Out of earshot from Thoma Ahad, at the kitchen counter, Nekara and Rayla watch Thoma Ahad eat breakfast.

  Completely flabbergasted, Nekara says, “I don’t believe it…After everything that happened last night he just comes down here without a care in the world, as if nothing had happened and enjoys breakfast.”

  Rayla has a somber look as she replies, “That’s because from his point of view nothing did happen. He can’t remember it, so he just thinks we talked a little, went to sleep and then the next day you’re suddenly all concerned.”

  “Do things like this happen often?”

  “Not to this extent, no. But something similar happened a few weeks ago when we went out herb picking. It seems he only has these violent reactions when you push him to remember stuff or apparently also when you just tell him something he forgot.”

  “Poor kid…”

  “Say, Nekara. Do you know of any festivals that sell candies shaped like flowers?”

  “Candies shaped like flowers? Can’t say that I do but it does sound nice. Maybe I’ll try making that sometime.”

  As I'm about to put my dishes away, Rayla approaches me, she seems to be in a cheerful mood.

  “Are you done Thoma? Shall we go?”

  “Sure!”

  Once we're outside, I ask her, “What do you hope your aptitudes will be? I hope I get Holy and Water magic. It would be nice to heal people.”

  “Hmm, I don’t really have a preference but earth and dark magic would be nice. With earth magic I can strengthen myself more, taking care of the weakness from my fighting style and maybe if I get really good with dark magic I can get rid of your curse.”

  “But then you might start to become stinky too.”

  Bumping her hip into me, she replies, “Haha, if that’s the only sacrifice I need to make I’ll do it.”

  We then walk to the guild where Uli is already waiting for us.

  “Good morning you two. Let's go up to the third floor, we’ll be doing the examination in the xxx room.”

  Jumping up and down with a huge smile on my face, I say, “This is really exciting! Uli, what are your magic aptitudes?”

  Giving me a gentle smile, she answers, “Earth and water.”

  “Oooh, sounds good. I hope I get water and holy so I can be a healer.”

  “Oh? Why do you want to be a healer?”

  “I just like the idea of helping people.”

  “You’re such a good kid,” she answers and pats my head.

  We then enter the xxx room where a beautiful woman that has blonde hair and is wearing a suit, is already waiting for us. She looks a bit like a butler.

  “Hello there, my name is Ana Amir. Please sit down. I’m here to have your magical aptitudes checked. Who wants to go first?”

  “Can I go first, Rayla?”

  “Sure.”

  “Then me please.”

  “Alright, what is your name?”

  “Thoma Ahad.”

  “I see…Well, Thoma Ahad and Miss Rayla, first I’m going to explain the magical elements. Overall there are six base elements and two special ones. The most common magical aptitudes are the water, earth, wind and fire elements. The rarer elements are the light, also called the holy element and the dark element. Contrary to popular belief, the dark element is not inherently evil and the light element is not inherently good. They’re two sides of the same coin. Where dark magic infamously has a school that specializes in the sacrifice of others to gain strength, light magic has the ability to sacrifice yourself to give others power. Both can be easily abused and neither are inherently good or evil. Then there are also two more extremely rare magical aptitudes one can have. Spirit and void magic. Spirit magic is the art of seeing and interacting with spirits who, in exchange for your mana, will cast spells for you using the natural mana from the environment. As such, a spirit mage is usually able to cast spells more efficiently at the downside of needing to rely on spirits.

  As for Spirits themselves, they are living representations of the six elements, meaning there are spirits for every normal magical element. Not including spirit magic and void magic. There are no spirit spirits or void spirits. In essence, a spirit mage can cast spells of all six basic elements without needing to have an aptitude in them. But for example, if there are no water spirits around and you have not contracted one, you will not be able to cast water magic. Also, even if you are contracted with a water spirit, if you are in a place like a volcano or a desert with low natural water elemental mana any water spells cast through the spirit will be severely weakened. You are also limited to the spells that the spirit knows. Even if you are a great mage yourself, if you only have access to low ranking spirits you will only be able to cast low ranking spells through them.

  As for the void element, it is in simple terms, anti magic. It is the ability to completely devoid things of magic and on higher levels matter. It is often dubbed the element of destruction or nothingness. Practicing void magic is a very dangerous task as you yourselves are beings with magic and matter that can be affected by void magic. Void mages that are too eager to learn quickly almost always die by their own hand.

  As for the number of aptitudes you can possess it is theoretically possible to have an aptitude in all and no magic elements. Most people are talented in two magical elements. Having an aptitude in a magical element makes it so you will be able to learn spells of that element quicker, spend less mana on casting them and have their effectiveness increased. As such, while you can practice any magical element except spirit and void without an aptitude in it, it is still advised that you focus on the ones you have an aptitude in. Are there any questions?”

  Rayla raises her hand, “Why can you not learn spirit or void magic without an aptitude in it?”

  “The only honest answer I can give you is ‘I don’t know’. There are many theories on the matter but no one truly knows why. Any more questions? I know it might be a little overwhelming but I can get more into the matter with you once I know your aptitudes. Alright, it seems there are no questions. Thoma Ahad please lay your hands on mine.”

  “Alright.”

  She surrounds my hands with hers and her eyes turn completely white as she whispers something in a language I don’t understand.

  Then after a minute or so her eyes go back to normal and she lets go of my hands.

  “Thoma Ahad, you have an affinity for dark and spirit magic.”

  “Huh…”

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  “Miss Rayla, please give me your hands as well.”

  “Sure.”

  She does the same thing again and after her eyes return to normal she says,

  “Miss Rayla, you have an affinity for earth, wind and fire magic.”

  “Woah, you got three affinities Rayla, you must be talented in magic.”

  She answers dismissively, “I got three of the common ones, you got a rare and a super rare one so if anything you’re more talented than me.”

  “Which one of us is more talented, Miss Ama Amir? Rayla or me?”

  Taking a sip from her cup of tea, she thinks for a bit then answer, “Hmm, I’d say you’re both talented but the deciding factor for who is more talented will be how many tails Miss Rayla will grow and how good you Thoma Ahad are at contracting spirits. That is providing you will even find a teacher that has the spirit aptitude to get started with.”

  “I think I can help with that,” Uli says, “I might not have an aptitude for spirit magic but my teacher does. She’ll also be able to teach you the basics in the spiritual tradition of dark, earth, wind and fire magic.”

  “Woah….Really? That’s so cool!”

  Holding up her hand, Rayla asks, “One question, guildmaster, what does spiritual tradition mean in this context?”

  Sitting down on the edge of a table Uli thinks for a bit then answers, “Let’s see…How do I best explain this? A magic tradition is the origin of your spell's power. Examples of magical traditions are religious traditions, where you channel your faith in the gods for your spells, Arcane traditions, where your power comes from a deep understanding of the science behind magic, Ancestral traditions, where your power comes from the veneration of your ancestors and the Spiritual tradition, where your power originates from nature and your environment learning spells directly from spirits. There are more of it, like bloodline magic for example, but these are the ones that are most common.

  There are ups and downs to any magical tradition, for example if you have a vast knowledge of your ancestors you might be able to cast very strong spells using the ancestral tradition but if you’re someone like Thoma Ahad then no matter how many spells you know you would not be able to cast any using this tradition. If you cast a spell invoking Siegfried, the God of the forge, your spells will be more effective if you are in a place of faith for him like a temple or if you are casting it on someone that has high quality armor or weaponry but if you don’t have much faith in Siegfried or you’re casting the spell on someone with shabby equipment the spell will weaken.

  The spiritual tradition has the weakness that you learn spells directly from spirits whenever they feel like you deserve to learn a new one. It is in that sense almost entirely arbitrary how many spells you will learn but using this tradition you will be able to enhance the strength of your spells with the natural mana surrounding you. Meaning, you will almost always cast spells stronger than someone else using a different tradition from you.”

  Rayla ponders for a bit and thinks out loud, “ I see…In that case, I guess for me the spiritual tradition might be a good fit. I don’t know many of my ancestors, I’m not very learned and I’m also not a devout follower of any god. I don’t intend to become a full caster either so having a few strong spells in my arsenal is good enough for me. Also, if Thoma is going to learn to talk to Spirits then maybe he can convince them to teach me more spells. It’s a win-win situation.”

  “I will contact my teacher then. It will take her about a month to get here. Thank you Miss Ama Amir, you may take your leave now. You can collect your payment at the counter on the second floor.”

  Getting up, Ama Amir does a bow and replies, “It was my pleasure, have a pleasant day.”

  After Ama Amir leaves, Uli points her attention to me and with a warm smile says,

  “Now then, I haven’t had the chance to yet but I heard you were doing an excellent job yesterday, Thoma Ahad. I believe congratulations are in order, good job!”

  “Thank you Uli!”

  “Also, one question Thoma Ahad, did you notice that Miss Ama Amir is a half-elf?”

  “No I didn’t. She just seemed like a pretty human to me.”

  “Hmm…I see, so you are not very familiar with half-elves…”

  Tapping me on the shoulder, Rayla asks, “Hey Thoma, is there anything else you need from the guildmaster?”

  “Uh…Not really. Oh! I need new armor, the old one broke.”

  “Get another one from the armory then, tell em I sent you and they’ll give you a new one.”

  “Alright, thanks Uli!”

  “Can you go ahead then Thoma? You need to start your workout too right? There is something I need to talk to the guildmaster about alone.”

  “Oh, sure. I’ll see ya later.”

  “Yep, see ya.”

  I then walk downstairs, get new leather armor and start training.

  —--------------------

  “So? What did you wish to talk to me about Miss Rayla?”

  “I have new info on Thoma and I thought since you’re basically the closest one to family he has, I'd tell you about it.”

  A bit flustered and surprised, Shara Seleen replies, “Family? Me?”

  “Yeah, you help him out, treat him differently from other adventurers and he talks to you like you’re his actual aunt. Doesn’t he also just come by your office simply to hang out? I doubt you’d let anyone else do that. I talked to some other people in the guild and they think you’re secretly related to him because of how much you change when he’s around.”

  Giving a smug smile, she replies, “Well, you’d do well not to believe in baseless rumors.”

  “I don’t believe in them. I don’t think you two are actually related but I do think that you see him as family even if you don’t want to admit it.”

  Annoyed and exasperated, she sighs, “Sigh I’m not going to entertain this any longer, just tell me what you wanted to talk to me about and leave.”

  Getting serious, Rayla answers, “I found out that Thoma has two older sisters and an older brother. Also, that his uncle was the one that most likely cursed him. He told me he went to a festival with his siblings and uncle without his fathers approval and once left alone with his uncle he put him inside of a box and blamed his older brother for the disappearance. Then at a later point he cursed him.”

  Becoming engaged and serious, Shara Seleen sits down at her desk and gets out a pen and paper, “Is there any more information? Particularly regarding his uncle?”

  “No, unfortunately not but we do have a clue. Apparently he remembers eating candy in the shape of a flower on that day. You traveled a lot, right? Do you know anything about that?”

  “Hmm not anything specific, but they’re very popular in the south. They can be found almost anywhere there during a festival.”

  Rayla gets a toothy grin on her face, “So Thoma is probably from the south, that’s good to know! We’ll start traveling south then once we reach C-Rank!”

  Raising an eyebrow, the guildmaster asks, “Why C-Rank specifically?”

  “Because that’s when we can take B-Rank quests. Those span over the entire north.”

  “That might be true but if your goal is to travel, then D-Rank is probably enough to be safe. There are guild branches all over the world and you can travel to them freely taking on quests as you please along the way.”

  “But aren’t C-Rank quests only for quests in that country? We wouldn’t really know where to go in a foreign country.”

  Getting a smirk on her face she asks, “But you would suddenly know how to traverse the entire north once you reach C-Rank?”

  “I…I guess not.”

  “Everyone starts out somewhere, if your goal is to travel, I’d recommend that you start doing so once you reach D-Rank. The money from C-Rank quests should be enough to support your travels and you should be able to defend yourself against most road-faring bandits and monsters by then.”

  Brightening up, Rayla answers, “Yeah…You’re totally right! I didn’t think of that! Do you have any more advice?”

  Putting her pen away, she thinks for a bit then answers, “Well, for starters you should always make sure you have at least a basic understanding of the culture and politics of where you’re traveling. It might not be as bad anymore now but during my time as an adventurer, slavery was rampant and so called ‘demi-human’ laws were widespread. Elves in particular were seen as a profitable target. We had to equally fend off both monsters and people during our travels. Make sure you know places where Beastfolk are welcome. Also, as a woman, you will not have full rights in all countries. Be aware that some countries, especially in the middle kingdoms, do not consider you worth the same as a man. Once you start to travel, I also recommend you scout for at least one more party member. If possible, it would be best if you look for another woman. To ensure the safety of your female party members as a party leader it is best to have either the same amount or more women than men in the party. I don’t believe Thoma Ahad will be a threat to you but he’s also too naive to stop a developing plot in time. I recommend that if you’re doing calculations you should not count him in the male to female ratio until he starts to mature more.”

  Taking some notes Rayla asks, “I see…So what should I do in countries where I’m not seen as a full person?”

  Shara Seleen answers bluntly, “Stay low, don’t start any fights or arguments. Also, do not join any fights or arguments. Allow them to demean and mistreat you up to the point of assault. For those cases I can teach you some pressure points, they will cause pain but not injury. They will use any small slight against you. If you harm someone that assaulted you, you will be the one that gets punished for it. It is also best to try and adapt to the social norms as much as possible without it hindering your job or travel. Do they expect you to walk at least two steps behind a man? Then you do that. Do they expect you to eat out of a bowl like a dog? Then you do that and thank them for the meal afterwards.”

  Rayla looks almost a bit horrified when she says, “You’re really making this whole travel idea not sound like a lot of fun…”

  Shara Seleen waves her hand dismissively, “Oh, there are good parts as well of course, beautiful places, great food, nice people, you will find those in every country. And like I said, things were worse during my time and I still made it out alive. Most places have become a lot more free over the years, just not all of them and for those that haven’t you need to be prepared.”

  “I see…Thank you for the advice, guildmaster.”

  “You’re welcome.”