Ren scanned his room. He realized that he had nothing to claim as his belongings. Besides the torn clothes, he had three sets of clean clothes and a mask, gifts from the kind-hearted Lena.

“Are you leaving?”

He turned around. A familiar black-haired cat-girl entered his vision. She leaned against the door, smiling faintly. However, her tail moved like a dancing snake, indicating that her mood was anything but peaceful.

“Yeah, did Kana tell you?” Ren asked.

Lena nodded and added, “I heard you’re moving to the Edahin University. Is that true?”

Ren’s brows rose. He wondered how she had learned of this news, but thinking of Kana’s influence, he found his answer. After all, she was his caretaker. The silhouette he saw the previous night also pointed towards Kana.

“Yeah, I’m moving today.”

Lena’s smile faded. She approached Ren and bent to match his height.

“Ren, I know you’re hiding many secrets from me. Especially in the last few days... You completed the trial and… and met the Divine Emperor!? Grrhh!” Lena’s tail swung like a flashing sword.

Under her glare, Ren smiled awkwardly. He had tried his best to keep these matters a secret, all to no avail.

“Did Kana tell you all this?” Ren asked. If this news spread to normal demi-humans, he knew that his goal of eradicating his infamy might remain a wishful fantasy.

“Is that your concern?! What other secrets are you hiding? Spit it out!”

Ren opened his mouth before closing it. He determined that silence was his best reply.

It proved to be effective as Lena sighed, cooling from her rage.

“Ha… I don’t know what you’re doing or what kind of company you’re getting involved with. And I won’t pry into your affairs, but I want you to remember one thing.”

Ren blinked.

“This is a cruel world and you’re too young to face it. You’ve already offended enough enemies for many lifetimes. Now, you’re moving to the Edahin University… a place that I know you’re not prepared for.” Lena clenched her fist.

“But isn’t it a university? A place of learning.” Ren asked, bewildered. The way Lena spoke, it made him wonder if he was entering a battlefield.

“Yes, and no. More than a haven of learning, it’s a chaotic and dangerous place. I know many Edahins that entered there only to never return alive. Their internal feuds are just as cruel as wars.” Lena’s expression worsened as she continued.

“Especially beware of the factions! Even though you’ll find many opportunities to make friends or enemies with them, just stay away...No. Run away! Once you get involved, it’s over. No matter the result, you will always be the loser.”

Ren nodded. For some inexplicable reason, he couldn't bring himself to oppose Lena.

“I think that’s it? …Ah! Be super picky with your friends. If they try to sell you a faction, CUT ALL TIES! …Stop smiling! I’m very, extremely serious here!” Lena pouted.

However, Ren couldn’t stop smiling. Lena’s attitude reminded him of a worried elder sister. Weirdly, it was a familiar, yet foreign experience.

“Don’t worry Sis Lena. I’ll be fine.”

“So you say. Ha… just don’t forget my advice!” Lena’s tail stopped moving, indicating that she had regained peace of mind.

“Sure. I guess I’ll leave then.” Ren grabbed a bag, containing his stuff.

“Don’t forget to visit me often! I won’t spare you otherwise!” She bared her teeth at him.

“Sure sure.” Ren took a step towards the door when he stopped and asked, “One last thing. Does the word Lunocha remind you of anything?"

Lena pursed her lips and mused. In the end, she shook her head.

“I think I’ve encountered that term somewhere. Maybe a book. But… I can’t remember which one.”

“Never mind then. Just forget I asked.” A faint smile crept up Ren's face as he left.

Moments after Ren left, Lena sat on the bed, frowning.

'Lunocha? Why do I feel like I've heard of that term? Why does it make it uncomfortable?'

She rubbed her aching head.

'I might be misunderstanding my uneasiness. I'm probably worried for Ren. Will he be okay? Sister survived the University... Can he do it?'

'No! There's no way that he'll be fine. The demi-humans will turn his life into hell. But how can I help him?' She hammered her aching head, but it yielded no solutions.

“Where are we?” Ren asked. Accompanied by the masked, bat-winged man, he wandered through thick woods. The blazing sun sat above his head, boiling his brain. He lost track of how much time had passed since their trip had begun.

“Quiet! We’re almost there.” The masked man replied, his head bobbing around like a chicken.

Ren shrugged. Bored, he examined the bat-winged man's mask.

‘How can he see? Is his mask see-through? Or is he blind? But... Damn! His wings are huge!’ The masked man briefly took to the sky.

‘Why is an Earth Elementalist living in these thick woods? Why am I asking these many questions? What is the meaning of life? Why is the sky blue? Why do we even ask questions? Is it to find answers? Then, did the question come first or the answer?' The heat fried Ren's brain.

'Whatever! As long as I can learn earth magic, everything will be worth it.’ Ren stretched when the masked man returned.

“Follow me.” They trudged ahead for a considerable distance before stopping.

“We’ve arrived… Keep quiet.” The masked man commanded.

Ren rolled his eyes. Amongst them, only one person was speaking and it was the bat-winged man. Nevertheless, he looked ahead, noting a shabby shack. Tiny holes and missing planks made the shack unusable.

The masked man threw a stone.

Thud… The stone collapsed beside the cottage, missing it by a tiny margin.

Ren finally understood the origin of the holes. The masked man was clearly involved in professional vandalism!

…BAM!

The ground opened and swallowed the rock. It slammed shut, leaving nothing behind.

Gulp! Ren awakened at this sight. A mere fraction of a second was enough to bury to stone, and he doubted if it’d take any longer to bury him.

Whoosh! The bat-winged man flew towards the cottage.

Dun! Dun! Dun! Chains of mud shot out of the ground. Within a moment, they surrounded the bat-winged man.

[“Discipline: Silence!”]

The chains froze midair. With a swift motion, the masked man flew higher.

Clang! Regaining freedom, the chains struck, forming a messy knot. They barely missed the bat-winged man.

“Xerzhe! I bring orders from Lord Discipline.” The masked man shouted.

Ren rolled his eyes. Throwing stones at other's property in the name of Discipline? He found a deeper level of appreciation for Edahi... A place filled with hypocrites like himself.

Whoosh! The mud chains sunk into the ground. The masked man hesitated before entering the shack.

Alone, Ren leaned against the tree.

‘Xerzhe, huh? Is that his name? At least, his earth magic doesn’t seem shabby. Should I test it with a stone? ...Better not’ Ren relaxed under the shade.

After a while of silence, a whooshing sound caught Ren’s attention. He climbed the tree, noticing a giant butterfly approach him.

'Wow... Beautiful!' The butterfly's blue wings glittered under the sunlight. It ingrained the word beautiful into his mind.

A green-skinned woman rode the giant insect. She waved at him.

‘Zuzi? She already arrived? Ha... it must be great not having to walk through this hell.’ Ren hid his complaints and waved back.

Reaching the vicinity of the worn shack, a blond-haired teenager dropped down from the butterfly.

Della instantly dusted her pants before greeting Ren.

“Young Master.”

“Have you prepared everything?” Ren asked. He wondered if a few hours was enough for Della to pack and say her farewells.

“Yes, Young Master.” She replied, pointing to the large bag on her back.

Ren nodded. Turning to the giant butterfly, he bowed.

“Zuzi, thank you for everything.”

“Keep your thanks. And good luck!” Zuzi winked before disappearing into the horizon.

Ren smiled awkwardly. He wanted to discuss Teleportation with her, but he could delay it for now.

The door of the shack opened and two people exited the darkness. Besides the masked man, Ren noticed a familiar black-robed figure. The messy black hair and the flagon… Ren never expected to meet this familiar stranger again.

‘It’s him!?’ Ren's eyebrows rose.

“Ren, he’ll be your teacher from today. And… who is that beside you?” The masked-man asked.

“She’s the one I spoke about today morning. She’ll be studying with me.” Ren replied. However, his gaze remained frozen on the black-haired stranger.

“I understand.” The masked-man nodded before facing the black-haired man. “Xerzhe, I’ll leave the children into your hands.”

The bat wings expanded and the masked man returned to his domain, the air.

With his departure, an awkward silence filled the proximity of the shack. The stranger didn’t mind it as he drank from his flagon.

“Thank you for help last time.” Ren broke the silence. During his training, he had missed the opportunity to thank the black-haired stranger.

“Right… Fate has brought us together. Not that I believe such nonsense.” The stranger tapped the ground.

Three mud chairs arose from the ground, positioned behind each person.

“Sit!” The stranger lounged on his chair.

Ren accepted the offer, while Della didn’t move.

“Della?” Ren asked.

“Young Master, I’ll stand,” Della replied. Her eyes contained a hint of fear.

‘Is she afraid of me? Or is she being too formal?’ Ren mused before continuing.

“Della, you’re my chef, not some slave. You can sit. I don’t care for formalities.”

“Young Master, I prefer standing.” The anxiety in her voice befuddled Ren. It almost seemed like she was frightened of sitting. In the end, he could only accept her decision.

“Hah, it seems like the two of you have an interesting relationship. Not that I care too much.” The stranger gulped from his flagon and continued.

“It's time for introductions. My name is Xerzhe and my goal is to become the greatest drunkard in Everleaf. Not that I think it’s likely. I teach Elemental Magic, and I’m extremely picky with my students. Get ready for a test later. Kid, state your name and goals.”

Ren took a deep breath, digesting the new information. He felt two sets of gazes on him, expecting his reply.

He fell into a dilemma on the issue of mentioning his goal. Depending on Xerzhe's character, Xerzhe could either support or inhibit his goal.

However, considering how Xerzhe helped him the last time, even feeding him, despite being total strangers, Ren couldn't think of Xerzhe as a petty character.

After sorting his mind, he spoke.

“I’m Ren. My goal… My goal is to become the strongest in Everleaf Forest.” Ren replied honestly.

“Good. Target the top of the Mother Tree and maybe you’ll reach its branches. Not that there's anything worthwhile in those branches." Turning to Della, Xerzhe asked, "Young Lass, what about you?”

Della fidgeted before replying.

“Della Kelchon. I wish to become a powerful Elementalist and… and help the Young Master.” Della clenched the edge of her long-sleeved t-shirt.

Ren felt flabbergasted. He only wished for Della to gain the strength to protect herself, but her response pleasantly surprised him. After some contemplation, he guessed that she probably wanted to repay his favor of saving his life. And Ren didn't know how to feel about it.

However, Xerzhe had a completely different reaction.

“Not that I doubt you, but is that your true goal?” He took another gulp from his flagon.

“Yes… Yes!” Della vigorously nodded.

“Okay. Then let’s begin the test.” Xerzhe closed his eyes. A wall of mud sprang up, enclosing them along with a large portion of their surroundings.

Ren studied the walls. Deep down, he craved to test its strength, but he could only quell those feelings for now.

“Look at my hand.” Xerzhe opened his palm, revealing two stones: a blue stone, and a brown stone.

“These are elemental stones. They serve an important purpose that you’ll learn later. For now, grab one.” Xerzhe tossed a stone towards each of them.

Ren caught the brown stone. The stone melted to goo in his hand, slowly dripping to the ground.

“Eek!” Della shook her arm vigorously. Ren noticed a hint of blue on her rapidly swinging palm.

“Stop flailing. Just channel your mana and they’ll revert to normal.” Xerzhe said.

Ren closed his eyes, sucking all the surrounding energy into his body. Usually, he’d keep only the Natural Energy and discard the rest. But on this occasion, he fought his habit and retained all the energy.

‘Which one was mana? It should be this one. But separating it from the rest seems like a chore. Hmm… what if I just use the combined energy? After all, it has mana. So, it should work?’ Ren gathered his energy into his palm. The gooey semi-liquid solidified into stone.

‘It reacts to mana… Interesting.’

“AH! Please get it off! Someone help me!” Della screamed. The blue goo coated her palm, slowly spreading to her elbow.

“Della! Stop panicking and use your mana.” Ren’s words did not affect Della as she scratched her palm. However, the goo attached to her fingers, slowly coating her second hand as well.

Ren let out a short sigh and approached her. He touched her hand and repeated the process. Soon, the blue goo coagulated to form a blue stone.

Holding one stone in each of his palms, Ren studied them. Upon melting, they dripped to the ground. This puzzled Ren as he wondered why the blue stone sought to stick onto Della while ignoring him.

“Della, you should work on channeling on your mana. That was a horrendous performance. Ren, you must isolate the mana before using it. Impure mana will hamper your efficiency. Not that it is possible to segregate pure mana. Anyways…” Xerzhe burped.

The ground before Ren separated to reveal a deep pit.

“Drop the stones,” Xerzhe ordered.

Ren tossed the stones into the pit, disappointed that he couldn’t learn more about their peculiar behavior.

The pit closed, burying the Elemental Stones in the deep.

“Good. Now I’ll begin the test. Remember, if you fail, I won’t accept you as my students." Xerzhe waved his flagon.

"I hid the two elemental stones within this region, enclosed by the walls. You have 2 hours to find them. Not one second more.” He jumped onto the mud wall. Staring down at the contestants below, he continued.

“Both of you must cooperate. I have assigned the Water Elemental Stone to Della and the Earth Elemental Stone to Ren. Find your respective stone and you’ll pass. Fail to do so, and you may search for another teacher. This wall will gradually collapse, and in two hours, it will be submerged. Not that I believe it's a great indicator of time. Well, good luck!” Xerzhe chugged from his seemingly endless supply of alcohol.

Ren blinked. Staring at the large area, he gulped.

‘I might as well search for a pin in a haystack.’ He frowned.