While Greg could understand her reasoning, he was also aware of the other reason that the healer hadn't mentioned. To get the corrections for the sigil from Olivia's original, she had already agreed that she would never reveal the sigil to anyone else. She was allowed to make use of the sigil so long as she lived. This brilliant discovery, however, would die with the healer. Even at the height of her power, it would have been a very bad idea for the healer to try and cross the primordial. In the damaged state that she was presently in, it would be simply suicidal. As such, even if her words turned out to be a lie and she didn't truly trust Greg, it wasn't like she had much choice in the matter. Greg was the only person in the world that the healer could turn to with this issue without breaking her agreement with the primordial. "Can it even be done?" Greg couldn't help but ask, still not believing what he was hearing.
"Normally, It should be impossible for someone at a lower tier to dissolve the core and mana pathways of someone at a higher tier than themselves. My core and mana pathways, however, are already close to if not over ninety percent damaged, it shouldn't take much for you to be able to slowly and carefully break down what little remains. Normally, one should have at least two powerful mages that can help in the process of dissolution along with two powerful healers to heal any damage that may be suffered during the process. Given the circumstances, however, we don't have the luxury of choice. If you agree to the request, I'll use the time between now and when your foundations are fully formed and stabilized to train you as much as I possibly can in the healing arts," The healer said, finally laying out the reasoning behind her request in its entirety.
Rather than immediately answer the healer, Greg turned to his familiar. "Why are you so objected to this request? What would happen if I chose to pursue a school of magic I don't have any affinity with?" he asked. There was no accusation in either his voice or demeanor. Greg was genuinely curious to get Olivia's input on the whole matter. Although Greg could understand having an affinity with a certain school of magic, he couldn't understand why he couldn't succeed at another school so long as he put in the requisite effort.
"Magic is a race, Master. As a mage, you'll be racing against two major factors. The first of the two, naturally, is time. You don't have forever to rise through the tiers master. The exact reason for it is as yet unknown, but between two mages of the same tier with the same affinity to a certain school of magic, the younger mage will almost always have an easier time rising to the next tier compared to the older mage. As such, even though rising to a higher tier will add a certain number of cycles to your life, it doesn't mean you have all those cycles to break through to the next tier. The generally accepted time allotment is a quarter in the lower tiers, a third in the middle tiers, and a half in the upper tiers. That is, between the first and third tier, you should take only a quarter of the time each tier gives you to break through to the next tier. Between the fourth and the sixth tier, you should only take a third of the time each new tier gives you to rise to the next tier. At tier seven and up, you should aim to only use half of the time you get for each new gain in tier to rise to the next tier. The older you get and the longer you linger in any given tier, the more of your potential you lose as a mage. Consequently, it becomes harder for you to break through higher tiers," Olivia explained.
"The other factor that you'll be racing against in your journey as a mage, is other mages! The simple harsh reality of the magic world is that there simply aren't enough resources for everyone to advance to the next tier. The natural consequence of this state of things is that the competition to get resources is rather harsh and unrelenting. And the higher the tier you rise to, the more sharply this scarcity will rise and the bloodier the conflicts right up until you reach the seventh tier. By this time most mages are part of an organization or have made their own that views them as a strategic reserve that is not easily expended. They can thus pull back on the fighting and focus more on their particular school of magic.
On average, however, it takes between six hundred and a thousand cycles for most mages to make it to the seventh tier. And for every mage that made it to this tier, more than fifty thousand others didn't. Some were fully tapped out of all potential, and others too badly injured to risk trying a breakthrough. Most, however, became corpses either from ambushing another mage for their resources or for trying to protect their resources from other mages that would try to take it from them. Every seventh-tier mage you encounter, no matter how benign looking they may seem, is probably up to their eyeballs in the blood of others," Olivia relayed. Some small part of Greg had been expecting the healer to try and object and claim otherwise. There was, however, barely any reaction from her. It's as if they just heard someone say that the sky is blue, just a simple acceptance of a spoken truth.
"The reason affinity is so important is that it not only determines where you start in that race but likely also where you'll end up. Someone with just a decent affinity for a given school of magic will start the race with their feet on the ground. Someone with a spectacularly high affinity for that same school will be starting that race with their feet high in the air. Whereas, someone with a mediocre affinity for a given school such as what you have for the earth element, starts that same race already knees deep in the mud. Not only will you take much longer to cover the same distance as the other two, but you'll also expend much more effort to do the same compared to the other two," Olivia continued with the explanation.
And as if that wasn't bad enough, the effect that any given affinity gives in terms of helping you gain insights into the intricacies of that type of magic declines the higher the tier you rise to. In other words, it's like all three of you are descending a set of stairs. A step forward will cause the mud to rise to halfway between your knees and waist, another step and you'll be waist-deep in the mud. Meanwhile, the one who started with their feet on the ground is only now knee-deep in the mud like you were back in the first tier. To add insult to injury, the one that started with their feet in the air may still have their feet in the air or be coming into contact with the ground at this point," She stated.
"Crude as the example may have been, I believe it captures the essence of what affinity for a given school of magic will mean for your journey as a mage. Your poor affinity for the earth element already disadvantages you as it is. Much as I'd like to paint a more optimistic picture, with your affinity, chances are even getting to the fourth or fifth tier will require an all-out, teeth-gritting effort from you, and even then, it's not a given that you'll reach it. Should you choose to do what she's asking of you and shift over to the school of life to become a healer, then you won't just be starting knee-deep in the mud, you'll be up to your shoulders in the mud trying to wade forward in a form of magic for which you have no affinity," she cautioned.
"That's why I reacted so negatively to her request. In the race against time and other mages, the slower you are, the more at a disadvantage you are. In this game, the score is kept in terms of how many life-and-death fights and situations you manage to survive, and should you happen to lose, even once, then it's game over. Make no mistake, master, your teacher's words were exactly correct. It's an extremely selfish thing for her to ask of you! It's like cutting you off at the knees before you even begin!" Olivia stated.
Greg was silent for a long while, unsure what to make of the healer's request now that he'd been given this new slate of information. A part of him couldn't help but feel slightly upset with the healer for asking for such a monumental thing from him. On the other hand, another part of him was grateful for the fact that, rather than trying to manipulate him, the healer had asked for Olivia to be present. What Greg understood about affinity had turned out to be worlds apart from what it actually was. For him, affinity was little more than inclination towards a certain school of magic and nothing more. That it would have such a drastic effect on one's path of magic was something he wouldn't have guessed on its own. Had the familiar not been there to paint the right picture Greg could have easily made the wrong decision in ignorance of what he was setting himself up for. "That's a tough ask," Greg finally turned to his teacher, voicing the only thing that was going through his mind at that moment.
"I know," The healer answered simply, not trying to argue against any of what the familiar had said. "If it helps in your decision-making, know that I do not intend to let you suffer a loss on my account. You may not have that much affinity with the school of life, but I am a healer at the seventh tier. I have walked this path before and given my penchant for magic research in this area, I will teach you all that I can and guide you on how to make your way through the tiers. In this world, few things are certain, seeing as anything can happen. However, Take this as the closest thing to certainty you will ever get, I will do everything in my power to bring you up to the fifth tier as a healer," The woman promised. Greg could see the resolve in the woman's eyes. These weren't just empty words for her. She intended to do everything within her power to see him rise to the fifth tier.
