"Is there really no way for me to expend mana without a spell or an affinity for magic?" Theo asked after having looked over the wall of text yet again, his eyes constantly lingering on the 'instant death' section.

  "If you had a teacher and some training foci, that might've been doable. Sadly, I don't have those on me. They're kind of for young children. Sorry to say, this world isn't fit for anyone not growing up here. Only newborns are zero-levels like you. Their affinities are somewhat passed on from their mothers as they're fed, then their entire childhoods are about raising most general skills before their early teens and onward focuses on specific ones," Chaste explained the doomed situation Theo found himself in.

  "By 18 you should have at least one or two skills at your third-level, maybe more if you're good. That Forest Squirrel that nearly killed you is one of the weakest creatures on the continent. A child should have no trouble with it with a few general skills at the first level."

  "That reminds me, what are those levels you keep talking about? It sounds a bit like just being good at certain things. I can do things," Theo complained.

  Chaste laughed. "It is, kind of. With enough dedication to learning, doing and repeating something, the world, or magic or whatever, will deem you fit for a level in that skill. With an increase in level, whether that be woodworking, fire magic or mining, your body takes in a bit of magic, increasing your strength, fortitude and so on."

  "I'm probably better at most things than small children are," Theo continued his complaints with a sour frown.

  "Sure, but dedication to the art is equally important. Repetition is key. Learning to be more effective is perhaps most important. Something you do well once is hardly enough for the world to recognise your efforts."

  Theo growled inwardly. If it was the world recognising his skill in something, he supposed that made a bit of sense, at least. No one would recognise your skills if you just got lucky that one time, after all, much less a teacher or a mentor.

  "Then, can you teach me how you cast a spell? I know I probably won't be able to do it, but knowing how is the first part of the puzzle, right? Learning, you said. If I can somehow raise my affinity, then already knowing how to cast it will certainly help matters along!"

  Theo beamed at his own genius.

  "I mean... Sure. It's the reverse way of doing it, but I guess it's okay? I'm not a teacher though, so be patient with me."

  Theo would be anything but, but he didn't have to say that out loud. It was Chaste that had to be patient with him.

  Bless Chaste for trying, at least. While Theo sat listening to the man intently, he still wasn't able to do anything. The first part of the improvised lesson was to feel his own mana network that stretched all over the inside of his body. Needless to say, Theo felt no such thing no matter what he did, and his mana network was supposedly bursting with Mana.

  As for spellwork, that was usually done by cycling mana through a mana channel possessing the same element as the spell you were casting. Of course, that went about as well as the first lesson.

  While Theo blamed Chaste fully for failing the first lesson, using phrases like 'feel the oomph' to teach him, he couldn't really blame anyone other than himself for the second lesson. Actually, that was very much untrue. He'd have to feel his mana network to cycle it willingly, right? right! It was Chaste's fault all along.

  "Okay, so the third part..." Chaste started while Theo was starting to feel it was all hopeless. Still, the world-hopper decided to at least pay attention, hoping the lessons would help somewhere down the line, if Theo survived, that is.

  The third part was all about leading the elementally charged mana towards the exterior of the body. This was most commonly done through the skin of the fingers as there were something Chaste called 'Mana blasters' close to the skin there. What exactly those 'Mana blasters' were, Theo could only guess, but after a little digging he surmised that it was some kind of release valve built into the network.

  Leaving that for another day, and possibly another teacher that didn't seem to have mostly ignored all his teachers and just taught himself, Chaste then explained the final part of spellcasting; the glyph.

  Knowing the glyph for a certain spell was everything for a mage. While mana control was certainly important, there was no single constituent part of spells that one gained more from mastering. There were supposedly mages that poured all their time into mastering a single glyph. This was done to master a single spell, to become so proficient at it that none would come closer to its speed and strength.

  One reason for all aspiring mages to truly learn the glyphs was to decrease the casting time. As the glyph would have to be fully formed, the mage would be required to draw it fully with the mana... blasting... from their network. Another was the spell strength or effect, which would increase or decrease based on the quality of the replication, that is, how well it was drawn.

  The latter was rather hit or miss, especially with the more powerful spells. The glyphs were rather intricate in design, and their complexity only grew with the level of spell. Chaste had a pretty decent 'Fireball' and he was quite capable of using various other, more powerful spells, but he admitted that he was still learning their glyphs and wasn't entirely comfortable using them in real combat just yet.

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  He was a third-level fire mage, amongst other things. The fact that he still wasn't comfortable casting more powerful fire-based spells in a fight only showed how difficult the glyphs were.

  As part of the lesson about glyphs, Chaste withdrew a roll of thick, rough paper and a quill from one of the sacks adorning his horse. He then proceeded to draw the glyph for 'Fireball' so Theo could familiarise himself with it.

  "Keep it," smiled the man as he handed it over. "I'd love to see your 'Fireball' some day."

  Theo's voice cracked as he thanked the slightly older man, the very act of teaching him, sharing with him and now a gesture of friendship, of a bond into the future? It meant a lot to Theo, and it was all he could to pretend otherwise.

  "Thanks," he said, returning the warmest smile he could.

  "It's getting late. We should rest close to the fire, lest more monsters come prowling. Tomorrow I'll guide you to safety and be on my way."

  Theo accepted, though he was rather interested in following his new friend. He didn't want to be too much of a bother, but he didn't know anyone else. He didn't know anything else other than what Chaste had taught him. Starting over, this time from the very, very bottom, was suddenly horribly frightening.

  "Can't I join you?" he finally asked.

  "Where I'm going there will be stronger monsters than tiny Forest Squirrels. Sorry, friend. I can't keep you safe out there."

  Theo understood, and he nodded in such a way that he hoped that understanding came across to the other man.

  A short while later, they were both lying on the dirty ground, Chaste snoring like a raccoon currently mid-fall out of a tumbling trash can. Theo couldn't sleep. Of course he couldn't. He heard the sound of beasts and birds howling, screeching, cracking nuts in the dark distance. But more so than that, he was suffering from a Boon that was sure to kill him at any moment.

  He sat up, already sick of pretending he'd get some rest for the night. He calmed himself, attempting to ignore the forest fauna. Closer and closer came that wanted stillness as Theo breathed, cycling air through his lungs and blood. The silence crept in, moment after moment. Soon there were no birds. No beasts. No monster squirrels. There was only Theo. And the thrice-sounding horn of the cruise ship that was Chaste, shaking the very air around him.

  Still, Theo tried ignoring it. Soon enough, he was sure he'd done it. Then Chaste scratched himself audibly, the screeching sound like that of a nail against chalkboard. then he was at it again, somehow even louder than earlier. and then there was sweet, calming stillness as Theo entered a deeply relaxing state. Any and all sound that came through to his mind sounded like it was filtered through layer upon layer. He heard his pulsing heart, the rushing of blood. It was... really loud, actually.

  A spontaneous magical effect has occurred on your person!

  A body-part now suffers from Bulbousness (Magical).

  Bulbousness (Magical): A body-part has grown unnaturally bulbous. Effect varies depending on the affected body-part. This effect is magical in nature, meaning mana has made its way into the bulb instead of blood. Popping is discouraged.

  'Of course,' Theo thought to himself even as he reached up to touch his suddenly large, bulby ears. There was a highly sensitive, thin layer of skin keeping a thick liquid barely contained. Unwilling to burst the bulbs, he let them be, choosing instead to focus on the positive; at least Chaste wasn't so loud anymore.

  He tried ignoring what was very likely one of the effects of his Boon triggering, a not-so-gentle reminder that the danger was looming over him, putting him in constant danger.

  He used the dangerous silence to feel around within himself, trying to feel that evasive magic network. He felt his skin, then his sub-dermal layers, his veins, his muscles and tendons. He searched every inch for what felt like hours, all the while that slight rushing of blood kept pestering him. He both felt and heard his heart pound, squeezing blood through his veins. He felt his bones creak the slightest amount as his calm breathing caused the barest movement.

  Then Theo realised something. It wasn't blood flooding his bulbs, it was Mana, wasn't it? In that case, could he...

  He focused on the flow of his right ear's bulb. It came from below, rushing upward before pooling in the recent addition to his body. He felt the barest trickle of mana leaking back down with each beat of his heart. Since the bulbs weren't growing, the slight trickle was likely the same amount that entered, seeing that the bulbs weren't growing any more. If the amount was the same, the pressure would have to be different. A quick glance at his Boon revealed that the mana remaining hadn't decreased at a faster rate these past few hours, either.

  He was onto something. If he could feel out where the pressurised magic came rushing in from, he might find one of those 'Mana blasters' Chaste had talked about. If Theo guessed at its function correctly, it was an end-point of the network, meaning it would take him right to it.

  It wasn't that easy, however. Its flow was constant and his focus intermittent at best. He was too easily distracted by the rush of mana to keep searching deeper for its source. Again he tried relaxing himself, lowering his shoulders and breathing calmly. Again he was distracted from the rush, the beating of his chest and the gentle throbbing of his bulbous ears.

  He didn't know how long he was trying, but he eventually gave up. If he couldn't feel it, maybe he could still use it.

  He opened his eyes, raised his right hand and swayed it gently in the air, swinging it this way and that in a calm, controlled manner. He eyed the roll of paper, stretched out on the ground in front of him with the 'Fireball' glyph clearly visible in the firelight. Again. Again. Again he drew it, formed it with his hand. It wasn't the first time doing this. Earlier that night he'd done the very same thing, except that time it was following the intricate twists and turns on the paper itself. Now he was free-handing it.

  When the repetition grew almost automatic for him, he looked into himself again, not looking for his network this time, but trying to open the gate of just a single finger. He surrendered to the pulsing of the bulbs and that of his heart. He laid down in the flow of the mana river rushing inside him and let himself.

  He then focused on the tip of his index finger, picturing the release of the valve, the opening of the floodgate. He imagined the same rush in his ear streaming in the direction of his fingertip. He focused. The valve was open.

  Spark.