Traverse The Fog

Cyrus dug a hole for himself. He wished it were a figurative hole, but being surrounded by dirt walls while holding a shovel smithed by pure orichalcum proved otherwise.

"Do I have to dig?" Cyrus sighed, gesturing to his predicament. "All I said was that there was a large concentration of aqua runes."

He looked upwards. Latriaen and Bird stood at the edges of the hole, watching over him like a guard watching a prisoner.

"It's going to be a lesson on affinity," Latriaen boredly replied. "Besides, I sense runic crystals down there."

A lesson on affinity? Finally, something more than just training on mana tuning and fighting.

"Hey, get back to work!" Latriaen barked, snapping him out of his reverie.

Feeling stifled, Cyrus retrieved his camera from his spatial pouch and took another picture to observe his progress.

Click

More blue speckles littered the dirt below his feet. It was enough to reward Cyrus with a second wind, and he returned to his digging after storing his camera.

But as soon as the shovelhead dug deep into the dirt, the ground gave way. Eyes widening, Cyrus felt the dirt soften and pour like water beneath his feet. How could he forget about gravity? Why didn't Latriaen remind him?

Nobody answered his questions—not that it mattered. He was too busy yelling as he slipped past through the opening and fell directly into a large body of water.

Water splashed, and a panicked Cyrus held tight to his shovel. He searched around for enemies while keeping himself afloat. Nothing. Once Cyrus considered himself safe, he swam up to the surface, breaking it with a loud gasp for air.

With stinging eyes, Cyrus squirmed around his surroundings to better scan them. The sight of it brought another gasp. It was a large cavern lined with aqua-runic crystals that gleamed like blue lanterns, each littered with aimless sigils that floated aimlessly underneath its crystalline surface. If Cyrus could compare it to anything, he felt akin to being trapped inside a large geode filled with crystal-clear water, one without land to find purchase on.

"Teacher? I found it," Cyrus yelled upwards toward the hole, watching the bellowing fog slowly descend.

"I have eyes." Latriaen knelt down and watched Cyrus floating, waiting. "At least it wasn't a place with high fire affinity." What could have been determined as a grim smile tugged his lips. "That would have been very bad.""

Maybe he meant it as a joke, but Cyrus did not find that funny.

"How am I supposed to get out of here?" he yelled upwards, swallowing the growing panic.

"Not just yet," Latriaen replied. "It's time for your lesson. Answer me this: Where are you?"

Cyrus was taken aback. "In a room filled with water crystals?"

"No!" He was met with a growl back. "You're in a place with high water affinity—an aqua font. Go, use your mana sense. Feel the energies around you."

"Alright," Cyrus muttered.

His mana sense then sprang forth from his body. It slithered around in the air, tentatively tasting it. And Cyrus frowned. Unlike the heavy air in the mountain cave, this felt slimy and humid. But just like the former, this touched directly onto his origin life rune. It was a stark difference to the air in Avalorn, where his mana sense felt nothing but air.

"Do you feel it?" Latriaen said from above. "The affinity you feel around you is weak. But even this is enough to strengthen an apprentice's strength."

"Weak?" Cyrus looked around.

He was currently stuck in a pond! If this was weak, then what was strong?!

"You said it strengthens a mage's power?" Cyrus shouted upwards. "How?"

He received no response for some time. "...Think of it as being injected with runes and insights. So long as you stay inside one with your domain, not only would you learn new spells faster, but your current abilities would be empowered."

Now, that sounded useful. However, where was Cyrus to find a high-affinity domain for light? What about fire? Space?

When asked the question, Latriaen fell into another silence, his fingers clutching against the dirt as if debating with himself.

"I don't know about light and space. As for fire, you can make one for yourself," he eventually said, his fiery gaze blazing brighter. "Just light an entire forest on fire."

Cyrus nearly drowned in the pond. "You can do that?! Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"Would an adult allow a child alone in a room with a weapon?" The Ork gruffed. "Tell me. How would you put out a forest swathed in flames?"

Cyrus turned silent. Latriaen was right. Lighting a forest on fire was easy, even if he didn't have magic. However, putting it out when it was miles long was a different question.

Still, the idea brought some hope. Cyrus then considered some options. Maybe surrounding the forest's parameters with dirt or something to limit growth? Something to think about.

"You're right," he eventually relented, arms swaying in the waters and gaze looking around. "Could you help be out of here?"

"Just climb out." But Cyrus' woeful glare forced Latriaen to roll his eyes. "Fine. Wait here while I figure something out."

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Cyrus then watched him stand off and disappear from sight. Once alone—well, Bird was still watching him—Cyrus looked around and tightened his grip on the shovel. Slowly, he treaded toward the crystalline wall and looked for any signs of damage or cracks.

He found none. But that didn't stop Cyrus from slamming his shovel onto one with rune-strengthened arms.

Oh, how he regretted it. Shock and pain shot up his arm, leaving nothing but numbness. Worst of all, there wasn't a single mark left from the attack.

Cyrus was left hissing and gritting his teeth. But he wasn't willing to give up just yet, and he swam around the enclosed area, determined to find some gains. There. A small part of the wall was more dirt than stone, and after shoveling a few chunks of mud, Cyrus was able to procure a few crystals the size of his fist.

But look at all this wealth around him! If Cyrus could extract them all, he could convert them to light or fire crystals through trade.

A sudden crash drew his thoughts. He stared upwards and found a large log with improvised groove handles sliding down. Dirt broke and fell, and Cyrus quickly swam and hugged the wall, watching the log slip through the hole. It crashed with a resounding splash, breaking and ruining the crystal-clear waters with dirt and debris.

"There you go," Latriaen's voice came from up top. "Time to leave."

But what about the crystals? Cyrus wanted to ask, but since Latriaen called it 'weak,' his concept of value differed from his own. With a reluctant look, Cyrus reminded himself to return should he get the chance. Up he climbed. Once out of the geode, Cyrus swapped out a fresh Wayfarer set and began changing.

"Teacher," Cyrus began, looking down the hole as he removed his pants. "Will something happen to the font now that it is exposed?"

Latriaen disinterestedly followed his gaze. "Not necessarily. But it could attract a spirit beast. Then, it would only be a matter of weeks until it's all gone. That or something falls in and melds with the domain, gaining its attributes."

"Oh!" There was something in Leal's notes about this. "Something about infusing power?"

Latriaen nodded. "It's been said that the first enchanters learned how to create weapons from nature's gifts." His gaze grew distant. "There are some stories, jokes probably, that the first ever arcanesmith learned his craft by examining a rock that conjured streams of never-ending waves."

A rock? Cyrus blinked. Should he avoid stepping on rocks now? What about twigs?

Okay, let's just get out of here. Cyrus then put the idea of coming back on the list of things to do. He had bigger things on his mind.

The Hamlet. In a matter of days, they will arrive at the place, and Cyrus will find out if Lord Dílis was lying to him.

So, after Cyrus finished swapping, they went off. Throughout the days of treading forests and woodlands, Cyrus practiced hunting, spear training, and mana manipulation. There was some improvement as he could slightly shape his flames into cones. But that was it.

On the bright side, it was a relatively peaceful few days. Cyrus also enjoyed his time telling Bird stories during breaks. There was still time until they returned to Avalorn. But on this day of skulking through trees. Cyrus thought of the water crystals he carried. Should he find a place similar to the Arcanium Emporium and sell them? Or trade them in with the Wayfarers if possible? There was a third option. Blake. Cyrus could offer it to him and improve everyone's perception of him—so many options.

Shaking his thoughts, Cyrus brandished his spear and gazed intently at its head. Ever since the thought of infusing flame onto his blade, the idea had been swimming around his mind. But the question was: Was it possible?

The way it worked for his light infusion was that he poured mana on an object infused with his intent of light. So, why couldn't he do the same with fire?

So, Cyrus placed a hand on it and channeled light. A moment later, he swiped his hand across the blade, and it illuminated with blinding light.

Now, for fire. And nothing—well, not nothing. His spear was heated to the point of near red. He tried again and again while they traveled, even drawing the attention and, more importantly, the ire of Latriaen.

And the Ork could see at a glance what he was doing. But did he help? Nope. He remained silent on the matter. However, Cyrus was not upset. To him, it felt like the Ork, for better or worse, wanted him to figure it out himself. Maybe.

"Maybe it was a matter of reaching the adept stage." Cyrus sighed.

But the idea kept nagging at him. How useful could it be to light his spear on fire temporarily?

So, Cyrus sifted through his memories and past conversations. Until he settled on words that Lady Dílis mentioned on the day of his life ascension.

"You can release mana, but it will only last a few seconds outside your body," he muttered.

Cyrus fell into thought. If he couldn't copy his infusing ability from one domain to another for now, then why not try another way? He could already release mana outside his body. Could he just coat it on his blade and cast flame on it? Akin to an oil?

Cyrus' gaze sparkled at the idea. Silently, excitedly, he moved his mana sense toward his blade and channeled his mana through it, sliding it across the steel. And it worked! It was coated in mana! It only lasted for two seconds, but it worked nonetheless!

Now, it was time to apply the flame. Splitting his channeling into two, Cyrus focused on timing it just right. And well, he failed. Cyrus tried again, this time simply leaving a lingering flame on his palm while concentrating on his mana sense.

And then, with sparks flying, his spear plumed bright.

"By god, it worked!" Cyrus exclaimed.

He held the spear close, watching the flames dance before him until they vanished.

"Not bad." Latriaen turned his head towards him. "You've applied knowledge into power. Now, tell me. What did you learn?"

"It's a bit time-consuming," Cyrus muttered. "Not to mention distracting. It would take practice to apply it to actual combat."

"What else?"

"It's... useful, I think. I don't need to worry about missing my flames since I can't manipulate them just yet. And all I have to do is stab my opponent with my spear."

Latriaen nodded. "Then practice with it until you get sick of it."

Cyrus bitterly laughed. "Yeah, I'll practice during meals."

The only good take from this was that he hadn't needed to use this on living beings... and hopefully, he never will.

"What's this?" Latriaen abruptly said.

Cyrus reacted and readied to defend himself, his gaze warily looking to the fog-wreathed forest. "What's wrong? Do you hear something coming?"

He flicked his gaze to his teacher, who was kneeling and inspecting... tracks?

"Looks like your friends came by."

Friends? I don't have any friends. Cyrus was momentarily confused. "Oh, you mean Lilie?"

"Who's Lilie?" Latriaen snorted. "I meant the lions."

Cyrus frowned. Those things were still chasing him? It's been a week since they last met. "Are they close?"

"The tracks tell me that they came by a few days ago." Latriaen gestured Cyrus to come. "See this? Their imprints are deep and hurried. Something was chasing them."

"By what?"

"I don't know. There aren't any other animal tracks than the lion pack." Latriaen stood up and followed them. "Come. Let's see what scared off a pack of predators."