LV

  Recovering from his final intense and oddly satisfying training, he got his meager belongings together as he left his Guild room for the final time. He really wanted to check his [ Status ], as he could even feel his [ Archive ] pulsing with updates to his Ranks, but he needed to meet Broff’s group in the main area of the Guild. They were there to watch his final training with Wylana, and once he finished, they told him to get cleaned up with a bath, and to join them afterwards.

  Kaz made his way down to see his group of four waiting for him, which included Treyre, who returned from his Quest, and even he had a small smirk on his face. With a deep breath, he joined them as they made their way to their new home. Our home.

  He noticed along the way that they were heading in the direction of the wealthier part of Sarus, which included larger homes and more greenery along the paths. They all chatted amongst themselves, each of them praising Kaz for his skill with the glaive now. Supposedly, Wylana was probably the most skilled hand to hand pure duelist in their town, which he learnt meant fighting without the use of Abilities, just pure foundations and moves, the way she taught him. Which Kaz was even more grateful to Laelara for recommending and arranging the lessons for him.

  They arrived at a hefty three-story house, which had a small gate at the entrance, with an expansive front yard. The house was more simplistic in its designs compared to most of the buildings he saw along the way, but this one felt cozier. It reminded him of the orphanage that he grew up in, just slightly updated and more cobblestones opposed to wood.

  “This is home, what ya think?”

  Broff nudged him slightly, asking him the question, no doubt to bring him out of his thoughts. Kaz whispered, “It’s amazing.”

  With a wide smile, he pushed him forward towards the open door of the house, which Treyre was holding open. He cautiously entered the house, and to his surprise, it was a well decorated interior, filled with comfy couches, tables, rugs, a fireplace, plenty of lighting, and a wall of books. He took it all in, and then they began with the tour, which Mera decided to lead.

  They went into the kitchen, which had a large wooden table with equally heavy looking chairs. He could see Broff’s proud smile, so it was safe to assume that this was his idea. They approached a large looking wooden dresser, which confused Kaz, but then Mera explained, “This is an enchanted cabinet that keeps food from perishing. Elmdiara and I keep this stocked, so whenever you are hungry, just grab something from there, but we typically all sit down for breakfast and dinner together.”

  Kaz noticed the rest of them nodding, which meant that it was probably important to them, so he noted that down to always make it down for breakfast and dinner. They continued to the second floor, which had three rooms, which Broff, Mera, and Elmdiara stayed in, including a bathroom at the end of the hall. He was surprised when they showed them their rooms, and each one fit the person.

  Broff’s room was full of bulky furniture, rugs, weapons, broken wooden dummies, and what seemed like barrels. He didn’t want to make assumptions of what was in the barrels, but it was definitely something he was not yet allowed to drink. Mera’s room was full of simple looking furniture, plants, and a desk filled with various books and potions. But it was all very clean and tidy, with nothing looking out of place. Elmdiara’s room was similar to Mera’s but with less plants, and more books. Her room was not that messy to him, but compared to Mera’s room and even Broff’s, it was more disorganized, with books and various objects sprawled all over the place.

  They reached the third floor, which also had three rooms. Treyre’s room was the most empty, with only a bed, a dresser, and a desk that had a few books on it, collecting dust. It was also more dark than any of the previous rooms, with the curtains colored black and drawn, blocking out the windows. When they approached the next room, they opened the door and he noticed a similar layout to Treyre’s room, and it was Elmdiara who spoke up, saying, “And this is your room, Kaz. Sorry, we didn’t know what to fill the room with, so we just got you the basics.”

  He walked in slowly, and set his bag at the base of his bed, and set his glaive in the corner of the room. The furniture all looked brand new, and when he sat on the bed, he couldn’t help but melt into it. It was an amazing bed, and while it was not as comforting as the Guild’s bed, this one was better because it was his very own bed.

  Kaz glanced at the others, who all sported nervous smiles, and he smiled earnestly back at them, telling them, “This is perfect, thank you all so much. I cannot put into words how much this means to me. I will make sure to pay you all back one day.”

  They all then went down to celebrate him joining their house with a big meal and drinks, to which he couldn’t drink yet. As the day ended, Kaz pulled Elmdiara aside, and asked her embarrassingly, “Elmdiara, if you could, could you go to Elder Aelon with me tomorrow and ask him to meet with me on the bench outside the Academy? He’ll know which one.”

  She nodded seriously, replying, “Of course, anything for you, Kaz. Do not worry about it.”

  With a smile, he departed early from the others, but not before they gave him a key to enter the house. He stored it in his robe, and went to his room, and passed out on his own bed, wondering how he managed to get so lucky in meeting these people. People who he could call friends. It was then that he decided to check his [ Archive ] for all of his updates. It rolled out his Abilities, and it displayed:

  — [ Skill Abilities ] —

  [ Mana Burst ]

  Rank 23

  [ Mana Shield ]

  Rank 17 > 29

  [ Mana Siphon - ? ? ? ]

  Rank 50

  — [ Passive Abilities ] —

  [ Mana Regeneration ]

  Rank 40

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  [ Evasive Step ]

  Rank 21 > Rank 43

  [ Glaive Novice ]

  Rank 15 > Rank 48

  These were huge updates to his Ranks, and he was blown away by the improvements. All of his Passive were over Rank 40, and it was funny to him that he was lacking in his Mage aspect. With a quick check, he was now at 38 Resonance, which was only twelve away from fifty. It hadn’t been even half a year since his Awakening, and he was already so close to his first Revelation. He only shuddered when he thought about, compared to his Mana Core which pulsed with excitement. He fell asleep shortly after, wondering how he could get Elder Aelon to help him tomorrow.

  The next morning, he woke up and quickly threw on his clothes, rushing downstairs to make sure he wouldn’t miss breakfast with the group. To his delight, they were all just gathering, with Mera and Broff working on cooking something up. He joined Elmdiara and Treyre at the table and shortly after they ate a simple, but hearty breakfast.

  Afterwards, Elmdiara and Kaz made their way to the Academy, and Kaz separated from her once he made it to the bench where he first met the Elven Mage. He sat back and reminisced that moment, where his whole Calling took a turn for a better. Not too long later, Elder Aelon arrived and joined him on the bench, with Elmdiara, who departed shortly after, wishing them both a good day.

  “I must say, your timing is impeccable today. I had nothing in my plans today, and alas, here you are,” Elder Aelon told him.

  Kaz replied, “Yeah, I just finished my training with Wylana for a week, and I made huge improvements to my Ranks.”

  Aelon raised his eyebrows in curiosity, and Kaz continued, “But unfortunately, I am lacking in the Mage aspect of my Calling, and to be honest, I don’t know how to improve them at a pace that I would like.”

  Aelon rubbed his chin, pausing briefly before asking him, “What is it that you are struggling with?”

  Kaz thought about it, and summarized, “To make it short, I am around Rank 25 with [ Mana Burst ] and [ Mana Shield ], and around Rank 40 with [ Mana Meditation ]. Essentially, all my Abilities that involve mana are below my glaive wielding Abilities.”

  With another brief moment of the Elven Mage thinking, he got up, explaining, “Alright, let’s venture past the walls into the forest, as we cannot practice on the Academy grounds unless we both want unpleasant attention.”

  As they strode through the town, they both remained quiet, each deep in their thoughts. Once they made it past the Guards at the walls, they immediately veered off the path into the sparse forest. It was when they were a few minutes away from the path that Aelon spoke up, asking Kaz, “Why do you think you are lacking in your mana Abilities? But also, be reminded that your [ Mana Siphon ] is at Rank 50.”

  That stumped Kaz, not because he forgot about his three-star Ability, but because his quick ascension through the Ranks was just, in a way, natural. When Aelon noticed that Kaz couldn’t come up with an answer, he followed it up with another question, “What was different about your [ Mana Siphon ] compared to the rest of your Abilities? I can assure you it is not because the Ability is three-stars.”

  Kaz replied, voicing his previous thoughts, “I am not sure how to explain it exactly, but the Ability felt so natural to me. When I first channeled the Ability, everything felt like it was complete.”

  Aelon nodded, and illustrated to Kaz, “That is a good start. One of the keys to understanding your Abilities is by listening to your Mana Core, your mind, and your heart. When all align, that is the purest form of your Ability.”

  Kaz eyed Aelon, unsure how this was helpful to him. Aelon chuckled, and asked him another question, “What is mana to you, Kaz?”

  He slowly responded, trying to word it the best he could, “To me, mana is the source of my Abilities. And after my stint in the Manashroom forest, I learnt that it is also the source of the Realm.”

  Aelon reached a small spot that was dense with grass, near a massive boulder that could rival his new home. He gracefully took a seat, crossing his legs over, and still sitting straight. Kaz looked to join him, but Aelon quickly ordered him, “No, you will not sit. Face the boulder.”

  Confused, Kaz followed his order, and faced the boulder. He decided to wait for Aelon to instruct him, as he knew he was about to receive a lesson. After some time in which Kaz began to fidget, Aelon finally spoke up, “Mana is not just a reserve that you use for your Abilities. Mana is alive. It is an unknown essence that lends itself to us in the form of power. Why is it that others have the ability to wield mana, while some others wield focus, and some use stamina?”

  Kaz could feel his Mana Core beating harder, almost in a pulse similar one would feel from their heart. It made him remember his time in the Manashroom Forest, how each manashroom that he siphoned from wilted once he absorbed all the Mana Points from them. Mana is alive. Would it be like blood then, or the air he breathes?

  With this train of thought, he felt his Mana Core pulse harder, with his mana warming up within him. He understood what the experienced Mage meant by this, as it all clicked for him mentally. But in a sense, he didn’t know how this would help him at the moment.

  “Let me ask you another question, Kaz. When you construct your [ Mana Burst ] for example, do you command your mana to come out in a certain way?”

  Kaz took a second to process that thought, and in a way, he did. He remembered the inspiration he took from the Woodspike Hedgehogs, when he tried to manipulate the construct of his [ Mana Burst ], and it then it hit him. He once listened to his Mana Core to make a forked construct, and it stuck to him this day.

  He spoke up to Aelon, voicing his thoughts, “I used to, but one day I let my Mana Core take over, and I use that construct to this day.”

  Aelon hummed in confirmation, illustrating for him, “Mana has been present in our Cosmos since the beginning, with it likely being the reason our Cosmos was formed, as it is the foundation of each Realm. Why are we, as simple beings, commanding it what to do?”

  Kaz felt a chill go throughout him, as Aelon’s words echoed throughout his head. Aelon followed up after a dramatic pause, “Have you ever just let yourself let loose, and let your Mana Core guide you instead, telling you what do?”

  Kaz nodded, and he realized it was with his [ Mana Siphon ] Ability, and it made sense. He let himself get absorbed in it, going into an eleven day meditation. And that is why he was able to advance quickly, and it also was the ability he felt most comfortable with.

  “There is your answer, Kaz. You didn’t know how to improve your Mage Calling due to a simple reason, listening. It has all the answers you need, but you just need to listen to your Mana Core. I have a feeling of what your affinity is without you even needing to attune it, but do you even know yourself what it may be? Your Mana Core has given you a few signs I am sure of, but have you listened to it?”

  Mulling it over, he tilted his head, wondering what it could be. During his time in deep meditation, he felt like he felt every single type of affinity, and he realized he couldn’t really pinpoint what resonated with him. He felt like his Mana Core was trying to tell him, to show him.

  He heard Aelon say something to him, but it felt like he was under water, Aelon’s voice becoming distant and distorted, but he managed to hear, “Let it show you.”

  Kaz cast [ Mana Burst ], letting his Mana Core take control.

  Elder Aelon POV

  Aelon could feel the restrained power within him. Kaz’s problem wasn’t that he was already stagnating, his problem was that he never listened to his Mana Core. It was no doubt the result of his upbringing and teaching, as he was probably never taught about mana. Or if he was, he didn’t listen due to his troubled state.

  There was a fine balance between oneself and mana, both sides needing to be in control. Aelon always believed that he himself was a vessel for mana, but many Mages didn’t share that thought. Hence the reason that he didn’t bring up this ideology in his classes, as it was something one must realize themselves, and not be taught.

  Being new to the Calling and being exposed to mana just recently, it was natural for one to treat it as a resource, similar to the air that people breathe. It was something that most people took for granted, and used it to their advantage, thinking they were the ones who decided what their mana should be. That thinking was not entirely wrong, as there were plenty of Mages who treated their mana simply as Mana Points, but those were the ones who took longer to develop, as they were ignoring the answer to their questions.

  With a smile, he saw Kaz let himself go, succumbing himself to his Mana Core. With a bright silver light, he saw arcs of lightning mana exploding out from him, raising the hairs of his arms. With a brilliant glow of light, a burst of unrestrained lightning shot out, hitting the boulder with a massive boom, a web of cracks appearing throughout.

  What was interesting to him though, besides his uncommon affinity, was a very brief shimmering silhouette appearing where Kaz stood during his outburst of lightning mana. A shaggy mane of silvery hair that contrasted against his black silhouette, reaching his shoulders along with a sharp, angular jawline.