As before, Zero was first in line and carefully strode toward the silver mirror.
“Carefully look into the mirror!” Victor instructed, his voice carrying an authoritative tone that made Zero look at the mirror without hesitation.
To use the magic mirror, Victor must conjure some of his infused mana into it. Once the player in question became sufficiently entranced, their elemental affinity would reveal itself, similar to a state of hypnosis.. The room seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly glow as the silver mirror absorbed the mystical energy Victor fed into it.
Soon, the color of the perfectly silver mirror turned a deep, mysterious shade of purple. Based on this alone, Victor could already determine what sort of elemental affinity that Zero possessed.
“Now, tell me, what do you see?” Victor asked, his voice taking on an enigmatic tone.
Zero’s eyes glazed over as he mindlessly answered, “Thunder… I see purple lightning striking out from a thundercloud. And there are droplets of water below it…” His words seemed to drift from a realm beyond ordinary understanding.
“Anything else?”
“Uh… There are also white-colored particles around and above the thundercloud…” Zero’s voice wavered slightly as if unsure about what he had just witnessed.
“Is there a lot of white?” Victor’s cyan-colored eyes glinted.
“Not at all! It’s minuscule — barely noticeable.”
“Okay!” Victor snapped his fingers, and Zero suddenly came back to his senses, holding his aching head. “That concludes your test! In the aspect of elemental affinities, you have the highest affinity with the Electro element, after that is the Hydro element, and you also have a smidgen of affinity with the Lux element. You can check your Shadowlink Mark for more information.”
Other than being able to record physical books and turn them into their e-book form, the Shadowlink Marks had another intriguing ability — they could determine someone’s elemental affinity once a certain amount of information was given. Moreover, they provided a percentage amount based on the level of affinity once it crossed a certain level, making the results impressively accurate.
Victor himself possessed one more elemental affinity, which was Electro, but it was the same with Zero’s Lux element in that there wasn’t enough for it to properly register on his Master Shadowlink Mark.
“Let’s continue on with the rest,” Victor said, his gaze shifting to the remaining players.
One by one, the players exhibited elemental affinities that were not out of the ordinary. For Magi, there were seven basic elements: Anemo, Geo, Hydro, Pyro, Cryo, Dendro, and Electro. These players showed a primary affinity for one or two of these elements. It wasn’t until the last player — SuperNova — that a different outcome came to pass.
“What do you see?”
“Darkness… and souls of the dead lingering around it…” SuperNova mumbled, his body trembling involuntarily in his hypnotized state.
Flicking his finger, Victor stated, his expression growing serious, “You have a high affinity with two rare elements, which are Umbra and Necro. In other words, you are destined to walk the path of darkness and death…”
SuperNova’s reaction to the revelation was nothing short of a total mental breakdown; not only did his face become as white as a sheet of paper, but he nearly fainted on the spot! Victor couldn’t help but raise an amused eyebrow at the dramatic display, but this wasn’t his main concern.
What he cared most about was that, thankfully, the Myriad Elements Method had sections for both of these unique elements. Or else, he would’ve been scratching his head, wondering how on earth he could teach this unique student on the path of a Magus. It seemed that what the previous headmaster left behind had spared him from that headache.
It should be emphasized that different academies had different elements they excelled at. The Arcane Radiance College, for instance, was known for its expertise in mastering the seven basic elements. Other than that, it was also renowned for teaching the rare Lux element, hence the fitting name “Radiance.” Although there was no such concept as light and dark Magi, his former academy could be said to be on the more upstanding side, at least on the surface.
Finding that SuperNova wouldn’t budge from his position, Victor decided to offer a piece of advice, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Let me tell you something. Magi are able to use every kind of energy. But only by following the path you have the highest affinity with can you progress the furthest. I can’t stop you from focusing on other elements, but remember, regret may come knocking later.”
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As though a revelation had cleansed his clouded mind, SuperNova’s expression returned to normal. “I-I understand… Thank you for the advice, Sir Astralium,” he said, saluting Victor before retaking his seat.
“Mm, alright! Your tests for aptitude and affinity are all over,” announced Victor, glancing at the windows outside. “Now, let’s delve deeper into how to use a meditation technique and how it can help you harness the mana around us. This will be the last topic I’ll teach you today.”
It was vital that these players learn how to do their meditation because it was the orthodox way of logging out from this world or game. When the next batch of players entered the game, Victor would once again make it a priority to teach them how to practice meditation.
And so, Victor proceeded to instruct them on how to practice their meditation technique. While he had yet to try it himself, every basic meditation technique tended to have a similar way of doing things. What mattered most, other than a suitable environment, was a calm and focused state of mind.
Once the five players had firmly grasped a basic understanding of the technique, the topic of teaching digressed to the various power ranks between Magi.
“You need to know that there are distinct ranks of power among Magi,” Victor explained. “The higher the rank you achieve, the stronger you become. Your short-term goal should be to reach the first-stage Initiate Attunement. Only by reaching this rank can you truly be called a true acolyte. Do you have any questions?”
“I have one, Headmaster!” Mike spoke up, not forgetting to raise his hand.
“Speak.”
“What are the ranks above Initiate Attunement?”
“Above Initiate Attunement is, of course, the rank of becoming an official Magus, which is called Elemental Adept.” Victor paused to collect his thoughts before continuing. “Beyond that lies the enigmatic rank of Nexus Temporal, where you may begin to pry on the mysteries of the Primordial Nexus itself. As for anything more than that, you five will naturally come to know once you have gained sufficient power and ascend to higher levels.”
Telling these players how many ranks there were above that would only discourage them, and Victor knew that the thirst for knowledge and power would drive their gamer instinct to uncover the secrets. As such, he kept his silence, allowing some mystery to linger concerning the higher power ranks.
“Anything else of note?” Victor glanced at the group of eager players.
“Yes, Sir Astralium! What rank are you in?” one of the players asked.
Victor creased his eyebrows and hesitated for a moment before responding, “That’s not something that you should be concerned about. Next…”
“I—”
“No one else? Alright.” He decided not to give them any more chance to ask, not because he was afraid of them learning about his power, but simply due to time constraints.
It is alright! Victor silently assured himself.
The sun was inching closer to the horizon, and it would set in less than thirty minutes, indicating that it was about 5:30 A.M. on Earth; it was time for the players to log out of the game. These people had to attend to their real-life responsibilities, but Victor was 100 percent sure that they would eagerly return to the game first thing tomorrow morning in this world.
As the session came to a close, Victor announced, “I will teach you the basics of spell models and spell casting tomorrow. Hereby, I dismiss this class.” He turned on his heel and strode toward the door with the coolest and most confident stride he could muster.
However, just when he was about to exit the room, one of the players raised a question, scratching his chin. “Sir Astralium… er, where should we practice our meditation for the day? Miss Fairy said that we can use one of the rooms on the second floor before…”
“Hmm, right…” Victor paused, realizing that there were no bedrooms in the building except for his own. So, he led the players to one of the aforementioned empty rooms on the second floor. Unfortunately, there were no beds in this building, so they had to sleep on the ground. Though for them, it wouldn’t matter since they were logging out from the game and wouldn’t be conscious in this world.
“For today’s accommodation, this room will do. Oh, and one more thing: You should have dinner before today’s meditation.” With a flick of his finger, Victor conjured up five pieces of cooked boar meat and placed them on a nearby table. He didn’t have any plates on hand, but that was a minor concern.
Time inside an interspatial ring was like suspended animation, so anything stored inside would remain fresh and in the same condition as when it was stored. Victor, realizing he had a bit of the boar meat left in his inventory, made these for the players to encourage them.
“Whoa! Is this for real, Headmaster?”
“This isn’t like that rubbery preserved food!”
“The seasoning! You guys forget the seasoning! This doesn’t taste like eating literal salt!”
“I can’t believe we get to eat such delicious food in a game!"
“Is this even still a game?”
The five players were ecstatic, relishing every morsel even though the meat was only seasoned with salt and nothing more. But Victor knew full well that the quality of the food in this world was incomparable to the one on Earth. At least the standard that commoners had was horrendous in comparison. Besides that, eating the flesh of magical beasts would strengthen their constitution, though the giant boar couldn’t be fully considered a magical beast.
“Consider this a treat from me for today.” Victor then went straight to the point as the players were ravenously gobbling the meat, “Since I am here, I will help you answer any questions you may have regarding your confusion. As for your merit points, they will be calculated once you are deep in meditation.”
As the players raced to finish their meal, Victor pondered the possibilities of enhancing their learning process. Memory crystals would be ideal, but he wasn’t yet capable of creating such advanced items. However, the e-book meditation technique had an in-built search function that could help the players when they were in a pinch. Perhaps he could even add an AI assistant in the future. The possibilities were endless.
For now, practicing a meditation technique meant logging out for the players. They had clearly lost track of time while immersed in this world, but despite this their expressions still showed a strong desire to continue playing. Regrettably, they had to leave for now. It was impossible for them to stay here forever…
…Or was it?