In the end, a half-hour and a few shared words of frustration convinced Leon to help me. With his bright smile and compassionate words, he assured me that he would speak to his father as soon as possible. To quote the young noble, "How can we expect our people to look up to us if we cannot help a single person?"

That sent a twinge of something unpleasant running through my stomach, which I did my best to ignore. Guilt was a hindrance, and I could not afford to let it slow me down. Not now.

The rest of the week passed quickly, with training and studying consuming most of my time. I knew I was running short on my resources, and that made earning more gold a pressing matter. Improving my control and honing my newly altered Mana Bolt had become a priority.

By this point, I had decided to drop several classes before the opportunity was lost. After several more weeks, I would be stuck with them, and I was not above admitting defeat.

War Theory was damn near useless, with most of the information review and the rest of limited utility. Troop movements, feints, and so on began to fall apart when you could wipe out hundreds with a single spell. What use were tactics in the face of such power?

Magic History was of more interest, but it was made worse by the teacher. He had dropped any pretense of courtesy and was verging on outright hostility. I had known some would dislike my status as a 'usurper,' but the reality was more annoying than expected. At least it made the decision easier. Why waste my time with a class when the instructor would not instruct?

Funnily enough, Alchemy was also on my list of classes to drop. A week's worth of attempts was enough to convince me that I had no talent in the subject. I could memorize and replicate, and given time, I could become halfway decent, but there was already a gulf between myself and someone like Simon.

He was awkward around me, all stammering words and downturned eyes, but when it came time to work, he was a virtuoso. His hands moved on their own, and he continued to skip or alter steps as we worked, often saving himself minutes worth of effort. I had tried to follow along and understand, but Simon's explanations were not much help.

That talent only made the decision clearer. If I needed potions, I could purchase them or ask Simon for his assistance, making the subject overall a waste of time. It was interesting enough, and I had no doubt there was plenty of wisdom to be found, but curiosity could wait.

The rest of my classes had enough utility to keep or remained mandatory in the case of Magic Theory and Spellcasting. With just seven courses and my preparations, I could keep up and possibly even excel depending on the subjects. And each served a useful purpose in my long-term plans.

Dueling, along with Sig's training, should help me develop combative skills. Espionage was worth taking if only for improving my sensory and stealth abilities. I had not forgotten my future self's warnings of a mage who could see the future, and King Lyos likely had spies everywhere. Hiding from them or sensing them before they found me might save my life. Anything else Julian taught me was a nice bonus.

Forging and Enchanting would help me create powerful, personalized equipment that might bridge the power gap. And more than that, it expanded my understanding of how the physical world interacted with mana. It was a bit of a gamble, but I suspected the secrets to strengthening my body lay somewhere in that interaction. That also led me to keep Magic Beasts, focusing on creatures who naturally managed that exact feat.

I had asked Master Barlow about strengthening magic at the end of our second class. She had seemed impressed or maybe amused by my return and had humored the question, but her answer was middling at best.

"Body enhancement magic, eh?" she had said, staring at me with squinted eyes, "It's been done, but I never much saw the point. It drains mana like crops after a drought, and it's complicated as anything. You have to balance your energy to bolster every part of your body at once, and if you misjudge, you can do more harm than good. I once knew a man who loved to use them. The fool thought honor and fair play was best, so he preferred fighting up close. One day, he was ambushed, cast his spells, turned and fell right to the ground, paralyzed."

"How-?"

"Broke his own back. Put too much into his muscles, and when he turned, they broke his bones like glass. They're risky, and more than that, why bother? Sure, you could have the strength of ten men, but why do that when you could kill your foe with a spell from a distance?"

Because within a decade, I would face invaders who could break my magic as quickly as that mage broke his bones. I had never been impaled but had a sneaking suspicion it was agonizingly painful. Something told me I would prefer not to find out first hand.

If I could not figure out permanent improvements, maybe mastering strengthening spells could work as a workaround. It would be less efficient and would drain my mana rapidly, but as an Aether mage with an unusually massive core, I would have plenty to use. Not the best idea, but better than nothing.

As classes for the week ended and my day off came, I rose early in the morning, headed for the bounty board. Master Julian had, true to his word, not come by with any personal bounties, which left me on my own. I was too low on gold to wait until the next day off, which left me short on options and time.

Most of the bounties remained outside of my skillset or power. A few were not bad but required tracking, not unlike the criminals in the Lower District. However, one stood out, a bear labeled a "party" bounty, something I had not seen yet. That, and the larger than usual reward, drew my eye.

"Pardon, but what does this mean?" I asked the apprentice working the room, and she glanced up at me with a thin smile.

"That tag indicates a bounty where the issuer believes will require multiple people to complete. In that case," she consulted a book on the desk in front of her before continuing, "there are several hunters signed up. They're commoners and wanted a mage to help them finish off the beast."

"Is that common?"

"Near Volaris, not very. Near the borders, where mages are rarer? Much more so." she explained patiently.

"How many are there already signed up?"

"Three."

I looked at the page again, weighing the risks with the reward before turning back and saying, "I would like to that this one out, please."

Even split four ways, the potential reward was worth more than those deer had netted me. I could buy at least two weeks' worth of supplies with that much gold.

More important, three other hunters would help mitigate some of the risks. They could help track the animal, advise on how best to kill it, and draw its rage if the beast grew angry. I would rather not have innocent lives on my conscience, but I would prefer to keep my own if pressed. Only one of us had the potential to save a kingdom of millions, selfish though it sounded.

The bounty said to mee the hunters at an inn located in the Middle District, near the main gates. An hour of walking and a few questions later, I found them inside, eating a small breakfast at the table.

The leader, a younger man in his late twenties, stared at me over his meal, eyebrows drawn down over his eyes. He asked, "You the mage?" in a tone that suggested he was less than impressed.

I could not blame him. My frame had begun to fill out, and I was starting a growth spurt, but still looked young and unintimidating. My dark traveling cloak helped hide some of that, but my face was still unlined and my demeanor unassuming. Rather than concern myself too much with that, I nodded, smiling and responding, "Yes. I am Vayne. Nice to meet you..."

He stared at me for a moment before replying, "Adam. These are Kev and Len."

I inclined my head to the other two, who looked about the same age as their apparent leader, before sitting down. A server approached, and after ordering myself some water, I returned my attention to Adam.

"Tell me about the bounty," I said, folding my fingers on the table in front of me.

"You can't read?" he asked in a cold tone, muttering, "Typical." under his breath.

My temper flared, and I debated snapping back before pushing it down. Growing hostile would do nothing productive and only cause the man to grow defensive.

"I did, but I would rather hear from you as well. You are experienced hunters, and that is more important than most other things."

His eyebrow rose, but after a moment, Adam nodded and said, "Fair enough. Bear's young and male. Nothing too dangerous yet, but if they're left to hibernate, it'll wake up stronger. And hungry. Not sure why, and don't really care, honestly."

I had a few ideas but ignored them, asking, "And how do you propose we hunt it?"

"Before hibernating, bears eat as much as possible to build up fat. They'll eat anything but usually prefer meat. We got some from a butcher, and with bait we got from an alchemist, it should draw the beast right towards us. Wait up in a tree, wait for it to come looking, and once it shows, we kill it. Or rather, you kill it. You do know magic, right?"

One of his allies, Len, I think, hid a chuckle, and I turned to him for a moment before sighing and raising one hand. A green orb appeared, and the three froze, a brief flicker of fear on their faces. I did not particularly enjoy that expression but pushed past it, knowing I had a point to make.

"I can understand you not liking me or even fearing me. We are not friends and do not need to pretend. Truthfully, I would rather not. However, I also do not need you second-guessing me or my abilities. Working together might not require friendship, but it does require trust and respect. Give me those, we can finish this job and go our separate ways. Agreed?"

The orb vanished, and I held out a hand to Adam over the table. He stared at it for a moment before nodding and taking it, shaking once and saying, "Agreed."

"Good. Now, what else can you tell me about this bear?" I asked, leaning back in my chair.