The truth was, Thaddeus was like an onion. But instead of vegetable layers, he was composed of layers of stupidity—once you peeled back one idiocy, another just like it appeared beneath. Their spiritual similarity only made the situation worse. Lost in thought, Mark realized he had let his Mana Sense slip. Cursing the latest layer of Thaddeus's foolishness that had distracted him, he reactivated the sense.
Elemental affinities in this world were incredibly diverse. After years of research, local mages had categorized the eight most common ones into what they called the "Elemental Eight." These weren't the only elements in existence, but they were the easiest to study and the most frequent among mages. Magic academies and schools primarily based their curriculum on these eight. Rare elemental affinities existed, of course, but as their name implied, they were exceptional.
The Elemental Eight were further divided into two tiers based on their complexity: the High Four and the Lower Four.
The Lower Four consisted of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air. These were elements one could learn even without a natural affinity for them, though the efficiency would never be the same.
The High Four were more difficult to master and rarer to find, yet still widely known: Lightning, Ice, Light, and Darkness.
Having a specific affinity doesn't mean you're barred from learning other elements, especially the Lower Four. Typically, mages focus on one primary element and use others to cover its weaknesses. However, the fundamental rule is that you must train according to your natural elemental affinity.
This is precisely where Thaddeus's stupidity began. He possessed not one, but two affinities: Earth and Air. But Thaddeus despised them. To him, they were mundane—part of the "Lower Four," lacking the rarity and visual flair he craved. Instead, he reached for the High Four. When Light and Darkness proved incompatible, he settled for Lightning and Ice. They were flashy, brilliant, and impressive to look at. Simply put, Thaddeus chose aesthetics over efficiency.
Yet, there was a silver lining to this idiocy. Elemental Sense is notoriously difficult to develop with Light or Darkness. Lightning is rare in nature, and unless you are in the far north, Ice is mostly a seasonal occurrence. Developing a reliable sensing technique with those elements is a nightmare.
In contrast, the Lower Four offer the best foundations for sensory development because the world is literally composed of these environments. The sheer number of mages with these affinities has led to highly refined sensing methods. Thaddeus's true affinities—Earth and Air—represent the most ubiquitous environments. They complement each other perfectly. Had he possessed any other affinity, mastering these essential senses would have been far more difficult for Mark.
Naturally, both Earth Sense and Air Sense had their specialized sub-types. Treasure hunters, for instance, focused on identifying underground hollows, soil composition, and buried artifacts. Hunters and trackers, on the other hand, relied on ground vibrations to sense distant movements. There were even forms dedicated to studying seismic activity and tectonic shifts.
Air Sense offered the ability to pick up sounds with incredible clarity, making it ideal for espionage. At close range, it allowed a mage to perceive the exact movements of any living being by sensing the subtle shifts in air currents.
Each had its distinct advantages: Earth provided long-range detection but struggled with deciphering meaningful speech. Air provided crystal-clear audio and precise movement tracking but was limited by its effective range.
But what truly left Mark in awe was a combined technique—one likely devised by a mage who was also blind. By fusing Earth Sense and Air Sense, this method created a comprehensive map of the surroundings. It functioned much like Echolocation: by calculating the difference in speed and time as sound waves traveled through both air and solid ground, it could distinguish between solid objects and open spaces within a certain radius.
In Mark's mind, this manifested as a stark, high-contrast image. Solid objects appeared black, while air-filled spaces appeared white. Through this method, even things not inherently tied to the earth element—such as living monsters and trees—could be clearly discerned from their environment.
The name of the technique was as simple as it was clear: Blind Sense. The name itself convinced Mark that the creator of this method must have been blind as well. It was an exhilarating discovery. But a moment later, the joy faded from Mark's face as a frustrating thought struck him: (Damn it, I let Mana Sense slip again!).
He steadied himself and reactivated Mana Sense. Once he regained his composure, he made a firm decision: mastering Blind Sense was now one of his highest priorities.
"Fine, but let's eat first," he muttered to himself. He turned back to that same tasteless porridge and finished every last bit of it. After the meal, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He made his way to his bed and fell into a satisfied, heavy sleep. For the first time, the future didn't seem quite so bleak or invisible.