A morning breeze blew softly. Sunlight bathed the valley beneath towering mountains.Within those mountains sat a crystal cavern, its glow tinged with dark purple. A few figures stood inside, gathered around an altar at the center.
At the cavern’s entrance, a burst of flame had scorched its way in, as if to devour the mountain itself. The man in the bird mask and black cloak staggered forward.
“Whoah — look who’s arrived,” a young man said loudly.
“Look at him — he must have just come from a fight,” replied a broad-shouldered man.
“Hahaha — he’s even missing an arm,” a girl laughed merrily.
“Hm. Who could wound him like that?” a hooded man in white asked softly.
While the group jeered, another voice cut through in a shout.
“Silence, all of you!!” cried the man seated upon the crystal. “Hey — how did you end up so badly injured that you lost an arm? The same man who can erase a city in a day, right, Leze?” His tone was heavy, his voice trembling.
“Ha… damn it. Why are you all making so much noise?”
The masked man removed his mask with his remaining hand. His face was almost entirely covered in burn scars; his eyes burned red, and his hair was a dark, tousled mass.
“Seize this,” he said.
“!” the man on the crystal reflexively shouted. “What is that? Why did you bring a children’s storybook here?”
“That’s no ordinary book. Look at the middle pages — study the blank sheet carefully. And don’t underestimate me, Nostarik.”
Nostarik, surprised, opened the book. “Hah… this is a Primordial Rune. Hahahaha — where did you get this?”
“From a servants’ house inside the Skylark estate.”
!
Everyone in the cavern fell silent in shock.
“You— you infiltrated the Skylark residence!” Nostarik exclaimed.
“No,” the masked man replied. “I blew up their servants’ quarters. Yes, I lost my left hand for it, and I failed to kill their eldest son.”
!!
“You’re insane!” everyone shouted at once.
Nostarik, still disbelieving, could only shake his head. “Haah — that truly is you. Very well! Waste no more time — shall we begin the ritual?”
...
At the ruins of the servants’ quarters.
“It’s gone… The book Mother gave me is gone.”
The book I used to read when I was little—the first gift she ever gave me—had vanished.
“Where could it be? I kept it somewhere safe, hidden under other books. What should I tell her? I promised I’d take good care of it… but…”
Suddenly, I remembered—the book that the masked man was holding.
But why would he take a children’s storybook? Was there something hidden inside it?
“Haah… this is confusing. Why do more and more problems keep coming my way?”
Well, for now, I should look for that book Mother gave me, and thankfully, the sword she gifted me is still intact.I’ll have to ask her about that book tonight.
Later that night, we stayed at an inn in the middle of Skylark territory.We couldn’t keep sleeping in the medical wing, and Mother’s relatives still hadn’t replied to her message.
Mother had gone out to buy food.That meant it was the perfect time for me to study the book I bought during our trip here—the one about mana control.In the first chapter, there was a section about magic affinity.
Magic affinity refers to the element that becomes linked to a person’s mana.That element determines the user’s primary magic.Usually, your affinity depends on the conditions during your first mana absorption.
To test it, you use a glass of water—Place your hand above it and channel mana into your palm.The water’s molecules will react depending on your affinity.
For example, if your affinity is fire, the water will heat and boil.If it’s water, the volume will increase.
This test only works for basic elements: wind, earth, water, fire, lightning, and nature.As for the advanced elements, they can only be identified using a Sphere Ignite,a tool that peers into a person’s Claim Seal.
But since that kind of item can only be found in special places, I could only rely on the first method.
“Alright, I’m ready. I just need to place my hand above the glass… and channel my mana.Okay… focus. Close your eyes. Absorb the mana around you… make it flow through you… and release it through your body’s channels.”
A few minutes later—
That should’ve done it properly, but…
“Why… why did the water freeze instead?”
ChatGPT bilang:
“What… what kind of magic element did I get? Is it… ice?” I muttered, still staring at the frozen glass. “But as far as I know, you can only gain the ice element after consuming the core of a monster that also has ice affinity— and that monster has to be at least of continental rank. But I don’t remember ever eating something like that. Why do I keep getting more questions instead of answers…”
I sighed and lay down on the floor. “What’s really happening to my body?”
Outside my room, I heard the sound of footsteps.I immediately realized it was Mother, so I quickly cleaned up everything I had been doing.
Creek — the door opened with a soft squeak.
“Ah, Yinzu? You’re still awake, dear?”
“Mom! I—I’m not asleep yet. I was just reading the book I bought earlier today.”
“Oh, I see. Well then, come on—let’s eat.”
“Okay, Mom.”
“Ahhh… I’m so full. The food was really delicious.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
“Yes, thank you, Mom.”
“Mhm, you’re welcome.”
Mother began clearing the table and throwing out the scraps.At that moment, I gathered the courage to ask.
“Mom…”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember the first book you gave me when I was little?”
“Of course I do. That was when you had just learned to walk—barely a month old.”
“Haha, yeah… but that book—it’s gone.”
“Gone? Oh, I see.”
“I’m sorry, Mom… I couldn’t take care of it properly.”
“Ah, it’s alright. It was just an old book anyway, and since it was in the fire, it must have been burned.”
“I know, but… it wasn’t burned. I saw someone take it—the man who attacked the servants’ quarters yesterday.”
“What? Taken?”
“Yes. He took it just before blowing up the house.Mom… was there something inside that book—something I didn’t know about?”
Mother fell silent. Her eyes locked onto mine, the air between us thick with unease and confusion.