"So, this is the child you've brought us, Raymond?" An old man in his fifties asked Raymond who was sitting beside him.
Along with them, there were 14 more old people sitting in a conference hall, all looking at the child standing in the middle of the hall. This was a secret room in the headquarters, which is only used for important matters. After long travels, Havien and Raymond had arrived at the magic association headquarters through a teleporting gate present in the branch association. Raymond had already informed the other vice-heads about the matter of him selecting a candidate, so they were already present by the time both of them got here.
The child's name was Havien, and he was currently undergoing an evaluation to be selected as the future head. The matter of selecting a head is extremely serious, and all the vice-heads of the association have to attend this evaluation personally. Furthermore, they have to give their honest opinion about the abilities of the chosen one, and they cannot let their personal bias slip in.
"Raymond, tell us more about why you have nominated him as a head candidate. Even though awakening this early is enough for him to qualify, someone like you wouldn't have brought him just for that." An elderly woman asked Raymond, while curiously looking at the child.
"Well then, let me tell you that aside from awakening at the age of 4, He showed a battle prowess similar to a rank 3 at rank 1, and evolved in the middle of the fight to rank 2, showing combat prowess similar to a newbie rank 5.
Furthermore, the most important factor which made me consider him is the fact that he was able to use multiple elements, in fact, all of the primary elements, without the slightest bit of elemental dilution."
"WHAT?!" The whole conference was utterly shocked. The side-effect of multiple elements is something as basic as ABC to the mages, and it was thought of as common sense. The fact that someone managed to circumvent this universal truth is already enough to call them a legendary genius.
"Raymond, I have known you for long enough to know that you don't joke around with such matters. If this is really true, then he is more than qualified to become the future head." Another old man, which looked as old as Raymond, spoke.
"But before beginning the voting process, I must ask, how did you manage to overcome the penalty of elemental dilution? The method to solve this problem has been persisting for millions of years, and no one has found the answer. Not even the sage, who had once reached rank 9, was able to find the answer."
"Charles, you should know that asking a mage about its secrets is a taboo we, of all people, never think about committing." Raymond spoke to Charles, who had asked such a question. Chares hurriedly defended himself by saying,
"I know what I'm doing is wrong, but I must know this great secret. My inner curiosity as a mage has been awakened. Child, I'm willing to sign a mana contract to never spill the beans, and I will owe you one favor which I would repay no matter the cost. So please, tell me."
"Wait, me too. I'm willing to give the same conditions as Charles. Please let me in on it too." Another elderly mage, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke.
"Me too, the same conditions."
"Me too, the same..."
"Me too..."
Slowly, the whole conference signed the mana contract and owed Havien a favor. Havien then stated
"I don't know why you guys are fixated on the idea of 'diluting' the element. Why are mages hung up on having a single core? During my childhood, I formed 9 mana cores, with my final one forming when I turned 4. Every single one of them has a different element."
The whole hall was silent, the people present there looked as if they had seen a ghost. Their hands were trembling due to the shock they had received.
"Multiple cores in a single body, is something like that even possible?"
"Well, I'm the living proof. But there are certain conditions for achieving this, first one must be that the cores must be formed artificially before the age of natural awakening. After the age of natural awakening passes, the body loses its capability to form more cores. Second, you must set one core as a stabilizing core and never have an element in it. Third, you must either form 5, 7 or 9 cores, with 9 being the limit. The cores at that number are the only condition in which independent elemental affinity is possible, otherwise, you will just have a bigger mana pool with no elements.
Once you satisfy all these conditions, only the ones talented enough would be able to form multiple cores."
The conference room was listening to the explanation seriously like students listening to a teacher.
After the 'lesson' was over, all the vice-heads stood up and bowed,
"Thank you, mage Havien Crimsonwhite, for granting us your knowledge."
Havien just smiled after seeing all of them, before saying,
"It's my pleasure."
'I imagined that they would be like the UN, but they are much more open-minded and frank than I thought. I like this place better than the overly pretentious UN already, I think I'll get along well here.' Havien thought before exiting the hall, looking forward to his growth as a mage in the place known as the haven of mages.
********
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5 years later.
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********
"Future head, are you preparing to break through into rank 4?" Charles asked Havien who had come to him to ask about an important matter.
"Yes, I want to break through to rank 4, I feel like I have learned enough about deviant affinities to attempt a breakthrough."
Deviant elements are the elements that are the mutated form of the primary elements. They are;
Fire---> Lightning
Water---> Ice
Wind---> Sound
Earth---> Gravity
Light---> Heal
Darkness---> Poison
Space---> Time
A mage can acquire a deviant element at rank 4, but it is hugely dependent on luck. it is also not the case that deviant elements are definitely stronger than primary ones, but they give you an additional element without dilution with the original one, and the spells they have are esoteric and difficult to counter.
"Future head, I'm curious to know which deviant you have chosen. You have kept your decision a secret from us to surprise us, but I can't wait any longer."
"Well, my answer is that I have chosen all of them." Havien said in a proud tone, looking at Charles' face to see his shock.
But Charles had no change in his expression, instead he just smiled,
"Oh my... Why am I not surprised? Someone like you will choose all the elements just for the sake of it. I will prepare the rare essences of deviant elements to help your breakthrough."
Elemental essences are rare extracts of elements used to help in understanding an element better. To get a deviant element, most rich people use 'normal' grade essences during the breakthrough to rank 4, but even then, it is still rare to actually get the element.
"Oh Charles, I don't want the 'rare' grade essences used for rank 4s. I want the 'true' essences which are in the treasury."
"...what? You want the 'true' grade ones? Those are something that is extremely treasured by us. To use those merely for the breakthrough to rank 4, I'm afraid you will encounter deadly side effects." Charles said in concern, even though he just talked about the side effects, he felt that using those special essences was wasteful, but saying that would piss off Havien, so he kept silent.
"Well... I would have taken the rare grade ones if they would have worked. All my cores are at the S+ rank, so normal and rare grades do not have an effect. I need a 'true' grade one to facilitate my breakthrough. You should know, high-rank cores require high-grade treasures."
Hearing this, Charles sighed. He expected this kind of answer, even though he did not want to hear it.
"Well, I can take out the 'true' grade essences from the treasury, but you should know that 'true' grade time essences are way more valuable than other ones. I will strangle you to death if you waste them and not get the time element."
"C'mon, stop your useless worries. I'm Havien Crimsonwhite, the greatest genius of all time. How is it possible for me to not achieve my goal of all elements?" Havien said in a narcissistic tone, which made Charles shake his head. The whole association had gotten used to Havien's unique character, and he was well-liked because it was refreshing and fun to be around him. In the 5 years he had spent in the association, he had become the most popular person in it. His looks, talent, status and personality all played a part in it.
"I'll be in the training room, make sure to send them by evening today." Havien said while turning around and leaving.
"As you wish, Young Head."