“Are you okay? I mean, should you be playing with one of them? I really admire your courage but…” Dorothy asked concernedly after the Clow left.

Anne took a sip of the tea before looking into the dwarf’s eyes.

“It’s okay. She’s dangerous and fierce, but like many of us, she just needs a hand.” She answered kindly.

“I nearly fainted when she took out the Decree, I thought she was here for me… Anne, I don’t want to intrude but the Clows are trouble, country size trouble.” The dwarf continued to probe.

“I agree but I didn’t have much of a choice. It was either convincing her or going to the Seat to be judged… Well, she’s damaged as it is, and I’m just offering some help.” The young woman explained. There was also a few other bookmancer principles that forbade her from bowing inside the bookstore but Dorothy didn’t need to know that.

“You’re the boss. I’m just checking if you’re okay.” The older woman stated before placing her hand on the other’s shoulder as a symbol of support.

“I know, and thanks for that… Well, we do have more ‘pleasant’ customers arriving…” Anne showed her appreciation and announced the arrival of the trio, who just then walked through the door.

They exchanged a few greetings with the bookmancer and the dwarf before sitting at the counter for some tea. Anne didn’t fail to notice Iris's bitterness in contrast with Cyrus' radiant excitement.

“What’s on your mind, Iris?” She probed politely.

“Here we go…” Hakon muttered in a low voice.

“I’m ready to advance…” Cyrus barged in, almost shouting.

“It’s so unfair. This dumb… He spends a week studying and training, then he’s ready? Come on, a month ago you couldn’t even read!” She complained. Competitiveness sucked when you’re the one losing.

“How’s that unfair? I learn how to read and studied hard…” The warrior started defending himself, which looked more like gloating, but was soon interrupted by the mage. Then, the pair started throwing not very kind words at each other.

Hakon looked at Anne with a pleading expression, practically begging for some bookstore intervention. They had gotten used to coming to her for solutions, and she was more than happy to help.

“Okay, that’s enough guys. One thing at a time. Iris, you know well that spellcasters advance slower than fighting paths…” The bookmancer said while giving the mage a reprimanding glare, and turned to Cyrus.

“And when they do, the mages usually become stronger in the same tier. Pros and cons of the craft… Now, let’s talk about your specific situations. First, Cyrus. Congratulations on your progress! See how studying can be helpful? What do you need for the advancement?”

After returning from Riverend, the warrior used the comprehension potion and finally had some progress with reading the common tongue. He was still much slower than his friends and often had to consult the syllable, but it was enough to access other books. He had then invested ten silver coins in five days of studying the ‘Uncomplicating the warrior's path: simplified essence technique’. The compendium was one of the technical books that were easiest to understand in the bookstore and thus perfect for the warrior.

For Cyrus’ path, advancing to the bronze tier would depend if the warrior could learn absorption techniques. Of course, to use it, the fighter should have trained a strong enough body to accept the magic essence. So, the difficulty lay more in being properly prepared than in comprehension.

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“I decided to focus on defense, so I’m missing a bronze tier earth essence core.”

Meeting all requirements didn’t guarantee a successful advancement. More than classification levels, the tiers were natural barriers that would protect someone from a higher interaction with magic powers. So, in addition to meeting the requirements, every path would demand some kind of advancing ritual. In the warrior’s path, the procedure would be absorbing essence from the advanced tier through some essence core or crystal.

“I see… Hopefully, Rick’ll come back with good news and you’ll save the coins.” Anne commented. She knew Cyrus didn’t even have coins to save, but saying so wouldn’t be positive.

“And how about you, Hakon?” She turned to the quiet foxkin and asked. Leaving the mage for last was a courtesy since she preferred some privacy.

“I made some improvements in controlling healing essence. I need to read the book a few more times, but… I’m not far from advancing.” Hakon chose his words carefully as he didn’t want to rub salt on Iris’ wound.

“Well, that’s good. Maybe Rick’s mission can help you get your advancing materials too. Even if you’re not ready, it’s good to be prepared.” The storeowner said while retrieving the ‘Magic and Lifeforce’ book for the healer.

The young healer took the book and dragged Cyrus to one of the furthest tables. Fortunately, one of them had some sense.

“That leaves you, Miss Iris.” The bookmancer said while serving them more tea.

“Your book helped me a lot, Miss Anne. My cantrips became so much stronger, but… I don’t know what, but I’m missing something to get to the peak of my tier…” The mage admitted ashamed.

It was normal to use terms like foundation, consolidation, growth, and peak to refer to the stages of progress in every tier. The foundation would be the stage when one’s power was unstable, and stabilizing them would lead one to the consolidation stage. Then, the person would focus on maximizing their power which would lead to the growth stage. Finally, one would pursue the requirements for advancement and go to the peak stage. Cyrus was at the peak stage while Hakon was only a tiny step from it, but Iris was stuck at the beginning of the growth stage.

“Technically, after learning how to visualize you should have advanced to the peak stage. However, it’s not uncommon for mages to get stuck on that step. Tell me, why did you choose pyromancy?” Anne said directly without taking turns around the subject. The words might hurt the mage but overprotection would do worse in the long run.

“I… I tested four for both fire and wind, two for earth, and one for water. Since fire was one of my highest and it’s much stronger for battle, I went with it.” The mage explained embarrassedly. Revealing her low aptitude made Iris feel a little inferior.

On that matter, Anne completely disagreed with the girl. Anyone without a natural gift would score seven or less on an aptitude test, so four was technically above average. In fact, even three would be enough for becoming a primancer. History was filled with powerful examples of primancers who scored three on the test.

“Hum, I do have an idea about your problem… Have you heard of essence synergy?” The bookmancer asked.

“Yeah… It’s how well a caster can use and mix two essences. What does it have to do with anything?” Iris returned the question with some impatience. The mage sometimes struggled with balancing a healthy dosage of self-confidence to avoid arrogance.

“Iris, not all mages progress equally. Some people do best and become stronger being a single-essence caster, while others are more of the balanced type. I feared you were more of the latter, and after hearing about your aptitude I’m even more inclined to it.” The bookmancer was careful not to criticize the girl’s choices. Regardless of what was easier and fitter, everyone had the right to choose and forge their own path.

Instead of answering, Iris lowered her head thinking about her previous choices. Because of her financial situation, the mage couldn’t afford to go with double essences. So, she decided to become a passionate supporter of pyromancy instead of dwelling on her limitations.

“It’s okay to adjust your path now… Or to continue going forward with your plan. In the end, it’s your choice. Just let me tell you something. Most times, double essence casting means mastering the elements to the same level, but in some rare cases, the mage can use a second essence to enhance the first. That only works for fire-wind and earth-water, with fire and earth being the leading essence. What do you think?” Anne explained then asked suggestively.

The troubled Mage suddenly smiled.

That smile was one of the reasons why Anne loved her craft. Another day and another customer satisfied.