"Do you want me to help?" Caelen asked the old man, Idel.
Idel looked at him, then frowned. "Don't mock me. If you're still in this village at your age, your crest must be stuck at the first stage.
And not just that— you must be a scared one. I know barbarians like the back of my hand. I know exactly what kind live in this village."
"Well, you're wrong," Caelen said, his voice rising with frustration.
"Are you going to tell me you're not scared?"
"That's not it." Caelen hesitated for a moment, then continued. "I didn't run away. I was sent here. Against my will."
"What? Did you commit a serious crime? No, they would've just executed you if that were the case."
"It's not like that." Caelen raised his left hand and showed the back of it. "My crest didn't activate. Not at fifteen, not even after that. My crest wasn't even at the first stage."
"Huh? How's that possible? Were you just sleeping all day instead of training before fifteen?"
"Of course not!" Caelen snapped. He didn't need to defend himself. His body already showed how hard he'd worked.
Idel stared at him, then narrowed his eyes. "Then how... wait." The old man began rummaging through his pockets.
From one, he pulled out something small and jagged.
"Is that a crystal?" Caelen asked, startled.
It looked just like the fragmented crystal they used to test the stage of the crest and its owner's potential at fifteen.
"This is why I'm here," Idel said. "Sit down. I'll tell you about my research—and my quest."
Caelen obeyed. It was clear this was going to be another story.
"This probably isn't the same crystal you're thinking of," Idel said, holding it up.
Caelen leaned in. On closer inspection, it was definitely different. First, it was about twice as large.
Even though it still looked like a shattered fragment, it gave the impression that two pieces had fused together.
Second, the color—it wasn't just red. One half glowed with a red hue, but the other shimmered with blue.
"It looks beautiful," Caelen said without thinking.
"Heh, of course it does. Because this is the source of our crests."
"What!?" Caelen's eyes widened at the sudden revelation.
"The crystal you saw at fifteen was called a fragment. This one is also called a fragment, but it's made by merging two."
"That's... confusing," Caelen admitted.
"Sigh... Let me explain it simply. There are five types of crystal fragments, each with a different color. But they're extremely rare.
The barbarians only have five red ones. That's why there are only four official places where people can get measured at fifteen.
The same is true for the blue ones—or the green ones. Ah, by the way, blue fragments are for the Crest of Knowledge. That's what we magi use.
They're so rare that no nation dares send them outside its borders. Well, except for me.
I brought one blue fragment from Elarith, the magi's homeland... and stole one red fragment from the barbarians."
"I see. So that's why they're hunting you," Caelen said.
"Exactly. I was caught during the theft, so they've been chasing me ever since.
Anyway, the crystal I'm holding now was formed by merging a red and a blue fragment—one magi, one barbarian.
It's still called a fragment because it isn't complete. To form a whole crystal, I need the remaining three colors. Only then can I continue the deeper research.
But for me... this is the end of the line. I can't go any further."
"What kind of research is it? Will it reveal more about the crests?"
"Heh, that's just the beginning. First, yes, it could help us understand the crests far better.
Second, we magi believe it's tied to the birth rates. There's a theory that the barbarians may have altered the birth rate of Crest of War users through these crystals.
And finally..." He hesitated. "It's still just a theory, but... these crystals—there's reason to believe they didn't originate in this world."
Caelen frowned. Of course, nations had secrets. But this much unknown? If the crystals didn't belong here... what if their original owners returned?
Still, this wasn't the time for that.
"Now," Idel began, "if you don't mind, can I measure your crest? It shouldn't be possible for it not to awaken.
Of course, the barbarians didn't think twice before tossing you out. But you clearly trained hard. It should've at least reached the first stage."
Caelen's expression didn't change.
When his crest had been measured at fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen, he still had hope. But after two more failures, even that hope dried up.
So this year, during his fourth test since turning fifteen, he hadn't expected anything.
And because he hadn't hoped, he hadn't been disappointed when nothing happened.
"Sure. Go ahead," he said flatly.
Following Idel's instructions, he placed a chair in the center and set the crystal fragment on it.
"Whenever you're ready," Idel said.
Caelen took a deep breath, steadying his racing heart.
I can't hope for anything. Please... settle down.
He reached out and placed his left hand on the crystal.
Red and blue light flared to life, and he felt the familiar wave of energy enter his hand. Normally, it would reach the Crest of War, then pull back.
But this time, that didn't happen.
The energy entered his left hand and lingered, slowly wrapping around the crest on the back of it.
Hot! Wait, no. It is warm.
It felt warm as it covered his hand. But the energy didn't stop.
It spread, not just through his hand, but up his arm, to his shoulder—then it jumped across his chest to the other shoulder, snaking down toward his right hand.
"Aahh!" His right hand throbbed with sharp, sudden pain, like something inside was resisting or blocking the energy forcing its way through.
"Boy, what happened? Hey!" Idel shouted, alarmed as Caelen bent over in pain. "Tell me what's going on so I can help!"
"My hand! My right hand hurts!"
"Right hand? What?" Idel's eyes narrowed, then he shut them and focused.
Like Crest of War's Barbarian Spirit, Crest of Knowledge also had a passive ability called Mental Overclock.
To activate it, a magus needed to enter a heightened state of focus, similar to how barbarians needed to be injured to trigger their own.
The passive made their mind operate faster. The stronger the magus, the faster their mind would work.
Idel's thoughts sped up. His mind ran ten times faster than the world outside—ten seconds of thought for every second in real time—and he funneled all of it into solving this puzzle.
For every second outside, he would think for ten seconds. And he was focusing every though on Caelen.
Why is his right hand hurting? The Crest of War is on his left—it's active, clearly. But...
Why is it active? He said it never awakened. Did he lie? No... he looked just as shocked as I was.
So what changed?
Before, he used a red fragment—and nothing happened. But now, with both red and blue—his Crest of War activates.
And it's his right hand that's hurting. That's where the Crest of Knowledge would be.
Wait... could it be? Is this even possible? Could I really be this lucky?
A slow smile spread across Idel's face as a wild theory formed. He needed to test it. Now.