Unblocking one of my channels felt closest to when blood flow returned to a limb that had fallen asleep. It was numb at first but almost unnoticeable. Then, there was a moment where the metaphorical dam burst as a rush ran down my arm, accompanied by stinging pinpricks. The vessels, entirely unused to mana, stung like hell, experiencing the strain for the first time.

I held out my right hand, pulled mana into my lungs, and pushed it into my core and then through the unfamiliar pathways. It felt slow and awkward, both thanks to the remaining impurities and because I was naturally left-handed, but after a few seconds, a tiny sphere appeared, hovering over my palm.

With a brief gesture, the orb danced to my other hand, and I passed it between the two several times, a smiling growing on my face. After a minute of almost care-free playing, I closed my fist around the energy, watching as green specks floated between my fingers.

My right arm would still need to grow more robust, and I wanted to scrub the rest of the impurities from my opened channels, but this remained a significant breakthrough. In theory, I could now create two Mana Bolts simultaneously, effectively doubling my offensive power. In practice, that was still a few weeks away, but that did not mean I could not try something else in the meantime.

During my spear training with Sig, something had occurred to me. By default, Mana Bolt was a blunted strike, closer to a punch than anything else, but what if I could alter it? If I could compress the spell into a condensed form, I could transform it into a piercing attack, punching through defenses while using less energy.

Now, how to go about that? I could try to force it into the right shape, but that might be too challenging at first. What about applying a rotation to the spell? Arrows also pierced, and from my lessons with Girem, I know that some styles rotate in mid-flight to-

There was a knock on my door, breaking my concentration and setting my teeth on edge. It seems I was cursed to lose focus right on the cusp of an idea, and I rose, letting out a sigh before putting a polite, welcoming expression on my face.

I had expected Leon, Grace, or possibly even Sig, so when I found Master Julian standing outside, I was momentarily at a loss for words. He had not visited in some time, after all. He smiled, seeming to take my silence as an unspoken invitation, and walked right past me into my room.

"Afternoon, Vayne. I wanted to check in on you and-wow, burned through your bounty quickly, it seems." Julian remarked, gesturing to my table still half-covered in potions.

I only had a few more days left, after which I would be out of both gold and supplies, but it was still noticeable enough to raise eyebrows. For the future, I would need to hide everything better to avoid uncomfortable questions such as these.

"Yes, sir. I have many duties as a familial advisor, so I decided to spend my gold helping me in that regard."

"Smart...but risky. Potions can only go so far, you know. Your body still needs rest to recover properly," Julian remarked, turning to me with what might have been concern on his face. At the very least, his brow looked furrowed, and he had a frown for once.

I did not respond, and he shrugged, continuing, "But I'm sure you're aware of that already. Regardless, I didn't come here to lecture you. Here."

He held out a sheet of paper, and I took it, finding a list of class names with times and locations.

"My schedule?"

"Exactly. It took me a little while to put it together. Other duties, and all that. You understand, of course."

I scanned the page, nodding several times. Classes met every other day, three times a week, for an hour and a half each, with the seventh day of the week left free. Interestingly, the only requirement was to pass the final year-end tests. You could, in theory, skip every single class save for the last and continue to next year though it was an insane waste of time, gold, and resources.

I also knew from Grace that masters offered additional incentives to stand-out students that performed well during class. Things such as resources to improve magic, personal training, and the like. As was common in Ferris, the strongest grew greater, while the weak and incompetent fell behind.

"By the by, I'd recommend trying to stay on your teacher's good sides. You're already a minor celebrity among the masters here." Julian remarked, sitting on my couch and folding his legs, one ankle on the opposite knee and his lower leg parallel to the ground.

"I-I am sorry, but I do not follow," I said, taking a seat across from him.

"Really? Did you think no one would notice a student taking ten classes?"

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He must have caught my look, shaking his head with a chuckle. It had not. I was so focused on everything else, my visions, the Esttons, my training, gold, preparations, studying, and so on, that it slipped my mind. But in all of that, I had made an amateurish mistake, one that might cost me.

Attention was death, and I needed to remain unknown for now. Standing out a little was fine, but becoming famous? That was an excellent way to get conniving eyes drawn to me. And what they saw might not end well for my plans.

"I-I see. Is that a bad thing?"

Julian shrugged, saying, "Depends on the master. Some of them think you're an upstart commoner who doesn't know his place and are eager to see you fail. Others are thrilled at such an eager young pupil ready to learn. Truthfully, most could care less or are just undecided for now. Believe it or not, most masters have better things to do than keep an eye on a first-year apprentice."

I opened my mouth to ask him a follow-up, and he cut me off, continuing, "But there's nothing to be done, now is there?"

"I...suppose not. Thank you for the warning regardless, master." I replied, bowing my head.

"Not a problem. Now, as I said, I came here for a few things. One is your schedule, but the other is an offer you might find interesting."

"Oh?"

"Sig told me about your 'mixed' results on a hunt not too long ago. Now, I'm not sure if you're a bit shy about going out again, but I've got friends in the right places and may have secured a better bounty."

He waved his hand, producing another sheet that he sent over on conjured winds. I suspected he just enjoyed the flourish it gave him, though it still seemed annoyingly flashy and a waste of energy.

I scanned the page, pausing after a few lines and saying, "This is...for hunting people."

"Thieves, you mean." Julian corrected me, waving a hand dismissively.

I yielded the point with a shrug, finishing the rest of the page. Over the last few months, a dozen homes experienced break-ins in the Middle District. Each reported losing many valuables, though interestingly no significant injuries or deaths. One had caught the group, four masked figures, running from their home back into the Lower District.

If they were mages, they might be able to afford a bounty sooner, but commoners, even well-off ones, could not swing such an expense. And Volaris' guards never ventured to the Lower District, preferring to keep the peace where they could. There was not enough incentive or a large enough group to take such a risk.

These thieves had been clever so far, avoiding high-risk targets, but made a mistake on their last robbery. This target was a wealthy merchant, with friends in the right places and extra gold hidden in banks or tied into his business. He was no mage but had the means to pay for the services of one. And that was where I came into the situation.

The merchant wanted the thieves captured or killed, preferably the former but would settle for either. The idea turned my stomach, but my eyes drifted to the bottom and the listed reward, and I felt a surge of greed. It was nearly three times the size of the last one and appeared like less of a risk at a glance. At least these thieves were human, without any magical abilities.

I considered it for a half-minute, turned to Julian, gave him a bright smile, and replied, "No, thank you."

My sincerest wish was for perfect memory, as I doubted I would see such a surprised look from Julian often.

"...I'm sorry?" he said after a few seconds.

I held up the page and said, "I am no bounty hunter. I have never been to the Lower District and have no idea where these thieves are or how to find them. Possibly worst of all, I lack armor or defensive magic to keep myself protected from an attack. I would rather avoid a knife to the back, thank you very much. So, with all of that in mind, I have to decline."

"I see...well, though I think you should take it regardless, I understand your reasons. Tell you what, I'll tell the bounty office to keep this one quiet for a few more hours, and if you change your mind, come by and tell me."

I did not much see the point but nodded, responding, "Thank you, sir. And thank you for the schedule as well."

"Not a problem," he said as he rose, walking to my door and opening it. Julian paused at the doorway and glanced at me over his shoulder, continuing, "Oh, one last thing. That merchant? Well, he specializes in magical items. Nothing potent, but...well, some first-years might find them helpful. Something to consider."

The door closed, leaving me alone, and I let out a sigh, a wave of greed hitting me. The rewards would be helpful, but Julian was a little too eager for me to jump at this bounty. Why?

Girem had a saying that went, "Never trust a person whose motives are a mystery. They keep them hidden for a reason."

I had a few theories about him, but nothing concrete. The question was, did it matter? If it got me stronger and helped me progress faster, were his motives a factor?

The sad, frustrating truth was I needed all the help I could get, ulterior motives aside. I had checked my progress a few days earlier and found the results less than promising.

The average mage took around six to nine months to reach Haze. Prodigies with ancestral knowledge and resources might get there in less than a month. At my current pace, I should hit the peak of Vapor at around three, give or take a few weeks.

That was, with Origin Breathing and no gathering resources, lightning-fast by all standards. Of course, I also trained at least three hours each day, which diminished the accomplishment somewhat, but still. Could I be satisfied with this rate?

If I wanted to survive, no. My original self had reached Ocean by thirty, and at this rate, I would struggle just to match that, let alone surpass him. Me? Founders, I hated temporal magic and paradoxes it invited. It gave me a headache just considering the intricacies.

But what to do? Taking this bounty was too risky, for every reason I told Julian, but maybe I did not need to risk my life to gain some valuable resources. Leon had offered to help me last night, and the Esttons did have a vested interest in ensuring I was at least a semi-competent mage. Maybe it was time to use that relationship to my advantage.

I glanced at my window and decided to invite Leon and Sophia out to lunch. Using up this favor too fast would be a waste, but that did not mean I could not strengthen our relationship while I did some digging. Introverted or not, good allies were hard to come by, and I had no plans of losing these ones if I could help it.

And if they, by some chance, happened to help me grow powerful along the way, all the better. Two birds, as the saying goes.