"I will only teach you two things for a period of three months. Nothing more than that," Gia stated, laying down her conditions.

Bowen found these conditions acceptable. After the incident with Dale, Bowen concluded that Gia must be skilled in magic. He wanted to see if he could learn elemental magic from her to fulfill his ongoing mission, the Quest for Strength. "I'm fine with those," Bowen accepted.

Gia asked, "So, what do you want to learn from me?"

"Well, even though I'm awakened, I haven't shown any elemental affinity. You probably know my magic aptitude result from the seekers. But if you teach me one or two elements, I'm confident I can learn them," Bowen replied.

Gia questioned, "Which one then?"

"Any element that you know well and are proficient in. Teach me that," Bowen responded.

With a sigh, Gia asked, "Do you even know how many types of magic exist in this world?"

"Haha... I just don't want to be picky," Bowen scratched his head. In reality, he had decided to learn all kinds of magic and martial arts in this world. He was willing to learn anything for now. While normal people could only learn one or two elements, with the help of the system, he believed he could master them all. However, he couldn't say that out loud, fearing he might be labeled as overly greedy or foolish. "Fine, I will first tell you the basics of the elements and their types. Listen carefully and then decide."

Gia proceeded to explain, "Elements are nothing but the manipulation of nature with the help of mana. Each person's body can only adapt and attract certain elements, allowing them to wield that element as magic. There are primarily six types of elemental magic:"

* Light and Fire Magic: Pyralumina

* Water and Ice Magic: Cryoqua

* Wind and Sound Magic: Aerochord

* Earth and Wood Magic: Terravine

* Lightning and Electricity Magic: Fulmistrike

* Darkness Magic: Eclipsis

"Each major magic type has subcategories," Gia continued. "For example, under Aerochord, we have Aerokinesis, Flight, Sonic Manipulation, Divination, Stormcalling, Zephyr Manipulation, Air Mimicry, Turbulence Manipulation, Air Elemental Summoning, Smoke Magic, and more."

Gia explained that each magic had four levels: Beginner, Advanced, Master, and Grandmaster. She then asked, frustrated, "And you're fine with learning anything?"

Bowen, taken aback by the diverse categories of magic and the levels of expertise, started to doubt whether he could learn all of them in his lifetime, even with the help of the system. Nonetheless, he had developed a slight interest in the element of darkness after hearing about it from Ruby. "Can you teach me the element of darkness?" Bowen asked, filled with anticipation.

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Gia, usually calm, showed visible signs of surprise for a moment but quickly composed herself. "I'm not capable of using that element. Moreover, you don't have the necessary qualifications to learn it at this time," she replied.

"Oh, is that so?" Bowen expressed his slight disappointment. "Fine, then I will learn Pyralumina and Cryoqua."

"Let me warn you ahead, brat. Learning two elements within three months is unheard of. I won't care if you learn or not. I won't teach you anything after three months," Gia cautioned.

"Old hag, I'm a genius. You will praise me soon," Bowen confidently declared.

"Whatever, you will start your class tomorrow at 5 am sharp. I won't tolerate latecomers," Gia said, dismissing Bowen from her room. Bowen left the room filled with happiness, thinking about how easy it was to find a magic teacher. Soon, he would hear the satisfying sound of completed missions.

Xander dressed himself in a guard uniform, preparing for his first night shift. He made sure not to forget the letter delivered by the mysterious bird.

"Brother Xander here!" Xander saw his colleagues greeting him enthusiastically with welcoming smiles.

"Nice to meet you all. Is this the whole team?" Xander asked, observing the group of six gathered.

"Yes, with you, we now have seven people. Senior Markus and I will stay at the borders. One person will be assigned to the town square, while the other three will cover the west, east, and north parts of the town. Brother, you can choose to accompany one of us," said Jessi, one of the guards.

Xander inquired, "What about the south?"

"South? Haha, brother, is this your first time on night guard duty? Let me tell you, night duty is not the same as daytime duty. In the south, we have slums. You must already know that it's a gathering hub for criminals. Why risk your life for poor people living there? Just protect the houses of the wealthy and the borders. Isn't that enough?"

Xander couldn't dismiss what his colleague said. It was even dangerous to enter the slums during the day, let alone at night. If it were any other day, he would have shared the same notion and deliberately avoided the slums. But he couldn't do that now. The Jovinal Street mentioned in the letter was next to the slums in the south. He had to take the risk today, no matter what.

"Um... if you don't mind, can I take the south?" Xander asked.

"What?" All the assembled guards looked at Xander as if he were out of his mind.

"Brother, no one will go to the south with you."

"It's okay, I will go alone."

They were hit with another shock.

"Why take the risk, brother? You don't know how dangerous it is."

"Someone has to step forward to keep an eye on those criminals, right? I'm just giving it a try. If it gets too dangerous, I can always escape."

But before Jessi could share his opinion, Senior Markus, unofficially the leader of the group, interrupted.

"Let him be, Jessi. I've seen my fair share of ambitious people like him losing their lives when they went to guard the slums at night. He'll realize the severity when he loses a limb or two. It's just that I pity his family," Markus said, hurrying back to his work.

Jessi let out a huge sigh and allowed Xander to do as he wished.

Xander was puzzled by the government's decision to mobilize only seven people for the perilous night guard duty. Even if they were understaffed, they could have easily assigned twenty or more guards to protect the vital coastal town. Despite Aswalt Town being recognized as a significant business hub, it constantly faced criticism for its lack of safety. However, this situation worked in Xander's favor as he could now access the location mentioned in the letter without attracting any attention.