In the depths of the world, a young man was putting his own life on the line. With his short brown hair and dark brown pupils, there was nothing remarkable about him. Besides his skin tinted gray, the only thing that might put some mages off is his fighting style.
Dodging and weaving between attacks, he waited until a small opening appeared. Taking advantage, he swung his fist forward. Using conventional magic didn't seem like an option for the man. Similar to Mino's fighting style, but even that brute would throw rocks at his opponents.
Lucas, who was watching from afar, shook his head. 'What's a fist going to do against hide? Is he an idiot?'
Yet not a moment later, he had to close his figurative mouth as the fist blew pieces of hide and flesh apart, wounding the bear. A hole the size of his fist was pierced through his side, infuriating the monster. Its attacks grew harder to dodge as it increased its speed.
The young man managed to fight back and inflict some serious damage, but with the increase in attack speed, his stance was weakening. His dodges and reflexes didn't grow tired, yet each swing of the bear's claws was barely avoided. Still, the bear was bleeding out, so perhaps if he stalled for time he could win.
Yet the Gods were not so magnanimous, taking a step back, his foot landed on an uneven patch of ground. Instead of tripping, he pressed down on the ground with his foot, using his pure strength, making it even. Sadly, that small action used up too much time and his dodge was delayed. The claw hit his body and flung it through the woods.
'Ouch, well, he's dead... So, can I still study him?'
'Look twice before making assumptions.'
The young man stood up, the claw had scratched his body, leaving three large wounds on his chest. If it was a normal mage, they would've been severed into multiple pieces, yet the man would live to see another day with just a few scars.
'We should step in.'
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Thurin had been venturing in the woods in order to complete his training, his purpose was to bring back the claws of a Terrabear. It was meant to serve as proof for his coming of age. Lucky enough to find one, he underestimated its power. He got a great hit in, but the bears attacks and the unknown environment threw him for a loop. He would've been capable of dodging every attack, but the ground made him waste time evening it. Less than a second lost, the bear took the advantage and swung with full force.
The scars on his chest weren't the problem, his body was trained to handle the pain and could take quite the beating. The Terrabear's special attack was the fact that its electricity was capable of circulating around the body, coursing through the muscles and restrict them at random. It didn't last that long, but faltering for just a moment was more than enough for the monster to make a killing blow.
He was glad that the effect was almost over, sadly it already took its toll. The Terrabear landed a few more minor hits, prolonging the effect.
'I just need to risk it!', if he landed a single attack at the center of its heart, then he would be fine. The only issue was that his luck was rotten. Rarely did the bear leave any openings. Struggling to dodge the more basic attacks, Thurin had a bad feeling in his heart.
The bear didn't let down, keeping up its attacks, its stamina endless. Thurin knew that if he faltered for a mere moment, he would be done for. Thinking too much about his current situation, his attention slipped, making him too slow to dodge another swing.
He could only raise his arms to block the oncoming attack, but he flew back against a nearby thorny tree. The thorns weren't an issue, yet the bones in his arms weren't in a good state. Unable to tell if they were broken or not, he lifted them up again. The pain was immense, though, making him unable to do a lot.
The Terrabear slowly walked towards him, seeing the sorry state its prey was in, the bear knew that the fight was over. Thurin focussed on the dark beady eyes of the bear as a figure in the background jumped towards the bear completely silently.
Standing next to the bear, the young man looked at Thurin for a moment before plunging his arm in the wound Thurin made in his first attack. The bear flinched and quickly turned its head to see what was going on.
"Let's see if you're invulnerable to lighting since you like to use it so much."
The bear roared out in pain as it was electrocuted black. The young man had forced electricity and fire into the bear's wound, making its insides completely burnt. The bear fell down with a loud thud. Pulling his arm out of the wound, he shook it around a bit to get rid of the blood.
"Hello there, I hope you don't mind my interference. My name is Lucas.", he reached his hand out to Thurin, which he gladly accepted. The moment their hands connected, a stream of magic entered his body to heal him of his wounds and pains.
Thurin's eyes opened wide as he looked the blond man in the eyes. 'Lighter skin compared to our gray tints, strange powers similar to beasts and monsters, a soft body…'
"You're a Starborn, aren't you?", the dark brown eyes of Thurin sparkled brightly as if he had just found his idol.
Lucas didn't know how to feel, his smile felt a bit forced since he didn't know what it meant. Everything he did was deliberately done to make Thurin like him, yet now he thought he made a wrong move somewhere.
'I don't want any false pretenses since that could sour our relationship, I believe we should be transparent, what do you think?'
'Why are you asking me? I thought we wouldn't be using magic, but that clearly wasn't important enough as well.'
'You're the one that said limit, and if we become friends, we can learn how he achieved his current state.'
'Enslave him.'
'...Yeah, I'll handle it, keep an eye on our core.'
Lucas lightly shook his head before lifting his hands up, "Sorry to say, but I don't know what Starborn means, so I can't say that I'm one of them."
"No, no, Starborn don't always know that about themselves.", Thurin looked up and waved at the stars above.
"Once in a while, a Star falls down and morphs into a Starborn. Beings that have evolved beyond us humans and have powers beyond our imagination.", his excitement was clear, but that only worried Lucas further.
"Calm down there...uh?"
"Oh, my apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Thurin Octavius.", the young man bowed slightly as he introduced himself. Tons of cogs rapidly turned in Lucas's mind. Having a second name, his clearly trained movements, and the etiquette. He was dealing with someone important.
"Well, Sir Thurin, I wouldn't call myself capable of powers beyond your comprehension. In fact, I'm not that strong compared to other mages.", Lucas tried to downplay his power as much as he could, but Thurin saw right through him.
"Hahaha, how humble! Most Starborn are quite arrogant, but it seems you're a more respectable person. Although please don't tell my friends I called the other Starborn arrogant, you wouldn't want to know how angry they would be. And please, don't call me sir, I should be the one calling you that, you saved my life after all."
"Let's just keep it to first names then.", Lucas smiled as he let Thurin believe he had a second name. "But I'm really not trying to be humble, before I interfered I saw you fight, you hold incredible power."
"No, no, everyone is like me, I'm not special, but you are. Starborn are capable of using magic outside their body, which is not something we can do. The best we can do is this.", Thurin held his right hand up as a sword of mana appeared in his hands.
Lucas's eyes lit up as both sides of him tried their utmost to analyze it as quickly as they humanly could. The information contained within their conversation was massive. Lucas couldn't imagine a world where mages weren't capable of using magic. If that were the case, he would be a shark in a lake, an ultra predator among sheep.
Lucas almost immediately waved that idea out of his mind. If the people here could use the monstrous bear behind him as mere training, it only meant that there were plenty of dangerous individuals out there. Plus, tanking such a powerful hit and walking it off with a few scars only meant that his spells would have the same efficacy.
"In the end, most of our magic has to stay connected to our bodies, not that it makes us weak, of course. But compared to what you can do, it's nothing.", Thurin was downplaying his own family, friends, hell, his entire race by saying those words. Yet he didn't waver as he knew that it was true.
"If you say so, Thurin. Still, why are you so deep into this forest?"
"Oh, my uncle sent me here saying I should train until I can beat the Terrabear.", Thurin said as he walked towards the bear to pull out its fangs and claws.
"So this is a Terrabear? Why does it have a shell on its back?", Lucas stood still as he watched Thurin deal with the bloody tasks. Leaking the fact that he didn't know what this animal was should tell Thurin a lot about his current circumstances. Sadly, Lucas's intentions flew right above his head.
"Oh, because of predators.", he said with a tone as if it was completely normal.
'This thing isn't a top predator...'
'Then you better learn how they fight and gained the strength to fight them. I'll try to not use any more magic and find a safe place to stay.'
Thurin took some time harvesting his prey. While talking to Lucas, he started to get a grasp on what kind of man the new Starborn was. He seemed honest, humble and most importantly, strong. His strength was that of a natural Starborn. He sneaked up on a Terrabear and killed it with a single spell. That was enough to gain his respect, but the man also healed his wounds and praised his own power.
Eventually, Thurin was finished with his task and invited Lucas to his camp. Taking his chances, he thought it would be better to take the Starborn with him, even if it could lead to a lot of trouble down the line.
"Lucas, may I ask for a favor? My uncle has been in a though spot recently, and your presence alone could help out. You won't have to fight, but simply having you with us could smooth things out. Starborn are seen as religious beings, and I could really use your existence."
Lucas wondered how that couldn't be an absolute lie. Since when do people smooth things out, especially when a random foreigner joins the group? Still, not that Lucas had any other option going for him, he needed to find a safe place as soon as possible to evolve his core. If he could gain this by standing at the side, he would gladly do so.
What surprised Lucas the most was the fact that Thurin was honest about his intentions, he didn't play around the bush, he didn't use metaphors. He was straight forward and direct, not mincing any words.
Walking towards the camp Thurin came from, they kept on talking, Lucas wasn't really used to such a positive and energetic personality. His stories about his training and antics with his friends and advisors slowly put a smile on Lucas's face. He found it relaxing to talk to someone that was more... normal?
His own teachers were all serious or lazy, yet Thurin was like a breath of fresh air. Unlike Asta, who felt like a competitor when it came to intelligence, he felt a bit more free talking to Thurin. He himself didn't take everything too seriously and could joke around.
Suddenly, he started to slow his steps and turned to look at Lucas. "Before we go to my camp, can I ask you something, Lucas?"
"Of course, we've been talking all this time, another question isn't going to be a problem.", Lucas had never let his guard down, yet he felt that it shouldn't be that big of an issue near Thurin.
"Yes, I know, but please be honest.", the joy on his face was replaced by a more worried look. Lucas was expecting a lot from his question, as a man who couldn't trust even himself, he could understand if people didn't believe his fake personality at a first glance.
"Most Starborn have a tendency towards violence. I.. I know you're not like the others, but I want to make sure. When we enter the camp, people will be hostile to you, but can you please not use any magic, nothing at all? Can you put your trust in me?"
Thurin's eyes darted from left to right, trying to avoid Lucas that was standing in front of him. Lucas wasn't a professional, but his experiences told him that Thurin was being honest. Never did he let his guard down among people he didn't know. Magic was always ready to be activated at any moment, since that split second could mean the difference between life and death.
'To ask such a thing after barely meeting, he doesn't know how mages work, does he?!'
'That might be the case, but if everyone here can't use magic outside their body, projectiles aren't the issue.'
'You believe that crap?! It's obviously a lie to let our guard down. This whole Starborn bullshit feels like a ploy, a scam. I'm willing to bet that he's trying to lure us into a trap.'
'I think we should listen to him.'
'Here we go again with your stupid belief in the good humankind and other bullshit fairy tales.'
'And each time I put my faith in someone, didn't we get something from it?'
'Doesn't matter, those are exceptions that confirm the standard.'
'Well, too bad you're on Core control.'
'Fuck off.'
Lucas never wavered for a second, his light smile never vanished from his face as he walked close to Thurin. Placing his hand on his shoulder, he looked him straight in the eye.
"Don't worry, if they don't attack me first, I won't do anything. I don't mind putting my life in your hands. And while the others might be violent, I'm not one to initiate a fight. I would much more prefer a heartfelt discussion than a bout of violence."
The words put Thurin at ease, a weight was lifted from his heart. He felt that he could admire the man in front of him. He did find it a bit weird that the smile seemed to be twitching slightly, but he must've imagined it, since it was fine now.
Lucas had trouble keeping back the absolute laughter of his other half.
'Hahahaha, I don't initiate fights, hahaha, what kind of fucking bullshit are you shoving down his throat man hahaha.'
'Hey! I'm trying to keep a straight face! Could you not?!'
The other half laughed for quite some time until they could see the camp in the distance.