Timeless Lotus

Sorin stood up. He felt satisfied with how his first life or death battle had turned out.

Sorin had won his battle due to the weakness of Tier 1 Arcanists. Though the man he fought was at the peak stage, his defensive capabilities still haven't truly developed like it does at Tier 2 and above.

The only benefits a higher stage has in Tier 1 is their more pure mana stored within their Mana Cube. They would also have better cognitive abilities and more refined Mana making their spells more potent. 

So, all Sorin had to really do, is land a decisive blow on his enemy with poison which is much harder than it sounded.

As an Arcanist, most battles were long-ranged, so Sorin needed to make it seem like he was defeated. Acting pathetically was a way to lower his guard, as enemies tended to remain cautious, expecting a final desperate attack.

With all his schemes, Sorin had won a battle like a cliche protagonist, jumping through ranks to beat their enemies. Sorin lightly chuckled at this thought thinking it was rather delusional. 'Protagonist, me? I highly doubt that'.

Sorin quickly left, leaving behind an unrecognisable 'thing'. If someone saw this, they would feel sick to their stomach, one could hardly tell if what they saw was actually a human. They could only guess what kind of demon had wanted to torture someone to this degree.

Sorin being the perpetrator of this gruesome scene, didn't really feel much if he was being honest. He sort of thought it was exaggerated about the stories of one's first kill being nauseating, causing you to vomit and feel sick.

He simply felt a bit disgusted, he only thought that it was merely just viscous liquids, organs, flesh and bones. Hasn't everyone seen blood, bones and flesh before? After all, most people have eaten meats from various animals. Aren't they made up of the same properties as humans, what's the difference? Just because they are the same specie as you, why react differently? Sorin mused.

'A demon, huh?' Sorin thought about the words of the first man he killed. A rather funny thought considering the man has probably killed countless more than Sorin.

'Yet despite that, he called me a demon. I wonder why? Isn't death all the same, the only difference with his death is that I took my time. Doesn't everyone want to live longer?' Sorin lightly chuckled.

If there existed an eighth sin, it would undoubtedly bear the name of curiosity. Curiosity, akin to a double edged sword, wields the power to shape destinies, for better or for worse. How can one discern their preferences or aversions without exploration?

How can one distinguish between right and wrong in a world that's evolved through its very essence?

Curiosity often serves as the initial ember, a catalyst that leads one to the depths of temptation. This would be a demon's first emotion before they yield to their dark desires and sins.

Sorin it seems, has a dangerous curiosity that would either conquer or destroy the world. 

-

Lightly running through the forest, Sorin was currently trying to find where the crevice that is located in the mountain is.

He had looked at his map and found four mountains that were located at different parts of the forest. Sorin had realised it was gonna be a huge pain in finding such a small crevice in a mountain. He doesn't even know at what level the crevice would be on.

The protagonist at the time simply felt a presence of a treasure and just arrived at the location. He felt a little annoyed that the author didn't describe in more detail to where it was.

But, novels would be unbearably dull if they did nothing but present an overload of information. Hence, it's quite reasonable that less essential details, like this one, are left aside.

Sorin lightly sighed before arriving before the first mountain he would be searching every nook and cranny of.

The mountain was nicely lit up from the sun, so Sorin didn't have too much of a hard time. Sorin first began at the lower level, circling around the mountain for a crevice.

He managed to find some gaps in the mountains but there wasn't anything noteworthy inside. With that, he slowly climbed the mountain getting progressively higher and higher trying to find his objective.

-

Darkness enveloped the forest, as once again night has arrived. Sorin had spent the entire day climbing and using his eyes to analyse every part of the mountain.

If he had the mana senses a Tier 2 Arcanist had, it would've made his job much easier.

Sorin quickly got rid of this thought, it wouldn't help him in finding the crevice. Sorin had spent the entire day climbing and exploring the mountain.

This was an arduous workout that had caused Sorin's clothes to be completely drenched in sweat.

Sorin, calling it a day after completely navigating the entire mountain, began to set up camp.

'The forest must be currently in chaos. The Academy doesn't exactly help their students as they don't know they had been attacked. It had seemed all forms of communication had been cancelled out by something. Most likely a magic instrument.' Sorin thought before he cooked his meal.

He had quickly caught himself a rabbit-like creature. It was twice the size of the average rabbit found in his previous world with blue eyes instead of red.

Sorin had made himself a little campfire. He had done this by chopping some wood with his wind magic and picked up some dry sticks. He then used his Heat Wave spell to generate enough heat to start lighting the wood on fire.

He skinned the rabbit before impaling it with a stick then lightly started cooking it. Sorin was by no means a professional chef, however he can at least make his food edible.

With that, Sorin had eaten enough, rather satisfied with the food he made.

Food you created seemed tastier for some reason, despite Sorin overcooking the rabbit meat slightly and the lack of spices and herbs he used.

Sorin was planning to sleep today, after all the recent events he went through, his mental is a complete mess. Sorin definitely didn't want to completely explore the four mountains, only to find out he had overlooked some place because his mind wasn't working at top efficiency.

Sorin first got rid of any evidence he had camped here, removing the camp fire, and burying the remains and bones of the rabbit.

Sorin, aware of the lurking threats in the forest, chose a massive, hollowed-out tree as his sleeping quarters. This ancient tree had a hollow trunk large enough to accommodate him.

Using his Wind Formation ability, he covered the area near him with leaves and bushes he had cut off, he then constructed a natural curtain-like cover at the entrance of the tree.

This makeshift camouflage hid the interior of the hollow tree, making it appear as just another part of the forest to anyone passing by.

Sorin nestled himself inside the hollow tree, ensuring he remained invisible to potential foes. With his senses not having to work at top efficiency constantly, Sorin managed to find some much-needed rest.

Despite the ridiculously uncormfortable position he was sleeping in, his exhaustion had overpowered him, before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

-

Waking up with a sore neck and stiff body, Sorin walked out of the tree.

Sorin took 30 minutes to completely stretch his entire body trying to ease the acute pain he was feeling. "I'm never sleeping like that again." Sorin mumbled still slightly drowsy.

After he had done that, Sorin quickly resumed his search for the treasure.

He navigated through the forest before arriving at the second mountain he would begin his search in. Sorin truly hoped this would be his last mountain he needed to search.

With that thought, Sorin used the same strategy he had used with the previous mountain, starting off low then progressively climbing higher.

-

Sorin had spent 6 hours climbing and exploring the entirety of the mountain, his throat dry from overexertion, and body sore from the large amount of climbing he had done.

Paired with his restless pursuit and climb of the previous mountain yesterday, every muscle in him ached whilst his arms felt like they were falling off.

Sorin, not even moving at a third of his pace from when he started climbing, pressed on. Only those that were patient can reap the rewards they had worked hard for.

Sorin was somewhat of a believer in the saying 'haste makes waste' and wasn't planning on giving up any time soon. Especially when such a heaven gifted opportunity was right within his grasp.

Climbing higher, Sorin seemed to spot a dark crevice inside the mountain. However, Sorin wasn't particularly too hopeful as he had found many other crevices that had utterly nothing inside.

Though, Sorin's heart beat was slightly faster, it wasn't bad to hope for something good to happend to you. But, it would be entirely your fault when the hope you had created yourself gets ruthlessly destroyed.

After climbing for another 30 minutes, Sorin had finally reached underneath the crevice before lifting himself up.

Sorin took a second to gather his breath first, before he noticed a glow that was coming further inside the crevice.

Sorin grinned with satisfaction. "It seems my luck isn't too bad. It only took my second mountain." Sorin laughed, causing relief to wash over him.

After, he had recovered some of his stamina, Sorin went deeper into the darkness before he noticed a light blue glow softly illuminating the interior of the cave.

As Sorin ventured closer to the source of the enchanting glow, his anticipation grew. Upon finally reaching the mystical spectacle, he was greeted by a scene of unparalleled majesty.

Before him lay a crystalline pond, resembling a flawless diamond, cradling a pristine white lotus at its center. This celestial bloom radiated an ethereal light that bathed the surroundings in a fervent, almost otherworldly illumination.

However what was strange, was that despite this being a tier 4 and tier 5 treasure, the surrounding mana doesn't seem to be disturbed in the slightest. In fact, if it wasn't for the beauty of these treasures, they would simply be ignored and overlooked.

Sorin looked at these treasures with desire. However, he mustn't be reckless as these treasures are way to strong for his body to handle.

The lotus can be immediately digested as it only functions as a treasure that raises one's affinity. However, the same can't be said for the other.

There are many such treasures, however, a tier 5 treasure is extremely rare in the lower realm. Now add onto the fact that this treasure raises the time affinity, even people in the higher realms would drool with envy. 

Treasures that have been blessed with the time or space affinity would find the prices being 10 times or a hundred times more expensive compared to other elements.

The Timeless Lotus that can raise one's affinity towards the Cerulean Cube would definitely have an astronomical price.