It was an uphill journey in Yarol, one that stressed horses greatly. So Percy and the others ditched their carriages to take a passing barge up the mountain.

Which was insane to Percy at first, because the warm waters that flowed from the spring were located at the top of the mountain.

The city created these canals of warm water that flowed down to the city and were carried off to a stream nearby. There was a lot of water in this stream, constantly flowing from the top.

The strange part was that there were streams that flowed uphill here.

Percy found himself at the docks of the barge, staring down at the white walls of the canal where the steaming water flowed backward towards the apex of the mountain.

A magic tool for sure, but that's very impressive.

It was definitely good for carrying cargo up the mountain to the richer parts of the city. He would have liked to dissect this and use it in Dema, but there was no time.

They all got on the barge and tapped their feet impatiently as they sat. There weren't any clocks in this world. Nobles just had a small device called a Cronia.

It was a small device made with Hermetics, which employed light spirits to read time. It was like a pocket watch with 24 dots. Every time a dot lit up, that meant an hour had passed.

And there was only one dot left on the Cronia before the Spirit Affinity Ceremony started. He didn't even know how many minutes they had before it lit up.

I should make a pocket watch right now. I can almost see the entire process in my head.

But if he missed anything, the reward would be wasted. He just needed to be patient. When the ceremony started, they would call the Count's children first, then the Viscounts.

His name would be pretty low on the list if they were going by alphabetical order.

I hope they are going by alphabetical order.

Thalos kept tapping the edge of the badge. They were seated in the back row of seats. The boat was packed with people as it meandered up the reverse stream. His grey eyes kept studying the individuals.

"There's no space in here," Thalos muttered to himself.

Flynn, on the other hand, seemed excited. She kept nodding to everything her older brother Hack said.

"I wonder how many people will be there," Flynn muttered nervously. "What if I don't have any affinities? And i make a fool of myself in front of everyone"

"We already know your affinity, dummy," Hack chastised. "And it's better with more people. If you have a really high affinity, then one of the lords might want to hire you."

Their chatter reminded Percy of the elixirs in his storage space. They were meant to enhance a person's affinity, especially for Earth Spiritmancy. He took one back at the temple to help absorb the scorpion spirit.

And it was disgusting as hell, like drinking brightly colored cement.

He ought to give one to Flynn, but he'd save it for later. She should already have a powerful affinity.

Sighing, he continued tapping the wood floor with his foot. This boat was way too slow.

"Wait, if we already know I have Earth Spiritmancy, why go for the ceremony?" Flynn asked. "We could just start training without going in front of the crowd."

"You're asking that now?" Percy muttered, drawing the entire family's attention.

Hack and his brothers always seemed to puff out their chests when he spoke. It was amusing.

"It's not a bad question," Hack muttered.

"It is. How can you not know what you're coming here for?"

Both Hack and Flynn lowered their heads dejectedly, making him sigh.

"I'm not blaming you. I blame George."

George, who had been staring at the river in silent awe, spun around, eyes narrowing in confusion.

"What did I do?"

"You should tell your kids what the Spirit Affinity Ceremony does for them as Spiritmancers," Percy chided, rolling his eyes.

"The ceremony is used to complete your ascendance into Rank 1. You'll no longer have to meditate to call spirits, and you choose a spell to imprint on your spirit. You'll need to master this spell to reach Rank 2."

"What does master mean exactly?" Hack asked.

"It just means you can use it without the chant. People often come with spells they want to imprint, but they offer spells there depending on how high your affinity is and if any noble family wants to make a deal with you."

George chuckled, eyes glossing over with memories of his own ceremony.

"That was where I met the Baron's steward. He offered me the physical enhancement spell that I taught all of you."

"Do we have to imprint that?" Hack wondered. "I'd like something cooler."

"Like a Rank 2 spell, or a really powerful earth spell," Flynn added.

George shook his head, chuckling.

"The spell you imprint doesn't matter. All that matters is that you master it, so people actually choose easier spells to quickly get to Rank 2. But that'll only make your Rank 3 ascension weaker."

Percy listened attentively to George; Hecate had told him a lot of this, but it was interesting to see how people worked with the conditions.

"So you'd recommend picking a very hard spell to master for your imprint."

"I don't recommend anything," George said, shaking his head. "This type of thing is sacred. Make your own choice. All I'll say is that you should pick a spell you like."

They all grew quiet, contemplating the words. Percy was surprised to find George rather wise in this matter.

"I'll choose [Solid Stance]," Hack decided. It was George's signature; a spell that enhanced your physical abilities when you were standing on earth. "I like the chant, and it looks cool when Xavier uses it."

The oldest of the Ramlos boys, Xavier, reached back from his seat and petted his younger brother, causing a small fight. While they struggled, Flynn was still thinking.

Percy already knew the spells he wanted. He had a spell similar to [Fireshot] that created a more powerful blast. It was Rank 1, given to him by Hecate, and he liked how it worked. But he had problems with shaping it, so it wasn't part of his skills yet.

He also had been trying to modify it using [Fireshot] as the base form. It created a strong blast of fire and was called [Ashmaker].

After his stint in the temple, he was sure he could adjust the spell to carry a bigger and more focused punch.

I'm almost done modifying it, so I'll imprint that for my fire affinity.

Flynn turned back to him suddenly, amber eyes pleading.

"I don't know which one to choose. There's [Earth Shield] and [Boulder Rush] and both are so cool. But…"

"Go with [Earth Shield], safety first," Percy said casually.

"But it'll make me slower. And [Boulder Rush] has a decent chant, but Xavier said it takes so much spirit energy to use."

Percy considered it for a moment, then smiled. He had a decent idea.

"I can teach you one of the spells I made, but even I haven't learned this one yet. It's a bit complicated but very useful in combat for slower people."

Flynn froze like a deer in front of headlights. Then she snapped out of it and nodded rapidly. Percy laughed a little, then began teaching her the chant and how to shape the spell.

"I think I get it," she said after about ten minutes.

But they were arriving at the hall where the ceremony was taking place, so he wasn't paying attention.

It was a high stone building, grey and thick-walled, with a huge crowd of people milling around.

"Are they all there waiting for the ceremony to start?"

One of the men across the aisle from him frowned, turning to face Percy.

"What do you mean? The ceremony started an hour ago."

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