A bright, luminescent light filled the cabin room, casting shadows upon everything it touched. The brightness blinded me. My unfortunate skill was once again working against me.
I covered my eyes with my free hand. Even if I closed my eyes, the light would still seep through. The light burned my retinas.
I did not dare take my fingers off the crystal. This much pain was not enough to make me falter. Besides, it was a light irritation at best.
Eventually, the blinding light settled down. The bright shine of the crystal ball began to dim slowly before finally dissipating–or should I say concentrating on it's source. I pry my hand from my eyes, taking a peek. Once I saw that the light was in a manageable amount, I fully removed my hand.
The ball was glowing–albeit not as brightly anymore. The color was more profound too. The bright white that previously filled the room was now a mix of colors and runes swimming in some kind of dark miasma in the crystal ball.
"For now, I guess I should start with an explanation."
She said, more of an afterthought than a reminder. It seems she was not fully intent on informing me what was happening in the first place. Though by her tone, I could tell she had made up her mind somewhat.
"Magicians have three ways to ascertain their magical aptitude. They use these three metrics to ascertain a mage's path and the instructor that they need to hire to be specialized in. Naturally, instructors with an aptitude similar to the would-be magician is preferable. However, they very rarely do. That's because magicians have three aptitudes in which they specialize in. Naturally, there would be more people with differences than those similar. That's why it's important to know your magical aptitude from a young age in order to familiarize yourself with it early on, when you're mind is still developing, to achieve greater results."
She said all in one breath. It was a lot of information to process, but I got the gist of it… somewhat. Basically, there were three things a young magician would need to learn earlier than actual magic. That was the three classifications of 'magical aptitude' that she had mentioned. Then that means…
She was only trying to help me
The cruel realization made my stomach contort with guilt.
You skeptical idiot!
I berated myself for my own stupidity. The signs were all there. She took me in, fed me, and even took care of me while I was at my weakest just because of a promise I had made on the spur of the moment. I really was an idiot, maybe–no, definitely even worse.
I rub the back of my neck in embarrassment, shy from my blunder, and guilty of my skepticism. If I could only talk, I would have already began apologizing right now. I should have trusted her more.
She must have noticed my wallowing, because she gave me a smile that somehow shone brighter than the crystal ball.
"It's fine! Don't worry~ I already told you, didn't I? What you did was the right call, not revealing your hand to your opponent. Though, it would have been nice if you could trust me. Ah!, don't look so depressed. I'm fine with it, really...!"
She said in a panic as she noticed my strange behavior. Now that she pointed it out, my palms were numb. Looking at the body part lacking the sense of touch, I find a surprising sight. I was clenching my fist so hard that my nails had begun to dig into my palm. The fact that I couldn't feel anything must have come before I drew blood.
I unclench my fist, not trying to hide or remedy the self-afflicted wound. This was my punishment for not trusting her. With a cough, she continued, ignoring my hand while doing so.
"A-ahem… anyways. Like I said, there are three metrics, or classifications as some scholars identify them as, that a magician must learn before they perform magic. One of which is their elemental attribute."
She put one finger on the crystal ball filled with my mana.
"This is 'yourself' or 'the nature of your mana'. Though most people call it a magician's 'mana signature'. I also prefer this term. Moving on, this–"
She poured mana from her fingertips to the crystal ball. That dense and powerful mana of hers swirled around her finger, eventually into the miasma inside the crystal ball. I was wondering what she was doing when the miasma was seemingly 'plucked' like a hanging fruit.
The dark miasma that filled most of the crystal ball had been removed.
The miasma ran through her finger, covering it in darkness. She pointed at me. At the same time, the dark miasma concentrated just a couple of centimeters from the tip of her pointed finger midair. The miasma condensed into a smooth ball of pitch-black darkness.
"This… is your element."
She presented it to me. I didn't know what to say, not just because of the language barrier, but also my own lack of comprehension. Even if this was my 'element' as she said, I still did not know what to make of it.
"Don't worry, I'll teach you everything you need to learn. I'm quite good at magic y'know? There are probably only a few people on this continent that can match me when it comes to spellforms and mana control. If you want somebody to teach you about magic, then I'm your best shot."
She reassured me with her gentle tone. She was not using her fake voice anymore, but her real one. It felt nice to hear. Her voice was somehow more graceful than her usual one by multiple levels. Just hearing her voice was enough to calm me down. This time, I chose to trust her.
She waved the dark miasma away, and the–my element dissipated into the atmosphere.
"This seems like a good place to stop. We'll continue the rest once you've learned how to use your element properly."
….Eh?
She stood up and walked down the hallway, putting on her usual robe.
"For now, you should figure out how to activate your element."
As she slowly moved away from my vision, I couldn't do anything but stare.
….Seriously?