Wild Era 3, Ch 13: Elements

Kelin spent the better part of the next two days with Yao and Naomi, carefully teaching them the basics of Irian Mana Weaving. 

One of the advantages of having a master teach a skill was that it was easier for a student to acquire it than if they tried on their own. Some influence of the master’s mana transferred to the student and helped them along the way.

Otherwise, it would have taken his apprentices much longer, if they found any success at all.

By the end of the second day, they had learned the first dozen lines, but their skills were still a long way off from making a golden lotus.

Just knowing the lines wasn’t the same as being able to draw them all in sequence, to balance the mana flow, or the other related skills that made it an art as well as an excellent foundation for mana control.

For now, they were only able to draw shaky lines in the air, one by one, using the partial rune forms he’d given them, but it was enough to mark the beginning.

“Good,” he said when he saw that they were both able to draw all twelve. “Did you get the skill?”

He could see the result in their soul signatures, but he asked just to confirm it.

“Yes!” Naomi said with a brilliant smile. “Irian Mana Weaving at Basic!”

“Me too,” Yao said, grinning just as widely. “This is awesome.”

 “Now it’s a matter of hard work and practice,” Kelin said, smiling as he shook his finger at them. 

“You two are the only inheritors of that art in the galaxy, at least as far as I know, so you’d better not neglect it. It will help you more than you know. You will have to practice on your own every day. 

Yao and Naomi exchanged a glance and then they both bowed deeply to him.

“Master, we will work hard,” Yao said earnestly.

“We’ll remember,” Naomi added. “We won’t let you down.”

Kelin was silent as he looked between them. Then he nodded in approval.

It seemed they had noticed how much this art meant to him.

“Use it well and honor your origins,” he said. “You two will be the only new mages of the Irian tradition in thousands of years. I don’t know of anyone else who survived the fall of the world. It wasn’t as easy to travel in those days. 

“We had a few mages out in the galaxy, but as far as I know they all perished later. I looked for them for many years and found no traces.”

He took out a set of memory crystals and passed one to each of them.

“Absorb these,” he said.

He watched as they accessed them and the crystals turned to dust.

He had recorded the entire inheritance of the art into those crystals, so that even if he wasn’t around, they could continue to study it on their own, the same as the other inheritance he’d given them.

On his status sheet, a new skill had also appeared, right next to his Mana Control skill.

The notifications for it had flooded his mind while he was weaving the illusions.

Skill: Irian Mana Weaving (Epic).

Its tier had leapt up rank by rank until it reached Epic at the same time as he’d finished drawing the Mage’s College. 

It was the same as in his past life, the mark of a master of the skill, even higher than most of the old teachers at the college.

He had tried many times to get it to Heroic, but he had never achieved it. 

Now he had the chance to try again.

Some of the faculty at the mage’s college had argued it was impossible and that infusing it with a Law fragment would influence the rune lines too much and destabilize the core nature of the art.

He preferred to think it was possible. Taking it to Heroic would mean that it touched eternity and part of Irian would endure. 

Borrowing a fragment of a Law probably wouldn’t work and his old friends were right, but that just meant it needed to become a Law of its own.

Doing that with a skill that wasn’t part of his core Class build was extremely difficult, as hard as leaping from the Third to the Sixth Evolution in a single breath.

If he didn’t manage it, perhaps his students would.

It was possible that another inheritor of the art remained in some part of the galaxy, but it was unlikely. 

The Path should be able to grant the basic skill as a reward, but as long as he was alive, it wouldn’t. It tended to grant ancient arts only when there was no longer someone to teach them.

Maybe it had given out some while he was reincarnating, but the chances were slim. Even if it had, it probably hadn’t given them all the rune forms that had been created on Irian. The art was the work of generations and thousands of hands. 

One day, he might be able to restore it to a full school, but for now, it could be a sign of their lineage.

It would take Yao and Naomi a couple of months just to get familiar with the lotus and years to master all the other forms unless they turned out to be prodigies. 

Eventually they might be able to create forms of their own, which was the sign of true mastery. 

It had been a graduation requirement for some tracks at the Mage’s College, like enchanting. 

That was the path he’d followed when he attended.

He hadn’t mentioned it to the kids, but he was the mage who had refined this art the most at the Fifth and Sixth Evolutions.

When it existed, Irian had never had many mages at those levels. 

Those who had reached the Fifth Evolution could be counted on a single hand and there had been no Sixth Evolution ones.

In the long years after its destruction, he had made hundreds of mana illusions, even when there was no one to share them with.

It was a way to remember his past.

Most of the elder mages on Irian had been around Level 400. 

In those early days of the Wild Era, there had been no dungeons and it was much harder to gain levels. 

Growth was slow.

Although most worlds had resources that allowed someone to rise to the Fourth Evolution, passing it required leaving the world to hunt in the Void or finding a rare foreign world that held beasts at that level.

Beasts in the Void were deadly encounters, especially in packs, and it sometimes took years to travel to the right region just to reach them.

It had taken him two thousand years to get to Level 400.

Crafting had been a main route to experience and power back then, and the main one that many on Irian chose, but it was even slower than hunting, especially at the high end. 

It could take months of effort to make a single high-level item, and materials had also been much harder to acquire.

Dungeons were both a blessing and a curse, but in his mind they were more of a blessing.

If Irian had raised more powerful mages, it never would have fallen.

He waved the thoughts away and focused on the kids, who were still smiling.

“Now we can move on to the second thing I want to give you,” he said. “But first, tell me about your plans for your elemental affinities. What have you decided to focus on first?”

“Lightning,” Yao said immediately. “I want to master it first. It’s destructive and powerful.”

“Fire for me,” Naomi said. “Like you, and for the same reason as Yao. All the mages that are successful and well-known seem to have destructive elements.”

Kelin nodded thoughtfully.

They weren’t bad choices, and they would both need to be good war mages as part of the guild, so it could work. 

They could start anywhere, but the elements they took as a focus now would shape their classes for a long time to come and influence their Laws in the future.

He wanted to make sure they understood the options and were choosing the best ones for them, not just trying to copy him.

He listened to their reasons and eventually nodded in approval.

They were keeping a broad perspective, but they were too familiar with being repressed and they didn’t want to let go of a combat mage focus.

It was good enough.

“Alright,” he said as he stood up. “Pack a couple of bags. We’re taking a short trip outside of the city. It will probably take a day or two.”

“Okay,” Naomi said as she stood up instantly, “but what about our classes?”

“I’ve already applied for a brief leave of absence,” Kelin explained. “Your classes are focused on survival for another week. I looked over the curriculum for it, so I’ll give you some pointers and practical experience as we go. It will cover the same topics, but from my perspective.”

He’d been a guild trainer himself from time to time, so it wasn’t a difficult thing to fill in basic details.

With that, he gave them some advice about what to pack and then he led them out of the guild and through the city.

On the way, he picked up some more food at various street vendors and stored it away. He had quite a bit, but there was no reason to turn down more, especially when it smelled good.

It was hard to say if he’d get stuck somewhere for a while.

“Are we eating this while we’re outside of the city?” Yao asked as Kelin handed him a breakfast bun filled with meat and vegetables.

“No, we’re eating monsters,” Kelin said with a laugh. “Think of this as a reminder that a wise adventurer always takes the chance to stock up before leaving town. Also, you skipped breakfast.”

He handed another one to Naomi and the three of them ate as they walked through the city. 

Once they left the gates, he changed their paths to head to a specific destination.

The morning was still early and the sun was bright as it slanted across the plains from the east, illuminating faint clouds of mist that hung low across the grasses. 

They were silvery and luminous, like shimmering veils scattered across the world. 

When everything came together, each pocket of mist was like a cloud in a sea of fog, and the city behind them was a cliff rising into the sky.

This morning, it was clear where Highmist had gotten its name.

As they walked along the road, the mist parted and dissolved, only to reform again to the sides and behind them. Before long, they were surrounded by a silvery haze full of mana.

There were a few other travelers out this morning, but not too many. Monsters could hide inside the mist, so most people preferred to wait for it to fade as the sun rose.

As they crossed the bridge to the west, Kelin pointed out the rise of elemental essence in the Sirenflow River as it flowed across the plains, showing Yao and Naomi how it was connected.

“It’ll take a few hours to get to where we’re going,” he said. “So let’s talk about affinities on the way, as well as classes and abilities for your future.”

From there, he started up a useful lecture for both of them, sharing everything he knew about their affinities and elements, as well as the potential effects of the Sovereign’s blessing.

Since they were out in the open, he spoke freely, unconcerned about eavesdroppers, but he still kept an eye out.

“Those blessings are unique and special,” he said. “My guess is that they’ll strengthen your bodies at each Evolution, deepen your connection to the elements, and perhaps other things. They’re a significant advantage, but the results will show up gradually.”

If his guess was right, the blessings would go a long way toward strengthening their foundations and give them an excellent chance to reach higher Evolutions. 

Anything else would be a bonus.

“I know affinities are important because they let you use less mana for that element,” Naomi said, “but why is it so important that we pick a certain element to start with? Why not do multiple ones from the beginning?”

“It’s a rule of simplicity,” Kelin replied. “It’s better to focus your attention at first and to get a strong class that you can use well. Later on, you can broaden the focus by adding other elements in various ways. We’ve tried both and most mages live a lot longer if they do it this way.”

“But wouldn’t a dual or triple-element class be strong too?” Yao asked, looking confused.

“It can be,” Kelin replied. “But when it comes to your abilities, it means you have two or three different things to focus on. That results in you spending less attention on a single element, and so most people end up with three mediocre abilities instead of three highly effective abilities. 

“Devoting your attention to one means you get a better understanding of it and that understanding becomes the foundation for your Evolutions and class choices. It’s building the platform that will eventually turn into your Concept and then your Law.

“Focusing on one element also allows you to find equipment and various bonuses that improve it, while that becomes harder with three. That’s why the guild generally only recommends a single element for a class build, even if someone is as blessed as you two. You can always add more later, once you’re already strong.”

He chuckled as he looked at them.

Yao had high affinities in Earth, Water, and Lightning, with a low affinity for Soul magic.

Naomi had high affinities for Fire, Wood, and Space, and the same low affinity for Soul magic.

They were blessed with riches. 

Most mages would have given their left eye for that many high affinities. It was common for a mage to only have one high one at most.

Kelin’s own affinities were high in Fire, Space, Soul, and Earth. 

He’d gained the Soul affinity late and Gaius had given him Earth, but just having the first two had marked him as a prodigy when he was young. 

“In your case,” he said, “those extra affinities will make it easier for you to pick up that second element and even the third one later, to understand them, and to blend them into your abilities. That is what I did with Fire and then Space and Soul. It’s no harm to wait until you can do it with a firm foundation. 

“Affinities are part of your soul and you’ll naturally begin to develop the others along the way, just not as much. The first one you choose does tend to have primary influence, which is why I want you to think about it carefully.”

He pointed at Yao.

“In your case, you could be a Lightning Mage who eventually masters Earth and Water, and then turn them all into a Storm or Hurricane Concept, or Cataclysm or something similar. You’ll have many opportunities to refine your Path and make those choices.

“But if you choose Lightning Mage to begin with, you’ll also probably have a habit of chucking a lightning bolt at something as a default, instead of an earth spike or a water bullet.

“The choice you make will influence whether you’re better at offense or defense. Right now, both of you are focused on offense. That’s not inherently a problem, but it’s something to consider.

He shifted his attention to Naomi.

“And for you, if you choose Fire, you’ll likely prefer fireballs and firebolt spells for a long time as a basic attack, while if you choose Wood, it would be wooden spikes or strangling vines. 

“Space is a bit more difficult, but you could also become a Dimensional Mage, which is one of the few ways to really use spatial energy before the Fourth Evolution. They focus more on movement than on attacks, since tearing the fabric of space is very difficult. You wouldn’t be hurling spatial blades anytime soon. 

“They’re very good at teleporting and traveling long distances and they’re in high demand for work, since their abilities are important to maintain teleportation nodes. Some enchanters can also use that affinity to make storage items, but it requires a higher Evolution to make the best ones.”

The road stretched on to the west and entered the forest, not too far from the mine where Kelin had woken up in this life. 

He led them past that area and continued for a while longer until they left the road and headed into the forest proper.

Gaius was guiding him where to go or it would have been harder to find.

An hour later, they reached their destination. 

A tall rocky hill rose up from the forest here. Wind rushed across the top, whistling as it split across the peak and scattered into the surrounding trees.

A small waterfall cascaded down from the top of the hill and fell into a crystalline pool at the base with a chiming sound.

In Kelin’s eyes, the flow of elemental energy surged here, rising upward from the ground and mixing through Earth, Wind, Water, and Wood. 

Fire was thinner, but he could sense the flow of a vein of Fire energy deeper in the earth, the same one that led to the old mine.

This place was like a small island of the elements, a natural focal point where they came together. It was a natural elemental node, a place that many mages would have loved to find. 

This type of place was extremely helpful for training certain skills, as well as the crafting of related artifacts.

Below the earth, there were undoubtedly mana crystals and strong ley lines, ones that could some day make a dungeon, but for now, however, everything was balanced.

That balance was maintained by a small army of elementals that surged through the elements here, fusing into the earth, wind, trees, water, and the fire below.

Kelin could see their movements, each of them a natural node of mana and soul energy fused together. 

There were dozens of elementals all around.  

They were the reason he’d brought Yao and Naomi here.

His apprentices already had three affinities each, and if his plan worked out, they were about to get another. 

He was intending to make a unique lineage for his apprentices, and since he had a soul bond with Gaius, he’d decided to offer them the same.

There were many gifts he could give them, but an elemental ally was one of the best. 

It would slow down their leveling, but given all the advantages, he didn’t see that as a problem. It would help to keep them alive, which was even more important.

At the same time, he wasn’t going to force it. 

The elementals had to agree too.

He turned to them and a faint smile appeared as he gestured toward the area. 

“Find a spot that seems most comfortable,” he said. “One that resonates with your mana. You have your idea for your favorite element, but this time we’re going to the heart of things. Let’s see what the elementals think.”