I took a seat across from Theo in the inn's hall, studying his features as he settled back into his chair.

He was a young man, much older than myself, with sharp features and confident air about him.

His amber eyes gleamed with curiosity, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of nervous anticipation as I was eager to find out what he wanted to talk about.

"Since when are we friends?" I asked with slight confusion.

"Hahaha! Since you sold me such a potent ingredient." He laughed before leaning forward with a clear interest in his eyes. "So tell me, Darian, how did you make it?"

"What do you mean?" I was getting more and more confused, as the way he was acting didn't make much sense to me.

'Is he getting so worked up just for some stupid flower?' I thought briefly.

"How did you prepare that catalyst...? You told me that you gathered and dried it yourself, didn't you? The quality was higher than anything I'd seen before. Even my master was very pleased by it."

"Well... I guess I was just lucky. It was part of my apprenticeship test, so I tried very hard to do it well."

"Is that so...? Wait, an apprenticeship test...? I'm not too versed in the arts of herbalists myself, but wouldn't this be too advanced for a simple test like that?" Theo's eyes widened in surprise.

I leaned back, a mischievous smile playing on my lips. "Well, my master said that I'm very talented, and she wanted to see what I could do..."

He smiled at me in return, saying, "You certainly have a great talent; there are no doubts about it."

He then added, with a tinge of sadness in his voice, "With your talents, you could even be an Alchemist were your circumstances different..."

My interest was instantly piqued, and I wanted to find out more. "How does someone become an Alchemist?"

Theo chuckled at my eagerness before leaning forward and explaining in a low voice.

"Well, it's mostly the same as the other crafts. You have to find a master who would be willing to teach you."

"But there is one important difference that sets it apart from every other craft there is. Only those who can control the essence can do it..."

"Essence?" I asked as I had never heard of it before.

He paused for a moment, then continued. "Ah, sorry, I forgot you are a commoner, so you wouldn't know."

"It's the primordial energy of the world that the exalted ones can control and use."

'So the essence is basically mana. Got it!' I thought excitedly as I was learning so much new information.

"Are you one of the exalted?" I then asked him, as I wanted to learn as much as I could.

"Hahaha! I wish!" He laughed at my words before resuming his explanation.

"Although I come from a noble background, my family is of the lowest rank without a strong bloodline."

"Thus, my talents are quite weak. Being an Alchemist is the best I can do... There is no way I could compare myself to the exalted." He said with a hint of bitterness.

Understanding dawned on me. If it is just about the mana, or essence, as they call it here, then I could do alchemy without any problems...

"What do you mean by alchemy being the best you can do?"

"Oh, it's just that alchemy doesn't require much essence compared to other things. That is why those whose talents are too weak to become Magi choose to be Alchemists instead."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

'Wow, I learned so much today!' I marveled at my newfound knowledge. I finally get to learn something about magic in this world.

I decided to try my utmost to befriend Theo, as he could provide me with knowledge I had no other way of knowing.

Hmm, maybe this wasn't any kind of secret after all, and it's all common knowledge, as Theo didn't hesitate to share it with me. It was just that until now I was too afraid to ask this kind of question...

***

With winter just around the corner, I have a lot of free time on my hands now. With no herbs to dry and having already learned all there is to know about the common herbs, there wasn't much work for me in the shop.

And when the blizzards hit and the streets disappear under an avalanche of snow, the shops in the city will remain closed for extended periods before the weather clears, giving me plenty of time to do other things.

Like reading, for example, which I am doing right now. I came to an agreement with Theo at the end of our meeting.

He wants to take advantage of my talents, so he will provide me with information about every alchemical ingredient that you can find in areas around Ereneth.

And if I stumble upon any of them, I will gather them, dry them, and sell them directly to Theo for a premium price.

This was perfect for me, as I could not only get a steady source of income but also learn much more about alchemy in the process.

Of course, I didn't tell Isadora about it so that I could keep all the profits for myself. Besides, as she deals mainly with herbs, she won't suffer in any way from this arrangement.

The other thing was that I could now focus fully on my magic training for extended periods without any distractions.

I've felt like I'm on the brink of a breakthrough for many months now, but every time I'm close to achieving it, it continues to elude me.

As I'm trying to master every element, the obvious next step would be the earth. But it proved to be the hardest one so far. I couldn't seem to shape it according to my will, no matter what I tried.

And when I try to force my essence into it, it simply shatters into dust.

I pondered the possibility of some kind of affinity for each element, as I'm having a much easier time trying to control the air. Even controlling fire after my initial setbacks is quite easy now.

'Perhaps there are some special requirements I'm unaware of?' I mused to myself often.

But no matter what I tried so far, it didn't seem to work. However, now that I'm equipped with the new knowledge provided by Theo, I think I've got it.

'All this time, I did it all wrong!' I was frustrated by all the time I had wasted so far.

Theo told me that essence is the primordial energy of the world; that means it must be contained in everything, right?

Instead of focusing on the matter, I must focus on the energy itself and try to connect with it. I think I'm already doing it unknowingly with the fire, as it is mostly made of energy...

I scowled at the lump of dirt I used for training that was sitting on my table while trying to feel something from it, but it just continued to sit there unmoving.

"Sigh." Whatever, Rome too wasn't built in a day...

It took me many days of trial and error before I was able to sense the slightest bit of essence in the dirt with my magic sense.

I focused on it intently, trying to make it move like the essence inside of my body, but as usual, it just continued to stand there without the slightest bit of change in it.

It wasn't until many hours later that I felt something connect, and then the lump of dirt suddenly melted into a puddle of brownish liquid.

And I felt a deep connection to it, allowing me to shape it according to my will.

"Muhahaha!" I laughed crazily as I finally succeeded after so long.

I was amazed by all the possibilities this wonderful discovery would bring me. If I apply the same principle to all the other elements, I feel like all the things that I found too tiring before will be a piece of cake going forward.

Having connected with Theo, I saw an opportunity to gather even more information about magic.

He seemed knowledgeable and might be able to provide insights into things I won't be able to get anywhere else as I'm still only a commoner...

I then spent the rest of the day shaping the lump of dirt into every kind of object I could imagine while grinning happily.

This continued for many days as I tried to apply my new insights to all the elements I knew of.

Meanwhile, the weather outside changed abruptly, and the dreaded winter was here. Soon I will celebrate my eleventh birthday in this world.

Although this year there won't be much of a celebration to speak of as I'm living alone and don't have anyone to celebrate this momentous occasion with...

Not to mention, as far as I know, celebrating someone's birthday was quite rare, at least among the peasants in the countryside.

My family was kind of an exception in this regard, probably because my parents came from the city themselves.

Still, the only time I got a big celebration was when I reached significant milestones, namely five and ten years of age.

This, of course, didn't stop me from anticipating and savoring each of my birthdays, as it helps remind me of who I am, where I came from, and that I was given this amazing opportunity to live in this world of magic.

'Another year, huh?" I smiled as I returned to my training.