As the mage was departing, with obvious satisfaction on his face, he was stopped by Jacob, who was suddenly running to him with a look of urgency.
"Mister Mage!!! Please wait!!!"
Gerald turned around, a bit surprised but also amused.
"I am right here, young inscriber, no need to yell."
Gerald stopped for Jacob and regarded him with respect. Anything this enchanter with so much potential could need from him would surely be worth his time. At the very least, he could use it in the future to negotiate a better deal for inscription enchantments.
Jacob was not out of breath as he had only run a small distance. "I got caught up in our agreements that I forgot to ask if there was anything you could teach me about magic."
Gerald was about to immediately reject this idea since he could be tried for treason by leaking the secrets of magic to a commoner peasant. He stopped himself, though, and Jacob could see the inner conflict that Gerald was facing.
'Awesome, it looks like there is actually a chance I will learn something my family does not already know.'
Jacob was thinking to himself as Gerald was reasoning with his inner conflict.
'If I only give him a hint on how to initially use his magical power, with his talent, he might very well be able to do it . . . and I could get more powerful enchantments when he learns more about magic on his own. When he is discovered by others, he will have his own method of activation, and no one would even suspect me.'
Gerald was also planning to use his position to influence a young inscriptionist's path to power as a way to have access to powerful enchantments in the future. Since this kid was the only inscriptionist he even knew of in the entire kingdom, he reasoned that it would be a good idea to be someone that the kid views as a backer instead of just another greedy mage that is only interested in his own power.
'It will be for the best to treat this talented young mage with goodwill, I bet he will be very powerful in the future . . .'
"I believe I can help you, but understand that it is illegal for me to mention many things to you, as I previously mentioned. Especially at your age. As for what I am able to tell you, it may not be enough to help, but if you have enough talent in magic, then you should be able to figure it out on your own."
Jacob was excited, and it showed on his face. "I will take anything I can get, mister!"
Gerald nodded at the young man's words, "Then I will tell you about your center of magical power. It rests within your mind, sort of, and the strength of your magical power is determined by many factors that you should be able to learn about in the future. For now, I will tell you that density is the goal, and imagination is the key."
The mage thought to himself for a few seconds, considering whether he should say more or if he had already given the young inscriptionist enough.
'The geas did not activate, so I am clear for now . . . but . . . in for a penny, in for a pound. I guess people say that. . .'
"The other thing that I can tell you is that to increase your power . . . as you use it . . . you must be able to feel it. In order to do this, initially, you must enter a meditative state and connect with the magic around you. How you do this is up to you to figure out, and there are many variations among all users of magic in how this is accomplished."
Gerald thought for a second before continuing.
"Meditation is whatever you make of it yourself. I will just say that it is best to close your eyes in a quiet place and try to 'feel' your surroundings. When you figure out how to do it, you will know immediately, there is no mistaking the feeling."
Jacob nodded his head as he heard the explanation. He had not thought of doing this yet, but he knew what meditation was from his previous life, so he was glad to have a direction to go in his pursuit of magical knowledge.
'This stuff about the goal and the key sounds like a hint, more than actual information . . . but it must be important if he is saying it like that.'
Seeing that the kid understood, Gerald nodded his head and turned to leave.
"Thank you, mister mage, I hope to see you again soon with your request to enchant some items."
Jacob waved at Gerald as he just kept walking and waved behind himself without turning back.
'I expect great things of you, Jacob. I will keep an eye on your development and introduce you to someone who can legally teach you if you manage to impress me. It will take more than talent to garner that guy's attention, but I have a good feeling about you . . .'
With a new direction and the corresponding motivation that comes with powerful guidance, Jacob made his way back to the market district to finish helping his dad with the produce he was selling. Besides magic, Jacob also needed to begin planning for the rest of his trial year, and he already had some ideas.
'With my knowledge of farming methods, I am sure we can expand the functions of the farm and bring in more money with the addition of selling enchanted items to the mages. Then I can afford to invest in researching the limits of what I can do with magic.'
Jacob knew he would be able to implement some farming techniques that modern science had discovered only with the advent of advanced sciences, which would allow them to prosper beyond what a normal farm should be capable of.
He was also hopeful that the inscription enchantments would allow him to create more modernized farming equipment to help his dad and modern appliances to help his family.
As Jacob was thinking about all these things for the future, he made it back to his father at the cart and relieved Arthur of a bit of the burden of moving produce for the customers.