The elderly figure that sat on one of the chairs was at least a hundred years old. At a glance itself, one could tell that this man is exceedingly abnormal. The gentle breeze that caressed the old man's neatly trimmed snow-white beard and well-combed hair carried the scent of flowers.
Filled with wrinkles, the old man's face exuded an aura that soothed one's mind beyond compare. His aquamarine pupils had the power to calm any troubled heart and rampaging beast. In every beat of the old man's heart, Adam felt powerful energy enveloping him in comfort.
"Tea." Glancing at the teapot on the table, Adam replied. Upon hearing his words, the old man's slightly trembling hand rose and waved in the air. At once, the teapot leaned over the pair of cups and filled it with tea.
"Magic."Adam was aghast and his lips muttered unconsciously. Though it was unintentional, his mind quickly compiled the sensory reception and concluded that the sight is magic.
The elder raised his head and surveyed Adam from top to bottom with an amused expression before speaking, "Indeed, it is magic."
The vacant chair moved backwards on itself and gave space for Adam to rest his butt. Promptly, the earthling sat and the teacup drifted towards him.
"Let me introduce properly.
Trevor Adam Jonathan. The 5th Sage. The last one to inherit the legacy and arcane heritage of magical engineering. Owner of the Prime Celestial Preserve and master of all the beasts within it. Currently, a wisp of the soul enclosed within this gazebo."
After speaking, the sage took a sip from the teacup before placing it back on the table.
"Let me continue where I left previously.
The Prime Celestial Preserve stands at the very centre of the continent. Thus the outer section of the domain shares its boundary with innumerable kingdoms, villages and empires. The grassland determines the separation and isolates of the area from the chaotic world. It also acts as an invisible boundary that the beasts cannot breach, under normal circumstances.
The continent has a rather bizarre shape, which roughly resembles the hybrid of a lozenge, a square and a circle. It is riddled with arid deserts, frozen peaks, beautiful meadows, and so on. Even the largest of the libraries cannot contain information regarding all the flora and fauna of the continent.
But what makes the entire continent distinct and eye-catching from all the worlds is the fact that every single cell of every organism breathes Mana!"
For the first time, Adam heard a completely strange term and he frowned. His head was tilted a bit indicating his cluelessness. Sensing the change, the sage began to explain what Mana is.
"Mana is the power that courses through all beings of the continent. Every beast and plant contains an amount of this particular energy that nurtures it. In danger or difficult situations, the organism uses a portion of this energy to exhibit extraordinary achievements."
"Wait, that means..." Adam abruptly raised his hand and interrupted.
"Yes, that is the very energy that you felt after consuming the Blade Python's beast core..." The sage went on explaining what the beast cores are and what is the significance of these crystals.
"Beast cores are the reservoirs which house the entire Mana energy of a beast. It differs in colour, shape, size, et cetera. It is essentially the second heart of the beast. It also contains a sliver of the will of the beast.
When you consumed the crystal of a being you did not defeat, the sliver of will protested against your sovereignty. The consciousness then disrupted the energy rhythm in your body, making a highly unstable condition. Had you not have forged your physical vessel with the werewolf's crystal, you would have exploded."
One of the knots in Adam's head was loosened and the puzzle was revealed to him. His mouth went a complete circle as he comprehended the situation.
"Running was indeed a smart choice. I must applaud your swift decisiveness for selecting an option that will drain the mana like crazy. But it's just that the energy reservoir of the winged serpent didn't deplete quickly."
Another sip of the tea and sage diverted the topic. "As an outsider, you lack the ability to generate mana. But you have the unique ability to restore your mana through consuming the beast cores. If certain conditions are fulfilled, you might even inherit a skill exclusive for the beast.
For a normal person, it is impossible to consume a raw beast core. Not that the energy concentration is too high, but the existence of an independent will would counteract and battle against each other in an effort to take over the control of the body. This would result in the crippling of the person or a quick demise.
The lack of a soul in your body was a blessing in disguise. The sliver of consciousness in the beast cores can silently dwell inside your body without pitting against each other. All you need to do is a regular maintenance check. Not only that they can coexist, but these beast wills will consider your body as their home and will defend against any soul-based attacks.
In fact, due to your peculiar condition, your race might appear as Zoomorph rather than a human.
Umm...and here lies the only condition for inheriting a skill of a beast - the beast's will must accept your body as an acceptable dwelling."
"How do I know whether a beast's consciousness deems my body as an acceptable dwelling?" Adam felt that the answer to this query will remain a mystery if he didn't voice it out.
Hearing this, Trevor replied, "That, I don't know. You must find the enigma behind that secret through trial and error."
Followed by that, the sage introduced the existence of dungeons and monsters. He described the existence of rifts and the Stygian realm in detail and solved a few of Adam along with it.
Hours skimmed away like a butterfly and the duo went on chatting like a pair of friends meeting after a long time. The darkness that veiled over nature was gradually diluted by the rising sun and its rays.
"I hope I have explained everything well and that you have a clear understanding of the world. Is there anything you would like to ask?" The elder took a sip again from his teacup that seems to contain an infinite quantity of tea.
Adam took a moment to ponder before nodding. "Why did you bring me here?"
The query pushed the elder into a series of laughter and he went on laughing. Adam could only scratch his head in wonder whether he had asked a stupid question.
"Oh...I thought you might not ask." Wiping away the tears of joy that dripped down from his eyes, the sage spoke. "Initially, my intention was simple. To have someone to chat with. Then I came to know about your existence and I felt like honestly helping you. And now that I have shared almost all of my knowledge, I would like to make a request."
"What is it?" Adam leaned forward and cupped his fists beneath his chin.
"It's nothing insurmountable or impossible." The sage took a pause before contemplating how he should begin the account. Then he spoke.
"Several millennia ago, the Prime Celestial Preserve was once peaceful land. Anyone could enter the forest to collect the herbs and plants and the beasts cooperated to contribute their share of knowledge and resources for the welfare of all beings.
In those days, I, like my predecessors, would rarely travel beyond the preserve. to share the profound knowledge in laymen terms and to nurture a generation well-founded in rationality and scientific magical engineering.
And it was on such a fine sunny day that the first rift materialised on the planet. Fortunately, it was a Typical Grade one yet caused widespread destruction due to the unprecedented appearance. Around two kingdoms bit the dust when it was finally removed from existence.
To assist in eradicating these demons, I came up with a magical object to destabilise the overlapping space coordinates called 'Tombstone', an artefact housing immense spatial magic engineering. Using my immense mana reserve, the world witnessed the battle mastery of the sage Trevor Adam Jonathan.
With the emergence of Tombstone, the whole world changed its perspective on sages from mere agelong nerds to superhuman battle machines. I don't mean to boast, but countless princes and kings came seeking to be my disciple but I turned them all down.
One day, a letter came seeking the address of the Sage Mansion. The letter which was signed by every ruler of every established empires and kingdom unanimously requested one thing - a magic that can elevate the lives of the people, something that could allow defeating these otherworldly beings while growing simultaneously.
And after the relentless effort of several decades, I invented my most powerful creation and the 'Art of Ascension' came to exist."
Sensing the abrupt pause, Adam raised his eyes from the teacup to see two streams of tears emerging from the old man's eyes and moving downward. His face reflected anguish and his heart yearned to scream. The air resonated with the sadness and no breeze blew.
"But the events turned south before anyone could comprehend. As soon as the mainstream races had their hands on the overpowered magic, my existence was deemed as an obstruction to them. Under the veil of darkness, I was almost murdered by whom upon I kept my trust.
Finding the situation hostile, I fled. Arriving at the core of the preserve, I activated defence mechanisms of the forest for the first time in history."