A great morning, it was. The sun shined brightly, flashing its smile through the window.
Standing by the window, Maeyurai was gazing over the buildings and structures in Gangumen.
"What could possibly be beyond this place?" he asked himself.
"Beyond this place?" a female voice replies. "It's only danger."
It was Mhiya. She had just entered the room and heard what Maeyurai was mumbling to himself.
"Right, because of the Hell's Spawns, huh?" said Maeyurai, turning his head to face Mhiya.
"Well, you're right. But Hell's Spawns aren't the only dangers out there."
"Like what?"
"People," Mhiya bluntly replied. "Some wicked people are out there to spread evil. Not only that, but even the world may be against us. The environment isn't really that safe, especially in the other regions aside from the Baofuming Region."
If you thought about it, she was right.
Just because the Hell's Spawns were the main cause of humanity's close extinction thousands of years ago doesn't mean they're the only danger.
Things like murder, homicide, and other sorts of crimes or war crimes existed. And humans themselves are the main reason why bad things exist.
It's because they are influenced by their surroundings, and it ends up being an endless cycle of continuous wrongdoings.
But why not fight evil with evil?
Fight murder with murder?
Why not kill all the sinners in order to clean the world?
Would that solve it?
Of course not—it's just the same cycle all over again.
"In that case, is there still any good left in the world?" asked Maeyurai, stepping closer to Mhiya.
Mhiya was silent, taking a moment to collect her thoughts.
And then, she made up her mind.
"Yes, absolutely," she replied. "By the way, let's go now; Mr. Koja's waiting downstairs."
"Oh, okay," said Maeyurai.
Mhiya turned away and left the room, followed by Maeyurai.
In the living room downstairs, Huizen was sitting on the couch with a coffee in hand. On the dining table, there was food prepared.
They could see Shienne sitting on a chair by the dining table. It looked like she was waiting for them so they could eat breakfast together.
"Took you long enough, Maeyurai!" said Shienne, shifting her weight from her seat.
"Sorry, I wasn't used to the bed here. I couldn't sleep," Maeyurai replied as he gave Huizen a bow.
Huizen pats his shoulder, then gestures for him to head to the dining table.
Maeyurai sat on a chair; he could smell just how good the breakfast would be.
"Who cooked?" he asked.
"I did," Shienne answered, looking at Maeyurai with the corner of her eye as she took the wooden utensils in hand.
Surprised, Maeyurai would take his own utensils as well. "Wow, I didn't know you could cook."
Shienne smirked. "Learned from the best," she said as she looked at Huizen, who peacefully sipped at his cup of coffee.
Maeyurai chuckled; he found it quite amusing that Huizen was a great cook.
"Is that so? I might as well try to learn then."
Afterwards, the three of them started eating their food. It was a delicious breakfast. With the garlic rice that complemented the taste of the ham and eggs. And the mango drink that Shienne juiced was the icing on the cake.
Maeyurai loved it. But of course, Shikkan's baking would always be on top in his heart.
*
Wearing his standard clothing, Maeyurai stood on the lawn beside Huizen.
Shienne and Mhiya were doing their daily morning training, the same training that they did yesterday.
"Since you finally got your First Sign," said Huizen. "I'll be teaching you only magic for the next 2 days."
Oh? Finally learning magic?
Yes! This is what I've been waiting for!
Maeyurai celebrated silently, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips.
"I see, so what should be the thing I do first?" he asked.
"Try to conjure a fireball."
"Right now?"
"Yes."
He fell silent. Maeyurai didn't know how, nor had he ever done it before.
While the First Sign indicated that he was a Conjurer and an Infuser, it is today that he will know what his true Attributes and Affinities are.
"How do I do it...?" Maeyurai asked sheepishly.
Huizen cocked his head to the side. "Why don't you try to replicate the feeling when you got burned yesterday?"
"And get burned again?" Maeyurai quickly responded. "Hell no."
Huizen merely gave him a deadpan look, returning his head to its original position.
"C'mon, it's going to be different. Just think subconsciously that you're going to control it. That way, your mana won't go wild the same way it did yesterday."
"Are you sure...?" asked Maeyurai in a tone filled with both worry and doubt. He wasn't confident in himself, and he was fearing feeling the same agonizing pain that he received.
"I'm sure. Just believe in me."
Maeyurai exhaled. "Okay, I'll try."
Okay, what was it again?
I believe it was something like this...
Visualizing an isolated room in his mind, Maeyurai observed his surroundings.
Something's missing.
What is it that I'm missing...?
He continued looking around until his eyes landed on the ceiling. Then, he finally remembered.
Creating a virtual hatch on the ceiling as well as a ladder that he could climb up on, he delved deeper into his mind.
He touched the hatch and turned it open.
In the physical world, wild flames and lightning were being conjured all around him, pushing away anyone that would come close.
"Maeyurai!" Huizen called out, stepping back in order to not get burned or electrocuted.
"Maeyurai! Maeyurai!" he continued calling out, but Maeyurai was too deep into the mental world.
Going back into Maeyurai's mind, an incredibly powerful storm was outside the hatch, and its strong wind currents entered the isolated room.
Damn! he exclaimed mentally.
I need to close that hatch! The winds are so hot and electrifying, it doesn't make sense!
How am I even feeling it in my mind?!
Immediately, he closed the hatch and tightened its hinge, making sure not to let a single gust of wind inside.
He snapped back to reality, the flames and lightning that once surrounded him gone.
"Hm?" he hummed in question, looking around until his eyes landed on Huizen. "What happened? What are you being so cautious of?"
Looking at Huizen, he was perplexed by Maeyurai's sudden return.
"You scared me there!" Huizen shouted. "I thought you would burn yourself even more!"
"Huh? What do you—"
"Whatever you were thinking in that mind of yours, you're doing it wrong. You've got to do it gently so that your mana doesn't go out in one burst."
Do it gently?
Wait... It makes sense.
If I let only weak wind enter through the hatch, then it's possible that the same goes with how mana leaves my body!
"That sounds about right," Maeyurai replied in a knowing tone, feeling confident that he might be able to do it this time.
"Try again," said Huizen as he crossed his arms.
Maeyurai nodded his head and focused his attention on his right hand.
In his mind, he formed the same isolated room with the same hatch on the ceiling. He imagined opening it very delicately, only letting a little wind inside.
The wind that entered was hot.
And what he saw in his palm was a small fireball. It was the tiniest he's ever seen, but it was visible.
"Oh!" he exclaimed excitedly, losing focus. "I did it, Huizen!"
Right after looking at Huizen, the fireball dissipated. He couldn't maintain its form, much less control its size.
"That's the first step. Great job!" said Huizen. "Now, I don't know how to teach you how you can use two mana affinities at once, but I can teach you how to use your Fire Mana."
Before Maeyurai could speak, he added, "That way, you can possibly apply the same concept and idea to when you use your Lightning Mana."
Maeyurai nodded. "That makes sense."
"But," he said. "How do I use infusion? I don't know how to activate it."
"Infusion?" Huizen repeated. "Hmm... I'm not sure how exactly since I only have Conjuration. But for Mhiya... She said that she only thought of placing mana into an object, and she managed to infuse it."
"Placing mana into an object? Should be easy," said Maeyurai as he nodded his head in understanding.
Okay, let's try infusing my hand with my Fire Mana.
First, I'll open the hatch, and then I'll reach my hand out until it makes contact with the hot wind.
He closed his eyes and focused, much harder than he did earlier.
And then... He succeeded! His right arm was feeling warmer than usual. As he opened his eyes, his hand had a more vivid and saturated color, as if glowing.
It was a weak infusion, but he managed to succeed.
"Woah! I can feel it!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"Nice one, you got the hang of it easily! Next, try removing the infusion by doing the reverse," replied Huizen with a smile. Maeyurai's quick learning was bringing joy to him.
Maeyurai nodded his head, already attempting to dispel the infusion.
"Got it," he said before closing his eyes to try and close the hatch in his mind.
After pulling his hand away from the hatch, he closed it tightly and made sure to hinge it. Afterwards, the infusion in his hand was gone, but he felt a decrease in its energy, as his hand was feeling heavy to move.
"Phew," he huffed as he shook his right hand, feeling relieved that things didn't turn out bad.
Okay, I kind of want to try conjuring with my Lightning Mana now.
I feel that I can do this... But like...
How do I get lightning to come out instead of fire...?
How was it that the wind that seeped through the hatch felt hot and electrifying at the same time?
Soon after, Maeyurai closed his eyes, going into deep focus.
Looking at the hatch in the ceiling, he climbed up the ladder and opened it slightly, letting the wind enter. He imagined that it would contain his lightning mana, and it did.
It was electrifying. Literally.
This is it! I've done it!
Opening his eyes, there was a large lightning bolt in his hand, its length around two meters.
And in front, there was a fearful, shouting Huizen, running towards him.
"Maeyurai!"
Time felt slow, but the pain finally registered, only for a split second.
Looking closely at his hands, the lightning bolt was melting away his skin, slowly tearing apart his palm and fingers.
He closed the hatch.
"AGH!" Maeyurai yelled out in pain, clutching his right hand as he felt the skin fall off. He could see the muscle tissues on his palm and how they would retract every time he moved them.
He continued yelling out in pain until Huizen took hold of him and immediately took him to the shooting range.
Huizen took the barrel near the table and poured the water over his hand, making sure to cool it down.
Immediately after, Huizen took his towel and gently used it to pat Maeyurai's hand.
"Hold it," he said. "Fight the pain; that's normal."
Maeyurai hissed, breathing heavily.
"You sure are prone to injuries, aren't you?" said Huizen, wrapping the towel around Maeyurai's hand.
"Ssh... Sorry... I really wanted to learn how to use my Lightning Mana as well. I got too eager," replied Maeyurai in a saddened tone.
"No," Huizen answered back immediately. "It's no problem for you to be eager. Just be careful next time, okay? And for now, no using Lightning Mana until you've learned how to use your Fire Mana.
Not waiting for a reply, Huizen continued, "Now, go rest up. We'll continue tomorrow."
"Why tomorrow?" asked Maeyurai. "Can't it be later—"
"No," Huizen replied with a stern voice. "Take a rest for the whole day."
Maeyurai shrank down with a sigh.
"Fine..."
*
The very next day, Maeyurai continued training around the same time that he did yesterday.
While training, he was told not to use his right hand, as it was injured and burned by the lightning bolt that he conjured yesterday.
Huizen had him conjure 50 fireballs. While it didn't need to be perfect, he had to maintain a fireball's round form for 30 seconds without it faltering.
So far, out of 50 fireballs, he has only succeeded in maintaining three.
After the 50 fireballs in the morning, Maeyurai continued training in the afternoon.
This time, he had to infuse 50 blunt-tipped arrows with his Fire Mana, making sure that he dispels it five seconds after.
Out of 50 arrows, he succeeded in infusing 29 arrows but couldn't continue due to the risk of running out of mana.
Huizen said that mana is incredibly important. It is essential to living; that's why he told Maeyurai to rest because it could become life-threatening.
When a person has zero mana or has at least one drop of mana higher than their capacity, their physical form would fall off.
This is because everything is made up of mana, including humans. If they don't have mana, their form will become incredibly fragile. A small push would be enough to kill a person.
While if a person has too much mana in their body, their physical form wouldn't be able to contain the extra amount, similar to chromosomes, and make the human body look bloated in a certain part until it explodes if too much is stored.
Having too much mana is a rare case and is always found in Assimilators, or the users of Assimilation.
*
It is night.
Training was finished, and Maeyurai was sitting down on the couch in the living room inside Huizen's house. Shienne and Mhiya were out to get something. It was always like that every night; it seemed to be a daily errand.
The front door opened.
"Maeyurai?" Huizen called out, entering through the front door, holding something in his hand.
"Yes?" answered Maeyurai, shifting his gaze to the right, where the main door was.
"Since the uniform I gave you was destroyed due to your First Sign... I'll give you this newly woven uniform. It's specially made for you."
Huizen approached Maeyurai, reaching his hand out to give the new uniform.
"W—woah... This looks good!" exclaimed Maeyurai, holding out the brown uniform, clearly admiring it. "Thank you!"
"Of course, can't have any student of mine not have any uniform, yeah?"
Maeyurai nodded.
Then, he bowed to Huizen, gripping the brown uniform against his chest.