The ring... needs to be bound with my blood right?

I've tried rubbing, tapping, and hitting it in the ground but there is no reaction from the ring apart fromthe occassional rainbow-colored ripples in the pale sapphire-ish gemstone embedded in the ring.

I've also tried asking nicely to the ring to give me a tip or something on how to use it... What? You'll never know if there might be some sort of spirit sealed in the ring.

This is a world with magic after all!

And the reason I don't know how this works is because at first I was only half-serious about my talk with Frelinia because I thought it was a dream... Like I said I only got the general gist of my situation. I haven't asked for the important details from her because I thought it was bothersome.

I treated my discussion like an interesting game which ended up with me having trouble with the ring Frelinia left me.

*very long and deep sigh* Well I just have to try my best. Last thinģ I thought of now is blood binding the ring.

"Okay let's see here..." I bit my index finger a little bit and squeezed out a drop of blood and let it fall into the ring.

Then something happened!

The pale gem absorbed my blood and started to shine brightly with a rainbow colored light and then... it shattered and became a multi-colored smoke!

"... E-eh?... EEEEHHH?!?!" Why did that happen?! Did my blood taste that bad so it exploded? This ring is rude. It's like implying that I am filthy!

Wait... the smoke is coming towards me. I tried to move away but... I already inhaled it and then-

"...?! *THUD* Ugh... *groan* huff huf... *breathes hard* W-what is t-this....?"

I fell to the ground hard. My head suddenly began to hurt and throb badly and my body is steadily becoming sore... Huh? What are these words appearing in my head?

".... D-divine Art: Magic Creation Array... Composition of the Elements of Magic... Mana Core Accumulation... Divine Art: Mana Force Manipulation... w-what are these things...?!.... Wait this is..."

As more information started to flow through my head I started to understand it a little... and the thing I realized made me excited and impatient.

When my headache and bodily pain subsided

I stood up and quickly went to the puddle to check my reflection.

"Incredible..." My eyes changed its color from black to a bright blue with some multicolored ripples that are barely perceptible even with a good eye.

The newly gotten information I have in my head is about all details of magic anf things related to it.

It probably comes from that rainbow-ish smoke that I inhaled. As expected from a fantasy world.

Anyway the phenomenon I'm experiencing right now is called "All-Magic Awakening".

Anyone in this world can use mana. From warriors, mages, craftsmen and even the common folk can use mana.

But someone with good talent in manipulating and using mana can be found in 1 out of 1000. Someone with a great talent in 1 out of 10000 and so on and so forth.

Elemental Mana Affinity is also included here. There are 9 elements in magic. Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Destruction, Nature, Light and Darkness.

Having one elemental affinity is considered to be average. Having two is good. Three is rare. Four is very rare and can cause an uproar. As for the rest... you get the idea.

From the name "All-Magic Awakening" you can already deduce what it is... Me having experienced this has caused me to have an exceptional affinity to all the nine elements and have prodigy-level talent in using mana... basically I received a cheat.

"All-Magic Awakening" is believed by the people in this world to be a blessing from the God of Magic and Change. It is said that only one person can have this in a millennium.

"I don't know how this sort of "blessing" from Frelinia's brother got into the gem in the ring that Frelinia left to me but I have a few ideas about it...

Okay back to the task at hand!

Since I've already confirmed that I indeed have "All-Magic Awakening" I sat down in a meditating position... damn it my butt is uncomfortable in this rough and dusty floor.

And then I closed my eyes and started to feel the mana around me.

Yup. The feeling of mana is very different from before. At first I perceived mana as smoke or mist. I can touch it but it disperses afterwards. But now mana feels like... a liquid I guess? Its a very unique experience. Its like being on land and water at the same time with water being the mana in the environment. Anyway the mana that I am sensing has a variety of colors. Some blue, others red and many more.

It might be the different elemental mana that I am sensing.

I started to manipulate the mana in the surroundings to flow into me and accumulate into a small region around my chest.

The accumulated mana inside my body, started to condense and compress in my chest as I draw in more mana from the surroundings.

I continued doing this for an two hours or so and then-

"...?!"

My body felt refreshed and invigorated like I woke up after a good sleep.

"Yes! I did it!" Although my butt and legs are so sore from the rough, hard temple floor, I still did it!

I sensed for changes in my body and there I found... a small, round and smooth crystal inside my chest. Its the size of pebble and is shining faintly. Its absorbing the mana in my body and surroundings little by little. Also as more mana is absorbed by my core, it shines more brightly each time, though it is hardly unnoticeable.

With this, I have made my first step in the path of a mage. I've reached the initial stage of the apprentice rank!