The next day, I left my room bright and early, headed to the dining hall fresh and changed into the clothes Grace had prepared for me. I had been perfectly fine with the things I’d brought from Earth, but Grace had been quite insistent on me changing. Admittedly, the hoodie and jeans were very tattered and dirty, having survived a fight with Owen and a world-ending apocalypse, but I hadn't minded bery much. I quite liked the comfort of the worn clothes – they'd practically been molded to my form over the years I'd worn them. Though, to be honest, I thought as I stepped into the dull, gray hallway, these clothes are quite good quality, too. Although the outfit Grace had provided had a very medieval/European look, they were far more comfortable than I had been expecting.
The brown boots that reached just past my ankles hugged my feet perfectly, and the furry insides were downy soft. The simple black pants and white shirt were also incredibly soft and light, and made of a material softer than silk. The black belt I wore on the white shirt felt a little unnecessary, but Grace had once again been very persistent in making sure I wore it.
For someone terrified of voicing her opinion, she can be quite convincing, I thought with a smile as I remembered the scene.
The last part of my new outfit, and definitely my favourite bit, was the scarlet half-cape hood thingy I wore. It was draped over my shoulders and spilled over, falling to my waist like a bloody waterfall. I didn’t wear the hood at the moment, but I loved that I had the option. I had thought I would never feel the comfort of a hoodie again after adapting to the clothing style of this new world, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
The massive hallways of the ship turned and twisted like the walls of a maze, and the fact that they were all identical – so far as I could tell – didn’t help. Although most of the day yesterday had been spent walking around these halls with Grace, with her claiming that I would soon be able to tell the difference between them easily, I maintained that the fact that they claimed to have no maps was a practical joke they were playing on me. Thankfully, Grace had explained in detail the route to the dining hall, so I wasn’t afraid of getting lost on my way there.
The route wasn’t long, and within five minutes I stood in front of a metal, interlocked door like every other one I’d ever seen. With slight hesitation, I waved my hand in front of it, breathing a sigh of relief with it pulled apart to reveal the familiar sight of the dining room. Long tables of wood accompanied by benches that were far more comfortable than they looked occupied the majority of the room, with a kitchen on one end that I didn’t know much about. The one thing I did know about it was that the people who worked it constantly kept the buffet-style line of pots warm and full of some of the best food I’d ever had. And that was all I needed to know that it was my favorite place in the entire ship.
The hall was empty when I stepped in, save for Ren. He sat almost in the opposite corner from where I stood, face buried in a bowl of rice and some kind of meat. I noted with interest the way he perked up as he realized someone had entered, and the way he returned to his food after realizing he couldn’t recognize the person.
“How do you do that?” I asked a moment later, as I reached his table.
He looked up from his food at my voice, giving me a questioning look.
“How did you notice someone had entered from so far away?”
Ren laughed. “Oh, that? It’s my hearing, mostly. The blindness, my training, and Flux have all upgraded my hearing far beyond normal humans.”
“How do you recognize people then?” I asked again, surprised by how easily he had answered my question.
“Well, if I know them well enough, I can usually recognize them by their gait, the way they breathe, stuff like that,” he said. Seeing me about to speak again, he added, “And if your next question is about how I sense movement and my surroundings, it’s because of my Flux Sense.”
“Your what now?”
“Flux Sense. The ability to sense the Flux in the air, and the way it moves and warps. When anything around me moves, the Flux sort of folds around it, trying to get out of its way. That’s why I’m able to fight. I just got really good at noticing the way the Flux around me moves.” Ren spoke matter-of-factly, like he was explaining a simple thing, but my gut told me that it was probably a very complicated, very difficult feat to accomplish. Especially since he’d cultivated the skill to a level where he could fight even better than I could.
“Wow,” I said, genuine awe colouring my voice. “That’s incredible.”
Ren shrugged, his face withdrawing a little as he focused back on his meal. I watched wordlessly, a small, sad smile on my face as he closed back up again. It was like he was drawing a veil back over his face.
I knew his uncharacteristically open answers were likely a result of yesterday’s conversation. The fact that he was trying was enough to make me happy, so I didn’t push for any more than he wanted to share.
“Ruby’s right,” Anabella’s voice came from behind me then. I turned around to see both the leader and Anabella walking up to us, wearing the same golden white robes and happy smiles. “Flux Sense is not an ability just any mage can get good at,” Anabella continued. “It takes considerable brain power to be able to process every minute movement in the Flux that surrounds you, especially during a fight.”
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“That’s probably why your spatial awareness is so exceptional,” the leader added. “I was beside you on that battlefield, and I was honestly in awe. It’s like you have eyes around your entire head. Any movement within almost three meters of you was instantly caught and reacted to.”
Ren smiled grimly at the pair’s unbridled praise. “When your survival depends on your senses, you wind up training your senses very well.”
The leader laughed. “Speaking of training, we’ve got lots of work to do today. We should get started-”
“Leonard, we haven’t even had breakfast yet," Anabella interrupted with a scolding look. "And neither has Ruby. Let us eat first, and then we’ll go training.”
The leader, whose name I just learned to be Leonard, flushed and scratched the back of his head. “Sorry, forgot. Why don’t we grab some food first, and then we can get started.”
“Sounds good,” I agreed. Excited to begin training as I was, I was famished.
Five minutes later, as the four of us dug into the mountains of food before us (including Ren, who claimed he’d feel left out if he didn’t get seconds), Ren turned to Leonard and asked, “So, what about me?”
“Hmm?” Leonard replied, looking up from the food before him, a spoonful of pasta halfway to his mouth.
“What about me?” Ren repeated. “I don’t have an awakened affinity. How am I supposed to train?”
“Ah,” Leonard said, putting down the food as he focused on Ren. I shifted in my seat and put down my food as well, my attention focused on Leonard; clearly, he was about to say something important.
“I was going to say this all on the way to the room, but I suppose I might as well go over it now, since it's all just information anyway,” Leonard began. “Although I did say that Elemental Mages – mages who’ve awakened elemental affinities – are the most common types of mages in the universe, they are not the only kind. In fact, there are three kinds of mages: Battle Mages, Elemental Mages, and Runic Mages. Elemental Mages are the most common, followed by Runic Mages, and lastly, the least popular option, the Battle Mages.”
“What’s the difference between them?” I asked.
“Well, I’ll teach you guys about Runic Mages later, since you need to know about Runic Artes for that, and right now, only the others are relevant to you two. An Elemental Mage is, as we talked about yesterday, a mage who specializes in an element. They are masters of their element, able to use it to its fullest limits. Their entire combat style centers around the element they use, and everything else is a supplement to it. Battle Mages, on the other hand, either don’t have or don’t use their elemental affinities. Instead, they do essentially what the both of you have been doing your entire lives: strengthen their flesh through tempering and Flux. They excel at hand-to-hand combat, usually specializing in some kind of weapon, and have bodies tougher than dragon scales. Among mages of equal level, they are the quickest in reaction and the most deadly in close quarters.”
“It’s important to note, though,” Anabella cut in, “that just because they specialize in different things, it doesn’t mean that it’s all they're able to do. Elemental Mages are still able to fight hand to hand, and their bodies are still tough, simply by the strength of the Flux that runs through them.”
“What about Battle Mages?” Ren asked.
“They too are not limited to their specialties. Instead of only being close-ranged fighters, they usually supplement themselves with various Artes to make up their weaknesses,” Anabella answered. “But you’ll learn more about that once you get to the university.”
Leonard nodded in agreement. “Of course. Everything we’re telling you is a very simplified version of reality. You’ll learn more in-depth when you get to the university, but even they won’t be able to teach you everything. To be perfectly honest, there is no one who can teach you everything, because there is no one who knows everything. Everyone, even the strongest people in the universe, are mere students of Flux and its vast mysteries.”
“Even after billions of years of research and development,” Anabella continued, “we’ve only managed to understand a few drops in the ocean of Flux.”
“In a way, the quest for strength is synonymous with the quest for knowledge,” Leonard said. “For every step forward you take in strength, you unravel a little more of the mysteries of the universe. And for every little bit of the universe you unravel, you take a step forward in strength.”
“But all that’s for later. Right now, all you need to focus on,” Anabella said to me, “is being able to control your affinity.” Then, turning to Ren, she said, “And for you, you need to pick a weapon to train with. As deadly as you are with a stick, you’ll hit a ceiling soon unless you pick a certain style you want to use.”
“You’ll want to put some serious thought into the style you choose,” Leonard added. “You’ll want one that plays to the strengths you already have. Making the wrong choice, or deciding to switch can be quite costly in terms of time.”
“A word of advice about picking a style,” Anabella said. “Don’t be charmed by the immediate benefits of a style. They may sound appealing, but if your objective is to keep getting stronger and stronger, then it is a better idea to instead think of the end result of the style. In the armoury, there is a little blurb beside every weapon or style that tells you about a mage who reached great heights with that option. It details specifically the things they were known for in terms of combat.”
Ren nodded. “I already have something in mind. But I will consider my choice carefully. ”
“Wait, what about Elemental Mages?” I butted in.
Leonard smiled. “They also have classes and styles of combat available to them, but it's rarely ever a surprise what class an Elemental Mage will pick. For example, while fire Elemental Mages can technically become healers, they almost always become destructive, highly offence-based fighters. So, while you technically have a choice, we all know what you are going to pick.”
I laughed at that. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t see myself being a healer.”
“Anyway, that’s enough of that,” Anabella said. “We’re here to eat, not learn. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about all this later.”
“Of course,” Leonard agreed. “You two may be excited to start training, but the both of us have had more than enough fighting on this mission. Let’s put the fight talk aside and finish eating, and then I’ll take you two to the training halls after we’re done.”