Chapter 86

◈ Chapter 86: Elemental Studies (2)

Elementals are beings born from nature.

Since the dawn of the great natural world, elementals have existed, and naturally, they have lived in this world long before humans.

Elementals derived from nature possess the power of nature itself.

Thus, they are strong, beautiful, and the purest of all.

The emotions that such elementals feel toward humans are only two.

Interest and indifference.

Therefore, when elementals make contracts with humans, they decide based on whether there is curiosity.

No matter how cruel a villain a human may be, or how much they are shunned by others, elementals do not care.

In the face of the great natural world, the human standards of good and evil are no more than specks of dust.

Nature does not fear humans.

Humans are also a part of nature. They are one of the elements of the world.

Elementals derived from nature have no reason to fear humans, who are part of nature.

But.

Right now, something was happening before his eyes.

Elementals were feeling fear toward a human.

As far as Selina knew, such a case had never occurred.

“Mr. Rudger, teacher? What, what is going on...”

“Teacher Selina, you don’t need to be so surprised.”

Seeing Selina staring at him with a gaze that treated him as something strange, Rudger thought he should calm her down a bit.

“There are all kinds of people in the world. It’s not unusual for someone to be disliked by elementals.”

“Disliked by elementals?”

“Yes. I have such a peculiar constitution.”

The excuse Rudger offered was, in fact, so poor that it barely qualified as an excuse.

But this was the best excuse he could come up with.

He couldn’t reveal the true nature of his real ‘constitution’ to her.

Fortunately,

“Is, is that so?”

Selina seemed to genuinely believe his words.

Of course, Selina wasn’t completely foolish.

There’s a limit to naivety, and even she wouldn’t have believed such an absurd explanation under normal circumstances.

However, the situation changed because the person who said it was Rudger.

Rudger was a mysterious person.

Since he was assigned to Seorun, he had shown such remarkable and impressive abilities that it was hard to believe he was a new teacher.

The most famous anecdote about him was the creation of a new magic, [Source Code], which had never existed before.

The creation of a new magic.

Even as a fellow teacher, she felt like she was back in her student days whenever she saw Rudger.

In the end, it’s this.

The persuasiveness of a message changes depending on the messenger.

To Selina, Rudger was so trustworthy that she would believe anything he said.

“And look. The ones who avoid me are mostly low-level elementals. Other elementals don’t do that.”

“But... there are only low-level elementals around us.”

“Then, Teacher Selina, you should check the elementals you command.”

Most of the elementals around them were low-level or even lower.

In contrast, Selina, despite her young age, had been invited to teach at Seorun and had already made contracts with mid-level elementals.

Not just one, but three mid-level elementals: water, wind, and earth.

“Ah.”

As Rudger said, it was true.

Though invisible to others, the mid-level elementals she commanded were present around her.

These three mid-level elementals did not fear Rudger like the other low-level elementals.

In fact, the mid-level elementals she could see were puzzled by the behavior of the low-level elementals.

“How about that?”

“Eh? It’s really true. The mid-level elementals I’ve contracted with are well-behaved.”

Selina’s eyes sparkled with amazement at this new discovery.

“I’m even more amazed! I’ve never seen low-level elementals so wary of someone.”

Selina leaned in, her face suddenly close to his.

Rudger slightly leaned back.

“There are all kinds of people in the world.”

“I’m disappointed. I wish Mr. Rudger could get along with elementals too.”

“It’s fine. Teacher Selina, are you sure it’s okay to take so much of my time? The students are waiting.”

“Eh? Oh, oh right! Look at me, I’m so scatterbrained. The students are in the middle of a test, aren’t they? Thank you, Mr. Rudger!”

“It’s nothing.”

Watching her hurriedly approach the students to facilitate their contracts with elementals, Rudger let out a sigh of relief.

It was only because it was Selina that he could get away with this. If it were someone else, they might have questioned his existence.

‘At least I’m fortunate that my mana isn’t lacking right now.’

Rudger was fully aware that elementals feared him.

However, if asked whether the low-level elementals truly feared him, he would say no.

What the low-level elementals feared was not him, but something else behind him.

‘At least, with my current high mana, mid-level elementals and above don’t seem to notice it.’

However, when he expended a lot of mana.

And when that [Noise] echoed in his head to a significant degree.

Then, even mid-level elementals would react.

If that happened, it would be difficult to explain anything to Selina.

‘Even in my best condition, low-level elementals can sense it. Ironically, the weakest beings can perceive this strange power.’

Click.

Far from the students, Rudger discreetly chewed and swallowed a mana recovery potion.

His gaze was on Selina, who was praising a student who had just successfully contracted with an elemental.

‘Is Teacher Selina only commanding mid-level elementals?’

As far as he knew, she commanded a total of three mid-level elementals.

Each one was a mid-level elemental of water, wind, and earth.

That was certainly impressive.

But if she had come to teach at Seorun, he thought she must have had at least one more skill to be confident about.

Rudger, who was thinking this, suddenly narrowed his eyes at a peculiar sensation.

‘A gaze.’

Rudger only moved his eyes to follow the source of the gaze.

‘Where is it?’

It wasn’t from the students. The gaze was coming from the dense forest.

But it was as if a thick fog had enveloped the area, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact direction.

‘Is it an elemental?’

Low-level elementals fear him and avoid coming close.

Mid-level elementals only circled around Selina.

‘The strange heat I feel along with the gaze. It’s definitely a powerful one.’

Yes, it was clearly a fire elemental.

One that, even with a slight interest, could affect the temperature of the surrounding air.

At least a high-level elemental.

High-level elementals, in terms of a mage, possess the power of at least the 5th tier. Some of the stronger ones can even reach the 6th tier.

Most importantly, the gaze directed at him was filled with caution.

‘It’s unlikely for a high-level elemental to appear at the entrance of the Dream Forest.’

Moreover, this place is a forest. The elementals that reside here are primarily plant, light, water, wind, and earth elementals.

Fire elementals are usually found in hot places, such as volcanic areas or deserts.

Yet, a high-level fire elemental in this forest, even at the outskirts.

‘The other students don’t seem to sense its presence.’

Even Selina, who is most sensitive to elementals, didn’t react.

‘It’s not a naturally existing being. Someone is controlling it artificially.’

The gaze seemed to be evaluating him, trying to determine if this human was truly threatening, as even other elementals feared him.

While it was a bit irritating for Rudger, he didn’t want to reveal anything in the current situation.

‘Is there someone else in this forest who can control elementals? Or is someone hiding among the students controlling this elemental?’

He couldn’t be sure yet.

If he tried to confirm the fire elemental, it would immediately flee.

For now, he could only let it evaluate him as it pleased.

‘Someone who can control a high-level elemental.’

A teacher of elemental studies for the upper grades?

The possibility was extremely low. Given the overt gaze, there was only one likely explanation.

First Order.

A black dawn council officer who had infiltrated Seorun.

Whether it was a man or a woman, a student or a teacher.

An existence that Rudger had yet to confirm. And unlike other members of the black dawn council, this one might be the only one who could sense his peculiarity, making it a target of caution.

‘I don’t know why they are suddenly looking at me like this. Are they sending a signal?’

If so, what would happen if he responded here?

A blatant response might have the opposite effect.

The opponent is the First Order of the black dawn council. As a high-ranking member of a secret organization, they would be cautious even when making contact with other high-ranking members.

So, what should he do?

Rudger, thinking it might work, opened his mouth.

“It’s a bit hot.”

A natural mutter to himself.

To anyone watching, it would just seem like he was quietly mumbling to himself.

But the meaning was clearly conveyed to the entity watching him.

‘A response came.’

He could feel it.

A slight ripple in the air.

Definite proof that the entity had heard his voice.

But he didn’t say anything more.

By keeping his mouth shut, he clearly indicated that his response would only go this far.

‘Well, what will you do?’

It was fine if the other side didn’t respond.

Regardless of what happened, Rudger had obtained a clear clue that the other side could control a high-level fire elemental.

But as time passed, there was no response from the other side.

Rudger became slightly anxious.

‘If the other side can control a high-level elemental, should I intentionally test them by gradually lifting the restrictions I’ve placed on myself?’

The restrictions he had were, in fact, a kind of barrier he had imposed on his own mind using his mana.

These restrictions were to block the strange ‘origin’ he possessed.

Origin.

The real reason low-level elementals feared him.

Elementals don’t fear Rudger himself; they fear the power he possesses.

‘I didn’t choose to have this, but...’

Indeed, could he even say he chose to have it?

The origin was something Rudger couldn’t control.

He couldn’t remove it, and he certainly couldn’t ignore it.

In fact, if he didn’t maintain his mana constantly, this origin would try to overwhelm him.

That’s why he consistently took mana pills to keep his mana at its maximum.

Currently, he had three restrictions in place.

Only low-level elementals reacted.

‘If this is just a simple prediction, and higher-level elementals start to notice as I lift the restrictions one by one...’

To affect a high-level elemental, he might need to lift two out of the three restrictions.

That wasn’t a pleasant thought for Rudger.

Just to test the other side, he would have to lift two restrictions.

Even lifting one restriction would force Rudger to hear that annoying noise.

When the second restriction was lifted, he would feel their touch.

And the final third restriction.

The last restriction his master had sternly warned him never to lift, even at the cost of his life.

He couldn’t even imagine what would happen if he lifted it.

‘How did it come to this?’

Suddenly, he remembered something his mother had said in his past life.

That all kinds of beings were watching him.

At the time, he didn’t believe it, but since coming here, he had been acutely aware of it every day.

It annoyed him, as it kept bringing up memories he didn’t want to recall.

At that moment,

Fwoosh.

A small flame appeared before Rudger’s eyes and then transformed into letters.

Rudger wasn’t surprised. He had already prepared himself mentally and calmly read the letters etched in the flame.

‘Indeed. It seems the other side was just as anxious. They’ve taken the initiative to approach me.’

[In three days. After school hours. Here again.]

The First Order he had been searching for had taken the first step to make contact with him.