Vance made his way to the college when morning came.

After his night of contemplation, he concluded that he really didn't know enough to make an educated decision on his second mana core. Vance had briefly considered bringing the question to Nathaniel but ultimately didn't want to distract him any further.

Instead, he paid a visit to Master Noelle. On his way to her office, Vance kept his mana sense spread out as far as he could. He wasn't looking for anything in particular, but he'd promised Nathaniel that he'd keep his ear to the ground. Aside from that, this was excellent practice. The rooms around him were largely empty at this time of day, but as his sense swept through, he noticed many interesting mana constructs strewn about them. As usual, he struggled to identify them just from their structure. Nevertheless, he did his best to remember the rough details of each one that he noticed for later reference.

This activity of his turned a short two-minute walk to the master's office into a thirty-minute, one-man museum tour. Honestly, Vance had fun. One or two constructs piqued his interest in particular. The first was a sword, which contained hundreds of tiny gatherer-like constructs aligned along the edge of the blade. Those constructs fed into others, but he didn't recognise them. Naturally, Vance was mesmerised by the prospect of a magical weapon.

Secondly, there was a construct made almost entirely of wind mana. That, in itself, made this construct more alluring to Vance, considering his struggles with wind mana.

After perusing the constructs, he found his way to Noelle's door and knocked gently.

"Come in."

Vance went inside and closed the door behind him. His mana sense told him that Noelle was currently hunched over her desk, her forehead resting on her fingertips. She was bent forward, Vance reasoned she staring down at something on the table.

"Thanks for seeing me, Master Noelle," Vance said as he moved a little further into the room. He noticed that his nose was a little irritated like there was dust in the air.

"Not a problem, Vance. I apologise that I haven't had more time for you recently. As I'm sure you know, things are a little hectic." She paused for a second, then straightened up, shuffling the items on her desk around a little as she spoke. "Although, from what I've seen of your test results, it seems like you're making do just fine."

Her voice was warm when she delivered that last sentence, like a proud mother. It brought a little smile to Vance's face.

"Thanks to the McKinnleys, I've had a chance to start catching up on a little theory. I've still got a long way to go, but my basics are getting there. Actually, that's what I've come to talk to you about. I have a slightly more advanced question."

"Go on." She said, clearly interested.

"I think that I'm nearly ready to start working towards my second mana core. I can control two types of mana at once, so that's just a matter of practice. The question I have is about what sort of mana I should be aiming to have in my second core."

Noelle took just a second longer to reply than seemed proper. Vance took this to mean she was surprised.

"Alright. First of all, for reference, most arcanists find that reaching two cores is their limit. I don't want to sell you the moon, but your progress suggests that this will not be the case for you, which is excellent news. Secondly, when considering your second mana core, there are a few key points one must focus on."

Noelle stood from her desk, full of purpose. She walked to the centre of the room and stood a few feet in front of Vance, then addressed him again.

"Please bring out your mana sense, I wish to give you a demonstration."

"It's already out."

"Excellent. The first thing to consider is compatibility. You have a fire core, so taking on an element that is better at handling fire is going to be more difficult. As you know, when you begin your second integration, your first core will attempt to fight off the new type of mana. Therefore, wind and metal are excellent choices in terms of compatibility. Wind can, so long as it is managed properly, enhance flame. Metal is durable, and so as long as your control is reasonable, most of the metal mana will survive brief interactions with fire mana."

As Noelle explained, she conjured fire mana in her left hand and metal in the other. She allowed the two to comingle, resulting in the chaotic fire mana licking against the sides of the much more structured metal mana. It took quite a while before the fire began affecting the structure of the metal mana, slowly exciting tiny segments and causing them to break away from the rigid structure. Once her point was made, she swapped the metal mana out for wind. Under her careful control, she used the wind to stir up the fire mana. She made a point of never raising the intensity of the wind to a point that it'd disperse the fragile fire mana. When managed correctly, the flames soared.

This point already made sense to Vance. Attempting to integrate a water core could be tricky. During such an integration, it probably wouldn't be an issue if the water put out the fire. For that eventuality, Vance estimated he'd probably need more water than fire. This was unlikely during an integration, especially considering his fire core's tendency to build momentum. The other eventuality, where the fire overpowered the water, was more likely.

"The second point is practicality. Every aspect has its uses, it's up to you which you believe is the most useful to you personally. Firstly, consider that mana cores can have a physical effect on you. For example, your fire core makes you more resistant to heat. In reality, you're just developing resistance to fire mana. The same is true for all mana cores. You will find that it is harder to stab someone who possesses a metal core. You will find that it's harder to crush somebody with an earth core. You might even find yourself struggling to drown an arcanist who brings a water core to the fray. Do you follow?"

"You're saying that a water core lets you breathe underwater?" This took Vance back a little. He was certain that his surprise had laced his voice.

"Not exactly. A lungful of water is just as dangerous to an arcanist as it is to a regular person. That being said, with the right configuration of cores and sufficient willpower, you could certainly emulate such a thing. The defences granted by a mana core are entirely subconscious and take root in your own will. Therefore, the more trained and focused your will is, the more complex these innate defences can be. In this example of breathing underwater, an arcanist capable of a wind shift, with sufficient willpower and a water core could subconsciously affect the natural water mana that entered the lungs and turn it into wind mana, which is much less harmful. This is quite an extreme example, but it's theoretically possible. Affecting natural mana subconsciously is a rare talent even with access to a mana core, therefore don't expect everyone with a water core to be able to perform this feat. Anyone capable would exercise caution with such a talent, once their will was exhausted they'd drown like the rest of us."

As if to demonstrate her point, Noelle gathered a small amount of fire mana. Vance could tell from experience she'd purposely gathered just enough to give someone a small burn. Then, she flicked it in his direction. Instinctively, he raised a hand, preferring to mana to hit him there than anywhere else. Reactively, he was about to start trying to shift the fire mana back to ambient mana. Considering his opponent, that'd likely never work, but it was the first thought he had.

Then he realised that it simply wasn't burning him. He could feel his fire core stirring a little, but other than that, he was entirely unharmed. The mana simply washed over his hand, warming up his sleeves. Fortunately, the flames weren't persistent enough to catch on his clothing.

"As you can see, your body can tolerate a decent amount of fire mana. A few months ago, this would have left you with burns that'd probably take a few days to heal. Now, it can't touch you. So long as your will holds."

Noelle continued to release a slow, consistent jet of fire mana towards Vance's outstretched hand. Taking the opportunity, Vance paid close attention to his will. It was still hard to measure, but he could sense that it was working to protect him. These flames were so weak that he wasn't in any danger of running out of willpower anytime soon.

Vance signalled with his other hand and Noelle ceased the flames.

"The third and final point is the threat the core poses. Each core has associated dangers that come with it should you fail to properly integrate it. It's well known that failure to integrate most commonly results in the mana you've gathered going rampant in your body. Depending on the type of mana, this can be a nuisance, or fatal. The threat of such an event isn't so bad with your first core, but the second one is quite a bit more dangerous. Should you fail, not only will you have to get that rampant mana under control, but your preexisting core will still be trying to battle the invading mana as well. While that sounds useful, it effectively turns your insides into a warzone." Noelle was speaking like she hadn't just blasted one of her students with fire mana and was calmly delivering the rest of her point.

"With that in mind, it sounds like metal mana could be quite risky, that doesn't sound like the sort of mana you want churning around inside of you," Vance said, the thought making him reconsider going for breakfast straight after this meeting.

"For someone with a fire core, metal is less risky because the integration will be easier. For somebody with an earth core, it's much riskier. Earth has a much easier time working against metal mana, both being fairly rigid," Noelle elaborated.

That made Vance feel a little better, if he opted to go with metal, at least he would be in less danger of tearing himself up with accidental intestine-swords or something equally as awful.

"What about advanced mana types?"

"I don't remember you being able to perform an advanced shift, Vance." It was plain as day that she was talking through a smile. "Are you telling me you can? Why didn't you show it off during the exams?"

"I hadn't actually figured it out, then. I got some help from your guests." Vance was doing his best to present humility, but a little of his pride was sneaking through.

"Well, aren't we full of surprises. Well, which one is it? You wouldn't make an old woman guess, would you?" Her glee was still evident. That previous motherly pride flared in her tone to an even greater degree than before.

"It's a wood shift." Vance was now speaking through his own huge grin.

"And I assume you're wondering what, in particular, such a shift would have to offer, should you opt to use it in a core?"

"Yes, that and whether or not it's harder, being an advanced shift?"

"Oh yes, much harder. The trouble with advanced shifts is that they're not typically elements that the body actually expects to interact with on a large scale. Your body is used to dealing with wind and heat, water and the earth. Metal is an odd one, but we already know that it's harder to work with metal than the other basic shifts. There are actually arguments in the field to reclassify metal as an advanced shift, but its rarity does not match the category. I digress. It's rare that wood mana actually finds its way into your body. In the event it did, say via ingestion, your body would struggle to deal with it. Much in the same way, if you introduce a large amount of wood mana into your body, as you might for a mana core integration, you'll quickly find that your body will react negatively. Meaning while you complete the transference, you are battling not only your preexisting mana core but also some sort of natural reaction in your own body."

Noelle spoke into her palm towards the end of her last sentence. Vance could tell from the little pauses in her speech that she was exploring the subject in her own mind as she spoke. Evidently, this wasn't something she'd prepared to delve into when he'd broached the subject.

"I'm not exactly sure what the reaction would be. Thinking back to what I've read on the subject, people who have integrated advanced cores have reported a broad spectrum of things. I've heard stories of people being violently ill. They report feeling nauseous, sick or experiencing strange phantom sensations. There's one story I recall in particular of someone integrating a light mana core and experiencing tricks of the light and hallucinations throughout the process. Based on the nature of wood mana, you'd be more likely to experience a physical reaction. The good news is that once the integration is over, your body will have adapted as part of the process and whatever it is will fade."

Vance wasn't exactly thrilled by the prospect of adding another layer of difficulty to the already daunting task of integration. Nevertheless, he had more information to gather.

"And on the point of practicality, what is wood mana actually useful for? As far as I can tell, it's pretty limited."

"Now that's a question I can answer. By limited, I assume you're referring to the fact that without your willpower, wood mana will unravel itself when not supported by earth mana?" Noelle seemed a lot more comfortable with this part of the discussion.

Vance nodded and she continued.

"Well, that's where the core makes wood mana shine. Mana that comes from your core is, by definition, already instilled with your willpower. It takes an awfully long time for that to fade. In short, with a wood mana core, you wouldn't be limited to using it just around earth mana. In addition, wood mana, when shaped properly, can take forms other than that of a tree. Remember that our definitions of mana are largely based on their appearance and behaviour. Altering the density, composition, movements and shape of mana can alter its physical properties when put to a practical purpose. Historically, there is an interesting crossover here in the theory behind advanced mana shifts and advanced mana control. For example, there are those out there who would claim that ice mana is an advanced shift. Others would identify an ice shift as a well-manipulated water shift. Your old teacher Elijah was amongst the former group. For a long time, I was amongst the second group. Nowadays, it's believed that there is truth to both statements."

Noelle gathered a ball of water mana in the air, then Vance felt her bring an intense force of will to bear upon the water. She compressed it, then slowed its movements. She brought the water mana to a total standstill and began shaping it. Vance quickly lost track of what exactly she was doing. Within a few moments, she'd rearranged the mana on such a fundamental level that its very state changed. Instead of flowing, it began rigid and crystalline in shape. Moments later, Noelle dropped a ball of rapidly melting ice into Vance's hand.

"There are multiple methods to achieve the same result. Using this principle, you could alter the nature of wood mana to match that of thousands of plants. There are stories of those who have mastered wood mana being able to grow an apple tree in the middle of a desert because they wanted a snack, or encourage a bush to produce its fruit." Noelle finished her point, then gave Vance one final piece of information.

"Your fire core and your wood core are an excellent match. The integration process will be very, very difficult. But if you succeed, you'd be able to use the two in tandem. While I doubt you have much interest in magical combat, I should inform you that this combination could be absolutely devastating. The mixture of the rigidity of the wood and its ability to act as a transport and propagation mechanism for flames gives it great potential."

She was right, Vance wasn't particularly interested in magical combat as his main pursuit, but he wasn't so silly as to write it off as unimportant.

Armed with all of this new information, Vance decided that he'd crammed his head full of enough considerations for one day and opted to return home. He said his goodbyes and took a walk back through the streets. He kept his mana sense extended the whole way, taking in larger swaths of the city than ever before.

When he arrived, James was waiting for him. He made a mental note that he really needed to stop finding scenarios in which members of the household would be ominously waiting for him when he got back from a trip.