Waking up, I feel a sense of looming dread. Remembering the incident last night and Mr. Darius's promise/threat, I slowly get ready for whatever he's got planned for me.
"Why are you looking so down, sweetheart?" Mama asked as she set out breakfast.
"Mr. Darius has something for me to make up for last night, and I'm just a little worried."
"Oh dear... Knowing him, you're in for something rough. Good luck with that." Papa was trying to hide a smirk behind his chewing.
----------------------------------------
"Not like that, you have to scrub in circles to get it off right."
"You missed a spot there. And that part's still covered in soot. I know you can do better than this."
Mr. Darius was standing in the middle of the doorway, instructing me on cleaning. The forge was shut down for deep cleaning, and I was the only one here to do it.
All the other forge workers and [Blacksmith]s had the day off, and the smithy was only selling pre-made items.
Just me, the forge room, and a brush. All day.
It took me until dinner to have things clean enough for Mr. Darius to let me go home. I wasn't done, not by a long shot, but I could work around the others now that everything was back in working order.
----------------------------------------
The next day goes by, and I keep cleaning. And the next day. And then I'm done. And I'm allowed to resume my apprenticeship.
Mr. Darius teaches me how to forge more things, and Miss Jasmine helps me learn mana regulation. Like this, weeks passed, and then a month, and then I gained my next level.
I had been working around town during some of my time learning how some of the items we make are used, or how things around town are put together. I learned a bit of [Carpentry] and [Tailoring] during this time, as well as being forced into learning and leveling [Cleaning] as a punishment.
Quite a bit of my time was taken by odd jobs I'd been thrust into after my mishap, but the skills I'd gained were well worth it.
On top of that, I'd also worked quite a bit on [Mana Manipulation] and magic, learning how to use all three of my affinities to fairly good level.
According to Miss Jasmine, my learning speed and talent with magic was 'astounding' and 'unnatural', but I think she meant it as a compliment. I had a few minor accidents with fires in places fires shouldnt be, and blinding myself and others with unexpected lights, but for the most part it was a lot of fun.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
With my new skills, I'm able to shape the earth around me into most shapes as long as they weren't too complex. I couldn't make something like a replica of a fancy sword, but I could make a simple one quite easily.
With my fire, I can melt most of the metals in the smithy with some effort. Not steel or the special magical ores, but the rest work just fine.
And finally, my light. This one was a bit tougher. I could light things up, like I'd expected, but it felt like there was something I was missing about it. Something that didn't click with how it worked.
And after working for a few days on it to see what worked and what didn't, I finally got it.
I suddenly realized that I didn't understand exactly what light was. So I went to find my teacher for help.
"Amara, I'm sorry to say I can't help you with this one. Your understanding of an aspect is linked entirely to how you use it. If I influence how you see your light, I influence how you use it, and possibly limit what you can do with it." Miss Jasmine was very strict about this point.
"Alright Miss Jasmine, but I dont think I can focus much on anything else in my magic till I have this figured out." I was a little bummed.
"That's fine, take as long as you need. There's no rush on learning."
----------------------------------------
And so I did. For a good three quarters of the last month, I spent nearly all my time with Miss Jasmine focusing on my light. Thinking on what it was, what it could do, and why I thought there was more to it.
A Skill has evolved! Trance (Lv. 10) -> Meditation (Lv. 1)
A surprise, followed by a clearer mind. And in that moment, I glimpsed something important inside my mind.
My light, glimmering in the distance, and also all around me. Flitting around like a flame, but also flowing like a liquid. Crystallizing on my skin, and evaporating into the air again. A cycle of everything light could be, and some it should not. Bright white, multicolored, dark and obscuring. Shifting between hues and shades and brightness, making me feel as though time had stopped.
There was nothing but me and the light. In this moment, it became me, and I was all of it. Solid color, liquid darkness, flitting and shifting in every form. And then it collapsed into me.
And I woke up enlightened.
Light was all, and everything was light. My fire was light given form, influencing the things around it more heavily than normal. My earth was given life by the light in it, allowing the grass and the bugs to survive. And my mana. It made up the light, and so was light itself. It could do all that the others could do and more. Mana made to liquid light and light removed left water. Removing light around it cooled and made ice.
I'm sure there are more applications, but for now I have neither the ability nor power to fully realize them. But I did learn this.
I am the light, and light was everywhere and everything. So I could be too.
New Active Skills gained! Light-speed Movement (Lv. 1) & Light Shift (Lv. 1)
I could only go a short distance, but it was a step down a new path. A path of creation. A path of infinite possibilities.
A path I'd tread to its end, no matter what.