The village went silent as two figures stood before each other in the training grounds.
Null stood between them as he raised his hand, "Let the battle... Begin!"
Immediately he jumped out of the way as the father-son duo began raining casts on each other.
On one end, icicles and stone spears were sent hurdling into a wall of magma.
'This much!' Meior was astonished as he saw his son fusing elements to such a degree.
Klein returned the fire in the form of water blades and ran up with his air walking boots.
Meior only needed to dodge the attacks and advance as well.
Beasts tended to be deadly at close range.
He donned a light earth armor and created a spear of stone to wield against Klein.
Klein welcomed the fight by grabbing his daggers and infusing them with ample water mofei bringing them to an unparalleled sharpness without forming ice.
It still took Klein a bit of effort to condense his mofei into their advanced state, but he would get there before long.
Thanks to having a spear to channel more of his mofei with, Meior sent more earth spikes towards Klein to make up for his missing arm.
While up close to the dangerous spikes, Klein could only wave his tunic to block them.
Because of his latent core, all of his equipment was able to remain connected to a constant stream of mofei.
There was no worry about expending his manipulation while focusing on maintaining his equipment.
The dull impact of the spikes left not a single mark on his hardened tunic.
Soon after, they were clashing dagger on spear.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Just like water droplets wearing down rocks overtime, with each strike, the stone spear was torn apart until finally collapsing.
Without any gear like his son had, Meior could only keep summoning more stone weapons this time with a makeshift club.
He brandished the club violently due to the pressure from Klein.
Additionally, because the thickness of the club, Klein could not whittle it down enough to break it.
It was now more of a standstill with Klein attempting to break the club.
'How could I forget?'
The sudden thought cleared his mind.
This was indeed a battle of manipulators; their forte lie in their manipulation not their close combat skills.
The core of his body subtly connected with his wind charged lungs and allowed him to perfectly mesh with the mofei.
He breathed in. Time seemed to stop as he felt the mofei around him.
The hardy stone mofei that his father wielded gracefully, his own water infused daggers, the tunic he was wearing, and his wind mofei that was brewing within.
Suddenly, it all burst out!
Immediately afterwards, with a sudden step Klein overtook Meior and jumped on top of him.
He held his blade an inch from his skin.
"Klein takes victory!" Null's exclamation officially ended it.
The two separated and withdrew their mofei.
Meior's back was still drenched in sweat.
"Was that what you wanted me to see," Meior asked, breathless.
"That was the most of it," Klein was ecstatic.
He had barely any experience actually wielding his new core, so this fight was an eye opener as to how he could utilize it.
Not only could the core keep up with the expenditure of his equipment, but it could also allow his senses to deepen when it came to the mofei.
The last burst of air allowed his speed to surpass that of Meior's expectation and allow him to overtake the battle's flow.
If he had also worked on improving his style of elements to the extent of his air counterpart, there was no telling what he would be capable of in the midst of battle.
"This is the power of my newly awakened core Dad," Klein willingly admitted.
Meior seemed confused, "Why have I never heard of this? What exactly is a core?"
Klein did not know how to respond. Truthfully it was his first time in contact with such a body part.
Was it even considered as a body part? What if he could remove it? Could he transplant beast cores into others?
Questions began popping up repeatedly given his curious nature.
"What do you think Null?"
It was Null's turn to be stumped, but after a while he turned to the pet on his shoulder, "Maybe this guy knows something."
Meior had just now saw the Allbeast eaglet, "What beast is that you have tamed?"
"It's one of the eagle's children Dad. They had already killed the one that spurred the Beast Tide and when that thing suddenly took its current form as one of the children."
"Don't read too much into the escapades of these newcomers as their very existence goes against what we deem normal."
"I understand son. Just thinking about those capable of killing such a dangerous beast is enough for me to understand."
"Even more, I can tell that they are not from around here."
'Think off planet,' Klein could not help but think to himself.
"We actually came from far beyond this space to meet your son," Null bluntly put it.
"From beyond this space?"
Klein knew the secret was out and facepalmed.
"He means from beyond the sky Father. Inside of something called a spaceship."
Eyes widening, Meior had recalled a time prior, "The fallen figure! It was you who fell from the sky!?"
Because the crash site was near the village, their landing happened to be seen by some of the village other than Klein.
"It's true."
"Daddy listen...," Klein did not know how to say it, "I'm going to leave with them someday and before that happens, I want to strengthen the village so that I can be at ease."
"Leave? Leave! Haha! Now I must say my worries have been covered."
Klein was not sure how to gauge his father's response.
It was... positive?
"What do you mean by that?"
"But of course my son. What kind of father would I be if I let such a talented son be left to his own devices on such a crummy planet like this."
"You should take this chance to wonder the worlds beyond and take your manipulation to unprecedented heights. Only then will I be able to rest easily in this quiet village."
"But Daddy I can't leave before the people are strong like me and you."
"Son, you can't worry about those like us who are destined for less. You must take every chance you can get with the body you've been bestowed."
"I don't want you to waste your time with us folk who have already been given enough with the gates and protection we've already received."
Meior got down to Klein's level to bestow more of his wisdom, "You have already met with those who have helped and gained a new friend to travel with. Nothing more should be minded by you anymore."
"Grow stronger, gain deeper bonds, and lead your own charge on the world around you. This is your destiny, and I would expect nothing less from someone with your talents."
It was at this time when he raised his voice, "My son has found his place in the world among the greats! Hear me those of Meita Village! Reassure him so that he can ease the anxiety he feels from departing us so!"
The village gathered and gave their respects to his son so that he would be willing to leave with no regrets.