"Welcome back, everyone!" The Librarian greeted, his face lighting up with a broad smile. "Apologies for not being able to embolden your minds last week—we decided to take a break and rejuvenate our creative juices." He tapped his temple, acknowledging the pause. Yeah, the author wasn't really feeling it last week, and we tried something else that didn't pan out. So, no Library chapter. "Quite right," The Librarian chimed in, pushing up his glasses. "Now, last time I walked you through Casting and Enhancing. Before diving into more complex systems, I figured we should go over the various Affinities of magic today."
With a small adjustment to his bow tie, The Librarian turned toward the wooden practice dummies scattered across the field. You know, for a place called The Library, we sure don't spend much time in the library. "I mean, this is still part of The Library," he responded, gesturing broadly around the field. "We're just not inside the building," The Librarian replied with a casual wave of his hand. "Anyway," he continued, "let's start by naming all the Affinities. It's been mentioned before, but a refresher never hurts."
After clearing his throat, The Librarian began, "For the common Affinities, we have fire, earth, and wind. These are the ones you'll encounter most frequently among mages. But don't mistake them for being weak—just more abundant. Next, we move on to the less common Affinities: ice, water, lightning, and thunder." He paused, letting the information sink in before offering a smirk. "And I'm sure some of you have noticed the elemental pairings here: ice and water, lightning and thunder. Is there deeper meaning to these connections, or is it just a coincidence?" Don't look at me, I'm just the narrator—I know as much as you do. Actually, probably less.
The Librarian chuckled softly. "Probably. Now, for the rare Affinities: light and shadow. Some of you might recall that last time, light, shadow, and the remaining Affinities were lumped together in the same rarity category." He raised an eyebrow. "Well, that wasn't correct, and was entirely the narrator's fault, I'm here to set the record straight." Hey, that's on the author, not me! I'm just working with what I've been given!
"Finally," The Librarian continued with a thin smile, "we come to the legendary Affinities: gravity and time. These are so rare, they're almost myths in the magical world, but don't worry—I won't leave you in the dark. We'll cover them too."
The Librarian snapped his fingers, conjuring a small fireball about the size of a baseball into his hand. "Fire, as an Affinity, is the least complex and most straightforward. Its primary function is, well, destruction," he said with a shrug. "At lower Affinity levels, you can shoot firebolts, conjure small bursts of flame, and—if you're trained enough—maybe throw some explosive fireballs. They're less potent than a typical firebomb, so... not all that impressive. Modern weaponry can match and surpass that level of power without nearly as much effort."
As he spoke, the fireball in his hand swelled, growing to the size of a basketball. "Now, with medium Affinity, things get more interesting. You could become a living flamethrower, burning away enemies in seconds. Fireballs capable of leveling buildings become casual throws. You'll also gain resistance to fire, and with enough training, you could even condense your flames into miniature nukes—like Amara does whenever she gets upset." The Librarian grinned at the thought. "At this point, you're outclassing most modern weaponry."
The fireball continued to grow, now larger than a basketball—just... bigger. Look, I'm out of ball comparisons, okay? The Librarian chuckled at my struggle before continuing. "And at high Affinity levels? Well, showing you would be easier than explaining." With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the fireball toward a distant wooden dummy, nearly 25 kilometers away.
When it landed, the ground trembled as a blinding flash engulfed the area, followed by a deafening roar. A massive wave of heat and energy erupted from the impact point, incinerating everything in its radius. The explosion sent a towering column of fire and smoke spiraling into the sky, as though a volcano had erupted on the horizon. The force of the blast carved a crater into the earth, the edges of which glowed with molten rock. In the aftermath, an eerie silence hung in the air, broken only by the crackling of flames that continued to smolder in the distance.
The Librarian dusted off his hands, a satisfied smile on his face. "I hope that gives you an idea of what high fire Affinity can do."
He then snapped his fingers once more, and the air stirred. A few leaves floated from the ground to hover over his hand. "Wind Affinity," he began, "like fire, is mostly destructive, but it's got a bit more versatility." The vortex above his palm began to grow, gently pulling at the surrounding blades of grass. "At low Affinity levels, you can create small gusts of wind, maybe give someone a nasty paper cut, and with enough training, you can even increase the air circulation within your body to move a bit faster."
The wind swirling above his hand intensified, now strong enough to rip the grass from the ground and lift it into the air. "At medium Affinity, things get a bit more interesting. You can create blades of wind sharp enough to slice through people, pull the air from someone's lungs, and even increase your speed to run as fast as the wind itself."
The vortex spun even faster, kicking up more debris. Now, I'd describe more, but let's be honest: if I go too far with this, it's going to ruin the whole scene I've got going here. "Lazy bones," The Librarian teased with a smile, "but sure, let's keep it simple."
He let the wind die down for a moment, focusing his attention on the explanation ahead. "Now, at high Affinity levels..." He paused dramatically, "You can summon tornadoes that don't just pull things into them—they slice everything apart on contact in an atomic level. And I'm not talking about those small tornadoes Orian threw out when fighting that pale demon." The Librarian's grin widened. "No, I mean massive tornadoes, the kind that could tear apart entire cities—entire nations even."
With a casual wave, he let the leaves and grass drop to the ground, but the grin remained. "Oh, and there's flying. Though, fair warning, flying with wind magic alone is a terrible idea. Unless, of course, you enjoy being tossed around like a plastic bag caught in a storm. In which case, have at it. Who am I to judge?"
With a shake of his head and a smile, The Librarian snapped his fingers again. A small spade-shaped figure made of dirt began to form in the palm of his hand. "Now, lastly for this week—earth," he began, "which, unlike fire and wind, is primarily a defensive Affinity rather than an offensive one. But, as you saw when Even used it, it can still be plenty destructive when applied the right way."
The dirt figure floated above his hand as he continued, "At low Affinity levels, you can turn the ground to mud, maybe raise a knee-high wall for cover, and craft some basic weapons or tools from dirt—though they won't be particularly durable." As he spoke, the dirt figure in his hand became encased in stone.
"At medium Affinity, you can create spikes of stone, solid walls for cover, or even cause tremors. With enough effort, you might even be able to create a small earthquake." The stone figure in his hand shimmered, shifting materials into obsidian, then copper, then iron.
"Finally, at high Affinity," The Librarian's smile widened, "you can create catastrophic earthquakes, meld into the ground and move through the earth like it's second nature, and—well—there's also this." As he spoke, thick layers of durable rock and metals encased his entire body, forming a suit of armor that looked impenetrable. "You can encase yourself in armor, shaping it with just your thoughts."
With a snap of his fingers, the armor vanished without a trace of dirt left behind. "And if you're feeling particularly savage, you can always hurl a volley of sharp stones or obsidian at your enemies, shredding them to pieces. It's something I saw a lot of back in the day," he added with a smirk, adjusting his glasses as he finished.
"Well, that wraps it up for this week. Next time, we'll dive into the less common Affinities, so goodbye and happy learning."
Yeah, bye bye everybody, see you next time!