LII

  Kaz made it back to his room, and decided to kill some time as it was still too early for him to go to sleep as the clock showed it was right before five. Although, it was never too early to sleep, especially after all the uncomfortable nights spent in the branches of trees. Maybe he should just take a small nap, which would help with the food in his stomach, which was easily the best food he's ever had. He decided that a small nap would be good for him, so he sprawled out on his bed, and before he knew it, he was out.

  Waking up, feeling extremely refreshed, his eyes quickly darted to the clock, and thankfully it was only a little past eight. He stretched and strolled over to window, looking out. It was still quite sunny out, and he saw quite a few people in the training yard. It amazed him that people were so dedicated to advancing their Callings that they were still training at this time of the day. His stomach grumbled in hunger, and that surprised him, because he just ate before he fell asleep.

  Putting on his gear, he experienced a small moment of panic when he couldn’t find his glaive, before he remembered it’s getting repaired by the Blacksmith. With a huff in annoyance at himself, he walked out the door to his room down to the main area of the Guild. The main area wasn’t that occupied, which confused him, as the place was usually filled with Adventurers who come to unwind after a long day out.

  He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw an elegant looking Elven Mage, in a white robe, sitting at a table, reading a thick tome. Elder Aelon! Trying to compose himself, he awkwardly strode over to his table, trying to not break into a full sprint. Approaching the table, he was able to greet the Elder, but instead, it was Elder Aelon who spoke up, “It’s nice to see you Kaz, but I must admit, it’s not polite to keep an old man waiting this long.”

  Kaz felt his heart drop, confused at this. Before he could stammer anything coherent out, Elder Aelon broke out into a big grin, saying, “I only jest, young one. When Elmdiara visited me yesterday in the afternoon about you getting prohibited from entering the Academy by the Guards, I felt quite upset about not being to meet you after your long journey. So, she said that you would be at the Guild, and that would be the best place to reach you.”

  Tilting his head in confusion, he was processing that. Yesterday? But that was today? When the realization hit him, he couldn’t help himself from face palming in horror. It was eight in the morning, not the evening. That would explain the sun, people training, and the slightly empty main area.

  He quickly explained himself, stuttering as his mouth couldn’t keep up with the racing thoughts and emotions going through him, “I am so sorry, Elder Aelon. I decided to take a nap, and it appears that I slept through the whole evening and night.”

  Elder Aelon was quick to raise his hand, interrupting him from saying anymore, “No need to explain yourself, especially after such a long journey. You had no way of knowing that I was here, therefore nothing is held against you.”

  Getting up from his seat and the book disappearing from his hands, he motioned for Kaz to follow him. They approached a Clerk, who unfortunately wasn’t Laelara as she was busy helping a small group of Adventurers, but a Human lady named Emelia who greeted them politely. She bowed, and stated, “Greetings, esteemed Elder and Adventurer. How may I be of assistance?”

  Aelon bobbed his head slightly, and requested, “Greetings. May I rent a private discussion room, preferably one of the more secure ones.”

  Emelia nodded in confirmation, before requesting a fee of fifty Silver Tokens, which would allow them to be in the room for two hours. Aelon slid a Gold Token, and she collected it, before leading them to an area he hadn’t been in previously. They walked towards the training area, but instead of walking outside, they remained in the hall that circled the training area, and stepped into a room that had comfortable looking benches, a large table, and a view of the training yard. They thanked the Clerk, and they took a seat.

  Before Kaz could question the Elder for why they were in an isolated room, he explained, “These rooms have extensive enhancements to make it near impossible for any observer to overhear or see us discuss. These glass windows are actually one sided, preventing anyone from the outside to peer inside. I brought you here just so we can discuss freely without any unsavory audiences.”

  Kaz nodded his head slowly, but he was grateful for Aelon thinking ahead, as the information and topics he wanted to discuss were very secretive to him. With that, Elder Aelon smiled, and prompted him, “So, Kaz, began explaining to me what occurred during your adventure, as I can feel the difference in your mana and strength.”

  He nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it, unsure where to begin. He had so many pressing questions, but he first needed to give the Elder a recollection of his adventure to catch him up.

  With a deep breath, he began recollecting, “When I left Sarus, I veered down a separate path, and that is where I encountered Elmdiara and her group. I managed to run into the Bandit camp, but thankfully they were there to save me. Oh, I also got my glaive broken by a bear that was on said path.” Aelon nodded, getting the explanation of how he knew Elmdiara, allowing him to continue.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Then, it took me a few days to get to my Quest location, where I was supposed to investigate a new monster,” and that is when he hesitated. He felt like he could tell Aelon about the Kobolds, but decided again that he wouldn’t, as it seemed like a very big deal to the Guildmaster.

  He continued, trying to not reveal anything, “And after discovering the new monsters, I received a mana ring for my effort,” to which he took off and slid it to Aelon to investigate it.

  Aelon quickly looked it over, and grinned, saying, “A fine reward, definitely suits your needs.”

  Kaz nodded in agreement, and continued, “That was when I approached the Manashroom Forest, and that was where everything sort of happened. I unveiled,” which Kaz made sure to emphasize, drawing a curious eyebrow raise from the Elf, “my final Skill Ability for my Calling. And then my [ Archive ] went crazy, along with my Mana Core.”

  He saw Aelon visibly straighten in his seat, and he narrowed his eyes, attention obviously focused on that revealed information. Kaz decided to ask him, “Elder, it would be easier if I were to simply show you my [ Status ].”

  Aelon nodded slowly, not really understanding where this was going. They stared at each other awkwardly before Kaz weakly spoke up, “Uh, I am not sure how to do that.”

  Aelon blinked, and then chuckled, before saying, “Of course, I forgot you are new to this. Here, let me begin,” and with that, Kaz then received a message from his [ Archive ]:

  Do you allow Aelon Whiteflare to view the following pages: [ Status ], [Skill Abilities ], and [ Passive Abilities ]?

  He mentally confirmed the request and waited for Elder Aelon’s reaction. The Elder was quiet, but he could see his eyes scanning the text of his [ Archive ]. Kaz sat there, waiting for him to speak up, and noted it must’ve been around ten minutes before the Elder spoke up. He saw Elder Aelon look down from the [ Archive ], and stare straight into his eyes. Elder Aelon deflated into the bench, using the backrest for the first time, just eyeing Kaz.

  Kaz could help but fidget, uncomfortable with the Elder’s reaction and silence. Aelon cleared his throat, and then muttered, “How? What is the explanation of this?”

  Kaz shrugged his shoulders, and then explained to the Elf, “During the time that I received my last Ability, while siphoning mana from a Manashroom, I fell unconscious, similar to when you flared your mana at the Academy. And when I came back to my senses, I had a few messages from my [ Archive ] that explained that my last Skill Ability, [ Mana Siphon ], was unveiled, without my input. Then it was explained to me that my full potential was hidden during my Awakening due to my Mana Core being sealed with, I’m assuming, this Ability. And then I went from a one-star Mage to a three-star Mage.”

  Elder Aelon set aside his glasses, and rubbed his face, not saying anything. After some time, probably for the shock to pass, he said, “This is the first time in this long period of my life that I am stumped. You already had the presence of a three-star Mage when I first met you, but compared to now, your presence rivals those who had already undergone their first Revelation and more.”

  He took a second to gather his thoughts, no doubt trying to find a way to phrase what he was going to say next, before rambling, “I had never considered that the [ Archive ], the knowledge base that the whole Cosmos was founded upon, was able to make a mistake. And the fact that you essentially inherited a three-star Ability from birth, but wasn’t able to unveil it, like you mentioned, prior to this.”

  He then stared into his eyes again, before asking Kaz, “And how did you manage to achieve Rank 50 with the Ability in a matter of what, a week?”

  Kaz hesitated, but then he revealed to the Elder, “In the Manashroom Forest, I am assuming the Guardian of the forest, scolded me for siphoning all the Manashrooms around me, and led me to the center of it, where she claimed the Realm fed the mana into the area. I decided to experiment with the Ability, but needed to activate [ Mana Regeneration ] to cycle the mana I siphoned every few cycles. According to the Guardian, I ‘stilled my inner being’ for eleven days, and I swear I only was there for what seemed to be an hour or so, but when I—”

  Aelon abruptly raised his hand, cutting him off, before exclaiming, “You did what? You managed to go into deep mediation before your first Revelation?”

  Kaz stared at him, unable to understand the reaction from him. Aelon sighed before explaining, “I do not have the time at the moment to explain, but the act of stilling your inner being, deep mediation, and countless of other ways of saying it, is something people do not usually do till way past their third Revelation, and something that is needed before achieving your fourth Revelation.”

  “I guess I understand, but I would like to know more about it when you have the time, Elder Aelon,” Kaz meekly responded. He still had many questions that he wanted to ask him, but there was one that he needed to ask as it had been bothering him recently.

  Kaz asked him, almost fumbling over his own words, “I have another question, Elder. Why does my Race have a little star next to it?”

  Elder Aelon examined him briefly, before responding, “I am not quite sure about that, as I have never encountered something like that before personally. If I had to come up with a theory, it might have something to do with your three-star Calling, along with your set of Abilities. There have been instances where people would become an altered version of their Race when certain conditions were met.”

  Kaz nodded thoughtfully, confirming his own theory about that, having it being related to his new updated Calling. For some reason, he felt a small lingering doubt in him, coming from his Mana Core, strangely enough, but he brushed it aside. He didn’t know what to ask, lost in his own thoughts.

  After a small lull in their conversation due to Kaz being in his head, Aelon laughed, causing Kaz to flinch. He continued laughing, his eyes getting wet, before explaining to him, “You are quite interesting, young Kaz. I told Valorias that he was making a grave mistake by getting on your bad side.”