At the mont Lian turned back, ready to leave, a very familiar, almost traumatic sound echoed in his ears.
"Damn, damn!"
Without waiting a mont longer, he gathered all his strength to escape as quickly as possible.
"I knew it, damn it, I am too unlucky, but how does one stay quiet?! I almost always think out loud!"
Lian continued to curse while crushing the stone fragnts of the statues without thinking twice, even risking tripping over a jagged shard that glead faintly in the dim light.
The familiar sound began to grow louder, but Lian had already reached halfway through the path to exit the tower.
"Not much further, co on!" he repeated, his eyes betraying his growing anxiety. From that distance, he could almost see the light coming from outside.
Almost…
At the mont Lian reached the doors, a thudding sound made him stop abruptly. "Fuck!" he exclaid, watching the doors slam shut with a bang that sent a cloud of ancient dust swirling around him.
The sound of cracking and falling rock stopped at the sa mont the door closed.
"I am screwed-" he murmured as he turned, his frightened eyes and his gaunt, trembling body.
Lian swallowed hard, his heart pounding in his chest. "Not again… not another monster…" he thought, backing away until he bumped against the closed doors. The trauma he thought he had overco was still there, ready to gnaw at him every ti a statue ca to life with an eerie, grinding noise.
The dust cleared, revealing the human figure Lian had seen in the statue.
The figure shook off the last remnants of stone, revealing a tall, slender man with a tattered robe that seed woven from threads of pure mana shimring with a faint, ethereal glow. His gray hair reached his shoulders, and his eyes… well, his eyes glowed with a strange color, a mix of red, brown, green, and blue, as if they reflected all the elents of the world.
The man, or whatever he was, raised a hand, and Lian stiffened, ready to cast a desperate spell as beads of sweat trickled down his temple.
But instead of attacking, the figure smiled, a calm and wise smile that made Lian shudder more than any roar.
"Calm down, boy," said the man with a deep, resonant voice, echoing like the wind through the mountains carrying a faint scent of ancient forests. "I am not here to harm you. At least, not at this mont."
Lian blinked, confused. "A monster that speaks?"
It was not that they did not exist; it was just that Lian was too weak for monsters with that level of intelligence.
The man laughed, a low, booming laugh that made the tower walls vibrate and sent a faint tremor through the stone floor. "Monster? No, boy, I am not a monster." He said, shaking his head. "They called a sage."
"A sage?" asked Lian with even more confusion. He had never heard of this path… but that was obvious, given Lian's nonexistent academic conditions.
"Oh, I see. You do not know…" he replied in a calm tone as he continued. "A sage is one who has a strong affinity with the four basic elents."
Lian stared at him thoughtfully. Speaking of affinity, Lian did not know his own. He had not had ti to take any test before being catapulted into an unstable Gate.
However, judging by what he was experiencing, Lian could control three of the four basic elents with… maximum affinity? He did not feel limited in any way when using fire, nor earth or air.
The only elent he lacked was water, but judging by how he had unlocked the other forms, Lian would unlock the water form with his next breakthrough if he could survive long enough to achieve it.
Observing the human not responding, the sage continued. "Having an affinity with the four elents is a rare thing. In my ti, very few beings could be called sages." His tone was always calm as he explained things to Lian.
"In contrast, there were many with dual or triple affinities, or even with unique affinities tied to very peculiar elents. But none of them could be considered on the sa level as a sage. Do you know why?"
Lian, who had listened silently to the man's words all this ti, hesitated for a mont before responding. "I would not know…"
Very wise words, indeed.
Another small laugh echoed in the room. "Knowing that you do not know. Well done, you are not an arrogant type, you know when to respond and when to stop."
Lian stared at the sage with an expression mixed with embarrassnt and concern. He did not know how to behave as his fingers nervously fidgeted with the hem of his worn robe.
"Sages are considered the strongest due to their ability to create uniqueness with the combination of the four elents. All other elents are, in so way, a combination of the basic elents."
Pausing for a mont, the sage continued. "Now, let us not waste more ti. I have observed you and can understand that you have an affinity for the four elents. You will be my successor." His tone was firm. He would not accept a no as an answer.
"You only need to show your abilities with the water elent. I do not understand why you have not used it yet." The man said finally, crossing his arms over his chest.
Lian hesitated, his brain racing. Seeing the hesitation on the boy's face, the sage stared at him intensely. "What is it, boy? Does sothing trouble you?"
Lian simply nodded while saying in a calm tone. "I need a little ti before I can be able to use the water elent…"
The sage did not respond imdiately, calculating sothing in his mind as his eyes flickered with a knowing glint. After a few seconds, he smiled at Lian. "You have one week. If in this week you do not show the water elent, consider the challenge failed."
Challenge? Lian thought with a blank expression.
But before the boy could respond, the sage said a few words before turning back into stone with a faint shimr of mana rippling across his form.
"Ti is running. Show the water elent, face in battle, and this scroll containing the secrets of the world will be yours!"
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