Nyx Shadowbrook sat at his small, rickety desk, a blank piece of parchment before him with quill in hand. The flickering light of a lone candle casting dancing shadows across his room, mirroring the turbulent thoughts in his mind. With a deep breath, he began to write, determined to face the financial reality of his situation. At the top of the parchment, he scrawled "Family Expenses" in his neat, if somewhat cramped, handwriting.
As he jotted down figures, memories flooded back—each number a reminder of his family's sacrifices. Basic Mage School Tuition for five years, Standard Arcane Academy Tuition with Room and Board for three years, Textbooks and Supplies, and Living Expenses for three years post-graduation.
Nyx's violet eyes widened as he stared at the final sum. "Twelve thousand... two hundred..." he whispered; his voice barely audible in the quiet room. The magnitude of the figure struck him like a physical blow, forcing the air from his lungs.
For a family like the Shadowbrooks, a minor nobility with more status than coin, this sum represented years of careful budgeting and countless sacrifices. Nyx's mind reeled as he tried to comprehend the full scope of his parents' investment in his future.
As Nyx pondered his family's sacrifices, a kaleidoscope of memories flooded his mind. The Shadowbrook family had always been a tapestry of magical talent, each thread unique and vibrant in its own right. But Nyx had often felt like a dull, fraying edge when compared to the brilliant patterns woven by his siblings.
Lyra, his elder sister by two years, had shown an affinity for runic magic that bordered on the miraculous. Nyx could still picture her, barely ten years old, tracing complex sigils in the air with a fingertip wreathed in shimmering energy. Their parents had been quick to nurture this talent, arranging for private tutoring sessions with Master Eldrin, a renowned runic scholar from the distant Silverleaf Academy.
"It's an investment in her future," their father had explained when Nyx questioned the expense. But to a young Nyx, it had felt like favoritism, a stark reminder of his own magical shortcomings.
Then there was Caelum, the youngest of the three, yet paradoxically the most accomplished. At fifteen, he had been accepted into the prestigious Four Towers Program, a feat that had sent ripples of excitement through the magical community. Nyx remembered the day the acceptance letter arrived, the parchment seeming to glow with an inner light as Caelum read it aloud, his voice trembling with excitement.
"The Four Towers Program," their mother had whispered, tears of joy glistening in her eyes. "Our little Caelum, studying under the greatest mages in the realm."
Nyx had forced a smile, congratulated his brother, and then retreated to his room, where he spent hours staring at his own mediocre grades from the local apprentice school. The contrast had been painful, a chasm of ability that seemed impossible to bridge.
For years, Nyx had nursed these feelings of inadequacy, allowing them to fester into a quiet resentment. He had convinced himself that his parents saw him as the family black sheep, the unremarkable middle child sandwiched between two prodigies.
But now, as he looked at the cold, hard numbers of his family's financial sacrifices, Nyx felt a shift in his perspective. The money spent on Lyra's tutoring and Caelum's prestigious education hadn't been acts of favoritism – they were calculated investments in each child's unique potential and needs.
His parents hadn't spent less on him because they believed him less capable or less worthy. They had given him exactly what he needed based on his abilities and ambitions. They had supported his dream to become a mage, even when his talent didn't match his enthusiasm.
A memory surfaced, one that Nyx had long buried beneath layers of self-doubt. He recalled his father staying up late, night after night, helping him practice basic cantrips that his classmates had mastered weeks ago. He remembered his mother's gentle encouragement, her unwavering belief that he would find his path in the magical world.
"Magic manifests differently in everyone, my love," she had often said, smoothing his hair after a particularly frustrating day at school. "Your gift may not be as flashy as Lyra's or as broadly applicable as Caelum's, but it's there pointing to Nyx heart. We just need to be patient and help it grow."
Nyx felt a lump form in his throat as he realized the truth of her words. His parents hadn't given up on him – they had simply understood that his journey would be different from his siblings'. They had provided him with a solid foundation, trusting that he would build upon it in his own unique way.
And now, with his newfound ability to create clones, Nyx finally felt like he was living up to that trust. He may not be tracing complex runes like Lyra or unraveling the mysteries of the Four Towers like Caelum, but he was carving out his own niche in the magical world.
As Nyx looked at the financial breakdown before him, he felt a surge of determination. He would repay his family's faith in him, not just in gold, but in becoming the mage they had always believed he could be. The road ahead would be challenging, but for the first time in years, Nyx felt truly worthy of the Shadowbrook name.
With renewed purpose, Nyx dipped his quill in ink once more. Below the daunting total, he wrote in bold letters: "Repayment Plan." It was time to turn his unique abilities into something more than a parlor trick. It was time to make his family proud.
As if summoned by his thoughts, a memory surfaced—a conversation overheard between two senior mages discussing the profitability of alchemy. Of course! Alchemy required a steady supply of herbs and magical plants, many of which grew wild in the lands surrounding Arcanum City.
Excitement building, Nyx began to sketch out a plan:
Join the Adventurers Guild Take on herb-gathering quests Purchase a small farm to cultivate alchemical ingredients Cultivation during downtime
It was ambitious, perhaps overly so, but Nyx felt a surge of confidence.
With his clone ability, he could maximize every hour of the day. Nyx glanced at his coin purse, grimacing at its meager contents. He'd need startup capital for this plan, especially for purchasing the farm. The solution came to him almost immediately—a loan. It was risky, but with careful planning and hard work, he was confident he could make it work. With renewed energy, Nyx pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment and began drafting a detailed schedule:
Daily Schedule: - First Light: Adventurers Guild quests (herb gathering)
Mid-morning to Afternoon: Mage Guild tasks
Evening: Study in Mage Guild library
Night: Clone meditation and mana cultivation
As he finalized his plan, Nyx felt a mix of excitement and trepidation. It would be challenging, pushing him to his limits, but for the first time in years, he felt truly motivated. This wasn't just about becoming a powerful mage anymore; it was about repaying the faith his family had placed in him. "I won't let them down," Nyx promised himself. "Not this time."
As Nyx prepared for bed, he settled into his meditation pose, ready to begin his nightly cultivation routine. He closed his eyes and focused inward, visualizing the swirling pool of mana within his body. At the center of his being, nestled in his Solar Plexus, pulsed his mana core—a condensed sphere of pure magical energy.
Mage cultivation was an intricate dance of energy manipulation and willpower. The process began with Nyx drawing mana from throughout his body, guiding it with careful concentration towards his core. This ethereal river of power flowed through invisible channels, not unlike the meridians described in ancient texts of Eastern medicine.
As the mana approached his core, Nyx increased his focus, compressing and refining the energy. He visualized his core as a dense, swirling vortex, constantly in motion. With each push of mana, he aimed to increase the core's density and capacity.
The challenge lay in maintaining a delicate balance. Push too hard, and the core could become unstable, potentially causing magical backlash. Push too gently, and progress would be negligible. Nyx had to find that sweet spot where his core was stretched to its limits without crossing the threshold into danger.
This process of pushing mana into the core was inherently draining. With each cycle, Nyx could feel his overall mana reserves depleting. The goal was to enhance the core's capacity and efficiency, allowing it to hold more mana and process it more effectively in the future.
Once his mana reserves were nearly depleted, Nyx shifted his focus to regeneration. He opened himself to the ambient mana in the environment, drawing it in through controlled breathing and mental imagery. This replenishment phase was crucial, not only to restore his depleted reserves but also to allow his newly stretched core to stabilize at its expanded capacity.
The true test of a mage's cultivation prowess was in how quickly and efficiently they could cycle through this process of depletion and regeneration. Masters of the art could perform multiple cycles in a single session, pushing their cores to new heights with each repetition.
For Nyx, the addition of his mental clones added a new dimension to this practice. Each mental clone performed the same cultivation routine simultaneously, effectively multiplying his efforts. While each individual mental clone worked slightly slower than Nyx would alone, the combined effect was still profound.
What truly revolutionized his cultivation, however, was the dramatic increase in his mana capacity. Nyx marveled at the fact that he now possessed nearly four times as much mana as he had before. This expanded reservoir of magical energy greatly enhanced his practice, allowing for longer, more intense cultivation sessions.
With three minds focused on the task and a vastly increased mana pool to work with, Nyx found his rate of core enhancement skyrocketing. The mental clones allowed him to approach the problem from multiple angles simultaneously, each one pushing and refining larger quantities of mana in subtle variations.
Perhaps even more valuable was the boost to his mana regeneration. Nyx discovered that his mental clones increased his mana recovery rate by 15%. This enhanced recovery, combined with his quadrupled mana capacity, allowed him to complete additional cultivation sessions each night, compounding his progress exponentially.
As Nyx settled into his meditation, he could feel the distinct presence of his three mental selves, all working in harmony. The familiar burn of mana coursing through his body was intensified, almost overwhelming at first. The sheer volume of magical energy at his disposal was both exhilarating and challenging to control.
As Nyx concluded his nightly meditation, he slowly opened his eyes, allowing his senses to readjust to the physical world around him. The flickering candlelight cast dancing shadows on the walls of his modest room. He took a deep breath, savoring the lingering sensation of mana coursing through his body.
With practiced movements, Nyx rose from his cross-legged position, his joints cracking softly as he stretched. He padded across the cool wooden floor to the small washbasin in the corner of his room. The water, which he had set out earlier, felt refreshingly cool as he splashed it on his face, washing away the thin sheen of sweat that had formed during his intense meditation.
As he dried his face with a coarse towel, Nyx caught a glimpse of himself in the small, slightly tarnished mirror hanging above the basin. His violet eyes, usually bright with curiosity, now held a deeper, more focused gleam - a testament to the progress he was making.
Stifling a yawn, Nyx extinguished the candle with a gentle puff of breath. He made his way to his narrow bed, the frame creaking slightly as he settled in. As he pulled the thin blanket over himself, Nyx's mind began to drift.
As Nyx lay in bed, his eyes closed but his mind wide awake, possibilities buzzed through his thoughts. Vivid images took shape in his imagination - lush herb gardens sprawling across sun-dappled fields, their leaves shimmering with magical potential. In his mind's eye, he pictured himself tending to these mystical plants, harvesting them with practiced ease.
His thoughts shifted, and he envisioned himself standing before a complex array of alchemical apparatus. He could almost smell the aromatic herbs and hear the gentle bubbling of concoctions in various hues, filling delicate glass vials with potions away. In this imagined scenario, Nyx saw himself moving with confidence, mixing ingredients with the skill of a master alchemist.
Amidst these tantalizing visions, a more concrete goal began to crystallize. Nyx set his sights on a clear target - in eight months, he would start sending money home. It was an ambitious timeline, he knew, but with his newfound abilities and burgeoning plans, he felt it was achievable.
Nyx took a deep breath, grounding himself in the present moment while holding onto these aspirations. The weight of his family's sacrifices and the potential of his unique magical abilities mingled in his thoughts, fueling his determination. As sleep gradually began to beckon, Nyx held onto these goals, letting them shape his resolve for the challenges that lay ahead.