Fenris's anticipation was palpable as he stood outside the mansion with his father, Marcos. "Father, do you know what my tutor will be like?" he asked, unable to contain his excitement.

Marcos smiled at his son's enthusiasm. "I've met her once before, and I can tell you she's a sweet person."

"Really?! What does she look like?" Fenris asked.

The fact that it's a 'her' makes me tingle a little! I wonder if she's like one of those sages in MMO games? I hope she's got red hair...

Marcos laughed at his son's eagerness, although he didn't want to give too much away. "I'll let you be the judge of her appearance when she arrives."

Knowing that it's a surprise, Fenris grinned as he was lost in his imagination, hoping for a cute girl but with a calm air to her. His fantasies made him momentarily forget about Alice and his surroundings.

While Fenris was lost in thought, a carriage pulled up in the distance, snapping him from his mind. His face lit up as he was to meet his tutor and begin his magical journey in this new world.

The carriage doors opened as a hooded figure stepped out, obscuring her features. Approaching Fenris and Marcos, she stared at Fenris in disbelief.

Is that truly Lord Marcos's son? They seem unlike. Oh, nevermind... The girl briefly wondered at Fenris's lineage to Marcos.

Pulling back her hood, Fenris was pleased by her appearance.

She's pretty small, around my height. Those ears, though...I doubt she's as young as me. Ah, who cares? I'm sold!

"Pleased to meet you, Fenris," the elven girl said, curtsying to him then Marcos. "Is this your son?" she asked.

"Yes," Marcos nodded.

She nodded, turning to Fenris and placing a hand on her heart. "My name is Rifa, and I'll be your tutor in magic."

"Pleased to meet you, Rifa," Fenris bowed.

Rifa's right eye glinted as she sensed Fenris's power. For a moment her eyes widened. Oh my...

"Our agreement was day and night lessons, yes?" Marcos asked to confirm.

"I hope you have fun with Rifa. Return before sundown," Marcos told Fenris.

"I will, Father," Fenris nodded. He left with Rifa, waving to his father.

Climbing aboard the carriage, Fenris turned to Rifa with a smile. "This is my first time out of the mansion," he said. The carriage driver urged the earth dragons forward, rapidly pulling the carriage away from the Tonelico residence. (* Earth Dragons are land-based lesser dragons, who are primarily used for transportation and combat.)

"Really? I thought children like you would've been out and about," Rifa arched an eyebrow, intrigued by Fenris's statement.

"Well, you know what I am," Fenris said vaguely. Rifa lowered her eyebrows in understanding.

"I must ask the obvious - you're no ordinary child, are you?" he asked.

"Clever of you to notice. I'm a—" Rifa began, but Fenris quickly interjected, "An elf, right?"

"No..." Rifa pouted. "I'm a dragon."

"Oh, I see...but how do you take this form?" Fenris pointed to Rifa's body questioningly.

Rifa smiled, understanding. "I can shift between humanoid and dragon forms. This is simply more practical."

"That makes sense," Fenris replied.

"However, only certain dragons possess this gift. Divine Dragons like myself—"

Rifa was cut off by Fenris immediately bowing in the cramped space. "Forgive me for disrespecting you!" he blurted out.

"T-That's not really necessary..." Rifa lifted Fenris's head gently. "Just treat me like a teacher instead of some divine object, okay?" she assured him with a kind smile.

"Okay," Fenris replied, cheeks flushed as he retreated into his seat, mortified.

Shit, I made a fool of myself in front of my teacher - not to mention a girl! I hope she isn't mad... Fenris could hear faint laughing directed at him, which made him lift his head up.

"What's so funny?" 

"I'm sorry, you're just too adorable for a human child," Rifa replied after regaining her composure. I haven't laughed like this in ages."

Did she not notice my features? Oh well, it's not like it matters.

"So...you're truly not upset?" Fenris asked hopefully.

"Of course not! Why in the world would I be?" she exclaimed.

"Fair enough," Fenris shifted into a more comfortable position.

After several minutes of awkward silence, Fenris spoke up. "Hey Rifa, what led you to our lands?"

"I was en route to the royal capital when your father happened upon me. He spoke of your talents and seemed desperate, so I took pity and agreed," Rifa explained. "As for my plans in the capital, I was seeking work since I'd recently quit adventuring."

"Why did you quit?" Fenris asked curiously.

"I felt I could better use my skills elsewhere, and my companions were a bit...much at times," Rifa replied in a sentimental tone.

"I see. Well, I'm glad Father found you, or we may never have met!" Fenris grinned widely.

Rifa's cheeks flushed immediately at Fenris's compliment. She tried to regain composure but the sincerity in his voice scattered her thoughts. "You...shouldn't say such things, not unless it's with someone you really like."

"But I do mean it," Fenris smiled cheekily, enjoying her flustered state.

"Oh you...save the sweet talk for later," Rifa pouted, looking elsewhere.

---

Thirty minutes later, the carriage arrived at a destination where few people lived, and rolling hills stretched as far as the eye could see. The plains within House Tonelico's territory provided ample amounts of space for training in isolation, however, bandits and monster attacks on unsuspecting merchants were common. Even since Marcos became patriarch of the family, these issues have yet to have been solved.

Fenris peeked his head out of the carriage window as he gazed at the horizon, while excitement welled up within him as he was about to begin his training. When Rifa and Fenris climbed out of the carriage, they ventured out into the open field before abruptly stopping. 

"We'll start with some basic spells to gauge your current abilities and level of control. After that, we can move onto more complex spells and techniques which are tricky to master," Rifa explained.

"But first, do you know what each of the six elements can do?" she asked.

"Sort of. I've read them in a textbook, which is what I used to practice magic at home," Fenris replied. "But I'd love to hear your explanation!"

"Okay, in that case - elements function both as they might literally seem, and as control over less apparent aspects. Fire is not the creation of fire, but instead the manipulation of heat. From that, ice can be created, too. Water involves the manipulation of life, enabling you to - in theory, resurrect the dead if you're skilled enough. Earth is like what you'd expect, but it also deals with internal functions too. There is a rare technique where you're able to duplicate items, including people. Wind has domain over things external to the body as well as wind itself," Rifa explained. 

"The last two elements are Light and Dark. They're quite simple - Light specializes in buffs, while Dark specializes in debuffs. Possessing either Light or Dark elements is considered markedly rare in comparison to the other four elements," she continued.

"So we'll start with fire. You go first, Fenris."

"Okay!" Fenris held out his hand, and—

Crap, it's been a few years since I'd performed Gola (Fireball) using the incantation. Do I use the incantation, or not? Ah, what the hell. I'll just use it.

"Gola!"  Fenris conjured a fireball roughly the size of a basketball. However, it suddenly changed its color to blue, which baffled both Rifa and Fenris. At the last moment, a gust of wind blew in his direction, obscuring his thought process. He released a blue stream of fire about fifty meters long.

The hell just happened? Did I get some kind of power-up?

Fenris looked at his hands in disbelief that he really did that. His moment of disbelief was interrupted by Rifa's faint applauding.

"Great job, Fenris! It wasn't quite what you were supposed to do, but your results were very impressive!" Rifa applauded.

"Oh, thanks, Rifa!" Fenris smiled as he tilted his head.

"Out of curiosity, did you ever hear of the 'talent gradient'?" 

"No," Fenris shook his head.

"Magic is not a skill. It is bound by one's potential and one's natural inborn talent or affinity with it. Of course, it takes skill and practice to use spells and different casting methods, but at the end of the day, magic talent reigns supreme," Rifa explained.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Basically, talent is a gradient. One can have no talent, average talent, or prodigious talent. One can have all six affinities and no talent, but they won't get very far. One can have all the talent and lack a magic affinity, and thus be unable to use magic anyway, at least not normally."

"So you're saying there's an abnormal way to use magic?" Fenris asked, "Like some sort of special case?"

"Yes, exactly. Even if you have no magic affinity, you can still use magic assuming your gate is fully operational through the use of your life force. However, that is essentially like spending your own lifespan, and thus it is risky," Rifa explained matter-of-factly.

"I see," Fenris replied.

"Also, while we're on the topic of gates, your mana capacity is pretty much set from birth. However, you can train your gate in order to reinforce it through practice, but not in excess as that will strain your gate and will run it under the risk of collapsing."

Fenris nodded in understanding. He had read about gates in a textbook from the Tonelico library, so this information wasn't new to him, save the set capacity. Eager to practice magic more though, Fenris interrupted Rifa's explanation. "Um, could you please continue with our lesson?"

"Oh, my apologies! We've gotten a little side-tracked, eheheh..." Rifa redirected the conversation back to their training, saying, "Let's move on to practicing with the other elements." 

"Okay."

---

After four months, Fenris's skills were greatly enhanced under the tutelage of his new teacher. He learned about the fundamentals of magic, including how to combine elements together which opened a whole new world of possibilities. Rifa started to give him classroom-style lessons in the evening, as promised.

Although she kept to a strict curriculum, she'd also ramp up the content of their lessons based on how well Fenris understood things. She was a good teacher, and was good at intuitively responding to her student.

It may not have sounded like much, but Fenris could feel his world opening up gradually.

To Fenris, magic came as naturally as breathing. By the time he turned eight, he was able to cast simple spells as if they were second nature. His spellcasting had become advanced to the point where he can silently cast most spells, except for complex ones or ones that needed a magic circle. 

Fenris had also learned that there was a hierarchy for spells which determined their function. While talent certainly mattered in terms of potency, the strength and function of the spells can be changed by adding prefixes to the spell incantation, such as El (elevated), Ul (ultra), or Al (almighty). There were other prefixes, such as Fell, which is generally a last-resort spell that "fells" all enemies/targets, or Re which remodels the spell but it executes it differently.

Learning about these prefixes allowed Fenris to experiment with his spells, and over time he created his own variations, such as Mes Gola, which creates a flame that burns hotter and hotter as it meets more and more mana, allowing him to burn away at spells and people the same.

-----

One day, while in the middle of a lesson, Fenris and Rifa were greeted by one of Marcos's butler's, who apparently had a message to give.

"My Lord told me not to open it, and that is was for your eyes only, Master Fenris," the butler presented the letter to Fenris, who took it from him, and he proceeded to open it.

---

Dear Fenris and Ms. Rifa,

By the time you've received this message, I'm certain you must be pretty frustrated being confronted so suddenly, and I apologize in advance. However, I request that you come to my mansion in the town of Belzerg, for we have important matters to discuss that I will not disclose here.

Sincerely,

Marcos Apus Tonelico

---

After he finished reading, Fenris folded up the letter and stashed it in his pocket. He turned to Rifa, who read the letter with him. "Miss Rifa, do we have to go?" he asked with a hopeful expression.

What could my father possibly want with the two of us? Have I grown too powerful for his liking? Is there even such a tradition?

Unfortunately for Fenris, Rifa nodded her head. "Yes, we must go. Your father has summoned us and it's best we don't disobey him."

Disappointed, Fenris reluctantly accepted. Rifa waved her hand and created a portal, baffling Fenris as he was dragged into the portal.

On the other side, they ended up at the mansion Marcos mentioned. "Woah, we're already here!" Fenris said, astonished.

Quantum magic?! Ms. Rifa hasn't shown me that yet!

"Yep, that's portal magic for you," Rifa said as if she were psychic.

As the two stepped inside, they were greeted by servants lined up in curtsy's for the honored guests. A tall, feminine figure stepped forward and greeted the two as well. "Welcome to the Belzerg mansion, honored guests. My name is Lady Minerva. I assume you are here to see Lord Marcos?"

The woman who introduced herself as Minerva was a young brunette lady with a sophisticated air to her, as well as a nice figure. When Fenris looked around, he saw all the maids bow down in her presence, so he assumed that she must be the head maid.

"We are," Rifa replied.

"Right this way, please."

Minerva guided Fenris and Rifa through the mansion to Marcos's office, before departing to carry out her other duties. When they stepped inside, Marcos looked up as his eyebrows arched in surprise. "Mmm, you two got here fast."

After a brief exchange of nods, Marcos decided not to beat about the bush and gestured them to sit down. 

"I like a nice hot cup of tea before discussing issues, so please—" Marcos presented two empty cups before snapping his fingers, pouring in steaming hot tea into them through water magic. "—help yourselves."

Taking their cups, Fenris and Rifa each took a sip. "Wow, this is really good," Fenris said.

This is the best tea I've had in about...12 years, I think?

Marcos nodded, before redirecting the subject. "Now, focusing on the issue at hand, there have been mysterious disappearances occurring lately. I believe it to be an organized effort, based on evidence I've gathered here."

From his drawer, Marcos pulled out a poster with a sun-like design with an eye in the center. 

Fenris curiously looked at the poster, analyzing the symbol which was plastered on the center. 

"A cult is behind these disappearances - and I want you two to root them out. Any clues that you find, I want you to report them to me."

Both Fenris and Rifa nodded in understanding as they finished their cups of tea.

-----

Belzerg was a sprawling town bordering a vast wasteland, home to hardy traders, mercenaries and adventurers, as well as civilians. It served as the administrative headquarters of House Tonelico's estate, which encompassed a large area of the surrounding region. While normally a fairly peaceful town, the atmosphere has become more sinister ever since these disappearances started occurring. It also led to an increase in unlawful behavior in certain areas, particularly the poorer regions of the town.

For days, Fenris and Rifa have been investigating the cult suspected to be behind these activities, with no leads so far. They've spoken to locals in hopes of finding a witness, but to no avail.

"Man, it's almost like they are in fear of disappearing themselves if they said anything," Fenris said in frustration.

"Take it easy, Fenris. We've just started, so there's no reason to get upset."

"I know, but after a few days, I thought we'd get something!"

Now that I think about it...I do remember back in Afghanistan seeing civilians in fear of me and my squadron because we had weapons. Maybe the people in Belzerg think we're going to rat them out or something.

While they did not possess any leads, the two kept tabs on the frequency of the kidnappings, which were gradually increasing daily. It appeared that most of the kidnappings occur during the nighttime, possibly due to wanting to remain discreet.

Eventually, they came across a kid sitting by himself near an alleyway. When Fenris approached him, he was momentarily startled before realizing that he was safe. 

"Hey...we'd like to ask you a few questions," Fenris asked. "For starters, what's your name?"

The kid slowly shook his head, as if he felt uncomfortable answering.

"Hmm, okay. Would you mind sharing some information with us?"

"...Why should I?" the kid asked.

"We're investigating a series of kidnappings, and we're hoping that we could get some information about the culprit," Fenris explained.

The kid's eyes went white at the mention of 'kidnappings', as if remembering some kind of traumatic experience.

"A-Are you okay?" Fenris asked.

The kid snapped out of it upon hearing Fenris's words, but his face suddenly seemed more determined than before. "Y-Yes...and I'd be glad to."

"My mommy was t-taken by these men in gray...I somehow lived, but I-I'm scared that I'm going to be next," the kid explained.

Fenris felt his heart ache momentarily as he heard the kid's story. He could almost picture the scene as it happened, which made his heartache worse. 

"Don't worry, we'll do everything we can to save your mommy," Fenris replied with a heartening smile. "May I ask for your name?"

"...L-Leo."

"That's a lovely name," Rifa interjected. Leo cracked a light smile and nodded in agreement.

"So, anyway, do you know anything else about these men who took your mommy? Perhaps anything about their name?" Fenris asked Leo.

Leo concentrated as he tried to remember, but his thoughts were scattered, unable to produce any reliable information.

Hmm...that's unfortunate. Oh wait! I have an idea.

Fenris placed his palm on Leo's forehead before activating magic upon him, putting Leo into a dream-like state.

"What did you do?" Rifa asked with a perturbed expression.

"I put Leo into a dream-like state to make him calmer and allow him to retell his experiences in a more vivid manner," Fenris explained.

"I see."

"Now Leo, I want you to go through your memories until the night your mommy was taken from you. Can you do that for me?"

"Mm-hmm," Leo nodded.

After a few moments, Leo began to scream in terror, before Fenris and Rifa hushed him to prevent making a scene. They took him deeper into the alleyway and ensured there were no onlookers for the sake of privacy.

"Okay, okay! Stop there. Now, I know that memory is painful, but I have to ask - what did the attacker's call themselves?" Fenris asked.

"T-They said they w-were...'The Cult of Demiurge'..." Leo stammered. "a-and that they were going to ki—"

"Let's stop there," Fenris snapped his fingers, undoing the magic placed on Leo. 

"Thank you Leo, for providing us with the information we needed. We will make sure to rescue your mommy in due time," Fenris stood up as he and Rifa departed. However, they were soon interrupted by Leo, who caught up with them.

"No, wait! I want to come with you!" he exclaimed, grabbing onto Fenris's shirt.

Fenris chuckled at the kid's enthusiasm, but he didn't want to put him in harm's way. He patted Leo's head while giving him a reassuring smile. "Just leave this to us, m'kay?"

After that, Leo made no attempt to follow them as Fenris and Rifa departed once again.

-----

Several days have passed. Fenris and Rifa have made a breakthrough with the acquisition of a stolen map, which included the locations of several of the Cult's hideouts, including their main base, which was located underground. 

In an abandoned warehouse in the outskirts of Belzerg, Fenris and Rifa were plotting an attack on the Cult's hideouts, using the map as a guide. "I think we should split up and divide our work. Then for the main base, we tackle it together," Fenris said as he moved his finger across the labelled hideouts.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Rifa replied.

"You are going to hold back, right?"

"Of course. It wouldn't be fair for me to hog the spotlight for my star pupil."

"Alright, good."

Fenris put his hand under his chin as he wondered when was the most optimal time to strike. "We will strike at night, because that's when the cultists are out of their hiding places, and we'll avoid drawing public attention," he concluded.