"So master, there seems to be much to talk about, doesn't there?" Rada had not yet re-entered the house when he spoke. By the looks of it he seemed to be talking to himself, but that was not the case.
"Come into the back yard," the door behind him closed.
Once again, the Elder's voice vibrated in his ears. It was as if the voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere, there was no technology or science that could explain this phenomenon, perhaps not even in the world it came from.
"Um, no doubt that guy is an expert," Kiba expressed over his shoulder.
The pup had a serious expression on his face, though he didn't have much experience with humans, similar displays of power were certainly no stranger to him.
Arriving at the courtyard, the Elder was sitting drinking tea, on the table next to him there seemed to be a small chest, it gave the impression of being ancient, one could even notice some dust on its surface.
"This is for you" he said after sipping some tea.
"Curious, but what am I supposed to do with it?"
Rada took the small casket in her hand and looked at it more closely.
"What is inside is of vital importance to you young man" the Elder looked into his pupil's eyes with a slight smile, but his tone of voice expressed his total seriousness on the subject.
"Vitally important?" asked the puzzled young man.
"Quickly open it!" pressed Kiba.
"Mm?" Rada opened the casket, but was surprised by its contents.
"It looks like a... glove??" even Kiba couldn't help but look at it strangely.
The glove was very simple to the eye, it was white in color, with a strange symbol in the center, Rada couldn't recognize it.
"I don't understand, why would this simple glove be of vital importance to me?" he voiced his doubts.
An instant later, however, a thought flashed through his mind. Instinctively he looked down at his right hand.
"Exactly son," sensing the boy's line of thought, the Elder nodded.
"What you see is a magical gauntlet, it is called the Gauntlet of Gwir. Its use will be of particular importance to you son, since you also possess a spiritual pearl, am I right?"
The master gave the pupil a smile, but his eyes pierced it like a spear.
"Eheh, it's not that I tried to hide it, however I felt I had to, let's say I acted on instinct master. I apologize for not saying it sooner," taken aback by the old man's words, Rada couldn't help but chuckle in embarrassment. He felt guilty to a degree, he knew he didn't have much of an excuse, however he couldn't help his watchful nature.
"You've done nothing to apologize for boy, in fact it was wise of you to hide it" nodded the Elder, his tone returned to a gentle and calm one.
The old man's reaction calmed the young man, who breathed a sigh of relief within himself.
"So there seems to be a reason, I wonder what it is, after all, not a few people own one. However, I have to hide mine..."
Rada pondered aloud, in doing so she took the magic glove in her hand to observe it better.
"Unless..."
Just a few minutes of thought, Rada came to a guess.
"Oh? Looks like you've already come to a conclusion," said the Elder. He continued to listen to the boy with anticipation in his eyes. He was getting a demonstration of just how witty and meticulous he could be, elements essential for survival in hostile times.
"A guess," Rada nodded.
"Let's hear it."
"I think for some reason a cultivator can't possess the spiritual pearl, am I right?" He wasn't sure what he was thinking, so he asked for confirmation.
"Ahahah, very good, very good son!" the Elder nodded while laughing in delight.
He was very pleased with the hypothesis, he looked at the boy again with approval, he knew how to use his head when the moment called for it, he wasn't one of those mindless knuckleheads he was used to seeing.
The world outside the village was ruthless, it gave no room for any kind of weakness. Simple brute force was not enough to survive.
"It's exactly as you said, cultivators are not allowed to possess the spiritual pearl, just as the possessors of the spiritual pearl are not allowed to be a cultivator," explained the Elder,
"Master am I wrong or did you say that it is not allowed? So if one wants to, one can be one?" Rada gave an evil smirk.
"Eheh, hard to say, in fact it's almost impossible to be one, since the power of the pearl would conflict with the spiritual power of the cultivator" the Elder's words, raised more doubts in the boy's mind.
"Then how is it possible for me to be both?" he asked.
"That is something I would like to know boy, as far as I know, only an ancient race now extinct could harness both powers at will."
The master's eyes were fixed on the student, his inquisitive gaze waiting for a positive answer.
Sensing where the conversation was going, Rada responded with another question.
"Are you perhaps thinking that I am one of the members of this extinct race?"
"Why not? Other than that, I wouldn't know what else to think of," the old master looked at Rada's expression with anticipation.
He tried to gulp down every single signal that could give him confirmation.
"Alas, I'm sorry to disappoint you master but I really don't think I'm one of them" Rada said slowly shaking his head.
(Unless, the extinct race he's talking about was from my world, that's the only thing I can think of. But all of that is impossible, isn't it?" he thought.
"Many of the mysteries of this world are still hidden from those who inhabit it, it's too early to talk" Kiba's voice suddenly rang out in his head.
(You have a point) Rada replied smiling.
All the while the old master could see the sincerity in Rada's expression.
"Is it possible I'm wrong?" he thought for a moment.
"Anyway, let's put that aside for now, let's get down to business. This magic glove will hide the symbol of your pearl so that you can hide it as best you can. There is a reason why I told you that it is not allowed, despite the total impossibility of doing so. The ancient race I told you about was called the Ancients, and they were on the verge of conquering this world.
One day, however, their actions angered the gods, who went to war against them and extinguished them. Although this is a long time ago, I've heard that there are still factions at the top of this world that are dedicated to eliminating anyone who has anything to do with them," the master's long explanation left Rada speechless.
(Ancients? Gods? Factions? This story is becoming more and more unbelievable!)
Rada wasn't bothered in the least by the master's explanation; in fact, he seemed over the moon.
(Man! A world like this is what I've always dreamed of!) he thought excitedly.
"Master do gods really exist in this world?" the light shining in Rada's eyes amazed even the old Elder.
"Who knows? After all, these are legendary stories, no one knows if it is truth or mere lies, one thing is for sure. The factions I told you about are true and they have no qualms about hunting down anyone who might question the rule of those in power" his face suddenly became serious.
"So my boy, hide the symbol and show it to no one!" he reiterated.
"Will do!" Rada nodded and without wasting any more time put on the glove.
There was nothing particularly striking about putting it on, the glove adhered to Rada's skin and became transparent making the light color of his skin reappear.
The symbol in her hand however, did not appear this time.
"Gwir's glove, huh? How convenient!" he exclaimed.