First Breakthrough

3 Weeks passed by quietly within the jungle that consumed all light and sound and the kids continued their training.

Within the majestic and hollow tent that had managed to awe Ryne at first, Tribal Chief Hans was reading a book he was holding in his hand while Danulo sat beside him with a bleak expression.

"Why did Golver take that kid as his disciple, Danulo?" Hans asked nonchalantly.

"Last time I asked him he told me it was because of necessity and his sense of duty that he took that kid in as his disciple but the kid seemed cheerful there in the presence of that old sadist. Moreover, I refuse believe that after generations and generations of staying put, he suddenly decided to take a disciple selflessly and that too, an outsider. He's hiding something, perhaps he found—"

"You're being paranoid Danulo. Golver definitely has his private motives but we don't need to care about them. We have the keys after all and that day is still far away." Hans's disinterested words managed to pour cold water on Danulo's raging fanaticism.

Danulo nodded his head as Hans followed up, "Any news on the hunter?"

Hearing the question, Danulo's body jerked slightly in nervousness, "No, we searched all the nooks and crannies nearby but the hunter left no evidence. Senior Emertius informed me yesterday that most likely, the hunter had already left the vicinity of the Rohanic tribe."

The hunter that these two leaders were talking about referred to an unknown adventurer that managed to hunt two Grade-4 panthers that they were planning to hunt together 3 weeks ago during Ryne and Daney's Magic Affinity test.

The hunter that killed those two panthers did so without a sound and without alerting the tribal folks nearby. By the time Danulo, Hans, and Senior Emertius found the panthers, only their carcasses were left there to rot. The priceless mana cores of two Grade-4 beasts were long gone.

This could only mean that the supposed hunter was a rogue adventurer, stronger than any Grade-4 warrior or mage, passed by without alerting them.

This frightened the scheming tribal leaders as this could mean a risk of unknown interference from that outsider at any time.

They were searching for his trail through both primitive and magical methods to seek his guidance, express their gratitude, and quite frankly, just bootlick him for rewards but since there was no result in such a long time, Emertius told Danulo to stop their futile efforts.

"We need to lay low for a few weeks, in case that 'hunter' is still snooping around."

"I'll ask the hunting squads to expand our area of operations to make it seem as if our only purpose is wild expansion."

...

As the two leaders secretly brainstormed to fulfill their motives, Golver was enjoying being a selfless sage and a loving master.

Today was a special day for him - his first and favorite disciple, Ryne was going to become a real mage today.

Both the master and the disciple had a gut feeling that it was this fateful day that would change Ryne's life forever but while Ryne was only focused on breaking through, Golver had another worry.

Golver knew that although the heavens were aloof and mighty, they were made for the Gods and Divinities and not the mortals. Someone with a Divine Element affinity ascending as a mage would seem like a defying act, a rebellion against the natural order.

However, there would be no direct adverse consequences of the advancements, nor would heaven make a direct move since the defying act itself was very minor.

Instead of 'punishing' the rebel, only a 'warning' would be issued for the first few breakthroughs.

There would be a certain phenomenon that would alert those nearby of the defiance taking place.

Golver believed that the phenomenon that would occur would be random and harmless for the most part and there was an even fainter possibility of anyone realizing its significance since rarely have there been Divine Elemental Mages on the continent since ancient times.

Still, as a precaution, he carried Ryne along with him as they traveled southeast for an entire day before reaching an abandoned natural cave.

Gloves checked the vicinity for dangers as Ryne sat down on the ground and started trying to guide environmental mana into his sea of consciousness.

Although the process was sluggish, Ryne still felt himself improving over time, as if something within him was being refined. It was his spirit that was being cleansed and honed by the natural mana of the world.

Golver guarded the single entry and exit point of the cave as he saw his little disciple utterly focused and showing signs of a breakthrough.

One hour passed by in silence when abruptly a rumbling sound echoed across the entire forest of calamity. The first to hear it was of course Golver, who didn't even look up at the clear blue sky with thundering noises all around but kept his vision focused on his little disciple.

Ryne didn't feel any pain, nor did he feel much difference in his perception. He just felt a refreshing feeling coursing through his body as his mind suddenly enlarged and expanded into his unique, illuminating, and structured sea of consciousness.

Now, through effort, Ryne could store the surrounding mana and use it to cast magic spells, of course since he had either no or very low affinity with the fire element, using the fire elemental runes to cast magic would only result in a sliver of fire, only enough to burn paper at most.

The difference in a fire-elemental mage and Ryne simply being their ability to 'request' environmental mana to do their bidding.

Simply put, Mages with affinity with the element were like the 'children' of the environmental mana. Those with a better affinity can be thought of as 'children with a thick bloodline', hence they were naturally favored by environmental mana.

When these 'children' 'requested' it to give grant them 'fuel' to cast their spells, their 'requests' were fulfilled by the doting natural mana of their element.

Ryne, on the other hand, was like a crocodile in a group of monkeys, trying to jump from tree to tree. Environmental mana of other elements natually didn't fulfill any of his 'requests' and therefore, he could only change his ways slightly and 'order' it to do his bidding.

Environmental mana had no self-awareness, no pride, and therefore, Ryne was still able to utilize a certain percentage of its power this way.

According to Golver though, this situation would change as he keeps breaking through and his control over environmental mana increases. At a certain stage, 'requesting' and 'ordering' make little to no difference.

Ryne believed this should be the stage where affinity stops affecting the path of the mages entirely.

This advancement satisfied Ryne as he was currently a Grade-1 mage as a 6-year-old when he wasn't even supposed to have his Magic Affinity tested until he was 7 years old.

Moreover, regardless of whether it was a wick of fire or a sea of fire, it meant that he wasn't a helpless child now, he was a… 'little mage'.

Golver also revealed a satisfied smile as the master and disciple nodded their head at each other in silence.

...

As the rumbling sound echoed under the clear blue sky, the villagers of the three tribes, including their leaders and the magical beasts present around, all looked around in confusion.

Chief Hans felt a chill going through his spine when he felt the rumbling sound as if it was the sound of his perfect plans falling apart. He didn't know why he was feeling that 'Perhaps I'm just pessimistic because of the recent unknown events but what was that sound?'

He peered sideways at Danulo, who was expressing his fanaticism frequently these days to him and saw him gaping in confusion as well.

That was the case for almost everyone except a blind teenager wearing a loose blue robe in the northern part of the jungle, with a dreadful horizontal scar replacing his eyes.

The teenager appeared to be skinny and weak, supporting himself with his longsword and holding a grey token in his other hand, but if Senior Emertius was present here, he wouldn't hesitate to bow down in front of this seemingly malnourished teenager due to the aura he was unconsciously emitting.

He revealed a stiff smile when he heard the thundering sound as he muttered to himself, 'The child safely became a mage, my duty is accomplished now.'

Taking one last look at the token, he threw it with an indifferent look, waving his longsword once, and a black gash that appeared to penetrate the reality in half, opened in front of him as the reality seemed to crack a little. He took a step forward as he jumped into the dark, horrifying gap and disappeared from the forest of calamity.

The world returned to normal and all that was left were only tall, gruesome trees, brownish soil, and a token that read,

[Vassal of Chaos (96): Quintus].

Two shining white and round cores were also lying nearby that began to emit rays of light when the token was thrown on the ground.

The two rays of light simultaneously penetrated the token as it began to disappear underground, like water being absorbed in soil.

Both cores soon cracked and disappeared naturally after their energy was exhausted and hence, the 'priceless' Grade-4 mana cores that Hans and Golver regretted missing could never be found anymore.