Chapter 12 Benjamin (1)

Ben's head is spinning. A nauseating feeling spreads to his whole body. He closes his eyes to recover. A little while later, as the nauseating feeling dissipates, he opens his eyes and looks around.

Ben finds himself standing in calf-high green lustrious grass. A warm spring breeze whipping gently against his body. The sky is pristine blue, with no cloud as far as the eyes can see. Light came from somewhere but Ben didn't know where because he saw no sun.

The wind kicked up and congregated on a spot in the air. The most ordinary-looking man appeared in the sky. Plain black hair, brown eyes, and light skin.

"Hi, my name is Yggdrasill. I'm the World Tree. I have taken the form that would be most appropriate to you." An amicable smile hung on the man's face.

"Ehm, hi. I have a question." Ben asked confused. The man standing in the air nodded. "I only have one question. What is going on?"

The smile on the man's face got brighter. "You come from a mortal world, one that has just shed its mortality and achieved a higher existence. Your world has always been part of the world of cultivation, but right now it met the requirements to evolve."

A sharp and oppressive aura started weighing down on Ben, the source being; Yggdrasil. "Cultivation is challenging the heavens, taking power for yourself, and evolving past your mortal limits. To overcome death, to live and thrive. Becoming a higher existence."

As if a fire lit inside Ben. An intense pride bubbled forth. The aura from Yggdrasil is being pushed back. Which surprised Yggdrasil to no small amount.

Yggdrasil is connected to the World Spirit of Ulthuan, the world of the Elves. A tier 7 world existence. Only two tiers below the highest ever recorded tiered worlds. The pressure this world can bring upon a mortal can crush them to death with not even 1 percent of the full pressure.

Of course, Yggdrasil had used just enough pressure for Ben to feel pressured. But still, to be able to push back the pressure of a tier 7 world while still being a mortal is no small matter.

Reeling himself back from his thoughts, the World Tree recovered his calm. If he didn't see the amount of fate surrounding Ben, he would think reality had broken.

He flipped his palm. Two crystal objects appear in his hands. One is a sphere, a crystal ball. The other is a crystal cube.

"These two crystals are able to determine your talent. I'll need two drops of blood."

Ben, who felt determination and pride fill his whole being to challenge the heavens and become a higher existence, just nodded.

Ben felt a little cut is made on his finger. Two drops of blood slowly floated up and touched the crystals.

Inside the crystal ball, a myriad of colors shined brightly. The biggest one is a streak of black lightning, taking a massive portion of the crystal. Around the streak of lightning rotating around each other are 4 different colored flames.

One had the normal color of red-yellow; the color of regular fire. The second flame, the least bright one, is a deep red. A color that brings you to the deepest part of hell. The other two flames shine as if not brighter than the regular flame.

The one that even induced fear into the World Tree for a moment is a deep black with flickering white-bluish whisps. It made the World Tree feel as if death was breathing down his neck.

The last flame comforted the World Tree. A bright golden flame danced happily inside the crystal sphere. It made the World Tree's mind reel, to have such a dark flame together with such a comforting one existing inside one person. It should be impossible. 'How are his talents not clashing?'

This wasn't the end of Ben's talents though. There are still six more colors floating inside the crystal sphere. Something that shocked the World Tree. 'How talented is this young boy?'

The 4 brightest are dark red gas, a bright gold ring of energy, a dense black fog, and a pitch-black nothingness.

The dark red gas seems very volatile and uncontrollable, it was like a primordial beast was staring you down. The bright gold ring of energy brought a great amount of comfort, it felt like a mother's nurturing care for her children.

The dense black fog brought with it the frightening chill of death. While the pitch-black nothingness seemed to encompass all. Something that pulled everything into nothingness.

'This can't be right. There are two more?'

A blood-red sphere shining a little dimmer than the rest also hovered inside the crystal ball. Then there is the dimmest shining fog, a white-grey.

After a few minutes of staring at the crystal ball, the World Tree is pulled out of his thought by Ben. "And?"

The World Tree cleared his throat. "Variant lightning, rank unknown. At least higher than 9..." Yggdrasil says while whispering after it. "which isn't possible."

"Fire rank 9, two times variant fire rank 9 and a variant fire rank 6." Yggdrasil's eyes almost popped out of its sockets. The World Tree focused on the crystal ball with a seriousness he would have never thought he needed.

"Demonic rank 9, death rank 9, holy rank 9, void rank 9, blood rank 7, and illusion rank 4." The World Tree voiced in rapid-fire. Ben almost couldn't follow.

"Is that good?" Ben asked innocently. A vein almost popped on Yggdrasil's head hearing that question. Strained he answered. "Yes." 'I kind of understand why he has a marble-card. With so many talents, how will he be able to master them all?'

Yggdrasil hit himself on the head. "How could I forget! I don't even know your name." expectingly the World Tree looked at Ben.

"My name is Benjamin Ignis. But everyone just calls me Ben."

Yggdrasil who looked intently at Ben saw a portion of fate surrounding Ben violently react while mentioning his own name. 'Ignis!?' Cold sweat matted the man's back. "W-who are your p-parents?"

A few thousand years ago, Yggdrasil had heard of a couple, a Demon and an Angel having signed a contract with an untiered mortal world. Becoming its protector and backers. The Demon and Angel are legendary individuals that ruled over their race together. 'It can't be them, right? A Demon and Angel can't create offspring together.'

"Adramalech and Uriel, why do you need to know that?"