That was the word that popped into my head as I gawked at the elven city. It appeared we had directly teleported right past the gates. What I saw before me were buildings that seemed to be built out of a jade-like material. These jade buildings were so flawless and smooth that each seemed to be carved from a single, huge stone.

Making this place look even more awe-inspiring were the huge trees that intertwined with the buildings, filling this whole city with a more distinctive and organic ambience. Looking up, I see homes built on unnaturally thick branches extending out of the massive trunks even larger than the buildings with smoke drifting out of their chimneys.

The entire ground inside this city was covered in a lush field of soft moss, with only the narrow sidewalks and the main road paved with smooth stone. The dense array of branches that fanned out from the trees covered most of the city in a canopy of shade, but there was a warm, luminescent glow throughout the city thanks to numerous floating orbs of light situated in every corner and street.

While I stood, slack-jawed, still processing the world around me, a shadow whizzed in front of me suddenly, jolting me awake.

Tess was still holding onto my hand when a group of what seemed like guards arrived out of nowhere. These elven warriors emanated a dignified air, all dressed in coordinated black suits with green trimmings and a golden shoulder guard on their left shoulder. These five guards all carried a rapier strapped to their waist. I mentally noted that these guards had no sensible aura radiating out of them.

augmenters and conjurers both naturally emit a faint aura from their bodies. The fact I wasn't able to sense any mana leaking meant one of two things: Their mana cores were at a high enough level where I wasn't able to sense it, or they had enough control over their mana to not let any leak out. Either way, it meant that these guys were as impressive as their attire made them look.

The guards ignored my presence as they suddenly kneeled in front of Tess In unison. "We welcome back the royal princess."

"…" My gaze flicked back and forth between the guards and Tess and I'm reminded of the time when I jokingly called Tessia 'your highness'.

Tessia was actually the princess of this whole kingdom?

When I tried to let go of Tessia's hand she suddenly squeezed her hand tighter. In a voice so cold and apathetic that I mistook her voice for someone else's, she said, "You may rise."

They stood up with their right fist still crossing their chest when the knight in front speaks. "Princess, we arrived as soon as we saw that the royal teleportation gate had been used. The King and Queen are…"

Before he could finish speaking, I heard a cry not too far away.

"My baby! Tessia, you're okay! Oh my baby!"

Running towards us was a middle aged man and woman. From the crown on the man's head and the tiara encircling the woman's forehead, I assumed that they were the King and Queen.

The King's tall, built body was uniformed in a loose, decorated robe. His emerald eyes were pointed upwards and his thin lips were tensed, matching his short, military style hair.

While the King had a dignified but somewhat reserved appearance, the Queen was breathtaking. Although she was a bit past her youthful stage, her age couldn't mask the beauty that she was. Her round eyes shimmered a light blue hue, contrasting well with her lush, pink colored lips. Her silver hair was curled down, flailing past her back as she ran towards us, her well-proportioned figure visible underneath her dress.

The mother's cheeks were lined with tears as the father had a tense expression that looked like he was holding back tears as well.

I turned my gaze to see Tessia's face visibly soften as she started tearing up as well. I let go of her hand and gently pushed her towards her parents, feeling a little sentimental myself.

Tessia landed in the arms of her mother who started sobbing at this point on their knees, both burying their face in their daughter's shoulders.

The last to arrive was an old man well past his prime. His facial features are all sharp, with a gaze that could kill someone on contact. His hair was pure white and was tied in the back, face cleanly shaven. This elderly man didn't say anything, but his eyes did warm up a little when he saw Tessia.

It took a several minutes for Tessia and her parents to settle down. In the meantime, the guards were glaring at me with daggers in their eyes, as even the elder was eyeing me curiously.

The King finally stood up and while his eyes were red, he still carried an air of dignity. "As the King of Elenoir and the father of Tessia, I must apologize for this unsightly appearance of mine and more importantly, I wish to thank you for escorting my daughter back home safely," he stated, his voice coming out a bit hoarse. "Please accompany us to our home so that you may rest. After, you can tell us what happened."

His tone was gentle but implied that there wasn't really an option, so I simply nodded in consent. As I was about to follow behind them, Tessia came to me and grabbed my hand again, filling the surrounding people with expressions of shock. I couldn't help but chuckle uncomfortably as I scratched the side of my head, unable to muster up the appropriate words for a situation like this.

After a strenuously awkward ride that seemed a lot longer than it actually had been, we arrived at the castle. Rather than a castle, however, it looked to be an enormous tree. This tree, that probably needed at least a few hundred people locking arms to encircle it, was made of a white stone that, I could only guess, had gone through a petrification process somehow.

Stepping through the front doors of the tree, I was pleasantly surprised to see how impressive the interior of this castle was. There were two curved staircases that created a circle, with a gigantic chandelier floating in the middle of it. This chandelier seemed to be made of the same orbs of light that were dotted throughout the city.

I had told the King and Queen that it wasn't necessary for me to rest and would rather tell them as soon as we arrived, so that's what we did.

Not even washing up, the welcoming crew was all situated around the rectangular dining table downstairs. Tessia's father was on the far end of the table with me directly opposite of him. Tessia's mother sat perpendicular to her husband, with Tessia seated right next to her. The grandpa was sitting across from the mother and daughter, leaving a pretty big gap between us, while the five guards stood off to the side behind the King.

With both his elbows resting on the table, fingers intertwined, the King was the first to speak. "Child. What did you say your name was?"

"Forgive me for the late introduction. My name is Arthur Leywin, and I come from a remote town in the Kingdom of Sapin. A pleasure to make your acquaintance King, Queen, Elder, and gentlemen." I stood up and bowed slightly at each of them individually before sitting back down.

Discussion wasn't going to progress if they were going to treat me like a child.

Both the King and Queen and the guards in the back showed evident looks of surprise from my mature behavior, while even the grandpa had an amused smirk on his face; Tessia giving me a shy smile.

Regaining composure, the King continued on. "It seems you are much more mature than your age. Forgive me for assuming. My name is Alduin Eralith and this is my wife, Merial Eralith and my father Virion Eralith. As for what happened, please tell us. We would like to hear your side of this."

Waving off the apology, I began telling the story. I made sure to be very vague in telling them how I got inside the Forest of Elshire in the first place; I simply told them I had gotten separated from my family after running into bandits, only managing to survive out of luck.

Inevitably, I had to tell them I was a mage. This was followed by another wave of looks of utter disbelief from everyone, including Tessia. Because of the lack of obstacles we ran into on our journey back, I never really had the need to use mana so I didn't bother explaining.

One of the guards told me that I was a liar and to prove that I was actually a mage when, unexpectedly, Tessia's grandfather shut him down. He then clasped his hands together on the table and looked at me with a renewed, eerie interest.

I quickly moved on, telling them how I had spotted a carriage and observed them carrying a tied up child into the back of a carriage before going off.

At this, the King slammed both of his hands on the table, his eyes narrowing into a menacing glare.

"I should've known it was humans…"

I corrected his mildly racist comment and said, "They were slave traders. Them and bandits alike prey on, not just elves, but humans as well, speaking as a victim myself."

This caused the King to shut his mouth before sitting back down, letting out a soft cough.

"I didn't ask Tess… *ahem* the Princess this, but I am curious as to how slave traders even got their hands on the princess of this kingdom," I queried, almost calling Tessia by her nickname. I didn't think calling her something so informal as Tess would sit right with everyone present.

At this, the King almost looked embarrassed before saying, "My wife and I had a bit of a disagreement with Tessia and she decided to rebel by running away. We had decided to let her cool off a bit before fetching her back because we knew where she usually stayed when she pouted, but unfortunately, she ran into some hu... slave traders."

Ah… runaway princess. I sneak in a small grin at Tess and she responded by sticking out her tongue, face flushed.

I glazed over the details of the fight with the slave traders.

"Luckily, I had caught the slave traders by surprise and managed to dispose of them before untying the princess and escorting her here."

"So a four-year-old managed to 'luckily' kill off four adults, one being an augmenter at that, and you simply wave it off like it's no big deal," chimes in the king's father seated across from Tessia, leaning back on the chair so only two of the legs are touching the ground.

"Yes. Half of them were asleep and the two were simply not on guard so disposing of them was not too challenging," I refuted back.

The elder just responded with a lazy shrug of his shoulder.

After finishing the events, I cleared my throat before asking what I came here for. "As I have mentioned, it has been almost two months since I have seen my parents. I do not plan to intrude on your kingdom for long as I wish to meet them quickly, so I was wondering if you guys had a teleportation gate that could take me to the City of Xyrus or anywhere inside Sapin."

"You're going to leave already, Art?!" Tessia shot up from her seat, face stricken with panic.

Both her mother and father gave each other a baffled look as they mouthed 'Art'.

The elder just shot snide grin at this and chuckled, rocking on his chair.

"I don't think it's appropriate for a human such as myself to be inside this Kingdom for too long, Princess. Besides, I wish to make sure that my family is safe and tell them I'm okay as well," I answered, giving a sheepish smile.

The King responds back for Tessia. "It has been a couple hundred years since the last human has stepped foot into the Kingdom of Elenoir and you, Arthur, are the first human to be in the capital of this Kingdom, the City of Zestier. However, saving our daughter and taking the trouble to accompany her all the way back to us entitles you with a proper reward…"

I take a quick peek at Tessia and see her head down, her gunmetal silver hair covering her face.

"…Unfortunately, the teleportation gate linked with the Kingdom of Sapin opens only once every seven years, for the Summit Conference between the three races. Since the last Summit was two years ago, it'll be another five years until the gate will function," the King continued.

I couldn't help but let out a deep breath in disappointment.

"However, we are more than willing to send a group of guards to escort you back home. You are correct that it may not be wise to stay in this kingdom for too long. While some are tolerant, many hold animosity towards humans because of the war long ago." He flashed a brief, sorrowful smile at this.

I nodded in agreement. At least I'd be able to safely go back home.

"For now, please make yourself at home here. We will have your escorts prepared by tomorrow morning. I do advise you not to wander around outside in the city though, for the reasons mentioned earlier."

The King snapped his finger and an elderly elf lady in a tan maid uniform rushed out, leading me to my room.

The room I was led to was large, but elegantly simple in furnishings. While the only furniture consisted of a couch, tea table, bed, and dresser, each looked to be handcrafted out of wood by seasoned craftsmen. As soon as I got into the room, I closed the door behind me, stripped and went straight for the bathroom. The shower was a pleasant surprise; it was a simple waterfall that seemed to naturally flow from the ceiling and drain back out in the floor. However, the constant flow of water that didn't seem to ever turn off was a surprisingly pleasant temperature, just warm enough to relax my body and pores.

As I finished dressing into a very silky robe just for your top and short pants, I placed the stone Sylvia left me inside the chest pocket inside my robe and once again, tried to study my mana core.

About thirty minutes in and making only minimal progress, I hear a knock on my door.

"Coming!"

Opening the door, I'm greeted by a pouting Tessia who threw a light punch at my chest.

"You dummy! Why did you act all unfriendly when you were with my family back there," she harrumphed, slipping past me and sitting on my bed.

"Well first of all, you didn't mention to me that you happened to be the princess of this entire kingdom!" Shaking my head, I gripped Tessia's hand and pulled her out of my room. Kids or not, I didn't think her parents were going to like her being in a boy's room.

"Come on, show me around the castle! I won't get the chance to visit this place again." I immediately regretting saying this.

I hear a slight sniffle as Tessia suddenly broke down into tears, trying to talk while sobbing.

"Art! I don't want you to *Sniff* leave…"

"…You're the first *Sniff* person I've gotten ever close to…"

"…"

I just gently patted her head while she was rubbing her eyes with the arm not holding onto my hand.

As we continued walking in silence, except for Tess' soft sniffles, we made it outside, in the courtyard at the back of the castle. The floating orbs were giving off a dim, luminescent glow, lighting up the well-kept garden in a gentle atmosphere.

I couldn't help but imagine how differently this scene could've been played out if we were ten years older.

Before I even had the chance to finish my thought, A blatantly clear killing intent bombarded my senses. Milliseconds later a faint glimmer gave off the position of a projectile aimed at Tessia. I pushed the still crying princess out of the way and I prepared to parry the projectile with a mana infused hand.

At that instant, a figure in black was facing my back, his right arm in a stance to attack. Grabbing the projectile, I immediately spun myself to block the assassin with whatever was thrown at me. To my surprise, I was face to face with Tessia's grandfather.

I jumped back out of range from before angrily shouting, "What the hell! Why are you trying to kill us?"

"Kid. It may hurt a little but I doubt that toy you're holding could kill anyone," he chuckled.

I looked down at my hand to see a pencil sized projectile with both ends blunted and coated in a layer of something close to rubber.

I was tricked!

"Haha! Nice reaction, nice reaction! I didn't think you'd catch my little present and use it to block my next attack! Truly marvelous! However, your usage of mana was mediocre at best!"

He proceeded to throw me a wooden sword fit for my size as he took out a wooden sword of his own, just a bit bigger.

"Here I come!" Not even giving me the time to get in a stance or even the chance to accept his impromptu training, he dashed towards me.

This crazy old bat!

I lowered stance and , instead of being defensive, I launched myself at him as well, accelerating my speed to throw off the timing of his swing. Aiming for the fingers gripping his sword, I swung upward, reinforcing my entire body.

Right before my sword came into contact with his hand, I was met with only air as he disappeared from my sight.

Whipping my head back, I spotted him a couple meters apart from where I was standing.

"You're a scary little brat, aren't you? Looks like I'll have to be a bit more serious!" the grandpa smirked.

His speed increased even more. Even with my previous life being a life of only training and battles, I was only barely able to keep him in my sight. However, being able to see him and being able to respond to his attacks are two different things.

I felt like a sandbag as I could only curse at my own body.

I was able to block one move of his out of every three he landed on my body.

Screw technique, this old bat was messing with me through sheer speed. The only reason I was able to somewhat keep up was by using sword techniques and footwork to minimize my movement, along with the fact that, because of my size, I was a small target.

After about ten, long minutes of being treated like a wooden training post, I started noticing some patterns in the grandpa's attacks.

As he flashed behind me about to do a horizontal sweep to my legs, I put all of my strength into my legs and leaped back with my sword tucked into my armpit pointing at his head.

With a solid thud created from my blow landing, the old bat stumbled a little before gaining balance.

"HAHAHAHA! I guess I deserved that one!" he laughed, rubbing his swollen forehead.

Throughout all of this, Tessia was surprised at first but after realizing it was just a spar, she settled down. She used this chance, though, to jump out and stomp towards the elder.

"Grandpa! You hurt Art too much! You should've gone easier on him!" Pinching the elder's side.

"AHH! That hurts little one. Haha I'm afraid if I went easier on Arthur, he'd be the one bullying me!" he gently answered as he picked up his granddaughter.

He flashed in front of me and suddenly places his right palm into my sternum.

"Just as I thought. Your body is in a dangerous state..."

I stared blankly at him. Through constant use of mana rotation and meditation, my body should be a lot healthier than even the most well-fed four-year-old.

Virion, noticing my doubtful gaze, pressed his palm on my sternum at a certain angle, triggering a familiar searing pain.

"Your mana manipulation is good for a beginner despite your age, and your sword techniques and fighting experience are frightening enough to make me wonder what sort of life you had led to learn all of this." His eyes narrowed. "But you failed to mention one critical thing in your story earlier."

I could feel my heartbeat beginning to rise as I started to suspect that he found out about Sylvia.

"I've decided. Arthur, become my disciple!" He nodded, throwing me entirely off guard.

I just stared at him, dumbfounded.

What was this old bat saying?

"What? You can't be serious, right?" I managed to blurt out.

He just tilted his head in response, "Why not?"

"F-for one thing! I'm a human! Is it even allowed to have humans in this kingdom? Also, I need to make sure my family is okay and tell them I'm still alive," I refuted.

At this, the grandpa went silent as he pondered a little bit before speaking again.

"Living here isn't a problem as long as you're under my name. As for your parents… Brat, is it an absolute necessity to meet them in person?"

It was my turn to ponder this time.

"I mean, I guess it isn't strictly a necessity for me to meet my parents in person. Although I miss them, the most important thing is finding out how they're doing and letting them know that I'm fine if they are as well," I answered.

"Then come with me tomorrow morning; be outside the manor by six in the morning, sharp."

Before he turned to leave, I stopped him, "Wait! I don't get why you want me as your disciple. Also, you sound awfully hurried. Isn't it possible for me to go back home and spend a bit of time with my parents before coming back here to train under you?"

"I want you to be my disciple because I see your potential. Kid. An uncountable number of people have asked me to take them in as their disciple, from rich to poor, from young to old. But do you know how many I've taken in so far? None! These new generation brats bore me. Just because some of the wealthy noble brat's parents thought their kid was special, they thought they were qualified to ask me to be their mentor"

I just furrowed my brows, not knowing where Tessia's grandpa is going with this.

"… You're different. I know you have exceptional talent in mana manipulation and only God knows how but you possess better technique than even I, but that isn't the reason why I decided on teaching you. Brat…I need to ask you. How are you a beast tamer?" Any sort of amusement that had been on his face previously was all but gone as his sharp facial feature emitted a deathly gaze.

"beast tamer? What are you talking about?" I was really confused. Although it was getting well into the night and the elder had already sent Tessia in to sleep, it didn't seem like this conversation was going to end soon.

"Let's go back inside and talk," he said, leading me to a living room with couches and a roaring fireplace.

Sitting down on a couch, he continued. "Let's start from the beginning. I assume you know that mana beasts possess mana cores just like humans, elves and dwarves right?"

I nodded at this.

"Right. Just like mana beasts, humans, elves and dwarves possess qualities in their mana cores that are distinct to their own race."

He picked up a piece of paper and began drawing a chart.

Water - Ice

Plant

Earth - Gravity

Magma, Metal

Fire - Lightning

Wind - Sound

"These are the four basic elements and their higher forms. The higher forms—Ice, Metal, Lightning, Sound—can only be controlled by mages especially adept at a particular basic element, i.e. a deviant. This is where the distinct racial qualities lie…" He wrote a brief description under each race

Humans

Human mages possess the ability to manipulate all four basic elements and are the only race capable of having deviants that can control the higher form of their adept element. They also have deviants that can even transcend the four basic elements, like healers (emitters), making their mana cores the most diverse.

Elves

Elven mages can only manipulate water, wind, and earth but with much higher affinity. We also have a special trait distinct to our race that allows very pure-blooded mages to control plants. However, elves don't have deviants that can manipulate water, wind, and earth into their higher forms.

Dwarves

Dwarven mages can only manipulate earth and fire but, like elves, they possess a much higher affinity to those two elements. Their distinct trait lies in the fact that all dwarves are able to mold and bend metal, while some deviants possess the special ability to manipulate both earth and fire into magma, something even human deviants are not able to do, much less elves. However, they can only manipulate those two basic elements and, like elves, do not possess the ability to control the higher form of the basic elements.

"Wait I'm not getting all of this. Why can't humans manipulate plants and magma?" I asked while reading his handy info chart.

"Good question. Only elves can manipulate plant, which is the only form of nature that is alive, because of our lineage being highly affinitive to the nurturing elements. Only the Dwarf race can manipulate magma and metal because, like us elves, their lineage makes them highly adept to the constructing elements."

I started subconsciously rubbing the bridge of my nose as my brain whirled.

"Okay. I get the differences between the three three races, but what does that have to do with me being a beast tamer? What does that even mean anyway?"

"I'm getting to that brat!" he barked.

"Mana beasts are different from the three humanoid races because each species have their own special characteristics. Listing all of them would be endless so I'll give you a simple example. Mages, adventurers or not, are classified: E, D, C, B, A, AA, S, SS class. This classification is the same for mana beasts as well. Take the sonic hawk. They are B Class beasts that possess incredible speed while in flight. They all have to affinity for wind and sound. These attributes are innate in their mana cores. Regardless of their affinity, if these mana cores are taken out and given to a human or elf mage that specialize in the wind element, their training will go by much faster than just cultivating mana from their surroundings but that's it."

I impatiently waited as elder Virion gulped down a glass of water before continuing.

"…However! When a mana beast reaches A class or higher, they have the ability to pass on their 'will', or ability to be more precise, to one person. I called you a beast tamer earlier because you have a mana beast's will in your mana core and from my estimation, not just any will but an S class mana beast's will if not an SS class will. I'm only able to sense this because I'm a beast tamer as well, although the beast's will that I tamed was an AA class beast, the shadow panther."

So that's how he was able to be so unusually fast.

Noticing the look of revelation on my face, Elder Virion just chuckled. "Yes brat, I was able to bully you that badly by utilizing my Shadow Panther's will. But I only used around 50% of my speed." He shot me a wink.

He was able to go even faster?

Everything was beginning to make sense; the strange, faint markings that appeared on my mana core after Sylvia gouged through it and how she said my future progress would depend on understanding her power.

My eyes welled up with tears as I lowered my head, trying to keep my tears from falling.

"You must have been through a lot, child. I'm not going to push you for an answer, but the reason why it is urgent for me to guide you is because you don't have much time." He said in a warm but stern voice.

"What do you mean?" I sniffled, looking up at him.

"The power from your mana core is too strong for your immature body to handle. Let me ask you this, boy. Have you recently felt a burning pain coming from your mana core." The look on my face must've confirmed his suspicions because he nodded solemnly. "If you don't learn to control your new mana core, it'll destroy your body." His eyes looked straight at me, dissolving any doubt I may have had.

"…"

"I understand. It seems I have no choice but to be under your guidance. However, I don't think I would be able to focus on training without making sure that my family is all right and that they know I'm safe too. You mentioned something about that earlier?" I say, trying to put my emotions under control.

"Haha! Just call me Grandpa from now on. My first disciple should at least be able to call me that. And who knows, maybe I'll become your grandpa-in-law." He shot me another wink.

He chuckled as my eyes widened in response before continuing. "We'll go see an old friend of mine tomorrow that'll take care of your worries. What I need from you starting now is your utmost diligence. Even I'm not sure how long it'll take for you to master the basics of your beast's will. In my two hundred years of living, I've never seen such a young mage, let alone a beast tamer at that. You're going to bring big changes into this world brat. I just know it."

I just scratched my cheek, my cheeks hot from embarrassment.

"Go to sleep now brat! Tomorrow is going to be a long day. You'll need the rest."

I got up and bowed before wishing him goodnight. "Goodnight…Grandpa."

He chuckled, waving me off and I plopped into my bed, too tired to even get under the covers.

____________________________________

I roused from my sleep, grunting, feeling a heavy sensation weighing down on my body.

Were they my worries? My burdens? The expectations placed on me? Are these weighing down on me even as I slept?

"G' morning Art! Wake up!"

I opened my eyes and see that my burdens have taken the form of a lovely young lady very similar in appearance to my friend Tess.

"Come on sleepyhead! You need to meet grandpa soon! H-hey! Don't go back to sleep!" She bounced up and down, still straddled on top of me.

Did she not know how indecent this may look to others? Haa…the innocence of youth.

"I get it! I'm up, Tess! Please get down from my stomach so I can get up," I groaned, still half asleep.

"Hehe~ Art, your hair looks funny. Hey hey, is it true you're going to be staying here for a while? Grandpa told me this morning! I'm so happy! You're really staying, right? Right?" Tess exclaimed with a wide smile pasted on her cute face.

How the hell was she so energetic this early in the morning?

Trying to tame my bed hair, I responded, "We'll know for sure after my trip with Elder Virion, but most likely, it seems I'll be bothering you for a bit longer, Princess."

She stabbed my side with her finger, "Not Princess! Tess! T.E.S.S.! I'm going to get upset if you don't treat me better."

Damn it, she looked so cute with her pouting face.

"All right, all right! I have to shower and get ready so unless you want to see me *****, I think you should leave the room, Tess." I waggled my eyebrows lewdly.

"Eek! I'm leaving you pervert!" I could see her ears turn scarlet as she scurried out of the room.

I didn't think that'd work so well. My four-year-old body hasn't even matured any of its "manly parts" anyhow.

I just shrugged and hopped into the shower to get ready, making sure to keep the feather-wrapped stone inside my robe.

As I made my way down the flight of curved stairs, a butler opened the front door for me and I spotted a small carriage with Grandpa Virion and Tess inside.

"Father! It is not appropriate for a human to be residing within this kingdom!"

"Alduin is right, Elder Virion. Although saving Tessia is something I will forever be grateful for, having a human stay here goes against all traditions."

I heard The King and Queen talking to Grandpa Virion as he is lazily leaned back inside the carriage.

"BAH! Screw traditions! I've taken a liking to that brat and so has Tessia, haven't you child," he snorted.

"G-grandpa! It's not like that! He's just…" her voice trailed off at the end, face glowing.

"Hahaha! Anyways! He's going to be under my direct guidance from now on so make sure to let everyone know that he is not to be trifled with!"

"F-father..."

"ENOUGH! This is not up for discussion! Oh brat! You're here! Come! We should hurry!" His expression changed into a smile immediately after seeing me.

I nodded and hopped into the carriage, avoiding the frowns that the King and Queen were giving me.

______________________________________

A little into the journey, I asked Grandpa Virion. "Hey Gramps, where are we headed anyway? You said we were meeting a friend of yours, right?"

"Haha! Gramps eh? Well aren't you awfully comfortable with me now. Good good! As for where we're going, it's a surprise." He threw in a wink.

Tessia has fallen asleep with her head leaning against my shoulder. She must have been tired from waking up so early.

"Take good care of her, Art. She grew up in a very lonely environment," he quietly mutters, a look of compassion filled his eyes as he looked at his sleeping granddaughter.

"What do you mean?"

"Growing up as the only princess of an entire kingdom is very stressful, too much for a child to handle. Growing up with no close friends, it was hard on her. She had gotten hurt too many times by people pretending to befriend her, only to use her for their personal gains. This has made Tessia into someone cold and distant to those around her. Imagine how surprised we all were when we saw you two holding hands." He continues.

"Yeah, I noticed when I heard her talk to the guards," I added.

"Arthur. Tessia has shown more expression, more smiles and laughs, now than she ever had growing up; around you, she finally seems more like a child. For that, I thank you." He patted my other shoulder.

This was the first time Grandpa Virion ever initiated physical contact with me besides sparring, which caught me by surprise.

The carriage came to a gentle halt before the driver opened our carriage door to inform us of our arrival.

"Hey Tess, we're here," I whispered, gently nudging her.

"Mmm…" She eventually stirred awake and we get out of the carriage, arriving at what could only be considered a dainty hut.

"Hey, you old witch! Come out!" Grandpa Virion suddenly yelled while knocking on the door.

Suddenly the door flew open to reveal a hunched elderly lady with grey hair that seemed like it was struck by lightning and wrinkled eyes that were strangely a mixture of multiple colors, all blending together. Dressed in a simple brown robe, she peered down at me with a studying eye.

"Took you long enough to get here!" she scowled.

"Hahaha! Arthur! Let me introduce you to Rinia Darcassan. She's a very special deviant amongst us elves," Grandpa Virion announces.

"It's good seeing you again, Virion. Charming as always, little Tessia," she smiled, patting Tess's head.

Looking at me, she stuck out her hand. "We finally meet young Arthur. I am Rinia. A Diviner."

Grandpa Virion, Tessia, Rinia and I were currently all situated around a circular table with a jar of water in the middle.

"Umm… Elder Rinia? You said that you were a diviner, correct? I'm a little lost as to what it is you can do. Gramps said that I'd be able to find out if my parents are okay by seeing you." I asked, staring curiously at the jar of water.

"Kekeke! Gramps huh? Virion, you've really let yourself go if you're letting youngsters like him call you that," she snickered.

"Bah! He's an exception! If any other brat dares to call me something like Gramps, I'll have them hung upside down and beaten with a cactus!" he grinned back, looking at me.

How painfully descriptive.

Glaring at me, she barked, "Brat! You don't even know where your parents are but you want to travel all over Sapin, find them and then come back to train? You'd be already dead by the time you make yourself back here."

I looked at Grandpa Virion. Did he tell her? Almost as if he knew what I was thinking, he chuckled. "I didn't tell Rinia any of this. There isn't much you can hide from her, but usually she doesn't bother looking into a person. What made you so nosy Rinia?" Gramps said, directing a worried gaze towards the elderly lady.

"You and I both know he's special. So special, in fact, that there are parts of his life that even I can't see. Arthur, whatever the beast that passed its will onto you is, it's not an ordinary beast. Limiting it to an SS class wouldn't give it justice." She pondered for a bit before continuing.

"Enough about that, though. Arthur, you're here to see your parents so that's what I'll help you do. Close your eyes for a moment and picture your parents. Focus on their appearance and their mana signature. I'll take care of the rest."

I closed my eyes and imagined the last scene I had of them both together: my father badly wounded and my mother healing him.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now."

I looked at her to see the color of her eyes swirling. The water was floating out of the jar and was swirling around, forming a spiraling disk. Suddenly, I see my parents in the water.

The chair I was sitting on is flipped back as I bolted up, leaning as close to the table. I saw my mother and father together, sitting around a dining table. It didn't seem to be our home in Ashber. My mother's face was a bit paler and was currently saying something to my father. I could see she's lost a bit of weight but otherwise looked pretty healthy. Her stomach! It's pretty evident now that she was pregnant by the fairly noticeable bulge on her belly. My father looked the same! He's wearing some kind of uniform now though and was sporting a beard.

I could feel hot tears running uncontrollably down my face at this point, as I didn't dare peeling my eyes off of the image of my parents.

They're alive! They're doing okay! They're fine.

"T-thank you Elder Rinia. Thank you truly for showing me this," I managed a sniffled stammer.

She looked a little uncomfortable at my sincerity and just waved it off.

"Ahem! Let me see where they are now."

The image zoomed out and I could see the outside of where they're living. Just as I had suspected, it was definitely not our home in Ashber. Zooming out even more, I could see the layout of the city that they're staying in.

"It seems like they've made their home in Xyrus. That makes things simpler for us." She says, a content look on her face.

Tess, obviously worried about me crying, was patting my back but her gaze didn't leave the swirling water.

"Art's parents…" I faintly heard her mumble.

Grandpa Virion clapped his hands together and stood up.

"Okay! Arthur! Let's let your parents know that you're alive!"

According to Grandpa Virion, strict regulations controlled communications between the Kingdom of Elenoir and Sapin. However, Rinia, being a diviner not discovered by the Kingdom of Sapin, allowed us a certain unregulated freedom in a sense.

"How this process will work is that I will pour some of my innate mana into you, establishing a temporary link. When I give you the signal, start speaking as if you're talking to your parents. It's important to know that they will hear your voice inside their heads so they may not believe what you're saying at first. Make sure to get them to believe that it really is you that's speaking to them and that they're not going crazy. Remember, we're just doing this to let them know you're still alive. I'm going to emit your voice directly into both your parents' minds. I can't keep the connection up for long so say what you need to within two minutes," she asserted, a serious gaze from her eyes.

Nodding at this, I prepare myself as well.

"Begin… NOW!"

Her whole body began glowing the same color as her eyes and I could see the same glow spreading onto me as well.

Taking a deep breath, I started talking.

Hi Mom, hi Dad. It's me, your son Arthur. You're probably really surprised that you're hearing my voice inside your head, huh? Well there's a reason for that. Before that though, I want you to know that I'm alive and safe. Again, I'm alive and well Mom, Dad. I managed to survive the fall off the cliff and I'm currently living in the Kingdom of Elenoir with the elves. Please don't tell anyone else this. I don't have much time so I'll only say the things most crucial. A friend of mine is a deviant like you mom, except she's a diviner so I was able to see how you guys are doing just now as well. She is also the one that is allowing you guys to be able to hear my voice. I want to go back to you guys as soon as possible but I can't right now. No, I'm safe and alive right now but I have a sort of er… illness inside my body that I need to get rid of before I am able to go back. Don't worry, as long as I stay here and have the elves treat me, I'm 100% okay. So please, don't worry. I don't know when I'll be able to talk to you guys like this again, but what's important is that I'm alive and I know you guys are as well. Dad, Mom, both of you guys should be hearing my voice right now so confirm it with each other if you still can't believe this. Remember; don't tell anyone where I am right now. Better yet, just keep it as if I was still dead to make things simpler. It may take months or even years for me to be able to go back but just be sure that I WILL be going back home. I love you guys *sniff* so much and I miss you. Stay safe, and Dad, make sure to keep Mom and my baby sibling safe. Mom *sniff*, please make sure dad doesn't get into trouble. Your son, Art."

I had trouble keeping my eyes open from the tears that continuously poured down. I simply stood silent, rubbing my eyes as I did all I could from breaking down. The glow faded around both of us and Elder Rinia collapsed back into her chair, sweating and pale.

"Elder Rinia, I don't know how to thank you for this," I managed to croak out.

"Train well and continue to cherish those close to you, child. That's how you'll thank me. Also! Don't forget to drop in once in a while. This grandma here gets lonely kekeke~!" She answered with a weak smile.

I gave her a tight hug, making her almost jump, she eventually succumbed to my cuteness and hugged me in return before shooing all of us away.

While we were walking out, I noticed Tess pouting a little, looking at my chest.

_____________________________________________

By the time we had arrived back at the castle, it was already dark. A maid greeted us on arrival, but before I had the chance to go back into my room, I saw the king and queen.

The king came up to me first.

"Arthur, I know you overheard what we were saying earlier today and I apologize for that. Years of being a King has made me a bit old fashioned and I was unreasonably stubborn on you not belonging here."

The queen continued for her husband, holding my hands in hers.

"You are now Elder Virion's first disciple. This gives you more than enough reason for all of us to accept you. Even if that fact didn't exist, you still saved our daughter. Please consider this place your home. I know you miss your parents dearly but if I can be of any consolation, don't hesitate and treat me as you would your own mother," she said, giving me a sincere smile.

"Papa! Mama! …" Tess says with her hands covering her mouth. She then ran up to them and hugged them both.

I smiled back, thanking them as well. They were good people. Good people that were simply looking out for their kingdom.

Smiling behind us, Grandpa Virion nodded at all of us in approval before exclaiming, "Brat! Training starts tomorrow so sleep early!

____________________________________________________________

I woke up from an immense pain covering my body. Cold sweat had already covered my body as the feeling of my body burning intensifies.

"AARGH!" I clutched my body tight, trying to endure when the door suddenly swings open and Grandpa Virion runs towards me.

"It's getting worse…"

He placed both hands on my sternum, where my mana core is located, before starting to emit his own mana into me.

Slowly, the pain subsided and I was left panting, my clothes drenched in sweat.

"T-thank you," I managed to wheeze out.

Without looking up, he replied, "It's a bit early, but let's start training now."

Looking out the window, I noticed that the sun had yet to even rise. I probably wasn't going to be able to fall asleep again so I nodded and follow him out into the courtyard.

Sitting cross-legged, he took a long look at me before explaining, "Until now, you've been purifying your mana core and manipulating your mana using your mana channels. While, for normal mages, this method is sufficient, for beast tamers, we can't rely on this approach. Instead, we do something called assimilation."

I sat down facing him. My face must've tipped him off that I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Haha! Don't worry, you'll know soon enough. What it essentially is, is integrating the mana from your core directly into your body's bones and muscles, hence the method, assimilation. Unfortunately, throughout the period of assimilating, your mana core won't develop at all, but that isn't the point of this. Once the mana from your new core is absorbed throughout your body, you'll be able to start utilizing whatever power your beast's will had."

So this is what Sylvia meant! Throughout this whole journey through the Forest of Elshire and meeting the royal family and Grandpa Virion, I couldn't help but think that Sylvia had somehow planned all of this out.

"Slowly release the mana out of your core and don't be tempted to use your mana channels. Instead, let it seep out into your body and slowly have all of your muscles and bones absorb the mana. This will take time and effort, but throughout this process, your mana core should reject your body less and less," Virion instructed. "There isn't much I can help you with for the first part of your training except making sure your mana is distributed evenly throughout your body and relieving you when your body spasms like earlier."

Training continued on with me meditating, dispersing the mana out of my core and into my body. I had gotten the hang of it after a few days but I realized how long of a journey this would be. Directing my mana to form a core when I was an infant took a couple of years but this was doing the exact opposite except with more mana and an extra step further of assimilating the mana directly into the muscles and bones.

I didn't leave the castle during this time because I wouldn't know when my body would act up again. I was really grateful for Grandpa Virion for sticking by me throughout this time. Unfortunately for Tess, this left her very little time to play with me. The times I wasn't meditating, I was resting in my room, my body aching from being imbued with mana. However, that didn't stop her from simply barging and chattering on about her day.

After several weeks of assimilation, my body acted up less frequently and I was allowed to go out into the city. So after promising Tess that I'd go touring around the city of Zestier, I went to sleep.

_________________________________________________

Waiting outside my room was an adorably dressed Tess. She was wearing a white sleeveless sundress and a white sheer cardigan over it. The light pink colored sun hat she wore over her head was decorated with a pale flower, giving her a very fresh and doll-like appearance.

"Took you long enough! Hurry, let's hurry!" She grabbed my hand, half dragging me as I fought my aching body to keep up with her pace.

Seeing the city once again didn't distill the amazement I had when I had first arrived at Zestier. As we got off the carriage and start walking, we took time to visit the numerous stalls and stores that the city had to offer. While the two of us were met with a lot stares from the fact that a human child is holding hands with their kingdom's only princess, it was a feeling I was used to since my previous life so it didn't bother me. What bothered me, however, was that, while most of these gazes only held curiosity, some stares were filled with blatant hostility.

Coming out of the armor shop, I had just moved out of the way for someone when an elven child bumps my shoulder.

"Hmph! Well if it isn't the human brat that Elder Virion has taken under. I've heard all about you. Gross, I got human germs on my clothes," he snidely remarked, a look of disgust pasted on his face.

It is fairly obvious by the clothes of this child, who couldn't be much older than Tess, and the attendants, along with the group of friends following behind him, that he was a noble.

After spending so much time with Tess, I had almost forgotten how immature children were. I couldn't help but think that, whether they were an elf or a human, spoiled nobles always seemed to act as if they've been taught out of the same manual.

He then turned to face Tess, his facing transforming into a well-practiced smile as he offered her his hand. "Princess, it is below your level to be with this human brat. Allow me to escort you around." He urged, expecting Tess to receive his hand.

Not even looking in his direction, Tess linked her arm with mine and coldly retorted, "Art, let's go. There is a bug in that direction and I don't want to accidentally step on it with my new shoes."

As I was pulled away, I glanced back, shooting the noble kid a look of pity, which seemed to infuriate him even more.

"Hold it brat! I'm not done with you!" He shouted, running up to me and gripping my shoulder.

"I heard you're pretty talented for a human mage. Around here, I happen to be a pretty well known genius myself. My mana core has already reached red stage and aside from water manipulation, my mother said that I'll soon even be able to manipulate plants!"

I responded with my most sincere, yet blatantly sarcastic expression of surprise and worship. "Oh my word! Princess Tessia! It seems we are in the presence of pure genius here. I am not worthy!"

Tess let out a giggle, not even bothering to hide her amusement.

"I'll be sure to give you proper respect Lord Genius of the Elves. So if you'll excuse us…"

As I started leading Tess away, a handkerchief flew past us, landing on the ground.

Turning back, I see the noble brat's face, red as a tomato, glaring at me as the attendants and friends all let out quiet gasps.

"How dare you initiate a duel with the disciple of Elder Virion. You may be of noble blood, Feyrith, but you should still know your place! Take it back," Tessia ordered, her eyes narrowed in a glare.

"I'm sorry, Princess, but my father has taught me never to let my pride be stomped. Arthur, ready yourself for a duel or retreat with your tail between your legs knowing that your actions reflect your mentor as well. The choice is yours." Feyrith puffed his chest, withdrawing a wand from under his cape.

Some of the people nearby had overheard and had already started to gather around us. Tessia looked uncertain about all of this, but just nodded my head and took a few steps away from us.

I didn't want to cause a scene since I was a visitor, but after weeks of stifling meditation, my body was actually eager for the chance to fight.

"Princess, please do the honor of initiating the duel," the noble brat said as he began polishing his black wand with his sleeve.

I could see Tess rolling her eyes as she took another step back. "Let the duel commence."

While my mana core was still in the early stages of dark red, I could feel mana strengthening every fiber of muscle I flexed as I dashed towards Feyrith.

It was over in a second. He was too cocky and didn't even take the necessary precautions to find out whether I was an augmenter or conjurer and by the time I was in arm's length, he hadn't even begun his chant.

As my palm sank into his gut, all he managed to let out was a sharp breath of air being forced out of his lungs before flying back tumbling on the floor. I was glad that I had used my palm because as soon as my hand made contact, I felt a sturdy chainmail underneath his clothes.

Feyrith's attendants and friends eyes grew wide as Tessia quickly ran to me and pulled me away.

Later, Tessia explained to me that, in a duel, there were certain unsaid customs. One of these customs was to let the challenger make the first move. The other was that informal duels between nobles were only a demonstration of magic, not actual fighting. This got a good laugh out of Gramps when he found out, saying that the duels between nobles were utter foolishness and a completely inaccurate way to measure someone's magical prowess.

All in all, what Feyrith had meant when he initiated the duel was to simply take turns showing off each other's respective magic talent.

It was disappointing to realize that the look of shock from everyone around us wasn't from my fighting prowess, but from the fact that I ignored the customs of the duel.

Since then, I chose to stay in the manor most of the days keeping myself out of trouble, as I lived a rigorous lifestyle that followed consisted of meditating with Grandpa Virion in the morning, spending a little time with Tessia in the afternoon and training by myself at night. During this time, I've sent messages to my parents every once in awhile to let them know I was still alive and that I miss them dearly.

Like this, three years had passed.