Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

With my new uniform in hand, I made my way back to my room... unsuccessfully as I had no idea where exactly it was. I have to admit, I got lost a few times but after the fifth wrong turn, someone pointed me in the right direction. In the room, still messy and dusty because I didn’t have the time to clean it, I changed like a tornado before bolting towards the courtyard to finally max my Skills.

Yep, as expected I got lost… again. This place is just too big with too many hallways, it’s not my fault. In the end, I had to quietly follow a group of kids wearing the same white blouse and brown leather pants combo as me because I was too embarrassed to ask for directions again.

After the pointless running up and down, I’m standing at the archway leading out to the massive open space in the middle of the castle. When I say massive I really mean it. Multiple streets could fit inside here with all their adjacent houses.

It’s almost like someone stole our favorite park from Meliorport and stuffed it into the stronghold of stone adding grassy and sandy training grounds, shooting ranges, a long obstacle course, and some weird places I don’t know the function of.

Weapon racks can be found all around with any sort of arms imaginable, or many other things I'd never imagine being used to kill. The shovel I might be able to accept, then there’s the fishing rod…

The ground is smooth around the outer rim of the courtyard, probably for the good old running of laps. There’s also a raised platform in the middle of the training grounds built with stone and surrounded by some weird writing. All that’s missing is a swimming pool and a forest for combat simulations… I guess the nearby forest would be an appropriate place for that.

All the kids previously seen in the mess hall are now loitering around the place, waiting for the instructors to arrive. Some are just lazing off in the shadows, while others, overly diligent ones, are swinging their sword or running laps around the track. I joined the camp of the smarter kids. Calling them lazy after joining their side, would be like telling my sister her dad stinks. Not that I have siblings…

We don’t have to wait long however because soon Martha, Bennett, and a third skinny man arrive with a commanding presence. Everyone quickly gathers before them and I follow their example like a sheep in the herd. I hate it.

I’m not antisocial or anything, I just… Being around people is irritating, especially when they’re unnecessarily loud or oblivious to their surroundings so I have to weave around them if I want to pass. Like a swarm of flies.

As soon as all of us assemble in front of the officers Bennett speaks up.“You know the drill, split up according to your Class. Ask questions after the task you were given is done! And prepare to do your best because if you end up in the ring and get your ass handed to you then bullying will be the least of your concerns.” I swear this man was born to be a pain in the ass. “Close-range combatants, on me!”

I guess close-range mostly means Warriors and maybe Rogues but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone decided on a weird Class for combat like a blacksmith or baker. Around half of the group breaks off and starts jogging towards the sandy area which to me sounds like the worst place to fight. Bennett is already there by the time the last kids break away from the herd, which after seeing Martha teleport around like five times already isn’t that impressive.

I notice two faces I’m familiar with in the departing group, namely chubby prick and redhead prick, both of them looking exhausted already like they’ve been running all day. Hopefully their punishment was a good reminder that rules are more than simple guidelines.

“Rangers to the shooting range, we'll practice nonstationary aiming today, double time!” Comes the order from the scrawny instructor followed by a chorus of groans from the kids.

Only about twenty of us remain, meaning mages make up only about… less than a fifth of the entire cadet force? Maybe, stupid math. This time Victor waves my way as he follows his fellow ranger combatants to their location. Silly idiot, the bearable kind.

Now it’s just us, Mages, and Martha of course. “Brilliant, mages move to the general practice area.” She nods with glimmering eyes locked onto me.

The meaning of general becomes clear as the others move toward the big open grassy spot. Mages do big booms and so need big space. It comes as no surprise when I see Martha already standing there by the time I turn around, making everyone up their tempo not to make her wait. At the spot we instinctively arrange ourselves in a semicircle in front of her, awaiting further instructions.

After nodding to herself a few times and rhythmically tapping her chin Martha seems to come to a conclusion. “Since we have a new arrival I want to help correct her greatly lacking build,” Okay that was mean as hell, I did my best. “after which we will do response race and counter elements.”

Excited chitchat and playful smiles welcome her plans which either means it’s not too exhausting or a lot of fun.

“For now make pairs and practice barriers without lethal injuries if possible, I do not want a repeat of last week!” Her eyes wander onto a specific pair of boys eyeing each other competitively. Typical. “Elyssia, you’re coming with me!”

Yesss, yes yes yes. Finally, we can… I don’t actually know what she has in store for me but it will be awesome. Hopefully.

I can feel the judging and curious glares of my fellow mages as I monopolize our teacher because I’m special. Let them stare in envy and if they have a problem they can bring it up to me during duels.

“Glad to see you blend in this well Elyssia. Since we are done with the necessary adjustments to your stats it's time to go over your Skills. I won’t beat around the bush, the general Skill list is pretty decent even if very basic… except for Inner Peace, children your age rarely have the patience to unlock that. Did your parent come up with a new way or a potion?”

I can only imagine what a smug-sulking face looks like because I’ve never seen one in my entire life nevertheless mine should be something similar right now. What's wrong with basic Skills at my level, I’ve barely started this whole leveling jumble.

“I stumbled across it by accident when trying to unlock Calm with the help of my friends.” I shrug, acting nonchalantly because that’s cool.

“Impressive, it’s quite difficult to close off your mind from the outside world.” She nods.

Wait, that’s what I did? I thought I just focused really hard on not being there… What can I say… Sometimes my genius is almost frightening.

“For now we’ll keep your general Skills as they are, you’ll get better options later on.” What does she mean by that? “Moving on to your Class…” Martha falls quite again for a few seconds. “Investigate Anomaly is somewhat of a weird Skill that will probably grow into something useful and besides the Skill list being pretty empty there’s one, even more glaring, oddity.” Oh shit, did I mess something up again? “Both Mana Shield and Mana Bolt are actually general Skills.”

“They are?” I ask in confusion. “But they aren’t, what are you talking about?”

“That’s the whole point, they should be. Half the kids here probably have Mana Shield among their Skills right now. Look.” She points toward the other mages practicing barriers and ways to break through said barriers.

Almost half of them are Mana Shields while the rest are made of earth, water or metal. Does that mean I’m just a very basic mage?

“I think it’s because Mana Shield is the basis of every other shielding Skill.” Martha anticipates my thoughts and comes up with an answer. “Just like Mana Bolt the grandparent of every second attacking Skill, probably even fireball.”

That’s incredible and all but I still don’t know if I should be overjoyed or dejected about this.

“Uhum,” I act like I understood everything. “So what now?”

Martha sighs, massaging her eyes even though her mouth is curved into a tired smile. “Let me explain it with a metaphor for… food, you like food.” Damn right I do. “Every magic is a different recipe for example water is soup, earth is bread and fire is-”

“Meat.” I interrupt. Fire has to be meat.

“Yes, meat.” Martha nods patiently. “For every Class, the Skills do the cooking and the user just needs to decide on the portion size and some other minor details, while you…”

“I do the entire cooking.” It dawns on me. “That’s why it's so cumbersome to do magic compared to everyone I see. So my Class Skills are nothing but a shape until I decide to make bread or soup?”

“That’s right.” Martha nods again.” All of us are just waiters while you… you are a chef.”

I’m not just a chef, I’m probably the chef, the only one, and people really don’t know how complicated cooking is. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, just.. okay, I am complaining a little because everyone else’s job is so much easier it's almost unfair.

“With that out of the way,” Martha breaks me out of the pouting spiral. “there are a few other shapes you could unlock to fill your empty slots.” Ok, now she has me back. “As I already said; Mana Shield and Mana Bolt are available for everyday mages as General Skills, since with a little practice and a trickle of mana everyone can use it, similar to Identify.” She pauses for some reason… probably for the dramatic effect. “This brings us to the other two basic mage Skills, Mana Blade and Mana Spear. I think you’ll be able to pick these two up and add them to your arsenal in no time after you can replicate their effects.” She continues nodding at her own idea.

“What do you mean add them to my arsenal, don’t I get Skills at certain levels?” I tilt my head like a puppy, blinking stupidly.

A habit I got back when I asked my parents countless bothersome questions and wanted to push them with cuteness to give me an answer.

Marhta just blinks in confusion at my begging methods before chuckling to herself. Hey if it works, it works. The motherly side in her can barely resist, I’m sure of it.

“It means, someone with a sufficiently flexible Class is able to learn new Skills by understanding their inner workings and sufficiently replicating the effect using only basic mana manipulation.” She uses difficult words to make it sound more profound. “This way the system often offers up the Skill as the user is already able to perform it anyway.” She gestures with her hands throughout the entire explanation, punctuating the steps. “We’re gonna do the same, I’ll show you two new Skills, guide you through the learning curve and then you can acquire them.”

“What then, what then?” I ask eagerly, this must lead to something nice, otherwise it wouldn’t be worth the hassle.

“Then you’ll train all your skills to max level.” She drops the bomb.

I feel my soul leaving my body, all the excitement, all the energy everything… gone, at the snap of a finger. Just, don't. This is torture, I can’t wait to get my next class and you tell me to postpone it? Postpone it by a lot? Martha, I thought you were a good person…

She playfully swats my head seeing my reaction. I say playfully yet I almost fall over due to its force.

“Don’t act like that, you ungrateful brat, we’ll be doing this for your own benefit. I’ll help you through this task as it really does sound like punishment but trust me, you’ll be rewarded. I think…” She adds quietly then looks away, finding the other students really interesting all of a sudden.

“You, think?” I ask accusingly.

This is not the most reassuring thing to hear as the outcome of rigorous work. She sketched up the whole plan with such confidence that I was sure all the work would make it worth it in the end. That whole uncertainty factor doesn’t make all the upcoming work all that appealing.

“Well… you are the first proper Arcane Mage I’ve met, the others were mana researchers. I have this theory… It doesn’t matter.” She shakes her head. “I want you to trust me with this. I can’t order you to alter your build as that would be unethical and against the guidelines of teaching. If you fail I’ll compensate you, okay?”

The ball is on my side now, do I take the bet or do I… Who am I kidding of course I’m taking it. I’m way too curious and even if it fails, I’ll milk the old hag for all she owns.

“Fine, but if it fails…” I have no idea what I should ask for so I’ll just sound serious.

I stare intensely into her eyes, leaning forward a bit and trying to look threatening. Something dangerous flashes through her gaze and I shudder as if death was about to claim me for a second.

“Don’t be too cocky, girly, this is first and foremost for your benefit. With that out of the way, follow my instructions and guide your mana.” She’s back to her instructor mode, gaze stern posture rigid tone commanding.

The red and gray mage robes fit her perfectly while also leaving ample room for movement. She has a similar insignia on her shoulder like I’ve seen on Bennett, two crossed spears. I guess that’s the mark of a captain. This absolute unit of a veteran mage will teach me mercilessly for the foreseeable future, not great, not terrible… Strict? Yes. Fair? Hopefully. Knowledgeable? Damn right.

"Oh, one last thing." I raise an eyebrow expecting more work. "Why in the Abyss is your Identify not maxed out yet? You're surrounded by combatants twenty times as powerful as you, just use the Skill and exploit the level difference!"

I smack my head as I understand what she means. This should've been obvious. It worked wonders on her and Bennett so why not replicate the thing in the mess hall for example? The radius of the skill is only as big as its level, but that’s an obstacle easy to overcome.

***

This whole debacle was far easier than expected, I just had to gather mana into a blade and condense it, then swing and release the mana in a crescent shape. I repeated it a few times and …

[Congratulations, you’ve unlocked the skill [Mana Blade lvl 1]. Would you like to assign the skill to an empty slot?]

Gib.

[Congratulations, you’ve acquired the skill [Mana Blade lvl 1].]

Yeah, easy as that. The hard part will be training these skills. Martha said that Mana Blade can be used both as an actual sword with an earth element as a good example or as a ranged slice attack with wind or water mana. Pretty sweet, with plenty of utility.

The next skill is even easier to learn, I don’t even know why a separate Skill was made for its use. It's basically an elongated, enlarged Mana Bolt with a denser core and a more pointy tip.

[Congratulations, you’ve unlocked the skill [Mana Spear lvl 1]. Would you like to assign the skill to an empty slot?]

Yep.

[Congratulations, you’ve acquired the skill [Mana Spear lvl 1].]

Easy as that. In just five minutes I’ve managed to learn two new skills, talk about efficiency. I’m kinda full of myself right now so the smirk won’t come off my face any time soon. Chest puffed head held high.

“Alright Miss Genius, now train those Skills and experiment with what you’ve learned! We plan on having a few mock fights and duels in two hours. I would use every second available if I were you.” She turns to leave but then she seems to remember something and hurries over to me. She leans down and whispers into my ear. “Oh and Eli, try to keep your Blessing a secret for now. Information will leak to the outside if you start using all kinds of elements and the longer the shadows believe you dead the more time your parents have to escape, keep that in mind.”

Right, secrecy… I’m sick and tired of all the secrets though.