I spent the rest of the day training with Niryn. Under her guidance, I learned two new skills. The first was 『Mana Enchantment』 , a technique similar to 『Mana Reinforcement』 , but with a different application: it consists of channeling one's own mana directly into an object—be it a sword or a staff—in order to temporarily improve its physical properties. The energy condenses and adheres to the surface like a layer, making the object sharper, stronger, or heavier depending on the user's intention.
The second skill was even simpler, but no less effective: 『Magic Missile』 . It was a concentrated projection of mana. The technique consists of condensing a small unstable sphere of energy and launching it in a straight line, with enough speed and impact to injure, stun or destabilize an opponent. A fundamental skill — versatile, intuitive, and with destructive potential that grows with refinement.
As training drew to a close in the late afternoon, Niryn stepped out for a moment. Upon returning, he carried a small translucent orb in his hands.
"Master," she said, almost as if she were sharing an ancient secret. "I had forgotten something important in my excitement… But now that you have reached Rank 1 and formed your core, it is possible to discover your elemental affinities."
The orb in his hands seemed ordinary at first glance, but it pulsed gently with an inner light. Niryn handed it to me and explained:
"This orb absorbs the user's mana and, based on the colors revealed, determines which elements are most in tune with the person's soul. In general, a person manifests one to three affinities. These can vary greatly and are often influenced by the environment, experiences, and forces with which the person has come into contact."
I nodded, curious. "And all I have to do is put my hand on it?"
She simply nodded serenely. I reached out, placing my hand over the orb. In the next instant, I felt my mana being sucked into the sphere, like a river being sucked into a silent void. When the flow stopped, I withdrew my hand and watched.
The first color to emerge was a silvery blue , clear as moonlight, and as it appeared the air around me cooled a little. Then a pale yellow , pulsing like pent-up electricity, making the hairs on my arms stand on end with the electrical charges.
Then came a pure black , dense and absolute, like the total absence of light. The third color emerged as a deep green , vivid and vibrant. And finally, a purple-black aura shimmered faintly, like a veil between worlds.
When the purplish-black color appeared, a different shiver ran down my spine. It wasn't fear. It was... familiarity.
Niryn's eyes sparkled. She looked amazed.
"How wonderful, master!" he exclaimed. "You have five affinities... Four natural and one conceptual. Silvery-blue indicates Ice ; light yellow, Lightning ; black is Darkness ; green is Nature ; and dark purple... is Death ."
I nodded silently, taking in every word. Since the fact that I had five, one of them being Death... didn't seem like something common.
Did the Node influence this as well? I thought. Given the affinity with nature, I think so, and perhaps my reincarnation gave me the element of death, and the others must be natural to this body, I imagine.
And after seeing that I finished thinking, I nodded and she continued her explanation like a teacher teaching a student.
"You see, master, this is very important. Each element has an aspect that serves to define the specific paths of magical manifestation that that element can take. They expand the affinity in a more refined and detailed way, revealing the multiple facets of the same elemental power."
"The aspects of the ice element are stillness, conservation, silence, and patience . The lightning element has the aspects of speed, fury, clarity, and instantaneity . The nature element has the aspects of mutability, interconnection, instinct, and cycle ."
"The element of darkness has the aspects of forgetfulness, emptiness, concealment, and fear . And finally the element of Death has the aspects of finality, separation, rebirth , and purification. "
I nodded silently, mulling over the idea. Then I asked:
"And how can I refine an element to reach the level of revealing the multiple facets of an elemental power?"
"Well…"
At my question Niryn pondered how to explain it to me and said after a while:
"To refine an element to reveal its deepest aspects — it is an esoteric, dangerous and demanding process, which involves both an inner and magical journey."
"Where you need to go through a spiritual, symbolic and arcane quest. For you to have an inner revelation and harmony to reach a state where you can take maximum advantage of the element."
I nodded silently, mulling over the idea. Then I asked:
"Do you think I can learn how to use these elements now? Or is it... too advanced?"
Niryn smiled tenderly.
"You can learn, master. It's not difficult... but it's not easy either. It all depends on you."
I frowned slightly, confused. And she noticed.
"You see," he said gently, "summoning the element requires more than mana. It requires internal evocation. You must form a clear image in your mind—something that represents your bond with that aspect."
She closed her eyes for a moment, as if returning to a distant moment.
"When I first used my element... I visualized a calm river, flowing between moss-covered rocks. It was the spring where I grew up. That was water to me—life, movement, gentleness. And mana understood."
I understood what she meant. Image, emotion, memory. All connected.
"So... if I manifest my mana and focus on an image that represents ice... it should work?"
"Yes, master," she said with a gentle smile. "Feel the element. Don't command it, invite it."
I nodded and sat up straight. I took a deep breath.
I raised my hand and channeled my mana, forming a floating sphere that was my newly learned spell 『Magic Missile』 . The energy danced between my fingers, dark green and vibrant. Then I closed my eyes and immersed myself in memories and images.
To perform the spell I thought of endless glaciers. Icy winds. Falling snow. The absolute white of a frozen world. The fissures of a lake covered by a thick crust. The cold that preserves, that paralyzes, that waits. Mountains with giant snow-capped peaks.
Then the sphere cooled.
Not just on the surface. The mana within her… changed. Thickened, as if it had given up on flowing. Too dense to escape, too stable to vibrate. It was as if it froze from the inside out—not in response to its surroundings, but in response to my request. As if the very concept of movement had been momentarily forgotten.
I opened my eyes.
The ball of mana in my hand was silvery blue, surrounded by tiny suspended flakes. Pure ice.
I watched for a while, analyzing, it was very cold and dense, it seemed like it could cause a lot of damage.
Then, with a light gesture, I directed the magic toward the opposite wall of the room. The sphere responded without hesitation. It flew in a straight line, cutting through the air with precision, following my will fluidly, without slipping.
The impact made no noise. Just a silent explosion. A silence thicker than the air settled in the instant he touched the stone. And then, slowly, the ice began to spread.
It was a meticulous expansion. As if it were taking invisible steps. A thin, almost translucent layer emerged from the point of contact and spread across the surface of the stone, tracing geometric patterns that resembled the veins of fossilized leaves. There was no rush. The wall, previously opaque, began to cover itself with a crystalline web that froze its entire surface quickly and silently.
When he saw this, he smiled, delighted with what he had done.
And beside me, Niryn clapped her hands lightly, her eyes shining with pure amazement. She looked like a child witnessing a miracle.
"How wonderful, master... you really are... special."