A boy sat within the forest beside a calm pond, his eyes closed in deep focus, while a beautiful middle-aged woman sat behind him. Her hands rested gently on his back as she guided his mana pathways, helping him form his very first mana ring.

  Her gentle voice flowed softly.

  "Focus on the mana within your core and spread it through your body while inhaling the ambient mana."

  Raze followed her instructions with utmost precision as the mana responded to his will so smoothly that even Luna, who was witnessing everything firsthand, felt surprised.

  "Good. Now move the mana around your core until it forms a stable circular ring around it."

  They continued for nearly half an hour and by then, the sky had already darkened.

  A small wave of energy released from his body as he slowly opened his eyes.

  His vision felt clearer and sharper. For a few seconds, he could see different colors of mana particles floating in the air, shimmering softly before everything before the particles all vanished abruptly as if devoured by something unseen and his sight returned to normal.

  ’What was that?‘

  He wondered as he sensed a stable yet fragile ring of mana floating around his core, which had now been completely emptied.

  Luna smiled softly.

  "Haha, this is the first time I have seen someone form a mana ring with such speed and ease. Generally, people take anywhere from a few hours to several days after countless failed attempts but you formed it perfectly on your very first try…"

  She looked at him with clear amazement.

  "It's almost like mana loves you too much, Raze… or you are simply far too talented."

  Raze didn't let himself drown in arrogance and instead he replied calmly. "I am just lucky to have you as a mentor, Ms.Luna."

  His voice was flat but for Luna, even that was more than enough. It was coming from a boy who barely spoke and always kept his distance as if everyone in this world was out to hurt him.

  Her smile widened, sensing that the invisible wall between them had finally thinned, even if just a little.

  "Humble too, huh? Good, good." She said softly. "It's never good to show your talents too openly, especially without backing… because the world is a cruel place, Raze."

  When she said the last part, Raze felt a faint trace of sorrow in her voice as if those weren't just words born from wisdom with time, but scars left behind by experience.

  "In any case, now that you have finally formed the first ring, you just need to refine it and make it stable before forming another one. Once you form all five rings, you will be able to enter the next rank."

  She smoothly shifted the topic.

  "Most of the students trying to enroll in the Ascension Academy range from one ring to five rings while some noble heirs directly start at the Orange Core rank."

  She continued her explanation smoothly.

  "You are already behind some of them but mages are rare, so you should stand out within the crowd or warriors but before any of that, you need to learn a few spells."

  "Spells are classified into five ranks, each with increasing difficulty and since you have formed your first ring, you are now eligible to learn Tier-1 spells."

  Raze frowned.

  "Aren't there nine ranks of power, then why are there only five tiers of spells?" He asked curiously.

  Luna chuckled. "That is because once you reach the ranks of Demi-god, the element bends to your will and you don't even need any spells."

  Raze nodded. "I see."

  Meanwhile Luna returned back to her explanation.

  "Tier-1 spells are easy to learn but as the tiers rise, the magic circles become more complex and harder to memorize."

  "But before diving into spells, we need to know your affinity. Most people awaken the affinity they resonate with the most. Some rare individuals even awaken two or three affinities and then there are advanced affinities, which are even rarer than the normal ones."

  She looked at him gently.

  "So tell me, Raze… which affinity do you have?"

  Raze paused for a moment before replying calmly. "I have not awakened any element."

  Luna looked at him quietly. "Are you sure?"

  She asked again, unable to believe that someone talented enough to form the first ring so quickly could lack an affinity.

  "Yes… my status window shows no affinity." He answered.

  At first, Raze had thought that maybe he would be able to see his affinity once he started practicing spells but after what Luna had taught him and what he had studied from the books, he knew that the status window showed an affinity the moment someone formed a core. If it wasn't shown there, then it meant the person didn't have an affinity with any element.

  Raze couldn't understand that. From what he had learned about his Physique, it should have been able to accommodate all affinities, granting him compatibility with every possible element…

  ’So why couldn't he use any?’

  ‘Was it a limitation caused by him being from a different world?’

  ‘Or was there something wrong with him, something that prevented the elements from resonating with him?’

  Meanwhile, Luna's gaze softened.

  "Don't worry about that, Raze." A soft smile appeared on her face. "Sometimes the world can't categorize your affinity, so it doesn't show anything at first. That could either mean you don't have any affinity or you have one of the special ones. Then, there are also some late-bloomers who awaken their affinity later in life."

  "And even if you don't have any affinities, it doesn't mean you can't grow stronger. You can always learn affinity-less spells."

  She had spoken softly but from everything Raze had learned from her, he understood the weight behind those words. To advance from the peak of the mortal ranks to the Demi-God realm, possessing an affinity was a necessity and if he truly had none… that meant he would never be able to advance.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  "We will start spell training tomorrow. Although I myself only know a few non-elemental spells, I am sure a certain someone I know would definitely help you with that."

  Raze nodded. "Thanks for the teaching, Ms. Luna."

  Luna lightly tapped his shoulder. "No need to be so stiff, Raze. Now go take a bath. You wouldn't want the ladies to be surprised by your sweaty body, would you?"

  Only then did Raze notice himself, his body completely drenched in sweat as his white shirt clung to his body.

  He got up from the ground and walked toward a secluded part of the pond without saying another word. Luna simply chuckled softly behind him, finding his attempt to hide his embarrassment rather amusing.

  —

  Five days later, within the camp of the mercenary group that had stopped to rest on their way to the Imperial City, a loud voice drew everyone's attention as their gazes turned toward the two young ones training together.

  "Huh? How did you do that? How did you learn the Mana-chain spell so quickly?"

  Ellara muttered with wide eyes, staring at the boy who had mastered an advanced Tier-1 spell in just three days, the same spell which had taken her an entire month to learn and if that wasn't shocking enough, he had also learned two other spells from Luna in the meantime.

  Raze simply scratched the back of his head. "I guess I am just lucky."

  "Show me the spell again," Ellara said, her curiosity obvious. She wanted to know if it had been a fluke… or if he truly understood the principles behind it.

  Raze sighed softly. "Alright…"

  He fixed his gaze on the massive tree ahead and visualized a magic circle in his mind. Within seconds, mana gathered at his fingertips. The air around him shifted as a chain of pure mana erupted from the ground beneath the tree before binding it.

  The chains wrapped around the tree before dispersing harmlessly and vanishing without even leaving a dent behind in the massive tree after a few seconds.

  "How…?" Ellara was too shocked to even form a proper sentence before she muttered, "You… you… be honest, you are a prince from some other kingdom, aren't you?"

  The members of the mercenary group burst into laughter at her disbelief.

  They had already grown used to Raze's absurd talent by now but it was never boring to watch Ellara's reactions.

  Raze simply shook his head. He genuinely couldn't understand why they were so surprised just because he had grasped a magic circle.

  "Thanks for the lesson, Ellara." He said calmly before turning toward his tent. "I will be resting now and you should rest too. After all, tomorrow we finally reach the Imperial City."

  Ellara just stood there for a few moments in shock before her maid, Lyla, finally snapped her out of it and dragged her toward their tent.

  Now alone inside his own tent, Raze didn't go to sleep immediately because he wanted to check his progress one last time before resting.

  So he muttered softly,

  "Status."

  A status window appeared before his eyes, displaying the fruits of his hard work.

  ◆ STATUS Window ◆

  Name: Raze Ruinard

  Core: Gray (One Ring)

  Physique: Zenith

  Affinity: —

  Skills

  Swordsmanship (A)

  Perception (D)

  Basic Martial Arts (B)

  Basic Footwork (B)

  Mana Sense (D)

  Spells

  Mana Shield (Mid Tier-1)

  Mana Burst (Low Tier-1)

  Mana Chain (Advanced Tier-1)

  As Raze scanned his status window, he felt satisfied with the hard work of the past few days. Although no new physical skills had been added to the list, his spells were recorded clearly.

  Though the spells he had learned were basics of basics without much destructive powers the elemental spells provided.

  He had decided to find a way to awaken an affinity as Luna had told him a few but that was a goal for after enrolling in the academy.

  For now, he had only one objective and that was to somehow unlock his Aura.

  His Zenith Physique made his body more adaptable to change and from what Luna had said, although people who walked both paths were rare, they weren't nonexistent in this world.

  Which meant… he should be able to reach that level too and yet, one question kept echoing in his mind.

  ‘How did I never reach such a level in my previous world?’

  More importantly, he had never even heard of the Aura path there. He had always believed that a person could only ascend through ranks using a mana core…

  There were two paths in his previous world as well but both paths used mana as energy and there was no concept of Aura which was fueled by the will of a person. Instead even warriors used mana to reinforce their bodies to make themselves stronger.

  ‘Was this power system exclusive to this world?’

  ‘Or…’

  ‘Did someone erase every trace of it in his world and made sure no such person could appear?’

  ‘But then… Why would anyone go that far?’

  He didn't know the answer but strangely, instead of fear, his heart was beating faster. His entire body brimmed with excitement at the thought of reaching something that no one in his world had ever touched.

  And more importantly, since he couldn't advance beyond the Peak of the Mortal Rank without an affinity, he would have to rely on aura to do so, as progression through aura didn't require having any affinity.

  With those big dreams in his mind, he decided to rest for the night because by this time tomorrow, he would be in the Imperial City but before he could fall asleep, a sharp sound echoed through the air.

  Then… a trumpet followed.

  ‘What is happening?’

  Raze's body moved before his mind could react. The sword beside him was already in his hand as he exited the tent at once, seeing the rest of the mercenary group rushing into motion as well.

  "What is happening, Will?" He asked a lean, brown-haired man who looked to be in his mid-twenties.

  "Maya has seen someone in the forest. In any case, stay beside Ellara and Lyla in the carriage." Will replied immediately.

  Maya was the archer of the group and the one responsible for night watch. Raze had seen how keen her eyes and senses were, so if she said she had seen someone, then it was without a doubt real.

  Tsk…

  Raze moved without hesitation, his steps quick and precise as he headed toward the carriage, where Ellara and Lyla were already seated, their expressions tense and nervous.

  "What is happening, Raze?" Ellara asked, her voice trembling with nervousness.

  "I don't know," Raze replied calmly, though his mind was already racing.

  I should have known something like this was bound to happen when I saw a noble girl being escorted by mercenaries instead of her family's knights…

  But even as the thought crossed his mind, he dismissed it because there could have been countless other reasons for that as well.

  Still, he didn't bother playing the blame game because this wasn't the time for it.

  He peeked through the window of the carriage and saw the seven mercenary members had already surrounded it from every direction, their bodies tense as they scanned the darkness for any sign of an enemy.

  Luna stood near the carriage alongside Lena, another mage of the same rank as her who mainly specialized in support magic, while Kyle, a healer from the Church of Okrah, stayed close to them.

  Meanwhile, John took position at the front with another woman, Gretta. She was a warrior of Master rank, the same as John. Wearing a tank top and trousers, her toned abs were visible with a long scar running straight down them, giving her a fierce and battle-hardened look.

  On the other side stood Will, his daggers already in hand, while Maya, the archer with an eyepatch covering one eye, remained beside him with her bow drawn and ready. Both of them were First-Class warriors, equivalent to the Orange Core rank of mages and one level higher than the Gray Core.

  While John and Gretta, who were at Master rank, were equivalent to Green Core mages like Luna, Kyle, and Lena which was a rank higher than Orange core.

  Raze understood one thing, if they were defeated then his chances of survival would decrease by a lot and in this carriage they would be a sitting duck.

  Especially since, Ellara was barely at five rings gray core and Lyla was a warrior barely at peak of Apprentice rank, the starting level of warrior's path, meaning both of them would be useless in real battle.

  Still, he waited patiently, hoping the enemies would be weaker and the mercenary group could somehow take care of them.

  Right on cue, a group of eight men walked out of the jungle, no longer bothering to hide their presence.

  Their strength felt almost equal to that of the mercenary group as if someone cheap and calculating had chosen them with just enough power to get the job done… and not spend more than necessary.

  That meant the attack wasn't random but it was planned.

  "I am sorry, Raze…" Just then, a sad voice echoed within the carriage. It was Ellara who had just spoken. "You are caught in my mess."

  But before Raze could respond, the carriage started trembling as the battle had already begun.