Elemental Cats

The trees that had grown to replace the metal constructs Toz and Nil had set up or had metal mana poured into them didn't display apparent changes like the wood affected by the other attributes. The wood got sturdier and wasn't as easily damaged. It also got a slightly smoother and shinier surface, but overall it still looked mostly like the void trees had done without the influence of concentrated elemental mana.

Compared to the trees affected by lightning and fire mana, the trees affected by metal mana also hadn't shown any independent change or growth. Though aside from the first round of inspection after the purple fruit was discovered, neither Toz nor Nil had bothered to check the trees too thoroughly.

Toz had gotten absorbed into training and monitoring his sword, and Nil had taken it slow and gradually deepened his understanding of metal, trying to learn Sharp Rain.

When Nil used what he had already comprehended from the grimoire, his magic spiked in how powerful it was, but he still felt like there was a gap between that and the real power of a spell. Somehow, the power of the mana wasn't reaching the potential required to unleash the full might of the spell.

After training a bunch, Nil decided to take a break, so he laid down on a branch of one of the trees he had been reinforcing with metal mana. Compared to the other trees, it was the tree most obviously affected by the metal mana he had been giving it. The smooth and sturdy surface of the branch made it a perfect place to rest. And if it weren't for the blue color of the trees, Nil would have almost been indistinguishable from the branch he was lying on.

Despite dosing off, Nil still stayed aware of his surroundings, so he felt the branch swaying in tandem with his breathing. Although the branch's movements were only noticeable to Nil, who felt them directly, they were still there.

With the size of the island of trees that Toz and the cats were on, it was practically impossible for wind to arise naturally. But despite there not being even the tiniest hint of a breeze, Nil still felt the branch holding him up sway.

At first, he didn't pay any attention to it, but after he realized it, he quickly discarded it as the result of the branch responding to his breathing.

It wasn't the first time Nil napped on a branch, and it wasn't the first time he slept on a branch that swayed slightly. But it was the first time he slept on a piece of metal that moved so gently and due to close to no pressure being applied to it.

After realizing that the branch he was lying on was almost more similar to metal than wood, Nil's eyes shot open. Despite being made of metal known for its sturdiness, it was still soft enough to accommodate Nil's weight and movement.

With that realization, Nil finally figured out what he was missing to complete his spell. He lacked an understanding of metal's flexibility.

If the daggers conjured by Sharp Rain were too rigid, they would shatter on impact. But if they can absorb and receive damage, the daggers will be able to display their full power and continue forward, despite encountering resistance.

Unable to stop the spark of inspiration from lighting his productivity, Nil immediately set out to try casting his spell with the new understanding of metal he had just gained.

Since he had been dozing off in a tree that wasn't too far from the house, Toz had made, Toz and Mindle, who were close by, noticed Nil's energetic movements as he ran off to the edge of the island.

Although he wanted to try out his spell, Nil wasn't sure whether or not it would be a good idea to do it so close to the others, even if his spell wasn't supposed to be as explosive and destructive as Toz's Fireball.

Nil only wanted to cast the spell and make sure he understood it properly. He didn't feel a need to try out its effectiveness at once, so he didn't mind even if he only had the Void as a target.

When he reached the edge, Nil could clearly sense the thin atmospheric barrier coming from the trees, protecting the group against the Void's suffocation. If they hadn't already made sure that the air disappeared into the Void even if the barrier broke or if the island was under attack, Nil wouldn't have decided to launch his spell into the Void.

Nil gazed into the starry Void for a second before closing his eyes and concentrating on communicating his will to his mana, stimulating it and bringing it forth in the way he had learned from the grimoire.

Nil's eyes were still closed as tens of metal daggers began taking shape in the air above and around him. When he opened his eyes again, those daggers flew through the sky as naturally as if they were part of ordinary rain.

Although Nil couldn't determine how effective the daggers would be as an attack, just the feeling that the daggers had given off when they entered the Void was enough to confirm that Nil had successfully learned the spell Sharp Rain.

The lingering exaltation of finally being able to cast a spell made Nil cast it several times more.

Now there were officially three in their group that could use spells. Although, so far, Mindle had been the only one to use it in actual combat and proven how powerful spells were.

Nil first celebrated with Toz and Mindle, who had been behind him, spectating his casting, and then they all gathered together and celebrated after telling Lucy and Scrael.

But as it turned out, celebrating Nil's success in learning the spell wouldn't be the only reason Toz and the cats had to group up, since only moments after all five of them started celebrating, something other than void beasts appeared within their perception.