“Though it may be sudden, there are people in this world known as Elementalists.” The space that had mimicked the training ground transformed once again, leaving the surroundings blank, devoid of anything. It felt like being trapped in a white room.
The sorcerer in a black robe casually opened his mouth as he sat on a chair conjured in the white space. Rensley could only blink his eyes and couldn’t respond naturally.
“While many people are familiar with wizards, Elementalists are rare. Not only are they difficult to encounter, but their numbers are so scarce that they are rarely mentioned in the world. There are even more people who are unaware of their existence. Have you ever heard of Elementalists?”
Unable to move his mouth, Rensley wondered why the sorcerer bothered to ask. When Rensley stared at him, the sorcerer chuckled and answered on his own.
“I guess not. It’s difficult to know Elementalists in Cornia, a place not easily seen by magicians.”
“….”
“Magic operates using magical power. Things like magic circles and spells, though different in name and method, are all tools for humans to utilize magical power. Just as cultivating wheat alone doesn’t make a farm prosperous, magic needs more than just raw magical power. To make bread, you need to harvest wheat, grind it, knead the dough, and then bake it, right?”
Such basic knowledge was common even among non-magicians. Moreover, during his stay beside Gezell, Rensley had picked up various things about the fundamentals of magic. Though there were often difficult and incomprehensible parts, he had never blocked the sorcerer’s explanations, appreciating the slow and gentle voice that explained things step by step.
Magic needs magical power to be implemented, and magical power is the force processed by the magician. Depending on the shaman’s skill, the amount of magical power extracted and processed from the source of power determines how it can be utilized. The sources of power are also diverse.
The most researched and utilized magic by most magicians, including Gezell, is elemental magic, which extracts magical power from nature. Fire, water, wind, lightning, earth, rocks… things that are ordinary to people are classified as elements by magicians based on their nature and become essential sources of magical power.
In addition, there is divine magic that utilizes the power of prayers and divine power, mainly used by clergy; dark magic, widely prohibited on the continent, which borrows power from the underworlds of the afterlife; shadow magic, similar to dark magic but different in that it borrows power from a dimension other than the world of shadows, making it distinct; illusion magic, using subtle psychic power to cast spells secretly; and alchemy, which converts the inherent power of the human body into magical power… as the detailed names continued, Rensley couldn’t remember all the names he had never heard before. People generally knew only a few things about magic.
Summoning, which calls creatures or spirits from other worlds or dimensions, is considered one of the most challenging magics, and only a few people in the entire continent are said to be able to use it. Gezell had explained that one should not use summoning magic recklessly because it could become difficult to control the summoned being, emphasizing that they simply come to this place and controlling them as a magician requires a separate kind of power.
“But here’s the thing. Some people don’t need that process. What if a person could talk directly to the wheat in a wheat field? It may sound absurd, but imagine if you could ask the wind, water, fire, or even earth directly. If you could talk to the elements, think about it as if you could ask them to provide power for you. You can probably imagine how vast the source of power would become, and you can estimate how much effort would be saved in extracting, converting, and operating magical power. Can you fathom how amazing that would be for magicians?”
The magician was excitedly chattering away. Conversing with wind, water, and fire, it sounded like a line straight out of a romantic ballad sung by minstrels. The content was understood, but the reason for bringing up the topic was unclear. Binding people with magic and suddenly mentioning an awakening phenomenon. The magician stood up.
“People capable of such things are Elementalists. You’ve heard of Elementalists, right? They are chosen. Of course, becoming a magician requires some innate talent, but even those with less talent can become great magicians with hard work and practice. However, Elementalists are different. They are born as Elementalists, chosen from birth. Not everyone born as an Elementalist can fully become one. Usually, they are born as Elementalists but may live their entire lives without realizing it, only to die without awakening. But if they are lucky enough to awaken…”
The magician’s wand lifted Rensley’s chin. Beneath the hooded robe, crimson eyes sparkled.
“When they awaken… what happens?”
The term “Elementalist” was heard for the first time today, and there was no way to know the answer to that question. Rensley wanted to spit in the magician’s face, but his face stiffened, and he could only tremble.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The magician found Rensley’s feeble resistance amusing and smiled. Whether it was Felix or this magician, Rensley seemed to be unlucky in his choice of kings and their subjects.
‘Could I be the one they call an Elementalist?’
Considering the earlier talk about seals, the conversation seemed to be flowing in that direction. Rensley chuckled inwardly. If he had such a rare ability, it should have been discovered during his childhood when the royal magician tested whether he had magical talent or not. If he was such a rare being, why did the Cornian royal family abandon him to the northern lands until this day?
…As he pondered this, he suddenly remembered the forgotten conversation.
“Do you feel anything?”
“Huh? What…”
“Have you ever learned magic?”
“No.”
Not just the White Wolf, but also Duke Gezell had asked him a similar question.
“Have you ever learned magic?”
“No. I underwent tests when I was young, but they said I had no talent.”
“Since then, nothing special happened?”
“No, nothing.”
Why did the wolf and the duke ask such questions? Suddenly, during the inquiry, the magician, unnoticed, began to turn his staff and recite an incantation. Magic circles, like codes, appeared all around. Even to someone unfamiliar with magic, the spreading patterns in the air were eerie.
Although nothing concrete could be calculated, an instinctive sense of danger rose like a torrent, reaching even under Rensley’s nose. It felt like someone was whispering in his ear that he had to escape. But his body remained motionless, as if frozen.
Finally, the magician’s staff completed a full circle and lightly touched Rensley’s back. It wasn’t a stab or a strike, just a gentle press.
“…Gah, hng…”
However, not long after, moans that even magic couldn’t suppress escaped Rensley’s tightly shut lips. Pale as a blank sheet, his face turned clammy with cold sweat in an instant. The defiant eyes that had glared at the magician just moments ago were now filled only with confusion and fear.
The magician, finding something satisfying in this sight, clapped his hands in delight.
“Success!”
Rensley gasped for rough breaths. The scream that had risen to his vocal cords turned into muffled groans and coughs, stuck in lips that wouldn’t properly part.
His pupils kept flickering. When the scream couldn’t escape, tears began to stream uncontrollably. Saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth, a manifestation of the body’s rebellion, trying to release the pain.
“Can you hear?”
The magician asked, but the question thrown so close did not reach Rensley properly. Too many sounds assaulted him, making it impossible to focus on the magician’s small voice.
The sounds. They were enormous, almost exaggerated, like the entirety of the world breaking into countless fragmented noises. Sometimes resembling human voices, other times like the whimpering of completely alien creatures. The beautiful melody that seemed to play like an instrument suddenly transformed into a nightmarish, horrifying sound, nearly impossible to hear even in nightmares.
Laughter, weeping, screams, whispers, sharply scratching sounds, tearing sounds, dull thudding sounds, the collision of hard objects, breaking sounds, the sound of deep breaths, flying sounds—an indescribable variety of sounds entangled and overwhelmed Rensley’s mind, splitting apart and exploding like thousands of blades, tearing his whole body.
His ears were in pain, and it felt like his head would burst. Muscles tensed throughout his body, and nerves began to burn. If only he could scream freely. If only he could thrash around. Rensley looked at the magician with tears streaming down. Despite knowing that the magician wouldn’t listen, he wanted to beg for his life, to ask for help. In this moment, if he could escape the torment, he felt like he could do anything.
The magician removed his hood. A boy’s face, looking even more innocent than expected, perhaps around ten years old, was revealed.
“It seems you can hear from your reaction. Awakening as an Elementalist means being able to communicate with everything in the world. Isn’t it magnificent? Originally, all the sounds that humans shouldn’t hear become audible. It’s said that most people who become Elementalists either go insane or die before they can properly control their abilities due to the indiscriminate influx of all sounds from the world.”
The magician, who was casually muttering, swung his staff again. As he chanted, Rensley, finally freed from the spell, slumped to the ground. Even the brief respite from the torture brought only a momentary relief. Every time he gasped, the muscles of his back and shoulders, which had been rising and falling steadily, twitched violently.
“Guh, cough…”
Unable to withstand the recent shock, Rensley, who was now vomiting on the ground, was looked down upon by the magician with indifferent eyes. As Rensley’s body, now weakened by the act of vomiting, sank even further, the magician’s foot lifted his chin.
Rensley’s eyes, swollen and moist from congestion, weakly met the magician’s gaze.
“Felix has ambitions. He plans to build a new and powerful Cornia and establish a new order on the continent. To achieve that, he needs your strength, Rensley Maelrosen.”
“…Laughable, ma…”
“Cute, isn’t it?”
The magician chuckled and crouched down in front of Rensley, patting his chin with his palm. His face, facing Rensley, remained as innocent as that of a child.
“If the same pain continues, you won’t be able to endure it. As someone who has already awakened, if we don’t assist in your training, you’ll end up like others who went mad or died rampaging with the abilities of an Elementalist. Do you want that to happen?”
Rensley took a deep breath, remained silent for a moment, then spoke.
“How did you know?”
“What?”
“That I have such an ability… How did you know? I’ve never… heard of it.”
“…As I mentioned earlier, Elementalists are extremely rare. Not only are they not easily born, but they are even harder to find. There’s a saying that acquiring a proper Elementalist is not inferior to gaining the whole world. All magicians and rulers wish to encounter an Elementalist at least once in their lifetime, but it has become so difficult that it can be said that the line has been cut off for several generations.”
The magician took out a handkerchief from his robe. Wiping Rensley’s mouth kindly, he continued his story.
“The former king, who feared and rejected magic, could handle such a being properly? The old palace magician who served the dead king and recognized your talent didn’t think so. A rare Elementalist, capable of changing the balance of power on the continent, would be a waste if ruined by a foolish king. So he decided to seal your abilities tightly and wait for the right time while keeping the secret.”
“But… living in Cornia for so long, you also know, right? The former king was suspicious and full of favoritism, so he replaced the palace magician twice. The one who recognized your abilities couldn’t even get a chance to inform anyone and died. But he left a hidden record, and it fell into the hands of Lord Felix. And now, the truth of the record has been proven. The wheel of fate is turning in the direction where Lord Felix is.”
The magician finished his story and stood up. Rensley, who was sitting on the ground, was also pulled up by an invisible force.
“It was quite a detailed record. It collected a few stories from before you entered the palace. Even from when you were a newborn, animals approached you without avoiding you. Do you remember? At first, they tried to drive them away, fearing they might harm you, but even fierce dogs became gentle in front of you. To strangers, it might have just seemed like a cute harmony, but to the magician who recognized your talent, all those events were signs.”
Rensley remained silent, gasping for rough breaths. From his childhood, spent wandering around pastures, stables, and paddocks like a second home, it was natural for animals not to avoid him.
“You were chosen, Rensley Maelrosen.”
There were times when Rensley Maelrosen thought he had more talents than others. Talents that brought simple joys and comforts to an otherwise unchanged life, such as raising animals or plants, swimming in the roaring sea, or running fast with the wind. Though not something that could earn praise or fame, it was a modest skill that provided little pleasures in his consistently uneventful life. The magician before him, however, was suddenly attaching a strange and grand name to Rensley Maelrosen, who had nothing outstanding.
As the magician adjusted and raised his staff, Rensley shivered reflexively. The unfamiliar pain he experienced for the first time was more than enough to fill Rensley with fear. The magician looked at Rensley with a smile.
“Be thankful. This is another world, another space I’ve created. If it were the world we lived in, you wouldn’t have been able to endure it even for a moment. Many times more spirits would have spoken to you. Spirits become extremely talkative when they find a human they can communicate with.”
Ever since he heard the story of Felix ascending to the throne, Rensley had been uneasy. Gezell reassured him that there was no need to fear the man at the edge of the continent, but now Rensley understood. It wasn’t simply Felix Elbanes, the individual, that he feared back then. It was evident that Felix had planned this since before ascending to the throne.
From the winter when he emerged from the Wolf’s Forest and didn’t return to Roudken, Rensley wondered what would have happened if he had crossed the border according to the plan. If he had come to Pheraira as planned, this situation might have happened even sooner. Rensley Maelrosen, who had evaporated into Felix’s grasp without anyone knowing, would probably never have been found by Gezell.
But Rensley had returned to Gezell. Looking back, that choice turned out to be a stroke of luck brought by coincidence. An opportunity to avoid danger…
The frozen head of Rensley subtly lowered. Although the events that lay ahead were as opaque as thick fog, one thing was clear in front of Rensley now.
The ominous prophecy of the white wolf had finally come true.
Ohh snap, germ!! Save your husband!!