“Congratulations,” Ms. Teft said after Damion landed a fire slash on the test dummy. “That strike had 108 magic power.”
“Finally,” Damion said as he collapsed. “This means I can take a mission from the Adventurer Association now right?”
“Yes, it does,” Ms. Teft answered. “Until your magic is unsealed, there is little more I can teach you. Theory without application will just be frustrating. Now, you need experience, and to practice everything you have learned so far.”
“What kind of mission do you think I should take first?”
“At your rank there are really only a few missions you will qualify for. I would suggest starting with an escort mission or a group hunting mission. This will help you gain the experience as an adventurer you will need in order to do solo missions.”
“You aren’t going to go with me on my missions?”
“I am an A Rank mage, if I went on the mission with you, you would get no credit. And I can’t take you on missions I qualify for, that would be far too dangerous for you.”
“Will you go with me to help me choose a mission tomorrow?” Damion asked suddenly quite nervous at the prospect of his first mission.
“Of course. Let’s meet at the Adventurer Association at our usual time tomorrow.”
Having accomplished Ms. Teft’s goal, the pair headed back inside the city. Damion headed home to celebrate his accomplishment with his parents, while Ms. Teft headed to Principal Telfer’s office.
“Good afternoon Helga,” Telfer greeted Damion’s instructor as she entered his office.
“Afternoon Frederick,” Teft replied to the man who sat at his desk after greeting her.
“How goes your training with the boy. I heard a rumor that he was able to pass the licensing exam, but for knights.”
“Yes, Damion passed the knight licensing test and has just passed my own assessment of him. So, he will be taking his first mission in a day or so.”
“I thought you said the boy was sure to be a rare talent as a mage. Why train him as a knight?” Telfer questioned.
Teft let out a sigh as she considered how much about Damion she wanted to reveal. The boy seemed to know how or at least suspect why his magic was sealed, but all he ever revealed was that when he turned eighteen the seal would be lifted. She suspected it had something to do with his injury at birth that should have crippled his mana pathways for life, but even that injury had strangely slowly healed as he grew up. Though, that healing she believed could be attributed to his naturally high mana. Magic had a way of naturally strengthening and healing mages and knights alike, though without a healing spell the effects were usually more subtle.
“Someone has sealed his magic affinity. It prevents him from learning spells, but he can still manipulate the mana in his core, so he is able to train as a knight.”
“Are you able to break this seal?” Frederick asked as he leaned forward in his chair.
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“I believe it would be dangerous to try,” Teft answered. “The seal, is what destroyed Thorn’s testing crystal.”
“That would make it at least a tier 4 seal,” Telfer said scratching his chin. “The boy won’t be able to help you get back in power as a knight.”
“The seal appears to be set to expire when Damion turns eighteen. I think the seal was placed on him to stop him from hurting himself as a child.”
“Yes, I remember that incident. I was actually called in to exam him as a baby. He was able to pull in mana to his magic core right after birth and damaged his mana pathways in the process.”
“Indeed. I think someone powerful noticed him at that time and placed the seal to prevent him from hurting himself.”
“As good a theory as any I suppose,” Telfer said with a shrug. He had his doubts, but he really could not guess what went through the mind of someone that had reached S Rank or how truly powerful they were. “How can you be sure you’ll be able to use the boy if he truly has a powerful benefactor?”
“There haven’t been any S Ranks showing up to dissuade me from training him. Besides, I think it is more likely the individual that put the seal on him did it as a courtesy because of the boy’s talent. S Ranks don’t have time to waste watching over children, they have to keep the Black Zones monster populations in check.”
“I take it then, that nothing has changed in your plan?” Telfer said as he poured himself a glass of water.
“No. I’ll reveal that the boy is a great talent once he is eighteen and that Thorn intentionally excluded him from recruitment to Silver Spire. That should be enough to get me reinstated there. Once I have Silver Spire’s resources I can continue my path to reaching S Rank myself.”
“Well, best of luck to you. The power jump from A to S is too much for me,” Telfer said offering a mock toast to Teft.
Damion returned home, exhausted from Ms. Teft’s training, and climbed into a warm bath. After he was done washing the grime from his body, Damion stepped out and looked at himself in the mirror.
Deep blue eyes stared back at him as Damion looked over the changes to his body. At fifteen he figured he was probably nearing his full growth, he had perhaps one more growth spurt left. Damion ran his hands over his toned muscles, earned from his years of training with Ms. Teft, rubbing the last bit of soreness from them.
Looking at his hair, Damion realized that despite his mother’s best efforts, his shaggy brown hair had gotten out of control. It would not be a surprise if his mother wanted to cut it again before he left on his first mission. Damion supposed it would be a good idea, long hair had a tendency to get in the way when he least needed it to.
Over the years as Damion grew he noticed, without being narcissistic, that he appeared to be growing more attractive than his parents. While they were not ugly, they were both simply average. Damion was not sure if he just hit the genetic lottery, or if his steadily improving looks were another way magic affected him.
After getting dressed, Damion headed downstairs where his mother was just putting out dinner. Damion joined his father at the table and his mother joined them after bringing a roast out of the oven.
Damion began eating as soon as food touched his plate. Not only did physical training work up an appetite, but Damion had learned that just training magic worked up one too. And he had been training both all day.
“How did your training go today son?” Caleb, Damion’s father asked.
“Great. Ms. Teft stepped things up a notch again today. She made me dodge her magic attacks while still trying to hit the test dummy.”
“That sounds quite challenging,” Damion’s mother said.
“It was, she wasn’t using strong magic towards me, but her water balls were really fast and hard to dodge. But guess what I managed!?”
“Do tell,” Caleb prodded.
“I was able to hit the dummy with a magic attack power of 108 with the magic attack from the sword. Ms. Teft says that means I’m ready to go on my first mission!”
“Wonderful news son,” Caleb said, though Sharon, Damion’s mother, looked a bit worried about the idea of her son out in the wilderness.
“Ms. Teft is going to help me pick a mission tomorrow. She said I should do group missions, probably an escort mission to start with. So, I can learn the ropes.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Caleb said as he took his wife’s hand. “Now Damion, we have some good news of our own to share with you.”
Damion looked up, his eyes darting back and forth to each of his parents for a moment before his mother finally spoke.
“You are going to have a little sister!”