The first symbol that Dallion had to learn turned out to be the symbol of matter. Despite saying that symbols had to be learned in order to be understood, Palag hinted that it had to do with object creation.

At first Dallion spent a few seconds doing the same that every other child did, trying to use his magic to draw the symbol on the air. That didn’t work, of course. No matter the effort, the magic would move about like a brush constantly connected to Dallion’s finger. Then Dallion took the next logical step, venturing into his awakening realm. While trying to clear a magic artifact was a bit too much, awakening realms provided one major advantage over the real world: instruction markers.

The moment Dallion tried repeating the same action he did in class, a purple gauge appeared, along with a series of dots in the air. Looking closer, one could see that the dots formed the general shape of the symbol.

“So, that’s the trick?” Dallion tapped on one of the dots. The moment he did, the symbol disappeared.

Confused, Dallion tried again to achieve the same result. His first thought was to try with a different dot. Given that there were only four dots, there weren’t too many options. Three attempts later, though, nothing had changed.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Dallion closed his eyes. He knew that the solution had to be easy enough for a child to figure out.

Perfectly calm, he inhaled and exhaled. Then he opened his eyes again. Every skill had its quirks, especially the complicated ones. Forging was based on folding, music, on getting the right sound at the precise moment of time… That meant that this skill was based on precision and gauging.

Once again Dallion tapped on the magic marker, this time making sure to release the exact amount of mana the gauge suggested. A line of glowing purple filled the dot like toothpaste, allowing Dallion to draw it to the next. When he dragged on, the symbol disappeared again.

“Good intuition, dear boy,” Nil said, beaming with pride a few steps away. “Usually it takes first timers a while before they catch on.”

“No worries.” Dallion smiled. “Just like guitar hero.”

As it turned out, spellcraft was nothing more than releasing the correct amount of magic at the right “spots” so as to form the symbol. Dallion assumed the circle was the easiest, so he quickly proceeded to complete it.

MATTER SYMBOL CREATED

When used in a spell, allows for the creation of any material, provided the magic is of the same speed and intensity as that within the respective material.

Now it made a lot more sense why so much of the lessons were focused on getting learning the speed and intensity of magic within various materials. Just to be certain, Dallion focused on creating the gold. The gauge marker changed, indicating the new speed at which he had to release his magic. Once done, the symbol materialized, taking on the appearance of solid gold.

I guess this beats summoning metal, Dallion thought. Without a doubt, it was going to make forging a lot easier, not to mention cheaper.

The next hour was spent with Dallion making a variety of matter symbols of different materials. More importantly, he also focused on drawing them as fast as possible. With the value of his reaction traits that were supposed to be easy, yet even after doing his best he was barely able to match Palag’s speed. It seemed that releasing magic quickly was a talent he lacked. For that to improve, he had to improve his spellcraft skills.

“Nil, where does magic come from?” Dallion asked, taking a break.

“Again with the philosophical questions?” The old echo smiled.

“If mages can create matter out of magic, won’t there be too much of it?”

“Yes, and no. The world doesn’t have an infinite amount of magic. If you transform all magic into matter, there will be a few more mountains, maybe more than a few. But then there will be less magic to stop the decay from spreading. Magic keeps the void in check. That’s one of the reasons there aren’t all out mage wars. Using too much magic tends to be followed by an increased number of monsters in the wilderness.”

“And killing those restores the level of magic?”

“No. Magic comes from other worlds.” Nil paused. “No, not your world. It comes from places that are elsewhere. Realms that are beyond the realms and such.”

“The banishment realms,” Dallion whispered. He didn’t even know what he had done so, but the moment he did, a blob of dread emerged within Nil.

“There will be a time for complex theory later,” the echo said, turning around. “You’ve learned to stand, now learn to walk before setting off on a run.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Dallion pretended to focus on his symbol drawing.

A few more hours later, he felt done. Even something as simple as releasing magic had drained him to the point that he took a nap in his realm. When he woke up, he found Gen sitting on a stone, not too far away.

“How long have you been there?” Dallion asked.

“Long enough,” the echo replied. There was a time when Dallion had considered himself lucky, defeating the echo in the awakening trial set up for him. Now, the echo’s level seemed laughably insignificant. Still, he could be said to be one of the realm’s oldest inhabitants, and the one who continued to maintain it.

“What about the rest?”

“Ariel is off somewhere. He doesn’t like staying in one place. And July’s still at the ruins.”

That felt like a blow beneath the belt. July had joined Dallion’s realm the same day as Gleam had. The two had formed a close connection. Now that she was gone, the echo still hadn’t gotten over it. Dallion knew that, because he hadn’t either; July was just the element within him that didn’t bother to keep the sadness bottled up.

“I’ll talk to him.” Dallion stretched, then stood up.

“He knows everything you’d say. Besides, he’s been at it for centuries.”

“Maybe after a few more, he’ll be able to let it go.”

“Will you?” Gen crossed his arms. “Have you noticed how much lonelier it’s become here? There was a time when this place was a bunch of rooms linked by a corridor and still it was more cheerful than now.”

“Time moves slower in the real world. Give me a while.”

“We both know that’s not the issue. You’re still full of regrets. Why do you think Ariel’s been about? Only he has the strength to deal with things in your realm that are unwanted.”

No one had said anything to Dallion about invasions, yet deep down he knew that things weren’t going well. That was one of the reasons he hadn’t been venturing into his realm, especially after his fight with the Star; that was why he was ignoring all the weeds and thorny bushes that appeared in the otherwise tropical paradise.

“You’re right. Maybe there isn’t any time.” Dallion looked up at the sky. “Lux.”

No sooner had he said it when the firebird emerged a few feet above his head.

“Yes, boss?”

“Take me to a trial door.”

Three trials remained in Dallion’s realm. Two of them were at the sea cliffs on the other side of the island. The third was high within the realm’s mountain. Dallion didn’t particularly care which trial he had to face. He had already made up his mind to complete them all in the next few days. That would forcibly bring his magic trait back to level two, but it was worth the sacrifice. If nothing else, he’d pass the next gate, and possibly grant him insight on things that still remained hidden. Also, being proclaimed a noble would allow him to continue the training in the comfort of a home outside the academy. There would be no seals, no special assignments, no small-time alliances. Dallion would finally take the final step from chess piece to player.

“You think I’m wrong, Harp?” Dallion asked.

It doesn’t matter what I think, the harpsisword’s strings vibrated, forming words. It’s your life. If you think that’s the right path, I’ll be there to make sure you survive.

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t? It’s only a trial.”

I’m not talking about the trial, but what will follow.

A small fort awaited Dallion high on the mountain range. As the number of trials diminished, their entrances became a lot grander. Placing his hand on the marble double doors, Dallion pushed. The doors slid open, revealing a regal corridor full of gold and marble statues.

You seem to be rising in the world, the armadil shield said.

“Only my world.”

You’re in the halls of destiny.

Defeat your hidden fears and shape your destiny.

The blue rectangle appeared, only to be waved away as Dallion flew further down the corridor. Drawing his sword, he then tapped it in his boot, making it vibrate. After a while, a large arch emerged in the distance, leading to a large chamber. After passing through, Dallion found himself in the field of an arena.

“This is new.” He looked around. The arena was identical to the one in Nerosal, only empty.

This brings back memories, the armadil shield said. Some thought you might win the final.

“Not a chance.”

“Untypically humble,” a new voice said.

Before Dallion’s very eyes, a figure appeared in the arena. It was tall, wearing a black mage’s robe, and also covered in a shimmering glow.

“Alien,” Dallion whispered. That was the first mage Dallion had seen, also the first person from Earth, not counting Arthurows. “You’re my trial?”

“I am now.” The mage took a step forward. “This is the spot you humiliated the Archduke’s son.”

“And the place you lost a member of the imperial family,” Dallion countered.

“No one’s perfect, even me. Welcome to the Academy, by the way. I hear you’re doing well for a novice. It’s really stupid to trade away your magic levels, especially after everything you’ve done.”

“Three levels aren’t that much.” Dallion attempted using his music skills, but no matter how subtly he went about it, the sound tendrils seemed to bounce off the mage. “Three levels is all it takes for me to become a noble.”

“Is that so? In that case, why don’t we get started?”

Dallion burst into a hundred instances. In half, he charged at his opponent, while the rest did a series of point and line attacks. Entire sections of the arena were sliced and drilled into oblivion, yet not a hair fell from the mage’s head. He just stood there, with his mocking expression, a sphere of blue energy surrounding him.

Determined to see this through, Dallion switched to one of the instances charging at Alien and split again. Hundreds of spark attacks hit the magic sphere surrounding the mage, yet none passed through. The harpsisword was consistently pushed back, as if by a hurricane.

“Had enough?” Alien asked. “You can rest if you want to. I won’t attack. The thing is, I don’t have to.”

Dallion gritted his teeth. He could tell he was being provoked.

“Every trial has a solution,” he said, slowly circling his enemy.

“Yes, but magic is the exception. It might have worked if you had tried before getting magic, but now it’s an entirely different game. You can no longer ignore it and unfortunately for you, magic can no longer ignore you either. Why do you think mages don’t level up? Did you really believe that it was the loss of magic levels?”

“I’m told it’s a good deterrent.”

“Maybe at the start, but there always comes a time when a mage decided they could beat fate and use their spellcraft to level up. As you said, a few levels aren’t that much. The real blocker are the trials themselves. You’ve already seen what magic could do and how powerless you are against it. Now in your trials, you’ll have to fight against what you imagine mages could do.” The mage took a step forward. “It’s rather unfortunate that you’re also so familiar with the effect of illusions. If not, maybe your spark attacks might have worked.”

“There still has to be a way. There’s always a way.”

“Go ahead. Try finding it.” The mage’s fingers danced in the air, drawing three dozen symbols in less than a second. Moments later, the entire arena was flooded by lightning from above.