XXIX

  The sound of the breeze and distant training of the Mages filled the air, as Kaz couldn’t utter a single word. His mouth opened and closed, but no sounds came out. Elder Aelon just simply looked at him, grinning widely. Elder Aelon bowed his head slightly, getting up to his feet, and addressed Kaz, “Child, if you want, you may join me to the Academy, I have some reports that are waiting for me in my study, and I will happily entertain any questions that you may possess.”

  Without a single word, he shot to his feet and eagerly followed the Elf towards the Mage Academy. He felt a certain pulse go through him when he stepped on the tiled stone path that led towards the main building of the Academy. His mana core pulsed and felt warm, which relaxed him a bit. The magnificent Academy was built using marble and glass, huge windows and marble pillars. There was one tower that rose above the whole Academy and had a pointed roof, shining in gold.

  “The Calling of the Mage is one the rarest Callings one could Awaken, if you didn’t know that already. Almost one percent of the people have Awakened that Calling, which is why our Academy is on the smaller side compared to other Academies,” Elder Aelon spoke up, breaking Kaz out of his entranced state.

  “I already knew that it was one of the most coveted Callings to Awaken, Elder,” Kaz replied to him absent mindedly.

  “And why do you think that is so?”

  Blindsided by this question, Kaz remained speechless, unable to form a single thought about that. He pondered this question, as it is actually something he never thought of before. He decided to guess, replying to him uncertainly, “Is it because it requires a source of mana from one’s core?”

  “Good guess, although other Callings utilize mana as their Ability Source, such as Clerics, some Craftsmen, some Foragers, some Merchants, some Performers, some Scribes, and some Tamers. As you can see, over half of the Awakened Callings contain the potential to utilize mana.”

  Absorbing that information given to him, he was even more stumped now, and even more embarrassed, as he looked like an idiot in front of this esteemed Elder. He remained quiet, unable to respond in any way.

  “There is no need to be embarrassed, young one. I told you I would answer any questions you have, and I will also be enlightening you in order to set foundations that will aid you in discovering the true echo of your Calling. The reason one Awakens the Calling of the Mage, is simply put, the call to ascend in power while containing mana that is already tainted with one thing: true ambition.”

  That revelation shook his mana core. Unknowingly, he has always wanted to be powerful subconsciously. Kaz always dreamt of being a powerful ally to his group, slaying monsters in this realm. He wanted to protect himself, and others he cared about. He wanted to end those who were corrupted. He wanted others who caused pain to undergo pain.

  He was shaken from his thoughts when the Elven Elder spoke up again, “There is no cause for concern, Kaz. Being a Mage does not mean you will become evil, as I am still standing here, and do I seem like someone who would be nefarious? No. Ambition does not always mean accepting the greedy desires of becoming more from the misfortunes of others. If you always stay true to yourself, you shall always prevail over such thoughts.”

  Kaz nodded in return, deep in thought. He mulled over this, assuring himself he would never fall to his evil desires. They walked along in a comfortable silence, until they reached the main gate of the Academy, which was open currently, with two Mages guarding the entrance. The Mages bowed deeply to the Elder, who simply nodded and strolled past them, with Kaz in tow.

  There were a quite a few Mages present in the massive courtyard of the Academy, some taking interest in him, wondering who the small Gnome was that was following the Elder. He pulled his hood farther down his head, nearly covering his eyes, and kept his head down. He heard a couple snickers coming from nearby, with one voice barely reaching his ears, mockingly saying, “What lackluster trash did the Elder find? Is this his new test subject for his experiments?

  Tears of embarrassment and anger dripped down his cheeks, unable to stop himself as the tears kept falling. Why were people so rude to someone who they didn’t know?

  “We will be entering the main tower Kaz, and my study is near the top, try to not get winded from the steps,” Elder Aelon softly told him.

  After what felt like a million steps, they finally reached his study, which was near the very top of the tower. He was drenched in sweat and panting slightly, realizing that he was quite out of shape, and was even more amazed at the Elder, as he didn’t manage to break a sweat or even breathe harder. He seemed just the same as the moment they were sitting on the bench.

  When they entered the room, Kaz was immediately frozen in awe of the space. It seemed way larger on the inside, with massive bookcases filled with various sized magical feeling tomes and books, plenty of crystals spread throughout, with a large desk near the end of the room, made out of a dark wood. There was a loft in the space, which Kaz assumed was where the Elder had his living space, but he was unable to view it from his current position. The Elder lightly cleared his throat, breaking Kaz out of his awe, and began walking towards his desk.

  Once seated, they began their discussion, with the Elder immediately tackling the massive pile of parchments that were neatly stacked on the side of his desk.

  “Ask away, Kaz.”

  Taking a few moments to figure out what he wanted to ask, he began his questioning, trying not to ramble.

  “The first question I wanted to ask, is how do I receive Abilities that are more closely related to my Calling?”

  The Elder furrowed his brow, stopping his writing and looked up at Kaz, “What do you exactly mean by that, young one?”

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  Kaz sunk into his chair, wondering if he asked something wrong, and meekly said, “It is because I currently have two Passive Abilities, which are [ Evasive Step ] and [ Glaive Novice ]. I am assuming that you understand what they entail,” to which the Elder nodded, prompting Kaz to continue, “and while I do have a few Abilities that are more suited for Mages, like [ Mana Burst ], of course, [ Mana Shield ], and [ Mana Regeneration ], it seems more difficult for me to receive new Abilities focused on my Calling.”

  Elder Aelon nodded, fingers steepled beneath his chin, and slowly began explaining, trying to find the correct words, “Abilities are revealed to people through repetition of a certain action. For instance, you received [ Evasive Step ] due to your constant dodging during your journey. While it is highly uncommon for Mages to possess Skill and Passive Abilities that are not traditional, it does not mean it is impossible. Due to your lack in education, not trying to offend you,” he quickly assured Kaz when he saw the Gnome beginning to pout, “you weren’t taught the ways to awaken such Abilities that are common for Mages. That is something that we instruct students, trying to get them to echo our instructions, in hopes they grasp the necessary fundamentals of said Abilities.”

  Confusion wracked his brain, as the explanation sprouted more questions from him. He asked, “If that was the case, why doesn’t every Mage have the same Abilities that are the most effective?”

  The Elder simply grinned, as if expecting this question. He divulged to him, “Because it simply doesn't resonate with their own Calling. Some are more offensively minded, some are more defensively minded, some rather provide support. But the biggest difference is one’s individuality. Everyone has their own set of ideals, and everyone cannot simply resonate with what someone else does, because their way of thinking differentiates from others.”

  Kaz simply nodded, trying to process this information. In theory, if he understood this correctly, it essentially comes down to how one envisioned themselves, and what suits them personally.

  “Essentially, when one thinks about it, it all comes down to what comes naturally to them. The biggest support of this theory is the difference between attunement and affinity of one’s element. One can train with fire in hopes of attuning a fire affinity, but that very same person might already have a natural affinity for water, due to their relaxed and fluid personality.”

  He nodded, prompting the Elf, who was currently filling out one of the many parchments, to continue, “In your case, you were put in a situation of where you were constantly put to your limits, therefore your natural reactions to the situations included dodging and the need for a shield, in which you received both Abilities. The Ability that coincides with your glaive is an interesting one, especially since you just recently acquired the weapon, but I am assuming since the [ Archive ] provided you with the weapon, it seems the weapon suits you more than any other weapon.”

  Gripping his glaive tighter as it lay across his knees, he wondered why he was offered such a weird weapon. In a sense, he did have to choose from a wide variety of weapons from that chest. But again, it did solve his issue with close combat, but why wasn’t he provided with a staff like other Mages or a spear which was more common among the people of this Realm. He decided to ask another question, which he was dreading asking, but he needed to know.

  Before he can ask, the Elder followed up on his previous explanation, “In short, I would highly recommend not worrying until your first Revelation to unlock specific Mage Abilities, as your affinity will shape the Abilities that echo it the most. If anything, whatever Abilities you do receive will evolve to fit the affinity you obtain.”

  That made sense to him, as it has been difficult to obtain Abilities that were based on his Calling for a Mage. Partly due to his lack of knowledge of what is possible for a Mage, as the older Elf pointed out earlier. It also made him wonder what element he was going towards, but one issue still persisted in his mind.

  He asked, avoiding the Elder’s eyes, “Did I make a mistake in choosing those Abilities that do not fit the typical foundations of a Mage?”

  All he heard was chuckling, which prompted him to look up at the Elder, who had a wide grin on his face. He replied, not scolding him, but reassuring him, “There are no mistakes in choosing an Ability. If the [ Archive ] deems it worthy of an Ability, it will offer it to you. Yes, you may decline the Ability in hopes of obtaining others, but if you feel like you can benefit from the Ability, do not hesitate to obtain it.”

  The Elf then narrowed his eyes, becoming serious, “But heed my caution, put thought into your Abilities, as they are your foundations, to which you need to build yourself on. Follow the voice inside of you, as it will instruct you to which fits your own Calling. If you obtain Abilities that do not synchronize with each other, it will make reaching your Revelations more difficult. In your case, all your Abilities thus far work well with each other, albeit they are more suited for close range combat, opposed to the traditional long range combat suited for Mages.”

  Tension left his shoulders as his choices thus far have been confirmed to being reasonable. The Elder did have a point, that his current fighting style suited close range more, but that was the area where he struggled the most during his journey, therefore he needed every advantage to ensure his survival.

  “Although, if you ever doubt one of your Abilities that you have chosen, you may replace it during your Revelation. It is called ‘Resound a Calling’ and to put it simply, it allows you to remove one of your Abilities. I strongly advise against this, as it can potentially crumble your whole foundation if it is solid. I would only consider this if you possessed an Ability that hinders your own progression and doesn’t echo with your Calling.”

  Kaz nodded seriously, absorbing this vital information. It was nice to know that he had a chance to remove an Ability that he regrets, but at the moment, he didn’t regret any of his Abilities. He followed up with another question, “How does one obtain the fundamentals for attuning their element, or how do I find out which element comes to me naturally?”

  “The age old question that every Mage asks. If I could impart some of my experience onto you, just listen to your mana core. Do not force yourself to attune an element that doesn’t resonate with your Calling just because the thought of having that element appeals to you.”

  Kaz waited for the Elf to continue, but he ceased his speaking and continued filling out the parchment. He waited with bated breath, but after a few moments, he breathed out and sat there. There was no explanation, no follow ups, no thought provoking statements. As he began fidgeting with his fingers, the Elder gave him a final speech.

  “In short, Kaz, do not worry about your current Abilities or even the affinity of your mana. Everything will come to you naturally, especially after your first Revelation, when you receive your first true Calling. Sure, you might not have Instructors from an Academy to explain the theories and possibly guide you to unveiling your true element best suited for you, but you will have one thing most of the students do not and will not have, and that is true experience. These students will know all the theories and fundamentals when it comes to the Calling of the Mage, but they will be coddled in a safe environment, not pushing themselves to the point where they are tested in their own natural ways in the real realm. Once you approach your first Revelation, or you require answers to some important questions that may spawn, do not hesitate to seek me out here. As a fellow one-star Mage who has been through it all, I am always willing to help out those who struggle due to the unjust situation they are put in, as I have gone through it myself.”