New leaf

The room was full of life was illuminated by the sunlight coming in from the windows. It was now two days since Krios attempted and successfully broke through to the next realm. He was still unconscious while his parents stayed by his side never leaving him alone for even a moment.

Kane and Reah's faces were etched with worry, but you can also see a hint of pride for what their son has accomplished.

Krios started moving, and after a few moments, he finally woke up.

"Mhm, good morning mom, dad." Krios said weakly.

His mom and dad quickly walked towards him and sat on his bed side and held his hand.

"How are you feeling son?" His dad asked.

"I'm fine, my core is hurting a bit but other than that, I am fine." He answered as he slowly sat up.

"Can I get a glass of water? I'm parched." He added.

"Gina! Alice! Can we get a glass of water here please! And some food as well." Reah called out to their attendants.

After having a sip of water Krios inspected his core to see how it has changed. It was still inside his chaos core which remained in its original size. However he noticed that his mana core has indeed grown to about triple it's original size. But what shocked him the most was how his original core's fractured surface has melded with the second layer he has put up using chaos.

The surface of his mana core now looked like a glass mosaic with all the remnants of his original core embedded to the second layer he addedd

'I didn't know it was possible.' He thought silently.

Now, instead of having a mana core with two layers— one fractured and one made up of condensed chaos energy, he now has a mana core with one solid layer.

"I inspected your mana core and it seemed like it healed itself on its own." His dad spoke.

"How did that happen?" His dad asked.

'I already know that he will not be able to detect my chaos core because he can't detect chaos energy, so am I going to tell them the truth?' He asked himself inwardly.

He was silent for a moment, debating whether to tell his parents the truth or not.

"You can tell us later if you're not ready. But just know that your mom and I are happy of what you have accomplished." His dad tapped his shoulders and his mom hugged him.

"When we were at the arena, I felt unwell right? It was my core. I felt something different about it." He decided to tell them bits and pieces, but not the full truth. He understood that if this chaos art has not been passed down in his clan and has never been discovered, then it was not meant to be shared to other people.

"When I reached the palace, I felt a strange, and strong energy. I don't know what it was. I don't know what happened, but it affected my core." He continued.

His parents were just staring at him silently, listening to what he was saying.

"Then I felt like something has changed with my core. Which is why I decided to go on with it and try to break through. I was actually not sure of whether I would make it or not, but it was a risk I was willing to take. And that's what happened."

Kane knew that his son was withholding information but he remained silent. He knew he had a reason to not tell them the truth so he trusted his son's decision.

"I'm proud of you my son. I'm proud of your courage, of your dedication to imrpove, of your strength." His dad told him emotionally.

"Thank you dad. Thank you mom. I'm sorry for worrying the both of you." He told them.

"Don't worry about it honey. Yes we were worried, but we're just happy you're fine." His mom caressed his face and smiled at him warmly.

"Now you have to eat. You have been asleep for days and you have to gain your strength back." His mom gave him a plate full of food.

"And now that you're in the Core Reformation realm, we should also get you tested by the elders to see your elemental affinity and whether you are a mage or a warrior." His dad added.

"Can we do it after I eat? I'm already strong enough so I feel like I can walk there." He answered excitedly.

"If you're well enough to walk, then come find me and we'll go there together." His father smiled at him, tapped his shoulders, and both his parents walked out the room.

Krios tried to eat as fast as he could because he was excited to be finally tested. A week ago, he would have been laughing at himself for even dreaming about this moment. But now, it has finally arrived for him.

The test would determine whether he was a mage or a warrior. A low exterior mana output would mean that the person is a warrior, because most of their mana remains inside their bodies, to be used for their bodies. The opposite can be said for mages because most of their mana are made to be utilized outside their bodies with channeled attacks and the likes.

"I hope I'm a mage. I'm not really cut out to be a warrior." Krios mutterd to himself while chuckling.

The test would also determine what type of element he is most attuned to. And although he is from a fire based clan such as the Whiteflame clan, there is a possibilty of him inheriting his mother's element which is wind. There is also a possibility of him being attuned to other elements, or sub-elements, but the chances are very slim.

"We are here." Kane guided his son inside a room where three elders were waiting.

Krios was stunned to see how powerful these elders were. The two on the sides were in the Late Body Immortalization realm while the one in the middle was even stronger being an Early Immortal Master elder.

"Welcome Lord Kane and Young Master Krios." The man in the middle spoke.

"Please proceed this way young master, touch this measuring device and imbue it with as much mana as you can." The Elder instructed him.

"If it does not light up brightly, then, you are a warrior. And the color of the light would indicate what element your mana is attuned to. White for light, yellow for air, blue for water, brown for earth, green for nature, red for fire, and orange for lightning." The other elder spoke.

Kane nudged his son towards the device and Krios obliged. He laid both his palm on the device even if mana only comes out of his left hand due to him designating his right hand for chaos energy.

'What would happen if I imbue this this device with chaos energy?' Krios thought curiously.

He channeled a small amount of his chaos energy and imbued it to the device. The device shuddered ever so slightly and it glowed bright purple for a second then turned dark once again.

The elders along with Kane looked in confusion, not sure what just happened.

'Wait did I break it?' Krios wondered if that was supposed to happen. He was hust trying to experiment with his chaos energy not expecting the device to react in any way.

"I'm sorry Young master but, can you imbue it with mana once again? I think we might just had a slight issue there." The elder came closer and inspected the device.

Krios nodded and this time, imbued the device with his mana and it started to glow. This time, it glowed bright in a shade of red.

"Ah there it is!" One elder spoke

"I thought it was broken." The other added

"Congratulations! You are a mage and flame elementalist." The elder announced.

Krios was relieved by the results. He was really hoping to be a mage because he lacked the body training a warrior definitely would need.

"Congratulations son! Now you can start training with the same flame arts our clan is known for." Kane tapped his son's shoulder.

"Thanks dad!" Krios beamed at his father.

"Thank you elders for facilitating my son's test."

"The pleasure is all ours Lord Kane." The three elders bowed in unison.

The father and son walked out of the room and started pacing back to their accommodation.

"Dad, those elders were really strong!" Krios said as they were walking down the hallway.

"Yeah they are. One of them was even stronger than me." Kane was already considered strong in their clan with him being in the Late Body Immortalization realm just like the two elders.

"How about grandpa? I was not able to see his cultivation level when we met him. He must be higher than them then."

"People beyond the Immortal master realm has the ability to shroud their own cultivation from the soul sense of those below their level. Which means that my father is atleast at the Immortal Grandmaster realm." His father answered.

"Is he one of the strongest in our continent?" Krios wondered.

His father chuckled at his innocence.

"In this clan yes he is the strongest. In what I know, he is the third strongest clan leader we have ever had. Third only to the founder and one other ancestor. In this region, he is one of the strongest being one of the leaders of the union." Kane explained to his son.

'Wow, he must really be extremely powerful' krios thought.

"But in this continent? Far from it. There are bigger, stronger monsters out there. Especially in the north eastern regions where mana is more abundant." His father continued.

'There are people stronger than him?' Krios could not believe what he was hearing.

"If that's the case, then can I ask for a favor?" Krios had an idea and he knew his father might not like it.

"What is it?" His father asked.

"Aside from learning our clan's mage art, I want to explore those lands where people stronger than grandpa lives." He said with conviction.

'If I stay here where the strongest would not even manage to go toe to toe with the strongest somewhere else. Then I might end up being the same.' He thought to himself.

"Why? You'll grow fine here with our clan's teachings. You'll be able to live a life of abundance and comfort." His dad told him.

"But I don't want that. I want to be stronger. And to do that, I need to be with even stronger people."

His dad was slightly taken aback. Others in the clan might take offense if they heard what his son had said. But he knew he meant no harm in his words.

He was also proud of how ambitious and steadfast his son is about his dreams. This is what he believes every child should be like.

"Fine, but we'll talk with your mother about this. And if she permits, then I permit as well."

"Thanks dad!" Krios hugged his dad and they both continued walking back to their family room.