From all sides, wolves crept towards Nathan and Julia. Their paws barely ruffled the weeds and broken twigs sprawled on the frosty ground. Acting fast, Nathan crawled into the largest bush, not caring for the sharp thorns which cut up his face.

But Julia had differing thoughts on his actions. “What are you doing!” she yelled.

Surprised, Nathan’s heart jumped. He couldn’t help but look around, checking that no wolves decided to take the opportunity to charge at him. Thankfully, they were still growling, and eyeing them out.

“What is it?” He whispered through the hedges.

“Get out of there! Why are you hiding?” She didn’t even keep an eye on the wolves.

“But the wolves?” whispered Nathan. “If I get up, I’ll be in your way.”

“I could defend a chicken coop from a thousand wolves, so get out of there.” Her eyes were filled with scorn and disgust. She was insulted by his lack of trust in her strength.

Nathan gave the wolves one more look before crawling out. And just as he did, the quiet gallops and panting of a large wolf approached, followed by the charge of two others coming from opposing directions. These wolves were twice the size of those on Grenold.

Somewhat expecting this, Nathan locked eyes with the closest beast even as blood burned his eyes. He formed an ice bolt and launched it. The wolf tried to sidestep it, but it wasn’t quick enough, and the bolt impacted it. Yet, the wolf didn’t even bleed. Reinvigorated, the wolf barked and bared its canines at Nathan. Its fur and skin were too thick for Nathan’s meagre magic.

Seeing this, the wolf resumed its charge at even greater speeds, not paying attention to anything but Nathan’s neck.

At his wits end, Nathan struggled to form multiple ice bolts, but his mana being stretched thin, he couldn’t fire them. He couldn’t fight such a fearsome beast. However, just as he was about to run away, a thin ice crescent formed midair in front of the wolf. No longer afraid of their attacks, the wolf ran straight through it, sending its head flying in the air, and its body sliding across the forest floor. The next thing Nathan knew, two more wolves fell, decapitated as well.

Seeing this, the others scattered into the forest. The danger was gone, but quiet didn’t return to the forest.

“Tell me why you hid?” The somewhat friendly demeanour she had come to hold towards Nathan had disappeared, but thankfully she as cold as on Grival. If he invoked her anger and cold demeanour, Nathan would fear for his life.

“I won’t do it again.” He knew that explaining wouldn’t do him any good.

“At least you understand that much. Had you not hidden, the wolves wouldn’t have thought you weak, and they wouldn’t have attacked. The same applies in the world of mages, especially now when every failure and their dogs wants to have one over a noble.” Julia exhaled, and her face softened. “Let’s get some distance from the blood, take a break, and have a drink. And be sure to pick up any broken branches on our way.”

Nathan didn’t question her and followed.

#

Although she had said they’d get some distance from the blood, they walked for more than an hour before coming to a stop in a small clearing.

“Do you want some tea?” asked Julia.

Nathan knew best not to refuse … but did she intend on heating water with the wood he had picked up on the way here? It was way too soggy to be used as firewood. Regardless, he placed the wood down. Julia brought her hands above the pile of wood and began to draw water out of the wood. Forming a small ball of water, she kept the liquid hovering in the air.

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“How did you do that?” He asked, amazed. He didn’t know that it was possible to draw an element out of an object.

“Third-ranked mages are barely mages. Don’t base your expectations of magic on them. Remember, you aren’t considered a true mage until after you join a tower and to do so one needs to be a sixth-ranked mage. Towers are large beyond belief, but the world of true mages is small. Take out the tea pot.”

Mesmerized by her display, Nathan was frozen in place and had to be nudged along by Julia. First, he took out a small metal stand with an open bottom, on which he set the pot. Next, Julia directed the water in the pot, and placed a hand on the firewood, lighting it aflame.

“And you can use fire magic!” Nathan was shocked yet again. Never had he even seen non-water magic. “How can you use another magic type, aren’t you a water mage?”

“Hand me the pouch first,” ordered Julia. Nathan quickly fished out a brown sack which clanged like glass and handed it to her.

“Wrong one.”

Looking inside, he found a few Golden Row potions. A look of worry set on his face, but Julia reassured him. “I didn’t expect you to have the reaction you had. I was going to teach you how much was too much and the optimal amount you should use, but we found that out on the first day,” said Julia.

Nathan turned back around to the bag and found the other brown sack, which he quickly inspected. Indeed, there were only dried herbs inside. Handing it to Julia, he waited in anticipation to hear how it was possible to gain another element.

All his life he’d only seen snow, water, ice, and more snow. To think he could control earth, the wind, or even fire seemed mystical.

Julia grabbed a handful of herbs and sprinkled them in the pot. “A mage gains access to his first element once he forms a mana circuit. Each circuit can only tap into one element, which is most often than not the element most compatible with the heart and blood of the beast the mage incorporated. This circuit also has a higher affinity for a specific sub-type of the element. This is determined by the environment in which a mage was trained.

For me, that subtype is water. But again, those who have an affinity with water magic can use ice, fog, and any other magic associated with the element. Since your father comes from the South, I can guess that his sub-type was either water or fog magic, which explains why he didn’t have a problem using ice magic.

However, once a mage reaches the fourth rank, his mana seed has usually stabilized and grown enough for them to be able to form a second mana heart. You see, an easy way of imagining it, is like a plant. Mana hearts are the fruits, while your body is the stem. Of course, the mana seed is the seed, and your circuit are the roots. For more fruits to blossom, the whole must become strong enough to support them.

The red lines on my robes indicate that I have awakened to a second magic type."

Realizing this, Nathan let out a sigh of amazement. “Red for fire magic!”

“Yes, red means fire, blue water, brown earth, and white air.”

“But wasn’t Mage Brian at the fourth rank?” He remembered the mage’s uni-coloured coat.

“Yes, he was at the fourth rank and a somewhat gifted mage for his station, but commoners can only do so much.”

A commoner. Nathan had pushed those thoughts aside, whether voluntarily or not, he didn’t know. But it was hard to avoid. The thought dampened his mood.

He knew that nobles were superior to mages. After all, one needed to be superior to become noble, but there was something else… Something which displeased him and scratched at his heart. It had begun to fester ever since he’d had that conversation with Mage Brian. It was in Julia’s tone, in Brian’s eyes, in Vilnus, in this forest. It was everywhere.

“Here.” Julia offered Nathan a cup. “Drink up, we’ll continue our travels after. We still have two days before getting out of this forest and three more to get to the Tower.”

Nathan thanked her by touching his emblem and giving her a slight bow. She wanted him to practise proper etiquette before reaching the Tower. Anyhow, he blew on the tea, watching the steam rise into the air, and took a sip of the drink. It was extremely sweet, with a hint of sourness. It wasn’t good, but he had to finish it with a smile on his face. Not only would Julia force him to drink it regardless, but he also wanted to rectify his earlier mistakes and make her forget about them. It was much better to be on her good side, after all.

However, after gulping it down and nearly burning his throat. He didn’t feel refreshed or relaxed, but dizzy, disorientated, and confused.

He got up, hoping to walk off the dizziness, but it didn’t help.

Nathan looked at Julia in a last-ditch attempt to find help, but she was just sitting there watching him. And just as his eyes flickered black, he saw that her metal cup was dry. Had she poisoned him? Was it because of earlier?