"I'm going to kill you," I mutter. "I'm going to kill you, kill you, kill you."

I send another [Ice Bolt] at the mega flame slime. It finally left the river a little bit ago, and immediately went into attacking me. Fortunately, I've managed to reach Level 4 over the last week, so its flames aren't really doing much to me. Thomas probably meant that the flames won't immediately burn me. Prolonged exposure does seem to start to affect me. I'll probably need Level 5 to fully resist.

Either that, or this thing got stronger while surrounded by its weakness. It did pop out ready to fight and just as energetic as when we fought before. Or rather, when it attacked me before.

My [Water Bolt]s and [Ice Bolt]s aren't doing anything against this thing. My [Water Bolt]s just splash against it, while my [Ice Bolt]s are slowed down enough by its ooze that they stop before they can reach its core. They take a few seconds more than that to melt.

Even my latest one is already nearly gone.

While the mega flame slime shoots a [Flamethrower] at where I was just standing, I try to run around behind it while using a new spell. I haven't actually learned it yet, so I don't have the shortcut to casting that I will once I get the spell.

Ice. Cold. A solid shaft and triangular head. The entire thing made of ice as cold as the heart of winter, almost as clear as glass itself.

A spear of ice forms as the slime reorients itself, the shaft hovering beneath my left palm.

[Ice Spear] learned!

I stop running and shift my body, throwing the spear forward with my magic. There's a whistle as it cuts through the air. The mega flame slime tries to use a [Flamethrower] to destroy it and I bolt out of the way. My [Ice Spear] slices through the mega flame slime's core and the thing immediately goes limp, its goo starting to ooze down to the ground.

+87% Experience!

The spell is so powerful it continues on for several dozen yards before stopping half-sunk into the ground, poking out at an angle. That's not the best part, though.

That much Experience from a single kill! I'm so happy! I start doing a little dance in my excitement, stopping when I hear chuckling. Turning around, I find Thomas there, a hand in front of his mouth to stop his chuckling.

"Don't be mean," Colt backhands Thomas's stomach. "He has every right to be happy that thing is dead. There was another?"

"No," I tell him, trying to make sure my speech is better than normal. "That's the one from last week. It jumped out of the water and attacked me while I's getting ready to take my break and wait for ya two. Despite being soaked in its weakness for a week, it didn't seem fazed at all."

"It wouldn't be," Thomas says. "Flowing water isn't enough to bother something as powerful as a mega flame slime. Did you learn that spell during the fight?"

"Yeah," I nod.

"Good job," he says, the indicates the boulder. "Where did that come from?"

He's referring to a glass mug sitting on it. The mug doesn't have a handle or anything, being just a basic cylinder four inches tall and three and a half inches wide. It's also a little thick, its walls roughly a quarter of an inch thick.

"I made it," I tell him, beaming a little. Showing pride probably isn't the best of ideas, seeing as they're nobles, but I can't help with this. "Glass is just a crystal, and you said the other day that crystals and jewels are a form of special stone, which is why uncut gems are called gemstones. I was thinking, if glass is just a crystal and crystal is just earth, and we can make and shape earth with our magic, then we could do that with glass, too, right?"

"Yes," Thomas gestures with his right hand, a trio of glass blobs forming above his palm before reshaping into fine glasses. "Though it's not a talent many earth mages can manage. Doing anything other than dirt and stone tends to be very difficult for the rare few who don't find it impossible. Being a seven-affinity, on the other hand, does create some… ability."

"Do you have seven affinities, then?" I ask. "You did that easily."

That's a compliment, right? He shouldn't want to punish me for that. Some nobles would punish me for asking them questions about themselves, though, so he might.

"I have five affinities," Thomas informs me. "The two I'm missing are fire and shadow."

"Fire?" I ask. "How did you start the fire yesterday?"

"With this," he holds up his right hand, thumb and forefinger an inch apart, and sparks start dancing between them. "You can use that to light some things aflame, such as paper or shavings of wood."

"Oh," I say. "That's interesting."

"As for my glass magics," he sets the glasses on the boulder, beside my attempt at making a glass mug. "That's simply experience. Back in my twenties, I spent a few years helping out with construction crews. Mages who can make and shape glass are well-paid for their services, as glass isn't cheap or easy to acquire even with that."

"So you used to make windows for places?" I ask.

He seems okay with answering questions about this, so I hope this is okay.

"Yes," he answers. "Sometimes, I'd just make some glass and let a glass worker shape it – you don't need magic for that. Even just making glass for someone to work with pays a lot."

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"If being able to make glass is so good," I say. "How come there aren't more mages who can who are selling it? Why is glass still a luxury thing only the wealthy can afford?"

"Specialty mages," Colt says. "Are in high demand. Most also have very limited Mana pools, so they can only make so much at a time. Some are just adventurers taking a break. In addition, if you have a talent for something so rare, you're also likely talented in other areas. You can make a lot more money in other jobs."

"I'm an example of that," Thomas says. "I became an adventurer when I was fifteen, going on hunts and doing jobs. When I was twenty-two, I decided to take a break and use my ability to make and shape glass to help make windows for a construction company, while also using my powers to help cut and place stone and bricks. It's a boring job, and while it pays decently, I got tired of it. I'd do some work, then need to wait awhile before I could do more.

"When I was twenty-five," he continues. "I went back to adventuring while looking for a new job. The first request I took on was as an escort, assisting in the protection of a young man as he went somewhere. The request was actually for me specifically, word had gotten around that I was returning to adventuring and I am a five-affinity. There aren't many of us, only two dozen of us between the kingdoms."

Only two dozen? Out of roughly four million people? The chance really is low, and I've heard that powerful mages can live for over a hundred years, too.

"The petitioner was my grandfather," Colton tells me. "And the man needing protection was my father. Thomas became friends with him while on the job, and was then hired on by our family."

"And right now, I protect Colton," Thomas says.

Colt's teacher and bodyguard is one of only two dozen in the kingdom, maybe even all the valley, with five affinities. I bet he'd have a bodyguard with six affinities or more if they weren't all serving royals. Just how wealthy is Colt's family?

"Oh, okay," I say. "Training time?"

For the last week, Thomas and Colt have shown up before lunchtime, then Thomas taught Colt and me martial arts and swordsmanship.

Thomas flips between the two each day, and yesterday was a review of everything he'd taught us so far. Today's another day for swordsmanship. Then after that, Colt and I look for stuff to add to our lunch while Thomas prepares the fire and catches rabbits.

I rest after lunch, and Thomas teaches me how to read and write. That was something Colt convinced him to do to help me prepare for my adventures, and I'm suspecting he's hoping to prime me as a bodyguard. If not for him, then for his family. Or maybe even for the royal family, who would probably be very appreciative of his family for getting them a bodyguard as powerful and versatile as a seven-affinity.

Though I may be appreciative of their help, that doesn't make me less suspicious of them.

"Let's train," Thomas says as he sets down his stuff.

Thomas tosses Colt and me the training swords, then begins running us both through drills. After a week of training, I've become better able to handle the training, but only by a little bit. I'm pretty sore from all the training, but I've already noticed that I'm lasting longer through the training before it feels like I'm going to drop.

I'm still exhausted and sore after we finish, though. If it weren't for the good food and the fact that I don't trust them, I'd just curl up on the ground and fall asleep. Sleeping has to wait until after they've gone so Colt can do his target training.

"Don't go," Thomas says after we set the training swords down.

"Don't go?" Colt asks. "You didn't bring anything to go with the food."

"I know," Thomas says. "I'm teaching you both an unstructured spell."

"Unstructured spell?" I ask.

"Spells that don't require a structure," Colt says. "In order to cast. You can tell the difference between structured magic and unstructured magic by if it has a Skill or not. When you create or manipulate an element by itself, you're performing unstructured magic."

"Correct," Thomas says. "It's the use of magic in its most raw form, either using your Mana to influence something or to create from your Mana directly. Creating that glass, for example? That was unstructured magic. Usually, structured magic takes more Mana to cast than a respective amount in unstructured magic because there's more to it. Another way to tell the difference, without looking at the System, is if the magic you're casting has a set form. A bolt of flames versus just a burst of it, for example. You can shoot fire with your hands with unstructured magic, but casting it as a bolt is often far more effective."

"Oh, okay," I say. "I guess that makes sense. "So I've been using unstructured magic all this time."

Like when I start fire on my own, or as he said, when I created and shaped the glass.

"Yes," Thomas nods. "And the unstructured magic I'm going to teach you will help you as an adventurer. It's also good for general use, especially if you're attacked unexpectedly. Someone as powerful as the two of you might get targeted by unsavories wanting to collar you. Those collars will activate if you use structured magic that you aren't allowed to use."

"But not unstructured magic," I say.

"Correct," he says, then creates a pile of stones with his magic.

Each stone is two inches in diameter, perfectly spherical. Thomas is way superior than me at this, I can barely make one at a time and he made dozens.

"Grab a stone," Thomas says. "And smash it against the boulder."

Colt and I both do as instructed, and the stones break.

"These stones are weak," Thomas picks one up. "Brittle. When Mana is suffused into something, the item becomes stronger. You know how to manipulate your Mana – flow some into the stones and smash them against the boulder."

Colt and I both do as instructed, though it takes us awhile to manage it. When we first start trying, either we put in too much Mana and the stones shatter in our hands or we don't put in enough and they break. Neither of us take long before we manage to do it right. Once we're able to enhance the stones with raw Mana, Thomas teaches us how to properly infuse the stones.

Instead of just putting Mana into the stones, we're spreading it through the stones evenly. This gives a more effective result for less Mana. Only after we manage this to Thomas's satisfaction… does he have us use it on ourselves.

It's more difficult to use on ourselves, but it doesn't take either of us very long to get the hang of it. For 0.1 Mana per second, I can boost myself by 1 Strength, Constitution, and Agility. The increase rate is the same – every 0.1 Mana increase is another increase of 1 Strength, Constitution, and Agility.

"This is something," Thomas says. "Usually used by warriors rather than mages. It costs a lot of Mana, but can boost you by several Levels' worth of physical increases for a short time. You probably won't ever encounter a battle where you need it once you've gained a fair few Levels if you're a mage, Max, but it's still a useful trick. You'll need to boost yourself a fair bit to make a difference in a fight you can't handle alone, and that takes a lot of Mana."

"But if I'm in a fight where structured magic isn't feasible," I say. "Or there's a collar that activates with structured magic, then unstructured will work. Though I could probably just break the collar off."

"Correct," Thomas says. "This is a 'just in case' thing. It's best to practice it on your own as well, to continue getting better, until you're skilled enough with it that you can use it subconsciously."

"Okay," I say. "I'm really hungry now, so I'm going to go look for stuff."

That was really bold of me and now I'm nervous that he's going to tell me I have to wait for acting above my station.

"Okay," Thomas says. "I'll prepare something bigger today, see if you can find any vegetables."

Whew. He's okay with that. It's probably because Colt's hungry, too.

"Oh!" I say. "Also, I wanted to let you know that starting tomorrow, I'm going into the forest. I'm comfortable enough with my aim to try hunting tougher stuff for more Levels and money."