Classes had begun, and Zeno was set apart from the rest of the class due to his difficulty in learning magic.
An experienced tutor was assigned to him. His name was Baz, a 30-year-old man with short blond hair and an athletic build. Baz believed that the best way to learn was through a real conflict, a process known as "The Awakening."
He understood that for Zeno's awakening to occur, he had to face a challenge worthy of the title "Gift of God."
Baz greeted Zeno harshly:
— Good morning, little Zeno! I hope your commitment to learning is as strong as your punctuality.
— I am determined to use magic. I hope I can meet everyone's expectations.
Baz began the lesson with combat training.
— Alright! Zeno, we'll start with sword training. But this isn't just any training. You will have to recite magic formulas aloud while defending against my attacks. Have you memorized any spells? I assume your parents have taught you some.
— Yes! My father taught me the Strengthening spell.
— Very well, then! Let's begin. Grab your sword.
The two headed outside the settlement, to a place where young students trained. The ground was barren, with trees all around, but the settlement was still visible from there.
It was a cloudless day, and the sunlight had barely reached the training field. Those who saw the two heading to the area wished to watch the training, but the instructor forbade it, fearing it would disrupt Zeno's concentration.
— Gulp! Zeno swallowed hard. He gripped the sword tightly and whispered:
— Ex spiritu virtus ossa mea et caro venit - limites corporis frange - conforta.
Zeno repeated it several times to avoid mistakes. He knew he had to focus his mind on the magic formula and not just the words. — Maybe the instructor has a strategy in mind, he thought.
The two faced off. Baz raised his sword and swung down with force—not too much, but enough to break through Zeno's defense. Zeno put his sword in front of his body, quickly regaining balance to continue defending. Baz shouted:
— I can't hear the incantation!
— It's hard with these attacks, Zeno thought.
— Sorry! Zeno pushed Baz's sword forward, jumped back, and started again.
— Ex spiritu virtus ossa mea…
When Zeno was halfway through the incantation, Baz lunged forward and swung his sword in a vertical strike.
— Argh!
Zeno saw Baz in attack position, interrupted the incantation, and focused on defending.
— Again! Baz pressed on.
Zeno jumped to the sides, dodging the strikes. Voom! Voom!
— You're pretty fast, kid. I'm impressed.
Meanwhile, Zeno continued reciting:
— Ex spiritu virtus ossa mea… et caro venit - limites corporis frange… - conforta.
While dodging, Zeno managed to complete the incantation, but nothing happened.
— Alright! You recited it three times while fighting. Let's speed up the process. This is something you should learn at an older age, but that doesn't matter now. You can just visualize the formula and say the spell's final words.
"We visualize the formula and say the spell's name to activate it…"
— That's what that old lady told me, Zeno recalled.
— Now try your best to release the magic. Baz resumed the duel.
With every block and dodge, Zeno pushed himself to cast the spell. He repeated it six times throughout the battle, yet nothing happened. Baz ended the training and told Zeno:
— Unfortunately, the training bore no fruit. From now on, you will have to learn on your own. There is nothing more I can teach you.
Baz left the field, deep in thought and disappointed.
— We were too confident, he murmured under his breath.
Zeno was now alone in this challenge. He knelt, exhausted, breathing heavily, desperately searching for a way to fulfill his desire.
— I need to find a way… a book, just one book might be the solution. Maybe I'm missing something. I know they have something written down…
Zeno stood up and walked home. Upon arriving, his mother greeted him and, noticing his failure, tried to comfort him:
— Son, it didn't work out, did it?
— No, unfortunately not. I did everything I could, but it was all in vain.
— And now? What did Baz say you should do?
— I'm on my own now, he said.
— So… there's no solution. If only I could help in some way.
His mother hugged him, saddened.
Zeno shed a few tears and said:
— If only there was something written… something that demonstrated step by step how to use magic.
— Something written? It's a more rigid way of learning, but who knows? It might work. Wait here, my son.
Semiramis went inside the hut and returned with several scrolls.
— These are your father's study scrolls. See if you can read them.
Zeno examined the writings and confirmed that he could. His mother was astonished at how easily he read them, given that he had only received a few lessons from his parents.
— I don't think you're just an ordinary person, not with this kind of talent. Go into the forest and train there. Don't tell your father about the scrolls. They are secret, meant only for warriors.
Zeno thanked his mother and ran into the forest, going as far as possible so that no one would see him.
Placing the scrolls on the ground, he began reading.
He started with "Solar Light"—but it didn't work. He made a cut on his finger and attempted "Healing"—without success. Next, he tried "Wind Burst"—still nothing. He read every part of the scrolls until he found something that stated:
"The foundation of Light Magic is mana control, and the foundation of Dark Magic is mana potency."
Zeno said to himself:
— I must be failing in mana control.
He scanned the scrolls, searching for instructions on how to control mana. Eventually, he found them.
The first step was to meditate and seek the essence of mana within oneself. Once found, he had to expand it into the environment and then control its release.
Zeno sat down and followed the process. The hardest part was locating the essence of mana. His meditation was dark and chaotic. Releasing mana proved extremely difficult.
He repeated the process for two days until he succeeded.
Slowly, he began releasing mana. Curious about his progress, he opened his eyes and saw a bit of his mana—it was black. Shocked, he stopped. He had expected white or another light color, but not black.
Then he thought:
— Could I use both Light and Dark Magic?
This was his conclusion.
— But where would I learn Dark Magic? All I ever heard was that those who wielded Dark Magic were enemies of my people…
He searched through the scrolls, looking for any clues about Dark Magic. Finally, he unrolled one that contained formulas for it.
He trembled, knowing it might be forbidden.
He read the formula for "Fireball."
Finding a two-meter rock, he focused, visualized the formula, and spoke:
— Ignis Pila.
A powerful fire burst from his hands, striking the rock, which was instantly obliterated.
Zeno stood in shock.
— That was supposed to be a basic spell…
He quickly gathered the scrolls and left. He was satisfied—now he knew he wasn't powerless—but also apprehensive, unsure how his tribe would react to him using Dark Magic.
"I must act with caution." That was his decision.
...
Arriving at the settlement, Zeno ran to the cabin. Not seeing his mother, he stored the scrolls away. Stepping outside, he looked around but didn't see his parents nearby, so he decided to search for them.
He asked a young man passing by if he had seen his parents. The young man replied that they were all in Elder Bell's cabin.
Zeno made his way there, and as he approached the cabin, Baz stepped out with a very serious expression. Seeing Zeno, he said:
"Finally, we've found you. Come, little one, we will conduct a test in the forest."
Zeno glanced at his father, who had a stern expression, and at his mother, who seemed somewhat anxious. What kind of test is this? he wondered.
Baz grabbed a shield and a standard soldier's sword. Zeno couldn't understand why they weren't using wooden training weapons.
Baz handed them to him, and so they walked—Zeno, his father, his mother, Baz, and some instructors.
They ventured deeper into the forest, with Baz and the instructors searching for something. Then, one of them shouted, "I found one!"
Fifty meters away, a goblin was wandering with a piece of wood in its hands. Baz said, "Perfect." He turned to Zeno and spoke:
"Alright, the test is simple. You must defeat the goblin. We will only intervene if you're in danger of dying. I believe this will awaken your magic."
Zeno was startled by Baz's words. He gripped the sword tightly, fixed his gaze on the goblin, and started thinking about how to escape this situation. He had already tried all kinds of magic, and none had worked. If he needed to use magic, it would have to be dark magic. He was truly cornered.
He moved slowly, holding the shield in front of him, while the goblin was eating an animal. As he got closer, the goblin turned toward him, let out a shriek, and charged at him.
Zeno used the shield to protect himself, but the goblin's strike was much heavier than Baz's. This wasn't training. With each attack, Zeno defended himself and retreated. As he neared a tree, he dodged and then desperately tried to cast a spell. He found an opening and shouted:
"Lux Solaris!"
Nothing happened. The goblin's weapon barely missed him as he dodged.
His mother spoke to Mardok. "Is all this really necessary?"
"You don't understand our situation," Mardok replied. "Soon, we won't be able to hide anymore—we'll have to go to battle. If we don't have a trump card to fight back, we will perish, and our people will cease to exist."
Zeno kept shouting magic incantations:
"Ventorum Impetus!"
"Congelo!"
"Electrica Inpulsa!"
He jumped back, then to the side, but the goblin continued to advance. In his small body, pain was setting in, and exhaustion was creeping up.
Semiramis pleaded with Baz and the other instructors to intervene and save Zeno, but they wouldn't even meet her eyes, their focus locked on Zeno's battle. However, Baz's fist was clenched and trembling—he was praying for Zeno to awaken his magic.
Mardok closed his eyes, hoping for a miracle. His heart ached to see his son fighting for his life. But this is his destiny, he told himself.
The goblin struck again, and Zeno tried to block with his shield, but it slipped from his grasp. He dodged to the side. At that moment, he looked toward his parents and the instructors, waiting for them to step in. But as he turned back, he saw the goblin already leaping at him. He had no choice but to use it.
"Ignis Pilaaaa!!!"
Flames erupted from his hands, engulfing the goblin.
Zeno had his eyes shut. When he opened them, he saw the monster's body being consumed by fire. He asked himself, Now what?
Before Zeno cast the spell, Mardok had already been prepared to kill the goblin with lightning magic—it would have reached in the blink of an eye. But there was no need. Zeno had already done it.
As Zeno stood and looked at the others, everyone was in shock. Baz had his hand on his sword, reacting instinctively to a single thought—"Enemy!"
Mardok was stunned, his eyes locked onto Zeno. His mother covered her mouth with both hands, whispering:
"No… Please, no… I can't believe it."
Seeing their reactions, Zeno understood that dealing with the tribe's response would not be easy. And once again, he asked himself:
"Now what?"