High in the sky, tens of thousands of winds drifted freely.
"Unrestrained and unbound."
Eledis nodded.
Wind was the element of freedom.
"Hearing the whispers of mystery means 'initiation.' Congratulations on mastering Aeromancy."
She ruffled her apprentice's hair.
Though he was nearly an adult, to her, he was still just a child.
Mages could communicate with all things, thanks to the mystical language of magic—Maronius.
The moment one heard the mysterious voices, it signified "initiation."
Newly initiated mages needed to travel the world, focusing on listening to various mystical voices, for only then could they discover which magic suited them.
Everyone resonated with different mystical forces: some excelled at Aeromancy, others bonded with Geomancy.
Cryomancy, Hydromancy, Pyromancy, Summoning, Transformation, Shapeshifting, Creation, Necromancy, Chronomancy—each school had its affinities.
Only through personal "initiation" could one know their path.
"Next is Geomancy."
Eledis led Ian into a deep cave.
To hear the earth's voice, it was best to be buried deep underground.
But burying Ian alive would turn it into a crime scene, so they compromised with a cave.
"Geomancy initiation is a bit harder," she explained.
"Try to listen to the earth's voice."
"Yes, Master."
"But don't push too hard. You've already mastered Aeromancy—being an Aeromancer is enough."
She said this out of concern, but in truth, the more magic one learned, the better.
It was obvious who would be more respected: a mage with one school or ten.
Ian knew this too, so he willingly entered the deep cave.
"This place is terrifying."
It was the same when he learned Aeromancy.
Mages fundamentally had to be fearless.
If Ian had acrophobia, he could never have learned Aeromancy.
Similarly, if he couldn't endure the cave's oppressive darkness, he wouldn't become a Geomancer.
To concentrate, he extinguished his torch and quietly listened for the earth's voice.
[...Flowing ones though ancient moon...]
[...Immobile ones not necessarily thousands...]
"What nonsense?"
The earth spouted incomprehensible gibberish, far more cryptic than the wind's whispers.
It meant Ian was unsuited for Geomancy.
To improve, he would need to study specialized earth languages for accurate communication.
Most people did this, but Ian was different.
[New Skill Acquired!]
[Skill: Geomancy]
[Ability to use earth magic]
"Oh ho!"
The skill panel popped up the moment he heard the earth's voice.
[Skill Points Rewarded!]
[Magic progress can be enhanced by allocating skill points]
[Unused Skill Points: 100]
[Skill points obtained by collecting mystical energy]
Ian had the status panel system.
By investing skill points, he could boost magic proficiency.
"Who am I? A cheat player."
He immediately allocated a few points to Geomancy, and instantly, the voices in his ears changed.
[Tiny human]
[Magma flows beneath this place]
[If an earthquake occurs, it will erupt. Be cautious]
The voice became clearer and more precise.
Ian understood: Ah—this is magic.
The process of conversing with mystery was magic itself.
After mastering Geomancy, Ian packed to leave the cave.
"Wait."
Since he now had magic, why not try using it to escape?
The cave was deep and dark; without a torch, it was impossible to leave.
But what if he asked the earth to guide him out?
"Let's try."
Initiation could be guided by Eledis, but magical achievements relied on personal effort.
Now a mage, Ian needed to communicate with the world himself to improve.
[O Earth]
Ian chanted in Maronius.
The language he had drilled for six years now began to shine.
[What is it? Tiny human]
"Success!"
The earth responded to Ian's call.
A thrilling sense of accomplishment made him grin.
[I, go, out]
[Out? What is 'out'?]
[Cave, outside]
[Cave is here? But 'outside' is hard to understand]
[Go out]
[You mean leave?]
"Dammit."
Communication failed.
Ian immediately saw the problem: the earth had no concept of "inside" or "outside."
These were human abstract ideas—the earth couldn't grasp them.
Worse, using Maronius in实战 had major issues.
Maronius lacked particles; their function was replaced by the mage's will. The stronger the mage, the clearer their intent.
But as a beginner among beginners, Ian struggled even with word choice.
"Too hard."
He realized: he couldn't ask the earth for directions. To it, the entire world was its body—"giving directions" was meaningless.
"Should I ask the wind?"
Ian pondered what to request from the wind.
Maybe say he wanted to move from a narrow place to a wide one?
Not a bad idea, but the wind might blast him deeper underground.
"Still too hard."
He began to vaguely understand the true face of "magic":
Communication required linguistic intuition; commands needed coding-like logic.
"Use precise commands to eliminate variables and get desired results..."
Wow, this was just like programming!
But without knowing any commands, it was useless.
"Forget it, let's just leave."
Yeah, to hell with magic for now.
Hey, enough talk—light the torch first—
Ian decided to abandon magic and light his torch.
Just then.
[No!!!]
[It hurts!!!]
"What the?!"
A faint, pained scream suddenly echoed.
Startled, Ian quickly extinguished the flame.
"What was that?"
The voice didn't return.
Ian strained to listen to all voices, but beyond the heavy earth's murmur, that strange sound was gone.
"An auditory hallucination?"
He shook his head. No hallucination could give him goosebumps.
No choice.
Ian sat down cross-legged, entering a meditative state, focusing entirely on listening.
After an unknown time, he finally heard a new voice in his ear.
[...So quiet here, nice]
[I hate noise]
[And pain]
An extremely faint voice.
If he had lit the torch, he might never have noticed.
Whatever this was, Ian decided to try conversing.
[Hello?]
An immediate response.
[What? What!]
[Human! A human!]
[He said hello! So cute!]
[Who are you?]
The voice replied softly.
[Darkness!]
Ah, darkness! Why hadn't he thought of that?
In this pitch-black cave, besides the earth, there was darkness!
[New Skill Acquired!]
[Skill: Umbramancy]
[Ability to manipulate darkness and shadows]
Umbramancy!
A magic school his master had never mentioned.
"Pretty lucky."
Magic initiated by chance was better than none.
"Since it's darkness..."
Ian's magical desire reignited.
Though inexperienced with earth and air, he knew how to make requests to darkness.
[Light, where?]
Just ask for the direction of light.
[Ugh! Light is over there!]
[I hate light!]
A shimmering, quest-guide-like glow appeared before Ian—meaning: that way is the exit.
"It actually worked?!"
This was Ian's first successful use of Maronius to wield mystical power.
Emboldened, he tried another spell.
[Ground, where?]
[Ground is everywhere!]
[Step, walk]
[Ah! Human, you mean—]
[Ah! Humans walk!]
[Walkable ground is here!]
The darkness highlighted a path Ian could tread.
Wow!!
In the darkness, an exceptionally clear path emerged.
[New Skill Acquired!]
[Umbramancy – Darkvision]
[See clearly as daylight even in darkness]
A new magic skill appeared in his panel.
This was magic Ian had discovered and used himself.
[Thank you]
Ian expressed gratitude to the darkness and slowly walked through the dark.
After a while, the exit finally appeared.
Light...
"Ian!"
Eledis spotted Ian and ran over, but tilted her head.
"Where's your torch?"
"Didn't use it."
"What? Then... did you use magic to get out?"
Eledis immediately sensed Ian had used magic.
She was amazed.
With only Aeromancy and Geomancy at beginner level, escaping the cave wasn't easy.
To magic just days after initiation was impressive...
"I learned Umbramancy from the darkness."
"What?!"
Now she was shocked.
Darkness? That timid, shy voice of darkness—he heard it?
How did he do it?