The rewards proved every bit attractive as I expected. The Grandmaster had given a small collection of quite rare books. Some very potent herbs. More money than I had ever seen in two lives combined. The chest held six simple Mana crystals. Those simple things were equal to one thousand platinum. Suddenly I was rich.

Mania threatened to rush through me. How could any of this be real? You don't just give a formula to someone, and they return enough money for you to buy a town. That had never been how the world worked for me.

It took quite a few minutes of meditative breathing before I returned to a centered peace. It seemed the volatility of my young mind was playing havoc with me. I just had to make the most out of this second opportunity.

It was difficult to fall properly into meditation after that. Becoming a nouveau rich overnight had shocked me more than when I was reborn.

That, at least, was something I had been searching for my entire life. I had given away a random formula that I had learned. That had been the secret to earning an astonishing amount of wealth.

I managed to calm down sometime when the moon was high in the sky. I had no clue of my elemental affinity. Not knowing if practicing under the moonlight would be a help or a hindrance. I continued anyway. The barrier to Initiate and becoming a practitioner worthy of the title of a mage was slowly beginning to whittle away. It would take another few hours of meditation. That breakthrough was on the horizon.

The sounds beginning to spread throughout the city spoke that it was not the only thing on the horizon as the sun lazily crested the walls. Filling my room with harsh morning light and breaking me from my practice.

The dawning of a new day came with many new challenges. For the first time, I had the feeling of being financially secure. Soon I would be enrolling in the premier institute in the country, within the top five of the continent.

I was never going to have to go through the homelessness and loss of my past life. Always hungry, always searching. It had taken me too long to break out of that cycle.

I had one more day before helping Sammy. More power would be the most useful thing to add to my arsenal. Reaching the initiate rank would be essential to winning him any long term influence.

A simple cantrip was truly not having the same effect as a fireball to the face. That brought me to another problem. Despite all my skills with cantrips. I never could cast any genuine spells.

I would have to buy a spellbook.

Not only that, but I would also have to get my affinity tested. A concept that had seemed impossible. Any thought of finding out my true element was long since stricken from my mind.

I would finally have that chance.

The options overwhelmed me momentarily. There were too many things that needed to be done before tomorrow. Never mind before I enrolled in the school properly.

The panic receded slowly as my logical mind took control once more. I would have to take it a step at a time. That was how I managed to reach Belti in the past.

I began the process of meditation—the mana growing slowly within me. The pond was turning into a lake. Of course, for the initiate rank, all it needed was a slightly bigger pond.

The sun moved throughout my room, shining on all, illuminating the still figure inside. A stream of mana seemed to flow into the silent figure. Coming in, yet none coming out.

At one point, a bird flew through into the room. The opened window seemed a tempting treat. Nesting on the mass of hair on the human-shaped piece of furniture. It soon grew bored of this and continued on its way.

Harmony with nature was an essential component of becoming a true mage. You forced magic to do your bidding. True. That didn't mean you couldn't build up a good relationship with the elements. That was the essential building block in all biographies about archmages. Their connection with the world had been on par with their mastery of the mystic arts.

That was the path I aimed towards. It was all I had to go on trusting the scholars who had written the accounts for the archmages. That was why going to the academy was so essential. There was nowhere else I could get access to an archmage instructor.

The breakthrough was close at hand. The wall that had seemed insurmountable in my crippled form was suddenly like an open road.

The simple foundation I had practiced so many times in hopes for a greater future finally paid off.

The sense of mana I felt grew incredibly. I had been blind for so long. Pushing past a simple wall and allowing mana to circulate all around my body brought incredible results.

I instantly saw where I had been going wrong before. I thought I had been efficient with my growth. That had been wrong. I could now feel the different motes of mana—some that would help me and some that would hinder.

I had just been absorbing them all. It wouldn't harm my long term foundation. It still felt, however, like a massive hole in what should have been much more comprehensive knowledge. I had no idea that you could feel such a fundamental change just by stepping into the ranks of a mage.

Now would come the part I had been dreading—an elemental affinity. I had never learned any spells, the theory behind it yes. I had learned the foundations behind them and the basic spell framework all the way to theoretical Sage level spells.

Even with all that time spent, I didn't have a first circle spell to my name.

I would have to get my affinity tested. Then pay an extortionate rate for any spells I wanted. This test could send me down many different paths. I couldn't know within myself what would be best.

I leaped from my window. The less I had to see my father, the better.

The route to the middle ring was filled with color. Magic had never been so beautiful to me.

I had lusted after it my entire life—the power it granted. I just never realized such beauty was possible as well. Even the outer ring, a place of squalor and filth, was filled with beauty as motes of light changing as they moved lit the world in an entirely new light.

The path was the same, yet the world felt so surreal. The outer ring was beautiful in its incongruence with the surroundings. The middle ring was just beautiful. Craftings of magic, so rare yet now so visible. Beacons of light shining brighter than any mote.

The enchantments of the more upper-class stores were plain to see. One of which was calling to me.

Esmeralda's bastion of magic. The premier magic shop available to me. The middle ring wasn't exactly littered with magic shops.

I was welcomed in by another pretty shop attendant. Unlike the one in Cilka's, the one here seemed to hold me in some contempt. My questions to get my elemental affinity checked only brought a scoff until I placed platinum on the counter.

Money spoke. Also, I hadn't gotten the chance to change my wardrobe. Too excited in my quest for magic.

It took a bit of haggling, but eventually, we agreed on a price. I was led by another attendant, this one a man. Who at least didn't openly sneer at me. To a waiting room. It was an opulent area. The seats incredibly cushioned, the readings available were all books of high quality. I had read copies of most of the books, but seeing a magic wrought book was always an exciting experience. My nerves slowly mounted as time went on. The wait was killing me.

I had never thought the time I would discover my genuine affinity would come.

All those dreams of raising mountains, splitting oceans, creating infernos, or flying high into the sky. Today they would have to face a reality I never saw coming.

Finally, the attendant returned. We went through a series of testing rooms. Most useless to me. I had little need for the moment to know my exact circulating speed and upper limit.

Reaching the final room. The crystal orb seemed to be staring right at me. The moment was here.

"Place your hand on the orb, inject mana into it. We will see your results straight away."

His bored tone didn't stop sweat from forming everywhere as I stepped towards the orb.

Its cold surface was almost soft to the touch. The force from my contact seemed to bounce momentarily around the orb, the slightest purple tinge displaying that it had kinetic energy to it.

With that, I began to pour mana into it. I expected it to explode into a kaleidoscope of color.

Instead, the mana poured in and took the tiniest tinge of red on one side and brown on the other.

"Minor talent in both Earth and Fire, congratulations."

His tone of voice took a little more respect. I heard none of it, however, as I felt the world fall from beneath me.