14-80

by kinyamsabajigin

It very good

1. Chapter 1

The voice of Hawrin also stopped. For a while, it appeared as if there was finally peace; however, Gabriel was too naive to think that.

As the boat kept moving, the voices made a return. Sometimes he heard the voice of the Head Priest, who told him he was banished and he was going to die being nothing. At other times, there was the voice of Maya's father, who blamed him for not saving his daughter and his wife despite all they did for him.

Things went overboard when he even heard the voice of his mother. The voice that he hadn't heard for over a decade fell in his ears, sending a chill down his spine.

It took a lot of effort not to react to the voice of his mother, but he knew that it wasn't real. It was just an illusion! There was no way the soul of his mother was going to be in the river of damnation! He was sure that she was going to be in Heaven.

Whatever these voices were, they were trying real hard to instigate him, and he realized that. The only goal behind something like this could be to make him jump into the river of damnation, and he wasn't going to do that at any cost.

He kept his eyes closed as he ignored the voices of his mother.

The torment continued for an hour straight before the voices stopped, just as Gabriel was feeling like he was going to go crazy.

At the same time, the boat also stopped.

With a frown, Gabriel opened his eyes, wondering why the boat had stopped.

As he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was out of the tunnel of darkness. The boat was waiting before something that appeared like a platform for him to get down. In the distance, he could also see a giant stone door.

This was also the end of the river as the black river disappeared into nothingness just a few meters ahead. There was no other place to go to.

After waiting a few seconds to be sure, Gabriel got off the boat and landed on the platform.

As soon as he got off the boat, he noticed that the boat started going back against the flow.

From start to finish, the Spector didn't even gaze at Gabriel. It was only when the boat was going back that it seemed like he took a glance at him.

The boat disappeared into the darkness, leaving Gabriel here alone.

He faced the giant door, wondering what could be behind the door. Was this the exit from this place? The Spector had brought him here, so there must be a reason, he thought.

He picked up another flaming torch from the wall and moved closer to the stone door.

The stone door appeared to be twenty meters tall and ten meters wide. Just the sheer size of the stone made Gabriel wonder if he was even able to open the door or not. A door of this size was going to be really heavy, especially when it was made from the strongest of stones.

"If I can't open it, it'll be a dead-end once again. I can't let that happen. If the exit is on the other side, I need to get to the other side, no matter what it takes."

Even though he believed it wasn't going to work, Gabriel still prepared to give it his all. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and adjusted his body to push the door.

He placed his hands on the stone door and took a deep breath before pushing.

Creek~

Without even waiting for his push, the doors started opening on their own as soon as Gabriel's hands touched them. To be more accurate, the doors began opening as soon as that black ring touched the door.

The heavy doors started opening on their own, surprising Gabriel. Doors that could open on their own? He hadn't seen anything like that in this life.

He straightened his back and waited for the massive doors to open.

After the majestic doors opened, Gabriel finally took his first step inside.

Unfortunately for him, this place didn't appear to be the exit. He still couldn't see the clear sky even as he passed through the door. Instead, he appeared to be in a massive hall. This time, the hall was even more majestic.

Even though the place wasn't bright, it wasn't too dark either. Gabriel could see inside the room, even without the torch. Moreover, what he saw wasn't even close to what he had expected when he stepped inside.

He placed the flaming torch on the wall before stepping to the center of the place, which appeared more like a massive Temple.

There were multiple statues in this place, each hundred feet tall. Except for the one statue in the middle, which was damaged, every other statue appeared to be intact.

Moreover, each of the statues were holding a book in their hands. Since Gabriel was standing on the ground, he could see the cover of the books in the hands of the statues.

The books appeared to be made from stone as well, more like a depiction of the real book.

Gabriel moved closer to the first statue and looked up to observe the cover.

The statue appeared to be of a woman who was wearing a tight-fitting dress. On one hand of the statue, there was a beautiful magical staff, while on the other hand, there was a book.

Noticing the Symbol on the cover of the Book, Gabriel frowned. He recognized that symbol. It was the Holy Symbol of the Church of Water.

"This book… Is this supposed to represent the Holy Book of Water?"

Just based on the symbol, he couldn't be sure if it actually depicted the Holy Book or just an ordinary book from the Church of Water that used the same symbol. Still, there was a feeling in his heart that the book was supposed to be a depiction of the Holy Book.

As for who the woman in the statue was, he had no idea.

Gabriel moved on to the next statue to observe the book. The Statue, this time, appeared to be of a proud young man who had hair so long that they came down to his knees. The man hadn't tired his hair. Gabriel appeared to be more interested in the book instead.

"Holy Symbol of the Church of Lightning," Gabriel grimly stated. "Are these the Founders of Churches of Elements? Or just the Heads at the time the statue was made? Or could they be more...? The Gods of Elements?"

Confused, Gabriel moved over to the next Statue, only to notice the Holy Symbol of the Church of Flames.

"Holy Symbol of the Church of Nature."

…

"Holy Symbol of the Church of Earth."

He went through one statue to another, realizing that all the books had the symbol he recognized.

His suspicion was becoming stronger that all these people were carrying the Holy Books!

In the end, there were only three statues left, including the broken statue.

The broken statue stood at the end of the hall. On the left of the statue, there stood another statue. On the right, there was the third statue.

It appeared as if those three statues were supposed to show more influence since they were standing near the center, especially the broken statue, which was in the exact center.

Gabriel started from the statue of the Woman on the left of the broken statue. The woman had two beautiful wings on her back that were spreading wide.

"Holy Symbol of Light," Gabriel stated in a gruff tone. The Holy Symbol of Light in his left hand shone brightly in the presence of the lady's statue.

He skipped the broken statue in the middle and moved to the statue on the right, which belonged to a slender young man. The man held a staff in his hand, which had the smallest gem out of all the staff here, yet the man appeared to be one of the strongest here for some reason.

Focusing on the book in the statue's hands, Gabriel recognized the symbol.

It was the symbol that he had seen many times in the books. The more well known Holy Symbol of Darkness!

Gabriel couldn't help but look at the symbol on his right hand, which didn't match the symbol of Darkness. Even though both the symbols were pitch black in color, the symbols at the core were different.

Unfortunately, no one had seen this symbol before. The people outside only focused on the pitch-black color to believe it was the Symbol of Darkness.

That left only one statue in the entire place. Unfortunately, by now Gabriel had covered all the Elements he knew about. And he hadn't seen any symbol that matched his. He wondered if the last statue was going to be the one.

He finally moved over to the statue in the middle. The statue appeared to be broken badly and was missing the head. Some more marks of damage could be seen on the statue.

Gabriel kept his focus on the book, and just as he expected... There it was! The Symbol that was on his right hand!

"So this isn't the Holy Symbol of Darkness. That means I'm not a Dark Mage... But then, what am I? I'm able to use undead and spirits?"

"And why is this the only statue that is broken out of all?"

There were many questions floating in his head. He had come to terms with the fact that he was a Dark Mage who awakened the Element of Darkness, but now it turned out that he was wrong. He hadn't awakened the Element of Darkness but something else entirely.

It didn't matter. He still couldn't explain this to the people outside who were going to consider him a Dark Mage Variant. Whatever he was, he needed to embrace it fully.

He turned around and observed the entire hall. Other than the statues, there was nothing here. There wasn't even an exit other than the place he came from, but that wasn't an exit at all. That was a dead end as well since it led back to the river outside.

"Does this place really have no exit? Am I trapped here for eternity?"

As he worried about his future, he stood with the support of the broken statue, lost in thoughts. Not only was he hungry, but he was also at a dead end. For a moment, he even wondered if this was his personal hell?

As soon as Gabriel touched the broken statue, the ring in his hand started shining. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice it.

His attention was only attracted when he heard a creaking sound coming from behind.

Gabriel straightened up and looked behind the broken statue from the gap between the two feet of the statue.

"This..."

There was previously no opening in the entire place. However, now there appeared to be a door-shaped opening in the wall right behind the broken statue.

Gabriel subconsciously gazed at the broken statue, wondering if this guy was helping him somehow. In any case, he couldn't ignore this opportunity. No matter where that opening took him, it was better than being stuck here.

He ran to the opening and entered the dark chamber.

As soon as Gabriel stepped inside, the opening that had appeared in the wall closed behind him.

Gabriel found himself in an even smaller room, which was only ten meters wide. However, this room was what surprised and excited him the most.

The room was lit in a blood-red light that illuminated this place.

In the middle of the room, there appeared to be a small pond that was only a few meters wide. The pond appeared to be filled with the same dark water as outside.

Right in the center of the pond, something appeared to be floating mid-air. Seeing the floating object, Gabriel's lips curled into a smile.

He stepped closer to the pond. Unfortunately, to get to that object, he could see that he needed to get inside the dark water.

For some reason, he didn't even think twice before jumping into the small pond. The object was more important to him than anything else at this point. No matter what, he believed he couldn't leave it behind.

Unfortunately, he was in for a surprise. As soon as he stepped into the pond, which previously didn't appear to be more than a few feet deep, he found himself being pulled inside into the endless depths of the pond.

It was unclear what was pulling him, but Gabriel struggled as much as he could to free himself.

He struggled with all his might to free himself, but his body only kept submerging in the water. Before long, most of his body was inside the dark water, and he could feel thousands of hands holding on to him and pulling him down into the deep abyss!

Gabriel's body was submerged in the water. Before he could even react, his head was also pulled inside the water, making him unable to breathe.

Deep in the water, he heard some whispers as his body kept getting pulled to realms unknown.

After being unable to resist, he chose his last resort, raising his right hand. He didn't know if the book could help him here or not, but that was his only option here.

The Forbidden Book of Necromancy once again made an appearance amidst the screaming noises.

As soon as the book of Forbidden Necromancy appeared, it was as if the Spirits went crazy. They screeched in fear and pain as they freed Gabriel and went to the depths of the pond, far away from him.

Gabriel held the Forbidden Book and started swimming up.

His head came out of the cold water, finally giving him a chance to breathe.

Gabriel's heart raced, thinking about what could've happened if he didn't have the book. This water... This was certainly something scary. He didn't want to stay here longer than he needed to. He gazed at the object of his affection which was floating in the center of the pond.

The Object... It was something he wanted as soon as he had discovered the Forbidden Book of Necromancy. As a Mage, he needed a staff to control and boost his spells. Unfortunately, it was really hard to get the Staff with the Element of Darkness as they were banned by the Holy Church of Light and others.

Moreover, it was only now that he realized that even if he had a staff that supported the Element of Darkness, it was going to be useless for him. He didn't have the Element of Darkness as he assumed before. He had something never seen before!

For this, he needed a staff with a similar element which should've been impossible to find. Fortunately, that's what he saw before him at the moment.

A beautiful wooden staff was floating in the middle of the pond. As for the staff, it appeared to be the exact one that was in the hands of the broken statue, based on the shape of the staff.

The staff appeared to have the shape of a question mark, with the top being curved to some extent. Some mysterious characters were also carved on the staff that was shining very weakly.

On the top of the staff, there it was... A small Crystal... The Crystal of his Element.

Gabriel sent the Book of Necromancy back to the ring form before he reached out his hand to touch the Staff. He made sure not to use his left hand that had the Element of Light.

He knew that he wasn't reaching out his hand toward a Magical Staff... He was reaching out his hand toward his future...

His hand finally touched the Staff. As soon as his hand touched them, the mysterious characters that were shining weakly until recently started shining so bright that Gabriel was forced to close his eyes.

As he closed his eyes, he felt something change around him.

The mysterious light of the Staff surrounded his entire body as if giving him some kind of protection. That wasn't all though. The light started materializing itself into the form of clothes.

Gabriel was standing topless. His pants were also torn in places. However, a new set of clothes appeared around his body.

Two black gloves appeared on each of his hands, hiding the two marks of his. His pants healed and changed color as well, turning a beautiful shade of black.

A shirt also appeared on the top, making Gabriel seem like he was a Prince from some powerful Empire. A golden robe also appeared on the top of the shirt, which covered his shoulders.

Two beautiful golden wristbands appeared around his wrist with the exact same markings as on the staff, along with a charming golden necklace.

Gabriel also felt his surroundings change. He was in the pond before, but he could feel warm grass under his feet now. The chirping of birds also fell in his ears as gentle winds brushed against his skin, making him open his eyes.

He slowly opened his eyes, only to be amazed. He wasn't in the small room anymore, and that dark pond was nowhere to be found.

He stood on the beautiful green grass in what appeared to be a forest. He raised his head to notice the beautiful sky. He was standing under the shade of one of the trees. Moreover, the tree wasn't any ordinary tree.

It was as if the Staff had listened to his wishes and brought him here. He was really hungry, and now he was standing under an apple tree that had tons of apples.

The majestic staff was still in his hands. Lowering his head, he observed his clothes.

"These clothes... Aren't they too attention-grabbing? Then again, at least they aren't all black in color. Moreover, it's better than being naked. And I finally have the Staff of this Element as well."

" I don't know what this Element is called, but since its Holy Grimoire is the Forbidden Book of Necromancy, it would be fair to assume it's the Element of Necromancy... An element that never appeared before. Even if it appeared before, it was kept a secret from everyone."

After a long time, he got a Staff and a book of spells. Even though these weren't from the Element of Light as he had wanted, it was still an Element never seen before. He wasn't even sure if he was the only person in the world with this Element, but it seemed highly likely.

Gabriel plucked an apple from the tree with his left hand and started eating it as he observed the staff even more carefully.

"I wonder how strong the spells will be with the staff."

He called forth the Forbidden Book of Necromancy to test.

The Forbidden Book appeared before Gabriel and opened the page of First Spell. Since he wanted to compare the boost, he could only compare it with the spell he had used before without the staff.

"Shield of Undead!" Gabriel chanted the spell.

As soon as he chanted the spell, the winds fastened. The sky turned dark once again. Multiple dark spirits came out of the Forbidden Book of Necromancy.

The spirits were still in the thousands like before as they formed the Shield of Undead against all expectations of Gabriel.

He thought now that he had a staff, the Evil Spirits that appeared were going to her much more than before, but it was exactly the same as before.

"Wait, no... This isn't the same..." After some time, he finally realized that there was a difference.

The Evil Spirits that came this time appeared to be stronger and louder. They were also sucking energy from nature itself to become even stronger.

The spell... It was more about the quality than the quantity, and the quality was superior this time... Much superior.

Gabriel was pleased with the demonstration of the skill.

Clap~

Clap~

He was just about to stop the spell when he heard clapping coming from the back.

"Not bad. Honestly, I didn't expect to find you so soon. You need to work on that stealth when using your spell."

Stunned, Gabriel hastily turned back. He could see a dark-haired woman standing in the back.

She didn't have any book or any staff in her hands, but she did have a black mark that she made no effort to hide.

"A Dark Mage?" Gabriel exclaimed, taking a step back and tightening his grip on his staff.

"A Dark Mage?" Gabriel was stunned to find a Dark Mage standing before him.

He had thought that they were extinct. And even if they weren't extinct, it should've been almost impossible to come across one so easily. Also, from the lady's words, it was evident that this meeting wasn't a coincidence. She was actively looking for him.

"Do you really need to be so surprised? I'm not a ghost." The young lady smiled in response. "Moreover, I hope you won't attack me without listening to me first. I'm not here to attack you."

Gabriel had already gone through a similar form of bias where he was attacked just because of his element without anyone giving him a chance to explain. It didn't matter who this woman was or what element she had; for him, all elements were a threat to him.

He didn't actively attack her, but he did hold his Staff firmly in case he was attacked in the middle. At the same time, he also canceled his old spell. He didn't even send his Grimoire back. The grimoire kept floating before him.

"Before we begin, I must say. That Grimoire is certainly very unique. It's definitely not the Holy Book of Darkness. At the same time, it's not like any other Element either. But it's certainly a Grimoire since it can fly on its own. Would I be right to assume that it's a new element that you received?" The young lady asked.

"That's right. I'm not a Dark Mage." Gabriel affirmed.

"Oh, that I knew at first glance." The lady burst into laughter. "The world outside can't differentiate between symbols. They would easily confuse you with a Dark Mage because of your Element's color, but I'm a Dark Mage. I know that you aren't one of us."

"So, what is your Element? What kind of Mage are you?" she further asked.

Gabriel didn't answer her question. He wasn't going to tell her anything about him. For a mage, it was best to keep his abilities a secret. Unfortunately, most of the skills of the other Elements were well known, including the Element of Darkness. These elements had lost the surprise. He was different.

Instead of explaining more about himself, he changed the topic to the woman. "Why did you approach me? What do you want from me?"

The lady couldn't help but smirk. She noticed the hesitation of Gabriel to answer her. She didn't mind it. She was just a stranger to him.

"Fine. I'll be straight. My name is Lira, and I'm what they call a Mage of Darkness. I sensed your strange spell energy from miles away and reached your town to see what it was about. That's when I noticed the Mark on your hands. Unfortunately, I was too late, and you were already hurt. Your Grimoire took you somewhere unknown."

"Since then, I've been waiting to meet you again. I again sensed that energy just now, and it was even more powerful than before. So I came here, hoping to find you," she continued.

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"I'll repeat my question. What do you want from me?" Gabriel firmly stated. "We don't share an Element. You can't use my Grimoire, and you can't use my Staff. Both of these things are useless for you. So what do you want from me?"

"I know I can't use your Grimoire because it's a different element. However, even if it were the same Element, I wouldn't be able to use your Grimoire, which had bound itself to you."

"Other than you, no one can use that Grimoire, even the ones who share your Element. And even if you die, the Grimoire will just select someone else instead of the person who killed the Owner of the Grimoire."

"As for why I approached you, it's because I need your help," she further stated.

"I'm sorry, but I've stopped helping others. You should look for someone else," Gabriel stated, ending the conversation immediately. "Now, I don't expect anyone to help me, and I won't help anyone either. This is my new life, and I'll live it only for myself."

"I know what you're going through. You just awakened, and you were attacked. Probably by someone you trusted? It can certainly mess with anyone's heads. But that's what we Dark Mage have been going through for ages. We've been betrayed, backstabbed, killed, and more for no reason at all."

"Trust me when I say this, but I know what you've gone through. In a world where even your blood can betray you, it's really hard to trust someone. But still, I ask for your trust. The two of us might not share the same Element, but we share the same enemies."

"Previously, the entire world was against us, but now, it's against you as well. If we want to stop ourselves from being hunted like wild beasts, we need to work together. We need to change the world! We need to destroy the world that tormented us and create the world anew! A world that will accept us! A world where we won't have to fight for our lives!"

Lira appeared to be talking straight from her heart, and her emotions were clearly visible on her face. She didn't often show them emotions as she believed this made her look weak, which she didn't like, but currently she couldn't control herself.

She had managed to become stronger throughout the years, strong enough to defeat most of the Mages. Unfortunately, throughout the years, she also had to sacrifice a lot for what she gained. She had to fight every day for a world where she didn't have to worry about being killed abruptly.

Gabriel noticed the pain in Lira's eyes. For some reason, she reminded him of himself when he was stabbed by Maya...

"Create the world anew?" he muttered. "A different world? I think you're overestimating me. I just awakened. Can we really change the world? Can we really go against the Holy Churches?"

"Of course, we can! With you and me, we can do anything! You have the Grimoire of your element, and I have one of mine! We aren't as weak as you think! We don't need to be scared of the Elemental Churches. In fact, it should be them who needs to be worried about us!"

"You have a Grimoire too?" Gabriel tilted his head in surprise. Grimoire meant a Holy Book, and each element only had one. It was the strongest spell book of that Element which was like the Holy Grail! She also had one like him?

Lira nodded. She showed the dark pendant which was hanging on her neck. Just like Gabriel's ring, the pendant turned into a dim speck of Light. It transformed into a black book which was similar in size to Gabriel's book but had a black crescent moon on the cover instead of the two Scythes that were in his book.

"Will you help me? I don't mind if you don't want to fight with me for long. Just help me once, and I'll fight all the battles myself!"

Even though Gabriel didn't know if he wanted to help her or not, he was really curious about what help she needed? She had a Grimoire of her own. And she was a mage for longer, so she was certainly stronger than him. He didn't believe he could help her with anything.

"What one help?" he asked.

Lira took a deep breath as she grimly stated her request.

Hearing the requests, Gabriel's lips parted slightly. "So you are crazy…."

"No, I'm not a crazy person, and this isn't a crazy idea. If we can pull it off, it'll be a great help to our cause," Lira tried to persuade Gabriel, but he still appeared to look at her like she was crazy.

"Only you can call this plan not crazy. I've just awakened my element, and I don't even control more than a few spells, yet you want me to enter the Holy Bastion of the Church of Light? If that's not crazy, then what is?"

"Ask someone else to help. I'm not interested." He turned his back on Lira and started leaving. If she was asking for a small help, he might've even considered it since the two of them were in a similar situation. Still, her request was literally a suicide mission, especially now that he had awakened his second element.

"I'm asking you because only you can help me," Lira explained, letting out a tired sigh as she followed after Gabriel.

"At first, when I sensed your energy, I didn't think this plan was even possible. I only wanted to see who was using this dark energy so I could form a team and work together to spread the influence of the Church of Darkness, but after seeing your two elements, I realized that you were more special than I thought! Only you can pull off this mission!"

"This suicide mission, you mean," Gabriel rolled his eyes. "They'll catch me right away if I go there. The only time I'll step into the Royal Capital is when I believe I'm strong enough, and this isn't that time! Moreover, I have more important things to finish. I don't have time for you."

"More important things like taking revenge on the people who hurt you?" Lira inquired, taking a guess. "You can't do that either."

"What do you mean?" Gabriel stopped and looked back at the young woman.

"The citizens of the town have already vacated it. The commoners shifted to other towns while the mages ran to the Royal Capital to hide, dreading your return. And I can take a guess that it was the mages who hurt you. That would mean that the people you want your revenge on... They are already in the Royal Capital. You won't find anyone even if you go back to the town."

The young lady explained how futile Gabriel's effort of revenge was going to be since the town was empty now.

"They can't leave so fast. It's only been a few hours since I was hurt. They should still be on the way," Gabriel stated in response.

"A few hours? I think you might have a slight misconception. You weren't hurt a few hours ago. It has been three days since you disappeared from the town. And three days are more than enough for them to get to the Royal Capital," Lira chimed in.

" In fact, if I'm not wrong, those people must've informed the Holy Church of Light about you as well. It's quite possible that the town would be surrounded by the Mages of Light at this point. Go back, and you'll end up falling straight into the trap," she further added.

"Why should I believe you?" Gabriel grimly inquired.

"Because I have a reason to keep you safe. You are a potential future ally and too important to me. Moreover, I don't want to do anything that will break your trust. If you accept to help me and go to the Royal Capital, you'll find out if I was lying, and then you won't help me. So I won't lie to you about this," Lia explained.

"All I'll say at the end is that you really should avoid going to the town this time. If you thought the Town Priest was strong, you'd be in for a real surprise. That person was nothing before the ones who will be present in the town for investigation."

"If you were able to sense me using my energy, why can't they do it? How come they aren't here yet if they are that strong?" Gabriel inquired before plucking another apple.

He took a bite from the apple and waited for the woman's response.

"They can't sense it. Even though you have a different element than me, yours also contains some semblance of darkness but not quite the same. I was able to sense it because of that, but they can't unless you're using your spells while you're in close proximity to them."

"And how close would that proximity be where they can sense it?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but if I were to take a guess, I would say five hundred meters or more," Lia answered. "So you're somewhat safe for now."

"So, will you help me?" she ultimately asked.

Gabriel stood calmly and didn't respond. He just gazed back into the distance.

"Infiltrate the Royal Capital and steal the Staff of the Head of Dark Church which is being kept in a high-security exhibition at the Holy Academy of Elements," he muttered after a long time before shaking his head. He gazed back at Lia. "As I said before, this is impossible. You're asking me to go to war with the Holy Academy."

"I'm not asking you for that. All I'm asking you is to steal something for me."

"Steal something that is kept in high security? To me, that sounds the same as going to war with the Academy." Gabriel rolled his eyes. "All the Mages of the Academy will surround me within minutes if I even attempt it. I can't face them all as I am now."

"Aren't you also a mage with the Element of Darkness? You also have the Holy Grimoire. Why don't you do it? Why do you need me to do it?"

"Because I'm not as special as you. You have what I lack! You have the Dual Elements! The security of the Royal City is too tight. Even the Advanced Mages from the Holy Church are stationed at the Security Stations."

"Moreover, the city is surrounded by a barrier which is cast by the Head of Holy Church of Light himself! As soon as a Dark Mage passes through the barrier, it leaves a mark on their soul. And also alerts everyone about your presence."

"For the next twenty-four hours, the mark can't be removed. The Dark Mage can be detected by the Holy Mages because of that mark. They are chased, hunted, and killed."

"So there is no way for me to sneakily enter the city to steal something. Especially not until I get the strength to destroy the Barrier, and I can only get that strength with the help of the Ancestral Staff of Darkness. That's why I want you to steal it. As soon as the staff returns to me, the barrier will become useless! We can finally have an equal footing."

Hearing Lira's explanation, Gabriel finally understood why she was asking for his help.

"And because I don't exactly have the Element of Darkness, I can get through the barrier undetected..." He finished what Lira was going to speak.

"You are pretty clever. That's correct. That's why I said only you can do it!" Lira agreed.

She sent her Book of Darkness back into the necklace around her neck as she stood empty-handed before Gabriel, who hadn't stopped eating the apples throughout the conversation.

"Okay, I understand that I can get inside the city, but aren't you forgetting something important?" Gabriel asked. "According to you, the Ancestral Staff of Darkness is kept in the Academy of Elements under a secure exhibition. And only the students and teachers there can enter the academy."

"That's right, but how hard is it to get admission to the Academy for someone like you? You are a Mage of Light. All you need to do is hide your Emblem of the other element, and you can get in. It's not like you need to study there."

"There are two flaws in your logic, Lira. Firstly, even if I go to the academy, I won't get admission. The Head Priest of Church of Light has banished me from the Academy of Elements. I can never get admission there."

Gabriel talked about his past and how he was to be selected in the Holy Church of Light before being pushed off the cliff. He also talked about hearing of his banishment.

"And even if I could, by now, the Head Priest has probably already been informed about my Awakening of a Dark Element. My wanted poster would be everywhere before long, starting at the Academy. And secondly, my other element, even if I hide it from plain view, can't it be sensed by the other mages, especially the Mages of Light and teachers there?"

"Those aren't actually flaws, you see." Lira smiled. She was slightly happy that he wasn't outright refusing her anymore. Since they were talking about flaws, that meant there was a possibility of him agreeing.

"Firstly, about your banishment. That's easy. All you need to do is make sure no one can recognize you, and that's the easiest part. I can help you with that. No one will know who you really are. And secondly, you are entirely wrong. No one can sense what your element is unless you use it."

"That's why the Mages of Light don't hide their Symbol of Light. They want everyone to see and know how special they are. The only way someone can sense your element is through your aura, but a mage only gets an aura after becoming an advanced Mage. You aren't at that level yet, so you don't need to worry about it."

"That's why you can easily get inside the Academy of Elements. So far, everything you stated hasn't been an obstruction. The only problem with the plan is the actual stealing amidst the security, but I have an idea for that as well. As long as you agree, I promise we can pull it off successfully!"

"So, are you in?" Lira reached out her hand to Gabriel. "Together, we will make the world a better place... A better place for us!"

Gabriel gazed at her but didn't reach out his hand. "The world-changing stuff doesn't matter to me. Tell me how I'll actually benefit from this plan other than all the future stuff. If I succeed, you'll get the Ancestral Staff. If I fail, I'll be killed. You have no losses in this entire plan, and I have no benefits that I can see."

"In the end, it seems more and more like you're using me as a pawn. Why should I do anything?" he asked in response. " If I want to change the world, why won't I go with my initial plan of becoming stronger so I can do it myself? Why will I depend on you?"

No matter how much this plan made sense for him, he didn't care about it in the end. As long as he felt like he was being used, he didn't want to agree to it.

Lira started placing back and forth as she scratched the back of her head in frustration. Even after trying to convince the guy so much, they were back at square one.

"Fine! Tell me what you want in exchange for your help?" she ultimately asked, glaring at the young man.

"After you get me the Ancestral Staff, I will do any one thing that you ask, no matter whatever that may be! You wanted benefits; what more benefits can I give? You feel like you're being a pawn, but I'm willing to be a pawn too, all for my goal! So tell me, what do you want in return for your help?!"

Lira had been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time where she could recover the Ancestral Staff and complete a set with the Grimoire of Darkness so she could bring out its full strength. Now that she was so close to it, she was so desperate that she was willing to do anything for it!

"You want me to kill your enemies? I'll do it! You want me to bring you wealth? I will! You want me to help you plunder cities? I will help you! No matter what one thing you ask, I will do it!" she declared. "As long as you agree to help me retrieve the Ancestral Staff that belongs to us Dark Mages!"

Gabriel was surprised at the determination of Lira. She was actually willing to do anything for him? Didn't that imply...

He observed her expressions as he asked, "Anything anything? No matter how absurd my demand may be?"

Lira didn't know why but she felt slightly worried from the tone of the young man. Just what was he planning to ask her.

'He is a man, and all men are like that! Of course, he will ask for my body! But if it's for my goal, I am ready!' she thought as she gulped down, clenching her fist.

She nodded. "Anything!"

"Fine. I will help you as long as you promise to fulfill my one demand after that," Gabriel finally agreed since there really was something he couldn't miss out on at this point. An opportunity like this doesn't come often.

"What is your demand?" Lira asked, even though she had already guessed what it might be.

After a brief pause, Gabriel took another bite from his apple as he told his demand.

"What?! Are you crazy?!" This time, it was Lira's turn to be shocked. She had assumed his demand, but even in her dreams, she couldn't have expected how crazy his demand was going to be!

The ball which was in Gabriel's park before was now on her field. The decision rested on her as she incredulously stared at Gabriel.

Lira stared at Gabriel blankly as silence ensued. Only the sounds of leaves rustling amongst themselves could be heard.

The two people looked at each other, trying to guess what the other person might be thinking.

"It's not crazy. You said you'll do anything I ask in return. I told you my demand. Now the rest is on your shoulders." Gabriel appeared to be unphased.

The lady had come to him with a request. It wasn't him who went to her first. Moreover, since he was taking a risk, he needed something in return.

"Can you ask for something else?" Lira asked after thinking for a few minutes.

"I don't need anything else. Take your time and think about it. I'm not in any hurry. It's not like I have a home to go to."

Gabriel sat under the shade of a tree. He kept eating the apples as if he was Adam in the garden of Eve, not caring about anything else for now. He didn't need to hurry back to the town since everyone had gone already. The only destination for him was the Royal City.

Even if the lady before him disagreed, he was still going to go there. The only difference was going to be that he wasn't going to attempt that stealth. His goal of going there was simple... Get back at the ones who messed with him, especially Hawrin, since he was the core of this entire mess.

Leaving Lira to her own thoughts, Gabriel observed the staff even more carefully. According to him, this staff was most probably the Ancestral Staff of Necromancy.

It was supposed to be the strongest Elemental Staff. Lira was also after something similar but for her Element.

This showed Gabriel the importance of the staff he had. He literally had the strongest weapons in the world that anyone could have. He had the Holy Book of Necromancy, and he had the Ancestral Staff of Necromancy. The only part of the equation which was lacking was himself. He needed to make himself stronger, and he realized it.

Initially, his enmity might've been with Hawrin, but now the entire world was against him because of his other element. For his safety, he needed strength... Even more strength than he had… strength to kill anyone who even thought about hurting him!

After a long pause, Lira broke the silence. "As much as I want to help you, it's impossible. I can't help you steal the Holy Book of Light!"

"You are asking for something that is literally impossible. The Holy Book of Light is with the Head of the Church of Light. Even with the Ancestral Staff of Darkness, I won't be strong enough to face him directly."

As much as she wanted to agree, she knew she couldn't. The demand of Gabriel was just impossible for her to fulfill.

"Who said you will be alone?" Gabriel inquired. "I will be fighting with you. Two against one. Even if he is stronger, we can do it."

Lira shook her head. "Even if we manage to get lucky and kill the Head of Church of Light, as I told you before, the Holy Grimoires never select the killers as their owners. The Holy Book of Light won't select you as its owner. It'll disappear after the Head of the Church of Light is killed. Your wish is literally impossible."

"That's why I'm telling you to ask for something else. Literally, anything else. I could make a false promise to you right now saying I'll do it, but I know it's impossible," Lira explained. "If I lied now, the day you find out that I lied, there will be bad blood between us, and I don't want that. So I'm not going to lie to you just to get you to do what I ask."

Gabriel noticed the eyes of Lira. Even though she was a Dark Mage who had probably taken a lot of lives, her eyes were still so pure.

"Fine. I'll help you." Gabriel tossed an apple to Lira. "I know stealing the Grimoire of Light is impossible as well."

"You know... And you agree to help me despite me not promising you? Why?" Lira stared at Gabriel in confusion as she caught the apple.

"You might be the only person in the world who won't look at me like I'm a Devil, despite knowing both my elements," Gabriel answered. "Just like I'm the only one who won't judge you. If you want to change the world, you'll need my help. And if I want to fight back and become stronger, I'll need your help."

"We are the two bad apples of this world that everyone hates," he further added. "It's time we showed the world what a few bad apples can do."

As Gabriel spoke, it was pretty ironic that he was holding an apple in his hand.

Lira couldn't agree with the statement of Gabriel more. That was precisely what she thought. The two of them needed each other in this battle if they wanted to survive long enough to see a world where they weren't persecuted.

That was also why she didn't want to lie to him and make him her enemy in the future because of this one lie which was inevitably going to come to light after he asked her to keep her promise in the future.

However, she still didn't understand why Gabriel asked for a demand he wasn't going to follow through on. He offered his help without anything in return.

After a long time, she thought of something as her eyes lit up. "Could it be... You were testing me?"

Gabriel didn't answer. He kept his focus on his Ancestral Staff. "There's a saying in my town. A burnt child dreads fire. I've seen what happens when I trust someone without thinking things through. As you said before, even your family can betray you at the last second."

"I wanted to see if you will lie to me just to get what you want. You didn't. If you had lied…." He stood up and stretched his arms and didn't finish her sentence, which sounded a bit threatening. "I will help you."

"You..." Lira just blankly stared at Gabriel.

This young boy... She thought he was going to be an impulsive young man who asked for requests without thinking things through. But he was different... He had thought things through. Even his demand had a hidden purpose behind it. If she had lied to him, she would've lost his help and trust forever.

"So you really don't want anything in exchange?" Lira inquired.

"I didn't say I won't ask anything in return. I just don't need to ask you anything this instant. When I need help, I'll expect you to be there. If you aren't, I'll personally come to kill you for breaking my trust," Gabriel declared.

Even though Lira was an advanced mage with a Grimoire, Gabriel didn't hesitate in issuing his threat. He had seen death from up close twice. In this life, he wasn't going to be scared of dying.

"I promise. When you need help, I'll always be there. It doesn't matter if you succeed or fail; I'll be there to help you!" Lira reached out her hand to Gabriel.

Gabriel responded in a similar manner and reached out his hand as well.

And thus, an unlikely partnership had formed. A partnership that had the potential to change the world forever... The partnership of two Mages who could stand at the peak of this world.

There existed a small village in the middle of nowhere.

The Population of the small village was only fifty. The village was cut off from most of the world. People grew their own vegetables here and used the fruits from the nearby forest. They also had a source of water available.

Despite having all the things they needed to live comfortably, the village was slowly dying as people kept migrating to bigger cities. Throughout the years, the population of the village kept dwindling.

Despite all the troubles, there were still some people who just refused to leave their village, no matter what. These were the old people who kept the village running.

Unfortunately, all those old people were sitting on the ground, not daring to move. They didn't even know how it happened, but they were the prisoners of their own shadows that had come to life.

The Shadows were keeping these people hostages, pointing a shadow sword at them.

Half the shadows had gone to surround the village to make sure no one could get in or leave. The others kept an eye on the villagers.

This was the Village where Lira had brought Gabriel. Not only was this place the closest to the forest they were previously in, but it also had what they needed.

One of the old men in the village had a horse farm that had some really nice horses.

Lira could fly, but she was informed by Gabriel that he couldn't, so she brought him here to get him a horse. She couldn't just carry him inside the Royal City by air. Both of them were going to be caught, so they needed a horse.

"Select any horse you like. I don't think the people outside would mind."

There were seven horses inside the farm, and all of them looked great.

Gabriel observed the horses briefly before staring back at Lira. "I don't know how to ride a horse either. Even if I select, won't it be useless? You can just drop me near the Royal Capital. I'll walk from there."

Lira refused the suggestion without even thinking about it. "If the guards at the Royal Capital saw a Light Mage who was neither flying nor had a horse, they could get suspicious, which I don't want. It'll make things more difficult for you."

"And as far as horse riding is concerned, that's not hard. We have all the time in the world. I can teach you. You just select a horse that you want."

"If you say so." Gabriel selected a black horse that was closest to him. The horse had a long mane of hair along its upper back. It also looked to be the youngest here but not too young.

"It's the one then."

"Not a bad choice." Lira patted the head of the young horse before bringing him out.

For some reason, the horse was really tame. It was as if it was just following whatever she wanted, even without her having to command.

Gabriel observed the strange phenomenon and couldn't stop himself from asking. "Can you control horses?"

Lira shook her head. "It's just the horse can sense my aura since I'm connected to his shadow right now. I can't control the horse, but I can somewhat manipulate him through that connection. It doesn't work on humans though."

"I'll tell you more about it on the way." Lira left the barn.

The villagers were still sitting on the ground, worried for their lives.

Lira walked to those people. "I'm taking this horse. I hope none of you mind."

No one raised any objection in response.

"That's better. After today, you won't see me again. But there's one thing you should know. If any of you try to tell anyone about what happened here, I might have to return, and that won't be good for you."

The Leader of the village raised his head. "You have my word. We won't tell anyone. You can take the horse as long as you let us live."

"It's so good to talk to people who aren't stubborn." Lira flashed a beautiful smile in response. "See? No one had to die."

She placed three gold coins on the ground. "This should cover the cost of the horse and more."

Leaving the money for the horse, Lira climbed on the horse before reaching out her hand toward Gabriel. "Come up. Time to leave."

"I can climb on my own." Gabriel decided against taking her help for this small task. He climbed on the horse on his own and sat, leaving a little space between him and the young lady.

Lira noticed the gap between the two. It appeared as if Gabriel was still hesitating in trusting her completely.

"Are you looking to fall?" she asked. "I'm a fast rider. You'll fall if you don't hold onto me. Come closer and hold me firmly if you don't want to fall."

Gabriel let out a tired sigh before sliding closer to Lira. Their bodies stuck so closely to each other that not even an inch of gap was left between the two.

Since Gabriel had already sent his staff back to formation storage according to Lira's teaching previously, both his hands were free.

He wrapped his arms around the slim waist of Lira, holding her firmly.

The Horse started moving, and it was exactly as Lira had stated; the horse was really fast. If Gabriel wasn't holding onto her firmly, he could've fallen right at the start.

The villagers watched the two youngsters leave the town. The shadows that were keeping them hostage had also disappeared, turning into nothingness.

The leader of the Village, who had promised Lira that he wasn't going to tell anyone about their appearance, commanded a middle-aged man who stood behind him.

"Ron, take another horse and go to the Church of Light Branch in the closest town and tell them what happened here."

"What? Didn't you just promise them that you won't do it?" The middle-aged man asked in response.

"Those two were Dark Mages. We don't need to keep our promises to them. Do as I say! Tell the Holy Mages that two dark mages had appeared and also tell them the direction they went in. Those two need to be caught."

"But her promise? What if she comes back?"

"She won't. She will be dead by then. And even if she survives, she won't know we informed the Mages of Light. Just do as I said. Inform them so they can catch those two demons fast!" The Leader commanded.

"Fine. I'll do as you ask!" Ron ultimately agreed. He couldn't oppose the chief of the village.

However, just as he was about to go to the barn, his face turned pale. He raised his trembling hands toward the old chief.

No matter how much he tried to speak, no words came out of his lips.

The old chief noticed that all the other villagers were looking at him with the same gazes.

His face went still as he thought the worst. He slowly turned around, hoping he was wrong.

As soon as he turned around, he saw a Shadow Warrior standing behind him. He couldn't even blink before the shadow sword came swinging. The man's head flew into the air before falling to the ground with his body.

Throughout the day, painful screams echoed in the village as bodies kept piling on.

Lira had already traveled far away from the village when she slowed down. She gazed back toward the town.

"What happened? Why did you slow down?" Gabriel looked back as well, wondering what she was looking at.

"Nothing. Just amazed by the stupidity of some people who thought they can survive by breaking a promise. It's nothing we need to care for..."

An entire village was wiped from the face of this earth. All fifty people in the Village were dead, and not a single person outside knew about it since the Village was disconnected from the rest of the world for the most part.

Lira didn't tell Gabriel what she did, but even if she did, she didn't think Gabriel would've cared. She had given those people an option to save their lives by keeping their mouths shut, but they refused to listen. She didn't believe she was in the wrong. She just did what she had promised to do. They were in the wrong for making her do it!

"This isn't the direction to the Royal Capital, is it?"

The two of them had only left the village a short time ago when Gabriel realized something. The sun was behind them. That meant they were going in the wrong direction.

"That's right. We aren't going to the Royal Capital right away." Lira confessed.

"Where are we going then?"

"You aren't ready to get to the Royal Capital yet. There are still a few things we need to handle to ensure you have the highest chance of success. That's why I'm taking you somewhere special," Lira explained. "As you said before, there are a few people in the Capital who recognize you and know what you are, so we need all the precautions we can take."

"You have a way to make sure they don't recognize me? I don't think a disguise will work on me." Gabriel shook his head in response. He assumed that she was taking him to a makeup artist who was going to place a fake mustache and beard on his face for his disguise. He believed it wasn't going to work.

"Don't worry; I'm not taking you to get a disguise. It's something more than that. You'll know when we get there." Lira smiled in response. She believed Gabriel was going to be pleasantly surprised when he saw what she had planned.

Lira was the only Dark Mage that was still in existence, according to what she knew. All the other dark mages were killed in this world as soon as they awakened, so she could never protect anyone. She had always been alone. She had already lost hopes of someone else supporting her in this battle against the Holy Church.

In her isolation, she didn't realize when she had gone inside a shell where her real optimistic personality had died. She didn't even remember the last time she was hopeful for what the future held for her. She just killed and killed to get a purpose in her fight.

Now she wasn't alone. She had Gabriel, who had promised to support her. Even though the two had just met, she had already started considering him like her. The two were similar in more ways than one. She didn't want to lose Gabriel and go back to being all alone.

The mission was not only for her sake, but it was for everyone like her who had to fight for their lives in this biased world. In this battle, she didn't want to lose Gabriel. She wanted him to come out safely, and she was willing to waste as much time as she needed for it.

It didn't matter how much they waited before infiltrating the Holy City, but what mattered was doing it right on the first attempt. Because if they failed once, it was all going to be over.

Gabriel was going to be killed and possibly her as well since she wasn't going to sit back and watch him face the enemies alone. The fight for their freedom was going to end right there, and she didn't want that.

"As I told you before, I'll give you everything you need, no matter what I have to do for it," Lira stated calmly.

Gabriel didn't respond. He just gazed into the distance.

The Royal City was also known as the Holy City. He had already dreamed of going there, but now, that dream was coming true, but not as he had hoped.

This time, the journey wasn't for his future and goals. This time, the journey was for his revenge and something even more than that.

"Can I ask you something?" After a long silence, Gabriel asked.

"Anything you want," Lira answered immediately.

"How many spells do you have in your Grimoire?"

Lira was slightly surprised at this question, but she didn't hold back on answering. "More than twenty. As for you, I suppose you have two or three? One of them being the Undead Shield?"

"How do you know how many spells I have?" Gabriel asked in surprise.

"It's not hard to guess. The Grimoires aren't like any other books. They are the Holy Books with lives of their own. That's how they can select hosts."

"They also decide how many spells you can access based on your spiritual strength, so you don't hurt yourself while using a spell. As you can expect, a Grimoire won't want its host to die using a spell they can't use, right?"

"I know you've just awakened, so you're probably a novice mage. Your soul power would be really weak for now, and that's why the Grimoire won't give you any advanced or mid-tier spells. So I can guess you have a couple of spells only, but you don't have to worry about that."

"The stronger you get, the more spells you'll unlock, each being stronger than the last."

Hearing Lira's explanation, Gabriel finally understood. So this was the secret. Apparently, this wasn't written in any books, probably because there were only a few Grimoires, so there was no need to generalize this information.

Lira further continued her explanation.

"You awakened a never-before-seen element, but that's about it. On the core, you're still the same old self. Your soul is also the same. You have a Grimoire and probably an Ancestral Staff as well, but you aren't strong enough to hold their complete strength."

Hearing her explanation, Gabriel was able to understand a few things that he didn't before.

He had the weapons, but he didn't know how to use them properly. He also needed to strengthen his soul and advance as a Mage so he could use stronger spells. Initially, he was confused about why this book only had two spells, but he finally had some clarity. He wasn't the only one who started with only two spells.

The Holy Books were said to have lives of their own. The Book of Necromancy selected him. It also took him to safety when he had no other option. It was probably the same for all other Holy Books.

Since the Forbidden Book of Necromancy wanted him to be safe, it only showed him the spells that he could use based on his current strength. As a basic mage who hadn't trained his soul yet, if he tried to use an Advanced Spell from the Holy Book, he could actually damage his Soul forever, so he wasn't allowed to see those spells yet.

"So this lack of spells is nothing more than a safety mechanism," Gabriel commented.

"That would be accurate."

"That means you are stronger than me and can kill me whenever you want?" Gabriel asked, frowning.

He had only two low-tier spells while this lady had over twenty, possibly even advanced spells of darkness? Didn't that mean she was in a different league altogether?

Lira shook her head in response. "That's not entirely correct."

She further continued, "The spell you used in the forest… It was probably a basic tier spell for you, but the strength behind that spell... I felt it. Your basic spell was comparable to my stronger spells, if not stronger."

"I honestly don't know how that's possible. Even though you used the Ancestral Staff for that spell, your spell still shouldn't be comparable to my advanced spells, but it was. It's probably something about your element. Honestly, even I'm confused about it. Your Element... It's something really special, Gabriel."

"If your Basic Tier Spells are so strong, I can only imagine how strong your advanced tier spells are going to be..."

Lira's words surprised Gabriel. Even he hadn't expected her to say this.

His basic spell was really so strong? Was the Element of Necromancy really something that special? If that was the case, then this element really held too many secrets, starting from its origin to how it ended up with him.

****

Two days passed as the group of two continued traveling together.

Along the way, Lira also stopped occasionally and allowed Gabriel to take the lead. She taught him how to ride a horse, how to hold ropes, and everything in between. Initially, even Gabriel struggled a bit, but with time, he got the hang of it.

From that point on, the two of them took turns sitting at the front so Gabriel could get more experience.

As Gabriel rode, Lira also taught him how to correct his posture to appear more dignified like he needed to pretend to be.

Within two days, Lira had made sure that Gabriel went from a novice in horse riding to something that was no less than a Royalty.

Currently, it was also Gabriel who was sitting in the lead. Lira sat behind him with her hands wrapped around young Gabriel.

"We are near our destination. That's the city," Lira reminded Gabriel, pointing in the distance.

Gabriel observed a beautiful city in the distance which was situated in the middle of a desert. "Are there going to be Mages of Light in the city?"

"Hopefully not. This city is too far from the Capital. Moreover, it's not one of those luxurious cities where the Mages would come for fun. In fact, it's a city that most mages avoid. It's a crime-infested City that no one wants to enter. So I doubt we will find any Mage of Light," Lira explained.

She licked her lips in amusement. "And even if we do, I'll make sure they are dead before they lay their eyes on us."

"Who are we meeting in the city?"

"A man known as Lambard. He's known as the uncrowned King of this city and also an antique collector. He is the one we came here for."

"And how will he help us?"

"Not only can he help us, but his help might be the most crucial for us," Lira responded.

Gabriel made the horse stop at the city's entrance, where two guards were standing with spears, blocking the path.

"State your purpose!" The Guards said in unison.

"We're here to meet Lambard," Gabriel answered.

The guards flinched as they heard the answer. The two guards noticed the gloves on the hands of Gabriel, which seemed to be covering the back of his hands.

"Are you a Mage?" One of the guards asked. "Take off your gloves."

Gabriel took off his left glove and showed the Mark of Light. "That's right. I'm a Mage."

The two guards looked at each other momentarily before one of them stated, "Master Lambard isn't in the city. He left two days ago for the City of Sucem."

"Let me handle them." Lira jumped off the horse, not liking the fact that these guards were wasting their time.

"Tell Lambard that Lira is here to meet him, and if he doesn't meet us, I'll bring this entire city down."

"You dare talk about Master like that?!" The guards exclaimed in a rage, seeing her offensive tone. "We told you he isn't in the city. Go back and come after a few weeks!"

"You can't claim I didn't warn you," Lira sighed.

She took off her gloves as well, revealing the Mark of Darkness. The guards' eyes widened as they saw the Mark.

"Shadow Knights," Lira commanded.

Two Shadow Knights appeared behind the two guards, killing them instantly.

After killing both the Guards, Lira sent the two Shadow Knights back before she walked back to Gabriel. She climbed on the horse.

"The mansion in the center of the City is our destination."

Gabriel entered the city with Lira.

The roads were filled with people. The City appeared to be very crowded. There was barely any space to walk, let alone ride on a horse, but Gabriel didn't need to worry about that since he had Lira with him. Lira didn't even try to hide her aura.

That was one advantage of being a Dark Mage. Everyone was scared of you, so no one was going to dare to get close to you except the Mages, and even if there were any Mages here, Lira didn't worry about them.

People on the street kept moving aside on their own, clearing the path for Gabriel and his horse.

"Are they selling the Staff of Dark Element? I thought those things were banned?" Gabriel asked, noticing a staff with a black gem being sold in one of the shops along with other elemental Staff. Only his element wasn't there.

All these Staffs were novice tier though, so their quality was questionable.

"I told you, this is a city infested with crime. Rules are the last thing they follow," Lira answered.

"How come the Holy Church of Light doesn't shut this city down for ignoring rules made by them?"

"You think they didn't try? They tried quite a lot of times, but they can't destroy this city."

"Why?"

"Because of Lambard."

"Because of him? Didn't you say he was a human? How can he stop the Holy Mages?"

"There's a long story behind that. You'll know it when we meet him. He does love to talk after all," Lira smiled. "You're about to explore a world that you didn't know existed. Let alone you; most people don't know about the things you're about to find out."

Gabriel was really curious about what this girl talked about, but then again, he decided to keep his patience.

Whatever Lira spoke until now pointed toward a mystery that ordinary people like him were unaware of. There existed a human who could stop the Holy Church of Light from invading this city?

He wondered just what kind of person that man was. He was soon going to get his answers.

Without any mishaps, the two of them managed to reach the central mansion in the city.

The entire city was in a really good condition. There were many luxurious houses and well-established markets. Even illegal work was done in the city with complete freedom, and no one cares about it.

Still, the mansion which was established in the center of the city was the most luxurious mansion Gabriel had ever seen. The mansion covered twenty acres of land right in the middle of the city.

Gabriel stopped the horse at the entrance, only to notice a woman standing there with a tray in her hand.

The tray contained two glasses of water. There was no guard present here.

"Welcome, guests. Master said you would be coming." The young lady welcomed Gabriel and Lira. "Master is waiting for you."

Gabriel gazed at Lira in confusion. Lambard knew they would be coming? And he was waiting for them? Then why did his guards at the city's entrance not allow them in?

Amidst thousands of questions, Gabriel got down the horse, followed by Lira.

Lira picked up the glass of water from the tray.

"It might be poisoned. You should be careful." Gabriel reminded Lira.

Lira only smiled back in response. "This water isn't to drink. Pick the glass and follow the maid inside."

Gabriel picked the other glass, still confused.

The maid turned around with the empty tray and stepped inside the mansion.

Gabriel also stepped inside the mansion with Lira, holding a glass of water, not knowing why.

Holding the glass of water, the two youngsters entered the beautiful Mansion, walking through the long hallway.

Along the hallway, Gabriel noticed lots of portraits hanging on the wall. Unfortunately, the Portraits were blank. There was nothing but a white blank in the portraits.

"Is there a reason behind having blank Portraits?" Gabriel asked. "Any significance?"

"They aren't blank," the maid responded without looking back.

Gabriel once again observed the portrait, but he still couldn't find anything. There was nothing he could see in them. They were certainly blank.

He got close to Lira and asked, "Do you see anything in these portraits?"

Lira shook her head. "I can't see anything either. You need something special to see what's in the portraits and we don't have it. Only Lambard does."

Along the hallway, there were many doors, each having a beautiful carving on them. Some had a floral design carved on them, while others had constellations carved on them.

None of the doors were where the maid stopped.

After walking nonstop for ten minutes straight, the three stopped at the end of the hallway before the biggest door they had seen so far.

The twenty-foot tall metallic door had two goblets floating on each side of the door, which surprised Gabriel. How were these two goblets floating in the air?

Unlike the other doors, this door seemed pretty ordinary in itself since it had no carvings. It was plain, but the floating goblets made this place even more intriguing than the others.

"This is why we were given the water." Lira reminded Gabriel as she moved over to the left goblet. "You take the right one. Pour the water into the goblet at the same time as me."

Gabriel was confused as to why they were doing it, but he did as she said.

He took a few steps to the right to stand right before the other Goblet.

"On the count of three, pour all the water in."

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three."

On the count of three, Lira emptied her glass of water. Gabriel did the same. Both of them filled the goblets with the water they had been carrying along the way.

Lira placed the empty glass back on the tray of the maid. Gabriel did the same as he kept glancing back at the goblets.

The goblets that were floating at their chest height started going down slowly after being filled as if they were getting heavier.

With each passing second, the goblets sank a few inches before ultimately the floating goblets touched the ground.

The metallic doors in front started opening as soon as Goblets touched the ground.

The phenomenon surprised Gabriel to some extent. He had seen doors that opened on their own in the mystical realm where he found the Ancestral Staff of Necromancy. To see something similar here... This made him really curious as to what kind of place this was.

"You two can go in." The maid instructed the young man and the lady.

Gabriel and Lira entered the place. The doors closed behind the two. At the same time, the water which was filling the gauntlet started disappearing slowly.

****

Gabriel entered the hall, which was massive. The hall appeared to be over a hundred meters wide and a hundred meters long. Everything here was stark white, from the roof to the walls to the floor.

Despite being such a massive hall, the place was completely void. There was nothing here except a throne which was placed at the exact center of the hall. Two seats were placed before the throne.

"Lambard, I know you want to show off with the newcomer, but it's not the time for a grand entry. Come out this instant!" Lira declared as she held Gabriel's hands and went ahead.

"Oh, why spoil this old man's fun?" A man's voice fell in the ears of two youngsters as a hand landed on their shoulders.

Gabriel turned around to see who it was, but no one was behind him.

"You're looking in the wrong direction, young man." The voice, this time, came from a different direction.

Gabriel turned once again, this time to the Throne in the middle. He could see a young man sitting on the throne. It was unclear how he appeared inside the closed room without them noticing.

The young man on the throne appeared to be slightly older than Gabriel, in his early twenties. He was dressed in a really majestic attire, wearing a grey robe on top of his blue attire.

The man had long, deep blue hair with a few streaks of silver in them. His skin appeared to be so flawless that it was hard to know if he was a man or a woman just at first glance.

The man had what appeared like a burnt mark on the left half of his face. His eyes also seemed so fascinating, with his right eye being red in color and his left being a lighter shade of blue.

The man appeared to be an enthusiast of accessories. He had an earring in each of his ears. He wore a ring on each of his fingers, and all those rings had different designs, some looking very fascinating.

The man also had a silver bracelet on both his hands and a silver pendant around his neck.

"Lambard, there you are." Lira stepped closer to Lambard with Gabriel.

"It's good to see you as well, Lira. It would've been even better if you hadn't killed my guards though," the young man lazily rolled his eyes.

"Not my fault. Those idiots tried to stop us," Lira explained before taking a seat.

Gabriel also did the same, sitting right beside Lira while facing Lambard.

"Get to the point. What brought you here with a Mage of Light?" Lambard inquired while observing the Mark of Light in the hands of Gabriel.

"I brought him here because I need something from you," Lira chimed in since even Gabriel didn't know why he was here.

Lambard sat more comfortably with his back resting against the cushion in the back of his throne.

"I never thought I would see the day when you will work with a Light Mage. Whatever, it's none of my concern. You know I don't deal with Mages, but since it's you, I'll listen to your request. If I find it fair, I might lend you a hand."

He glanced at Lira with intrigue, wondering what she would ask for.

"I want something that you hold very dear to yourself, but only temporarily. It is an absolute necessity for what we have to do," Lira stated.

She knew she had to phrase everything just perfectly, or this stubborn guy wasn't going to listen.

"Don't circle around." Lambard chided Lira lightly. "Just tell me what you want."

"Old man, I need your..."

The old man heard the demand of Lira. His eyes squinted as he was taken aback by this absurd demand.

"Impossible. Forget about it." Lambard stood up as he started leaving.

"Old Man, wait. At least listen to why we need it?"

Gabriel was curious why Lira was calling this person an old man. He looked to be in his early twenties. He didn't look old from any angle, but he was sure there was a reason behind it.

"If you give me what I asked for, I'm willing to give you something worth it in return," Lira commented.

"There is nothing you can have which I need." Lambard rolled his eyes.

"Not even the eye of Osiris?" Lira asked, letting out a subtle smile.

Lambard stopped in his tracks as he heard the words of Lira. He turned around. "You have the Eye of Osiris?!"

He walked back to his throne. "Fine. If you give me the Eye of Osiris, I will give you what you ask for, but only temporarily."

"Give me." He reached out his hand to Lira.

"I don't have it with me right now, but we will get it for you if you give us what I ask."

"So you're trolling me." Lambard sighed in disappointment. "That's not nice, you know?"

"I'm not. The reason we need what I asked for is because I plan to rob the Royal Academy of Elements to get something I want. And I know the Eye of Osiris is there as well. If you can help, we can get the Eye of Osiris as well," Lira told the young-looking man. "We both win in this situation."

So far, everything the two talked about went above Gabriel's head. He didn't understand a single thing about what all this meant. Most of these terms were something he was hearing for the first time.

"You think you can steal something from that place? I've tried before. That place is like a fortress. It's impossible to rob that place." Lambard refused to believe the young lady.

"Yeah, but just because you failed doesn't mean we will fail as well. You don't know that we will fail for sure. I can't afford to fail with this."

"Girl, I've seen more of the world than you can imagine. I know what's possible and what's not. Don't forget how old I am." Lambard spoke in arrogance and pride. "There is nothing I haven't seen! There is nothing I don't know! It's impossible to steal from that place."

" What if I prove you wrong? What if I prove that you haven't seen everything and you don't know everything?"

"Of course, I won't know minor things like the names of people you killed along the way and things like that, but I know all significant things," Lambard smirked.

"And what if I can prove you wrong with that too? There are many things that you probably haven't seen yet that can change the world!" Lira said in an amused tone.

"You're trying to get me to agree, which makes me a bit suspicious, but I'll take your bluff." Lambard smiled as he gazed into the eyes of Lira. "If you can show me something that I don't know which is significant enough that it can have world-changing effects, I'll accept that I don't know everything. I'll also give you the benefit of the doubt in your success at stealing."

"And you'll give me what I asked?" Lira asked.

The man paused for a brief second before he agreed. "Yes. But as I said, it must be a significant thing. If you can't, you'll leave your Grimoire here instead. It would look nice in my collection."

Lira hadn't expected the man to ask for her Grimoire in return, but if it was a bet, it was only fair for her to put something on the line as well. Moreover, she was sure of her victory.

"Deal," Lira agreed. This was exactly the moment she wanted. Lambard had made a bet with her in his arrogance, and this was useful for her. This way, she could get him to fulfill her demand.

"So, what is it that I don't know?" Lambard asked, seemingly amused. He wondered if the young lady could really come up with something. He believed it was impossible.

Lira gazed at Gabriel. "Gabriel, show him your right hand. Let him know how ignorant the old man is about the recent changes of the world."

Lambard tilted his head in confusion. Why was she asking the Mage of Light to show his right hand? What could there be?

Gabriel did as he was asked and took off his right gloves, revealing the mark on his right hand as well.

"You didn't know about the appearance of a Dual Elemental Mage, did you?" Lira observed the expressions of the old man, who appeared to be frozen in place, staring at the mark on Gabriel's right hand.

"Mark of Karyk!" Lambard held Gabriel's hands, staring at the mark as if he was a child who was given his favorite gift.

"Mark of Karyk?" Lira muttered in confusion. The man knew this mark? Wasn't this a new element? How could he know what it was?

"Mark of Karyk?" Gabriel also asked in confusion.

"This Mark... I thought it would never appear... Y-you! You are the First Mage of Necromancy?!" Lambard stood up. His eyes were filled with shock and excitement.

"You know this Mark?" Gabriel asked. "How?"

"I know everything about history since the history of this world is my first love! I've spent my life finding the truth about this world that is hidden in plain sight. The Mark of Karyk has made an appearance? The significance of this… I can't even imagine!"

Lambard turned to Lira, grabbing her shoulders. "Do you know the importance of this?!"

"Calm down, old man. Isn't it just a new Element?" Lira shook her head. "Why are you getting so excited?"

"I-i might've gotten a bit overexcited, but it's wrong. It's not just a new Element... It's the Origin Element!" the man declared.

"Origin Element?!" Gabriel frowned, not understanding the meaning. What did he mean by Origin Element?

Instead, it was Lira who seemed to have understood. "It is? I thought the Element of Light was the Origin Element?"

"You're wrong." Lambard sighed. "Element of Light isn't an Origin Element. It's just considered Origin Element because people don't know better."

"Will anyone tell me what Origin Element is?" Gabriel felt like he was hearing two people talk in a foreign language since he couldn't decipher anything. They were using so many unknown terms.

"You don't know about Origin Element?" Lambard asked incredulously. He couldn't believe there was a mage who didn't know about this.

"Ah, wait. What's your age? When did you awaken your element?"

"I'm eighteen." Gabriel glanced at his left hand's Mark of Light. "I got my first element a few weeks ago."

"Ah, so young? Fascinating. You are probably the youngest mage with the Element of Light as well." The man also observed the Element of Light of Gabriel. "Not only that, you have two elements, one being the Origin Element of Necromancy?! Man, even I'm jealous of your luck, and I'm never jealous of Mages!"

The man rubbed his face to calm down his excitement.

"He was born in a small town, and he stayed there for all his life, so he doesn't know about the outside world other than the basic things," Lira chimed in, explaining the reason behind Gabriel not knowing many things that were basics for people like them. "It's not surprising he doesn't know about the Origin Element."

"Then he doesn't know about the history of the world either? I have so much to tell him, it seems... About the beginning... About the end, and about our world which is also known as the Tomb of Gods."

"He will need this information to understand his Element better." The Man walked back to the throne.

Lira moved closer to Gabriel. She whispered in his ears, "I told you he loves to talk. There he starts."

"You know I can hear you, right?" Lambard squinted his eyes.

Lambard sat on his throne and closed his eyes. For a moment, there was only silence as no one spoke. Even the heartbeats of people could be heard in the silence.

After a long time, the old man broke his silence as he opened his eyes which looked really deep now. It was as if his eyes were filled with centuries of wisdom.

"This world of ours, it's something that no one truly understands. Not many people know the true history of this world or how it came to be. The people don't even know why we have the Mages and where they get their powers from? Who made the Grimoires? Who made the Ancestral Staffs? How did they achieve it? Where did the first mage get his powers from?"

"What people don't understand, they start assuming. They start believing that it was the Gods who gave these powers to the humans, selecting them as their warriors. They believe the first mage gained his abilities because he was selected by the Gods. And that oldest Element to be awakened is known as Origin Element."

"Most people think that the first Element which was awakened by someone was the Element of Light. That's why they think light is the Origin Element, but most people are wrong."

"They are wrong about everything, not just the Origin Element. They are wrong about the Origin of these abilities. They are wrong about how the first Mages got their abilities. They are wrong about thousands of things. Even the most educated people are wrong about such things." As Lambard spoke, he kept turning his ring around his finger as if he was playing with it.

"What are they wrong about exactly?" Gabriel asked. "And how do you know all this if even the most knowledgeable don't know about this?!"

"I'll answer all your questions. But first, your tea is here, it seems." The young man gazed behind Gabriel.

Gabriel looked back, only to be stunned. Another person had appeared behind him without making a noise. It was the same maid who had brought them to this place in the first place.

The maid was carrying two cups filled with tea on her tray.

Watching Lira pick up a cup, Gabriel felt like he should pick the cup as well as courtesy, but he didn't. No matter who this person was, he couldn't believe this tea couldn't be poisoned.

"I'm sorry, but I'm full. You can give it to Master Lambard," Gabriel told the young maid in the back.

"You are really careful, it seems." Lambard smiled. "Don't worry. There isn't poison in the tea."

"I'm sorry, but I've stopped trusting people with their words for now. Moreover, I don't think I want to drink anything at the moment," Gabriel answered calmly.

"Well, it's certainly a good trait to be suspicious of those around you. You never know who can betray you if you're not too careful. And by the time you realize, it's already too late. But still, don't go too far in your suspicions. Don't push your genuine supporters away because of suspicions," Lambard calmly stated before he picked the cup that wasn't taken by Gabriel.

He took a sip right before the young man's eyes. "The tea is delicious as always. Thanks, Maria."

The woman smiled in response. "I'm glad you liked it, Master."

The maid waited for everyone to finish the tea before she left, taking the empty cups and giving everyone the privacy they wanted.

"Ah, so where was I? Ah, yeah. Don't push away people; you should keep some close. Because the Element that you have? It's going to attract too much trouble for you."

"The ones who don't know what that symbol means will confuse it with the Element of Darkness. That is troublesome indeed, but not as troublesome as it's going to be when the ones who truly know about the truth of your Element find out about your existence. You will need all the help you can get at that time, so yeah."

Lambard didn't speak much about the actions of Gabriel and his lack of trust. In fact, he didn't mind it at all since it was a good trait when used in limitations. Still, he didn't forget to impart some knowledge to the young man, speaking from experience.

Gabriel understood what the young man was trying to imply. He was trying to say that the path ahead was treacherous and that he couldn't walk alone in this path since there was a risk of losing himself in the process.

"This Mark of Karyk, what is it? Can you answer me that first?" Gabriel asked, getting back on track. "You were talking about it."

"Right. The Mark of Karyk..." Lambard straightened his back.

"To know Karyk's mark, you need to know how the abilities that the mages use originated. How did they gain these abilities? Where did they come from? And no, as much as people like to claim it, these abilities didn't come from the Gods."

The man started explaining in a solemn tone.

"According to the last remaining scriptures that managed to survive the test of time, I have managed to gather quite a lot of information about these abilities that people call Elemental Magic."

Gabriel listened carefully to the man's words. He wanted to ask many questions, but he didn't interfere and let the man continue at his own pace.

"Millions of years ago, there were no Mages in this world. There were only humans who populated this world. There was no magic in this world. However, even though the people here didn't have magic, they had something else entirely. They had what they used to call Science..."

"Now, you may not understand what Science means. Even I don't understand it entirely, but it was something really miraculous. The civilization of that time couldn't use magic, but they were still very advanced for their time."

"They managed to make tall buildings, things that could carry them from one place to another without them having to walk. They also made something that can fly in the air to take them to a faraway land," the man explained.

"Isn't that just magic? It's impossible to fly without magic. Could it be possible that those people used the word science for what we know as magic? I don't think there is any other way to fly," Gabriel asked.

"No. You're wrong. Initially, I also used to think what you think right now, but I soon found out that I was wrong. Science wasn't magic. It was something much more complex. Science could make many things possible that we can do with the help of magic."

"They made weapons that could destroy cities without using magic. They could fly and more. As I said before, that civilization was more advanced. If only I could go back in time to live in that timeline, I would in a heartbeat."

The man let out a deep sigh of disappointment. "Unfortunately, I can never see that glorious civilization."

Gabriel was amazed at the story he heard. Lira seemed calmer as if she had listened to this story many times before.

"Why did Science not exist anymore? How did people gain magic? How did that Ancient Civilization end?"

"Greed and hate... These two things can destroy even the most prosperous of Empires. It was no different for those people," the old man answered.

"Those people were divided into multiple Empires, and each Empire competed for supremacy. The Greed of getting ahead of the other Empire and becoming stronger than the rest kept pushing the humans to make stronger weapons of mass destruction."

"A race had started in the field of those weapons. The Greed for advancement and supremacy brought each of the Empire to great heights, but then there was also the hate and conflicts between the Empires."

"With so many weapons of Mass Destruction, all it needed was one spark, and the entire world was going to burn," Lambard grimly stated.

"Now you see why that civilization went extinct? A great war took place, and it was like nothing before. A mentality was spread between the Empires that they were willing to have themselves be destroyed if it meant their enemy was going to be destroyed as well to teach them a lesson."

"And thus, there was that war... The war which destroyed most of the life forms in the world. Almost all the humans had died, leaving only a few in existence. Most of the animals that used to exist during that time went extinct. Only the ones we see today managed to survive."

"The War changed the entire landscape and ecosystem of the world, destroying most of the natural resources of this world."

"Ultimately, the humans that managed to survive learned a lesson after all this... They didn't want to repeat the same mistake again, so they just gave up science altogether. They started living the basic life."

" Throughout the millions of years, slowly our world managed to recover and become more habitable. All the remnants of the past were wiped out. The people who were alive during the time of the Ancient Civilization destroyed all documents and evidence of that ever existing."

"Those people had seen what hell looked like from up close, and they didn't want their children and their future generations to see something similar."

"Even though humans kept increasing in number with coming generations, the ones who knew about Science died of old age, leaving no knowledge behind."

The old man finished the story that seemed to cover a long-forgotten history of this world.

"That would explain why that Ancient Civilization was wiped, but I still don't get it. How does that relate to the Mages? How does that relate to our ability and the Mark of Karyk?"

"The incident which I talked about has everything to do with the Elements of Yours because it's what gave birth to Karyk. The First Human God that we know of..."

"So when people say that humans received powers from Gods? They are wrong. It's not humans who received the powers from Gods. Instead, it's the humans who became Gods themselves!"

"First Human God?" Gabriel frowned.

" According to the stories that I've had access to, that's right. Karyk was the first Human God, and his Element of Death and Necromancy was the Origin Element that gave birth to a new era after Destruction... The Era of Gods!"

"This world that you know of? This isn't just any ordinary world. It's the world where gods were born! A World where gods walked amongst men! The world where many gods died as well! That's the reason this world is called the Tomb of Gods!"

"You don't understand how, right?" The old man smiled. He could see the confusion on young Gabriel's face.

"As I stated before, it all started with the great war of Ancient Civilization and a young man who was right in the middle of all this chaos... Or should I say it started with the end of that war..."

*****

[Millions of years ago]

There was a fire in the entire city. Screams and agonizing cries were everywhere, enough to torment the consciousness of everyone that heard them. Unfortunately, those screams were often buried in the explosion that took place at regular intervals.

Before long, all the screams and cries for help went silent. The explosions stopped as well, only when the entire city was destroyed. No single structure was left standing in the city.

The streets of the Royal Capital of the Zeiss Empire were painted red in blood. Bodies could be seen littered all around, some missing their limbs. The entire sight was so gruesome that it would've made any sane person close their eyes in disgust.

Amidst all the unmoving bodies, there laid the body of a young man who seemed to be in his early twenties. His body was covered with blood.

The young man was covered in blood from top to bottom. Most of his face was burned, and so did his skin for the most part. It was impossible to even recognize him for the most part.

The previously handsome face of the Young Prince of Zeiss Empire was something that was disgusting. Unfortunately, no one was there to see his face since everyone was already dead. The young man also had his entire left arm missing, which was obliterated in the explosion he barely survived. Whatever was left of his previously Royal Attire was now covered in blood.

In the entry city, only one person was breathing, and it was this unmoving young man.

After an hour, the young man finally made some movements as if he was regaining consciousness.

The man had lost most of his blood, yet he survived, which was no less than a miracle in itself. He opened his eyes to complete silence. There were no cries for help. There were no explosions. The entire city was silent... Deadly silent!

The young man opened his eyes which were bleeding as well. He rubbed them to regain some clarity, only to notice the massive amount of rubble ahead which belonged to the Royal Castle. The place which was his home! The place where he grew up.

Watching that place like this, the young man roared in agony as he forced his body up. It didn't matter how much pain he was in; he didn't care at the moment as he forgot everything while running to the remains of the Castle.

"Mother! Father! Ria!" The man roared. His voice was hoarse and filled with pain.

The man tried to remove the rubble to find his family, but he couldn't. With just one hand, it was impossible. And even if he had two hands, he couldn't do it since he was so weak.

He didn't stop. He kept trying as if he had gone crazy, but he didn't succeed. His entire family was buried in the rubble, and the entire city was destroyed. There was nothing left... Everything was gone because of this war that his father started. Only he had survived in this entire city.

He stared at the rubble blankly as tears of blood dripped down his eyes as he realized that he had lost his entire family to this war. He was all alone.

He also dropped on top of the rubble in weakness. He didn't believe he was going to survive for long. He was probably going to die soon as well, but he wasn't sad. He was happy that he was also standing at the death's door. At this point, death was like mercy to him. It could free him from all this pain and agony.

He closed his eyes as he waited for the sweet death to take him in his embrace so he could meet his family again.

As he had his eyes closed, many scenes flashed before his eyes. His mother singing songs for him... Teaching him about various things about the world, caring for him. He also saw how he used to tease his sister often. All those happy memories were with him in his last moments.

There were also some bittersweet memories of him trying to convince his father not to wage war, only to fail. Tears kept trickling down his eyes while his body bled.

"You! You did this!"

"Yes, it's him! He's the sin of that Demon who pushed us into this war!"

"That bastard! Everyone died because of him, yet his own son survived!"

"Unfair!"

"It's Unfair!"

"Unfair!"

The young man was prepared to embrace his death when he heard some screeching sounds around him. It was as if thousands of people were chanting in his ears how it was unfair that he survived.

Instead of being angry that these people wished for his death, the young man was happy... He was happy that some of his citizens had survived this tragedy. He didn't care if they wanted his death. He only cared about the fact that not everyone was dead.

The young man slowly opened his eyes and gazed at his surroundings to see his citizens who had survived but probably hated him. Unfortunately, even as he opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything. There was no one there! There was not a single person there, yet the young man continued hearing the voices.

For a moment, he even wondered if he had gone crazy.

"He should've died, not us! He should've died!"

"The spawn of that devil survived while we died! This is injustice!"

"He should've died!"

The screeching continued and only intensified as more and more time passed. Previously, the young man felt as if hundreds of people were speaking, but now it appeared that the number was in the millions.

The young man didn't know that what he was hearing was the voice of the spirits of people who had died here! For some reason, he was able to listen to them.

With time, more and more spirits gathered around the young man, each cursing him and wishing for his death since their entire families were wiped out because of the war that the Royal Family started.

With so many spirits around, something strange was also happening. Each of these Spirits was cursing the young man who was already at death's door, unaware that all their curses were doing something else entirely.

All the negative energy that was coming from the Spirits toward the young man was being absorbed in his body somehow.

Millions of spirits hated the young man, but that hate was becoming the thing man's strength even without his knowledge. The gathering of all this negative energy from the dead was having a miraculous effect.

The young man didn't know why, but he felt something strange. It was as if something was happening to his body. The pain... It was decreasing. His skin was also slowly healing.

He hadn't realized it, but a black mark had appeared around his right hand since his left hand didn't exist, culminating all the negativity of the dead at its core. The mark was something that never existed before, but it had come into existence due to all this energy of the dead.

The mark on the right hand of the man provided a conduit for his body to better absorb all the energy of the Dead. The more these Spirits cursed the young man, the stronger he became before the mark was strong enough to absorb more than just the energy of the dead! The mark started pulling all the Spirits toward itself.

The spirits screeched in pain, feeling the strange pull. They tried to resist, but it was impossible. The spirits kept being absorbed by the Mark of the Dead. One after another, the spirits kept being absorbed, and no one could run or escape.

On the other hand, the wounds of the young man started healing even faster. All his burn marks were gone as his skin became even better than it was before the war.

Something, his left hand also returned. Even the young man didn't understand how this was possible. The strange mark also gave the young man another ability... He was able to see all the Spirits who were cursing him.

"I can see the dead? My wounds? The young man was in disbelief at what had happened. All his pain was gone, and he was as good as new.

Unfortunately, he wasn't happy at all this! He recognized the spirits that were around him. Some belong to the maids he has grown up with, while others belong to the servants and the guards. Even his own people were cursing him for the outcome.

As for the other spirits, they were also his own citizens. They had died, and only their spirits were left. He understood their hate, and he believed it was justified, but what he was seeing now wasn't right. He saw the Spirits groaning in pain and trying to run away, only to be absorbed in his mark.

"Stop it! Let them go!" The young Prince roared, but it didn't happen. The mark didn't seem to listen to him as if it was a process that couldn't be stopped.

The man tried everything to stop this. He had already made these people suffer so much when they were alive. He didn't want them to suffer even in death. The young man covered his mark with his other hand, but the absorption didn't stop.

"You Demon Child, even in death, you want to hurt us! You should've died! You should've died, not us?!"

The spirits became even angrier, but they could do nothing but empty curses, which made the young man even stronger against his wishes.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Let them go! Stop it!" The man didn't want to hurt the spirits. Hurting them was like hurting himself. He wanted them to be at peace, but the mark wasn't listening to him.

The young man clenched his fist as he made a terrifying decision to stop all this.

He ran to a sword that was lying in the distance and picked that Sword in his left hand before chopping his hand from the wrist along with that mark to stop.

"Argh!" He roared in pain. His actions were really painful, but he hoped he could stop the torment on these innocent souls just by sacrificing one hand, but it didn't work. His hand healed on its own, and the mark was back where it was previously.

The process didn't stop for even a second. He was absorbing the souls of men, elders, ladies, and even kids! The young man felt so hurt that he couldn't stop it. With each soul absorbed, the man hated this mark even more. It was as if a part of his soul was breaking with each passing second.

The cries of the spirits, it was too much, but the man couldn't do anything. He was going crazy! He even closed his eyes and his ears so he wouldn't have to hear the cries, but nothing worked. The cries continued for hours as millions of souls were absorbed in the young man's body.

Unfortunately, this didn't seem to be the worst part of it as he heard a voice he could never forget!

"Brother!"

The voice made him open his eyes abruptly, only to see the soul of his little sister being pulled by the mark.

"Noo!" The young man roared in disbelief. He was about to devour the soul of his own sister?

"I'm begging you; please don't! Please don't devour her!" He dropped to his knees, but it didn't stop. He heard the cries of his sister as her soul was absorbed in the mark as well.

The young man's entire face was covered in tears. Not only could he not save his family, but he instead devoured them? He was broken... His eyes lost their focus as he sat with his back resting against the wall, seemingly defeated.

*****

"It is said that Karyk absorbed the souls of his entire family against his wishes, and he couldn't do anything. He was born a human, but the strange phenomenon had given him some form of divinity. He has become a conduit of death and the undead," Lambard explained.

He gazed at the right hand of Gabriel. "And that... That is the origin of the Mark of Karyk, which is also known as the Cursed Mark of Death and Necromancy."

"It's the mark of the First God ever to exist that we know of. Also, that moment was what started the Era of Gods..."

"So the Element of Light... There was a human who gained the strength of Light just like Karyk?"

"That's right. However, it's not clear how the Woman gained the Holy Energy. As I told you before, most of the literature is lost in time. Only some related to Karyk's history managed to survive. We don't know how other Gods originated, but we do know some things."

"For example, all the gods that came later, they all came because of Karyk," Lambard continued revealing even more surprising information.

"Because of Karyk absorbing so many souls, the balance of life and death was broken. The barrier between humans and something much more divine became much more blurry. The natural energies of this world became much more chaotic because of the lack of balance, and that chaos is what gave birth to the other gods."

"How do you know it's the truth and not just someone's fragment of imagination?" Gabriel inquired, finding it hard to believe that this world belonged to gods.

"You don't believe it?" Lambard moved a few inches ahead and looked straight into the eyes of Gabriel.

"What you said doesn't make sense logically," Gabriel answered. "You said everyone in that city was dead; that meant no one was there to see what happened to the souls. If no one was there, how could there be literature about that incident? I don't believe Karyk would have written it on his own."

Lambard blankly stared at Gabriel before he tossed his head back, laughing. "So that's what makes you doubt this story?"

"No one had to be there to know what happened there. Someone peeked in the past of Karyk without his permission to see what he went through. And that person is the one who wrote about it in their personal entry. A few pages of that journal managed to survive. I paid a fortune to buy those pages a couple of decades ago."

"As I told you before, your knowledge about this world is really lacking, boy. You have six elements in this world. Counting the Element of Death and Necromancy, there are a total of Seven Elemental Mages that come from generation to generation, but that doesn't mean there weren't more gods in the past."

"The imbalance that created the Seven Gods also created the hundreds of demi gods that only a few people know about. Unlike the Gods, the Demi-Gods didn't leave anything behind."

"The Ring of Apophis that Lira came here to ask me? What do you think that ring is? Why do you think she needs it? Why do you think even the Church of Light doesn't destroy this place despite what I do?" he asked Gabriel.

"It's all because of the Numen Artefacts that I gathered! The Artefacts that absorbed the divine aura of the Demi-Gods when they were alive, gaining a divine spirit of their own."

"One of those Demi-Gods was Apophis. The Demigod was known for many things, but mostly his tricks on commoners and unaware people. He was a trickster who could disguise as anyone he wished to fool people."

"I hope you aren't going to tell that disturbing story about him again. I don't care what he did in the past. He is dead now. All I need is his ring." Lira, who had been sitting silently until all this while, finally spoke up.

"What disturbing story?" Gabriel asked, curious. The thing about Numen Artefacts had undoubtedly caught his interest. Mythical Artefacts that were used by the Demi-Gods that can even force the Holy Church of Light to reconsider attacking this place?

"No matter how disturbing the story may be, it's all in the past," Lambard answered Lira. "We can't do anything about the past. We can only learn from history, but we can only do that if we know the history. Now don't be a spoilsport and let me tell the story. I don't want Gabriel to walk down the same wrong path. Maybe he will learn something from the tragic story of Apophis."

Gabriel waited to hear the story, having no idea what it could be about, but seeing Lira's disgusting expressions, he felt that it must be something terrible.

Not making him wait for long, Lambard started the story.

"Apophis was a demigod that lived in the era when demigods were more often seen than not. He was known as someone who couldn't care less about the moral rules that this world had established. He did whatever he pleased, as long as he desired. He even robbed mortals at times just to see their expression."

"That's why he is also called the most annoying demigod amongst the ranks of demigods. Still, despite all his tactics, the other demigods didn't stop him. They let him do as he pleased since his small tricks weren't causing any serious harm and deaths."

"With time, the boldness of Apophis only increased as he moved from City to City to get rid of boredom. One such city was the city of Eloran. It was a city he had never visited before, but as soon as he entered the city, he decided to settle there. You know why?"

"He liked the city?" Gabriel took a guess.

"Nope." Lambard shook his head. "It's because he fell in love with a woman who lived in the city... A married woman. He tried to pursue the woman, but she avoided his advances at every instance and refused him many times."

,m "Ultimately, Apophis got frustrated and decided to do something really foolish. He sent some men to keep the husband of the lady distracted with some tasks to make sure he couldn't go home the entire night. At the same time, he used his divinity to transform into the lady's husband and went to her house. Hiding his real identity, he slept with the woman..."

"It was only after he finished that he stopped his disguise and told the woman the truth. He told her that he already had her body and now she was impure for her husband. He asked her to come with him and leave this town."

"This..." Gabriel didn't know how to respond. Apophis sounded like a really messed up guy. What he didn't wasn't just a trick; it was evil!

"Apophis told the woman to come to the city's entrance by the evening to leave with him, or he was going to tell the entire city that the woman slept with him to sully her reputation. Not only did he do something vile, but he also blackmailed her using that information."

"He waited at the city entrance for the woman's arrival, but she didn't come. After getting tired, he went back to her house to force her to come with him but as soon as he got to her house, he saw her hanging by a rope. The woman had killed herself."

"Shocked, Apophis ran from the city, not realizing that the woman had left a letter on the table before dying in which she wrote everything that had happened."

"When the woman's husband returned home, he saw the wife he loved more than his life... Dead. For a long time, he was in disbelief before he started crying while bringing her down. He placed her dead body on the bed and asked her why she would do this, but the dead couldn't answer."

"It's said that the husband discovered the letter and found out the truth. He wanted revenge on the man who did it, but he didn't have the strength, but he knew someone who did..."

"After giving his wife a proper burial, the man left the city and went to the city of Divinity... A city where most of the demigods lived at that time. And one of those demi gods was the brother of his dead wife..."

"Apophis didn't know that the woman he was after was the sister of Demigod Raini... One of the more powerful demigods."

"Apophis was allowed to do as he pleased because he was careful not to annoy the powerful demigods. As for the seven gods, he didn't even dare to be in the same city as then. Unfortunately, this time his luck had run out since he didn't know who was the brother of the lady he was harassing."

"This one mistake finally brought him to his death's door. The Demigods who refused to stop him throughout the years finally took action as his acts had crossed the limits and had tainted the reputation of the demigods."

"Apophis tried to run, he tried to hide, he used all the tricks he could to survive as long as he found, but ultimately he was caught and killed."

"All that was left of Apophis was his Numen Artefact... The ring that was given to him by his mother when he was a kid... The time he never took off. The ring of Apophis," Lambard explained. "This ring is an amazing Artefact that can help you disguise and change your looks to anyone you want."

"Unfortunately, this ring isn't without flaws either. You can disguise yourself as someone else with this ring, but your disguise stops working whenever the person you're disguising as gets within hundred meters of you. So one must be careful before selecting who he wants to disguise as."

"There is one more flaw to it. Since you're only using the divine energy of Apophis through the ring, you can only draw out a weak transformation, unlike the real Apophis. There are people in the world who can see through your disguise, for example, the Heads of the Five Churches of Elements that still stand."

"The Dean of the Academy of Element might also be able to see through your disguise, so when you use the ring, you should do everything you can to avoid them when you're in disguise, alright?"

Lambard had already promised to give the ring of Apophis previously, and he decided to keep his promise.

He took off the beautiful golden ring from his left ring finger and placed it in the hands of Gabriel.

"I'm only giving this to you temporarily. And it's only for seven days from the moment you enter the Royal Capital. After seven days, the ring will return to me on its own. Think of it as a safety mechanism in case you fail. I don't want to lose this precious piece of history."

"Only seven days?!" Lira exclaimed. "That's not enough time! We might need longer!"

"I'm sorry, I can't do more. You'll only have seven days after you enter the Holy City. You can either take my offer or leave it. I'm not forcing you. Moreover, if you can really succeed, seven days are more than enough to do it. If you can't do it in seven days, then chances of your success were probably never there in the first place."

Lambard wasn't phased by the questioning of Lira. He didn't back off. Once he had made up his mind, it was done.

"Seven days should be enough." Gabriel took the offer. He wore the ring on the middle finger of his right hand, right beside the black ring on his ring finger.

The golden and the black ring on his fingers created a nice contrast. Even if he had received only five days, he would've taken the offer even then since he wasn't going to the academy to study. He was going there to steal, and one attempt was all he was going to have...

"Fine, we'll take the seven-day offer."

Since Gabriel had already agreed, Lira also agreed. Gabriel was going to have to go inside the Holy City to steal the Staff and the Eye of Osiris. If he believed seven days were enough, she needed to trust him.

"How considerate of you." Lambard chuckled in amusement. He glanced at Gabriel. "You know, it's the first time I've seen Lira change her mind after deciding something."

"Anyway, I suppose we are done with the deal here. I've fulfilled my part of the deal. All that's left is for you to fulfill your part of the deal. I sure do hope you succeed. Eye of Osiris is something I've wanted for a long time, but it's always stayed out of my reach."

"May I ask what's so special about the eye of Osiris? I suppose it's also a Numen Artefact, but what does it do? Why do you need it?" Gabriel could see the eagerness in the eyes of Lambard to get that item, so much so that he was even willing to part with the Ring of Apophis. It was as if the value of the Eye of Osiris was much more in the eyes of Lambard.

"Of course, it's a Numen Artifact. It is a small crystal orb that is only a few inches wide. It was used by Demigod Osiris. She kept it with him as long as she lived. The Demigod Osiris was also the one who peeked into the past of Karyk and wrote it down in her journal," Lambard answered. "The Eye of Osiris can help a person see through the past of another person, no matter who they might be."

"It also helps you see their darkest secrets. Moreover, I'm not sure how true it is, but it was said that Demigod Osiris could also see the future to some extent. If the Eye of Osiris has that ability, then it'll be worth even more."

Lambard had spent most of his life chasing after the literature of Demigods and the Numen Artefacts. He had managed to make a huge collection all because of that, yet he was missing a lot of Numens.

There were many he had his eyes on that he wanted, and one of those was the Eye of Osiris, which was kept in the holy city under high protection, right beside the Ancient Staff of Darkness which belonged to the God of Darkness.

,m "There are hundreds of Numens in this world, each having a specialty of their own that it received from the Demigod it used to belong to. Amongst those Numens, the whereabouts of most were unknown as they've been forever lost in time. But amongst the ones that have their whereabouts known, the Eye of Osiris is one of the most important Artefacts that I've wanted since the beginning."

"I even tried to send a few people to steal them, but they failed and ended up dying." Lambard let out a tired sigh, remembering about his past failure.

Gabriel had heard from Lira that Lambard was really powerful despite being a human. He was the reason this illegal City still wasn't burnt down to the ground. So why couldn't he get the artifact back?

"Why didn't you go there yourself to get it? Since the Holy Church of Light can't attack this place because of you, that must mean you're really strong despite being a human. Can't you steal that with that strength of yours?"

Hearing Gabriel, Lambard blankly stared at him for a moment before bursting into a hearty laughter, "Hahaha."

"You think I'm stronger than the Holy Church? You would be wrong if you believed that. Although it's true that there are some instances when I can face them, but that's only when certain conditions are met, and one of them is being in this city."

He further explained, "The reason they don't attack me here is that this city protects me. This entire city is also a Numen Artefact, known as the City of Abadon, the DemiGod who was known for his defenses."

"After having his entire family killed in a war, Abadon created this city and covered it in his Divine Aura to make sure no one could hurt the people he wanted to protect. Even after his death, that aura stayed with the city, being absorbed in it. The city became a Numen Artefact, known as the Impenetrable City of Abadon."

"The only reason the Holy Church can do nothing here is because of that. As long as I'm inside this city, they can't do anything. Even the Head of Holy Church of Light himself can't kill me here."

"As long as I'm inside this city, I'm undefeatable." Lambard smiled. "However, if I leave this city, I don't have that protection, so I rarely leave this place, and even if I do, I do it secretly."

"If I go to the Holy City myself, I won't have this advantage, and I won't be able to come back to this city if I'm caught there." He stretched his arms lazily. "You have no idea how much the Holy Church of Light hates me. If they get me, my fate would be something that will scare even the fiercest. So yeah, I'll not leave this city and definitely not enter the Holy City where that old man stays."

"An entire city as a Numen Artefact?" Gabriel asked. That sounded so incredulous. He had assumed that only small accessories were lumen artifacts, but an entire city?

"Heh, I know how impossible that sounds. Even I had a hard time believing it when I found out about this city. Fortunately, when I got to it, the city had no people living here. It was a barren city. The city might be here when I arrived, but I made it into what it is today."

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"Why does this city only protect you then? If the entire city is a Numen, you can't hold it. Everyone who stays here is in contact with it, so does that mean it gives everyone the same protection it gives you?"

"No, if it did, why do you think the people here would be scared of Lira when she came flaunting her identity?" Lambard rolled his eyes.

He glared at Lira. "And you dare call me a showoff? It's like the pot calling the kettle black."

"Then how does it work?" Gabriel inquired.

"It-"

Lambard opened his lips to answer but stopped. A frown appeared on his forehead. "It seems we have more guests. The city sure is busy today."

"More guests?" Gabriel gazed at Lira. How could he know there were more people when he was sitting here?

"The City of Abandon is under the control of Lambard. He can see everything that happens here," Lira explained. "That's how he saw us coming as well. How else do you think he knew? If he's getting so serious, whoever arrived must be someone significant."

"Who is here?" she asked Lambard.

"Someone I didn't expect to come here." Lambard scratched the back of his head. "The Head of the Church of Water has arrived... The Strongest Mage with the Element of Water in the entire world... And one of the Six Rulers of Elements."

"I didn't expect that lady to come here. This is really surprising." Lambard stood up. "Though I think I do know what she's here for."

"Gabriel, you want to accompany me?" he glanced at the young man. "I doubt you've ever seen a Head of Church before. It might be a good exposure since you're one of them as well, in a way."

"He can't come," Lira chimed in. "She might not be able to harm you in this place, but it's not the same for Gabriel. She can kill him if she realizes who he is, and I'm sure his aura will give away his identity."

"Heh, don't worry about it. Even she won't be able to sense his aura. Don't forget who you're standing with. This city is my Domain. Here even the gods can't see someone's aura if I want to hide it. I'll hide his aura. Moreover, he already has the gloves to hide his mark, so I doubt it would be much of a problem."

"Come on, let the boy have some fun."

"But it's still dangerous." Lira frowned. Even though the man said he was going to take care of everything, she still felt that it was dangerous for Gabriel to be alone with that lady and Lambard here.

After thinking for a few seconds, she finally responded, "Fine, I'll come with you as well. Since you can hide his aura, I'm sure you can hide mine as well. She hasn't seen me yet, so she won't know who I am if she can't sense my aura."

"That's fine by me. Not like it would matter even if she finds out who you are. Not like she can do anything to me." Lambard smirked, giving Lira the permission to accompany him as well.

****

The Head of the Church of Water arrived at the entrance of Lambard's mansion.

The young lady appeared as if she was only in her late twenties at best. Just based on her age, no one could have expected that she was the Head of one of the most prestigious organizations. She was the Head of Church of Water at such a young age and had just received the position last year itself.

The young lady was dressed in a beautiful black shoulderless dress that wrapped tightly around her body, highlighting her curves. She had beautiful blue hair like the purest form of water. Her hair came down to her waist, covering her upper back, which was left exposed by the dress.

Unlike her beautiful blue hair, her eyes appeared to be hazel, giving her a distinguished look. Her innocent-looking face was perfectly calm, not showing many expressions.

"My lady, are you sure we aren't wasting time by coming here?"

Accompanying the Head of the Church on this trip were the two Head Priestess from the Church of Water, who had the highest authority in the Church after her. They still didn't believe that what they heard about this place could be true.

"Who knows. But we can't take a chance," the young lady answered.

"Greetings to the three Mages." Like before, the maid greeted the three as soon as they reached the castle, but she didn't give them water this time.

"Tell Lord Lambard that I'm here to meet him."

"He already knows you are here," the Maid calmly responded. "Please follow me inside."

"Huh? He knew we were coming? My Lady, do you trust her? How could he have known?" One of the Head Priestess asked the blue-haired woman in the lead.

The young woman didn't answer. Instead, she followed the maid inside the castle with the others.

The maid brought the three Water Mages to the end of the hallway. Surprisingly, at the end of the hallway, there wasn't a door like before. Instead, there were stairs that were going up.

The maid started going up, followed by the Mages.

*****

"Lady Elora, welcome to the City of Abadon." Lambard greeted the young lady in the lead. "The two behind you must be Lady Joan and Lady Ruyi?"

"Hmm?" The Two Head priestesses in the back grew stunned as they were called by their names.

'How did this person know our names?'

They wanted to ask how Lambard knew their names since it shouldn't have been possible. Unlike the Head of the Church of Water Elora, they weren't that well known, especially regarding names.

"Greetings, Lord Lambard. It seems you know about me."

"Of course I do. Who wouldn't know the names of the Six Heads of Churches of Elements," Lambard casually answered.

"I suppose it does make sense that you know my name, but I'm still curious about something. How do you know the ones behind me?"

"Lady Elora, I know their names because you told me their names yourself."

"I did?" Elora stared at the man in confusion. "But I don't recall ever telling you their names."

Lambard simply smiled but didn't answer. "Let me introduce you to a few more guests of mine."

"This is Gabriel. And that's Lady Lira. The two came here just today." He introduced Gabriel and Lira.

Elora casually glanced at the people in the back. She couldn't find anything special about the two. She didn't believe any of the two were special enough for her to remember.

She didn't even say a word to them in greetings. She just casually nodded.

Lira rolled her eyes, amazed at the arrogance of Elora.

Lambard next introduced the three ladies to Gabriel and Lira.

Just like Elora didn't greet Lira, Lira also didn't greet Elora, which came across as rude from her side. She just nodded lazily as well.

As for Gabriel, he just stood silent in the back, observing Elora. Lambard was hiding his aura, but he didn't hide the aura of Elora. Gabriel could see the aura of Elora, which was as vast and deep as the sea itself.

Even though the young woman looked like she was an ordinary lady, the aura of her told a different story entirely. It was as if behind that innocent facade, there was enough strength to destroy an entire city if she wanted.

'So this of the level of the enemies I would need to face. The Head of the Church of Light would be even stronger than her.'

"You two, don't you have any manners on how you should greet Lady Elora?" Ruyi called out to Lira and Gabriel.

It didn't matter if Elora didn't meet the two commoners like them properly, but when they were introduced, how dare these peasants ignore the one who was selected by the Goddess of Water herself?!

"Huh?" Hearing the sudden scolding, Gabriel came out of his thoughts. He was in disbelief that these people were scolding them for what they themselves did?

Lira was about to respond to these people in their own language, but before they could, Gabriel did it.

He took the lead. He had been through hell because of people who considered themselves superior to him while hiding their hypocrisy. He couldn't help but feel the same hypocrisy here.

He had been through hell, not so he could be scolded like this by some hypocrites. Moreover, since he wasn't looking for any favor from them, he didn't need to hold back.

"If you want respect, maybe you should learn to give the same respect first," Gabriel calmly stated. His eyes didn't have even a shred of fear.

As he talked, he didn't even glance at the lady who had spoken. Instead, his eyes rested on the Head Priestess who had just chided them.

It was certainly not the wisest choice to offend the one who stood at the peak of this world when he wasn't even in the same league as her when it came to true strength, but Gabriel didn't care at the moment.

In any case, he was going on a suicide mission soon after, so what was the need to be scared at this point? Moreover, with Lambard here, these three weren't going to attack him. This place was the stronghold of Lambard, who had promised to keep them safe, so whatever he said at the moment held no consequences.

It wasn't as if he was going to meet the young Head of Church of Water again.

Both the Head Priestess were stunned to get such a sharp response from Gabriel. Even Elora herself was taken aback. No one dared to talk like that before her. Not only her but even Lira was also surprised. Gabriel said precisely what she wanted to say. The two of them really were similar in some things.

On the contrary, Lambard was more amused. He turned back, glancing at Gabriel. A smirk spread across his lips which the three ladies behind him couldn't see. This was fun for him. He did like the way Gabriel talked to them.

Elora didn't know that Lira and Gabriel didn't really need to give them any special respect. Just like her, the two of them were also the Leaders of their Individual Element Types. Even though they were all alone and didn't have hundreds of supporters, they were technically the Head of the Church as well.

Lambard found this whole thing very amusing, and he could even guess what the reaction from the other side was going to be.

"Y-you!" Ruyi's face turned red in anger. "Kid, you should really mind your language and consider who you're talking to."

"Exactly. Lady Elora owes you no respect! Who do you think you are to demand equal respect from her?" Joan also asked. She went even as far as to call out her Staff of Water as if prepared to show Gabriel his place this instant.

A powerful aura acted up on Gabriel, which placed pressure on his body to force him to his knees. "Apologize this instant!"

Elora wanted to stop the ladies behind her, but she was too late. Before she could even speak anything, Joan already did it.

The mighty aura of the Head Priestess wasn't harmful, but it did weigh heavily on Gabriel. If it were someone else in his place, he would've fallen to his knees already, unable to resist the aura, but what was the aura of a Head Priestess before the heir of Karyk and the holder of a Holy Grimoire?

The black ring on his finger released an invisible aura that surrounded the body of Gabriel. The aura of his own was so powerful that it basically neglected the effect of the Head Priestess' aura.

Fortunately, it was just the aura released by the ring. He hadn't called out his Grimoire, so the aura couldn't be sensed even by Elora, all thanks to Lambard's shroud.

Joan was surprised to see Gabriel still standing perfectly calm, as if the aura had no effect on him. How could it be? How could a young man stay so calm and composed under the effect of her aura? This shouldn't have been possible. Just who was this person?

Lambard also couldn't stand idle and watch the lady bully his guest in front of him. He also didn't want them to find out just how special Gabriel was.

He finally took the lead.

"Young ladies, I would appreciate it if you don't try to bully my guests. This place is my home, not your Church of Water. As the Head Priest of Light must've told everyone already, everyone who comes to this city is my guest. It doesn't matter how influential you are; I won't let you bully my other guests."

Joan finally got a reason as to why Gabriel wasn't being affected. She believed it was because Lambard was giving him his protection. That made sense. She had heard stories about Lambard, so it did make sense that he could do that much.

"But they insulted us. We didn't start it," Rayi chimed in.

"It doesn't matter. You're the first one who took action. Words should be answered with words. If you want to show your strength to those weaker than you, then I'll also be forced to show you some of what I'm capable of," Lambard casually stated. "And I'm sure you won't like it if that happens. So please behave while you're in my city."

"He's right, Rayi, Joan. You both should calm down. Not everyone needs to greet us. No need to be that offended over such a small matter." Elora agreed with Lambard.

She had heard the stories about Lambard. He was a really chill person who didn't care about many things, but when he got angry, he didn't care how influential one was. As long as he was in the city, he was no less than a demigod. He had even gone against the Head of Church of Light last time without a single care in the world, and he still managed to survive.

She didn't want to create bad blood between the two sides over such a small matter. Especially since the reason they came here was something that couldn't be ignored. They couldn't allow them to be kicked out before achieving the goals.

"I-"

Rayi couldn't believe Elora wasn't siding with her, but she also understood why. She probably didn't want to be kicked out of the city. But still, this didn't sit right with her.

She glared at Gabriel, who had his focus on Elora. Unlike her two followers, the young lady was much better. She was more careful and considerate. He wondered if she was being real or if it was all just an act.

"Fine. I won't do it again," Rayi lazily stated.

Joan also agreed that she wouldn't target Gabriel. At least not as long as he was in the city.

"Good. Now that we finally have an understanding, let's sit and discuss what you're here for. I'm sure it must be something important that brought you here." Lambard smiled as he gestured for everyone to take a seat.

Even though he knew why they were here, he wanted to hear from them directly.

Elora sat on a couch, and the two Head Priestesses stood behind her, not taking a seat.

"You know, you can take a seat too?" Lambard stated.

Both the ladies rejected. They followed hierarchy all too well. Only the two leaders should sit when discussing.

Unlike them, Gabriel and Lira sat down without Lambard having to insist. Gabriel stood on Lambard's left, and Lira sat on his right.

Seeing their actions, the faces of the Head Priestess also twitched, but they didn't react.

"So, what brought you here? How can I help you, lady Elora."

"I came here for two reasons," the young lady stated calmly. "The first reason being that I want the Ring of Apophis from you."

"The first reason being that I want the Ring of Apophis from you," the young lady stated, surprising even Lambard.

It wasn't what he expected. She was here for the ring of Apophis? Why was everyone coming here for that thing at the same time?

Lira was glad that they got the ring already. It seemed they were right on time. If they had arrived an hour later, the ring would've been with Lambard, and he might have given it to the young lady. Now that he had promised them, there was no way he could take the ring back before seven days of getting into the Royal City ran out.

"I'm willing to pay you as much money as you need for the Ring of Apophis." The young lady stated.

"Lady Elora, if you think that money can sway me, you're wrong. I'm the one who spends money to get Numens, not the one who spends Numens to get money. I'm sorry, but I can't help you with this. What else do you need?"

"What if I give you something that's not money?" Elora inquired.

"And what might that be?" Lambard asked, curious. " I doubt you can offer me anything that can make me change my mind."

Even though Lambard had already given the ring of Apophis to Gabriel, that was only for a little over a week. After that, he was going to have the ring back, so he certainly could offer the ring to the young lady, but to exchange a Numen, he didn't think it was worth it. He quite liked the Ring, after all.

Elora glanced at Gabriel and Lira. "You should send them out before we can discuss further. I don't want to mention things that commoners shouldn't know."

"Don't worry about them. They are the suppliers who work for me by location Numens. They know more about them than anyone. You can talk about anything," Lambard swiftly lied.

The worries of Elora were fair since most people weren't allowed to know about Numens and many such things, but he had already told Gabriel and Lira about such things. He didn't care if they heard more since they were also important players in the grand scheme of things.

"Fine. What if I offer you a Letter that was written by the Goddess of Thunder herself to the Goddess of Water?" Elora smiled. "I heard you're really interested in literature from the times of Gods? If you find me a ring, the letter will be yours."

"Hmm? A letter personally written by a god?" Lambard straightened up as soon as he heard about the offer. So far, he had only dealt with things regarding demigods. Even the things he knew about the gods were through things written by Demigods.

He never had direct interaction with anything written by the Gods themselves. If he was truly being offered something like that, then the offer was really worth it.

Moreover, a letter written by a God might contain their true essence as well. It wasn't an offer he could refuse.

Also, since the letter was written to the Goddess of Water, it might tell something about the relationship between the two gods at that time. If anyone could have a letter written to the Goddess of Water, it was going to be the Holy Church of Water, so he didn't doubt its authenticity either.

"Why do you want to offer that in exchange for the Ring of Apophis?"

"We do have a couple of letters that were written to the Goddess of Water by the Goddess of Lightning, so I can certainly offer you one for what I need. But you don't have any, so you will certainly need it. Do you accept the offer?"

Even though Elora asked this question, she was already sure that the answer was yes. She could see on his face that he truly wanted the letter.

Lambard subtly glanced at the end on Gabriel's hands as he seriously thought about it. A mission that was supposed to fail, or a confirmed letter written by a god? Those were his two choices in exchange for the ring.

Even though he had already promised Gabriel, he still thought about this offer seriously.

"Why do you want the ring of Apophis?" he asked Elora. "What do you want to use it for?"

"I want to use it for myself. Whenever I leave the church, almost everyone recognizes me. I don't appreciate such attention. I want to use the ring to disguise myself, so I can leave freely without attracting gazes. So I need it just for basic use."

"Fine. I'll offer you the Ring of Apophis for one month in exchange for the letter. You can use the ring however you want in that month. That's the deal. I can't hand over the ring permanently under any condition since I quite like it. But I'm sure one month should be enough for you to experience what you want to."

"One month is too little. I want the ring for a lifetime."

"I'm sorry, that's not happening. Even though I want the letter, I'm not going to give up my ring forever. I've spent a lot of effort to get the ring. Moreover, it's not like you're losing anything by offering me a letter. You have many such letters, and you're only offering one. If I had many such rings, I would've given one ring to you for a lifetime as well, but I don't."

"I'm afraid it's not an equal deal. You are giving something that you can afford to lose since you have more of it. I'm giving something which I can't afford to lose. I'm being really generous by offering you one month. I've offered a week for things much more precious." Lambard stood firmly on his offer, not taking a single step back.

The way Lambard was dealing, Lira couldn't believe it! He had promised the ring to them, and now he was negotiating to take the ring from them and give it to someone else?!

She couldn't accept this!

Lambard was adamant about not offering the ring for more than a month. No matter what Elora said, he didn't budge.

Ultimately, Elora had no choice but to go along with the seal. Even though it was only for a month, it was better than not having the ring at all. One month of freedom was better than nothing.

Ever since she joined the Church of Water at the age of nineteen, she had been training only.

Most of her life in the church went in training as she tried to master her element of Water. She didn't even leave the Church of Water to explore other places.

For eight years straight, she stayed on the premises of the Church, never taking even a single step out. Throughout the years, she mastered all the skills and even got promoted a few times until she became a Head Priestess at the age of twenty-five only.

That was the highest post someone could be promoted to inside the Church of Element since only one person was above a Head Priestess... It was the Head of the Church.

No one could be promoted to the Head of a Church of Element since the Holy Grimoire itself selected someone after the death of the last owner.

Just a few years ago, the last Head of the Church of Water died a few days after coming back from an Exploration. As the Head Priestesses, the ladies were given priority attempts on the Grimoire before anyone else could've been tried.

All the Head Priestesses were brought to the chamber where the Holy Book of Water was kept after the death of the last head. Not many people actually thought that the book was easily going to select someone. They thought they needed to spend decades to find the next rightful heir, but they were wrong.

The Book of Water flew on its own to the Youngest Head Priestess. Elora was selected as the Head of the Church of Water. She also received the control of the Church of Water along with the Ancient Staff of Water.

The news of that spread like fire everywhere. Almost the entire world knew about her since the position of a Lord of Element wasn't something that anyone could get.

Only after becoming the Head of the Church of Water did Elora realize how her life had changed. Throughout the last few years, whenever she left the Church for anything, she was often recognized even when she didn't want to.

She wanted to find a solution for her problem. That's when she was informed about a treasure that was held by Lambard.

She wanted that treasure for a lifetime, but she really underestimated Lambard, it seemed.

"Fine. I'll take the ring for one month. Give the ring to me." Elora reached out her hand toward Lambard.

Lambard smiled as he glanced at Lira, who seemed really upset.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a couple of weeks for the ring. As soon as it's available, I'll send an Envoy to the Church with the Ring. You can give the letter to my envoy at that time."

Lambard wanted the letter, but he also realized that breaking his promise wasn't a wise decision at this point. He might have broken the promise if it was only Lira, but there was also Gabriel in the mix... There were just too many factors at play, and he didn't want to offend one side or the other.

He knew these were chaotic waters, and he wanted to be neutral at this point.

"May I ask why you can't give us the ring this instant? If it's about the letter, I did bring it with me."

"I'm sorry, Lady Elora. But I have some prior engagements which need the ring to be with me. I should be able to give the ring to you after a few weeks."

"Fine. We will wait for a few weeks."

Elora didn't appear to be in any hurry to get the ring. It was going to be with her temporarily, after all. So she was fine if it was delayed by a few weeks.

"Deal it is then," Lambard affirmed. "That's one thing covered, but you said there was another reason you came here as we. May I ask what it was?"

"The other reason is because I want the Map of the City of Ruins that you have. I got some information that it's going to be available for the auction that's about to happen in the city. I want to buy it from you, and don't tell me you can't sell it for money since you've put it up for auction."

"Of course, I can sell that for money. It's just a map. It's not like it's a Numen." Lambard smiled. He waved his fingers. A small portal appeared before him.

"The ring of Damion helps me store some things." Seeing the surprised faces of everyone, Lambard explained as he placed his hand inside the portal.

Bringing his hand out, he revealed a pale yellow scroll. "I believe this is what you're looking for."

"That's right. How much money do you need for it?"

"I'm sorry, Young Lady, but I must refuse you once again. As you stated, this map is already up for auction. I can't sell it before the auction. If you want the map, you should probably get a room in the city and wait for the auction tomorrow."

Lambard knew the Church of Water had a lot of money, and he could literally ask for any amount he wanted, but he was also a man of principles in certain aspects, and one of those aspects was the auctions he often conducted.

"I know it's up for auction, but I can't wait for that. I don't believe there is anyone who can bid more for it than me, so just give it to me. Three Hundred Thousand Gold Coins... How about it?"

"Lady Elora, I doubt you know what you're speaking. You think you're the only one interested in this map?" Lambard shrugged.

"The offer to sell this map directly... I've received this offer from many sides. So far, I've received a letter from the Church of Lightning, Church of Earth, Church of Nature, and Church of Wind. Only Holy Church of Light hasn't shown any interest in it yet."

"I'm giving you the same answer that I gave to all those letters... If you want to buy this map, get it in the auction. If I didn't break my rule with them, how could I break the rule with you?"

Ruyi brought her lips closer to Elora's ears and whispered something in her ears, seeing the man refuse. "Lady Elora, this man has the map in his hands. The rings are also in his hands. Why are we even listening to his arrogant refusals? Let's just take him down and snatch everything. We can get more than one ring from him."

Ruyi made sure to keep her voice as low as she could so Lambard had no chance of hearing.

Unfortunately for them, this was the domain of Lambard. He heard everything. He found this discussion quite amusing but not unexpected.

***************

[Author Note: Create your own character!

Create a Character (Name, Personality, element, history etc) in the comments that you want in the Academy of Elements when Gabriel gets there or vote for characters created by other readers if any by liking comments.

The character you create or like might become reality and might be an important part of the story!]

Despite knowing what they were talking about, he acted ignorant.

"Don't be an idiot." Elora scolded the young lady right there and didn't keep her voice down.

Even though Lambard acted as if he hadn't heard their discussion, Elora knew that he heard everything. Lambard was the person who even knew their names which no one here should've known. The only time she had addressed them by their names was when they were alone inside the city.

If he managed to know even that, it meant that Lambard could hear things that happened in the city. If he heard something that happened so far away, it wasn't impossible that he couldn't hear what was happening here.

She believed that Lambard heard the suggestion of Ruyi, and yet he wasn't phased as if this wasn't a threat to him. Elora also knew the stories about this city and what happened when the Church of Light tried to bring it down. She didn't want to test that theory.

It was better to just wait for the auction and bid through it. Even though it wasted a day of theirs, it was better than picking a fight with Lambard in his own home. Outside the city, it was a different matter, but inside the city, it was impossible to defeat him from what she heard.

Moreover, Ruyi was literally suggesting theft and robbery! They were from the Holy Church of Water. A theft wasn't something that they could do. Even if they succeeded, this was going to destroy their reputation if it came out that the Head of the Church of Water herself tried to steal someone else's belongings.

"Is something the matter, Lady Elora?" Lambard asked innocently.

"Nothing. Just some stupid suggestion that I was given. Don't worry about it. If you've already decided that you can't sell that map outside of auction, we will wait for the auction in that case."

Elora took care of the situation before it could deteriorate too much. Even Lambard was impressed at her actions. Even though she was young, she was more clever than the other two who followed her. She made the right decision at the right time.

She also wasn't stubborn or adamant on something. Unlike the Head Priestesses, she didn't look for a fight.

"I think it's time we take our leave. We also need to look for a hotel. We will see you at the auction." Elora stood up gracefully before she left.

The two Head Priestesses followed her after taking a subtle glance at Lambard. They didn't know why Elora didn't go with their plan, but they just went with it.

Elora stopped right at the exit. "Lord Lambard, as I told you before, that map will be mine. I don't care who bids for it. It's just too important for me, so please keep that with care."

Lambard kept the scroll back inside the Portal, which closed. "This map is important for many, it seems. After what happened to the last Head of the Church of Water, everyone has been looking for this map, not just you. I think it's not going to be that easy for you to buy it."

"We will see that."

Elora calmly departed without arguing, but when she was worried to some extent. If what Lambard said was true, that meant there were many sides that wanted the map, and they were all going to be in the auction.

She didn't know how high the bid was going to go, but she knew she couldn't let this map go. This map contained the secret as to what happened with the last Head of the Church of Water. At any cost, she needed to get this map!

****

After Elora left, Gabriel somewhat relaxed.

"I really thought you were going to throw us off a cliff to give this ring to Elora. Thank you for not breaking your promise." Lira thanked Lambard for not taking the ring. That gave them a chance to finish their quest in the Capital City.

"Don't worry about it. I promised you the ring for a week inside the Royal City. And counting the travel time, you have the ring for a total of two weeks. I can wait two weeks to get my hands on the letters. I'm really curious what the letter was about. Just what kind of Ancient Essence would be contained in that letter."

"If there is a decent amount of essence in the letter, I might be able to know some secrets with the help of Eye of Osiris that you both are supposed to get for me. So you better succeed. I'm making a really big investment on you with this ring."

"We don't intend to fail either. Our failure only means the loss of the Eye of Osiris for you. But for us, it meant our death," Gabriel explained. "So I don't plan on failing."

"That aside, what was that Map of City of Ruins that all the Churches are interested in? Why is that?" Gabriel was still wondering about the map. The lady was really eager to get it, and so were other Churches. The Map didn't seem like anything ordinary.

"It's a long story." Lambard scratched the back of his head. "In short, the City of Ruins is none other than the City of Gods. It's the city where the Seven Gods used to live once upon a time, as I told you before. Now there's nothing left in that place… Just ruins of an era long forgotten."

"That's also considered one of the most dangerous places in the world. No matter who went there, they didn't return."

"A few years ago, the Head of the Church of Water came to me. She bought a map from me... A copy similar to what I'm putting up for auction."

"She left the Church to explore that place since she wanted to find the origins of the Gods. She was also the first person to return alive from that place, but she wasn't the same as before when she came back. She was completely blank. Her eyes didn't have any focus on what I heard, and she couldn't speak. It was as if she had seen something she shouldn't have."

"Within a few days of return, she died. After her, Elora was selected by the Holy Grimoire of Water, and you know the rest."

"Elora probably wants to go to the city as well to uncover what her predecessor saw there."

"She's not the only one though. The other Churches are also interested in that place, so they also want to go there to explore that place, but without the map that I have, it's impossible for them to know what places to avoid."

"If it's just a map, can't you make more clones of it and give one to all the Churches at a heavy price?"

"I wish I could, but the maps can't be cloned anymore. I don't know what it's about the maps, but they just can't be. I've tried many times only to fail. It's like you see the map one moment, and when you try to draw it on another paper, you just forget what you saw entirely."

"There only exist three such maps. One was sold last time, which was left behind in the City of Ruins by Elora's predecessor. I have two left. I want one for myself, and I'm selling the other through auction. A man needs money after all."

"Do you want to bid on the map as well?" Lambard asked Gabriel and Elora.

"We have more important things to do than such expirations in death zones. I'll leave that to the other Heads. It would be great if more of them died in the exploration. Would make things easier for us," Lira refused. "Anyway, we should also leave. Best of luck with your auction."

Lambard didn't stop the two youngsters from leaving. He had just casually asked them if they wanted to take part in the auction, but he knew that it was impossible for them.

The two of them might be in the same position in the hierarchy as the other Church Leaders, but unlike the others, they didn't have money. The two of them didn't have the massive wealth that was amassed by the Churches of Elements. It was useless to stop them since it could just waste their own time.

Moreover, the faster they left, the faster he could get the Eye of Osiris in his arsenal.

Lambard bid the two youngsters farewell, but he didn't escort them out personally. The task was given to the maid that had escorted them inside.

The maid took the two youngsters to the exit of the Castle, where the horse was already waiting for the two.

Gabriel climbed on the horse first before helping Lira up. Taking one last glance at the mysterious castle, he departed.

In another part of the city, Elora had already found a hotel. She even paid in advance for a few days as she booked three rooms. All three ladies went to individual rooms.

Elora went straight to a shower in her room. As for Joan, she dropped onto her bed, seemingly somewhat lazy. As for Ruyi, she went to the balcony to observe the chaotic city.

"So many illegal things are happening in this place, but no one can do anything. All because of that Lambard. No wonder he is arrogant."

Through the balcony, she could see many shops selling illegal items. If it were up to her, she would've destroyed all these shops. Unfortunately, Elora had issued some strict instructions to her that she wasn't allowed to do anything in this city that could offend Lambard.

They needed the map from Lambard, and they needed to be like guests. For the next few days, they couldn't get themselves in any conflict here.

Even though Ruyi believed that some of Elora's decisions were a dark blot on the prestige of the Church of Water since it made them look like cowards, she couldn't do anything against it. Elora was selected by the Holy Grimoire instead of her.

"Why did the Holy Grimoire have to select that coward Elora when I was there as well. I was in the Church longer than her. I've been the most senior, and I wasn't a coward like her. Yet, right before my eyes, the Grimoire selected her. I can't understand what it saw in that girl."

Ruyi let out a tired sigh. She was really missing the last Head of the Church of Water. She was nothing like Elora. She was more ruthless and stubborn.

She wasn't scared of anything. She even chose to go alone to the city of Ruins. Under her, no one dared to disrespect the Church of Water, but under Elora, even two kids disrespected their authority. She really hated the fact that she couldn't do anything.

Even though Ruyi couldn't hurt Lira and Gabriel here, she made up her mind that whenever she was going to see the two of them in the future, she was going to teach them what it meant to know their place.

"Hmm? Those two...?"

Ruyi was lost in her own thoughts as she stood on the balcony when she noticed a horse passing from right before the hotel she was staying in. As for the people who sat on the horse, they were none other than the two arrogant kids.

She looked in the direction they were going in, realizing that they were going to the exit.

A clever smirk spread across her lips. "So you're leaving this place? What perfect timing. I can't teach you a lesson inside this city, but who says I can't do the same outside? Let the games begin..."

Ruyi raised her right hand, casting a formation above her. A staff flew out of the formation to land in her hands.

"Wings of Purity!" Using the staff, she cast a spell.

A mystical blue light surrounded the staff that was held by her, and the same light covered all her body as well. Before long, two beautiful wings appeared behind her back.

Unlike the Mages of Winds, who could fly from the start, the Mages of Water couldn't fly that easily. They could only master a Wing Spell when they became capable of using High Tier Spells, which Ruyi could use.

Ruyi's body started rising in the air as she followed Gabriel and Lira without informing Elora and Joan.

****

Back at the Central Castle, Lambard was sitting on his throne with a cup of tea in his hand.

The maid stood right beside Lambard. "Sir, do you believe the Church of Light will also send someone to bid?"

"Heh, I doubt they will," Lambard answered. "They hate this city as this city contains their shameful secret. They won't come here even for the Map of the City of Ruins."

"Still, there's a possibility that they might send someone who isn't a member of the Church of Light to bid for them. It doesn't matter in any case. More participants mean higher bidding. It's just more money for us, so I won't mind even if the Church of Light sends someone."

He took another sip. "You really do have some great talent in making tea."

"I'm glad you like it, Master."

"I-" Lambard glanced toward the window abruptly. "Hmm?"

"Is something the matter, Master?"

"I guess you can say that. One of our guests from the Church of Water is following Gabriel and Lira. I don't think she has any good intentions."

"Should I go and stop her?" The young maid asked grimly.

"Heh, no need. As I told you, I only enforce my laws in the city. Outside the city, I don't interfere. If she fights here, I'll send you to take her down. But if all three of them leave the city, then it'll all be on them. I won't do anything no matter who is killed."

"But Master, don't you have use for those two? If they died, who would bring the Eye of Osiris for you?"

"If the two Rulers of Elements can't face one Head Priestess of Water, then I don't think they were capable of getting Eye of Osiris in the first place. The Head Priestess of Water is nothing before what they might face in the Royal City. And in that place, Gabriel is going to be alone as well," Lambard explained as he took another sip of his tea.

"This can be their first test. If they pass, then good. If they fail, then they aren't worth my time at all. The ring will get back to me, and I'll give it to Elora for a month."

Gabriel left the city, going through the doors he came in from.

"Those two guards...?"

As Gabriel left the city, he noticed two guards standing at the entrance, which surprised him. The two guards were none other than the guards that Lira had killed when she entered the city. They were completely identical

"How are they still alive?"

"Don't worry about them. They aren't real humans. Those two are also Numens, albeit ones made by one of the weakest Demigods, the Puppet Master."

"Despite being Numens, they aren't any special. They are no stronger than an ordinary human. The only thing that's special about them is that they can heal themselves, but even that takes a lot of time. So whenever you want to get in, just kill the two and enter."

"If they are so weak, why would Lambard use them as guards?"

"Only Lambard can know the answer to that question. Even I believe it's useless to keep them here. Anyone can kill them easily and get inside. Then again, it's not like anyone can do anything inside the city itself. I guess he just used them here since he wanted to find some uses for these useless puppets."

"The Numens... They certainly seem to be amazing. Just how many Numens are there in this world?" Gabriel inquired.

"Well, no one knows exactly how many there are since only a few have been discovered so far. I did hear there were around a hundred Demigods in existence," Lira explained. "However, there were also some powerful Demigods who created more than one Numen Artifact. Based on that assumption, there might be a couple hundred Numens in existence."

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"And how many have been discovered?" Gabriel asked, taking a subtle glance at the Ring of Apophis.

"The answer to that question is also unknown. As you can guess, not many people come forward and declare that they found a Numen Artefact in fear of being killed. Only Lambard is an exception, but that's because he has the protection of his city."

"Do you know how many are with Lambard then?"

"No one knows the exact number, but if I were to guess, I'm sure there are more than thirty at least."

"Even with his thirty Artifacts, he can't come out of the city with confidence to survive?"

"With the kind of enemies he has made, I doubt he can survive leaving the city without hiding. The Numens came from the Demigods, while the Grimoires came from the Gods themselves. In a battle between the God of Light and thirty average Demigods, I'm sure you can guess who would win?"

"That's why Lambard is always looking for more Artifacts, especially the highest-ranking Numens like the city he possesses. The Numens of the Strongest Demigods are yet to come to light, and those are what Lambard wants. Who knows where they will be."

"Anyway, I'm sure this is far enough. You can stop here," Lira chimed in.

"Hmm?" Gabriel observed his surroundings. They were in the middle of barren land, far away from any city. Why was Lira asking him to stop here?

"Why here?"

"So we could greet the guest who has been following us for quite some time," Lira answered. " I'm sure this is far enough to use my Grimoire without attracting too much attention."

"Following?" Gabriel stopped the horse. He glanced back but couldn't find anyone.

"Look above." Lira reminded him as she got off the horse.

Gabriel looked up, only to find Ruyi floating above them. "It seems like you knew I was following you. That's very perceptive of you."

"Your stench isn't something that can be ignored, can it?" Lira lazily stated.

"You're still as talkative as before. It seems like you never learn. That's understandable though. Who will be arrogant of not two Dark Mages, am I right?" Ruyi landed before Lira, holding her staff firmly.

"For some reason, I can't sense your aura," she gazed at Gabriel, but since you're with her and also hiding your hands, It is easy to guess that you're also a dark maze. Right?"

Gabriel didn't respond. He was slightly pleased though. Ruyi couldn't sense his dark aura; that meant the gloves that came with the attire and the staff were working and hiding his dark aura. Even the Head Priestess couldn't sense his dark element aura even though Lambard wasn't here to hide his aura.

This was good news since it meant he had a higher chance of staying hidden in the Royal City. As long as he didn't use his dark spells or Grimoire, even a higher-ranked mage couldn't sense him. The only thing which he was still curious about was if the gloves could fool a Head of Church as well.

He could've tested that if Lambard hadn't hidden his aura before Elora. He realized that he had missed an opportunity there.

"You can hide your aura, but too bad your partner can't. I was pleasantly surprised when I sensed that aura after leaving the city. With this, I now have complete authority to kill you. I won't even have to hide it. After killing you, I'll drag your body back to Elora!"

The mocking tone of Ruyi continued as she laughed at Lira, who failed to even hide her aura.

Gabriel scratched the back of his head, amused at this idiot. He knew that Lira was more skilled at hiding her aura. If her aura could be sensed after she left the city, that meant she wanted Ruyi to find out who she was, so she continued chasing them.

It wasn't Lira who had fallen into Ruyi's trap while making a mistake. Instead, it was Ruyi who had fallen for the intentional mistake of Lira, and now here she was, all alone before Lira. She thought she was too smart, but Lira so easily played with her.

The only question that now remained was if Lira was actually capable of defeating a Head Priestess of Water? Lira didn't have the Ancestral Staff, so her spells were weaker after all. Unlike Lira, Ruyi already had her staff out. Then again, Ruyi didn't possess the Holy Grimoire of Water. So both ladies had some kind of disadvantage and an advantage over the other.

"Should I help you?" Gabriel asked Lira. Even though he didn't have too many spells, he had some which could be helpful in battles.

Gabriel knew he was slightly weak when it came to spells, but he was also informed that the spells he could access were powerful, especially when accompanied by his Ancestral Staff.

"You don't need to waste your energy. If you use your Staff to cast a spell, it will attract too much unnecessary attention, which our battle won't. It's not the time for you to come before the world like that." Lira rejected the offer of help right away for the safety of Gabriel.

She focused back on Ruyi, who appeared to be laughing. She couldn't believe two kids were deciding to fight her instead of falling straight to her feet, begging for their lives.

"All the Churches did the right thing by shredding your Church of Darkness from the core itself. I just wish I could've been a part of that battle itself. I heard the agonized screams of the Dark Mages were so sweet to hear. I couldn't hear it then, but I can now. Isn't that great?"

The taunting words of Ruyi didn't affect Gabriel since he really didn't care for the Church of Darkness. He wasn't related to it, and he didn't know anyone from the Church of Darkness who had died, but there was someone who was heavily affected by these words.

Lira closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. Her pendant started shining in a mysterious dark light as if answering to her emotions.

"You're right. The agonizing screams of the Dark Mages when you murdered them... I'm sure people like you would've enjoyed it. Even though you call the Dark Mages Monsters, in reality, you're the Monsters. So I wouldn't put it past you to enjoy the death and destruction you cause."

"But did you forget one thing? To kill a few hundred mages of Darkness, you brought thousands of Mages of all Element Churches united? If you think that's something worth being proud of, then no one can be more pitiful than you. Each Mage of Darkness fought tens of you before falling! Your side had more losses than the Church of Darkness had total members!"

"Five Heads of Elemental Churches! Five of your leaders had to fight one of ours! Five of yours murdered one of ours! Did you forget it? Or do you only selectively remember history? You all weren't the brave Warriors that you portray yourself in the history books! You were all cowards! You were all a mob! A pack of coyotes that attacked a tiger and managed to win!"

"Death? Murders? Mob?" Ruyi chuckled. "It's only a murder when you kill innocents. When you kill Demons, it's not murder but extermination."

She further continued, "Of course you'll need more people for extermination to save some time. We exterminated all the insects to make this world a better place! Unfortunately, some insects survived. It's fine; I'll clear them now that I'm here. Can't leave everything to the Holy Church of Light, can we?"

"Extermination." Lira shook her head, gazing at the blue-haired lady. "You will regret your words in two minutes as you die if you don't run."

Ruyi went blank in response before bursting into laughter. "You really do know how to make a joke! Let me see how you'll make me regret my words in two minutes! I swear to the Goddess of Water that I won't run!"

In her arrogance, Ruyi once again fell straight into the trap of Lira. Lira didn't want Ruyi to run and inform Elora when she called out her Grimoire. That's why she taunted her in such a manner where she was forced to take an oath that she wasn't going to run. If she couldn't run, then she couldn't go and inform her.

Gabriel couldn't help but shake his head. It appeared to be too easy to fool Ruyi. She kept falling into one trap after another, all because she didn't take them seriously. She thought that these two were just stupid arrogant kids since they were so young. She hadn't expected that both of them were owners of a Holy Grimoire just like Elora.

Elora was younger than Ruyi, yet she was stronger because her spells were further boosted by her Grimoire and the Ancestral Staff. Even if the two used the same spell, it was clear which side was going to have a more powerful attack. Because of the Grimoire, the experience became somewhat insignificant as the distance between the strength was messed up.

Moreover, Lira wasn't a new mage either. She was more experienced than Gabriel since she had lived with the Grimoire for a long time.

"I've wasted enough of my time on you two already. It's time you die!"

Ruyi tapped her staff on the ground firmly. "Wave of destruction!"

Following her command, the ground started trembling as it split apart a few hundred meters behind Ruyi in a straight horizontal line. From the massive split in the ground came water. Thousands of cusecs of water came out of the split ground, creating a gigantic tsunami behind Ruyi.

It all happened within a few seconds of the spell being cast as a tsunami advanced toward Lira.

The Tsunami appeared to have enough strength to destroy an entire town easily, yet there were only two Targets for the Tsunami this time.

Gabriel gazed at the thousand feet tall waves of the tsunami that was advancing toward him. The wave appeared to have enough strength to drown both of them.

"Imprison of the Tainted!" Ruyi didn't stop even now as she cast another spell simultaneously.

A wall made of water appeared all around Lira and Gabriel, surrounding them. The top was also covered in water. It was as if Lira and Gabriel were trapped in the prison of water, but it wasn't ordinary water either.

The walls were made of the purifying water, also known as the Holy Water. This was also one of the reasons that the Church of Water played an essential role in the destruction of the Church of Darkness since they could use the Holy Water in spells.

It wasn't impossible for a Mage of Darkness to pass through the holy water barrier, but whenever they did, they were temporarily weakened, unable to use any spells.

Since Ruyi didn't want Lira to escape through air, she used the Prison of Damned to keep them in place. If Lira tried to fly through the prison of the damned, she was going to come crashing to the ground.

The Tsunami was going to destroy them if they did anything, but it was also going to destroy them if they did nothing...

Back in the hotel in the city of Abadon, Elora came out after showering and decided to check out the city itself. Even though there were many illegal things in the city, it still was worth roaming around the city since they weren't going to get an opportunity like that every other day.

She left her room and walked to Joan's room, knocking.

Joan had just gone to sleep only to be woken up by a knock on the door. She rolled off the bed and stood on the ground, walking to the door.

"Lady Elora, do you need something?"

"I wanted to go out. I was wondering if you would like to accompany me."

"Ah, sure. Just give me a few minutes. I'll be right out."

Elora walked to the room of Ruyi and knocked as well, but this time there was no response. She kept knocking for a few minutes, but no response came. By now, even Joan came out of her room, prepared for leaving.

She saw Elora knocking on the door once again.

"I didn't know Ruyi was such a deep sleeper," Elora wondered.

"She isn't. I've known her. She's a really light sleeper. She should've responded by now," Joan chimed in. "Maybe she isn't in the room?"

"The room is locked from the inside. Also, she hates this city. I doubt she wouldn't left alone." Elora pointed. "I know what's the problem. She must be angry since I didn't support her before Lambard."

She let out a sigh. "She should've understood that I had to do it to maintain some peace. We couldn't afford a battle in this city."

Elora knocked once again. "Ruyi, I know you're inside. Open the door; I need to talk to you!"

"Ruyi, it's important! Open the door!"

Elora kept calling out, only to be greeted by silence in response.

"Ruyi, this is an order! Open the door this instant! Are you defying an order?!"

Even now, the door didn't open, which really upset Elora. "Fine. I'll open it myself. We will pay the damages to the hotel."

Elora clenched her fist.

"Blessing of the Goddess!" she chanted.

The spell not only strengthened her body but also covered her hands with a thin layer of water as a shield for protection.

Elora punched the door right where the lock was supposed to be. Her fist, supported by brute strength, penetrated through the door, destroying the lock.

Elora pulled her hand back, which didn't have a single scratch.

"Joan, keep a few gold coins ready for this hotel owner. That should cover a door and more."

"I already did. We will give it to him later."

"Good." Elora pushed the door open and entered the room.

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"Ruyi, why weren't you answering. I know you're angry, but that doesn't give you an excuse to ignore a direct command!"

"Hmm?" Elora expected to find Ruyi in the room, but this place was completely empty, which stunned her.

"Check the bathroom," she instructed Joan.

Joan checked the bathroom. "It's empty as well."

"So she really wasn't in the room but then again, why would the door be locked from inside? Unless..." Elora noticed the door to the balcony, which was open. "Unless Ruyi left through the balcony."

She walked to the balcony with Joan.

"Why did she leave from the balcony when she could've left from the door. The only way this would be justified was if she was in a hurry and couldn't take the long route, but if she wanted to explore the city, what's the hurry?" Joan also couldn't understand what reason Ruyi could have, but her questions made Elora realize something.

"That's right. The only reason someone would jump out of here instead of going through the door is if they were in a hurry but hurrying to leave this room doesn't make sense, does it? That leaves only one possibility."

"What possibility?" Joan asked, still unable to decipher.

"The possibility that she didn't go to see the city but went after someone and couldn't wait. If I'm not wrong, she probably saw the two people from Lambard's mansion. That idiot will certainly think of attacking them if she saw them leaving the city since she wouldn't ignore my command of not attacking anyone here! Argh, why is she so stubborn!"

"We need to stop her before she kills people who work for Lambard. If they die and he finds out, he would never let us participate in the auction!"

,m ****

"Well, he already knows." Lambard sat in his room, able to hear everything that Elora was saying. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear what he was saying.

Elora flew to the exit as well, followed by Joan.

"I wonder how the battle is going so far. If Elora gets there, she might be too troublesome for Lira and Gabriel to handle. It'll be more than just a test for them at that point. Should I really help them? Do I have no other choice?"

"Then again, if I help them, it would be breaking my own rules..."

Lambard's own thoughts were so complicated that he lost himself in them. On the other hand, Elora had already left the city.

After a long time, Lambard decided that he really needed to take some action. He was fine with Lira fighting with Ruyi since that was a battle of equals in strength. It became a battle of skills, but with Elora and Joan in the mix, it was going to be a massacre.

"Master, should I go to help now?" A feminine voice came from the back as a maid appeared like a ghost behind Lambard.

"Yeah. It might create some problems with the Church of Water, but then again, when was I scared of offending a Church?" Lambard casually smiled. "Go there and observe. Don't interfere if they don't need help, but if they do, help them and bring them back to the city. I'll handle the rest."

"As you wish, Master." The maid disappeared into thin air.

****

Elora flew straight. Since there was only one route leaving the city, she didn't need to make any choices about direction.

Before long, she finally got the sight of Ruyi... However, what she saw made her lips part in disbelief as to what she was seeing. She increased her speed.

Elora reached the battlefield, only to find puddles of water at places. It appeared as if it had rained recently as the ground was still wet.

The water wasn't what surprised Elora. Instead, it was the body that was lying on the ground. Unlike the puddles of water in most of the places, there was only a puddle of blood around the body.

Elora landed before the body and turned it around. Even though she already knew who it was based on the clothing, she still couldn't come to believe that this body really belonged to Ruyi.

She gazed at the face of the body, confirming that it was indeed Ruyi.

"She is dead." Elora grimly stated as she checked the nerves of Ruyi.

"I can sense some dark aura. And the water here means that a battle took place here, possibly with a dark mage." Joan observed the surroundings.

Even though she was shocked that Ruyi was killed, she focused more on trying to find who the culprit was. "It looks like the battle took place not long ago. The one who did it shouldn't have gone too far."

Elora didn't respond. She just sat with Ruyi in her arms, still in disbelief that she was killed. It was the first time a Head Priestess had been killed like this, and it was when she was accompanying him.

"A dark mage who is capable of killing Ruyi couldn't be weak. You think Lambard could be behind it?"

"Lambard had no reason to kill her." Elora shook her head. "This is the work of a Dark Mage. Maybe I was wrong that Ruyi went to kill the people who disrespected us. She probably saw some dark mage leaving the city and went after them, only to die herself."

"We can't let her killer go free. Joan, do everything possible to locate those people. You have complete authority. If you need, call more people from the Church here! I want that dark mage to be found!" Clenching her fist, she declared her command.

She didn't want the killers to go free after what they did, no matter who they were! They had killed a Church of Water Priestess. That wasn't a crime worth forgiveness, even for her!

In a distant place, a dark figure watched the two ladies with the dead body.

"Looks like there's no need for me to take action."

The dark figure disappeared as if it was never there.

****

The maid once again appeared behind Lambard.

"What's the news?" Lambard asked.

"The two have already killed the Mage of Water before Elora could get there. They weren't there by the time Elora got there."

"I see. Well, that was fast even for Lira. It seems she is getting quite strong." Lambard rubbed his chin. "I wonder how strong she will become if she did succeed in getting the Ancestral Staff. Chaotic times are ahead, but then again, chaos does bring many opportunities with it. I wonder how it'll play out."

Lambard let out a calm smile as he stood on the balcony, gazing at the beautiful city that belonged to him.

The city was known by the outside world as one of the most chaotic cities. Still, it looked really calm at the moment. Only the sweet whistling of winds could be heard from the balcony.

"Maya, can you hear anything?"

The maid stepped closer. "Hear what?"

"Close your eyes and tell me what you can hear..."

"Other than your voice, I hear nothing. What can you hear, My Lord?"

Lambard gazed at the clear sky. "Hidden in the silence of the wind is the roars of a storm."

"Storm?" Maya gazed up. "The sky is clear."

Lambard simply smiled as he walked back inside his room.

Maya turned to follow him, slightly confused as to what Lambard was talking about, only to be shocked as a droplet of water fell on her head.

She gazed up. More and more water droplets started falling. The sky that was clear until now was covered in clouds now as it started raining.

****

The Horse raced through the forest, carrying Gabriel and Lira. Instead of taking the normal route, Lira had suggested that they take a more unorthodox path since she had a feeling that it wasn't safe to take the normal route after killing Ruyi.

Even though Ruyi had arrived alone to kill them, Lira knew that it was inevitable that Elora was going to find out about what happened.

"You are really strong." After a long time, Gabriel commented.

Throughout the journey, he was thinking about how Lira killed Ruyi. Ruyi wasn't a strong mage, and she also had an advantage because of the Holy Prison of Water, yet she was killed by Lira.

It was the first time Gabriel had seen Lira use a proper spell and one as powerful. The spell even made him jealous to some extent.

"That was one of my strongest spells. I only recently unlocked it. It's the first time I've used that, and you are the first person who saw it and is still alive." Lira chuckled. "So, how was the spell?"

"It was powerful. The Dark Mages are certainly strong."

"Not the dark mages but the holder of the Grimoire. This spell isn't in any other book. Only the owner of the Grimoire is able to use such a skill. I didn't even know about the existence of something like this until this spell became available."

"That was the advanced tier spell... It would be even stronger when you get the Ancestral Staff. If even then you can't kill the Head of Church of Light, I wonder just what kind of person he is."

"My spell is powerful, but that doesn't make me invincible. The other Rulers of Elements also hold such powerful spells. Ruyi underestimated me. Because of the Prison of Water, she didn't see me call out the Grimoire. That's why she died so fast. If it were Elora, it wouldn't be that easy."

"As far as the Head of Church of Light is concerned, even I'm not sure what he's like. All I know is that he is called the strongest Mage of a Light. He is a really strange person who never leaves the Church of Light. In fact, I don't think anyone ever saw him," Lira described the oddity.

"There are even some rumors that he never appears outside because he doesn't even exist. The rumors state that the Grimoire of Light hasn't selected anyone after the old Head of Church of Light died of old age."

"People say that the Church of Light doesn't have a head anymore, and that's why they made up a story about a new head who doesn't leave the place. Unfortunately, no one knows what's the truth of the situation."

"The Ruler of Light who has never been seen before?" Gabriel wondered. "So if he really exists, no one knows what he looks like?"

"That's right. Unlike other Elemental Rulers, the current Ruler of Light has never been seen before. There's not even a single portrait of him in circulation."

"How old is he said to be?" Gabriel inquired.

"The Old Ruler of Light died around ten years ago. According to the Church of Light, the new Ruler of Light was selected shortly after. Unfortunately, no one knows how old that person was when he was selected. The Church of Light has been really secretive about it."

[Five days later]

Lira and Gabriel continued their journey to the Royal City, only taking short breaks on the way. Along the way, Gabriel asked Lira many things about the city since it was his first time going there. He wanted to know as much as he could about the city and things that he needed to be careful about.

Lira also didn't hold back in giving all the information she had. In fact, she loved talking. Before the arrival of Gabriel, she had no one to talk to. She used to be so silent that, at times, she even forgot what her own voice sounded like. Now she talked so much that she barely stopped.

Lira also taught Gabriel more about the Grimoires and how the spells are unlocked. She even told him how a mage could strengthen their souls and advance to become a stronger mage.

Gabriel absorbed every bit of knowledge he could since he didn't want to stay weak. His goals were bigger than that. He needed strength, and for that, he needed to know how to get that strength.

"So there are two ways for Mages to strengthen their souls and to advance," Gabriel affirmed.

At the moment, Lira was sitting in the lead on the horse while he sat behind her with his arms wrapped around her slim waist, listening to her.

"That's right. The most common way is to use the Soul Crystals. It's the fastest way, but even it can't strengthen you instantly. If Soul Crystals could do that, every rich kid would've been an Advanced Mage by now."

"Soul Crystals are expensive and rare. The rich can certainly afford them, but that doesn't mean anything. In the end, how much they can absorb from the Soul Crystal in a day depends on their own talent. Even with great talent, one can still take years to advance from a Novice Mage to an Advanced Mage with the help of Soul Crystals."

"I see. So that's no faster way than Soul Crystals. How did you become an Advanced Mage at such an early age then? Same with Elora. Why?"

"As I said, even with great talent, it can still take years to make a small advancement. It's because their soul isn't strong enough to use more than one Soul Crystal a day. Talent and soul strength are different. Their talent allows them to absorb more of a Soul Crystal than the ones with weak talent, yet they also share the same limitations. They can't use more than one Soul Crystal without harming themselves."

"But there are also a different category of people which is quite rare..."

"And which category is that?"

"The category of Prodigies. They are also the ones who are most sought after by the Churches as their advancement is the fastest." Lira explained.

Hearing her words, Gabriel remembered that the Head Priest of the Church of Light had also called him a Prodigy when they met. He thought it must mean he was talented. But there seemed to be more to it than just that.

*Category of Prodigies?"

"Yeah. They are rare but also not impossible to find," Lira answered. "There are two types of Prodigies. One is called the Talent Prodigies. They are really talented in magic. They can awaken their element at a really young age and also have an easier time learning to use the spells."

"They can also absorb the most amount of Soul Energy from the Soul Crystal. In fact, some Talent Prodigies can even absorb a hundred percent of a Soul Crystal which is quite rare."

"The second type is also really important. They are even harder to find than the Talent Prodigies. They are called the Soul Prodigies."

"Soul Prodigies? What can they do?"

"While the Talent Prodigies go for quality over quantity, the Soul Prodigies go for quantity over quality. Their souls are much better, and they can use more than one Soul Crystals in a day. Even though they can't absorb most of the Soul Crystal energy, by absorbing from more than one, they progress really fast."

"So they are the ones who have an advantage in the race to become stronger compared to others."

"Exactly. Their strength gain is faster than their peers, but only if they can afford Soul Crystals. That's why most of these Prodigies pledge their allegiance to rich Mage Families in exchange for these resources. The families get talented mages while the mages get the support they need. You'll see quite a lot of that in the Academy. Just be careful from these families.'

"I forgot to mention that there is also another type of Prodigy which is so rare that only ten or so are discovered in a year."

"And they are...?"

"They are called Double Prodigies. They have the best of both worlds. They have peak-tier talent and a powerful soul. Those people don't even need to work with any mage Families. Instead, the Great Families fight amongst themselves to be in the good books of such people since the Double Prodigies are directly supported by the Holy Churches."

"Which of the Prodigy are you then?" Gabriel asked. From Lira's explanation, he understood that one needed to be a Prodigy to progress this fast, so she had to be one as well.

"What do you think?" Lira asked. A smile graced her lips which Gabriel couldn't see since he sat behind her.

"Soul Prodigy? You seem like someone who would have a strong soul."

"No."

"Talent Prodigy then?"

"You're wrong again. I'm none of them. I wasn't born a Prodigy. Let alone that, I wasn't even talented in the least. My talent was literally the worst."

"Then how did you...?"

Lira grabbed the right hand of Gabriel, which was resting on her stomach, and started sliding his hand up.

For a moment, Gabriel was so stunned, he couldn't even react to ask what she was doing.

Lira placed Gabriel's hand on top of her pendant. "It's because of this."

"Your Grimoire?"

"That's right. The only reason I advanced this much is because of this. As soon as the Grimoire of Darkness bonded with me, it changed my life. It improved my talent, bringing it to its peak. It also strengthened my soul. I'm sure it's the same for all Sacred Mages who hold the Grimoires, even you."

"Even me?" Gabriel gazed at the black ring on his hand. "Just how many gifts did this Grimoire give me? It gave me my life, gave me an element, gave me one of the most powerful magical staff in existence, gave me spells, and now this..."

"Yeah, I am sure you were a Talent Prodigy since you awakened an element at such a young age, but as soon as the Grimoire bonded with you, it increased your talent even more. So you should be able to use Soul Crystals as well."

"Do you have any Soul Crystals on you?" Gabriel asked Lia.

"Of course. I've robbed quite a few in my time," Lia calmly answered, not thinking much of the question.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Gabriel frowned. "We have been traveling for days. If I had absorbed a few, I could've gotten stronger."

"You can't use the Soul Crystals now."

"And why is that?"

"Because you need to enter the Academy of Elements. You'll have to become a student there and face an entrance trial. The exam is easiest for Novice Mages who have just awakened their elements."

"If you stay the way you are, you can qualify for Novice entrance exams. It'll give you faster and easier access to the Academy."

Lira explained the reasoning behind her actions so Gabriel wouldn't misunderstand her.

She slowed down her horse and got down.

"What happened?"

"This is as far as I can accompany you without bringing trouble to you. We are close to the Royal City. You can get there in ten minutes. You'll have to travel on your own from this point." Lira pointed straight ahead.

Gabriel also noticed a city in the distance. It was so far that it looked really small, yet Gabriel knew that it was a massive city in reality.

He was almost at the Royal City! The City where he was supposed to steal something so precious that it was said to be impossible to steal. It was also the city where Maya and Hawrin were hiding...

"Remember. You have seven days from the moment you enter the city. After that, the Ring of Apophis will stop working, and it'll go back. So no matter what happens, don't forget the time limit."

"I know I have seven days to get in and get out. I won't forget."

Gabriel was reminded about this time limit, but he also realized why it was the case. This time limit was one of the most important things for him. As soon as the time limit was up, his transformation was going to stop, and he was going to return to his old self, which was dangerous.

"Can I go now?"

Even though it was risky to enter the city, Gabriel was also somewhat eager to get inside. He wanted to see what the city he had always dreamed about looked like from the inside. He wanted to enter the academy and meet his old friends and foes. Everything else came later.

"Not yet. Before you go, I have something for you."

"Hmm?"

"Shadow Storage!" Lira chanted a spell. A shadow came out of the ground, this time belonging to herself.

The shadow stood without moving. Lira inserted her hand inside the shadow, which appeared to swallow her hand as Gabriel couldn't see the hand anymore.

By the time Lira pulled out her hand, there was a small cloth bag in her hand. The shadow disappeared.

She stepped a bit closer to Gabriel, extending her hand. "Here. Take it."

"What is in it?" Gabriel gazed at the small bag, which appeared to have something.

"The Soul Crystals. Since you're a Novice Mage with a Grimoire, you should be able to use around five of such crystals in a day without hurting your soul. This bag contains around fifty Soul Crystals."

"You can use around thirty-five of them in a week you'll be there. As for the other fifteen, you should be able to sell them in case you need money or use them for any number of transactions. Keep them with you. But remember, don't use any of them until you clear the Trial and get inside the Academy. If you do, you'll be shifted into a different category of trials."

"Lira, you've never entered the city, have you? How do you know so much about the Academy then?"

"Who says I've never been there?" Lira smirked.

"You said the barrier had been around the city for over a century at least. You certainly don't look older than a hundred. Are you?"

Hearing the confusion of Gabriel, Lira couldn't help but smile. Her smile was so beautiful that momentarily, it even stunned Gabriel. It was the first time he had seen Lira's smile properly. He found that smile really beautiful, especially the way it complimented her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lira tilted her head, noticing Gabriel looking at her oddly.

"Your smile is really beautiful."

Gabriel's compliment came so naturally that even he hadn't realized how effortless it was, probably because he didn't give any ulterior motives behind that compliment. He just said what he noticed.

Seeing Gabriel compliment her, it was Lira's turn to be stunned as her lips parted slightly.

"Was that a compliment or sarcasm?" After a long time, she asked. "No one ever said that my smile was beautiful. After all, who would find a demon's smile beautiful? All I've seen in people's eyes in my life was hate and disgust."

"You are not a demon. I've seen the real demons of this world... They hide in plain sight in the cover of light while calling others demons. They are the real demons, and this world is filled with them. We aren't the Demons. I'm not one, and you certainly aren't one. It's not demonic to fight for yourself when you're being persecuted for no reason at all."

Gabriel had been with Lira for over a week. He believed he managed to understand her quite well. Lira wasn't like anyone he had seen before. She didn't hide her bad side. She wasn't scared, and she certainly didn't hide behind fake morality for her actions.

Lira was more true to herself than anyone he had seen. She didn't worry about what others would think of her. She didn't try to make a fake good impression.

She killed people when she needed to; she let them live when she needed to. She even argued with Lambard even though she needed his help. She was a really genuine person, from what Gabriel had noticed.

There were many who called her Devil because of her elements. There were many who judged her for taking lives and killing people, but did those people really have a right to judge her? Those same people cheered for her when thousands of Mages destroyed the Church of Darkness.

Those same people cheered when innocent mages who awakened with Dark Element were killed simply for existing. Those same people were the ones who weren't going to hesitate even a single second to take a life as long as it benefited them, as long as it justified their moral conscience.

Gabriel didn't believe that those people were fit to judge anyone. If Lira's taking lives was wrong, then all the Holy Churches of Elements were wrong! Then all those people who supported her actions were wrong! Then this entire world was wrong!

"Gabriel..." Lira called out, hearing Gabriel's words.

"Yeah?" Gabriel gazed in curiosity.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything. Remember, you must come back safely."

"You think I don't want to?" Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I'll finish the mission and come back with the Ancestral Staff."

"Even if you can't get the Ancestral Staff, come back if you believe it's dangerous for you. I don't want you to die there. Keep your safety above everything else."

Initially, Lira was more interested in the Ancestral Staff since that was the only thing that could give her a fighting chance in this war. For her, the goal was more important than even her life.

Unfortunately, something had changed... Something had changed inside her because of Gabriel.

After a long time, she had someone who understood her and stood beside her. The first time she had someone who not only didn't judge her but also was so nice to her. The thought of losing Gabriel made her scared since that meant she was going to be all alone in this world again. That thought was worse than the thought of not getting the Ancestral Staff.

"I'll keep that in mind." Gabriel nodded. "Now, can I leave?"

"One last thing I should mention. Inside that bag, there is also a small black stone. Whenever you're in danger and believe you can't get out of it, crush that small stone."

"What will it do?" Gabriel asked.

"It'll alert me that you're in danger, and I'll get there to help me," Lira explained. "So keep that stone with you always, and don't lose it."

"But if you get there, won't the barrier mark your soul as well? You'll be put in harm's way as well."

"It doesn't matter. You're going there for me. It's only fair that I do something. As I said before, we are a team. So, of course, I'll come to help. Moreover, it's not that easy to kill me. Don't worry about anything. You can crush that stone without hesitation whenever you're in danger and need me. You understand?"

"I will. Can I finally leave now, or there's more?"

"You can leave. I wish you all the best, Gabriel." Lira finally let Gabriel leave.

Gabriel turned the horse to the city and left, occasionally glancing back. He had taken his first step toward his destiny, going all alone in the midst of enemies.

Advancing toward the Royal City, Gabriel gazed back at Lira occasionally, watching her stand in the same place.

Before long, Lira disappeared from his view. She had done as much as she could. From now on, everything rested on his shoulders.

Gabriel tied the small bag he received around his waist before observing the beautiful city in the distance. A majestic golden dome appeared to be covering the city, which seemed even better the closer Gabriel got to the city.

His first test was passing through the barrier undetected. According to Lira, it should've been easier since his element wasn't the Element of Darkness that could be detected by the beautiful golden Barrier.

Even though Lira was confident in that assumption, Gabriel was still somewhat wary since he knew that his element did share some similarities with the element of Darkness. He pondered if he was going to be caught before he could even get inside.

Fortunately, he also had his gloves which he placed his hopes on since they hid the aura of his Element from being felt outside. He had decided that he was never going to remove the gloves as long as he was inside the city... At least not the right one.

After finding a suitable place where no one could spot him, he stopped near the pond.

He got down the horse, stretching his arms. Now was the time to decide on his new looks.

He remembered the way to use the ring of transformation that was told to him by Lambard. He did everything as instructed.

He closed his eyes after once again making sure that no one was there. He tried to visualize a person he wanted to look like. Since he didn't want to take a risk, he imagined a face that he had never seen before, so there was no risk of it matching with someone.

Gabriel's long hairs became slightly shorter, even changing their color to a beautiful shade of silver. His eyes also transformed, complimenting the color of his silver hair as his pupils became a lighter shade of silver.

He didn't want to leave any remnant of his old self in his new look, not taking any risk this time. To be sure, he made one last change, making his skin somewhat paler as if he came from the land of snow.

The transformation didn't take long either. The only time-consuming part of the transformation was imagining what he wanted to look like. Everything else was effortless and Swift.

After he finished his transformation, he moved closer to the pond, observing his reflection in the water.

Just as he had expected, the ring worked all too well. He looked completely unlike his old self and just like he had imagined. He was sure that no one could recognize him now.

He sat near the pond, cupped his hands, inserting them in the pond before splashing water on his face.

After washing his face, he got back on the horse.

****

There was only one path leading inside the royal city, and it was crowded at the moment. There were many carriages before Gabriel in the line, waiting to enter the city.

Most of these carriages were being used as a mode of transport by youngsters who wanted to join the Academy of Elements. In the last few days, thousands of youngsters have arrived in the holy city to take part in the entrance examination of the Royal Academy of Holy Elements from different parts of the nation.

Every youngster dreamed of becoming a powerful mage, and the first step on that journey was getting selected for the Academy of Elements. The poor wanted to join the Academy to become powerful, learn spells, and most importantly, so that they could receive some resources from the academy to strengthen themselves.

On the other hand, the rich didn't lack the resources. All they needed were the skills and the name of the Academy behind them.

If one could show their talent in the academy, they had a great chance of succeeding in life, and it held true for everyone since many eyes remained on the Academy its toppers throughout the years. Even many Head Priests were previously students in the Academy itself before they reached the high positions.

There appeared to be around thirty such carriages before Gabriel in the line, and each carriage was checked thoroughly by the guards before being allowed entry into the city, which was taking quite some time.

"It should take around two hours at this rate just to get inside." Gabriel made an assumption.

"Three hours." A calm voice fell in Gabriel's ears.

"Hmm?" Gabriel glanced back, noticing another young man who was traveling alone like him.

The crimson-haired man seemed to be in his early twenties, donning a beautiful silver robe on his back which didn't appear to be too expensive yet suited him very well. His beautiful violet pupils starkly contrasted his crimson hair, yet it seemed to suit him.

As Gabriel observed the young man behind him, the man also observed Gabriel.

Through Gabriel's attire, the man could feel that the young man before him was from a rich family, yet he didn't give any special attention to him. It was as if it didn't matter to him how rich Gabriel was or what his background was.

"Did you say something?" Gabriel inquired.

"Yeah. You were wrong about your assumption by an hour. It'll take at least three hours to get the queue clear."

"Maybe." Gabriel didn't argue with the young man behind him. He casually glanced at the mark on the back of the young man's hand, noticing the mark of the Element of Earth.

"So you're a Mage of Earth. Did you assume how long it would take after guessing how many people are before us or there was a logic behind that specific number?"

"It is just basic maths. It's not hard to guess the approximate number of people inside those carriages based on the extra weight. Most of these carriages are overloaded. From that it's easy to figure out an approximate number of people ahead of us, who will go through checking, and how much time it'll take in total before it's our turn."

"And how do you know the extra weight inside the carriage from back here?"

The man flashed his mark of earth. "I'm connected to the earth."

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It was only Gabriel who asked the man questions. The man, on the other hand, didn't ask anything. It was as if he didn't even want to attempt to get to know anyone. All he did was answer questions.

"If you're right, then it's going to be a long wait indeed." Gabriel got off his horse. Since it was such a long wait, he didn't feel like sitting on the horse for such an extended period for no reason.

"What is your name?" Gabriel asked another question.

The young man also got down the horse, still holding the reins of the horse to keep it in place.

"Alexai."

Once again, Alexai didn't ask any questions. He didn't even care to ask the name of Gabriel in return.

Despite not being asked, Gabriel introduced himself. "I'm Karyk."

Since he was here undercover, he needed a new persona and a new name. For that, he selected the only choice he could think of... He selected the name of the first God of his element Karyk, bringing the name back to life once again.

Unfortunately, Alexai appeared to be completely uninterested. He simply nodded his head, ending the conversation.

With time, more and more people came out of the Carriages as if a chain had been started by Gabriel.

Before long, almost everyone was out of the Carriages and talking a walk outside. Curious, Gabriel observed everyone, counting how many people there actually were before them.

'He was right. There were more people here than I expected. It'll take somewhere around three hours to get the queue clear.'

Gabriel glanced back at Alexai, who was standing with his hands behind his back as gentle winds brushed against him, seemingly lost in some thoughts as he gazed at the setting sun.

Gabriel found the man really intriguing. The man talked to him. He wasn't friendly, but he didn't seem to be arrogant either. There was just something about him that was really fascinating, from his aura to his persona.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Alexai noticed Gabriel's gaze. "Do you want something?"

"Just curious about your element."

"Don't act like it's your first time seeing an Earth Mage." Alexai frowned. "Tell me straight what you want."

"You know you don't have to be so rude."

Even though Gabriel was curious about Alexai and how he was connected to earth without using a spell, it was still too much for someone to talk to him like that.

"There are many things in this world that don't need to be, yet they are." The young man vaguely answered before he brought a book out of a bag.

He opened the book as if signaling to Gabriel that he was busy and that he didn't want to be distracted.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. He also stopped talking to the young man.

Throughout the next three hours, the two men didn't talk to each other. Gabriel just waited in silence as the queue moved ahead slowly.

After close to three hours, finally most of the queue was over, and it was Gabriel's turn.

This was the moment of truth where he was going to get an answer if he could fool the barrier or not. Both his hands were still covered in gloves that only revealed his fingers.

To get to the guards, he needed to first pass through the barrier. Holding the reins of his horse, Gabriel took a step forward.

His body touched the barrier. He didn't even face the slightest resistance as he passed through the barrier. It was as if the barrier wasn't even there.

Two guards approached Gabriel after he passed through the barrier, finding a notebook in their hands.

"Entry number 893. State your name."

"Karyk," Gabriel answered. He had already practiced this name with Alexai. The name came out naturally from his mouth without any hesitation on his face.

The guard wrote down the name.

"Age?" The guard asked.

"Twenty," Gabriel lied, hiding his actual age of just eighteen.

"Purpose of Visit?"

"To take part in the Academy of Elements exam."

The guard wrote down the reason, not even surprised. It was expected as almost every youngster who came here in recent days was here for the same thing."

"Element?" The guard lazily asked.

"Light," Gabriel answered.

He noticed that the Guards finally appeared to take some interest in him.

"You got a really nice element, kid. And at such a young age of twenty. You're fortunate." One of the Guards smiled at Gabriel.

"You'll need to show us your mark as evidence." Another guard stated.

Gabriel took off his left glove, showing the mark of light.

The guard wrote 'Element Verified' on the book before glancing at another guard.

The second guard stepped forward and placed a small badge on Gabriel's chest with a few numbers written on it.

The guard further explained. "This will be like your permit to be in the city. It'll only be valid for three days. You can never take it off. If you pass the exams, you'll be given a different badge which will have no number on it. If you fail, you'll have to leave the city. You understand?"

Gabriel nodded. "Got it."

He was already informed about this process before. Since it was a Royal City, they couldn't allow anyone to enter and settle here without permission. Only the elitest of the elites were allowed to stay in the city.

Everyone else was only allowed a temporary visit, and even for that, there was a really harsh checking. It was only during the Academy Exams that the checking was made somewhat lax for the youngsters.

All the guards took a few steps back. "You are clear to enter. Best of luck for the exams."

Gabriel got on the horse, finally being free to enter the city. He was finally here... The Royal City! The city that was the base of the Holy Church of Light. He had taken a step toward his destiny.

It took him the entire day to get inside the city, but he was finally here, being basked in the moonlight.

****

In another part of the city, a blue-haired girl sat on the roof of her house, gazing at the same moon.

It wasn't long ago when she was sitting just like this with a young man. She was still the same. The moon was still the same. Yet the companion was home, being stabbed by her own hands.

"Are you really alive... Gabriel?" she softly asked, gazing at the moon.

"Even if you are, you're forever cursed. You have become a vessel of darkness. I wish things were different. I wish you hadn't become one of them... Now you are also a demon of darkness. You will be killed even if you're alive before you can hurt any innocent."

She didn't know how to feel about this. Her thoughts were so complicated at the moment. The only thing she knew for sure was that Gabriel wasn't the same as before. The kind and innocent Gabriel who wanted to fight for light was dead, being swallowed by a demon of darkness.

She didn't want him to die, yet she tried to convince herself that it was good for this World since Gabriel wasn't who she knew.

"If you're alive, you must hate me a lot, right?"

Maya talked to the moon as if she was talking to Gabriel himself.

"You probably want to kill me and my family for what we had to do? This is the one place you can never enter... You can never hurt me and my family here... You'll only be killed by the Church of Light faster if you come here, so please don't. Please stay away... Please stay safe... Please stay alive..."

Sometimes Maya felt as if she had gone crazy. On one side, she wanted Gabriel to be dead so the world could be safe, going so far as to try to kill him with her own hands."

"On the other side, she prayed for his safety and for his life. She knew that if he ever came before her, he was going to be killed, and she wasn't going to protect him. So she prayed that he stayed away from this city and stayed safe at least."

*****

"Gabriel... I can't believe you came back from the dead." Back at the academy, even Hawrin couldn't forget Gabriel. Every time he remembered his father and his brother's death, he woke up cursing Gabriel.

"You bastard, I hope you are stupid enough to come to this city. Come here fast so the Holy Mages of the Church of Light can kill you and remove one more darkness trash from this world! You need to accept your death for your Sins; come and let us give you your death! Come to your death, don't be a coward!"

While Maya was praying for Gabriel to stay away from this place, Hawrin was praying for him to come to this city.

Even though both of them desired different things, none of them seriously believed that Gabriel was going to be stupid enough to come to this city. If only they knew...

"I am here," Gabriel muttered, gazing at the same moon. He arrived in the city where all his enemies were hiding... Also, the city where all his biggest threats stayed.

It was already late at night, and the exams were supposed to be the next day, so Gabriel looked for a hotel.

As for the money, he didn't lack any as Lira provided him with quite a lot of it in case he needed money. Moreover, even if he didn't have money, he had the Soul Crystals that could be used in place of money or sold.

Along the way, Gabriel noticed many Mages of Light who had the special robe of the Church of Light, highlighting their high position. As the city hosted the main branch of the Church of Light, it wasn't rare to find the Priests of Light.

Only the Head Priests were harder to find, roaming around the city. As for the Head of the Church of Light, finding him was like finding a needle in a haystack. He was never seen even in the city.

Glancing at the Priests, Gabriel couldn't help but imagine what his life could've been if it hadn't changed this much on the last day of his old life.

Even though it was close to midnight, the city appeared as lively as ever. It was filled with light. Not even a glimpse of darkness could be seen anywhere. There was a reason this city was called a city that never slept.

Even now, hundreds of people could be seen in the city. Most of the shops were still open as well.

"I'll never find a hotel like this. I need to ask someone for directions."

Gabriel stopped the horse near one of the shops and got down, approaching the shop owner.

"Excuse me."

The shop owner noticed the attire of Gabriel which made him appear like a wealthy mage. He also noticed the badge on his chest, meaning he wasn't from the city.

"Yes, Young Man. How may I help you? Are you looking for some items for your exams tomorrow? We did get some really amazing Magic Weapons in stock if you need. They are created by the Zoan Family."

"Magic Weapons? You are selling Numens?" Gabriel grew slightly surprised. Weren't Numens supposed to be precious? How was this guy selling them? Or was he bluffing?

"Numens? As expected, you're certainly from a wealthy family to know about Numens. Unfortunately, no, I'm not selling Numens. I've never seen a Numen myself. They are so rare to find that the ones who do don't even tell anyone, let alone sell."

The old seller laughed out, hiding his embarrassment. "A Numen may make an appearance once in a blue moon in some auction house, but even the weakest go for millions of gold coins. A poor seller like me can't even afford to buy one, let alone sell."

"Then what Magical Weapons you speak of?" Gabriel asked with a frown.

"A magical weapon or a magical artifact is something that is reinforced by the Spiritual Energy, created by expert artificers. You can call them similar to Numens yet way weaker than a real one."

"For example, A treasured sword can be more durable or sharper than ordinary swords. It might be really light while having all the weight and properties of a heavy sword. Or a treasure shield that could protect you from flaming attacks of Mages of Flames. There are many treasure items, and the Zoan Family is an expert in creating them."

"Why don't you come in and buy some for your trial tomorrow. Who knows, you might need one? Since you're from outside the city, I'll even give you a discount. How about it?"

"A Sword... a shield?"

As a mage, Gabriel didn't believe he needed a Sword. Moreover, even if he did, he could get it later. He wasn't here for an eternity after all. He was only here for seven days. As for a shield to protect himself, he had the best shield in the world in the form of his first spell: Shield of Undead."

,m "I'm sorry, but I'm not looking to buy anything yet. Maybe later. For now, I'm really tired and need a hotel. Can you point me to one?"

Even though the old man was disappointed that Gabriel wasn't going to buy anything, he still told Gabriel the direction. He believed Gabriel was rich. Even if he wasn't buying anything today, he was still a potential customer in the future.

"Thank you." Gabriel thanked the old man before going back to the horse. He was just about to climb the horse when he heard someone yelling in the distance.

The loud yell attracted his attention. Frowning, he gazed in the distance, noticing a group of youngsters beating up a young man.

There were many people in the surrounding area, yet no one stepped forward to help the man. Even the guards didn't bother.

"Young man, I understand what you're thinking, but I'll advise you against helping. This city isn't one where you should do something like that." The old man's calm voice fell in Gabriel's ears.

"Why aren't the guards helping him?" Gabriel inquired, confused. "Isn't this city supposed to be... better? Even if it's for pretension."

"Better? Heh, people give this city more credit than it deserves. Rules only apply to the poor here. You see the blonde man who is beating up the young man?"

Gabriel glanced at the only blonde man in the group. "Yeah. Who is he?"

"His Uncle is a Head Priest in the Holy Church of Light. He's also part of one of the most influential families in the city, the Raini Family. They control most of the markets in the city and outside. They are also very close to the Royal Family, so the guards wouldn't interfere in whatever their young heir does."

"So you should stay away from the conflict, or you'll be in trouble yourself. Just go back to the hotel and rest. After these people are tired, they'll leave the boy. They won't kill him."

"Moreover, you're here to join the Academy, but Yann Raini is already in his second year in the Academy. So avoid him."

Gabriel took the advice of the man. He really didn't need to enter this conflict, especially if it could involve a Head Priest of Light. That could be counterproductive.

Gabriel climbed back on the horse and started advancing ahead, in the same direction as the group since that was the only way to the hotel.

"Hmm?" As Gabriel was leaving, not bothering to even help the young man, he stopped, gazing blankly in the direction of the group, noticing a young man he didn't before. It was only now that the man came into his view.

"Hawrin!" Gabriel's fists clenched on their own.

He saw Hawrin whisper something in the ears of the blonde man.

The blonde man nodded in response before instructing another man in the group.

The young man who was thrashed had his lips bleeding already. His clothes were covered in dust. Fortunately, he wasn't seriously hurt until now.

Following the instructions of the blonde-haired man, a Mage of Wind in the group stepped forward, bringing his staff out before casting a spell.

The bleeding young man's body started rising in the air. Both his hands and legs appeared to be tied by the chains of winds.

Noticing the situation of the young man, Gabriel remembered his own condition back on the mountain. The same thing was done to him, making him unable to even react. He was sure this was the idea of Hawrin.

He was still doing the same thing. He still hadn't changed.

Gabriel had decided to avoid this conflict, but the more he gazed at the man hanging in the air, the more he saw his reflection in the young man. Turning his back on the man was like turning his back on himself, especially when Hawrin was present there as well.

Biting his lower lip, Gabriel finally got off the horse, unable to resist. Even though his mind said he shouldn't do this, his heart made him unable to leave. He didn't want another person to suffer the same fate as him, especially because of his own enemy.

The entire group surrounded the young man, laughing as if it was fun for them.

"Hawrin, since this was your idea, go ahead." The Blonde Haired man lazily exclaimed. "Make sure you don't go easy."

"I won't." Hawrin licked his lips, moving before the bleeding young man who couldn't even move his hands. "You know, you remind me of someone. That trash was also like you. And since you remind me so much of him, I also hate you more for it. Since I can't hurt that bastard, I'll have to make do with you!"

Hawrin smirked like the devil before clenching his fist. He aimed straight for the young man's gut, planning his entire strength behind that punch.

Grasp~

Hawrin's full-powered punch was about to land on the young man's gut. Just before the punch could land, a hand came from nowhere, grabbing the wrist of Hawrin.

"Huh?" Hawrin raised his gaze, observing the silver-haired man who dared stop him.

"Who the hell are you? Are you also looking to die? You dare stop me?!"

Gabriel wanted to just shatter the wrist of Hawrin right this instant before giving him the most gruesome death in front of everyone else, but he understood it wasn't the time yet. He controlled himself, despite it being hard when such a hateful face was before his eyes.

"No one looks for death, yet death finds them. Death is the only thing which is inevitable in this world," Gabriel calmly stated. "Who knows when death might find you as well. One should really be careful."

"Y-you! Are you threatening me?" Hawrin pulled his hand back, roaring in rage.

"I'm not threatening anyone. I'm just saying that everyone has a limited lifespan. Why waste it on violence." He glanced at the blonde man. "I'm not sure what this person behind me has done, but I'm sure he has already been punished enough."

"Who are you?" the blonde man asked, frowning. "You're not from the city. Do you think you can interfere in our matters?"

"It doesn't matter who I am. I'm not from this city, you're right. I'm here to take part in the academy exams, and I'm sure the person behind me is here for the same reason," Gabriel responded. He had already noticed a similar badge on the chest of the man behind him.

"Do you really want to save him? Despite having no idea about who I am, you really want to play the hero, don't you?" The blonde man asked. "If you really want to save him, I'll give you an opportunity. Take that man's place and become our punching bag. We'll let you go."

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

"I'm afraid I'll have to insist." Yann brought out his Staff of Element of Flame.

Gabriel frowned. This man was really looking for a battle.

Fortunately, Lira had expected a situation like this as well. She had expected there to be a situation where Gabriel might need to use his strength to fight. Just for that, in the City of Abadon, she had bought him a Mid Tier Staff of Light and a Book of Spells of Light to be used with his other elements, so he didn't have to use his Necromancy in public.

Along the journey, Gabriel studied up on the basic spells of light, even gaining a decent amount of mastery on them since he was already a Talent Prodigy of Light.

Even though the basic spells of Light were nowhere close to the strength of his basic spells of Necromancy, with high efficiency, even those spells weren't weak.

Even though he was before a second-year academy student, he still had faith in himself. Last time on the cliff, he didn't have any spells of light, so he couldn't protect himself, but now things were different.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline again." Gabriel raised his left hand, casting a spell above him. A formation appeared, which was storing his mid-tier staff of light.

The staff came out from the formation, landing on Gabriel's hands.

"A Mid-tier Staff of Light?" Hawrin glared at the staff in jealousy.

There were six tiers of Staff: Novice Tier, beginner tier, mid-tier, high tier, peak tier, and the strongest... The Ancestral Staff. Even he himself only had a beginner tier staff for now since Mid-tier Staff was so expensive.

Seeing something like that in another person's hand, his jealousy knew no bounds.

"Young Master Yann, this kid is too arrogant. We need to teach him a lesson. Since he's flaunting his expensive staff, how about we take it from him after breaking his bones?" Hawrin suggested.

Since he was the only light mage in the group, he was sure that the staff was going to be given to him if they took it from Gabriel. He couldn't wait to get his hands on the staff.

Gabriel knew that if Lira were to find out that he got into conflict within hours of entering the city, she was going to be so stunned, especially since she told him to avoid unnecessary conflicts, yet he couldn't help himself.

Now that he was already in this situation, he was prepared to go all out, even if it was against Yann. Moreover, this conflict also gave him an opportunity to openly attack Hawrin here without arousing too much suspicion about his real motives.

"Hmm! He's certainly from a wealthy family, but today he'll learn how easily his wealth can be taken. We truly need to shatter this kid's arrogance, so he knows how to be within his limits from next time." Yann agreed.

"And who have you the right to teach people their limits?" A calm voice came from behind the group.

Everyone looked back, including Yann. Even Gabriel was surprised who it was.

For a moment, everything went silent.

The silence was only broken by a burst of hearty laughter. It was none other than Yann who burst into laughter.

"That crest on your chest... You're from that Traitor Ashton Family? Hahaha, you dare take a step in this city once again?" Yann asked, pointing at the brown-haired man in the distance.

"You know it as well as I do which family was the real traitor." The young man answered. Even though his beautiful blue eyes appeared to be calm, there was a rage hiding behind them, being called a traitor.

He had to face that word all his life. No matter where his family went, they were called traitors to the crown and the Holy Church of Light! All because of the Raini Family!

"My family got the blame for it. My father and everyone else were killed, all based on the accusations by your family. You think you told the right to call me a traitor while your family was the traitor all along?"

"Nonsense. Such blatant accusations! No one will believe them. By the way, are you here for revenge because my family told the truth?" Yann asked, amused. "Look around, kid! There is no Ashton Family left anymore! Your family was kicked out of the city, whatever remained of it anyway. Your noble title was taken away by the King himself!"

"Ashton Family might've had some influence in the city once upon a time, but not anymore. You don't hold any influence here. I can beat you to death this instant, and nothing will happen to me. On the other hand, try leaving a single scratch on me and see your fate!"

"I'm not here to fight you, but if you do attack me, I do bear a right of self-defense, no matter who you are." The young boy from the Ashton Family smiled.

For some reason, that smile seemed really scary, as if it was the smile of the Devil who really wanted them to attack so he could have an excuse to fight back.

"It seems I also have many witnesses here to know I attacked second. So why don't you go ahead, Yann?"

Yann bit his lips in rage, noticing the Mark of Light on the back of the young man's hand.

"If that's what you want, I'll oblige."

He glanced at the other youngsters who were in his group. "You take care of the kid in the back. I'll be right back after taking care of this Traitor!"

Yann stood before Cain, holding his high-grade Sword. Similarly, Cain also had a High-Grade Staff.

Despite his family being kicked out of the Royal City a long time ago and not having the same amount of wealth as before, he still had a decent grade Staff. The High-Grade Staff of Light was the last thing he had inherited from his father before his death.

Cain's blood boiled as he watched Yann. If there was anyone he hated the most in the world, it was the Raini Family.

"Heh, ten years ago, my father killed your father with his own hands, following his Majesty's orders. It seems today I'll get the honor of finishing you. Like father, like son." Yann laughed. "Even your high-grade Staff can't help you before my spells, kid."

"Why don't you try and see for yourself?"

No matter how much Cain hated Yann, he knew he couldn't attack first. He needed Yann to attack him so he could have a justification for fighting back if he didn't want to be arrested here. That was also a reason why he interfered in the conflict, which had nothing to do with him, all to provoke Yann.

He knew that hurting Yann wasn't going to be enough for the pain Raini Family made him go through, but it could be the beginning... The beginning of the storm which was yet to come.

Yann also understood that Cain was provoking him yet didn't want to hold back. He believed he couldn't lose! He was a Second Year Mage at the academy, while Cain was just here to join the academy.

He lightly tapped his staff on the ground; however, before he could even cast a spell, he heard a cry of pain as a figure flew past him, landing in the distance.

"Huh?" Yann gazed at the figure, stunned. It was none other than Hawrin! His lips were bleeding, and he seemed to be in quite a bad condition.

This made Yann turn around, finding another figure flying in his direction. This time it was the Mage of Wind who appeared to be flying uncontrollably in his direction.

At the last moment, Yann dodged to the side, avoiding the person who flew past him to land on the ground.

Even though Yann's battle hadn't begun yet, there was a battle that had... A battle which he hadn't expected to go like this.

Gabriel had started attacking, and his attacks... They weren't weak at all. The Spells, the control... Everything was impeccable. He didn't appear like a person who had just started learning magic.

Seeing two of their friends being defeated that easily, the other youngsters were also taken aback. They all took a step back subconsciously.

They had thought that Gabriel was also a weakling, yet he turned out to be much more.

As the Wind Mage was sent flying, the young man who was being trapped in the chains of wind dropped to the ground, finally being free of the Chains of Restriction.

The young man was just saved by Gabriel, but he was also in a daze at what he saw. In this city, he was thrashed, yet no one stepped forward to save him, not even guards. The only person who did was Gabriel.

After seeing a similar badge of a newcomer on Gabriel's chest, the young man had assumed that Gabriel was also going to be hurt like him. It was only now he realized how wrong he was.

Gabriel hadn't even used his Element of Death and Necromancy, yet he was already at an advantage.

Not only the youngsters but even Yann was amazed at how easily Gabriel had defeated two of his minions. Despite that, there was not even a frown on Gabriel's face, as if it was nothing concerning.

"Does this guy really not fear death?" he wondered.

Even Cain was amazed. He honestly didn't expect Gabriel to be so strong. He thought he would have to save him after dealing with Yann, yet the reality was different.

"That control… it's pretty good." Even Cain subconsciously complimented Gabriel.

He was also a mage of light and understood that element better than anyone else here. He knew how hard it was to control such spells and the precision that was needed to master them.

"It seems there's another Talent Prodigy of Light here." Cain believed it wasn't possible for Gabriel to learn spells like this with such precision at such a young age unless he was a Talent Prodigy.

Since Gabriel looked only twenty, his assumption made even more sense to him.

"Yann, you shouldn't let him have all the fun, should you? Attack me so I can also have some fun."

Seeing Gabriel's spells, even Cain was itching to use his spells and get some exercise today.

"You!" Yann could sense a mocking tone behind Cain's words.

Infuriated, he decided to give Cain exactly what he needed.

"Then so be it!" Yann raised his staff.

"Inferno-"

"Young Master Yann, wait!"

Yann chanted a spell yet stopped in the middle as he heard someone call him.

"Who dares?!" He roared but calmed down as he realized it was one of the youngsters who worked for him. "What?!"

"The Royal Carriage... It seems a Royal is coming here. I don't think it's good for us to be fighting at this time. The guards won't interfere in the battle, but it won't be good if a Royal saw us fighting in the middle of the street like this."

"A Royal Carriage?" Yann grimaced.

Even though his Raini family was influential in the city, it wasn't the most influential in the city, and it wasn't even close to the Royal Family.

Despite hating it, he could only decide to retreat at a time like this.

He glared at Cain. "You are lucky. Next time you won't be."

"I'm lucky?" Cain let out a disappointed sigh. This was such a good opportunity for him, yet the Royal just had to come at a time like this.

Yann turned his back on Cain before glancing at Gabriel. "I'll remember you as well."

He walked back to his own Carriage along with his friends. Even Hawrin also stood up, wiping the blood from his lips. If his glares could kill, Gabriel would've already been dead a thousand times by now.

"You have made the biggest mistake of your life. You'll regret it!" He declared a threat before running after Yann.

All the youngsters entered the Raini Family carriage with Yann. This wasn't how they expected everything to end. Unfortunately, their luck didn't support them today.

"The Royal Family... Not for long..." Yann muttered, glancing out the window as the carriage started moving.

"Are you alright?" Gabriel reached out his hand toward the Young Man who was still lying on the ground.

"I-i am fine. Thank you for saving me." The youngster thanked Gabriel. "If you weren't here, I probably would've been hurt so bad that I couldn't have taken part in the trial tomorrow."

He held Gabriel's hands using his right hand while holding his aching chest with his left as he stood up.

"I should also thank him... Huh? Where did he go?"

After thanking Gabriel, the young man wanted to thank Cain as well. Unfortunately, Cain wasn't there anymore. He had disappeared as well, leaving them behind now that there wasn't anything for him to do here.

Gabriel noticed the figure of Cain in the distance, walking away. He didn't even glance back as he left.

Shaking his head, Gabriel shifted his attention back to the young man.

"Why didn't you fight back? You have the Element of Earth. It's said to be a powerful Element for defense and even for attack. Why did you take the beating?" he asked, noticing the Mark of Earth in the hands of the young man.

"This Mark?" The young man flashed a weak smile. "This mark is useless for now since I don't have any spells. That's also a reason I came here to join the academy so I can learn some spells and become strong enough to protect myself one day."

Hearing the explanation of the young man, Gabriel really found it to be strange. The man... He was really too similar to the old him.

When he was killed, he had the Element of Light but had no spells. This man, on the other hand, had the Element of Earth yet no spells. Both of them were hurt by Hawrin. Both faced the chains of winds. The similarities were uncanny.

As Gabriel marveled at the similarities, the Royal Carriage finally reached this place and stopped not too far.

The door of the carriage opened

The Lumen family, also known as the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Light, was the most powerful family in the land which ruled over the entire Kingdom. If there was anyone who held the highest authority in the Kingdom after Leaders of Churches of Elements, it was the King himself.

Since Churches didn't often involve themselves in outside matters much, the King effectively held all the control.

Moreover, even though the Church of Light was the most influential in the land, that didn't mean the Royal Family didn't have any influence on the Church of Light. Throughout the years, many of the Head Priests of the Church of Light were from the Lumen Family itself.

Moreover, the second last Head of the Church of Light also came from the Lumen Family. After his death, the family's influence did weaken by a significant amount but not too much.

Even now, the Lumen Family had two Head Priests in the Church of Light, one being the Uncle of the current King and the second being the King's Sister, both being highly talented Mages of Light.

The Lumen family was still the strongest faction in the Church of Light. That's why even other Great Families of the city treaded carefully before the Royal Family, despite having many conflicts throughout the years.

The Royal Carriage stopped near one of the shops, barely five meters away from Gabriel.

The door was opened by the carriage driver, who stepped back after opening the door.

Gabriel gazed at the carriage, curious who it was. It was his first time seeing someone from the Royal Family he had heard a lot about in the past.

"Princess Elia!" The young man behind Gabriel let out, noticing a graceful figure coming out of the carriage.

Gabriel also saw the young blonde girl, seemingly in her early twenties.

The girl appeared to be wearing a long yet beautiful black gown that covered her entire body. Other than her face, not even a single inch of her skin was visible.

Most of her arms were covered by the long sleeves of the gown. Even her hands were covered by the white gloves she was wearing.

The young girl was accompanied by two maids. The maids walked to the shop before her, opening the doors for her.

The young girl disappeared from everyone's view, entering the building.

"You know her?" Gabriel asked the young man behind him. "Aren't you new here as well?"

"I am new here, but I'm not stupid. There is only one girl in the Lumen Family of her age, and it's Princess Elia. So it's common sense who she is," The young man answered. "Before this, I had only heard stories about her beauty. It's only now I'm seeing her from my own eyes, and I must say, those stories don't do her justice. She is much more beautiful than the stories, don't you think?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes in response. "Focus more on your strength than girls. Girls won't come to save you the next time you're being thrashed."

"I-i will." The young man scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"By the way, who was the other guy? Do you know anything about him? The Ashton guy?"

"Oh, him. I've done a lot of research on this city in the time I've been here, so I do know a few things about it, but I'm not sure I should talk about that here. It's not a good history."

"I doubt you'll be arrested for telling history. Tell me who he was?"

Gabriel was going to enter the Academy, and he was sure that this guy was going to be here as well. He wanted to know as much as he could about people who had any influence in this city. He understood that to execute a plan, he needed a better understanding of the city, so there were no unexpected factors at play.

"Ah, if you say so."

The young man couldn't refuse Gabriel. Gabriel had saved him. He owed Gabriel a favor, so this was the least he could do.

"As you know, many families hold great influence in the city. They are the city's wealthiest families and also hold some influence or contacts in the Church of the Light."

"Yeah, I heard about the Zoan Family and the Raini Family."

"Exactly." The young man nodded. "Those two families hold great influence in the city, but those two aren't the only ones. There are more families like that. Once upon a time, Ashton Family also used to be one of them. In fact, many argue that it was the most influential after the Royal Family itself."

"The Head of the Ashton Family was Lord Vien. He was said to be the most Talented Head Priest in the Church of Light and also the youngest to be promoted to that post. From what I know, Vienn only had one son, Cain. If I'm not wrong, that son was the one who we just saw."

"Anyway, during Vien's time, the Ashton Family held great influence and reputation. Moreover, it was also rumored that Vien was so talented that there was no way he wasn't going to be selected as the next Head of the Church of Light by the Holy Grimoire."

"Everything was going so great that no one could've expected what was going to happen next. The Raini Family came out with an accusation one day that the Ashton Family was selling the secret information of the Church of Light, leaking it to other Churches and the enemies of Churches."

"That's when the Ashton Family started losing everything. They lost their wealth, they lost their name, and they lost their reputation. Most of the members of the Ashton Family were executed for this treachery. Only women and children were left alive, but they were also banished from the Royal City for ten years as a punishment."

" That's why the Raini Family and the Ashton Family have such a grudge between them. They have bad blood over the past."

"Is it that easy to get someone kicked out?" Gabriel frowned. He had carefully observed Cain when he was here.

The way Cain behaved, his words, it didn't feel like he believed that his family was traitors. Were they really one?

"Well, when another Church member confirms that Vien was selling them secrets, does that even leave any room for doubt?"

"Hmm? What?"

"Yep. According to the story, after the accusations came out, the Church of Light started investigating. They directly asked the Church in question, sending an envoy to the Church of Nature where they got confirmation that Vien sold them information."

"After that, the betrayal charges were confirmed, so I don't think it's just baseless accusations by the Raini Family which brought this outcome."

"That doesn't make sense." Gabriel gazed at the distant moon. "If your story is true, then I'm sure the Ashton Family didn't betray anyone."

"And how can you say that?"

"I mean, look at the bigger picture. If you were the Church of Nature, and you had a spy in the Church of Light, would you really accept that and lose that spy? Or would you lie about having any relationship with him so he could keep working there and leaking secrets to you?" Gabriel summarized. "If that guy were really working for the Church of Nature, they would never accept it since that would be just stupid."

"This... Your words..." Even the young man was stunned. The words made sense. Why would the Church of Nature accept it this easily? Why would they give up their golden eggs laying hen?

"But why would the Church of Nature lie then? What did they get from lying other than some bad name about using a spy?"

"Didn't you say Vien was one of the most talented Head Priests? If with one lie, they could take out such a talented member of your opposition, why wouldn't you lie?" Gabriel let out, walking to his horse.

The young man followed behind him.

"If I'm not wrong, the Raini Family worked hand in hand with the Church of Nature to take out the Ashton Family. Raini Family took out a potential opponent in the form of the Ashton Family and even got some of their property after the Ashtons were kicked out. On the other hand, the Church of Nature weakened the Church of Light even if by a little."

"It was a win-win situation for both of them," he further added. "The only ones who lost in the trap were the Ashton Family and the Holy Church of Light. Then again, it's none of my concern. Past is past. Don't mention this with anyone. If the Raini Family finds out that you know the truth, you'll be killed next. You understand?"

Gabriel climbed on the horse.

The young man gulped down, sweating. "I will keep my mouth shut!"

"That would be for the best."

Gabriel started leaving.

"Wait, what is your name?" the young man called out, just realizing he didn't even know Gabriel's name.

"I'm Karyk," Gabriel responded before leaving.

"I am Zale! Thank you once again!" Zale yelled, making sure Gabriel heard him.

Gabriel didn't react, disappearing into the crowd of people.

****

Gabriel reached a hotel, giving his horse to a caretaker along with some money.

He went straight to the receptionist and asked him for a room. Even the receptionist was kind to Gabriel since he really looked like a wealthy individual.

Gabriel also didn't disappoint the receptionist and booked the most expensive room. He was only here for a short week and didn't lack money, thanks to Lira.

The receptionist wrote the name of Gabriel and the number of his temporary badge before giving him the key with a fawning smile while addressing him as Young Master.

Gabriel went straight to his room, instantly going for the shower after taking his clothes off. He still didn't remove his right glove, not intending to take the risk for now. He even returned to his real form and his old self.

He turned on the shower, letting water drench him.

"This city... it's more complicated than I thought. The relationships between the families... the conflicts. I jumped in one of those conflicts today, it seems. But I can use it to my advantage."

Gabriel talked to himself as cold droplets of water rained over his warm skin.

"Yann Raini, Cain Ashton... Things will certainly be interesting around here. If I needed a distraction, those two would fit right in. I'll need to get close to at least one of them for that."

"If I get close to Yann, I'll be in close proximity to Hawrin as well, which should make my revenge easier but controlling him would be hard. Yann is very arrogant and also hates me."

Gabriel glanced at his reflection in the mirror as water trickled down his body.

"That only leaves one person. Cain... Ashton."

Finishing his shower, Gabriel came out and got dressed again, wearing the attire he had received with the Ancestral Staff.

The Attire didn't just work to make him look good, but it also hid his aura just like his gloves did, making it easier for him to mix around. At least as long as he wasn't using his Element for a Spell. When he did, even his attire couldn't hide his aura, especially his dark aura.

Gabriel walked to the balcony. Since he had taken the most expensive room in the hotel, it also came with many luxuries. He had received a room on the top floor which had the best view of the city.

With his hands behind his back, Gabriel gazed at the moon.

"The moon is the same as it was that day, yet everything about it is different. The beauty... It can't be seen anymore. It looks... Ordinary."

It was said that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. Unfortunately, Gabriel went through so much that something about him had changed. The same moon, which was the prettiest thing for him in the past, appeared like a very ordinary thing now.

After a brief observation, Gabriel walked back inside the room, closing the balcony door. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, and he needed to get up early to finish the last bit of preparation.

It was already four at night when he went to the massive king-sized bed, covering his cold body inside the soft blanket.

Even as he laid in the bed, waiting for sleep, his mind kept thinking about thousands of things regarding the day that was to come.

The ring had a timer of seven days, and the timer had started already. He didn't have much time to do reconnaissance and execute the mission while attending classes. That's why he needed help to make sure things moved smoothly, and he understood it.

He had already started shortlisting the people he was going to get close to. He wanted to execute his mission softly, even if it meant using others, and he knew who those people were going to be.

"Zale is a very naive boy with a weak worldview. He is exactly how I used to be. That makes me understand him even more. He should be easier to sway. He can handle minor things to keep me safe."

"However, that is only if he can pass through the entrance exams. I'm not sure if he's capable enough for that since he doesn't know any spells. It'll depend on what the exams are. It'll be good if he gets through. If he doesn't, I'll have to find someone else."

"That leaves a distraction which Cain will take care of. Now what's left is getting close to them and winning their trust."

Throughout the night, Gabriel kept thinking about how he could win the trust of the people around him.

Lira had left the entire responsibility of the plan on Gabriel's shoulders since only he could know what the current circumstances inside the Academy were. Still, she did give him some ideas on what he could do, and one of those ideas was about using others.

Throughout the night, Gabriel planned every single part of the day that was to come, taking into consideration all the things that could go wrong, so he wasn't unprepared.

By the time he fell asleep, it was already six in the morning.

****

"The world is burning... And it's all because of you..."

"You betrayed us."

"You shouldn't have..."

"You'll suffer the consequences.".

"You'll be damned for an eternity."

"You are a demon."

"How could you be so..."

"We can't let you go..."

"You have sinned."

Many strange voices echoed in the surroundings as if there were people surrounding Gabriel from all sides.

Everything was so dark that it was impossible to see anything. He couldn't even see where he was. It appeared as if he was floating in the air amidst this darkness.

The voices he heard... It was the first time he heard these voices. They didn't match the voices of anyone he had seen before. These voices weren't like the voices of the screeching spirits, yet they weren't like voices of humans either. There was just something really surreal about these voices.

Gabriel tried opening his lips to speak something. Unfortunately, he couldn't speak anything. His lips moved, yet no words came out of them.

As if the strange phenomenon of not being able to speak wasn't enough, Gabriel started feeling a terrifying chest pain. It was. As if his heart was going to explode. He even felt the stabbing of thousands of pins all around his body. At the same time, it was as if all the air was sucked from his surroundings, leaving him gasping for breath.

Thump~

Thump~

,m The thumping of his heart intensified along with the pain. No matter what he tried, he couldn't do anything. He couldn't even move. It was like he was a puppet at the mercy of others.

The pain in his heart continued.

Thump~

Thump~

Thump~

"Noo!"

Gabriel opened his eyes, sitting abruptly. His entire body was covered in sweat. His heart was racing. Fortunately, there was no pain in his heart.

"Huh." His breathing was heavy, but there was a look of relief on his face as he noticed that he was in his room.

"A nightmare..."

Thump! Thump! Thump!

There was still that thumping. However, it wasn't coming from his heart. It was as if someone was hitting his door from the outside.

Letting out a long sigh of relief, Gabriel got off the bed, still confused about what kind of stupid dream he saw.

He walked to the door and opened it. "Yeah?"

"Sir, thank God you're up."

"Why?"

"You left the instructions at the desk for us to wake you up on time. That's what I was doing."

"Didn't I tell you to wake me up at ten? Surely it can't be ten?"

"It's eleven..." The young waiter scratched the back of his head. "I've been knocking on the door for an hour. You really should hurry if you don't want to be late for the exams."

"Eleven?" Gabriel exclaimed. He felt as if he had only slept an hour. How was it eleven already?

He didn't want to fail the mission because he had overslept. The trials were supposed to start at twelve!

He dashed back to the bed and picked up the Golden Book that had the basic spells of Light before running out. He couldn't be late at any condition because being late was grounds for immediate disqualification before even being selected. Even if someone was just one minute late.

He collected his horse as fast as he could before departing. The horse raced through the streets, carrying Gabriel, almost hitting some commoners who were about to cross the road. Fortunately, a crash was avoided.

Even then, Gabriel didn't slow down.

****

Right at the heart of the Royal City, there stood the gigantic Academy of Elements.

The Academy premises covered thousands of kilometers square of area as if it was a city of its own within the Royal City itself.

There were multiple buildings within the Academy of Elements as each Element was given a castle-like building of their own where they were to be taught.

The entire academy was surrounded by a thousand feet tall wall from all sides. Many spells were carved on the walls to make sure no one could enter the academy uninvited; that was especially the case for Mages of Winds who could fly.

All the formations that were carved on the boundary wall worked to stop any infiltration that wasn't through the main entrance. Even if one could fly, they couldn't pass through the wall, despite it only being a thousand feet tall.

The only way to enter the academy was through the main gates that were made from the strongest of metals, further reinforced by magic.

At the moment, the doors of the Academy were open, allowing everyone who was here to participate in the Academy Selection Exams to enter.

As for the crowd of participants, it wasn't any less either. There appeared to be thousands of youngsters here already, still waiting to enter.

Multiple Teachers of the Academy were also present to make sure everything went smoothly.

The Academy Selection wasn't a small matter after all since many of these kids were going to become Mages who possessed a great amount of strength, and they could even become the next Head of a Holy Church.

"So, what do you think? Anyone worth keeping an eye on?"

Two teachers stood side by side, watching the students enter the Academy. One had the Mark of Earth while the other had the Mark of Wind.

"There are certainly a few interesting candidates this year if I were to purely judge from their auras. A few of them also share my Element of Earth, so I'm really optimistic."

"Heh, I hope there are some Talented Mages of Winds as well. I don't want our House of Wind to Rank near the bottom again."

"Hahaha, stop exaggerating. You weren't last. Your House was second last. I should be embarrassed since my House of Earth was last in the rankings. Hopefully, the new year and new students will bring some new luck."

"I hope the same man. I don't expect to defeat the top Houses. I at least don't want to be last. It's already embarrassing as it is." The Mage of Wind smiled wryly.

The Mage of Earth laughed, agreeing with his friend. However, his laughter changed to a frown. "Hmm? That's strange."

He gazed into the distance.

"What is it?"

"The newest arrival... That student in the back. Everyone here has an aura, weak or strong. It's just him I can't feel any aura from."

Rem was a teacher at the Academy of Elements and taught the Mages of Earth, possessing elements of Earth himself.

He was in his early forties yet appeared to be younger than even thirty. Rem had short black hair and wore glasses that suited his long yet handsome face.

He was said to be one of the more observant teachers at the academy, known for having really unorthodox teaching methods.

Despite that, not many people at the academy respected him since his House of Earth was always the last ranked in the Academy. If House of Light was the peak, then House of Earth was the bottom.

Right beside him stood a blonde man who was in the same boat.

The man appeared like a frivolous young man. It was Lishen who was a teacher for the House of Wind.

Unlike Rem, Lishen was very popular at the Academy, especially amongst girls. Unfortunately, it wasn't because of his teaching skills but because of his looks. Lishen had deep green eyes, which created a stark contrast with his blonde hair.

Even though his House didn't do as bad as the House of Earth, it didn't do much better either, barely avoiding the last rank each year.

The Two Teachers have been close friends for a long time. In fact, the two of them had studied together at the same academy in their younger days before joining as Teachers.

The two had been teaching for a really long time. They had seen and taught thousands of students personally.

That's why when Rem talked about seeing a strange student, that intrigued Lishen.

Even though Lishen couldn't sense students' auras, he trusted Rem, who was born with the talent to see auras.

"Not even the weakest aura?" Lishen asked, frowning. "How did that guy even awaken an element then?"

Being able to see Aura was a distinct ability of Rem, which most people didn't know about. Through the aura of a person, he could make a rough guess about how talented a person was when it came to the path of magic.

Some people had weak auras, meaning they were really bad at magic and didn't have any talent. On the other hand, some had really strong auras, which meant they were immensely talented.

Strangely enough, Rem couldn't see any aura from Gabriel.

"That's right. Not even the slightest aura. It's like he is a common person with not even the slightest affinity for magic. Why is he even here then? He would be kicked out in the first round itself." Rem frowned. "Idiots like him not only waste his own time but ours as well. They don't know their limits."

"Poor guy," Lishen muttered, glancing at the silver-haired young man in the distance who was none other than Gabriel himself.

Fortunately, he had managed to arrive here on time. He handed over the horse to the establishment near the Academy before dashing here, finally arriving.

Gabriel was breathing heavily. Even though he had become a mage, it was still very tiring for him, especially when he felt like he hadn't slept when the slightest.

After resting for a few seconds, he finally mixed in the crowd, trying to locate Cain and Zale. Unfortunately, he couldn't find many familiar faces in the crowd. It was as if the others had already entered the Academy.

While Gabriel tried to locate someone, he also felt like someone was looking at him.

He took a subtle glance at the two teachers who stood near the entrance, gazing straight at him.

Gabriel acted ignorantly as if he hadn't seen them. Still, he was slightly concerned on the inside. The two people appeared like teachers here. The two of them had an emblem of the academy on their chests.

"Did they find out? That should be impossible though. Even the Head Priest couldn't sense my dark aura because of the gloves. Is it about my disguise? But if they had seen through, they would've captured me. Then why are they staring?'

"Alright, the next hundred people can get inside!" Loud instructions came from inside the Academy.

Even though it was a unified exam, there was still no way to test them all at once. There were just too many people. That's why the exams were conducted in the batches of a hundred each. The selection criteria were so hard that only one or two were selected from a batch, sometimes more, sometimes less.

A hundred participants entered the academy, where they were further escorted by a teacher before disappearing.

Gabriel didn't happen to be in those hundred since he had arrived just now. There were still close to two hundred participants before him yet to enter.

"I don't think anyone else is coming. We've already seen the participants for this year. We'll see further in the Trial Arena. Come, let's get inside." Lishen patted the shoulder of Rem, who agreed.

The two teachers entered the Academy, disappearing from public view.

After ten minutes, there was another call. A hundred more were called in, leaving slightly over a hundred left behind.

Around twenty minutes later, everyone who was left behind was called in. Finally, Gabriel was allowed entry into the beautiful academy.

"Hmm?" As Gabriel passed through the entrance, he felt some strange feeling. It was the same feeling that he felt when he had passed through the golden barrier. It was as if something was at the entrance to check every participant for something, possibly for the element of Darkness.

Gabriel glanced at his gloves, not worrying.

A bulky man approached the young participants.

"There are slightly over a hundred of you left. You shall all follow me. I'll take you for the basic screening. If you pass that screening, only then will you be allowed further."

"Remember, if any of you get lost or are found to be roaming where they shouldn't, the Academy Security Forces possess the right to execute you, no questions asked! So better not lose your way! Stay with the group!"

The bulky man only issued basic instructions to the participants, scaring most of them. He didn't even introduce himself as to who he really was. No one asked him either.

All the participants followed the man, going wherever he took them.

From the inside, the Academy appeared to be even bigger. It was massive. Unfortunately, no students could be seen in the academy.

Gabriel wondered if the students were inside the academy buildings, learning.

While most of the participants were focused on the beauty of the Academy, being amazed at everything they saw, Gabriel was focused on something else entirely.

Instead of focusing on the building, he was focusing on the security and the guard placements.

'The Academy does spend a lot on guards, it seems. There's no blind spot. They are everywhere, and it's just the entrance. Near the Museum of the Academy, their numbers will be even more. Lambard wasn't lying when he said how hard it was to steal the Eye of Osiris.'

After a ten-minute long walk, the participants were told to stop in the middle of an arena.

There was one table in the middle, covered in a white bedsheet. On top of the table, there laid three crystal orbs the size of a human head. Behind the table, a white-haired old woman was sitting, seemingly with her eyes closed.

Behind the woman, there stood two more men wearing the Attire of the Academy.

All the participants stood before the old lady, waiting to see what was going to happen. For quite some time, there was complete silence. No one spoke anything.

It was as if everyone was waiting for the old lady to open her eyes which she didn't do.

For ten minutes, this continued. Fortunately, the old lady did open her eyes, slowly revealing her deep black eyes.

"It's time. Make a line."

Even though the woman only spoke in a low voice, there was something strange about her voice. It was as if there was some kind of charm in her voice that created an impulse in the heart of whoever heard her to follow her commands.

Fortunately, this thing didn't affect Gabriel. His Grimoire connection protected him.

Every youngster made a line. Even though the words didn't affect Gabriel, he still followed the instructions to get in the line, being in the middle of the line this time.

The old lady gazed at the youngsters as they all got in a line.

"I'm sure some of you might know about the entire process, but there would be many who don't, so I'll give you a brief once again. I hope you won't embarrass yourself after going to the next stage. What you'll go through here is just a basic test to see if you fulfill the minimum criteria to go to the next stage."

"Everyone who fails here will have to leave right away. As for the ones who pass, you'll go to the real tests."

"Each of these orbs serves a different purpose. The first orb..." The old lady pointed at the crystal clear orb. "It is to test your age. As you know, only the Mages younger than thirty can take part, yet there are people every year who think they can get through, despite being older."

"That's why this test was placed here. The crystal will show your real age. You can fool your eyes but can't fool this crystal."

"As for the Second Orb." She pointed at the second orb, which was green in color.

"This is just to test if you have talent or not. Only those who have a talent for magic can pass through. This orb won't measure your talent level, just the presence. To pass it, you just need to possess a decent amount of Talent. It doesn't have to be much. Unfortunately, this is also where most of you will be eliminated."

"As for the last, this one will test your inner self. This is just for your classification to decide which test you'll take."

She gazed at the third crystal orb.

" In other words, it will test if you've ever used a Spirit Crystal or not. If you have, that means you have used resources to grow your inner magic. That would mean you'll go for level Two Examination, which will be slightly tougher."

"As for the ones who have never used a Spirit Crystal and can prove it here will be sent for Level One entrance examination, which will be slightly easier."

"I hope everything is clear now? I don't want any more questions."

Hearing the explanation of the old lady, Gabriel understood why Lira hadn't allowed him to use the Spirit Crystals before the examination here. She didn't want him to go through a stricter examination.

Gabriel stood calmly in the line, waiting for his turn.

"You're older than thirty. You really thought you could fool the Academy, didn't you?"

The old woman talked about people lying to give exams not long ago, yet it was proven by the first person in the line himself. The crystal showed thirty-five for his age.

"I-i..."

The man was left red-faced. "I am sorry... I just wanted..."

"No need for explanation. I've seen more people like you than you can imagine. Go stand there. You're rejected. After the line is done, you'll be sent out."

The old woman didn't even bother with hearing an explanation. It didn't matter why he did what he did. It was against the rules, and he was eliminated.

"Next."

The line moved faster than Gabriel had expected. One after another, people kept getting rejected. There were around forty people before Gabriel, and half of them were rejected; only twenty managed to pass through this basic elimination.

Most were eliminated because of Talent, while a rare few were eliminated because of lying about their age. No one was eliminated for any reason other than that.

Finally, it was Gabriel's turn. He stood before the old lady.

"Place your hand on the first one."

Gabriel took off his left glove, finally revealing his Element of Light for the first time since he had arrived here.

If Rem was here, he could've seen that the person he didn't feel any aura from finally had an aura surrounding him like a raging flame.

Unfortunately, only Rem could see it. No one here could. Even the old lady couldn't see that aura.

Gabriel placed his hand on the transparent first crystal. A number appeared on the crystal.

If he could, Gabriel wanted to avoid this test since he didn't want anyone to know his real age. That was also why he had selected a slightly older look. Too bad this test became an obstruction in his path.

A number appeared before the old lady.

"Only eighteen? With the Element of Light?" Just as Gabriel had expected, the woman was shocked to see his real age. The awakening of the element at such a young age was a really huge matter, especially since it hadn't happened before.

The youngest awakened mage of Light that was known was close to twenty. Didn't this make Gabriel the youngest awakened mage?

Generally, this was such big news that it should've been known by the Church of Light. If there were really a Mage of Light with such a talent, the Church would've recruited him right away, not even letting them come to their academy.

She couldn't believe someone like him was standing here. This young man...

She Gestured for the young man who stood behind her to come closer, whispering something in his ears.

The young man nodded before leaving.

"Is something the problem?" Gabriel grimaced.

'Where did this old woman send the man? Don't tell me she sent him to inform the Church of Light! That would be bad news!'

Instead of answering, the old woman asked Gabriel a question.

"Does the Church of Light know about you? Or your awakening?"

Gabriel frowned. "Why?"

"Answer my question."

"They don't. I'm not known anywhere. It's my first time here. I'm not an important person for the Church to know about me." Gabriel lied with a straight face.

He has also calmed down a bit since he saw the man going deeper into the academy instead of going outside. It didn't look like he was going to inform the Church of Light.

"That's good! Really good!"

"Good?" Gabriel gazed at the lady in confusion. What did she mean by good?

"If the Church had known about you, they would've snatched you before you could become a student. We can't let such a talented mage go." The old lady smiled.

Finally, Gabriel understood what this was about. She wasn't suspicious at all. Instead, she appeared to be pleased that he had applied at the academy instead of going directly to the Church of Light. Having such a young mage as a student was certainly very good for the reputation of the academy after all.

But this was also bad news… This was also what he wanted to avoid at the academy... Too much attention.

Looking at the shine in the old lady's eyes, he could already feel that things had started going south.

He had planned for many things before coming here, imagining every instance possible, but this wasn't one of those. It was like a question that came out of the syllabus after he had memorized the entire exam book.

"Even though I already know you'll pass through the next crystal test, while we wait, we should get through with it as well, just for the sake of it."

"While we wait? Wait for what?"

"You'll know soon. Don't worry; it's not anything bad." The old lady smirked. "Now, young man, place your hand on the next crystal."

Gabriel was starting to get slightly worried about the way things were progressing. The plan was perfect! He was supposed to take the easiest test, get inside the academy, stay under the radar and execute the theft and revenge.

But simply because of his age, the entire plan was turned upside down. Instead of letting him stay under the radar, the old lady had grabbed him and brought him straight to the middle of the radar.

Looking around, Gabriel could see the jealous gazes of everyone who heard the exchange. They were so jealous of his luck. He had awakened an element at such a young age. They cursed their destiny for not having luck like him.

If only they knew that Gabriel was also cursing his destiny for having such bad luck that he was caught right at the first test itself.

Unfortunately, it was too late now. Even if he couldn't stay under the radar, he couldn't abandon his mission, or he would never get an opportunity. This was the first, and the last time he was going to have the Ring of Apophis. If he failed, there was no coming back here.

Even if the plan was spoiled, he decided to start from scratch, observe the surroundings, understand the situation and come up with a modified plan according to the circumstances.

Gabriel placed his left palm on the second Crystal Sphere and waited.

The Crystal started changing its color as soon as it came in contact with his hand.

"As expected, you pass the threshold. I wish I could see your exact Talent on this crystal, but it only shows if you pass the threshold or not. What a disappointment." The old lady let out a tired sigh.

She didn't know how glad Gabriel was that she couldn't see his exact Talent. He had already attracted too much attention as it was. He didn't want to attract more due to his talent because he already knew what it was going to show.

Even amongst the Talent Prodigies, his talent was at the absolute peak, thanks to the Grimoire of Death and Necromancy. At the same time, his Soul Talent was also boosted by the Grimoire, making him a double Prodigy which was hard to come around.

That much attention wasn't good for him. What happened now was already bad enough. He didn't want to make it worse since he understood what could happen.

If he was just a talented Mage, the Academy was going to focus on him. But if he was a Double Prodigy while being the youngest awakened mage, the news was going to attract outside attention as well, including the attention from the Church of Light which he wanted to avoid at any cost.

p From what he had heard, the Head of the Church of Light never made an appearance outside, which was the only good news for him. The Ring of Apophis, mixed with his gloves, could fool the Head Priests of the Church of Light for the most part, but the Head of the Church of Light was a different deal altogether.

Just like him, the Head of the Church of other Churches were Sacred Mages who were connected to their Grimoires. They could see what others couldn't and possessed the abilities to see through such illusions. At least that's what Lambard told him.

In any case, Gabriel could feel that uncertain times were ahead.

"Place your hand on the third crystal." The old Woman tapped the third Crystal.

Gabriel placed his hand on the third crystal.

"Interesting. So you've never used a Spirit Crystal. You do look to be from a rich family from your attire. May I ask why you didn't use a Spirit Crystal before?"

"I'm not from a rich family," Gabriel answered.

His initial plan was to show off as if he was from a wealthy family since it gave him some advantages while also explaining why he wore such an expensive-looking attire.

Unfortunately, now that his true age was exposed, that came with a lot of excess burden.

His actual age was exposed. If he claimed he was from a wealthy family, it was going to open him up to a barrage of new questions. If his family was wealthy, there was no way they lived in a town that didn't have a Church of Light Branch. And even if they lived somewhere like that, there was still no way for them to not know about the Church at least.

If he was truly from a rich family, there was no way he would have remained unknown after becoming the youngest mage to awaken the element.

The old lady was right as well with that line of thinking. It was really hard for such a talented person to stay unknown.

What she didn't know was that it wasn't the first time a young mage was discovered who awakened an element at the age of eighteen. There was another she didn't know about who was discovered by the Church of Light. The church didn't tell anyone about that discovery, so even the Academy didn't know about it.

However, that other person was also none other than Gabriel. If she had known about Gabriel before, she would've been at least a little suspicious about having another person awaken the same element at around the same age

To avoid any excess questioning about why he was unknown, Gabriel went with a different story than he had initially planned.

"I'm not from a rich family. In my tribe, we don't give importance to money or such things. We live with the bare minimum on the mountains, which provide us with everything we need to survive," Gabriel answered, swiftly coming up with a new story.

"Oh, no wonder you didn't use the Spirit Crystals. Don't worry though. You're exceptional. The Academy won't leave any stone unturned in your training." The old lady smiled. "You came to the right place, young man."

Gabriel nodded as he started going toward the group that was selected for further examination of Level One Grade.

"Wait. You don't need to go with them." The old lady called out.

"Hmm?" Gabriel frowned as he turned back. What did she mean by that?

"Just wait here. You don't need to give any entrance exams. You're already selected without any need for further examination," the old lady explained.

"I've sent a message to Eliana. Since the Dean has left for some important work, in his absence, Eliana is handling everything at the Academy. She would be right here to take care of any formality. You can just wait for her here."

'Eliana?' Gabriel didn't know who she was. He couldn't recall hearing that name. It was because even Lira didn't have that much information about the Academy since people at the Academy often kept changing.

Lira had only informed him about the basic structure, and going by that, he could take an educated guess as to who Eliana was.

In essence, the Academy of Elements was divided into Seven Houses, each belonging to an Element. They were: the House of Light, the House of Lightning, the House of Water, the House of Wind, the House of Fire, the House of Nature, the House of Earth, and the House of Summoning.

Each of these Houses taught mages that belonged to their Elements, and they all had multiple talented Mages as teachers. Only the strongest of the Teachers was given the position of the Head of a House.

There was also a Head Council at the Academy, which consisted only of these Head of Houses who took essential policy decisions. If there was one person who was above any Head of Houses, it was the Dean of the Academy himself.

'Eliana is taking care of the Academy in the absence of Dean? If I'm not wrong, that position would only fall to a Head of a House in the absence of the Dean. And since the strongest House is the House of Holy Light, that means Eliana must be the Head of House of Light.'

'It's also good though. I don't know how strong the Dean is, but I don't want to test the strength of my Illusion before the Dean. If Eliana is the Head of the House of Light, then she should be comparable to a Head Priest at the Church of Light. The Illusion should be able to fool her.'

'As long as the Dean doesn't return for seven days, even under this extreme attention, I might be able to succeed if no one sees through my Illusion.'

Just as Gabriel summarized that he didn't need to worry about anything, someone came flying in his direction.

A person came flying in Gabriel's direction. Two beautiful wings made from the energy of light graced the back of the person.

'Another exam participant?' Gabriel frowned, gazing at the figure of the girl who was flying in his direction. 'No, she is coming from inside the core of the Academy. Is she already a student here?'

The figure seemingly belonged to a young girl who appeared as if she was just fourteen or fifteen, nowhere close to being an adult. However, that made things even more strange. If the girl was really a Mage of Light, then how could he be called the youngest Mage of Light to awaken the element of Light? Shouldn't that title belong to the girl?

It was evident that the girl had also awakened the element of Light as she was using a Flight Spell of Light.

"Such a young mage of light who already learned the Advanced Spell of Flight, which takes years to learn? Just how talented is she?"

The girl had beautiful long hair that appeared to be a mix of violet and a darker shade of silver. Her beautiful violet eyes appeared to have no emotions in them, just like her face, which was completely expressionless.

Gabriel didn't know who that girl was, but he was sure that she was the most talented person he had ever seen.

The young girl soon landed before the old lady.

"Where is he?"

"I imagine you're talking about the boy? He's right behind me," The old lady answered before explaining the test results of Gabriel.

The young girl gazed at Gabriel in the back, observing him from top to bottom. Her gaze finally rested on the back of his left hand.

"You are coming with me." She didn't speak more than she needed to, not asking any questions at all as she asked Gabriel to follow her.

"Who is this girl?" Gabriel asked the old lady. "I thought you said Eliana would come to get me."

The young girl's expressions flickered for a moment, noticing Gabriel use the first name, but she didn't comment.

"She is Eliana." The old woman smiled in response. "She will be taking you to give you more details. Don't worry. You'll be fine."

"That kid is Eliana?" Gabriel grew surprised. He had expected Eliana to be a middle-aged woman at least, not a kid. How could a fourteen-year-old child become the Head of the House of Light?

"Child?" Finally, Eliana couldn't stay silent anymore.

She placed her hand on the crystal orb. "Amongst the two of us, only you're the child here, young man."

The young girl placed her hand on the first orb, making it start shining brightly. A number appeared on the crystal orb.

Not only Gabriel but every youngster who saw that number on the crystal orb was also stunned. Even though the girl clearly looked to be a child, it showed that her age was thirty-two. This child… She was in her early thirties!

The revelation about the girl's age brought many questions to Gabriel's head, especially regarding her age. She was in her early thirties then how could she look like a child? Unless this was also an illusion, just like he was using?

'Is she using something similar to Ring of Apophis? But she doesn't seem to have any accessories on her. If there was really something like this which could create such impeccable illusion, then why didn't Elora ask for it instead of going straight to Lambard?'

"I understand your confusion. You're not the only newcomer who gets confused after seeing her." The old woman patted the shoulders of Gabriel. "But trust me, you don't want to know anything more than who she is."

She gently pushed Gabriel toward Eliana. "Now go with her and let me do my work. There are more youngsters who need to go through a test."

Eliana extended her right hand to Gabriel, who stood only a few meters away from her. Gabriel gazed at her hand, wondering what she was asking for. He didn't have anything to give to her.

"Unless you know the Spell of Flight, you need to give me your hand so I can take you with me. Or do you want to walk?'

"Oh."

Gabriel finally understood what she was asking for. However, since she had extended her right hand, it meant he also needed to extend his right hand to be in sync, but he didn't want to take the risk. His right hand had the Mark of Death and Necromancy. He wanted to keep that mark as far away from her as possible.

Just as a precaution, he reached out his left hand. Before Eliana could ask anything, he provided a made-up explanation. "My right hand is very weak. It has always been like that."

Eliana used her left hand as well, not questioning the explanation. It wasn't strange for people to be born with defects in their hands like that. Moreover, he was a Mage who was supposed to use his left hand, which had the mark, so it wasn't too bad either. He wasn't a Warrior.

She grabbed Gabriel's hand with her left hand. As soon as Gabriel's hand held the soft hands of Eliana, his mark of light shone momentarily before returning to its normal state.

Eliana cast the Spell of Flight once again. The Wings of Light once again made an appearance, spreading out as if they were the wings of a real angel. Each of the wings had a span of just over two meters.

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Eliana's body started rising in the air, holding onto Gabriel. Even though he knew Lira, who could also fly, it was his first time actually being in the air since, with Lira, he either walked or traveled on the horse, which made it his first experience in the air.

As Eliana carried Gabriel to the inner parts of the Academy, Gabriel queried, "May I ask you a question?"

For now, he was known as a student to Eliana, so he didn't believe there was any reason for her to be suspicious of him. In that case, he could ignorantly ask her questions.

"What?"

"Why do you look so young? Is this some Spell of Light that makes you look young?"

"It's not a spell."

"Then?"

Eliana didn't answer this time. Instead, she started going down, landing before the doors of a beautiful building. "We are here."

Two Mages guarded the doors. The two respectfully greeted Eliana before opening the door for her and letting her in.

Eliana freed the hands of Gabriel as she entered the building.

Gabriel followed behind her, wondering where they were. According to what he was told, he didn't need to give any tests, so he had a feeling that it was the place where he was going to stay as a student. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.

As soon as he entered the place, he found himself in a massive hall. Unfortunately, he was all alone in this place with Eliana.

In the middle of the hall, there was a seven-foot tall mirror standing.

"What is this place?"

"This is where we'll see if you're truly as special or not," Eliana answered, walking closer to the mirror in the distance.

She stopped before the Mirror.

"This is the Mirror of Judgement. It's a really precious artifact of this Academy, which is used to test the students that pass through all the tests. It can measure the true extent of your talent and soul strength. Let's see how special you truly are."

Gabriel frowned, hearing her explanation. Another test? It was like they were asking him to expose himself as much as he could. It was already surprising that he awakened at such a young age, but if they found out his peak Talent, it was going to be even more dangerous.

"Go ahead. Place your hand on the mirror," she gestured before stepping back.

With hesitating steps, Gabriel moved closer to the Mirror, glancing at his left hand. If he were all alone here, he wouldn't mind testing his exact talent here, but in the presence of the lady, it wasn't the ideal situation.

Still, he had no choice. He extended his hand to touch the mirror.

Screech~

A sound echoed in the surrounding area. Gabriel stopped and turned around, looking back at the door which was opened again.

As soon as the door opened, two young men entered the hall as well.

"You?"

The two men were surprised to see Gabriel again, that too here.

Gabriel also recognized the two men. They were the same men who were staring at him outside the Academy.

"How could he get here so fast?" Lishen asked Rem.

"Look at the one accompanying him. You'll get your answer." While Lishen was still surprised by seeing Gabriel, Rem had already noticed the girl who stood behind him. If she was with him, it was evident that she was the one who brought him here.

"Eliana?" Lishen frowned, finally noticing the acting Dean of the Academy. Why was she with the kid?

" Didn't the kid have no talent?" Lishen asked Rem. It was Rem who had told him that Gabriel had no Talent since he had no aura after all.

Rem didn't respond right away. Even he was surprised by it. Last he saw Gabriel, there was no aura around him that could be seen, but now when he was seeing him, his blazing aura could be seen, screaming about his talent.

"It seems I was wrong. He has an aura around him. He is very talented, possibly the most talented out of everyone here."

He didn't understand how he couldn't see that aura before. If he could see it now, then he should've been able to feel that aura before. Everything was the same as before. Everything except one thing...

"Hmm?" He soon noticed that Gabriel's left hand wasn't covered by his gloves anymore. "Could that be it?"

That was the only thing that made sense for now. The only time different about Gabriel when he couldn't sense his aura was that he had his gloves on.

"There's something about his gloves..."

"What are you two doing here?" Eliana inquired, not liking the interference.

"We brought the first batch of Level Two Examination Winners. The last stage of their examination is to measure their exact Talent." Lishen explained, snapping his fingers.

Winds started flowing, following his movement. The doors opened even more, revealing five students standing outside.

"Only five?" Eliana muttered.

The first batch of examinations contained a total of thousand participants who managed to pass through the initial screening. Amongst the thousand, only five managed to pass through, it seemed.

"Don't ask us," Lishen scratched the back of his head. "We brought what Qin gave us. You know how stern he is. He only lets the best of the best pass through. We are lucky the number isn't zero this time."

"Just when I asked Qin to go easy this time. At this rate, will we even get a hundred people joining the academy?" Eliana grimaced. "I should've assigned the responsibility to someone else."

"You stay here and don't touch the mirror until I'm back. I'll be right back."

In the absence of the Dean, the responsibility of the entire academy was on her shoulders. She couldn't let anything go wrong, and what could be more wrong than getting no students just because she had selected a strict student who only allowed the top of the top to pass through

Even though they couldn't allow everyone to pass through the exams, selecting five amongst thousands was still very low. There was no way there were only so few people in the batch of thousand who had the potential.

She left Gabriel behind in the hall before leaving, not forgetting to instruct Rem and Lishen to keep an eye on Gabriel until she was back.

Eliana didn't realize that she was leaving Gabriel alone with a man who was more interested in the gloves of Gabriel and his true identity than the exams at the moment…

Level Two Exams... It was the high-tier entrance exam which was much harder than the tier one exam, which was only reserved for people who didn't take help from external resources throughout their lives.

On the contrary, the level two exam was more for the wealthy individuals who had external help while growing up, which propelled them ahead of the underprivileged mages. That's why a tougher test was designed for them.

No matter how privileged a person was or which family he came from, they needed to pass through the test to get an entry into the Academy.

Despite the toughness of the exams, it was still impossible to believe that only five out of a thousand managed to pass through to this stage.

Moreover, all five of the people who were selected were Prodigies, standing at the peak of their group.

Amongst the five, Gabriel also noticed some familiar faces. Three of the five participants that managed to reach here were the people he had already seen before.

One of the three was the Earth Mage Alexai he met outside the city, who had managed to accurately guess how much time it was going to take them before they could enter the city.

As for the second person, it was none other than the person who had helped him in the city when he was standing against Yann. It was Cain Ashton.

And lastly, the third person he recognized was a young woman. She was the Princess of the Lumen family and the only daughter of the King. Just like Gabriel, Elia also had the Element of Light, making three light mages present here, including him and Cain.

At present, out of six youngsters present here, there were three mages of light, one mage of earth, one mage of Lightning, and one Mage of Summoning.

All five participants that came with Rem and Lishen stood at some distance from each other. Only Gabriel stood near the mirror. He was slightly pleased that Cain had managed to reach this stage. Even though the core of his plan was messed up, Cain was an essential part of what was left of his plan.

"Your gloves seem interesting. Can I see them?"

Rem didn't mince his words, directly asking for Gabriel's gloves since he wanted to see what it was about them. If they could hide someone's aura, then there was something very special about them.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline." Gabriel also didn't hesitate before rejecting straight away. There was no way in hell where he was going to willingly hand over these gloves to anyone.

If he took off both his gloves, his other Elemental Mark was going to be revealed, and before he could even realize what was happening, he was going to be surrounded from all sides by the entire force of this academy.

It was better to offend one teacher than it was to offend everyone in the Academy by revealing his identity.

"Hmm?" It was the first time someone had refused him, especially a student.

Elia's brows furrowed slightly. Cain remained mostly expressionless. He had already been disappointed by the Kingdom and everyone that held influence, so he didn't care if they were disrespected. He himself didn't care about doing things just because someone asked them to do, especially when that person wasn't even a teacher of their own class.

Alexai shook his head lightly. He didn't understand if this was the arrogance of Gabriel or something else, but he didn't appreciate it that much.

The fourth mage was the Mage of Lightning, known as Cole. He could understand why Gabriel didn't give his globes. He was sure that those gloves were his treasures. He was a part of the family that made artifacts so he could notice some things.

Just like Rem could see the auras of humans, Cole could see the essence of artifacts. The only problem was that he could only see if an item had the essence of a treasure.

Unlike Rem, he couldn't see the exact quantity. If a Numen Artefact and an ordinary artifact were placed before him, he couldn't find any difference between the essence of each.

That's why he understood why Gabriel wasn't giving his gloves. Many people preferred to keep their treasures to themselves. Instead of Gabriel's rejection, what surprised Cole more was the sheer quantity of treasures on Gabriel. It was as if Gabriel was a walking treasure shop.

He could see Gabriel's gloves being a treasure, his clothes being a treasure, and even his ring being a treasure.

'Must be spending from a rich family. A prodigal young master.'

Because of the sheer number of treasures that Gabriel possessed, his first impression on Cole wasn't good.

As for the last person, it was a man known as Ray, who had the Mark of a Summoner on the back of his left hand.

"A kid who doesn't know his place," he stated, not even caring enough to keep his voice low. "A typical young master without a brain."

Lishen found Gabriel's rejection somewhat amusing. The kid certainly had guts which he liked in a person, but senseless guts were an idiotic quality, according to him. He couldn't praise the kid. He had to side with his friend on this.

"So you realize who you're talking to?" he asked. "Rem is the Head of the House of Earth, and I'm the Head of House of Wind. You should really think before you speak."

"Hmm?" All five youngsters that were escorted by Rem and Lishen grew surprised to hear who these two really were.

Initially, they had thought that these two were ordinary teachers who were handling the examination. But they were literally heads of Departments? Did that mean Qin was the Head of the House of Lightning? No wonder he was so arrogant.

"It doesn't matter who I'm talking to. My gloves are a family heirloom. I can't give them to anyone."

Just because they were Head of Houses didn't mean he could risk his identity for them.

The gloves and his attire came with the Ancestral Staff of Death and Necromancy. He couldn't afford to risk anyone finding out.

"Even if the King were asking for those gloves, your answer would still be the same?" Ray inquired, taking a subtle glance at Elia. He knew she was the princess. He wondered if the kid was really arrogant enough to even reject the King.

"Even if it was the King, I'm not giving these gloves to anyone." Gabriel knew he needed to stay firm on his ground if he wanted to protect his identity.

What he didn't understand was why these two were so adamant about having his gloves? Were they suspicious of him? First, they were staring at him outside and now this. He felt that it was only suspicion but no more than that. If it were more, they wouldn't have asked for it. Instead, they would've forced him to hand over.

Elia heard Gabriel say that he would even refuse her father. She couldn't believe the sheer arrogance of the kid. Just who did he think he was?

Things had started getting intense.

Even though Gabriel didn't want to be in this intense situation, he knew he had no choice but to stand firm, no matter who he was going to offend.

He was also a bit surprised to know that Rem and Lishen were heads of their own departments, almost being on the same level as Eliana, yet it didn't matter.

Frowning, Elia opened her lips to speak, only to stop as she looked back. The door had opened suddenly in the back, signaling someone's arrival.

Even Gabriel glanced to the door, feeling somewhat relieved to see who had arrived. Just as things had become too intense for his comfort, Eliana was back.

"I've talked to him. He will be a little lax in the selection from now," Eliana told Rem and Lishen before joining up with Gabriel. "So, where were we?"

She gazed at Gabriel. "Ah, yeah. We were going to check your talent."

"Eliana, who is this kid?" Lishen inquired. "He has some great deal of arrogance, it seems."

"He is... Hmm?" It was only now that Eliana realized that she didn't even know Gabriel's name. She forgot to ask him the most basic thing.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"It's Karyk," Gabriel answered.

Eliana turned to Lishen and Ren. "He is Karyk. He is going to be a student at the Academy of Elements."

"Shouldn't he go through the exams before getting admission? I don't recall seeing him in the first batch. How did he become a student? Did he arrive with someone's recommendation?" Lishen inquired, even though he believed that it shouldn't be the case.

Most of the time, recommendations didn't work in the Academy. They could certainly play a subconscious bias or allow teachers to make things somewhat easier for the students, but they still needed to go through the tests. Even Elia, the Princess of the Lumen Kingdom, had to go through the tests to prove herself worthy after all.

Cole had already noticed the treasures that Gabriel carried. Hearing the conversation, he didn't find it surprising that Gabriel had a recommendation. He appeared to be from a very wealthy family, after all. Still, to directly jump to the last step of examination was the surprising part, even with the recommendation.

Even King's recommendation wasn't so strong as even the King's own daughter was taking a test. He wondered just whose recommendation Gabriel had.

"He doesn't have anyone's recommendation. It's just his talent and his age. Apparently, he's the youngest mage to Awaken the Element of Light. That's why he's directly selected into the academy without the need for any tests," Eliana explained. "He didn't even need the test of measurement for admission. It's just I was curious to see his talent, so I brought him here."

"Youngest Mage of Light? How old is he?" Based on the looks, Rem felt as if the kid was around twenty years old. He certainly was the youngest mage here, but he definitely didn't look that young.

"He's eighteen."

Eliana's answer surprised everyone present. An eighteen-year-old mage? It was the first time they were hearing of something like that.

"No wonder he's arrogant," the Summoner muttered under his breath.

He didn't bother to keep his voice down last time, but for some reason, now that Eliana was here, he was more careful as if he was scared.

"Go ahead, Karyk. Place your hand on the mirror." Eliana gestured for Gabriel to take the lead and finish it.

Gabriel didn't do as she said. He didn't want to blindly do anything without understanding how it worked.

"How does it work?"

"As soon as you touch the mirror, it'll start measuring your Talent and your Soul Strength. Two numbers will appear simultaneously, showing the measurements," Eliana explained.

"What's the range, and what's the peak anyone ever achieved in this test?" Gabriel asked, taking another step closer to the mirror.

"Peak?" Lishen smiled. "Are you already thinking about breaking records? Unfortunately, it's not that easy, even if you're the youngest mage. You awakened at such a young age, which means you're definitely talented, but even that won't ensure the peak. As for Soul Strength, it has nothing to do with how fast you awaken."

"The range of measurement is from one to hundred, with one being the absolute weakest talent," Rem answered. "As for the highest that's ever been recorded... The record is said to belong to Lord Aizen, who took a casual test after becoming the Lord of Church of Light."

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"And what Score did he achieve?" Gabriel asked.

"Peak Double Prodigy... So far, only he's the one who's been measured in this mirror who achieved a peak score of a Hundred in talent and soul strength. As for the second highest score, it belongs to Eliana... The lady who stands beside you. She got a score of eighty in talent and Ninety Two in Soul Strength." Lishen chuckled. "She's also a Double Prodigy."

Gabriel gazed at Eliana, who didn't react. She didn't look smug at all, even when her score was mentioned. It was as if it was a useless criterion for her.

'So she's really close to the peak without having the support of a Grimoire.'

'It'll be really chaotic if I get a score of a Hundred in both, which seems to be unavoidable at this point. If even Lira knew that the Grimoire gives someone a peak Talent, then that means the Lord of Light must also know that to be the case. If he really exists, he would know my secret as soon as this news gets to him...'

"What are you thinking?" Eliana noticed Gabriel being lost in some thought. It was as if he was wasting time. "We don't have all the time in the world. Touch the mirror. There are people after us who need to get tested for their exams."

Gabriel let out a breath before he finally did what he was asked, leaving everything to destiny. He placed his left hand on the Mirror.

Two numbers appeared in the mirror, each being at zero initially, but both numbers started rising slowly. While the left number belonged to his talent, the right belonged to his Soul Strength.

Everyone in the hall carefully observed the score of Gabriel, wondering how the youngest mage was going to perform and if he was really as special as he was considered.

[000] [000]

[005] [007]

The numbers on the mirror slowly started rising.

p 'His numbers are rising so slowly. It looks like they won't go too high.' Lishen let out a disappointed sigh, seeing the slow rise.

He had seen many such tests, and most of the time, numbers rose rapidly when the Talent was high, and they only climbed slowly when Talent was low.

Even Eliana was surprised at the slow climb of the numbers, wondering if his early awakening was just a fluke, having nothing to do with his talent.

[012] [011]

[017] [017]

As time passed, the speed of the numbers going up only slowed down more as if they were soon going to stop.

Seeing the numbers going so slow, Gabriel was slightly relieved. They weren't going too high, which was somewhat good. However, at the same point, he was also upset. Why were his numbers so bad? Was he really not talented despite having a Grimoire?

At this point, even Eliana was sure that they expected too much from Gabriel. She was having second thoughts about giving Gabriel direct admission into the academy. Neither his talent was strong, nor his Soul Strength.

However, just as she had lost hope, something happened... Something that shocked everyone.

The climb that appeared to have almost stopped started going up at a much faster speed which was hard to believe.

The numbers that were crawling before were dashing now!

[045] [057]

[065] [073]

[081] [097]

In less than five seconds, the numbers crossed even the highest score of Eliana, becoming the second highest score ever recorded in the history of the Academy, and even that didn't appear to be the end as the climb continued.

[97] [100]

Gabriel's Soul Strength had reached the peak of measurement, shocking everyone and his Talent wasn't too far behind. Before long, it also reached the peak score.

[100] [100]

Gabriel had achieved the peak score ever recorded in this Academy, having a tie with the score that the last Lord of Light had achieved.

It was horrifying! Gabriel was as talented as the previous Lord of Light!

That revelation in itself was already shocking enough but what happened next made everyone's jaws drop.

"How is this possible?!" Lishen exclaimed in disbelief.

The always calm looking Eliana was also shocked to her core as her expressions changed.

As for Rem, he was also taken aback at what he stared at the mirror, finding it hard to believe.

[103] [109]

[103] [109]

To everyone's disbelief, Gabriel's Talent had passed the range of a hundred, which no one knew was even possible.

Eliana's eyes were in disbelief, noticing the score just like the other teachers since only they knew what it meant. This kid! He had more talent than the last Lord of Light had!

They didn't know how much talent and soul strength the current Lord of Light had since he hadn't made an appearance ever since the beginning, but what they saw before them was still shocking.

The five youngsters in the back didn't know everything about the mirror. They had never given this test, so it was also their first time, but they did hear the teachers mention about the talent of the Lord of Light being measured on the Mirror, which was said to be the peak score, but the man before them had crossed the score, and it still didn't stop climbing.

[107] [115]

'How is this possible? Didn't they say the top it could go was a hundred? How did my score pass through that? And how did it pass the score of the Lord of Light? He had the Grimoire, which should've brought his score to peak, just like I have. So how is my score higher than him?'

[116] [119]

'Even now, it keeps going up? How? Don't tell me it's because I have two elements? If it keeps going up like that, just where will it stop?'

He didn't even dare look back since he didn't want to see the expressions of everyone in the room. This thing... It was a disaster in disguise for him. He was happy that his score was better than the Lord of Light, but for his mission, it was bad news.

As if him being the youngest mage to awaken wasn't bringing enough attention to him, this mirror made him shine bright like a sun. There was no way for anyone to ignore him.

'I can't let it keep going up. It's already bad enough.'

He knew he needed to do something to stop this score from going up, but what could he do? He couldn't just break the mirror.

After a long thought, he finally came up with an idea to stop his score from going up.

He slowly pulled his hand back, just enough so that his hand wasn't touching the mirror. There were only a few millimeters of a gap left between his palm and the mirror now.

From the back, no one knew that he had taken off his hand from the mirror.

'I should've done this sooner!' Gabriel frowned, noticing the score finally stop climbing.

[130] [145]

Unfortunately, the damage appeared to have already happened. He had a behemoth of a score.

The entire hall was silent... For a minute, no one spoke. Everyone stood still, still trying to grasp what just happened.

"It seems that's my score." Finally, Gabriel lowered his hands before turning around.

As expected, he was greeted by the shocking gazes of everyone.

"That score..." Eliana grimaced. "Rem, Lishen, you two meet me outside right now!"

"Everyone else, stay here. No one will leave this place!" Eliana left the call with Rem and Lishen, leaving the six youngsters behind.

'This is bad. Is she going to bring the Church of Light? Should I really stay here and take the risk of being caught? Or should I escape? But then the mission?'

Gabriel glanced at the Ring of Apophis. This was his last chance. If he left, there was no coming back.

'Sigh, it seems I have no choice but to take a risk.'

He sat on the ground, seemingly disappointed. He had decided to take the risk, keeping his faith in the academy. Even after the academy found out that he was the youngest mage of light, they didn't inform the Church of Light.

That made him believe that the Academy wasn't that close to the Church of Light and that they wanted a star student of their own. There was a really good chance that the Academy wasn't going to inform the Church of Light even now.

If they wanted a star disciple, then his value had just increased multiple folds. Could they really give him up? He based his entire assumption on the reaction of the old woman's response from before.

He knew that if he was wrong, things were going to get really troublesome for him.

He gazed at the small bag that was tied around his waist, wondering if he really should ask for help from Lira if the Church of Light actually came here.

"I won't. I can handle my problems on my own." He dropped the idea as soon as it crossed his head.

After seeing all his Artefacts, Cole had a really bad impression of Gabriel but seeing Gabriel sit in disappointment; he couldn't help but wonder why that was the case.

He stepped closer to Gabriel. "A young kid, from a wealthy family, carrying so many artifacts and possessing such an outstanding talent. Despite all that, why do you look so unhappy?"

"You won't understand," Gabriel subconsciously answered, but his expressions changed as he noticed what the man had said. He looked up, wondering how he knew about the artifacts he had. Could he see the Ring of Apophis?

"What Artefacts? What are you talking about?"

"I can see if something is a treasured artifact or not. My family creates most of the treasured artifacts in the city. I've grown around treasured Artefacts, so I know when there's one around me." Cole shrugged. "Don't worry. I am not going to tell anyone. It's none of my concern how many Treasured Artefacts you possess."

'Treasured Artefacts? So he can see my artifacts but can't differentiate between a treasured artifact or a Numen. That's somewhat better.'

After realizing that the man didn't know about his Numen Artefacts, Gabriel felt somewhat relieved.

"So, what were you worried about? If I were in your place, I would've been so happy. You literally have a god-tier talent. Then what's troubling you?"

"What's your name?" Instead of answering, Gabriel fired a question at Cole, changing the topic.

"Cole. Also, you don't have to change the topic. If you don't want to answer, you can just say. I won't ask if it's something personal but remember, with your talent, you're going to be the Golden Child of the Academy of Element."

****

A carriage stopped before the Academy of Element. The carriage had no insignia or symbol on it. It had no markings of any clan either. It was just a plain carriage.

However, as soon as the carriage stopped before the academy, the two guards at the entrance of the Academy instantly went down on their knees in respect.

The Carriage door opened slowly. A figure stepped out of the carriage.

It was a young man, having beautiful blonde hair and a slender face. The man was wearing ordinary clothes as if he didn't have the money to buy decent luxurious clothes.

Seeing the person, the two guards frowned.

"Who is this boy? Why is he coming in the Carriage of the Church of Light?"

The person who had stepped out of the carriage appeared to be in his early twenties. He had a piece of paper in his hands.

The carriage door closed, and the carriage left.

The man walked to the door of the carriage.

"Wise Sir, I am here to get admission to the Academy. Can one of you please escort me inside?"

"A-ah, I am sorry, but the time of entry is over. According to the rules, we can't allow you inside. But we can ask inside if we should allow you? I'm afraid you'll have to wait for that."

"It is fine. It's my fault for being late." The young man apologized. "Please convey my regret to them. Also, if possible, can you please give them this letter? It's a recommendation letter for me."

"Recommendation? I'm afraid that even the recommendation from the Head Priest of the Church of Light is ineffective at this point, let alone a recommendation from a random member, but I'll convey the message. Please give me the letter."

The young man handed over the letter to the guard, who took a casual glance at the letter.

"T-this recommendation... It's from..." The guard started stuttering as he saw the title of the person who gave this recommendation. "Y-you managed to get the recommendation from the current Lord of Light?"

Through the years, no one had received a recommendation from the current Lord of Light. Let alone getting a recommendation; no one had ever seen him. It was impossible to even get a meeting with him.

There were no official documents with his sign. It was literally the first time something related to the current Lord of Light was making an appearance.

"Yeah. I was lucky enough to meet him. He was a really nice person, even though a little weird at times. He gave me this recommendation out of nowhere and told me that I should study here since there's a lot to learn here." The young man smiled. "So please give this letter to the incharge inside if possible."

The guards couldn't believe that this man was calling the Lord of Light a weird man. In most cases, this could've been considered an Insult worthy of punishment, but the guards let it slide. This man was the only person they knew who had met the Lord of Light after all. Not only that, he received his recommendation.

"I'll be right back!" The guard ran inside.

The guard ran inside, going straight to the old woman who had just finished testing the last batch of students, sending them for further testing.

She was also one of the teachers at the academy and also the closest one to the doors.

The guard stopped before her, panting.

"What happened?" The old woman inquired, wondering why the man was in such a hurry.

"There is a student at the entrance for examination."

"Hmm? At this time? Send him back." The old woman didn't even bother to listen as she stood up, turning around. "The time is up. Someone who can't even be on time, he isn't worth wasting our time on."

"B-but he got a recommendation."

"I don't care about his recommendation. Just shoo him away. You should know that recommendations are useless in this place."

The Academy of Element held a prestigious position in the Kingdom and a certain kind of autonomy. Even though the Royal Academy received funds from the Kingdom, that was the extent of it.

No one was given importance when it came to the academy selection of disciples since each student carried the name of their academy for their lifetime. They didn't want any bad apples to get in, only to spoil their reputation after leaving.

The old woman didn't even bother stopping as she kept walking away.

"B-but he got a recommendation from him... He got a recommendation from the Lord of Light!"

It was only after she heard the statement that the woman stopped. It was as if her feet froze in place. It had been years since she heard anything about the Lord of Light.

She stared back. "What did you say? Whose recommendation is it? Can you repeat it again?"

"He gave me this letter. It's a recommendation by the Lord of Light." The guard placed the letter on the table of the old woman. "I know recommendations are useless, but it's not always that it's a recommendation from the Lord of Light who doesn't involve himself in such matters."

The old woman walked back to the table and picked up the letter, going through it.

"This is certainly the stamp that only the Lord of Light is allowed to use. That means this sign must belong to him as well. Interesting. That hermit has finally started taking an interest in things after being a ghost for years?" The old woman rubbed her chin, talking to herself.

"Should I bring him in for examination?" The Guard inquired.

"He got a recommendation from the Lord of Light. What do you think?" The old woman smiled wryly. "He doesn't need to give an examination. He'll get a direct admission. Making him go through an examination would be an insult to the authority of the Lord of Light, especially if his candidate fails the tests."

"What a day it is. There is rarely a year when we give admission without examinations, and this time, there are two candidates like that?" The old woman glanced at the letter again. "What element does he have?"

"This... I didn't really notice." The guard scratched the back of his head. In his surprise, he even forgot to ask the man for his element.

"It doesn't matter. Just bring him here. I'll see myself. I need to know his element, so I know which Head of House to inform along with Eliana. Just bring him to me."

****

The blonde man was still standing at the entrance of the Academy, with his hands behind his back, appreciating the beautiful structures.

"This academy is really beautiful."

"It is." The guard who was left behind smiled. "You'll be staying at the academy from now on as well. You'll have fun."

"Oh, I'm sure I will." The young man smiled mysteriously.

"Can I ask you a question if you don't mind?"

"Hmm? Go ahead. I don't mind."

"Can you tell me more about the Lord of Light?" The guard asked. "The current Lord of Light is the most mysterious one. Before him, all the Lord of Lights were known throughout the land. But the current Lord of Light... No one knows anything about him. I even wondered if he really existed until you came with a letter from him? So what is he like?"

The young man scratched the back of his head, smiling wryly. "I told you. He's a weird man. He never answers you straight if you ask any question, always trying to be mysterious. He can get on your nerves after some time. Only I know how I controlled myself. I would've gone crazy and snapped at him if I didn't have such good control."

"What does he look like?"

"His looks? He is quite short, honestly. I think he should be about two inches shorter than me. He is a chubby man who looks quite cute. He has long black hair and a chubby face. There's also a small scar under his right eye. Keep these features in your mind so you can recognize him if he ever comes before you."

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The guard chuckled. "You're right. Since no one knows what he looks like, I don't doubt that. He could've even stood before me, and I wouldn't have recognized him. Thanks to you, I won't make that mistake now."

"That's right. Now you know." The young man smiled innocently. "By the way, how long do you think your friend will take? I'm getting worried if I'll even get admission here."

"Heh, don't worry, kid. You got the recommendation from Lord Hermit. There's no way you wouldn't get an admission here."

"Lord Hermit?" The young man tilted his head in confusion.

"It's the nickname that the citizens have given to the Lord Of Light. It's just because of the characteristics. It's not an insulting title. Even some members of the Church of Light use this term."

"Oh, do they now?" The young man appeared quite amused.

"Yeah. It seems even they don't know anything about their Lord. Only the Head Priests of Light can get an audience with the Lord of Light."

"That's understandable. Still, Lord Hermit... It's a cute name. I don't think the old man will mind it."

"Old man? Is the Lord of Light old?"

"Don't tell me you didn't know that either?" The young man's lips parted in surprise. "Do you guys really not know anything about him? I mean, at least you should know that he's an old man."

"That... We really didn't know. As I said, there's not much information about him. But still, an old man. That's fascinating but not surprising. How did you meet him?"

The guard kept asking questions about the Lord of Light since it wasn't often when he got an opportunity to talk to someone who had met the Lord of Light.

Unfortunately, his question was cut short as before the young man could answer, the other guard returned.

"You can come in. And I also got some good news. It seems you don't need to give an examination. You'll get direct admission at this point. Come with me."

The young man nodded as he followed the guard inside the academy. At the same time, he didn't forget to bid farewell to the other guard.

"Wait. What is your element?" It was only after the guard escorted the young man inside that he realized he had once again forgotten to ask about the element.

Since the young man was wearing gloves, it was impossible to see his mark.

"My element?" The young man took off his left glove, flashing the bright mark on the back of his left hand.

"It's the Element of Light. Just a novice Mage though. I'm here to learn more so I can become a powerful mage and join the Church of Light in the future."

"Ah, a mage of light. I should've guessed. Why would the Lord of Light give his recommendation to another element?" The guard tapped the back of his head. "What is your name?"

"I am Lelin," the young man answered respectfully.

"Heh, don't worry, Lelin. You are at the best academy now. No student of this academy went on to become a failure in their life. You'll achieve all your goals now that you're here. By the time you leave, you'll be a powerful mage who can make anyone tremble with your simple spells."

"Achieve all my goals?" Lelin muttered softly before he glanced at the bright sun in the distance. "I hope so... I really hope so..."

Gabriel had just finished his talent measurement. The three Head of Houses left together, appearing very serious.

While Gabriel sat inside the hall, preparing for the worse, the three heads stood outside the hall.

"That talent... What do you two think about it?" Eliana asked the two men, trying to gauge their opinion.

"What do I think? I think it's not true. There must be some problem in the mirror. How can that kid score over a hundred? The highest the mirror goes is a hundred, after all." Lishen still couldn't believe that Gabriel had a talent at that level.

"For a moment, I can believe that he has more talent and Soul Strength than us here since he's the youngest awakened mage, but having more Soul Strength than the last Lord of Light after he was selected by the Holy Book? There's no way. The mirror is defective. It's so old after all," he further added. "I think we should ignore the results."

"I don't think we should." Rem didn't agree with his friend on this. There were rarely situations in which he disagreed with his friend, but this was one of those situations.

"That mirror is a Numen. It's not a man-made artifact of low quality. It came into existence because of a demigod. I don't think we can doubt its veracity. And as far as the highest range is considered, a hundred was an assumption since no one had crossed that limit. There was no way for us to know the exact limit."

"Who knows, maybe two hundred is the limit? Or five hundred? Or a thousand? Demigods certainly had more Talent and soul strength than we have in our times."

"So you believe he really is more talented than the last Lord of Light?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there when the Lord of Light was tested. I was just a student at that time, but the mirror does say that the kid has more talent and Soul Strength than the last Lord of Light. And with that kind of talent, it's quite likely that the holy book will select him as the next Lord of Light when the current Lord of Light dies."

Rem glanced back at the door of the hall. "No matter how arrogant that kid may be, but he is really special. No one can deny that. If the Holy Church of Light finds out about him, they will take him in directly. Without a few years, he might also be elevated to the position of a High Priest, becoming the youngest High Priest."

,m "I agree. That's why I think we can't let the Church of Light know about this." Eliana stated in complete seriousness. "I don't want to lose this guy to the Church of Light. At least not until he graduates from the academy. From that point on, no matter how big he becomes in the future, how high he climbs, the prestige will belong to the Academy."

"Can we really keep such a big thing hidden from everyone?" Lishen asked, finding it really hard to keep such a thing hidden. "He is the youngest mage. That alone should be enough to attract the attention of the Holy Church of Light, let alone his talent scores..."

"He looks to be in his early twenties, so no one can know his true age is eighteen," Eliana responded. "Only we know his true age. It's not hard to keep the fact about him being the youngest awakened mage hidden. I'll handle that."

"And his score? The students saw that score. Princess Elia was also there. She will definitely tell her father. We can't force her to stay silent. And even if she doesn't tell anyone, someone else might. No matter how much we try, it's not news that can stay hidden for long."

"Didn't you already answer that question before, Lishen?" Eliana smiled.

Finally, after a long time, there was a smile on her face, which made her look somewhat cute. Since she often had an expressionless face, not many had seen her smile, including Gabriel.

"What do you mean?"

"We know the mirror wasn't defective, but the kids don't know that. We can just say that the mirror was defective. That should be enough for the moment. In any case, his score was moving up so slowly. The sudden boost would've raised suspicions in their head already. They will believe it right away, including Elia."

"I know it's wrong to lie, but this matter is of grave importance, so we need to keep this hidden from Karyk as well. As long as Karyk is here, he will be treated like any ordinary student in classes. I'll call the meeting of the head council to inform them about this as well. No special preference will be given to him."

"At any cost, the Holy Church of Light shouldn't find out!"

The three teachers knew what an advantage their academy had over the Holy Church of Light, thanks to Gabriel. None of them wanted to spoil it. Not only could they train such a talented mage, but through him, they could also learn just how much of a difference there was between different tiers of talents.

After coming to a conclusion, they were just about to go back to execute their story when a middle-aged man came to them with a message.

The man carried the message from the old lady, informing them about the arrival of a new candidate who had a direct recommendation from the Lord of Light.

The little piece of information stunned Eliana further. First, there was Gabriel, and now this new student? Just what would the Lord of Light give his direct recommendation to the academy? If he thought the kid was really talented, why didn't he train him at the academy? Something didn't appear right.

Unfortunately, she wasn't in any position to question the Lord of Light. She wasn't even the Dean of the Academy.

"Rem, you accompany me. Lishen, you go inside and do as we planned. There's no need to test any other student through the mirror. Just take them all and show them their rooms. Take care of the formalities. And remember, he is just an ordinary student for now."

The day was more bizarre than Eliana had expected, but she could only go with the flow. It didn't matter what kind of student she received; she only looked at the bigger picture.

Unfortunately, she also knew what a problem there could be. The Candidate selected by the Lord of Light... And the egregiously talented Gabriel... Both of them shared the same element, and both of them were going to be in close proximity.

No matter how they treated Gabriel, it was inevitable that he was going to shine brighter than the moon itself. However, Lelin was also close to the Lord of Light, so things were certainly going to get complicated.

She and Rem left the place together. Meanwhile, Lishen went inside the hall.

****

Before long, Rem and Eliana arrived near the entrance where Lelin was waiting with the old woman.

"Hmm? His aura..." The first thing that Rem noticed as soon as he saw Lelin was his aura.

If Gabriel's aura was like a blazing flame that was ready to burn everything in its path, then Lelin's aura was more like a chaotic Tsunami that could swallow the entire earth.

The aura Rem saw didn't depict the current strength of the mage, but it did highlight their potential to some extent. And this guy's potential... Rem was sure that it was no less than Gabriel's potential.

He couldn't measure an accurate potential, but the two had roughly the same potential from his estimates.

It was as if Lelin noticed someone observing him. His gaze straight went to the young man in the distance.

Rem didn't know why, but as soon as Lelin glanced at him, he saw Lelin's aura disappear entirely as if there was not a shred of aura around him.

'He can control his aura?' Rem frowned.

It was the second time he had seen someone manipulating their aura. First, it was Gabriel and now Lelin. However, with Lelin, it appeared to be more intentional.

"Are they the teachers?" Lelin asked the old lady.

"Yeah. On the right is Eliana. She is the acting Dean of the Academy in the absence of our Dean. She is also the Head of the House of Light. She will be your main teacher, so make sure to be respectful. You will get to learn a lot from her. And on the left is Rem. He is the Head of House of Earth."

As soon as Eliana and Rem stopped before him, Lelin lowered his head respectfully and greeted them.

Eliana straight picked up the letter and went through it after casually nodding in response to the greetings.

"What is your name?" she asked the young man.

"Lelin Aeacus."

"You have the recommendation from the Lord of Light, so giving you an admission won't be a problem."

"I suppose there is a 'but' coming?" Lelin smiled. From the tone of Eliana, he was sure that things weren't that easy.

"I would appreciate it if you don't interfere when I'm talking." Eliana's brows knitted. "Anyway, as I was saying, giving you an admission won't be a problem, but we still need to measure your talent just to have an idea where you stand."

"Measure my talent? You mean the Mirror of Talent Measurement?"

"Hmm? It seems you know about the Mirror."

"Yeah, the old man talked about the tests I might have to go through here."

"Old man?" Eliana didn't understand who Lelin was talking about. "Which old man?"

"He is talking about the Lord of Light," the old woman smiled wryly.

"He is old?" Eliana inquired in confusion. "I thought he would be in his middle ages. Then again, I've never met him, so I only guessed."

"Is that who you're talking about?" she asked Lelin, who nodded in response. "Yeah. He told me some things about the academy and the tests I might face."

"Well, he was right. You can skip most of the tests, but we still need to know your talent levels. You will be following us inside."

Eliana instructed Lelin to follow her. Unlike with Gabriel, she didn't carry Lelin through the air this time since she wanted to give Lishen the chance to take the kids away.

At the same time, she also wanted to ask about the Lord of Light.

Most of her questions were similar to what the guard had asked at the entrance, and she received the same answer.

p Only a few of her questions were different. She asked Lelin about why the Lord of Light gave him this recommendation and how the two met. She also asked him what was so special about him. She asked so many questions at once that Lelin had to ask her to stop so he could answer.

"I honestly don't know what he found special about me. It was the day after I had awakened the Element of Light when the old man arrived before my house. He talked about something with my parents. I don't know what they talked about, but my parents told me to come with him right after."

"From there, he brought me straight to this city. He gave me a recommendation and dropped me before this academy, saying it was good for my growth if I studied here. I suppose you know the rest. Here I am."

"Did he tell you why he picked you up? Or why did he specifically bring you here and no other Mage of Light?" Rem inquired.

Lelin shrugged. "He did talk about some vague things, saying it isn't safe for me to stay at the Church of Light and that I need to stay at the Academy to become a powerful mage for the future. He also said something about not having much time. He was certainly a weird old man, I'm telling you."

"Not safe for you to stay at the church?" Rem frowned. If the young man was telling the truth, then that single statement gave him too much insight into why this young man was sent here. "So that's why."

"Eliana, did you get it? Why Lord of Light do it?"

"Why?" Eliana asked.

"I am not sure why but the Lord of Light managed to sense this kid. He could see his potential... Or at least feel it. He knew the kid had the potential to be the next Lord of Light. He wanted to train him as his heir, but he also knew that there are many in the Church of Light who are dreaming of becoming the next Lord of Light."

"The current Lord of Light is supposedly very old. That could also be why the Church kept him out of public view for so long since they don't want to appear weak before other Churches."

Just a couple of statements of Lelin were enough to make Rem see the bigger picture.

"There must be many Head Priests who are waiting for the Lord of Light's death from old age so they could have a chance of being selected by the Holy Grimoire. What do you think they would do if they found out that the Lord of Light brought someone who is so talented that he is highly likely to be selected by the Holy Grimoire next?" he asked.

Eliana wasn't stupid enough to not understand what Rem was trying to say after he explained this much.

With so much explanation, she realized why the Lord of Light sent this kid here as well.

"If they knew about Lelin, they would try to take him out, possibly through schemes, so they aren't caught."

She gazed at Lelin, who appeared to be surprised at their explanation. It was as if even he didn't know about all this.

"That's right." Rem nodded. "So it's not just that the Lord of Light wants us to train him. He wants us to protect him while also training him, so he is ready when it's time..."

"You mean I am on the Target of Head Priests?" Lelin scratched the back of his head as if he was just realizing it.

"It's quite likely," Rem responded. "I would really advise you to stay under the radar for now. And don't leave the Academy alone if possible."

For now, they had two high-profile students, and both needed to be kept under wraps. They understood how complicated this was going to get. Then again, this was also a massive opportunity for them.

One of the reasons they didn't want the Church of Light to find out about Gabriel was because they wanted Gabriel to graduate from their Academy so he could be considered their student instead of training at the Church of Light. Training the next Lord of Light wasn't a small thing.

However, now they didn't have just one candidate who was capable of becoming the next Lord of Light... They had two, and both were going to be students at the academy. Even though both of them had different circumstances and different problems to be concerned about, at the crux of it, they were on the same boat.

****

"Alright. It appears that the Mirror of Measurement is not working properly today. It is quite common with old artifacts. That's why the score suddenly jumped so high after stopping near mid-thirties."

As soon as Lishen entered the hall, he gave a short explanation to all the youngsters present there so they could drop this matter.

Tap~

Only Lishen's footsteps could be heard as he walked on the tiled floor. He stopped right before Gabriel.

The entire hall returned to silence as everyone was still trying to understand this explanation.

"Based on our assumption, your real score is 35 for Talent and 42 for Soul Strength, which is quite good," Lishen further explained before patting Gabriel's shoulders. "Not bad, kid. It's quite a decent score. Then again, I would like to apologize from the Academy for getting your hopes up for no reason at all."

Gabriel didn't respond right away. He was still trying to understand if these people really believed that the mirror was defective or if they were lying to make sure this news didn't reach the Church of Light.

He believed there was a higher chance of it being the latter option since there was no way he could have such an average Talent and Soul Strength.

In any case, it was good for him since both options worked in his favor. As long as the Church of Light was kept out of the equation, his mission here was going to be comparatively easier.

Lishen observed Gabriel's expressions, surprised that he didn't see any sadness or anger. He was just told that he had an average Talent instead of the score he received, and he didn't even react.

"Hahahaha!"

The momentary silence was broken by a burst of loud laughter. Everyone couldn't help but turn to the source of the laughter, noticing Ray laughing so heartily that there were tears in his eyes.

"Hahahaha!" He held his stomach, unable to control his laughter. It was after a long time that he had laughed so much.

"Is there something funny?" Gabriel frowned, feeling as if that mocking tone was being directed at him.

"Hahahaha, a talent of thirty-five?!" The young summoner asked, trying to control his laughter.

Initially, he was slightly jealous to see his high scores, but now he finally felt relieved.

Once again, he didn't bother to keep his voice down.

"As expected, he's trash. And we thought he was some Prodigy! Hahahaha! No talent yet possesses the arrogance of the entire world. As soon as there was such a high score, I knew the mirror was defective. Even teachers confirmed it."

Even though Summoners weren't considered to be the strongest mage class, they were still near the top. Ray didn't believe he was less than anyone. When he arrived here, he had decided to shine brighter than anyone here, becoming a top student at the academy. He had the talent and the confidence to achieve that feat.

Unfortunately, before he could even start his journey at the academy, he saw someone like Gabriel, who was shown to have a monstrous talent. Seeing those numbers, Ray was shocked to his core. He could feel his dream of graduating as the top student of the academy fleeting away, which made him angry.

Now that he realized that it was just a false flag, he couldn't control his laughter.

He wasn't the only one who was relieved. Such a high score was nothing to laugh at. If this score was true, it was a signal of chaotic times ahead since an ordinary person possessing Talent like that of Lord of Light wasn't heard before. Now that it turned out to be a rumor, there were some sighs of relief.

Even though many were relieved, not many were mocking like Ray, who still hadn't stopped laughing. He appeared to be the only one in the hall, showing such unkempt behavior.

Gabriel rubbed his temple, not knowing if he should laugh or cry at the stupidity of this naive man. Ray was certainly talented enough since he was able to reach this far, even with harsh selection criteria, but he was still like a frog at the bottom of the well for him.

Gabriel knew his talent, so he didn't mind this ignorant mocking. Not as if he was really a student here. He was only here for six more days on his mission.

He knew that everyone was going to know what he truly was as soon as he was going to succeed in his mission. That was when the world was going to know about the appearance of a Death Mage.

There was no need to offend too many people for now since the more he offended them, the more they were going to be on his tail which could make it hard for him to shake them off and execute his tasks, for which he needed absolute freedom.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for Lishen to intervene, stopping Ray. "Enough. Talent isn't everything. Even people with talent can fail, and even those without talent can go on to become great mages. So you shouldn't judge. Talent is just one factor in the grand scheme of things."

"Heh, you're just saying that to not hurt his feelings," Ray smirked. "You gave him admission because of his recommendation without even checking his talent, and now you have no choice but to let him be. I understand how it works."

"If he didn't have a recommendation, he wouldn't even be able to reach so far with the tests we went through."

"Are we done here?" Ignoring Ray's entire existence, Gabriel asked Lishen.

Since they claimed that the mirror was damaged, that meant there was no need to stay here for now. He wanted to leave this place as fast as he could. The faster he was free from Lishen's Shadow, the faster he could get to work.

"Right. Since the mirror is defective for now, this exam is canceled. You're all considered to have passed this exam. We will see what's wrong with the mirror and when we have an answer and solved the problem; we can measure your talents again."

"You're all students of the academy now. Come with me; I'll show you where you'll stay."

Lishen escorted the youngsters out of the hall. Since they had already used the excuse of the mirror not working, it was stupid to let others go through this exam for now.

Gabriel wore his left glove again, hiding his aura as he followed the group.

*****

On one side, Gabriel left with the group. From another side, Eliana arrived at the hall, just missing the previous group.

She stood near the mirror with her hands behind her back. "Since you already know about the mirror, I don't think I need to explain what it does. Go ahead. Let us see your talent."

Lelin rubbed the back of his neck, which was slightly warm. "Is it really necessary?"

"Yes," Eliana stated.

"Fine."

Lelin walked closer to the mirror and placed his hand over it. Just as Eliana had stated, he didn't need any explanation as to how it worked.

As soon as he placed his hand on the mirror, the numbers on the mirror started shooting up.

Unlike with Gabriel, whose numbers climbed up slowly at the start, Lelin's numbers rose much faster.

Within two seconds, his numbers had already stopped climbing, revealing his final score.

[97] [94]

"Very close to a hundred." Rem scratched his temple lightly, finding this whole thing somewhat funny.

There were two students here who scored over ninety, and both had the same element. He couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of Eliana's luck. Her house was already considered the strongest house, and now they had two students with such incredible talent.

Meanwhile, his house was ranked last. He needed these students more for his Element, but his luck just wasn't good, it appeared. Out of the two, none shared his element.

"Congrats on getting another talented student." He congratulated Eliana, who didn't appear too happy.

"You mean another headache." Eliana clarified. She could see many troubles in her future.

*****

Gabriel was brought to the dorms of the House of Light while the other youngsters were taken by Lishen to their own dorms.

As soon as he became a student, he was given his own room and a badge which was proof of him being a student here.

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He was straight sent to his room after being dropped off near the dorms, being informed that a senior student was going to be assigned to him to show him around and give him a briefing about this place.

While waiting for the person to arrive, Gabriel sat on the clear white bed, observing the room. The room in this place was no worse than the most expensive room in the hotel where he had stayed previously.

The first thing Gabriel noticed was the bedside table which was resting right beside the King size bed. There was a small diary placed on the table, right before a pen.

He picked up the diary, flipping through its pages to find it completely empty.

He kept the notebook back and opened the drawer, wondering if there was anything inside. Unfortunately, the drawer was also empty.

It was as if he was the first person who was using this room. Then again, this dorm was so huge that it had thousands of such rooms. It wasn't odd to get an unused room. Moreover, his room was also on the top floor.

He got off the bed and walked to the Wardrobe in the distance. He opened the Wardrobe, noticing pairs of clothing inside the wardrobe.

"The uniform of the Academy... Wearing it on top of my clothes seems like a hassle. And it's not safe to remove the clothes I received with the Ancestral Staff either, as they help hide my dark aura. But I don't think I'll be allowed to go out without this uniform."

"Unless..." His gaze fell on the ring in his hands as a smile crept up his lips.

"Since the ring can project a fake look, I'm sure it must also be able to project a fake attire... If this works, things should be much easier from here on."

He closed the wardrobe after only taking out a golden robe which was a part of the uniform. He left everything else inside.

He walked before a mirror, gazing at his reflection. For now, only his looks were different, but his attire was the same.

He closed his eyes and visualized the attire. He opened his eyes, smiling.

It worked. He could see that the attire was different now. Even though it was still the same, it was being projected differently.

The only thing missing was the robe which he intentionally left since it didn't bother him to use a real robe. It didn't interfere with his attire.

He opened the robe and wore it around his back, making it so that the robe didn't fall.

"Much better."

Knock~

There was a sudden knock on the door, attracting his attention.

He walked to the door and opened it, finding a woman in her early twenties standing outside.

"You are Karyk?" The young woman asked.

"Yes."

"I am Riya. I am assigned to help you. I will be with you today, teaching you about the academy and the basics regarding where you can go, where you can't, what's allowed, and what's not."

The young lady didn't show her displeasure, but Gabriel could still feel that she wasn't happy being here. Then again, who was going to be happy if they were told to accompany a noob on that first day? Unfortunately, she also had no choice. It was just for one day.

"It seems you already found your uniform. That's something you must always wear as long as you're on the academy grounds. If not, someone might mistake you for an intruder."

"Come, we can talk while I show you around. The faster we start, the faster we can end, and it can be on my way back."

'Yeah, she's pissed.' If there was any doubt before in Gabriel's mine, it was gone now.

He shook his head lightly before leaving his room. He closed the door behind him and followed the young lady.

Riya showed him around the dorm first, telling him about all the important places, including where to go if he needed permission to go out late at night or where to go when he had some problem. She also showed him the common arena where all the Light Mages came around to relax.

Surprisingly, there was also a practice area inside the Dorm that could be used to practice their spells. However, according to Riya, that area was only reserved for second-year students.

The first years were only allowed to use spells in the presence of teachers.

"And that's it for the Dorm. However, that's only a small part of the academy. We haven't even scratched the surface of the Academy. You'll see what I mean when we're outside."

Riya opened the doors, stepping out of the dorm. Right behind her, Gabriel also stepped out. However, not far from him, another person was coming toward the academy.

Lelin was also dropped before the dorms by Rem.

There were only twenty meters of distance between the two youngsters, and the distance only kept decreasing with each passing second.

Being distracted by Riya, Gabriel hadn't even seen Lelin at the moment.

On the contrary, Lelin's gaze went straight to Gabriel.

It was only after Lelin gazed at him that Gabriel felt as if someone was looking at him. He also felt a bit of pressure for some reason, not knowing why.

He looked ahead, noticing Lelin, barely five meters away from him. The two gazes met…

Gabriel noticed a young man glancing in his direction. He didn't know why, but under that gaze, he felt danger...

It was a strange feeling of danger that he had rarely felt before. The last time he felt a similar feeling was when he stood before Elora. However, that feeling of danger this time was even more intense.

Lelin's lips crept up a bit, forming something akin to a smile yet not quite. He walked past Gabriel like a stranger.

As the young man walked past him, Gabriel momentarily looked back. He only saw Lelin leaving. Unlike him, Lelin wasn't looking back.

"Was that guy a teacher?" he asked Riya.

Even though Lelin appeared too young to be a teacher, after seeing Eliana, he couldn't be sure of anything. Moreover, this feeling of danger... It could certainly come from a strong teacher. If that was the case, it could explain why he felt that danger.

Riya also glanced back at Lelin. "He? Nope. I've never seen him before. He should be a new student just like you. Someone will be assigned to him to show him around. We don't need to worry about him."

'A student? Then what was that feeling...?'

Even though Lelin didn't glance back at Gabriel after walking past him, that was only for a moment. Not long after Riya and Gabriel stopped looking at him, Lelin turned around.

His gaze seemingly rested on Gabriel's hands. "Quite interesting."

****

"And this is the dorm of the Water Mages. With that, we've covered all the boring parts of the Academy: the dorms. As a Light Mage, you aren't allowed to enter these dorms. Only the images of these elements can enter these places. So make sure you don't enter even by mistake if you don't want to be punished."

Riya and Gabriel stood before a beautiful building which was no less than the one that housed the rooms of the Mages of Light.

Gabriel was shown the dorms of all the Elements, which weren't too far from each other.

"I will keep that in mind."

Gabriel didn't think he needed to worry about such things in any case. The person he wanted to kill shared his element of light. So he didn't need to sneak inside the dorms of other elements. It made things a bit easier for him.

"Now, let's get to the interesting parts of the Academy, which are even my favorites."

Until now, Riya appeared to be bored and irritated, but as she talked about her favorite places, she seemed much more pleased. It made Gabriel wonder just what the place was.

Riya soon brought Gabriel to the place she talked about, which appeared to be a giant tower made from pitch black stones.

"Tower of Challenges." Riya placed both her hands on her waist as she stood proudly before the tower, making Gabriel wonder why she was so proud. She was acting as if she made the Tower herself. What was for her to be proud about?

On observing the tower further, Gabriel was able to see a bunch of names carved on the majestic tower.

There were ten columns of names on the tower, starting from the top and coming to the bottom. In essence, there were over a thousand names in each column.

"What are these names?" Gabriel inquired.

"They are the names of the highest scorers in the tower." Riya smiled. "This Tower is my most favorite place in the entire academy. It's where we come to challenge ourselves to see where we stand compared to other students at the Academy."

"Each student goes through the same set of challenges according to their element. The farther one can climb in the tower, the higher their scores. And if they score high enough to get on the rankings, their name appears on the tower at the appropriate ranking."

"In total, there are twelve thousand names on the tower at the moment. And those twelve thousand aren't all current students. This is the all-time rankings, so even the ones who managed to graduate have their names on the tower as long as they aren't pushed out of the rankings."

"Do you have your name there?" Gabriel asked. Since she was so proud and talking so excitedly about how big a deal it was to get their names on the tower, he felt that she had her name there as well.

Riya smiled and held Gabriel's hands before pulling her around the Tower.

"There, look." She placed her fingers on a name that was almost ranked near the bottom.

[11758 Riya Lansher Light 13]

"I am ranked eleven thousand seven hundred fifty-eight in the ranking," Riya proudly stated with a smug face. "I managed to reach the thirteenth Floor last I attempted. Next time, I will do better!"

"Is there any advantage of attempting this, or is it just for fun?" Gabriel asked. It was certainly a fun activity to compare yourself to present and past students, but other than that, he didn't find anything special in all this.

"Of course, there is something special. The person who can manage to get in the top ten of all time rankings is given the key to the academy. In essence, they are like unofficial teachers. They can go anywhere and do whatever they want; no one can stop them. Moreover, the Dean will personally train them."

"Unfortunately, it's not easy to get in the top ten. The last time it happened was over a decade ago. Since then, no one even managed to enter the top hundred, let alone top ten."

"There are also some rumors that the top floor contains a really mysterious treasure. No one knows what that is since no one managed to get so far in the history of the tower's existence."

"The farthest one went was the Ninety-ninth floor..." Riya stepped back a few feet, gazing at the top of the tower where a name was etched at the peak.

[1 Axion Lumen Light 99]

"The First Ranker in the Tower... Lord Axion. He went on to become the Lord of the Church of Light after graduation. It was said that it was under his leadership when the Church of Light destroyed the Church of Darkness. He was also from the Royal Lumen Family."

"He is considered to be one of the most glorious Lord of Light. Even after a thousand years, his achievements are said to be unmatched..."

Gabriel also looked at the name of Axion, but his attention was soon distracted by the second name on the list.

[2 Qin Elisi Darkness 99]

'Elisi? Isn't that the last name of Lira as well?'

"That second name... Doesn't this academy not have an Element of Darkness? Why does it show the element of Darkness?" he asked Riya.

"The Academy doesn't have the Element of Darkness ever since the Church of Darkness was destroyed and Darkness was declared as the element of the Devil. Since then, the Academy got rid of all the Dark Mages, handing them over to the Church of Light," Riya explained.

As she had been at the Academy for over a year, she knew quite a lot about the academy. All those questions that Gabriel was asking now were asked by her when she was new as well.

"All the Dark Mages of the Academy were killed by the Church of Light."

"And the Academy didn't save them? They were their students?! The Academy just handed them over to be slaughtered?!"

"Anything wrong with it?" Riya ignorantly asked. "If those Dark Mages weren't killed, just imagine how many innocents would've been killed. They were demons. It's good they got rid of them. Unfortunately, one student managed to escape that onslaught... Qin Elisi."

"The Second Ranker?"

"Yeah. He was a third-year student at that time. In fact, he reached the ninety-ninth floor while being a third-year student, which was an achievement that was never accomplished before. At that time, he still had one more year to become stronger and attempt the tower again."

"Everyone was sure that Qin Elisi was going to be the first person to reach the top floor. Fortunately, before he could, the Church of Darkness was destroyed. I can't even imagine what disaster it would've been if that demon had received the mysterious treasure on the top Floor. Fortunately, he was stopped at the right time."

"Too bad before he could be killed, he ran away..."

"What happened to him after that?"

A man with a similar last name as Lira had his name on the rankings. Not only did he have his name there, but he had almost clenched the first place before he had to leave the academy.

This only went on to show how strong that person really was. Gabriel couldn't help but wonder just what was that man's relationship with Lira. Was he her ancestor? That could definitely explain how Lira was so talented in the ways of magic, despite never coming to the Academy.

'Then again, she said that she is the only Dark Mage left. So her family... She might be the last person from the Elisi Family of the House of Darkness.'

"I've no idea what actually happened to him. He was most probably caught and killed by the Church of Light. It's none of our concern."

Even though Riya didn't know what happened to Qin, she wasn't interested in knowing either. For her, it happened a really long time ago. And most of the remnants of the Dark Mages were killed by now.

"Just remember this tower... Getting your name here should be your goal in the coming years. Getting their name at the tower is the legacy that the students here try to leave behind, to compare themselves with the strongest of the strongest."

"Come, let me show you another place."

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Riya tapped the shoulders of Gabriel, who appeared to be immersed in reading the top names on the tower.

Following the tap of Riya, he came out of his daze. He started following Riya, realizing she was finally going in the direction he was really interested in. It was the direction where the Museum of Elements was supposed to be.

The Museum of Elements was also known as the most secure place in the entire Academy. Even the students' Dorms weren't as secure, and why shouldn't it be? The museum wasn't just an ordinary museum. It contained many special Artefacts that many people were after.

Moreover, the museum also contained the Ancestral Staff of Darkness which was the holy Grail for the Mages of Darkness. The Academy didn't want to take a risk with something so precious.

Outside the museum, there were Mages of Earth who could sense even the slightest of movement on the ground. There were also Mages of Wind assigned outside the museum of Elements to capture any enemy that tried to use the winds.

The entire Museum was surrounded. And even when students were taken inside to show them around, it was the rule to have them be accompanied by at least three teachers.

The precautions didn't end there. Even inside the Museum, there were over twenty Mages protecting the place. Most of the Mages inside were the Mages of Light and the Mages of Lightning, who could attack with much more precision without harming the Artefacts accidentally.

While following Riya, Gabriel had to walk past the entrance of the Tower. As he was walking, the door of the tower slowly opened, attracting his attention to the door.

Subconsciously, Gabriel glanced at the door. His feet froze in place as he saw the person who had just stepped out of the tower. He clenched his fists but didn't do anything.

It was a blue-haired girl who had just come out. It was the same girl he spent most of his life with. It was also the same girl who had backstabbed him when he was at his weakest. Even now, Gabriel couldn't forget that feeling of being backstabbed.

Once upon a time, his heart used to be filled with love for Maya. However, now that love had a shroud of hate covering it. He hated her... He hated her as much as he possibly could.

If only she had listened to him... If only she hadn't attacked him... He wouldn't be a fugitive to the Church of Light. She used to be his friend, yet she was the one who pushed him to the wolves.

Maya's face was down with disappointment as she kept glancing back inside.

"Only Seventh Floor. I can't be this weak... I need strength! I need more strength!"

She had attempted the tower once again; however, she couldn't even clear the seventh floor. To get to the tower, one needed to at least be in the top twelve thousand since the tower only showed twelve thousand names. However, even the last ranked person on the tower had cleared the twelfth floor.

With her only able to clear the seventh floor, she wasn't even close to getting her name on the tower.

"Hmm?" She raised her head, finally noticing Gabriel.

She could see Gabriel staring at her. She didn't understand why he was looking at her like that. She couldn't even recognize him with the illusion.

Despite not recognizing Gabriel, she didn't know why, but she still felt a strange feeling. There was a peculiar fear starting to grip her heart slowly. All because of a single gaze. It was as if a predatory beast was looking at their prey, trying to control their urge to bite the prey to death.

****

Lelin reached his room. Just like Gabriel, he was also told that someone was going to come to show him around. Until then, he was told to stay in the room and change into the academy attire.

Lelin locked the door from inside and walked straight to the bed. He didn't even bother changing his attire as if he had more important things to consider.

He took off his gloves as well, revealing his fair hands. On the back of his left hand, there was a mark of Light. While on his right hand, there was a beautiful white ring, contrasting the pitch black find of Gabriel. He

For most of the day, the ring was buried under his glove, making it impossible to be seen. Similarly, Gabriel's rings were hidden by his gloves for most of the day. Still, Gabriel didn't wear the gloves to hide the rings. He wore them to hide the Pitch Black Mark of Death on the back of his right hand.

There wasn't just one ring on Lelin's fingers. He was wearing three rings in total, one on his middle finger and the other two on the fingers right beside his middle finger. While one of his rings was white, the second was blue, and the third appeared to be green.

He slightly waved his hand. The blue ring started shining. Following the shine, a scroll appeared on the bed as if it appeared out of thin air.

While sitting on the bed, Lelin opened the scroll, revealing a map carved inside the scroll.

From the initial glance, it was evident that the map was the map of the Academy; however, if one was to look carefully, only then were they to realize that it wasn't all that it seemed.

The Academy also had a map of theirs. However, their map was different. Lelin's map showed many special zones that weren't visible in the map that even the Academy used.

On the map, there was one place marked as a cross, which was the most eye-catching. This was also the part of the map that Lelin was focusing on. "Do we know each other?" Maya didn't recognize Gabriel, but the way he was looking at her, why would a stranger look at her like that? It was as if she had offended him somehow.

"I don't think we do," Gabriel responded. He controlled his conflicted feelings, remembering what he was here for. There were more important things than Maya.

"Then why were you looking at me like that?" Maya frowned.

"I wasn't looking at you. I was looking behind you... I apologize if I gave you the wrong impression." Gabriel made a story before turning his back on Maya.

Maya couldn't believe that story. She was sure she would've realized it if Gabriel was looking past her.

Unfortunately, before she could ask more questions, Riya came back, realizing that Gabriel hadn't been following her.

"What happened? You know we can't afford to stop." She grabbed Gabriel's hands and took her with him. "I don't have all the time in the world to show you around. We need to finish today."

Riya left with Gabriel, leaving a confused Maya behind.

"A new student? Was he really looking at the tower? Did I really overthink things?" Maya watched Gabriel leave, trying to make sense of the situation. She didn't know why, but she could still feel that something about Gabriel wasn't right.

*****

"That is the Battle Arena..." Riya pointed in the distance toward a colosseum-type structure.

"As I told you before, you aren't allowed to use your spells without the presence of a teacher as a first-year student. But the second-year students and older also have some restrictions on our spells, even though not as much as the first years."

"We are allowed to use the spells we learn, even in the absence of the teacher. The only spells we can't use are the offensive spells that can hurt anyone. We also aren't allowed to battle one another in the Academy Grounds. That is where the Battle Arena comes into play."

"If you want to fight another student without getting into trouble, you can use the Battle Arena. There, you can use as many spells as you want. You can go all out. The best part? You don't need to hold back at all. As long as you don't kill the opponent, everything is allowed. That's also a good place to train with the Mages of other Elements."

"That's why there are hundreds of battles in the Arena daily. Moreover, there's one more advantage of fighting there. You can place your Credits on the line. If you win, you can win the credits of the other person that they placed on the line. However, if you lose the battle, you lose your Credits as well."

Riya gave details about the Battle Arena, as much as she believed was worth knowing. "Even you, as a first-year student, can enter the arena to fight someone. However, I would advise you against it. You'll be like a fish on the chopping block inside. You'll lose whatever Credits you get."

"Credits?"

"Oh right, I didn't even tell you about the Credits yet." Riya slapped her forehead, realizing that she had forgotten to tell him the most essential thing.

"Credits are like the currency of the Academy. In each class you attend, you get some credit based on your performance. They are given by the teachers. On top of that, you get some credits every week, default. Other than that, you can win them by challenging someone and betting with Credits on the line. In essence, there are quite a lot of ways to get Credits."

"Just know that credits are very important. As they are a currency here, you can use them for anything. Most of us use the credits to buy Spirit Crystals to increase our soul strength. Just know that you'll need lots of credits for one Soul Crystal. Those things are expensive."

"You can also use the Credits to buy treasures from the Treasure Pavilion or access some special zones of the Academy where you can't go otherwise."

Riya kept explaining more about the Credits while walking with Gabriel. She only stopped talking about how useful credits were when she reached another Tower.

"And that place... It's also a really special place in the Academy." She pointed at the Tower, which appeared to be quite different from the last tower. Unlike the previous tower, which was dark, this tower appeared to be made using White Marble.

"This is the Library of Spells. There, you can find the Books of Spells, from the most basic Spell Books to the most Complex Ones. There are many books here which have been written by the Strongest Mages of the past."

"However, the more special a book is, the more expensive it will be. You'll need to save credits for months to be able to afford a decent mid-tier spell book, and that's if you don't spend anything on the Soul Crystals."

Right beside the white Towers, there was a pavilion that only had two floors. However, it covered more area than the Tower.

"And that on the right is the Treasure Pavilion. There, you can buy Artificial Treasures, created by our greatest artificers. However, once again, you can only use Credits to buy them. You can't use money or anything else here. It is so that all students have a fair chance of getting treasures, based on their performance."

"As for how much credit is needed for a basic Artefact, it's better if you don't ask. These things are too expensive. Even I can't afford to buy them, and I'm in my second year."

Riya's eyes were filled with longing as she gazed at the Treasure Pavilion. Observing her expressions, one thing Gabriel was sure of. It was that Riya wasn't from a rich family. If she was, she could've easily bought treasures from the city. It wasn't as if they were Numens.

"Shall we move on to the next place?" Gabriel asked, bringing Riya back to her senses.

"Ah, right. Two more places left to see."

Riya brought Gabriel to another place. It was a small building, only having four floors. There was a sign outside the building which read, "Mission Pavillion."

"I told you there were more ways to get Credits? One of those ways is the Mission Hall. Many missions are posted in the hall for the students to complete. Some of the missions are posted by other students, while some are posted by teachers. If you complete a mission, you get points."

"First Floor is for the most basic missions that even first-year students can take. The second floor can only be accessed by the Second Year and above. The third floor can only be accessed by Third Year Students."

"And the last floor, I'm sure you can guess. The higher you go in the Mission Hall, the harder the missions get. However, the Credits for the missions also increase."

"What kind of missions are on the Fourth Floor?" Gabriel inquired. If the academy was giving these missions, he was really curious about what they could be.

"The first-floor missions are contained to the Academy, like helping other students or doing some task of a teacher, becoming their helpers, and more. But the Fourth Floor, those missions need you to go out of the Academy."

"I haven't actually seen the top missions, but I did hear some rumors.

"The Top Floor is said to contain missions like investigating the places where the Dark Mages were seen recently, or killing Bandits, or investigating some murder or disappearance. They are the missions that can get dangerous." Riya stared at the Mission Hall, watching people going in and out of it.

"That's why they are only given to Fourth Year Students who are the strongest at the Academy," she stared before she started moving. "Anyway, I'm sure you'll learn about the missions on the Fourth Floors with time. Let me show you the last place worth mentioning."

Gabriel didn't even need to guess what the last place was. He could already see a glimpse of the Museum of Elements. That place was like a beautiful castle.

Throughout the place, Gabriel had noticed many guards. But as he got closer to the Museum, he realized just the extent of the security of this place. It was like a Fortress.

Even Riya wasn't allowed to take him within fifty meters range of the Museum of Elements.

"And that's the last place on our itinerary... The Museum of Elements. This is as far as I'm allowed to take you here. You can't go farther without a teacher accompanying you," Riya explained before glancing in the direction of Gabriel.

She noticed him looking at all the guards. Gabriel was taking stock of the guards, but Riya misunderstood him, thinking he was just surprised to see so many guards here.

"You might be wondering why there are so many guards here. Actually, there have been some attempts in the past. The Museum of Elements contains some really powerful items that the Academy doesn't want to lose. That's why this place is made so secure."

"What kind of items?" Gabriel asked, despite already knowing the answer to the question.

"I'm sure you'll see when you are taken inside. I think the teachers will be able to describe those things better. Just know, those things are a part of history... A much darker history. It's better if they teach you about it."

"Anyway, that's enough for the day."

Riya refused to explain anything about the items inside, leaving those things for the later. She had fulfilled her part.

The sun had already started setting by the time they were done exploring the Academy. Riya took Gabriel back to his room.

"Best of luck for the future, kiddo." After wishing Gabriel luck, Riya left.

Gabriel also closed the door after she left.

He removed his illusion, dropping to the bed. The day had been tiring, but it was also very productive. Now he understood the academy better, especially the Museum of Elements.

Now he knew what kind of security that place had on the outside. Moreover, Riya also told him that within the next few days, they were probably going to be taken inside the Museum as their first lesson became they were to be taught magic. It was so they understood why it was important for them to learn.

That was the best piece of information for Gabriel. If he was taken there, he could also see what kind of security that place had on the inside. Moreover, if there was an opportunity, he could take the items right there.

Gabriel laid on the bed, looking at the roof.

There was a room right under his room where Lelin was staying. The two prodigies of the Academy were given rooms on different floors, yet their rooms were so close to each other.

Unlike Gabriel, Lelin didn't leave his room. He was also assigned a second-year student to show him around, but he just refused, saying he didn't need any help. He spent his entire day inside his room.

Just like Gabriel, Lelin was also lying on the bed. His eyes were closed, yet his mind was as active as it had ever been. The old-looking scroll laid right beside him.

"Six Days..." Gabriel muttered. "Only six more days..."

"I'm close. I can't fail after coming this far," he said. However, at the same time, there was another person who spoke the exact same words.

"Failure is not an option." Lelin slowly opened his eyes, glancing toward the window. "It's time we end it once and for all."

"Six days... I wonder if the kid can really succeed." In another place, a young man was gazing at the moon, sitting on his balcony. "If anyone can succeed, it is him. The one with the Origin Element."

Lira also waited in a forest near the Royal City. She hadn't left the place, even after sending Gabriel. She was ready to come to his rescue if there was a need, not caring about the outside. In any case, it was better to die fighting than to lose her best fighting chance.

She sat near a pond, gazing at the reflection of the moon in the pond.

*****

Gabriel sat up after resting for half an hour. He picked up the bag that was given to him by Lira.

He opened the bag, finding the small bag filled with Soul Crystals. There were supposed to be around fifty Soul Crystals, which was like a considerable amount of wealth in the academy since an ordinary Mage could only use one of them in a day.

Amidst the Soul Crystals, there was also a small gem that was given to him for emergencies. It was an orb that could alert Lira when he was in danger.

He pulled out one of the Soul Crystals and closed it in his fist.

,m He was warned not to use the Soul Crystals before he got admission to the Academy. However, now that he had received an admission, there was no need to worry about it.

Moreover, he didn't want to waste an opportunity. He was technically in the backyard of the enemy. He needed more strength. Only by strengthening his Soul with the Soul Crystal could he unlock more Spells from his Grimoire of Darkness.

Also, a stronger soul allowed him to use more powerful spells of Light.

Gabriel closed his eyes and started absorbing the soul energy from the Soul Crystal, as he was taught by Lira.

Surprisingly, it was even easier than he had assumed. It was no different than just letting the energy freely flow inside his body. There was no obstruction.

Within twenty minutes, he had absorbed the first Soul Crystal.

He slowly opened his eyes. "This takes an entire day?"

It was so hard to believe that he absorbed something in twenty minutes that other mages took an entire day to absorb. Then again, he also knew that it was easier for him because he was a prodigy with a Soul Strength of over a hundred.

Surprisingly, he could also feel some changes in his body as soon as he absorbed the first Soul Crystal. His vision was even clearer. And his mind appeared to be able to focus more.

He didn't stop right there and pulled out another crystal. He started absorbing the Soul Crystals one after another. The fifty Soul Crystals were given to him for an entire week, but before he even realized it, he had already absorbed half those Crystals.

If anyone knew that a man had absorbed twenty-five Soul Crystals in a night, it could easily create a commotion. Even Lira hadn't expected that range after all. Lira thought that Gabriel could only absorb five or six crystals in a day, not twenty-five... And even then, Gabriel didn't feel tired.

His Soul Strength had jumped by leaps and bounds within a few hours. However, he also felt a bit drunk by that sudden increase in Soul Strength. He felt tired. If he wanted, he could absorb more, but he decided to stop for the day since his head had started getting dizzy.

He closed the small bag, keeping it on the table before dropped on the bed. He didn't even realize when he fell asleep. It was just so fast.

As Gabriel slept, he didn't realize that his ring was shining slightly.

****

"Karyk... Come on. Where are you hiding? Don't trouble your mother like that!"

It was unclear how long it had been since he fell asleep, but Gabriel found himself in the middle of a dream.

He could see his reflection in the mirror, near which he was hiding. He looked like he was only seven years old. The face was completely identical to how he looked when he was young.

"There you are!" A woman came up to him and picked him up in his arms. "Little boy, why do you trouble your mother like that? You know good Princes don't trouble their mothers?"

The woman hugged him. Strangely enough, her face was different from the mother he knew. He didn't understand why this woman was calling him her son.

A mysterious woman was hugging him, and Gabriel couldn't even recognize the woman. It was his first time seeing that woman. And why was she calling him her son? He found the entire thing really strange.

Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of strange.

Carrying him in her arms, the woman walked out. As the woman carried him in her arms through the hallway, he noticed the guards respectfully bowing to her. They had the utmost respect on their faces.

The woman brought the little boy to a glass door. Through the glass door, he could see that on the other side, there was a balcony.

A middle-aged man stood on the balcony, carrying a serene aura. The man had both his hands on the balcony, looking into the distance. There was a beautiful golden crown on the man's head which appeared very heavy yet not at all uncomfortable.

Two young men stood on each side of the man, donning a beautiful Armour that was versatile yet carried a strong defense.

One of the two young men noticed the woman in the back who had a child in her arms.

The man hastily opened the door for the woman. "Your Majesty."

The other young man also turned around. "Your Majesty."

The middle-aged man was the last to turn around. "There you are."

A beautiful smile graced the lips of the young man. "Why are you carrying him? He's the Prince and the future King of this Empire. He can't show weakness, especially on his birthday. Let him walk on his own."

'King of Empire? What is this dream? It's so weird.'

Gabriel was placed on the ground, yet he remained confused. He walked to the edge of the balcony, standing right beside the middle-aged man, only to be amazed. There were millions of people standing down, cheering for him.

"Karyk, look at them. They are our people... They are our citizens. They came here to wish you for your birthday and to catch a glimpse of you. Aren't you going to thank them?" The middle-aged man chuckled. "Come, do as your father does."

The middle-aged man started waving his hand proudly. Gabriel also did the same, still trying to make sense of this dream.

He was sure he had never seen these faces in his life. He wondered if it was his subconscious desire to be a King, and that's why his mind was showing this dream. He didn't have any luxuries in his life. In fact, he hadn't even seen his father.

His family was incomplete, and even his mother left when he was too young. To him, it made sense if his mind was showing his subconscious desires. And since he had memorized the name of Karyk and heard about his past, it also made sense that Karyk's name was being used for him.

'Hah, a dream where I can become the King... Too bad it can never happen in real life.'

Since he couldn't experience it in real life, he decided to at least enjoy the dream. He observed the faces of the citizens and waved at them.

However, the sky soon turned dark. The winds started flowing faster, even getting colder. Everything started getting dark, including the faces of all the citizens. Only their eyes could be seen. However, those eyes didn't have love in them. They were filled with hate as those eyes looked at him.

"Demon!"

"Demon!"

"You should die as well!"

"Why are you still alive?!"

"You devil! You should burn in the flames of hell!"

The cheers initially went silent before they turned into screeching curses, all coming in their direction.

"Huh?" Gabriel frowned, turning to his right. The middle-aged man wasn't there anymore. It was as if he had disappeared.

"Brother..." A voice came from the back, attracting his attention. He hastily turned around. However, all he saw was a young girl who had her hand missing; most of her body was burned, making it hard even to recognize her face.

"Brother, why did you eat my soul? Why did you kill me?"

"Son, answer her..." Another voice came, making him raise his head, but this time there was only a headless body that he saw. The headless person was still wearing the same attire as the woman who had called him son, but those clothes were covered in blood.

"Answer her! Why did you hurt us? Why did you hate us? Why couldn't you let us go?"

"Brother, answer... Why?"

"Why, son? Why?"

The questioning voices kept getting louder and louder as the two figures moved closer to Gabriel. He subconsciously stepped back, but there was no way back. One more step and he was going to fall.

"Why couldn't you die instead?"

"Why did it have to be us?"

"Why didn't you stop it?"

"Why?" The mutilated bodies kept getting closer and closer.

Gabriel tried casting a spell to protect himself, but it didn't work. None of his hands had the Mark of elements. He didn't have the ring either. There was no Grimoire. He was no more than an ordinary human at the moment.

The two bodies stopped right before Gabriel before asking once again. "Why? Why didn't you die? You should've died! Died like this!"

The burnt girl placed her hand on Gabriel's chest before pushing him gently. With no floor behind him, Gabriel fell off the balcony...

*****

"Arghh!" A filled the roam as a young man woke up from his slumber, sitting up straight.

His body was covered in sweat, including his forehead. His heart raced so fast that he could count his heartbeat even without touching his heartbeat.

"The dreams... They are getting worse! First the dream in the hotel and now this!"

,m He had been in the city for two nights straight, and both nights when he slept, he saw a nightmare that forced him up.

Fortunately, at the end of the day, it was just a nightmare.

He got off the bed and walked to the balcony to get some fresh air. Unlike that other balcony in his dream, this one wasn't that high.

"What is happening to me? The dreams... No, the nightmares... What do they mean? Why is my mind going crazy? Why?" he looked at the moon, talking to himself.

He had nightmares even before in his life, but none were as intense and as realistic. Moreover, these nightmares made him feel really bad on the inside. He didn't know why that was the case. Even when he was up, he felt somewhat sad in his heart for some reason. It was as if there was some unexplainable sadness in his heart.

"Hmm?" As he lowered his gaze, he noticed a young man walking toward the Dorms. It was so late that it was surprising that the person was just returning now. But as soon as Gabriel realized who that person was, a smile graced his lips. Finally, he found a distraction he needed.

"Finally, we meet again, Hawrin."

He used the Ring of Apophis to change his face again along with his clothes before jumping down the balcony. He entered the dorms again behind Hawrin without being seen by the young man.

Gabriel had taken a completely different look, thanks to the Ring of Apophis. Because of the ring, he wasn't restricted to just one look.

His new look appeared to be inspired by a young man he had seen before in the city of Abadon. Since he didn't want to waste time trying to come up with a completely new look, he used one from his memories, especially since there was no way for that person to be there.

He kept his attire the same as any other Mage of Light was supposed to use at the academy. The only thing different in the attire was the badge.

Since each student badge had a different number, he made the badge show a random number instead of the one that actually belonged to him. He did everything he could to make sure that suspicions didn't reach him in case something went awry.

He entered the Dorm behind Hawrin without raising much suspicion. He even maintained a safe distance of five meters while keeping his footsteps silent as he followed the young man.

Even though it was so late at night, he could still see some students walking in the hallway. Most of them appeared to be senior students.

Unfortunately, one of those senior students paid attention to him.

"Wait right there." A call came from the back.

Gabriel stopped in his tracks and looked back.

He noticed a young man who had long black hair. The man was in his mid-twenties and already a third-year student.

"I've never seen you before. Are you a new student?"

Gabriel didn't want to lose Hawrin, but he also couldn't ignore a senior at a time like this.

"I'm a new student. I joined just today," Gabriel answered. "That's probably why you haven't seen me."

"Senior!" The dark-haired man firmly stated.

"What?" Gabriel frowned. Why was this man shouting a random word?

"I'm your senior. You should call me Senior when addressing me. I didn't hear 'Senior' in your statement! You think you can answer me like I'm your equal?" the man started scolding Gabriel, wasting even more of his time.

If the man's intent was to frustrate Gabriel, then he was succeeding. Not only was the man wasting his time, but he was also scolding him.

Fortunately, Gabriel didn't lose his calm.

"I apologize, Senior. I am new. I'll keep that in mind from now on."

"Oh, a new student. Did no one tell you the rules? What are you doing out here so late? First day and you're already breaking the rules? Why aren't you in your room?"

'Just my luck. Even Hawrin should be a first-year student, but this idiot just had to stop me.'

Being interrogated in the middle of the hallway while Hawrin kept going farther from him was frustrating. However, Gabriel couldn't do much else other than answer.

"I was in my room, but I dropped something while standing on the balcony. I had to go out to retrieve it. Senior, can I go back?"

The man opened his lips, but before he could speak, a shout came from behind. "Roy, what are you doing there? Come fast; we're going to be late!"

The man looked at the source of the voice, gazing at another third-year student standing near the entrance, gesturing for him to come.

"I'm coming!" The dark-haired man responded as he started walking to the man, but not before warning Gabriel. "Next time, don't roam out so late."

"Himself going out so late, but scolding me for the same. What an idiot," Gabriel muttered under his breath, watching the man leave.

"Ah, right! Hawrin!" He looked back, wondering if it was too late. He started chasing in the direction Hawrin went in.

Fortunately, at this time, Hawrin hadn't reached too far. Hawrin had just started climbing the stairs.

Gabriel also went up the stairs. Fortunately, he was able to catch up to the young man, never truly losing him.

Hawrin stepped into the hallway, which was on the floor right beneath Gabriel's floor. It was the same floor where Lelin was also staying. Surprisingly, the room of Hawrin was also right beside Lelin's room. The two were technically neighbors.

Hawrin stopped before his room. He opened the door with the key he was given and stepped inside the room, closing the door from inside.

At the moment, there was only Gabriel in the hallway. He stopped before Hawrin's room and checked his surroundings once again.

After making sure no one was there, he used the Ring again. He changed his attire, making it appear like the attire of the Mages from Element of Flames.

When he first received the ring, even he hadn't expected that the ring was going to be so useful. He was literally the lord of disguise with the ring on his fingers.

He changed his looks, making him appear like Yann Raini, the young man from the Raini Family who seemed to be the leader of Hawrin's group. If there was any person that Hawrin was going to allow inside his room without making much noise, it was Yann.

The only thing he did differently in his disguise was to leave the badge. He didn't show a fake badge since he didn't know the number of the badge which was used by Yann. Instead of using a fake one and making Hawrin suspicious, it was better to use none.

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After preparing his new look, he knocked on Hawrin's door.

****

Hawrin had just taken off his robe when he heard the knocking on the door.

He left the robe on the bed and walked to the door. "Who could be here at this hour?"

He opened the door. His eyes widened as soon as he saw Yann standing at the door.

"Brother Yann? Come inside fast before anyone sees you!" Hawrin grabbed the hands of Gabriel and pulled him inside his room. After bringing Gabriel inside, he peeked outside to make sure no one saw him.

He sighed in relief.

"What are you even doing here? Do you know how dangerous it can be? You can be expelled, even if you're from the Raini Family. If you needed something, you could've waited till tomorrow."

He closed the door and turned around. However, as soon as he turned around, his face turned pale. Yann wasn't standing behind him! Instead, it was Gabriel!

Gabriel had removed all his disguise, returning to his real form. Now that he was here, he wanted Hawrin to see who it was.

Hawrin was so shocked that no voice came from his throat initially. It was as if he had lost his voice in shock.

Before he could find his voice and react, Gabriel appeared before him, holding a wooden bat in his hand that he had picked up from the room itself.

The bat came swinging, straight hitting Hawrin's skull.

Thud~

The smack sent Hawrin flying through the room. His head bled as he crashed on top of the table.

The whole debacle was very loud, but still, not even a shred of voice got out of the room. From what Gabriel was told by Riya, all the rooms in the dorms were made soundproof. No matter what they did inside, it wasn't going to trouble the people in the surrounding rooms or outside.

"I must say, I see the appeal of the bat. I understand why you used it to attack me," Gabriel glanced at the bat in his hand, smiling devilishly.

****

"Mmm?"

There was a terrifying pain on the back of his head. For a moment, everything appeared to be blurry as he opened his eyes.

He wanted to rub the back of his head, but he realized that he couldn't even move his hands that were tied behind his back using a rope. Not only were his hands tied, but he couldn't even move his legs.

His legs suffered the same fate.

Hawrin had a really bad feeling in his heart as the memories of being hit flooded his head. He remembered the face he saw before losing consciousness. If his hands and feet weren't tied, he would've even doubted his own eyes and memories.

An unknown amount of time appears to have passed since Gabriel infiltrated Hawrin's room.

"It seems you're awake. The Healing Spell appears to have worked. Not bad." A cold voice fell in Hawrin's ears, making him look in the distance.

Not far from the bed where Hawrin was lying, there was a chair. On the chair, a young man was sitting with a glass of water in his hands, seemingly enjoying the water.

"You! What are you doing here?! A dark mage like you will be killed here!" Hawrin yelled at the top of his lungs.

From the initial glance, it appeared as if he was threatening Gabriel, but it was evident that his ultimate goal behind yelling was different.

"You know, you've been here longer than me," Gabriel casually stated. "You should know that no matter how much you yell, your voice isn't going to get out of this room. If I were you, I would've saved my energy. We have a long night ahead of us."

Tuck~

After finishing the glass of water, Gabriel placed it down on the ground before standing up.

He walked to the door of the balcony, moving the curtains aside. He didn't open the balcony doors though. The screams of Hawrin's couldn't leave the room, but that was only until the room was closed from all sides. If he opened the balcony door, the voice could escape, which he didn't want.

Through the glass doors, Gabriel glanced out at the beautiful view of the academy, which was basking in the beautiful luminescence of the moon.

"There was a time when we were standing under the same moon. That day, I was screaming, and you were laughing. And today..."

"L-look, Gabriel. I-i didn't want to kill you. I had lost my sense of reasoning in anger. I... I don't mean to do it! You don't take that to heart! Moreover, you're still alive, so there's no loss! You can't kill me for such a small mistake!"

" If you do, you'll be vilified for an eternity! If you kill a student at the Academy, you'll make the Academy your enemy as well!"

"Listen to me, and free me! We can forget what happened between us in the past. I'll also help you get out of this place! I promise! No one will hurt you! It's my promise!"

Seeing his own life in danger, Hawrin started speaking whatever he could to get out of this situation. In the same breath, he asked for forgiveness, apologized, issued a threat, and offered to help.

"If I kill you, I'll be vilified for an eternity?" Gabriel repeated the statement, seemingly amused. "You are insignificant at this point in time. I'm already vilified as a demon. Even if I kill you, nothing will change."

"I-i can help you! I can tell the world that you didn't do anything! You can return to the normal life! I know people who can help you!" Hawrin stated again.

"You will help me?" Gabriel turned around.

As he started walking toward Hawrin, only the sound of his footsteps could be heard.

"Y-yes! I will help you!"

"You're right about it. Only you can help me." Gabriel smiled devilishly, stopping right before the bed. "Only you can..."

"S-sure! I know people in the Church of Light! They can help you! They will allow you to live! No one will hurt you! You can trust me!" Hawrin hastily replied, slightly amazed that Gabriel had fallen for his bait.

Inside his heart, he only laughed that Gabriel was still an idiot like before.

'Help you? You bastard, you think you deserve help? Just let me get out of here once, and then I'll show you! I'll make you worse than a dog with the Church of Light and the Academy of Elements at your tail! You've managed to enter this place, but you won't leave alive! Come! Come free me!'

"Allowing me to live? Church of Light? That's not the help I need. I need a different kind of help from you."

"You don't need help with that? Then what? Ah, I get it. You are tired of this life of being a demon and need my help to give you freedom from this life of sin? You want me to free you?"

If Hawrin didn't have good control over himself, he would've been laughing out loud now. He couldn't believe that Gabriel didn't come all this way to live. Instead, he came here to die? And he wanted him to kill him?

"I neither need help in living nor do I need help in dying. I need help with something else," Gabriel clarified.

"Not that either? Then what help?" Hawrin grimaced. He didn't know why, but a grim feeling was starting to rise inside his heart. All the happiness he had until now was gone suddenly as he observed the expressionless face of Gabriel.

"You see, once upon a time, there was a guy. That guy hurt me a lot. He cursed me; he cursed my mother; he beat me... It's because of him that I've developed a lot of anger issues. And only that person can help me solve those issues. So, shall we begin?"

A dark smirk spread across Gabriel's lips as his emotionless eyes peered into Hawrin's eyes as if being able to look straight into his soul.

Gabriel grabbed Hawrin by his throat before raising him in the air. With his hands tied behind his back, Hawrin couldn't even struggle. He was like a doll that was in someone else's hands.

"Three hours... We have a full three hours to ourselves. This night is going to be fun." Gabriel started tightening his grip around Hawrin's throat before smacking Hawrin on the floor.

"Argh!"

Hawrin's back was thrashed on the floor that was made in such a way that it was impossible to break the floor. If it were an ordinary floor, there would already be a crater under Hawrin since Gabriel had cast a strength-boosting spell on himself, belonging to the Element of Light.

There was so much force behind his thrashing that Hawrin's shoulders were dislocated right away, making him scream in pain.

"Don't cry so fast. We are just getting started." Gabriel smiled. "I won't give you such an easy death, my dear friend."

"We have three hours... Three full hours..." Gabriel picked up the wooden bat again. "Three hours of breaking you and then healing you, so I can break you again."

"You took everything from me. It's only fair I take my sweet time, isn't it?"

Smack~

Gabriel swung the bat once again, hitting Hawrin's head. The pain made Hawrin scream. Unfortunately, the screams didn't get him any mercy. Instead, they were like the melody of the most beautiful song for Gabriel that he had wanted to listen to for a long time.

While Hawrin was already screaming in pain, Gabriel stomped on his knees, not giving him even a moment to breathe. Another smacking came, but this time, Gabriel swung the bat straight at the face of Hawrin. He wanted to give Hawrin as much pain as he could, and this was just the beginning.

Gabriel kept hitting Hawrin, making him roar more and more. First, Hawrin cursed Gabriel, then he asked for forgiveness, then he cursed again. No matter what he did, he didn't receive any mercy. His throat had already gone hoarse from all the screaming.

The beating only stopped when Hawrin lost his consciousness. The Floor and his clothes were already covered in blood. His face was swollen, and even his nose was broken. If one were to look at Hawrin, they would've had a hard time even recognizing who this person was.

After Hawrin lost consciousness, Gabriel stopped beating him and tossed the bat away. He cast a healing spell on Hawrin, noticing his breathing had become faint.

"Don't worry, Hawrin. I won't let you die that easily... Even gods can't take you from me tonight until I allow them."

While the healing took effect, Gabriel started checking around the room, trying to see what else there was. It didn't take him long before finding something that brought a smile to his face.

He noticed a fruit tray on one of the tables, filled with apples. And in one of those apples, there was a sharp knife stabbed.

Gabriel picked up the knife and pulled out the apple from it. He kept the apple back in the tray before picking up the entire tray. He walked back to the chair where he had waited before and started savoring the fruits while waiting for Hawrin to gain consciousness.

*****

Right next to Hawrin's room there was Lelin's room. However, there was no one inside the room. The room had been empty for a really long time.

It was late at night, yet Lelin wasn't in his room. Before Gabriel arrived on the floor, Lelin had already left his room. By now, he was already standing not too far from his destination.

Surprisingly, he was also looking at the place that Gabriel was interested in. Lelin stood in the distance, looking at the Academy Museum. He made sure to keep enough distance so that he wasn't noticed by the guards. In fact, somehow, he managed to about being seen coming here at all.

"So that's the place."

****

Hawrin once again regained his senses. However, he didn't dare open his eyes this time. He was sure that Gabriel was still inside the room, waiting for him to wake up so he could torture him once again.

If Gabriel found out that he was up, he was going to be in trouble. He still hadn't forgotten the terrifying pain that he felt from the previous beating. He didn't want to go through it again. The only way out was by pretending to be unconscious.

He didn't make even the slightest movement. He even kept his breathing stable.

Just as Hawrin had started thinking that he could fool Gabriel until it was morning, he heard the words that made his face go pale.

"You know Hawrin; your heart always betrays you. You know, I used to think that you didn't have a heart. But now I'm grateful that you do."

Gabriel took the last bite of the apple before he stood up, carrying an apple.

"Funny, how we come full circle. At that time, you had the knife. And now I do. Let's see... Let's see how much blood a person can afford to lose before even healing can't heal them..."

Gabriel stabbed the knife on Hawrin's right shoulder, making him yell like a dying pig.

He didn't forget to twist the knife, just like Hawrin had done, giving him the real pleasure of the pain. He pulled out the knife and stabbed the knife in Hawrin's elbows, which sent a jolt of current down his body.

Next came the turn of his knees. Gabriel stabbed right in the middle of Hawrin's kneecaps.

Throughout the process, a subtle smile remained on his face. "Who knew revenge could be so satisfying? If I knew, I would've come here faster."

"Still not too late. We have more than an hour for our party. Don't we?"

Stab!

He stabbed the other kneecap of Hawrin as well. Hawrin roared in pain so much that he even lost his voice. His face was filled with tears! At this point, he was just begging for death.

Unfortunately, giving death to him was like having mercy for him, which was the last thing Gabriel had for him.

"Let's see... What next… Ah, right. Your tongue... The same tongue you used to talk bad about me and my mother. Now that you have already lost your voice, you won't need a tongue anymore!"

As soon as Hawrin heard what Gabriel wanted to do, he hastily closed his mouth.

Unfortunately, all Gabriel had to do was one more stab. As soon as he stabbed Hawrin's thighs, Hawrin opened his mouth wide in pain.

That brief moment was enough for Gabriel to grab his tongue and rip it out of his mouth.

The scene inside the room had turned way too dark. It would've made the old Gabriel vomit, but he was so immersed in the revenge, he didn't care for anything. All he cared about was how he could hurt Hawrin more.

The pain was once again about to make Hawrin lose consciousness, but Gabriel didn't let that happen.

"Enough sleeping. Not anymore!" Gabriel placed his palm on Hawrin's forehead before chanting a spell!

The spell didn't do much except make it so that Hawrin couldn't lose consciousness.

"You need to be up through all of it, old friend."

Throughout the night, Hawrin's room was filled with screams. Unfortunately, not a single soul came to help him. The rooms that were made to give students privacy was having an effect that no one could've expected when the academy was made.

No one had expected that someone could go inside the room and attempt to murder spending in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, that's precisely what was happening.

Gabriel stood up, observing the floor that was covered in blood. There were multiple wounds all over Hawrin's body. In fact, there was still a knife stabbed on the elbow of Hawrin, who was trying to beg for his life, despite having no tongue to speak.

"You were right, Hawrin. I am a demon. Only a demon can do what I'm doing in the way I'm doing, but I embrace the fact that I'm a demon. The world wanted me to be a demon so bad that I wholeheartedly accept. I became what you all wanted me to do... And this is just the beginning."

"I've changed for the world. I've become what the world wanted me to become. It's time the world becomes what I want it to become... And that day isn't far either... I wish you were here to see the end of the story you created..."

He glanced out the window. It was almost the time for sunrise. "Unfortunately, we are out of time... We'll have to end it."

"Aaaeee! Aaa!"

Hawrin tried speaking. His eyes remained bloodshot and his words incomprehensible. Despite that, Gabriel understood what he was trying to say.

"You're asking me to forgive you? And that you'll be my slave forever if I let your live?" Gabriel took a guess since that was the only thing that he could expect from a person like Hawrin.

Hawrin nodded hastily. He had been pleading like a dog to be left alive.

"Sure. Why didn't you say that before? And here I thought you'd never ask. I was almost about to kill you!" Gabriel picked up Hawrin by his shoulders. "I did need a servant. And you'll be just perfect."

" I forgive you..." Gabriel slowly said. After everything Hawrin went through, he wasn't going to believe anything until Gabriel actually left.

Still, there was a small flicker of hope in his heart. He had never expected that his small mistake could come back to haunt him like a demon. If he did, he would've stayed as far away from Gabriel as possible. Let alone killing Gabriel, he wouldn't even dream of it when they were back in the town. So many problems could've been avoided.

"Wait, I remember something. I've forgiven you, but there's still one person you need to ask forgiveness for. You didn't just talk about me that night, right? There was one more person you talked about... There is one more person you should ask forgiveness from..."

Gabriel tightly clenched his fist, holding the collar of the man firmly before swinging him around.

He tossed Hawrin's body straight to the Glass window in the distance.

Hawrin's body was tossed with such force that his body shattered the glass. However, not far from the body, there came a knife which was also tossed by Gabriel.

"Ask forgiveness from my mother..." Gabriel muttered. A knife stabbed the back of Hawrin's head, finally putting him to death, but not before his body plopped on the concrete floor outside.

Hawrin's lifeless eyes remained open even as he took his last breath, unable to believe that his one mistake brought him to this turn in his life...

All his life, he dreamt of becoming a Holy Priest of the Church of Light... That was his dream ever since he was a child, just like everyone else in the village.

Unfortunately, he wasn't as talented. He awakened his Element of Light very late in his life. Even then, he didn't lose hope of being selected by the Church of Light. His dream was about to come true. He even heard the news that the Head Priest was coming to the town to select a disciple. He was so excited... He was so happy that day.

But right before his eyes, the Head Priest declared that he was in the village for someone else... He was in the village for an orphan who was younger than him. Hawrin felt enraged... He felt insulted... He felt his dreams shatter right before his eyes.

He was so angry that he followed after Gabriel to ask him to leave the village forever, so the position could go to him.

However, as soon as he left the Church, he saw Gabriel laughing and playing around with his friend. Gabriel's laughter felt like a slap on his face. It was as if Gabriel was laughing at his broken dreams. Hawrin was filled with even more hate and rage. He decided to take matters into his own hands.

He didn't want to ask anyone for what belonged to him! He wasn't going to tell Gabriel to give him the position! He decided to Snatch everything! He decided to Snatch what belonged to him. And for that, he took his brother's help, who also agreed after a lot of convincing.

That night, they went to Gabriel's house, waiting for everyone to sleep so they could barge inside, but before that, Gabriel came out with Maya and went to the roof.

While Gabriel and Maya talked under the beautiful moonlight, the two brothers waited for the right opportunity, which came when Maya left.

Hawrin finally had what he wanted. He had Gabriel in his grasp and revenge within his reach. He killed Gabriel, and he did so brutally, unloading all his rage and anger that he had accumulated throughout the years on Gabriel.

He thought that was the end of it. He thought the Head Priest wasn't going to go back empty-handed. He thought now that Gabriel was gone, he was going to be selected. But that didn't happen... He wasn't selected.

Not only did his one action fail to help him, but it also indirectly led to his father and brother's death. Even as he died, he couldn't believe what one moment... One moment of anger brought him...

When he took Gabriel's life, he could never have imagined that Gabriel was going to kill him instead. He wondered if it was karma... Or was it the Divine punishment? With those questions in his head, he took his last breath.

The shattering of glass was a sound that couldn't be ignored. The sound was enough to wake many people in the nearby rooms from their sleep. However, that much time was enough for Gabriel to leave the room.

He once again used a disguise and walked back to his floor, avoiding any eyes. He went to his room only after making sure that the hallway was empty.

While the lower floor was in chaos, Gabriel's floor was very peaceful as everyone was asleep. No one here heard the sound of glass breaking.

Gabriel walked inside the room. He took off his spotless clothes and went straight for a shower. Throughout the day, he made sure that not a single droplet of blood came into his clothes since if there was an investigation, their clothes were definitely going to be checked.

Within minutes, people started realizing what had happened. They watched a dead body lying at the entrance of the Dorms...

Gabriel came out of the shower and got dressed before going to bed. He didn't even bother to go to the balcony to check outside. However, even as he laid on the bed, he couldn't go to sleep. He just sat on the bed, going through the Book of Light Spells.

The people started gathering around the body, especially the senior students and the people from Hawrin's floor.

They saw Hawrin's bloody body and pieces of glasses nearby. A knife was stabbed on the back of Hawrin's head. While some of the students went to inform the Teachers about what had happened, the others went to the old man who was in charge of the dorms.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Year Students didn't wait for anyone as they barged inside Hawrin's room to check if the killer was still inside there. Let alone finding the killer, the youngsters couldn't even find a single trace of anyone. The room was definitely a mess. There was blood on the floor.

There was also a wooden bat nearby, which also had some traces of blood.

"It wasn't a simple murder. It was an act of proper revenge... Someone took their sweet time in this murder..." A man observed the traces of blood that were spread throughout.

He walked to the broken glass door of the balcony, gazing outside. "Whoever did it... They are still inside the Dorms. And if I'm not wrong, they are one of the newly selected students. Get the entire dorms sealed. Send the third-year student to ensure no first-year leaves their room."

"Right." The other students who were following the young man listened to him instantly, even though the man was asking them to run an errand.

The young man who observed the broken glass was neither a teacher nor the Handler of the Dorms. Instead, he was also a Fourth Year student like the people he just commanded. Despite being in the same year as the people he commanded, no Fourth Year student ignored his commands.

The blonde man was the strongest Fourth Year Student in the Class of Light. Not only that, he was essentially the strongest student in the entire academy. Ever since he joined the Academy, he never lost any battle or any challenge. He even finished all the missions he selected.

Not only that, but he also had the highest Rank in the Tower of Challenge. He was the only student from the current generation who had managed to enter the top hundred rank in the Tower. Out of the Twelve Thousand names on the Tower, his name was ranked at Ninety seventh.

[97 Garrick Raini Light 93]

He was Garrick who had managed to reach the ninety-third floor the last time he attempted. He was no less than an idol for every student at the Academy, even though he just entered the fourth year recently.

Standing near the balcony, Garrick noticed a young man coming toward the dorms from a distance.

Garrick passed through the broken space in the door and stood at the balcony, observing Lelin coming.

He noticed on Lelin's badge, realizing that the kid was a first-year student.

"Wings of Light."

Two wings appeared behind Garrick as he jumped from the balcony.

****

Lelin was observing the Museum when he heard some commotion in the distance. Curious, he came back toward the dorms, noticing a crowd gathering outside.

He looked up, noticing a man flying in his direction. Behind the man, he noticed a broken window in the room that was right beside his room. There were also some blood marks on the window. It didn't take him long to realize what had happened, especially as he noticed a body through the gap between the crowd.

"Someone has been killed. And let me guess, the doubt will be on me since he saw me outside at this time... And here I thought I could avoid troubles until I was done..."

Garrick landed before Lelin, observing him from top to bottom. There was not a single speck of blood on his clothes.

"What's your name?" Garrick inquired. "And what are you doing out at this hour?"

"Aren't you out as well?" Lelin smiled.

"Anyway, I think you're looking in the wrong direction. If I had killed him, I wouldn't need to run outside to avoid suspicions. My room is right next to the room where you came from. If I were the killer, I would have to be stupid to run all the way outside instead of just entering the next room and going to sleep... I didn't kill him."

"And how do you know I'm here to talk to you about a murder?" Garrick frowned. He hadn't even spoken about the room where the murder happened or who was killed.

Lelin answered everything with such ease; it was as if he knew about everything before even being asked. That made him even more suspicious.

"Maybe because I'm not an idiot?" Lelin responded. "So many people have gathered outside the dorm at this time. It's evident something big has happened. I also saw a glimpse of the body. If you look carefully from where I'm standing, you'll see it as well."

"Then there's the broken window, which has some blood, where you came from. That means someone was killed and tossed out the window, and now there's an attempt to find out who did it," Lelin scratched his temple as he answered. "As I said, you're looking in the wrong direction."

"If you only saw the body and the blood on the window, why didn't you think that I might be the killer instead?"

"Because you'll have to be an idiot to fly out instead of sneaking out secretly. I'm not the only one who saw you flying out of that room. You're not the killer either. If I'm not wrong, the killer is still inside the Dorms, and it's a student."

"You might want to look at the personal enmity angle. If possible, look for someone who took a bath recently."

"Why a bath?"

"That's what I would've done if I had killed someone in cold blood as my first murder."

"And how do you know that it's the first murder of that person?" Garrick frowned.

With Lelin's explanation, his suspicions about him had gone down, but he still didn't clear Lelin. There were still some suspicions in his head since there was a possibility that he was the actual killer.

With his hands behind his back, Lelin started walking toward the crowd.

"Because that person became too impulsive. If it weren't his first killing, he wouldn't be that impulsive. If he were cool-headed and experienced, he would've killed that person inside the room," Lelin explained. "He wouldn't have tossed him outside. It was rage... But it was also inexperience."

" Naive... Then again, quite talented..." A smile appeared on Lelin's face as his lips curved up. " If I'm not wrong, this is the first time a student has been killed inside the Academy since..."

"Since the Church of Light killed the Dark Mages," Garrick finished the sentence.

"Exactly. Then again, the Church did it openly. This person... He managed to kill someone and then sneak out without being seen. I doubt someone even saw him leave, but then again, you should always consider the possibility and interrogate everyone. However, as I said, check for the one who recently took a bath... You might find your guy."

Lelin walked inside the Dorms, not even bothering to observe the body from close.

"That guy..." Garrick frowned, watching the young man enter the dorms.

He didn't stop Lelin. He didn't know what it was about that person, but there was a strange feeling inside his heart in Lelin's presence. He didn't understand what that feeling was.

He decided to focus on Lelin's advice. Just as he was about to send people to check the rooms to see who had taken a shower recently, the teachers started arriving.

Almost every teacher from the Class of Light arrived here, including Eliana. Not only the Mages of Light but even the Head Teachers from other Branches also started coming as the news spread like a raging fire.

The Leader of the House of Lightning Qin arrived, landing right beside Eliana. The Leader of House of Earth Rem and Leader of House of Wind Lishen also arrived.

A flaming bird also came flying from the distance. It was only as the flaming bird got close that everyone realized it was the Leader of the House of Flames Yoan, who was surrounded by flames that made him look like a flaming bird.

The flames disappeared as soon as Yoan landed beside Eliana, staring at the body grimly. The temperature had suddenly increased.

A white tiger came running from a distant part of the academy. A middle-aged woman could be seen sitting on top of the White Tiger. The white tiger stopped before the crowd, and the woman got down.

She waved her fingers casually. A formation circle appeared under the White Tiger. The White Tiger soon disappeared along with the Formation Circle.

All the students stepped aside, creating a path for the lady to get to the other Heads of Houses. She was the Xinci, the Head of the House of Summoning.

What happened here was unprecedented, and it concerned the entire academy. A student had been killed when he was in the Dorms. It wasn't as if he was roaming outside when he was killed.

He was killed when he was in his room! The reputation of the Academy was on the line. And there was still a possibility of the other students being in danger.

The Leader of House of Water Rin and the Leader of House of Nature Loy also arrived at the site.

"This isn't good," the Dean of House of Lightning commented.

"We need to find the culprit, and we need to do it as fast as possible. Before the news spreads outside." The Dean of House Of Water sighed. "This news isn't good for our reputation, especially if the killer isn't caught,"

Rem went down on his knees, observing all the wounds on the man's body.

"He has been beaten badly. It's revenge... We need to find who had the motive to kill him. We need his history," he glanced back at Eliana. "We need to see his file."

"Healing spell has been used on his body for quite a long time. I think the wounds we see aren't everything he received," Eliana added.

"Isn't Healing a High Tier Spell of Light?" Xinci inquired. "Only fourth years can use it. I think that narrows it to some extent."

"No, it's a low-tier Healing," Eliana explained. "This spell isn't something we teach at our academy. Someone used a Spell they learned outside. It could be anyone."

"Shall we use it to find who did it?" The man with blazing red hair suggested.

"You mean the Crown of Elisus?" Rem asked, taking a guess as to what Yeon was talking about.

"That's right. No one should be able to lie when wearing the Crown of Elisus. It's the Numen of the Demigod of Honesty," Lord of Flames Yeon suggested. "We will have our culprit within a day. Why even worry then? Just let everyone go through the Crown."

"We can't use it," Lishen voiced his opinion against using it, thinking about the students. "The Crown affects the souls and the talent of the ones it's used on. We would be hurting hundreds of students and playing with their futures. It's too risky."

Just to get one killer, they couldn't hurt hundreds of innocents, especially since there were other ways.

"So what? It's not like they'll die? Moreover, who knows, we might find our guy on the first try itself. We might not even need to use it on anyone else," Yeon stated.

Even though he actually wanted to find the killer using it, he also had some other motives. Since it was evident that the killer was from the House of Light, it was going to be used only on them. And why should he care if Mages of Light became slightly weaker? It was only good for his house, which was trailing behind the House of Light.

"We can't base everything on luck," Eliana refused as well. "The Mages of Light won't go through it. And as far as finding the killer is concerned, he'll be found."

She commanded one of the teachers that worked under her to collect everything she could about Hawrin, especially about his friends and enemies that he might have.

After issuing her first command, she issued another command that all the students were to be called out! They were to report before her in the next half an hour!

Garrick sent the fourth-year students to call out everyone. At the same time, he didn't forget to tell them to observe the students to see if someone had taken a shower recently.

The murder didn't happen a long time ago. If someone took a shower recently, it was definitely going to be visible.

While all the students were being called out, all the Teachers went to Hawrin's room through the balcony.

One after another, they all entered the room.

The Head Teacher of the House of Summoning Xinci snapped her fingers, chanting some barely audible words.

A formation circle appeared before her. A small dog-like creature appeared inside the circle, having blood-red fur. The dog also had two horns on his head.

The demon dog started going through the room, smelling all the scents that were available in the room.

After a few minutes, the Demon Dog returned to Xinci and growled.

"Is that so... Interesting."

It was as if Xinci understood what the dog was saying. She sent the demon dog back.

"Anything?" The Head Teacher of Element of Lightning asked, wondering if she had something that could help them.

"Yeah. Whoever did it was very careful. There is not a trace of his blood. Every Blood droplet that's in the room belongs to the dead. The killer wasn't wounded here. So he managed to get inside and take down the kid who stayed here. That makes me believe that the kid either knew his killer or the killer was just that talented."

"Then again, the killer was really clever. Just our luck that he had to be a Mage of Light." She glanced at Eliana. "You people really have some bizarre spells. If it were someone else, we would've had the killer by now."

"What do you mean?" Lishen grew slightly confused. How would they know the culprit if he had another element?

"There are traces of more spells here," It was Eliana who answered. She could sense the spells that were used here, especially the ones that weren't taught at the academy. She was very perceptive to that.

"The spell to purify the room has been used here."

"That means no scent of the Culprit is left in the room for Xinci's beasts to collect," Rem shook his head. "That spell also wiped any other marks if there were any. That effectively removed all the traces."

"On one end, it seems like an impulse murder, while on the other, it's too clean to be that..."

****

Knock~

There was a knock on Gabriel's door, bringing him out of his immersion.

He closed the Spell Book of Light that he had bought in the city of Abaddon. It was the book he snuck inside the academy. Also one that he learned all his spells from.

Instead of keeping the Spell Book under his bed, he carried the spell book with him. He wasn't sure if anyone was going to check his room, but if they did, he didn't want the book to be found.

He tucked the book inside his clothes before walking to the mirror, making sure he looked sleepy. As he saw his reflection in the mirror, a frown graced his face.

Just to be sure that he looked sleepy before leaving, he checked his reflection in the mirror. Even though his expressions could make him pass off as someone who was sleeping, his hair was still somewhat wet.

It was as if he had taken a shower not long ago. He had forgotten about that entirely. Who took a shower this late? And that too when they were sleepy?

Knock~

The knocking on the door continued, only intensifying.

"Open the door!"

"I need to take care of it," Gabriel muttered, realizing that he couldn't leave like this. He was sure that the others weren't stupid enough to not doubt him if he did.

Fortunately, he had noticed it at the right time.

****

Almost everyone on the floor was our except Gabriel, despite constant knocking. It was making the Fourth Year Students suspicious.

"Should we break the door?" One of them asked.

Fortunately, there didn't seem to be the need for that as the door opened.

Gabriel rubbed his eyes, seemingly so sleepy that he was having a hard time even opening his eyes.

The youngsters looked at Gabriel's hair before looking at each other. They shook their heads as if agreeing that this wasn't the one.

Gabriel's hairs were ruffled and completely dry. It was as if he hadn't even washed his hair in days.

"Will you say anything? What's it about?" Gabriel asked. "If it's nothing, I'm going back to sleep."

"Wait! You can't go back to sleep! The Dean has called every student downstairs! You must go down!"

"Dean? Why would she call everyone down at this time? I'm new here, but even I don't think it's the time the classes start."

"Stop eating our heads! Do as you're told!" The men snorted, getting irritated by Gabriel's questions.

Gabriel also didn't ask too many questions.

"Fine." He closed the door of his room and started following the other students who were going down as well.

****

Lelin had just entered his room when there was a knock on his door.

Frustrated, he walked back. "What a headache."

He opened the door and was informed that he was to go down as well.

Even though he was irritated, he expected that this was a possibility. He couldn't deny the summons.

He also left his room.

*****

All the young Mages of Light had gathered outside the Dorms, according to their years.

The batch of first-year students stood together. The batch of second years stood together, and so on.

Gabriel appeared to be the last student to arrive outside. In the group, he saw a few familiar faces, including Caen and the young Princess of the Lumen Empire: Elia.

Both of them were standing before the group of first years. In another group, Gabriel also noticed the man who had dropped him in the hallway when he was chasing after Hawrin.

The four groups were ready. A group of Teachers from the House of Light kept an eye on them while they waited for all the Deans to come down from Hawrin's room.

"I don't think we are going to find anything in the room," Rem summarised. "We've already gone through everything. It's a waste of time."

"My offer of using the Crown is still valid. If we can't find that person, you know they might kill someone again!" The Head of House of Flames stated. "What's worse than a death at the academy? Two or more deaths."

"We're not using the Crown." Eliana firmly rejected. "That's not happening, so you better stop talking about it."

She left the room. Standing on the balcony, she observed the crowd of students.

****

As Gabriel arrived to the group of first years, he stood in the lead. The person right next to him happened to be none other than Lelin.

Lelin glanced at Gabriel's hands once again. Gabriel noticed him looking at the gloves but didn't comment.

"Did you enjoy it?" Lelin asked, amused.

Gabriel frowned. What was this guy talking about? For some reason, it felt like he was asking if he enjoyed the revenge. For a moment, he even wondered if he was overthinking.

"Enjoy what?" Gabriel asked in response.

"I meant your sleep." Lelin smiled. "Did you enjoy it? You seem like you had a good sleep."

"May I ask why you're so concerned about my sleep?"

"Because your sleep might not be so good in the future," Lelin answered. "You're playing with fire here, little one."

Gabriel was taken aback. These words... He was even more sure that Lelin knew something. Or he was at least suspicious.

"Speak clearly. What are you trying to say?" Gabriel inquired, acting ignorant. Even though he acted like he didn't know anything, in the back of his mind, he had already prepared to fight if something went wrong here.

Still, he didn't jump the gun. He was sure he left no evidence behind for him to be caught. He removed all his traces. There was no way anyone should've known that it was him.

"I won't interfere unless you make me," Lelin calmly stated. "But when I do, it won't be good for anyone. Just a reminder..."

"Is that a threat?" Gabriel glanced at Lelin, who was looking at the moon in the distance instead.

"Or an advice. As I said before, the path you're walking on... It's not the right path."

"You are no one to decide what's the right path and what's the wrong path."

"I don't need to decide. It's been clear since the beginning of the time."

For Gabriel, Lelin was strange. And for Lelin, Gabriel was supposed to be a stranger, yet their destiny appeared to be intertwined in one way or another.

The moment Lelin walked past on the first day, their destiny was tied. If it was for the good or bad, that was yet to be seen.

"You're right. It's been decided since the beginning of the time," Gabriel answered. "That time is what I'll bring back... The time that was erased by someone…."

"If only it were possible..." Lelin glanced down at the ring on his finger, subconsciously turning it. "Time is eternal, never moving in reverse. Even Gods can't change the flow of time."

Gabriel was about to speak when the Head Teachers came down, landing before them. Everyone observed the students, extremely sure that the killer was one of them.

"As you can see, a person has died here. And we believe it's one of the Students that did it... Students from this Dorm." Yoan took the responsibility for interrogation without asking the other Head Teachers.

"I'm sure the killer won't come forward if we simply ask. But let me make this absolutely clear. We have many ways to find out who the killer is. I hope you won't make us use those methods. So whoever is the killer, step forward."

He walked from the group of First Years to the group of fourth years before stepping back, observing everyone's faces to see if he could find even a single trace of fear.

"I promise you will be punished with leniency if you come out on your own. If you don't, we will still find you, even though it might be time-consuming and a bit heavy-handed. But in that case, there will be no mercy! You will be executed without any questions asked!"

He stepped back after finishing his warning. "The choice is yours!"

Despite the warning, not a single person stepped forward. One had to be an idiot if they came forward. Gabriel stood with a poker face as if he was totally innocent. Even though he didn't let it show on his face, on the inside, he was slightly worried.

Until now, he thought that there was no need to worry since no one knew about him. He also wanted to use Hawrin's death as a distraction to keep the teachers busy for the next few days for him to have an easier time. Unfortunately, it appeared as if Lelin knew that he had something to do with this.

He was slightly worried that Lelin was going to speak. Even if he spoke, Gabriel was sure he could talk his way out of it since the words of someone couldn't be an evidence against him, but still, he wanted to avoid that situation.

Fortunately, Lelin didn't speak. Instead, he looked slightly bored.

Xinci took the lead this time, trying a bluff.

"I'm sure you people know about the Crown of Elisus? At least most of you do. It's an artifact that can check if you're lying or telling the truth. If the culprit doesn't come out, we'll be forced to use it!"

Even though Eliana had rejected the suggestion of using the Crown of Elisus, these youngsters didn't know that which made her use the bluff. Fear was the best tool and saved some time as well.

"We honestly don't want to use the Crown since it can affect your Talent and Spiritual Strength in unexpected ways, but we won't have a choice. So if you are the killer, come out. Because there is no way for you to escape. As Yoan said, we'll have mercy if you come out on your own."

"Also, if there is anyone else who has any clue about this murder, they can also step forward since the Crown will affect you as well. Everyone will have to go through the Crown until we find the killer!"

The threat of the Crown of Elisus appeared to work. It made everyone nervous. They came here to become stronger, but to become weaker. Everyone waited and hoped that the killer would come out and help them indirectly, but no one stepped forward.

Gabriel glanced at Lelin in surprise. Even under the threat of losing his talent, he didn't speak. It was very strange. Lelin still didn't seem to care. He just stood, lost in his own thoughts.

Lelin didn't step forward, but there was one person from the Senior Batch who stepped forward.

"You did it?" Xinci frowned, observing the youngster.

"I didn't kill him, but I do have some information that can be of help."

The man was none other than the person who had stopped Gabriel in the hallway. The only person who concerned Gabriel at the moment was Lelin. He didn't care about anyone else.

"What information?" Eliana inquired.

"I think I might've seen the killer," the young man answered.

"Huh?" Everyone exclaimed in shock. So the killer was seen? They sighed in relief. It appeared as if they were saved. However, they were still curious as to who could be the person that dared to kill a student on campus.

"A few hours ago... I was leaving the dorms when I noticed this guy walking inside." The man pointed at Hawrin. "I didn't think much of it, even though it was too late for first years to arrive at this late hour. However, not too far from him, there was another first-year student."

"I didn't think much of it at that time, but now that I think about it, it looks like the young man was trailing the dead person. I even stopped him to ask him why he was out so late. He said he dropped something outside and went there to take it back."

"I had to leave after that, so I didn't ask many questions, but I did notice him moving faster... In the same direction as the guy. I really should've been more careful."

The young man explained everything that he went through, from meeting Gabriel to leaving.

"Who is that person?" All the teachers looked at the First Year Students. From this explanation, it was clear that the killer was a first-year student, which was also what everyone was suspicious about at the start.

Since Gabriel and Lelin were standing in the lead, the man's eyes went on them first. However, he shifted his gaze to others. He couldn't recognize the Karyk Illusion of Gabriel.

"That student isn't here! He must still be inside the Dorms!" The man shook his head before turning around, failing to find the man.

"Are you sure?" Eliana grimly asked. "Was the person you saw really a first year?"

"I am sure he was a first-year student!" the man confidently stated. "And the first-year student I saw isn't one of them."

"That isn't possible," Eliana responded. "All the first-year students are here. I personally accepted their invitation today. I know how many of them are there. They're all here."

"So he was lying?" A youngster exclaimed, taken aback.

"Maybe he's the killer? He wanted to shift the blame but didn't know he was going to be caught so fast."

"That would make sense. He was really scared at the thought of being caught. It would make sense if he made a lie in his nervousness."

"Good thing he's caught."

One after another, all the students started talking about the same thing, believing that the man was the killer instead.

Lelin scoffed, finding the entire situation sad yet funny. But he still didn't interfere. He wasn't here to interfere in things. He had goals of his own.

The man who had come out to talk about the killer found himself in the middle of accusations. His face went pale in thought he could be the hero in the situation by giving the clues about the killer that everyone was looking for! He thought he could save everyone from going through the test of the crown by coming forward and could even get rewards from the teachers for giving clues that they were looking for.

Unfortunately, he soon realized that he was probably too optimistic in his assumption. Not only was he caught in the middle of this mess, but the people who were supposed to praise him were calling him the killer. Even the teachers were looking at him suspiciously.

"M-maybe I was wrong about his year..." Stuttering, Roy started looking at other students. If that person wasn't in the First Year students, then he must've been in other years! At any cost, he needed to find that person if he wanted to prove his innocence.

Unfortunately, even after he went through all the students, he didn't find the person he had seen before. He had already started sweating while his throat dried up. He gulped heavily in fear.

All the Head Teachers were still looking at him.

"Kid, we don't have all day." The Head of House of Light couldn't help but feel as if this guy was wasting their time.

"H-he isn't here! I swear in my life I saw someone who isn't here! And he definitely looked like a first-year student! He also didn't correct me when I called him out in the first year! But he isn't here!"

"Do you have any evidence to prove if what you're stating is true?" Xinci asked. "If not, I'm afraid you'll have to be the first person who goes through the test of the crown to prove that what you're telling is the truth."

"Proof? I... Ah, that's right! I can prove I'm not lying!" Roy suddenly exclaimed, realizing that he had forgotten something. He did have something that could prove he wasn't lying!

Roy looked at one of his friends in the crowd. "Loid was there with me! He was the one who called me to the gate, for which I had to leave! He saw me talking to that person!"

In his fear, he had forgotten entirely about the fact that he wasn't alone. He called his friend forward, who was slightly scared to come ahead. He didn't want to be accused like his friend.

"Is he telling the truth? Did you see a person in the Dorm who isn't here?" Yoan asked in his heavy voice, which made the young man take a step back in fear.

"I-i didn't see that person's face clearly, but Roy is telling the truth. He was talking to a youngster when I called him." Despite his fears, now that he was here, he answered honestly.

Hearing the answers, Yoan's face twitched. He realized what that meant!

Even though it was a bad news that a student had been killed here, hearing Loid's answers, Eliana looked at Yoan's face in amusement.

"All of you can go back to your rooms. Until your next orders, none of you are to leave your rooms except the Fourth Years!" She commanded. She had the answer she needed.

Roy sighed in relief. He didn't know what was going to happen next, but at least he was proven innocent. He could safely walk back. However, he didn't forget to glare at the people who were calling him killers, especially people from his own class.

One after another, all the students walked inside the dorms. Lelin and Gabriel walked inside together. Throughout the journey, none of them spoke to each other. However, the silence was somewhat scary. It was as if there was a silence before the storm.

Lelin went to his room, separating from the group. Gabriel also went to his own room, still thinking about Lelin and his identity. He didn't know how Lelin found out about him, but he felt that it was because of some Numen that Lelin possessed.

Only Numens were so mythical that they could help him find out. There was no other way. As for what Numen Lelin possessed, that was the question.

"Something that can help him read my mind? If that's the case, it will make sense how he would know. Or it could also be a Numen that can help him see the past."

He didn't know too much about the Numens other than the ones he heard about. He only knew how many there were in total and that each of those Numens possessed the strength of a Demigod, but other than that, he didn't know much.

"If Lira was here, she could've told me what Numens could make something like that possible for Lelin. Or if he was actually bluffing?"

"In any case, he didn't tell the Teachers. That's good. Just a few days more. As long as he doesn't become an obstruction in my path, I should be able to avoid him. But if he does..."

****

Lelin was about to sleep before he was called down, but now that he was back in his room, he could see the sun rising in the distance. It was already morning.

He stood on his balcony, looking down at the Teachers who were still there.

****

"It seems that our initial assumption about the killer being from the House of Light was wrong," Eliana summarized. "If he isn't a student from the House of Light, he could be from another House who managed to sneak inside."

"With that in mind, what do you say Yoan? Should we still use the Crown of Elisus? We can start with the House of Flames."

Yoan's face twitched uncontrollably. He wanted the crown to be used because the incidence was limited to the House of Light. Even if those people had their talents messed up, it didn't affect him or his house.

However, now that his own house was in the zone of fire, he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let his precious students go through this test.

"Hmph, didn't we already agree that we won't use the Crown of Elisus? It's not good for the academy and for the students to use it on such a large scale!" Yoan snorted. "Also, how can we be sure that the boy wasn't lying? Maybe he and his friend committed this murder together?"

"That's possible as well. At this moment, anything is possible." Rem agreed. "All we know at the moment is that no one had any clue about the killer other than those two. And even if the Killer was in the crowd before us, he refused to come forward on his own. So it's too soon to come to a conclusion about anything."

"What. Aren't we all forgetting about something?" Xinci rolled her eyes. "We all know that the Spells of Light have been used by the murderer, including the healing and the purifying spell. There is no way that the Killer could be from any other house!"

"Ah, that..." Yoan slapped his forehead. He became so flustered before that he even forgot to consider that factor! It was already proven that the Killer used the Element of Light!

Unfortunately, in his haste, he had agreed that using the Crown was a stupid idea. He couldn't go back on his words now, no matter how much he regretted it.

"As I said, it's too soon to come to a conclusion," Lishen chimed in again. "Even though it looks like the work of a Mage of Light, there could be more to this than we know."

"For example, wasn't the dead a Mage of Light? It's quite possible that he used healing on himself to survive for as long as he could. It's also possible that he was forced to use the Purifying under threat? We're running blind at the moment. First, we need to know more about the dead kid."

Even though Rem was looking at a really wide picture, he did consider all the possibilities, no matter how unlikely they were.

"We should have his complete file in a few hours. We can wait in the Dean's Castle until then."

Eliana left a few teachers behind to keep an eye on the Dorms before leaving with the other Head Teachers of the Head Council. Since everything had happened so recently, they couldn't jump the ship too soon. They needed to consider every factor, especially since it looked like an act of revenge.

****

The Head Council waited for a few hours in a beautiful hall, sitting around a round table.

It was eight in the morning when a young lady arrived, holding multiple files.

"The files are ready."

She placed a file before each of the Head Council members. Each file had the same content. They had the life history of Hawrin... At least as much as they could've gathered.

"Thank you. You can leave for now."

After the young lady placed the file before everyone, she was gestured to leave.

The young lady left the hall, closing the hall behind her as she left. The majestic hall returned to silence as all the teachers looked at the closed file before them, curious if it could give them some information.

Unlike the other teachers, Eliana already knew a few things about Hawrin since she had allowed him an admission here. But even she didn't dive deep into his past other than knowing a few basic things like his father was killed while serving the Church of Light.

She had been so busy handling the Academy in the absence of the Dean that she couldn't find time to even read about how that happened.

p Everyone opened the file and started going through what was recorded.

The more they read the more serious their expressions became as they realized how deep this mess could be…."Did I make a mistake? I became too hasty at the sight of an opportunity. I should've been more careful."

Gabriel lay on his bed, lost in thoughts. He was slightly upset at himself for giving in to his emotions. It was just the first day, and he had already killed Hawrin, creating a turmoil in the entire Academy.

It was partially good since it kept people busy, but because of Roy, everyone knew that the killer was a First Year Student. That once again brought him into the range of fire.

"To get myself out of this turmoil, I'll need to create an even bigger turmoil. Since I've already pushed the schedule ahead, I might as well do it properly."

All the teachers were busy, focusing on the killers. That was good as well. If the Teachers were that busy, he could use them.

He stood up and walked to the mirror before him.

"I'm sure they'll know that Caen and I had some conflict with the group of Yann. I suppose it is time to use Caen. Too bad I need to use him for a distraction. He is a good guy, but if that's what it takes, then that's what shall be..."

******

"Someone from a small town whose family was killed by a Dark Mage. He left the village and came to the Holy City. Since his father was a member of the Holy Church who died fighting a dark Mage, the Church sent him here, and I gave him admission here," Eliana summarized the beginning of the file.

"So you know about his equation with the Dark Mages?" Yoan frowned. "You could've told us that much as we waited for the files to be ready."

"It's better if you all read from the files as this got more details about that incident. I only knew the basics. And even then, I don't think that's the part of his life that should be on focus. Not as if a Dark Mage could enter the city and kill him."

The beginning of the file contained the information about the attack of the Dark Mage on the village, but it didn't mention Gabriel at all.

There was no mention in the file about a young man who was a Mage of Light but somehow ended up becoming a Mage of Darkness. The Holy Church kept that part a secret. They even warned Hawrin against talking about it. It was the same case with Maya.

None of them were to say that a youngster in the village had turned into a Dark Mage after becoming a Mage of Light. That was a dangerous piece of information. The Church of Light represented everything that was Holy!

It represented a purity that couldn't be corrupted by darkness. They were the leaders in the battle against the Darkness. However, if someone was to find out that a Mage of Light had somehow changed into a Mage of Darkness, this could make them confused.

It could send out the wrong signal that the Holy Church of Light wasn't as pure as they claimed to be, which the Church couldn't accept at any cost.

This concern made the Church of Light bury the entire incident as something related to the Dark Mages attacking the town and killing people.

The Church had placed posters of Gabriel in many cities. They had distributed the sketches to all the Branches of the Church of Light. However, all those posters only mentioned that he was a Mage of Darkness. No poster mentioned about his previous identity as the Mage of Light.

The Church also didn't expose the age of Gabriel. They didn't want the world to see that the Mages of Darkness were so talented that they could awaken their element as soon as they turned eighteen. Especially since even in the Church of Light, there wasn't a single person who had awakened their element at such a young age. The only person who did... They embraced darkness instead.

Other than the Head Priests of the Church of Light, no one else knew about the reality of this entire incident, even in the Church of Light. Only the Head Priests knew that a Mage of Light became a Mage of Darkness.

"That's true. A Mage of Darkness can't enter the town... At least not without alerting the Church of Light. And even if they came, infiltrating the Academy is impossible." Lishen agreed. "But we can never ignore the possibility of them hiring someone to do their job for them?"

"I doubt any student of the Academy will work," Yoan scoffed. "The Dark Mages have been completely isolated. If there's a person who is talented enough to enter the Academy, they won't side with the Demons. I'm sure of it."

"What about this incident instead?" Xinci placed her fingers on the third page. "The kid was involved in a fight in the city just yesterday. Two groups of youngsters fought. And some interesting names here as well... A first-year Mage of Light..."

"Caen Ashton," Yoan observed the name as well. He had also noticed it. "Apparently, the fight was between Caen and Yann... Those two families do have some bad blood. It is possible that he..."

Yann was in the House of Flames, which came under Yoan. With this new piece of information, he decided that this was where they should focus on. Just one day before this murder, this conflict happened, and the killer was supposed to be a First Year Mage of Light. This all makes sense. It was too much to be a coincidence.

"Let's ask both the parties directly." Eliana Was about to send someone to call Yann, but she was stopped by Yoan.

"Yann isn't in the academy. He took a couple of days off to go to his family for something."

"I'll send Garrick to bring his brother back. He should know what to say and what not to say. We can't let this information leak to the Raini Family or any Major Family, for that matter. Garrick is clever. He'll understand."

Eliana left the Head Council. The meeting was scheduled for later.

****

Gabriel stood before the Mirror, trying a look through the Ring of Apophis. However, this time, he was selected to be Yann.

"Time to create the biggest fire that the academy has seen..."

He had a plan in his mind... A dangerous plan that could give him what he needed but also risky enough that it could backfire on him. Everything depended on this crazy plan…

Gabriel decided to execute his plan at night and also when he was going to execute the theft... He decided that it was better to do it tonight itself!

****

Eliana located Garrick, who was one of the best students in the House of Light and also the student she placed most focus on.

Other than being a good student, he also had another identity. He was the heir of the Raini Family, which was one of the Major Families in the city. One of the Head Priests in the Church of Light was from the Raini Family as well, and so was Yann.

If she sent anyone else to bring Yann back, she couldn't trust them not to tell everything that happened in the Academy under the pressure of the Raini Family.

She also couldn't send a teacher to bring Yann back suddenly as that could also raise suspicions. At any cost, she didn't want the Raini Family to find out what happened here. Because if they did, the Church was sure to get involved.

Thus, she selected the only person she believed could bring Yann back safely without telling the Raini Family everything. It was Garrick Raini.

"Yes, Teacher?" Garrick was slightly surprised to see Eliana approach him so soon. "Did you find the Killer?"

"We'll discuss that later. But first, listen to me carefully. I want you to go on a mission for me. If you finish it successfully, you'll receive appropriate Credits."

"Mission? At this time?" Garrick glanced back at the Dorm. "Ah, alright. What's the mission?"

"It's a simple mission. I want you to go to your home and bring Yann back. However, no one outside must find out what happened at the academy... Not even your family!"

"My brother?" Garrick frowned. Someone was killed at the academy. Instead of focusing on that, the Acting Dean was asking for his brother to be brought back. This made him suspicious. Why? Why at this time? Unless...?

"Don't tell me you think my brother is behind this murder?! He might be an idiot, but he isn't that big of an idiot. There's no way he could be involved in this!"

"Calm down. We don't believe that your brother did it. However, we believe that your brother can lead us to the real killer... He is innocent, but..."

Eliana told Garrick about the conflict his brother had in the city right before the Admission Process to the academy and how that was the last conflict in which Hawrin was involved.

Hearing that his brother wasn't being called in for the reason he initially thought, Garrick somewhat calmed down. His brother wasn't a culprit, but he was a witness.

"I'll bring him back."

****

Throughout the morning, there were no training classes. All the students were kept inside the Dorms as the teachers went through everything. However, in the afternoon, finally, the first-year students were called out again.

The First Year batch of the Mage of Lights came out of the Dorms again. They could see that the body was removed by now. All the blood marks were also taken care of. It was as if nothing had happened here.

Gabriel looked up, observing the window. The window was also replaced by now. It was evident that these people had been busy erasing the evidence of what happened here.

A middle-aged man stood before all of the students.

"I'm sure you all already saw me. I was here this morning as well." The middle-aged man flashed a bright smile. "I'm called Noel. I am one of your teachers. And I'll be teaching you the Defensive Spells throughout the years."

"As you all know, defense spells are absolutely necessary to protect yourself. I'm sure you already know what could happen if you don't have good protection." Even the man couldn't help but glance at the window above as he spoke. "What could be a better example to teach you the importance of a good defense than what happened this morning."

"Anyway, you are all Mages of Light! You have the purest and the most versatile element, which is also known as the ruler of elements! The Element of Light has many uses if you can utilize it well. It's as good on defense as it is on offense. Even the passive spells are unique. That's why this element is unlike anything else."

"Throughout the years, you'll learn how to use your Element better. And by the time you graduate, you'll be the best Mages that the world has ever seen... That is if you focus on your training. So I'd advise you not to be lax!"

Even as Noel explained, the students still looked confused. Most of them couldn't believe that their classes were continuing as usual even after what happened just a few hours ago.

Even Noel didn't feel comfortable with this. That's why he had suggested that there should be no classes today. However, his suggestion was soundly rejected by Eliana, who told him that everything would continue as it was planned.

Just because someone was killed, they were going to seal the entire academy. The killer was going to be found sooner or later. In the end, Noel had no choice but to come here.

He acted as if nothing had happened as he gave his introduction.

"Anyway, now that we are done with the introduction, I would ask you to follow me. The actual training of yours will start from tomorrow. But today, you will be shown just how important mages are to this world and how much the mages before you have achieved to make this world a better place!"

"Today, you'll be taken to the Museum of Elements!" Noel declared.

His declaration came as quite a surprise to a lot of students who didn't know that they would be taken to the Museum of Elements this soon.

As for the ones who already knew how the academy worked, they didn't find it surprising. Every year, the first class of the first-year students was held inside the Museum of Elements to teach them about the history and what they could achieve if they continued walking the right path.

It wasn't strange for them to be taken there. Gabriel also didn't find it surprising since Riya had already told him about it. He was finally going to enter the Museum of Elements! He was finally entering his destination!

Noel took all the first-year students to the Museum of Elements. The security during the day was just as strict as it was during the night. It was only because they were with Noel that they were allowed to even pass through the security. However, that was just the external security.

Gabriel took his first step inside the Museum Building. The entrance was not too big, but it wasn't too small either. Students could walk in five lines without hitting the shoulders of the one beside them.

Both Gabriel and Lelin were in the lead of their respective line. The other lines were being led by Caen and the Princess. As for the last line, it was being led by a student that Gabriel didn't know.

'This feeling...'

As soon as Gabriel entered the Museum of Elements, he felt a strange feeling course through his body.

His dark ring also started getting restless inside his Gloves. He didn't understand why it was the case. It shouldn't have happened just because of the Ancestral Staff of Darkness being here! It was something else... Something that could even make his ring restless...

Lelin also clenched his fist, taking a deep breath as if trying to calm himself down.

Lelin also felt slightly uneasy, but he kept his calm. He didn't let his unease show on his face.

All the students were finally inside the Museum of Elements. The first layer of the Museum contained the relics of the past. They were slightly less important than the core treasures at the Academy, but they were still an essential part of the history.

The group of first-year students that was accompanying Noel stopped behind him. There was a concrete stand before them. On the stand, a rusted helmet could be seen, which was covered in magically reinforced glass.

"Any guesses who this helmet belonged to?" Noel asked, smirking. "This was worn by a really special person in their battle... By someone who changed the world in his own way."

"The King's Crown!" Both Caen and Princess Elia spoke at the same time.

Even though Caen had been away from the Royal City for a long time, they were still part of the nobles once upon a time. He knew what this helmet was, based on the symbol that was carved on the helmet. He also recognized the number.

Princess Elia also recognized the crown since it was part of her family history.

"It is the crown that was worn by the First King of the Lumen Empire on his crusade to unite the Empire," she stated.

Noel nodded in satisfaction. However, he wasn't surprised. It would've been more surprising if these two hadn't known.

"That's right. It's the war helmet of King Ignia. He was the First Ruler of the United Lumen Empire and the founding father of the Empire you are standing inside."

"The man is known to be one of the greatest Kings in the history. He wasn't a Mage like us. In fact, he was as ordinary as a human could be. Despite that, he wrote his own destiny and became the Emperor of one of the Strongest Emperors in the world."

"If, as a human, he could achieve all this and create a peaceful Empire, ending wars, then imagine what you all can do with your holy power. All you need is proper convictions, and that's one of the things you'll be taught in the Academy!"

After briefly describing the helmet, Noel started walking away, only to stop as if he had remembered something more.

"I forgot to mention the most important thing. Even though you're here, you aren't allowed to touch anything, especially the glasses that protect these items. If you try, you'll be hurt badly. All these glasses have been magically reinforced by our Dean himself. So please be mindful."

After issuing a warning, Noel moved into the next item in the massive hall.

"And here we have..."

Noel kept explaining the items and their significance in history. With each item, he didn't forget to remind everyone what they could learn from this.

Gabriel wasn't interested in the explanation. He could see that all the items here were useless. None of these were Numens. Most of these were ordinary items with some historical significance. The only items with his attention were the ones he was after, and they were on the above.

The above floor had no windows... At least none that could be seen from the outside. So if one was to enter, they could only use this route to get there.

Noel was immersed in explanation. On the other hand, Gabriel was observing the guards and their positions. He was informed by Lira about what to expect, but now that he was inside, he got a much more accurate idea about what he could face. There were just too many guards here...

He also noticed the Elements of the Guards, memorizing every detail that he might need for his goal.

Even as time passed, his black ring hadn't calmed down. It was still uneasy. Gabriel noticed that the closer they went to the stairs to the next floor, the more his ring started to react. Moreover, when they moved away from the stairs to learn about items in another corner of the hall, the ring became a bit less excited.

'Something is above... That's for sure. Something that is making my ring react like that!'

Only he knew here that his ring was his Grimoire of Death and Necromancy in disguise as a ring. In reality, it wasn't a ring that was reacting... It was his Grimoire that was responding. And to make his Grimoire react... The item had to be more than just another Element's Ancestral Staff.

He believed whatever was making the ring react... It was something related to Karyk, or his element!

He remained with the group, eagerly waiting so they could be taken up where he could find what it really was.

After spending three hours on the ground floor, Noel was finally done with all the Artifacts here. In the entire group of first-year students, there were only two people who weren't hearing what Noel was saying. Only the two students appeared to be distracted during his explanations, and this didn't escape Noel's attention.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about it. Every year, there were students who were bored when he talked about the mortal treasures that the academy possessed. He could only shake his head and focus on other students.

Those two students were Lelin and Gabriel.

"Now that we are done with the items that humans used to change the World, let me show you the items that Mages used to affect the world in ways that no one could've imagined. The Artifacts used by the strongest Mages!"

With Noel's declaration, there was great excitement amongst the students. They were Mages, and that's what interested them the most!

Finally, Gabriel and Lelin also looked interesting. Seeing their interest, Noel could only laugh wryly. These two were so materialistic.

"Come."

Noel walked to the stairs. Gabriel and the other students followed him. Just as Gabriel had expected, the closer he went to the next floor, the more excited his ring became.

He clenched his fist tightly to try to make his ring calm down a bit. His finger had started aching at this point because of his ring's reaction.

With each step, Gabriel's heartbeat increased. He was about to see just what it was that even his Grimoire couldn't stay calm before.

After around fifty steps around the circular staircase, Gabriel stepped foot on the next floor: the floor where all the Numens and everything precious was kept.

As soon as Gabriel stepped here, the first thing he noticed was the security of this place. It was even worse than downstairs here. There were more guards here than there were students at the moment. And each guard stood beside one of the artifacts.

"That..."

The most eye-catching Artifact was in the middle of the hall. It was a majestic staff that was floating in mid-air. The staff was pitch black in color and had a beautiful gem attached to it that seemed to be filled with the infinite power of darkness.

The staff was also surrounded by shields of glass from all sides that not only protected the staff from being touched by someone but it also made sure that no one could be affected by the dark aura of the staff. The staff's dark aura was restricted inside the glass chamber.

It was the Ancestral Staff of Darkness! The Staff that Lira was after. Gabriel was extremely close to the staff, but he couldn't take it. It wasn't the time. If he tried now, he knew he was going to be caught.

"I'm sure you're all interested in this staff the most. This is also one of the most precious holdings of the Academy! It's the Staff that was used by the Head of the Church of Darkness! It is the strongest staff that contains the Element of Darkness in existence."

"Using this staff, the Lord of Darkness destroyed many mages of the Alliance that fought him in the great war before he was ultimately defeated by the Elemental Lords of the Holy Alliance."

"There's a great story associated with the Staff actually..."

Noel went closer to the staff and lost himself in the amazing history of these Artifacts. All the students followed behind. Gabriel also followed him, but as he moved closer to the Staff of Darkness, he became even more sure that the Staff wasn't attracting his ring. It was something else here.

Even though he walked closer to the Staff of Darkness, his ring only became less excited, as if it wanted him to go in another direction.

Gabriel stopped in his place, observing the items around him. There were so many items, but what was the one that was attracting his ring? He wanted to rush to all of them, but he knew he couldn't. He had to stay with the group for now.

He kept the ring in control, waiting for a little longer.

Unlike him, it appeared as if Lelin knew exactly what was making him uneasy. He looked to his left. A frown formed on his forehead, but he also stayed with the group for now.

Through the way, he hadn't opened his fists that were firmly clenched.

Gabriel and Lelin had never been this uncomfortable as they were now. They wanted to get to something, but they had to stay with the group.

"It is said that after the Lord of Darkness was killed, his body turned into smoke. His Grimoire also disappeared. However, one thing was left behind. This staff..."

"The war was over, but it was the beginning of another conflict. The negotiations for the Staff of Darkness. All the Alliance Church Lords knew that the Staff of Darkness was dangerous and couldn't be allowed to fall into the hands of a Dark Mage. That all agreed on, but what they didn't agree on was who should keep it."

Noel kept his eyes on the beautiful staff as he talked about the story.

"All of them believed that they should keep it in their Churches, but none of them wanted the others to have it. Even though the Holy Church of Light was the strongest at that time, even it wasn't allowed to keep it."

"So in the end, it was decided that none of them will keep it and that it will be kept at a neutral place, which would be just as secure as the Holy Church of Light!"

"Hahaha, I'm sure you can imagine what place they selected." Noel turned to look at the expressions of the youngsters. "Ever since the destruction of the Church of Darkness, this Staff is with us, gracing our internal Museum. This is also our most precious artifact and the reason there is so much security in the Museum."

"As you can imagine, this is the Holy Staff of Dark Mages, and they have been after it for decades. So we just have to be more careful."

After finishing with his explanations, Noel felt really amused to see the amazed expression of the youngsters. However, his pleased smile disappeared as he noticed that the two students were still not looking as interested as he had hoped.

His face twitched unintentionally. "You two, what are your names?"

Gabriel looked back, wondering who he was talking to.

"I'm talking to you. What's your name?" Noel especially focused on Gabriel this time.

"Karyk," Gabriel answered.

"And yours?"

"Lelin."

"Do you two have a better place you need to be?" Noel asked, supporting a slightly condescending tone. "If you two are not interested in the class, you're welcome to leave at any time. You don't have to force yourself to be here if you don't want to. I've noticed it since the start. You two haven't been paying attention to what I'm saying at all!"

"Who says we aren't?" Lelin fired back. "Does one need to stare at your face to listen to your words? It might come as a surprise to you, but we don't hear through our eyes. We listen through our ears."

Lelin was the calmest person in the first year. Even when someone was killed, he was calm, but currently, he was showing an entirely different side at being scolded.

He was already uneasy because of being in this hall, and on top of that, he was being scolded. He didn't mince his words at the moment.

It was fortunate that he spoke before Gabriel could, attracting all the attention to him. It was unclear how Gabriel was about to react since he was going through the same thing.

"Y-you!" Noel's face turned red. For the first time, a student had talked to him like that. And not only did he talk back, but he also insulted him.

Noel felt as if all the students were judging him at the moment. Everyone was looking at him. He couldn't do anything stupid. Lelin was still a student, after all. He couldn't just attack a child. He also couldn't kick him out of here for talking back since his words weren't wrong either. No one hears through their eyes.

"Is that so?" he asked, trying to control his rage. "Would you mind repeating what I said then?"

Even though Lelin claimed that he was listening, Noel was sure that he wasn't. He actually was distracted. There was no way he heard his words.

Through this question, he believed he had an advantage again. If Lelin couldn't answer how, he could kick him out!

Lelin let out a tired sigh before he started speaking. He repeated exactly what he had spoken about the staff. In fact, somehow, he was able to replicate the exact words that Noel had used! There was not even a single word missing! It was as if not only Lelin heard what was being spoken, but he memorized it as well.

Noel was even more taken aback. Lelin was actually focusing on his words. But how was that possible? Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it now. Lelin had proven. Maybe it was him who was mistaken.

Despite realizing that he was wrong, he didn't apologize.

"Good. Focus on what I'm saying." He turned around, looking aloof. "Moving on..."

"I've shown you the most important Artifact we have; now it's time to show you the most bizarre one." He walked left, hiding his red face, not even glancing back.

This time, Gabriel's ring actually started reacting more intensely. The closer he walked to the next artifact, the most excited his ring became! He was sure! This was it! This was what his ring was calling for! The artifact was right before his eyes!