Past:
A few days later:
2709 woke up trembling all over and hugged his blanket. It took him a while to finally calm down and this pathetic display of fear made him disgusted with himself. Ever since he went to the third layer when he was 10 years old, it was very rare for him to have nightmares about that event. Even the mere thought of that day sends chills down his spine. He clenched his fist and got up with furrowed brows to get some water.
When he regained clarity, he grew more serious because every time he had this dream, someone would die or disappear from the slaves.
Could it be Lucas?
He had a sudden impulse to go out and check. He didn't care what happened to Lucas but he was just curious as to why he had this dream after so many years.
It might be dangerous out there, but he knew that as long as he did not go anywhere near the third layer, nothing would happen to him.
As he thought that, he channeled his power and his blood started boiling. ‘It’s been a while since I’ve done this.’
Blue lights came out from his skin and they were much stronger than the ones in the dream. Slowly they formed a protective layer around his body.
He opened the room of his door and headed towards the entrance of the underground mine. He knew that Shane was a very powerful mage, but even he could not discover him. ‘No one here can, Apart from that “thing”.’
He knew this, because one time when he was cleaning in the sister’s office, Shane came there for some official business. Due to his sudden appearance and the danger Odin sensed from his mage powers, out of fear he subconsciously activated his ability.
However, Shane didn't notice a thing. He was only around 15 at that time and since his ability has grown significantly in the last three years, He is confident that his ability can fool even him.
…
Later at night, at the entrance of The Vidre stone mine.
“Did you honestly think that you could escape? For someone to be able to become a junior mage on his own, you are rather dumb in other aspects.” Said Shane with disdain in his eyes
For mages, rank 1 to 3 means that they are a junior mage, at rank 4 to 6 they are mage of a specific element and from 7 to 9 are known as archmages, for example an earth mage is at rank 4-6, while an archmage is at rank 7-9.
“Shut up! Do you think I don’t know you’re trying to stall time for reinforcements to arrive?” Said Lucas with confidence. He knew the moment he saw Shane waiting for him, his plan was a failure. But he had no choice but to fight his way out. He stood straight with his golden hair swaying in the night wind.
“You are overestimating your abilities; do you really think I need help to deal with a twerp like you?” Said a thin-looking man with casual indifference.
He looked about forty years old and was wearing a blue and golden guard outfit. His Facial features weren’t clear in the darkness, but as he stood at the narrow entrance of Vidre stone mine, under the full moon’s light he looked valiant.
However, in Lucas’s eyes, he was more like a hideous monster that bared his way to freedom.
Both stared at one another for a moment and realized what the other was thinking simultaneously, I’ll kill him.
With murderous intent, they gathered their mana and the narrow entrance became the battleground where Lucas and Shane clashed. The clash which would cause serious undercurrents across the entire Noah Empire, however, neither of them knew about this.
Time was of the essence for Lucas, who knew that every passing moment brought the threat of reinforcements that would seal his chances of escape. Shane on the other hand, was full of confidence.
He was convinced of his superiority and years of experience which would lead to his victory. He had the right to look down on the novice mage before him.
With a flick of his wrist, Shane summoned a crackling bolt of lightning out of thin air, intending to immobilize Lucas.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Had he succeeded, the fight would have ended swiftly. After all casting a spell is never that simple, from channeling mana to creating complex formulation in mind, all of that takes time.
However, with enough practice, that time can be reduced to a drastic level. This was also the reason why the majority of the mages were doomed to fail while challenging those above their ranks.
However Shane had underestimated Lucas a bit too much, someone who can become a mage on his own in just a month is definitely not someone to be judged by the norm.
Lucas acted nimbly, flawlessly casting a Water Barrier around himself. Water acts as a conductor for lightning, and when a silver bolt of lightning came into contact with the dark blue water barrier, without a hitch it disappeared just as it came in contact with the ground.
Lucas seized the opportunity when Shane was caught a bit off guard, charging forward with bloodlust.
Channeling upon his mastery over the earth element, Lucas focused his mana and by the use of spell formation, he summoned dozens of spikes from the ground aiming to impede Shane's movements and create a barrier between them to cast more spells.
The sharp spikes surged upwards, approaching to pierce Shane's defenses. However Shane wasn’t some run-of-the-mill mage as well, He had already recovered from his momentary shock at Lucas’s speed of casting a spell.
He looked at Lucas with murderous eyes and used a Wind Blade spell to slice through the incoming earth spikes.
As his mana usage was higher, wind blades which were Sharp and barely visible with a green glow, sliced through brownish earth spikes easily and headed towards Lucas.
Shane was now on the offensive, focusing on speed and high damage output. He intended to end the fight swiftly and decisively as no matter what tricks Lucas had, he could not match his burst of mana output.
He channeled his magic, generating a powerful gust of wind and dashed forward, dodging and weaving through Lucas's attacks with ease. As he closed the gap, Shane cast Fireball spells in rapid succession, aiming to exploit any vulnerability in Lucas's defense.
The fight then proved Shane’s decision right as Lucas was pushed backwards and He was getting further and further away from the mine entrance.
Lucas tried and even succeeded in pulling some clever tricks and managed to scratch Shane’s Robe with his earth spikes. If he had been a similarly ranked mage or had he known any offensive water element spells, Shane would not be having an easy time now.
Even if he was of a different profession that countered mage, with his talent and excellent battle sense he might’ve had an upper hand.
Both for the Mage and Warriors their mastery in profession is divided into 9 ranks.
As for the warrior part, things are a bit more complicated. There are two types of Warriors, Martial Artists and knights.
Rank 1 to 3 are commonly known as Warrior apprentices, and afterwards they choose a different mastery. For example shield warrior, spearman, swordsman etc.. Just like junior mages chooses different element to specialize in.
Martial artists are known as martial arts masters in rank 4 to 6, and Martial arts Grandmaster in rank 6 to 9. Their numbers are the least and
almost all of the Legacy regarding this cultivation path is lost, even the rank’s names are decided after the apocalypse. The only thing people about them is that they absorb some sort of energy in their bodies.
As for knights, they are known as senior and grand Knights respectively. When it comes to the training method of knights, only the royal family of the Noah Empire knows about it.
This is also the reason why mages are superior and undefeated in a majority of fights, as the chance of finding someone of an opposing profession is abysmally low.
Shane no longer looked down on him; He knew that the boy was more intelligent than him; however, that would not change the outcome one bit. ‘From the moment he showed up today, he was destined to die at my hands.’
The battle reached it’s climax as Shane unleashed a devastating Thunderbolt, aiming to end the fight finally.
The lightning collided with Lucas's water barrier, however unlike the first time, it was a different scenario. As Shane unleashed all his mana without holding back, a fierce struggle of elemental forces began.
In the narrow underground Entrance, Air was charged with lightning and slowly the barrier that Lucas casted started to Crack.
With the incoming threat of death, Lucas channeled every ounce of his strength and managed to strengthen the water barrier with a surge of mana.
However it was only a futile attempt as after barely a dozen seconds, the thunderous collision shattered the barrier, sending splashes of water flying in all directions.
The force of the impact threw Lucas backward and he crashed into the stone wall. A sharp edge of the stone hit the back of his head, and he knew this was the end for him.
Scenes of his life floated above his eyes as he saw various versions of himself. As a kid, crying after his parent’s death, his teenager self training to become strong, him becoming a strong adult, his feelings towards the woman he loved, him finding a corpse and notes of a mage.
Everything went downhill after that, he fought with everyone close to him and now he will die all alone.
When he recalled the last conversation he had with her, unwillingness and despair lingered in his eyes. He murmured with his dying breath, “Is this it? I should have listened to-”, but before his final thoughts could even gather, he was hit with another thunderbolt and perished.
Just like that, a genius in mana training perished in this remote corner in this lower realm.
…
Unbeknownst to both of them, they were being watched by a person sitting on a nearby cliff.
“What a pity” the man sighed as Lucas was the second best person he found here. He put a tofu skewer in his mouth and thought,
‘But since I’m here, it can be considered a good fortune in disaster for you.’
He then grabbed his hand in thin air, and a white ball of light floated from Lucas, disappearing into his palm. ‘I’ll send you to a place that’s more suitable for you, so don’t disappoint me’
“Well this leaves only one, but I still need to observe him a bit more.” the man threw the empty stick aside and looked at 2709 who was hiding near the entrance with teary eyes.