"[ Burst! ]"
Cage's skill, 'Burst', could be considered a masterpiece of a skill. What it essentially did was condense mana to a point on his body. Doing so allowed him to produce a shock wave that could be used for a multitude of purposes. It could be considered a masterpiece because it could be used in any situation despite being more suited towards movement.
Cage condensed the energy to the soles of his feet. He wanted to test it's movement capabilities because it could potentially save his life if used properly.
Boom!
There was an impact as Cage kicked off the ground. He was a blur as he sped across the room in the blink of an eye. It should be known that the stronger the skill, the more control required. Cage's skill was no exception to this. His skill was not hard to cast, it could even be cast in an instant. However, it had an incredibly strong recoil. This is what allowed it to be a movement skill but act as a double edged sword of sorts.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Cage had vastly underestimated his skill. It was much stronger than he anticipated.
'Wait no, it's because I made it at Stage Zero!'
It had evolved with him and became stronger when he advanced to the next Stage. He had miscalculated. He was in a pinch now. It seemed as if time had slowed down, or rather his perception had sped up. Regardless, he was mere moments away from hitting his head against a wall moving at a high speed.
'At the speed I'm moving, I would have a fractured skull at the very least!'
He didn't panic, Cage quickly held up his palm and activated his burst skill again. He successfully stopped his momentum, but the recoil combined with the abrupt stop caused his arm to make an audible *crack* sound. If you haven't felt your bone get a fracture, it's not pleasant.
Despite his injury, Cage was impressed with his skill. The injury wasn't a big matter because as one refined their soul, the vessel that holds it must also get stronger. The vessel, or Cage's body, would get stronger with time and he would be able to take the strain the skill puts on him in the future.
'My 'Burst' skill is truly great. I don't know it's full extent, but it will undoubtedly be helpful to me in a majority of situations.'
Cage realized that only real combat would bring out this skills potential. As always, conflict always brings out the best and worst of people and their talents. He continued to practice to be able to control himself while moving at high speeds. Before he knew it, his five minutes were up.
Returning to his room, he once again had some time to himself. His mana was practically drained due to the continuous use of his 'Burst' skill, but he considered it mana well spent. It turns out it was particularly draining so he should probably only use it when needed. His endurance had long since reached a suitable standard to be considered monstrous, there wasn't much to gain from continuing to practice it and improve it so he decided to use his time for something better. He had just reached Stage One and was only at low-level so he had a need to refine his soul.
Going by what Andrew said, it would take much longer this time around to reach peak-level of Stage One than it did to reach peak-level of Stage Zero. but even if he could advance instantly, he wouldn't. The vessel got stronger so it could contain the soul. If the soul improved too rapidly then the vessel could quite literally explode into bits and pieces unable to contain the energy the soul gave off. Hence, an adaptation period was needed so the harmony between body and soul could remain stable.
After some time passed while Cage reinforced his soul, he heard the footsteps of a familiar beast-man. Andrew had a grin on his face. "Guess what, I'm going to be discharged around the same time as you!"
Normally something this small wouldn't be cause of celebration, but the probability of them being in the same group would increase if they were both discharged at the same time. They might bicker at times, but deep down they both considered each other family. If something happened to Andrew, Cage didn't know what he would do.
"That's good. That means we will probably still be together in the future. Did I ever forget to mention you are the absolute best teacher wolf beast person in the world?"
Andrew had a suspicious look on his face. Cage would never be respectful to him."... Alright, spit it out. What do you want?" Unless Cage wanted something that is...
Cage clicked his tongue. "Tsk, alright. Tell me about affinities."
Andrew could only sigh, "There's that attitude I know so well... Anyways, affinities huh? An affinity could be considered a mana compatibility. Typically, one would only have an affinity with one type. There are cases where some can have two or even three affinities. Only one in one hundred thousand would have a dual affinity though, and you could count the number of enchanters and mages who have had three affinities throughout history on one hand. They are able to make compound elements."
Cage recalled that his birth mother was a dual elemental mage. 'It seems like she was fortunate and was blessed by the mana or something. I wonder what her compound element was.'
"Alright, so how do I know what my affinity is?"
Andrew swung his hand down in a chopping motion and made a bonk sound on Cage's head. "This is payback for earlier, but I was getting there. Typically, affinity is based off of one's past experiences, and personality. The strength of the affinity can also be determined by the strength of ones emotions which will make more sense once I explain the different elemental mana."
Andrew proceeded to explain that there were a total of seven different elements. There was the standard four of water, wind, fire, and earth. There was also three more which were more rare and stranger than the others. The three were healing, shadow, and space. He also said that these were only Tier 1 elements. There were Tier 2's and even Tier 3's of the elements but Andrew only knew about Tier 1 elements.
"Each element has it's own 'personality'. Each affinity will make you more susceptible to said emotions that your affinity correlates to. it acts as a double edged sword because it will make your affinity stronger due to your emotions, but it can change your personality and will make you more like said element."
Cage realized that it was much more complicated than he thought. It would take time for him to fully understand the different elements of mana. Now he was REALLY curious about his affinity.
"You still haven't answered my question of what my affinity is..."
"Sigh, Listen kid... You need to be at the mid-level first. That is when you are able to differentiate the different elements. Whichever element you naturally absorb is what your affinity is. Once you have an understanding of your affinity, you will be able to cast elemental skills."
Cage was only low-level so he had no way to tell what his affinity was... yet. He didn't know how long it would take to reach the next level, but surely much longer than before.
"I know you want to get elemental skills because they are fucking cool as hell, which I absolutely agree upon, but it will take time." Andrew suddenly had a menacing smile on his face. "On an unrelated note congratulations on reaching Stage One. You even made a skill from what I've heard so you should have two now. Here is a fun fact, fighting will help you stabilize your soul faster..."
Gulp.
'How does he even know about my number of skills? Ah, he probably noticed me in a trance state so he probably knew about me making one and that old man in the void said that everyone got a skill when they advanced a Stage... But do I want to fight him? What the hell, why not...'
The way Cage saw it, he would need combat experience for the future. He had a limited knowledge of the world, but from what he could tell strength determined one's destiny. Even in the soul stone mines, there were beasts that he would probably have to fight once his rehab was done, especially with the wave coming soon.
A small smile crept up onto his face. "I see what you're implying. That is indeed a very fun fact..."
"I'll go get permission from the staff. We need to test this fun fact to make sure it's true right?"
They both just smiled, why? Because they could. It was finally a chance to pummel the other person. It was like how if a friend were to trip you would make sure they were okay then help them up, but if your best friend were to trip you would laugh at them. They both cared about each other and had the relationship of the latter where they were close, but would tease and mock each other. Their reasons for wanting to fight were similar yet different, Andrew was a battle maniac and Cage... Well he wanted to test the limits of his skill and get stronger. Perhaps the teacher was corrupting the student...
Regardless, Cage realized a problem. "Wait! what about your treatment, you always come back tired and pale. Will you even be able to fight?"
Andrew had a perplexed look on his face. "Kid, do I look pale to you right now?"
Andrew was indeed correct. Upon closer inspection, he was not pale. He seemed healthy, he seemed more healthy than some of the people half his age surprisingly. They could beat each other to their hearts content.
Andrew continued, "My treatment is finally done and they are just monitoring me at this point, so no need to worry."
"Perfect, I won't need to hold back."
Andrew was a little amused. "That implies you can beat me. Why don't we make a bet to make it more interesting if you're so confident. The winner gets to ask one thing from the loser at any time..."
"Sounds fun!"
In anticipation for the fight, their spirits for battle were going full gear...