Richard continued to say how many years it would approximately take for me to get to the top.
"How many years did it take you to reach your current level?" I asked.
"Ten years," he calmly replied and explained when he saw me bewildered, "I went back in time to when the universe was still developing. At that time, progressing in cultivation is extremely fast."
He waited for some time to let me consume this knowledge, then added, "All of this is achieved when you study the elemental laws of the universe.
"At first, there was only the primordial chaos element, then the two opposing elements of fire and ice were formed. After that, the elements of water, wind, and earth were formed; along with fire, these four are the base and main elements. This brings us to the other laws like darkness, light, lightning, time, space, mind, and many more."
"That makes a lot of laws," I remarked.
"They indeed do."
"Let me guess, you study the law of darkness?"
"I study a lot of elemental laws, but yes mainly the law of darkness."
"So you are saying that every person has an affinity to study a specific law, right?"
Richard nodded.
"Then what's my affinity?" I asked, curious about it. Although deep in my heart, I did know...
"We will discuss that later, Orion," Richard dodged the question. "Come now, I will show you inside the mansion."
And with this, we walked towards the mansion. There were two soldier statues at each side of the wooden door of the mansion, each holding a spear and a shield.
Richard passed without any problem. However, when I was about to step inside, the two statues moved and crossed the spears and spoke in one deep creepy voice, "Only the residents of the mansion shall pass. The Lord is the only one that can make an exception."
I was scared, I won't lie. I looked at Richard nervously as if questioning him about this.
"Ah," Richard said while slapping his forehead, "I forgot about that. I, Richard, the Lord of this house, permit Orion Fistore to enter."
The soldiers returned to their original positions and let me peacefully pass. We entered the mansion; the interior was everything you could imagine a medieval house would look like with some modern furniture. I stood in the open corridor admiring the beauty of the drawings and inscriptions on the walls.
"Starlet," Richard suddenly said, which prompted me to look at him quizzingly.
"Starlet is the spirit and the manager of the mansion," he explained. Suddenly, a middle-aged man appeared out of nowhere. That wasn't teleportation, I have seen how Richard did it.
"Master," the man bowed to Richard and then looked at me curiously like I was an interesting object that needed to be repaired.
"Starlet," Richard said, "meet my new-to-be disciple, Orion Fistore. Give him a tour and then bring him to my office."
He then took the stairs to the second floor of the house leaving me alone with the ghost-like Starlet.
"Um...hi?" I said, not sure of what I should say.
"Come here, son," Starlet said, "I will show you where your room will be and give you a general impression of this house."
We walked through the mansion while Starlet was explaining to me the various rooms: when the mansion was built, how, and why. I didn't know if I was to be surprised by him or myself. I found that kind of interesting, rather than boring.
"Before this mansion was built," he said, "Master and his disciples lived in a nearby castle. However, he decided to gift it to make it as a school for young wizards."
"Oh. So, tell me. What am I supposed to be doing here exactly? Richard didn't explain his intentions clearly."
"Here you learn how to control your power, practice magic, martial arts, care for creatures, potions, and many other activities that will help in your cultivation."
He then showed me my room. Wow. It was definitely big. It was the sort of room I wanted and mostly desired.
Starlet took me after that to a statue of a bird, a phoenix. He spoke a word I couldn't spell - I imagine it is some sort of password - and the phoenix started to rise, and with it round stairs rose.
"This is as far as I go. Good luck, young master Orion," Starlet gave me a bow and disappeared like he was never there to begin with.
I climbed the stairs and entered a room. There was no apparent ceiling, or it was bewitched to look like a starry night sky. There were a lot of shelves and books neatly organized on both sides of the study. Then there was Richard's office and majestic throne-like chair behind it. Both were covering a mat that Richard sat cross-legged on.
When I entered, he stood up and said, "Come." I did as he told me, and the door closed by itself.
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Author Note: updated on 18/4/2024