On the fourth day of classes, nine more students had discovered their affinity, which left only two in the whole class who had still to find out. One of them was Tercius, while the other was a girl that was familiar to him.

Tercius learned that her name was Sonia, and she was the girl to whom Penelope threatened to rattle out to, that night in the library.

He was a bit disappointed for still not discovering his affinity. The reason for that was because all of the other students took to making predictions about his affinity, and the attention he got was a bit… overwhelming.

To take his mind off of that, after lunch, he retreated to his room and practiced the proper way to create a pulse of Mana, in the manner Master Lazarus showed him.

The classes Master Slav held in the afternoon, Tercius skipped for the first time. The man was just going over letters and numbers, making sure everyone there knew them.

The exercises were slow and repetitive, and a lot of Mana would escape his control and dissipate in the surroundings even as he tried to keep his control over it. At the same time, he had to split his attention into two tasks, rather than do it one after the other.

Making Mana leave his body was already a slog, as the Mana did not want to do it easily. It resisted with a considerable push, and he had to overcome this by sheer force of will. Luckily, this was something he did for years and had some experience at. The problem came once he tried to shape while at the same time pushing it out. Both of those actions suffered in quality, yet with each time he repeated the actions from scratch it got a little bit easier and a little bit faster.

What motivated him, even more, was the small statistics he kept. Master Lazarus showed him how to do this properly Wednesday afternoon, and he was able to expel the Mana and shape it in just under two minutes. Now, just a day later and some eight hours of practice, that time was around twenty-five seconds less. A whole quarter down! Tercius thought with excitement that felt so foreign to him.

When he looked at Master Lazarus and the others who did it in a second, he saw how far he still had to go.

Eunim and Euria both had Mana Manipulation, and they had it for years now. The time it took for them was around ten seconds, yet neither had a Mana sensing skill, as he did.

Without a skill to sense Mana, it was a lot like trying to pick out a particular shade of color on a large painting. It was possible, yet also time-consuming. That exact process was how mages usually gained a skill for sensing Mana, Tercius learned. It was usually done in pairs because it was much easier to sense someone else Mana.

Both of the twins were jealous of his skill, and Tercius had to say that he understood why. It took him what amounted to eight hours to do what they had to do over a month. His high levels of Mana skills made things progress much smoother.

Master Lazarus, during his class, explained that once Mana Manipulation was obtained, to go from level one to eight most students managed to do between six to eight months.

Level eight was important because that was the minimal level needed to attempt to get Mana Metamorphosis.

Tercius also learned that level 20 was the requirement for entering the fourth year. For the fifth year, it was 24, while no one under 27 could make it to the sixth year.

Since every level took more time than the previous, this was somewhere around the median of what was achievable. Master Lazarus praised a girl he once taught, who managed to go from no skills to Mana Manipulation in her upper thirties, and Mana Metamorphosis that was at the barrier of level 20. She even got a skill for sensing Mana, Master Lazarus had sighed.

Tercius saw that Master Lazarus was genuinely proud of this girl--- but also proud of himself, that much was evident to anyone with eyes.

The bald man most certainly had a skill like the one Tercius had, one meant for teaching others. It was so easy to remember his words and stay focused during class, but this might have been just Tercius's interest in the subject.

During breakfast, lunch, and dinner Mistress Fenia took to using her Illusion spells to paint the walls with scenes from outdoors, which brought a lot of cheer to space and made the claustrophobic surroundings much more manageable.

It was during lunch that Bo, a fellow student and a son of one of the Mistresses of the Academy, asked Master Lazarus if students would be allowed to go to the surface over the weekend. The boy claimed that he was "going bonkers" inside the "doomsday bunker" and that he had to take a breath of fresh air.

A statement that immediately got enthusiastic verbal support from many other students, Tercius included.

Master Lazarus had shared a long look with his colleagues and informed Bo that he would think about it.

After lunch Tercius once more went to his room, snuggled into his bed, and placed Amber on his stomach. With one hand scratching her between the ears, the other hand was open, palm upwards, and time after time he created pulse after pulse. Each time he finished one, he would reabsorb the remaining Mana into himself and go back at it.

After dinner, he and the others went to one of the small common rooms and talked about the classes of that day.

Once that was over he went back to making Mana pulses one after the other up until he fell asleep.

***

Someone groaned. It was a long groan--- one with no pain in it, only laziness and the realization that the time to get up was near. It was Eunim, Tercius realized.

He ignored the boy who was just waking up and went back to making a Mana pulse. Last night, just before sleep, he was sure he managed to do one under a minute!

"Oh, Gods. Tercius, are you… practicing?" The boy whispered from his bed, his crusted eyes barely open.

"Yes,"

"Did they come to wake us up?" Asked Eunim, rubbing his eyes.

The 'they' that Eunim mentioned were the staff that went and knocked from door to door until someone inside gave a verbal response.

"Not yet,"

"How long do you think befo---" Eunim started.

"A few minutes, at best."

There was a minute of silence where Tercius managed to do one more pulse.

"Best time?" Eunim asked, curious.

"Fifty-nine seconds,"

The boy whistled at that answer and J'ro stirred. Tercius felt Amber move somewhere under his sheet. He always made sure she was placed at her spot, near the corner of the bed he could not reach, yet she always squirmed herself near his chest. Probably enjoying the heat, he thought.

Three loud knocks at the door came and a female voice said, "Breakfast,"

J'ro was up before the word ended.

"Coming," Tercius said loudly.

Once he made sure Amber was not going to get squashed under him, he got up and walked over to his small drawer, and took out a simple shirt. He replaced the one he slept in and slipped into his pants. Out of the breast pocket, he took out a glowing AAC and smiled at the small device.

Finally, he thought as he looked at the grey and white crystal.

What is it? he wondered. He placed the AAC into a pocket and grabbed a pair of socks.

When he passed by Eunim's bed he used his leg to shove the boy in the back. "Get up, we won't wait for you,"

Another groan, then the boy started getting up.

The three roommates got dressed and made their way to the bathroom.

It was still early so all the facilities there were empty, but that was bound to change within minutes. Each bathroom was used by over forty students, and just as he was washing his hands that fact became apparent.

The next part was the hardest for him. When he came to the Academy, he found the first toothbrush-looking thing in this world available for purchase. The handle was made of wood while the animal hairs they used were crude and stiff, and sometimes even drew blood, but it was much better than leaves and twigs he used before in Nurium.

It was a painful four minutes of scrubbing, but it helped that the alchemists here had a healing paste. Tercius was not sure exactly how safe it was to use, as the paste was meant for skin, but he had asked the maker and the alchemist had assured him that the paste was perfectly safe for use on the inside of the mouth and… for what Tercius interpreted as hemorrhoids.

It had a minty flavor and his teeth felt cleaner after it. The paste also made all those small cuts made by the brush heal in no time at all.

He liked to do it before breakfast as there was no time for it after. The classes started right as the breakfast ended and Tercius was not sure how Master Lazarus would react if he asked for a few moments to brush his teeth…

Tercius tousled his hair then swept all of it to one side, and he felt ready for a new day of magical discoveries.

After breakfast Master Lazarus approached and Tercius handed over the glowing marble to the man’s giant hand.

Master took out his spectacles and placed them on his nose. "Stone and… what is this second one? It's almost as strong as the stone?"

The man mulled over it for a moment but came up short. "It seems like… hmm, but… not quite. I will have to consult Mistress Helfira on this one, I'm afraid." Master Lazarus said as he looked at Tercius. "She should know."

The man then went to Sonia. Her AAC glowed a deep red, with some black inside. "Magma," Master Lazarus said and wrote their known affinities on the scroll.

While Master Lazarus wrote those affinities, Mistress Helfira came into the hall. "Where is this AAC?" she asked.

Master Lazarus threw the marble her way, and she caught it with little trouble.

Holding it between her thumb and index finger, the woman brought the crystal marble to her squinted eye. She turned it this way, then that way before she finally brought it down. "Stone is one and the other, if I'm right, is Crystal. It's been a while since the last Crystal. Whose is this?"

Master Lazarus pointed at Tercius, and the old lady nodded once she saw him. The AAC she handed over to Master Lazarus and left the hall.

"That concludes affinities," Master Lazarus said. "Now, we start with…"

Later that day, a few hours after lunch, in Master Lazarus’s office the Master asked Tercius to demonstrate how he was progressing with his Mana pulse.

"Remarkable," The Master nodded his head approvingly. "This goes to show what a high-level Mana sensing skill can do. I think that your Mana Manipulation level is pretty high as well.”

"I don't mind telling you the exact level, if you think it would help make a better plan for my training, Master," Tercius said in all honesty. He always thought it a bit silly how people found talking about skills, be it descriptions or levels, something of a taboo. He saw the reasons why, of course, but… well, he thought it a bit of an overreaction. For Gods sake, he barely knew a few of his parent's skills, not to mention their level. Master Lazarus already knew the skills Tercius had regarding Mana and telling him his current level was not that big of a deal, from his point of view. Not as if they will stay at that level for long… he thought.

Master Lazarus waved his hand in denial. "You can share them with your Mentor in the third year, in fact, it's encouraged. I have my suspicions, based on how you did in just two days of practice. Your Mana pulse is done in a proper manner, now you only lack speed in doing it– practice, and you'll get there. Before I show you another exercise, I wanted to speak to you about your second affinity.

“Crystal. I must admit that I had to look it up in the records, and it was the first time I saw or heard of it. Mistress Helfira told me that her late Mentor was the last Crystal affinity mage our Academy had. She also told me that it was widely rumored that her Mentor was a ‘wild’ mage. Never proven, but rumored at the time. I have checked out the last confirmed case of a ‘wild’ mage, from over four centuries ago, and he too had a Crystal affinity. With you, that makes three ‘wild’ mages who had the same affinity. A coincidence? Maybe so, but maybe not.

Tercius' mind whirled at what Master Lazarus said. Stay focused, he shouted internally when Master Lazarus continued.

“Both of your predecessors left a few spells for posterity in the Repository, so you don’t have to worry about that. As soon as you show you are up to the task, a spell will be made available. Since you have two affinities, you will get one of each.

“There is another matter I want to bring to your attention. Mistress Helfira and I wanted to ask you if you would consider the proposal of doing some research about your affinity.”

Tercius looked at the older man. What Master Lazarus said sounded interesting, in theory. The only problem Tercius saw with it was that he was the test subject. That by itself he had no problem with, if he was the one in full control of when what, how long, and other such specifics.

Tercius wetted his lips then asked, “What does this ‘research’ entail? Master,”

"Only samples of your Mana, for now. When you get to the point of being able to cast some specific spells, then we might include you into this endeavor,"

Tercius nodded slowly, “I see. I do have to ask, Master. What will you get out of this? You and Mistress Helfira, that is,”

Master Lazarus leaned back into his seat and started stroking his facial braid. The man's lips turned upwards, allowing a brief glimpse at the teeth behind them. "It seems my lessons affected you. Good, at least it means I'm not talking to air.

"If we manage to make a clear link, backed by indisputable evidence, between Crystal affinity and what is commonly known as a 'wild' mage, all those who had a part in the effort would receive appropriate amounts of points. These points are then used to purchase information from the Repository; knowledge of all kinds, from spells to enchantment blueprints. Hells, the Repository has ship schematics and recipes long thought lost."

Tercius nodded thoughtfully. “Is that ‘we’ you mentioned inclusive of me? Master,”

Master Lazarus smiled widely. “Since you are a part of us now, it is. All the points we get are first divided and eighty percent is given to the researchers, namely me and Mistress Helfira, while twenty percent goes to the test subject, namely you.”

“I’m curious, Master. What do ‘test subjects’ who are not aligned with us get?”

"Mostly precious; metals like gold, silver, and such," Master Lazarus shrugged. "Some opt for rare plants and materials, others for a cure of some kind. It varies from case to case, but all such transactions need to be specified in advance. The Repository cares little for such trifle material wants, and has most of them in vast abundance in its vast Vaults,"

“So… how much is this point worth?”

“You mean in materials?” Master Lazarus had to think about that. “Well, there are a few ways to earn points. Teaching at the Academy earns us teachers points for example. We can exchange rare materials for points, and then there’s the motherload of points– invention and discovery. The points can’t be bought with coins if that’s what you mean.

“As for when a Repository is giving out rewards to someone who is not a part of the Pyramid… hmm… a point goes for some six or seven kvartas, I believe but I’m not sure,”

“What?!” Tercius almost jumped out of his seat. “Kvartas? As in 700 tretas?”

An average worker earned in a month around 450 dwetas; which was 9 tretas.

Master Lazarus nodded slowly. “If you use such a currency, I believe so, yes,”

Tercius almost didn’t dare ask, yet he forced himself. “And how many points do these ‘test subjects’ usually get?”

“You do know how percentages work? Well, the last time I found someone interesting and actually managed to convince the woman to come here and allow me to examine her, and then when I wrote a paper about her… hmm her share was 3 points.” Master Lazarus said.

Tercius did the math quickly. Let’s go with the worst case, he thought. 3 points, multiplied by 6 kvartas per point, multiplied by 100 tretas per kvarta, multiplied by 50 dwetas per treta, which gives me… 90000 dwetas.

An average worker would have to work over sixteen years for that much money!

The Repository was handing money hand over fist!

Tercius unloaded a barrage of questions at the older man and quickly found three more reasons as to why the Empire and the Pyramid were on a cold foot.

The Pyramid was capable of upsetting a whole economy without breaking a sweat!

There were whole houses around the Empire that owed their power to the money that the Pyramid gave to their ancestors to be part of some kind of an experiment.

The current Imperial House was one such house!

When such a word was even whispered blood was drawn. Tercius could just imagine that this was what started the conflict in the first place.

‘Did you know? Your father, the Emperor, was in one of our experiments. He got paid to do it.’ a mage said.

‘Was not! Take that back!’ a son of the Emperor said.

‘Why would I take back the truth?’

And most important of all; The Vaults of the Repository were filled to the brim with precious materials!

The older mage did not even bother to deny this; he seemed proud of the fact of being able to tell it.

“How is this not known, Master? How come there isn’t a line of people from here to Tripatis that want to be a part of your experiments?” Tercius asked, genuinely confused.

"As I said, you need a Master or a Mistress to be interested in a particular case enough to make a detailed examination, write their conclusion about it, and then give over their findings to the Repository. That work is judged, and points are given in return. From what I saw from this woman, she believed we did some kind of blood and sacrifice rituals here… and while indeed true that such research is being conducted, it's on a purely volunteer basis. Another factor is that there are simply much more lucrative ways to earn points; I mentioned teaching, I believe. Well, it took me two months to write that paper, and in the end, I earned 12 points. As a teacher in charge of teaching new students the needed skills, I can earn more– depending on how many students manage to get the skills,"

“I see…” Tercius said, then fell into thought. “I will need to think about… all of this, Master,”

“Of course, take your time,” Master Lazarus nodded. “Let me just show you the next exercise…”