278 Choose your weapon (2/2)

”Ah... Miss Evlin...?”

”Huh? Oh, hey Leona, what's up?” the mage replied.

”W- Would you by any chance be interested in learning wind magic...?”

Evlin tilted her head and blinked rapidly for a couple of seconds, ”That... Is such an oddly specific question...”

”Sorry, it's just... I just assumed it would help in the following battle if you fought using your natural element...”

”My natural element...? What are you talking about...?”

”You don't know about natural elements...?”

”Is that like magic affinity or something...?”

”Ah, no... Natural elements and magic affinity are like the two halves needed to allow a mage to reach master-class...” Detra explained as she placed herself in the conversation.

”Master-class?” Evlin gasped, showing that she was now intrigued.

”Yes! For a mage to reach master-class, its necessary for the magic affinity and the natural element to match each other...” Detra continued.

”Oh... I- I did not know that...” Leona admitted.

Detra gave Leona a pat on the back, ”You're still young, there are many things you still don't know about magic... But you should probably be able to reach master class in no time at your pace! In fact! I think I can teach you how to get there!”

”Really!!?” Leona gasped with sparkles in her eyes, ”Y- You can teach me how to use magic without a staff??”

”Of course! And miss crossbow as well! You will finally be able to stand on the same level as the young miss!”

”Wait, wait, wait... Hold on...” Evlin begged, ”First of all... What's all this stuff about natural element??”

”Natural element is the magical element that naturally works better for each individual as designated by its eye-color...” Leona explained, ”Brown means earth, blue means water, green means wind, amber means fire, grey means darkness and hazel means light.”

”So...” Evlin whispered while touching her face, ”This whole time I was supposed to be a wind mage...??”

”Indeed...” Detra admitted, ”If you had done so, you could have been a master mage just like your friends...”

”What...?” Evlins murmured.

”Your friends...” Detra repeated, ”They are master mages...”

”What...??? Who???”

”The girl that can open portals, the bald man that can reverse time, and your friend that could read minds... They all are mages that reached master class and could use their spells without a staff... All because their affinities matched their elements...”

”Wait a second!!” Ria shouted while moving closer, ”I am a mage??? We are mages???”

Detra just looked at her surprised that this was such a shock, ”You didn't know?? What, you just assumed you had super-powers for no reason or something??”

Evlin began to think for a moment and realized that Gustav's ability to talk with his mind always seemed very similar to Xadi's tracking spell, and she did hear that Daren managed to open a portal with his magic just like Ria, and she always talked with Auren about how his time-reversal ability looked a lot like her healing magic.

”That... That does make sense...” she blurted, ”So... If I learn wind magic, I can become a master mage??”

”But there is a catch though...” Detra warned while raising her finger, ”Master mages can only perform one form of magic...”

”Only one?”

”Only one! It has to be the form of magic that occurs when your affinity and your element match perfectly! That's why I think miss Leona should be very close to unleashing her true power! All she needs is to properly polish her affinity!”

Evlin raised an eyebrow, ”That doesn't sound too hard... Why aren't there a bunch of master-class mages walking around then...?”

”Did you not hear me?? Master mages can only use one magic! Forever!!”

Evlin's eyes began to widen up.

”If you were to reach this class, you would never be able to use earth, healing, or any of your usual spells again... Ever!! Only wind!”

”Whaaaaa!!?? But I love my healing spell!! You know how many times I avoided certain death just by fixing my wounds after I took a serious blow??” Evin cried.

”Wait, isn't Ellie a master class? She can use a ton of spells...” Daren wondered.

”Acttually, she only has one spell...” Detra corrected, ”One spell that allows her to use a myriad of different abilities...”

”While I am just a confusing mess of a mage that just uses whatever the hell I happen to pick up...” Evlin assumed is what Detra was thinking from the way she looked at her.

”I'm not judging... Out loud, at least... But, yeah... I do feel your life as a mage would be better if you just picked something and properly developed it. It would be a tad difficult to have your transformation affinity to match with wind magic, I'll admit... ”

”It's fine, Detra... I don't think trying to learn something completely different from what I already know this late in the game would be of much help anyway... If I had more time, maybe... But right now... I'll just stick with what I know...” Evlin responded while gazing at her friends finishing up gathering the equipment they wanted.

Detra sighed, but deep inside, she was not surprised, ”Suit yourself then... Let's just hope everything works out in the end...”

Evlin then clenched her fist and began to think about whether or not she would even be able to use any magic considering how mad her inner voices were at her, but she then assumed that they would probably help out in the end if it was a matter of life and death for her.

She gazed at her friends one more time, all equipped with Ellie's terminal armor and ready to fight for their survival.

”I'm counting on you guys...” she whispered.