"Am I weird?" I had asked my parents previously, and the hesitation to answer was the clearest answer they could give. My parents did their best to be honest with me, and I knew it was almost cruel to ask them this.
"Yes, but not in the way you think. Saying you're advanced for a child is being modest, and it is getting to the point where it is scary how developed you are. It is hard to treat you like a toddler, when it feels like you are much older. You're intelligent, have the reflexes of a trained adventurer, and magical potential unlike anything that makes sense when you are just two years old, Luce" My father said to me.
My father had always made the point to look me in the eye when he spoke, and I could see he was scared to tell me this. My mother added on, "We are very proud of how far you have come, and are excited to see the progress you will make. It can be unsettling at times to see you not do what is expected of a toddler, like playing with toys or throwing fits, but you are our son and we love you and will always support what you want to do."
I thought my actions had been careful, and tried to mimic a child as best as I could, but that seemed to be noticeable to my parents, and it was clear they did not know the best way to handle it… Handle me. So they did their best to support what I wanted, and what more could a child ask from their parents?
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We made our way to the small building past the food market stalls filled with shelves of books with a black cat I have not seen before at the door.
People walked by and not once did they look at the cat. They were acting like the cat was… Invisible? Pets were beloved here, and hell would break loose if someone were to abuse one here. The stray dogs and cats were well taken care of, so the fact that nobody seemed to see this cat was beyond odd.
"They can't see me, little human." Words that were not my own appeared in my head through what felt like ambient mana in the area. I was so focused on people not seeing the cat, that I failed to notice that the cat was staring at me, and… Speaking to me? The cat's eyes were a mesmerizing black, the pupils in the shape of a star with a shine to match.
"Fewer are able to hear me. What kind of a little monster are you, child?" The cat once again spoke in my mind, was this magic? Nothing I've read mentioned magic that allowed telepathy or any kind of mental abilities. The cat seemed annoyed from lack of a response and said, "Monster or not, it is a commonality that humans are unable to comprehend how to answer when asked a question. Child, respond by-"
"Like this?" I tried thinking of my response and matching the feeling of the ambient mana and imagining the words being sent towards the cat.
The cat stared at me in what I guess is surprise? How the hell do you read a cat's facial expressions? "Bit rough, but a good first attempt. I will repeat my question now. What kind of a little monster are you, child?"
"I am unsure how to answer that. A human?"
"Just a human, are you? Then what does that make the rest of humanity, when only a select few of your mages are able to see me, much less converse with me— Without me having to teach them how at that?"
"I am only two years old. The only mages I have seen are my parents. How am I supposed to answer your question, when I haven't seen the world outside of this city, much less the world and its mages?"
I looked around to see if my mother, or anyone else for that matter, saw this odd stare down between a toddler and whatever this cat looked like to other people. Nobody was moving though, or should I say nothing was moving. I moved my arms to see if I was frozen, and it seemed I was normal, and the cat was blinking so clearly it was also.
"You have frozen time? How is this possible? I have never read about mental magic, on top of time magic? You're asking me what kind of monster I am, but what about you?"
"Humans have barely begun to touch the thread of what magic is capable of, and to answer your impudent question: You don't possess the qualifications to know. You are very impressive for a human, and your potential is greater than any I have seen of your kind, but you are still a speck before me." The air around me turned freezing cold, and for a second I was unable to breathe and then the pressure was gone. A warning to not step over the line again.
"If you can not tell me what you are, can you please tell me how I can address you?" I asked the cat.
"Humans address me in this world as 'Selene', and for now you can say that I… Watch over humanity to see its progress in the world. Few talented ones like yourself are able to see me if I permit it, and I see if you are worthy of my time or not. Hold out your hand while I verify your capabilities."
I do as she asks, and Selene places a paw on my hand and I feel foreign mana enter my body through my hand and trace along my mana channels. It was an uncomfortable feeling to say the least, but not much choice when dealing with this being capable of crushing me like the Divines could. I needed to get stronger to never have to feel this kind of oppressive feeling again.
"You truly are a little monster. You don't even possess a mana core, yet you have been refining your body using mana from mana beasts and storing it even? This kind of training method would create a lot of impurities in normal humans, but your refinement skills are above mages with a mana core, while not possessing one yourself. Who taught you how to do this?"
"Nobody taught me, I just have been able to do it from the beginning, I guess? I don't know how to explain it. Also, my name is Lucian. I thought it rude of me to not introduce my name to you." Please don't have the ability to detect lies, Selene.
"Instinct, is it? There have been a few like you who can develop superior magical abilities by instinct, but none were even close to your age. You're going to change the world, and who knows if it will be for better or worse."
"How does having good mana refinement mean I am going to change the world?"
"Humans are unable to see it, but it is possible to see a mage's affinity by seeing what elemental mana in what you call 'ambient mana', is attracted to them naturally. The majority of mages attract a single element, with the rest being filtered out. Few can attract two elements, which results in being able to use higher element variants. You do not have a filter. The entirety of ambient mana is accessible to you, which in turns means that you are not limited to a single element, or even a variant" Selene said.
So that means I was right. Is this due to my experience with multiple blessings previously? My mana refinement here is due to the meditation techniques, so maybe? Does that mean I can learn the magic that Selene uses, like the time mag-
"But therein lies the problem as well. Mana cores are formed by attracting the elemental mana into your chest and using it to form the core. Doing so also heightens the affinity of the mana used, which is why bloodlines tend to share similar affinities as the elemental mana becomes part of their body and is passed along. Mages with the rare dual affinities are not that rare, but those who survive creating a mana core with two different elements are. The two elements in the core create conflict, and the human body is rarely able to withstand the force the conflict creates, and kills them in the process."
So the lack of mages with more than a single affinity is due to creating a core with two affinities being risky, and more often than not, deadly. If I am not limited by affinity, that means I will have to create a core with at minimum, four affinities. That is, if the four elements are the ONLY affinities a mage can have, as whatever magic this mental communication, or Selene's time magic is, could those also be affinities?
"You noticed the issue, you really are smart for your age. Before you ask, I can not answer any questions regarding magic outside of the four elements and their variants. And yes, you being blessed by mana and having no filter is both a blessing and a curse for you. The chances of you forming a mana core successfully are slim to none and an attempt to do so would likely cause an explosion that extends beyond just killing you."
"So… If I attempt to form a mana core, I will essentially be very likely to become a human bomb and take out the area around me?" I asked Selene, who almost had the look of pity in her eyes.
"More or less so, yes. That said, I am very interested in seeing you grow and the changes you will bring, so let's talk about how we can potentially solve this issue."