"Awake?"
Valorant asked his disciple, who was slowly regaining consciousness beside him.
The moment Aster opened his eyes, a sharp pain exploded in his head.
'It hurts… badly.'
He grabbed the spot where the staff had struck him and refused to let go, unable to endure the pain.
Night had already fallen. The old man had lit a campfire in front of the hut and was cooking over it. His face looked slightly tense, as though he were in a poor mood.
"Sorry… I went a bit too far. I'll be more careful next time," Valorant said in a low, subdued voice.
But at that moment, Aster wasn't interested in apologies. There was something else he wanted to know.
"How did you do it?"
Valorant looked surprised by the question.
"Do what?"
Aster stood up and sat down beside his master.
"How did you throw the staff without even seeing me?"
The old man pointed at Aster with his index finger.
"I sensed your mana. I threw it based on that."
Aster opened his mouth to ask another question, but Valorant cut him off and continued.
"When you concentrate your mana, the changes become clear. While concentrating, the mana spreading around you either stops or decreases."
Green flames formed in his hand.
He increased the flame's intensity, then weakened it.
"When I told you to meditate, the goal was to reduce the spread of your mana and make it usable. With concentration, you circulate mana through your body and reuse it repeatedly. That makes it stronger and far more effective. That's what meditation and concentration are for."
Aster nodded slowly, as if he finally understood.
"Fire is one of the four fundamental elements of this world. That's why it requires special handling. If you don't wrap your body in fire-aligned mana, you'll simply burn to ashes."
Aster narrowed his eyes, trying to grasp the meaning.
'Burn to ashes… does that mean a person literally turns into ash?'
Once he understood, he asked in alarm,
"Burn up?!"
"Yes. You burn," Valorant replied calmly.
"As I said, when using Elestar techniques, you must maintain complete control. The same applies when handling fire. If you neglect it for even a second… you already know what happens."
He gave a light chuckle.
Seeing that, Aster swallowed nervously.
"The other fundamental elements have dangers as well. That's precisely why Elestars became such powerful magic warriors—just like the First Elestar."
Aster had heard stories about the First Elestar since childhood. Those tales had long crossed from history into legend.
During the era he lived in, even the Elven Kingdom had yet to exist, which was why so little information about the First Elestar remained.
After a short conversation, Aster's eyelids began to droop. Exhausted from concentrating mana all day, he fell asleep right there.
Valorant looked down at the sleeping Aster and considered waking him—but seeing how peacefully he slept, he changed his mind.
"You had a hard day. Rest well."
He covered his disciple with a blanket and continued sitting by the fire, staring into the night.
Morning arrived.
Aster, who had been utterly exhausted the day before, rubbed his eyes and barely managed to wake up. By the time he did, the sun was already shining brightly overhead.
He was still wrapped in a blanket, sitting beside the extinguished campfire.
"Mana concentration… I didn't think it'd be this hard," he muttered, yawning widely.
Circulating mana through his body—moving it from one point to another or keeping it gathered—proved far more difficult than he had imagined.
Once fully awake, Aster returned to training. A new day had begun.
Today, he managed to maintain mana concentration longer than before.
A month passed.
The daily training finally began to show results. He could now sustain concentration for extended periods.
Because most of his day was spent on this exercise, he took frequent breaks—and during those breaks, he began to notice more about his master.
The first thing he learned was… elves.
More precisely, the old man seemed to have a fondness for elves—especially elven women.
Calling it fondness was being generous.
How did Aster find out?
One day, Valorant had to leave for a short while, leaving Aster alone. Seeing this as an opportunity, Aster decided to take advantage of his absence and thoroughly inspect the hut.
At first, he was just bored.
He never expected to find anything unusual.
Under Valorant's bed, he discovered a small chest. Curiosity compelled him to open it.
Inside were books—picture books.
When Aster opened one, he found illustrations of elven women.
They were magazines about elf girls, imported from other countries.
As Aster flipped through them, only one thought filled his mind.
'They're really beautiful.'
That was how he concluded that his master had a strong interest in elves.
Another day arrived.
"From today onward, you'll train your body as well as your mana," Valorant said to his disciple.
"Can you feel your mana now?"
"Yes. I can feel it much better."
After a month of training, Aster had finally calmed his vast, chaotic mana and begun to control it. He still couldn't command it perfectly—but he could maintain concentration.
"Then we begin real training now," Valorant said.
"The exercises to calm and sense your mana are complete."
Valorant trained his disciple like a soldier.
First, he made Aster run through the forest until his legs went numb.
Then he allowed him a short rest.
'I didn't think Master would make me run this far…' Aster thought, panting.
After that, Valorant ordered him to do one hundred push-ups—repeatedly—until his strength was gone. Every time Aster collapsed before finishing, Valorant struck him mercilessly with his beloved staff.
Eventually, Aster had no choice but to beg.
"Master! Can I rest a little?"
"Of course!" Valorant replied.
Aster's face lit up—
"After thirty more."
His joy didn't last long.
Valorant's training was brutal and unforgiving. Still, from time to time, he offered motivation.
"Remember what I told you!"
"Which… part?" Aster groaned, barely pushing himself up.
"Someone who knows the pain of stillness understands the value of movement. So move—without stopping. You did nothing for a month. Now you pay for it."
It wasn't exactly motivating—but Aster continued anyway.
Or rather, he was forced to continue.
Eventually, he reached his limit and collapsed face-first onto the ground.
"Get up. Twenty more," Valorant said, striking him once with the staff.
"Master… I'm out of strength," Aster whispered weakly.
"Don't die yet. We still have one more thing to do."
"What?"
Seeing his disciple's condition, Valorant finally decided to give him a break.
"Fine. Rest. We'll continue once you recover."
The old man walked off.
That alone made Aster uneasy.
'Master doesn't usually do this…'
Normally, Valorant would stay beside him—either teaching or watching.
'Well… at least I can rest.'
He lifted his head.
At that moment, Valorant returned.
There was a strange smile on his face—more frightening than when he threatened to hit him with the staff.
"We can begin now," he said, exhaling lightly.
"Begin what?"
"From today on, I'll teach you how to fight."
Aster's face lit up instantly.
'Finally! Master is going to teach me combat! I've waited so long for this. An Elestar who can't fight is like a mage who can't cast spells.'
"First, I'll teach you hand-to-hand combat. Then, sword fighting. Or rather—"
"We'll fight."
Cold sweat ran down Aster's forehead.
'Fight Master one-on-one?! How?! He'll kill me in a second! I won't last at all!'
Valorant led his disciple deeper into the forest. They walked until they reached a clearing suitable for combat, surrounded by tall trees.
"This will do," Valorant said, stopping.
He removed the cloth he always wore and tossed it aside. Though he looked old, his body was muscular and powerful—his arms like those of a man who had trained for decades.
'Was it all the clothing? Without it, Master looks even stronger…'
Valorant assumed a combat stance.
"Aster. You attack. I'll judge you based on that. Come."
Aster didn't hesitate.
He rushed forward and aimed a punch at Valorant's face.
Valorant casually caught his fist.
"Too weak. Too slow. Again."
Aster charged again.
This time, Valorant didn't even grab him—he simply threw him to the ground.
"You also need to learn how to stay on your feet."
Aster fell face-first, then stood up again. Anger began to show on his face as he attacked once more—this time walking up and striking from a standstill.
It meant nothing to Valorant.
Without dodging, he grabbed Aster's arm, used his own weight, and slammed him to the ground on his back.
"Lesson over."
The words came unexpectedly.
Valorant picked up the cloth he had removed and started walking back toward the hut.
'Why did Master suddenly stop?' Aster wondered, staring in disbelief.
He asked,
"Why is the lesson over? It just started. You haven't really taught me anything yet."
Valorant stopped and looked back.
"Did you forget something?"