Rise of the Arcane Heir

Inheritance (1)

Callum gripped his now empty mug as he stared at the text boxes in mid-air. After playing around with it for a while, he realised it worked as an interface similar to a computer or videogame. Except the input came directly from his thoughts.

It seemed to have been set

to only unlock certain information in the Archives after he had read through the basics, which served as an introduction to being an Awakened. That's the term for people like me who have awoken their talent for magic. Callum sighed into the empty mug as deep frown lines appeared on his forehead.

He glanced at the introductory text again, where it described the process of identifying which of the six magical elements he was naturally attuned to. It refused to go beyond that point, and he assumed the enchanted ring on his finger was waiting for him to perform the task. 

This is stupid, but I've already come this far, so why not?

A few moments after searching the house, Callum sat down again. This time, he placed a glass of water, with some soil from the potted sunflowers on the kitchen windowsill in it, on the table in front of him. He re-read the instructions once again before making his attempt.

He placed his hands on either side of the glass and dragged up his emotions from the night before. As they ran through his mind, going from grief to rage and everything in between, Callum felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. A second later, the air around him became thick with power as the water in the glass rose and overflowed onto the table.

Surprisingly, the water didn't carry a single speck of dirt from inside the glass. It was as though the two had never mixed, as it spread across the table, which caused Callum to yelp and lose his focus.

Water, huh? Callum sighed as he rushed to get a towel and mop the mess up. I was hoping for fire or maybe earth. They seem like they would be more useful than water. He couldn't help but feel disappointed as he glanced at the new information he unlocked for completing the test.

[Water Attunement Vessel Refinement]

Callum groaned as he read through the stored information. Long story short, my body is the vessel for mana, and mana exists in everything. I need to remember the flow of it from the test before. Then, try to pull mana out of the water and make it flow through my body to store and refine it. 

The key is to learn to control the flow of

mana,

without using my emotions as a crutch. It sounds easy, but I bet it's anything but. Callum rubbed his eyes as he stared at the empty glass. I better get a clean glass to try this.

A second glass of fresh water and a few hours of frustration later...

Smash!

What the fuck am I doing wrong? Callum panted as he slammed his fist on the table. All he had received for his effort was a massive headache and a dirty smear on the wall. Even though he had been blinded by his anger, he had still chosen to throw the first glass with the soil in it.

He stared so hard at the remaining glass that anyone would believe that it had killed his mother. I give up. It's too hard. Maybe I should try again later. With his mind calm now, he reached out to pick the glass up. Then, he felt it.

Inside the water, invisible to his eyes, he could feel something moving.

Is it that simple?

Slowly, he pulled his hand away from the glass, until he struggled to maintain the new feeling he had.

Shit, I was just too far away from it. That's why the first test had me place my hands next to the glass.

Callum swore at himself for being such an idiot as he returned his hand over the top of the glass. I guess that's the mana flow I'm sensing. But how do I pull it out?

The instructions about the procedure only mentioned there were several ways to do it, but didn't describe any of them. This was because all of them would work, but to find the best one for each individual they had to feel it themselves. Otherwise, using an ill-suited method would negatively affect their growth and potential.

Although he understood the reasoning, Callum felt frustrated that he didn't even have a hint of where to start. Maybe...

Callum dipped a finger into the water. He hoped being closer to the energy would trigger something, just like before when he was too far away to feel the energy.

It's a bust. Callum sighed when he realised he didn't feel any difference.

Another thirty minutes went by while he tried a few things. However, even drinking some of the water had no effect. 

His frustration rose sharply as he slammed his fists on the table, only for him to feel the hair on his neck stand up. Mana leaked from his body, forming a barrier around him like when he had been in the shower.

Callum's eyes widened as a grin spread across his face. He could feel his mana brushing against the glass between his fists.

It's like having another hand. If I can feel things through it, shouldn't I be able to grab things too?

He slowly licked his lips as he moved his hands over the water and felt its coolness through his mana. At first, he tried to project it further outwards, hoping to scoop the water's mana up with his own.

However, although it moved gently, it firmly pushed Callum's mana away. Several attempts passed, but he couldn't contain his prize. What if, instead of trying to scoop it up, I try pulling on it like a rope?

Since it was the only other thing he could think of, he couldn't think of a reason not to try it...