Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Teach your children about crystals and they won’t have money for drugs.

The wonders of this world had come to life around me. Regents flowed with magic, the crystal in my hands showered me with golden light, and by my side was a child marked by a divine being.

I so was bored.

“When you said we had to wait, I didn’t think it would mean five hours.” I spoke.

While I was being measured, I couldn’t use spells, so Gerial was keeping my arms up with air. It felt solid underneath my skin, although I couldn’t see the substance itself.

Gerial had borrowed my book and was flicking through it to pass the time.

“I know, I thought it would only be three.” He looked up at me. “You really did use the Mark a lot.”

A quick flash of pain passed through his purple eyes. I knew his opinion on using our Marks. He looked like he had used it himself over the past year, but he was nowhere near my level of progress.

The crystal was filled with lines of gold, and it was constantly absorbing my mana. I could feel waves of power and magic washing over my body as the regents around me worked together to examine my body in ways I couldn’t fathom.

“What are my chances of having an affinity for other elements?”

One of my most underutilized skills was mana manipulation. Whenever I used earth manipulation, the mana manipulation skill would also gain experience, however, it was supposed to be a catch all skill that let me manipulate all kinds of mana.

Or at least, I thought it would be.

Mana sense allowed me to see all types of mana, so I thought that mana manipulation would let me communicate with them.

I hadn’t had any luck. I could wave at the mana I saw, and it would wave back, but I couldn’t communicate with it in the same way that I could with earth mana. It wouldn’t move if I asked it to.

“I’d say your chances of elemental affinity are pretty good.” Gerial smiled. “Don’t look so surprised, usually people have an affinity for a few elements, but it’s not enough to attune to them easily. Most people never do.”

“My teacher said the same thing about attunement, but I’m not sure how affinity plays a part.”

Indra and I hadn’t spoken about affinity. He was waiting for my measurement first. It was the only way to tell whether a person had an affinity for certain elements. If I really did have affinity for a few elements, it might open up some options.

The measurement also helped in another important way because the church of Crijik would see the report, including my manapool, and see it as further proof of my Marked status.

The sceptics would find it hard to disprove a verified report that listed my details.

“An affinity means that your body can hold the mana of that element. It is the most basic of connections, but also the most intimate.” Gerial tapped the crystal. “At the moment your body holds one kind of mana. Divine. But the crystal will glow at the end of the measurement with the colours of your affinity.”

I looked into the crystal and the swirls of gold inside. I tried to see if there were any other colours, but they were out of my view if they existed.

“This connection is vital. If you don’t have an affinity with an element, you will never be able to attune to it.” He gazed at me. “There are some people that have no affinity at all, and they are known as manaless. Their bodies can’t hold any type of mana.”

“Yeah, I’m familiar.” My dad came to mind.

“It is not so simple to accept these elements into your physical form.” A new voice resounded through my ears.

There was a thrum of magic as the headmaster released his mana into the nearby regents again. Between breaks in charging the regents he had entered into meditation, and I hadn’t wanted to bother him.

Now, his eyes were open, and he was looking at me.

“The path of multiple attunements is difficult.” His voice was low. “Tell me, have you felt the power your attunements hold?”

My mind conjured a memory of when I had delved into it and examined the two attunements I possessed. Both the earth and metal symbols were sending waves of power through me at all times.

I nodded at the headmaster. “Is that an issue, sir?”

“A body can only hold so many attunements before it begins to break.” The headmaster placed his hands in front of him. “Your body is more resilient than most, for it is being molded by your Mark. However, attunements are not all equal. Should you attune to two elements that clash, it will damage you, and you will lose any benefits you have gained.”

I crossed my legs underneath me, careful not to move my hands from the crystal.

This was the headmaster of the academy. His words were infrequent, and his advice was more valuable than gold.

“What kind of damage would multiple attunements do to me?”

I had the impression that the elemental symbols weren’t in my body, but my mind. Possibly even my soul. So directly interfering with my physical form meant that they would also damage me in other ways.

The headmaster put a hand to his chin.

“That answer varies from person to person, and it depends on the elements they attune to.” He replied. “Your earth and metal elements stem from the same roots, so they do not interfere with one another.”

He traced his hand through the air as he spoke, and wisps of fire carved out symbols where his fingers moved.

I could see eight symbols in total, each one representing a basic element.

“If you had attuned to fire, and then water, you would find that they clash with one another.” He pushed two of the symbols he’d created towards me. “Usually, one will be suppressed, and you will no longer be able to cultivate its mana within your body.”

He clicked his fingers and the symbols disappeared. In their place was a body carved from flames with skin of ember.

“Then there is the issue that arises if they do not clash, but your body cannot handle the power provided.”

He clenched his fingers into a fist and the makeshift body collapsed from the inside out, power writhing underneath their skin.

I shivered at the image.

I felt fine as I was, but just like the headmaster had said, my two elements were compatible with one another.

“Most do not reach this stage.” The headmaster's expression turned gentle. “Even if they have affinities for two or more elements.”

There was something else he had said that had piqued my interest.

“You said my body is different because of my Mark.” I sorted through my thoughts carefully. “What changes do you mean?”

I hadn’t received the purple eyes that Gerial had and aside from the rapid ageing the knights had said there were no other physical changes when I’d asked.

The headmaster looked at his son and then back to me. “Both of you are slowly growing into the pinnacle of what you could be and when you reach it the Mark will not let you pass further. That is the nature of the Mark’s magic.”

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I looked down at my legs and arms and flexed.

They weren’t particularly muscular, or incredibly strong. In fact, they were kind of ordinary. I wasn’t interested in exercising when I spent all my day training my magic.

“That’s not quite what I meant.” The headmaster chuckled at my antics. “Tell me, have you been sick lately?”

“I… Haven’t.” I frowned.

Had I ever been sick?

“Have you ever been sick?” The headmaster’s words mirrored my thoughts. “The answer is written in your expression. However, your body also provides you a special advantage because it is built to house divine mana.”

The crystal glowed brighter at his words. The golden light spilled across us and I saw the threads of mana solidifying within the crystal.

“Even if your body does not house earth mana, you can use elemental skills because your divine mana will transform to match the element your spells require.”

“So, I don’t need to house the mana within me. As long as I’m attuned to the element, I can use it skills?” I took in this new information.

That meant that I wouldn’t have an issue even if my attunements suppressed each other and prevented my body from absorbing or producing the mana of the suppressed element.

My divine mana would take care of it for me.

“It is more accurate to state that your divine mana will not allow other elemental mana within your body. It is territorial.” The headmaster’s gaze turned serious. “That is a possible explanation for what happened in the event you described to me.”

He was talking about the illusion I had found myself in. The headmaster wasn’t sure that the green mana I had encountered was real or not. If it was, then my divine mana had consumed or destroyed it the moment it tried to enter my body.

The headmaster shook his head and then leaned towards me.

“I heard that you have been using the arena.” His tone was sharp. “It is not uncommon after taking Alistair’s class for students to train their skills.”

I held back a frown. I knew that the faculty kept tabs on me, possibly on all the students, but it was strange to see it pronounced so openly.

Instead, I nodded.

“Good.” The headmaster smiled. “It warms my heart to know you wish to train. Perhaps you can convince Gerial to join you one of these days.”

“Dad, please.” Gerial rolled his eyes.

“Actually, I was thinking the same thing.” I eyed my fellow Marked one. “I’ll be there on Fue with a friend. Maybe you should join us.”

“Tomorrow?” Gerial sat back.

I felt the air spell underneath my arms waiver as Gerial’s concentration was broken. Then it strengthened itself again as he realised his mistake.

I didn’t push him and left him there pondering the offer.

“I did have one concern I wanted to clarify.” I turned back to the headmaster. “Mr Black can help me if I list my accomplishments, and tell him my skills, but I can’t reveal my Mark to him. Is there a way to swear him to confidentiality?”

I hadn’t revealed to my teacher my Mark-related skills. This included the ability to make a portal that connected to Gerial and activating the Mark itself.

It had been on my mind since my first C-class. It wasn’t just my Mark. I had reincarnated, and I wanted to know if that would be considered an accomplishment that could affect my class options.

Either way, I at least needed to be able to talk to somebody about the Mark. Otherwise, I would be leaving a lot of options unexplored.

There could be magic that made sure he couldn’t tell anyone else about my skills. Or maybe he already knew, and I hadn’t been told.

“Koshima academy has taught students from all across the world, children of commoners and noble houses alike.” The headmaster spoke. “Your situation is a unique one, but I personally guarantee Alistair is worthy of your trust.”

“I shall talk with the church to see that they accept this, and once they do you will be allowed to speak with Alistair about your Mark. You are not the first Marked one he has taught, nor will you be the last.”

He looked towards Gerial and my fellow Marked one nodded. Relief swept over me. If the headmaster trusted Mr Black with Gerial’s information, then I could trust him too.

I would have to approach it with caution, but the headmaster’s assurance had gone a long way to easing my worries.

A few minutes later the orb shone brightly, and I felt the connection I had with it break. In the middle of it a golden radiance shifted in colour. It transformed into mists of orange, red, blue, and finally it turned transparent again.

I heard one of the regents whirring and looked up to see the headmaster waiting patiently for a piece of paper to come out of it.

“Congratulations.” The headmaster held the long piece of paper in his hand. “Your tests are as I expected. A perfectly healthy body, more so than usual. there are no defects in your mana retention or manapool. Exactly the same as Gerial’s before you.”

He looked down the page and I saw his eyes widen.

“My word, you have been using your Mark a lot.” He turned to me. “If you give me permission, I will share this with the church. These two points alone will lend validity to your claim as a Marked one.”

“Of course.” I didn’t have to think about it.

Anything that helped the church confirm I was who I said I was would lead me closer to gaining them as a permanent ally. Their resources were amazing, and I didn’t want the knights to consider me a possible imposter.

A bout of curiosity bloomed in my mind.

“Does it say anything about my affinities?”

“Indeed.” The headmaster rifled through the page. “You have an affinity with four elements.”

I took my hand off the crystal and the headmaster handed me the paper, pointing at the section. Gerial looked curious too, so I read it out loud for him to hear.

“Fire, Earth, Wind, Water.”

I stared at the crystal that had swirled with four different colours.

Gerial nodded his head.

“Not bad.”

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