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°•○● Elementa – The Tale of Immortality – Book 1 - Chapter 4 / T
"Shocking News" °•○●
Monk still kept his hand on Ren's stomach as both the boys and Diana awaited what the Clan chief would say. He suddenly withdrew his hand and turned his head to Diana and spoke with a confused expression. "Can you look at his body too?"
Without any idea of what was going on, Diana hurried over to Ren and held out her hand. Her face turned serious the moment her fingers touched Ren's body. She closed her eyes and grimaced as if concentrating on a difficult task.
Looking at the sweet face of the girl nearby, Ren thought that when she opened her eyes, she would give him very good news. He already thought he was 100% capable to be a warrior from Monk's reaction. And he waited, thinking he was approaching in magic path too. But things didn't go as he expected.
Shaking her head, the girl looked at Ren, then the Clan chief, with confused eyes. "What is this?"
Ren had to ask, with a fear slowly forming inside him. "I can be a warrior, right?"
Both Diana and the Clan head Monk looked at each other and exchanged a few seconds' glances to be honest with Ren. Finally, the older man, who had more control over the matter, had to step forward and say the truth.
The clan chief spoke, looking at Ren with a negative expression.
"There's something huge in your stomach. Speaking from my previous experience, you shouldn't be able to stand up right now, let alone being a warrior.
Son. That thing in your stomach should have killed you by now!"
As everyone fell silent, Ren realized what he had heard after a few seconds. Things were not going as he expected. Everything was so bad. It was worse than he could ever imagine.
Ren was a strange boy. For example, he always remembered his dreams. He had an extraordinary cooking skill. While her mother was cooking, he would always choose something small from somewhere and add it to the meals. What he did always yielded good results. Or he always worked with his father in the garden and liked hard-working with his hands in dirt.
Among his God-given traits like this, the strongest aspect that allowed him to enjoy life was his calmness. Because of this trait and higher level of observation, he was better at cooking, gardening or remembering dreams than his peers.
For example, although he had fallen into a dark cave, he didn't go crazy with fear, and by listening to the voices, he realized that there was nothing inside and burned his clothes. It took only a few minutes until he found himself a light. Because he had a logical mind, he could think quickly and produce logical conclusions.
If he had a disease, he could also destroy it, right? And if he could become a mage, he could also learn techniques and spells to heal himself. Was it important that it was a difficult road full of unknowns? He just had to. He didn't care about the rest.
He turned his head and looked at Diana.
"My mother is a mage. Can you check if I have a chance to be a mage, too?"
Diana couldn't make out anything from the expression on the boy's face. There was nothing, as waiting to be met with panic or fear.
He quickly placed his hand on Ren's forehead, since he was already by his side. Without waiting too long, he nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, you have a chance. But if you're thinking of healing yourself with magic, it's very difficult. Spells that allow you to heal yourself are difficult to obtain and require at least being a very powerful Element Master. And you..."
The girl did some calculations and measured Ren's body.
"You can only reach level 1 with your current talent by working for years. You need to spend even more time to progress from that level. You may not even see magician's level 4 for the rest of your life.
Ren took a moment to digest what he had heard, then looked up at the Clan chief and spoke. Two children and two adults in that playground, four people in total, froze at Ren's unusual calmness, waiting for what the boy would say. Like some kind of trance, they waited for Ren to open his mouth.
"I don't know how serious the thing in my stomach. But I want to try to be a mage until I get rid of it or it kills me. You may not want to train someone who is sick and near death, but if you give me a chance, I'll pay you back in full when I get better in the future! We are a family of businessmans. This looks like gumble but please give me a chance."
Ren's words were unreasonable. After all, in a world where those born with the disease are ignored and often thrown out by their families. They lived in a world where being strong and healthy meant "everything". And there was a very small chance that Ren would not even be kicked out of the clan, let alone training.
But the Clan chief also knew Ren's mother. Ren's mother, Aya, was the only mage in the Clan. None of those who had progressed along all the other sorcery paths were even level 2. So, in another words, there was no one else in the Clan who could be properly called a mage except his mother.
The rest were warriors. Moreover, even the strongest of them, the Clan chief, was only level 6. Other than himself, he had few people he could trust to run things in the clan. Of these, Ren's mother was the one who did the most and spoke the least. Oddly enough, she was a practical and intelligent woman who always did things to her best. The most striking aspect of her was that she received a fixed salary and never asked for much.
Even the clan chief had begun to entrust the clan's most important resources to her without fear.
Now, instead of leaving the son of such a functional woman to die, it wasn't hard to do a little favor to a child who was already going to die. The clan chief, Monk, calculated in a few seconds and decided that it was best to give this boy a chance. He nodded, smiling, acting as if he was a benevolent angel.
"Okay, whatever you want. I'll let you take magic lessons. You'll get your initial training from Diana. The Xarnin clan, with whom we have closest relations, has many wizards unlike us. After spending some time with Diana, you should have personal tutors based on your future development. Adjustments will be made for you as well."
After Ren, Monk added, staring for a moment at the very promising Sirius and the skinny Munaka next to him. "Your training begins with Martin on the worksite behind the armory. Go and meet your warrior teacher without wasting any time." There was pity in the eyes of the Clan chief, who looked at Ren one last time as there was nothing left to do. He turned his back and walked away.
With the infected part in Ren's stomach and the sinister bad feeling he got from that area, he was sure Ren would die soon.
After the clan chief Monk left, little Sirius and Munaka rushed away excitedly. Ren turned his eyes away from the two boys, who were quickly walking away, to the restless girl beside him. His voice was cold from the news he had just received.
"I don't have time to waste for years. Can we talk about how you started witchcraft, and move on to practical matters today?"
He knew, of all that he had heard from his mother, sorcery training begins at first through theoretical studies to develop the mind. And this training usually take too much time in Ren's case.
Diana felt bad as she saw the eyes of an excited child turn into those of a cold adult in a matter of minutes. But she nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, lets begin today."
...
As a very young girl, Diana didn't feel ready to face the harsh realities she does now. She was sent here because she was considered talented in her clan as a level 2 mage at only twelve years old.
But as she looked into Ren's eyes, she shook her head and thought to herself. "Whether I'm ready or not, I want to help this boy. Besides, his mother is very important." she thought and started walking.
Ren's mother was skilled in the very rare element "Mental". While mages can control every element to a small extent, they can control the elements they are prone to dozens of times better, and Ren's mother, Aya, was unique in this regard. In Diana's clan, it was said that Aya could do things other mages couldn't, with just her mental strength. That's why Diana, looking at Ren, felt like someone helping her idol's child.
..
Ren followed her, wondering how he could tidy the situation with a thousand thoughts in his head.
He had already realized that he had no chance of achieving his dreams. And he digested it was almost impossible to live like a normal person. He was dying!
"What exactly is in my stomach?"
Although Diana found it strange that someone younger than her was talking to herself by saying "you", she remained silent. She understood that the boy had changed spiritually after receiving the news of his death. So she thought about how to respond. Distorting the truth wouldn't change anything after all.
"The "thing" in your stomach is some kind of disease. But not exactly a disease. You have exactly a diseased piece of flesh in your chest that starts from the bottom of your heart and covers the upper part of your stomach completely. I don't understand why it's not affecting your body right now. But once it starts taking action, it will only take seconds to kill you!"
It took some time for Ren to digest what he had heard. For several minutes he didn't answer or show any other reaction. After a while, they left the clan's villa and entered a wooded area. This was a sweet grove right behind the villa. It was a place Ren had often come to pass time before. As the weather got a little warmer at that moment, they sat on the edge of a woodland, unaffected by the wind.
Two child sat facing each other.
Ren absentmindedly digested the thing in his stomach and nodded. After all, it wasn't something that would go away on its own with being afraid or upset. It was a disease and he could beat it. When Ren's eyes finally started to look more normal, Diana began training.
[I would expect an eight-year-old boy to start crying and run home. He's a weird.]
Diana raised her right hand and held it in the air. Holding her palms up, she waited a few seconds. At first, Ren couldn't understand what the girl was doing. But then little sparks appeared in the girl's palms. In less than a second, a small fire appeared!
"I am a level 2 fire mage who has almost reached level 3. I can create fire, the element with which my body is most attuned, and I can bend it and destroy it as well." While Diana was speaking, she also moved the fire in her hand, then destroyed it as she finished her sentence.
It was a big hit for a little boy like Ren. Deciding that the coolest thing he'd ever seen was happening right before his eyes, Ren suddenly decided that mages couldn't be too weak. After the latest news, he wanted to forget his dreams of being a warrior.
Seeing the fire vanish into nothingness, Ren didn't stop looking at her hands in admiration. Although he knew his mother was a level 4 mage, he had never seen such things from her.
"Now what do you think I'm using to create this fire, Ren?"
While waiting for an answer, Diana reached out her left hand and lit another fire. The fire from her hands didn't seem to hurt her skin, so Ren looked at the fire in awe before answering. "I don't know. You may be using energy, but my mom didn't tell me what kind of energy it is."
Indeed, Aya had told him at dinner that every wizard controls energy. But she didn't go into details.
"Energy. Yes, I use energy, and the energy I use is called "nature energy" or "Ki". This energy is softer but broader as we integrate with nature as sorcerers. And sorcerers call the energy they produce as "Yang Ki". On the contrary, ignoring nature. The energy used by Warriors who focus on their own bodies is "Yin Ki". Our energy is warm and calm and their energy is strict and bitter. (like acid and bases..)
"Both sides use two different parts of a path that the gods allowed and taught humans. Both mages and warriors generate and evolve their own unique energy in their bodies. But it takes a process to generate that energy."
Ren tried to write these words into his mind in a way he would never forget.
"First of all, you take the energy from nature. Then you pass it through a filter in your body's dantian and process it according to the energy technique you use. This energy that you process and obtain is the most important part in the improvement and evolution of both mages and warriors."
Ren nodded, as if to show that he understood everything. And he hinted that Diana could move on.
"At the end of this process, sorcerers collect the energy they produce at a certain point of their body. That is, in the Dantian region, which is under our stomach. The energy directed to this region doesn't immediately disperse and begins to accumulate. And this accumulation process also represents the beginning of sorcery."
At this point, Ren was confused.
"I don't quite understand the difference between a mage and a warrior. If both sides are generating energy and using it, can't both sides use each other's abilities?"
Diana smiled. "A mage deposits all his energy in a single spot of his body. This point is a sacred area just below the navel that the gods have allowed to form in some people. From the moment a mage reaches level 1, he can store energy in this area below his belly. And as the energy increases, this region evolves and evolves over time. Increases the amount of energy the mage can store and his total power over the elements. But..!"
"This process is different in warriors. Although they draw energy from nature and process this energy, they can't accumulate this energy and have to distribute it to their bodies. In fact, because of the similarity of this process, it is generally very likely that a warrior will become a mage and a mage will be a warrior. Or in the later stages they suddenly start to be able to do other training method.
Those who are prone to only one-side are less likely to emerge. It is an interesting topic talked between high level people, but no one knows why some people have a sided talent."
"For example, if it weren't for the disease in your stomach, you could be both warrior and witchcraft prone. But only the individuals determine how skilled they are at which one. Your friend Munaka is the strange one in the magic world, not Sirius."
"They are not my friends."
"Ok. They lets move on. Their warriors also have extra states. They require painful training and a lot of hard work, which are not entirely energy related. Also, the energy-work that they have to do every day spreads all their energies throughout their bodies in general. and develops according to how much energy the muscles and bones take in. At each level, the body's total strength, stamina, movement speed and even healing speed increase.
In fact, the most important feature that distinguishes warriors from mages is that they live longer. With their healtier and upgraded bodies!"
After hearing that, Ren, who couldn't help feeling jealousy, was so sad now. He secretly wanted to be a warrior. But now he was heartbroken when the path he most admired was completely closed for him.
"Then do warriors are better than magicians or have a big advantage over mages?"
Diana smiled a little and winked. "Do you really think that mages don't have any advantages to even the scores? Mages are a group that is more intertwined with nature as their level rises. That's why they can tame animals and even wild beasts. There are mages who can constantly extend their life span, defeat all diseases and fly, thanks to the spells they cast on themselves.
Ren stood, mouth open. "Flying - beating diseases - taming animals - constantly prolonging your life!"
Bunlar Ren için çok uçuk ve heyecanlı şeylerdi. Aslında Diana içinde öyleydi. Ama küçük kız sonuçlarını hiç düşünmeden karşısındaki 8 yaşındaki çocuğa çok ulaşılmaz şeyler anlatıyordu. Eğer biraz düşünseydi ölmekte olan küçük bir çocuğa bu kadar imkansız seviyesinde neredeyse hayali şeyler anlatmazdı. Mesela en basitinden kendi büyücülük klanındaki en güçlü kişi bile uçamıyordu.
These were very strange and exciting things for Ren. In fact, it was for Diana, too. But the little girl was telling the 8-year-old in front of her about inaccessible things without thinking of the consequences. If she'd given a little thought, she wouldn't have told such an impossible and imaginary things to a dying boy. For example, even the strongest person in her wizard clan simply couldn't fly.
"How exactly does a person become a mage or witch?"
Diana put out the fire, still burning in her hands, and pointed to Ren's stomach. "It will be harder for you than your other friends. Your body will fight the diseased area on your chest every second and prevent it from getting worse. That's why your body will interrupt you with every step. Even if you work 10 times more than others, not 2 or 3, you may not even be able to be equal to them.
"Before we begin, I have to ask. Really! Do you really want to try to be a wizard?"
There was determination in Ren. Besides determination, all he had at that moment was death awaiting him. Maybe if he became a mage, he could heal himself. He wanted to hold on to this dream.
Today, he wanted neither flying nor immortality. No! Just getting better was enough for this little boy.
"I want to be a wizard. Please teach me!"
...