Chương 37: Chapter 36: Null

The next morning, Seth stepped into Aether Affinity class a few seconds late, his black hair tousled and his golden eyes bleary from lack of sleep. He had stayed up quite late, trying to practice with his Lighter while reading his encyclopedia after his Military and History class. To catch up to all those nobles, he knew he'd need to put in more than just a few extra hours here and there.

As he scanned the room, the short relief upon noticing the professor wasn't there yet quickly gave way to annoyance—almost all the students wore the scarlet noble uniform, and the only empty seats left were next to Elena. Why is nobody sitting beside her? Seth wondered with a sigh, climbing the stairs.' They're either afraid, or she told them not to,' Nightmare said through their bond.' I bet she'll be thrilled to have you instead.''

You're funny,' Seth answered, slumping into the seat and avoiding eye contact with the noblewoman. He was still mentally drained from all the noble-centric discussions of yesterday's Military and History class, so hopefully she wouldn't talk to him. Closing his eyes, he tried to relax while waiting for the professor, but unfortunately a soft voice shattered his brief peace.

"You're roommates with a Guardian named Devus, right?" came the crimson-haired noblewoman's voice from beside him. Seth opened his eyes and sighed.

"Yeah, why?"

"Is he okay?" she asked. Seth frowned, caught off guard. Devus had been acting strangely since the first day of class. He was perpetually lost in thought, barely saying a word, and just last night he'd come back into their room around midnight, drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted. It was more than just motivation; something had clearly happened. But the tanned youngster seemed determined to keep whatever it was to himself.

"Not so great… Do you know why?"

"My brother was forced to humiliate him," the noble answered, her lips tightening together.

"The Guardians' instructor made them fight five times in a row… and each fight ended with a single spell." That's brutal, Seth thought, putting pieces together. Devus' instructor was also probably Sergeant William Faertis, given their staggered class schedules. No wonder he's been acting weird.

"I'm not that surprised," Seth muttered, leaning back in his chair.

"That's just how it goes."

"It shouldn't," Elena said, her brow furrowed as she shook her head.

"The Academy shouldn't allow that. An instructor using their authority to settle a family grudge undermines the integrity of the entire institution." Seth looked at her, taken aback by the genuine disapproval in her voice. A noble defending a commoner's rights—that's something new.

"I guess you find it ironic that I'm offended by this," Elena added.

"A bit," Seth admitted with a shrug before glancing back at her.

"Though I'm struggling to see the difference. Is this worse than getting physically suffocated by Mud Hand? I can never quite tell where the line of 'acceptable' lies."

"What Lucius did wasn't acceptable either," she retorted sharply.

"In fact, my House sent a formal letter of complaint to the administration regarding his conduct during the selection." Seth blinked, stunned. She... reported him? Before he could answer, an old woman with thin white hair and a deeply wrinkled face entered the class, drawing every gaze toward her.

"Sorry for my late arrival, students," the professor said as she strode over to her desk.

"I'm Professor Storm, and I'm pleased to welcome you to Aether Affinity I." The old woman set down her bag and paused for a moment, letting the students turn toward her before beginning her lecture. Despite her frail appearance, her voice carried impressive strength.

"Aether affinity is the ability to manipulate one or more subtypes of the aether with greater efficiency," she began.

"These subtypes are almost always present around us in varying amounts. On rare occasions, you might come across a place with a single one of them. For example, you could find pure Fire aether at the summit of a powerful volcano." Seven orbs of different colour appeared above the woman as she continued, "The most common human affinities are Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Darkness, and Light. Each has its distinct strengths and weaknesses. As future soldiers and as Wielders, you need to understand them.

"You can't be surprised by the fast casting of a Wind specialist or the destructiveness of a Fire specialist. Spells can be empowered and evolved by matching affinity, but they can also be modified by different affinities to transform into something completely new." His interest piqued, Seth leaned forward in his seat. When he'd bought Shocking Strike, it had come with two evolution-paths: Lightning Bolt, to turn the spell into a projectile, and Dark Shocking Strike, to amplify the pain inflicted.

The latter seemed perfect for his fighting style but required Dark affinity—which he had no idea how to acquire.

"In this class," Professor Storm continued, "we'll focus on how to strengthen your aether affinity and how to use them to your advantage, including a specific maneuver to increase your Regeneration in certain environments. Next time you see beasts casting spells up close, pay attention to the way they use aether. They all instinctively use their affinity efficiently."' See how incredible your partner is?' Nightmare said from inside Seth's necklace.' Yeah, lucky me.'

The old woman then moved on, covering the basics of affinities, their history, and their applications in various fields, such as spells, artifacts, and Artificer's tool, going from war weapons to everyday objects like light-lamps, the small luminous balls hanging in the Arthuri's Adventurers Guild's outpost and pretty much everywhere in the academy.

She explained how the orbs had been designed and created by Artificers to be self-sustaining, slowly extracting the Light aether from its surroundings to generate a soft glow. Seth listened intently, jotting down every detail. While the class went on, he occasionally found himself glancing at Elena, who eagerly watched the old professor—almost as if she were more interested in the woman than in the lecture itself.

Time flew, and just as the lesson was about to come to an end, Professor Storm retrieved a crystal-clear pad from her bag.

"All those who've already checked their affinity with an artifact like this in the past may leave, " the old woman said, approaching the first row.

"For the rest, I'll assess your affinities now." Most students almost immediately packed up their belongings and filled out, leaving only a dozen behind. Seth glanced to his right and saw that Elena was still seated next to him. Among those who stayed, she was the only noble.

"I want to see if mine has improved," she said, as if reading his mind. Seth didn't answer and instead turned his attention back to Professor Storm.

"Affinities are ranked by Tier and subdivided into Low, Mid, High, or Peak," the old woman explained.

"Most people only have one, but some can have two. You can't acquire new affinities—just improve the ones you already possess. If you do happen to have two, keep in mind that increasing the Tier of an affinity gets much harder as you progress, so it's usually smarter to focus on a single one, rather than split your efforts and wind up with two mediocre ones." The old woman then moved to the closest student sitting in the front row and asked her to put her hand on the artifact.

A small forest-green light and a slightly larger red glow appeared within the crystal pad, followed by gleaming black words. Fire affinity ~ Mid-Copper Wind affinity ~ Low-Copper Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.' Do you think I can test mine through you?' Nightmare asked from within Seth's necklace.' No idea, but we can give it a shot,' Seth answered, wondering how they could pull it off. Since people could have two affinities, it shouldn't raise suspicion.

They'd never attempted transferring aether through Link while the direwolf was inside the teardrop's domain, though there was no reason it shouldn't work.' Just try pushing your aether into me through Link when my affinity shows up inside the crystal.' Professor Storm gradually moved through the rows, testing each student's affinity one by one. Seth couldn't read the affinity of those who were the farthest away, but judging by the intensity of their light, they were either Low- or Mid-Copper.

Finally, the old woman reached him and Elena.

"Your hand please, Miss Surani," the professor said, holding out the artifact. Elena placed her hand on the crystal pad, and almost immediately, two strong beams of lights flared to life inside—one blue and one green. Water affinity ~ Low-Iron Wind affinity ~ Low-Iron"Two Iron affinities while still being Copper, that's… impressive," Professor Storm said, smiling before leaning toward her ear and lowering her voice.

"Keep up the good work and you might become a great Cryomancer." Seth couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Half an hour earlier, the professor had explained that affinities, when mastered, could be fused to create new elements entirely—like Ice from Water and Wind. Soon after, she had then added that only the most gifted Wielders, geniuses among geniuses, could achieve such feats. Of course one of those geniuses had to be a noble, Seth thought, stopping himself from rolling his eyes.

"Thank you, professor," Elena replied with a nod. The old woman then moved the artifact in front of Seth and smiled.

"Your turn, Seth."' Ready?' he asked Nightmare.' Yes.' Seth took a deep breath in, steadying himself, and put his hand on the artifact. For a few seconds, nothing happened. But then, a faint gray light flickered inside—its glow was so weak it was almost imperceptible. Null affinity Seth frowned.

"Null?"

"No affinity—" Professor Storm began, only to stop abruptly as a soft black light appeared inside the pad. Darkness affinity ~ Low-Copper Nightmare's heart lurched within the necklace.' Low-Copper?!' Trogan's central market was crammed with people, and the cacophony of sounds was deafening, a never-ending chorus of merchants barking out offers and haggling with customers—even more overwhelming than in Arthuri's. Seth weaved through the mid-day crowd, heading to the Adventurers Guild's outpost on the other side.'

It's your affinity, not mine,'Nightmare grumbled for the hundredth time.' Mine isn't that weak.'' How many times do I have to say it?

I don't have an affinity,'Seth answered, feeling the weight of his own words crushing his soul.' Null. Absolute.'' What if I'm giving you part of mine?

'Nightmare persisted, desperately trying to find an explanation.' Or maybe you just haven't mastered it yet! Let's practice with your Lighter thing, like that old woman said! I bet you could master it!'' Fine,' Seth sighed, knowing Nightmare was more eager to prove that his own affinity wasn't Low-Copper than to actually help.' We can give it a try later.' As Seth passed through a small group of people, he spotted the outpost on his left.

The building was far more imposing than Arthuri's, with its seven floors of oak and polished stone that gleamed in the sunlight.' But what if it doesn't work?' he added.' Then we'll sneak into the class and steal that pad,'Nightmare retorted.' So, I can use it while outside this beast-prison and prove I'm not Low-Copper.'' Sure, great plan.' Seth rolled his eyes before pushing the outpost's wooden door open and stepping inside.

Immediately, an avalanche of noise hit him, and he froze in place, awestruck by the sheer number of Wielders on the first floor.

Swords, axes, shields, spears, and staves hung on various people's backs, each weapon more impressive than the last. The room buzzed with life; some people laughed and drank, while others were huddled in groups, seemingly discussing their next contracts. Many wore emblems on their armors and gear, likely representing some sort of non-House faction — after all, no House would adopt a naked old man as their emblem, like one displayed on the chest of the group coming down the stairs.

Seth couldn't help but compare the vibrant outpost to Arthuri's. They were like night and day. No shit Warsis was so depressed. Working in a lifeless building, when it had been once as lively as here would wear down anyone. Seth made his way to the desk at the back, where a tiny woman who seemed to be in her mid-forties was perched atop a high chair. Despite her small stature, something about her told him she could crush him in an instant.

As she looked up from her paperwork, she brushed her shoulder-length silver hair away from her face, revealing a sharp gaze that quickly narrowed into a scowl at the sight of his uniform.

"How can I help one of the academy's students?" she sighed, clearly not pleased by his presence.

"Hi, sorry to bother you," Seth answered, bowing slightly.

"I'm an adventurer from Arthuri, and the administrator there told me to come here for my contracts while studying at the academy." The woman's eyes widened, then a smile spread on her face.

"Ah! You're the greenhorn Warsis mentioned in his latest message!" she exclaimed, extending her small hand.

"I'm Celine, the administrator of this outpost."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am, " Seth replied, shaking her hand before glancing down at his uniform.

"I'm Seth."

"Nice to meet you, Seth," Celine said with a grin.

"And please, drop the ma'am. I'm no noble —""Any Mid- or High-Iron Priest for Rift Diving?" a giant man shouted from near the entrance, leaning on an enormous hammer. Celine's smile vanished, and her expression soured.

"Yanold, for Gaia's sake! Imagine if everyone was as dumb as you and shouted their requests, this place would be a nightmare for my ears! Use the damn recruiting board upstairs!" The towering man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly before trudging up the wooden stairs on the left. Seth turned back to Celine, a puzzled look on his face.

"Rift Diving?" he repeated.

"Is it some kind of expedition to collect the Domain Flowers from Rifts?" The woman chuckled, shaking her head.

"Not quite. Rifts Diving is what we call going into higher-Tier Rifts to harvest resources or hunt beasts for spell-shards. Some Wielders also go in there to chase their wild dreams of finding essences or enhancers to strike it rich. But most of them wouldn't dare get that close to the Domain Flower.

""Isn't it dangerous to go in high-Tier Rifts at all? And how do they get out?" Seth asked, mentally adding spell-shards, essences, and enhancers to the growing list of topics he needed to research in the library. I can't bother her with all my questions.

"High risk, high reward," Celine answered the first part of the question with a shrug. She then opened a drawer and took out a scroll before handing it to him "And they get out with Escape scrolls. It makes it relatively safe if you stay away from the Rift's center and the strongest beasts roaming nearby." Seth looked down and Identified the scroll. Escape (Standard) Instant spell-scroll Tier: Iron Grade: Uncommon"They can also activate it to quickly leave if there's an imminent danger," she continued.

"It needs about fifty uniums of aether to use it—give or take twenty, depending how good you're at manipulating aether." Seth knew from his 'Aether Sensing and Manipulation' book that each point of Well Capacity amounted to roughly four uniums in the Copper Tier. Given his atrocious manipulation proficiency, he would basically need a full Well to use the scroll.

"How much does it cost?" he asked, giving the scroll back.

"It's mass-produced by Scribes, so only two iron coins even if it's an Iron instant spell-scroll," she said.

"But if I were you, I'd stay away from Rift Diving for now. No one wastes their time with Copper or Iron Rifts—the resources aren't worth the effort, and the aether density isn't great either. As for Silver and Gold ones, their borders are overrun with Iron beasts. A greenhorn like you would get killed in less than an hour.

"' Not with Danger Sense,' Nightmare said.' That's perfect for us! And it'd be great for a Primalist like you!'' Maybe in a few weeks, when you're close to Iron,' Seth answered, fully aware that even then the risk would still be extremely high. Given the direwolf's difficulty in taking no as an answer, it was best to postpone that conversation for later.

"Thanks for the advice, ma'am."

"No ma'am—and you're welcome," the woman replied, putting the scroll back into the drawer.

"However, I doubt you came here to talk about Rift Diving. So how may I help you?"

"Oh, right," Seth began, pausing to carefully choose his words.

"Well… while I was doing some research about Primalists at the academy's library, I came across a chapter about something called… beast-holders. I was wondering where I could buy one and how much they cost. You know, just in case I somehow get lucky and make a contract with a beast." Celine frowned slightly, then smirked.

"Thinking about contracting a beast while still Copper, hmm?" The tiny woman picked up the enchanted quill on her desk, jotted down an address, and handed it to him.

"This shop sells those kinds of artifacts. And they aren't too expensive—about a dozen copper coins for Copper ones and a dozen irons for the Iron version." Nothing a commoner or a Slave Wielder like Devus can't afford, Seth thought.

"Why are they so cheap?"

"That's the catch," the woman answered, her lips turning into a thin line.

"It's pretty much impossible to make a contract with a Copper or Iron beast, so it's not worth hoping for."