Chapter 2 : Single element!

"Welcome back, Lady Isabella!"

A young girl in a maid's uniform said this. She had blonde hair and was short in stature. She looked lively and cheerful.

She continued, surprised: "Who is this?"

Ren smiled and replied, "He is Jin, who will be working here from today. I hope you will be kind to him."

She laughed, saying, "Haha, Ren and Jin, what a rhyme, it's like they're twin names."

Isabella shouted at her, "Nina! That's not polite!"

Ren said, "I'm sorry, don't be upset with her. She's Nina, she likes to joke but she's kind-hearted."

I replied with a smile, "I'm not upset at all."

Ren introduced me to the other servants in the palace:

"This is Sela, she also works here."

Sela said, "Nice to meet you."

I nodded my head: "Nice to meet you too."

When I saw her, I was very surprised, then I whispered to Ren: "Excuse me, but why is Sela wearing something that looks like a Fox's ear?"

Ren laughed softly and then said, "Fox's ears?! I can't believe it, haven't you seen a half-human before?"

I said, apologetically: "I'm sorry, but I just arrived in the city yesterday, and due to the bad weather, I didn't see anyone."

Ren was amazed, saying, "No, I don't mean the city, they're all over the kingdom, if not the whole world. I can't believe you haven't even heard of them."

I said, nervous: "It seems that my information is limited."

"No problem, the important thing is that we continue."

Ren finished introducing me to the rest:

"This is Yuna, she's the head maid here, she's in charge of everything."

"Okay, I'll leave you with her now to learn about the procedures here, goodbye."

I said, nervously: "Wait."

Yuna looked at me sternly and said, "So you're the new person who will be working here."

She was of medium height, with black hair like a night without stars, and brown eyes. She looked older than everyone I had seen here.

I couldn't raise my head, from the tone of her voice, I felt that she was very strict, it seemed that I wouldn't last long in this place, or so I thought.

"N... Yes, ma'am."

"Ma'am? Well, at least there's someone who knows etiquette, but I don't think I'm that old, I think I'm not much older than you."

"I'm sorry, what should I call you?"

"Call me whatever you want, and now, the first thing you'll do..."

I listened attentively then said, "Yes."

She said: "To go to the bathroom."

"What?"

Yuna said, looking frustrated: "When was the last time you took a bath? Was it two weeks ago?"

I replied quietly: "I don't think it's been two months."

She shouted loudly: "And you say it so simply?"

"Damn it, no one comes to this house except for something wrong."

Yuna guided me to the bathroom and gave me clothes to wear instead of the ones I was wearing.

When I turned on the faucet, I found hot water.

"Ah, I haven't used hot water in a long time, I even don't remember the last time."

I dozed off for a bit and dreamed that I was drowning in very dark waters. I could barely see my hands, then I saw a faint light from above, but unfortunately I was drowning more and more. Suddenly I woke up, and I felt that my head was spinning.

When I finished and came out, I found Sela standing in front of the door. She said she would guide me to the maid's clothing room to give me work clothes.

She said, "Ah, since all the servants working here are women, there are no men's clothes. But after a long search, I found this old suit, I fixed it. It is true that it does not look like the servants' clothes, but it does the job."

She looked like a kind and cheerful girl. Her hair was orange, and she was a little shorter than Yuna. She was thin, and her eyes were the same color as her hair. She always seemed to be daydreaming, but she smiled at everyone she met.

When I put on the suit, Yuna came and said, "Didn't you find anything else?"

Sela replied with satisfaction on her face: "It suits him very well, doesn't it?"

Yuna replied, "Yes, but you know that..." She then continued, "Well, that's enough. It's late. Come on, Jin, I'll guide you to your room. And you, Celine, go to sleep."

Sela said, "Okay, Sister."

I was surprised when she said that. They don't look like sisters at all. Well, I don't think it's my business.

Yuna guided me to a room in the castle. There were many rooms, I think I would get lost if I walked alone here.

Yuna said, "Work starts before sunrise, so make sure to wake up on time."

"Okay."

In a small room with a bed, a wooden chair, and a shelf with some books, I lay on the bed. I hadn't slept in a bed for a while, I missed that feeling. I started to think a lot about what I had to do.

"I don't think I'll be staying here for long. They seem nice, but there's something I have to do."

I couldn't sleep well, but I woke up early anyway. And when I left the room, I found Claudia coming. She said excitedly: "Yoona asked me to tell you about your tasks for the day. First, you will help Celine and Nina in preparing breakfast. Then you will clean the first floor. Then you will trim the trees in the backyard, and so on."

After a while of listening, I started to lose focus and didn't hear the rest of what she said. I thought she would never stop.

"Did you understand?"

"N... yes, I understood."

I then went to the kitchen, where Sela and Nina were.

Sela said, "So, I'm in charge of the kitchen, so you have to follow my instructions." Then she continued, "Well, let's not waste any more time, let's get started."

After a while, Sela said in frustration, "So, you're not good at peeling vegetables, and you don't know how to cook, but you're good at chopping. I think physical work is better for you."

"I'm sorry, I'm not used to cooking. I used to eat one or two dishes a day, I didn't need to cook."

Nina said, "Right, Jin, what's your element?"

Sela sighed: "It's her habit, she likes to ask everyone she meets about their element. I'm surprised she didn't ask you since you saw her."

I said, "I'm darkness."

Nina replied, "And what is your secondary element?"

I said, "I don't have a secondary element. I'm just darkness."

I saw the shock on their faces. I didn't know if I should say this or not.

Sela said in surprise: "This is impossible."

I said, "Is there a problem with not having a secondary element?"

She replied, "I've never heard of this before. It is normal for everyone to have a basic element, either light or darkness, and a secondary element, which is one of the four elements, either water, fire, earth, or wind. And no one can change their element, because it is with them from birth. And most often, a person is born with an element similar to one of their parents."

Nina said, "Are you sure? You could be wrong. Or what is your parents' element? We may be able to guess your element from this."

Yuna suddenly entered and said angrily, "Why are you chatting when you haven't finished preparing the food yet?"

Nina replied, "Ha Yuna, you're good at identifying others' elements. Can you tell Jin's element?"

Yuna replied, "Nina, have you gone back to your habit? Why don't you just ask him?"

Nina replied, "I asked him, he said he's only darkness."

Yuna said, "Only darkness?! Hmm okay, let me confirm."

I said, "I don't think I'm wrong about this, there's no need for that."

Yuna said, "Let me see."

"Wait, what are you going to do?"

She placed her finger on my forehead and remained silent for a moment with her eyes closed, then said in surprise, "He's right, it's only darkness, meaning he doesn't have any secondary element."

I said, "And is this a bad thing?"

She replied, "Of course, because people often rely on their secondary element, the basic element has no advantages, except that it can be wrapped around the body, otherwise it cannot be embodied in any physical form, and even if it is possible, it will cost a lot of mana to do something simple."

Then she continued, "You forgot what I came for. We need to buy some things from the village, so go with Nina to learn how to shop and be sure to come back before nightfall."

"A...ah, okay."

Nina and I went and walked on a paved path in the middle of the forest.

Nina asked, "Is the place far away? I mean, how long will it take us to get there?"

"Hmm, I think it's two hours."

"Two hours?! Why don't you use the cart then?"

"We usually use it, but unfortunately, Lady Isabella and Mr. Ren went to the city, and the other cart is out of order."

I said, "So it is."

Nina pointed to my sword with interest: "Hey, Jin, your sword looks strange, I've never seen one like it before."

"This type is called a katana, someone gave it to me."

Nina asked, "Where are you from, Jin?"

I said, "I...I came from a faraway place."

She fell silent for a moment, then said excitedly, "Did you know that Ren is not from this world, he is from another world where there is no mana or magic?"

"Really! What a strange thing, I can't imagine a place like that, and the idea of another world sounds too fictional."

She said in surprise, "It's impossible that you don't know about the heroes?!"

I said, "Heroes? What are they?"

Nina began to tell the story of the heroes who are summoned from another world:

"Well, the story goes that the six elemental sages are allowed every five years to summon someone from another world and give them the blessing of their element."

"And what's the point of this? Isn't it better to rely on someone who was born in this world and has dealt with magic at a young age instead of summoning someone who doesn't know anything?"

She replied, "These are the conditions, they cannot give a part of their power to anyone who is not summoned from another world, you know that everyone has a basic element, either light or darkness, and one secondary element only, but the heroes each carry one basic element and two secondary elements, which gives them a great advantage, and their mana levels are higher than most ordinary people."

After hearing this, I thought that these sages were only fools, to get someone with such an advantage, they would summon him against his will from his world.

I said, "Ah, right, I forgot to ask you what your element is since you asked me, I was also curious."

She looked sad for a moment and fell silent for some time, I didn't want to ask again.

She said, "My element hasn't appeared yet."

"How is that possible? Isn't the element present since a person is born?"

"Yes, but as you know, it remains dormant and does not activate until a certain age, and at this time, no one can determine it. Even though I am fourteen years old, my element has not appeared yet, even though my sister was able to use her power from the age of thirteen."

I wanted to comfort her a little, since she looked sad: "Well, I'm twenty years old and my element didn't activate until two years ago."

"What?! Is it possible for it to be delayed all this time?"

Damn it, I think I made things worse.

"Oh, we're here, time has passed quickly."

Then we went shopping in the small town. It was a small town surrounded by some cultivated fields and a small stream running through it.

Nina said, "I'm hungry. Let's go visit my parents."

"Wait. Shouldn't we be back before nightfall, as Yuna said?"

"Don't worry. We won't be long. Come on."

"Wait..."

Nina didn't pay any attention to me and left quickly.

We went to her house. Her parents welcomed us and we talked a lot, but I was silent most of the time. Time passed quickly and sunset was approaching, so I said to them,

"I think we're late and we should go now."

Nina replied, "You're right. I hope Yuna doesn't get angry with us."

We walked back. After a while, I noticed that the sun was starting to set. The weather was warm and I liked the feeling. Then...

"Hurry up, let's hide here."

"What is it?"

"Shh. I feel like there are more people with a strong presence coming down the road now."

After a short while, they reached the place opposite us. We were hiding behind a tree by the side of the road. They were two people wearing robes that covered their entire bodies so that their faces could not be seen. Then suddenly they stopped. Then one of them said in a slightly loud voice:

"Marco, I think the hidden rat thinks we didn't feel him."

"Why did you talk, you idiot? I would have killed him before he even realized."

When I heard this, I was very scared. I was not afraid for myself, but for the girl who was with me. So I decided to go out alone.

I said in a low voice: "Nina, don't come out of here no matter what happens."

I went out and walked towards the two men.

"If you decided to come out yourself, how stupid are you? I wish you had stayed hidden. I would have finished it without pain. Hehehe"

"Don't talk too much, Jack."

"Marco, you're such a spoilsport. I want to enjoy myself a little with the boy before I chop his head off."

"No, I'll be the one to finish it. We're already late and you're causing a lot of trouble."

They looked strong. I didn't know if I had a chance against them, but at least I would distract them so Nina could escape. The man named Marco attacked me and I quickly blocked the attack with my sword. He was fast and I could barely defend myself.

"Hey, little girl, don't you know I love to play with kids?"

Nina screamed. I looked behind me and saw the other man holding her.

I screamed loudly: "Stupid! What made you come here?!"

Before I realized it, the other man attacked me. Before I could do anything, he hit me with his sword, breaking my sword in half and injuring my arm.

"No! Jin!"

"Hehe, don't worry, your turn will come soon, little girl, don't rush."

I realized that Nina and I were in great danger, so I quickly threw half of my sword towards the man who was holding Nina. He blocked it with his sword, but he lost some of his concentration. Then I rushed towards him with force after strengthening my body with the power of darkness. I punched him, he blocked it with his hand, but he let go of Nina and took a step back. I grabbed Nina and carried her and ran quickly. The two men chased us.

"This is a problem! They'll catch us."

Nina said worriedly, "Your arm is bleeding."

"Don't worry, it's just a minor wound."

Then he continued, "I have to act quickly, or they'll catch us. I don't have a choice. Hold your breath and close your eyes."

"What?"

"No time to argue! Do it quickly!"

As soon as she did, I jumped inside the trunk of a large tree, and came out of the shadow of another tree. Yes, it's one of my abilities.

When we came out of the other shadow, we were on a slope, so I held Nina tightly and rolled down until I hit a tree in the back at the bottom of the slope.

Her eyes were filled with tears as she said worriedly, "Jin, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry. I'm just going to lie down for a while. I'm tired."

"How did we get here? I thought we were going to hit a tree."

"I can travel from one shadow to another in a small distance, like two doors. But during the transition, there is a period as if you are crossing a dark tunnel with no air. So if you are not careful, you may suffocate. But this costs a lot of mana, so I don't use it often. I'm glad we got away from them."