Wyn rifles through the stack of requests, with Lothran lurking nearby. Despite assurances to the contrary, he keeps constant watch over Wyn. Each time Wyn looks toward him, his eyes are never far. She rolls her eyes inwardly, puzzling over why the seasoned mage focuses on her so intently. And frankly, it was rather annoying. She hopes this isn’t related to her failed illusion spell. Wyn rubs her hands together, still cold from her frostbitten failure. She shakes her head, disregarding the thought, and focuses on finding a quest from the pile.

  The vast majority of the quests are not worth the paper they're printed on. The whelp quests she’s eligible for are boringly simple. One request asks the Consortium to craft poisons for a nest of rats, and many request charging a magical item with Essentia. Another even asks for the Consortium to deliver a message across town. Wyn rolls her eyes at that one. What is she? An overly magical courier service? She certainly will not take that kind of quest.

  The more she reads, the more her shoulders slump; each quest growing in boredom. She considers a quest for magical items, but doesn’t know how to charge an item with Essentia. Wyn is increasingly aware of how little she actually knows about being a mage. Wyn feels her class should just be called basic instead of basic mage considering her lack of knowledge.

  After an hour, she’s made her way through half the stack and reaches the Novice and Apprentice missions. With most of the whelp rank missions being basic errands, it’s no wonder they’ve piled up. If Lothran is the only Consortium mage left in Lethisburg, these sorts of missions must be well below his skill level. She turns to face him, and once again she catches his eyes drifting away from her in attempted subtlety.

  Wyn frowns and uses her insight ability on him.

  Name: Obscured

  Race: Obscured

  Class: Obscured

  Rank: Obscured

  Title: Obscured

  Warning! This individual is protected from most means of insight and has been notified of your attempt at using Rudimentary Insight.

  Lothran raises a thin eyebrow towards Wyn, whose cheeks color with embarrassment.

  “It’s best to ask permission before using insight on another. It’s only polite,” says Lothran.

  “Sorry,” says Wyn.

  She’s about to return to her rifling of quests when an idea strikes her.

  “Lothran, why did my fingers go frigid and black when I cast?” asks Wyn.

  Lothran sets down his feathered ink pen and gives Wyn a dramatic sigh. “You truly do not know?”

  He pauses for a moment, and when Wyn doesn’t respond, he continues.

  “Fine then, I suppose it’s best you learn. If nothing else, you won’t accidentally kill yourself. What you experienced was Frostburn and Overheat. Essentia is the energy of the universe and all creation. Gifted few can manipulate it into magical circles, spells, rituals, and other magical talents. Such people have a pool of Essentia; you’ve felt this, yes?”

  Wyn nods in agreement. Each time she’s cast a spell, she’s felt the energy flowing from the pit of her stomach before being directed by her spellcasting.

  “Good. Every person has a certain amount of Essentia they are able to hold. If you expend too much Essentia too quickly, you will contract Frostburn. Conversely, overfilling your mana pool causes Overheat. When you absorb Essentia for casting, you fill your pool of Essentia, and casting depletes it. The mark of any good mage is to balance resources effectively.”

  Wyn slumps in her chair, considering his words. It made sense given her experience using Essentia so far. The process reminds her of science lessons from when she was in school. A hot object contains more energy than a cold one in the real world, and it seems casting magic is much the same. Except for the part where she used that knowledge to pass a test, and now uses it to wield bolts of deadly magic.

  Even though most of the information was understandable, Wyn still had one point that was unclear to her. “What do you mean by absorbing Essentia?”

  Lothran sighs. “You are the least knowledgeable mage I’ve met. You don’t know how to absorb Essentia? Do you at least have an Essentia-generating ability?”

  Wyn shrugs and shakes her head. “Nope. Don’t have an ability to generate or absorb Essentia.” She pulls the Essentia Generator out of her inventory. “I have this though.”

  Lothran looks between Wyn and the generator, eyes wide with confusion and shock equally, before his brow wrinkles with doubt. “You expect me to believe you have a full Essentia Generator, and no ability that absorbs Essentia?”

  Wyn shakes her head no.

  “Then it is no wonder you reached Frostburn so easily. Let me show you how this thing works.”

  He stands up from his desk and walks to Wyn, grabbing the Essentia Generator and setting it down between them. With a flick of his finger, a tiny flame grows appears at the tip of his pointer finger. He gingerly opens a small door at the base and directs the ember into the chamber. The flame hovers gently in the small cradle at the base, heating the crystal at the center of the generator. Wyn feels a trickle of Essentia form within the crystal, and instinctively gravitates toward it, wanting to absorb the Essentia from the generator into her pool. Lothran holds up a finger to stop her.

  “Ah! Not yet. With the Generator activated like so, it will generate a small amount of Neutral Essentia into your pool. If you are reaching your capacity, simply snuff out the flame.”

  “Hold on,” Wyn interrupts, “Neutral Essentia?”

  “Yes, Wyn,” says Lothran through gritted teeth, annoyed by Wyn’s interruption, “I was getting to that, now be quiet and listen for a moment.”

  Lothran stares down at her, peering over his long, thin nose. “Oh. Sorry. You can continue,” says Wyn.

  “Just so. As I was saying, an Essentia Generator can generate larger amounts of Essentia, and even unique Essentia Types depending on what you burn.”

  Lothran opens a desk drawer and takes out a small swirling orb. Wyn tilts her head at it quizzically. Despite it appearing inherently magical, it gives off no Essentia of any kind.

  Item: Essence of Goblin - Common

  An Essence orb containing the essence of a dead goblin. Essentia Affinity: None.

  “This is an Essence,” says Lothran. “Essences can be created from recently deceased monsters, or sometimes can be created in areas with naturally high Essentia density. This one has no affinity, making it quite low quality. However, it can still be used for demonstration purposes.”

  Lothran places the orb in the chamber with the flame. The crystal glows slightly as it generates significantly more Essentia. The energy is tantalizing to Wyn, who narrowly avoids the temptation to grab the thing and absorb all the delicious Essentia immediately. Not wanting to upset Lothran again, she looks to him, her desperation clear; her body craving the energy.

  “Go ahead; I don’t need it.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Wyn lurches forward and grabs the Essentia generator with both hands. She savors the sensation as the Essentia pours from the central crystal, through her body, to her Essentia pool. After the brief moment of euphoria, she leans back, setting the generator down.

  “As you’ve noticed, mages often crave Essentia. The fact that we consume Essentia far more than the average person increases our risk of addiction. Not that it’s a particularly virulent addiction. Magic is a brilliant tool, so why not use it?”

  Wyn hesitates at Lothran’s words. Addiction is a horrible problem to have, and she’s certainly met many who have fallen to addiction. Any time she’s trekked through her old Grey Zone home to get her sister’s medication, she’d often see some poor victim of addiction hobbling through the streets. A piece of Wyn wants to abandon magic altogether, not wanting to become addicted to it. However, a much larger part of her begs her to continue on the path, and Wyn is inclined to agree. Addiction is terrible, potentially ruining everything, but using Essentia might let you blow stuff up with magic.

  In Wyn’s view, the benefits far outweigh the risks. With magic, Wyn can take on powerful foes and do impossible things. Without it, she’d be as good as dead. She doubts she would’ve survived the goblin shaman if she hadn’t had her illusion magic. And how bad could Essentia addiction truly be? For years, Wyn’s mom has relied heavily on caffeine to get through her days. If she can require caffeine to function, why can’t Wyn be the same way with Essentia in Eden? She pushes down the little voice in her head telling her to be cautious and decides having magic is far better than no magic despite the addiction risk.

  “Now that I’ve absorbed the Essentia, I should be able to cast again?”

  “Correct,” says Lothran.

  Wyn attempts to create a small illusion, much smaller than the one she used against the goblin shaman days ago. Just like before, the Essentia swirls in her mind, while she attempts to create an illusion between the two of them. Lothran watches on, leaning back in his chair, though his bright twinkling eyes betray his vested interest in her ability.

  After a moment of conjuring, an illusory cat appears on the desk between them. The cat’s long multicolored fur flows elegantly as it stands proud on the desk, its head held high. Lothran grabs his feather pen and scribbles words into his notebook while he tests the quality of the illusion.

  He waves his hand in front of the illusion, and the cat’s eyes follow his hand. “Hmm. Very good. Illusion tracks movement and looks near lifelike.”

  “Near lifelike?” Wyn protests. “That looks just like my old cat from when I was a kid!”

  Lothran ignores Wyn’s protestations. “Are you controlling its movement?”

  “No. I influence it to do what I want.”

  “And can your illusions make sound?”

  The cat meows with annoyance, its disposition matching Wyn’s.

  “Very good,” says Lothran. He reaches his hand out to touch the illusion. In response, the illusory cat arches its back, enticing him for pets. Sadly, the moment his hand touches the illusory cat’s fur, it disappears. Lothran nods appreciatively and makes a few last notes before turning his focus back to Wyn.

  “That is some of the better illusion work I’ve seen. It’s a tough school of magic to learn, but you manage it well. It’s remarkable you have such a high-grade illusion ability at so low a level. I must imagine it drains you near completely of Essentia.”

  “You’re not wrong there,” says Wyn. Already, she feels a chill tickling at her fingertips.

  Lothran points to the pile behind Wyn. “You still need to select your desired quest, no?”

  “I do. Most of the ones intended for my rank are rather… boring.”

  Lothran rolls his eyes. “Yes, well, if you wish to take on a more difficult quest, you must take on a lower-ranked one.”

  Wyn gives him her best impression of puppy-dog eyes. “Are you sure I can’t take on at least a novice-rank quest?”

  Lothran frowns. “Despite your skill with illusion, I doubt it will be very helpful to you in combat. Illusion is often considered a lesser school of magic for good reason. Sure, you can distract, confuse, and manipulate your enemies, but what good will that do for actually harming your enemies? Were you a higher level, or had some proper magic like my electric magic, then I would consider allowing you to take a novice quest. But you are not ready for it.”

  Wyn pouts and turns away from Lothran. While a piece of Wyn knew he was right, she couldn’t help being upset at his words. What does he know about the power of illusion magic anyhow? Wyn defeated a full horde of goblins with nothing more than her illusions. Sure, the knights delt the final blows, and Wyn narrowly escaped with her life, but Wyn knows she’s more capable than being a glorified messenger.

  “Who decides what rank missions are, anyway?” Wyn asks.

  “The Arcane Consortium and its enchanters provide each local Hall with an item known as an Arcane Adjudicator. When we receive a missive that our assistance is needed, the Adjudicator selects the appropriate rank, and then creates the sheets you see before you.”

  “So it’s a printer?”

  Lothran rolls his eyes. “No, it’s not a printer. It doesn’t use ink; it’s a different tool entirely.”

  Wyn snorts. “Sure. A very fancy inkless printer. And where is the Arcane Adjudicator?”

  Lothran sets down the scroll he was reading to glare at Wyn. “And let you manipulate it into granting you a novice quest? I don’t think so. Not that you could anyhow. Only extremely talented enchanters could manipulate an Arcane Adjudicator.” He raises the scroll between him and Wyn, cutting off any retort from Wyn.

  Wyn frowns, and once again turns to the stack of papers. She’s getting very tired of staring at this massive pile, and wants to get away from Grumpy the Mage. Lothran immediately caught her idea of trying to break the Adjudicator and somehow make it print a quest that is of higher rank, but states it as a novice quest. But Wyn doesn’t give up so easily. There’s one more idea she can try.

  She grabs the first Novice quest in the pile and gives it a quick read.

  Quest: Invasive Boomfrogs

  Requirements: Rank — Novice

  Travelers across the Arazid Mountains report an increase in boomfrogs along Imperial roads. The creatures, while not dangerous, can grow into more dangerous varieties should they not be destroyed. Warning: if high-level variants have spawned, report back to Lethisburg immediately, and avoid direct conflict. The Arcane Consortium bears no responsibility for any harm resulting from reckless or overzealous pursuit of this query.

  Objectives:

  Defeat Boomfrogs — 0/20

  Defeat Warrior Boomfrogs — 0/10

  Defeat Boomfrog Matriarch — 0/1

  Wyn’s cheeks curl into a smile. This is much more her speed. Not menial grunt work, or random enchanting. A proper chance to grow her skills in the field against an enemy. And while she has no idea what the heck a boomfrog is, she can’t wait to find out.

  Wyn concentrates on her ability Illusions of the Beyond, seeing if its possible for her to create a smaller, localized illusion instead of the grander illusions she’s made so far. She recalls the magic circle used to in creating her previous illusions, and draws it on the back of the paper with a pencil. Wyn has no idea if this will work, but it will hopefully prevent Lothran from noticing her spell.

  With the circle completed, she focuses on her Essentia pool and wills it to go into the paper, and power the drawn magic circle. The circle faintly pulses with magic, as Wyn wills only a single word to be adjusted on the page. Essentia pours out of Wyn, draining the reserves she gained just moments ago with the help of Lothran. The circle glows, no longer pulsing, and the spell reaching its completion. Wyn uses her body to block Lothran’s line of sight, hoping he doesn’t spot her magic.

  The magic circle dissolves into the page, vanishing. For a moment, Wyn thinks the spell failed, when she receives a notification.

  Ability Unlocked

  Ability: Subtle Spellcasting — Uncommon

  Allows the caster to cast spells subtly to avoid detection. Increases casting time and Essentia cost. Decreases spell efficacy.

  Wyn flips the page over, and reads the updated quest.

  Quest: Invasive Boomfrogs

  Requirements: None

  Travelers across the Azarid Mountains report an increase of Boomfrogs along Imperial roads. The creatures while not dangerous, can grow into more dangerous varieties should they not be destroyed. Warning, if high level variants have spawned, report back to Lethisburg immediately, and avoid direct conflict. The Arcane Consortium is not responsible for any harm incurred due to an excess of bravery.

  Objectives:

  Defeat Boomfrogs — 0/19

  Defeat Warrior Boomfrogs — 0/11

  Defeat Boomfrog Matriarch — 0/1

  Wyn gives herself a mental high five, and a silent cheer. It worked. She casted an illusion a fraction of a centimeter over the page itself, changing the words “Rank — Novice” to “None.” The numbers in the objective section also changed, surprising Wyn. She did not intend to manipulate that part of the objective whatsoever, and Wyn guesses that it might’ve changed on its own, or was an accident on her part.

  With a grin, Wyn stands up and hands the paper to Lothran, moving swiftly and carefully as to not disturb the illusion, or run out of Essentia from maintaining it. He peers at it, reading the quest over, and frowns.

  “Boomfrogs are usually a novice area, especially Boomfrog Matriarch, but if the Adjuticator considers it a Whelp quest then I suppose you can take it. It’s yours.”

  Quest: Invasive Boomfrogs

  Accept?

  Yes / No

  Wyn accepts the quest as she feels a chill in her fingers once again, she can’t maintain the spell any longer. She snags the paper as the illusion dissipates, keeping the paper facing her body so Lothran doesn’t see the accurate version.

  “I’ll get right to it. Thanks Lothran,” says Wyn, already a foot out of the door.

  “That’s Hall Master Lothran to you!” says Lothran, calling after her, but Wyn has already left the room; and if whether or not she heard Lothran’s words is entirely unknown.