I debate whether to try using magic right now or go back to the forge. I have to make a huge effort to return, but I have 500 nails to forge and the forge is lit.

  With a sigh, I put the punch away and head to the storeroom to keep making my nails. Honestly, it’s discouragingly empty.

  “This is going to be a long week.”

  I immerse myself in the rhythmic pounding of the hammer.

  “Lisa!” I hug my sister after not seeing her for a few days.

  “How has my favorite brother been?” my sister asks, returning the hug.

  Fred clears his throat behind us.

  “I’ve got an order for nails due in a few days, though I’m a bit short on materials. Fred and Rob went on an expedition with Dad and got back last night.”

  “Wow. Have you been here alone? Are you going to miss your sister when I leave for the capital?”

  “You’ll be gone for several weeks, right?” I say thoughtfully. “If I can, I’d like to have a gift ready for when you come back.”

  We all sit down when my father enters. I stop paying attention to the conversation when they start talking about politics in the capital. I probably should be listening, but I keep thinking about the forge and fire magic. As soon as we finish dinner, my father retires.

  “Rob,” I call to my brother when he’s about to enter his room. “I wanted to ask you something.”

  “Sure, come in.”

  We go into his room. After Father’s, it’s the largest, though in truth they’re all enormous. I notice his desk is covered in papers, but I can’t read them no matter how hard I try.

  “Tell me,” he says with the calm he always radiates.

  “Well, today I was in the workshop and finished a piece. Then I saw a message saying I’d leveled up, and another appeared saying Basic Fire Magic had leveled up, but I don’t know anything about magic.”

  For some reason, I feel more at ease with my brother than with my father, even though they’re very similar and Rob is the heir.

  “Basic Fire Magic, you say?” He strokes his chin thoughtfully. “There hasn’t been a mage in the family for several generations, so I think our education in that area was limited. We were taught the basics at the academy.”

  He walks over to the desk and grabs two chairs.

  “Sit.” He waits until I’m seated across from him. “The truth is, no one really knows what skills are. A person of any class who practices swordsmanship enough can eventually gain the Sword Handling skill.”

  “Now that you mention it, I have that skill at level 3,” I reply, recalling my abilities.

  “For example. That doesn’t mean classes don’t matter. If you and I practiced the same thing with a sword, I’d reach a much higher level.” He sighs. “That’s just how the system works, whether we like it or not. And sometimes when we level up our class, we’re granted certain skills that are almost impossible to obtain any other way.”

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  “Does that mean all blacksmiths use fire magic?” I ask, puzzled.

  He shakes his head.

  “Maybe some advanced class does, but I doubt it’s a basic skill. However, blacksmiths spend all day working with fire. It doesn’t seem strange to me that you’d have an aptitude for learning fire magic. As for how to activate it, you should know better than I do. If you think about activating the skill, you’ll understand what I mean.”

  “Is basic magic useful in dungeons?” I ask hopefully.

  “I’m afraid not. At the very least, you need to be able to use intermediate-level magic.” He looks at me closely for a few seconds. “Where have you been exposed to fire magic?”

  “I don’t know, really.” The only thing that comes to mind related to fire magic is…

  “All right. I recommend practicing with it as much as you can. If you raise it a bit, it’ll be quite useful. Luckily for you, the first few levels are easy to gain. Now, off to bed.”

  I stand and head to the door. My brother has given me a lot to think about.

  “Ter, I know you won’t understand this now, but I’m glad you didn’t get a combat class.”

  I freeze with my hand on the doorknob. He’s right. I don’t understand what he means.

  “Behave yourself. Don’t give Fred and Rob any trouble,” my sister says as she kisses me goodbye.

  “Have a great time, Lisa. Say hi to Fin and Jean for me.”

  My sister climbs in, and I watch the carriage leave with her and my father.

  Yesterday I couldn’t activate fire magic, though I made good progress with the nails. But today I’m determined. Today will be the day I activate my magic for the first time. And I’m sick of making nails.

  I look for a quiet place where I can practice without anyone seeing me. Eventually I overcome my laziness and decide to go to the workshop.

  Sitting under the tree where I used to eat with Lisa, I remember my conversation with my brother. According to him, I just had to think about the skill to activate it.

  I focus on the skill. I feel the mana inside me seeking a way out. I concentrate on trying to create a flame.

  Nothing happens.

  I shout to vent my frustration. Maybe I don’t have talent for fire magic and it’s simply impossible for me. I thought I was good with a sword, but I didn’t even get a related class. Maybe the problem is me. Maybe I’m not on my brothers’ level.

  How did I gain the skill in the first place?

  It had to be the fire gem.

  It’s the only thing that makes sense.

  I close my eyes again. This time I try to remember the moments when I used the gem. At first, I just fed it mana. Now that I think about it, the process always felt completely natural, almost instinctive.

  The gem is a medium, but it isn’t necessary. It simply enhances and facilitates the process. I feel the magic inside me again. I feel its urge to come out.

  I try to do the same as with the gem, but I don’t have anywhere to send my mana. Maybe that’s what I’ve been thinking about wrong from the beginning. I’m used to using my magic to activate the gem without making any effort myself.

  I start treating my mana like fuel. Fuel by itself doesn’t create fire. Anyone who has worked at a forge knows that fire needs air. Without oxygen, it goes out completely.

  I send the mana to the palm of my hand. I have everything ready—now I just need to activate the skill.

  I feel something strange in my hand. When I open my eyes, I see a red flame dancing over my palm. For a second, I panic—I’m not even aware of having activated the skill. I just thought about it and it activated on its own.

  I burst out laughing as I grab my right hand with my left to avoid burning anything.

  Keeping the flame lit consumes less mana than igniting it. Even so, my magical capacity isn’t very large, and I’ve already used half of it.

  But I want to see if I can increase the flame’s heat.

  I increase the amount of mana I send to my hand and watch as the color shifts. I start to feel a little dizzy when the flame turns completely orange. A bit more and it’ll start to look yellow.

  Several messages appear before me when the flame fades without reaching yellow.

  Fire Control has increased to Level 3.

  Basic Fire Magic has increased to Level 2.

  Unfortunately, I’m too busy emptying my stomach to pay attention to them right now.