Malek woke to sunlight cutting across his face. He was lying in a bed, probably not his own because the blanket smelled like old tobacco and herbs.

  He tried to sit up but his body ached in places he didn't know could ache.

  Then he felt it.

  The warmth in his chest. A small ember pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. His mana.

  He sat up slowly. The room looked different. No, not different—he was seeing it differently. Faint blue motes drifted through the air like dust particles caught in sunbeams. They moved in lazy spirals, clustering near the window.

  Malek stared at the motes. Ambient mana. He'd read about it in books but never seen it. Most people couldn't see it even after awakening unless they actively focused. But here it was, visible without effort.

  He swung his legs off the bed. The movement made the blue motes swirl. They responded to him, drawn toward his chest where his core burned.

  The door opened. Hendrick entered carrying a wooden tray with bread, cheese, and water. He looked worse than yesterday. His skin had a gray tinge and his movements were stiff.

  "You're awake," Hendrick said.

  "How long did I sleep?"

  "Fourteen hours. It's mid-morning." He set the tray on the table. "Eat. Then we check your pathways."

  Malek ate while his grandfather watched. The bread was stale but he was too hungry to care. When he finished, Hendrick gestured to the chair.

  "Sit. Back straight."

  Malek obeyed. Hendrick placed one hand on his forehead and the other on his chest, directly over his core. Foreign mana entered his body—gentle this time, probing rather than forcing.

  The diagnostic took three minutes. Hendrick's mana traveled through each pathway, testing for blockages or scarring. When he finished, he removed his hands and sat heavily in the other chair.

  "Well?" Malek asked.

  "Your primary brain node is open. The other six are still sealed but the pathways to them exist now. Opening them will require deliberate work."

  "What kind of work?"

  "Cultivation. You'll need to circulate mana through those pathways daily, wearing down the seals gradually. It could take months or years depending on how you approach it." Hendrick coughed into his fist. "Some nodes might require external catalysts—rare ingredients, extreme experiences, exposure to concentrated mana sources."

  "Like what?"

  "Combat situations that force your mana to surge. Or alchemical experiments that push your mental capacity to its limit."

  Malek felt a flicker in his consciousness. Text appeared in his vision.

  [Pathways Awakened: Primary Node (1/7) – Unlocked]

  [Class: Alchemist (Unranked) ]

  [Mana Capacity: Minimal (Newly Formed)]

  [Warning: Excessive channeling may cause pathway damage]

  The window faded after he read it. His system had updated to reflect his awakened status.

  "One node doesn't sound like much," Malek said.

  "For combat mages, one node is enough to start training. They need raw power and basic control. A fireball is a fireball." Hendrick leaned back. "Alchemists are different. You need multi-threaded processing. When you brew a potion, you're holding multiple variables simultaneously—temperature, reaction speed, ingredient ratios, timing. One node means you can handle one formula at a time with basic attention to detail. Seven nodes means you can brew while under attack, adjust three simultaneous reactions, and calculate optimal ratios in your head."

  "So I'm weak."

  "You're a beginner. There's a difference." Hendrick stood and moved to the window. "The kingdom classifies mages by rank. Combat classes start from Rank 9 based on raw power. Support classes like healers start from Rank 10 based on utility. Pure crafting classes like alchemy start at Zero-Rank or more commonly called unranked."

  "Unranked?"

  "Most people look down on Zero-Rank classifications. They call them kitchen mages or bottle mixers." Hendrick's voice carried old bitterness. "But history remembers the alchemists as a force of nature. People who poisoned entire armies. The ones who created elixirs that let ordinary men fight like gods for a single hour."

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Malek absorbed this. "Why do people mock us then?"

  "Because most Zero-Rank alchemists never reach high levels. They brew healing salves and stamina potions their whole lives. The truly dangerous ones are rare." Hendrick turned from the window. "For 1000 years there has been no Alchemist who has reached the apex of their class. You have potential to be dangerous. But only if you survive long enough to develop it."

  "What do you mean survive?"

  "Registration." Hendrick sat again, moving like every joint hurt. "In the Kingdom, awakened citizens have different rights than unawakened. You need to understand this before we proceed."

  He explained the citizenship system. Unawakened people were classified as Serfs or Villeins depending on land ownership. They couldn't hold guild licenses. Couldn't legally sell mana-infused goods. Paid higher taxes. Had no voting rights in town councils. If they tried to brew potions or craft magical items without authorization, the guilds could confiscate their work and impose fines.

  Awakened citizens with partial node development became Bronze Citizens. They gained basic trade rights, could register with guilds, owned property with fewer restrictions.

  Full node development or high-rank classifications meant Silver or Gold citizenship. These people joined nobility tracks, led guilds, received land grants from the crown.

  "Registration is mandatory for anyone who awakens before age fifteen," Hendrick said. "I was the one who helped with little Elara's registration process. So in a sense she is higher than you in social standing."

  Hendrick laughed out loud before he continued. "If you don't register, you become a latent threat. The kingdom assumes you're either too dangerous to control or planning to use your abilities illegally. They conscript unregistered awakened into labor battalions."

  "So I have to register."

  "Yes. But there's an advantage to your situation." Hendrick's expression grew calculating. "Remember this, child—this class that you have will give you more trouble than you may realize. So make sure to never stand out more than necessary."

  "But I'm a careful person," Malek replied.

  "But are you really? When you asked me to help you get in contact with a noble family who would buy your potion, did you not know that you were not a registered citizen? And they could have executed you on the spot for daring to make a deal with them?"

  Malek's face was horrified. "Kid, if it was not me who sent you there, you were guaranteed to be killed by them—no exceptions. I'm also the reason they agreed to sign the contract with you. Well, I did learn about your over-the-top antics with them. I will talk about that with you later." At the last sentence, Hendrick's face was furious.

  "Knowing your place and always making sure to never stand out more than necessary is the key to surviving in this world, kid. Never forget that."

  Malek took Grandpa Hendrick's words dead seriously. "Now let's continue where we left off. Registration includes a public aptitude test. They scan your mana capacity and have you perform a simple task. Zero-Rank scorers get pitying looks and low expectations. Everyone will assume you're not destined for anything big. Which is an advantage to you."

  Malek understood. "I can develop quietly. Without worrying about getting killed for offending some powerful Alchemist with connections."

  "Exactly. If you'd awakened with massive capacity or multiple nodes already open, the guilds would watch you. They'd try to recruit you or control you. And you would be on the radar of other alchemists. The Alchemists are very scary people, kid. So make sure you're beneath their notice."

  "I understand, Grandpa. So when do we register?"

  "Tomorrow at dawn. We'll go to Thornvale. The Registrar's Hall opens early and we want to avoid crowds." Hendrick stood again, slower this time. "But first, you need to try something."

  He moved to the workbench and selected a single Spirit Petal from a jar. He placed it on a small ceramic plate and set the plate in front of Malek.

  "Infuse it with mana. Don't try to make a potion. Just push energy into the petal and see what happens."

  Malek stared at the dried flower. It was blue-purple with silver veins running through the petals. He could sense the dormant energy inside it, waiting for activation.

  He focused on his core. The warm ember responded immediately. He visualized mana rising through his primary channel to his brain, then directed it down his right arm to his hand.

  The sensation was strange. The mana wanted to move but his control was clumsy. It surged too fast, then too slow. He tried to find the right flow rate.

  His hand grew warm. Mana pooled in his palm. He placed his hand over the Spirit Petal and pushed energy into it.

  The petal glowed. Faint blue light spread through the silver veins. The glow intensified for three seconds, then fizzled out. The petal looked slightly different now—more vibrant, less withered.

  "Good," Hendrick said. "Pick it up."

  Malek lifted the petal. It felt warmer than before and seemed to pulse with weak energy.

  "Put it in your mouth and chew it."

  He obeyed. The petal tasted like grass with a hint of mint. As he chewed, energy spread through his body. Not much—just enough to ease some of the soreness in his muscles. The effect lasted maybe thirty seconds.

  "That's more than most people achieve on their first day," Hendrick said. "But notice how weak the effect was. You can infuse one item at a time with basic enhancement. A real potion requires maintaining infusion while controlling temperature, mixing ingredients in sequence, and adjusting ratios. You're not ready for that."

  "How long until I am ready?"

  "Weeks of practice for the simplest recipes. Months for anything useful." Hendrick collected the plate. "And you need to understand mana ecology before you start gathering ingredients."

  "Mana ecology?"

  "Ingredients grow in areas with ambient mana. When you harvest them, you remove mana from the local environment. Overharvest and you create mana blight—dead zones where nothing grows. The Alchemist Guild monitors this. If you cause blight, they fine you or revoke your license."

  Malek hadn't considered this. "So I can't just gather whatever I want?"

  "You can gather from renewable sources or areas with strong mana flow. Near ley lines, the mana replenishes faster than you can harvest. But out here in the countryside, ambient mana is thin. Our town is far from any major ley nodes. That's why natural awakenings are rare after age ten. The mana density isn't strong enough to force pathways open."

  "Cities have more mana?"

  "Cities are built on ley nodes specifically for that reason. Higher mana density means more awakenings, more mages, stronger economy. The capital sits on a triple-node convergence. Their ambient mana is so thick you can see it even without awakening." Hendrick moved to the window again. "Which is why we'll register you in Thornvale instead of the capital. Thornvale is small. The registrar barely cares. In the capital, they'd scrutinize you."

  Malek stood and joined his grandfather at the window. Outside, the town looked the same as always. Small houses with thatched roofs. Dirt roads. Fields stretching toward the forest. But now he could see the faint blue motes drifting through the air. The mana concentration was indeed low—barely visible even with his new senses.

  "Grandpa," Malek said quietly. "Thank you."