Chapter 41: Elemental Avatar

Normally, Alexander would tell us everything. He doesn't hide that much from us but this time, he didn't tell us where he was going. He only said that it was a mission given to him by the sect, and left a day after that.

It was weird, and we were left alone, not knowing what to do. It divided us all, and it didn't help with the fact that the sect placed us in random houses far from each other. We suggested being placed in the same house but the sect elder that governs District 8 said no. We were quite angry, of course, but we can't do anything about it because he has a higher rank than us.

I might be able to beat that elder but the consequences would be dire. I can probably escape on my own if I made an enemy out of the sect, but what about my brothers and sisters? They are, as of currently, too weak to even match a single elder. I can't let them enter any danger just because of me.

Even though I'm not as close to the others as I am with Vane, Flare, and Flame, I still can't find it in me to just leave them alone. No matter what, they are family, and family always protects each other, no matter the cost.

When I left Vane's house, it was already dark, around 6 PM.

The curfew in District 8 is 8:00 PM to 5:00 AM, so I still have a lot of time to go back to my house. The ones enacting the laws around here are quite strict with their methods, for example; a disciple once got drunk while staying in his friend's house and went past the curfew, a few minutes later, two people in black cloaks and hoods came to him and almost burned him alive. The D-Class disciple survived but he suffered third-degree burns, though he is quite fine now. Some scars were left but he can still cultivate, and even managed to enter C-Class.

I find that quite unreasonable.

I thought that this sect was a haven for all races, yet they treat their disciples like this?

I mean… even though they are given food, cultivation resources, a house all for themselves, and can still make friends with other disciples, all for free, disciples still shouldn't be treated like this…

Alright, I give up, it is within the sect's rights to punish whoever they deem worth punishing. I can't judge them because, you know, they are basicslly giving anything to the disciples for free.

I don't even have to pay for my house!

Their only wish is for us to advance and not be troublemakers, which I completely understand.

I just sighed as I fly on top of the countless houses I see, and they seemed endless.

It's hard to identify my house over the other houses since they all looked the same, but thankfully, I managed to find a way to recognize my house; by carving my name on top of my roof. Many disciples have done this since it is indeed difficult to find their own house.

Only after a disciple leaves, will that carved name disappear. I saw that happen only once since the time I came here, and I immediately figured out that, maybe, just maybe, the sect is monitoring us somehow. It might seem far-fetch since there are thousands of disciples in the sect, and you could've been right if talismans didn't exist.

I think that there's a talisman around my house but I can't seem to pinpoint its location. But as long as it doesn't bother me, then I have no problem with it… and as long as the one monitoring isn't a f*cking pedo.

I arrived at my house and entered its door to my living room.

I just sat on my sofa, a bit tired, and suddenly, I saw someone appear in front of me.

I jumped a bit, "The f*ck!?"

I almost thought that there was an enemy in front of me, only to find out that it was Christopher.

I sighed, and said, "Goddamnit, old man! At least enter my house like a normal person!"

Christopher only laughed, "Hahahaha! I can't do that, because I'm no normal person! I am one of the greatest mages to ever live on this lan—"

"—and you are the one who mastered many elements more than most, blah, blah, blah. What did you even come here for, old man? It's already night, and I have to sleep. I can't miss my baby sleep." I said, yawning a bit.

He shook his finger at me, and said, "No, no, you can't sleep yet. I have to teach you blaze magic, remember?"

Ah, Blaze Magic. It's one of the 8 sub-elements of fire magic. It can be used to enhance my fire augmentation magic, and if I apply it to a normal iron sword, it can cut silver like a hot knife going through butter. The side-effect is that the sword will melt, depending on the metal.

Blaze Magic can also be used to craft blaze dust, which is an important ingredient to craft a fire-resistance pill. This pill can protect anyone who consumes it from any kind of heat, even lava.

Other than those I mentioned, this sub-element is completely useless to me.

I groaned, "Ugh, can't I just do that tomorrow? I'm tired and sleepy here, for f*ck sake!"

"Nope, you'll have to learn it tonight! Besides, you have 32 sub-elements of the four original elements to learn. It'll take you a decade just to learn them all, even with your talents! It took me 70 years to learn everything I know now, and, at best, I can only cast the advanced elements quite mediocrely! I daresay that in twenty years, you will be able to surpass my knowledge of magic!"

"But can't we just discard blaze magic? I'd rather learn white and dark fire magic, which are far more useful than this useless sub-element!" I said.

"Humph! You underestimate blaze magic too much, young boy! This sub-element can be used to integrate fire magic to your body, it acts like a bridge of some sort between fire and your body. And if you can integrate fire magic to your body, then you will be able to form an elemental avatar around you! The more mana energy and control you have, the bigger the avatar!" He said, more enthusiastic than before.

This got me curious. Blaze magic forms a bridge between my body and fire magic? How?

"How can that be? I don't understand." I admitted.

He then laughed, "Hahahaha! Now you finally take interest! Very well, I shall tell you about it and I'll perform an example later. To use the Elemental Avatar of Fire, you must first master fire itself. Blaze is the most important, because it has to be used to form an aura of fire first. Fire magic is naturally chaotic and dangerous, even its user can get damaged by it, but blaze is a little different; you can control it."

He opened his palm as I attentively listened to him, and a spinning wheel of fire appeared on top of his palm, sending sparks every now and then, a sign of blaze magic.

"As you can see, I can control blaze to my liking. I can make it into a spinning wheel, whilst if you do the same with fire magic, it'll just explode to your face. Now, the reason blaze magic is so important to creating a fire avatar is because you can combine it with the normal fire magic and use it to shape fire magic to your liking!"

He raised his other palm, and another spinning wheel of fire appeared, but this time, it doesn't produce any sparks, which is supposed to be the signature of blaze magic!

"While you might be asking as to why it doesn't produce any sparks even though it is a combination of normal fire and blaze magic, it is because the real fire magic is stronger than blaze magic, that's why it overshadows it. That's why, once I've combined fire and blaze magic into one, I can control fire into anything I want! It can form a barrier around me, or use it to make an avatar!" He said, holding the two flames together.

"Then can you demonstrate this 'Elemental Avatar of Fire'?" I asked, more curious than ever.

He snapped his finger, and everything around slowly became white.

Christopher had just transferred the both of us into his own dimensional space box!

"Since my mana's quantity is limited, I can only make a 20 feet tall avatar. Now, back away a little bit."

I did as he said, and backed away from him.

His old gray robe suddenly burned to ashes, revealing the muscular body of an old man who only wore long white pants.

He brought his hands together, and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, and they were blazing red!

"Hah!!" He yelled, and then a sudden burst of fire covered him like a dome.

The dome of fire then shot through the ceiling of the dimensional box, and slowly formed a giant humanoid figure with 4 arms, each having a blade that's made of fire.

The fire avatar looked like an ancient warrior, and right now, it is extremely intimidating.

Then, I heard the old man's voice from within it, "This avatar, as long as I remain in focus, is an extension of my will. Elemental Avatars are also the strongest defense there is! It is almost impossible to penetrate it with any kind of blade, because fire itself is protecting me from its will! As long as I have mana to expend, I am invincible within this form. Try hitting me with anything."

I was doubtful because fire is technically intangible, and blades can still pass through it.

So I grabbed a sword from the numerous amounts of weapons I had in my storage ring, and rushed towards the avatar with an amazing speed that ruptured the wind.

Since this old man is so arrogant to think that this avatar of his can protect him, I'll use all of my strength to pierce it!

I thrust my sword towards the avatar of fire!

*Clang!*

The sword broke as an aura of fire extended from the avatar, and hit me, making me crash to the wall of the dimensional box.

The avatar disappeared, and only the old man remained.

But something was strange, most of his mana is gone.

'Of course, casting something like that should've drained his mana rapidly.' I guessed in my thoughts.

"See? That's why it is the strongest defense, not even your full strength could damage it!" He boasted.

I stood up, having no harm done to my body, as I said, "Yeah, yeah, it's the strongest alright. So when are you gonna teach me that?"

The old man contemplated a bit, and realized that he doesn't have any more mana to spare.

So, he did what most people would do.

Then the old man just snapped his fingers again and we returned to my house, and said, "You were right, I'll teach you a week from now. Ah, ah, my back is killing me."

"What!? After showing all of that light show, you'll just leave!?" I said incredulously.

"Hahahaha, bye-bye!" He said, and teleported away.

F*cking eccentric old man!