Meanwhile, at Elyndor capital city of Aetherion the House of Duke Fernord of Ravencair
"Meonar was still alive"
Tch...
"Meonar, you couldn't even kill that little boy, and you dare come to me with excuses?"
Fernord's voice was cold, sharp like steel.
Meonar stood silently for a moment, then lowered his head.
My apologies, Duke Fernord. If that old man hadn't interfered, the boy Caelum would already be dead.
He gritted his teeth, eyes filled with frustration.
Fernord scoffed.
"And you call yourself an assassin of the Black Saints, yet you failed a simple job."
Meonar dropped to one knee.
"Please, give me one more chance, Duke Fernord."
The duke narrowed his eyes.
"This is your last chance, Meonar. Don't you dare fail me again."
No words.
Meonar gave a slight nod, and vanished into the shadows.
Fernord clicked his tongue again.
"Tch. Useless."
Whoosh… Whoosh…
The wind cut through the dark forest as Meonar and his companions darted across the treetops, their cloaks fluttering like shadows.
"Leader, why did you let him talk to you like that?"
One of them finally broke the silence.
Meonar didn't turn. His voice was calm, but sharp.
"Let that prideful noble bark for now. His arrogance will be his own undoing."
The wind howled louder as they moved.
"Leader,you could have killed the boy back then," one whispered.
Meonar's eyes flicked back, calm but sharp.
"Watch your tongue. I act when the time is right."
"But, we can't kill Caelum yet, right?"
Another voice uneasy, questioning.
Meonar's eyes narrowed.
"No. Lord Lucel wants him alive."
He clenched his fist.
"The ritual is still incomplete. We still need to gather the remaining people for the sacrifice."
A silence fell over the group again. As Meonar and his companions vanished into the shadows, a cold smile curled beneath his hood.
"Let that arrogant duke think he commands me, Only lord Lucel's will matters."
But far from the schemes of Meonar and Duke Fernord....
Caelum stood alone in the large cave.
From a distance, Thalorein watched silently.
The boy was still practicing rune magic.
"Okay.. now I need to imagine the storm," Caelum whispered, lowering his stance.
"Let my mana flow... and feel it."
A gust spun around him.
A large sphere of wind formed in his palms.
This time, stable. Controlled.
"I did it, brother!!" he shouted, eyes wide with joy.
Thalorein gave a small, proud smile.
"Well done… brother," he murmured under his breath.
Caelum clenched his fist.
"One down… now the rest."
And so, the days bled into months.
Then years.
Two long years.
He faced them all over and over again.
Until every element bent at his will.
Until he no longer needed to imagine them.
"Haha… Caelum, four years," Thalorein said with a smirk.
"And now you've mastered the elements."
He turned, cloak fluttering in the breeze.
"Well then."
"Let's go hunt some monsters, shall we?"
Caelum's eyes lit up.
"Yes, let's go, brother.
Whoosh… whoosh…
They leapt across the rocky terrain, kicking up clouds of dust with every powerful jump. The cave stretched endlessly, shadows dancing with each movement.
"Brother, what monsters are we hunting?"
Caelum's eyes were ablaze with excitement.
Thalorein came to a sudden stop.
Hand to his chin, eyes narrowed.
A pause.
"Hmm…"
"Every monster around here."
Caelum blinked. "Wait, what?"
Thalorein smirked. "But I won't be hunting with you."
A pause.
Caelum's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"You'll hunt alone," Thalorein said, turning away.
"One of every type, or as many as you please. I'll return once you're done."
He began walking off.
"Then why did you say we were hunting together?" Caelum called out.
"Thaaha… who knows?"
A grin over his shoulder
Then he was gone, fading in a second.
I need a plan.
Even though I've grown stronger, I still can't just blindly start hunting.
First ,I need to observe.
Their behavior.
Their weaknesses.
Their habits.
But how?
Then it clicked.
"Dark magic, I'll hide in the shadows. They won't sense me if I cover my aura."
Magic: Aura Control
A technique that masks mana completely.
I learned it when I asked brother, how he hides his presence during hunts.
Magic beasts, monsters, they can sense our mana. That's how they sense us.
So I'll hide my mana.
Caelum slowed his breathing, and let his mana flow deeper into his senses.
Earth Element Magic: Seismic Sense
A technique that lets him feel every step, every shift in the ground.
He pressed his hand onto the soil.
Closed his eyes.
Silence…
Thak… thak..
Heavy footsteps.
Rough ,irregular.
"Two kilometers away ,it's a troll."
Step by step, Caelum approached the place where the troll was eating another troll.
He crouched low, eyes sharp, mind already planning.
Weaknesses.
Trolls regenerate health rapidly, but fire stops their regeneration and burns through their mossy, damp, corrupted bodies like nothing else.
So, I'll need a strong fire spell.
Instant and powerful.
As he prepared the spell, a sudden shift in the air made Caelum freeze.
Many trolls were approaching.
Among them, he saw one that stood out.
A red troll.
Larger.
Sharper eyes.
Clearly more intelligent than the rest.
"I need a new plan," Caelum thought, scanning the area.
Why are so many trolls together? Usually, trolls are lone beasts they didn't gather in large groups.
Is that red troll their leader?
He thought.
What should I do?
A small smirk crept, I got an idea.
He planted (tier 7)
(Ignition burst ) A fire spell that can be used as a trap bomb.
Caelum planted it, in different spots around the area, carefully without getting noticed.
When it was done, he stepped out of the magic hiding his presence and shouted,
"Hey trolls!"
All the trolls turned their heads toward him.
"Catch me, you ugly creatures!" he taunted, then dashed off.
Every troll except the red one gave chase.
Boom. Boom.
The traps exploded as trolls stepped on them bodies fell, but the others kept coming.
"Foolish creatures without a brain"
Caelum gave a smile.
Caelum flicked a glance at the red troll.
Definitely, he thought, this one's got intelligence.
Than a loud sound.
ROOOAAA!!
The trolls ,stopped chasing.
Caelum narrowed his eyes.
"So I was right ,he's the leader."
The red troll stepped forward.
Its massive frame pulsing with mana.
It looked down at Caelum and, spoke.
"Human.. you dare provoke the Great Troll King, Kerno?"
"You shall die."
Caelum blinked.
"It talked?"
His gaze sharpened.
"Not like the others , he's intelligent."
Caelum smirked.
"You ugly creature, got a sharp tongue for a beast. Ever heard of respect?"
"You will die here."
Kerno's voice rumbled like thunder.
He lunged.
Swoosh!
Caelum sidestepped, fast.
"Earth Bind."
The ground beneath Kerno's legs shifted.
SNAP!
Rock twisted and locked like shackles around the troll's limbs.
(Tier 3 Earth Magic)
Control terrain. Manipulate shape. Trap the target.
Kerno roared again, struggling.
Caelum didn't hesitate.
"Inferno."
Tier 9 Fire Magic.
Blue flames burst forward like a raging wave.
FWOOOOM!!
The ground cracked.
Air twisted.
The fire swallowed the troll whole.
Caelum took a breath, stepping back.
"For a second, Caelum thought he had won...
Until a deep, gravelly voice echoed from the flames."
"Human… it tickled."
Kerno.
Still standing.
Still burning.
But untouched.
"Flames slowly faded from his body"
Caelum's eyes widened.
"How?"
He didn't have time to think.
CRASH!!
Kerno dashed blindingly fast
A blur of red and rage.
BAAM!!
A massive fist slammed into Caelum's side.
He flew hit the ground, rolled, dust and blood bursting from the impact.
"Ugh...!"
He gritted his teeth, coughing.
Kerno grinned, pride oozing from his face.
"Human… weak."
He let out a thunderous laugh, shaking the cave walls.
Caelum smirked, blood trickling from his lip.
"Still just a monster with a small brain."
BOOM!!
A sudden explosion erupted from the ground beneath Kerno.
Flames and light burst upward, swallowing part of the arm of kerno.
Kerno roared in pain his left arm torn off, unable to regenerate.
....
Moments earlier....
Caelum had secretly planted two spells beneath the earth:
Tier 6 Light Magic – Purify
Tier 7 Fire Spell – Ignition Burst
Both aimed at burning corrupted flesh and halting regeneration.
...
Back in the moment
Smoke cleared.
Kerno staggered, arm gone, snarling in confusion.
"Tch!! I missed" Caelum stood up, brushing off the dust.
" But you look better, ugly."
Kerno stared at his torn arm.
Breathing heavy.
Then suddenly
"Raaaargh!!"
A roar that shook the entire cave.
Trolls nearby scattered, fleeing, sensing the change.
His aura darkened,
skin ripping, bones reshaping.
Mossy flesh hardened into black obsidian armor.
His body tripled in size.
Eyes burned a fierce red
intelligence lost, replaced by pure rage.
Baam! Baam!
Kerno marched forward.
"What is happening.?"
Sensing the danger, Caelum melted into the shadows with dark magic,
his form vanishing from sight.
Silent, he watched
observing Kerno's terrifying transformation.
But Caelum could sense Kerno's , mana slowly draining.
"Why is his mana dropping.?"
A sudden realization hit him.
The transformation...
it's sucking all his mana dry, like water slowly being drained from a bottle.
"If my calculations are right, Caelum thought, he won't last."
"Let's play tag, you ugly monster," Caelum murmured with a smirk.
"Hey, you ugly Kerno ,or whatever catch me!" he taunted.
Kerno charged.
The ignition traps Caelum planted exploded one by one under Kerno's feet,
but even with the blasts, Kerno kept coming.
Two minutes passed.
Caelum stopped running and unleashed a combined spell:
Waterfall (Tier 8),
Windstorm (Tier 8),
and Dragon's Breath (Tier 8).
Boom.
A massive tornado of fire, water, and wind slammed into Kerno.
Kerno roared, draining his strength.
Baam.
He crashed into the ground but rose again, more furious than ever.
"Tch! What a persistent creature," Caelum muttered.
Caelum staggered slightly. His breathing uneven.
"I'm running out of mana," he muttered under his breath.
With each combo spell it drained him fast
and if his mana hit zero, it meant death.
"I've got two more combos left in me," he calculated, eyes fixed on the raging behemoth in front of him.
He couldn't hide anymore Kerno's transformed state could sense caelum presence, through mana so when he uses shadow to blend kerno senses it.
"Damn it," Caelum cursed, thinking fast. Light Spell might work, but that required Kerno to stay still for at least 10 to 20 seconds.
But Kerno hadn't stopped moving since the transformation.
"Maybe Ground Bind? No, that spell won't even hold him for a second now."
Caelum clenched his fists. Sweat mixed with dust on his brow.
Time was ticking. And Kerno wasn't slowing down.
Caelum ducked behind a crumbling stone slab, heart pounding.
Magic hiding doesn't work, he realized. Kerno sensed mana, not sight.
Kerno's thundering footsteps shook the ground as it tore through everything around, roaring in madness.
Caelum clenched his jaw and acted fast.
He conjured a shadow clone, a perfect silhouette of himself, and tossed it across the ruins using a burst of dark magic. At the same time, he softened the ground under the clone turning it into a sand mire, just enough to trap something heavy.
Kerno took the bait.
BOOM!!
He slammed down on the clone.
But in that second his feet sank, the ground pulling his legs in like hungry mud.
"Got you." Caelum appeared behind him, arms raised, eyes glowing with final resolve.
Massive glowing circles formed in the sky.
Light crackled.
Mana surged.
"Devine Judgment." (Tier 9 Light magic)
A blinding ray of light burst down, pure and unforgiving, engulfing Kerno.
He let out one last roar but then,silence.
Kerno stopped moving.
Ash rose.
The ground steamed.
Caelum collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily.
"Sigh… finally over…"
But then his eyes widened.
On Kerno's charred skin… a strange mark glowed faintly.
A symbol.
Old. Unfamiliar.
A language Caelum didn't know.
And just like that…
it vanished.
"What was that…?" he asked himself.
But too tired to think anything.
"I'll figure it out" , as he collapsed..