Spectral Regalia Resurgence

"Kid, don't let my story scare you. In fact, use it as a life lesson. I've seen how skilled you are, & even without spirit veins, I can tell that you will make a great alchemist. Someone like you isn't meant for a place like this," his teacher spoke proudly. A student he had found in the middle of nowhere to be able to guide out & into the world would be a great achievement for him.

"I doubt my parents would be ok with that. My mum would chain me to my bed," Avrin joked; the two began laughing. Afterwards, Avrin took everything to the alchemist's home & helped him put everything into their proper storage containers. The alchemist then sat down & looked at Avrin seriously.

"It's not that I'm not confident you can't make the more potent stuff. I've tested you time & time again over the past 3 years. Hell, you put younger me to shame, but don't let that get to your head. An Arcane restorative, the most basic of potions, needs a magical herb that fulfills two roles. Firstly, it needs to have balancing properties; secondly, it needs to be of neutral type. I can tell you now: in all my decades here, I've not found one magical herb! & I've even gone with the hunting parties deeper inside. It's too dangerous, kid. Unless you find one in the market by luck, which will be impossible for the towns nearby, you won't be able to substitute or make the most basic proper alchemical potion."

Avrin looked somewhat disappointed, but he didn't give up hope. In fact, over these three years, he had made some progress for himself. "If I recall, it's possible to substitute a magical herb with a magical beast core?" Avrin threw it out there as if his teacher would give a miracle.

His teacher laughed for a few moments. "Magical beast core? Kid, don't daydream. Finding a magical beast would be easy in the forest depths, but don't mention anything else. You would be dead before you could bat an eye. You're not even a mage, & I'm not a mage anymore. Otherwise, why would I stay here? Besides, even if you were a powerful enough mage, you will still need to search for the mana cores of Grand Wolf, Three-fanged Python, or One-eyed Ape. However, each one would need a militia of at least 30 average people to kill it. Do you even think about the amount of time, money, and people that would be sacrificed during the process? It's just not worth it."

Avrin clenched his fists; he didn't want to give up. He would need to plan things. His teacher, seeing his look & disappointment, reached over & gave him a pat on the back. "Why are you looking down on your luck? Didn't I say you were really skilled? Every year, the cities within the territory hold entry events into the branch Arcane Academy. They'd be stupid not to. This way, they can source their needs for training future mages. There may even be a sage from 1 in 1.000.000 which would be great for them."

Avrin's ears perked. He quickly took the chance to ask more to get information. "You've never mentioned mages much. Can you please tell me about it in detail?" he asked almost pleadingly.

His teacher could see his student's eyes light up. He rubbed his beard again with thought. "Well, I didn't think it necessary to bring it up as you don't have spirit veins, but it should be ok. Once a person with spirit veins creates their first rune link, they can be officially called a mage. Before that, they are simply a novice where all they can do is gather the mana around to cast spells, while mages can use their rune to instantly cast certain spells. The more runes you have linked in your spirit veins, the stronger spells you can use.

This is how it is, kid. Pay attention: Mage, High Mage, Grand Wizard, Aether Sorcerer, Aetheric Sage, Astral Archmage. This is what I know for spellcasting. Don't underestimate this though. There are those mages who, rather than cast spells, focus on perfecting combat with weapons, such as swords, bows, hammers. We share the same ranking, though what they do & how they use magic is different. In order, rather than mage they have: Battlemage, Spellblade, Arcane Warrior, Aether Templar, Aetheric Lord, Astral Emperor."

Avrin felt like laughing; the naming sense was definitely like the few novels he had read. "Which path is stronger?" Avrin couldn't help but ask. His teacher smiled wide, his rotted teeth showing as if he would expect it. "Going the pure spell casting route will result in being able to cast incredibly destructive spells, but you sacrifice protection in the way of improving your body a lot. While those who focus on magic with combat weaponry will have ways to instantly attack. That isn't to say they aren't destructive too. When I was still learning from my master, he told me that it was still argued about to that day, but not as much. Those lousy outer realm cultivators shifted the focus."

Avrin's eyes focused. "Can you tell me about them?" His teacher remained silent for a bit. "Don't worry about learning about them. Hope you don't encounter one. They are nasty to fight & have their own power system. Rather than Mana, they use Qi. As my master once said, they are like a mirror for our realm that has a different system. They are bastards that try constantly to enter our home & kidnap or steal. Pray you don't run into one of those bastards, or else you will be doomed. Only powerful cultivators or those talented ones would dare try to enter this realm." He didn't say much else as even he wasn't really sure about it.

"I understand. Thank you for telling me about all this," Avrin thanked him. His teacher thought nothing of it. "Kid, it's whatever. Besides, you will have learned it eventually. I guess I should tell you now: last week, I talked to your parents about sending you off to go learn outside the village." Avrin looked stunned. He suddenly remembered that indeed, from last week to even this morning, his parents had been a little gloomy, even arguing quietly behind his back about something. His mother would make him his favorite dishes, asking him if she had been a good mother to him & would he ever leave them.

Sighing regrettably with a bitter smile, "That explains a lot," he mumbled. His teacher laughed, seeing his face. "Did I cause some home troubles? You gotta grow your own wings, you know. Your parents have to realize you need to leave the nest at some point. You know what you can do if you leave? Smooth them over with promises of gifts. That way they can brag that their son is a big shot, rather than a little village herbalist."

Avrin nodded. This was indeed a good idea to do. His mom wouldn't miss a chance to brag, neither would his dad. They enjoyed doing so over the years, so that their neighbors avoided them often. But this all gave Avrin a sudden thought. "Teacher, I don't have spirit veins but I can go to a city. If so, why don't you come with me? You're skilled too, right?" The herbalist's eyes furrowed a bit. He turned around & cleared his throat, fumbling with some things.

"Me leave? This village would get some pandemic a day after I leave. I can't leave these folks with no one to heal. Besides, I'm past my prime. I'll enjoy whatever time I have left here." Hearing his tone & listening to his words, it was obvious that his teacher felt nervous, maybe even ashamed, not daring to show himself, afraid he would be found out.

Avrin soon let him be & headed off after bidding farewell. When he opened the door, he heard his parents arguing quietly again, but they stopped the moment they saw him. His mother suddenly smiled. "Avrin sweety, I made you your favorite tonight. You're working really hard like usual, unlike your lazy father." His dad blinked, rubbing the back of his head with laughter. "Oh come on, we had a good hunt a few days ago. There's no need to overdo it when we are well off." His mother simply hmphed before setting the plates for all of them.

The family settled in & began to talk. They were quite cheerful. Over the years for Avrin, he didn't know he needed this. It was like mental therapy. His past life had almost vanished without regret, but he kept it at the back of his mind for when he would need that experience & insight.

After dinner, he was going to help his mother clean, but she gently smacked his hand away, telling him to go upstairs & rest. She didn't have much else to do because their situation had improved a bit. Avrin smiled & nodded, but not after quickly tidying the table.

When he went upstairs, rather than Rumi's book, he shut his eyes & sat cross-legged, gazing into his mind. Slowly his will inched closer. That mass of darkness had long since vanished after Avrin had, over the years, used basic concoctions with soft amounts of mana to whittle it away. His problem was a different one.

The book he looked at was large like a tome that was aged. The cover was pitch black, but looking at it for long enough, Avrin was sure he would see wriggling veins on it. At first, he had rushed to try & use his mind to will it to open once he could access it, but he found he couldn't budge it an inch. He then tried specks of mana, but that didn't work either.

The only result he had obtained from being able to barely move it was a remedy that contained a little mana, like the ointment for healing, but the herbs to use it were too far & in between, & he didn't want to waste it all as the villagers needed some. Either way, the result was only budging the cover a little. This was a reason he had been after making an arcane restorative. He was certain that it would contain enough mana to open the book for him to see what was inside.