Chapter 8: Path Ahead

The tip of the tool was illuminated in a bright golden light, nearly blinding him. It felt hot, but he quickly lost focus with excitement and stimulus. The tool quickly dimmed into its usual appearance though it was still warm.

The merchant was somewhat surprised, not because the boy manifested his mana, many children learn from an early age how to manipulate to do so, but because of how bright his mana was. On average it should be no brighter than a candle, but this was almost as bright as the sun. It was more a torch than a drill at that moment.

The more mana being poured into the tool the brighter it will shine. Meaning this kid has the natural gift of a wizard. The more mana a wizard has the more dangerous they can be in battle.

The same can't be said about artificing. Artificing is such a delicate art, that adding too much or too little mana can drastically change the results. Not to mention the more mana you have the harder it is to control.

The merchant asked, "Hey kid, do you want to be a wizard? You have just displayed talents that most young mages would envy."

Umber, still stunned by the bright light, was slow to answer. He thought about pursuing magic, sitting behind a desk doing paperwork, and going to a laboratory to test his theory. It felt empty like it lacked something essential for him.

"No thanks, I want to become an artificer," Umber said bluntly.

"Then kid, you're gonna have to struggle"

"How come?"

"You have a lot of mana, great for a wizard, not so great for an artificer. Having a lot of mana means you will struggle to get your desired results from your work. Too much mana in and the results can be drastically different or worse, explode," He tried to explain gently

He came to like this kid and now felt bad for him. He gave him a dream and now he's trying to crush it to save the kid's life.

"Is there any way to fix it," Umber said calmly but his wings were twitching in a small but erratic way.

"The only remedy is to learn how to control your mana as well as a high wizard, or come up with a new system of runes that require an absurd amount of mana to make use of."

Umber thoughtfully asked, "How difficult will that be? "

"You'd need years, maybe decades of intense practice, just to make entry-level runes. I wouldn't even know where to begin to understand what you'd need to start making your own rune system. Kid you'd be better off giving up becoming an artificer."

Umber remained silent.

Uber was in deep thought. If I ask Mr.Daniel and his wife about it, maybe I will learn how to practice mana control. Let's not disregard the idea of making a new rune system, but we'll need to put that on hold until I learn a lot more. Perhaps Mom and Dad know how to control mana, I'll need to ask. If not I'm going to have to experiment with this on my own even if I'm already exhausted from training and practice.

As Umber was in thought his wings stopped twitching. But the merchant was still gloomy.

He came to a decision, I have destroyed this kid's dreams and trampled on his resolution. I should at least give him something as conciliation.

He reached into his bag of holding and pulled out a small leather-bound book titled "Fizwin's small book of entry-level runes for the entry-level Artificer or the unaffiliated"

He handed it to Umber and said, "Here kid, maybe if you learn a bit more about the subject it will help you."

Umber, who was making his plans, completely unaware of the merchant's guilt, was considering the minimum amount of sleep he would need when the merchant grabbed his attention.

"What for," Umber asked curiously as he took the book.

"Maybe you'll prove me wrong. Come and find me when you do."

Clutching the book Umber asked, "Who are you though, mister…. And thinking about it, why do you know so much about artificing?"

The merchant put on a gentle smile and said, "I'll tell you next time we meet, kid." He removed his hood reading a very pale man with slicked-back black hair in a ponytail, Blood red eyes, and most striking of all were his pointed ears.

"I've stayed too long, kid. See ya," He exclaimed as he pulled out a stone.

It was a mana stone pure green in color like an emerald carved entirely in runes.

The merchant waved his hand and crushed the gem and was immediately engulfed in a green magic circle that quickly turned red. Weirdly no one took notice of this event.

The merchant along with any trace of him vanished in an instant save what Umber purchased from him and the book.

Umber looked around and people seemed frozen in place and the world around him was gray.

The people slowly started moving again.

Umber pinched himself. It hurt.

"Did… did that happen?"

He held his book and newly purchased tools firmly.

Something tackled him from behind making him drop his book and tools.

"Umber why are you spacing out," Elley asked as the siblings fell to the ground.

"Elley! Oww!" Umber landed on his tools luckily none stabbed him but it was still very uncomfortable.

"Come on Umber Abigail and Sam are still trying to find something cool, so we need to find something cooler," She declared proudly.

Umber gave a light laugh. "Alright! Let's go!"

Umber jumped to his feet, grabbed his book and tools, and flew off. Towards the other stalls.

Elley was stunned as she was left in the dust. The Umber she knew was always quiet and reserved this was completely out of character

"Umber is growing up" Elley smiled bitterly.

I guess I need to change as well.

Up ahead Umber was thinking about that merchant if he even was a merchant. "The world is even bigger than I thought. I'll need to train more seriously. But I wonder if it was just my imagination. I thought he had fangs."