Inside Arias’ room, Maria and Albert were watching their son’s behavior in confusion. After saying that he needed to tell them something, Arias told them to follow him to his room and did not give further explanation. The sight of Arias shutting and bolting every door and window as if he was afraid that something would go in and out of the room, together with the way he had asked them to make sure that there was no one around this area, only made the two of them more curious.

    “What are you doing, Arias?”

    At last, someone could no longer bear to keep the curiosity inside. Maria was the one who posed the question.

    “What kind of secret is it to make you so cautious like this?”

    Albert was also confused by the way Arias was acting. Though Arias was never a clumsy person, he had never been this careful or cautious either. After surviving from that incident, Arias’ personality had changed drastically. He had become brave and stoic; it was as if he was no longer the same person he once was. On the day that he was attacked by the bestial rabbit, Maria did not see him shed a single tear. He was also far calmer and more collected than a boy who had not even reached the age of twenty should be. In the past, if Arias had been insulted like this, his expression would have turned into one of sadness. But now he was able to remain unfazed like never before. Instead, it was Albert who could not bear the insults and almost got into a physical fight with Merson.

    “Father, Mother, this son of yours apologizes for everything.”

    At that moment, Arias did something the two of them never expected. He kneeled down in front of them, his voice trembling and full of the guilt that stemmed from deep inside his heart. His knees hit the floor with a loud, heavy thud. Everything he did was sincere and came from deep inside of him. He could not bear to see them being disappointed in him anymore. A part of this guilt came from the fact that he didn’t trust anyone enough before this.

    “What are you doing? Get up. Don’t listen to the nonsense said by that kind of person.”

    Small drops of tears welled up in the corner of Maria’s eyes as she watched the way her son kneeled and said everything with a trembling voice. Her heart clenched with pain, and she quickly leaned down to pull him up from his position. But as if his knees had been glued to the floor, Arias would not move. Albert was stunned as he looked at Arias, but he quickly tried to pull him up as well. However, the result was still the same. Arias would not move.

    “Father, Mother, please listen to me first…words that came from that person, I never take it to my heart. However, I want to apologize for being a burden to you, for never doing anything to make you proud, and for only bringing you more worries. And lastly…I want to apologize for keeping this from you.”

    Maria and Albert certainly understood the first parts of Arias’ apologies. However, the last sentence he said had left them perplexed. What was it that Arias was keeping from them?

    Arias put his hand forward and the magical power in his body quickly gathered above his hand. Then, small bolts of lightning appeared, moving all over his palm. It looked like little electro serpents were slithering on his hand. The Cloud-Shrouded Dragon technique was deactivated, and the power of an eighth-level neophyte burst from the young man’s body.

    “This is…”

    Maria gazed at the sight in front of her like she had just seen a ghost. She was barely able to believe her own eyes. Her hands flew to cover her mouth involuntarily. Her son, who was powerless, was able to use this strange magical power. Thunder Magic had been lost for a long time; thus, Arias’ power was something that Maria had never seen before. Albert’s reaction was not much different; he was gaping, and his mouth was so wide open that a fly could have flown inside. He stared at the sight in front of him in disbelief and gave a hard pinch on his own arm to check that what was happening was not a dream.

    “Am I dreaming?”

    Albert blurted out before he could stop himself.

    “You’re not dreaming, Father. Uh…there’re red bruises all over your arm now. Stop pinching yourself or they’ll turn purple.”

    Arias replied and also warned Albert about his action. When he saw Albert’s arm which was covered with bruises from his own pinching just now, Arias could not help but let out a small laugh which helped lighten the atmosphere quite a lot. Once he had said everything, Arias felt relieved like he had gotten rid of a heavy burden on his shoulders. He was extremely careful in everything he did but sometimes he became too distrustful, and that was what made him keep this magical power of his a secret. The lingering memory of being betrayed by his own friend was still plaguing his mind, and that caused him to become wary of many things. But finally, he had chosen to put his trust in someone once more.

    “My prayer has finally been answered. Thank you, divine beings above, for having mercy on my boy.”

    Maria looked up and thanked the divine beings. Then, she lowered her body and delightedly pulled Arias who was still kneeling on the floor into an embrace. She slowly helped him to stand so she could ask him about everything. Besides the waves of questions that had begun to flood her mind, the only other thing she could feel now was joy. One could even say that it was the most intense kind of joy that she had ever felt in her entire life. At last, her son could grow and become stronger like other mages.

    “Arias…what is your elemental power? Why does it look different from the four basic elements but it looks somewhat similar to ‘lightning’?”

    Once Albert was able to gather himself, he began to realize that there was something odd. The lightning had already disappeared from Arias’ hand but Albert could still remember it, the sight of blue magical power running all across Arias’ palm. It looked like blue little serpents, feral and fast, and it was also radiating a faint heat wave. Its power was unlike any of the four basic elements that he knew of.

    “I’m a Thunder-Wielder.”

    Arias’ short reply came as a shock for both of his parents again. The Thunder Magic – these were words that they had heard before, along with tales about Thunder-Wielders. However, neither of them had seen someone who was a Thunder-Wielder before. Although Thunder was an element that could be found in nature, nobody had ever met a person who could control it. Aside from Earth, Water, Air, and Fire, the two of them had never seen a mage who could wield the power of another element before.

    Arias’ answer brought with it so many more questions, and the three of them spent a long time talking about everything. Arias told his parents that he received some guidance from a mysterious mage not long ago. This mage was the one who helped awaken the Thunder element inside of Arias and also taught him several fighting techniques, but the mage told Arias to keep this a secret. Arias thought that this was the best solution for everything. Since he had already made up a story about a potion-brewer master, it should not be too bad to create another non-existent master. Also, this was probably better than telling them that he was a soul that possessed this body. Just imagining the horrified look that Maria and Albert would give him was enough to make Arias feel a pang in his chest.

    “Can you tell me the name of your master? Perhaps he is someone I know.”

    Albert inquired. He had become more composed than a moment before. But his heart was still beating heavily inside his chest due to excitement and delight.

    “Tanos. That was the name he told me.”

    With much time to think, Arias unintentionally used the name of his old self to create the identity of his master. But it was not exactly a lie to say that Tanos was his master. In a way, his old self could be considered a master of his current self as well. Every skill and knowledge that he had now came from the memory of when he was still called Tanos.

    “Doesn’t sound familiar at all.”

    Albert rested his chin on his hand with a thoughtful and wondering look on his face. After that, he continued to question Arias about many things out of curiosity.

    “Enough, dear. This is your son, not some kind of prisoner. Stop asking him so many questions!”

    As Arias’ head was just beginning to hurt from answering all the questions, Maria interrupted loudly as if she could read his expression, and that made Albert stop all his questioning immediately. The sight that Arias saw made him wonder if this was really the same man as the one who was releasing murderous intent like he wanted to kill Merson this morning.

    “Father, Mother, there’s another thing I’d like to ask of you. I would like to keep this a secret until the day of the Tournament.”

    The three of them had talked until the sun nearly disappeared behind the horizon. Before his parents could leave, Arias had asked them to help keep this a secret until the time was right.

    “You’re joining the Tournament? Do you know how dangerous that Tournament is? If something went wrong it would lead to more bad than good results. It won’t be too late to think about this after you’ve become a bit stronger. The Hargen holds this Tournament every year.”

    The first request from Arias, they could easily comply. However, once Maria heard that Arias was going to join the Tournament which will be held in three months, she quickly warned him out of concern. She strongly refused to let her son do something that risky. She may be glad that he had become a mage like other people, but she knew that Arias’ power was still too weak compared to young people of the same age. Normal mages started their training as they reached the age of twelve. Arias who started at the age of sixteen was late compared to other mages. However, Maria forgot about one thing: although Arias’ journey as a mage had started less than a month ago, he had already become an eighth-level neophyte.

    “I will not stop you from joining. However, I do have one condition.”

    Albert lifted the corner of his mouth into a cunning smile.

    “Dear, our son is still a neophyte. There are some young mages who are almost on the adept level. How would our son be able to fight them? I certainly won’t allow this!”

    Maria quickly objected in a stern voice. She threw Albert a disapproving look.

    “Let me finish first, Maria. Arias, if you are able to become a second-level acolyte within three months, I will allow you to enter the Tournament.”

    Upon hearing what Albert said, Maria who had been giving him a disapproving look quickly changed her expression. A small smile appeared at the corner of her lips as she thought about how cunning her husband was today. It was almost impossible for Arias to become a second-level acolyte within three months.

    For an eighth-level neophyte to become a second-level acolyte, the most difficult part was not to move from the eighth to the ninth level but to push themselves past the neophyte level. To push themselves through this phase, even a gifted mage would need months. As for normal mages, it could take years. This ‘bottleneck’ phase that existed between each rank of mages was the most difficult point to go through and it required a great deal of time. Not to mention that Arias had to ascend from the first to the second level of an acolyte as well. She knew that Albert’s condition was intended to make Arias give up on joining the Tournament.

    “What do you say, Arias?”

    Albert smirked as he asked Arias who seemed to have gone a bit quiet. He was hoping that the obstacles he was giving Arias would become a motivation that enabled his son to push through it within three months, not to discourage him as Maria thought. He knew that the mysterious mage Arias told them about would be around somewhere to help his son. Although Arias did not say anything about it, there was one thing Albert suspected: the reason that Arias who was powerless could become an eighth-level neophyte in less than a month must have something to do with this mage named Tanos.

    “Alright, Father. I accept your condition.”

    Arias raised the corner of his mouth in a small smile. He met Albert’s gaze for a moment as if to challenge that condition. When his lips curled up like this, his smile looked almost exactly like Albert’s. In three months, he would surprise the two of them again. In the Tournament three months from now, he would make them proud; it was something that his old self was barely able to do. He did not know when it happened, but their happiness had become the source of his happiness as well.