My master is a damn bastard. Even now, the man is more busy carrying cloak's gift rather than talk to me. I am supposed to be very traumatized here after all. He is doing it wantedly I am telling you.

Right now he is in his giant wolf form, which was something that I did not expect him to do. I guess people do not call him the grand wolf for his looks. The only annoying thing is how in the hells did the man even manage to hide that from me. I was almost always with him in the hex mountain. I guess that revelation should have shocked me more, but my master likes to keep his secrets.

He actually looks very funny, as the gift in question is a sledder the size of a massive whale. Compared to what he is carrying, he looks like a tiny blip. He is carrying it on his back, essentially giving a piggy back ride to the ship.

Not that this is the case for long. The man is approaching the council like a comet.

(Within about five minutes.)

My master has finally approached the council and it's massive building. He is right now approaching us on his feet, his body shifting from his wolf form to that of a human.

It is a fascinating process too. As the skin of the wolf moves away from his body first giving way to the human.

Seriously why has the man never done this in front of me. I don't think I have seen him do anything like this before. (Not like I would have forgotten it.)

Right now the only person here with me is cloak, who has taken responsibility of my safety in the council. If I were to die, it would end up becoming very bad for cloak.

"You little brat, what do you think of the gift.", my master initiates conversation. "Our friend cloak had to spend a pretty penny on this gift after all."

"Well, I am sure that it must be a fine gift. Right now I am not in the state to care for it. what is there to think about it. Just get me out of the place.", I reply.

"Well, I am going to need you to drive the sledder. It would look stupid if I were to try and carry it now.", he replies.

"You did not bother to learn how to do it?", I ask, feeling with a sinking realisation why my master was lifting the entire thing like a boulder on his back. Here I was hoping it was just a show of force.

"Well, it is not like it would be useful outside of this place anyways.", he replies.

"You lazy bastard.", I mutter under my breath, sure that both the men beside me had heard it. There is no point in trying to argue with that bastard though.

(After about half a day.)

Right now we are making our way to the frozen peak. Travelling in this sledder is a pretty unique experience.

Sensory formations without a strong enough mana sense is a pretty weird thing to feel. That is half the problem people face when piloting an airship.

Still, the trip is going quite smoothly. My master's mana sense is strong enough that he is able to help me out where the sensory formation of the ship fails.

The main reason that it is unique though is the fact that the ship itself is amazing, a piece of work. I don't know what kind of wood the ship was made from but it is clearly druidic in nature and meant for my master.

The formations are pretty amazing too, allowing me to control the ship with a finesse that should be impossible. All I can really tell about the ship is that it is an amazing piece of work.

On top of that the entire thing is luxurious. Most control rooms tend to be bare with nothing in the room other than the formations needed to run the damn thing. This one has an entire miniature bed room in it. The damn place has cushions for the drivers comfort.

Well, I have wasted enough time describing the ship. It is a fine piece of work but it is not the reason for me to suddenly start to record. The reason that I suddenly started to record, it is due to my master actually. Right now we are in the plains near the frozen peak. It is still pretty far away (almost half a day too), which is why I am confused as to why my master made me stop here. We are nowhere near civilization here. There isn't even a pretty tree that might have caught my master's eye for him to stop like this. There is literally nothing but snow and ice mana in our surroundings.

"Well, brat how long are you going to take to come out.", he screams, His voice echoing in the interior of this ship.

Right now, the damn bastard is standing outside of this ship waiting for me.

The weather outside is still fine, but I will need to wear an ice mana isolating skin (the ship had a few in store) to come outside. This cold is not going to be good for my injuries.

Well, no use thinking too much about it. The more you try to use your brain with my master, the more the bastard stops to make sense.

(After about a couple minutes.)

Finally I make my way out of the ship onto the freezing plains. The first thought I have after stepping out it is that it is not as cold as I was expecting it to be.

Well, that could be due to my master's presence. The man's control over mana can be considered to be one of the most precise in the continent. I am not even sure if he realises that he could be doing this as well. It could be completely instinctual for him.

"Well, you took your sweet time. I guess that I should begin with this then.", he replies.

"What crazy assignment are you going to be giving me now?", I ask the damn bastard. You always should verify with this bastard.

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"Well, my assignments are not crazy, they are just meant to test you. Regardless, today the reason that I have come here actually is to reveal a little something to you.", he replies.

"Go on, it is not like I won't end up suffering due to you, you bastard.", I reply.

"Well, what do you think is the greatest weakness of a formation mage?", he asks.

"Well, it is our formations.", I reply. "Without them we are useless and we can't lug them around with us. "

"Well, that is the truth. Well, I was hoping I could do this in a better way, but what can a man do, I can't control the world around me.", he speaks. "With my initiation, we had such a grand party. It is your luck that we have to do it in a dump like this."

"Stop rambling and get to the point.", I speak to the man getting annoyed. He can go on for hours with his stories from the past.

"Well, I have explained it to you before, but the reason that I do not like to speak about cultivation with you is due to our tradition.", he speaks. "I will not speak about cultivation until you are deemed ready."

"I know, I know. You also don't think that I am ready. You also think that I am especially reckless so you are even more careful with me. I know all of that. You take every opportunity to remind me of it." I reply.

"Well, do you want to listen to what I have or not. Seriously, you are getting more disrespectful with time.", he replies. "You brat, now I have lost track of what I was speaking. Be quiet and let me talk now. My master would have you cleaning the bowels of a ergenlot for that disrespect."

"You were speaking about cultivation.", I reply, quieting down. The man doesn't like to speak about this topic at all. As for what an ergenlot is, I have learned not to ask my master about stuff like that. The man can go on a rambling mess for hours on topics like this.

"Well, I am going to be teaching you a very interesting technique.", he speaks. "Something that is going to be very important to you in the future."

"Will you be finally teaching me about the levels beyond the foundation stage.", I speak.

"Well, you know that won't be happening.", he speaks. "I have set a very clear condition for you kid. Create a class seven formation and I will tell you about the stage beyond the foundation stage. It is too risky for you before that."

"Well, why can't you at least tell me what it is.", I speak, starting to lose my cool.

"As I have told you a thousand times before, you will know it when you are ready.", my master speaks, his voice taking on a serious tone. Looks like I have pushed the man enough. The man can handle disrespect but there is a limit to it.

"Fine, speak what you need to.", I reply.

"Fine, I am going to teach a technique to you. Something that is very important to you. Do you really need to be so moody.", he speaks. "Fine, I will show it you a bit prematurely."

As he speaks, I can feel the mana in the area suddenly become still as if somebody has frozen it all. How does a man do that?

"The technique that I want to teach you is simply called as "fusion" and the ability that it grants you is quite simple. It will allow you to fuse your mana core to a formation.", he speaks. "I am sure that you don't understand what that means. That is why we are here in this desolate wastelands at the border between both forces. Can't have any misunderstandings now."

As he speaks, he shows me his hand. On it is a ring with a red ruby on it. It looks quite ordinary, but I have seen him wear it since I was a kid.

"This ring is my core, the formation that has fused with my mana core.", he speaks. "It might look quite ordinary, but it is a class three formation, kid."

As he speaks, the ring begins to shine as the man's skin becomes grey, sprouting hair on it like a wolf's skin. He looks like a werewolf at the moment.

"This is my class nine formation, "wolf skin".", he speaks. "It is a simple spell, which allows me to cover myself in wolf skin."

As he completes speaking, his bones begins to collapse as he falls on his four legs taking the shape of a wolf.

"This is my class eight formation, "wolf flesh", which allows me to turn into a pure wolf.", he speaks.

His presence magnifies as he speaks. Right now I feel like I am looking at a wolf preying on me. I can feel the creature biting at my throats. It's claw cutting at my back.

"This is my class seven formation. You don't need to know what it is now.", he speaks.

Again his presence changes. It is almost the same as his before but something is different. I can't pin point what it is though.

"This is my class six formation. A pity your mana sense is so bad at this moment. It is a beautiful sight to behold.", he speaks.

As he completes his statement, I can feel the presence of this man. It is like a crushing pressure as I fall to the ground.

"This is my class five formation.", he speaks.

Almost as soon as I fall onto the ground, his presence disappears.

"Well, I must say that you are better off than me. During my initiation. I had fallen to my master's sixth formation itself.", he speaks. "You sages really tend to be quite sturdy don't you."

"What was that?", is all I am able to speak as I begin to get up.

"That my dear student, is your path to power.", he speaks. "And I am here to teach you the very first step to this path."