"I have a gift for you."
Hearing his master's words, Aster couldn't believe his ears. For a moment, he thought he had misheard. But when the old man entered the hut to bring something out, Aster remembered seeing him earlier with a bag. Only then did he realize the words were real.
Valorant came out carrying the bag he had brought with him. He set it down beside the fire and sat closer to the flames.
'What could he be giving me?'
Aster stared at the bag with curiosity.
Unable to imagine what might be inside, he waited quietly as it was opened.
The old man slowly untied the bag and took out a set of new clothes, handing them to his seated disciple.
"Try them on."
Aster took the clothes in his hands and stared at them in disbelief. This was only the second time in his life he had received a gift from someone outside his family. There was no limit to the joy on his face.
"These… are for me?!"
Valorant nodded lightly.
Clutching the clothes, Aster ran into the hut. Not long after, he returned, now changed. The new outfit suited him perfectly—along with the black cloak draped over his shoulders and the new boots on his feet.
The old man looked at his disciple and said,
"These are my gift to you."
Aster lightly shook the cloak on his shoulders and replied,
"Thank you so much. No one has ever given me a gift like this before."
"You've been wearing the same clothes for a month. I thought you might need some new ones," Valorant said calmly.
As Aster examined his new clothes, a question surfaced.
"When did you have time to get these? We're deep in the forest, and the city is nearly a full day away…"
The old man smiled faintly.
"It helps to have connections. I sent a message to my disciple by messenger bird about what was needed. I picked them up while checking the surroundings at night."
'So that's why Master disappeared in the morning. But even so… going to the city and back that quickly shouldn't be possible,' Aster thought, puzzled.
While Aster was still admiring the clothes, Valorant took out something else from his pocket—a long strip of cloth. He held it out to his disciple.
"Put this on."
The moment Aster saw it, he froze. Unpleasant memories he hadn't thought about in a long time surfaced before his eyes.
"Why?" he asked in a slightly subdued voice.
"To test something."
Following his master's instruction, Aster tied the cloth over his eyes and stood still. He couldn't imagine what his master intended.
"Is it tied?"
Aster nodded.
Even though his eyes were covered, he could still sense his surroundings—no, more than that. He could almost see them.
Knowing his disciple couldn't see, Valorant opened all five fingers of his hand.
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Five," Aster answered without hesitation.
That surprised the old man.
"Now turn around and tell me how many fingers I'm showing."
Aster turned his back. And yet, at the same time, he could clearly sense his master.
"How many?"
"Two."
"Now walk forward until you can no longer tell how many fingers I'm holding up."
Aster followed his master's instructions. Each time Valorant asked the question, Aster answered—and with every correct answer, he took one step forward.
The test didn't last long.
After about ten steps, Aster could no longer sense either his master or the hut.
"I can't see anything anymore."
With that answer, the test ended.
But the old man wasn't finished yet.
"I'm going to throw a stone at you from behind. Dodge it. Understood?"
This time, Aster didn't reply. Valorant took the silence as consent.
Picking up a small stone—no larger than a fingernail—the old man hurled it with all his strength.
The stone flew straight toward Aster's head.
Sensing its trajectory, Aster tilted his head and narrowly avoided it.
"That's enough. Come here," Valorant said, exhaling lightly.
"I've never seen anything like this. When your eyes are covered… can you really see your surroundings?"
"It's not exactly seeing," Aster replied.
"It feels more like sensing. And only within a limited range."
Valorant fell into deep thought.
After a moment, he asked carefully,
"Are there Nexons in your family?"
Aster tilted his head.
"Who?"
"People with special abilities. Those who can use magic and possess unusual talents beyond it. Did your family have anyone like that?"
In truth, Aster's family had only consisted of two people—his father and mother. But his father had left when he was very young, leaving him with his mother alone. Because of that, he knew almost nothing about him.
"Honestly, I barely remember my father. He left when I was young, so I don't know much about him. My mother was an ordinary village woman—nothing special."
That answer only deepened Valorant's contemplation. Questions piled up in his mind, yet none of them had answers.
After everything that happened, Aster began to feel strange.
Then he asked an unexpected question.
"Can I keep wearing the blindfold?"
The old man looked surprised.
"Don't misunderstand, it's just—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
He had intended to explain everything, but seeing his disciple's face, he changed his mind.
"If it makes you feel better, then fine."
Aster nodded lightly and said in a subdued voice,
"Thank you."
There was another reason Aster wanted to wear the blindfold again.
It wasn't because of the emptiness he felt after talking with his master.
Nor because their relationship felt distant.
It was because of a promise.
He had forgotten the words he once said to Hans when leaving the village. The moment he remembered them, it felt as though everything had returned to where it began.
Two months passed.
Days flowed into days, and time continued on. Throughout it all, Valorant never once stopped training his new disciple.
As autumn arrived and the forest turned shades of yellow, Aster's hard work finally bore fruit.
The training grew harsher with each passing day. Yet throughout all that time, Aster never once removed the cloth from his eyes during practice. He remained faithful to the promise he had made.
With the arrival of autumn, Aster finally reached the first stage of the Flame Wrath technique—[Flame Mana].
Though he was still far from mastering it, for an Elestar who had trained for less than a year, this was a remarkable achievement.
Flame Mana was a state in which an Elestar with fire affinity blended mana with the fire element to form a protective layer around their body. This layer acted both as defense and reinforcement, greatly enhancing combat capabilities such as strength, speed, and endurance.
It amplified these traits several times over.
[Flame Mana] offered many benefits. For example, heat no longer affected him. Even in the dead of winter, he could walk without clothes and feel nothing.
It was an extraordinary defensive shell.
Four more months passed.
Winter arrived.
Despite the biting cold, Aster never stopped training. With each passing day, he grew stronger, wiser, and more experienced.
Running through snow-covered forests in light clothing, Aster was no longer affected by the cold. Four months of refining [Flame Mana] had brought him to that level.
As usual, he ran through the forest, practiced swordsmanship, and completed his daily exercises before returning to the hut.
Opening the door, Aster stepped inside.
Valorant was sitting by the lit stove, reading a letter. There was a trace of concern on his face.
Noticing his master's expression, Aster asked,
"What happened? Is everything alright?"
"Pack what you need," Valorant replied gravely.
"We're going on a journey."