CH.1

“Let’s be quick. We can’t be late for the test.” A woman said to her Ten or Eleven years old son in a worried tone as she pulled him to hasten towards their destination. It was not just them but a number of young boys and girls were being accompanied by their parents on the street today and they all headed towards a common destination. It was the House of the city lord.

A young boy named Simon in his teens was walking towards his work place that was in the direction opposite to the house of the City lord. He looked at the parents and the young kids with a melancholic expression as he remembered the day he had taken the test. This test could change the life of any young child forever.

The Royal school of Mage and aura master would send a few teachers every year to the Ishan city of the Konark Empire to test the young kids of the city to check them if anyone had the talent to become a mage or aura master. The Konark Empire was situated on Heaven continent. Heaven continent was one of the many continents that existed in the world of Koislar. This world was ruled by powerful mages and Aura masters due to which every human in the world wished to become either of the two though the reality was quite grim and majority didn’t have the necessary talent to become a powerful mage or aura master.

All the Empires and kingdoms that existed in Koislar would test all the children of the age of ten or eleven to see if anyone had the talent to become a mage or aura master. If the kid has sufficient talent then they would be sent to their Empire or Kingdom’s Royal academy to learn magic or aura arts.

Simon had taken the test a four years ago when he was ten years old. His test results were not what he had expected when he had left home that morning in order to take the test. Since he was an orphan he had no one to accompany him to the City lord house that being the venue for the test. The test was quite simple. A child just needs to place his hand on a Mana crystal. If his body resonates with the mana crystal then he or she has the talent to become either a Mage or aura master. The child would have to undergo further after arriving to the Royal academy in order to find the field where his or her talent truly lied. Mana crystal was nothing but crystalized form of special energy that existed in the world of Koislar called Mana.

When Simon had taken the test, his body didn’t resonate with the Mana crystal which also dashed all of his hopes forever of changing his life. No one laughed at him for failing the test as they knew how rare it was to be born with a talent to become a mage or aura master though this also depended on the pedigree of the child. If both the parents of the child were either aura masters or mages or an aura master or mage then the chances of their child having a talent to become one would increase by a large margin. This was the main reason why the Royal families and noble families of all the empires and Kingdoms were filled up to the brim with mages and Aura masters in their ranks.

Simon soon came to his work place. A run-down book shop. He got two gold coins a year to help the owner of this place throughout the year. One gold coin was equal to ten silver coins and one silver coin was equal to ten copper coins. The books shop was owned by an old woman who took pity on Simon and employed him. Two gold coins were sufficient for him to live a comfortable life in the Ishan city which was a C grade city. The different cities were graded as A, B and C in the decreasing order of their prosperity. He opened the door to the book store and saw his employer was already sitting at the counter of the book store. The book store was not big. It was around a 100 sq. meters in area.

“Good morning, grandma.” Simon said as a smile appeared on his face. She was the only person in Ishan city for whom he cared.

“It’s good that you came on time. A lot of people will be visiting us today due to the test so quickly do the cleaning.” The old woman chided him a friendly tone.  Simon nodded his head as he picked up a broom and started cleaning the book store.

Since Ishan city was the only city within the radius of hundred kilometers meant that all the people living within this area and that wished to have their children tested would have to come to Ishan city. The book store sold books on aura arts and magic. This was the only store in the Ishan city which sold such goods. It was not that other didn’t wish to sell them but none dared to do so as the old woman was one of the few mages in the Ishan city so no one wished to get on her wrong side.  

The number of mages was always significantly less as compared to aura masters. This was due to the difficulty associated in becoming one. One needed to have a good brain in order become a mage but same was not the case in becoming an aura master. Anyone could become an aura master as long as their bodies resonated with the mana crystal.

The book store had ten shelf that were placed in neat order side by side. Seven of the shelves contained books on aura arts while the remaining contained books on magic. The books were mainly focused on mana meditation. If one was not born with innate talent to become an aura master or mage than one could practice mana meditation to slowly increase their affinity with Mana but by the time their bodies are able to resonate with Mana crystal they are already in their forties and have already lost their most precious time and could only become a low-level mage and Aura master and that too if they worked very hard. But most people were already satisfied with such results so mana mediation books were always in high demand. Simon was also practicing mana meditation on a regular basis if he was a low level mage or aura master then he could easily live a comfortable and rich life here in Ishan city.

The book store also had a few mage meditation books, Magic spell books, aura master meditation and aura arts books. These books were meant for Rank 1 mages and aura masters. The stuff meant for Rank 2 aura masters and mages was strictly under the control of Royal family and noble families of an Empire or Kingdom. This made sure that their positions remained firm.

Simon and the old woman didn’t have to wait for long to receive their first customer. He was burly man with beard. He had a big bag in his hand. A smile appeared on the face of the old woman upon seeing the big bag in his hand. He was a regular to the book store and would usually bring things that he dug out from some archaeological site to exchange for some books in the store. The things that he brought always intrigued the old woman. They were most mostly magic artifacts though most were in a non-working condition but the old woman treated them like treasures.

The magic artifacts were created by etching runes on normal objects like sword, table lamp, or anything else. These normal objects would turn into artifacts once the etching of the runes was competed. Runes can only be etched by a mage due to which the mages that were able to etch runes were always in high demand. Runes are nothing but symbols that possess power. They are the inventions of Rank 10 and above mages. Rank 10 and above mages and aura masters are able to gain insights in elemental laws. Mages create runes from the insights they had gained in elemental laws.  

Generally, the method to etch runes are sold at exorbitant prices which low level mages like the old woman couldn’t afford so they study the runes etched on magic artifacts. If they are able to understand them then they would also be able to draw them but if they were unable to understand then the rune etched by them would be unable to turn the normal object into magic artifact. The difficulty in learning to draw runes in this manner increases many fold.

“James, what have you brought today?” The old woman started behaving like a little kid at this moment. Simon also came to the counter to see the stuff brought by James. He was always intrigued by the stuff that he brought on a regular basis. Some were things that he had not even seen books. The book store had a few books on the different types of magic artifacts which were read by Simon so many times that he had more or less memorized the content of those books.    

“Martha, you will love the things that have unearthed this time.” James laughed as he started emptying his bag on the counter. If one were to look at all this stuff then he or she would definitely think that the stuff brought by James was junk. All the things were broken or rusted. Martha’s eyes were shining brightly as she could already see the runes on some of the magic artifacts intact which was a big thing for her.

“Is this book somewhat special?” Simon asked in an intrigued manner as the book looked quite similar to worn out old books present in the book store. The book had a black color leather cover which had also started to rot.  

“I am not sure. I found it along with all this stuff. So, I brought it along with me. If you need it then keep it though It is empty on the inside.” James handed the book to Simon with a slight smile on his face. He had a good impression of Simon. Martha also didn’t mind as she could tell that the book was nothing special as it was not emitting mana radiation of any kind which all magic artifacts emit.

“Do you wish to take a few books for these things or want gold.” Martha asked while Simon had already left for his usual spot along with the worn-out book. It was amongst the shelves. He would stay here to help customers select a book.

Simon opened the book and found it to be empty just like James had said but Simon felt that something was not ok with this book. He was getting a vague feeling from the book since James took it out from his bag. It was as if it was calling him. It was a very vague feeling which he was unable to explain. The pages had turned yellow which spoke a lot about its age. Simon turned a few pages of the book and suddenly developed a paper cut on the fore finger of his right hand while turning the pages. A few drops of the blood dropped on the yellow pages.

“Ouch.” Simon started sucking his fore finger in order to stop bleeding as he closed the book.  

“Roar,” A terrifying roar destroyed the peace of the bookstore. The expression of James, Martha and Simon changed drastically.

“Boom,” A explosion resounded right after the roar following which Martha and James ran outside the store. They were already able to guess the source of all this. Simon had a terrified expression as he quickly ran towards the basement of the book store along with the worn-out book.

The normal beasts, birds and other kinds beings under the effect of Mana would evolve into Mana beasts, mana birds and other kinds of mana beings. The mana beings are extremely powerful and possess a number of innate abilities.  The mana beings could only be defeated by a mage or an aura master. Normal people of no chance against them.

The Ishan city was surrounded on all sides by a thick forest named Maya forest so attacks from Mana beings was common but unlike earlier times, Simon could tell that the Mana being that had attacked the city this time was no pushover from its roar. He had almost fainted when he had heard the roar which spoke a lot about the strength of the mana being. He had to use his full mental strength in order to stay awake. All the buildings of Ishan city had a basement under them which was built for such times.

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The basement of the book store was a small chamber and was well stocked. Martha done it specifically for Simon’s sake. It had one lamp which was the first thing Simon turned on after entering the basement. Simon then quickly sealed the basement as he knew that Martha and James wouldn’t be coming back as they would have to fight the mana beast as Martha was a mage while James was an aura master. They would have to join forces with forces of the city lord in order to kill the mana beast or repel the Mana beast from the city according to the rules of the Konark empire. If they fail to do so then they would be executed later on by the forces of the Empire.

Simon found himself a corner as he sat quietly with the worn-out book still in his hand.

“Boom”

“Boom”

One explosion after another rocked the city which shook the city in its entirety which told a lot about the level of the battle that was going on outside. The heartbeat of Simon increased as he started praying to the Aracai, the god of war. Aracai was the most followed god on Koislar. Almost every city had a temple dedicated to him.

The worn-out book which looked exceptionally normal suddenly started to shine brightly which alarmed Simon. He tried to throw the book away in fear but was unable to do so as the book was stuck to his right hand.

“Ahhh!” Simon roared in pain as he was completely shrouded in white light. He could feel the blood from his body being drained by the worn-out book. He felt powerless and soon fainted due to excessive loss of blood. The book on the other hand had undergone a complete metaphorizes. It no longer looked like an old worn out book and it had a pair of cold eyes on its leather cover. The pair of cold eyes were looking at Simon with an intrigued manner before it entered his body. Thus, disappearing into it.

The situation outside was no good. The forces of the city lord were not powerful enough to kill the Mana beast or scare it back to the forest. The mana beast looked quite similar to a Bear. It was as big as a small mountain and had a pitch-black fur. This mana beast was called Ghost bear and was a death attribute beast. All mana beings have a particular attribute or attributes in some case like water, fire, death, wind, and so on. Mana beings were ranked from Rank 1 to Rank 10 on the basis of their strength.

Half of the city had turned into ruin. The surviving buildings had received damage in some form or the other. Majority of the people that had opposed the Ghost bear were already dead. Their souls were already devoured by the Ghost bears using its soul devour innate ability.  

“Sir, what should we do? The mana beast is just too strong for us to handle.” One of the soldiers asked the city lord who had retreated in the basement of his mansion along with his surviving forces that mostly comprised of aura masters. There were also a few aura masters and mages that were not part of his force present in the basement but had joined forces with it to help repel the ghost bear. James and Martha were also here and their entire bodies were riddled with severe wounds.

Anyone could tell the soilder’s current thoughts from his face. The intentions of other survivors were no different. They all wished to flee from the Ishan city at this moment with their families. They were least bothered about the common people. Since all of them were either aura masters or mages. They knew that they could easily find work in other cities but they couldn’t afford to do so without the permission of the city lord. If they did then they would die sooner or later as they would be charged with treason.  

“Help is on the way. The Empire has sent an archmage to kill that ghost bear.” The city lord said in a calm manner. His sudden declaration immediately brought relief to everyone present in the basement. An archmage could easily handle a rank 9 beast. Rank 10 mages were given the title of Archmage.

“Don’t you guys feel that something is off. The area around the city didn’t have a single rank 9 beast before. From where the hell did the ghost bear appear out of nowhere.” The city lord’s expression turned sour as he remembered the deaths of the teachers from the royal academy. They were the first ones to fall during the clash with the ghost bear. The ghost bear made sure of it as they were the strongest amongst all the people that were opposing him. The ghost bear had initially hidden its strength which made them attack it. They had initially assumed it to be a rank 6 beast from the aura released by it. This was something that they would regret the rest of their lives as many of their friends had perished due to it.

“The area around the Ishan city is a low mana intensity area which a rank 9 being should detest. It wouldn’t have come here without a reason.” The city lord said as he fell in a deep thought. The others in the basement also felt that something was not right but they were not bothered much by it as a archmage was coming to deal with that abominable Ghost bear.

In the meantime, the ghost bear had already stopped rampaging and was focused at digging at a certain part of the city. This place was on the opposite side of the book store where Simon was lying unconscious and too quite a distance away.

“JiJi, just a little more and the source of that weird mana radiation will be within our sight.” A black hooded man appeared next to the Ghost bear. The Ghost bear turned out to be someone’s pet!

“Roar,” the Ghost bear gave a light roar in delight and increased its digging speed.

“You should also come out. I already know that you are here.” The black hooded man turned his head and looked towards a pile of rubble at some distance away.

“You are quite sharp. I don’t know what exactly you are searching for but it belongs to Konark Empire as its within our territory. If you surrender than I won’t make things difficult for you.” A middle-aged man came out from behind the rubble with a smile on his face. The middle-aged man was the dressed in a simple shirt and a pair of trousers. His chest pocket had an insignia of the Royal family of Konark Empire which signified that he was a Royalty. He looked no different from a common person. He was the archmage sent by the empire. The middle-aged man had a lean body and mediocre features but he was not that young as he looked. His name was Anthos.

The life span of mages and aura masters increase by five hundred years when they reach Rank 7. Their life spans won’t increase further until they reach rank 10. The increase in life span at that time is by thousands of years.

“You know it has been hundreds of years since someone dared to talk to me in such a manner.” The black hooded person said as he flicked his right hand and following which a mana beast that resembled a panther appeared next to him. This panther was pitch black in color and its size was similar to a normal panther but no one would dare to underestimate it due to the Dark aura that it was releasing. This was Shadow panther, a Darkness attribute mana beast.  The black hooded man’s Shadow panther was a rank 10 mana beast. The expression of Anthos changed instantly upon seeing the black hooded man summon a mana beast.

“Shits, I never expected to bump into a Tamer.” Anthos cursed his luck as he quickly did some hand signs following which he was surrounded by a barrier as he prepared to fight the shadow panther. Mages have a weaker bodies in comparison to aura master due to which they erect a barrier around them during fights.

All mages and aura masters wish to form a contract with a powerful mana being but it was easier said than done. They could only do so if they were able to create a good bonding with the mana being. Majority of the mages and all aura masters can only form contract with a single mana being in their entire life which would be their most loyal partner. The mages that are able to form contract with more than one mana being possessed special souls. Such mages were exceptionally rare due to which tamers were extremely rare. The number of contracts a tamer could form depended on his or her mage Rank. All mages cultivate their souls while aura masters cultivate their bodies. So, the strength of a mage’s soul would increase with the increase in his or her mage rank which would in turn allow them to form contract with a more mana beings. A archmage who is also a tamer could easily form contract with hundreds of mana beings. This was the main reason why Anthos was alarmed.

“Shera, play with that man for some time.” The black hooded man said with a laugh. The shadow panther looked at Anthos with a mocking expression as in its view he was not even a decent playmate.

“Jiji don’t stop digging.” The black hooded man chided the ghost bear in a loving tone as he could tell that the ghost bear was interested in seeing the shadow panther finish off Anthos. 

“Roar,” the ghost bear again started to dig with a sad expression seeing that the black hooded man had no intention to let him enjoy the fight. A smile appeared on the face of the black hooded man seeing the reaction of ghost bear.   

The expression of Anthos darkened as he saw the black hooded man being least bothered about dealing with him. The shadow panther which was standing by the side of the black hooded man suddenly appeared in front of Anthos. He struck his right claw on the barrier erected by Anthos with its full might. The expression of Anthos changed drastically as he was unable to keep with the speed of the shadow panther.

“Boom”

A sound akin to an explosion went off when the shadow panther struck the barrier. The barrier had already developed a few cracks from its single attack. Anthos was alarmed as he could tell that the Shadow panther was very close to become a Rank 11 mana beast.

Anthos knew that he would have to go all out right from the start if he wished to cause any sort of harm to the black hooded man and his mana beasts. He quickly conjured hundreds of spears that were entirely condensed out of fire. The spears were giving off a very powerful aura and pressure. The shadow panther quickly retreated as it knew that it would die if these many fire spears were strike it at such a close range. The black hooded man was still not fazed even when Anthos showcased such a powerful spell. He was still calm and composed. This made Anthos make an extreme choice. He had a feeling that the black hooded man was a saint mage. Rank 11 mages were called saint mages and this fact scared him. The Konark empire couldn’t afford to have such an enemy roam freely for long.  

Anthos smiled at the black hooded man. The black hooded man felt that something was off with the smile of the Anthos. The fire spears that Anthos had conjured disappeared and a red orb appeared in the hand of Anthos. The expression of black hooded man changed under his hood.

“Let’s see if you are strong enough to withstand this thing here.” Anthos laughed hysterically as the red orb started to shine brightly.

“You lunatic.” The black hooded man roared as he quickly made a few hand signs and erected a barrier around himself. He also recalled his contracted mana beasts to his beast pouch. Beast pouch was a magic artifact of spatial attribute and was used by aura masters and mages to carry their contracted mana beings around.

Anthos had decided to take the black hooded man and his mana beasts along with him to underworld. He was even ok with sacrificing the citizens of Ishan city for it as he understood how dangerous was the man in front of him.    

“Boom”

The red orb exploded and half of the Ishan city was wiped out instantly by it. The explosion was similar to an atomic explosion. The explosion released a lot of terrifying flames which destroyed everything that came into its contact. The explosion had caused a powerful earthquake which made the building that were still standing in the other half of the Ishan city before the explosion to collapse. The entire Ishan city was decimated.  

“What was the point of all this?” The black hooded man said with a mocking manner as he hovered high up in the sky.

“Well I already have the thing that I was looking for.” The black hooded man said to himself as he studied the white pearl in his hand in great detail. The black hooded man had no idea what exactly it was. He had never seen a mana treasure with such a weird mana radiation. Mana treasures were things that were birth by the areas that had very high concentration of mana.

The ghost bear had unearthed it at the same moment when the shadow panther had attacked the Empire’s archmage. The reason why he was intrigued by it was due to him not being able to extract it from the ground with the help of his powers. Generally, he could have extracted anything similar to this pearl with the single thought of his but that was the case with this pearl. His powers would be repealed the moment his powers were to approach this pearl due to which he was unable to extract it. This was reason why he had to make the ghost bear dig in the middle of a city and pick a fight with Konark Empire.

 “I should leave before the arrival of the forces of Konark Empire.” The black hooded man said to himself as he flew into the horizon. He was not at all bothered by the fact that he was responsible for the destruction of an entire city.