Waking up like normal, I didn't expect anything special to occur today. Although, my thoughts of Teresa's story still ran around my mind as I got ready for Father's lesson.

It was hard for me to believe that I might've been the only one in my family to know about her and what she'd been through for so long.

The rusted lock and the unkempt wing itself were proof no one had even cared for that side of the castle, let alone touched the manual.

Was it wrong for me not to tell them?

I dropped something once I slid out of the bed sheets. I looked down to see that it had been the book I took from the shelves in Teresa's reading room. A book from the dream. I hid it back under my sheets before I continued with my morning routine.

I headed to the field for Father's lesson. However, in an unexpected turn of events he was currently talking to a woman with stunning black hair. Her skin seemed to shine with the little sunlight that peered from the clouds.

It was my stepmother.

"Ah, Freddy."

"Fred! you look so much bigger than the last time I saw you. Come here."

Just by instinct I ran towards this woman. I had spent some time thinking about what kind of person she was, but I had forgotten that in the end she too was my mother. She too had taken her time to raise me when she was around.

As soon as I was in reach she hoisted me onto her arms. I hugged her back.

"You're also quite heavy now. What're you doing up so early?"

"He's here to learn with Kraimer, Darvy and Barrett."

"Isn't he a little too young? What are you thinking Mylo?"

"No, Fred's been more than capable, he belongs with them. You'd be surprised too. Well actually, I was thinking, why don't you have a talk with them here to spend some time catching up with them while me and Freddy get him through a couple of things he has to learn."

"I can agree to that but we're having a talk about this when you get back. Fred have you been ok with this?"

She kissed me on the forehead before looking me in the eye to await an answer.

"Mhm. I'm okay."

"You're going to have to show me everything you've learned okay Fred. I'll be okay with it once I see how you do, promise?"

"Alright, I promise."

My stepmother didn't trust my father's judgement but I knew it was most likely out of concern.

My mother didn't have as many reservations because she had faith in my father's intuition. Maybe that was where the idea of Stepmother being more stubborn came from, she was more critical of my father's choices. She was after all my father's first wife which made her the head matriarch.

Stepmother handed me over to father who carried me back inside just as the rest of my siblings rushed in to crowd her.

Father and I sat across from each other in the library like the first time I had come in with Luca and the rest for magic lessons. Father handed me a piece of parchment and a pen.

"Today Fred, I started working on what we've gone over, I even asked your mother about what she'd read over for you. Now I just want to know if there's something you might've glossed over on your own time. It's okay to say you don't know."

"Okay."

Father questioned the simple things, like the alphabet of our language, the grammar that made it up. Frankly, it was just a carbon copy of

English through and through. Then he asked more complex questions, like why the clouds above us accumulate, and how the sun warms the surface of the sphere. That's when I began to realize just how deep this rabbit hole goes.

"That's actually wrong Fred. The spheres aren't one single round planet going around the sun. Heh. I'm glad there's still something you might need a thorough explanation with."

The use of the word planet gave more credence to my earlier thinking. This wasn't a world where they had abandoned all study and left it up to magic to mystify all aspects of life. The world itself was to be understood and respected in order to bring about change with magic.

"It's still all new to me, Father."

"Right. So, in reality the spheres are just like their name implies, although each one could be considered a planet on its own, the nebula of the void that holds all them in a rotating position around the sun was used by the Father God to form the paths to the other spheres. The nebula remains but it's no longer a path that anyone else sets foot in. Save for the Ethereal Gods. You've read that part of the tome I gave you right?"

"Yes. Although, it didn't make mention of a nebula, just a void."

"The nebula is what makes it possible for a human without any special equipment to simply walk on the void. The tome likely made no mention of it because the Church records prefer to keep many descriptors simplified, they don't do much explaining but a lot of telling."

I nodded my head.

"Well, we'll have plenty of time to discuss the void and the nature of the world once we get into lessons on the Cosmic set, ok?"

"Alright."

"Onto the next topic. How much do you know about monsters?"

"I don't know. They're animals that look ugly and eat people."

"Ah, another thing for me to teach you then. Well, I'd say we should focus on this for now. First of all, Fred, a monster is not an animal."

"Hmm?"

"It's not very confusing once you've seen one, but a monster may appear to have the same frame or image as an animal but they aren't. There's no reason to their existence that extends beyond that of bloodlust and territorial aggression. And that territory they surround with their aggression is the very womb from which they come from: The dungeons."

I was met with what I'd call another cliché.

Monsters? Like the ones in my dreams? Even if they exist it's not like they pose much of a threat right? A child could fear them but adventurers are usually there to slay them anyway. I thought.

"When I say 'dungeons' I don't mean like the ones in this castle. The type that hold prisoners."

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"It's like a cave or a deep underground tunnel?"

Father seemed taken aback that I both didn't know about monsters but had foreknowledge of dungeons. Many such stories existed in my past life. I didn't get too into them but they left their mark in my mind.

"That's correct. The name was taken directly from the Father God. It's what he preferred to call the phenomena."

"Oh."

"These dungeons grow over natural structures that have been abandoned by any of the great races. You know of them right?"

"The Humans, the Elves, the Beastmen, the Dragons, the Angels, and the Demons."

"Good, you have been studying the material. Although, in rare instances a hole in the ground festers just as much. These can catch any city without frequent patrols off guard with a monster wave. It's when the dungeon fully matures that it creates these armies of flesh seeking creatures."

"That sounds horrific."

"It most certainly is. Heh, I'm not intent on scaring you or anything but monsters are a real danger. Adventurers alone are not enough, so if you ever decide to explore on your own or go where no one else has gone; you have to take this things into consideration."

"How do dungeons form?"

"An excellent question. There have been many theories since before the appearance of the Father God which people have shared through oral storytelling. However, the Father God made it clear from where dungeons originate. They are the amalgamation of the raw mana of the world finding a place to unravel itself."

"Is that what lies at the center? A core of mana?"

"In a certain sense, yes, there is a center of pure mana, but its uses end up being quite mundane. The core can be broken down into mana conductors or even material for weapons. The linings of the walls of dungeons also have material for similar purposes including for construction."

"Sounds really dangerous to rely on it for those kinds of resources."

"You're right but some of it is rare enough that there's not much of a choice but to send in someone to conquer it so another team can excavate it. On the other hand a lot of the more dangerous dungeons also tend to have an object of immense power that the dungeon leeched onto to form. Sometimes a long lost sword or similar relic is found this way. Nothing lost is ever gone."

"Have you ever found something like that?"

"I have, but I didn't get to keep it. Part of the job of being an adventurer is parting ways with valuable stuff to get money for living expenses."

"How come you don't tell me many stories of when you were an adventurer?"

"I will in time. However, right now we're learning about what you know, not just what I've experienced."

"Alright~"

"Don't pout, I'll tell you a story Tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"Yeah. I promise. Moving on. This bit is really important. Fred, what do the elements in the Elemental set do? What is the intent behind the spells?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you cast fire? Why cast water? Wind? Earth?"

"Does there have to be a reason?"

I had some idea of what he might've meant but it wouldn't be honest of me to guess without knowing for certain. I knew Fire magic was meant to burn the target of the spell, I had realized that when Barrett unleashed her curated spell.

"Heh, of course there has to be. How exactly do you cast spells?"

"Well, I picture it in my mind and it just naturally forms once I call it forward."

My father gave me a perplexed look. I suspected then that I didn't give him an answer he was expecting or wanted.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, not really. If I'm being honest I don't know if what you're saying is what makes you as capable as you are, or if it's something else I don't understand."

"How do you cast spells Father? You're saint ranked in a set of magic right?"

"Haha, I'm considered a saint in only two magics in the Cosmic Set."

The mysterious mood was offset by Father's regular humbleness.

"How does that work? If you're Saint ranked in one magic don't you have the ability to do the same in another magic."

"It's not that simple. As you asked just now, I don't cast spells in the Elemental set the same way as the Gravity and Time magic from the Cosmic set."

"How so?"

"It sort of slipped my mind with your natural talent, that I never went over the foundational concepts of casting magic. I figured it would be better to gamble with how much you could do without me telling you much. You already had the initiative to go into my study and read a couple of books. Some studies on magic, those went unaccounted for on a couple of days."

"I see."

"Not a problem. Going over it shouldn't take this long if you've still managed to keep up in spite of my lack of guidance. I apologize for that."

"Why? It all worked out didn't it?"

"No, I intended for you to ask me about it at some point throughout the last year but you never did. I shouldn't have put that responsibility onto you. I'm supposed to teach you, not wait for you to ask that of me."

"Ok."

"I prefer to use my master's explanation when it comes to the Elemental set. In simple words: Fire magic's purpose is to burn away, Water magic's purpose is to wash away, Wind magic's purpose is to blow away, Earth magic's purpose is to build at a point, and Lightning magic's purpose is to strike at point."

"I think I get it, but then how do you end up putting more force into your spells?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if Fire magic is for burning away then how do you add force to it?"

"Ah, that. Magic, as we've been over before, has tiers of strength. The first pillar of that is efficiency which thereby allows you to strike more potently. I know you don't use them but you remember the abbreviations right?"

"Yes."

"They don't just help with stability, their purpose is to streamline generating mana into a spell and then adding an after effect. The force as you say. Naturally the first abbreviation corresponds with stability, the second goes with magnitude or size, and the third defines the shape. You were able to do all three without even being told."

"So, when I first used fire that was like the first abbreviation. Then when I used Water magic like a whip I skipped to the third?"

"Yes, but that's because the abbreviations have more to do with control over the magic. Like their names signify, the lower power refers to less mana used, the higher power to more mana funneled into the spell, and supreme power refers to supreme control over the properties of the spell."

"That makes sense."

"Good. The next point I want to make is about the rankings. The reason I could reach Saint rank in my Cosmic magic but not my Elemental magic happens to fit into this."

"I heard a little bit about them from Logan. The seven rankings right?"

"That's right. You probably heard a brief explanation from him but it wasn't wholly complete. They are indeed stages that a magi can reach, but they require accreditation to go with them. That isn't what I'll be talking about. No, we're going to focus on the exact purpose behind the rankings. What they mean for magic. Ok?"

"Alright."

Father slid the parchment over to his side. He began to draw an elaborate diagram.

"You see how this sphere is incomplete, a couple of holes here and there?"

"Yes."

"Stability as the first pillar means that the holes are removed, now you have a fully enclosed sphere. That's the second rank of magic. Now, take that sphere and pretend it's a water ball. When you strike at a target for instance this line. The squiggles."

"The water ball is cracking the target?"

"Correct, but do you also see how the ball makes a splash that causes the droplets to bounce away from the initial target?"

"Yeah."

"Now, if we change the shape and maybe even the size, to that of a head sized corkscrew."

"It'll pierce."

"Right, that's Focus, the second pillar. With it you reach the third rank of magic. The size isn't as important unless it's necessary for the intended effect so don't worry too much about it. Size is more or less already a correlation of the amount of mana used to generate the stable effect-less spell. But condensing it like you've done before is a great way to proceed to a focus state for the spell and your casting of it."

"Does that mean I'm already at Vicar for the Elemental magic I've used?"

"Your mastery over control and efficiency puts your spells on par for it, but your lack of a larger mana pool and being unable to cast several of those spells in one go are the only parts holding you back."

"Oh, right. I can't do that spell from yesterday multiple times. I think I was just about ready to call it after the first time, but I had barely enough for what we continued with afterwards."

"I noticed. It's still way too soon for you to be able to cast many of those spells in quick succession. It's also why I demonstrated the defensive iterations of the spells so you could focus on imitating them at a low level without exhausting yourself too much."

"It was pretty different to see you casting them instead of me."

"Hah, I bet it seems like I hardly do anything during our lessons, doesn't it?"

I smiled in response.

"Continuing with the ranks, the third pillar is magnitude. It's not enough to have a large mana pool, if your mana output is too low or slow, your spell suffers as well. Magnitude is how often you can pull off the same spell, how far your radius of control extends and the impact left by the spell. That's Cardinal rank."

"Whoa."

I couldn't help but admire the drawing done by my father to give an image of what he meant. A diamond made up of smaller triangles stood in place of the circle, it seemed to break into pieces that landed in mountains and even in forests. He drew a follow up of the effect of the spell: A flat plane where the mountain stood, a towering trunk where the forest had been. Even for a sketch it was too clean. The image to depict a low and slow mana output was simply a more chaotic and disorganized rough diamond. And it's effects only took away chunks from the compared scenery.

"The last pillar can't really be shown in a drawing, so instead, I'll give you my best explanation as someone who's reached this pillar. It's all about identity."

"Identity?"

I was dumbfounded, no clue came to mind about what he meant by that. What could identity possibly have to do with magic? I thought.