Chapter 12: Chapter 12
Stepping inside, I met Henry's eyes, who nodded inconspicuously. A little to the right of the large table, I saw an old man calmly eating fried potatoes. His face was a little wrinkled, one could say that he was 40 years old, if not for the long gray hair that reached his shoulders. His eyes were black, his posture was straight, and his whole appearance "radiated" authority.
- Hello, - coming closer to him, I bowed respectfully, - My name is Aaron.
The old man looked away from his food, looking in my direction.
What is your core stage?
I was a little taken aback by his question, but hastened to answer: Light red.
There was not a trace of surprise on the face of my would-be teacher, there was only indifference in his eyes, and after that he continued to eat, completely ignoring me.
"What, didn't he like me?" - I started to get nervous, but tried not to show it, and slowly sat down in my seat.
The old man, whose name I learned was Harold, was silent throughout dinner, and only occasionally answered Henry's questions, and even then dryly. Of course, this attitude made me even more nervous.
- Looks like it's late, - the old man got up, looking at the wall clock, - I have to go, thanks for dinner.
- Already? Well, it was good to see you again Harold, the butler will show you.
Approaching the door, the old man stopped.
- And yes, tomorrow at dawn, you should be at my house kid - finally saying this, he left.
- Phew - taking a deep breath, I plopped down on a chair, feeling relieved - Because of his silence, I already thought that I was not interested in him ...
- He is such a person, - Henry answered while standing. - You were very lucky to learn from him.
- Can you give more details? Last time, you didn't tell me anything about him - I asked my former friend with interest, but in response, they shook my head.
Sorry, it's not my secret. Perhaps your new teacher will tell you someday.
"Secret? It gets more interesting…"
"Like Harold said, it's getting late. If you want to get up by dawn, you have to go to bed early.
- You're right, I'm going to get ready for bed.
- Good night - finally waving his hand, Henry left.
- Hey! Where can I find his home? I hurriedly ran after him.
***
- Here I am in place - looking around the small village, I went towards the farthest house.
As it turned out, the teacher lived quite far away, and if not for the portal, I would not have reached him. Passing near ordinary medieval houses, I noticed on myself the interested looks of the locals, which I simply ignored. Finally, reaching a small hut, I knocked on a large door for my size.
After a few minutes of waiting, Harold came out to me from the backyard.
After saying hello to each other, I was taken to train .. no TRAINING! My usual training against the background of how the teacher drove me looked like a warm-up. After learning that I train the body, and wield a good sword, Harold began to increase my stamina and speed, so I had to run a lot. After such a "training", I was no longer capable of any other physical exercise, so the teacher began to teach me magic.
- Do you know the definition of "Mana"?
"..Uh, mana is the energy that exists in all living beings, and with the help of which we create spells – for a visual example, I even lit a fire in my palm."
- In part, you're right, - the teacher began to explain with a nod - But magic is everywhere, even in inanimate objects. As you know, mana consists of particles of the four elements - fire, air, water and earth. Also, these elements have higher forms - this is the exclusive predisposition of the magician in a certain basic element, which can contribute to the development of higher, "deviant" elements. As a rule, particles of higher elements are absent in the atmosphere, so their control is more difficult. In total there are 6 types of higher elements: Water - ice, plants; Earth - gravity, magma, metal; Fire - lightning, ; wind is sound.
- So, in theory, I can master, for example, lightning?
- Yes, but it takes a lot of effort.
"Well, Arthur used lightning at the academy, so I should be able to too."
Then there was a lecture on magic, from which I was able to learn more about mana and the core. Harold approved of my method of training by changing the form of fire and earth, but scolded me for my infrequent meditations.
Well, I can't stand still for a long time, what can you do?
But, I still have to meditate for at least an hour every day. The main training now was simply casting spells to exhaustion, which was good for the core, but very difficult for me.
- One week later -
"…Hah.. teacher, I..I can't take it anymore." Falling to the ground and panting, I tried to relax so I could recover and continue firing fireballs.
- You did a good job, - having heard praise not characteristic of an old man, I stood up in surprise - Don't look like that, you didn't think the kid that I was completely callous, ha-ha-ha.
But with his good-natured laughter, I completely caught the blue screen.
- It was a test of your willpower, and you passed it. Now you are my student, and I will reduce the load..
- ..Not. I mean, I want to keep training at the same pace.
"I needed to become stronger, and for this I am ready to endure exhaustion and muscle pain."
"I see, you desire power, remind me of my youth… Now, I will begin to teach you my own spells.
This news made me very happy, and forgetting about my condition, I abruptly jumped to my feet, falling back almost instantly.
- Moon...
- Aha-ha-ha-ha
***
- Two weeks later -
Harold gave me a room in his house so I wouldn't have to run back and forth. Now, we were having breakfast, and I decided to ask a question that interests me.
- What do you think, teacher, who is stronger, an augmenter or a spellcaster?
- Hmm ... - my question made him think - A difficult question, most likely, it all depends on the circumstances. For example, if we consider weak-medium magicians, then the augmenter will have an advantage, due to the weakness of the caster in close combat, and the long spell cast by him. Strong spellcasters, on the other hand, are no longer so weak in melee combat, and wield silent magic, just like you. Victory or defeat, in this case, depends on third-party factors, such as weather, terrain, enemy fighting style, etc.
"I see, so I'm already a strong mage!" I raised my head proudly.
- This means that you have an advantage over other peers, - the old man said in an instructive tone - But the most important thing to remember is that for every strength, there is a greater strength.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone