Kuzari went to bed frustrated and woke up frustrated. He needed to solve his mana dilemma fast, or he would have to make a break for it. As upset as he was at Adara for putting them in danger, she was his best bet. He searched the common areas and eventually found her in the libraries. She was in a section on fire affinities(one of the most substantial sections in the library) and thumbing through a book.

"Adara." He said, catching her attention.

She gave him a sigh and closed the book she was reading before putting it away.

"Look I'm sorry about last night. Maybe they were after you, it's just strange that a group would attack a pair of apprentices without having magical backup." Adara apologized.

"Right, well I'm actually not here about that. As much as I want to find out who they were and go after them, there's a bigger problem."

"What is it?" Adara asked, her face scrunched up in concern.

"I'm not going to make quota," Kuzari said, releasing a breath of nervousness.

"What? But I saw what you did last night. There's no way you could be missing quota if you could channel that much mana."

"No, I've barely been making it each week, using up a single days worth of energy means I won't have enough."

"That doesn't make any sense. You've only been training for a couple of weeks. I assumed you overcame your lack of affinities to be able to pull that off. How did you use so much unstructured mana then?"

Kuzari shrugged, "It wasn't a lot at all. I've needed to save every drop I can so I've paid attention to how to use it more efficiently. "

"That has to be some monster efficiency."

"Yeah well, Magni's quota isn't going to care about how efficient I can use it, only how much I have."

Adara bit her lip in thought. After a few seconds of silence, she nodded her head and spoke up.

"Well, there's a couple of ways you could close the gap. The most reliable method though, would be just to make some cash."

"Money?"

Adara removed a small clear crystal from her pocket.

"You know how we use these as currency, right?"

"Yes"

"Do you know why?"

Kuzari shook his head.

"It's crystalized neutral mana."

Kuzari's eyes widened. They used mana as money? Adara smiled ruefully.

"Wait so if that is crystallized mana, are you saying that it can be absorbed? Why haven't I heard about it yet?" He asked.

Adara confirmed his suspicion by crushing the crystal in her hand and absorbing the released energy.

"Well, it's not exactly something that the initiates get told. It's not useful for beginners who cant gather on their own and gets left out of a lot of introductory material. "

Kuzari considered her words. If something as critical as "you can absorb power from our money" was left out of the basic material, what else was being left out? He added reading more advanced books to his priority list. It did make sense to him, however. In a world where magical might decided everything, what was the use in a coin based currency? There were likely thousands of ways to cheat a standard economy if that was the case. The only genuinely pervasive resource that mattered was mana. Nobody could cheat it, because any crystals they could make would just be as useful. This meant that in between his study and chipping away at his growing list of priorities, he needed a job.

"I have a feeling you're not going to hand me over what I would need," Kuzari said, staring at the crystal in her hands hungrily.

"I can't. I could make the argument for giving you a little here and there, but sooner or later Magni would find out an apprentice was coddling an initiate and get angry. It goes against the spirit of things. I'm not rich, either. Apprentices have to work hard to earn our keep, its how we can make quota and still have leftovers for spells every day."

Kuzari nodded in understanding. This was probably why some apprentices stood guard, or others like Bakir taught classes. It wasn't from goodwill; it was literally their livelihood.

"Then what can I do to earn enough crystals?" He asked her.

"Well, a peasant's part-time job isn't going to cut it, not with Magni's demands. Finding a well-paying job at the initiate level is going to be challenging; most positions are going to require being at the apprentice level. Really the only feasible thing I can think of would be the bounty board."

"A bounty board? Really?"

"What's that supposed to mean? With the disparity in power between those that have magic and those who don't, there are many dangerous tasks only qualified for a mage. Those tasks are offered up on the bounty board for those willing. It is dangerous but the only choice."

Kuzari was a bit disappointed. He was hoping for something a bit more...stable. It did remind him of taking various shady gigs to earn enough for his brother.

"Very well. Where is this bounty board?" He asked.

"Ehhh not so fast. Initiates are barred from the board..."

Kuzari was starting to get a bit annoyed. If he couldn't use the board, what was the point of suggesting it? Honestly-

"...unless said initiate is signed off by at least two apprentices and their instructor." Adara flashed a smile. "I can give you one, and I can convince Odai. That just leaves-"

"Bakir" Kuzari finished for her.

He gave her a respectful bow in thanks, and the two parted ways. Adara to convince Odai, and Kuzari to convince Bakir.

A task that already filled him with dread. Bakir was never happy with anyone, and he doubted it would be straightforward to convince the old apprentice.

Kuzari knocked gently on the door to Bakir's study on the seventh floor. He was granted permission with Bakir's usual booming voice. Kuzari stepped inside, filled with apprehension.

The study was twice as large as his own room, dominated in the center by a large wooden desk. Bookshelves lined the walls, no doubt filled with the man's personal collection. On the far wall was a single painting burnt in half, vaguely depicting a smiling woman with bright blue hair and eyes like a cat. A single seat sat in front of the desk and Bakir motioned for Kuzari to sit.

Bakir leaned forward and folded his hands in front of his face.

"Why have you come to visit me Kuzari. If it is for additional lessons, know that I do not do additional lessons. Strive harder during our normally allotted time."

"It is not that apprentice," Kuzari said, "I need your permission to use the bounty board. I won't make quota without the pay."

Bakir leaned back in thought. After a full minute of silence, he spoke.

"If you tried harder, then the board wouldn't be necessary."

"Perhaps," Kuzari sighed in agreement, "I was attacked last night and had to burn mana to live. If I pushed beyond my limits then maybe I could have still made it, but working with a deficit now? It's impossible."

Bakir considered his words again, taking his time to come to a decision. He idly tapped his fingers on his desk.

"Very well, I hope you already know how to obtain the other two signatures?" Bakir asked.

Kuzari smiled with a sense of hope and nodded.

"I do have two requirements," Bakir said with an odd hint of hesitation.

"Anything"

"The first is you owe me a task of my choice and time of execution. I will brook no argument over the matter when I call for you. This is a life debt you are owing to me."

Kuzari felt paranoid about the request. Nobody requested a favor like that unless they knew the person wouldn't agree in advance otherwise. What other options do I have?

Kuzari nodded again, "and the second requirement?"

"Learn spacial magic. Make it your second affinity."

Kuzari was shocked. A demand to study a particular affinity is not what he expected.

"Well, the thing is, I already have a second affinity in mind..."

"I don't care." Bakir said sternly, "You won't be able to complete my task without it. I suspect you'll find that it complements your shadow affinity far more than most would expect."

Kuzari thought it over. It was an interesting affinity, being able to create pocket spaces and the like. He could even see himself one day being able to teleport all over, which would be awesome. The problem was it was challenging to gather in a pure form, and direct offensive and defensive usages were sparse high level, and simply monstrously inefficient in mana use compared to more offense based affinities.

"I admit it has its appeal, but I cannot discard my second choice already. It's just not an option." He knew he was still gambling with his idea and needed certain circumstances before Kuzari could even reasonably attempt for the affinity, but he was feeling more and more committed to his secret plan with every passing day.

"Hmmph, then learn it as a third affinity, the difference is the same to me."

Kuzari gawked. Most mages only had one affinity. Talented or driven ones would pick up two and Kuzari arrogantly considered himself at least the latter if not the former. Three affinities, however? Attempting that would be spreading most mages too thin. Even setting aside gathering, studying three different schools of magic, and becoming proficient was an absurd amount of work. Only real monsters and fools picked three affinities, and here Bakir was casually telling Kuzari to do just that.

"Oh shush it, " Bakir said noting Kuzari's surprise, "It's not like I'm asking you to become the Allcaster or other such nonsense. You've shown promise in your short time here. If your second affinity is that important to you, then you'll just have to make three work. I am not budging on you learning spacial."

Kuzari had no idea what the Allcaster was but vowed to look into it later. He mulled over the prospect of three affinities. He was continually telling himself he needed to cheat if he was going to make it long term, and pulling off three affinities was cheating as far as the average mage was concerned.

The more shocking piece was that Bakir said he showed promise! Bakir never complemented anybody he either approved, or you were trash, and Kuzari had fallen into the latter category quite often in training.

"Fine, I agree to your terms," Kuzari said with a defeated sigh.

"Excellent" Bakir said with a twinge that could almost be called a smile.

Bakir reached into his desk and pulled out a simple form. It was a permission slip to allow initiates access to the bounty board. Kuzari found it suspicious that Bakir had a permission slip ready in advance. He was more concerned when he found out Bakir's section was already filled out. Did he know I was coming already?

Regardless, Kuzari knew he had already committed. He filled out the form and thanked Bakir for his time, taking the slip to find Adara and Odai.

He found the two lounging in the entrance hall. After greeting them and confirming that Odai's shoulder was fine, he got the last signatures he needed. He felt it prudent to leave out the agreement he made with Bakir. They decided to hand in the form for the bounty board together, and Adara led the trio forward.

The bounty board was located in a moderately sized building not too far from the spire itself. It was open to the whole city, not just Ratcatchers, and was only one of four others located throughout the city. The entered inside, and Kuzari found himself in a pristine building that reminded him of a bank.

The board was more massive than Kuzari expected. It filled up an entire hundred-foot wall and stood twenty feet high. Direct access to the board was not permitted, and instead, a long counter blocked it off staffed by servants. In the back, more servants were busying about, taking down papers and putting others up. Movable stairs slid up and down the board so the workers could reach the higher points. Lines formed up in front of tellers. Mages of varying stripes and colors collected pay and took on new jobs. One imposing figure stood a shocking nine feet tall and was pure muscle. Kuzari made a mental note to not mess with that guy if they ever crossed paths.

They stood in line and patiently waited their turn. Kuzari asked what sort of job he should look for and Adara admitted that she actually had one in mind already. She and Odai had both taken on a job to eradicate a pack of Mas'Quin that were harassing traders lately. Kuzari had no idea what a Mas'Quin was, but Odai said it would be an excellent chance to earn some field experience and the pay was good for the difficulty. They had already claimed the job so as soon as his slip was approved, he would just need to register as part of their team.

The whole process went smoother than he expected, and it wasn't long before they were back at the spire. The plan was to set out two days from now. That would give them a couple of days to hunt the pack and clear it out with just enough time to collect the payment and rest up before tribute. If all went well, Kuzari should make tribute.

They went their separate ways, and Kuzari made a brief stop by the library to pick up more books. They consisted of material on the space affinity as well as a few choice tomes on more advanced spellcasting above his current abilities.

He had a lot more studying to do.