Vapour

The next day, Leus got up because someone was knocking on his bedroom door

"Hmm .."

He yawned and called loudly

"I'm coming, just a minute"

The bedroom had another door connecting it to the bathroom, so he used it to wash his face and freshen up, then he put on his shirt and came out to find Sebas waiting for him.

As soon as Sebas saw him he handed him two envelops

"One has the spell and the other has the Emblem.

You will need the Emblem to enter the mansion itself and open the private elevator that takes you to this floor, and to enter your room as well.

Once you choose your guard, you'll be able to contact him through it as well.

The other envelope contains the spell the Duke has created for you.

Whenever you are ready, contact the Financing Department and they will send an agent to explain the Points and funding system to you."

Leus took the envelopes

'Damn, he's in a hurry.'

"Alright, thank you"

Sebas replied with a smile

"Good luck, Young Lord"

Then he quickly left.

Leus went back inside and opened the first envelope

WHOOM

Leus flinched and dropped the envelope on the floor

'What the heck!'

As soon as he opened the envelope, it vanished into thin air, and a small, red box appeared in his hand instead.

'Magical delivery huh ...'

He picked up the box from the floor and opened it.

Inside it, there were two objects and a piece of paper.

He picked up the paper and began reading it

(The ring has the same functions as the Emblem, just easier to use)

'I see'

He put the paper down and checked the box, it had a small red ring, and a chest emblem, much like the Library's one, except that it looked different.

Leus wore the ring in his left hand and looked at the Emblem.

It had an elaborate design:

Its colour was red, and it had a faint image of the Red Mansion as the background.

The edges of it had flames that were moving like they were burning, and in the middle of it, there was a singular big orangish flame in the middle.

'It looks cooler than the library's.'

Leus put the Emblem on his chest, right above his heart.

Once he did that, he realized that the Emblem was not attached to his shirt.

'It ... sank down?'

The Emblem connected itself directly to Leus' skin

'That's pretty neat, now I can remove my shirt without worrying about the Emblem'

He looked at it for a bit and felt satisfied

'Honestly, pretty cool design'

Then he picked up the other envelope and opened it

It had only one piece of paper inside it.

The piece of paper had the spell's incantation and a couple of words under it.

(Smokescreen: a screen of smoke)

'Such an amazing explanation, Ancestor ...'

'Well, I guess it just creates some Vapour that covers me? Let's try it'

Leus took a couple of seconds to memorize the spell's incantation then went and activated the Barrier.

'This is exciting ...'

Leus' heart was beating fast with excitement and enthusiasm

'Will it actually be my affinity's element?'

He took a deep breath and then repeated the incantation.

It was a Second Tier spell, so the mana around Leus began transforming from its neutral state to become Vapour Mana, a mix of condensed Fire and Water Mana.

As soon as he chanted it, Leus noticed a couple of things.

'First, the spell barely cost me any Mana'

Second, as the smoke began surrounding him, he felt as if he was able to see the world clearer than ever.

' ..... Fascinating'

Leus chanted the spell multiple times, causing the smoke around him to become denser and denser.

'It's like ... it's like I woke up from a dream'

Leus looked around him in disbelief.

It was as if a veil had shrouded his vision throughout a lifetime, and now, in a moment of revelation, he is finally able to see the spectacles of true perception.

He felt as if he could sense even the slightest movement of wind inside the Vapour Mana surrounding him.

'This ... this has to be it, this is the element I'm attuned with'

Immediately, Leus began analyzing the Mana around him, he had only one goal in mind.

'I've to learn how to silently cast Vapour Magic'

So much was going through Leus' mind

'I feel as if I can control the smoke if I try hard enough'

He felt that if he exerted pressure on the smoke, he could change its shape and form. He also felt that being surrounded by the smoke buffed him somehow.

'Kinda reduces my mana consumption? Heightens my senses? I have no idea ... I just feel a lot better in it'

It was like the smoke was Leus' own world, it gave him an immense feeling of control.

'All I have to do is force dominance on it until it complies ... my instincts are telling me that I can for sure control it.'

As he became more excited, his brain began thinking faster until it lost all coherence, it was just swirling with random thoughts.

When he realized that he quickly stopped himself

'Enough ... enough. I need to focus on things step by step'

'First, I have to learn how to silently cast this element'

He closed his eyes and focused on the Mana around him, how it's formed, how it moves, what is it made of, how to trigger it to act in various ways, and all sorts of things.

After analyzing the Vapour Mana around him for hours, Leus began to have a fundamental understanding of how to create it.

'Vapour consists of millions of tiny blobs of Water Mana, then Fire Mana is added to it, resulting in vaporization of the water mana ...'

'I think 51% Fire to 49% Water'

Leus was already capable of creating Fire and Water Mana, the only problem was

'How to make them interact in a way that would result in Vapour?'

He stopped focusing on the Mana around him and began altering the Mana in his body, changing its density, consistency, and characteristics.

'It will take a bit, but I will be able to do it, I'm certain'

While Leus was busy focusing on that, the news about a new Noble member of the Inferno household was making front-page headlines all over the Duchy, and a collective curiosity gripped everyone, each driven by diverse motives.