“So, affinities,” I began, once I had my two prospective students seated across the table from me, “Affinities are the easiest place to begin learning magic. Having the trait means you have enough innate talent that the system deems it worthy of recognition, or something along those lines, I actually don’t know the mechanism behind it. Either way, while it is possible to learn magic without having an affinity for it, it’s a lot harder and less efficient. Why don’t we start with introductions and go from there?” I suggested, noticing that the talk of magic had roused both their interest.

“Now, you can either call me Samantha or Jade, I’ll answer to both. Even Morgana would work, but it’s a name I’d rather leave behind,” I introduced myself, noticing that the boy’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Morgana, Road to Purgatory Morgana?” he asked, looking at me with an uncomfortable amount of awe.

“That’s so awesome, I wanted to play but you can’t until you’re eighteen,” he gushed, getting a little loud for my taste. “But I’ve seen so many videos, especially those last few of the citadel. That was so cool!”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Sandy,” the young woman introduced herself, looking at the boy with a mix of teenage disdain and confusion, before focusing on me, “I hope you don’t mind that I have no idea what he’s talking about?”

“No, it’s okay but I guess I should explain,” I admitted, before giving them, too, a brief overview of Road to Purgatory and what I thought about the change. That the gods had used a ‘game’ to introduce some people in this world to the system prior to its emergence so that they would get into the foundation of as many societies as possible that way. Their reactions were rather fascinating. Kevin, as I learned the boy was called, readily accepted my explanation, showing intense curiosity and interest, as if the whole apocalypse was just a game. Possibly a coping mechanism, but I knew too little about children to truly understand. Hell, I knew too little about humans to understand, but given that children were somewhat human, that made it only worse.

Sandy, on the other hand, was unconvinced at first. She wanted evidence that a ‘game’, a word she used with the sort of teenage disdain that could only be created by social pressure, could have any connection to the circumstances we were under. Amusingly, she easily accepted my claims of the divine but a prophecy-turned-game, that was a step too far. It took me describing my acceptance of the Legacy or Morgana and a brief demonstration of my Ice-Magic for her to accept my words, though I could see a bit of lingering disbelief.

“Now, you said you have affinity traits, could you tell me what they do? Normally, you should never share your traits or abilities, as they reveal your strengths and weaknesses, but I’m supposed to teach you, so I need the knowledge,” I explained, getting nods from both.

“I’ve got the trait Runic Affinity: Water,” Kevin shared, sounding rather proud of himself. Maybe that was why he had been eyeing the Icicle I had conjured up with such interest.

“Mine just says Magical Affinity: Nature,” Sandy shared, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks. An interesting reaction, though I wasn’t quite sure where it came from. Something to investigate, but later, for now, I had two hopeful apprentices.

“And your classes?” I probed further, hoping that it would be something useful, something along the Arcane path.

“Classes?” Sandy asked, while Kevin only showed confusion.

“When you look at the basic overview within your system, what does it say above your level?” I asked, a little confused. Did they not have classes?

“Undecided, when I focus on it, it tells me to reach level ten,” Kevin explained and now I realised just how important the legacy had been. Just how many of my traits would I have, if not for the legacy?

“And your current levels?” I looked at both, getting a one from Kevin and a two, with a small blush, from Sandy. Given that she didn’t look like the type to go out and hunt Shattered, I was curious about what had brought that on. Given the blush on her face and the almost challenging look she gave me, daring me to ask, I decided to wait and ask her in private.

“Curious, but no matter. I believe I can help you regardless,” I nodded, mostly to myself. For now, I wasn’t sure how to best teach them. The easiest would be to get Kevin to gain runic magic and his first three runes, which would require him to delve into the Astral River. Not something I wanted him to do without supervision, not if I wanted to use him as a showcase of my teaching ability. On the other hand, Sandy didn’t have a runic affinity but a general magic affinity. I wasn’t sure how the difference would manifest in practice, but I decided to have her focus on basic, magic manipulation first. Afterwards, I would try to get her to gain the rune mastery but that was for later.

After a moment of contemplation, I decided to reach for an ability I had on Mundus, though I had only gained it a lot later, with stronger attributes and more magic ability. But given that I had managed to pigeonhole myself with it in the past, I hoped that this opportunity would allow me to gain it in a more general, possibly more competent manner.

“Now, Sandy, I want you to find yourself a simple, potted plant. You have a source of power within you and while I could forcibly show you where it is, I would prefer if you find it on your own. You should be able to use it to heal, especially heal plants, strengthen their growth and so on. Nature Magic is insanely versatile, which, in turn, means that your mind needs to give it focus and direction. Otherwise, your efforts will simply spread out too far to accomplish anything in a human’s lifetime,” I paused, frowning as I realised I hadn’t actually made sure that the system hadn’t randomly distributed races to everyone, making them emerge in thirty days, “You are still human, aren’t you?” I asked, just to make sure.

“Of course I am,” Sandy replied, visibly confused. Kevin simply nodded, looking almost as uncertain.

“Excellent,” I focused on Kevin, letting Sandy go and try on her own. If she managed, good, if not, I would try helping her after helping Kevin.

“Now, you. You have a Runic Affinity, which means it’s easiest for you to channel your power through runes, instead of using it directly. You will be able to do both, I’m quite sure of that, but runes allow you to work with much greater focus and direction, making things easier on you. More efficient, too,” I explained. amused at the way he was intently listening to every word.

“To gain runes, you need to commune with the Astral River, the network of magical conduits that spreads across the world. Across multiple worlds, actually,” I continued, pausing for a moment in realisation. If the Astral River spread across multiple worlds, as I assumed, it would connect this world to Mundus, which was how I thought I had gained Morgana’s legacy. But that would mean I would be able to commune with beings on Mundus, like the Grandmother, Lenore, Ylva and even the Nidhögg. Though I wasn’t sure I wanted the last one to be aware of Terra, the attention of an apocalyptic dragon might be bad. One apocalyptic event at a time, for now, we had the change to contend with, the coming of the Nidhögg had time for next year, or the next millennium. Any time, but now, really.

“Now, I will try to guide you. You should feel a tug in your mind,” I told Kevin, reaching out to gently touch his temples on both sides. My intent was to regain, and use, my Mind Magic to give him direction and guide him into the Astral, hopefully remaining connected to him so I would be able to supervise his actions within. Remembering the sensation of reaching for another mind, I focused on my magic, not quite in the same way I would to use Blood Magic, not quite in the way I would use Darkness Magic, but in a more neutral way. I didn’t want to hurt the boy, but I wanted to guide him.

For a moment, nothing happened, I felt my eyes flutter close as my focus sharpened, the world narrowing down to a pinprick, where nothing existed but the head, and the mind, between my fingers.

Finally, I felt a minute shift and could sense the mind before me, not well enough to read the thoughts within, but well enough to sense the combination of confusion, hesitation, curiosity and disbelief.

Feeling it, I let myself sink into the Astral River, giving the mind I was connected to a tug, trying to guide it along. To guide it into the strange realm in between, the realm of magic.