Zandren looked to be middle-aged. His smooth black hair, streaked with white, fell over his shoulders. He had a clean shaved face and a single earring on his left ear.

Sitting at the library, John listened to his teacher’s lecture with as much focus as he could muster. At the start of his spellcasting lessons, he always waited for the next classes. But as the years passed, and the novelty of these new spells wore off, his interest declined.

Unlike the spars in the morning, there was no threat of physical pain if he ever slacked off, and neither was there a significant gain by putting too much of an effort. Simply put, these spells had very little practical use for him until the day he ever becomes an Archmage. Until then, these lessons sounded more like a constant grind.

Which brought to mind the coins of crystalized mana that Athalia gave him. John fished inside his pocket and took the coins in his hand. according to his teachers, he should try and move the mana as when casting a spell, but inward rather than outward. Even when not actively practicing, he should keep the coins on him at all times.

“John, are you listening to me?”

John came out of his daze. “Sorry, teacher.”

“That’s okay,” said Zandren, setting down his spellbook. “I guess that we’re on all edge with troops being raised and all.”

Funnily enough, that was the least of John’s worries, as he didn’t really expect Hagen to lose. During his time in the castle, he made sure to keep an ear to the ground for news coming from Knight’s Crossing. From what he gathered, earl Skanler always made sure to keep his troops well-paid, but that could only get someone so far. The earl’s heavy-handed measures had finally caught up to him, leaving him both feared and hated by his people. Never loved.

That may sound unimportant for a ruler, but it meant that the earl was forced to maintain his cruel tactics to keep control over his subjects. Crueler tactics increased the chances of revolts, forcing him to spread his forces around to prevent further uprisings. With Vasilis and his men stoking the flames at Knight’s Crossing, it was clear that Skanler’s days were counted.

“I doubt that the fighting will ever Rochdale but in case it does, it's better to be prepared. You’ve just become a Crusader, so you won’t be all that useful against professional soldiers. Fortunately, you’ve got the crystalized mana with you.”

“Why is it fortunate?”

Because you can use it to protect yourself. Zandren reached forward and took the dark coin. “Lady Athalia ordered those for you to help speed up your cultivation. That’s the main purpose of crystalized mana. If you keep applying yourself, and with the help of these coins, then I wager that you should be able to become an Archmage before the tournament. But remember, these coins are literally made of mana. The same mana that we use to fuel our spells. Tell me, how much mana so you think there is on these coins?”

John considered the question. Zandren, a Warlock, spent a year crafting a single coin, which would lead John to believe that it was a lot. But if the coins would only help him enough to become an Archmage, then they clearly didn’t contain all that much mana. Maybe the long time to create was due to the difficulty of the process, and not the amount of mana itself. And that’s the answer that he gave.

“You’re partially right. Crystalizing mana is indeed a long and arduous process. But that doesn’t mean that the amount of it inside these coins is insignificant. I’d say that together, these two coins have as much mana as an average Warlock spell. What I’m going to do is teach you how to set this mana off.” Zandren walked away and returned with a lamp made of a simple metal cage with a lightstone inside. He opened it up and grabbed the lightstone, somehow causing it to turn off. “Here, infuse it with mana.”

John did as he told and, as expected, the lightstone lit up again.

“More, as much as you can.”

The lightstone shone brighter as it was fueled with more mana. Next, it heated up, it’s white light turning to a bluish tone. Finally, when it began vibrating, Zandren summoned a shadow tentacle to coil itself around the lightstone, completely enclosing it. A muffled pop from inside it followed next.

His teacher produced a white tissue from inside his robes and placed it between the table and the coiled tentacle. Next, he undid his spell, the tissue catching the shattered lightstone’s pieces. “A lightstone exploding doesn’t cause much damage, it was just a matter of not making a mess.” He then displayed the crystal coin. “This, on the other hand, will cause a much bigger explosion. All you need to do is to fill it with as much mana as you can until it starts vibrating. When it does, you get rid of it as soon as possible.”

John tried to ignore how he’d been carrying around two explosives on him this whole time, and instead focused on its applications. “If they are so great, then couldn’t we supply soldiers with these?”

“Sure, just like you could forge a war hammer made of pure gold. It’ll work, it’s just not very cost-effective. Remember that the only way to crystalize mana is through a Warlock, and then it’s easier to place them along with the soldiers. As I said, the main use for crystalized mana is to make it easier to cultivate it.” Zandren wrapped the tissue around the lightstone pieces and stood up. “I think that’s enough for tonight. Before I leave, is there anything else you want to know?”

“Just one thing.” John picked the crystal coins. “If these coins have so much mana in them, then how come they’ll only able to push me to become an Archmage?”

Zandren gave a wry smile. “We’d need all night to answer that question, but long story short, it’s because we’re not very good at absorbing mana. This is simply a fact of life for us humans, better worse depending on the person’s talent, the purity of the mana, and even their age. There’s a reason why the war academies have an age restriction, and that’s because the older you are, the harder it becomes to cultivate.” He placed a hand on John’s shoulder. “That’s why for now, you should try to focus on getting stronger.”

John nodded. After Zandren left, he brought a hand up to his mother’s necklace hidden beneath the tunic. Both a Paladin and a Warlock before thirty years of age. Along with the key, those were the requirements to enter the Secret Realm’s core area. That’s what his mother had hoped to achieve before the fall of her tribe.

As soon as John deals with Vasilis, he’ll be able to focus on what is most important.