NOVEL FROG Chapter 17: Four languages?
When Erik stepped onto the upper deck of the ship, he found his teacher sitting in the same chair, sipping tea with a calm and serene demeanor, exuding an ethereal and refined charm. Meanwhile, Kaiser and Tiberius were happily eating large chunks of meat in a secluded corner.
"Hello Erik, you look great in those clothes," Sigrún commented with a smile when she saw Erik, to which he responded as he walked over to her.
"Hello, master, and thank you. These clothes are great, although it's a shame they're all white."
"Oh, you can change that if you don't like it," Sigrún said with a smile, pointing at Erik's clothes.
"Really? How?" Erik asked curiously, looking at his clothes.
"It's quite simple. Just send mana to your clothes and think of the color you want."
After hearing Sigrún's words, Erik quickly sent his mana to his clothes and imagined them in black and gray. Shortly after, they started to change color with a small glow, which left him intrigued and curious about how this peculiar 'technology' worked.
"How does this work, master?" Erik asked, surprised and full of curiosity.
"It's a magical inscription on the clothes. You'll learn to make them in the future."
"That's amazing."
"And what would you like to eat, Erik?"
Sigrún asked while gesturing to the other chair for Erik to sit, which he quickly did while answering.
"Anything is fine, master."
With Erik's response, Sigrún gently waved her hand, and various delicacies appeared on the table in plates that looked expensive and artistic, making Erik's eyes light up. He then started eating with an expression similar to that of the wolves.
Seeing Erik eating happily brought a beautiful smile to Sigrún's face, who soon commented warmly, resting her face on one of her hands, giving her a mature and somewhat maternal charm.
"You mentioned you don't know how to read and write, right, Erik?"
Erik nodded in response without stopping his meal, totally entranced by the incredible taste, making Sigrún shake her head in amusement as she continued speaking.
"Well, that's the first thing you need to learn, but the problem is the language you speak. Although it originated from the Western language, many generations have passed, and now it's quite different. So, you'll have to learn four new languages and how to read and write them."
"Four languages?" Erik looked up from the delicious food to look at his master.
"Yes, Western, Nordic, Eastern, and Galactic. Although there are more, those are the most important in the galaxy, so it's essential for you to learn them well."
"Hmm, okay, though it sounds tough..."
After a small sigh, Erik returned to his food, making Sigrún laugh cheerfully as she commented amusedly.
"Hahaha, don't worry about that. You'll learn them before you know it."
"If you say so, master..."
"Yes, you'll see. For now, the first thing we need to do is determine your affinity so we can figure out which paths are most viable for you."
"Affinity? What is an affinity?"
"Well, magical affinities are, to put it simply, the elements into which you can convert mana, such as fire, water, darkness, etc. There are quite a few, and everyone has an affinity, and in rare cases, more than one. This doesn't mean you can't use others, it's just that they'll be much less effective and consume several times more mana to cast a spell."
"Hmm, I understand. And what are your affinities, master?" Erik nodded in understanding before asking with some curiosity.
"Oh, why do you think there is more than one?" Sigrún asked with a curious expression.
"Because you said it's rare, and I suppose the 'greatest genius in the galaxy' can't have just one," Erik replied without stopping eating.
"Hahaha, you're right, I have more than one affinity. Although this doesn't automatically make you more powerful, it does make you more flexible and unpredictable. But it requires more time and effort to master them. In my case, it's fire and wood."
"Fire and wood? That sounds like a really good combination."
"Exactly, one of the best for alchemy. So, your master is not only one of the most powerful sorceresses in the galaxy but also one of the best alchemists."
"Alchemist? Can you turn lead into gold, master?"
Erik put down his food and turned to look at his master with eyes that seemed to sparkle with excitement, making Sigrún laugh heartily before she answered.
"Hahaha, in theory, it's possible, but it's not worth doing. After all, it's much cheaper to simply take a gold asteroid if you need it."
"You're right... but being able to transmute things is amazing. Will you teach me, master?" Although his master's words dimmed the sparkle in his eyes a bit, Erik still asked with excitement.
"Hahaha, while transmuting elements was something alchemy did a long time ago, it's not something we do nowadays because it's useless. It only works with basic elements, and there are plenty of those in the galaxy. The truly useful and rare ones can't be obtained through transmutation.
And although some can be synthesized artificially, they're much worse than the natural ones. So nowadays, alchemy focuses almost entirely on the production of medicines and the refinement of raw materials."
"Really? That's a bit sad. The dream of transmutation was achieved and turned out to be useless..." Erik's expression fell, and he commented somewhat dejectedly, to which Sigrún responded cheerfully.
"Don't worry about that, I'll still teach you how to do it if you want to learn."
"You're the best master." Erik's excitement peaked again, and he continued eating happily.
"Good to know, hehe," Sigrún added with a smug smile on her delicate face, to which Erik simply nodded and casually added.
"Of course, master."
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Some time later, Erik could be seen standing on the upper deck of the ship in front of the wolves Kaiser and Tiberius, who were sitting and wagging their tails happily. Beneath them, different runes were glowing softly, creating a magical and otherworldly display.
"Alright, Erik, everything is ready. Now you just need to send your mana to the runes and say, 'I, Erik, accept Kaiser as my servant and guardian' while placing a drop of blood on Kaiser's head, and the same for Tiberius."
"Okay, master."
Following Sigrún's explanation, Erik quickly bit his index finger while sending his mana to the runes, which began to glow more intensely. He then started to say the words his master had instructed.
Soon after, Erik dropped a bit of blood on the heads of his wolves. To his surprise, the blood was quickly absorbed by their fur, and shortly after, they began to glow a pale white.
Along with the glow, beautiful runes floated in the air, one above the boy and the two wolves, before entering their bodies. A few minutes later, the glow disappeared, and two luminous runes appeared on the back of Erik's right hand, which quickly faded away.
As Erik looked curiously at the back of his hand, he quickly noticed a sort of connection with the wolves, something similar to what he had felt before when he was able to sense the wolves' approximate location, but much stronger.
Through this connection, Erik began to feel a curious emotion, something akin to excitement, though a bit different. He quickly concluded that these were the feelings of the wolves, who pounced on him and started rubbing their heads against his body, their tails wagging at a blinding speed.
"Okay, okay, calm down."
"Haha, those guys really love you. Make sure to take good care of them."
Sigrún commented with a small smile, while her new disciple gained more positive points in her heart. After all, mystical wolves are very special magical animals, and one of their main characteristics is that they are very resentful and evasive. They never approach anyone with excessively violent or volatile tendencies.
So, the fact that the wolves were so close to Erik was not only a sign of how good he had been to them, but also spoke highly of his character. At the very least, he was a firm, determined person, and from what she had seen in the camp, quite creative and capable.
"Of course, master"
Erik responded with a small smile while petting the giant heads of the wolves, completely unaware of Sigrún's thoughts and the significance of the wolves he had started to raise, following his father's teachings.
After a while, the wolves calmed down and returned to playing with their toys or running around the immense upper deck. Erik and Sigrún sat back down in the chairs by the table, which now had a beautiful tea set and a plate of cookies, putting a huge smile on the boy's face.
"Well, Erik, how about we start by studying the Galactic language? It's the most spoken language at the Arcane University and the one you'll need the most when we arrive."
"That sounds good, master."
After that brief chat, a notebook and a pencil appeared out of nowhere in front of Erik, while a whiteboard appeared behind Sigrún. She stood up from her seat and began writing several unfamiliar symbols on the board.
As Sigrún wrote on the board, the tea set disappeared from the beautiful table, which began to transform, soon becoming a firm and elegant desk, marking the beginning of Erik's first official class.