If there was one thing I was coming to learn at the Academy, it was all the ways I could hate life. A bitter, acrid taste passed my lips, turning the air sour and I gagged, nearly vomiting up my breakfast. As it turned out, impurities tasted like blood and rot and everything else wrong with a human body. In many ways, it was just that.

Over the past few days, I practiced Origin Breathing for hours on end, as often as I could manage. The results were mediocre, my progress slow, and my improvements marginal, but they were there. Several pages of my notebook now contained observations on the technique, and my reserves had grown about a tenth larger.

Though I was not exceptionally talented with Origin Breathing, it had at least given me a valuable idea. Usually, I forced impurities through my skin, secreting them like sweat after breaking them from my channels. While this worked, it was slow and required my complete focus to ensure nothing remained. After a few hours, I had figured out how to exhale them instead, which was faster and more efficient, though the taste was vile.

I hoped to combine the two tricks, accomplishing both tasks simultaneously and saving myself time, but that required mastery I lacked. Julian claimed I could get Origin Breathing down perfectly within a few months, but if my plans worked adequately, I would reach that point much sooner.

At some point over the last few days, I had concluded something that often lingered in the back of my mind. If asked what the single most significant hurdle to growing stronger was, some might say natural talent. After all, if you lack the potential, you will never reach the highest peaks. Others might point to knowledge, and they had a point as well. You cannot gain power without knowing how to do it.

But this was not the truth. Time, more than anything else, held us back, a chain dragging down everyone. Reaching Haze could take several months, and this was the fastest improvement. Each subsequent rank took longer, with liquid stages requiring years of dedicated practice for the average mage. A healthy human made it to a hundred if they were lucky and around eighty if they were not.

Worse, mana was a toxin in all but name. Too much of it and a mage's body broke down, too weak to contain their power. But if they played it safe, gradually growing, they could waste years of valuable time, too scared to push themselves forward.

Initially, I hoped to bypass this issue by training harder and more intelligently than anyone else. Traveler's Cloak was a part of these plans, a way to condition my channels without having to dedicate hours to such a menial task. The less I had to actively focus on, the more time I bought to study, learn and improve in other areas.

But there were not enough hours in the day for everything. My classes started in a few weeks, and that would burn through all of my free time. Each course met three times a week for an hour and a half each time. That, plus sleeping, eating, and preparing for the next day of classes, left maybe five hours left for everything else. With Sig's training, magical practice, possible responsibilities to the Esttons, it was too much. Something would break, sooner rather than later.

The gods must have a sense of irony, or maybe just enjoyed annoying me. I, a mage who managed to bend time to my will in one future, would be brought low by a shortage of it. But if these deities did look down on me, they must also possess an idea of fair play.

I doubted Master Julian intended as much, but his antics had given me an idea and the mental focus to follow up on this idea. After our meeting, I practically ran to the Archives, digging through books on alchemy and potions with the zeal of a starving man. The Academy might restrict information on mana gathering, but it was an endless font of wisdom for almost everything else.

As it turned out, hundreds of different potions existed, doing everything from curing diseases and healing the body to turning hair into a new color.

I needed neither and had a rough idea of what worked best for my purposes. By the time the mental elixir wore off, and my mind returned to its normal sluggish state, this plan had crystallized.

If I did not have enough time to do everything, maybe I could buy more of it. In a sense, at least.

Purchasing everything would cost a small fortune, one that I utterly lacked. Girem might provide the gold if I asked, but I had no plans on doing that. There was no excuse I could come up with that would excuse requesting several hundred gold coins.

And, silly though it sounded to admit, walking to my lords, hand out asking for further patronage, pricked me. Pride was an idiotic vice to possess, but there it was, threatening to drag me down.

But if I could not beg for the gold, maybe there was a way to earn it myself. It seems it was time to take up someone on their offer and possibly make a new friend.

Grace's door was much the same as my own, though I noted the presence of a family crest emblazoned on the front. It was tough to tell, but it looked like some canine. A wolf, maybe? Did the Academy allow the personalization of a door? I decided that both questions seemed irrelevant and knocked twice before stepping back with my arms behind my back.

After a few seconds, it swung open to reveal Grace, dressed in the same uniform as the last time we spoke, though I noted the bags under her eyes and the slight wrinkling of her shirt.

"Vayne? Good afternoon. I was not expecting you today. How can I help?" she asked brightly, giving a polite smile.

"My apologies for dropping by unannounced. I suppose my time alone has dulled my manners. I know this is a bit sudden, but have you eaten lunch yet? I was headed down to one of the dining halls and could use the company."

It was not a complete lie, and I had to wonder if I was not as much a fan of solitude as I thought. Grace seemed to catch my sincerity, nodding with her smile unchanged.

"Sure. Give me a few minutes, please."

I knew from experience that nobility considered "a few minutes" to be closer to a half-hour but said nothing as she retreated inside again. To pass the time, I moved a small orb of mana around my body as I paced up and down the hallway. Controlling my energy while stationary was second-nature now, but I had to learn to wield it while moving.

When the door swung open again, Grace stepped out with her clothing fixed and face washed. I reminded myself that appearances mattered more than almost anything else in Ferris as I gestured down the hallway with a grin.

We settled on the hall on her floor and found a quiet table near the windows, this time overlooking a pristine beach, the sun reflecting off crystal blue waters. Briefly, the image of emerald sword cutting into it flashed in my thoughts, and I turned away, looking back down to the table with a momentary frown.

"So, no offense, but I doubt you invited me to lunch purely for the company," she said, glancing up at me with a raised eyebrow after we ordered.

I chuckled, replying, "Well, truthfully, I did want someone along with me. I enjoy my privacy true, but even I have my limits."

"But...?"

"But yes, I did want to talk with you about something." I allowed, briefly flashing an apologetic look.

She smiled, responding, "I assumed as much. Food first, and then we can get to business."

My meal, a large meat pie stuffed with spices and vegetables, disappeared in a few minutes, as fast as manners allowed. Ever since I started training with Sig, my appetite had doubled. According to him, my body was taking in as much as possible to grow, something he joked was too little, too late. And then, he laughed about his 'too little' comment.

With our meal finished and the order of pastries for dessert on the way, Grace met my eyes, asking, "What did you want to discuss?"

"Well...this is a bit difficult to admit." I started, trying to appear unsure. I was not, but the least I could do was feign embarrassment. I took a breath as if gathering my confidence and met her eyes.

"I need to earn gold, to help with my training, but I cannot ask my lords without...causing problems. They expect me to solve these sorts of concerns independently, and I cannot disappoint them. They have done so much for me, after all, and I need to repay that debt and their confidence."

Grace regarded me with a thoughtful look, possibly trying to gauge my honesty. After a second, her eyes fell to the table, and she drummed her fingers on it with a frown.

"It's more common than you might think, needing more gold. A lot of people believe every apprentice here is insanely wealthy, but that's not exactly true. That is part of why I do work for the Academy, you know."

I suspected as much but remained silent, waiting for her to continue speaking. She looked up after another few seconds, continuing, "Usually, there are three things mages can do to earn money. First, work for the Academy directly. A lot is going on behind closed doors to keep this place running, and apprentices do a good chunk of it; Maintaining enchantments, refilling mana reservoirs, and all that. It does not pay well, but it keeps you inside."

That sounded like it could work, but I was curious about the other choices.

"Second, you can hunt magical beasts. We have bounty boards in almost every settlement, tracking all the nasty creatures wandering near population centers. Each usually has a sizeable reward, and as a bonus, you can keep the bodies."

"That sounds risky," I remarked, frowning.

She nodded with a laugh, responding, "Very, but it can pay great. The most dangerous beasts are closer to the borders, though. Near Volaris, the worst creatures you'll see are barely worse than their mundane counterparts. A bear that is a bit larger than usual, for instance."

"What about the third option?" I asked as silence fell over us.

"Freelance work. Many older apprentices buy supplies and produce goods to sell. It's probably the most profitable of the three but usually requires the most skill and upfront investment."

Interesting. All three options had their merits and downsides. The first was the safest but also the least cost-efficient. Grace had not said how much, but I doubted it was anything special, and my expenses would add up fast. More than that, I wanted to build up a reserve of gold and possibly start buying, or making, supplies.

The second was the riskiest and required combative skills I mostly lacked. However, according to Grace, it paid well and brought with it something more valuable than gold. I had never fought anything in my life, and hunting these creatures could provide combat experience.

The third was the most flexible and the one I would choose if it were feasible. However, I had no skills as a crafter, which meant it was out of reach for months, maybe years. Waiting that long was not an option, not when I needed results now.

The dessert platters arrived, piled high with a dozen pastries, and I selected a small chocolate one, taking a polite bite and nodding with a smile. I was not a sweets person, tending to find them overpowering, but this one was well-balanced and pleasant. After finishing mine, I leaned in toward Grace, who was onto her second, and said, "Can you tell me more about these bounty boards?"