Elemental Users

Damon gasped for air after completing the fifth round of using the Overshadow Teleportation. 

"Ugh! Ah! I feel like I'm dying any second now," Damon whispered while breathing heavily. He held onto the tree to support as he felt he was about to pass out. 

By then, a fruit dropped into Damon's head, adding to his agony. 

"F^ck!" Damon gritted in annoyance. He glanced at the fruit, which perked his attention.

"An apple? It amazed me how some Tarynla is similar to Earth, but in old times," Damon whispered while picking the apple and storing it in his inventory. He was glad to have another spared food source. 

[ City of Acedia: We have arrived at your destination. ]

A notification appeared before Damon; rolling his eyes, he closed it and walked around to where the gate was. 

Damon was at the back of the city, which was surrounded by a lake, but he was astonished at the striking view of the church, which was located in that area. 

It took several minutes for Damon to arrive at the front gate. He didn't want to use his skill again as it drained him to the bones. 

The guard looked at Damon as he approached but didn't question as they recognized him as the child Ignis had brought a week ago. 

'Ah~ this is good. I can freely roam-' Damon's thought was disrupted by a loud scream. 

"DAMOOOONNN!" Ignis cried out loud while running toward Damon with open arms. She jumped and hugged him tight while nudging her cheek toward his hair. 

"Ignis…" Damon whispered nonchalantly. He wasn't delighted to see Ignis as she would only hinder his plans for the day. 

"Ah! Why did you leave the headquarters!? We are searching everywhere for you!" Ignis shouted while tightening her hug, suffocating Damon. 

Damon frowned. He knew he would encounter Ignis and open that topic, but he didn't expect it to happen that day. 

"Ah, I left because… I'm scared of the Dragon," Damon reasoned, and he felt bad he needed to use Mikha'el to lie.

"The headquarters is safe, but I'm glad you're okay," Ignis sighed and faced Damon. She frowned after noticing that Damon's appearance had slightly changed. 

"Where did you go? You look… taller? Maybe a bit," Ignis muttered while scratching her chin. She looked up and down at Damon, wondering if her memory was playing with her. 

Damon raised an eyebrow. He didn't notice any difference in his appearance as he felt it was still the same. 

"I went to buy some meat for my sister. I forgot to say goodbye; I'm sorry," Damon apologized and lowered his head, hoping he wouldn't make Ignis angry at him as he didn't want to deal with another burden. 

"It's okay, I understand. It's been busy for us Knights because of the recent… circumstance," Ignis whispered the last word awkwardly, referring to the visit of their Dragon protector. 

Damon smiled genuinely. "Thank you!" he exclaimed, thankful it was solved smoothly. 

"Where are you going, Damon?" Ignis asked, wondering why Damon was back in the city. 

Damon blinked a couple times, trying to figure out what to say. He didn't want Ignis to know about him being able to kill tons of Pookas since that seemed impossible for a child. 

"Ha.. Ha, I'm here to… uh. I mean, I'm here to find work," Damon scratched the back of his head. Cold sweat formed on his forehead, and he hoped Ignis was naive enough not to smell his lies. 

"Work?" Ignis tilted her head while looking at Damon intently. 

"Yes, I know I look too young to work, but I can do many things!" Damon exclaimed and showed confidence. He had worked part-time when he was still on Earth and wanted to use his skills to earn a living while building up his entertainment business idea. 

"I think you're in the right age! Are you an Elemental user?" Ignis asked with a grin. 

"Elemental user?" Damon was confused about what it meant. It was the first time he heard that word spoken in Tarynla, but he remembered the movie he had watched before with people having powers. 

Damon gulped, not wanting to sound clueless and blow up his identity. "Are you an elemental, Ignis?" 

"Me? Yes, of course! You already see me use my fire element against the Pookas," Ignis chuckled proudly. 

"Oh, that, haha. I forgot, but I remember now," Damon grinned while nodding awkwardly. He had thought Ignis used a gas or any element of that sort, not an elemental power. His mind raced, trying to come up with a plausible explanation. 

"Anyway," Ignis continued, oblivious to Damon's internal turmoil, "I can explain further if you don't completely understand about the Elemental users in general," she continued, gesturing for Damon to follow her. 

Ignis didn't mind Damon being confused since he was still too young for her to fully understand the Elemental Users. 

"I can't stay too long," Damon stated to directly tell Ignis to cut the explanation short. He wanted to hear about everything, but he was worried about Mikha'el. 

"Oh, okay. Well then, for the brief introduction!" Ignis exclaimed while walking toward the headquarters. 

"The Elements are gifts. It comes to you at uncertain times and it's quite rare. Only a few people possess an Element, and many wishes they are granted by it," Ignis explained. She stopped and showed Damon a tattoo on her wrist. 

"That looks like fire," Damon squinted to look closely. 

"Yes! This is the symbol of the Fire Element!" Ignis exclaimed and nodded proudly. 

"But who grants this Elements to humans?" Damon asked curiously. It was an important detail he wanted to know. 

"Uhuh, well… They say it's from the Gods, but I don't know why the Fire God grants me this Element when I praise the Wind God instead. It doesn't make sense, but I'm happy to receive a gift from them!" Ignis forced a smile and gave Damon a thumbs-up to show her appreciation, but her eyes were swelling with tears. 

After all, Ignis wanted to receive a Wind Element the most.