Veles removed his hand from Olivia’s back, took a step back, and then mused over what he had just seen. Not like he didn’t know that she was a monster beforehand, but seeing and knowing proved to be entirely different.

“Do you perhaps feel strange? Like the way you are using mana is wrong?” Veles asked. He took a small book from his storage ring and started writing something.

“Yes. Like I’m missing something crucial…” Olivia strangely replied, unsure how to put it into words.

“Well, you are. In fact, both of you lack a very important detail,” saying this. Veles also gestured for Davis to listen. “The way you treat mana is wrong. But more of that later. Let’s talk about your talents first.”

Having already scanned their bodies, Veles knew vaguely what he was dealing with. Even in the cave where he forcefully created their cores, he had an idea of what kind of gifts the two possessed.

Veles first focused on Davis. He had two Mana Cores. One inside his heart and the other at the bottom of his throat. Both were special or rather unique...

The first one showed itself as a bead containing a mass of barren and cracked earth—like a dried-out bottom of the river exposed to the burning sun.

While the second one near his throat was a swirling mass of molten rock encapsulated inside the core. An interesting sight if Veles had to admit it. It was almost like someone took a droplet of lava and put it inside the small round vial.

“You said you felt extremely thirsty when you poured mana inside your heart’s core?” Veles addressed what Davis had told him.

Instead of answering. Davis massaged his throat and nodded.

“Interesting? What about the other?”

“Haven’t tried it yet,” looking to the side, Davis replied.

“Well, I guess you will now,” Veles moved to the side and grabbed a small burning stick from their campfire. Then he neared Davis. “Extend your hand and pour mana inside the other core. However, don’t be an idiot. Control how much mana you use.”

Davis listened. He extended his right hand and followed instructions. At first, he displayed no change, but a few seconds later, beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

“I’m hot,” mumbled Davis.

Veles pretended like he didn’t hear him and just took the small burning stick and positioned the flame right under Davis’s extended hand. And the reaction he expected played out.

“What the hell?” said Davis. Staring unflinchingly as the small flame caressed his hand.

“Flame did nothing, huh,” Veles tossed the stick back at the campfire and noted this as a very important detail.

“There is both bad news and good news,” said Veles. “The good news is that I know all your abilities and can provide you with the right guidance. And the bad news is that you will face significant changes once you jump from Three Foundation Stages to Four Bodily Stages and most likely beyond that too. And those changes could be deadly…”

Davis narrowed his eyes. “What kind of changes?”

“Well, over time, you will gradually become less of a human and more of an elemental. And that change comes with great struggle, both physically and mentally.”

“Okay, you know I’m going to ask this. What’s an elemental?” Davis crossed his arms, expecting a detailed explanation.

“Elementals are spirits that gained permanent bodies or are those made by the union of the spirit and a living being. They usually represent one of four basic elements such as fire, water, wind, or earth. Of course, they could be different types, but those four elemental spirits tend to have the greatest drive for having a body.”

“So, I’m some kind of mix between human and a spirit?” asked Davis with a thoughtful look. This also reminded Veles that those in Osvalen had a decent knowledge of the spirits.

“That’s not entirely true. You are a special case,” Veles decided not to go into details. “You bear the mark of Desolate Earth—one of the eight spirits representing natural change. You most likely got marked on your birth….”

Davis’s expression showed Veles that he wasn’t pleased by what he had just heard. “Meaning, ever since I was a baby, some kind of mark was turning me into this thing called elemental? Isn’t this like stories where spirits possess bodies of those that are powerless?”

“No,” Veles shook his head. “Nothing literally marked you. The Spirit of Desolate Earth doesn’t exist in the first place. It’s just the name of a mark you carry. People get randomly born with those marks. In fact, since you are here, the other seven should be out there.”

“Just to make sure I understand you,” Davis pointed his finger at himself. “Nothing will one day come and snatch my body?”

“It won't,” Veles assured. Though, he wasn’t certain. Davis’s case was something Veles never delved deep into…

“Good,” said Davis. “However, how do you know about this?”

Veles snored at this. “I’ve spent my whole life researching gifts, constitutions, blessings, and other anomalies people are born with. Mainly because I was born with a constitution that carried the curse, it forced me to spend most of my life searching for a way to get rid of it...”

It would seem that Davis understood he shouldn’t poke his nose into this. So, Veles decided to address Olivia and her… problems.

She also had a Mana Core inside her heart. It appeared as a round mass of weird gray substance with a tiny white dot swimming inside it and occasionally bumping on the edges of the bead as if trying to leave. And this was the one Veles ‘sealed’ so she couldn’t stupidly harm herself by using it.

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The next one was placed right between her spinal cord and the brain. It could be discerned as a small spinning black dot contained within a usual transparent ball. The noticeable detail about this dot was that it looked like it consumed the space within this small containment as it spun.

And the last one was placed inside her brain. It displayed the swirling mass of milky white clouds constantly rumbling with the violent black thunder. On the first look, it might paint a picture of a storm. But when looking at those black traces of spark, they seem to be made of various numbers and mysterious signs.

“I have a feeling you already know how to handle yourself?” Veles pointed out Olivia’s current situation.

“I think, yes…” she replied and touched the back of her nape. “This one mostly…”

“Hmm, okay. Tell me what you know.” Veles shot her an expectant look. He needed her to be more active and engage in the conversations more.

“I can increase the weight of objects I touch… and possibly of those in small ranger around me…”

“Calling it weight increase is wrong. What you are doing is changing how gravity affects certain objects,” Veles corrected her. “You probably have no idea what gravity even is. It will take you some time to teach you. But what about the other one inside your head?”

“I don’t know…” she trailed off.

Veles smirked, and this basically told her she was getting herself into trouble. “Are you sure?”

Not waiting for her to respond, Veles lunged forward. His right hand firmly grasped the small iron dagger as he swung it sideways, aiming for Olivia’s shoulder. Fortunately, he never connected his attacks. Olivia successfully grabbed her katana and intercepted him.

But this didn’t discourage Veles at all. Instead, his attacks came quicker, not hiding any lethality behind them. And each time he swung his dagger, Olivia would parry him with ease.

This went on and on, with each of her moves calculated on point and executed decently well, repelling every single one of his attacks.

“Good,” Veles backed away. “See that? Do you think a person can wield a weapon like you do without prior experience? Or perhaps something that grants them serious battle instincts?”

She just stared at him, not knowing what he was talking about.

“Some of your mana got consumed without you knowing, right?” Asked Veles, already knowing the answer to this question.

Olivia nodded, her eyes wide.

“Looks like you now understand,” he then chuckled. “But having good battle instincts could be deadly if you don’t know how to use them. Come, attack me.”

Without hesitation, Olivia dashed forward, precisely throwing a diagonal slash toward Veles left shoulder. Nevertheless, he easily blocked her attack, and then what visibly surprised Olivia was a solid punch landing on the side of her ribcage, making her stumble backward.

Veles showed his disappointment. She didn’t expect this attack at all. Hell, she didn’t even pay attention to what she was doing. Luckily, he held back, or she would’ve suffered severe damage.

“See that. Your ability didn’t warn you about that one, did it?” Asked Veles while inwardly being satisfied with himself. He still got the moves! And this was a chance to yet again remind himself of various skills he used to wield. Well, the only problem was… no matter how painful, he had to admit that this girl was physically stronger than him. Even just by blocking her casual attack, there is numbness in his forearm.

“How?” She asked as she rubbed the place where Veles’s punch landed.

“Because that was never an attack.” Veles formed an amused smile as he watched Olivia’s face display confusion.

“What is that face for? I never intended to attack you directly. I was aiming at the fly that was behind you.”

This answer made her even more confused.

“These ‘instincts’ that warn you of attack aren’t something you achieved by experiencing numerous battles. No, they were inscribed inside your mind forcefully. Probably when Vea took the lead in your life, it honed them for your own survival. Which was good at the time, but for current you, those instincts are nothing more than a distraction.”

During the two days they’ve spent together, Veles probed her numerous times. He tried to understand how her ability worked by sending multiple nonharmful attacks her way. In the end, he got a decent understanding.

“Let me show you,” saying this, Veles concentrated. He didn’t even move, yet it caused the effect he expected. Olivia just stood there frozen, her hand that held the katana shaking in fear.

He took a step forward, and Olivia just fell down.

“See how easily confusion turned into fear, huh?” said Veles as he spun his dagger. “I wasn’t sure it would work out, but it looks like my analysis was right. Instincts giving you a hand are based on you observing the enemy’s muscle movement. That’s the basic every skilled warrior must learn. Something you know very little about.”

“The only thing I'm sure about is that If you don’t hone those instincts and learn to control them. They will be your end,” added Veles. Then he pointed at Davis. “And what better way to learn your skills than actual combat?”

Understanding Veles’s intention, Davis prepared his spear.

“Good. Now I will show you why they called me Veles the Heretic Sorcerer in my early days. I must warn you. I'm quite good with my blades.”

He took another dagger into his other hand. His body released black fog while the blades he wielded shone in silver hue. Veles decided to teach them a few lessons. Of course, he would have to hold back, especially with his mind attacks—they would be overkill.

Davis expecting the attack, slightly crouched and prepared to execute a stab—fully knowing it wouldn’t work. Yet, he gave his all only to end like he expected, with Veles’s elbow in his face…

It was comical, adding how nervous Davis looked and how Veles casually just moved his shoulder out of the way of an already terrible aimed stab, then how he grabbed Davis’s spear and tugged him his way—perfectly aligning Davis’s face with his elbow.

A really smooth move. Even Davis—who was lying on the ground checking if his nose was broken—couldn’t complain.

Twirling with the spear he had taken from Davis, Veles started explaining. “First of all, you chose a two-headed spear, yet you are using it as the normal one.” Grabbing the middle of the shaft, Veles continued. “Use your mana and try to enchant parts of your body—you already know how to do that. And heads up, while this fog covers my body, your perception of distance is disturbed. Think of an idea how to deal with that.”

Then Veles tossed him the spear back and turned at Olivia. She stood there, prepared for his attack.

“Good, be prepared for some serious beating,” said Veles with a smirk. Then disappeared in a flash of silver, only to appear right behind her…

***

“Be careful!” Yelled Margus. His hands blurred as he formed rows of runes floating in the air, then he channeled his mana, empowering the runes.

The two horizontal waves of vicious wind went forward, aiming at the giant Seventh Stage Thunder Antlered Deer. The unlucky beast couldn’t even react as the wind blades beheaded it.

But Margus didn’t even react. He immediately started spewing orders. “Paladins upfront! Sages stand back and keep Lucius stable! Other melees protect the flanks! Mages keep the scanning spells active! We are avoiding fights! Do not provoke beasts that do not pose any danger!”

Old Mage kept his pace, his gaze occasionally checking Lucius’s well-being. Making sure they gave his all to keep him alive was the least he could do after he sacrificed himself to protect them from that malicious explosion. And just seeing Lucius's state made Margus shudder. Thinking about the tongue of flame engulfing their camp will haunt him for days. They were truly blessed that Lucius reacted on time and saved... most of them.

Whatever was in that dungeon proved to be more dangerous than they had expected. Such a sneaky attack came entirely unexpected. And when Lucius was out of the picture, Margus didn’t waste a second to recall the whole expedition and announce retreat.

How pointless would it be to continue and search for artifacts that could very well end their lives? No matter what kind of punishment they placed upon him, Margus wouldn’t let Lucius’s contribution and sacrifice go to waste…