"I have a condition. If you wish for me to join the Academy, you must first help me find my friends." Willem would not let this chance encounter go to waste.

"Ho Ho, child. The strength of a Grand Mage is not something to be bargained with. As a Grand Mage of Earth I can sunder mountains and erect walls unlike anything you have ever witnessed. Do you sincerely wish to trade with me here?"

The Grand Mage stopped walking away but did not turn around. A grin formed on his as he felt the young boy's heart palpitate.

"I have no choice, I fear my friends have been kidnapped and I do not have the power to save them. Even if I must sell my soul, I will do so to ensure their safety. Also, the bastards that probably did it have something that belongs to me, and I must get it back, even if I must cross the underworld to retrieve it."

Willem stared at the back of the old man's head as if he were looking directly into his eyes. The old man could feel killing intent welling up inside the boy with every word he spoke, like a red hot fire that sought to consume him.

He slowly turned around to the boy, lifted his hand and clasped the boys right shoulder as he calmly spoke "do not resist."

As the old man began to chant, the space around them began to twist and distort. Willems face flushed red as he felt like he was being pulled in multiple different directions. After a few seconds, the feeling subsided and was replaced with a gut retching sickness.

The food Willem had eaten earlier quickly made its way up and out, narrowly missing the robes of the Grand Mage. For a few brief moments, Willem could not see or hear, and fumbled around desperately to cling to something.

His vision returned and as he looked around he realized they were no longer in the streets, but instead were in a twenty foot by twenty foot room. The room was adorned with the skeletons of magical beasts, the floor was hardwood and a green rug lined from the door to a magnificently crafted table.

On the table sat multitudes of papyrus, with weird inscriptions and words. There was also flasks and a medicinal pot on top of the table, dangerously close to the edge. Behind the table was a wooden chair and a glowing orb situated on a pedestal.

"Where are we?" Willem was sure they had just been standing in the streets.

"Of course, boy, we are in my Private Sanctum. Do you know nothing of Teleportation Magic?" The Grand Mage coughed a little as the boy quizzically looked around the room, then motioned for him to go towards the orb. As he slowly walked toward the orb, the puke dissipated as if it had never existed in the first place. The orb glowed stronger as Willem approached it, turning a tinge of black. The Grand Mage quickly hid a surprised expression and lifted the orb off the pedestal.

"Before you use this orb, know one thing. By allowing you to use this, you now owe me a personal favor and you cannot deny me this. On your life as a future Mage, you must swear by an oath that you will uphold this promise."

The Grand Mage stroked his beard slowly, waiting for the response of the boy.

"I swear on my life as a future Mage, I will uphold this personal favor and will not deny you when the time comes."

Willem looked at the old man expectantly.

"Then it is agreed, now let me show you how to use this orb."

The Grand Mage finished stroking his beard and placed the orb into the boys hands.

"Time to begin. Grab the orb with both your hands, and focus. Focus on everything you remember about your friends, how you feel when you're with them. Let it be a string that connects you to them all. Now follow that string, watch as it twists and turns but always heads toward them. When you see them, tie the string around them all."

The old Mage grinned, as it had been the first time he had ever seen such natural talent. Whatever he told the young boy to do, it would immediately be done perfectly.

When the string finally found his friends, Willem sighed in relief. After confirming their safety for himself, the fire that ignited his soul seemed to dim a little bit.

"Next, we must ascertain their location, since you have the string connecting you to them, eventually you will find them naturally. Unfortunately that would take far too long, so for now expand your vision as if you are looking into a wide open ocean. Let the ocean be the distance between you and your friends, and follow closely as they make their journey to this current destination."

As he explains how to use the orb, Willem quickly adjusts according to what he is being told. His fervor in finding his friends is largely why the orb had been working so perfectly. As the string followed the children, it showed them jumping out the window. Finding the guards and being knocked out, and brought to the Northwest of the town. In a large Inn called the "Golden Dragon" he can see the string leading to a cellar.

After an excessive amount of sweating and a large headache beginning to form, Willem finally releases the orb from his hands.

"Why could I not see more?" Willem looked at the Grand Mage pleadingly.

"Boy, this is Clairvoyance Magic. To do what you just did would take someone at least two years of study. It took me three months just to learn how to connect the strings, let alone find their location. If I am a genius for being a Grand Mage, you are no less than a Celestial Being!" The Grand Mage snorted at Willem's lack of knowledge.

Willem now had a grasp on where his friends were and thanked the old Mage. As he turned to leave, the old Mage let out a loud sigh. Quizzically, Willem looked at the Mage and asked what was wrong.

"You truly do not know anything about Mages, do you child. First Teleportation Magic and now you are heading for the door. If you truly wish to be lost in the void forever then by all means open that door. I will not be the one to stop you."

A grin formed on the old Mages face as he saw Willem's growing expression of horror.

"Once a Grand Mage has reached a sufficient level of power, he can create his own private sanctum within the void of the world. This Private Sanctum can only be accessed by him and those he allows in and is maintained by his own magic. Firstly, I will show you a simple form of Magic control that will benefit you greatly, then I will teleport you back out. Rescuing your friends, that will solely be done by you."

As the crafty old Mage snapped his fingers, two pillows flopped onto the ground. As a grandiose gesture, the Mage sits down first and awaits Willem to sit down with him.

Willem was not sure whether to laugh or cry, he had almost forfeited his own life because of his lack of knowledge. This world he had entered was truly dangerous, if this old man was to be believed. If he is to survive here, he must learn to control and enhance this Magic he has been gifted.

"Meditation is key to establishing a connection to your magical power. The more comfortable you become with this connection, the more power you can use. You can be considered a genius if you access even one percent of your potential upon your first connection. Now, open up your mind to the possibilities. See the aura around you focusing deep in your mind, as if a colored smoke is entering your body. What color is the smoke?"

The Grand Mage focused solely on the expressions Willem was making while he explained how to first establish a connection.

"The smoke is black, with a white outline?" Willem was unsure of what this meant, but understood that it must be odd. After all, how can someone get such explosive strength without constant training.

The Mage clasped his hands together in front of him. Surprise and happiness was written all over his face. He quickly recovered before Willem could feel something was amiss and explained what the aura meant.

"Black smoke means that you are most capable in darkness magic. You are the second among all the Mages in our academy to possess this ability. The first of course being The One True King."

He attempted to hide his excitement as he further explained that having a white outline meant he was capable of minor usage in all forms of Magic including Fire, Water, Earth, Air and Light.

"Not much is known about Darkness Magic and your studies will give us great insight into this new type of magic. The One True King does not use Darkness magic much and cares not to explain why. Now, once all the smoke has entered your body, picture threads grabbing onto the smoke and holding it in place. The more threads you have, the stronger the initial connection."

Willem did his best to picture strings wrapping themselves around the smoke, and after a hundred small strings had connected to the smoke he began to entwine them together to establish his first connection. The more the strings connected together, the stronger he could feel the smoke condensing and forcing their way through the strings.

After half an hour had passed, he had successfully connected to his true magical power for the first time. As the Grand Mage examined his progress, he was dumbfounded by what he saw. Not only did Willem have one hundred strings combining, but his first connection had already fused with two percent of his overall magical power. This was considered a peerless genius among Mages.

The Grand Mage considered everything he had seen so far and understood quickly that he must align himself with this young boy. To be so young and talented, his future achievements were limitless.

"Now that your power has been connected, have the magical power flow through your body. Your arms, your legs, your veins, and mind. Watch as it passes and encompasses every movement you do, enhancing your abilities in every aspect." The crafty old Mage nodded his head approvingly.

Willem circulated his new magical energy as if coursed through his veins like wildfire, spreading to every inch of his body. Compared to the previous non-magically imbued version of himself, this newfound power was like heaven and earth.

As Willem did exactly as he was told, the first thing he noticed was how much more vision he had. Even after his awakening at the Wyvern household, he did not see much change in his visual perception. However, now he could see even the most minute of details as if everything in the world had just become clearer.

He focused on his hands, and attempted to shape the magic pouring out from his fingers. First a sword took form, then a mace, and lastly a dagger that ran along his middle finger. He finally understood why the old man insisted on teaching him about this skill, even he could tell how much more his strength had improved just by meditating for a couple of minutes.

"Brat, who told you to begin forming magic outside your body!" The old Mage grinned happily as he witnessed Willem experimenting with his new powers.

"Sorry..." After some effort, Willem retracted his magical power back into his body.

"To be able to manifest your magical power outside your body within mere hours of achieving a connection. Maybe you really are heaven sent." The Grand Mage sighed enviously.

"Please send me back. I have to save my friends, no matter the cost." Willem remained determined as he abased himself in front of the Grand Mage.

"A promise is a promise." The Grand Mage laughed as he placed the orb he had been holding back on the pedestal.