After his declaration, Maximilian rose from his seat and walked over to a nearby shelf. He returned a moment later with a white rectangular board in his hand, which he placed on the low table between them.

His eyes sparkled with excitement as he started his explanation. ”Spell engraving is a technique with which we inscribe magical formulas onto physical objects. By doing so, we imbue the objects with specific magical properties. It's a complex yet precise process, requiring a deep understanding of Ritual Magic and its applications."

Zeke listened intently, his mind racing with the possibilities. The idea of being able to imbue objects with magical properties was thrilling. Maximilian’s next sentence quickly doused his newfound excitement, however.

"Naturally, this technique is beyond you right now. But there is a reason why every apprentice has to learn about it nonetheless," Maximilian said, his voice taking on a more serious note.

He closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to focus on something. Suddenly, the whiteboard in front of them began to change, an image appearing on its surface. Zeke leaned in to get a better look, his eyes wide with curiosity.

“How did you do that,” Zeke asked in wonder.

“Thought projection,” the old man replied with a smirk, “I’ll tell you more about that at a later point. For now, let’s stay on topic.”

With that, Zeke returned his attention to the board. The image depicted a sphere that was split into three sections.

"This is your magic core," he explained. "It's split into three affinities. I'm sure you're aware of the different ranks of mages," Maximilian started, but upon seeing the look on Zeke's face, he paused. Zeke just shook his head, causing Maximilian to nod in understanding.

"Right, right, it looks like we have to start with the very basics before we can talk about spell engraving. Anyway, you're what we call an apprentice-rank mage right now. This is what your core looks like." He said while pointing to the board.

Zeke stared at the picture, his mind racing with the implications. He had never had a magic lesson that was explained in such a clear and concise manner, instead of the esoteric mumbo jumbo he was used to. There was no way his teachers didn’t know about these basic concepts. The only possibility that Zeke could come up with was that they had not taught his class well on purpose. Thinking about all the commoners in his class, a sinister thought came to him. However, his dark musings were interrupted by Maximilian’s voice.

"When you cast Magic, the unattuned natural Mana that surrounds us travels through your body and into your core,” Maximilian explained. As he spoke, the board illustrated his words, showing a figure that was ingesting Mana and guiding it to its core.

"As soon as the Mana has traveled through your core, it becomes what we call attuned Mana — Mana that has been altered to have an affinity. In your case, you are able to attune the ambient Mana to Blood, Space, or Mind Mana."

Zeke listened attentively, his eyes focused on the process displayed. Thanks to Maximilian's explanation and the visual aids, the lesson was incredibly easy to follow.

"You have been told that you have a perfect affinity for Blood Magic," Maximilian said, "but you probably don't know what that really means."

He pointed to the board, where the previous image had disappeared, in its stead, a glowing sphere was depicted. A white stream went inside the image of the sphere, which Zeke identified as a Magic core. The stream came out on the other side as a red stream that was approximately half as wide as the one going in.

"You can see that the amount of Mana coming out of the core is not the same as the amount of Mana going in. This has to do with the affinity of the core. As you may have heard, a regular magic affinity is somewhere around 50%. That means that only half the Mana going into the core comes out as attuned mana. The rest of the Mana is lost in the conversion."

Zeke frowned, his brow furrowed in contemplation. He was pretty certain he knew the reason why he had to stop casting after a while. He gave voice to his thoughts. "It can't be that the other half of the Mana going into my core just vanishes. What happens to all that Mana?"

Maximilian smiled upon hearing Zeke's question, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Very observant," he praised. "That's why I like to teach Mind Mages, a sharp eye for detail. You are right, of course. No form of energy just ‘vanishes’. It is a widely held belief that energy can never be truly lost, it merely takes on a different form."

The old man closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. "The other half of the Mana gets transformed into unusable forms of energy. Mostly heat, but also light and different forms of radiation. This is usually not a problem, as your core is very resistant to most forms of energy. However, if you use too much Mana, your core will start to hurt. If you don't stop casting by then, small cracks will start to form. We call this state a depleted core.”

As Maximilian spoke, the board showed a cracked core, with different kinds of energy leaking out and damaging the body.

“Now, let’s find out if you have been paying attention,” the old man said. “What do you think would happen if you continue to cast with a depleted core?”

Zeke took a moment to think his answer over. His voice was uncertain at first, but steadily gained in certainty as he spoke. “The cracks would spread further, I think. It is very likely that the efficiency of the conversion would suffer because of the cracks. All that damage would most likely produce even more ‘waste’ energy. This would in turn increase the rate at which the core gets cracked. If my theory is right, it would finally lead to a place where none of the Mana would get attuned anymore. At that point, it would become impossible to cast any spells.”

“Outstanding,” the old man said in a sincere tone. “Your theory is exactly right. We call this state a ‘destroyed core’. At that point, the core will not heal on its own anymore. If it is not treated immediately, it is possible to lose all Magic capabilities forever. You have to be very careful when overexerting your core.”

Maximilian was very serious as he spoke about this phenomenon. Zeke knew that he should take his words to heart. He made a mental note to be careful with his magic usage and to always pay attention to his limits.

"But that's not as much of an issue for you as it is for other people," Maximilian said, smiling at Zeke again. "Having a perfect core means that your affinity for blood magic is above 90%. That means that almost all the Mana going into your core comes out on the other side as blood mana. It would be very hard for you to put any strain on your core using Blood Magic.

“You also have a greater affinity for space and mind magic, which means your conversion rate is between 70-90%. You'll have to be a bit more careful, but a greater affinity is still a huge boon, and you shouldn't run into any problems while still being in the apprentice rank,” the old man explained.

Zeke listened intently. Only now did he realize how much one’s affinity levels affected your abilities as a mage. He was also filled with excitement because it seemed his core gave him a huge advantage when compared to most of his peers.

"Anyway, it seems I've gone off on a tangent for a bit. Let’s get back on topic," Maximilian said.

"The moment Mana passes through your core, you have to force your intent onto it. Your intent is what gives the spell its shape. Do you want it to be a sphere? A sword? That is controlled by your intent. We call these two steps imbuement and attunement." As he spoke, the whiteboard showed a white stream of Mana going into the core and a red fireball coming out.

Zeke watched the display intently, his eyes narrowed as he tried to absorb the information. He knew that there was still much he had to learn about magic, but he was determined not to miss even a little bit of the knowledge that was presented to him in such an easy-to-understand format.

"Did you understand all that?" Maximilian asked, looking at Zeke intently.

"I think so," he said. “Attunement is the process in which we convert natural Mana to our affinities. Imbuement is when we shape the attuned mana according to our will, correct?”

“In simple terms, yes,” Maximilian said with a nod.

“That was a good explanation, teacher,” Zeke said with shining eyes.

Maximilian was surprised by the address for a moment, but then he chuckled and ruffled Zeke's head. "No need to act so distant, my boy. How about you call me Uncle Max from now on?"

Zeke looked nonplussed by the hand on his head and stared at Maximilian for a while before a wicked grin appeared on his face.

"Sure thing, GRANDPA Maximilian!" he said.

Maximilian just laughed it off, "Jokes on you, I like that even better! Anyway, I think this is enough for today. It's getting late. How about we continue this tomorrow?"

Zeke was unwilling to stop the lesson at this point, as he was having fun. But it really was getting late, and he had a long way home. The thought of returning to his shabby apartment in the beggar’s quarters felt like waking up from a pleasant dream. However, as he tried to say his goodbyes to Maximilian, he was interrupted by the older man.

"Huh? What do you mean, goodbye? Where do you think you're going?" Maximilian asked with a look of surprise on his face.

Zeke was confused as well, so he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Home?"

Maximilian chuckled, "Do you really think I'll let you go back to that disgusting hole? Don't forget who you are: Ezekiel von Hohenheim."

Zeke let the words sink in as he followed Maximilian upstairs. Only now did he understand how much his life had truly changed.

No longer would he have to suffer the pangs of hunger.

No longer would he have to beg for work.

No longer would he have to endure the taunts and jeers.

No longer…

As he walked, he wiped away the tears that had started to run down his face, hoping that Maximilian wouldn't notice.

The old man guided Zeke to a room on the second floor that was equipped with beautiful furniture and a bed that was roughly the size of Zeke's current apartment.

Maximilian stayed at the door and let Zeke explore for a while before asking, "What do you think? Not bad, is it?”

Zeke had fallen in love with the room at first sight. This was by far the most luxurious bed chamber he had ever been in. The mere thought of this being his personal space from now on almost brought tears to his finally dry eyes again.

Instead of answering, he simply let himself fall on the bed, face first, and sank into the mattress. Maximilian chuckled and simply closed the door before leaving.

Zeke rolled on his back and stared at the beautifully carved ceiling. For the first time since coming to the academy, he felt like things were going to turn out fine. He closed his eyes and let out a contented sigh, feeling a sense of peace wash over him.

Finally, he had found a place where he belonged.