Deep inside Rosebush Cursed Forest of Calidi continent. Here, danger lurks at each step. Far from any human settlement, this isn't a place someone would find themselves in, not on their own volition. And it is definitely not a place for a child who didn't seem to be older than eight. And yet, here he is, a small boy with bright grey eyes and short silver hair, trying to keep his breathing as quiet as possible while hiding in a bush of pink flowers. In nothing but a loincloth made of dark blue scales and strange footwear made of similar material covering his feet, the boy tightly clutched a small medalion on his neck. 

Suddenly, the tranquil atmosphere of the forest was disturbed as a creature swooped through the sky and landed not far from the bush. Its light green figure illuminated by midnight sunlight revealed it to be an almost two-meter-long winged reptile. Its violet eyes with vertical pupils carefully browsed the surrounding area while it sniffed the air. The only scent it could perceive was the sharp odor of the pink flowers. It lost track of the one it pursued. 

Just when the reptile got ready to spread its green wings and continue its pursuit, the hiding boy took action. 

He concentrated his attention on the Mana flowing through his body and started to alter its element: from tranquil Water, allowing him to hide his presence, to explosive Fire for sudden bursts of power. In a moment, he could feel his small body overflowing with energy. Before the reptile could rise to the sky, the boy jumped at it as he punched with his tiny fist. 

With a loud bang, knuckles and emerald green scales collided. The reptile, caught off guard, couldn't muster much Mana to its defense, but the boy used up almost one-fifth of his whole Mana Pool for the solid impact that sent his opponent fly. The poor reptile slightly squealed as it collided with a wide tree. There was not a scratch on the bronze skin of the boy's fist.

"Sorry," the boy muttered, feeling a little guilty, "but today I'm going to win!"

Without taking any time to rest, he started to run towards his goal pointed by the medalion without looking back at the disoriented reptile. It wouldn't be in a state to pursue him for another five minutes or so, the boy assumed. 

To run faster, he changed his element yet again. From Fire to Wind, his stamina near-boundless now. He also didn't feel any air resistance while moving through the dense forest. But does it really matter, considering that he exposed himself completely to the rest of his opponents? The creatures who could fly?

The answer is...

"Already?!"

...nope. 

With his heightened perception, the boy could feel how two being locked on him from a distance. He ran as fast as he could, but the two shadows loomed over him even before he could advance past the half-way mark towards his destination. 

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Two flying reptiles approached the boy rapidly, one red, one black. Other than the difference in the color of their scales and eyes, they looked very similar to each other. They glided the air synchronously as the boy got ready to fight back. 

"Why the two of you are together?!" the boy exclaimed. "It is unfair to gang up on me!" 

The high screech of the red reptile was the only answer he got. As the first of the boy's adversaries, the two creatures weren't large, barely two meters in length, one-third of it being their slim tails. It doesn't mean that they could be underestimated, though. 

An ignorant person could assume from those creatures visage that they are just winged lizards or maybe young wyrms. Reality couldn't be further from that. 

The boy felt how his heart rate increased and how his breaths became faster and deeper. Each step felt heavy, but he didn't stop or looked back.

"You are almost there, don't give up!" he thought.

The red reptile deeply inhaled as it flew just ten meters from the boy. Its chest expanded as if it was a balloon filled with gas. 

"Are you serious?!" the boy yelled as he predicted that is going to happen.

At the same time, the black reptile rose higher in the air, ready to dive down at any moment. 

"So this is their plan, huh," the boy thought quickly as he considered countermeasures. 

Instead of air or other gas, the red reptile exhaled a small ball of crimson fire, no more than twenty centimeters in diameter. The ball sped quickly, but its target wasn't the boy but the spot of land a little before him. With a loud sound, the ball exploded, sending dirt and stones around. 

The boy was ready, though. He predicted the actions of his two opponents and acted accordingly. Changing his element to Earth, he concentrated his Mana on his hands, and instead of dodging the shattered debris, he broke through them head-on. It didn't hurt; instead, it tickled. Still, his Mana Pool decreased to only half of its full capacity. 

Simultaneously, the black reptile rapidly descended at the boy and tried to catch him with its hind legs. Alas, it didn't expect the boy to go directly through the debris sent at him, so its action was sluggish. 

Changing his element yet again, the boy controlled his body precisely with the force of Water. Still in mid-air, he dodged the reptilian legs that tried to catch him gently. 

"Yes, I can do it! Almost there!" The boy thought as he lightly grasped the medalion made of azure stone that guided him to his goal. 

Suddenly, the boy's expression turned ugly. A suddenly appearing green reptile landed at a small hill about fifty meters ahead of him. Suspiciously close to the place pointed by the boy's medalion. 

"How could I forget that, even without the Guide Stone, Sourceshards still could be noticed as long as you are close enough to them and understand their element well enough?!" the boy thought as he burned the rest of his Mana to rush at his body's limit. Under the influence of excess Mana, the boy's silver hair turned slightly green. He moved fast enough to almost lose his medalion, but with Wind Mana vigorously flowing through his body, the boy didn't need it anymore as he could perceive the exact location of the treasure he tried to get. 

As the boy arrived at the top of the mountain, he froze and just stood there motionlessly. The color of his eyes and hair came back to default.

The green reptile was nowhere in sight. Instead, under the bright and unhindered sunlight, a little girl stood with a shining emerald crystal shard in her hand. She looked at the boy with a bright smile as her equally emerald hair tenderly danced in the wind.