The Offer

"Answer me. Or are you going to stand there in a daze all day?"

Luke was confused by the sudden turn of events, but was still grateful that the arrogant man had called off the attack.

The man was sitting at a small, round table.

Neither the chairs nor the table were anything fancy, but were instead cheap-looking and simple.

The man wore a dark orange robe, the shade of which was reminiscent of an ember.

It had no patterns to speak of.

He had shoulder-length hazelnut hair that was neatly tied in a ponytail behind his head.

The ponytail complemented his face, which could be called neither handsome nor ugly.

Breathing a sigh of relief internally, Luke, instead of replying, reflected the question back at the man.

"…Who are you?"

The woman that was sitting next to the man chuckled.

"This one is very bold."

The man smiled at that comment.

"Seems like it."

The woman wore a simple black robe, similar to Luke's, but there was something weird about her.

Her looks could only be described as nasty, with disheveled pitch-black hair and a crooked nose. She seemed like she was always sneering at you whenever you'd look at her.

The man pointed a finger at himself.

"My name doesn't matter."

The man then pointed that same finger at Luke.

"And neither does yours. At least not for now. Don't misunderstand my stopping of the attack as a mercy to you."

Luke frowned.

"What should I interpret it as, in that case?"

The man stopped pointing at Luke, and rested his finger on his temple.

"Let's call it an old man's whim."

This answer didn't lessen Luke's confusion by even a little bit.

"Meaning?"

The man raised his head to stare at the clear, blue sky above and chuckled.

"I am able to see something in you that I haven't seen in decades, no, centuries past."

'Centuries?! Just how old is this guy…'

The man continued speaking.

"Your soul… It's untainted and pure. It is simply radiating. But at the same time, there's something else lurking there, something unexplainable…"

Luke narrowed his eyes.

"…Something is lurking inside of my soul?"

The man looked straight into Luke's eyes.

"Indeed. But I cannot tell exactly what it is. Not while you're in your current state."

Luke looked at his body all over, but didn't see anything strange. His soul also didn't feel any different than usual.

'Wait… Since when was I able to sense the state of my soul?'

While Luke kept getting stronger, the mental connection with his soul kept getting stronger and stronger as well, so this wasn't strange.

Luke replied.

"I don't see anything weird though…?"

"Of course you don't. Even I could barely tell, and it was only while you were struggling for your life!"

The man then pointed his finger at Luke once again and smirked.

"Your soul is too weak!"

Luke got slightly embarrassed and scratched his head, turning his eyes away from the man.

He dejectedly mumbled to himself.

"Ha… haha… Now even random people are telling me how weak I am…"

The man stood up and chuckled arrogantly.

"By my estimations, you have only went through your first phase of soul cleansing. You should be happy that your soul hasn't exploded yet!"

Luke widened his eyes.

"My soul can explode?!"

The man smirked.

"Of course it can. It's merely a vessel for your elementals, among other things. If you overfill it, it will stretch out, and then after reaching its limit…"

The man loudly clapped.

The shockwave of the clap made Luke's robe strongly flutter, and he almost lost his balance and fell over.

'?!'

"Also, judging by how you defended yourself earlier, I'd say you'd only became an elementalist no more than five years ago."

The man walked towards Luke, grinning.

"You have very good potential. I can tell. And so, I have decided to extend an offer to you. Become my disciple. I will make your soul stronger myself!"

The man extended his hand towards Luke.

'Wait, wait, wait, wait… What the hell?!'

Luke was caught off-guard, to say the least.

The woman, who was still sitting at the table, raised her eyebrow at the man's offer to Luke.

Luke couldn't answer right away.

"So, what's it going to be?"

'Should I just accept? Just one of his bodyguards would be enough to kill me if they were to fight seriously… But do I even have the luxury to do this? We need to stop Joseph… Also, how trustworthy even is this man? He seems to be very strong, true, but then, why would he bother making me his disciple?'

Just as Luke was filled with doubts and was about to decline, he realized that he shouldn't hastily decide. This could be either a great opportunity or a great mistake.

'Wait… I said it myself. He is very strong. It very well might be worth the risk. Even if something happens, I have the time elemental as a lifeline, if I'm unable to otherwise escape. Let's test him first, before deciding.'

"Why do you want me to be your disciple?"

The man smiled.

"I told you already. You have unused potential. Also, there's the matter of something lurking within your soul…"

"What do you have to gain from this?"

The man's smile deepened even further.

"I get to satisfy my curiosity and have some fun. It's as simple as that."

Luke fell deep in thought.

'Something feels off… I know that I have trust issues because of everything that had happened in this world. Still, though…'

Luke crossed his arms.

"I'll accept, but only if you accept a few of my conditions."

The man smirked.

"Oho? Let's hear them."

"First, tell me who you are. And I don't mean just your name."

The man looked at Luke, as if seeing through him, and nodded.

"Fine. My name is Ellios von Fortuni."

The woman, who was still sitting, slightly widened her eyes for just a second, before her face returned to normal.

Luke noticed this slight change in her expression.

'She's either surprised by his honesty, or by the complexity of his lie. Could be either.'

"Unofficially, I am just a vagabond, going from place to place. Officially…"

A light started shining around Ellios' body, enveloping him.

When it dispersed, a completely different man appeared.

He was wearing the same clothes, but his appearance was completely different.

The man had a head full of short, but curly, silver hair, and his face was adorned by a thick, well-groomed, beard.

His sharp jawline emanated both might and class, and the sharp glint in his eyes seemed as it could penetrate anything.

Even with his age, the man had few wrinkles, and his skin was clear.

Ellios then continued his explanation.

"Officially, I am the grandfather of the current Emperor of the grand Exul Empire."

This time, not only the woman, but the three guards were also staring at this situation with their mouths agape.

Of course, they already knew the true identity of the old man, but they could never have guessed that he'd just reveal himself to some random young man, who was not even semi-decent when it came to being an elementalist.

The woman couldn't help but wonder about just what it was that Ellios could see in the young man.

Luke shared their shock, as he just stared at the man in front of him in disbelief.

'He actually just revealed who he was? Wow. And judging by the others' reactions, it seems to be true.'

Ellios then spoke.

"What's your second condition?"

Luke was left speechless.

'Is there even a need to test him any further? He definitely means business.'

Luke smiled and shook his head.

"There's no need. I'll accept your offer."

Ellios, now out of his disguise, smiled back at Luke.

It was a proud smile.

"Oh, and by the way… I'm Luke. Luke Hanlon.

Luke realized that this was the first time that he had used his full name in this world.

For some reason, it felt odd to him.

They shook hands and Luke was invited to sit with Ellios and the woman.

As they walked, Ellios was enveloped in light once again, and he regained the appearance that Luke had originally seen him in.

"I can never be too careful, you see."

Luke nodded, and they sat down.

The woman immediately directed a question at Ellios.

"Your Majesty, are you sure about this?"

Ellios nodded.

"I most certainly am."

The woman sighed.

"Phew… Fine, then I guess I should introduce myself as well…"

A light enveloped the woman, similar to the light that enveloped Ellios when he was changing his appearance.

Seconds later, the light subsided, and revealed a completely different person once more.

The hag-like appearance of the woman was gone.

Her disheveled black hair was replaced with long, straight platinum hair, and similarly, her facial features couldn't be compared to before.

Pursed lips, small nose and sharp eyes.

Her beauty had a certain sense of serenity and calmness to it.

She then spoke.

"My name is Anastasia de Hossenberg. I am one of the Six Wings of the Exul Empire."

Luke exchanged greetings with Anastasia, and then asked.

"I'm curious, what are the Six Wings?"

Anastasia eyed Luke suspiciously.

"You do not know of the Six Wings?"

Luke shook his head.

"Sorry, but I don't."

Anastasia frowned and just as she was about to answer Luke, Ellios raised his hand in front of her, prompting her to stop.

"He is my disciple from this day onward. Treat him as you would treat me."

Anastasia's frown deepened, but she nodded and cleared her throat.

"Khm.. The Six Wings are the royal protectors of the Empire, and are the leaders of the royal guard. We answer directly to the Emperor himself."

Anastasia then smirked arrogantly.

"We are also known as the strongest group of elementalists on the continent."

'Hmm, I see… If someone like that is with Ellios, he's probably still very important to the Emperor.'

Luke nodded.

Anastasia looked at Ellios and pouted.

"Although, Your Majesty doesn't even have a need for my protection, so we just end up idling about as we travel…"

She started throwing a fit and waving her arms around.

"I wanna fight someone! It's been years! And when someone finally did show up, it turned out that they weren't even strong enough to take care of my underlings!!"

Luke thought that laser beams were about to shoot out of Anastasia's eyes as she glared at him.

He scratched the back of his head and chuckled.

"Haha… Sorry…"

She casually smacked Luke's back, but ended up knocking the air out of his lungs.

"Stop apologizing! It's the second time in less than five minutes!"

But Luke couldn't hear her complaints, as he was busy coughing and gasping for air.

'So strong!!'

Seeing Anastasia throw a fit made Ellios gently smile.

He looked like a proud grandfather looking at his grandchildren playing together.

It had been a long time since he last felt like this.

When Luke managed to return his breathing back to normal, he spoke.

"Hey, Ellios."

"Call me Master."

Luke coughed in embarrassment, but obeyed anyways.

"Umm.. Ma…ster?"

Although he stuttered.

Ellios smiled.

"What is it, disciple?"

"Do you know where I can earn money around here? I wanted to visit the market, but I have no money."

Ellios put a finger on his temple.

"Hmm…"

He was contemplating for a couple of moments, and quickly figured something out.

"Ah, of course."

Ellios stood up.

"Follow me, disciple. I just came up with a good idea."