Elmar stared at the black mana crystal. It didn’t feel like it had come from him. It was malicious and almost…dead. Could this even be used for enchanting? He didn’t know, but he needed to find out.

“Elmar, you made it. And you slept for only an hour!” Said Theanore excitedly, and Elmar reached out to pinch her cheeks. She smiled at him. This was real.

“Well, yes. Let us see if this can’t be used for enchanting, shall we?” Asked Elmar and he stood up. He took Theanore’s small hand in his and let the toddler lead him to the enchanting fountain.

Then Theanore enchanted a leather band quickly, and she gave it to Elmar.

“Now just placed it in the mana fountain and hold it tight. It will disenchant, and you will learn an air enchantment.” Said Theanore and Elmar did as bid. He marveled at the nice breeze that passed through the trees, ruffling their empty branches.

When the item disappeared, Theanore gave Elmar another leather band.

“You must speak words that are related to the enchantment. Grandpa Thinker wrote set words in the book, but the enchantment is stronger if you come up with it by yourself. Go ahead, listen to the wind and come up with words.”

Elmar felt peace when he took out the black crystal and wrapped the leather band around it. Listen to the wind. He could hear the whispers of the sea on the wind, the flapping of bird wings. He could smell the crisp winter air. It was going to snow soon. Nature was going to die and in spring, there will be renewal. Hades reigned now, but in three months Persephone will greet the soil again. He knew just the words.

You wind, who is free.

You air, who is clean.

Bind yourselves to this leather band.

And bring the winter to full swing.

Snow began to fall as the black crystal was absorbed into the leather band. Elmar held it towards Theanore, who was looking at the snowflakes with wonder. She had her mouth open, tongue out, and was trying to catch them. Elmar smiled at that. This must be her first snow.

“Happy first snow ever, Thea.” Said Elmar, and he moved the band underneath her nose. “Can you tell me what level this is on the scale?”

Theanore paid him attention then, and she took the band. She pumped a little magic in it and then stared at Elmar in amazement.

“Level 9999. How did you do this on your first try, Elm?” Asked the girl, and the boy took the band back. This enchanted item was a small fortune. Maybe even 10000 coins. With this, he could get a farm around one of the villages and live peacefully.

But he didn’t dare tell Theanore of Hades. This was probably his mana that the boy had used. If Hades had given it to him, did that mean that the God of the underworld was going to train him?

“Thea, can you help me sell this?” Asked Elmar, looking at the leather band. “And can you teach me how to tell what level the enchantment is on the scale?”

“Sure. It is easy. You have to feel your mana. It is like a river, but flowing in many directions. Then you have to redirect it to flow in a single direction. Towards the enchanted item. Then you will get a system message telling you the level. Mari gets the messages too, and he is not a dungeon core. You can do it too.”

Elmar focused on his mana. Flowing river? His was a still lake. There was something dead lurking at the bottom. Something that muddied the water and worried the still surface, rippling it.

The boy forced some water to break away and to touch the leather band. Then he saw it.

Enchanted item: Leather band of the dread winds. Level 9999 on the scale of wizard Odious. Use to become a dungeon core? Yes/No?

He could become a dungeon core? Then he would have his land and a lot of mana and…he would be raided. He would be hunted and forced to resort to keeping a crystal protected. And one day the crystal would be broken and Elmar with it. Better not become a dungeon core. He pressed the no.

“What did the system want of you, Elm?” Asked Theanore. She thought it was weird he pressed something when she had not been given the opportunity to.

“Nothing, little lady. Let us sell this. I think I will become an adventurer.” Said Elmar with a grin. Theanore extended her hand, and he placed the leather band there.

Then Theanore rushed to go meet with Larriel and give her the treasure. But Elmar was not done. He needed to make more enchantments. The mana fountain was full, but no.

That would be stealing. Theanore and her family had welcomed him and the rest of the orphans. Theanore had helped him personally. He needed more mana, but he preferred not to take it from Hades. He knew what lay in the lake that was his mana, and he was sure that he could get another black crystal if he poked it.

He focused on the dead thing. It was unmoving. He closed his eyes and forced himself to dive towards it. The more he swam, the further away from him the dead thing was.

Finally, he grew angry, and he extended his hand. A black pearl broke from the dead thing, and it twitched, mana rushing to fill the wound. When Elmar opened his eyes, there was the pearl, right in his hands. It was a mana crystal, but smaller than the previous one.

He took a silk band from the pile of items for enchanting. It was a masterwork. A deep red one with rich golden patterns. He wrapped the pearl inside the band, and he made the enchantment hold. The snow began to fall down in a far greater urgency, almost as if it was a blizzard in the making.

Elmar didn’t dare make a third enchantment. His enchantments provoked the weather and if he made the snow more dire, then the other children wouldn’t be able to practice enchanting.

He checked the silk band and smiled when he saw that it was again level 9999. But what did the dread winds meant?