrying about me. Inconceivable!

“N-no, you’re wrong! Why would she even be under Mana Shock in the first place?” I said with a quivering tone.

“Are you retarded? That spell just now, I don’t know what you did, but if she hadn’t acted quickly and used [Safe Haven] to contain it, you would have been caught up in it!” Alphonse said, drawing closer to me with an intimidating aura.

‘Okay, I messed up more than expected.’