I walked out the door of Johans Enchanting Emporium, looking no different from how I went in. Yet now, my simple outfit costs more than a house in the middle ring. I was more confident than ever in my chances.

Even if I failed to get into the Academy, with the contacts and the apparent worth of the knowledge I have, I would have little difficulty building up the strength and influence required to make a real difference.

Of course, it would be more comfortable with the Academy's backing and resources to allow me to grow for the next few years. The doubt from my elemental affinities was beginning to wane.

Now with my next stop, I might be able to put those doubts behind me for good.

With a simple thought, my outfit changed into the gaudy colors of current high fashion, and I would be able to blend in as a noble dandy without any major issues.

I went even further into the Inner circle. The streets changed from commercial to a mix between lavish mansions and rare and influential stores and organizations. One of which was where I would hopefully be able to ensure enough strength to come out on top even with my lesser traits.

The tower of Bogcrua was one of the last physical remnants of one of the greatest Wizards the Capital had ever seen. There hadn't been a Wizard in the Capital for close to five hundred years.

This tower, created by Wizard Nirtos for one of his many apprentices, had managed to survive the trials of time.

Thanks to a few lucky breaks, along with the fact it was the sole building in the continent built out of Nirtos Stone, a material he created by accident. Yet, the simple tower had survived many disasters, including the collapse of everything surrounding it; after all, the Capital had changed hands many times over the last few hundred years.

Gazing up at the grey stone, it was hard to believe that it was one of the most indestructible structures in all surrounding lands. It would take a Magic King to put in a dent in the tower if someone above a Royal Mage controlled it.

It was also the home of my hopeful salvation in the short term.

They had come up with the idea many years ago of something called a lineage. A scroll filled with spells up to a certain rank, depending on the affinity.

There were only two neutral affinity scrolls that were available within the tower. Neither of which went higher than Grand Mage.

That would have to do for me. It would give me a solid foundation to get me to Adept with quite a few spells that would be at least somewhat synergistic before I went to the Academy. Gain access to their library of spells. From there, I would build a path that would lead me far beyond Grand Mage.

For now, I would have to hope I would be able to afford the scrolls with my sole Mana crystal left in my possession. For the second time in nearly as many days, I would be broke.

At least now, I would be able to hunker down and aim for the strength I needed to pass the trial for the Academy, even with my lacking affinities.

I had no recollection of what might be in the scrolls, only that they existed. I wanted to look at the legacies left behind by the people limited by their affinities. I had researched many paths for each affinity. I imagined myself with great talent in any of them. I had prepared myself for every possibility.

Yet all my research was for nothing.

The simple door did no credit to the vast knowledge repository that was inside.

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The tower appeared no different from a typical library on first appearance. Rows of books lined the shelves, every one filled with the knowledge that was worth far more than gold in the right hands.

I was confident I had already read many of these books in my time, yet that didn't stop me from looking at each book's name.

Looking for any sources that were considered lost or extremely valuable in the future that even I wouldn't have been able to get my hands on.

My window shopping was cut short by a diminutive man waddling up to me. Every step seemed to be a labor to him, huffing as he went. Annoyed at the very fact, he had to get out of his seat. His glower at me was plain to see.

"How can I help you esteemed, sir?"

The words came out more of a growl than anything that matched polite company.

"Hello Sir, I was just wondering If I would be able to take a look at the Legacy scrolls you might have on offer."

His glare only deepened. He was obviously of the opinion that using those scrolls was tantamount to limiting your potential to the scroll in question. Having everything handed to you on a plate wasn't the most useful thing for future growth.

A well-studied Mage would be far more potent beyond the scrolls limit than a Lineage Brat at the same level.

He beckoned me to follow him further into the store.

"Of course, Sir, but I must remind you that such scrolls are tremendously costly and can often be more harmful than good. Of which affinity are you interested in."

It seemed even he was interested in helping the younger generations find the right path.

"Neutral"

That did change his tone as he gazed back at me, sympathy clouding his gaze.

"Very well, they are a little cheaper than the more popular affinities, to what level are you interested in?"

"As high as I can afford, I won't be accepting anything below the best."

A flash of the mana crystal spoke volumes as he nodded, leading us further into the store, to a simple crystal that looked far too simple to be in such a prestigious store. Of course, the crystal happened to be one of the most valuable things in the entire store.

A knowledge crystal was a rarity anywhere in the world. I wasn't surprised to find one here, the premier source of magic expertise in the Capital outside of the Academy.

The crystal's cold touch filled me with excitement; the mana emanating from it was intoxicating to my low initiate self.

The mana streamed up my arms. It filled my body before heading straight to my head.

Just like that, my conscience seemed to be pulled into another library. Before I could have any fun looking around at this treasure trove, Wiro touched the crystal.

The knowledge seemed to move as we went past the initial library to the lineage area.

Speeding past the esteemed figures who left behind their legacies in all manner of affinities. It seemed to take a few seconds, but before long, we came to the list of Neutral Legacies. It didn't make sense for them to keep too much of an auxiliary magic to most. Not many people would have more than a passing interest in anything available under that affinity.

Most would pick and choose what neutral spells might be useful to them. They didn't have to base their full magic model around them.

I had to rely on neutral spells to be an effective mage beyond Adept. My natural affinities wouldn't keep up with any of my contemporaries who aimed for lofty goals.

I would need to come up with an alternate way of power. I was going all-in on making neutral spells my specialty. I couldn't contaminate my core with weak affinities in the future. As sad as it was to me.

Two scrolls immediately caught my eye, the ones I had only heard about before. They weren't named, but both held secrets of mages who managed to reach Grand mage. I aimed for far higher than that, but this would help me get off the ground.

I was hoping it would give me some semblance of a foundation where I was so lost before. I was also shocked by their pricing. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to buy one of the scrolls forcing me to choose something lesser without any information.

The prices of the more powerful legacies had almost settled that for me, as the few grand mage legacies we flew past were priced in the hundreds of crystals.

Yet, for a path of neutrality, all it took was a simple four hundred platinum to gain secrets to a way of a grand mage. I couldn't believe it. Was the path I was to tread so undervalued by everyone else. That brought me a few moments of pause. Was I truly so great that I would be able to succeed where many had failed before?

A path to Grand Mage that was worth only platinums. It took me a second before I could breathe once again.

"Why are they so cheap?"

His look softened even more as he stared at me.

"Their power was deemed only equal to High Mage, making them far cheaper than any of their counterparts."

"How is that possible?"

"I do not know. That is how my predecessor categorized them. No one has seen any need to alter that."

"I will buy them both"

He nodded before stepping back and moving back towards the counter.

I let go of the crystal, losing the information of all the legacies that the store had in stock.