Dalia Kingdom Magic Academy

The cat was not disappointed during his wait and soon a nun came running around looking for Greyson. She was of course Sister Lily, and once Lily saw Greyson passed out in the snow she picked him up and carried him back to the church. The cat silently followed them back and even crept into Greyson's bedroom.

Greyson slowly started to wake up in a groggy state while trying to figure out where he was. Soon, after looking around, he realized he was back at the church in his room.

"Looks like you're awake?" An annoyingly familiar voice spoke out to him.

"You're that cat! You followed me back? What do you want?" Greyson felt shocked by the cat's presence and suddenly felt the animal's actions seemed suspicious.

"I just found you rather interesting and decided to follow you around. It's better than wandering around in the forest by myself." The cat lazily responded.

"Well, I guess you have no reason to scheme against me anyways... what's your name in that case? My name is Greyson. No last name because I'm not a noble as you could probably tell."

"My mother would always call me 'child' or 'son' so I guess you could say I don't have a name. Why don't you give me one for convenience sake."

"Really? Name you? Hmmm... well you have silver fur... so... how about Silvy?" Greyson seemed rather proud of his creativity.

Rolling his eyes, the cat exasperatedly retorted, "Is that seriously the best you could come up with? You must really be a baby human. Let me think of one for myself. How about Lucius? I think that's a pretty noble sounding name. A perfect fit for a wonderful being such as I."

"Lucius? Well it's fine I guess. Pretty similar to Silvy in my opinion. I'll call you Lu!" Greyson seemingly refused to let the insult to his naming sense go unnoticed, but compromised anyways. Just as Greyson was about to question his new friend, he saw the door open to reveal the worried Sister Lily.

"You're awake! What happened? I was so worried when I saw you passed out in the snow like that!" Lily quickly ran up to the bed and interrogated him.

"I'm not too sure myself, but, looking at the first time and this time, I think using magic tires me out and I don't know my limit so I end up passing out." Greyson ended up correctly deducing the problem from his instinct which impressed Lucius.

"So you can use magic? For sure?" Lily's eyes lit up with wonder and happiness hearing the news.

"Yes! I can. I think I have talent for it as well!" Greyson confirmed her thoughts with an excited grin.

"I went into town and found out a few things. There wasn't much info, but I did find out what people who are talented with magic do. Our Edysa Kingdom is too small for such things, but the Snow Country has different tiers of kingdoms while at the top lies the Moon Empire which controls the entire country. Edysa Kingdom is a tier three kingdom without any real power. But we are allies with a tier two kingdom called the Dalia Kingdom. They have the best known magical academy in the area where local talents will be tested then hopefully accepted. I hear you can choose different magical professions and be able to earn ranks of nobility! This is wonderful news for you Greyson. I would want you to try out right away, but you are still so young and you have to go to the capital of Edysa Kingdom to qualify to go to the Dalia Kingdom. They have tests every year in order to find new talent to send to the magic academy. I can't go with you and there is no way I could let someone as young as you go by yourself. Who knows what could happen to you along the way. We will just have to wait until you get older."

Greyson wanted to object to her thoughts, but he could not deny the fact that he had lived for only 5 years now and he did not know the world. He was weak, easy to prey on, and had no idea what he was getting himself into. Although reluctant, he obediently nodded his head and started making calculations for later into the future. Sister Lily saw his disappointment so she hugged him good night before leaving him alone to his thoughts.

"You're not actually going to listen to that ignorant human, are you?" Lucius came out of hiding and spoke with clear disdain for Lily.

"Lucius, if we are going to be friends then I better not hear you disrespect Sister Lily again. My own birth parents abandoned me, but Sister Lily truly loved and cared for me all these years. She is my mother in every definition of the word excluding a biological connection. So don't speak about her like that or we cannot be friends." Greyson could take the taunts and jokes about himself, but comments that disrespect Sister Lily could not be shrugged off.

For once, Lucius looked like he felt sorry about his words and sincerely apologized, "Sorry, I didn't mean to come off that way. She just doesn't understand magic, but I can see she truly cares about your well-being."

"I'll forgive you this once. Going back to the prior subject, Lu, why shouldn't I follow her advice? It seems pretty sound to me. I'm young, weak, and cute-looking. I literally scream victim. I would have to be stupid and arrogant to think I could make it to the capital by myself." Greyson calmed down because he could see the sincerity behind the apology and asked Lucius to explain his opinion.

"Hm... well don't put yourself down. You're like what 5 or 6 years old? You are definitely very mature and intelligent for your age. However, you are at a disadvantage because you're ignorant of the wider world. You are stuck in a tiny bubble with other ignorant commoners."

"Exactly, that's why I should..."

"BUT I have all the knowledge you need. I can be your guardian during your trip. I don't know everything obviously, but I have lived longer than you and my magic is stronger than yours. In this backwater area, I can at least protect you."

Greyson rolled his eyes protesting, "You're still a kitten, you look like a baby as well. You couldn't be more than a couple years older than me."

"And this is what I mean by ignorance! Magic beasts mature slowly, I might look like this but I have been alive for 20 years. I know much more about reading people and I have had more time to understand magic!"

"20?! You could be my father... why are you so old? Now it feels weird that you're my friend. I should just call you old man Lu."

"O...OL...OLD?! You call 20 old? How dare you! My species could live for millennia. I am still a baby."

"Whatever you say, Old Man Lu." Greyson smirked knowing he had one over the cat finally.

Speechless, Lucius could only shake his head continuing, "What I want to say, though, is that I can lead you to the capital safely. You don't seem to understand anything about magic, so let me give you a small breakdown. There are multiple levels to a magician's strength: novice, intermediate, advanced, magister, great magister, magician king, magician emperor, Elemental God. The last stage is a myth and I'm not really sure it exists, but anyways that level is a dream for you at this point. Each level has 5 stages. You right now are a novice magician stage 1 because you only began using magic yesterday. Breaking through each level has different meanings. I will only inform you about the novice level 5 stage breakthroughs. You already passed the first stage which is to unlock the elemental sight. The first three stages have to do with the senses. Your senses have to be able to interact with the elemental spirits to be able to channel them. The last two stages are about absorption of mana. Mana is the energy produced by the spirits that allow you to control the elements. The next stage for you would be to unlock your ears to hear the spirits. Letting you know now, I am the equivalent to an intermediate stage 3 magician. Magic beast ranks are different though. This is only temporary because I will quickly get stronger through my bloodline."

Greyson ignored the last part because he was stuck reflecting on a single point: "If the second stage is the ears, then if I could already hear the whispers of the spirits yesterday while I was using magic does that mean I'm at stage two already?"

"What?! Are you sure you heard them?" Lucius realized he was always getting shocked by this boy. Greyson didn't hide anything and simply nodded.

"Hmmm... you are more talented than I thought. Well, I guess this means you're already a novice stage 2 magician. You're next step would be touch. You have to feel the elements and absorb them into your body. As you level up, you will be able to store more and more mana so you can use magic for longer periods of time and use larger attack and defense moves."

Greyson felt like a whole new world was opened up to him and he had tons of new goals for himself. But, "this information is really amazing and useful, however, it doesn't change the fact that I am weak and you are not THAT strong either. A lot could go wrong. Why should I risk everything now instead of waiting?"

"In this kind of country, my level is very rare in comparison to my age, mind you. But, if you must know why I am pushing for this so much, it is because both you and Sister Lily do not understand how crucial of a time your youth is for you. Your chances of advancing are much less once you pass a certain age for each different level. Right now, you are full of potential for advancement. You have to take advantage of your youth!" Lucius finally came clean with the main point. Hearing his words, Greyson finally understood. He hesitated. Would he really be able to let go of his chances without any regrets? He yearned to understand more and to become a top existence that everyone respects. He could give a luxurious life to Sister Lily and prove that it doesn't matter that he is an orphan. His thoughts were rather simple and pure. He didn't want the title for greed and selfishness, he just wanted to provide the best for his loved ones and to prevent people from looking down on him and his upbringing.

Steeling his determination, Greyson looked to Lucius and declared, "Let's go to the capital! I will attend Dalia Magic Academy!"

Lucius made a wide grin. He already anticipated the fun he would have on this adventure.