Golden rays of morning sunlight crept across the capital, kissing the Holy Tower first, then the royal palace, and finally spreading across the sprawling royal grounds.
Unlike most days, Erik was already awake—dressed in his White Wolfs training uniform, staring through the glass balcony doors as the city stirred beneath the rising sun.
"Who would've thought I'd be living in the royal grounds?" he muttered.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Erik opened it, expecting Yosul—but instead, a blonde girl stood there.
"Good morning, Master Erik. I've been assigned to take you to Archmage Kruzen today."
"Okay," Erik replied, following her.
He couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment. Yosul's morning greetings had become something he quietly looked forward to. He only realized that now.
Huh… why am I disappointed?
"Um… excuse me," Erik asked the girl, "but do you know where Yosul is?"
"He left for Velhein early this morning. Something about a sudden assignment with an investigation team."
"With an investigation team?"
"That's right."
"…Okay."
They walked through the halls of the White Wolfs' headquarters. Erik could feel the eyes on him—watching, judging. Supposedly, he was Evalyn's long-lost stepbrother. A lie, of course.
Evalyn hadn't agreed to the plan, but for some reason, Kruzen insisted. Said it was for the best—for both Erik and Evalyn. Erik didn't understand how that was true, but he'd gone along with it anyway.
They arrived at the training hall. The blonde girl stopped at the door, then stepped aside. As Erik entered, the door shut behind him.
"Erik, you seem a little more down than usual. Is something wrong?" Archmage Kruzen asked.
"Huh? Really?" Erik blinked, surprised. "Well…"
Is this something I should tell Kruzen? He might think I'm weird…
"…Nothing's wrong. Let's just continue the training," Erik said, brushing it off.
He sat on the floor, closed his eyes, and began meditating. Kruzen linked his mana to Erik's core, searching for the cause—the reason why Erik couldn't use magic with the left side of his body.
Time passed in silence.
"Erik," Kruzen finally said, "you mentioned you've never been able to use magic with your left side, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, it's not that you can't use magic with your left side. It's that it's been attuned to another element."
"…What?"
"Erik, you're a dual-elemental user."
"What?" Erik stared at Kruzen in disbelief. Dual-elemental users were extremely rare in the kingdom.
"But… what's the element? And why can't I use it?"
"The element bound to your left side is something rare—it's called electricity."
Erik's brow furrowed. He looked sceptical.
"Hm. This is certainly interesting," Kruzen muttered. "I didn't expect you to have a rare element hidden inside you."
"But it doesn't matter if I can't use it, right? Why can't I?" Erik asked.
"Well," Kruzen said, folding his arms, "your mana core isn't mature enough yet."
"Huh?" That answer irritated Erik. "What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said. Your core hasn't matured enough to support the element."
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you—but how do I make it mature?"
Kruzen raised an eyebrow. "How does one become mature, Erik?"
"Oh god… here it comes."
"By simply living," Kruzen said with a smile—the same damned smile he wore whenever he dropped some philosophical nonsense. Erik hated that smile.
"Jeez. Thanks. That helped a lot," Erik muttered, clearly annoyed.
Kruzen chuckled. "No need to be stingy. There is another way."
"…Really?"
"I can break the barrier that's keeping the element sealed inside you."
"You can do that?!"
"Of course I can."
"Then why didn't you say so sooner?!"
Kruzen's expression grew more serious.
"Okay," Erik said flatly. "Now tell me why we can't do that."
"It's not that we can't," Kruzen replied calmly. "But tell me—what do you think happens when you're given something you can't control?"
Erik didn't answer.
"First," Kruzen said, "you need to be ready to handle it. Then we'll break the barrier."
Erik exhaled, slow and steady. "Alright. So how do I prepare?"
Kruzen smirked. "You'll see."
The entrance door creaked open.
In walked the blonde girl who had escorted Erik to Archmage Kruzen earlier.
"Erik," Kruzen said, "this is Leena Wilfang. You'll be sparring with her today."
Leena was short, with an emotionless face that gave nothing away. Erik couldn't sense much power from her, but if Kruzen was setting this up, there had to be a reason.
They both stepped into the sparring circle.
"Neither of you is permitted to use Core Activation," Kruzen said. "But you may use any spells in your arsenal. Leena, you'll go first."
Leena gave a small nod.
That's unusual, Erik thought.
Erik drew his dagger, sinking into a low stance. He narrowed his eyes.
Then—
She vanished.
The next moment, Erik felt a brutal impact. He was slammed into the wall, hard enough to rattle his bones.
What the—?
He staggered to his feet, only to see Leena flying toward him again. Erik leapt aside just in time. She didn't strike the spot where he'd been slammed—she was reading him.
Where is she?
Pain exploded in his ribs. A swift kick from behind launched him across the training ground. He landed face-first, bounced twice, and slid to a stop.
Groaning, Erik looked up—and saw Leena again.
She was glowing.
Yellow lightning arced around her body, running across her skin like dancing serpents of raw power.
"Oh, I forgot to mention," Kruzen said casually. "Leena is a Platinum-ranked hunter. She's also the lead ground assassin of Commander Rowan Vykie's assault unit. And her primary element—"
He paused, smirking.
"—is electricity."
"You bastard," Erik growled, struggling to his feet. "You knew from the start, didn't you?"
Kruzen's expression shifted—his usual calm giving way to something twisted. A cruel grin stretched across his face, the kind only a sadist could wear.
"Let's continue this eventful training, shall we?"