Chapter 5

Waking up from his sleep, Noah could see the crowded streets in the city from the carriage. Shops lined across each side of the street, crowded with merchants and customers haggling for prices. It made one wonder if they were actually in the north.

Ayr was a connecting city to multiple towns in the north. It also connected the north to the centre. It was also the only place in the north with a temple.

"Decided to wake up finally huh. Beautiful isn't it?"

"Yea…"

"Hmm… you look a bit different. Or is it just me?"

Noah tilted his head acting clueless.

Temples in EtherWorld served different elemental gods as well as the primordial gods. Elemental gods have absolute control over that element. But as elements in EtherWorld were considered to be different depending even on the state.. For instance, ice and water, there tended to be quite a few sects. This also didn't mean that every element had a god either. Only once the spirit of that element reached a stage where it had absolute control over that element did it become a god.

A person who has an affinity towards an element can make a contract with a spirit or borrow the power of elementals to control that element. Although it only granted limited control over that element, that was enough for a fight between warriors of equal strength to tilt towards one side.

A group of priests and nuns came to welcome them as the carriage finally reached the Ayr city temple.

With the help of the priests, Noah got changed into the robe of the temple. The large robe drooped on the floor a bit.

Apologizing, the priest said, "We don't usually get a 10-year-old guest. We'll get your measurements and tailor an attire for you soon? Is that ok?"

Relieved from getting out of the unwashed orphanage clothes Noah didn't really mind the slight extra length of the robe and just nodded happily.

The priests and nuns continued to perform various tests to more accurately measure Noah's abilities using various artefacts.

"Reynard, you were right… This boy has an affinity towards 6 elements. Has this ever been recorded before? A 10-year-old having affinities for 6 elements and unawakened at that..."

"Not to my knowledge…, at least not born with. There were some kids in the academy who had awakened affinity with multiple elements but none were born with affinity towards so many elements. He sure is blessed…" Reynard could only shrug.

"Hmm… you said this boy had a weak constitution also. I know that you have high standards for strength but calling a 10-year-old who is at F-rank might be a bit too much even for you."

"What do you mean F-rank? He is --," looking at the artefact Reynard stood stupefied. "Wait, was his strength also suppressed by the poison?"

"Poison?"

"Yea, the boy was poisoned when I found him."

"Hmm… We need to discuss this with the elder."

"Melissa, can you take him to the quarters. You can help him get settled in one of the guest rooms."

"Will do. Follow me, Noah," Melissa said tapping his shoulders gently.

As Noah and Melissa left, the priests continued their conversation.

"Reynard, I think we should either seal his powers or hand him over to the imperial family. Not only having affinity with 6 elements, but he is also already at F-rank."

"What do you mean?"

"If the boy treads the wrong path, he can become a horrible weapon in the future."

"Since when has the temple become so pessimistic? As a priest isn't it our role to make sure he treads the right path?" Grumbled Reynard.

The older priest can only sigh, "Yes. Yes."

Meanwhile, accompanied by the young nun, Noah was able to see all around the temple.

Melissa was the youngest nun at the temple. Her soft face with freckles coupled with her red hair made her look younger than she was. This helped her become popular with kids almost effortlessly. Whenever the priests and nuns went around the town or villages to distribute rations, the children would flock around her holding her hands tightly.

Yet at this moment, Melissa felt helpless. Clearly, the 10-year-old didn't fall for her charm like the other kids. Although Noah kept a smiling face and walked with interest looking around the temple, she felt there was a small wall between them that he didn't allow her to enter.

'Did he not have playmates at the orphanage?'

Reaching the guest room, Melissa opened and showed him around.

"Anything else you want to know, Noah?" Melissa asked curiously.

"Umm, if it isn't much trouble can you show me how to use elements?"

"Sure," ruffling his hair, "although I am not as talented as you are."

Bringing her palm up. "You just have to think about materializing the element you have affinity with."

Small crystals of ice appeared from her palm as she completed her words.

"See. Better the image you can visualise of that element the easier it is. You can also think of how that element can be applied to shape it."

This time the ice grew into a circular ball.

"Here, catch it." Melissa tossed the ice ball to Noah.

"Practice makes perfect. Let me go and get some materials to help you visualise the form of the element. It normally takes some time for most to get a grasp as this step is purely dependent on how much you can visualise. Not to brag, but I was able to do it within a year. Oh and one more thing, since you have multiple affinities this will be important."

Looking at Noah focusing on Melissa with full concentration, she could only smirk with triumph.

'Well, what do you know, he was just the quiet studious type of kid. You still got it, Melissa.'

"Ahem. When you use an element it draws energy from your mana pool. So even if you have multiple affinities, your mana pool might bottleneck your progress. So be sure to use them one at a time else you might exhaust yourself fast. Mana exhaustion can even cause life-threatening damage. So, using multiple elements at once is a big no-no, understood?"

Noah could only nod slowly to her.

The look in his eyes made her think that he was going to try doing the opposite.

"Understood?"

"Yes, yes."

Sighing, Melissa got up, "okay, let me get those materials for you. Why don't you try visualising in the meantime?"

"Okay."