"I-I'm not related to any element? What do you mean?"
To Erwin's question, neither Ludwig nor Ron were able to answer; Ludwig, who for years had studied all the phenomena of mana and aura, and who had come across many strange cases, could not understand what had just happened.
"Stay still, Erwin, maybe I made some mistakes..." said the administrator of the 21st district in a calm voice, even if a note of total confusion could be read in his face. Meanwhile, Ron remained silent, observing step by step all the proceedings that Ludwig was redoing with particular attention: he too was convinced that something must have gone wrong in the creation of the alchemical circle, but nevertheless he had a strange feeling that he tried to hide from Erwin, since that kid was able to read the room.
After a couple of minutes, Ludwig drew the alchemical circle again, but this time he examined the enormous drawing from top to bottom, not missing even the smallest detail; only after making sure that everything was in order, he poured that strange mixture onto the table again, to ensure that the circle was activated;
"Well, everything is ready, you can put your hand in" said Ludwig, convinced that this time a different outcome would come out.
"..."
After a few moments of hesitation, Erwin put his hand back in the circle, hoping that everything that had happened before was nothing more than a bad mistake, a slight oversight; but the moment that white light reappeared in front of those present, the outcome was clear to everyone: Erwin could not use any element.
"It's not possible!" - Ludwig shouted, jumping up from what was happening – "This result doesn't make any sense! How is it possible that the son of an absolute class wizard didn't inherit any elements?!"
Erwin was confused by that reaction: sure, he didn't have any elements and it was a strange thing in itself, but in his eyes it wasn't such a serious thing;
"Erwin, you don't understand the gravity of the situation, right?" Ron asked in a calm and composed tone of voice, even though the news had come as a shock to him too, given that he expected that, like his father, he could at least manipulate the element of wind;
"Exactly" – replied the boy, turning his gaze towards Ron – "Even if I don't have any elements, I can still become a wizard!" Erwin concluded, trying to keep his spirits high, even though he was very disappointed at that moment.
"...Ludwig, can you leave us alone for a moment?" Ron asked suddenly, looking at Ludwig with serious eyes.
Normally, he would never have accepted such a request, since in addition to being in his home, he loved prying into other people's affairs; but this time everything was a little different, and although he didn't know what he wanted to talk about in private with Erwin, he accepted his request, leaving the hall without saying a word; - "I'll make sure no one interrupts you."
------
The two were finally left alone, and after a few seconds of silence, they began to talk."Listen Erwin, your dream is to become a Gifter, right?"
"...Exactly." responded Erwin, stunned by Ron's question; he knew his dream more than anyone else, why ask him such obvious question?
Ron looked the boy straight in the eye, noting the determination in his eyes; he let out a small sigh, then resumed speaking.
"You see, one of the fundamental steps to becoming a Gifter is to become an official Wizard; everyone can use magic, it is not a forbidden thing; the point is that official Wizard are those who are recognized by highly qualified people as "suitable" or "competent" in magic, not to mention that they also enjoy a number of not insignificant advantages."
"I see..." - said Erwin, who now better understood why Ron, two years earlier, told him that he was still very far from becoming a real mage and Gifter. - "And how can I become an official mage?"
"Well, there are 2 ways to become an official magician: the first method is the "easiest" one, but also the longest, and that is to enroll in a magic academy: The courses have a 5-years duration, and in the end, after having faced and passed the all the tests, you become an official wizard. The important thing is to register by the age of 15, otherwise you will not be taken into consideration. Furthermore, to enter an academy you must first pass the selection test; the second method to become an official wizard is to be bestowed by the King himsefl; the problem, is that to receive this kind of achievements, you need to do something like... i don't know, maybe save the Kingdom.
Once upon a time, it would have been possible, given the many wars between the various kingdoms, but today, with this very long period of peace, it is unlikely that you could do anything of the sort. " - Concluded Ron.
"Then I should take the easiest route, right?" Erwin said, based on what he heard – "Magic Academy... sounds fun! When am I leaving?!"
Erwin didn't have many friends, in fact, he didn't have any at all. The reason was simple: his peers, who were very few in the village, had other dreams and a different mentality compared to his, and this often led to him arguing and being teased even by adults; The fact that there were many kids his age in the academy to hang out with and talk to gave him a kind of joy he had never experienced before.
With just looking at his eyes, Ron knew exactly what the boy was thinking. He was still a kid, it was normal for him to think about having friends and that this excited him, given that for practically his entire life he had had no friends. For this reason, however, Ron decided to nip all his fantasies in the bud, since right now, it was almost impossible for Erwin to become an official wizard, and he didn't want to give him false hopes.
"Listen, Erwin..." – began the middle-aged man, assuming a very serious expression to the point of frightening Erwin, who didn't understand the reason for that look – "Unfortunately, I find myself forced not to let you leave. You don't have what it takes to become an official wizard, so give up on your dreams..."
Erwin remained in silence for a few seconds; in his head, he heard those lapidary words on loop, which hurt him with every passing second;[I'm not ready.... I'm not ready?! Why!? Why!?] were the thoughts of Erwin, who at that moment went from a state of shock to a state of anger very quickly; after everything he had been through to get to this point, after literally training like a madman in a damn hole, the man who had promised to help him to become a Gifter was telling him now to give up on All...
After earing such harsh word, more than be sad, Erwin was pissed of.
"Ron... give me a good reason..." - Erwin whispered, trying to not let his emotions gain the upper hand - "Give me a good reason to not fight for my dreams!"
His eyes were spitting flames, and the vein in his neck was clearly visible pulsating like a heart; Ron had never seen him so angry, in fact, this was the first time he had seen him in this state, and somehow, that expression, for a fraction of a second, put him on alert.
He knew the boy wouldn't take this well, but he certainly didn't expect such a reaction. For a moment, Ron thought about taking back what he had previously said, but after a few moments of reflection, he decided to tell him the hard truth to his face so as not to give him false hope.
"Listen to me carefully, Erwin. If we take all the magicians, 35% of them have the same problem as you, that is, they are not able to use any elements. This is serious, since the elements give a series of advantages not of little importance. In the eyes of the world, wizards like you are the talentless ones, while wizards like me are the more talented ones. And that's how the magic academies and guilds see it, since for them, it makes no sense train or hire someone without talent."
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Ron then paused briefly, then approached the boy, patting him on the shoulder – "You could also try to take the shortest route to becoming an official wizard, but you would die pointlessly trying. There are other jobs you could do, such as working on the frontiers, or use your new skills to work as a personal guard for aristocrats... Forget about this—"
"...Bullshit..." Erwin said, catching Ron unprepared, who abruptly stopped his speech; Ron hoped that his words could enter the boy's heart, making him think better about his future; the problem was that Ron wasn't exactly someone who knew how to speak softly, and what he said at that moment had exactly the opposite effect, further angering the boy, who for the first time in his life had the courage to respond in bad way to Ron.
"THIS IS A BULLSHIT!" The boy shouted this time, forcefully removing Ron's hand on his shoulder.
"First you make me believe I can become a Gifter and a great magician, throwing me into a fucking hole and abandoning myself to my own fate for 2 years! And now, just because I don't have any elements, you say I should give up everything? Just for this?! Well , know that I will not listen to the phrases of someone who, rather than use his powers, stays in this shit hole out of fear. And know that I will not give up just because of this! And if you think that I will remain here with my hands folded ... well... YOU ARE VERY WRONG!"
Erwin, completely furious and with tears in his eyes, ran out of the house, walking away without looking back...
"...Ron, what the fuck was that?" said Ludwig suddenly, who had actually remained behind the door listening to their entire conversation;
"The truth. That boy has no talent, it would be a waste of time for him to go to an academy." said Ron, firmly restating what he had said earlier.
"Come on Ron… we both know your words were overly harsh."
Ron looked at his friend for a few seconds, and then began to gather his stuff;
"And you know very well what kind of world is this. Sure, I could have been 'less brutal ' and sent him to an academy, but what would have happened to him once he got there? He would have failed his test miserably, and God only knows what the examiners would have told him. I admit that the boy has great potential, but without the ability to control an element, he have no hope to become respected out here. He'll get over it, you'll see."
"So this is your way of protecting him?" the 21st district administrator said skeptically, shaking his head in disbelief;
"Anyway, it's good that you came here, you saved me from make a long trip to give this to you" – said the man changing the subject, taking a letter out of his pocket and then handing it to the man; the letter in question was very strange: it was extremely black, which gave a strange and annoying optical effect to anyone who looked at it for a long time; above, a strange design was engraved, similar to an alchemical circle; this circle had a strange red color, similar to dried blood;
"It's been a long time since I saw that kind of letter..." - said Ron, who however didn't take the letter, remaining still staring at it with cryptic eyes - "I don't want to read it, you can burn the letter."
"Hey man, Come on..." - said the friend, letting out a small sigh of disappointment at Ron's lack of concern - "Ron, more than anyone I know how much you hate your family, but we both know that if you're still here it's also thanks to your father, and you know very well that he wouldn't write to you if it weren't for something important."
"Tsk, I know!" said Ron angrily, who, after a few moments of hesitation, he forcefully took the letter from Ludwig's hand, then turned and headed towards the exit.
"Hey! Don't you even want to open the letter?! I'm curious!"
"No, you damn meddler. Fuck off."
-------------
Erwin's POV
I was deep in my thoughts as I walked home with a quick step; at that moment, I did not know whether I was more angry that Ron did not put his trust in me, or whether I was angry because I felt that those words were true, if spoken by him.
The fact is that those cold words, which resounded in my head like the cruelest of sentences, had hurt me very much.
I was so distracted that I did not even realize that I had arrived in Hakvill, and that for a while now, I had already passed my house. I immediately stopped, intending to go back, but the mere thought of having to see Ron made me more furious; so, I continued walking towards the other part of the village, to try to cool off my head.
As I walked, I thought back to those words, and the more I heard them again, the more I knew in my heart that in all likelihood, the words Ron used were not to hurt me, but were simply facts; but accepting those words also meant abandoning all my dreams at the first hitch, and that, was something I could not possibly contemplate.
"Damn old man-- I will not be defeated by your words!" I exclaimed, releasing, with my shout, even some of the anger I had at that moment.
I kept walking around the village, partly because I missed it, and partly because I wasn't ready to see Ron yet; I was curious to see how many things had changed during my two-year absence, but after a few minutes, I realized that nothing had changed: the same stalls, the same drunkards, the annoying sand on the ground and the background noise of the sea located a few kilometers from me; I wanted to get out of that place, true, but at the same time, contrary to what i told to Ron out of anger, Hakvill was a place I loved, despite hating a good portion of the people who lived there.
And just as I was thinking about the people who had made fun of me over the years, mocking me for wanting to become a Gifter, I thought, for the first time, that I had to make my dream come true for them too, to show them that, if you believe in it, you can achieve anything.
I was serious about it, and I would do anything to achieve it, with or without Ron's blessing.
Since I had nothing to do at home, I decided to head to the beach, so that I could take a bath after a long time and admire the sunset, which for me was the best thing about Hakvill
Bathing in the icy sea that bathed the coast of Mykotos, and watching that beautiful sunset lying on the sand, helped me completely calm my spirits; now I was calm, and although I was determined by what I had thought a few minutes before, I realized that if Ron had been harsh with his words, I had been, too, responding badly.
"Uh... I think I overdid it a little bit.." I said softly, scratching my head. I took a few deep breaths, and then decided to go back: I had to apologize to Ron, I owed him, after everything he'd done.
As I turned however, my attention was caught on the other side of the beach, where a part of the dense forest was located; my mana control was not yet optimal, and I struggled to perceive the energies around me; the fact is, after observing the woods for a few seconds, I detected an energy approaching me with regular pace...
"Mana?!"
At first, I thought it must have been the mana of some tree, since what I felt at that moment seemed more like a "torch"; but the closer it got, the more the intensity of that energy turned out to be different from that of normal people, leaving me completely surprised: that was the mana of an Awakened!
Intrigued, I approached the forest, but the moment I did so, I felt a strange sensation of danger; instinctively, my body went on alert, and I immediately took steps backwards, unconsciously activating the mana around me.
"Is it...a magical beast?" I thought aloud, preparing to fight: I had never fought using mana, and esepcially, i had never fought someone using mana against me; Despite the situation that seemed to become dangerous, I knew I could not hesitate in front of those beasts, especially after what happened years ago: I had a score to settle with them, and I was hoping to be able to close it as soon as possible.
As time passed, I felt the mana drawing closer, making the level of this "presence" clearer. It wasn't remotely comparable to Ron's level, but it was still higher than mine. For a brief moment, I considered running away, but I feared that turning my back might provoke an attack. Despite this, I wasn't agitated or intimidated; for some strange reason, I couldn't wait to face it. Initially, I thought this eagerness stemmed from feeling endangered, but then I noticed how strangely calm I was and how unafraid I felt. Only then did I realize that I wanted to test my new level.
At that moment, my instincts sharpened, and I felt like a beast. At the first sign of danger, I would attack without hesitation. I was resolute. But when the source of the mana emerged from the forest, my instincts "faded." It wasn't a ferocious beast or an ill-intentioned person; instead, a girl appeared, leaving me both surprised and confused.
The girl in front of me was very young, maybe my age, and she was wearing a long shabby gray wool dress; she had short silver hair and large green eyes, which seemed to shine with their own light; her face was strangely dry, and it was clear to me that the girl was hurt and in distress, from the crooked way in which she approached me;
"Damn it… what was I thinking?" I said in a low voice, lowering my defenses: I felt bad just thinking that I was about to attack a girl, moreover injured!
"Hey, are you Ok---?!" Suddenly, out of nowhere, a strange spike of ice grazed my face, cutting my cheek only slightly; It didn't take me long to understand that the creator was none other than that damned girl, given that was creating another spike from her hand.
"...This was simply a warning shot; the next step you take, I'll put a hole in your head."
I thought she wasn't serious, and that she was simply trying to scare me; but i only had to look at her cold and sharp eyes to see that she was mad serious about that.
"F-Fuck! I just wanted to know if you were okay!" I shouted angrily at the girl, kicking the sand under my feet and moving away quickly so as not to escalate the situation – "Fuck you!"
At that moment, I didn't have the slightest intention of seeing that girl again, although I was very curious about who she was and why she was in that state, but I didn't know that shortly thereafter, our paths would cross in a way that I couldn't even imagine.
END OF CHAPTER 4 – THE END OF THE DREAM?