'Where am I?' Kai asked himself as he felt his body floating through empty space. He was surrounded by darkness on all sides, with no speck of light breaking the darkness.
'Am I dead? The last thing I remember was being hit behind the head by one of those men...'
Kai was confused. The last thing he remembered was playing around in the woods with some of his friends. They had been interrupted by a group of men in a wagon who were looking for directions. Unfortunately for them, it turned out that these men were kidnappers. They had tried to fight back against the men with evil intentions, but were eventually overpowered. Kai had been knocked upside the head with a baton, and had lost consciousness.
As Kai was deliberating about his new found situation, a voice suddenly echoed around him. A voice that sounded as though it was full of power and wisdom.
'Do not worry, child. You are still alive, if only barely.' The voice said.
'Huh? Who's there?! Show yourself!' Kai intended to sound intimidating, but all he managed was to make himself look scared.
As though listening to his wishes, a being that was dressed in dark robes appeared before him. The face of this being was obscured by a kind of haze that prevented Kai from seeing he true face of this person.
'Who are you?' He asked cautiously.
'...I am an old man." He voice replied him. 'I am a mage who has lived for a very long time, but was betrayed and killed. Through a stroke of luck, I managed to return, but through your dying body. One of two things can happen from this point on. You can choose. I do not wish to force anything upon you.' The voice sounded tired, as though it bore the weight of a mountain on its shoulders.
'You can either choose to rest and reside within your body as a soul, or to return and take control of your body. If you choose to return, then you will of course have to make certain compromises.'
'...' Kai was speechless. He had no idea what to think of this. He wanted to believe this was all some joke, but something deep within him told him that all he was experiencing was part of reality.
'I... I want to return.' After what seemed like hours, Kai finally replied. He couldn't give up his life so easily. Not when he had a choice right before him.
'Very well, then. There will only be one condition. If you are in mortal danger, I will take over your body, and I will not relinquish it until I can find a way to restore myself.' The voice's tone was firm and full of finality.
'I agree.' Kai immediately agreed. He saw no harm in that.
'Good. My name is Kasuyi. I will guide you in your path of magic. I wish you the best, young one...'
With that, Kai woke up within his own body, finally out of the dark space. He recalled the conversation he held with the voice, as well as memories that he couldn't remember experiencing.
"Hahaha... It was all real. Heavens, there's a mage stuck inside of me..."
...
Whoosh!
An arrow firmly embedded itself into the bullseye that was painted on the bark of a tree. Several more arrows sailed through the air immediately after the first one. A dark flash passed by these trees a few seconds later. To a normal Mortal, it would appear as though a wraith had picked that day to hunt for prey.
Kai continuously shot out arrows while running at the top speed his body could handle at this stage. He was currently practicing in the forest on the outskirts of his hometown. After several weeks of cultivation, Kai had finally gotten to the peak stage of the Mortal Tier. Of course, even though he was still in the Mortal tier, he could still perform actions that would put on in the middle stage of the Earth Class.
A Class was divided into four stages.
Early
Middle
Late; and
Peak.
He could feel his power pushing against the threshold that separated the Mortal and Earth Class. Under the tutelage of Kasuyi and the pointers given by the Divine Mage System, alongside his exceptionally high affinity for Magic, Kai had developed rapidly, far more rapidly than what a normal mage or martial artist could accomplish.
Up ahead of the path, he could see a wooden barrier that he built to block the path. He immediately pumped his Mana into another spell, letting the effects of the speed enhancing spell fade off. It was a top tier spell that increased its effects with every improvement one made in power levels. Its name was 'Break-Space Flash'. Its effects were exactly as its name suggested. It manipulated the space around the caster, letting one move through the various ripples in space.
'Strengthened Body'!
Right before he hit the wooden board, Kai cast another spell, strengthening his body to let it easily smash through the board as though it were made from paper.
He came to a stop in the clearing that was right after the board. It was quite spacious, completely devoid of trees or bushes, just covered in grass. Kai sat on a small rock that was in a shaded corner. He crossed his legs and closed his eyes, concentrating on the power that was pumping through his veins. He felt like fire was running through his veins, leaving him with unbridled power.
'Divine Mage, begin the advancement process.' He thought to himself.
[Tier Advancement process will begin in thirty seconds. Please prepare yourself.]
White flooded his vision, and his body temperature shot through the roof. Magical power rolled out in waves around him, kicking up dust and blowing leaves around. When his vision cleared, he was floating in a dark space. He could see countless stars in the space's background.
"Where is this, Divine Mage?" He asked, looking around in wonder.
[This is a simulated Divine Space. Lord Kasuyi created this secondary dimension to aid his studies of the Arcane Arts. This space stores a wealth of knowledge that would be valuable even in the various great kingdoms.]
A glowing green diamond appeared, pulsing with each syllable of the Divine Mage System's words.
[Your Advancement has been completed.] The System said in a plain tone. The dark space around Kai flashed, rendering him unable to see for a short time. When his vision had cleared, he sat on the stone in the clearing.
"That was... easy..." Kai was dumbfounded. Normal people took long to advance in class. Meanwhile, he had just done it in a few measly seconds. After all, even his father, who had been practicing for years, was only still just at the Earth Class.
Kai breathed in a lungful of fresh air. The air felt vibrant and full of energy. He could vaguely feel that his body, mind, and soul had undergone a qualitative change. He itched to test out his powers, pushing himself to the limit to see how far he could go compared to before.
"Divine Mage, compile my information and show me my status bar." Kai said calmly. Some time ago, while experimenting, he had found out that the Divine Mage System could analyze his state and bring up something similar to a status screen that displayed his status.
[Status]
Kai
Race: Human
Class: Earth (Early).
Health: Perfect
Stamina: 60/80
Mana: 100/100.
Remarks: You have taken the first step in your journey to ascend to the higher realms.
---
In his mental space, a projection appeared that showed him the specs of his body.
With a sigh, he got up and began the journey back home. He felt tempted to use magic to enhance his speed, but eventually pushed the thought aside because he wanted to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors for some time. Ever since he started his intense training, he hadn't had time to play and relax much. He hardly even saw his friends anymore. Not that they even had the chance to see each other much ever since the kidnapping incident. Parents had basically put their kids on lock down, waiting for the dust to settle.
Just as Kai was about to leave the cover of the trees, he heard some rustling close to him. Normally, he wouldn't even pay attention to such, but this time it was different. The Divine Mage System had alerted him to a magical life source not far away.
[Magical life source detected. According to the energy waves it radiates, I should rank it at Mid-Earth Class].
With that warning, Kai could feel his skin prickling. An Earth Class beast this close to the town was bad news.