Mannat was reading a book on the mysteries of the human body when tolling bells interrupted his ‘focus’. A bright message appeared floating in front of his eyes and covered his sight.

He had his precious dictionary out on the table. It lay beside the book and the folder of his notes that had grown to be three fingers thick.

He had confronted the Witch about the paper and its cost. She had chuckled and told him to do as he pleases. The truth that he burned a fortune every time he used a page of the butterfly paper had gnawed at his consciousness for some time. Eventually, he had stopped worrying about it.

Finally, he read the system message.

[Congratulations! Your skill: Analyze has reached the maximum level. Your Wisdom has increased to 20 points. A new skill slot has been unlocked.
[Would you like to choose a new skill now?]

Mannat agreed to the request and a list of skills appeared in front of his eyes. There were only three skills listed. Two out of them were tier one, while the last one was the only second-tier skill on the list. It had appeared because of Analyze reaching the maximum level. ‘Analyze’ might be a passive skill that only moderately improved his cognitive abilities, but it had served him well over the years. He didn’t’ know where he’d be without it. 

Probably, I would have no redeeming qualities at all. He thought. He glanced at the description of the other skills once and directly ignored them. He chose the last option.

A golden light flashed, erasing the blue glowing projection from his sight. His surroundings grew quiet for a few seconds. The bells tolled in his mind again and another projection –a blinding square of light-- covered his sight.

[Congratulations! Your skill Analyze has evolved into Computing.]

[Computing][Lv-1/10][Tier-2][Passive/Active]
{The skill improves your mental capacity, making logic and reasoning problems easier to solve. Actively using it consumes stamina and focus. Use sparingly. }
{Reward: Your wisdom improves by 2 points every time the skill levels up.}

The projections floated in front of Mannat’s sight until he had read the content. Then it vanished without a trace, leaving him with the sight of his book and the square table.

It was done. He had reached the minimum level of skill and attributes required to become the Witch’s apprentice. He knew the job was his when ‘Inspect’ reached level nine a few days ago. His relentless effort took him over the finish line with a few days to spare.

However, he didn’t go straight out to look for the Witch. He kept reading the book. It wasn’t until half an hour later when he finally closed the book, the dictionary, and his folder of notes. He put the books back in their place on the shelf and then left the hut.

The Witch was standing in front of the tree, holding her staff. It had been there ever since she had stuck it in the ground. The staff had thwarted many of his attempts to open the underground garden. It hadn’t taken him long to realize the Witch never intended for him to use the staff.

He went straight to her. His heartbeat was all over the place.
The Witch slowly turned around and looked at him. She already knew he had reached the threshold and only needed her guidance to breakthrough. She smiled gently when Mannat stopped a few feet from her.

“Are you ready?” She said.
Mannat squinted. “I am,” He said with vigilance.
The Witch ignored his easy-to-read suggestions. Suddenly, her staff started glowing in vibrant blue color, as it had the first time she had tried to pass the job to him.

She raised her staff over Mannat’s head and tapped his forehead with its globular glass head. Mannat felt something cool pour into his brain, before slowly draining down his veins. It massaged his tried mind and rejuvenating his focus on the way to his heart. His mana resided there. The two silently met and another projection appeared in front of Mannat’s eyes with much-anticipated fanfare.

Congratulations! You have acquired a new job. You are now a Magician: Apprentice.

[Magician: Apprentice][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Job]
[Mysteries of the world open to you. Your spirit is boiling. Control and patience are the only ways to go forward. There is an endless path ahead of you. Remember, there are no shadows without light, and there is no need for light in a place without shadows. The stronger the light, the darker the shadow produced. Let the light reveal your true self. Don’t hide in the shadows.]
[Reward: Your Intelligence increases by 1 point with every level gained and your mana regeneration increases by 5% with every level gained.]

[You have unlocked Skills: Meditation and Mana Strike at Job level one.]

***
[Meditation][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Active/Passive]
[It’s not a skill as much as it is a way of living. Meditate to stay calm. Mana flows toward calm places. The more you practice, the higher the rate at which your mana regenerates.]
[Effect: Mana regeneration increases by 20% at every level whenever you are in meditation. The increase in regeneration depends upon your Focus.]
{Reward: Your intelligence increases by 1 point for level gained.}

***
[Mana Strike][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Active]
[If Meditation allows you to absorb surrounding mana, then mana strike allows you to expel your mana into the surrounding. The skill level determines the force, precision, and amount of mana strike.]
{Reward: Your Intelligence increases by one point for every level gained.}

Mannat didn’t open his eyes and directly inspected himself to see the changes. His status appeared in his mind.

 

“Are you disappointed?” The Witch asked. “Do you feel like the result is not worth the trouble you put up with? Are you feeling like giving up yet?”
Mannat opened his eyes and stared directly at the Witch’s face. She looked as nasty as ever. Nothing had changed. The Tree was still there. His mother was still in stasis. The Witch was still abusive and sarcastic. Since nothing had changed then why would he give up?

“No.”
The Witch clicked her tongue. “That’s too bad. Do you have any questions?”

Mannat gave her a sly smirk. “Can I enter the other garden now? I’m tired of eating boiled carrots and whatnots to add some flavor to my plate. The garden vegetables don’t mix well with the carrots and potatoes from the village. ”

The Witch put her hands on top of the staff’s glass head. “You are being cheeky,” She said grinning.

Mannat wasn’t a tall boy, but the Witch had a hunched back and appeared short because of it. He had never heard her complain about it, but he always felt a shiver run down his spine whenever their eyes met. This time was no different. He clenched his fist to control his spilling emotions.
 
 “We’ll see how you perform.” The Witch said.

She let out a snort when Mannat frowned and started berating him. “Who told you to take shortcuts? We wouldn’t be having this discussion had you properly evolved your mana sense.”
“I’m getting there,” Mannat groaned. The Witch didn’t refute him this time. Oh, so he was actually doing fine. The silent approval was enough for him to keep his head high.
“Do you want to ask anything else?” The Witch tempted him. It would have been better if she wasn’t giving him a crooked smile, but it was fine. Everything balances out in the end. That was one less smile he’d have to see from her.

“Can I see my mother?” He asked. The Witch’s answer didn’t disappoint him.

“It depends upon you.” She said. Mannat felt a need to move his feet. He was too tense. In doing so he noticed how little the Witch actually moved in comparison. Yes, the staff supported most of her weight. Even so, a normal person would definitely gain numb legs from standing like that. She was like a sculpture. Perhaps, her strengths were more than just annoying him and disappearing from the clearing.

The Witch moved on to stab the staff back into the ground. An ethereal blue-colored glow rose about the staff disappeared underground. Mannat sensed it this time and the response it received from underground. He couldn’t sense the follow u, but he wasn’t worried.

Suddenly the Witch started talking. “Focus upon ‘Mana Strike’ if you want to see your mother. Mana strike allows you to expel your mana to the outside. Your skill level will increase with practice, as will your control over the force behind the strike. You need to have complete control over your mana before you can use the staff to open the door to the underground garden. Only then will you be eligible to meet your mother… and wake her up.”
The Witch finished speaking and saw him staring.
“What else?” She said.
Mannat shook his head. “You are being oddly helpful. You never told me anything before.”

The Witch raised her upper lip in a smirk. It was awful, but Mannat digested the thought completely. The Witch looked at the garden and continued, “You were just another seed in the garden before getting the job. Now you have germinated. Every germinated bud needs some nutrition to grow a healthy and plump carrot.”
“Are you going to uproot me once I’m healthy and plump?” Mannat asked curiously, only for her to scold him for having useless thoughts.

Mannat glared at her playfully. That was the most interest she had shown in him. Perhaps, she really had no expectations from him before.

However, about the skill ‘mana sense’… the closer he got to overcome it, the further away he felt from the goal. He knew the skill evolve in a day or two. The skill had only improved one level in a month. The last level was different from the previous nine, as it needed him to be able to sense the flow of mana inside others. It was a treacherous bottleneck. He didn’t have to look far to find an example. His father had been stuck at the same skill level for over a decade. Mannat didn’t dare say he would get through it in another month.

“Anything else?” The Witch asked and Mannat shook his head.

In the next moment, he was standing in the garden and pulling out carrots from the ground. His rate of success was already over ninety percent and the last ten percentages were out of his hand. However, his mind was elsewhere, and he resultantly pulled more duds than usual.

He wondered about the usage of skills like ‘mana strike’. The Witch hadn’t told him how he would improve his new skills. He naturally understood the right way to use ‘meditate’. It would give the best result when practiced together with ‘mana sense’ at night. Mana's concentration was multiple times at night in comparison to any other time of the day.

As for mana strike, the skill description said its power, precision, and control depended upon the skill level. The power of spells depended upon wisdom, but the skill only rewarded intelligence. Meaning, repetition was the way to improve the skill. That left out control, which would not improve no matter how much he thoughtlessly repeated the skill. It was a conundrum.

Mannat looked between the carrot and his hand. What would happen if he used the skill? Perhaps, he should have asked the Witch, but she was gone and he couldn’t say when she would return.

That left him with only one choice. He decided to go out in the thunderstorm and get wet, even though there was a chance of the lightning to strike him dead.

He raised his palm toward a ripe and green carrot shoot, and spoke the magical words, “Mana strike,” and something changed.

He felt something moving inside his body. The sensation was akin to ants crawling inside his veins. It didn’t hurt as much as one would expect from having ants inside their body, but his veins did swell and the arm he had raised shook uncontrollably. Just when panic started to set in, he sensed something inexplicable gather at the palm of his hand and then shoot forward at the carrot. The invisible power obliterated the poor thing from existence!

At first, he was stunned, then got excited at the potency of the skill. It didn’t take long for his excitement to wash away into dread. He needed to control the skill to help his mother, not to fight bandits! The thought depressed him. The task was definitely going to be harder than he believed.

He started ‘computing’ the force generated and figured that the amount of mana released and its flow rate was both unknown. The first he figured by inspecting himself. He was shocked to see he had burned through a third of his mana reserves. That was 40 points and the result was this. He could use the skill three times with his mana pool. As for the mana flow rate –Mana sense blocked him once again.

The bigger problem was the uselessness of the skill. How would he actually practice it if he could only use it three times? Well, he could meditate. He calculated and found that if he spent all day meditating and practicing the skill, he would be able to shoot eight rounds in total -- and that is after giving up his sleep, and life.

Mannat felt helpless. He felt like rebuking himself for wasting the mana but held off by calling it a form of practice. He didn’t waste more mana on the skill for the time being. He gathered a few carrots and potatoes then left the garden. He had supper before going to study. That day he finally found another storybook. He noted the few new words he found and the sentences they made, before quitting for the day and settling down under the tree to practice mana sense.

He had a soured mood when he returned to the village the next morning. Pandit asked him what happened, but he shook his head and ignored the question. They jogged around the village before Mannat found Sharmilla waiting for him at the edge of her farmland, and the two boys separated for the day.
 
They had been meeting there in the morning since he proposed. In a way, they were telling her grandfather about their relation. Though Sardar hadn’t found him yet, Mannat noticed the farmer's faces sour at the sight of him.

He tentatively ignored them and met Sharmilla. She was holding a beautiful smile that faded at the sight of his long face. She turned around and glared at the men, and they looked away from them one by one. She knew Mannat didn’t care about other's glares and stares.

“Are you in a bad mood?” She asked.
Mannat wanted to keep his thought to himself, but the two of them had decided to share their problems with one another. He let out a sigh and told her the truth. “I got the job, yesterday.”
“Which job?”
Mannat sighed again. “The Witch’s apprenticeship,”

Sharmilla’s eyes opened wide. It could be from fear or excitement. Mannat was too unfocused to figure out. She was speechless. A few disturbing thoughts passed through her mind. She couldn’t completely silence them and grabbed onto her beliefs to force through their torrent. She was speechless for a good few seconds, but her happiness was genuine when she grabbed Mannat’s hands. “This is good news. You can finally help your mother. You--”

Then she heard Mannat groan and grew silent.

“The job isn’t enough to help your mother.” She said and concurred from Mannat’s silence that she was right. “You thought your mother would wake up as soon as you get the job, didn’t you?”

“No,” Mannat said. He didn’t. He really didn’t.

“But you wanted it to happen. You wanted a miracle.”

Mannat squeezed her hand. He didn’t have the strength to hurt her. Softly he said, “The miracle did happen, but it only got me to the line. I wanted it to take me across.”
“You are disappointed.”
“I am.”
They looked into each other’s eyes.

Sharmilla freed her hands and put her arms around his neck. She held him tightly. Mannat felt odd, but the warmth from her body made his heartbeat rise. He hesitated at first, then hugged her back.
“You smell of sweat,” he heard a while later and a warm smile grew on his face.
“Do you regret it,”
“Never,” Sharmilla answered immediately.

Mannat raised his head and looked up at the sky. There were grey clouds everywhere, but the wind was keeping them moving. Bright rays of sunlight had pierced through the cloud cover at places. The two played a game of tug and war. The clouds were relentless in their pursuit to cover the patches that had opened between them, but the victor was already decided. Mannat could see their reign ending for the day. They would definitely return one day to prove another stake at the sky, but they could only retreat that day and let the sun shine through.