After the heavy battle, all three of them entered the house. The old man, indeed a powerful mage, was exhausted after a couple of sudden movements.
"So, you really are a great earth mage?" Levris asked, pouring tea for everyone.
"I said I'd answer all your questions, but I don't intend to answer foolish ones! You saw it for yourself what I can do. Of course, I'm an earth mage!"
"I apologize, but I didn't expect this from you. Why didn't you tell me immediately?! You obviously didn't plan to hide it completely, as you began teaching me magic."
"Well, firstly, everyone must learn on their own, because memorizing the master's movements is a foolish imitation that won't bring real benefits. Secondly, I wanted to see the limits of your abilities, hence the fight. And thirdly, it was fun to observe you," the old man chuckled, sipping his tea, while Levris pouted in offense.
"Then tell us, how old are you really?" Grain had been wondering about this question from the very beginning.
"Do you really want to know the truth?" the old man grinned, but Grain nodded confidently. "Well then, I'm around two thousand years old, give or take a century. I became a contractor during the Elemental War, under the rule of the fourth summoner."
The young people were in shock. Grivor did not look like a thousand-year-old old man, and his behavior was clearly not that of an elderly person.
"You've lived for so many years, and no one knew about you? How did you manage that?" Levris asked, pouring tea for everyone.
"Why do you say no one knew? Only one person knows the truth about me, and who would search for me if I never did anything remarkable, well, or almost nothing."
"Even so, you are an elemental contractor, and you managed to live for two thousand years. I heard that elementals like you survive very rarely, and only with great compatibility and strength of spirit can they live up to five hundred years!" Levris knew a lot, but she still couldn't explain the appearance of such a phenomenon.
"That's where you're right. It all depends on the compatibility with the spirit and the strength, both of the person and the spirit. I don't know what kind of person I was before the contract because the memory is erased when making a contract with an elemental spirit. But honestly, I've never been interested in that. When I first became aware of myself as a living human, breathed the air of this world and felt the earth move under my feet, that's when I came into existence. I woke up on the battlefield; enemy mages surrounded me and a dozen of my comrades. They told me I agreed to the contract to create a defense against the enemies. However, even then, I felt that it was wrong. I wanted to fight the enemy, not sit in trenches, building earthworks. That's when I made a choice that probably determined my fate. I rushed into battle and single-handedly stopped a hundred Lerran fire mages. Until then, all earth mages stayed behind, building fortifications, constructing bridges, and never seriously participating in battles. That's when I realized why other spirit contractors of the earth died after a couple of years of life. Earth spirits also wanted to fight, like their brethren, not sit idly while others died. So, perhaps, I am the only one who managed to live so long. Since then, I've always fought whenever there was an opportunity, and in my free time, I improved my magic."
"You're just a hero, and probably the only earth mage capable of such feats."
"No, back in ancient times, during the era of dragon wars, all earth mages were capable of such feats. The silly prejudice about their inefficiency on the battlefield arose much later, during the time of a hundred principalities when not a single clan of earth mages was among the nobility who seized power. But these are just silly prejudices. You, earth mages, wield the entire planet as a tool in your hands, making you the strongest among equals! That's the conclusion I reached after spending years in communication with my spirit."
"You can communicate with your spirit? I've never heard of that. I thought that after the fusion, spirits become a part of the mage and don't manifest themselves until their death."
"I don't know about that. Maybe it's because I'm an old grump who has lived too much and been alone too often, or perhaps it's because of my spirit's special nature. But once, I managed to hear it, and since then, we've communicated a lot."
"And if it's not a secret, what's your spirit's name?"
"You're all so curious. Even Mikhail never cared about this. But I did promise to answer all your questions. His name is Titan - the spirit of earthly solidity and the boundless ruler of the world of earth spirits."
Silence filled the room. The old man, who had spent the rest of his days in an unknown village, turned out to be a contractor not of an ordinary spirit but the ruler of one of the dimensions, a spirit to whom all earthly solidity was subject.
"Did you just say that seriously?"
"Hmm, of course, seriously. And if you need proof, not long ago, at the request of my friend, I broke my own rules and magically erected something magnificent. A majestic house for a young guild, made from the finest materials gathered from all over the world, taking into account the special wishes of the owners. And I did all of this without leaving this house!"
"You're talking about a house for our guild, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"And your friend, the only one who knows about you, is the rector?!" Levris jumped up from the table. "Is he also a contractor like you?"
"Perhaps. I've known that old man for a long time, but just as he has never been interested in my contract, I have never been interested in his."
"But you've known each other for a long time?"
"Very long, much longer than ordinary people live. If you want, I can tell you about the battle that brought us together. It might have been the only battle in my life where I fought for all people and not just for the interests of my rulers."
Long ago, a demon of terrifying power threatened the entire world. He led his armies against the human kingdoms, and the united forces of three kingdoms couldn't stop him. That's when we decided to resort to a plan that required our involvement. I and three other comrades chose to seal the demon using an immensely powerful technique, at the level of a summoner, a seal that demanded a direct connection with the four dimensions of spirits. And such individuals were found - a necromancer, a demonologist, an angel servant, and myself. We lured the archdemon into the seal, but to hold him there, one of us had to confront him alone. Celestia, probably the most beautiful necromancer I have ever seen, fought the archdemon one-on-one, and although he was weakened by the seal, it was a breathtaking spectacle. But alas, before the walls of the eternal prison closed around the demon, he managed to take her with him. She was the only girl I had truly fallen in love with, but she died, and after that, I forgot about all the battles and began to live like a recluse in the midst of the forest. Then the first houses of miners appeared here, then peasants, and later, traders settled in. And I lived here, shutting myself off from the entire world until Mikhail contacted me again.
"But you're a hero! You should come with us. At the Academy, you could teach my students so many things."
"Ah, no, forgive me, beauty, but unfortunately, communicating with the spirit revealed another unpleasant truth to me. Tell me, what would you do if you knew the date of your death?"
"What?"
"Titan revealed to me when I will die. And there's no escaping that, no matter how powerful he or I may be. But I'm not immortal, and I have only a couple of years left, perhaps even less. That's why I asked the Rector to send me a couple of talented students in return for a favor, so I could pass on my skills. I've never been particularly good with people, but in the end, I wanted to do something useful."
"So you will be teaching us?" Grain couldn't hide his joy.
"What are you talking about, young man? I've already taught you everything! Controlling not the entire earth as a whole, but every individual particle, crushing mountains, and summoning sandstorms. I've passed on the basics of my magic to you. From here on, only your imagination will limit your abilities. And lad, stop using those silly magic amplifiers; without them, you'll feel the earth much better."
"So, is that all you wanted to teach us?"
"And what did you want? For me to play with you like children every day, teaching you how to throw stones? In battle, your mind works much faster, and that's why I fought with you. This way, you could grasp the essence of my training, and now you can become true masters. Train every day, developing your abilities, and teach others."
"But you won't come with us?"
"No, I'm sorry, but I took on the task of protecting this city, and that's why I'll stay here."
"But who would threaten this peaceful little city?"
"Hoo, young man, you know very little about the world. There will always be envious and ill-wishers. And if the city has become incredibly rich, the number of envious people only increases."
"But you don't mean to say that something threatens the city, do you?"
"Why not? Or do you think the dam collapsed on its own?"
The old man smiled mysteriously, and Grain began to piece together the sequence of today's events in his mind. The torrent almost washed them off the bridge, and the dam was breached due to the prolonged rains preceding this, but they were warned beforehand. Realizing a simple truth, Grain rushed out of the house towards the city.
"KURONE?! Can you hear me? How did you learn about the danger?! Answer?!" he called out to the emptiness, knowing that once he got close enough to the girl, she would hear him. After running only a hundred meters, he heard a familiar voice.
"Grain? Finally, I've been trying to find you for so long, but you were farther than I could reach."
"That's not important. Tell me how you learned about the dam?"
"Huh? So you already know? Well, in my free time, I was trying to enhance my powers, like Katrina did, and attempted to sense all the people in the nearby lands. I managed to extend my senses so far that I reached even the workers guarding the dam. But right after that, they disappeared. I tried to find them again, but only found traces of their souls. It seems they died almost simultaneously, and that's when I understood that it could only happen if the dam was breached. That's why I warned you and everyone else closest to you."
"It wasn't just a coincidence. The dam didn't collapse on its own, and the guards didn't die a natural death."
"Yes, Krito came to the same conclusion. But something terrible is happening in the city; you must return quickly!"
"We'll be back soon."
After ending the conversation, the mage returned to the house.
"Why didn't you tell me about the dam right away?"
"Back then, you wouldn't have been able to do anything. But now, I think you're ready. Now you can protect the city."
"Levris, we need to hurry; there's a disaster there, and they need our help."
"Of course, but Grivor, are you absolutely sure you won't come with us?"
"No, I'm too old for this. Tell your necromancer that she had a wonderful mother. Now go."
The old man saw them off to the exit and patted them on the shoulder in farewell.
"Never forget that you are the most powerful mages in the world, no matter what they say."
"Yes!" Grain and Levris joyfully answered their teacher and ran away. As Grivor's hands released their shoulders, a noticeable brownish glow covered them.
"Titan, I've found you good partners. Protect them in my place," Grivor whispered to himself, and for the last time, he went to enjoy the view of the sunset from the backyard of his little house.