Richard was scrubbing yet another ruined potion out of his pot. He had made the fire hotter than he should have, and the yaks milk had curdled. It was only two more days until his court date and was finding he couldn't concentrate on anything. Yelxidor assured him that he had a plan in motion and that Richard had nothing to worry about, but that didn't settle Richards stomach whenever he thought about it.

"Another botched potion?" Yelxidor must have heard Richards grumbling as he had passed the washroom. "That makes three, correct?"

"I'm starting to think I'm too stupid for this." Richard said, angrily tossing the scrub brush he was using into the cauldron. "I keep messing up Potions. I can't understand how to align Runes. I've made no progress in Teleportation. The only force magic I've managed to create is that shield!" He sat heavily on the bench beside the sink. "It's been almost three weeks of constant practice, and all I have to show for it is..." He summoned a small orb of ice. Its shape was much more defined, now than it had been when he first started creating it, but that was still the most he had managed to do.

There was silence for a minute before Yelxidor spoke. "It is easy to forget you do not come from this world. You fit into it quite well. Get your cloak. I want to show you something."

Richard followed the Elf through the city through the center of the city. Together they took a path that traveled further towards the Grey Pinnacle. Having never traveled this way before, Richard was surprised to find that there was a city gate that exited to a tiled road. The road leads further towards the mountain. Exiting through this gate, Richard realized just how far the city truly was from the mountain. From inside, it looked like they were at the base of the mountain. However, once free from the city walls, he could see they were actually a fair distance away.

In the distance, Richard could see a large square building off closer to the mountain. It took almost forty-five minutes for them to reach the building. The closer they got, the more aware Richard became of the amount of mana coming from the building. "Let me guess. The local magic school?"

"Very good guess." Yelxidor replied as they approached a large wooden double door set within a polished granite wall. Suddenly there was an enormous explosion from somewhere around the side of the building. Richard summoned his force shield as large chunks of dirt and grass rained down on them. Yelxidor simply ignored the deluge of sod and pushed the doors open, walking through the entryway.

Unlike the city, there seemed to be electricity here. Large balls of light lined the walls of the entryway casting bright, steady light throughout the room. It helped that the inside was the same polished granite that the outer walls had been made out of. This allowed the light to reflect and reach every corner of the room. At the back of the room, sitting at a large desk made of dark, polished wood, sat a Gnome that looked like it could have been Yelxidors grandfather. As the two of them approached, the Gnome looked up from his paperwork, adjusting a thick pair of spectacles and a smile split his toothless mouth.

"Master Yelxidor! Welcome back. It's been quite a while since we last saw you." Even his voice somehow sounded like dust. "What can I help you with today?"

Returning the elderly Gnomes, smile Yelxidor bowed slightly. "Good afternoon Scakpeeg. It is nice to see you again. I am here today to show my newest apprentice how most people learn the ways of magic."

"Ah! You took on a new apprentice after all this time?" The elderly Gnome turned and came from behind the desk using a wheelchair. This was the first time Richard had seen anyone using such a device since arriving in this world. The chair was made out of woven wicker inside of a specially made chair frame. The wheels were modified wagon wheels that the little old Gnome seemed to have no trouble handling. The old Gnome approached Richard adjusting his glasses once again. "Hello, young apprentice. You must be quite the Mage for Master Yelxidor to come out of retirement for you." Before Richard could respond, though, Scakpeeg adjusted his glasses again, and a surprised look came over his wrinkled face. "Uh, Master Yelxidor? A word, please."

The Gnome took Yelxidor off to the side and began talking in what he obviously thought was a whisper. "Master Yelxidor, I don't mean to imply anything. However, I feel I need to point out that your new "apprentice" is, in fact, a Human! I have no idea how he's managed to fool you, but-"

Yelxidor let out a low chuckle and patted the old Gnomes hand. "Thank you for your concern, my young friend, but I am well aware of Richards heritage. He is my apprentice and has worked very hard for all that he has achieved."

Scakpeeg looked at Richard, who waved and smiled. "You're absolutely sure?" He asked Yelxidor.

"I am." Was the Elfs simple reply.

Wheeling himself over to Richard, Scakpeeg looked him up and down. When he spoke, he spoke very loudly and slowly as if he thought Richard wouldn't understand otherwise. "WELCOME TO BOLGARUMS ACADEMY OF MAGES." He held out a withered hand. Richard took his hand gently and shook it, half afraid he might pull the poor Gnomes shoulder from his body. Thankfully the Gnome had a surprisingly strong grip. Still speaking like he was trying to communicate with someone who didn't speak his own language Scakpeeg continued. "I AM SURE YOU WILL DO JUST FINE." Yelxidor looked like he was trying hard not to burst out laughing.

Sighing inwardly for what must have been the millionth time since the day he found himself on that hilltop, he smiled and mimicked Yelxidors earlier bow. "Thank you, sir. I'm honored to be here."

"Ha! Well, if nothing else, at least this one seems to have manners." Scakpeeg said, turning back to Yelxidor.

"They need some polishing, but he does quite well on his own." The old Elfs eyes twinkled as he poked fun at his apprentice. The two continued to converse for several more minutes before a sonorous bell rang. "Ah, I am sorry to cut our conversation short Scakpeeg, however, I should be about our business today."

"Yes, yes, of course. I completely understand Master Yelxidor. Please don't let this old Gnome keep you." Scakpeeg waved his hand as he and Yelxidor disengaged.

"Come along, Richard." Yelxidor left via a short hallway that lead to a cavernous room. This new room reminded Richard of the temple where he had fought the Wyverns. There were reliefs and murals all over the walls and ceiling. Gilt scrollwork covered mother of pearl hallways, edges, and corners throughout. Richard could hear dozens of people converse through each doorway, mana ebbed and flowed from all around the building.

Richard was at a point where he could almost tell what the mana from each hallway was doing. Because of this, he was very confused when they walked towards a doorway that had the weakest amount of mana coming from it. Through the hallway, they passed several doors. Each placed a long distance from the last. From each room, Richard could sense small amounts of mana being channeled. Some rooms had more than others, but from what he could feel, it was mostly the amount that would be used to cast the same basic spells Richard already knew.

'Great, I'm going to sit in on magic grade school.' Richard thought of all the other things they could be doing right now. Finally stopping at a door that looked the same as every other door they had passed, Yelxidor knocked and entered without waiting for an answer. Following him in, Richard saw that the room was very reminiscent of a schoolroom he would have attended at Earth. Large, square, covered with scrolls giving cheat sheets, reminders, or warnings about the dangers of spellwork. The front of the class had a large blackboard made from some kind of stone that had markings all over it. Richard recognized some of the markings from his earlier studies.

At the head of the room stood an owl Beastman. It was head and shoulders above Richard, its feathers making it look three times as wide. The Beastman was facing away from them when they entered. Richard was a little disconcerting when its head spun almost one hundred eighty degrees to fix them with large orange eyes. With a surprised hoot, the Owlling ruffled its feathers and, with a slight waddle, turned around to face them.

"Yelxidor! How very lovely to see you!" She exclaimed. Her voice was airy, and she elongated her vowels. Unsurprisingly it reminded Richard of an owl hooting. She extended her wing to Yelxidor, who reached out, taking a small, boney, four-fingered hand, a little more than midway down it. "To what do we owe the pleasure of one of your rare visits?" She asked

"The pleasure is all mine, Talia. As always." Yelxidor said, kissing her hand. "I was hoping I could get one of your students to show my newest apprentice here the extent of their studies." He waggled his fingers at Richard, who felt a small amount of mana pass between himself and his master. "He's been with me about seven months now, and he's gotten frustrated with his recent progress."

There was a murmur from the students present. Richard had been so distracted by the similarities between the classrooms, and then Talia, that he hadn't actually noticed the students before. It was a group of about fifteen or so students. More than half were Elves, no surprise there. A small number of Dwarves made up the next largest chunk of students. And the rest were various Beastmen. What surprised Richard the most was that many of the students were actually not that much younger than him. Some may even have been his own age.

With a throaty, hooty chuckle, Talia covered her beak with her hand. "You always did pick the most spirited, apprentices Yelxidor. We'd be happy to assist you. Did you have anything specific in mind?"

"They are your students. I defer to your expertise."

Talias demeanor changed almost immediately. "Finnea Arawynn! Present yourself!" Her voice now cracked like a whip.

One of the female Elves, a few years younger than him, jumped up and rushed to the front of the room, tripping on the hem of her skirt. Her face flushed at her stumble as she offered a jerky bow to both Talia and Yelxidor. She was the first redheaded Elf that Richard had seen, and as she straightened, Richard noticed a splash of freckles across her cheeks and nose. "Here, Mistress Talia! M-master Yelxidor!" She stuttered, obviously a little flustered at being the focus of everones attention.

"Tell Master Yelxidor and his apprentice about yourself." Talia barked at her.

"M-my name is Finnea Arawynn. I come from the province of Fastidian. Our main exports are Tobbac and woo-"

"Your magic experience, girl!" Talia snapped. Richard was starting to be glad he didn't end up with her as a mentor.

The poor girl startled and flushed again. "O-of course! I was studying magic for two years before I was accepted into the school. In my examination, I proved my abilities to both sense and manipulate mana at an initiate level. I was also able to successfully manipulate a piece of paper using Kinetic magic."

"Current progress! Fire magic!" Richard thought Finnea had frozen in fear after Talias last outburst. But after a few seconds, he realized she was working on summoning her mana. She smiled as a small burst of mana bloomed in her. She then held out her hand, and after a few more seconds, a weak, almost see-through flame started to flicker over her palm. As she continued to feed mana into the flickering flame, it firmed itself and took on a much more stable appearance.

"Water!" The flame winked out as Richard felt Finneas mana change as droplets of water collected along her fingers. The water continued to build, filling her palm until finally, it coalesced into a small sphere the size of a golf ball. This continued through both of the other elements, each one slow to form and slower to finalize. The same happened with her attempts at Kinetic magic.

Talia called forward a couple more of her students. Each had roughly the same story and the amount of success with their magic. Some were quicker some were slower. But in general, they were all at about the same level. Richard was astounded. He knew Yelxidor, and the texts he had read had talked about Mages studying for decades before being able to cast some spells. He had thought those were referring to some high-level master-tier magics. If these students were the average, then it really could take some people decades to become a full-fledged Mage.

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"So, what did you learn?" Yelxidor asked, taking a sip from a cup of tea. They were back at the apartments after their trip to the Mages Academy.

"I am a whiny little cry baby." Richard said. Yelxidor coughed as he started laughing mid-swallow.

Wiping tea out of his beard, Yelxidor cleared his throat. "I was going to say that you are much more talented than you give yourself credit for. I have expressed to you many times that magic is a difficult subject to learn. Although it was not until today that I realized you had no true understanding of what that meant." He leaned forward slightly in his chair. "I was not simply feeding your ego when I said you had responded well in your lessons. You show a remarkable ability to wield mana. In fact, had you been born into a world that had a true connection to mana and begun your training at a proper age, I would not be surprised if you were already a fully-fledged Mage."

"But I'm not a Mage. I'm a Magi Knight." Richard said, confused.

"You should not worry so much about what your mana crystal says." Yelxidor said, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. "It is good for you to train all of the abilities you are capable of. It will give you options that other full Mages do not have access to. However, though you may have a skill range greater than most, your in-born talent in magic makes you a Mage."

"Yeah, Nuvirlum said pretty much the same thing."

"I knew there was a reason I like that crazy little Dwarf." Yelxidor said with a laugh.

"So then, what's the point in the crystals?" Richard pulled the little blue crystal out, studying its faceted surface.

"Humans created those to be guides. To help one access their inner strengths. Not everyone has a mentor. The guilds took them up as a way to quickly train initiates. It is my belief that they rely far too heavily on the abilities the mana crystal provides." He finished his tea and sighed. "Then again, perhaps I am just another in a long line of old men complaining about the youths of the modern world."

Richard couldn't help but laugh. "I hope if I manage to live even a tenth as long as you, my mind is still as open as yours is."

"Thank you, Richard." The old Elf said with a smile. "So. What do you intend to do now?"

"Keep training. Keep learning." Richard summoned his ice lump. "Maybe burn that damn Runeology book."

"You burn my books, and I will have Talia give you personal lessons." Yelxidor threatened him.

Richard threw up his hands. "Nope! Your book is safe from me. That lady would end up killing me."

With a chuckle, Yelxidor nodded. "She can be quite the formidable force. But also, do not judge her too harshly based on what you saw today. Remember, she is training more than a dozen fledgling Mages. It is better to be strict and live than lax and dead." He clapped his hands together. "Now! Enough idle chatter. You understand your position, so it's time for work. Go, fill that brain of yours with knowledge."

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Richard sat on the edge of his bed. He had spent a couple of hours in the library after he had left Yelxidor. He really was feeling better after their trip to the Mages Academy. So much so that he had actually managed to understand an entire two paragraphs in his Runeology texts. At this rate, he might be able to create a magic item by the time he was eighty instead of one hundred. Afterward, he had done a light version of the exercises Nuvirlum had been having him do. The old blacksmith was busy and unable to meet him at the gym today.

Then he had spent time training his elemental magics. Richard smiled, looking at his hand. Small bolts of electricity jumped from his fingertips. No larger than a static shot, but that would improve with practice. Two out of three basic Elemental magics upgraded, two more to go. As he sat, he thought about the upcoming trial. If things went south, he was sure they would try to put those chains that dampened magic back on him. Probably throw him in some jail cell too. After some thought, he made a decision. He had work to do.