Could I lessen the effects of the fire on my body if I used an enhancement spell?

  That was the important question. Enhancing his body was obviously useful, but the possible extra benefit was what drew his attention to the rune and corresponding spell. I’m going to learn all the runes eventually anyway. Do I need that information right now? It could be only a marginal benefit, and then the spell would be much less useful than actual healing.

  Tether was an obvious no-go. Apparently it had a use on its own, but it was more meant for plant cultivation and didn’t have any tangible benefits at iron rank. Otherwise, it was mostly useful only when he would have already learned the other runes. Tether’s benefit was that he could extend the effects of durability enhancement and healing to others. Useful… but not right now.

  Mend or protection, that’s the question. Protection might not help at all while being able to heal will never hurt. Mend it is.

  Even though he had already made his choice, Valar had the whole weekend to reconsider. Elaine practically ordered the boy to not start on the next rune immediately and take the weekend off, because he had worked himself to the bone for the whole week. Even students like Valar had their limits, and every hard worker needed a break. Burnout was a risk for everyone—especially the untiring.

  “But what do I even do during the weekend?”

  “Rest. Go to the town to make that necklace of yours with me. Anything but more training!”

  “I’m at an academy!”

  “And so is everyone else,” Elaine’s sigh echoed through the near empty classroom. Only Julie sat there, waiting for her turn to speak to her aunt. “Julie, what are you planning to do on the weekend?”

  “I’m going to go visit my family at the residence! My parents are heading to Rosthorn next week, so I want to see them before they go.”

  Elaine pointed at her niece. “See? Other students don’t spend every waking minute training! Fast progress is good but not at the cost of your sanity!”

  “I’m still going to spend a couple of hours training,” Julie muttered.

  “That’s not helping! Rest, Valar. Please…”

  Valar let out a disappointed sigh. “I won’t train more runes during the weekend, all right?”

  “Thank you, Valar,” Elaine smiled. “Now go, before you miss your next class. You took the one Viktor is holding, right?”

  “Yeah. Am I in a rush?”

  “Not really, but you have only fifteen minutes or so. Now scurry off and let me talk to my niece.”

  Valar headed off, his next goal the wind tower.

  Even though Valar had initially thought to explore the whole academy, he had never actually visited the wind tower. He had of course seen it from afar, but the interior was a surprise. It was the most spacious tower by far, wind mages of higher ranks ascending with the wind instead of the chairs. Valar had to of course ascend the steps, as he couldn’t fly. A shame…

  For some abyss cursed reason, Viktor’s lesson was being held on the 27th floor of the wind tower. Having to ascend over ten floors of stairs was bad enough, but Valar had to actually be in a rush too! When he reached the right floor, the boy was absolutely exhausted. At least he wasn’t late.

  When the class started, ten students had entered the class. Viktor waited patiently for another five minutes as the rest of the course attendees joined them one by one. It seemed that everyone was as surprised about the trouble of coming to his class as Valar.

  Zeke was the last to arrive, and he sat next to Valar. He shook his head and breathed out an exasperated sigh. “Who decided that the class should be ever held on this floor? They’re evil!”

  Viktor chuckled from the front of the class. “That I agree on. Please do keep in mind that I didn’t choose the classroom. The headmaster did that.”

  “Can we mutiny or something?” Zeke asked.

  “I would not recommend trying to mutiny against a peak onyx rank time mage, but you do you. Possible rebellion aside, it seems that everyone who joined this course is present. Do you all know what course you just joined? Raise your hand if you think that you know.”

  A couple hands were raised—one young woman from the Kalron family and one young man from the Dalton family. Viktor pointed at the Kalron scion, prompting her to speak.

  “The class is about using your magic creatively.” The woman’s tone was flat. “What I don’t understand is why you are teaching it.”

  Viktor raised one of his eyebrows. “Please do explain what you mean with your statement, Kalron.”

  “If I had to guess, you’re a silver ranker that works as an assistant teacher for the actual professor of wind magic,” The girl seemed to become more confident as she talked. “This course, even if less known, can be highly impactful for many students, and I’m not sure if you’re competent enough to teach it.”

  “You don’t show your aura, so nobody knows your rank,” The Dalton scion joined in. “Should we guess your rank by your hair colour or something?”

  The silver haired man laughed. “Oh, how I wish that was true. Would’ve made my life so much easier in my earlier years… As for you two, who are you to doubt the academy’s teachers?”

  “Paying customers and scions of noble families,” The Kalron spat out. “I don’t recognize you from any noble families, so you’re a commoner! You’ll have to answer to us one day!”

  “I’ve heard enough from you two,” Viktor spoke flatly. “If you don’t want to be taught by me, leave.”

  “I’ll do just that,” The Dalton scion picked up his bag and left the classroom promptly, followed by the Kalron girl straight after. The whole classroom was left in confused silence, Viktor rubbing the bridge of his nose and shaking his head with disappointment.

  “They missed such a good class too. Even got the topic slightly wrong. Now, this class is called An introduction to breaking the boundaries between affinities. It’s about using your magic to create effects of other affinities. Do any of you know any examples of this?”

  A short young woman, fire mage by her aura, lifted her hand. “My mother uses her fire magic to create wind. I never really understood her explanation, but is that what you’re talking about?”

  “Exactly,” Viktor grinned. “Traditionally, you all are taught spells that use your affinity in conventional ways. Fire magic is used to burn, earth magic to move and create rocks, water magic to manipulate water and ice, and wind magic to manipulate wind. All these applications are solid ways to use your magic, but why stop there? I am a wind mage. I manipulate the wind, and that allows me to fly, create whirlwinds, cut my enemies apart and do anything that the wind could do anyways. Can any of you guess why I was specifically chosen to teach this class?”

  Zeke lifted his hand. “I’m guessing you’re not a traditional wind mage, are you?”

  “No, I am not.”

  The silver haired wind mage lifted his hand, runes appearing all over his exposed arm. “Now, you all see that I’m using runes of wind magic. Watch this…”

  Valar’s eyes went wide as saucers. What is this…

  What appeared above Viktor’s hand wasn’t wind, but lightning.

  Crackling white lightning danced above the mage’s hand, forming an uneven sphere in the air. “Is this wind? How in the abyss am I creating lightning with wind magic?”

  The class was silently watching the display, mouths open with shock and awe. Everyone was too focused on the lightning to even think of answering Viktor’s question.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  The man sighed and snapped his fingers, the ball of lightning disappearing in an instant. “Can you answer my question now? How did I just create lightning?”

  “How in the abyss are we supposed to know?” Zeke yelled. “I didn’t know that that was possible a couple of seconds ago!”

  His sentiment was echoed by the other students, including Valar. Nobody had a clue. The whole premise seemed idiotic. Lightning mages created lightning, not wind mages!

  “The answer is science! I researched how lightning appears naturally, and replicated that with my wind magic. It doesn’t stop at my magic either. What is stopping you all from experimenting just like me?”

  Valar was doubtful of Viktor’s words, and so were the others. A fire mage from the other side of the room said as much. “I don’t have your affinity. What can I even do with fire magic?”

  “Why would you need my affinity?” Viktor asked. “I know of at least two different approaches that you could use. One is the approach of this young lady’s mother. She creates pressure with her fire magic, causing wind to move in the direction she wants. If she’s strong enough, I’m sure she can create strong winds to defeat her enemies. The other approach I’ve heard of is freezing people with fire magic…”

  “What? How would I ever do that?”

  “I’m no expert of fire magic, but isn’t heat just particles vibrating really fast? What if you use your magic to take that away?”

  Zeke’s eyes lit with glee. “That’s exactly how it works! Heat is just a form of energy caused by the tiny building blocks of the world around us moving at extreme speeds! Look!”

  The abstract mage of energy slammed his hand against his napkin. His aura spiked, and the napkin caught fire. “I converted the energy of my hand moving to heat, so the napkin caught fire. You can do the same, but in reverse!”

  Everyone but Valar and Viktor looked at Zeke with looks of confusion. Valar would’ve honestly been confused too, but he had heard enough talk about energy from Zeke during the past two weeks to kind of grasp what he was talking about. He didn’t actually understand it well, but at least he wasn’t totally lost.

  Viktor seemed to have some advanced knowledge as he just nodded at Zeke’s explanation with a smile on his face. “Zeke is an abstract mage of energy… I recommend you to listen when he speaks about his field of expertise.”

  The rest of the class was spent discussing the potential unorthodox applications of every student’s magic. Earth mages were generally at the hardest position, as it was hard to come up with alternate uses. Viktor did remind them that when they became stronger, the mages could train to fly on disks of stone. It required a lot of skill and power, but it was possible.

  When it came time for Valar, Viktor had two things to say. “Life mages usually heal, but body enhancements are often forgotten. You could potentially reach similar levels of physical might as some affinityless warriors, but not the best of them. Still, that’s more than any other mage could say. I know of one other application, but I'm not sure if I’m supposed to mention it…”

  Valar’s interest peaked. “What do you mean? Now I want to know what that application is even more!”

  “Well, it’s related to death magic…” Viktor muttered. “I’ll just say that if fire mages can take heat away, why couldn’t life mages do the same? I’ll have to warn you that life-draining spells are forbidden and the authorities will imprison you for them, just as they will imprison death mages who overstep their boundaries…”

  “Oh… I understand.”

  The class ended soon after, and Valar’s weekend began. He read on magic for the rest of 4th day and slept well in preparation for the next morning. Elaine would be taking him to make a necklace of his lucky coin, and he was honestly excited about the idea. Having a trinket to remember what had saved his life was something that he could appreciate.

  The next morning, Elaine picked Valar up from his dorm. She was predictably late by a whole fifteen minutes, but Valar had gotten used to the professor’s lax mindset on schedules by now. She hadn’t been early to a single class, so being late wasn’t really a surprise…

  Their goal was a jewelry shop in the merchant district of the city. It wasn’t the only shop by any means, but it was one that Elaine recommended.

  “I’ve gone there for all my jewelry for years,” she explained. “The shopkeeper really appreciates her work, so the results are always stunning!”

  “I’m kind of afraid to ask, but is this particular jeweler… expensive?”

  Elaine grinned. “Are you going to use gold? Diamonds? Maybe even pure jade?”

  “No! Why would I do that?” Valar’s half yelled.

  Elaine let out a mirthful chuckle. “Then you won’t have to worry. I’m not taking you to some royal jeweler, but a regular artisan. Besides, didn’t Viktor give you loads of coins to spend?”

  “Well, yes, but I don’t want to waste it,” Valar muttered.

  “This’ll cost a couple silver, that’s it. Even some well paid iron rank workers visit this jeweler for birthday or anniversary gifts. She is not going to steal your gold for a necklace.”

  That put Valar in a good mood. Not losing money was always nice. He would rather save it.

  The merchant’s district had loads of shops open even on the weekend. The weekend was the time when workers went shopping, and no smart shopkeeper would close their doors to a paying customer. Elaine led Valar through the district, skipping many different jewelers on her way to the one she liked to visit. The jewelry business seemed to be a field of business that was full of competition. The citizens wanted to look nice and the shops took advantage of that.

  Contrary to Valar’s expectations, the shop Elaine led him to wasn’t a big building like some of the more popular shops. Instead, it was a small shop in the wall of a bigger building full of restaurants, cafés and everything else he could imagine.

  “Is this really a better shop than the others?” Valar asked confusedly. “It’s a much smaller shop.”

  “That’s the very reason I like this shop,” Elaine explained. “Gloria isn’t a jeweler for money or fame. She enjoys making jewelry, that’s it.”

  The brown haired professor opened the door for Valar and the pair entered the small shop. Somehow, the shop managed to feel cramped for even the thirteen-year-old Valar. How is that even possible? How does she manage to get customers to this tiny shop?

  “Welcome, welcome! It’s nice to meet you again, Elaine,” a rich voice rang out from a small back room. “It seems that you’ve brought me a new customer too. How interesting!”

  Gloria was a bronze rank earth mage. She was a slender woman with black hair and a slightly hooked nose. If Valar had had to guess, he would’ve said that she was in her late 40s. She wore a black dress with silver accents and sported jewellery on practically every part of her body. She had a necklace, earrings, bracelets, rings, ankle rings… Essentially everything Valar could’ve thought of. She even had some piercings on her nose and lip—something Valar had never seen before. All in all, the woman clearly liked jewelry.

  “How can I help you two on this beautiful 5th day? If you’re looking for jewelry, you’re in the right place!”

  Her words couldn’t have been more true. The small shop was filled to the brim with jewelry of all kinds. If Valar had been looking for a ring or two, he would’ve definitely found whatever he wanted from the products already on sale. His work would be a custom job, however.

  “Nice to meet you,” Valar muttered. “I don’t really want to tell you the whole story, but I got attacked in the city recently… The details are not important, but I can pretty confidently say that I’m only alive due to this.”

  He fished out the dented copper coin from his pocket and handed it to Gloria, who inspected it with careful hands.

  “You can see the dent. My attacker’s knife hit the coin there. It was in my pocket.”

  “I’m sorry that you got attacked like that in this fine city. Still, it’s certainly a lucky object if it saved your life. I assume you want to do something with this coin?

  “I recommended him to fashion a necklace out of it,” Elaine mused. “But I think we’re open to other ideas too.”

  “A necklace," Gloria mused. "It’s a sound idea. I could recommend some other types of jewelry too, but I don’t think earrings or piercings would be fitting. We can design a necklace that is to your standards, if you want that.”

  When designing the necklace, the coin’s position was obvious to all three people in the shop. The coin would be front and center, hanging against Valar’s chest. The other parts of the design were more difficult. First, they needed to decide how low the necklace hung. If the coin hung too high, the necklace would look like a collar. Nobody wanted their necklace to look like it was choking them. If it was too low, the necklace would look even stupider.

  The most vexing thing was that Valar was still growing. If the necklace was designed to look perfect now, it would look like a collar in a few years. If they designed it to look good in a few years, it would look ridiculous right now.

  “What if I designed the necklace in a way that allowed it to be extended in a couple of years? I could make the connection point at the back of your neck work like that.”

  Gloria’s idea was the best of both worlds, but with one caveat: Valar would have to come back to her or another good jeweller in a few years. That didn’t bother Valar, so his decision was made.

  The next thing to consider was the design and material of the chain. Valar wouldn’t choose something like gold, but other materials like silver, bronze and brass were all valid choices. Gloria had another idea.

  “I wouldn’t normally suggest this as the metal isn’t really held in high regard among the nobility, but…”

  “What is it?” Valar asked curiously.

  “Well, are you aware of what abyssal iron is?”

  “No, not really,” Valar shook his head. “Sounds kind of bad since it had abyss in its name.”

  Elaine chuckled. “Its a type of metal that’s harvested from the abyss. It’s not really iron, but the first people who brought some of it back decided to call it that, and it stuck.”

  “It’s an extremely strong metal with some peculiar attributes,” Gloria continued. “The metal can hold small amounts of mana in it. That means that some people have created magical lights and other artifacts with abyssal iron—no precious mana gems needed. The capacity isn’t big, but it’s something. I could make a fine necklace out of it.”

  “I hate to ask this, but how expensive is it?”

  “If I make the necklace out of the coin and metal with some details, 10 silver.”

  “What about other metals like gold and silver?”

  “Gold… Well, you’ll have to pay at least a gold or two. Silver would be a bit cheaper than the iron, but the difference isn’t huge. Abyssal iron is rare but as I said, it’s not held in high standing.”

  “I think I’ll take it!”