Kai pushed his food around the plate, his appetite vacant as his mind did loops.

  What did the man mean? He should be encouraging Kai to sleep with as many of the crew as possible.

  The fact that the man had just been dressing him down for expressing the utility of being in a situation-ship with his daughter, then had casually remarked that boggled Kai.

  Either the man was crazy, which was possible considering his supposed advanced years, or he really, really did not understand the culture on this planet.

  Honestly, he was getting mixed messages.

  Maybe it was some kind of test of character? Could the sage be dangling the opportunity to sleep with the crew as some way to test his commitment to Alicia?

  “What is it?” Alicia asked from his side, “You don’t like goblin?”

  Kai dropped his fork. “This is goblin?!” he asked as he looked down at the succulent chop in front of him with a growing sense of unease; he was lucky he hadn’t actually started to eat anything yet.

  “Of course it isn’t goblin. I just thought that would snap you out of whatever has you locked away in that mind of yours.” Alicia giggled behind her hand.

  “You need to get used to examining your food. You’ll find it won’t flinch like everything else you examine.” Syl said as she ate the meal she had looted into the domain, then projected out onto the table so she could eat at the table with the rest of them.

  Checking the domain quickly, he found there was a copy of Syl sitting at the dining table eating the fancy meal, all alone. His heart sank as he watched her actions mirroring that of her projection out in the real world.

  She technically didn’t need to eat, but there was something inherently social about the act of sharing a meal with others that clearly transcended worlds. Taking the food and projecting her act of eating with them into the real world was a poor yet functional workaround for her predicament.

  Seeing her sitting alone at that table, Kai felt he needed to move his plans up.

  Fortunately, he had a little bit of time, as there was quite a bit of setup for Syl’s physical manifestation, as she was apparently working with arcane concepts far beyond her tier.

  The immediate solution would be to invite everyone present into the domain. But he didn’t know if he could loot the sage or Arnella to bring them into the domain the same way Alicia had gained access.

  There was, however, another method at his disposal; the problem was the risk involved. It was definitely something he needed to practise before he even thought about putting it out there for others. Maybe some kind of intermediate testing before he moved on to human trials.

  Kai realised he had gotten lost in his thoughts again when he jumped from the poke Alicia delivered to his ribs.

  “Seriously, Kai, What is it? I know your mind wanders, but this is a bit much.”

  “I er… I-” he stammered, as his brain drew a blank.

  “We just found out Kai does not carry the taint. I imagine he is weighing his options, trying to decide what he can get away with. Or more accurately, what the people at this table will allow him to get away with and how it might affect your relationships. He definitely has things to discuss with you and Syl in private.” Thanric said as he put a perfectly cut piece of tender meat into his mouth.

  Kai felt three separate pairs of eyes lock on him as he decided now was a good time to see what this meat actually was.

  Unidentified braised mystery meat.

  Seeing the results of his examination, he sighed and took a small cut; the mystery meat was delicious. So delicious, he resisted the urge to discover what the meat was, just in case it was something terrible.

  Looking around after taking his bite, his hope that things had moved on.

  But no, he was definitely the centre of attention.

  Syl grinned at him as he mentally squirmed.

  Alicia, her ears twitching, blushed profusely as she kept glancing his way and fussed with her own meal. Her usual decorum was noticeably absent.

  Then there was Arnella; she looked at him like he was the meal.

  Kai coughed nervously and decided, whatever this meat was, his attention was best put to devouring the chef's hard work.

  Unfortunately the sage wasn’t quite done with his verbal bombing run.

  “I have already advised him it’s a possibility to set up insemination contracts with any of the crew that may be willing.”

  “Do you know if his lack of the taint will actually carry over to his progeny?” Syl asked casually as if they were discussing the weather.

  “I am hoping, though we won’t really know until the first child is born.”

  “If it helps”, Syl started as she looked off to the side before gesturing as if she were flicking something invisible across to Thanric. “Kai has this. As we are talking about his potential offspring, I think you should know.”

  Kai immediately knew they were talking about one of his traits, and he looked it up to see how it might actually affect things.

  Adaptable Progeny:

  All your progeny are adaptable and will favour the adaptations, mutations and variations of your mate.

  Thanric tsked, “This complicates things; the taint is a genetic alteration. It may be carried across from the mother regardless with this trait in play.”

  Kai let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding; that should take the pressure off him… But wait, that would mean he and his partner would stand to lose children at the same rate as everyone else on Alea.

  “We believe the trait is intended to favour racial differences of the mother…” Syl said carefully. “We think, when Kai and Alicia have children, they would be as pure an El’viairen as she is and not a hybrid. The same would be for Arnella. Their hypothetical offspring would be Gnomel.”

  Thanric chewed on his lip, his glance switching between Kai and Alicia a couple of times, then between Kai and Arnella, as he mentally weighed something up.

  Thanric clicked his tongue. “I was just trying to wind him up with the whole crew thing. But this might actually merit some investigation…”

  “I know of a few candidates already; they would be very discreet.” Arnella said with a sly smile.

  “But Kai’s more of a family man; I don’t think he would ever go for that.” Alicia interrupted.

  “Oh, he is one of those?” Arnella asked, her hungry looks only growing more lascivious.

  “Alicia, the problem is you don’t plan on having children for what, the next sixty years? I’m certainly in no position to give Kai the family he has always craved… I will need a real flesh-and-blood body for that. I mean, I think it might be possible with the physical projection I'm working on… but it will be incredibly risky.” Syl supplied.

  Kai shifted uncomfortably.

  He was beginning to feel like a prized stallion that had just won a race at a world record pace, and everyone was trying to turn him into a stud to pass that speed onto the next generation.

  Thanric let out a breath, “If anything happens to Kai, this opportunity would be lost forever… Perhaps we should consider one or two discreet contracts where the product will not have any legal relation to Kai and his established family line. Arnella, could you send me a draft of those you think suitable?”

  He was really beginning to wonder what happened to this being a private conversation; he had to speak up, or he might find himself in a less than desirable situation once again.

  “Is the possibility of creating some kind of vaccine, inoculation or curative spell from my clean, taintless sample not actually the best option? Once developed, you can deploy your discovery en masse, removing the taint from Alea in years instead of waiting for something that may or may not work to pass through the masses over generations.” Kai asked.

  The table went quiet, as they seemed to at least weigh his opinion on the matter.

  Alicia’s head shot up. “Master, I think you are mistaken. It will not be forever. Syl, correct me if I am wrong, but others will be able to come and go when Alea integrates with the rest of the multiverse. If that is the case, then those people will be the same as Kai… I do not think it is fair that we are putting this burden on him.”

  Thanric leaned back in his seat, “Yes… I suppose I am getting ahead of myself. Though, is there not also a possibility we will never be fully integrated?”

  Syl scoffed, “The system will never give up on integrating an A-class world like Alea. Once connected, the local pantheon will come lay claim; pray that it's one that will develop the planet and not ravage it.”

  Thanric pushed his empty plate towards the centre of the table.

  “I never thought I would say this, but I believe this might warrant a conversation with my god.”

  It seemed that Alicia had actually come to his aid, as from then on the meal was quite enjoyable.

  Once everyone had finished their course and pushed their plates to the centre of the table, the plates vanished simultaneously to be replaced by the second course and, eventually, the third.

  The conversation had grown pleasant but light, Syl and Alicia recounting the events of the dungeon for the amusement of Arnella and Thanric.

  But as they were finishing up, that was when the sage chose to unleash yet another of his now, in Kai’s view, patented verbal bombshells.

  “Alicia, I want you to clear out your room and move into Kai’s temporary quarters. It should help with the crew if you two share a room during your stay onboard. Besides, once you depart the ship, you will no longer be my apprentice, and it is very unlikely you will ever use your current room again.”

  She shot out of her seat, “But master!”

  Thanric's glance was enough to silence Alicia.

  “Do not think I am abandoning you as my apprentice. You will merely be assuming a new identity that is detached from me as your master.”

  Alicia sank back into her seat.

  “Since I have dealt with your distasteful predicament back in the capital and given recent events, your mother and I both agree you should be allowed to establish yourself. Though… I still need to discuss things with her.”

  “My predicament?” Alicia asked cautiously.

  “Yes, I grew weary of intercepting all the communication attempts. At first I thought to leave the sordid affair for you to sort out when you were ready. But then new information came to light, and I felt I must take action… Your mother called him a useful fool once she realised I had taken action. Complaining that I had cut a rotten branch she was using to find rotten roots.”

  “Lord Bryant?”

  “He is a lord no more; disgraced, he has tucked his tail and fled to his collaborators within the shattered kingdoms. A place he will soon discover is less than hospitable to our kind once he has outlived his usefulness. I had hoped to be more thorough and eliminate him, not just disgrace him… but it is what it is.”

  Arnella grimaced.

  Alicia looked thoughtful.

  “While I am already taking steps to ensure you remain on the path to greatness. I believe you are well placed alongside Kai and Syl. Especially after I read your notes on the nature of core development and private system usage.” Thanric glanced at Arnella. “Things just need to be managed appropriately in the days to come.”

  Thanric smoothly rose from his seat, looking at his guests with open eagerness. “Now if we are all finished, I would like to get back to the lab and explore the curious nature of Kai mana. Syl, will you be joining us? Your linked nature may be a factor.”

  Syl shook her head as she drifted out through the back of her seat. “Despite my small amusement at Kai’s attempts to navigate the ship and its crew. I’m taking a step back to let him figure things out. He knows where I am if ever he needs me, just a thought away.” She smiled at him before turning back to Thanric. “Besides, at the moment I am laying the foundation of a spell that will run for what could be centuries, if not millennia; despite following an extensive guide, it’s actually quite interesting. like a giant Lego set where everything has to be perfect, except it’s magic, and there are no Lego pieces.”

  There was a flash of interest in Thanric's eyes. “If I am mistaken, there should be a way for me to enter your domain. I am just beginning to explore my own domain, and I believe a tour of yours later today may be more than insightful.”

  Syl tapped her lip for a moment before looking at Kai and shrugging, “So long as you realise you will be close to powerless in our domain. Gift only functions because he is effectively made from the same stuff as the domain. But today… today may not be a good day. Things are a little up in the air at the moment, literally.”

  “Yes… Gift, I have yet to meet with the child. Alicia, I believe he is currently acclimating to the reward you received in the dungeon.”

  Alicia nodded.

  “I will leave getting you into the domain up to Kai… There may be unforeseen limitations to bringing people into the domain at our level.” Syl said, “We got lucky with Alicia in more ways than one.”

  Thanric rubbed his hands together and then gestured Kai towards the door, saying, “I am sure Kai will figure something out. Atheos is whispering in my ear that it is indeed possible. Now ladies, if you will excuse us, I am sure you three have a lot to get to today.”

  With the way the sage rushed him back through to the lab, Kai was wondering why the ancient man was so eager.

  Once they had made their way back into the secluded room, Thanric took a moment to clear up the samples from the previous testing before returning to the table to take a seat and stare Kai down.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Tell me, Kai, what do you know about mana?”

  Kai thought about it; he didn’t actually know much, just what he had picked up from Syl and working with Kain and Inego in the dungeon.

  Feeling that there was no point mincing his words, he said, “Well, besides it obviously being used in anything arcane. I believe it's created in our core, absorbed and converted from the world around us. Even the stuff we eat and drink is partially converted into mana.”

  “All true… Do you know what the stuff you convert is or where it comes from?”

  “Well, I know when the system came to Earth, my world lacked eather, and as a result of that, my mana core was… deficient.”

  Thanric nodded appreciatively as he sipped his tea.

  “You are correct; without eather, there is no mana. We have actually been attempting to map the concentrations of eather on Alea. Despite being everywhere, we have discovered it forms what we call ley lines, which we have been mapping as we study how higher concentrations affect the environment and those that live within it.”

  Thanric waved his hand, and a fresh pot of steaming tea appeared, and he poured a cup for himself and Kai before continuing.

  “One of the things I wish for you to understand today is that eather in its natural form is inert, making it safe to absorb and/or convert into mana. But mana, on the other hand, is concentrated and volatile.”

  “Making it dangerous to absorb and convert.” Kai said, following the logic.

  “Exactly… but not exactly. You see, mana takes on a nature or an aspect depending on who or how it was converted from eather. You have no doubt noticed the difference in the way spell constructs may look depending on who created them.”

  Kai nodded. “I’ve noticed all Alicia's spells have a golden hue while mine are a bluish purple. Actually, I had a mentor in the dungeon that taught me something he did, but his version was actually grey.”

  “That would be because of the nature or aspect of their mana. You will find Alicia's mana predominantly favours light and life. The life making her suited for support magic that manipulates the functions of the body… I would have taught her healing magic, but it takes decades to train a suitably qualified healer. Decades I did not have.”

  Thanric held out a hand and created a ball of mana that was a crackling white. “I have the life aspect mixed with lightning…”

  The orb vanished as Thanric created two more, one in each separate hand, one a light blue that sparked to his fingertips while the other was a clean, softly glowing white.

  “Over the years I have even learnt to separate my two mixed aspects. What do you think will happen if I were to bring these two orbs together?”

  Kai had nothing but context here; the only time he had really seen mana interact with other sources of mana was when his mana bolts impacted a barrier in the dungeon. And that, at most, was explosive… but also the point of his man bolts.

  “I want to say… a volatile reaction.”

  Thanric moved to close his open hands, one orb connecting with the other in a violent hiss, much of the mana Thanric had in each hand escaping as only a small, light, crackling ball remained once the two had merged into one.

  “Not enough here to have any reaction other than a significant loss as the two merge. But what you did up on the top deck was different. You had so much mana in play; there should have been some reaction with everything else that floats about up there. But there was nothing, not even a distortion or a stray spark.”

  Thanric leaned in. “Tell me, when you were in the dungeon, did any of your spells exhibit strange characteristics… Like, for example, a mana bolt bursting into flame?”

  Kai shook his head, apart from the intentionally unstable mana bolt exploding their intended target into fine paste. He couldn't think of any time the spell had done anything strange. Sure, he was still working on getting the bolts to track his targets on their own. But he had picked up so many skills in such a short time it was difficult to work on them outside of the combat trials the dungeon presented.

  “No? That’s surprising. Normally when someone starts using mana for the first time, the aspect of that mana is revealed within the first few days. Most already know their innate aspect before they cast their first spell. Their mana naturally expressing itself as their core matures…” Thanric trailed off as he got lost in his thoughts.

  “Mana wasn’t a thing for my world, at least until the system came,” Kai explained.

  “Yes, that too may be a factor. Would you mind sharing your skills with me, just the ones that use mana?”

  Kai hesitated; most of his skills used mana. And something told him that sharing his skills held risks, that it was generally only something done with those you trust, like party members. When he thought about it, Syl and Alicia hadn’t actually sat down with him and shared their skills; he only knew what they were capable of because he had fought at their side.

  Thinking of Syl and Alicia, he realised that was an option, and he reached out through his connection, ‘Syl, you got a minute? Thanric is asking if I will share my skills with him.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘Just feel it’s risky sharing my skills with others.’

  ‘You’re not wrong, and I am glad you asked. But I think we're far past the point of holding back with Thanric. We're at his mercy, and he is our father-in-law. Either way, though, this is up to you; they are your skills.’

  Wait, that caught him unawares, ‘Our father-in-law?’

  'Kai We’re bound together; when Alicia gets engaged to one of us, she gets engaged to both of us. That's how it is on Alea; we occupy a kind of grey area… Unless I’m just your mistress, that would change things… Kai, am I just your mistress?’

  Kai didn’t justify the jibe with an answer; at least he hoped it was a jibe.

  Thanric must have picked up on the fact Kai was having a conversation, and he sat back with his cup of tea.

  Kai checked his arcane skills; the list had recently grown with what Syl had passed on to him. But he saw a clear problem: only his mana bolt had become uncommon; the majority were of his skills, still basic. It was embarrassing to share, but he passed the information to Thanric with a thought.

  Uncommon Mana Bolt.

  Mana Barrier.

  Mana Mark.

  Mana Sight.

  Mana Sense.

  Mana Infusion

  Infused Strike.

  Conjuration.

  ( Nascent ) Spectral manifestation.

  - Spectral Blades

  Stun

  Telekinesis

  Thanric perused the list. “Interesting, all these skills are in their basic form apart from mana bolt… Were all of these skills learnt from skill books?”

  Kai shook his head, “I learnt a couple of the skills through Syl, and a mentor in the dungeon helped me develop Spectral Manifestation. It’s similar to mana conjuration but without the focus on making matter out of mana.”

  “If I hadn’t seen you fight with my own eyes, I would have assumed someone was priming you to be a mage. All these skills are primers for more advanced magic. I do wonder if learning all this from skill books is what has kept your mana un-aspected thus far… Was the stun skill what you used on that woman that ambushed you?”

  “I have roughly the same number of martial skills, and no, it wasn’t stun; I learnt that just last night. I actually manipulated time in the space surrounding that woman; it's technically not a skill, at least not yet.” Kai said, trailing off as the sages grew larger.

  The sage got up and paced for a bit, mumbling to himself.

  “The way it was explained to me, travelling through the void to reach Alea without a body, my exposure to the abyss left its mark on me.”

  So far as we understand, time and space are both concepts – observable forces, certainly – but they’re something that is relative and hard to observe. We know they can be manipulated because of spatial storage, time locks and other such devices. But no one has been able to achieve results other than duplicating items from dungeons and rifts. And you say you just manipulate it? No mana involved?”

  “Oh, it uses mana, lots of it. I know it's possible to lock what I do off and have the effect take on a semi-permanence. But I haven't figured it out. So far all I can really do is slow time in a localised area, distort space and possibly connect two distant locations, portals... But it's the same with everything else. No time to practise or train.”

  Thanric started rummaging through the cupboards.

  Kai kept talking to fill the silence. He was actually eager to be getting this out there. Who knows? Maybe Thanric, the sage of Alea, could help him take the next step.

  “I know gravity manipulation is an adjacent skill, but I have been told that will come naturally after working with the other two for a time.”

  Thanric turned around, a large, uneven, skull-sized crystal ball held in his hands and a feverish look on his face.

  “You say that the system has not yet defined your manipulation of time and space as a skill?”

  “Yeah, but I have run into that before, and it's still not clear to me how that works. I think I need to define it, but thinking of it as time or space manipulation has not worked.”

  “In my experience a new skill needs to be consistent and repeatable before it will be accepted or definable before the system itself will acknowledge anything.” Thanric said as he sat down and set the crystal ball between them, its irregular shape preventing it from rolling away, “But we can find time to talk about the nature of skills some other time.”

  Kai looked at the large clear chunk of stone that had presumably been cut and polished into its current shape and couldn’t help but think of all the animes and mangas he had seen where a crystal ball was used to determine strength or magic type.

  He chuckled and asked, “You’re not going to tell me to use this stone so you can determine my current power level, are you?”

  Thanric rolled his eyes. “Hardly. While it is technically possible to get a rough gauge of your current power, the measurement would be purely theoretical. A person's use of mana is often more critical than their quantity of mana. This, however, will give us a clue as to the aspect of your mana.”

  “So, do I just touch it and channel in a little mana?”

  Thanric nodded. “Yes, the crystal will naturally split any aspects or natures found in your mana. Just like a prism splitting a ray of light out into the full spectrum.”

  Kai complied, touching the crystal; he let a little mana trickle into it, the stone sucking it in eagerly.

  He expected there to be some kind of reaction, but as time passed and his hand grew clammy against the stone, nothing happened.

  Thanric, for his part, watched the stone eagerly, chewing his lip as he scribbled down notes.

  Just as Kai was beginning to think he must have been doing something wrong, Thanric got up and pulled the stone away from him. Turning away without a word to put it back where he found it. Before continuing to rummage for something else.

  Kai didn’t know what to do. Despite the trope of a stone that could determine his mana type, there had been no reaction. Thanric, for his part, had given no indication that there had been any problem or, for that matter, anything of any particular note worth mentioning.

  “If it helps, my mana used to be blue with a slight purple hue. But ever since I was taught to manipulate time and space, it became more purple than blue. And it flashes and crackles from time to time now. But it’s not like electricity or anything like that…” Kai said trying to give the sage more information to work with.

  Thanric looked back over his shoulder and hummed contemplatively before turning back to his search. “If it started after you learnt to do something with time and space, I believe your mana may be taking on a desired aspect, not that it is that aspect… especially after the results of that last test.”

  What results? Nothing had happened.

  “I’m looking for some test papers; they were costly to make and aren't used anymore, as that mana crystal is a far more cost-effective way to determine someone's aspect. Ah, here we are!”

  Thanric turned back to Kai with a dusty wooden box in his hands. “I knew I had an unopened set here. They stopped producing these shortly after the system came. These were actually a gift from a past student; may she find comfort with the spirits.”

  Kai looked at the old box Thanric set between them.

  “Thanric… This sounds precious; you don’t need to do this; I can get by as I have been.”

  “Hush, this is for my curiosity more than anything else.” Thanric said as he attempted to open the box. A noticeable wax seal running the full circumference thwarted his efforts.

  “I like you, Kai, but you’re not that special.”

  Kai chuckled at Thanric's choice of words and shared one of the traits with the man who had just summoned a knife to work at the box’s seal.

  Special:

  You are one of a kind, truly unique.

  “Spirits, I was joking. How did you manage to get that achievement?”

  “It’s actually a trait, not an achievement.”

  Thanric stopped working at the box to give Kai a long, long look.

  Finally making some decision, he licked his and asked, “If things go terribly wrong… how would you feel about donating your cadaver to science? I promise I will treat your corpse with the utmost respect.”

  Kai shrugged, “If the taint's still an issue, knock yourself out.”

  “Why would I… Oh, a colloquial expression from your world. Alicia said you can be confusing.”

  “It frustrates me too, my language skill; Omniglot translates everything so easily I just forget I have it.”

  Thanric's eyes flashed at the mention of the language skill, but just as he was about to say something, the box popped open, the sage immediately inspecting the contents as he laid the box and its now open lid flat on the table.

  “Good, good, good. Looks like the seal was still good after all these years; nothing has spoilt.”

  Kai looked into the box; there wasn’t much to it. Just a dozen sections of bits of dull white paper and a set of wooden tongs.

  “Look with mana sight and feel with mana sense,” Thanric said as he retrieved the tongs. “But whatever you do, please don’t examine it. With how rough you are with that system skill, you might just set it off.

  Kai groaned; he really needed to work on his examinations. Despite having expressed permission and now reassurance that it was acceptable to just examine people, he had put it off today out of sheer embarrassment. But as he activated his mana sight and sense in tandem, he promised himself he wouldn’t be shy about it tomorrow.

  “Did you mean to make your eyes glow?” Thanric asked him curiously.

  Kai blinked. He hadn’t channelled any mana into his eyes, but the mana sight must have had something to do with his eyes; there must have been some bleed-through of mana causing his eyes to glow.

  In the future he would have to be careful. As useful as the skill might be, his glowing eyes were one of his main identifiable features others could use to identify him as the focus of the system event.

  It was a concern he locked away for later; right now he was mesmerised by the scattering of colour emanating from the paper within the box.

  His mana sense, however, was overloaded by everything else going on within the lab and beyond the floor and walls around them, so much so he halted the skill the moment he felt the pressure of a headache.

  “You should find that each piece is permeated with its own distinct aspect of mana.” Thanric said as he took the tongs and used them to pick up a piece of paper that had a distinctly fiery colour and held it out for Kai to take.

  Thanric's intention was obvious. Kai reached out to take the piece; the moment he had it pinched between his thumb and finger, it burst into flame.

  Thanric said nothing about the reaction as he took a quick note and picked up the next piece of paper. This one had a distinctly blue hue.

  Taking the paper, it disinterested with a puff of air.

  The next one burst in a blinding flash of light.

  One piece zapped him, and another made his fingers numb with cold.

  Before he knew it, Thanric had given him one piece of paper from each section of the box. Each of them reacting in a distinct way.

  One piece turning soggy, another changing into sand. When one grew roots, he that wriggled around his fingers, while one somehow seemed to suck in light.

  Four of them, however, seemed to do nothing so far as he could determine, but they disintegrated the moment he touched them, and Thanric looked pleased with the result, scribbling down a note in his book.

  Thanric closed the box with a sly grin on his face, “You know what, I take it back; you are special. I have seen people with naturally aspected mana in at most three or four types. Personally I started out with two, and I’ve only worked that up into using their complement of ice and shadow.

  “So what’s my mana aspect?”

  Thanric shrugged, “Needs more testing. But at the moment my best guess is you don’t have an innate aspect or nature to your mana…”

  Kai wasn’t expecting that. “So I don’t have-“

  “Don’t get ahead of me, boy… And don’t get me wrong, there are people who lack any aspect; the thing about those poor individuals is nothing in that test would have reacted to their mana. As such, they struggle to do anything but basic magic without going through extra steps to convert their mana first.”

  “So…”

  “It’s the difference between a fire mage and a natural pyromancer. In my case, my mix of life and lightning allows me to manipulate the body in interesting ways, hence support magic being one of my specialities. Though I am forgetting that neutral, un-aspected mana certainly has its applications.”

  “But I’m not one of those people…”

  “You, Kai, so far as I can tell, have mana that is neutral… or more accurately primed. It’s like it is ready to adapt and reacts as needed. It’s the reason, or so I believe, your spell constructs have not deviated from their intended form. And why you didn’t cause a volatile interaction with the mana up on deck.“

  “So I’ll be able to do what exactly, use any kind of magic?”

  “No, exactly. So far you have been using basic magic, and you haven’t tried to deviate too far from what you learnt from the skill books. But let's say you want to cast something like a fireball. Well, you may have to learn to manually convert your mana if you ever want to branch your current skills into more exotic forms. However, for you there should be no loss in the process of conversion. Tell me, when you construct a mana bolt, what method did you learn from the skill book?”

  “Method?” Kai asked, confused, “I usually just focus my intent and channel my mana, et voilà, mana bolt.”

  Thanric just looked at Kai for a long moment as he processed the reply, then followed up with another question, asking, “No chant, no internal visualisation or mental mantra?”

  Kai shook his head.

  “Is this the same for the skills you didn’t learn from skill books?”

  Kai nodded. “If it helps, most of my skills were from system skill books created for my world’s tutorial, but the others, like my mana sight, infused strike and conjuration, came from a dungeon reward Atheos manipulated, and I use them the same way.”

  Thanric turned over his palm, a glowing pattern appearing in the air above it.

  “Kai, does this mean anything to you?”

  He shrugged, “I'm guessing it's a spell construct; I have seen Gift and Alicia use them. But none of my basic skills seem to need them.”

  “It's my personal mana bolt… You should be able to recognise it… unless you’re using your mana to cast spells in a fundamentally different way.”

  Again Kai shrugged, “It’s all magic to me; I just do it somehow.”

  Thanric palmed his face.

  “I think Syl’s the same…”

  ‘I’m not… well, not completely; I recognised the mana bold spell construct, but that could be because I’ve seen it countless times before.’ Syl said through their connection.

  “I had planned to teach you some things, maybe even a few body-enhancing techniques to give you an edge as a magical brawler. But I think I’m going to need to revise my planned lessons. Start with the basics and see how they conform to you. Maybe work on guiding you to use some of the more useful aspects… Honestly, the only comparison I can think of is the way dragons use magic, but that’s what makes them terrible teachers – feel this and feel that, useless. Give me a spell diagram any day.”

  Thanric let his hands drop to reveal a fire in his eyes and an eager grin on his face.

  “Kai, if it pleases you. Could you attend to me each day after training with the adventures? I will do my best to teach you what I can while you're aboard.”

  “Sounds like a plan… I mean, what else could I do with my time but practise my skills?”

  “Sleep around…” Thanric said casually as he gave Kai a sidelong glance.

  That caught him off guard; he had hoped that had been dropped after the dinner discussion.

  Hearing Syl once again giggling in the back of his mind, he was reminded of something.

  “Actually, there is one thing,” Kai said as he tried to squeeze his connection with Syl, hoping it would shut her out. “I need some help coming up with a proposal.”

  “Proposal… Alicia? You’re already well past that phase, I'm afraid.”

  “No… though, she might like a proposal of her own… It’s actually Syl; I have something to give her, something that’s significant.”

  Kai fiddled with his soul ring as he began to explain the custom of putting a ring on it.