Astra had never gone anywhere else besides the village and forest. This was his first time going anywhere else. Fausto and Astra walked beside each other on a dirt road.

Fausto turned to Astra, “Your village is quite far away from Ascelyn City. I haven’t recovered enough to get us there quickly. We might as well take it slow while I tell you about the academy.”

Astra nodded.

“What do you know about it?” asked Fausto.

Astra tilted his chin and crossed his arms in thought. Ascelyn Academy was famed for being one of the top magic schools in the country of Cresal. Even reclusive villages like Astra’s knew about it.

Astra replied, “There are a lot of mages there.”

“That’s it? That’s all you know?” Fausto was surprised at the lack of knowledge that the boy had. Even five-year-olds in the city would be able to tell him more than that. But then again, Astra was from a village near the mountains, just what did Fausto expect from him?

Astra nodded again.

“Oh boy, where should I start?” Fausto looked off into the distance while they were walking.

Thinking back to the ogre that Astra had killed, Fausto asked, “The ogre that you killed. How did you kill it?”

“I don’t know. I was caught off guard by its swing, and I fell unconscious. Next thing I know, the ogre was dead, and I was laying right on it,” Astra retold his experience.

Fausto stared at Astra with a puzzled expression.

“That ogre was at least at the peak of white rank, that’s why I was surprised that you survived.”

It was Astra’s turn to look at Fausto with a puzzled expression, “White rank?”

“The way that we measure mana is by its purity. The purity of your mana can be probed through a mana sphere or when you cast a spell that’s powerful enough to reveal an aura. The higher the purity, the stronger and more effective your spells are.”

“Mana purity is ranked from lowest to highest: White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet.”

“Similar to the intensity of flames.”

“Each color has nine stages to it. We call it steps since it gets harder and harder to break through as you improve. Monsters and beasts are also rated by mana purity even if they possess little or no mana.”

“For example, a beast ranked at Red 9th step requires at least a mage of Red 9th step to kill it. The higher ranked the beast, the more people that it takes to defeat it.”

“Did you get all that?” Fausto turned to Astra.

Astra nodded. Could Astra be a mage at the peak of white rank then? No, that was impossible, he didn’t even know what happened since he fell unconscious.

Fausto took in a breath of air.

“Whew! I’m all tired from speaking already, must be my wounds. You’ll learn other things like geography, history, medicine, mana control, and some other stuff at the academy.”

“Instead, I’ll teach you something more interesting.”

Astra looked at him with curiosity.

Fausto said, “The basic technique of absorbing and condensing your mana.”

This basic technique was created for children who had yet to fully mature since children were able to grow stronger at a rapid pace. It was a safer procedure to increase one’s mana pool at a young age.

Before this technique was created, countless children would attempt to expand their mana pool by using a crude method; they would think of it like a rubber band, the more they pushed the boundaries of their mana pool, the more mana they would be able to handle. The children would continue using mana way past the point of exhaustion.

This method caused countless children to essentially break apart their mana pool, preventing them from keeping the mana inside of their body. The mana leakage rate from a broken mana pool was faster than a child’s mana absorption rate which killed many children.

Mana was the source of life for all living things. Without it, all living things would wither and die.

Fausto began teaching Astra the basic technique, “Feel the mana in the air, draw it inside your body. Mend the mana inside you as if it were your blood. Circulate the mana around, creating a never ending flow. Each cycle strengthens the mana inside you and helps to condense it.”

“By condensing your mana, the purity of your mana increases. As you get stronger, you will need to find other resources to help you, or you can acquire a better technique.”

Fausto had witnessed the battle between Astra and the mage. With the amount of mana he had seen Astra output, Fausto assumed that Astra was born with an abnormal amount of mana. Perhaps Astra was a descendant of some powerful bloodline that died out over the years.

Astra did as Fausto instructed.

Several pebbles started rolling near Astra. A breeze of wind blew by. Sweat soaked Astra’s clothes. Steam emanated from Astra’s heated body.

Astra’s affinities with the four basic elements were higher than Fausto expected. Fausto had never seen this type of phenomenon happen to a first year before, nevertheless a twelve-year-old child.

“Astra, your mana is leaking out. Keep it under control.” Fausto said.

Astra nodded. He slowed down the flow and regained control of the mana. The jade blue pendant around his neck glimmered as he meditated.

“What element and spells can you use?” Fausto curiously asked.

“Wind, fire, and water. Balls and slashes,” Astra answered.

Fausto nodded. Astra had a huge mana pool and had the ability to use three elements but was severely lacking in techniques and spells. The ones that he knew how to do was something every noble child in Ascelyn City mastered.

Fausto was astonished at the fact that Astra didn’t try to use more elements. Every child in Ascelyn City would have their affinities tested, the more elements one was in tune with, the higher chance they would be able to use rare elements.

Astra continued, “During the fight with the ogre, I was able to wrap my body in wind elemental mana. I call it wind armor.”

Fausto smirked. This was quite interesting. Elemental armor was only taught early on by middle ranked nobles and higher. With wind armor, Astra should easily be able to pass the exam.

Fausto decided to do all that he could to help Astra out. He still felt guilty for leaving Astra alone to deal with the ogre. It was one of the darkest moments of his life. The thought of sacrificing a child so he could live ate away at his soul.

Several days went by before they reached Ascelyn City. They had encountered several beasts, but with Fausto recovering to almost his full strength, they were easily dealt with. Astra had continued to use the basic technique for the past couple of days. His control over his mana usage improved vastly, but his mana pool was increasing at a slower pace than before.

Fausto and Astra walked up to a giant steel door with the words “Ascelyn City” hung on a large metal plate above it.

“Halt!” Two guards were stationed near the doors.

Fausto threw a medallion to the guard.

The guard took the medallion and looked at it.

“Welcome back, sir.” The two guards’ moved their hands in unison, creating a multitude of hand signs.

The giant steel door slowly creaked open.