Chapter 13: Snowy Day

"I think congratulations are in order," Mr. Seitz said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "However, unless you plan on giving us an encore, I’d appreciate it if you cleared the ring for the next fighters."

Asterion tore himself from his musings at his teacher’s words and gave a small, polite bow. "Thank you, Mr. Seitz."

The old man, who hadn’t changed a bit since Asterion had known him, simply waved him off. Without further delay, all three of them exchanged glances and stepped out of the ring.

Asterion wasn’t the first to awaken his third aspect, but it was still a big deal at their age. Until now, he had been relegated to battlefield control and ranged support whenever they practiced group combat. But with his new aspect, he wasn’t as disadvantaged in close quarters anymore.

He couldn’t hide his grin, and Theos clapped him on the back, his own excitement mirrored in his friend. "Looks like you’ll be joining me on the front after all." There was a spark of challenge in his eyes as he smirked. "You’ve always been a nightmare to pin down in combat, but now that you finally have a power that lets you hit harder than a declawed kitten, you might actually be a worthy rival again."

Asterion smirked right back. “I hope you enjoyed your time at the top,” his tone carried a bittersweet edge, “because I’ll be dethroning you as the strongest combatant soon.”

"If you two are done flirting," Katina cut in, her voice dripping with amusement, "I’d recommend Theos go change. Seeing my friends drool is getting unsightly."

Asterion turned to look at her and the group of girls who had been watching them—or rather, watching Theos. He couldn’t quite tell if the red flush on their faces came from the cold or their embarrassment at being called out.

“Why? I’m fine. With my Vitality Aspect, this is nothing—might even be good practice.” Whether oblivious or deliberately ignoring the social cue, Theos didn’t seem fazed.

"I have to insist," their cousin replied, arms crossed in clear disapproval.

Theos rolled his eyes but didn’t argue, instead jogging toward his home. "I’ll be right back!" he called over his shoulder.

They watched as he hurried into the distance.

"I can’t tell if he’s truly a dense muscle-brain or if he just enjoys the attention and is really good at hiding it," Katina mused aloud as she stepped up beside Asterion.

Asterion shrugged, smiling, not about to sell out his friend. "Could be a mix of both, for all I know."

She raised an eyebrow, clearly unsure whether he was messing with her or not. "Congratulations on your awakening, by the way."

"Thanks. I can’t wait to join you and Theos on the front."

Katina, however, frowned. "I would have preferred if you stuck closer to Lucia. You’re more reliable than my brother."

Asterion shook his head. He found Alexius plenty reliable, but convincing Katina of her brother’s competence felt like a fool’s errand, so he let the comment slide.

"What are you going to do with that power?" Katina asked. "It seems too heavy to handle and leaves you full of openings for anyone who knows what to expect."

Asterion nodded. "I think I can overcome that issue with my gravity power. If I can change the mass of my weapon and projectiles while manipulating them with gravity, the sky would be the limit."

"Speaking of the sky..." Katina hesitated, reluctant. "Does that mean you’ll stop practicing flying with me in favor of getting a handle on your new power?"

Asterion turned to face her in surprise—he hadn’t expected her to care that much.

He had been training alongside her for quite some time in preparation for their breakthrough to the core stage. His goal had always been to gain flight as his starting power at that level.

He shook his head. "No, that’d be a waste of months of training, and flying is definitely more worthwhile than just hitting harder—for now."

His words seemed to satisfy her, and she nodded in agreement. "Definitely better. If you have a power that allows you to fly, it’s a crime not to use it."

He let out a chuckle.

Katina had been obsessed with the idea of flying ever since she awakened her Falcon Aspect. About a year later, she had even managed to temporarily manifest wings—though true flight still eluded her.

She could at least glide and hover for brief moments, which was more than he could say for himself. On a good day, he was still just levitating out of bounds rather than achieving anything close to real aerial control.

They had bonded over their shared struggles in flight training, spending countless hours under the watchful supervision of Mr. Seitz, who was tasked with ensuring they didn’t break their necks from a bad fall.

He considered whether shifting his mass could help improve his aerial control but dismissed the idea just as quickly. Manipulating gravitational fields to navigate while reducing his personal gravity at the same time was the real challenge—since he didn’t have to overcome his own magical resistance.

Besides, his ability to shift mass hadn’t just altered the weight of his practice weapon—it had primarily changed its density.

If the same applied to his own body… that could have some rather unsettling implications.

His gaze shifted toward Mr. Seitz, who was observing the next sparring match, and he quickly excused himself to approach.

Mr. Seitz noticed his approach almost immediately, casually stepping away from the crowd.

“Asterion, is something the matter?”

“Sir, it’s about my new power,” Asterion began, lowering his voice so the crowd wouldn’t overhear. “I’m fairly certain it’s a mass power. It let me shift the density of my weapon—but it also changed the weight drastically.”

“That isn’t overly surprising,” Seitz replied, his tone even. “Based on your literature, you should understand how mass interplays with density, weight, and volume—especially the kind of applications it opens up when paired with your gravity powers.”

“Yes… but—” Asterion hesitated, then asked, “What would happen if I shifted the mass of myself or others?”

Mr. Seitz raised an incredulous eyebrow. “Have you been slacking on magic theory?”

Asterion blinked, briefly taken aback by the question, before shaking his head. “No, sir. I’ve read it thoroughly.”

“So, does magic act the same when it interacts with a rock as it does with a plant?”

Asterion furrowed his brows. “Not quite the same, of course, but fairly similarly. I don’t—”

Seitz cut him off. “And what about a plant versus an animal—or a person? Would it still behave the same way?”

Asterion shook his head. “No. An animal has a soul. A regular plant does not.”

He paused.

“Oh.”

“Pleasure to be of assistance,” Mr. Seitz replied evenly. “Anything else I can enlighten you on?”

Asterion felt the tips of his ears grow hot and quickly shook his head. “No. Apologies—I was too excited and didn’t think my way through the problem.”

“I assumed as much,” Seitz said, his tone patient. He placed a firm hand on Asterion’s shoulder. “While I’m happy to answer your questions, as one of the group leaders, you must remember the importance of keeping a cool head and a clear mind—even in moments of excitement or stress.”

Asterion nodded, determined to avoid such embarrassment in the future.

"If memory serves, you're close to breaking through to the Core Tier with your Gravity and Space aspects, are you not?" Seitz asked. "Have you considered how you’ll incorporate your new power?"

"I'm considering increasing the mass of my weapon and using my Gravity aspect to enable me to swing it," Asterion replied. "Fortunately, my flight training has a lot of overlap."

Mr. Seitz nodded approvingly. "If you’ll allow a personal recommendation?"

"Of course," Asterion replied, doing his best to hide his excitement.

"I noticed that your new aspect only remains in effect as long as you're in contact with your weapon," Seitz said, his tone thoughtful. "Once your powers comes into bloom, I recommend developing a branch that allows you to apply Mass Shift to objects you manipulate with your Gravity power. If you can alter their mass while controlling them at range, you’ll turn even a simple rock into a truly lethal projectile."

Asterion nodded excitedly. “Of course! I already considered that, though it will take me time to advance my new power.”

“Not as much time as you think,” Mr. Seitz replied. “You're older now, with far more experience refining your abilities. Once you experience your first Breakthrough, progressing your new aspect through the root stages should be much faster.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Seitz. I truly appreciate it,” Asterion said, offering a polite bow.

Mr. Seitz glanced over his shoulder before turning back to him. “I’ll grant you permission to take one of the practice weapons so you can properly train with your new power—just try not to destroy it.”

“Of course! Thank you!” Asterion responded excitedly, taking the gesture of dismissal with a smile as he hurried off to grab one of the weapons—before his teacher changed his mind or someone else stopped him.

Strapping a practice sword to his belt, he looked up to see Theos already making his way back, his large frame standing out easily against the snow-covered road.

Asterion hurried to meet him halfway, considering what to do next. Unless they wanted to stand in line for another round, he would be better off earning some money or practicing his new ability.

Theos came to a slow stop in front of Asterion, craning his neck toward the practice arena where a long queue of people waited their turn to spar under Mr. Seitz’s guidance. He scrunched up his face.

"Are you still good to check the mission board?" Theos asked. "I’d get it if you’d rather figure out your new ability first."

Still debating, Asterion tilted his head from side to side, though seeing his friend's hopeful expression made the decision easy, “I still need to work on my savings, and I'd rather make use of the daylight,”

Theos’ smile was almost blinding as he eagerly turned toward the local Adventuring Guild hall.

As they made their way through the streets, Asterion took the time to explain his new power to Theos, the two exchanging thoughts on its potential. By the time they reached the guild hall, the familiar hum of conversation and the scent of oiled leather and parchment filled the air. They waved to a few regulars before heading straight for the quest board.

Scanning the Copper-rank section—the only tier they were permitted to take—Asterion let out a sigh.

“Slim pickings,” he noted, frowning at the assortment of mostly gathering quests.

Theos grunted in displeasure. “I wish they’d just let us take on some Iron-rank quests.”

“One more year,” Asterion replied wistfully. Having to wait for their coming-of-age ceremony was particularly grating—not just for them but for most of their class. By all rights, they could easily handle Iron-rank quests, but neither the guild nor their families were willing to make an exception.

They wanted to keep them safe for as long as possible, which meant settling for hunting deer and gathering local herbs for a handful of copper Durant.

“I mean, look at this.” Theos tapped one of the bounties. “Eliminate a molerat infestation. We’d get two whole Ferrin for that.”

Asterion nodded in commiseration. He had only managed to save up a few Talons, and those gold pieces were nowhere near enough to buy his own gear, let alone a place to live. Earning only a handful of Durant from menial quests meant he often resorted to picking herbs along the way—his spatial perception proving a massive boon in locating the uniquely shaped plants.

Both he and Theos preferred hunting deer and Nocdillos since their fur and meat fetched at least a few silver Ferrin if in good condition.

Unfortunately, they weren’t allowed to venture too far from Aldryn and its surrounding villages, making good hunting scarce due to heavy competition. Still, animals and beasts wandered into their lands frequently enough—drawn by the fact that Aldryn’s lands were far more fertile than the wilds tainted by the Void. The dimming of the light stunted plant growth, leaving the outskirts overgrown yet lacking the same vibrancy and richness of the lands untouched by the shadows of the void.

Picking out some of the herb requests he was confident in finding despite the snow, Asterion made his way to the desk with Theos beside him. Behind the counter, Guild Receptionist Clara was busily writing up a report, her quill scratching against the parchment. She looked up at their approach, offering a polite smile—one that widened slightly in amusement as Theos leaned against the desk. His massive frame loomed over the petite blonde woman, a familiar genial grin spreading across his face.

Both Asterion and Clara knew what was coming next.

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