"Kai, come home! Your father's back!"
At the sudden call, Kai who had been playing with other children dropped everything and ran straight home. The roof was made of straw, so beams of sunlight filtered through the tiny gaps, casting soft golden streaks across the wooden floor and filling the house with a warm, gentle glow.
"Father, it took you so long to sell the glassware in the city!" Kai said with a pout, his childish face showing a hint of impatience.
"I know, my son. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting so long," his father replied with a kind smile. "As an apology and as a gift for your tenth birthday ,I brought you something you've always wanted"Barel took out a book hidden behind his back.
"Basic elements control techniques."
Wow! This is the book I've always wanted!"
"I love you, Father!" Kai said, hugging his father tightly before sitting at the table, flipping through the pages with excitement.
"i see, You love our boy so much," said Aelina, gently resting her hand on her husband Barel's shoulder. "That book cost the savings we put aside for three whole months."
Barel smiled. "Our son will grow up to become an Element Knight or Saint one day and protect the whole village of Kelme."
Overjoyed at receiving what he had wished for, Kai hugged the book tightly to his chest and dashed outside, eager to show it off to his friends.
"So," Aelina asked softly, "how was the trip to town? I heard merchants from the southern plains were attacked by Storm wolves"
Barel chuckled. "Yes, we met some on the way too. But they were only Rank-2 beasts, so they weren't much trouble. Remember, your husband's a mid-level Rank-3 Earth Element Wielder. I could take down ten Rank-2 beasts without breaking a sweat."
He continued proudly, "This time I sold twenty-five glass cups and ten lanterns—earned 225 kyats in total. I kept some to buy things for the house. Don't forget, tomorrow we'll need to pay the fee for Kai's Energy Awakening Ceremony. Next month, I'll work harder so we can increase production. The money we make now isn't enough for our son's future schooling."
"Don't worry so much," Aelina said warmly, squeezing his hand. "We already have everything we need. As long as we're safe and together, that's enough. Besides, my pastry shop is doing well—and Kai always helps out. We'll be fine."
Outside, Kai laughed happily, proudly showing his new book to one friend after another.
The next morning, Kai was in the yard feeding the chickens and gathering their eggs.
"My dear, you'll be late! Come on, get ready—we have to go," Aelina called from inside the house.
After dressing Kai in clean clothes, Barel, Aelina, and Kai walked together toward the home of the village chief of Kelme.
All around them, families who had children turning ten that year had gathered. The area was crowded and noisy until the village chief raised his hand and spoke:
"Everyone, quiet down. Today we're honored to receive Commander Lirion Vayne, a Rank-5 Knight from Velhara City. He has come to assess which elemental attributes your children possess. Based on their results, those who qualify will be selected to study at the Aetherion Academy. And if any of them show exceptional potential, they might even earn the right to attend the Royal Academy itself."
Commander Lirion stepped forward, his expression calm but commanding.
"Alright, we don't have much time. Let's get started quickly."
He pointed to a strange device beside him.
"When your name is called, come forward and place your hand on this crystal tester. Ryn, you first."
A young boy stepped out nervously. Commander Lirion drew a small, sharp ceremonial blade and pricked Ryn's fingertip. A drop of blood fell onto the surface of the device.
"Ahh!" Ryn winced as a small sting of pain shot through his hand.
The crystal tablet shimmered to life, glowing with seven colored squares—red, blue, yellow, green, white, black, and brown—each representing a different elemental affinity. Around them appeared ten octagonal crystal symbols.
The red and green squares began to glow faintly, and beside them, two of the red crystals lit up. On the green side, two crystals also shone brightly, and the third one glimmered weakly—about twenty percent brightness.
Lirion nodded slightly. "Not bad. Your elemental purity for wind and nature is around thirty percent. That means you'll likely qualify. Right now, it's showing twenty-two percent—but don't lose heart, boy. Elemental purity is something you're born with; it can't be changed. But remember, there was once a strong warrior who became a Rank-7 with only twenty percent purity. Keep working hard."
He patted Ryn's shoulder encouragingly. The boy, who had looked disappointed, smiled again at his words.
Then the commander continued, testing one child after another.
"Next — earth element, eighteen percent purity."
"Next — lightning element, forty-five percent purity."
"Next — light element, thirty-two percent purity."
After several tests, Lirion frowned slightly. "Strange. None above fifty percent today. Not even one display has gone full." He muttered quietly to himself.
Turning to the village chief, he sighed. "Forty-six tested so far, and only four above thirty percent. This trip hasn't yielded much, I'm afraid."
Then the chief called out, "Kai, step forward."
Barel and Aelina smiled gently at their son. "Don't be afraid, my boy. Whatever the result is, we'll always be proud of you."
Trembling slightly, Kai walked toward the device. He placed his small hand above it. Lirion pricked his finger, and the blood drop fell onto the crystal's surface.
Immediately, the entire device flared with blinding light—so bright that everyone shielded their eyes. For three seconds, the symbols shone intensely, and then… everything went dark.
The seven squares and all ten crystals turned completely blank. No color, no light—nothing.
Lirion's eyes widened in disbelief. "...No element?! Impossible!"
He fell silent for a moment before speaking again in a low, regretful tone.
"This… this is extremely rare. It happens once in a million births. I'm sorry, child—but you were born without an energy core. It means you'll never be able to cultivate or become strong in this lifetime."
With visible sorrow, Lirion turned away and walked off.
A heavy silence fell over the crowd.
Finally, he raised his voice once more and announced, "The awakening ceremony is now complete. Those who met the qualification standard must gather by five this evening. We'll depart for Velhara City. Don't be late."
With that, Commander Lirion Vayne stepped back into the village chief's house, leaving behind murmurs and stunned faces.
Kai, who had lost his dreams and didn't even know what to do anymore, walked the whole way home in silence, not saying a single word to his parents, his steps heavy and slow.
When he arrived home, he went straight into his room and stayed there, not even coming out to eat. It had been about three days already, and his parents began to worry.
"For our son's sake, I have to do this, Barel. It's been years now by this point, their anger should have subsided a little. Let's go to Zephyra, where my elder brother lives, and ask for support to awaken our son's energy. At this point, we can no longer cling to our pride we must think about our son's future," Aelina said, consulting her husband, Barel.
"You're right, Aelina. If our son keeps on like this, it might even affect his future. But… if we go to Ardyn for help, won't it just burden him again? I feel so guilty toward him — he's been such a good friend and a good brother to me. Yet because of us, he's been living far away, working in an isolated region after that conflict with his family," Barel replied.
"It'll be fine. My brother always said, 'If you ever face trouble in the future, come to me.' So let's go. Oh— wait, I think our son hasn't slept yet. Let's go in and check on him," Aelina said, knocking on Kai's bedroom door. But there was no response from inside, so she and Barel entered.
Kai was sitting motionless, holding a small book titled basic element control techniques, his face pale and lifeless. Aelina took out a small pouch she had kept and pulled out a tiny aquamarine-colored vial, just enough to fill a palm.
"Son, if you drink this, it will help your energy core form, and your elemental purity will rise," Aelina said, handing the vial to Kai.
"But be careful—this liquid—" she began, but before she could finish, Kai had already gulped down the entire bottle in one go.
"No! No! No! Spit it out! If you drink that much, your body will explode!" Aelina shouted in panic and tried to make him vomit by pressing on his stomach.
"Didn't you see that he drank the whole thing?! Why didn't you stop him?! Our poor son… oh no, oh no…"
"Calm down, Aelina. You're overreacting. Look, he seems fine. Just wait," Barel said, trying to calm his wife.
"Son, are you all right? Do you feel any pain or discomfort? Tell us," Barel asked.
"Hmm… I'm fine. Actually, I feel even better now. If I feel anything… it's hunger," Kai replied.
"Well, that's quite strange," Barel and Aelina said simultaneously, glancing at each other.
Then, without hesitation, Kai began to eat the food his parents had brought him, one after another, stuffing everything into his mouth.
"More, please. I'm still hungry," he said.
Barel and Aelina exchanged bewildered looks — they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Kai devoured an enormous amount of food right before their eyes.
"Is our son even normal? How can he eat that much?" Barel whispered.
"Oh, he's still young. His body must need lots of nutrients to grow," Aelina replied with a faint smile. "It's just good to see him energetic again."
"Kai, tomorrow we're moving to Zephyra Province," Aelina said.
"Why, Mom?" Kai asked.
"Your uncle Ardyn is stationed there as Zephyra's Baron. If we go to him, he'll help you become a true Element Knight in the future."
"I didn't even know I had an uncle like that. Is Zephyra far away?"
"It's thousands of miles away, but don't worry — I have a way to get us there quickly," Aelina explained.
Just as she finished speaking—
"The beasts are attacing the village!" someone shouted.
Alarm bells echoed throughout the town. Panic spread as people ran in all directions.
Outside the village, a horde
of nearly a
two hundred Rank-2 Storm wolf loomed, led by two Rank-4 Storm wolf kings, watching over Kelme Village with predatory eyes.