If propositioning the dean does not go well, I will ask Nelson instead. I will try my hardest to not use my own money to pay the government for the affinity test.

Making an appointment was easy. The dean’s assistant likes me because I got her a raise a few days ago. I skip the first class to meet with the dean. I give a friendly nod to the assistant and knock on the door.

“Enter.”

I walk inside and greet dean Palmer, who is busy with some paperwork.

“Greetings. I have a proposition for you, dean Palmer.”

One of his well-trimmed eyebrows raised in curiosity, “Oh, do you? What proposition do you have for me?” he said with a hint of smugness in his voice.

“I will be honest with you. You only have me for a limited time. I plan on graduating this year, and there is nothing that will stop me. I can be your poster child, the new genius to show off to other schools.”

He looks at me with intrigue. He leans forward and pays attention to what I have to say. I don’t think that he is interested in my proposition yet, but where I am going with it.

“Convince me, Ellis.”

“Next month's exams will be my proof. The tournament can showcase my superiority compared to the other first years.”

“Quite arrogant now, aren’t you?”

“It seems like my tamed beast is rubbing off on me.” I stroke Duchess’ chin like a cat, and she plays along. "This is the [Feathered Boa] who evolved under my guidance. I do believe I am the first to do such a thing.”

Deam Palmer examines my Duchess and looks back at me. “That certainly is impressive, but why are you telling me all this. What do you want?”

“I want the school to sponsor my growth. The resources I get are not enough. I only have mediocre facilities given to me for free and my money that I have to risk my life for.”

“I’m disappointed that you believe the school's facilities are mediocre when you haven’t seen them at their full potential as a first-year student. We can continue this conversation after next month's round of examinations then. I am indeed intrigued about this deal, but I will need to see proof.”

I hold my hand up. “I need something now to show that you are not giving me an empty promise.”

“Go on.”

“I need a round of affinity tests for me and any tamed beasts I have.”

He turns around in his chair and ponders my words for a bit. The silence is deafening as Duchess speaks into my mind.

[Are you sure that this entire conversation was worth it? He seems to get the better end of this deal. He doesn’t have to move heaven and earth just to give you a few resources.]]

I write my words down for Duchess to read.

[It doesn’t matter, your evolution will be noticed eventually, look at you. And about my promise of being the poster child and crushing the tests. It’s going to happen anyway.]

[Elaborate.]

I continue writing. [I’m going to do well on the exams and the tournaments anyways. The only foes that I had difficulty with were those that were both higher ranked and level. If I excelled, the dean would make me the poster boy, even if I didn’t want it. I could tell by the last interaction that we had with him. He wants the school to get prestige over anything else.]

The dean turns and answers. “We have an affinity tester on campus.”

~

A machine the size of a jacuzzi is stored inside a closet. I can see the numerous arcane glyphs that coat the inside. Except for the first years, student affinity is measured at the beginning of the year… I feel like that's a wasted opportunity. The dean left me to my own devices, trusting that I would not fuck anything up.

Unfortunately, this institute does not have the funds for top-of-the-line gear. The machine does not give exact numbers but lists any affinities that stand out. I guess it’s better than nothing. I didn’t need precise stats but a direction. At least it has a touch screen so I can see the results in real-time.

I sent Khan through the machine first. The device sends minute strands of elemental energy and sees if there is any reaction.

*DING*

Khan’s scan reveals that he has three elemental affinities, way more than I expected. [Lightning], [Water], and [Air]. I can see the connection to the [Cloud] element he supposedly has. [Magma] is a combination of [Fire] and [Earth]. I don’t see how other elemental energies couldn’t combine.

Why doesn’t it have a better name…

I sent Rob next since I already know that he has a sub-element.

*DING*

Rob had the expected [Bone] affinity and, to my surprise, just a smidgen of [Shadow]. Unfortunately, it's not high enough to cast spells yet.

Since Rob and Khan had more affinities than I thought, maybe there is hope for me. I have some [Rock] and [Undead] affinities, but those are not elements.

*DING*

I feel nothing as the machine runs its course. What I read was you are supposed to feel little pricks as the energies enter inside of you and try to resonate. I exit and check the results, my face stiffens.

The machine said that I have no elemental affinities… nothing at all. Not even a small one. Everyone is supposed to have at least one. I wasn't expecting to become an archmage, but at least one affinity would open my arsenal up significantly. I stop moping and focus on what's important.

The whole reason for the affinity tests is to test Duchess’ elemental affinities after getting her [Brilliant Feathers].

I quickly shove Duchess inside and check her affinities when it's ready.

*DING*

[Mind], [Radiant], [Air], [Fire]. The last two are significantly lower than [Mind] and [Radiant]. I wouldn’t have thought that Duchess would have an affinity for light. That is what radiance is, a fancy word for light. Light and healing affinities are usually depicted with holy magic, but [Holy] magic casters are the same as warlocks. They make pacts with more powerful entities, trading something for power. The clergy trade their devotion and follow specific tenants, while the darker entities want something more dramatic. What I just thought about is heresy in most religions.

“Duchess, do you have any ideas on training a new element of magic?”

[No master, but now that thisss one is aware of what thisss one is capable of, thisss one can try to convert mana into that element. It will take some effort since thisss one is unfamiliar with “radiance”]

Very good, now for the final event. I place Flash Gordon into the machine.

~

*DING*

Finally! It took so long for the detector to complete its report on the might of Flash Gordon. I quickly run over and read the results.

[Error. Contact customer support at the given number on the serial code.]

“...”

Flash Gordon was too powerful for the machine and broke it. We leave before someone can come to yell at me.

~

I need to optimize my time. I head to the library and start researching elemental magic. Radiant magic is rare since it’s typically not seen on its own. I look into known spells to get Duchess jumpstarted on her spell crafting. The ‘cantrips’ are particularly simple, just various ways to brighten up a room.

Since [Bone] is an element that falls underneath necromancy, I have to search for niche information.

Necromancers usually fall underneath one of three different specialties. The first type is the stereotypical corpse stealer, a mage that uses deceased remains to create a false life. The second is more of a spirit channeler. They focus on studying the soul and conjuring spirits to do their bidding. Their spells are similar to shamans, but they subjugate spirits instead of befriending them.

The last specialty is dark rituals. Magic casters use sacrifice to conjure great power from a powerful entity or concept. They are cleverer than the average warlock since any deal they make is purely transactional and stops once the contract is completed.

Most necromancers dabble in every field since the class is so widespread. They are a unique type of caster that doesn’t use traditional elements and instead use their own. [Bone], [Blood], [Sprirt], [Necrotic], and more. I don’t believe that those elements are limited to only necromancers since anyone can technically have an affinity to anything.

The spells I find on [Bone] magic are lackluster. It’s similar to [Earth] magic but without natural crowd control. Bones deal physical damage and can be conjured into structures like walls or spears. Earth does that better, but earth mages can also manipulate the terrain around them. There is an annotation I found that claims [Bone] magic can eventually deal damage to ethereal beings and the soul.

There isn't any proof to back this up, but I’ll keep this information at the back of my mind.

I do look into [Cloud], but there is no mention. The combination of those three elements is called a different name. [Tempest]. Even if I did find some spell ideas for Khan, it’s not like he can understand and craft his own spells. Unfortunately, the library doesn’t just give me a grimoire of spells to look at, just information on what certain spells do. I still do some research. It might become relevant in his next evolution.

By the time I finish reading, it’s nightfall, and I am being kicked out of the library. Duchess has her eyes closed in concentration as I walk home.

~

Luckily, there is no intruder inside my house tonight. I can rest easy.

I lay in bed and played with Flash Gordon. I throw him up and catch him, thinking of the following days. I shouldn’t wait for Rain to be finished with my new arm before heading into another fracture. But do I need to? Going into a fracture will only net levels and the possibility of loot. Spending the next two weeks doing nothing but training my martial arts and m tamed beasts sound like torture.

Torture… I could get Master Wang and Rain to torture me again and build up my resistance until nothing could hurt me. I really don’t want to go back… I’ll just hurt myself until it stops netting resistance.

I plan for the next two weeks and begin to sleep.

[* s#@ [email protected]%]

[! &[email protected] ^@u]

The voices are back and louder than ever. I focus on anything else, but the whispers get louder until they scream in my ear. I wake Duchess and make her [Deprogram] me until the voices stop.