I am finally ready.

Adion opened his eyes. He had made sure his core was completely full and ready to advance. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed. The sun’s first rays of light made their way in through his window, lighting up the room. Now that he could advance any time he wanted, Adion took the opportunity to just be in the moment, in some strange way enjoying his final moments as a Bronze mage.

What a journey. Even though I got through the Bronze stage a lot faster than most people, it still feels like I’ve been a Bronze mage forever. I’m ready to go on ahead and never look back.

Adion had managed to fill his core to the brim the night before, but not even he was in such a rush that he wanted to risk advancing to Silver without a fully rested Will, so he had patiently waited for the next day to arrive.

Well, let’s get on with it. I can feel that I have sufficient Will. Just focus, and everything will work out.

Adion closed his eyes again, his heart racing. He took a few deep breaths, focusing on his core and gathering all the Will he could possibly muster. Then, in one big push, he compressed his core with his Will. He could feel it getting smaller and smaller, denser and denser.

Not enough.

Adion kept pushing his Will. It was a lot harder than advancing to Bronze had been. If advancing to Bronze had been like squishing a plum with his hand, this was more like squishing an apple. Nothing impossible or even particularly difficult, but considering his Will had gotten a lot stronger since he was a Bronze mage, it was a little worrisome for his future advancements that advancing had gotten this much harder already.

Come on, a little more.

Finally, Adion felt his core settle at a comfortable size. He kept his Will focused, but could slowly let go as he felt that the core was stable.

I’m a Silver mage.

Adion could almost laugh in joy. He jumped out of bed, full of energy, but then he remembered that a new core was the best time to get some meditation done, so he sat down on his bed again and started manipulating space mana into his core. Even if his Will was a bit tired, it was nothing excessive.

Pushing mana into one’s core became increasingly difficult as one advanced from low-middle-high-peak in a particular stage, but right now, Adion was the lowest of low Silver, and his core offered very little resistance as he fed it with space mana.

After about an hour of meditation, Adion felt that the resistance was starting to amp up, and he decided to stop so as not to get to Quahim completely exhausted.

I think I managed to gather more space mana in my core in the last hour than in the previous few weeks combined. Amazing.

Adion got up from his bed once again and took a deep breath.

It’s truly a wonderful feeling. Getting stronger is definitely addictive. It feels like all my training has been more than worth it.

Adion felt how his new strength was noticeable in his aura. He grabbed hold of it with his Will and pulled it towards his body to hide. He hid down to low Bronze as usual. It took more effort than it had done when he was a peak Bronze mage, but he still believed he would have almost any Diamond mage fooled without worry.

That’s good to know, but I don’t think I’ll be hiding my strength down to low Bronze very often.

Adion released his grip slightly and revealed the strength of a middle Bronze mage in his aura. It had always been his plan to reveal middle Bronze strength when he applied to the Academy, and even if it was a while left, Adion didn’t see any problem with having his advancement a little early. It was a precaution he took so Quahim wouldn’t notice anything off.

Adion had gone over for lessons at Hevima every day for a little over a week now, and he had told Quahim the day before that he was going to advance to middle Bronze this morning. Adion didn’t think he would be able to sense his strength, but there was always a risk that he could tell something was slightly off in Adion’s aura. If he revealed a higher strength, that would clear all suspicions.

Should I reveal my middle Bronze strength when I’m out and about, though? It might cause some attention…Whatever, I’ll just do it. It’s not like I’m the first 16-year-old to reach middle Bronze.

Adion felt very energetic, so he took off his clothes and put on a pair of light pants and a cheap shirt that he had been using for physical exercise during the past week. Now that he wasn’t traveling and didn’t hunt beasts on the Outskirts anymore, he needed to exercise to stay in shape.

He made his way out of the inn and onto the busy streets of Rethi and started running. Adion had found that running through Rethi was quite enjoyable. Even if there were a lot of people about, he got to see more of the city this way. And running was a great way to clear his head.

I wonder if there are any training grounds around here? It would be nice to get some sword exercises done and maybe train my muscles a bit.

Adion decided to ask Quahim about it later and simply enjoyed the run. His newfound energy making him run far longer than the previous days.

Once back at the inn again, Adion took a bath and changed into his other set of clothes. He then started making his way to Hevima for his daily lesson.

Walking through the streets, Adion was in a great mood. He was a Silver mage and stronger than ever, and he had a good routine going that would make sure he would continue to grow stronger every day. Nothing beats a good routine.

Spring had also finally arrived in full, lifting not only the mood of Adion but all the people he passed on the street as well.

Arriving at Hevima, Adion headed straight upstairs to the studio, wishing Ferrith a good morning on the way.

“Took you a while,” Quahim said, putting down his brush and turning away from his painting to look at Adion.

“I exercised a little after advancing,” Adion said, “Might have gotten a little carried away while running.”

“Oh? You’re trying to get in shape for something? A lady to impress?” Quahim asked.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Well…” Adion didn’t really know what to say, as the thought of Sell had definitely been a motivator, “It’s always good to stay in shape, isn’t it?”

“I suppose,” Quahim said with a light smile, “Congratulations on your advancement. Very talented to reach middle Bronze so young. I suppose you’re not all talk.”

“Right,” Adion said, “Thank you, teacher.”

“You’ll be quite valued at the Academy. Do you have any House in mind?” Quahim asked.

“No,” Adion said, “I just know it won’t be the Shields. Other than that, I don’t really have a clue what I’ll choose.”

“Mm,” Quahim nodded, “It’s good that you’re not rushing into it, at least. Give it a lot of thought before deciding.”

“What House were you a part of, teacher?” Adion asked.

“I never went to Cyalis Academy,” Quahim answered.

“So you’re really not from Shiora? You’re from Quemer? Evalia?” Adion asked.

“Good,” Quahim nodded, “I’m from Quemer, yes. Evalia.”

“What is it like there?” Adion asked.

“We’ll save the stories for another day,” Quahim said, “I have a few books that you can borrow if you’re really curious.”

“I would like that,” Adion nodded excitedly.

“Remind me before you leave,” Quahim said, “Any questions crop up since yesterday? Or should we get right to it?”

“I was thinking something. I’m not sure if you have an answer, though,” Adion said.

“Go ahead,” Quahim said.

“We talked about how a shadow is not limited to blocking light, as it can even be used to block aura. But can it hide more obscure stuff, like distance?”

Adion had thought a lot about how Quahim had managed to move away so quickly that day when he covered the store in shadow. He was wondering if there was a Deep Concept involved, or was it just a simple concept that had been grasped to perfection? Or was there something else going on that Adion wasn’t even aware of, as he hadn’t understood shadow magic enough yet?

Quahim looked at Adion with a slight smirk, “Whenever I wonder if something is possible to accomplish or not, I think of the gods of ancient times. Were they able to do this seemingly impossible feat? And the answer I always find myself with is ‘yes.’ They were gods, after all. Surely, they could do whatever I could imagine. And if the gods could do it, that means it can be done. Even if it is incredibly unlikely for someone like me to succeed, the possibility still exists.”

So, anything is possible? Well, that’s usually what I think, too. It just takes a lot of practice.

“Mm,” Adion nodded, “That’s a good way to think about it.”

“Get some practice done, and then come join me,” Quahim said and turned back to his painting.

“Right,” Adion nodded and went to sit down on the carpet further into the room.

Adion hadn’t really gotten anywhere with his shadow magic, but he hadn’t had much time with it yet, either. Every day, he would sit for a few hours, conjuring shadows from the pure mana surrounding him, getting slightly better at it with each passing day. He also had shadows on his mind almost all day, contemplating them, trying to figure out what kind of concepts would go well with his shadow magic.

As Adion conjured up a shadow, he focused and tried to make it more stable, so it wouldn’t slip away from his control without him using his Authority. Unfortunately, it showed no real result. Except for a slight delay in the shadow scattering, Adion couldn’t feel any real difference.

Maybe ‘stable’ doesn’t go together with shadow. Or maybe I just need more training. Perhaps there is a way of looking at it that makes it work. I’ll test it out some more when I get back to the inn and can use my Authority.

After about two hours of conjuring shadows, Adion felt his Will was reaching its limits and walked over to Quahim. The painting was starting to come alive. It was still the same one he had worked on for over a week now: A man and a woman sitting across from each other at a table, reading.

It was always fascinating watching Quahim paint, but after observing him for a while, Adion felt his hand start itching for a brush of its own.

Adion walked over to where he put his half-finished painting the day before and put it back on an easel of his own. He put some paint on his palette and sat down to begin painting.

He wasn’t painting anything special, just the scenery outside the window. It was mainly because he needed practice. Adion felt that he wanted to paint ‘A mother’s smile’ again, but better, doing it justice. And for that, he needed to practice.

He had already tried to improve it but found his skill severely lacking. It was really a shame because he enjoyed working on that painting. It felt like he was able to spend time with his mother in a way, even if she was gone. Adion had a hard time putting it away at first, but eventually made the decision to focus on his skills for a while before coming back to it.

After painting for a few hours, Adion felt that the result wasn’t too bad, but nothing he was proud of. He put the painting away and was planning on doing some more practice with shadow magic before coming back to paint something else. But as he put the painting away, he noticed Quahim looking at his painting in silence.

“Is it finished?” Adion asked and walked over to take a look.

“It is,” Quahim nodded.

Even if it was just two people reading in a library, Adion was moved by the painting. He thought he could feel nervousness and joy. A very pleasant feeling.

“What is it called?” Adion asked.

“‘Heartbeats in silence,’” Quahim answered, a light smile on his face.

“Is it you and a girl you liked?” Adion couldn’t help but ask.

“Hehe,” Quahim gave a rare chuckle, “You could tell all that?”

“It just felt like that was the case,” Adion answered, “How do you do it? Make your paintings evoke such feelings in people?”

“I’m still far from what the greatest painters can accomplish,” Quahim said, “And it is not always one of my paintings makes you feel anything. It also depends on the person looking. I’m guessing you recognize the feeling? Being close to a girl you like? Feeling your heart racing?”

“Well, yeah,” Adion said.

“Oh? You have yourself a little girlfriend, perhaps?” Quahim asked.

“Mm,” Adion nodded, a little embarrassed.

“That’s nice,” Quahim said. “What do you like about her?”

“Well, everything. She-” Adion began but soon interrupted himself, “Wait, I’m not talking with this about you.”

“‘With this about you’?” Quahim repeated and actually laughed out loud, “I don’t know how you could get a girl, talking like that.”

“You wouldn’t know, but I’m quite charming when I want to be,” Adion said.

“Haha,” Quahim laughed, “I’m sure.”

“Whatever,” Adion muttered, “Anyway, it is a nice painting.”

“Thank you,” Quahim nodded.

Adion went to take a seat on the carpet again. Halfway there, he stopped to look back at Quahim. Adion had made his decision already but never actually told Quahim.

“I’m staying, by the way,” Adion said.

“Staying?” Quahim asked.

“Here in Rethi,” Adion said, “Until it’s time for my admission to the Academy.”

“Good,” Quahim nodded, a light smile on his face.

Adion went to take a seat on the carpet. His Will had recovered, and he was ready to get to work again.