Chapter 6

The library here housed secret tomes from countless lost civilizations. Many scrolls were written in languages whose legacies had long vanished from the mundane world, still recited and copied only in this place.

Ancient Sanskrit was one of them, the twisted strokes concealing the foundations of magic.

Even the sharpest mind needed time to confront these symbols.

"I understand."

Kamidar raised his head, and the knot between his brows finally loosened.

Knowledge was never restricted here.

Apart from the forbidden section steeped in the aura of the Abyss, most bookshelves were open to apprentices.

The texts The Ancient One had collected over centuries filled the corridors. Parchment, bamboo slips, and rune-carved stone tablets glimmered faintly beneath the dim oil lamps.

Even if that young man named Zhao Yu truly had the ability to drain his instructors dry, these silent volumes would be enough to serve as a buffer.

Enough to last until the figure wearing a Sling Ring beyond the snow mountains returned and pushed open the Sanctum's wooden doors once more.

His thoughts settled.

Kamidar's breathing gradually steadied again.

"That child is in your care now, Master."

Wong's voice was low, every word seeming to have been carved into stone. "Zhao Yu... may become a pillar of Kamar-Taj."

"I understand."

Kamidar placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly. "Guiding apprentices is my duty."

Wong rarely tugged at the corner of his mouth.

The muscles on his ever-tense face barely forced out a curve, stiffer than a grimace.

Kamidar was long used to it—they had known each other for too long and understood each other too well.

"It's time to go."

Wong looked away. "If I keep watching, I'm afraid my heart won't hold up."

He had actually made a joke.

Though his voice was still dry.

Kamidar nodded. "Go back.

I need to look through some old texts and settle myself."

The two raised their hands side by side, their fingertips drawing circles.

The instant sparks bloomed, their figures vanished into the light beyond.

Zhao Yu knew nothing of this.

He was focused on the thing in his hand.

Energy poured from his fingers, solidified, then changed shape at his will—the blade stretched into a sword, the sword scattered into chain links, the links shattered into spinning shards, only to gather into the tip of a spear the next instant.

Amid the shifting light and shadow, the weapons changed like breathing.

It worked.

He released his fingers and let those creations dissipate into the air.

The understanding granted by the system had already seeped into his bones. There was no need to puzzle over it any longer.

It was time to learn something new.

He decided he would seek out Master Kamidar tomorrow.

The night deepened.

He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Elsewhere, at that very moment—

When morning light pierced the dust hanging over the scriptures, Kamidar's fingertip rested upon a line of incantation.

An unprovoked chill ran down his spine.

The shouts from the training ground surged over like waves, one after another.

The sun had already climbed high, and the stone floor gave off a hot, baking smell.

Sweat beaded on those young faces as their arms traced the same motions through the air again and again.

Occasionally, clusters of sparks burst from the edge of someone's palm, fine gold-red flecks that vanished in an instant.

Kamidar's gaze swept over those sparks.

He should have felt gratified.

Energy seeped in through invisible cracks and took tangible form at one's fingertips—this was the first step, and also the hardest.

But today, his thoughts kept drifting elsewhere like a kite with its string cut.

When he corrected their movements, his voice remained steady, but his fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of the page.

Then that figure appeared.

He ambled in from the shadows beyond the archway, unhurried, the scrape of his soles over the stone bricks dragging on.

Over a hundred gazes were pulled toward him like iron filings to a magnet.

Some curled their lips, some turned away, and some merely lifted their eyelids for a moment.

Those gazes wove a net around that out-of-place figure.

Zhao Yu—the name slipped from the whispered exchanges of several apprentices—walked straight across the grounds and took his place at the end of the line.

Kamidar closed the book in his hands.

The spine struck with a dull thud.

Without even realizing it, the corners of his mouth had curved up.

When the other apprentices saw the hint of a smile on Kamidar's lips, bitterness rose in their eyes.

Though this instructor was usually mild-tempered, once he entered the training ground, his voice became like an ice-tempered blade.

They had been scolded often enough that awe and fear had long since seeped into their bones.

Yet now someone had strolled in lazily—it was that fellow named Zhao Yu.

His robe hung loose, his steps dragged, yet he had not drawn a single word of rebuke.

The training ground filled with the faint sound of grinding teeth.

Why? If it had been them, they would already be drowning in a barrage of scolding.

"Instructor Kamidar!"

The shout exploded from the ranks.

It came from a young apprentice named Mike, his neck held taut and straight.

The old man lifted his eyes from his thoughts, furrows forming between his brows.

He had been considering how to pave the way for that special newcomer when his train of thought was forcibly cut short.

But when he recognized Mike, his expression softened somewhat—this child had decent talent. In just a few days, he had made runes flow within his palm, placing him among the best of this batch.

"What is it?"

Mike did not notice the trace of displeasure in his instructor's eyes at all. His finger pointed straight at the doorway. "He's late."

Kamidar did not flare up at once. Instead, he tucked both hands into his sleeves. "So?"

"We're training, but he can arrive whenever he wants."

Mike raised his voice. "And you spend so much time on him. That isn't fair."

The training ground suddenly fell silent.

All they could hear was the hiss of wind passing through cracks in the stone outside, along with someone's trembling, quiet gasp.

Mike's voice was especially clear in the training ground, and there was not the slightest hint of retreat on his face.

He was not silent like the others.

Whether Zhao Yu was late meant nothing to him.

What truly made him hostile was that Zhao Yu had taken up too much of Kamidar's time.

Kamidar was a highly experienced mage.

In the past, whenever apprentices received his guidance, they would always see the light.

But after Zhao Yu appeared, large portions of Kamidar's time were taken up.

Naturally, the others had fewer chances to receive instruction.

At least, Mike believed the share of time that belonged to him had been squeezed away.

That was why he bore hostility toward Zhao Yu and spoke it outright.

"So that's how it is."

Kamidar was not surprised. He merely nodded lightly.

His gaze swept across every apprentice present.

"Do all of you think the same?"

Most of the apprentices lowered their heads without speaking, but their meaning could not have been clearer.

Kamidar did not get angry. Instead, he continued.

"First, giving private guidance is not my obligation."

"I answer your questions out of goodwill. Therefore, whom I choose to teach is entirely my freedom."

"Second—"

He paused.

"I do not believe there is anything wrong with answering Zhao Yu's questions separately."

Those words were like a stone thrown into water, stirring a wave of suppressed commotion.

The apprentices had not expected Kamidar to put it so bluntly.

"Master Kamidar, I want to know why."

Mike spoke again, stubbornness in his voice.

Even before this mage, there was still no fear on his face.

"Very good."

A trace of approval passed through Kamidar's eyes. "As a mage, if you do not even have the courage to argue for yourself, you do not deserve to remain here."

Kamar-Taj's atmosphere seemed peaceful, but it had never lacked competition.

So long as no one crossed the line or touched the bottom line, certain methods were tolerated.

This place had never intended to cultivate flowers in a greenhouse, but warriors who would one day fight powerful enemies from outer space.

Kamidar's palm drew an arc through the air, signaling the young man to come closer.

Zhao Yu walked over and lowered his head slightly.

"Master."

"Show them what you have mastered."

Kamidar's voice was flat, like an uncarved stone. "Make it last longer."

Zhao Yu responded, no emotion visible on his face.

He turned around and faced those gathered gazes.

All kinds of looks drifted through the air—curious, contemptuous, burning, icy.

He seemed not to notice any of them. He merely raised his right hand and gave his wrist a light twist.

Rip.

It was as if dry velvet had suddenly been torn apart.

Fine motes of light burst from the void. At first there were only scattered specks, but soon they surged forth in clusters, drifting through the air under the pull of his fingertips.

Those motes trailed gold-red streaks, linking and winding around one another as they gradually wove themselves into a flowing barrier.

It hung there, its surface rippling with fine, orderly patterns. At every bend in those patterns lay a heavy sense of power, nearly tangible.

Compared with it, the shields the apprentices had previously constructed looked crude and flimsy.

Not only was this barrier more complex in structure, it also brightened and dimmed like it was slowly breathing, drawing in some of the surrounding light.

Suppressed gasps rose from the crowd.

Mike's lips moved, but no complete sound came out.

He stared at the shimmering shield, his nails unconsciously digging into his palms.

He had spent so many nights meditating under candlelight, repeatedly tracing those basic runes until thin calluses formed on his fingertips, yet he still struggled to maintain even the most rudimentary stable form.

And this person had merely turned his wrist.

Were some distances destined from the very beginning? Mike's throat went dry as something in his chest slowly collapsed.

He looked away and fixed his gaze on a speck of dust in the cracks between the floor stones, refusing to look at that dazzling radiance again.

The air over the training ground carried the mingled smell of dust and sweat.

Those apprentices who had begun practicing before Zhao Yu still had not even sensed the most basic flow of energy.

Yet Zhao Yu, who had entered this place alongside them, could already gather a translucent curved barrier at his fingertips.

Astonishment froze on every face.

Some stood with their mouths open, forgetting to close them. Others rubbed their eyes again and again, as though trying to wipe away the illusion before them.

Kamidar's gaze scraped across the crowd like a blunt knife. "Now, does anyone still think my judgment is improper?"

His voice was not loud, yet every whisper came to an abrupt halt.

Even the brown-haired young man who had questioned him most loudly earlier lowered his gaze and stared at the mud-stained toes of his shoes.

"Think I'm playing favorites?"

Kamidar lifted a rough ceramic cup and took a sip. "First, show me the ability worth favoring."

He set the cup back on the wooden table. When he stood, his old robe stirred a faint breeze. "Continue practicing.

Zhao Yu, come with me."

The young mage apprentice followed behind that slightly stooped figure, leaving the clearing steeped in every kind of gaze.

They passed through the stone archway, their footsteps echoing through the corridor, one light and one heavy.

The discussion behind them rose with a buzz like a swarm of bees, only to be cut off by the thick walls.

"Who was that?"

"Only a few days... how is that possible?"

"Could there really be a monster among us?"

The door of the little house closed behind Zhao Yu, shutting all the noise outside.

Light slanted in through the narrow high window, illuminating the dust motes drifting slowly through the air.

Kamidar did not speak at once. He lifted the bronze kettle and poured hot water into two clay bowls, where the dark brown tea leaves unfurled.

Zhao Yu accepted the warm clay bowl, his fingertips feeling its rough texture.

He waited.

Silence spread, broken only by the faint shouts of apprentices clumsily practicing in the distance.

"Master,"

he finally said, his voice clear in the quiet room. "Have my exercises these past two days... disappointed you?"

When Kamidar suddenly appeared before him, his breath had caught for a moment.

The scent of tea drifted through the air.

The rim of the porcelain cup touched the tray with an almost imperceptible chime—the hand gripping the kettle handle paused, and several dark green leaves nearly slipped over the cup's edge.

Fortunately, he had grown used to such unexpected incidents these past days. His fingertips steadied, preventing any further loss of composure from showing.

Otherwise, he truly might have exposed a flaw in front of Zhao Yu.

He had heard that remark just now.

Could that even be something an ordinary person would say? He actually thought his progress was not fast enough.

Among everyone in Kamar-Taj who studied with their heads bowed, who could advance faster than this young man? No, not just here.

Even if the scope were expanded to the entire continent, there was probably no second person like him.

But those thoughts merely circled through his chest before sinking away.

His expression remained calm, as though that brief hesitation had never happened.