Name: Melaina Seraphina Blackwood
Race: Human (basic)
Age: 21
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 150 lbs
Hair: Black
Eyes: Sky Blue
Class Core: 3 Mage / 1 Knight (basic)
Job:
Level: 1
Total EXP: 0
EXP to Next Level: 100
HP: 21
MP: 135
SP: 21
Vitality: 7
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 7
Agility: 7
Will: 20
Mind: 25
Spell
Common (0/5)
Uncommon (0/5)
Rare (0/5)
Unique (0/5)
Unique (0/5)
Legendary (0/5)
Ability (Active 0/5)
Skills
Title
Melaina followed Selena through the towering halls, her footsteps echoing faintly against polished stone. Every surface seemed alive with faintly glowing runes, pulsing like a heartbeat beneath the structure itself.
But her mind wasn't on the architecture.
It was on magic.
"Wait," Melaina said suddenly, slowing her pace. "Before anything else… I need to understand something."
Selena glanced back. "Hmm?"
Melaina hesitated, then looked past her—back toward the throne room they had just left.
"I need to talk to him again."
—
Moments later, she stood once more before Able Colosseum.
He hadn't moved.
If anything, it felt like he had been waiting.
His gaze settled on her with quiet interest. "You've returned quickly."
Melaina exhaled. "I don't want to waste the time you said I have. If I'm going to survive this… I need to understand how magic actually works here."
A faint smile touched Able's expression.
"A sensible request."
He leaned back slightly, steepling his fingers. "Then tell me, Forerunner… what do you know of magic?"
Melaina paused.
Then, slowly, she stepped forward.
"I don't know this world," she said. "But I do know a system. Or at least… something close to one."
Able's eyes sharpened—just slightly.
"Go on."
Melaina took a breath.
"There are six elements found on Mogar: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light, and Darkness."
The runes along the walls flickered faintly—as if responding to her words.
"The elements split into three branches."
She raised a hand slightly, as if organizing the ideas in front of her.
"Light and Earth are the elements of creation."
A soft glow shimmered briefly in the air—gold and amber, forming delicate shapes before fading.
"They create. They nurture. They support life. They can be used to harm… but only if the caster intends it. Without that intent, they resist being turned into weapons."
Able nodded once, silent.
"They're also… difficult," Melaina continued. "Light tends to act on its own at lower levels—like healing small wounds without much direction. Earth is stable, safe… but heavy. It takes a lot of energy to do anything meaningful with it."
She looked up at him.
"People who can use both well are said to be… blessed."
Selena shifted slightly at that, watching Melaina more closely now.
Melaina continued.
"Then there's Air and Water. The elements of balance."
A faint swirl of invisible pressure brushed through the room, like a passing breeze.
"They're neutral. They don't decide what they are—you do. They can heal or destroy depending on how you use them."
Her fingers curled slightly.
"They're shapeless. Easy to move, even for beginners. That makes them the safest way to learn control."
Able's expression didn't change—but his attention had deepened.
"And finally…" Melaina's voice lowered slightly, "…Fire and Darkness."
The temperature in the room seemed to shift—just a fraction.
"They're destruction. Pure and simple. They don't nurture. They don't stabilize. They consume."
A faint flicker of shadow curled at the edge of her vision—gone as quickly as it appeared.
"They don't need much control to be unleashed… only to be stopped. That's why they're the worst for beginners."
Silence followed.
Then Melaina added, more quietly:
"If all the elements are perfectly balanced without life force… they become white. Not gone. Just… equal."
The room stilled completely.
Even the runes seemed to pause.
Able studied her.
Longer this time.
"Interesting."
He stood.
The air shifted instantly—like reality adjusting to accommodate him.
"And where," he asked calmly, "did you learn this?"
Melaina hesitated.
"…I didn't. Not exactly. It's like… something I understand, even if I don't remember learning it."
Able's gaze sharpened.
"The system," he said.
Melaina nodded faintly. "Probably."
He began to walk slowly down from the dais.
"Continue."
Melaina swallowed, then pushed forward.
"A mage needs to understand the basics before anything complex," she said. "Water and air follow the same principle—they're only as hard as you make them."
She gestured lightly.
"They can be soft, like mist or a breeze. Balanced, like a current or a storm. Or hard, like ice or a cutting wind."
Selena folded her arms slightly, clearly intrigued now.
"If you can't control that spectrum," Melaina continued, "you can't properly use light or earth. And if you don't understand softness… you'll lose control of fire and darkness."
Able stopped a few steps in front of her now.
Close enough that she could feel the difference in his presence.
"Go on," he said quietly.
"Light and earth behave like the hard forms of water," Melaina said. "They require structure. Stability."
Her voice steadied.
"But fire and darkness…" she exhaled, "…they're like the soft forms of air. They spread. They expand. And if you try to control them the wrong way… they'll slip through you."
Silence.
Heavy. Absolute.
Then—
Able smiled.
Not faintly this time.
Genuinely.
"Well done, Forerunner."
Selena blinked slightly in surprise.
Able turned, pacing slowly.
"You've just described a foundational theory that takes most mages years to grasp."
Melaina let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.
"…So I'm not completely doomed?"
Able glanced back at her.
"That depends."
His eyes held hers.
"Understanding is one thing."
A faint pulse of energy moved through the room.
"Execution… is another entirely."
A new system window appeared before Melaina.
ELEMENTAL AFFINITY TEST AVAILABLE
Proceed?
Selena smiled slightly. "Looks like theory time is over."
Able's voice followed, calm and absolute:
"Now we see what answers you carry… and what power answers you."