There was an important distinction between a
unique affinity
and a
unique trait
.
A unique trait was something innate, a natural ability a mage possessed that went beyond the realm of learnable magic. It was something that couldnāt be taught or replicated by conventional means.
Take Enaxx, for example. His ability to clone himself, splitting his body into various elements, was a perfect case of a unique trait in action.
Anyone with a unique trait that was even remotely useful would almost certainly be enrolled in the Central Academy. That was why Raze didnāt expect to find one here. Although, truth be told, some unique traits were completely useless.
There were some... wild ones. Like the ability to consume food and convert it into a mana source. While technically functional, this would fall firmly into the "useless" category.
After all, the mana produced wasnāt particularly powerful or reliable, and eating a full meal in the middle of battle wasnāt exactly practical.
Special affinities, on the other hand, were something different altogether. These were rare types of magic, elements that only certain mages could unlock, elements far beyond the reach of standard magical study.
They werenāt universal like the basic elements that anyone could learn and wield with enough training. No, special affinities were unique, deeply personal to each mage.
Sometimes other mages shared the same affinity. Sometimes no one else did. The usefulness of an affinity varied, and whether it was a powerful blessing or something more subtle depended greatly on both the affinity itself and the mage who wielded it.
The issue with special affinities, though, was this: due to how rare they were, there was often little to no research on them. Very few known spells existed for these elements.
That was exactly the challenge Raze faced with his own
time magic
. He had the affinity. He had the raw mana. He could tap into its basic properties. But translating all of that into fully functional spells? That required research, research that simply didnāt exist.
Of course, Raze was no ordinary mage. He possessed a deep understanding of mana and spellcraft. Given enough time, he could likely figure it out on his own, but that could take
months
of rigorous testing.
For a less experienced mage? A special affinity might be practically useless. Without the knowledge or means to harness it, theyād never unlock its true potential.
Still, the way Chiba had spoken about Piba suggested that Piba had figured it out. He
knew
how to use his affinity.
āWhich means what heās using is more than likely one of the offensive types,ā Raze thought.
Down in the ring, Dame wasnāt exactly winning. So far, all heād shown were basic flame balls from his gloves. The professors watching didnāt seem particularly impressed.
If Raze had been judging, there was still a chance Dame could make it, heād shown solid improvement. But to secure a place in the exchange, heād need to display something spectacular.
Feeling the pressure, Dameās frustration began to show. Gritting his teeth, he started to spin his body, building momentum.
As he turned, a fireball launched from his outstretched hand, fast, incredibly fast.
Piba responded by stomping the ground, raising an earth wall in front of him. The fireball smashed straight through it and kept on going.
At the last second, Piba formed a shield of water in front of his chest. The fireball hit, and was quickly extinguished as the water spun violently, snuffing out the flames.
"Whoa, did you see that?" one of the students whispered.
"Iāve never seen a fireball thrown that fast. Did he spin his body using wind magic or something?"
"Yeah, it had to be that, right? Maybe he used wind to propel the fire forward."
"Youāre an idiot. That makes no sense," another student snapped. "If you used wind magic on fire magic, it would weaken the flames, not strengthen them. Thereās no other element that would give a boost like that."
And that was precisely why the others found Dameās technique so impressive.
Dame himself was equally pleased. He glanced toward Raze, searching for a sign that it was enough. But Raze remained on the fence, his expression unreadable.
āItās caught the teachersā curiosity... but not enough to guarantee you a spot,ā Raze thought.
What worried Raze, though, was that Piba was still fighting steadily, and he hadnāt even revealed his special affinity yet.
"I suppose enough time has been spent," Piba said with a smile. "It appears youāre taking this far more seriously now."
Feeling emboldened by his recent success, Dame doubled down. If it worked once, why not again?
He spun his body several times, releasing Qi from one hand while firing off a stream of fireballs with the other.
Utilizing Qi in this way gave the illusion that he was using wind magic, allowing him to hurl powerful fireballs with fierce velocity.
This time, Dame unleashed four fireballs in rapid succession, each one flying toward Piba with blistering speed.
In response, Piba raised several earth walls, though these seemed more designed to slow the fireballs than to stop them outright.
As the blazing attacks burst through the earth defenses, a large shimmering field of water was left behind, hanging in the air.
But this water wasnāt ordinary. It glowed faintly, its surface shimmering with an ethereal light.
āThose arenāt normal fireballs,ā Dame thought confidently. āTheyāre powered by my Qi. Even a water wall shouldnāt be enough to stop them!ā
But he was wrong.
As the fireballs struck the glowing water, they fizzled out, vanishing with barely a ripple. Nothing made it through.
Now, everyone in the crowd, including Dame, could clearly see the truth. The water had a strange, radiant glow.
When the water finally receded, the glow remained, now enveloping Pibaās entire body.
"Thatās his special affinity!" a student cried out.
"I think this is the first time Iāve seen him use it... Itās beautiful."
As Raze watched, he recognized it immediately.
"Moon magic," Raze said softly.
****
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