“Now, could someone please tell me who the strange girl is who barged into my room?”

  Lara and the girl looked at Felix, confusion plain on their faces, then they looked at each other. Lara stared. The stranger stared. Then, realisation finally struck, they’d never introduced her. She just followed them in, watched silently as Lara and Felix had their moment, and briefly interrupted to call Felix an ass. Then, she went back to standing there in silence.

  Acknowledging the strange position they put Felix in, Lara quickly tried to fix the awkward situation.

  “Uhm, Sorry, Felix, this is Aster, she’s really nice! She helped me get back on my feet after my Journey, and she helped me look for you, oh Eugene helped too. Her grandpa is a tiger beastkin! Isn’t it cool?! That’s why her ears are so cute and fuzzy, and her hair is such a pretty caramel and white colour. Aster this is Felix—”

  “The ‘loser’ that abandoned her.” Felix interrupted.

  “Thank you for taking care of Lara. I already feel terrible for what I did, but I’d have felt even worse if she were alone.” Felix tried to make things less awkward by giving her a smile, but judging by her absolutely mortified look, he hadn’t managed to put her at ease.

  “I– Sorry.”

  Felix shook his head. “No, you said nothing wrong, Lara’s just too kind to say it. You weren’t wrong.”

  Somehow, the more he spoke, the more uncomfortable she became. Felix didn’t really know what more to say to relieve the awkward atmosphere. Lara’s strange introduction didn’t really help all that much either. I mean, who introduces someone by saying that they have cute ears? That had to be one of the most bizarre introductions she could have given.

  It also meant he had to constantly stop himself from staring at her ears. She was part beastkin, it was his first time seeing one. How could he not want to stare?

  Fortunately, Lara was there to relieve the awkwardness, because Felix and Aster both looked like they were ready to bolt from the room just to escape the embarrassment.

  “Felix, what spell did you get by the way? You haven’t mentioned it!” Lara forcefully changed the topic.

  “Mine’s kinda confusing. It has something to do with bending the air around me to make running or moving easier. I haven’t really figured it out yet. I think it’s just supposed to help me get the feel for my element so I can start absorbing it.”

  With a blank look on his face, Felix stared at her. “I haven’t looked yet.”

  Aster and Lara's expressions froze as they stared at him. It didn’t last long before Lara’s face melted to give him a pitying look. “C’mon then, let's have a look at it now.”

  “Wait, wait, before that, you have a wind affinity then?”

  “Wind and water,” Aster responded before Lara could. Her demeanor changed. Suddenly, it felt like she was a proud child showing off her pet rabbit in front of the class.

  “The guardian even said she might merge them into a storm affinity, it’s super rare! That’s not all! She’s really good at absorbing mana! The guardian offered her a spot at a different crossroad meant for elites! She’s that good!”

  Felix’s eyes widened in shock. “You spoke to the guardian? The one who was meditating in front of the Ways?”

  “Uhm, yeah. She’s actually really friendly, apparently she just doesn’t like speaking in front of crowds.” Lara responded sheepishly.

  “Lara didn’t want to leave because of you.” Aster sounded a little sad; it drove another dagger into Felix’s heart.

  “That– I–” With a deep sigh, Felix decided that he’d best just accept it. There was no point in arguing with Lara over it. “Thank you, Lara.”

  Lara gave him a brilliant smile, only for Aster to chime in and ruin the moment again. “The guardian said that if she finishes the final trial gate in six months, she can join the elite group.”

  Felix looked at Aster, dumbfounded. She really couldn’t read the mood, could she? He thought she was doing it because she was still mad at him, but looking at her face, the girl might really just be that insensitive.

  “Uhm, I told the guardian that I’d rather just stay here. She said the offer was open, but I don’t plan on going.” Lara inserted into the uncomfortable silence.

  Felix was really starting to feel that he just wasn’t equipped to deal with all this. It was just too much for such a short span of time. He closed his eyes and tried to broker a peace among his warring emotions. After gathering himself, he knew he had to speak up.

  “Lara, you should try to finish on time.” Once again, he saw the confusion and pain on her face. How many times had he caused her to make that expression since they got to the Crossroad? With a sigh, he clarified.

  “Lara, I'm not saying you should leave in six months. I’m saying you should keep the option open. After six months of Travelling, you may feel differently about it. I don’t want you to take it easy and then regret it later. I want you to stay, but we don’t know how our paths work yet. What if you can’t become a knight because you didn’t try hard enough? I’m just saying to try your best.”

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  He could see that she was still uneasy, but he hoped she would listen. He didn’t have the strength left to convince her further. He didn’t want to look into Lara’s eyes anymore. He didn’t know if he could take seeing what his words did to her.

  A humph of approval drew his attention. Looking at Aster, he’d have expected more judgment, or maybe indifference. He was not expecting her to give him a nod, and that could be mistaken for a smile.

  At least it seemed he wouldn’t be the only one trying to take care of his stubborn friend.

  Felix could feel a part of him stirring, urging him to go with them, to complete the Ways in six months and join the elite group. If it were the Felix from before he took his first Journey, he would have tried without a doubt. Now he just didn’t want to think about it. He tried changing the topic to something more pleasant.

  “So, want to find out what spell I got?”

  Lara quickly went to his desk and fetched his identity token before pulling him back to sit on the bed again.

  “Do you know how to use it?” She asked excitedly.

  “Yeah, Alvara made sure I understood before she dropped me off in the dorm. I tried it for the first time just before you knocked.”

  “Go on then! See what you got!”

  Before looking at the spell, he decided it was best that he had a look at the message Alvara left him in the token. In case there was something important in it. Placing the token against his forehead and envisioning himself falling into it once again, he felt his mind expanding to include knowledge it didn’t hold.

  Thinking of Alvara’s message, it was like he was trying to remember a word on the tip of his tongue. The more he focused on it, the more he felt himself remembering the message. He could feel himself holding a piece of paper, a message scrawled in an elegant but haphazard handwriting.

  Felix, I’m sorry that your affinities came as such a disappointment to you. I did not know that you had your heart set on a martial path when we started our conversation. I feel regret that I did not have the chance to guide you. I have asked the Ways to grant you a token so we may speak again once you clear your first gate.

  I told you that even walking the path of a magi will be challenging for you. When we next speak, you will probably understand just how true that statement is. While I still believe you should consider a civilian life, no Traveller's path is ever easy. If you still wish to be a Traveller after clearing the first gate, come speak to me. I shall do my best to guide you.

  In truth, Felix had been so shocked that he couldn’t become a knight that he’d nearly forgotten Alvara’s last words. For her to tell him not once but twice that he should give up…

  It nearly broke him again. Only Lara’s reassuring hand held him together.

  “What’s the matter? Is the spell bad?” Lara asked with a concerned look on her face.

  “Ah, no, sorry. Alvara left me a message. It’s nothing.” He shot a quick glance at Aster, hoping Lara would think he wasn’t comfortable talking in front of her.

  In truth, he just didn’t have the energy to dive into another difficult topic. Besides, he didn’t even know what Alvara meant by the path as a Magi being difficult. There was little use in dwelling on it until he passed his ‘first gate’ anyway.

  “Say, what are these ‘gates’ anyway? You mentioned it earlier, and now Alvara mentioned it in her note.”

  “It’s in the basic information, the Ways stops you at set points and tests you. They can be pretty gruelling, but none of them are dangerous except for the last one. They’re basically just more training. The last one is the real test. Grandma wasn’t lying. It says you can die in it. But that’s all a long way off, stop stalling and check your spell.” Lara urged him on.

  “Fine, fine. I’ll check.” He rolled his eyes, even though he was just as excited to see what it was.

  When his mind focused on the spell, the experience was different. He could tell the spell had a name, a description, and the method to cast it. When he focused on the name, it wasn’t like he was reading it but rather like he was remembering it. The name carried with it an impression of what the spell was.

  ‘Invigorating rest’

  The name carried the intent of growth, peace, and recovery. Of new life becoming strong and vibrant, relief from pain, and sleep that left him feeling relaxed and refreshed. The intent left him more confused than the name.

  Turning to the description, it still didn’t feel like he was reading from a page, but the words didn’t carry the same strange intent.

  ‘Invigorating rest is a channeled spell of the life affinity with a low difficulty. Channel the spell before sleep, after meals, after exercise, or when experiencing cramps. Aids in the growth of unborn children and the health of pregnant women. Able to lengthen menstrual cycles, reduce cramps, and bloating. Advanced users may forestall periods completely. It makes sleep more effective, reducing the amount of rest required. When used by children, it ensures healthy growth. Speeds up recovery after exercise.’

  Very slowly, Felix removed his token from his head. Examining it closely, he put it back on his head and confirmed that yes. The ‘spell’ was still there and still the same.

  “So, what is it?” Lara asked, still just as excited.

  Felix looked up to see both Lara and Aster staring at him. He looked back at the slate and back at them one more time before he started furiously blushing. He seriously wondered if he’d had his head pecked by a Lumirel or maybe Alvara had her head pecked by one to give him a spell like this. Completely unable to hide his embarrassment, he quickly tried stammering out the first thing that came to his head.

  “It’s a sleeping spell!” Afterward, he spent the next five minutes explaining to the two obviously skeptical girls that, no, he couldn’t put other people to sleep. It just helped him sleep better. He tried to end the topic as quickly as possible. In the end, the only way for him to end the conversation was to insist that he hadn’t eaten since before they stepped on the ferry.

  Reluctantly, Lara accepted that the conversation could wait until they had something to eat. He managed to get a couple more details from Aster and Lara. Aster had a unique variation of the earth affinity, and her spell had something to do with moving earth. All it managed to do was confirm that his spell was indeed weird.

  Felix had no idea why he was given such a useless spell, and the only way he’d get an answer was by speaking to Alvara. It seemed that if he wanted to learn more about his weird affinities or what it would mean for his future as a mage, he’d have to go back to the Ways. He remembered what the guardian had said, a Traveller does not become a Traveller by standing still. So far, that phrase indeed held true.

  First, however, Felix really did need something to eat.

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