Cyrus left Kal alone for half an hour and returned with several objects that seemed a bit heavy, he threw them to the ground and sat in log that lied there. Then, he took a piece of wood, muttered a few words and casted to the air. It could be seen coming out from the little stick a dim light which promptly enveloped them and the area surrounding them.
"It's just a simple hush spell, things might get messy here and I don't want to wake the entire camp"- explained Cyrus- "Now, since you are less knowledgeable than a toddler and I don't have the time to go through all the basics, we are going to take the fast path; however, it may be dangerous to you, so, do what I say." Kal nodded as he was anxious to get started.
"Very well."- continued Cyrus- "Firstly, do you see those objects I throw earlier to the ground"-signalled Cyrus-"I want you to pick it up and hold them as long as you can. If you find them too heavy to be lifted, leave it there. Once you are done with one, go for the next until you have try them all. Start with the one you find more appealing, whether for the shape of it, the colour, the smell, the touch, whatever; then, go for the next, don't overthink it, go with your instinct. Begin with these four"- finished Cyrus.
Kal approached and observe the objects and picked up first a perfectly oval shaped stone. After a couple seconds the greyish stone began to show traces of blue and, with time, it was getting more intense and that its original colour was fading. Suddenly, the stone became too heavy and Kal let it go. Next, he took a diamond shape one, and again, its original grey was fading and a white colour was showing; then again, the stone became really heavy and he let it go. Then, he took an ordinary shaped one, whose colour changed to brown, and a triangular one, whose colour turned red.
Throughout the process Cyrus stood silent and observed that Kal could hold the stones for 27, 23, 15 and 8 seconds respectively.
"Those are elemental stones, each one represent one of the primary elements"- said Cyrus while Kal nodded-"The time holding each stone represents your elemental affinity but surely you figure it out. However, it is not that simple. The affinity is represented by, yes, the time you can hold the stone but also by how deep the colour change is. The time measures how much of that particular elemental energy you can muster and the colour represents the purity of it. While having a lot of a particular energy will allow you to cast many spells, the purity will influence in its raw power, durability and overall control over it"
"Alright, but, how good was I? I mean, since I don't have a point of reference I have no idea how bad my affinities are" interrupted Kal.
"Oh!"-said surprised Cyrus-"You actually have brains, that's a good start, and to answer your question grab that object over there" Cyrus pointed to a crystal that was in the ground.
Kal took the new elemental object and wondered what Cyrus had in mind and while he was absentminded thinking about the stones, this new life and other things, he played with the new object in his hand. Suddenly, the object became heavier and he let it fall to the ground. While Kal was holding this last elemental stone, he didn't track the time, instead his mind drifted a bit and lose himself for a moment, or so he thought, in fact, 45 minutes had passed. When Cyrus showed a little hourglass that told the time, Kal was left speechless. He didn't know what to think. Certainly, 27 seconds wasn't much but he thought that maybe it was measured against a one minute mark. To his surprise the mark was not of a minute, but of an hour.
Cyrus couldn't help but laugh when he saw Kal's disappointed face and though he would have like to enjoy the scenery a bit more, he wanted to finish for the night. He picked up all the objects on the floor and approached to Kal.
"Don't worry kid"-said Cyrus, who was much older than him-"it's not that bad. Let me explain"- he continued while sitting next to Kal.
"As I said earlier, you have a great affinity with the space element, in fact, is an outstanding one. For example, my main element is air, followed by fire, and I can only pick up the air stone for 30 minutes. Understand that the affinity towards an element can be increased, and though is not an exact measure, usually you can improve a minute of holding the stone per year of training in said element. Usually when someone has a highly innate affinity, such as yours, the others tent to lack proportionally, which means that, though you will excel with your primary element, you will be lacking with the others. However, it doesn't mean that you can't improve the others, is juts that it will take you more time. I should add that a novice mage, the lowest of them, is able to hold his primary elemental's stone at least for 2 minutes, so, in comparison with your best of 27 seconds, you are way behind. Now, although your times are awful, the intensity of colours you produced in the stones were excellent in all of them. To increase one's elemental purity takes 10 times the effort than would take to increase the amount. In your case, you have an advantage since your energies are quite pure. Usually, mages let aside the improvement of purity and focus in the amount because is easier, also, not everyone is able to do it. A stone have 5 intensities of colour, the brighter the better. In your case, you marked the 3rd grade with each of them, which is one grade better than the average mage. Regarding of your space element, you reached the 5th, which is astonishing" explained Cyrus.
Kal was feeling better, his future in magic didn't seem so narrow now. Although oblivious of the basics of pedagogy, Cyrus was a good teacher and quite knowledgeable, so, Kal was willing to follow his teachings as well as he could.
"We'll leave it for now"- said Cyrus- "We will practice your magic every night but be warned. Gil is planning to use you in our next mission, that's why he asked me to train you. If you don't learn quickly, you might not be able to survive. I'm not telling you this to scare you, just giving you a heads-up. Gil is good guy and tends to be generous and good friend, and for whatever reason he seems to like you, but know this… he will stop at nothing when it comes to his search for power. As long as you do not interfere with his goals everything will go smoothly for you. Anyway, tomorrow we will take a more practical approach, so, rest well."
While walking back to his tent Kal was thinking about Cyrus words. He felt nervous at the prospect of danger. Back in his old life, the scariest thing he had to do was to go to the dentist. However, he didn't know if he had changed due the reincarnation or the fact that death didn't seem so terrifying anymore, but he was starting to feel excited when thinking about using his powers in dire situations. Maybe it was the idea of becoming a powerful mage or just the thought of glory but little by little his angst was being left behind and replaced by eagerness.