Chapter 2: Elements

In a classroom full of people, everyone could feel the excitement in the air.

"Hey, is it true the chief built this planet?" said a young woman with a blonde hair. She was Axea, a proud Tier 2 Water Mage. She traveled a lot since she was a kid, and one day she stumbled upon an inheritance which brought her to the world of magic. She could make waterballs and such but when she arrived at the planet, her mind was blown with all the possibilities opened by using magic.

"It's true. But don't take it granted. Not many can do this. Do you know why our teacher is called Mage of All Elements?" said a young man with his chest puffed. He was Idore, a Tier 4 Earth Mage. After searching and using all his connections he finally made it to Shifting Rift. He sacrificed a lot to be here and he was full of expectations of his future under one of the greatest minds of the galaxy.

"Isn't it because he can use all elements?" said Axea, clearly confused by such a basic question.

"Indeed, but it's not just the usage. He..." while Idore was trying to explain, he saw the space behind the teacher's desk distorted. Before even a second pass, two people appeared.

It was not only Idore saw this. All the noise queitened down and everyone in the classroom bowed towards the older one among the two new men.

"We welcome our Master." they said solemnly.

Rhiharis swung his arm and everyone felt the air in front their head straightened their body. A deep voice could be heard afterwards.

"No need to bow to me, you're part of our family now. I didn't build Shifting Rift to make me flattered . I welcome all of you."

With another swing of his arm, little slits of space appeared before everyone. From them fell identical black robes. Everyone's eyes fell down to the emblem embroidered on the robes. A sphere standing above an opened book.

"Now, let's get the lesson started. Who can tell me which elements can be used by mages?" said Rhiharis, ignoring fervant gazes of everyone.

The question brought all of them to reality, everyone wanted to be the first to answer but they all were beaten by Idore.

He directly stood up and said "Answering to teacher, there are 4 basic elements which are fire, water, earth and wind. And 2 advanced elements named time and space. There are also some theories that claims new elements can be appear with their combination.".

Rhiharis nodded and said "What you said is true and I am pleased to see you are open to new ideas." He opened his hand and above it appeared a block of ice.

"Let's take this ice for example. It is the solid state of water. This sturdy state could be achieved by cold naturally but we can also take use sturdiness of the earth to give that state to it directly. Similarly earth's sturdiness can be taken by adding another element to it." said Rhiharis and this time opened his palm to the ground. A small amount of lava fell from his hand to the ground. Everyone could feel the sweat on their foreheads because of the heat. At that time, everyone could guess which element was added to it.

"As you see, almost everything is possible with magic. Prime example is the planet you're standing on. It is not a natural one but artificial. It can be counted as my masterpiece, all six elements are used to create it. But using multiple elements are tricky. Our galaxy has countless people but a Mage is still respected even one is merely Tier 1. Do you know why?" said Rhiharis.

"Because it's hard to even create a single core with one element. One needs talent, corresponding meditation art and resources for it. For every mage who dreams to reach Tier 9, it is merely a waste of time and resources to create other element cores." said a young girl. She couldn't become a mage because of the scarceness of resources and materials in her hometown.

"That is true. Even being a double element mage can limit your future. I took this path because of my curiosity and talent at that time. I was arrogant enough to count on my talent and see what could be done with all elements combined. I could become a Tier 9 Mage with any element till now, but I have still many theories to explore. Thus I do not regret anything." said Rhiharis with sparkling eyes. He was a role model, an end game goal of many mages. But deep inside he still felt it's merely a start in his exploration to the secrets of the universe.

Everyone could feel the arrogance in Rhiharis words but nobody could laugh or sneer towards him. Because he was a living example of one could reach Tier 8 with every element with enough talent. Of course luck mattered too but it was enough to open their minds to many possibilities.

"Teacher, can I create another core even if I have a Tier 4 Earth core?" asked Idore. He felt the power emanating from the lava. He could feel with the power of two core combined the magic would be strengthened further.

"You can, but it will be harder than starting at Tier 1. With every core our bodies adapt to that element. Further down the road, it's harder to house other elements." said Rhiharis.

Idore sat down and a thoughtful look appeared on his face. He was contemplating about his future.

Rhiharis didn't say anything for a while. He just let it sink to these students before him.

"I didn't say these things to courage you to take the road of multiple elements or obstruct you from taking it. But you must hear these while you're still young. It would be futile to hear it when you're Tier 7 or above. It wouldn't be impossible to change then but unimaginably harder." said Rhiharis. He waited a couple seconds and continued. "It's enough for today, after leaving you can take a look at our library. You can find all the meditation arts I gathered, some can even be used till Tier 9. Choose what is suitable to you. Dismissed." With a tap of his foot, both Rhiharis and Evior disappeared like they were never here before.