We walked down the stone road, avoiding puddles as we came upon them. A few more people had stopped to say hi, but none had anything to offer. While walking, hard rocks poked into my feet, but with my shoes on, they did not pierce them. We walked for a few minutes through winding roads before reaching a section of the town that opened up into a circle. The path wrapped around before reconnecting to itself, and multiple small houses surrounded the stone road. Matt brought me to the side of the road, his tall figure leaning down slightly to meet my gaze.
"Ok, so we are in the area with people who most likely will take you in. I'll do the talking, and you try to impress them, ok?"
Nodding, Matt smiled at me.
"Good, now let's do it."
We approached a small house that was around four meters high. The outside was slightly moulded, with the wood having a darker, wetter texture. The door seemed old, with rusted hinges. The door itself was cracked and seemed to bend inwards slightly. The house had only two windows on the front; the left one was cracked down the middle, while the one on the right had a bent frame. Looking through the window, I could not see anything within, as there were no lit lanterns, and the light from the sun was not enough, even with the help of my Heightened Perception.
Matt reached the door first, knocking twice before putting his hand down. Standing there for a few moments, nobody answered. After another minute, Matt turned around, beginning to walk away. As he did, I felt a vibration in the ground using my Earthen Sense.
"Wait," I said, grabbing Matt's shirt as he walked by me. Pulling him back forward, he opened his mouth to complain, but that's when a noise came from the other side of the door. A loud "click" echoed from the door before its handle turned slowly. The door flew open, revealing a man who must have been around the commander's age: dark eyes, rough skin, smooth hair.
"What do you want?" he asked aloud, seeming slightly angry.
Matt quickly fixed his posture and approached the man eagerly.
"Hi, sir! How has your morning been?"
"Better before you woke me up," he scoffed.
Matt's smile wavered for a moment before regaining its form.
"I'm very sorry about that, but I have a favour to ask of you." He gave the man a slight bow.
"Favour? What favour?" he questioned.
"Well, you see here, this is a girl who was rescued from the bear hunt that ensued yesterday. She doesn't have a place to stay. The other members and I of the medical centre would like to know if you are willing to take her in for a while until she can be properly accommodated." Matt asked, bowing even deeper, bringing his head down to his stomach.
Standing up, he brought me in front, grabbing onto both of my shoulders.
"Nice to meet you, sir. I am Luna," I said, with a small, innocent smile, bowing slightly as well.
Matt looked at me, surprised for a moment, before regaining his composure.
"Luna, huh... very polite," he looked up, scratching his gruff, long beard
"Thank you," I spoke elegantly. Bowing once again towards the man.
"What's in it for me? Feeding another person costs quite a lot," the man asked Matt with a big, toothy smile.
"Unfortunately, since the bear hunt, we are short on funds, and we were hoping for a volunteer..." Matt told the man, and as he did, the man's smile faded, turning into a mean frown.
"Not interested!" The man shouted, slamming the door in Matt's and my faces, making the entire house tremble and the glass crack even more.
Matt bit his lip, turning his back to the house.
"Next house!" He basically shouted, storming off, me following close behind him.
I wonder why the man said no...
Matt walked quickly; his face was slightly red. Stopping for a moment, he breathed in and then exhaled hard. He looked back at me, smiling once again.
"So Luna... That's a very pretty name."
"Thank you, I picked it myself!" I told him, beaming slightly.
Matt looked at me, slightly confused.
"Picked it?" He questioned.
Shoot, do people not pick their own names? What do I say? Did I expose myself?
"Yeah, I couldn't remember mine, so I chose one instead!" I said hesitantly, smiling a little too big, hoping that he believed my lie.
"I see..." he responded, sounding slightly sad.
He began to walk again, heading for another house.
"So why Luna?" he asked.
Moving on from my slip-up, I cheerfully answered him.
"Because I want to go up there on the day!" I said, pointing up at the sky. Matt followed my hand, looking up as well.
"It reminds me of space and the amazing things that it contains, stars, the sun, other planets, and so many other amazing sights. But deep down, I chose it because it reminds me that no matter how small I am, I am bigger than just my body; I can influence the very world as long as I work hard enough." I said, closing my hand that was pointing towards the sky. The words of the commander entered my mind.
A giant smile was plastered across my face as Matt looked at me, smiling softly while nodding.
"You're smart for your age. Did you attend an academy when you were young?" He asked as we continued toward the next house.
Bringing my hand down and looking at him, I responded.
"Academy?"
"You've never heard of an academy?" he asked.
"No. What is an academy?" I replied.
"Well, there are three types of academies: magic, warrior, and combined. Mostly, only nobles can get into an academy, but if you are talented enough and have enough support, even a peasant can make it into one, but it won't be easy; nobles always look down on the poor," he said.
"First, magic academies are focused entirely on magecraft and developing your magical abilities. Apparently, you train under multiple masters and grow your complete understanding of magic. From what I've heard, many apprentices go to one to hone their skills before transferring to a combined academy or studying solely under their masters. That's all I really know about magic academies. If you want to find out more, you will have to ask Lady Liora; she is the only true mage in this small town."
Interesting, so it's like a place you go to train. I've heard of magic from the commander, and I'm pretty sure I witnessed him and Lady Liora use it, but what is it truly? Can I use it one day?
"What is magic?" I asked Matt.
He looked at me and smiled enthusiastically.
"Well, like I said before, Lady Liora is the expert, but I know some of the basics. Magic is a core element in this world; to use it, you control mana, which is the raw form of magic. The world is full of mana, but only a certain few can truly control it, and even if you can, the toll it takes on your body is dangerous... To do it, you have to pull the mana from the very fabric of this world and bring it within yourself." He stopped moving and breathed deeply, sending a chill through me.
"Once you have enough, you release it, and just imagine what you want to create." He spoke, opening his palm, as a small fire appeared on it.
My eyes opened in amazement as the fire raged silently in his hand. It flickered in my eyes. Suddenly, he closed his hand, extinguishing the flame. His arm trembled, and his breathing was ragged.
"You can create whatever you can think of, but there is one condition: it must be in the form of the element that you have a main or sub affinity with, or it will be extremely less powerful. On the other hand, to make your spell even stronger, you can add a chant, which helps focus the magic into what you want it to become. " He said
"Affinity?" I asked.
"Mine is fire, as you saw, but each person has their own unique affinity, the most common being fire, nature, and water. Let's say I tried to create a ball of water, but I only have an affinity with fire, so there's a very low chance the ball would form, but even if it did, it would be far weaker than a ball of fire that I could create." He explained as a small ball of water formed in his hand, only to disintegrate into a puddle after a few seconds. This caused him to cough violently.
"It also consumes much more mana trying to use an element that you do not have an affinity with." He continued, his body shaking even more.
"How do you figure out what your affinity is? And does everyone only have one?" My mind was firing away; magic was so cool!
"Well, to start, the majority of people don't even have an affinity. It is around 1 in a million to be born with a major one. To have two is maybe 1 in 10 million, and to have three is 1 in a hundred million. Personally, I have never heard of a person having more than three, and even three may be a complete rumour. But on the upside, if you are lucky, you could have a main affinity and a sub one, which is an affinity that you are semi-capable of using with decent power and only moderate consumption."
He sighed as he looked at his hand.
"I was only born with fire; I'm grateful I am truly, but my passion is healing, and with just one main affinity, healing magic is not a possibility for me..." His body slouched slightly before continuing to talk.
"To find out what one's affinity is, for nobles, they usually have an elemental orb, which shows them exactly which affinities they have; for peasants, we have to find out by pure luck. For me, it came when a slime almost killed me. My fear ignited my magic, allowing me to escape the small creature."
He looked at me, talking some more.
"Magic is hard to use without fully understanding it; that's why once a noble's child discovers their affinity, they are sent off to an academy, where they can learn how to use it. I was lucky, having my magic come to me through pure emotion; for me, once I ignited my first flame, it was almost as if I had unlocked a sense that had been hidden within me..." He brought his hand up, grabbing at nothing.
"I feel the mana around me, and pulling it is much easier than if it were still invisible to me..." He paused for a moment.
"The last thing I know is that your body can only contain a certain amount of mana, which builds up inside you like a core. To increase what your core can handle and allow you to cast more spells with greater complexity. A mage must use magic continuously to level up their individual affinity, as well as level up their body. The problem with practicing is that recovery time can be very long without proper equipment and support, and levelling up is very dangerous."
He began to laugh.
"But even if it's difficult, I believe magic is the best thing in the world! I hope you have an affinity, Luna, and if you have any more magic-related questions, go ask Lady Liora; she's the one who taught me all I know."
He stopped talking, taking a breath as he was still recovering from the demonstration. I looked at him in awe; he was amazing, and magic was also unique. Closing my eyes, calming my mind, and focusing on the air around me, feeling the breeze, and hearing the rustling of trees. For a moment, my mind went silent, and I felt at peace until Matt broke me out of the trance.
"The second type of academy is warrior academies, which are usually for nobles who were not born with an affinity or who have some skill related to weapons. It can also be for those who are more passionate about weapon arts. I am not familiar with these academies, but I understand people go there to refine their combat skills."
Listening to him, I nodded, his words causing me to wonder. He mentioned skills... Were they the same as the ones I have?
"What are skills?" I questioned.
He looked at me, completely baffled.
"You must have really lost your memory. Everyone has at least one skill they were born with. You can see them by checking your system, which will display all the necessary information, such as your name, race, class, title, and skills. Your race is obvious; we are all humans, and your class will be filled once you have completed certain requirements. Classes usually gift you with a skill, but if you change classes, that skill and any of its evolutions will be lost."
He looked like he was reading something that I could not see. Was it his system? Is mine invisible as well? Quickly, I willed my demon system to appear, and as I predicted, Matt did not move his gaze towards it.
"A title is something you earn by achieving something great. Each title has its own benefits, but they are based on the achievement that you accomplished. Finally, skills are the abilities you have; many are regular, which means they give you unique abilities you can use. In rare cases, people can be born with intrinsic skills, which means they are built straight into their souls. Under certain conditions, skills can be earned through practice, such as Basic Swordsmanship or BasicArchery."
Nodding excitedly at him, my eyes full of passion, he finished the explanation.
"Any more questions, or can I move on to the final type of academy?" He asked me, slightly exhausted from all the explaining.
"You can continue!" I said with a small smirk on my face.
"Alright, good! The final type of academy is the combined academy, which incorporates both martial and magical instruction. Lady Liora told me that people went to these academies to prepare to become full-fledged mages and knights. There is a mix of students; some classes focus solely on magic, and others on weapons and martial arts." He punched the air, moving his head side to side.
"The unique thing about these academies is that they have combined classes as well, where mages and warriors can learn together and even spar or have full mock battles. Lady Liora also said that these academies had the best masters and the most enjoyable events. I've heard that even the most wealthy nobles can't get enrolled unless they are truly talented, but I doubt that; influence and power are everything in this world."
Listening to him, my mind raced. That sounded amazing. Training to become stronger, fighting against peers, learning and growing, it all sounded amazing! My eyes met Matt's, causing me to smile brightly. I gave him a small bow.
"Thank you."