"..." Adam was silent the whole time. His psyche felt the pain the sage went through and an unspeakable sensation welled in his heart. Is it sadness or anger, I don't know.
"By the way, let me show you that unique magic." The elder extended his arm and tapped on the table twice and a screen began to materialise in the air. It had an exquisitely designed border and aquamarine letters with the backdrop of shark-black colour.
Adam's eyes caught the array of information appearing on the display and quickly skimmed through them as sage moved his lips to elucidate.
"The Art of Ascension allows any person to grow incessantly. It treats the world around one as a land to accumulate experience..." The shiver lingering in the sage's voice disappeared. Instead, the tone of a caring professor began to speak to the listener.
Adam felt his sadness disappearing in a distance as the old man continued to talk. Furthermore, the topic piqued his interest.
***
An entire hour went by as the detailed demystification by the sage clarified every single aspect of the interface. The daylight had intensified but the warmth remained indifferent in the air.
"...thus the system is overpowered in laymen terms. And this became a creation that triggered the extermination of its creator."
Heaving a long sigh, the old man took a long sip from his teacup and stared at a distance. His eyes seem to convey a tinge of satisfaction and amusement after hours of non-stop chattering.
"So...what is it that I'm supposed to do?" After listening to the in-depth portrayal of the system, Adam gained insight into this unique magic yet he couldn't perceive the point behind telling all these.
"Oh, that..." The sage's line of sight came back to the earthling's face and his serene expression mildly turned solemn.
"The Art of Ascension was delivered to kingdoms and empires in a casket called Rising Valor. This indestructible container is fashioned out of a bewildering odd metal called Arcanium. There exists not a single ounce of extra Arcanium in the entire continent and all that is manufactured sacrificing tons of resources is a tiny 5 kilogram.
At a glance, this strange metal has no distinct function or feature except for its luminescence in the dark but it has unrivalled untapped energy contained in it.
The casket's initial destination was the kingdoms lying south of the preserve. From there, it was handed over to another power and then to another. Somehow, the casket travelled through every single country on the continent.
But as for its final resting place, I don't know. No books of history seem to contain that particular information. It is as if it has been intentionally struck off from the records. And that is exactly what I would like to request - find the Rising Valor.
Ah, you might be wondering why I require the casket that disappeared in the annals of history." A sip of tea and the sage cleared his throat.
"The main raw ingredient in Arcanium's production was my will. In other words, a part of my soul. To inflate the negligible success rate to a whopping 100%, I had to do rip off a portion of my consciousness and pour it into the essence of Arcanium. To create an object worth sustaining the massive pressure of the highly unstable magic, I did something stupid. Thus, the product acquired a unique ability - absolutely indestructible.
Now I regret doing so.
The consciousness that I willingly imbued into the casket to prevent the magic from running amok eventually became encaged in the metal box. And due to that, my soul, which is talking to you right now, became incomplete. I have died decades ago, but this defective soul is now incapable of attaining eternal peace.
To be honest with you, every day is tormenting for me. Deficient souls are bound to a physical object. And in my case, this gazebo. All my hopes were extinguished a long time ago until you appeared.
The current location of the Rising Valor is obscure to me. Though what inside the casket is my consciousness, I am unable to communicate with it. I can only place my hopes on you to bring back the casket."
The lack of even a tinge of hesitation of Adam's face delighted the old man's soul. Thus the latter quickly shared every bit of knowledge he had accumulated regarding the casket in the past years.
Another hour went by and the sun was at its peak, staring down on the planet like a glorious deity.
"You have attained preliminary exposure to mana. But you lack the basic theoretical knowledge.
Mana is the force existing in nature that makes magic a reality. Magic is the ability to bring forth mana, something that cannot be seen, in a creative way. It is a sacred mystery that even us, the sages, are unallowed to tamper with.
Like a well-executed strike, magic also needs preparation called chant. This unique construct of words is the steering wheel for navigating mana to desired shapes and effects.
The first sage ever to exist decoded the mystery behind channelling and creatively manoeuvring magic to her will. She researched and brought forth a set of 5,360 bizarre symbols called Arcane Glyphs. These characters later built the foundation of magic.
Each glyph can produce a distinct effect. When two or more glyphs are combined, the effects are overlapped and amplified.
The first glyph is..." Adam eagerly sharpened his ears and absorbed every word that left the sage's mouth. He well knew that this is a one-in-a-million chance and he didn't have the luxury to be distracted.
Several hours went past and Adam occasionally rummaged through his bundle before selecting a suitable beast core to consume. He kept his senses active the whole time to not miss even the slightest detail.
"...and that is the last glyph." Sage gave a halt to his unending lecture and gave Adam a minute to raise questions. But the latter didn't have any and the old man decided to warn him before proceeding to the next topic.
"The Arcane Glyphs are no longer in operation in the outside world. Only a direct lecture from a sage can trigger the learning of this mysterious knowledge and thus they were removed from the pages of history.
Keep the knowledge about these characters a secret. If spilt, your life will be riddled with innumerable troubles. You will eventually become the target of a political power struggle."
Adam nodded vigorously and took the advice to his heart. At that moment, he vowed not to disclose the existence of this lost art.
Then the solemnness from a minute ago vanished without a trace and the lecture resumed. "There are two kinds of people who utilise mana in combat. Those who use magic to cast spells and those who use the magic to reinforce physical attacks. Both parties have their advantages and disadvantages.
The Mages excel in Magical Arts and the Militants expertise in Martial Arts. While the magical arts are divided based on the elements, the martial arts are categorised based on the weapon of choice..."
Another lecture and more than two hours went past. The sage turned an absolute rookie to a master of combat arts within this timespan by imparting his knowledge straight into Adam's consciousness.
"I have shared everything I know with you. There is nothing more that I can teach you. The knowledge of Arcane Glyphs alone places you on top of the world but be careful not to expose it. The outside world is very developed and even the slightest slip of the tongue can reveal your identity as a foreigner."
The earthling nodded in reply and fell into contemplation.
The time he spent with the sage's soul was extremely beneficial to him. Not only he acquired valuable knowledge, he now has a quest to complete and an aim to achieve. The old man's story moved his heart. Adam very well knew the agony of someone who has the death in their reach yet unable to grasp.
Sensing the earthling's thoughts, the sage spoke nonchalantly, "The Art of Ascension is normally embedded into one's soul. But since you don't have one, I can use my administrator privileges to embed it into your consciousness."
A faint humming pierced Adam's ears and a headache assaulted him. The sudden attack caused Adam to grab his head but the pain subsided within a few seconds. A veil of comfort descended on his consciousness and Adam was confused and stunned by the sudden change of events.
Raising his eyes, he saw the old man smiling at him. "Try saying 'Status'."
For a second, Adam was unable to get the gist of what was happening, but when he did, his eyes went circles at once. "the Art of Ascension?"
The sage simply nodded in response while sipping from the teacup. "Come on, don't make this old man wait for long." A crisp chuckle left the elder's lips.
Adam nodded with a solemn expression and muttered, "Status."