Early morning.
Jasper Cole arrived at Elder Rowan's house as instructed. The old man was already waiting, a thick brown-red book resting in his hands.
"This contains beginner-level spells," Elder Rowan said. "But before we start, we need to determine your elemental affinity."
He pointed to the floor. "Sit cross-legged. Close your eyes. Empty your thoughts. Then try to sense whether there are tiny points of light around you."
Jasper hesitated. "Is this… meditation?"
Elder Rowan stroked his beard and nodded. "Correct. Meditation is one of the fastest ways to recover willpower, and also a fundamental method of cultivating it."
He continued calmly, "If you sense yellow light, that's Earth. Red is Fire. Green is Wood. Blue is Water. White is Metal. These are the common elements."
Then his eyes sharpened slightly. "Given your willpower aptitude, there's a strong chance you may have a Space affinity."
"Space?" Jasper asked. "What color would that be?"
Instead of answering directly, Elder Rowan turned to a bookshelf and pulled out a thick, worn tome. The moment it left the shelf, it emitted a faint purple glow.
Jasper's eyes widened. "Elder Rowan… that book—don't tell me it's an enchanted book?"
Elder Rowan looked surprised. "You recognize enchanted books as well?"
"Yes," Jasper said carefully. "But… isn't that a monster encyclopedia? What would it be enchanted for?"
At that, Elder Rowan's expression grew serious. "This is no ordinary encyclopedia. Its enchantment attribute is Summoning."
Jasper froze.
Summoning?That wasn't in the game…
"So… what does it do?" he asked.
Elder Rowan opened the book and placed it in midair.
The tome floated.
He spread his hand. "Snow Golem. Summon."
The book flipped through its pages on its own, stopping on a specific illustration. Purple light surged—and a Snow Golem appeared in the room.
Jasper stared, stunned. "That's… incredible. Can you summon other monsters too?"
"Of course," Elder Rowan said. "Any monster you've personally killed can be copied by this book and summoned to fight for you."
He explained evenly, "Summoning I allows up to one hundred monster types, with two copies per type. Summoning II allows one hundred fifty types, five copies each. Summoning III—the highest—allows two hundred types, ten copies each."
Jasper's eyes nearly lit up. He stared at the floating book like it was a divine artifact.
"That's insane! Elder Rowan, couldn't you just hunt powerful monsters and overwhelm Tomas Trell with numbers? Then he wouldn't dare fight you for the village head position."
Elder Rowan rolled his eyes. "You think it's that easy?"
He closed the book. "The stronger the monster, the higher the quality of summoning paper required. A Bronze Tier Zombie requires Bronze-tier paper. An Arcane Tier Zombie requires Arcane-tier paper."
He shook his head. "That kind of paper is rarer than most natural treasures. This book only contains common monsters for a reason."
Jasper nodded, understanding dawning. "I see… then what does this have to do with Space affinity?"
Elder Rowan frowned. "Didn't you notice? When the Snow Golem was summoned, the book emitted purple light—"
"Purple!" Jasper interrupted loudly. "Endermen teleportation uses purple light too! So Space affinity means purple light points, right?"
Elder Rowan's face darkened. "That is correct. But interrupting people is very rude. Don't do it again."
Then he paused. "Still… you know about Endermen?"
"Long story," Jasper muttered.
"Enough," Elder Rowan said. "Meditate. Let's see your affinity."
With a wave of his hand, the Snow Golem was absorbed back into the book. Jasper sat down, crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and entered meditation.
Ten minutes later, Jasper opened his eyes, excitement clear on his face.
Elder Rowan stepped forward eagerly. "Well? Space affinity? Purple?"
Jasper shook his head. "No… it wasn't purple."
He hesitated. "Elder Rowan… is there such a thing as black light? I saw black points. Does that mean some kind of super attribute that devours all others?"
Elder Rowan's expression twisted, cycling rapidly through shock, disbelief, and despair.
Finally, he let out a long sigh and stared at the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle.
"After finally finding a willpower prodigy… your elemental affinity is zero."
Jasper's mind went blank.
"Elementless body," Elder Rowan continued bitterly. "The heavens truly enjoy cruel jokes."
Jasper stood there, stunned. "Then… does that mean cultivating willpower is useless for me?"
"Not useless," Elder Rowan said, his voice calmer now. "Just different."
He explained, "Willpower can still be used for mental detection, as Garrick mentioned. There are also direct willpower attacks—condensing it into tangible force. Killing with a glance isn't a myth."
Jasper listened intently.
"For ordinary people with no willpower cultivation, such attacks are lethal," Elder Rowan said. "Even cultivators are at a disadvantage. While they can resist with qi, you can use willpower to control weapons."
He looked Jasper straight in the eye. "Imagine this: your enemy has two hands. You control three—or five—weapons simultaneously. Overwhelm their defenses. Kill them instantly."
Jasper blinked.
"That… sounds terrifying," he said honestly.
"So," Jasper asked after a moment, "should I still come here to learn magic?"
Elder Rowan shook his head slowly. "Magic requires elemental affinity. Instead, you should study forging with Garrick. Smithing will strengthen your willpower, and you'll be able to craft a weapon that suits you."
He added, "Aim for Bronze Tier, Rank 3 first. Combined with your willpower, dealing with Leatherclad Zombies won't be too dangerous."
Deep beneath the village, a hidden passage opened.
A black-clad figure slipped through the tunnel and emerged inside Tomas Trell's residence. A guard quietly sealed the entrance behind him, restoring the bookshelf as if nothing had happened.
Tomas Trell listened in silence.
"So," he said slowly, eyes gleaming, "the old man wants to nurture that boy… planning to use him against me?"
He sneered. "Fine. Worst case, we both burn. He has his summoning book—but my Piercing Cloud Sword isn't for show either."
He turned to the black-clad man. "You did well."
From his robe, Tomas produced a sheet of paper glowing with purple light—clearly enchanted.
"A Blast Talisman. Your reward."
The black-clad man trembled as he accepted it with both hands. "Thank you, master. I swear my life to your service."
Tomas waved him away. "Go."
Low, twisted laughter echoed through the hidden chamber.
"Heh… heh… heh…"