First came the basics.
I held the blade until my arms ached and my fingers bled. When it stopped feeling like a tool and started feeling like a limb, he approved, not wasting any time before sending me to the next task:
Hunting.
I learned about tracking animals, reading trails, finding water, identifying safe food, mimicking animal sounds, and even butchering.
It seemed I had a knack for this as Fang praised me often, claiming I had even more talented than him.
Afterwards…
He made me sit in embers.
I learned about pain.
Surprisingly, I had a knack for that, too.
Still…
'Status Open.'
≡ RUNES . . [Second Wind] >
'Without this rune, I'd have surely died.'
This minor rune continuously grants health regeneration, a supernatural healing factor. It's one of the reasons Fang suspects I inherited his resilience. Yeah, Fang has crazy healing… yet he's covered in scars. Kind of contradictory—I'm not sure I believe him.
Snap!
My right arm dislocated. Bones and muscles twisted backward. My body reacted before my mind could and tried to wrench itself back into place. A chill of pain shot through me as I gritted my teeth.
Fang opened his mouth:
"…Not even a sound, huh."
I felt the cool relief of the rune wash over the pain. Its comfort was instant, but the healing was slow.
Crack.
Now my left arm.
Slowly and sadistic this time.
I moved through the pain like mist, resisting with everything I had. Fang let out a single laugh and said I didn't belong in a human body.
And just like that,
My routine continued.
.
.
.
Four years later.
WOOSH!
The blurred reflection of a book stretched across the water as it soared as far as my eye could see.
"...Useless toilet paper."
In all those years of immense effort and pain, the book on the teachings of fire had filled me with hope. I thought I was talented... I had consumed the book at immense speed, only to reach an abrupt halt in my growth.
"Why can't I do it?"
Yet, I had to admit, the book indeed brought me far. Just not far enough to pass the first stage.
Oh well, at least I achieved something.
I bent my knees by the water's edge and dove my hands in. The water trembled; bubbles rose to the surface as bright blue flames ignited from my palms. A warm feeling.
By utilizing [Clarity] to meditate and contemplate, my flames had somehow become blue, a rare trait. They were hot enough to burn even underwater.
...But what's the point? I have to reach lightning level to become a Master.
I extinguished the flames and stood up. At the Master rank, the benefits in the capital were endless. People often said that only at that level did one's journey as an elementalist truly begin.
They speak of Ixaocan like it's heaven.
I shook my head. "Typical low-elos."
Shhf.
I heard the crisp crunch of distant footsteps on the grass.
"Hey, Ne'Rakcha!"
I turned and saw three black-haired girls in deep-blue robes walking toward me.
My sisters. From different mothers.
"What do you want?" I asked.
Mapaka, the oldest, shook her head.
"As usual," she lifted her chin, her crown-braided hair catching the sunlight. "Greet your superiors first." Lips curved into a smile.
"Hmm..." Tapping her silver ring twice against her chin, she studied me like a rare painting.
"Aren't you getting a bit too handsome?" she said—more a warning than a compliment—and briefly compared our heights. Same height.
The middle one, Ne'Ravi, crossed her arms and muttered with a squinted glance,
"Mom says he looks like Dad... but she exaggerates. Fathers's hair more wild. Your is almost silkier than mine."
She ran her fingerless-gloved hand through her curls, stretched down to her shoulders with a boing back.
"So unfair."
Ne'Zani, the lax youngest, yawned while hugging her moth plush, which was as big as her.
"Yeah, and his eyes are too intense," she mumbled. Her hair brushed the ground as she tightened her hold.
"Must be from not sleeping well—yawn."
"..."
"Spit out what you want already. I'm busy."
Ravi rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to speak when Mapaka cut her off:
"Elder Ghero said he finished installing what you instructed. He wants you to come check it out,"
Ravi gave a sidelong glance, clearly annoyed.
'Oh, right. That should be today.'
'Teaching that geezer took weeks. If he failed again I'll make him eat his hand.'
I once worked at a supplement shop, so I knew that without proper nutrition I could never grow stronger. So I maxed my growth by consuming the appropriate nutrients.
A simple thing indeed.
'But even that took changes.'
I pushed the three aside and walked past, leading the way.
One was annoyed. The oldest expected it.
"Yawn—Can't we rest a little?" muttered the youngest, rubbing her eyes.
…We left the lake.
Passing through the village, I realized that most of the houses had changed.
The simple indigenous straw huts from before were now much larger, with internal divisions, windows, and even rudimentary furniture.
The structures were held up by wooden stakes and waterproofed with a roof made of foliage and clay.
'To think it all started because my bed annoyed me.'
Residents who noticed us greeted. Adults bowed respectfully; kids waved enthusiastically.
We kept walking, and soon most houses were behind us.
We finally arrived at what I call "the farming sector."
The wind blew in waves across the grass and the planted fields as we marched alongside the water stream; a stream fed by a nearby spring. Carefully positioned rocks split the current into different channels.
It was close to what an irrigation system should be.
A grizzled man carrying a sack of fertilizer approached and raised his hand.
"Rakcha! Everything is growing like a plague! I never thought shit could be so useful!"
Literally. I said it, and they laughed. Now they mix shit into clay as if it was gold.
'At first, when the fields dried, they performed weird rituals. But now they just turn the valve.'
The shame of partaking in such a ridiculous culture pushed me to make a few changes.
Now that I look at it—was quite a lot actually.
…We finally arrived at our destination.
I sidestepped a chicken as I approached; the strong smell of smoked meat grew stronger and stronger.
My stomach growled.
'I'm getting hungry.'
The animals were tricky to convince. They were too used to hunting them, not raising them.
'Easy to feed and fast to grow.'
They also provide meat, eggs, and feathers.
'One of the must-haves.'
I needed protein.
Big hunts were a sign of celebration, but the meat I was getting wasn't nearly enough.
To make it worse these people even have a weird custom of splitting the gains three ways: elders, the family, and only then to self.
'I couldn't accept that.'
I stepped inside the hut.
The smokehouses were simple; a constant fire, grills made of bamboo. This allowed them to store meat longer without spoiling.
The old man, thick-armed with a belly like a sack of rice, wiped his hands on a greasy cloth and stepped forward, eyes already sparkling.
"Oho! There he is!" he shouted, a wide grin stretching across his face. "Took you long enough. Come, come. Look at this masterpiece!"
He waved his hand as if showing off a treasure chest.
After a moment, he leaned in, his voice dropping into something more calculated:
"We could present this technique, you know. Not for free, of course. The Yun's… they'd reward us well. Just think about it. How much prestige would we get?"
I just stared at him.
A jungle, isolationist society is more selfish than I expected.
He scratched his chin.
"…Course, all in the interest of our people," he added quickly, with a sly grin. "But if my name ends up in the records, I won't complain."
"..."
He's getting ahead of himself again.
Maybe I should get rid of him.
.
.
A few days later, as the final test approached. Something unusual happened.
What was it? Well,
I've basically finished my torturous training with Fang, now all is left is a final test. Practical one. Hunting a beast.
After gathering information about it, hunting it, then my plan was just go to the capital.
But as I walked the villa, I heard something unexpected.
A rumor was spreading, a kind of warning:
"Watch the ninth."
This started circulating because two of the most powerful Yuns had their ninth child. She's now eleven. Same as me.
At only seven she showed an unbelievable potential: All seven elemental affinities.
And by the age of eleven, she also demonstrated an high understanding of Earth, and an impressive view of Water—Mastering both.
I'll say this again: She's eleven. And contrary of me, she's not a transmigrated person with a cheat. Imagine the talent?
Expectations were sky-high.
And the girl in question,
of course,
is Qiyana.