“My name is Ars Magnus Canstel, though you may call me Magnus,” the old man introduced himself while pulling open a bottle of liquor and pouring it into a glass. “I’m…I’m Edna,” Edna replied softly. “No surname? Well, that’s to be expected. You’re not from an established family, after all,” Magnus commented, taking a sip from his glass.

“Regardless, I’d like to talk more about your outburst. Magic running rampant at your age is not unheard of- if a child has magic, it usually manifests around the age of eight, though there are cases of it emerging in younger children as well. Young children can use much more powerful magic without knowing fundamentals or spells, but they lack control, and are incredibly inefficient, using far more mana than is required…”

Mana was a natural energy found within all living creatures, and was the core component for casting spells. If it were to run out, one would no longer be able to cast spells. “And, of course, you were feeling a bit confused, right? That was a clear sign of magic poisoning; a state of mind brought about by rapid use of magic in an incredibly short amount of time, as well as overusing more mana than what you have. The fact you actually had enough mana to disperse in such a short time to cause such pronounced effects is quite unprecedented, really. That is why I offered to take you here, so that you would not cause further harm; either to yourself, or others.”

Edna silently accepted this information. Taking her silence as a confirmation to continue, Magus spoke once more, “of course, to prevent such incidents from occurring, we screen all children once they reach the age of eight to determine if they possess such magic talent, and then, if they so wish, we offer to teach them how to control it and become wizards, or, at the very least, teach them enough self-control so that they do not inadvertently harm people accidentally. The fact we missed you is quite tragic, though given your circumstances, it’s not surprising.”

Though they tried hard, undocumented immigrants and homeless children were quite hard to screen for magic knowledge; it was inevitable some would slip through the cracks. “However, this is a good chance for me to observe just how much magic you possess…if you’d be willing to comply with a little test?”

“…is the test hard?” Edna asked, a bit wary. Magnus chuckled. “Not at all, all you have to do is hold this crystal ball…” he pulled out a crystal ball and extended it towards her. “…and focus on it. It will glow a certain color, establishing your elemental affinity, and pulse either heavily or lightly, depending on how much magic you have. It is not unheard of for children to have big reserves, but on the whole, most have a small amount; through training, the maximum amount of mana one can use will increase.”

“I see…” Edna took the crystal ball and stared at it. Almost immediately, it glowed with a brilliant intense heat. “Ah, so you align with fire…well, that’s not surprising, is it?” Magnus asked, taking another sip from his glass. The red color flashed several times, growing brighter and brighter.

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“…?” Magnus raised an eyebrow as cracks began to form on the ball, and thermal energy began to radiate outwards. “Edna, drop the ball!” Magnus shouted. The temperature of the room skyrocketed, and in that instance, the carpet, couch, and room burst into flames. “Kyaa”! Edna let out a startled shriek, dropping the cracked ball. “Blizzard!” Magnus’ powerful voice thundered, and the whole room turned pure white as a torrent of snow whirled magnificently within the room.

The temperature dropped rapidly, and the flames were rapidly extinguished; a thick cloud of steam burst outwards from the contact between the two extreme ends of the temperature scale.

When the white smoke cleared, Edna, who, despite being in the middle of the flames, was completely unharmed, while Magnus, whose arm was extended outward, slowly lowered it, a few minor burns on his hands.

“…well, that answers my question,” he said, giving her a wry grin. “I’m s-sorry!” Edna immediately apologized, noting that more than half the room was scorched and burnt. Most of the couch Edna was on, along with the furniture, was heavily damaged.

“It’s fine, really. Frankly speaking, the amount of magical energy you have is far, far greater than I anticipated. Even I, the strongest of all wizards, barely have the amount of mana you have. No human should have that much power,” Magnus told her softly. “So, this confirms three things, one, you have absolute affinity with fire, two, you possess a staggering amount of magic, and three, you’re resilient against heat, since you’re completely unharmed even though I saw you covered in flames…”

“Ah, about that…” Edna explained to Magnus about her unusual body warmth and inability to be burned from eating hot foods and drinks. “Well, to have that degree of resistance is also very abnormal. Young Edna, you get more and more interesting by the minute. How would you like to join the Gran Sars?” he asked her.

Edna hesitated. Joining the Gran Sars and becoming a wizard would surely earn her money, renown, and a roof over her head. It would essentially end her struggles with life…but…she couldn’t abandon her friends, who would remain left behind. Magnus sighed when she responded, as if he expected it. “Very well then, I will escort you back to the slums. But Edna, you cannot escape your fate. I urge you to reconsider- with magic as powerful as yours, now that you have awakened it, it will never die out. There will come a time when you may well lose control again, and you won’t get off as easy either.”

“…I won’t let that happen again,” Edna said resolutely. Magnus smiled ruefully in response to her determined stance, and promptly ruined it by ruffling her hair. “Well, we'll see about that. Let's go…”

Magnus took Edna back to the slums, and, once they entered it, Magnus stopped. “This is as far as I should go,” he told her. “Even if your lot are nice, many do not view those of us in better circumstances lightly. To be seen with me will invite trouble for you…I trust you know these parts well enough to get home from here?”

“Mmhm!” Edna nodded vigorously, her eyes shining. “Thank you for everything, Magnus…” she said, wrapping her arms around his legs in a hug “…Think nothing of it. We will meet again sooner or later, young Edna. Look forward to it.” With those words, the two separated, and Edna made her way back home.