The dew on the hilltop was cold, soaking through Ethan's thin trousers as he sat cross-legged. It was the same spot where he had first felt his senses explode, but today, the world felt quiet. There were no visions of black ice palaces—only the steady, rhythmic clicking of Havi's staff against the earth.
"Close your eyes, Ethan," Havi commanded. "Yesterday, you saw the world. Today, you must find the 'Nodes' that allow you to touch it."
Ethan obeyed, his mind still reeling from the events of his birthday. He tried to focus inward, searching for that strange buzzing sensation under his skin.
"Listen," Havi began, his voice dropping into a deep, educational tone. "To live in Oros is to live in magic. There are types of magic as there are branches on the tree. But first let me tell you about 6 well known branches of magic . The first is Reinforcement. It is the most basic, yet the most essential. Every living soul uses it instinctively to make their skin tougher or their sword sharper. Everyone can do it, but almost no one truly masters it."
Havi paused, letting the wind whistle between them. "Then, there is Elemental Magic. This is the art of commanding the world—fire, water, ice, earth, and lightning. It is loud, destructive, and difficult to control. Most pursue mastery in this branch of magic as it is more flashy
"And the others?" Ethan asked, his eyes still shut.
"The third is Mental Magic," Havi said. Ethan felt a shiver. "This is the path of the mind. It allows a mage to charm others, create illusions, or—at its darkest—take complete control over another person's body. Telekinesis, like what you saw Elara doing, is a minor branch of this."
Ethan's eyes snapped open for a second, a look of pure terror on his face. Control over a person? The thought of someone reaching into his head and pulling his strings made his stomach churn.
Havi ignored the look of horror on the boy's face and continued. "The fourth is Conjuration and Transfiguration. This is the art of creation and change. Making something from nothing, or turning lead into gold. It is incredibly complex; very few have the patience to learn the math behind it.
Havi shifted his staff to his other hand. "Then we have Barrier Magic. This is the art of the shield. It requires complex chants and the drawing of magical circles to manifest a physical wall of energy. It is what keeps cities safe from monsters and palaces safe from assassins. Without a strong Barrier mage, even the greatest fortress is just a pile of stone."
"And finally," Havi added, "there is Enchanting Magic. This is the art of imbuing. An Enchanter uses specialized chants to weave a permanent or temporary magical effect into a physical object. They can make a sword that never blunts, a cloak that hides you from sight, or a ring that warns you of poison. It is a slow, tedious process, but it turns ordinary steel into legendary artifacts."
Ethan sat in silence, fascinated. In his old life, he had worked at a register and stocked shelves. The idea that he could eventually throw lightning or create objects from thin air was like a shot of adrenaline to his soul. The monotonous gray of his previous life felt like lifetime away.
Then, the reality of his situation hit him. He slumped his shoulders. "But... I'm a commoner. Kael said we aren't allowed to learn this."
Havi let out a short, amused chuckle, as if he had read Ethan's very thoughts. "In the eyes of the law, yes. The Empire wants you to be a tool, not a master. Magic in this world is 70% arithmetic formulas and 30% intent and imagination. To the Nobles, knowledge is a wall to keep you out."
The old man leaned down, his blue eye twinkling. "However, once you become an adventurer and join a legal guild, they are allowed to teach you Elemental magic. The rest—the Mental, the Transfiguration, the Barriers—those are guarded by the Noble Houses. They keep the secrets of the formulas to themselves."
"So I can only go so far," Ethan whispered.
"There are 10 levels to magic, Ethan," Havi explained. "The higher you go, the more destructive and 'conceptual' it becomes. At Level 1, you're just lighting a candle. At Level 10, you are rewriting the laws of nature. Most commoners spend their whole lives struggling to reach Level 3. It takes decades of hard work and surviving death itself."
Havi stood up, looking toward the distant horizon. "If a commoner reaches Level 4, the Empire can no longer ignore them. They are granted a piece of land and rewarded with the title of a Knightly House. They become minor nobles."
"What about the Emperor himself ?" Ethan asked.
"Emperor Valerius III is at Level 8," Havi said, his voice turning solemn. "Alongside the Queen of the Elves in Sylvaris and the King of the Dwarves in Kraz-Modan. That is as high as any living being has gone in this age. Their power is what keeps the world in a state of balance—or at least, a state of cold war."
Ethan felt a surge of excitement. Level 8. It sounded god-like. He wanted to know more, to ask how to reach those heights, but Havi reached into his robe and pulled out a heavy, leather-bound book.
He handed it to Ethan. It was titled: An Introduction to Reinforcement and the 1,825 Nodes.
"Read this," Havi said. "Don't just scan the pages like you're looking for a price tag. I want you to feel every single Node mentioned as you read about it. There are 1,825 points in your body where your soul touches your flesh. Until you can feel every one of them, we do not start practical training."
Ethan gripped the book, the weight of it solid in his small lap. "Every single one?"
"Every. Single. One," Havi repeated, already turning to walk down the hill. "Do not come back to the orphanage for lunch until you have felt at least the first fifty. If you want to be more than an 'commoner ,' Ethan, you have to start by knowing exactly what you are made of."
Ethan watched him go, then looked down at the first page. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes to find the buzzing under his skin, and began to read.
Havi's POV
Havi didn't look back as he descended the hill. He could feel the boy's intensity behind him. Ethan didn't have the typical wandering mind of a seven-year-old. His focus was singular, driven by a deep-seated fear of being 'mere commoner'
"He didn't realize it", Havi thought, "but when I described the frozen palace, he subconsciously tried to Scry again. He is reaching for the higher levels of Foresight before he even knows how to breathe properly"..
Havi smiled to himself. He had purposely obscured the figure on the black throne with a fog during Ethan's vision. It was a Lord of the Hell Dimension, a being of Level 10 of power . It was far too early for the boy to understand the wider world, or the terrifying things that lived in the gaps between continents.
"First, he must learn to be a man", Havi mused, his staff clicking on the stone. "Then, he can learn to be a god".