Candles of purple flame scattered light across the pews of the church as thick incense swam through the air. A dozen acolytes bearing tin pins maintained a silent vigil as a voice sang a hymn across the hallowed hall. The prayer of faith, an ode to the Crijik. The words sung were a message of praise intended for the divine, and the people present were allowed to hear it as a privilege.

This was the Mass of the Church of the Crijik. A ceremony held once a week on the divine’s name-day.

Held in the hall of the Koshima church, the mass brought together people from all walks of life. Fine robes adorned with gilded etchings mixed with dirt-smeared shirts as rich and poor congregated and sat together as one. In these halls there was no judgement, because the divine did not judge. After all, no divine meddled with the affairs of mortals.

At the head of the hall was a single child. They were no older than a teenager, and the dozen acolytes filed in line behind them symmetrically, their hands brought to their chests in the shape of a ball, the symbol of prayer. The child wore a mask with a single eye. It was impossible to tell their gender, but all present knew who the child represented.

The Marked one of the Crijik.

I gazed up at the figure and the sight of the people around me calmed my beating heart. There was something magical about the atmosphere that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Symbols glowed during the procession, and I was surrounded by people far stronger than I. But that wasn't what grabbed my attention.

It was the silence.

Hundreds of people moved in unison, their hands and heads moving in the same patterns as they listened to the hymn in the air. Silver masked magicians mingled with manaless humans, noble households put aside their squabbles to kneel, and none raised their heads above the one-mask. It was a power different from magic, but far stronger in the hearts of the people.

This was faith.

I stayed sitting with my head kneeling down toward the altar for an hour. There were times when I was asked to rise, and times for me to join in prayer. Each and every member of the congregation around me worshiped the Crijik. They also worshipped me.

I was the centre of their attention and a fly on the wall at the same time. All of these people held the Marked One of the Crijik in their hearts and prayers, but none knew my identity.

When the hour was finished, I joined the throngs of people exiting the church. They separated into groups, no longer joined by their beliefs. I could see the relief of the magicians around me. They'd had to hold in any excess mana when entering the church for fear of offending the Divine and the organisation that worshipped it.

"Not quite what you expected, Andross?” A voice floated into my ears. "I still can't believe you've never been to a mass before.”

Each word smacked into my ears due to the sheer volume, several people turning around to look at its source.

“I've been to a mass before, but I don't think I've truly experienced a proper one.” I responded.

When I'd first gone in search of answers about this world and its culture I’d attended the masses of all the divines. Each one was different, and I'd found no clues as to their true nature.

I turned around and saw the man speaking to me. Tan skin mingled with a spattering of gold and silver, the man’s feet making no sound as they glided over the grass. At the side of his robes sat a bronze mask, its polished metal reflecting the sun into my eyes.

He wasn't native to Koshima, that much I could tell from a glance. But where he'd come from I didn't know. What I did know was that the man was a far better scriber than I was, and he had a bigger voice than Indra and Ouros combined.

“Wahyu.” I returned his words with an equal amount of joy, but less volume. “I was worried you weren’t going to show up today. Then I'd have to pick up the slack.”

The man paused; his hand raised. “That only happened two times. Urgent business. Besides, if I didn't come then who would teach you how to scribe? I'm the best.”

His smirk gave away his lie and I rolled my eyes. It had been three months since I’d come back from Gesti Sky and I'd been busy training skills, learning new uses for them and enjoying life.

"I don't think I know enough about inscribing yet to say that you're not playing a long-con and teaching me useless scribbles.” I slowed down and let him catch up to me.

We both knew I was joking. Ever since Gerial had introduced us the man had helped me as he would his own disciple. I even had the feeling that he wasn't doing it because Gerial had told him to, but because he genuinely loved to inscribe. It was refreshing.

"Alright, alright.” Wahyu clapped my back. “You know the drill by now, time to get our robes dirty.”

My foot caught against the dirt as his massive hand sent me sprawling forward and I tripped.

The dirt rose up to protect me before my face hit the ground, cushioning my fall and writhing underneath me. Two pillars the size of cushions rose up into the air and placed me back onto my feet, steadying me like two fussy handmaidens.

"One day you'll get me." I clicked my fingers and the two pillars disappeared. "But not today."

“Learning to dodge is the first step. So, I'd say you failed.” Wahyu twirled a lock of his hair and whistled innocently.

If he knew he’d just smack a Marked one, how would he react? I was glad I didn't know the answer.

There wasn't an ounce of annoyance in my heart as the man laughed at my words. It was a game that we played as peers, the both of us trying to one up each other.

One day I would trip him up in front of a pretty woman, and the next he would send me flying. The both of us would always use our earth magic to steady ourselves before we could touch the ground. The first one to fail to do that would be the loser.

So far none of us had won against the other, but not for lack of trying.

"Better earth magicians than you have fallen for my tricks.” Wahyu shook his head. “Speaking of which. Where's Ouros?”

“I'm here! I'm here!” A voice boomed across the clearing.

A hand wrapped around my shoulder before I could turn around and a familiar bundle of lanky muscles and green hair dye greeted me. A young man wearing bundles of green, brown and grey swept across my vision with a giant smile on his face.

“Ouros, you're late.” Wahyu frowned. “You'll need to do at least two houses today.”

Ouros groaned, but I could see a smile hiding behind his hand. Before long we were far from the church, and our task came into sight.

It was an empty lot of houses, joined together in theme by their incomplete construction. So far only the foundations had been laid out, and some had pillars placed down into the ground.

"Why are we doing this again?” Ouros whined.

“Because we want to graduate.” I said.

On the surface, both of us were working with the church on a joint project as part of our earth and metal magic classes in Koshima academy. It would earn us extra credits, though I didn't care about that.

Only I knew that it had been arranged for me by the headmaster, as part of my request to learn more about the church’s workings.

The details of the assignment were simple.

We had to help create buildings in the outer districts of Koshima using our metal and earth magic. Each of us would be assigned an individual dwelling per session, sometimes we'd be paired to create a larger building like a hall.

It wasn't easy work, but when it came to learning practical applications for my skills and leveling them, it worked wonders.

"Don't look so happy at Ouros’ pain. You’ve got to inscribe the foundations for that house today.” Wahyu turned to me. “Protection, hardening and anti-liquid symbols. If you'd finally learn that anti-mold symbol I've been trying to push into your head you’ll be earning piles of coins, believe me.”

"Why do I find it so hard to believe you the more you ask me to?” I asked. His answer was to laugh.

Wahyu was a strange person, but there was no denying that the church had sent one of their best. He could carve multiple symbols from memory, without using reference papers or carvings like I did. And he didn't brag about his knowledge. If not for the streaks of metal flowing over his skin, I'd have never looked twice at the man.

Officially, his role was to watch over our project and make sure we didn't create a house that would collapse after a day. Unofficially, Gerial had sent him here to teach me about the church. The man had experience as a priest, and as a community worker.

However, it was a mutually beneficial partnership.

Finding a metal mage that could also inscribe symbols was like discovering a unicorn in a haystack. The fact that I could do so while I was so young meant that Wahyu was over the moon to have my help. After all, children were happy to work for the ‘experience’ and not be paid.

The three of us walked through Koshima, passing the hospital connected to the city's Crijik church and the numerous incomplete houses that layered the area.

"There’s slightly less than one metal magician per city.” Ouros’ hands rubbed his neck as we passed through the area. “Gold will be piling up for us no matter where we go. And I know proper metal magicians don't go around making houses for people.”

“Selfish pit donkeys.” Wahyu shook his head.

Most of the metal magicians would spend their time on more lucrative projects than creating houses for the poor and destitute. The only organisations that would even think of issuing a request for that were the churches of the Divines. Even then, they weren't guaranteed to get anyone accepting those requests.

A few weeks ago, I hadn't known even that minor fact. I was learning more each day about the day-to-day activities of the Crijik church. It involved a lot more helping than I’d imagined.

"Why are you here?” I spoke the words to Ouros before I could stop them. I hadn't asked him before because it hadn’t occurred to me until now.

I had a lot of reasons to try and associate with the church and get to know them, but Ouros was part of a noble household. He didn't need to give up his weekend for extra credit. Even if it was tempting.

He had access to training resources I could only dream of. A single day in his family’s cultivation rooms would help more than building houses.

"Because the church was there for me when I needed them.” Ouros shot me a look.

I paused and nodded.

Koshima had been attacked by a monster a few months ago. Ouros had been caught in that attack and hospitalized, his mana pool permanently damaged. While he was recovering the church of the Crijik had declared that any people caught in the attack would be provided free care. Even though he was a noble and heir to a branch family of famous earth magicians, that kind of favour wasn't one that Ouros would dismiss easily.

He was the kind of guy to pay back his debts even if he would lose out when doing so.

"Keep your eyes sharp and your legs strong, it rained last night.” Wayhu interjected.

I broke out of my thoughts and saw the fruits of my labour drenched in puddles of mud. The concrete foundations of the house I’d been building over the past couple of days were stuck tight into the ground.

Well, it looked like concrete. The material's name was [Hard Grey Stone] according to the church. Whoever had first names it wasn’t too imaginative. I wasn't sure how it was made, or how similar it was to the concrete I was used to in my world. All I knew was that it held firm.

I clapped my hands together and bricks of the stone materialised in front of me, each one appearing from my inventory. The bricks floated around me and hovered above the mud and water.

"I'll clear the ground.” Wahyu said.

With a wave of his hand the water in the mud separated and rose into the air. Droplets glimmered in the sunlight as pure and clear as a freshly polished mirror. What was left behind on the ground was a dry patch of dirt for me to place the bricks.

I gestured downwards and the bricks fell into a neat pile as Ouros cleared the remaining mud in the area. The simple act of moving the waterlogged dirt sent beads of sweat down his forehead.

Manipulating a substance that mixed two elements intrinsically was a challenge. Notes of water mana would interfere with our earth manipulation. It wasn’t that the water mana would fight us. It would simply ignore our attempts to move them.

Bored, flowing, tired.

Impressions of concepts flowed into me as I stared at the water mana. I’d activated my [Mana Sense] skill as I walked. I could hear the thoughts of the mana in the world around me. Or whatever it was that mana had in place of thoughts. Trying to interpret the language of mana was harder than moving mud. A jumble of concepts was the best I could get.

Once the bricks were laid down and secured, Ouros and I got to work. A flash of silver strode out of my pocket as a thick bar of metal flowed through the air, playfully wiggling across my vision.

My abilities as a magician were simple. I could manipulate earth, and I could manipulate metal. Specifically, I specialised in silver.

The silver bar split into three different plates, and I moved them toward the house’s foundations. Wayhu moved away more mud and I walked into the foundation pit. The three silver plates each fit into a different portion of the foundation, with holes in key sections of the concrete-like substance allowing the silver to easily fit inside. A flick of my hand caused a sharp knife to appear from my inventory.

An inscribing tool. One specifically dedicated to carving into silver.

The next few hours of my afternoon were spent carving the symbols for protection and hardening into the silver plates. Once they were done properly, I would add connecting symbols into the stone foundations around me and the entire block would become a pseudo-regent that wouldn't shake if an earthquake hit it.

It was nothing compared to the protections that other houses had in the noble district or the company district, but it would provide protection for any in need of a quick living area.

At least it was better than the shack that I lived in.

"Scratch up, now down. You're putting a little too much strength into it. Stop. Or you'll risk damaging the tool.” Wahyu’s voice accompanied me.

Each command held years of experience behind it, and I was reminded of my father. Both of them knew exactly what I had to do and when to do it.

It was a tough but invigorating lesson.

The sun was setting by the time we were done, and I leaned back and groaned. The hardest part about inscribing symbols was sitting perfectly still in concentration for hours on end. The second hardest part was having to start again because I accidentally cut a single line improperly. Thankfully I could manipulate the silver to cover the mistake. With paper and other substances an error like that would cost me hours of work. Maybe days.

"If I don't get something to eat soon you two are going to start looking like roasted Phoenix legs.” Ouros’ appeared behind me with a smile. “Come on, we can't work all night as well.”

"Speak for yourself, I think I can go for a few more hours." I huffed.

“That’s a lie.” Wahyu spoke. “Nobody should push themselves on an empty stomach. You've both done fine work here today.”

I smiled and with a gesture of my fingers the grey stone slid over the silver patches, covering them so that nobody was tempted to steal them. The church would try to stop any thefts, but it was better to try and prevent it happening in the first place.

"Alright, alright, you two tough guys are done for the day anyway.” Wahyu loomed over us. “I’ll check the construction once you're gone, and if I see a single brick or line out of place it's double work next Crijik.”

That made us both groan.

“No wonder metal mages stick to making weapons most of the time.” Ouros grumbled. “I swear I've stuck more metal poles inside stones to last a lifetime. It's not like nobody else can do that."

"Yeah but try to find someone that can bend metal and stone into the right shapes within seconds instead of hours.” I said. It had been a good workout for me, and as long as I kept leveling and learning that was what mattered the most.

I activated [meditation]. The skill couldn't activate fully while I was moving and talking, but it would still calm my mind. I thought over Wahyu’s teachings in my mind, trying to memorise the man’s words. Each piece of advice was helping me to improve.

“Your logic always hurts my brain.” Ouros grinned and slapped me on the back. “Hey, have you signed up with a group for the excursion to the Holy Land?”

My thoughts were pushed to the back of my mind, and I turned my attention to Ouros.

The school excursion.

"A holy land.” Ouros continued. “I'm going to say it now, but people are going to be fighting over those top spots to enter a day early. Maybe I'll strike it rich and find a metal attunement plant.”

"That's what everyone's hoping for.” I didn't hide my curiosity. “But I've never been to one personally. I don't know if people are just exaggerating.”

Koshima academy was ramping up as the semester came to an end, and one of their extracurricular activities was a week-long trip.

Specifically, the first-year students were being taken to the dimensional rift containing a land of fire, water, earth, and metal called the Holy Land.

“But yeah, I have a group.” I spoke. I didn't hide the hint of caution in my voice.

It wasn't that I didn't want to hang out with Ouros. He was a fun person to be around, and he took life in stride. The problem was who I was planning to be around during the excursion.

"Judging from your tone, Amanda’s with your group.” Ouros raised an eyebrow at me. “Relax, I'm not going to explode in anger or anything.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. Amanda was my best friend. She was also the sister of the boy that had brought down a monster onto the students of Koshima Academy. Ouros and others had been crippled magically as a result, and some of the nobles had taken their anger out on Amanda when they couldn't find her family.

"I know you won't, but it always feels weird to bring up.” I said. “If you want to join us then I think you should.”

Ouros tilted his head as we walked, and I saw his eyes flicker with amusement. Both of us shared a single class and unlike the others he wasn't in the class for those with the highest potential. He used to be, until his bloodline was damaged. After that he'd been moved down to a lower class.

It was a joint decision, as he'd felt the need to take things slower for the semester after the attack.

"It sounds like a fun time. I'll think about it.” He nodded, his voice subdued compared to the norm.

Out of the entire class I was the only one that he still hung out with. I didn't know if that was because they had drifted apart naturally, or if we were the only ones that had been friendly with each other in the first place.

I didn't blame Ouros for distancing himself from the class. Some of them hadn't responded well to his household’s continued power in the city. Especially not after the damage to their bloodlines had been discovered.

Ouros’ parents and the Destin household as a whole were surrounded by rival households trying to steal their business and take over as the head earth magician family in the area.

There was nothing more ruthless than losing your financial position in moments without being able to do a thing about it.

"Hey, Andross!” A voice rang out in the clearing.

"Is everyone being loud today?" I shouted back.

Ouros paused in surprise as a new figure appeared in the street, her red blouse fluttering in the wind. Eyes as deep as coal and colder than ice swept over him and landed on me, her lips curling into a smile.

“You're late.” She crossed her arms.

“Berlia.” My voice was warm. “You’re early.”

The girl was older than Ouros by a couple of years, and she was our senior at Koshima academy. She was also one of the premier scribers and battle maniacs in the arena rankings. Or so she told me.

She was also my cousin.

Berlia stepped forward as I approached her and swept me into a huge hug, strength far greater than her skinny figure should have turned me into a rag doll and I was forced to go with the flow or be crushed.

When it was over, I saw Ouros smirking and gave him a wave goodbye. My cousin didn't hesitate to drag me across the street as quickly as her legs could take her.

"Come on, the elements in the arena aren't going to start moving themselves.” She said.

She let go of me when I stopped protesting and I brushed my clothes off as we walked through the city streets. It wasn't often that I got to hang out with my cousin. In fact, only rare occasions brought us together. Today we'd be using our evening for a special event. She called it family bonding. Others called it fighting. Either way today would be a fun day for us. We’d scheduled a fight in the Koshima Academy arena.

After all, the best kind of family bonding came from beating each other black and blue.