Skepticism is in Thomas's mind, but also slight interest. That's a good sign, it means I can probably convince him to stick around longer to learn magic. Even just a few months of lessons should be enough to make him decide not to move away.

"How certain are you of this?" He settles on asking. "I don't want to move from here as it's a calm life, but that sounds too good to be true. And I ain't making a commitment to staying here longer than necessary if I ain't able to have a future that ain't alone."

"If you don't notice an increase in people paying attention to you in town or another village – I'm assuming you visit some of them around the town – once you've begun using magic," I say. "I will reconnect with my adoptive family."

That gives Thomas pause. He remembers what I told him about the bad relations between myself and them and I'm sure my tone when I spoke of them told him all he really needs to know about my desire to reconnect. This sort of promise isn't something I'll offer easily.

It's also one I know I won't have to make good on.

"I've visited a few of the other villages," he confirms. "Some for trade, though did a little scouting last year to see which ones might be a good place to move to. Could've moved then but felt I should wait a little bit longer."

Procrastination out of a desire to stay in the area he loves.

"And how would others notice a difference?" He asks. "It ain't like nobles, with your green eyes. I'd have to show my magic, wouldn't I? And yeah, I know you were lying 'bout having parents from here. Only folks 'round here with green eyes are the Wizard and the Witch."

"Three things," I say. "First, 'witch' and 'wizard' are considered insults to mages. It would be like if I called you a caveman. No mage born in the last nine hundred years would appreciate being called that, and considering the typical lifespan for an archmage is two hundred and a magus is five, you're not going to be running into anyone old enough to come from when those were the names for our kind."

My tone was more harsh than I intended, judging by the slight grimace on his face and the massive flinch in his mind.

"Sorry," I say. "I'm used to warning soldiers and adventurers who came from out in the country and haven't learned yet, so I tend to be a bit more, ah, threatening than I intend to be when warning someone off of those terms. They're extremely severe insults which amount to saying our magical ability is so awful we should give up magic entirely."

Now he visibly winces.

"Sorry," he apologizes.

"No worries," I say. "I need to get used to talking with folks who aren't like how I'm accustomed so it's partially on me."

Simply changing how I've been for years isn't as easy as just flipping a lever, however, so it's going to take me quite awhile to adjust.

"Anyway," I switch off of that. "It actually leads into the second thing: I was born with blue eyes. Green isn't a natural color, and it's not a noble-only thing. Yes, most nobles have it, but that's actually because of what causes it.

"Third," I say. "Learning magic changes your body a little. If you get skilled enough and powerful enough, your lifespan will extend a bit. The more noticeable change, however, is that it turns your eyes green. It starts as small spikes around your pupils," I point at my right eye. "And they slowly grow and expand until your eyes are fully green. You can sort of tell how that's going by your magic-related Skills, actually, as there's a direct correlation.

"The moment your eyes are fully green," I say. "Is about the same time you have 1,000 MP, or 9 Levels into magic-related Skills. That's also when you're considered a fully-fledged mage. Your lifespan won't really be noticeably longer at that point, but it's something nearly all stronger noble families reach by the time they turn twenty years of age."

"Which is why they all have green eyes," he says.

"Right," I say. "So. Do you want to learn?"

Thomas thinks about it for a few moments, then starts slowly packing up the loot I'm not taking from him. I can tell he's doing it as just a way to give himself more time to think, so I don't say anything.

"You won't get into trouble for teaching me?" He asks. "Isn't magic a restricted thing?"

"Certain magics are restricted," I tell him. "But not learning magic in general. Most commoners never learn because it can be hard to afford lessons or find someone willing to take them on as an apprentice without a good background and a lot of trust. I don't mind teaching people if they seem like good folks and you seem like that. The fact that spirits like you only makes me more willing, not less."

"The spirits like me?" He raises an eyebrow.

"There's an earth spirit on your head every time I see you," I say. "He's currently lying on his stomach, head on his hands, legs up and kicking lightly as we talk."

Thomas looks up at the news of there being something on his head, only to find an earth spirit floating above his head in the same position I mentioned. It manifested itself the moment he moved his head, and gives Thomas a small wave before moving his hand back to his chin.

The hunter doesn't seem to know how to react to that and looks at me again, frowning a little as he does. He can now feel the weight of the spirit when he didn't before and I think he's not sure why there's a difference.

"As for teaching magic," I say. "I'm from a more modern school of thought regarding it. Personally, I think that everyone should at least know the basics of either arcane or elemental magic. This is something I'm planning on offering Dylan and Nolan the next time I see them.

"It's not just magic," I continue. "I think everyone should know how to read and write. It's probably not that important to someone who only farms and hunts, but I still feel as if they should still be able to understand the System. And personally, I keep a journal of everything that's happened during the day, updated each night before I go to bed."

Among the items Zolbiatz sent me out here with were three books filled with empty pages, an inkwell, and a quill. That allowed me to continue my journals upon arrival here rather than needing to wait until I made blank books on my own.

"Lets me remember things in the future I might not remember otherwise," I say. "And even helps me improve my memory for when I do write things do. That, in turns, helps improve my memory in other areas. I also keep books of my notes on alchemy and magic so that I can look back on them with more accuracy than what memory alone allows. You may mix up information or misremember things, no matter how good your memory is. Even hunters and farmers can make use of that."

"Hold on," he says. "You went from magic to writing. Are you offering to teach me how to read and write, too?"

"Yeah," I answer. "In exchange for you to continue bringing me the food items I don't have here. I spent part of yesterday preparing cards for Dylan and Nolan to help with it, and can make some for you as well."

"Cards?" He frowns.

I hold out my right hand and a small wooden box appears on my palm, startling the hunter. I slide off the top of it to reveal a deck of cards within.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Cards," I state. "Each one has either a character from the alphabet in it or a word related to things they interact with regularly or might interact with regularly. Using things someone interacts with regularly can make it easier to learn. I can make up a deck tailored for a hunter."

"Have you ever taught someone to read before?" He asks. "Or to use magic?"

"I've taught a few," I tell him. "It mostly takes effort on the student's part. Would you like to learn?"

He thinks on it, but comes to a decision quickly.

"What's the price for lessons in magic?"

"It's something I'm offering free," I tell him. "For basic lessons, that is. How to access your mana and use basic magics. When it comes to anything beyond that, loot will do. I've got plenty of things to do and could use help acquiring some of the loot and magic crystals I need."

"If you're so busy," he says. "Do you have time to teach me?"

"Sure," I close the box and teleport it back to where I'd stored it in the cabin. "I said I'm busy, not that my schedule is completely packed. Hunting for magic materials would be an additional thing, taking away free time. While teaching is the same… I'll expend considerably less energy doing so."

"Oh," he says. "Makes sense. You're wanting mostly stuff from the mines?"

"Not just that," I say. "Foraged items as well, parts from other beasts… some understanding of the local traditions. The first three are things I can get on my own if I actually wanted to, so you'd just be saving me a little bit of effort. The fourth is something I need a local to teach me about."

"What kind of understanding?" He asks. "We're just a farming community, it's not like we have much," he pauses for a moment. "Also, we've mostly just been standing here as we talked-"

"I'm sitting," the earth spirit does a silent giggle at my words, lightly kicking Thomas's head after.

"Would it be too much to ask for something to eat?" Thomas answers after a pause. "I brought some extra wheat and eggs, and you seemed to have an excess of… did your crate count increase?"

So that's why there's extra wheat and eggs, though I only used one egg before and less flour than what the additional wheat will provide. He probably gave extra of both as payment for the meal request.

"Stoneseeker wolves might not be monsters," I stand. "But they do spawn a bit without breeding thanks to the Mistwood. Haven't come across any of the tougher ones yet, but I think I've taken out seventeen normal ones now. That's provided plenty of meat on its own, not including other creatures I've hunted. And yeah, I can make something."

I gather some ingredients to make pasta with a meat sauce again and as I work, I clarify about my request.

"Each area has its own little traditions and customs," I say. "Festivals which they might think are spread throughout but are actually unique to the area. Or which they think are small things for their area but are still significant to the locals. I've already been able to see something related to one of your customs that I can't make a proper guess at as there could be multiple things about it."

"What's that?" He asks as I reignite the fire, this time using magic since he knows for sure I'm a mage. "There isn't really much."

"That necklace you're wearing," I gesture to it for a moment before resuming work on lunch. "You, the chief, and Dylan all wear one. Neither Nolan nor the nine-year-old have it, though, so I'm assuming it's part of some coming-of-age ritual."

"You've seen Cedric?" He gives me a suspicious look. "I haven't heard about the two of you meeting-"

"I saw him from a distance while hunting the first wolf," I say. "It was actually the wolf which made me see him – it was stalking the kid while he was in the forest not long before we met. Didn't approach, and I doubt he noticed me. He seemed pretty focused on the bug in his hands."

A modified version of events. I might be willing to confirm to him that I'm a mage, but I am not going to tell him I'm psychic. That's not something he needs to know, nor will it likely ever be relevant to his life.

"Cedric was-argh!" There's as much frustration in his mind as when he found out Dylan had visited me, but the aggravation isn't hostile this time. "Dammit! We keep telling him not to go into the woods! The wolves are the biggest killer of kids! They're part of the reason our population has been going down!"

"Well, I've thinned their population pretty well," I tell him. "Until more spawn in, it should be relatively safe unless one of the stronger ones decides to take action. If they do, it'll most likely be against me for taking out so many of their kin."

Thomas lets out a frustrated grunt, then plops himself onto one of my stools.

"The necklace is related to the wolves," he fingers the fang. "It's an old tradition. Boys are all taught how to use a bow starting when they're ten, smaller, simpler bows that are easier to draw. When we turn thirteen, we go on a hunt that morning to take on a greater stoneseeker wolf. If they succeed, then the village is safe from further wolf attacks until the next hunt. Not that it matters anymore – that usually only lasts for about half a year at the most and we ain't got enough youth to take on the task."

They shouldn't be able to take on a grand stoneseeker wolf at thirteen, not with just what training and abilities they have. Even Thomas shouldn't be able to take one on right now. The fact that it's actually a part of their tradition has me suspecting that the spirits help with the hunt for some reason.

"Another part of it," he adds. "Is that if a man moves into the area, either on his own or to marry someone, he has to hunt one on the day of his third month here, to prove he's interested in being a part of the community. If he succeeds, it also ensures safety until the next hunt and if he fails, he has to leave that day."

Three months… that's the second time I've seen that number in relation to living here.

"The necklaces come from that," Thomas tells me. "The fang is taken from the slain wolf, though you have to bring their hide and skull back. And it's entirely optional, no one enforces it anymore. It was more common when Chief was a kid. The others who've done it recently – like Dylan – only did because they wanted to see if they wanted to be a hunter, not because of the tradition. So no one will really make you do it if you want to stay. It hasn't been enforced for outsiders in years."

I'm not so sure about that. This is an odd tradition which might make sense somewhere else, but not here. The hunts definitely don't stop the attacks on their own. Either that's pure superstition and they have some reason for if an attack occurs, or some other power is at play. They'd need to kill all of the grand stoneseeker wolves to put a stop to the attacks on the village itself until more spawn in.

It's they who encourage the attacks on a village directly. Stoneseeker wolves generally prefer hunting away from settlements.

"Is there an equivalent tradition for girls from the area and women who move in?"

"Yeah," he nods. "On their thirteenth birthday, or within three months of moving in, they must go to the beach south of the village and search the sand for a beached oyster with a pearl inside. If they find one, then the village will have good harvests until the next search and if they don't, we won't. If it's a woman who moved into the area, she has to leave, just as with men who fail to take down a greater stoneseeker wolf. But like I said, it ain't upheld anymore. No one will force you to, and those who move into the area who don't want to do the hunt or search end up leaving on their own before the three-month mark."

There are almost never equivalent traditions between the sexes if there's one that's sex-specific. Something is definitely up with this.

"I see," I say. "Both of those have an aspect for newcomers moving into the area. Are there any others which do?"

"No one'll make you do them," he tells me. "They're old traditions from when we had more people. They ain't that important anymore."

"Traditions tend to be important to me," I tell him. "But something has my curiosity piqued. Are there any others which relate to newcomers?"

"Just that it's considered back luck for a newcomer," he says. "If they aren't spotted being interacted with by three different spirits by at least three different people within the first three months, including the chief and either the Witch or the Wiz-errr… one of the mages."

He glances over at the bath, where four spirits are currently relaxing, then at me. His eyes widen when he does, probably because several spirits manifested themselves while he was looking away. I can feel two on my right shoulder, one on my left, and two on top of my head.

"All we need now is for the chief to see this," I say. "And we're two-thirds of the way through. I can talk to one of the mages on my own, though I don't think it's really a problem. I doubt anyone can call it bad luck if I'm having plenty of them hang out."

"You'd given the impression it was only because of the bath," he frowns. "Though you also got one to answer about the lightning mana vein, too."

"I did mention you can as well," I say. "And when I saw Chief, he had an earth spirit hanging out with him. That's three locals who have spirits hanging around them. It's honestly surprising you haven't seen them more than at the hot springs."

So there are three things relating to people moving out here, two of which are known to the locals and one of which I only know about because of my abilities. If I'm right, then the two known to the locals have a relation to the one that's not.

Magic really likes the number three, as do we mages. I'll need to speak with the local ones to find out what's going on. The third one is definitely their creation, so I'm sure they're behind the other two.

"Anyway," I say. "Have a seat, there's no need for you to stand while I cook."

As I continue making lunch, I poke Thomas a little about more of their customs and traditions. I really do want to learn about them, as participating in them will help me to become more of a local than if I didn't.

Thank the gods Thomas enjoys my cooking and a hot bath after, else I'd probably struggle to convince him to stay and talk.