Episode 7 - The Inherent Secrecy of Darkness

Darkness inherently possessed the attribute of concealment. It hid things, shrouded them, rendered them invisible. Hearing the voice of darkness itself—the very essence of hiding—was exceedingly difficult. There were as few Umbrakinesis mages as there were chronomancers. It was an extraordinarily finicky power.

Eredis was astonished that her disciple had awakened to the power of darkness.

"Did you hear the voice of darkness?"

"Yeah."

Ian answered with a slight shrug. He had no idea what he'd actually accomplished. He was just thrilled that a new spell had been added to his arsenal.

"My god..."

Eredis, on the other hand, was in awe of her disciple's unexpected talent. Umbrakinesis was a legitimate branch of magic, so plenty of mages yearned to initiate into it. But the darkness attribute was so secretive and shy by nature that it rarely revealed itself. Deep caves were indeed places darkness favored, but the voice of the earth there was too loud to make for a good spot to hear darkness speak.

Aspiring Umbrakinesis mages prepared vast darkrooms, blocking out all external stimuli to focus solely on sensing the darkness. The process dragged on for months at a time, and some mages invested years. That was how challenging it was to even enter the school of Umbrakinesis...

Guess we're a good match, Ian thought.

Just as people had innate talents, mages had affinities for different attributes. Eredis, for instance, had a high affinity for fire. That was why her specialty was Pyrokinesis. Ian seemed to have a high affinity for darkness. A fitting affinity for someone nicknamed Raven.

"That's great. The more varieties of magic a mage can wield, the better."

Eredis blessed her disciple's good fortune.

Aerokinesis, Geokinesis. And now Umbrakinesis. Her disciple had already initiated into three schools. He could stop exploring right there and still be called a full-fledged mage.

But Eredis had no intention of stopping. A mage's duty was to always test their limits.

"Let's keep going, Ian."

"Yes, Master!"

"It'll get tougher from here, but I'll be watching over you, so have confidence!"

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"Got it!"

Ian replied energetically. He was starting to truly enjoy the process of learning magic.

...

But when they reached Cryokinesis, Ian's enthusiasm plummeted rapidly.

#

"Ugh..."

Atop a peak in the Golden Mountains, where eternal snow piled deep, the average temperature dipped below freezing in this frozen hellscape. Eredis had stripped Ian naked and shoved him into a snowdrift.

"C-C-Cold!"

It was all to initiate him into Cryokinesis.

"Focus, Ian! Listen for the voice of the cold!"

Ian ground his teeth. He couldn't even hear his master's voice. What the hell was the voice of cold supposed to sound like? Damn it! Humans were warm-blooded animals! A creature born with hot blood pulsing through its veins wasn't going to get chit-chatty with the cold.

Eredis was forcing Ian's body temperature down to make him buddy up with the cold by brute force. The minor issue of hypothermia leading to death could be set aside. A mage exploring the mysteries had to be brimming with a challenging spirit, after all.

"Get lost!"

Ian shouted that before clamping his mouth shut. No. That wasn't right.

There were times when you had to smile and play nice, even if you hated their guts. Like the boss-employee dynamic. The cold was the boss, and Ian was the employee. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The desperate one had to fake a grin.

"M-Master! I heard it! I talked to the cold!"

"Oh! You're quick!"

Eredis pulled Ian from the snow with admiration. This wild disciple had initiated into cold magic without much trouble. Her curiosity grew stronger. His affinities weren't ordinary at all. Just how many schools of magic could he handle?

To satisfy that curiosity, they had to test the next attribute.

"Next up: Hydrokinesis!"

Eredis dragged Ian to a lake and dunked him in, even stuffing a reed in his mouth so he wouldn't drown. She truly cherished her disciple.

*Blub blub...*

In the middle of the lake, Ian (forcibly) heard the voice of water.

"Excellent work, Ian!"

As expected. Ian had done it again. Eredis smiled warmly.

"Hah... hah..."

Ian, who'd spent the whole day submerged, felt like breathing alone might kill him. But a master's teachings had no end.

"Alright! Last one! Pyrokinesis!"

"...? Master. About Pyrokinesis..."

Ian broke into a cold sweat. He'd gone into snow for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cold, into water for water. So for fire...?

"D-Don't tell me I have to go into... fire...?"

No way, right? Eredis read his expression and burst into a bright smile.

"Correct! I'll light a fire, so hop right in!"

"..."

That evening, Eredis built a massive blaze and roasted Ian alive. It was spring.

#

Ian's initiations into magic were more or less complete.

Eredis's guided initiations ended there. That was as far as she'd gone herself.

"Ian. From what I see, you're favored by the mysteries."

"...What's that mean?"

Mysteries, whatever. He knew the Status Window was damn useful. Huh. Come to think of it, was the Status Window some kind of mystery itself?

"Usually, nature makes you close to one attribute and distant from others. But you've initiated into six schools without any real difficulty."

This wasn't empty flattery. Ian's affinities were genuinely remarkable. Few mages could embrace so many attributes in such a short time. Most took at least a month per school, making Ian's pace downright abnormal. Like a cliché, he was sucking up magic like a sponge.

Thanks to the Status Window?

Ian figured that was the secret to his rapid learning. Without it, he'd still be fumbling with the Maronius Language.

Isekai cheat—it's OP! Amazing!

Ian nodded in satisfaction.

"I'd love to introduce you to more schools, but..."

"Oh. Master."

Ian piped up abruptly.

"Is it okay to initiate into so many? No side effects or anything...?"

Eredis didn't grasp what he meant.

"Do you get side effects from making lots of friends?"

"Uh... probably not."

"Same thing. The more mysteries you can talk to, the better."

To put it in perspective, Ian was an insane social butterfly in the world of mysteries. MBTI-wise, an ESFP. Ironic, considering his actual personality was pure FP.

"Anyway. I have to attend the Pyrokinesis mages' conference at the academy now."

"Pyrokinesis conference?"

He'd heard about it in class. Mages from each school gathered periodically for "conferences." Fancy word for chit-chat. But it was surprisingly important. It was a survival check-in, and a time to handle commissions from each school. The reason mages who produced zilch could live lavishly was noble patronage. And nobles sponsored mages to use them when needed.

Barring hyper-exclusive secret meetings like the chronomancers', mage conferences handled worldly affairs to some degree. But like every group project in the world, someone had to do it, just not you. They'd assign tasks in rotation, and refusing meant getting cut off from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠funding.

"I've already skipped twice. If I don't show my face soon, it'll get risky."

The Pyrokinesis conference happened every three years. Eredis had skipped two under the excuse of raising a disciple—while still pocketing the grants.

"Then me too...!"

"No. Ian. You go wander the world and collect more mysteries. Initiate into more schools, and if possible, found your own."

Eredis rated Ian's magical talent highly. He wasn't the type to obsess over one magic.

In her case, she'd forged a deep, ride-or-die friendship with one friend. As a Pyrokinesis master, she and fire were besties. Even tough requests got fulfilled if she asked nicely. Most mages walked her path: digging deep into one school. Mages who learned shallow and wide were laughingstocks.

What's the point of 100 group chats? Better one friend who'll spot you 1,000 bucks in a pinch.

The mage who'd built a bond where even the toughest requests got granted—that was the realm of the grand mage.

But what if you had 100 chats? 500? 1,000? The guy spamming 50 was a desperate socialite craving superficial ties. 100 chats made you a relationship wizard. 500 made you a monstrous networker. 1,000? That was madness beyond mortal comprehension.

To Eredis's eyes, Ian could chat with 1,000 mysteries. No need for that one big loaner friend. Borrow a buck from a thousand, and you'd have plenty. Why bother?

"Learning the magic that suits you is what's important."

"If I learn Pyrokinesis too..."

"Pyrokinesis is dangerous. And it's not like the world particularly needs it."

She was a Pyrokinesis mage herself, but Eredis didn't value it highly. Modern Pyrokinesis was used solely for destruction.

"Ian. Time to head down the mountain."

Eredis announced the end of their long, long magic lessons. The seasoned Pyrokinesis mage and the greenhorn wizard stepped back into the mortal world.