Zeke took a deep breath, held it as long as he could, then slowly released it. He repeated this, drawing in deep breaths and exhaling gradually. Hours passed as he concentrated solely on his breathing. Over the past week, this exercise had become a standard part of his daily routine.
With each breath, Zeke felt the Mana passing through his body, perceiving the different ways it interacted with his Core. It was the first time since Maximilian's death that he took the time to delve into his Affinities and how they influenced him.
After another deep breath, Zeke felt three streams of Mana leave his Core: red, blue, and purple. At least, that was how they appeared to his Mana sense. More important than their color, however, was the effect they each had.
The moment the red stream left his Core, he felt it seep into his body. Now that he focused, he could sense its effect. It felt like a warm current flowing through him, revitalizing and energizing him on a fundamental level. It also agitated his body, urging him to move, to do something—anything. Blood was never stagnant, and resisting its call would have been challenging without the blue stream of cold rationality entering his thoughts with each breath.
This stream calmed his mind and increased his alertness. Yet, beyond that, it was hard to discern how this type of Mana actually influenced him. It was a very peculiar sensation.
Zeke didn't feel like it altered his thoughts or beliefs, but instead fundamentally changed the way his mind worked. The effect was hard to describe, and he had spent a considerable amount of time trying to put it into words. However, even his best attempts still felt lacking.
One thing was certain, though: Mind Mana changed his decision-making. While a regular person might consider a mix of past experiences, emotions, and rational, Mind Mages clearly favored logic over everything.
It was actually quite liberating.
While traditional thinking often led to conflicting outcomes—sentimentality over practicality, for example—a purely analytical way of thinking had no such limitations. Everything was like math: clear-cut and dry, right or wrong. There was no ambiguity, only clarity.
The last stream, a sparkling purple, was the one Zeke had spent the most time analyzing. It seemed to simply disappear without having the slightest effect on him. However, hours of meditation had allowed him a few glimpses into the effects of Spatial Mana.
Though he couldn't put a clear name to it, Zeke could tell how his body became more attuned over time. The difference was so subtle that a single breath seemed to do nothing, but its effects were noticeable in other ways.
For instance, slipping through Space had become almost effortless. Coating himself in a protective layer had become a breeze, and the once stubborn membrane of Spatial Mana now clung to him like a second skin. It was no wonder Space Mages could easily teleport over vast distances while struggling to bring others along; it was all because their bodies were so attuned to the element.
Another effect of his growing attunement was that he hadn't hit a limit on the amount of blood he could store. While most Blood Mages of his level were usually capped at double their normal amount, Zeke's [Blood Compression] was nearing a fourfold increase. And it seemed there was no end in sight. If he kept going like this, he might soon rival the blood reserves of a Grand Mage.
Zeke took another deep breath and tried to clear his mind. Despite all his revelations, he wasn't making any actual progress with his task. The purpose of this exercise wasn't to better understand his individual affinities but to find a way to combine them.
Though he had long suspected it, meeting the elf had finally confirmed the fact for Zeke: advancing to the Archmage level required one to have no more than a single affinity.
Maximilian, Aurelia, and Cassius, the only three exceptions to this rule, had skirted that requirement by fusing their affinities during their advancement.
Maximilian combined Fire and Earth to create his Explosion Magic using the natural laws of seismic pressure.
Cassius combined his Life and Nature affinity to create his Growth Magic, utilizing the most apparent overlap between the two affinities.
As for Aurelia Thorsten… well, Zeke actually had no idea how the Immortal Witch had managed to fuse Life and Death, nor what the result was called. However, her ageless appearance and unnatural lifespan suggested quite a few things. Regardless, the mere fact that she had succeeded was the one piece of news that gave Zeke hope for his advancement.
True, there had never been an Archmage who started with three affinities, but at least his weren't as strongly opposed to each other. That had to count for something, right?
Yet, even as minutes turned to hours, Zeke was unable to make any progress.
"That will do," a voice said from nearby. Zeke opened his eyes and found Cassius watching him from across the room. "There is no point to this if you can't clear your mind," the elf chided softly.
Zeke grimaced, feeling exposed. He had always been adept at finding solutions, but not thinking about anything wasn't one of his strengths—especially now, with three forces pulling him in different directions.
"Did you make any progress at all?" Cassius asked.
Zeke shook his head. "There doesn't seem to be any overlap. It's like each of my Affinities wants to pull me in a different direction."
Unlike what Zeke had expected, there was no disapproval on the elf's face. Instead, he saw a reminiscing look as the elf nodded. "Affinities are very distinct from one another. Even those grouped together, like the four elements, differentiate greatly. They are, quite literally, like Fire and Water…"
Zeke rolled his eyes at the terrible pun but continued to listen to the el's words with utmost focus.
"…the first step is to recognize how different your Affinities are. It took me a long time to come to terms with as well," the elf explained.
Zeke frowned. "I don't see how this realization is going to help me. If anything, I am even more convinced that merging three Affinities is impossible..."
Cassius shrugged. "Who can say? It has never been done, so you might be right. However, I don't believe Maximilian would have taken you as a disciple if he believed it impossible."
Only now, years after the old man's death, did Zeke truly begin to comprehend the level of faith his mentor had placed in him. A hint of warmth entered his heart at the thought. Justified or not, Maximilian's trust meant a lot, and Zeke would do whatever he could to live up to those expectations.
"Don't be too hard on yourself," Cassius said, gathering Zeke's attention. "Maximilian and I took well over a century to figure this out, and that was with only two affinities. Even with our examples to draw from, you won't succeed overnight."
Zeke nodded on the surface but still wasn't fully convinced—for one simple reason: he had already successfully combined Blood and Mind Mana. The resulting spell kicked his brain into overdrive, heightening his perception to superhuman levels. Whenever he entered that state, it felt like time was standing still.
After much consideration, Zeke had decided to name the spell [Bloodbound Clarity].
This achievement obviously wasn't equivalent to Cassius's Growth Magic or Maximilian's Explosion Magic, but it was enough to open the door. It had given him a taste of what was possible when combining affinities. If only he could figure out the rules, his progress would take a huge leap forward.
And even though the last week had borne little fruit in terms of combining affinities, the repeated failures had still taught him a valuable lesson: he was approaching this the wrong way.
Instead of trying to fuse all three affinities at once, it would be far easier to find common ground between each individual pair: Blood and Mind, Blood and Space, and Mind and Space—three pairings in total.
This approach would not only allow him to separate this monumental undertaking into distinct, individually achievable tasks, but also give him the opportunity to learn useful spells along the way. More importantly, he'd get a feel for how his affinities worked together. Then, when the time finally came to advance to the Archmage level, he'd have a much easier time merging all three.
Still, the mere thought of combining all three of his Affinities was enough to completely sap him of energy…
Seeing his expression, Cassius laid a supportive hand on his shoulder. "There's no need to fret," the elf said. "The Grand Mage stage is still years away, and you'll likely have decades before you need to consider the Archmage level. You'll have plenty of time."
Instead of cheering him up, Cassius' words only heightened Zeke's worries. After all, the entire point of this journey was to gather the last part for the Mana Purifying device that would allow him to advance faster…
A flash of determination entered Zeke's eyes. He would need to hurry up and find a way to combine his Affinities if he didn't want to remain stuck at the peak of Grand Mage for several decades.
"I'll go back to my room and practice," Zeke said with a nod to the elf.
Cassius, believing that his words had managed to cheer him up, returned the nod with a smile. "Good luck, child."
Zeke left the elf's workshop with swift steps, only to instantly bump into the figure waiting outside. He caught the surprise guest and prevented her from falling by grabbing her shoulders.
"You okay?"
"Sorry," Snow mumbled, not meeting his eyes.
Zeke shook his head. "No, it was my fault; I was in too much of a hurry." There was a moment of awkward silence as Snow didn't respond.
"Are you here to see Cassius?"
The girl shook her head, still not meeting his gaze. "…I was waiting for you," she whispered softly.
"Me?" Zeke furrowed his brows.
He let go of her shoulders and took a step back, taking a closer look at Snow. Now that he was paying attention, Zeke noticed the changes in the girl. It wasn't a complete transformation, yet the differences were quite obvious on closer observation. She seemed a bit taller, her hair had grown, and her face had lost a fraction of its childishness. If he didn't know any better, Zeke could have sworn that she had aged by about a year since he last saw her.
Zeke cleared his throat and returned his gaze to her face. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable by staring too much. "What did you want to discuss?" he asked gently.
Snow glanced up, and for an instant, her red eyes met his golden ones. However, the connection was broken as she returned her gaze to the floor. "I was wondering," she said, "When we would continue our journey…"
Hearing her words, Zeke wanted to slap himself.
He had been so comfortable over the last couple of days that he had never considered how Snow must be feeling. After all, they were on their way to her home… from where she had been kidnapped. How frustrating must it have been for her to stop here? Without even a word as to how long they would be staying.
"I'm sorry," Zeke said, "It must have been annoying for you…"
Contrary to his expectations, Snow shook her head wildly. "No! I really like it here, and sister Rhea is very nice."
"Sister… Rhea?" Apparently, the girl had gotten quite close to the Titan over the last couple of days.
"Yes!" Snow gushed, "She is super strong but super nice!"
At her excited expression, Zeke couldn't help but smile as well. Suddenly, a certain question came to mind. "Who is stronger: Rhea or your father?" he probed.
Snow tilted her head, a finger on her lips. The expression of deep contemplation looked incredibly cute on the young girl.
"It's hard to say…" she started, "I've not seen sister Rhea fight seriously. However… I have a feeling that Papa is a lot stronger."
Zeke couldn't help but shiver. The memories of how the Titan had uprooted that gigantic tree and unearthed the surrounding terrain were still vivid in his mind. Yet, the girl was saying that her father was even stronger. What kind of a monster was he?
Zeke glanced at the girl, who still appeared lost in thoughts. "What's he like?" he asked casually.
"Papa?"
Zeke nodded.
"He is super nice!" Snow beamed. "And he always treats me the best."
Her words didn't reassure him in the slightest. No matter how honest she was, she wouldn't be able to give him an objective answer about her father. Zeke sighed. He would just have to hope the man would feel indebted to him after bringing back his beloved daughter.
If not… Well, he would cross that bridge when he got to it.
Zeke returned his attention to Snow, "Three more days," he said seriously.
"Hmm?"
"We will leave in three more days," he repeated.
Snow beamed at him before running down the corridor, likely to tell the others. Zeke's eyes followed her back until she disappeared around a corner. Three days. He would spend this time learning everything he could from the elf.
Afterward, he would be on his own again.