Morning mist rolled over the eastern hills, clinging to the outer walls of the Jitters estate like a veil. In the soft hush of dawn, the world felt paused—just for a moment. Yet beneath the serenity, something stirred.
Floyd sat cross-legged in the meditation chamber hidden behind his father's study, the air around him thick with ancient magical essence. The chamber was sealed to outsiders, only accessible through a hidden glyph Floyd had uncovered by accident—or rather, with a nudge from the System.
[Magical Resonance Site Discovered: Arcane Vault]
[System Protocol: Initiate 'Mana Core Synchronization' - Level 1]
His breaths were slow and measured. With each exhale, fine threads of ambient mana spiraled around his body, pulled in like water down a whirlpool. The mana seeped through his pores, spreading into every muscle, bone, and vein—until it reached his core.
The sensation was electric. Not painful, but intense. Like lightning crawling beneath the skin. His body was undergoing its first natural mana condensing—a process that usually began in teens. But Floyd, barely ten, was already pushing the boundaries.
He saw flashes behind his eyes—glyphs, sigils, diagrams of power formations. The System guided him step by step.
Condensing… Condensing… Stable Core Formed.
Then silence.
Then—
[Congratulations: You have achieved Tier 2 Mana Core (Sovereign Class). Estimated compatibility: 99.8% with World Essence.]
He opened his eyes, now glowing faintly violet for just a moment before the color faded.
A grin played on his lips. "Now we're getting somewhere."
—
Elsewhere in the estate, BohLin stood in the training yard with Gabby Fox, their expressions grave.
"He's advancing too quickly," BohLin muttered, folding his arms. "The boy's not normal."
Gabby, clad in her usual sleeveless leather mage robe, shrugged, her violet eyes thoughtful. "He was never meant to be. That boy holds more mana than the entire eastern wing of the Grand Archives."
"I know, but—he's ten, Gabby."
"Mentally, he's older. He acts like a scholar hiding in a child's skin." She turned, voice softening. "You do realize… he may surpass both of us by the time he's twelve."
BohLin grunted. "I just want him to have a childhood."
Gabby's smile was wistful. "He won't. Not with that much power."
—
Floyd emerged from the chamber near midday and made his way to the open balcony of the library wing. There, Sophia was waiting.
She was leaning over a sketchpad, drawing the garden courtyard below. The light breeze played with her chestnut curls, the hem of her blue dress fluttering against her calves.
Floyd smiled. "Skipping sword training?"
Sophia looked up, cheeks flushed. "BohLin went too hard on me yesterday. I'm still sore."
Floyd dropped beside her and peeked at the sketch. "You're getting better."
"You say that every time."
"I mean it every time."
She snorted, bumping her shoulder into his. "You're sweet when you're not pretending to be wise."
"I am wise," he replied dramatically. "I'm an old man trapped in a boy's body."
Sophia blinked at him.
Floyd froze. "…Figure of speech."
She giggled and handed him a slice of warm bread. "You're also a terrible liar."
—
Later that evening, Floyd ventured to the forest border alone, drawn by a strange pull in his magical senses. The trees here were old—far older than the human settlements. Whispers clung to the wind, and roots curled like veins through the soil.
As he walked deeper, the magic thickened.
[Alert: High-Resonance Zone Detected. Unknown Elemental Core Detected Ahead.]
He slowed his steps.
A shallow clearing opened up before him, and at its center hovered a glowing orb the size of a child's fist. It pulsed with warm orange and red light, suspended in the air by a magical tether anchored to a tree trunk.
Floyd approached carefully. "What… is this?"
[Identified: Fire Spirit Core - Dormant. Sentience Possible.]
He reached out, and the core flared with light.
Suddenly, from the shadows of the trees, a beast lunged—a Flameclaw Direwolf, its fur blazing, eyes red with fury.
But Floyd didn't flinch.
He raised his hand.
"Submit," he whispered.
Power radiated from him like a crashing wave.
The wolf stopped mid-lunge, trembling. Its flames died down. Slowly, it sank to the ground, head bowed.
[Beast Influence: Success.]
Floyd walked past it and touched the floating orb.
The fire spiraled into his palm. His hand glowed. The core melted into his skin, and a symbol appeared on the back of his hand—a flickering ember locked in a rune.
His breath caught. "I can bond with elemental cores now…"
The System responded, almost pleased.
[Unlocked Passive Ability: Flame Communion. Elemental Spirits will now acknowledge your presence.]
—
That night, Floyd returned to the estate under starlight. He fed the Direwolf a haunch of meat in the underground menagerie—already planning to name him "Blazefang"—and headed to bed.
He stretched out under soft silken sheets, exhaling with satisfaction.
He had started forming his elemental foundation.
He had subdued a direwolf.
He had drawn one step closer to becoming untouchable.
As sleep crept over him, he wondered:
What other ancient powers were hidden in this world, waiting to be claimed?
And more importantly—how long until he created the sect that would shake the world?
His fingers curled under the pillow.
Soon, he thought.
Very soon.
—