The next few days came and went in a blur for Nikolai. He had woken after almost a full day of rest and still felt weak to his bones. It had been like a really bad flu, but without the coughing and snot.

  Moulin sat next to him for hours on end, holding his hand and helping him learn to move his mana around. He was happy to hear that was what they called the energy inside him—the term felt familiar.

  With her guidance, he quickly became a deft hand at circulating it within himself, and the more he practiced, the stronger he felt.

  Nikolai had achieved the impossible: he had obtained a dual affinity, dark and light. By focusing his intent, he could infuse the mana with his light affinity, giving it weak healing capabilities. He wasn’t quite sure how it worked, but Moulin explained that light was the source of life, suffusing the cells and essentially supercharging them. This allowed them to recover faster.

  He listened intently, absorbing as much knowledge as he could, but he was even more eager to figure out what else he could do. Healing himself was great—awesome, even—but he wanted more. So much more.

  By noon on the first day, he was up and walking, venturing outside the house for the first time since arriving in this new world. The Gravling couple had a large flower garden outside, vibrant with every imaginable color. Nikolai stayed there for hours, simply enjoying the warm sun, the intoxicating scents, and the soothing breeze on his skin.

  That night, Vitzer reluctantly worked with him on his other affinity, and it was very different indeed. Darkness—or shadow magic, apparently—was mostly external. The grumpy bastard had him trying to affect the world around him. They had only a candle in the room as they worked, and the assignment was to deepen the shadows, smother the light.

  At first, Nikolai had no idea how to begin, and Vitzer’s explanations weren’t exactly inspiring.

  “Just reach out, idiot, and tell it to move!” Vitzer hissed, and Nikolai had to suppress a sigh.

  As informative as Moulin was, Vitzer was the exact opposite. Moulin explained the effects of magic, how it worked and why. Vitzer seemed to work mostly on instinct and feeling. Perhaps he had done it for so long that what was second nature to him was hard to dumb down enough for Nikolai to grasp.

  He would probably never know, but he did succeed somewhat by the end of the lesson. He wasn’t able to plunge the room into darkness as he imagined—he didn’t completely smother the candle’s light—but he began to feel the darkness around him as if it were tangible.

  It was strange. He had to rewire his brain, unlearn what he knew, and input a new set of rules. Shadows could be touched, interacted with, and even become somewhat solid with the aid of mana. That last part was a real mindfuck, honestly. In this world, shadows were as fundamental as fire or water, at least in terms of manipulability.

  Moulin and Vitzer both spoke of light and shadow as if tangible, like objects to be picked up and thrown around. Over the next few days, Nikolai had to habitually cast logic aside and simply trust them. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossibly hard either.

  By the third day, it was fairly simple for him to strengthen a source of light or deepen the shadows around him. The more he practiced, the more natural it felt. The sensation of actually performing magic was exhilarating, and his lust for learning was insatiable—to the point where even Moulin began begging for breaks.

  While eating, Nikolai would mechanically chew, entirely focused on moving shadows or making the candles flicker. By the fifth day, Vitzer had him coat himself in shadows to become virtually invisible in a darkened corner.

  Where Vitzer’s lessons were utilitarian, teaching how to use darkness and shadow to his advantage, Moulin’s were internal. She focused on his control of mana itself: how to move it, strengthen it in specific body parts to gain temporary power, and eventually use spells once he had learned some.

  All in all, Nikolai was having a Hogwarts moment that seemed never-ending. He had always been a good student, but never truly motivated. Now, he was driven—eager simply to learn and keep learning.

  Best of all, he was pretty sure he was talented. True, he struggled at first, but with each passing day, he felt stronger and more in control. After a week, he no longer struggled to call on his mana—it responded immediately. He was still clumsy compared to his teachers, but even Vitzer seemed surprised at his progress.

  It all culminated during their dinner on the tenth day. Vitzer threw down his fork and glared at Nikolai.

  “Give it a bloody rest, boy!”

  He was so focused on Nikolai that he barely twitched at the half-loaf of bread Moulin tossed, which bounced off his head.

  Nikolai looked up from what he was doing. The wisps of shadow curling around his hand faded, and he raised an eyebrow.

  “What? What did I do?”

  Moulin sighed. “Nothing at all, dear. This grumpy old fool is simply annoyed.”

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  Vitzer glared at her. “Moulin! Fast progress is one thing, but I think the boy has played us for fools! No one learns this fast. No one!”

  Nikolai grinned. “Thanks, master. I appreciate the compliment.”

  Vitzer turned on him, but Nikolai meant it sincerely—he was pretty sure it was the first thing even close to a compliment he had ever given him.

  “What are you hiding, boy? How are you getting this so fast!?” Vitzer demanded.

  Nikolai didn’t know himself and answered honestly: “I don’t know. I honestly don’t. It feels natural, like riding a bike. It feels like I’ve always known how to do this stuff and simply needed reminding. That’s the best way I can describe it.”

  Vitzer raised an eyebrow. “First of all, what is a bike, and secondly, that sounds ridiculous!”

  “Perhaps not, dear husband. I can’t say I know how it works, but perhaps being bereft of magic enhanced other senses, like a blind man gaining better hearing or touch. Now that it’s been introduced into his system, those latent skills might be helping him. Also, he might simply be talented, dear.” Moulin said thoughtfully.

  The conversation went back and forth, but eventually Vitzer grew frustrated and went to do experiments to calm himself. Moulin, thrilled at Nikolai’s progress, dragged him off to her own study to continue his training.

  Time passed in a blur. Before he knew it, another month had gone by. Nikolai did little else except study, train, and take walks around the surrounding area. He felt like a completely new person, having shed the skin of his old self and left the cocoon of his former life behind.

  His mentors seemed to agree, because on a stormy night, with rain pelting outside, he was called into Vitzer’s workshop. He sat at the large workbench and was presented with… a bunch of rocks.

  Well, they looked like rocks: flat, vaguely circular, and inscribed with markings. For long moments, he just stared while the Gravlings watched him.

  “So… rocks? Is this some kind of problem-solving test?” Nikolai asked.

  Vitzer rolled his eyes. “These are runes, you daft brat. Runes!”

  Nikolai had read about runes: each represented a spell or skill. Raw mana could do things, but runes were preprogrammed abilities—channels for mana to produce specific effects. Which meant…

  “I can finally learn spells!?” he asked excitedly.

  Moulin smiled proudly, like a mother seeing her child star in the school musical. “Past time, actually. We believe you are more than ready. It simply took convincing my dear husband to let you have them.”

  Vitzer scowled. “They’re valuable! I still say we’ve done enough for the boy!”

  Moulin gently slapped his arm. “The role of a mentor is not just to teach, but to prepare the student. You well know it is common practice to give a student their first runes.”

  Vitzer growled under his breath but finally turned to Nikolai in a huff. “Well, there you have it—a bunch of wealth, simply given for existing. Congratulations, you spoiled bastard.”

  Moulin ignored him and stepped up to the workbench, gesturing to the six runes.

  “Runes, as you know, carry specific spells or abilities. What you may not know is there is a hard limit to how many runes you can hold at one time.”

  Nikolai could hardly look away from the rocks. “And what determines that limit? Also, can you remove a rune once you… absorb it?”

  Moulin nodded. “Good questions. Yes, runes can be removed, but at a price—we’ll discuss that later. As for the limit, your soul strength determines it. To expand your capacity, you must strengthen your soul.”

  “How?” he asked. “Is the soul even real?”

  Vitzer sputtered. “Of course it’s real. You strengthen it by training, fighting, killing, producing items, and many other ways. Certain treasures can help, but choosing a path and walking it is essential.”

  Nikolai opened his mouth to ask another question, but Moulin spoke first.

  “To expand on my husband’s tirade, pushing yourself is key. Take a craftsman: if he produces the same low-quality item repeatedly, his soul sees little growth. If he pushes himself, learns new techniques, produces better items, his soul will grow and expand.”

  Nikolai nodded slowly. “I think I get it.”

  In any game he had played, killing the same low-level monsters repeatedly eventually stopped yielding worthwhile gains. While levels weren’t exactly a thing here, facing challenges amounted to the same principle.

  Moulin smiled. “Perhaps you do, but it’s not crucial right now. You’ll likely grow your soul naturally for the foreseeable future since everything is new. We’ll go into further detail at the third stage.”

  “Third stage?” he asked.

  “Yes, that’s when most people find their path, and planning future growth becomes essential. You’re still far from it, so for now, let’s focus on the runes.”

  Nikolai had questions but agreed, his attention already on the enticing rocks. Moulin pointed to the first one.

  “Runes come in an impossibly wide variety of forms, but generally fall into five categories: spell, ability, enhancement, summon, empowerment.”

  Nikolai nodded. She continued, “Spells use mana, abilities are generally physical, enhancements strengthen other runes, summons call beings to assist you, and empowerment boosts your body. Most people have some of each type, unless they want to specialize.”

  She pointed to the first rune. “We’ve picked six we believe make sense for you. After that, you’ll have to find or purchase your own.”

  Nikolai smiled. “Thank you. One question though—at my current… stage? Soul stage? How many runes can I hold?”

  “Ten,” Vitzer said curtly.

  “All right, thanks. So, what are they?” Nikolai asked, barely hiding his excitement.

  Moulin smiled motherly, still revealing her sharp teeth. “From left to right: Soothe, Minor Heal, Minor Cleanse, Mind Wipe, Minor Essence Drain, and Curse of Torment. Three light-affinity runes and three dark. Keeping balance will be best—keep that in mind.”

  Nikolai practically salivated. “So, how do I use them?”

  “You touch the rune, channel a bit of mana into it, and let it do the rest. Don’t resist the feeling; it can be disconcerting at first.”

  Nikolai hesitated, then picked up the Minor Essence Drain rune. He noticed a brief grin of victory on Vitzer’s face before it was quickly replaced by his usual grimace.

  Taking a deep breath, Nikolai centered himself. This was it—he was about to take the next step. He was going to become a dark wizard. He had dreamed of this moment, wished for it in every game he’d played, craved that fantasy to be real. And now, he was going to do it: become Dark Wizard Travelion—for real.