My Affinity?

"Ha!!!" Dareon groaned, his eyes strung wide open.

A series of gasps followed, accompanying sweats that trickled down his forehead.

"..." Hubert sat in front of him, observing Dareon.

"A-almost…" Dareon murmured, looking at his hand, realizing that he had returned to the real world.

"It's a shame, but don't worry. There are a lot of times and days for meditation," Hubert encouraged. A smile painted on his face as he supported his bottom off the ground.

Dareon had failed in gaining enlightenment.

"But… I was almost there, the scenery, the elements, all worked together, almost harmonious. Then the gold lining broke," Dareon said.

"Don't mind it, Dareon, let's get some sleep instead," Hubert said, extending his arms to Dareon.

Dareon looked at Hubert's hand, his hair messy and his eyes tired, sweat drenched his clothes, and his lungs exhausted. Then he accepted the favor.

Hubert pulled himself up. The two then scurried away into their dorm, leaving the moonlight alone.

—

Teng!

The bell rang and the chicken crowed, signaling the morning sun's rise into the far sky. The air was cold and breezey. The students headed to their breakfast and ate the only source of energy for their activities.

Soon, Class C of the 72nd found themselves on the open ground once again. Their eyes closed and hands on their knees, they continued meditating in the circle formation taught to them.

Hubert sat under the tree he previously napped on. His hand was busy scrolling through the magic circles, his eyes scanned and learned carefully of their contents.

"Hubert, do you want to converse about research and theories of magic?" Vinc asked with a smile, his tone hopeful and inviting, approaching him from the side.

"No, instructor, thank you, there's something more important to do than that," Hubert said, rejecting the offer.

Vinc's back slumped, his smile diminished.

Hubert returned to his activities, opening the scrolls, reading the magic circle contained in it, and comparing them to others magic circles. His attention and sight were focused on the pieces of paper. Though he occasionally glanced into the crowd of students.

Particularly at Dareon, his eyes closed though he struggled to keep them closed. And his body trembled as he tried to reach enlightenment.

The others were not much different.

"Oh, are you looking at the scrolls I gave you before?" Vinc asked, crouching down, his eyes gazed directly at the circles.

The putrid and sinister smell of Vinc's body struck his nose. The messy appearance of him had come with an extra topping of smell, after all.

"Yes, instructor. I think I have understood some of them," Hubert said, trying to be unmindful of Vinc's presence.

"You are truly a genius…" Vinc said, correcting his thick round glasses.

"Ah, do you mind if I ask you about advancing to grade 3?" Hubert asked politely, his hand stopped its activities on the scrolls, and his attention placed on Vinc.

"Hmm? What about it?" Vinc replied, his head tilted slightly.

"You mentioned before that I was in grade 2. So I was curious about the requirement of reaching grade 3," Hubert exclaimed.

"Hmm…? I can't spill much about the test because of the academy's rules… But I wouldn't really call it a test, so it doesn't matter if I tell you or not, I think… Anyway, if you do want my explanation…" Vinc took a deep breath, raising his index finger to the sky, a habit.

"There's this thing called a detection orb, it's something the students would use to awaken their affinity. Everyone that has felt mana obviously has a mana mind, right? But the mana minds of people truly differ from each other in composition. Some have an affinity to fire, for example, the sun would be hotter. Or some have an affinity to water, that would mean that their mana mind is mostly made of water, imagine a sea or even an ocean! Exciting, right? This is called affinity, when you have stronger connections to a certain element, then your mana mind too would portray that certain element more than the other," Vinc explained, but his tone was not as excited as when he talked about research.

"Then, what is the use of a detection orb?" Hubert asked.

"The detection orb is a device used by the instructors to project mana mind into the real world. Akin to watching a show, only then would we, instructors, determine and understand what affinity you possess. Don't expect it to be hard, bah, it's just placing your hand onto the orb and then waiting for a few seconds," Vinc said.

Hubert raised his eyebrows, confused.

"Thank you, instructor Vinc, let me get back into my mana mind, there's something I need to check on," Hubert said.

"No problem, no problem. Just don't forget the third learning hall is accepting any talented students such as yourself!" Vinc said, waving his hand as he walked away.

"Ha… Wouldn't it be amazing if he joined the third hall," Vinc muttered under his breath.

Hubert closed his eyes and placed his hand on his knees. His senses, hearings, smelling and seeing, cut off from the real world, isolated by his own choice, as he delved deeper into his imagination.

Mana mind.

The calm breeze of wind greeted him. The scorching sun, though not as hot as summer, bombarded him with its light. The smell of earth accompanied by the sound of flowing streams of water welcomed him.

"Ha… I miss this place," he muttered, as he walked around his mana mind, observing the natural environment.

It had been a few days since he last came to this place.

"Now… What is my affinity?" Hubert asked himself, scanning the place as he searched.

He stood in the middle of the clearing, the sun blessed him.

The fire element, the sun. While it was hot, he knew it wasn't hot enough that it overpowered the other elements. He knew this wasn't the one.

He stood beside the stream, crouching down, Hubert dipped his hand in the water.

The element of water, a small stream of water. Blue and invigorating, fresh and welcoming. But it was only a small stream, not enough to defeat the other elements. Hubert knew, this wasn't the one.

Then he stood up, feeling the wind.

The wind, a gentle breeze that welcomed him. Something that provided coolness under the relentless strike of sunlight. While it certainly became an aspect in the environment, much like the other, it was light and comfortable. Hubert ruled out that wind was his affinity.

"Then, the only thing that is left is…" Hubert said, his eyes directed downward. Under Him, where he stood, the ground.

The earth, the ground. Supporting the place where he stood, it also proved itself as something that was overwhelming against the other elements. But still, the ground was stagnant and still, calm and unmoving. For some reason, his gut feeling knew, the ground too wasn't the one.

"Then, what is it?" he asked, confused. 

He came to his mana mind, searching for an answer, yet he found none.

The questions hadn't been answered, his confusion not quenched, his curiosity grew bigger.

Only then he directed his gaze forward.

The abyss, it was there since before and continued existing. Void and dark, unending and lightless, eerie and dreadful. Something that was uncomfortable to be looking at.

Shelter for darkness, sanctuary for emptiness. 

His heart beat fast, his pupil dilated.

Then he returned to the real world. His eyelids opened, the blinding sun welcomed him, a leaf fell on top of his head.

"My mana mind hasn't changed a bit…" he muttered.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it, I just hope that the detection orb and the instructor gave me a good element," Hubert said.

A smile formed on his face. Every kid, in the village or city, had always dreamed of being a warrior, magician or even knight. He was no different.

"...He he," he chuckled, imagining the result he would get.

Then he grabbed another scroll from beside him. His hand, gloves, was about to undo the ribbon that sealed the scroll.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he noticed Aadish, sitting beside his friend group of Henter, Cobman and one other person.

The three surrounded him, as they all enjoyed the spectacle.

Aadish, his topaz eyes closed, sat, struggling and trembling greatly.

"Ooh? Is he about to succeed?" Hubert observed, curious. He knew from the sign, he just knew, Aadish was about to reach enlightenment.

Vinc stood behind Aadish, waiting for him to finish his meditation.

"Ha!" Aadish groaned.

A sudden breeze of wind was produced from inside him. The birds on the trees scattered because of it.

"I… I've finally made it, I've finally felt mana!" Aadish said, looking at his soft hands.

His prideful voice shouted aloud. His friends clapped, congratulating.

Vinc stepped forward, his thick glasses reflecting the sunlight.

Aadish's silky black hair gleamed. As soon as he noticed Vinc behind him, he turned his head.

"Congratulations, Aadish! But please be quiet, as the others are still meditating," Vinc said, his voice slightly pressed, commanding.

Aadish clicked his tongue.