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On the way back from the capital, Louise was feeling much better. She'd eaten, though late, at a good inn, and she'd went to an armorer to get herself fitted for a set of light armor. This time, she'd thought carefully and listened to the advice of the shopkeeper. She was already anticipating how it would turn out, and it wouldn't even be decorated to be ready by next Voidsday. And she'd had to pay extra.
Still, Louise now had completed two of the objectives of her quest. Her quest for more quests. She only needed to work on the third now. Becoming a Line mage.
A noise that only she heard heralded the appearance of another rectangle.
Your Vitality has increased.
+1 VIT
And she had to increase her strength too. Taking a gallop that morning had seemed highly effective.
The truth was she'd rather avoid the Academy for a little while. She'd been returning at a rather relaxed pace, but wasn't it a waste of time? She wasn't going to be able to practice in peace if she returned to the Academy and she still had nearly the whole afternoon. Plus, she wasn't tired, but her horse might get. Mind made up, she spurred her horse into a canter.
Louise alternated between a canter and a trot every fifteen or so minutes until she reached the closest village to the Academy, collecting another couples of rectangles. By then, her horse was visibly starting to tire. She patted him on his neck and steered them towards the nearby woodland, following the stream that ran near the village. The commoners here were all more than used to the Academy's students passing by and greeted her heartily, a bit like she was back in her family's lands. Strange how simple commoners treated her more warmly than her peers.
Once in the copse, she dismounted and continued on foot, guiding her mount by the reigns until she reached a nearby clearing of reasonable size but still shadowed by the trees, with clear signs of work done by woodcutters. There, she tied her horse next to the stream and let him rest. The village wasn't quite out of view yet, but there was a good enough distance.
Louise removed her notes from her saddlebag and jotted down the new messages from the words. Counting, she estimated she had gained 10 strength, placing her roughly halfway to her goal. Seeing as she was halfway into the week, it was good progress. Then she picked up the notes she'd taken that morning at the library and started learning new spells, or rather, casting them right for the first time. As she did so, she marked down what the new rectangles said.
She had just finished learning her seventh spell, Whispering Wind, when a new figment appeared along with the usual one that told her she had learned a spell.
Through special actions, you have learned a new Skill.
Learned <Wind Affinity I>!
Louise's eyes widened. She touched the figment.
<Wind Affinity I (Passive)>
Wind is less harsh on your skin. The hint of an affinity for the element of wind.
> +5% Wind Resistance
> +5% Wind Damage
"Yes!" She cried. Finally! She had a wind affinity and just the thought of it made her feel deliriously happy. She danced a little jig around the clearing, then stopped, embarrassed but smiling.
Quickly, she sat down and started transcribing the rectangle. It was on par from what she understood about having an affinity. Stronger spells and the ability demonstrated by powerful mages of being able to deflect their element away from them instinctively. Like her mother. She made a couple of calculations in her head. She had learned ten wind spells, each giving her 10 Wind Affinity. Now she had 100 Wind Affinity, a third of the way to go to Line mage.
But, she hadn't copied down another twenty wind spells. Not that she didn't doubt there were more out there but they were either useless at best or identical to other spells under other names. At least, when it came to Dot spells. The more elements a mage could combine, the more their options opened up. She tapped her quill against her lip. Becoming a better mage wasn't just about learning new spells. It was also about practicing them over and over again, until they could dispense of lengthy incantations and elaborate wand movements to bring their full power to bear. That relied only on time and hard work.
Louise nodded to herself. She would finish trying out the spells she'd written down and then she'd practice those she already knew worked. Fortunately, she thought wryly, she had a handy way of measuring her improvement.
But Louise's plans rarely went as she wanted them to.
After trying out Amplify Voice, a spell to make herself louder, she moved onto the last of the sound-related spell she had, Amplify Sound which did the exact opposite. Technically, it increased the volume of sounds reaching her ears by working in an area around her head. Skilled mages were able to make it happen only around their very ears, or even filter what they wanted to hear. The copse was a good place to practice because it was quiet. So quiet she could distinctively hear her own breathing.
Quiet enough that with the spell, she could clearly detect the breathing of a second person.
) would be about her being too spoiled and it being undignified of a noble. If Louise was more spoiled and unethical she very much could have her own squad of magical ninja and act like that girl from the semi-independent archduchy. 
