Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 1: The Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Chapter 2: The Encyclopedia Of Mana Manipulation
Chapter 3: Head Start
Chapter 4: My Life Now
Chapter 5: Let The Journey Begin
Chapter 6: Up The Mountain
Chapter 7: How I Wished
Chapter 8: Questions
Chapter 9: Ones Held Dear
Chapter 10: Road Ahead
Chapter 11: To And Fro
Chapter 12: Meeting
Chapter 13: Q & A
Chapter 14: What’S To Come
Chapter 15: The Other Side
Chapter 16: Next Step
Chapter 17: Companion
Chapter 18: Family
Chapter 19: Peaceful
Chapter 20: Proclamation
Chapter 21: Everybody Wins
Chapter 22: For Them
Chapter 23: Royalty
Chapter 24: Auction
Chapter 25: Aftermath
Chapter 26: Partners In Crime
Chapter 27: Worth Fighting For
Chapter 28: Examination
Chapter 29: Changes In Dicathen
Chapter 30: Sword And Body
Chapter 31: Last Leg
Chapter 32: Dire Tombs
Chapter 33: Dire Tombs Ii
Chapter 34: Dire Tombs Iii
Chapter 35: Rash Actions And Limits
Chapter 36: Precautions
Chapter 37: A Son, Brother, And Friend
Chapter 38: In The Meantime
Chapter 39: Introspection
Chapter 40: New Winds
Chapter 41: I’M Not That Nice
Chapter 42: A Ball
Chapter 43: A Ball Ii
Chapter 44: Xyrus Academy
Chapter 45: You Dare?
Chapter 46: Not Quite As Planned
Chapter 47: Wiser Than The Wise
Chapter 48: Attention
Chapter 49: Reminisce
Chapter 50: Disciplinary Committee
Chapter 51: Classes And Professors
Chapter 52: Classes And Professors Ii
Chapter 53: Classes And Professors Iii
Chapter 54: It’S A Pleasure
Chapter 55: Match Start
Chapter 56: This Is Going To Hurt
Chapter 57: Family Gathering
Chapter 58: Feelings And Old Memories
Chapter 59: First Day On The Job
Chapter 60: Confrontation
Chapter 61: Romantic Idiot
Chapter 62: My Team
Chapter 63: Baby Steps
Chapter 64: Field Trip
Chapter 65: Widow’S Crypt
Chapter 66: Widow’S Crypt Ii
Chapter 67: Widow’S Crypt Iii
Chapter 68: Widow’S Crypt Iv
Chapter 69: Widow’S Crypt V
Chapter 70: An Unfamiliar Burden
Chapter 71: Evolving
Chapter 72: A Confusing Day
Chapter 73: One Fallen
Chapter 74: A Will’S Last Breath
Chapter 75: Order Of Power
Chapter 76: Manifest Destinies
Chapter 77: Good To See You
Chapter 78: Allies?
Chapter 79: Meanwhile
Chapter 80: Meanwhile Ii
Chapter 81: Meanwhile Iii
Chapter 82: At Last
Chapter 83: Benefactor
Chapter 84: A Greater Scale
Chapter 85: Lineage
Chapter 86: Elven Kingdom
Chapter 87: Winding Down
Chapter 88: A Will’S Unwillingness
Chapter 89: A Stroll
Chapter 90: A Cursed Blessing
Chapter 91: The Start
Chapter 92: Collapse Of Xyrus
Chapter 92: Bird’S Cage
Chapter 93: Chosen Ones
Chapter 94: Arrival
Chapter 95: The Calm Before
Chapter 96: The Storm
Chapter 97: Outcome
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164
Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 167
Chapter 168
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189
Chapter 190
Chapter 191
Chapter 192
Chapter 193
Chapter 194
Chapter 195
Chapter 196
Chapter 197
Chapter 198
Chapter 199
Chapter 200
Chapter 201
Chapter 202
Chapter 203
Chapter 204
Chapter 205
Chapter 206
Chapter 207
Chapter 208
Chapter 209
Chapter 210
Chapter 211
Chapter 212
Chapter 213
Chapter 214
Chapter 215
Chapter 216
Chapter 217
Chapter 218
Chapter 219
Chapter 220
Chapter 221
Chapter 222
Chapter 223
Chapter 224
Chapter 225
Chapter 226
Chapter 227
Chapter 228
Chapter 229
Chapter 230
Chapter 231
Chapter 232
Chapter 233
Chapter 234
Chapter 235
Chapter 236
Chapter 237
Chapter 238
Chapter 239
Chapter 240
Chapter 241
Chapter 242
Chapter 243
Chapter 244
Chapter 245
Chapter 246
Chapter 247
Chapter 248
Chapter 249
Chapter 250
Chapter 251
Chapter 252
Chapter 253
Chapter 254
Chapter 255
Chapter 256
Chapter 257
Chapter 258
Chapter 259
Chapter 260
Chapter 261
Chapter 262
Chapter 263
Chapter 264
Chapter 265
Chapter 266
Chapter 267
Chapter 268
Chapter 269
Chapter 270
Chapter 271
Chapter 272
Chapter 273
Chapter 274
Chapter 275
Chapter 276
Chapter 277
Chapter 278
Chapter 279
Chapter 280
Chapter 281
Chapter 282
Chapter 283
Chapter 284
Chapter 285
Chapter 286
Chapter 287
Chapter 288
Chapter 289
Chapter 290
Chapter 291
Chapter 292
Chapter 293
Chapter 294
Chapter 295
Chapter 296
Chapter 297
Chapter 298
Chapter 299
Chapter 300
Chapter 301
Chapter 302
Chapter 303
Chapter 304
Chapter 305
Chapter 306
Chapter 307
Chapter 308
Chapter 309
Chapter 310
Chapter 311
Chapter 312
Chapter 313
Chapter 314
Chapter 315
Chapter 316
Chapter 317
Chapter 318
Chapter 319
Chapter 320
Chapter 321
Chapter 322: Echoes Of Accusations
Chapter 323
Chapter 324
Chapter 325 Painless
Chapter 326 Backlash
Chapter 327 Enough For Now
Chapter 328 Face To Face
Chapter 329: A Plea For Help
Chapter 330
Chapter 331: The Trial
Chapter 332: Broken Chains
Chapter 333: Attention
Chapter 334: Last Mercy
Chapter 335: Haunting Peace
Chapter 336: Protection
Chapter 337: Layers
Chapter 338 A Weapon Against Him
Chapter 339 The Central Dominion
Chapter 340 Burden And Stakes
Chapter 341 Ashes And Dust
Chapter 342 Duality
Chapter 343 Professor Princess
Chapter 344 Eyes Locked
Chapter 345 Socialite
Chapter 346 A Dim Spark
Chapter 347 A Stroll With Gods
Chapter 348 Melee Enhancement Tactics
Chapter 349: Hope And Lies
Chapter 350: Colleagues
Chapter 351: Minimally Catastrophic
Chapter 352: Relic, Revived
Chapter 353: Paradigm Shift
Chapter 354: Somewhat Teaching
Chapter 355: Just His Name
Chapter 356: Closure
Chapter 357: Blood Relic
Chapter 358
Chapter 359
Chapter 360
Chapter 361: The Second Ruin
Chapter 362: Fate Intertwined
Chapter 363
Chapter 364
Chapter 365
Chapter 366
Chapter 367
Chapter 368
Chapter 369
Chapter 370
Chapter 371
Chapter 372
Chapter 373
Chapter 374
Chapter 374.5
Chapter 375
Chapter 376
Chapter 377
Chapter 378
Chapter 379
Chapter 380
Chapter 381
Chapter 382
Chapter 383
Chapter 384
Chapter 385
Chapter 386
Chapter 387
Chapter 388
Chapter 389
Chapter 390
Chapter 391
Chapter 392
Chapter 393
Chapter 394
Chapter 395
Chapter 396
Chapter 397
Chapter 398
Chapter 399
Chapter 400
Chapter 401
Chapter 402
Chapter 403
Chapter 404
Chapter 405
Chapter 406
Chapter 407
Chapter 408
Chapter 409
Chapter 410
Chapter 411
Chapter 412
Chapter 413
Chapter 414
Chapter 415
Chapter 416
Chapter 417
Chapter 418
Chapter 419: One Of Mine
Chapter 420: Shackles
Chapter 421: Black Doors
Chapter 422: Black Doors Ii
Chapter 423: One Last Ruin
Chapter 424: Through The Djinn’S Eyes
Chapter 425: Unexpected Visitor
Chapter 426: Changing The Narrative
Chapter 427: Amends
Chapter 428: Hoping
Chapter 429: A Dream Yet To Happen
Chapter 430 Opposition
Chapter 431 Time
Chapter 432 Overdue
Chapter 433 Respect And Regards
Chapter 434 Fellowship Forged
Chapter 435 Entourage
Chapter 436 Obscured
Chapter 437 Scales Of Understanding
Chapter 438 A Broken Path
Chapter 439 Holding Ground
Chapter 440 A Loose Idea
Chapter 441 The Message
Chapter 442 A Snapped Thread
Chapter 443 Horns Of Exeges
Chapter 444 A Sword Struck
Chapter 445 The Truth Of Power
Chapter 446 Scarred
Chapter 447 A Certain State In Time
Chapter 448
Chapter 449
Chapter 450
Chapter 451
Chapter 452
Chapter 453
Chapter 454
Chapter 455
Chapter 456
Chapter 458
Chapter 457: Equivalent Exchange
Chapter 459
Chapter 460
Chapter 461
Chapter 462
Chapter 463
Chapter 464
Chapter 465
Chapter 466
Chapter 467
Chapter 468
Chapter 469
Chapter 470
Chapter 471
Chapter 472
Chapter 473
Chapter 474
Chapter 475
Chapter 476
Chapter 477
Chapter 478
Chapter 479
Chapter 480
Chapter 481
Chapter 482
Categories Genre: All, Fantasy, Martial, Ongoing Status: Ongoing ______
Total Chapters in book: 485
Estimated words: 1771831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 8859(@200wpm)___ 7087(@250wpm)___ 5906(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 1771831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 8859(@200wpm)___ 7087(@250wpm)___ 5906(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 485 Page No. 484 Page No. 483 Page No. 482 Page No. 481 Page No. 480 Page No. 479 Page No. 478 Page No. 477 Page No. 476 Page No. 475 Chapter 90: A Cursed Blessing
ARTHUR LEYWIN’S POV:
Supposedly, Grandma Rinia’s cottage wasn’t too much farther from where we were. After our brief greetings and a firm hug from the aged elf that I had come to appreciate, we made our way to her dwelling place.
"You’ve grown into quite the handsome young lad, Arthur. If I was just a hundred years younger, I might’ve snatched you up for myself," Rinia teased.
It was disturbing to say the least to hear this from a woman who was several decades older than me, but since it came from her, I just grinned back.
"Well, I’d have to see how you looked when you were a hundred years younger."
"Hmph! Ask Virion how stunning I was! Men would swarm over me as soon as I was in their sights!" Rinia placed one hand on her hip and used her other to flip her braided hair.
"It’s true, Arthur. My mother would tell me how all of the girls her age would be jealous of Aunt Rinia," Tess’ mother giggled.
"Bah! She was above average at best!" Virion waved off.
"Well, of course there was only one girl to have ever caught Virion’s eye..." Rinia’s voice trailed off and by the look on her face, she seemed to have regretted bringing it up.
I looked around, completely lost. The gloomy forest we were treading through seemed all the more dismal by the sudden change in the air. I glanced at Tess and she seemed uncomfortable, but more so confused than depressed like everyone else.
"...I’m sorry, Virion. I was a bit insensitive." Rinia placed a hand on Virion’s sunken shoulder.
"It’s... It’s fine. I should be the one who’s sorry. I know how you felt as well," he dismissed.
We continued on with only the crunching of fallen leaves and the snapping of twigs filling the silence. My gaze was focused on Sylvie, who was having a blast looking for lifeforms underneath the moss-covered rocks and logs.
As her tail wagged furiously in excitement, I couldn’t help but let out a small smile in content, despite the sullen atmosphere.
Sneaking a quick peek at Gramps, my mind started itching with questions that I knew I shouldn’t ask. Rinia, who apparently saw this, gently placed her hand on my shoulder and gave me a strained smile.
As we stepped into a small clearing, the roaring sound of running water filled our ears. It was as if the trees surrounding this area had acted as a barrier, blocking off all the sound. In view, we could now see a wide waterfall cascading down a marble white cliff into a small pool of water about six meters in diameter.
"Wow, I didn’t know a place like this existed," Tess gaped in awe.
"Father, wasn’t this the place you used to take me to when I was a child?" Alduin asked while he looked around.
"I see you still remember. Yes, you used to love coming to this place." Virion let out a small smile as he reminisced.
"It’s beautiful..." Merial breathed.
It was beautiful, indeed.
There wasn’t much sunlight that was able to reach this small clearing, making the area seem more surreal. The thin rays of light that were able to peek through the thick tree tops created spotlights that made the moss, grass, and all of the plant life glimmer. The waterfall streamed down the white cliff without any intrusion, making it a clear curtain of water.
"We’re here." Rinia stated as she stepped up.
Wordlessly, we all followed her as I half-expected her to conjure a cottage from the ground.
It wasn’t as fancy as that, though. Instead Rinia let out a few inaudible chants with her hands raised, lifting roots from underneath the pond into a makeshift bridge leading into the waterfall.
Carefully stepping onto the grimy roots, Rinia took the lead with us following close behind. With a wave of her arm, she swept the waterfall to the side. However, before doing anything else, she looked around, as if to make sure no one was spying on us.
After letting out a sharp breath, Rinia placed her hand on the cliff behind the waterfall,which now started to glow with unrecognizable runes.
Just like that, the white marble cliff opened up like a sliding door to reveal a passage deeper inside.
"Don’t conjure up any light. We’ll make our way through the dark," instructed Rinia, as if directly referring to me.
I lost track of how many turns we made, relying only on Rinia’s voice as our guide.
"Left."
"Right."
"Right."
"Left."
Finally we could see a flickering light at the end of the umpteenth leg of the tunnel.
"Welcome to my little cottage."
With the sparse amount of light, I could barely make out the faint smile Rinia had.
By this time, I had no idea where we were, but the homey little hut that couldn’t be any bigger than a single room in the Eralith Family’s castle was welcoming to my eyes.
"Whew." Tessia squatted down as she was able to finally release her tension.
"This...this is quite the place, Aunt Rinia." Alduin slid his hand against the wall of the cave the hut was in.
"Where are we?" I couldn’t help but ask as I inspected our surroundings as well.
"Somewhere in the elf kingdom," was all she said as she made her way into her hut.
Lighted by a few dim shining orbs in the corners of the cave, the place Rinia called home reminded me of some sort of dungeon used to hold the worst criminals, not a place where a close friend of the royal family would reside.
"I’m sure you have your reasons, Aunt Rinia, but was it really necessary to shut yourself in a place like this?" Merial frowned as her eyes focused on the hut Rinia just went inside.
"Just an old lady being overly cautious. Don’t mind me! It’s actually quite cozy once you get used to it." Rinia’s head popped out of the hut’s sheet door.
"Can I see inside too?" Tess had Sylvie wrapped in her arms as she curiously eyed the interior of the hut.
"Of course! Everyone, come inside." Rinia waved us in.
We all looked at each other in doubt, but Virion just herded us all in while saying, "Come now, the place isn’t going to eat you up. It’s quite roomy inside, despite its appearance. Let’s get something to drink! I’m quite famished."
Once we settled down into the minimally designed disaster shelter that was Rinia’s new home, I sunk into the couch. Leaning my head on my hand, I must’ve nodded off because when I woke up, everyone was also asleep.
Rubbing my eyes, I got up to see that Rinia was the only one still awake, sipping on something that smelled like an herb tonic.
"They won’t be awake for a while, Arthur. Let’s have a talk," Rinia said simply without even looking at me. She gestured for me to sit in the chair across from her as she continued sipping on her tea.
"Well, from how you probably drugged everyone but me, I’m guessing this is something that only I can know?" My eyes narrowed, but I trusted Rinia. Besides, if she wanted to kill us, I was sure that with her powers of foresight, she already could’ve done so.
Wordlessly, I sat down and leaned back, waiting for the aged elf to speak.
"Despite the unforeseen circumstances, you’re quite composed, Arthur." Rinia’s tone seemed to say she expected this.
"I’m sure if you wanted the worse to happen, it would’ve happened already," I shrugged.
"Mm."
"..."
"A logical assumption," nodded Rinia. "Now, where do I begin?" she sighed. "Well, let’s begin with a small lesson on my powers as a Diviner."
My ears perked up at this. Learning about a rare deviant form of magic didn’t come often, as textbooks only held a limited amount of information about them.
Noticing the interest on my face, Rinia continued. "As you may know, unlike regular mages who draw forth power from the mana particles in the atmosphere, deviants have to find their own source of power to fuel their magic."
I nodded in agreement.
"For example, your mother, an Emitter, has the ability to heal herself and others in a way elemental recovery spells can’t compare to."
I nodded to this as well. There were various recovery spells that could be learned by water, wind, and plant attribute mages. Unfortunately, fire and earth didn’t have any innate healing attributes, so it was impossible to create a recovery spell out of them. All in all, though, the recovery spells were still weak and couldn’t compare to the healing that Emitters were capable of.
"Emitters have mana cores that naturally accumulate a special type of mana that is used to power their spells. Throughout my life, I’ve met quite a few deviants, each with unique properties in their magic. They all have one thing in common though, different from an elemental deviant such as yourself. Each of the deviants have their own pool of mana that they use to power their deviant magic." She looked a little absent-minded as she said this.
"It must be an inconvenience for them since they can’t draw in mana from the atmosphere," I added.
"It sure is. After interviewing many deviants, they would all tell me how difficult it was to learn even basic elemental spells since they did not have mana cores that could harness the mana particles in the atmosphere. However, with their deviant powers, it made up for this handicap."
There was a moment of silence where I could only hear the soft snoring of Sylvie in Tess’ arms before Rinia spoke again.
"As for Diviners, it’s quite different. First of all, our powers can awaken at any point in our lives, which is quite different from conventional mages and other deviants. Our powers mostly come in erratic bursts where, quite often, blurred images and clips of the future simply flash through my mind. Sometimes they’d be useful, but most of the time, they were too vague and minute to make anything out of. These little flashes of the future don’t expend any mana at all, actually."
I stayed silent, an eerie feeling creeping up on me.
"If you were to sense my mana core, I actually have quite a normal mana core, capable of harnessing and refining the mana particles in the atmosphere, which is why I’m quite adept at water attribute magic myself," Rinia exclaimed mockingly. "Doesn’t seem like a very useful power if I can’t control it, now does it?" she continued.
"Then what about the the spell that you used to allow me to locate my parents and even speak to them when I was little?" I questioned.
"Ah, that’s a nifty little spell I made that involves my unique powers as a Diviner, but not really. You see, Arthur, true divination is reading the future—knowing when and where something is going to happen."
I was getting lost. "Then if that is your true power as a Diviner and you said your mana core doesn’t power that magic, how do you—"
"With my own lifespan," she cursed.
"We Diviners shorten our own lifespans each time we choose to consciously look into the future. That is the true power of a Diviner. Everything else are just useful little spells that can’t be considered anything more than hat tricks."
I sat there, wide-eyed, not knowing how to respond.
"What we talked about earlier, Virion’s only love and wife, was another rare Diviner that was much more powerful than I was. Her unconscious divinations and prophecies would be much longer, much more detailed than mine, and much more frequent at that." Rinia’s reminiscent smile faded as she continued speaking.
"Coupled with her physical beauty and graceful temperament, she was the envy of every female elf of our generation. She was the pride of our kingdom and an idol to the citizens.
"Things were looking perfect as she fell in love with Virion and the two got married in a beautiful ceremony. However, Fate wasn’t as kind to her as everyone thought."
I couldn’t help but grimace at the tone of this tragedy-in-happening.
"At this time, the war between the Kingdom of Sapin and Elenoir had begun to die down, with the talk of a treaty in the air. However, the King of Sapin at the time made a last ditch effort to do as much damage to our kingdom as possible before the signing of the treaty. He carried out a plan to extinguish the future heir to the throne."
"You mean..."
"Yes, Virion was the sole target of an assassination mission carried out by the King himself," Rinia spoke in almost a whisper.
"..."
"Mockingly, his wife was repeatedly tormented by visions of Virion’s death. Her unconscious prophecies told her little of how Virion would die and every time she did something to try and change the future, the outcome only led to a different cause of death. Virion knew the toll of his wife using her powers, but she did so anyway behind his back, out of desperation to keep him from his inevitable death."
"Every time I use my powers to look into the future, I can feel the days, weeks, sometimes even months being drained out of my body. I could only imagine how terrible it must’ve been for her to repeatedly use this cursed power for the one she loved."
I didn’t know what to say, and even if I did, it would have been insensitive to say, coming from someone who didn’t know what it felt like.
Rinia’s eyes glistened from the tears that she had been holding back.
"In the end, she was able to keep Virion alive long enough for the peace treaty to be signed, but having burned up so much of her lifespan to protect the man she loved, she died a few months after in his arms with her youthful, beautiful appearance replaced with an aged, sickly elder."
"Do you know who that Diviner was, Arthur?" She looked up with a stream of tears rolling down her right cheek.
"She was my sister."
Total Chapters in book: 485
Estimated words: 1771831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 8859(@200wpm)___ 7087(@250wpm)___ 5906(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 1771831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 8859(@200wpm)___ 7087(@250wpm)___ 5906(@300wpm)
______