Keziah ate his stew alone. He was always surprised how some people could make something so delicious out of such simple and plain ingredients. Be it some of his previous groups or parties, or now Lucia. He marveled at their skill. He wasn't sure if they had always put some extra spices in the mix, or maybe he was always so hungry that everything would have tasted amazing. He preferred to think it was their skill. That way he had the excuse whenever he cooked something that was borderline vile for himself. Surely if he had sacrificed some time to learn cooking, then he would also be able to make something as delicious.

Surely.

Finishing, he put aside the bowl and the spoon, and let the fire under the small cauldron die out. He didn't completely put it out with sand and dirt, as he would need it to reheat the rest of the remaining stew for Annette in the morning. She hasn't eaten because she passed out from the training. She would probably be hungry in the morning.

He grabbed his set of utensils and Lucia's and went to rinse it in the small stream that must have directly flowed into the Midarior. It wasn't far, so he still had a good view of their small campsite. The sound of the water was almost deafening in the otherwise silent forest. Midarior was not far, but far enough for him not to hear the waves hitting the bank. The inland sea wasn't particularly known for having storms or ship-sinking tides, but they still existed. It was a sea, after all.

While rinsing the dishes, Keziah kept an eye on the campsite. If something would happen to Annette now, then would have wasted the whole year of living in Avinea on nothing but making powerful enemies. It would probably be wasted either way, as he had gained nothing from there but a few gold. Those few gold were quite substantial though, so at least there was that.

Suddenly, a thought struck Keziah. When did he start to worry about Annette so much? She did remind him of himself in the past and he felt she could make a good student, but this attachment that he had developed was so strong and sudden that when he thought about it, it didn't make much sense. He has had many comrades in arms and party members before, young and old, but he had never cared for them as much as he has for Annette. He liked them, sure. He could even call some of them friends. He couldn't explain why, but this felt more like… fate. Like it was meant to happen.

Oh, gods. I'm getting old.

This was the most reasonable excuse that Keziah could come up with, and it didn't make him feel any better.

Let those gray hairs make me look better at least.

He prayed to the gods. Those of Nature specifically. He doubted the other seven Gods of Virtues could make anything happen to his hair. Not that he necessarily believed in any of them, but better safe than sorry.

suddenly Augustus's voice rang in his head. he paused for a moment, aware to avoid the topic.

Keziah replied in his own head, clear and loud enough for Augustus to make it out.

Keziah imagined Augustus nodding in understanding.

All hopes Keziah had for meaningful advice immediately vanished. he mocked Augustus.

Augustus grumbled.

Keziah replied. Keziah pretended to stick his nose in the air, like a child throwing a tantrum.

he concealed,

You are quite literally in the prime of your life. Stop sulking about it and get your ass back to developing your aura.>

Keziah smiled.

he paused for a second.

Augustus was doubtful.

Keziah put the washer dishes next to him and sat crossed-legged next to the stream.

his voice reverberated in Keziah's head quietly.

Sitting cross-legged, in a position that was comfortable for him, Keziah started to circulate the mana inside him. The energy flowed from his Mana Core and through all of his channels, forcefully pushing the boundaries of the channels to widen them. It required a lot of focus to mentally widen your channels - you couldn't do it while performing regular spells or other ways of releasing the core-forged mana.

Keziah would lose some mana inevitably in the process, otherwise, he or anyone else could just keep on going infinitely, or until they awaken their aura. One's aura would awaken once all 5 channels inside arms, legs, and head were as big as the limbs they were in. Well, they weren't actually inside them, as the Mana Core and mana channels weren't physical. You couldn't see them or touch them. They were part of a Soul, and the body was the soul's vessel. If a Soul would grow too large for its vessel, then it would continue to grow in another way, and that was an aura.

Aura was one's Soul and character imprint on the world around them. It didn't affect the spells that one would create, as they were still happening in the core and released through channels, but it had other uses. The most notable one was that your presence could be felt if you so desired, resulting in either intimidation of whoever was in range or whatever else the aura user wished to project. This was just one of many advantages of having an aura, better defense against magic as you could somewhat affect mana, which included spells inside your aura range, amongst the other benefits.

Keziah's most desired use of awakening aura was the much-improved control over the soul, which Augustus promised him would happen. He had said that once he awakens his aura, his control over his Soul would be so high that all the damage and cracks in his crippled core could be mostly ignored. Keziah wasn't sure if he was to believe him, as such a thing wasn't mentioned anywhere in the materials they studied at the Tower, but Augustus was a thousand years old and once belonged to one of the most powerful mages in the Empire's history so maybe there was some truth to it.

He spent the next few hours carefully digging into the empty space around his mana channels and widening them. He had to avoid the cracks and tears as well, but he was already used to it. It still slowed him down, though. Although it required high concentration, it wasn't akin to meditation, where you had to close your eyes and try to disconnect yourself from the world and be alone inside your own head. Keziah kept his eyes open most of the time, doing his duty of watching the campsite for any potential danger.

asked Keziah.

replied Augustus, extending his own aura, or rather the aura that was given to him by his creator during the process of his enchantment.

If Augustus had a real body, he would scoff at that.

Keziah smirked and continued to move his mana around the channels. He didn't have much left, only enough for fifteen minutes or so. Once that time had passed, he would be out of mana. Mana exhaustion wouldn't really affect him physically unless he went majorly overboard with his spells.

He only ever mastered two ways of using his mana, otherwise called spells. They were: collecting mana at his fingertips and realizing electricity through them to stun his enemies to whatever degree of 'passed out' he wanted and spreading mana evenly across his body and using electric shocks to force his muscles to go into overdrive, increasing his strength, speed, and reaction time. Of course, he could use mana in more ways, but those were the only two that he had used enough for them to become muscle memory, meaning they were his 'spells'. Due to his Mana Core being as it is, he had to make do with this limited pool of abilities, as learning more required a lot of effort.

he thought while breathing out.

teased Keziah.

Keziah could imagine Augustus chuckling to himself after that one. He just shook his head and stood, meaning to sit closer to the campsite, where it was more comfortable. As he was some paces away from the splashing sounds of the stream, he heard some rustling of the leaves and breaking branches some ways ahead of him, as he warily made his way towards the source of it.