The Master of Language - T.M.L Chapter 8 (Part 2):

The urgency was etched on Kalasta’s face, which had been consistently relaxed until now.

“……”

As I glared at him silently, he immediately hardened his face.

“Contracting with Undine is not allowed. I can never allow you to be tainted by water and forest.”

Both Master Abana and Kalasta are telling me not to do it, which makes me want to do it even more.

I crossed my arms.

“Why can’t I be tainted?”

He briefly licked his lips, then answered in a soft voice.

“For a mage, a familiar is like an alter ego. Depending on what familiar you have, your fate can be reversed. The foundation of your magic changes, you see. If you take a water spirit as your familiar, you can forget about fire magic in the future.”

He must be in quite a hurry.

He’s gesticulating wildly with his bony hands as he speaks.

I spoke indifferently.

“Hmm… I’m not sure. But doesn’t having a familiar make you stronger?”

Kalasta’s eyes briefly looked down, then up again.

He soon stretched his hand downward. The lizard glanced at that hand and immediately extended its long tongue to lick it, and a small spark appeared above that hand.

“Here, a gift.”

Kalasta smiled wickedly and held out his hand.

As if I’d go out there to receive that.

Unless I’ve gone mad, I certainly won’t go.

“If you leave it there, I’ll take it, senior.”

“Oh? You’re a cautious one, aren’t you? Good, good. I like it. In the magical world, you need to be cautious, and then cautious again.”

He waved his hand. The spark slowly flew over and landed exactly on the boundary between the forest and the clearing.

Although there was grass around, the fire was burning alone without burning anything.

I thought he was giving me something great, but it’s just a single spark.

As I hardened my face, Kalasta explained again.

“As an apprentice, you’re probably learning Psychokinesis right now. I guess, by my prediction, you’re doing the useless act of moving water surfaces. But that’s meaningless for human mages. It doesn’t suit us in the first place.”

“Then what?”

“Why do you think I gave you a spark? Study with that. Try moving the spark with Psychokinesis. It has no mass, so it’ll be easy. Well, sometimes try to grow it too. As you do so, you’ll realize on your own how useless it is to move water surfaces.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“But rather than practicing Psychokinesis with that, wouldn’t it be faster to just accept a familiar……”

Kalasta stood up on the lizard’s back and took a step forward, cutting off my words.

“I said no! Hey, I’m not done talking yet! That’s not an ordinary fire. It’s also an egg of my familiar that I personally extracted and molded from my power! My level is contained in it, you see. Studying with it will give you a deep understanding of fire. If you perform the ritual properly, you can even contract with a fire spirit! What are you going to do with a water spirit? The answer is fire. Fire! You’ll know right away if you just move this spark a little.”

“……”

“I’m not asking you to come under me right now. I’m not asking you to decide now. You’re a wise kid, so you’ll surely realize that it’s better to be under me when you judge for yourself. If you come to me anytime in the future, I’ll personally make you my chief disciple. Understood? But absolutely no water spirit!”

I silently glared at the spark he had thrown.

Is he really a trustworthy person?

My answer is, well.

I don’t fully trust Master Abana, but Kalasta is even less trustworthy.

Looking at him again, his expression was tinged with impatience.

I bowed my head for now.

“I understand.”

He nodded greatly and spoke in a low voice.

“When humans were nothing more than animals, we first developed intelligence by using fire. While fire was just an object of fear for all other creatures, we were able to become different by overcoming it. Later, we became even more different by using it to smelt iron. Don’t forget. The fundamental attribute of humans is fire. As long as you were born with a human soul, you can never change this.”

“……”

As I remained silent, his expression, which had been full of emotion, gradually began to turn cold.

Soon, he spoke in a low voice.

“You. Don’t tell me?”

He seems to have grasped my thoughts in that brief moment.

I snatched the words before he could speak further.

It should be okay for me to snatch them once.

“That’s right, Senior Kalasta. I never intended to contract with an Undine in the first place.”

He soon bared his teeth.

“Kaha! You were testing me? Good, good. Interesting. For a very brief moment… I don’t know how long it’s been since I was fooled. It’s been a really long time.”

“……”

He withdrew his smile and nodded.

“I’ll leave the spark behind. Try studying fire once. You probably don’t want to come to me right now. But if you change your mind, make sure to come find me. No, you will come to find me.”

Kalasta turned into flames in an instant.

Then he blazed up in the air and completely disappeared.

As the tension lifted, I immediately sat down on the spot.

Now I understand why the master was so exhausted.

Just having a conversation and enduring his gaze drains all the energy from your body.

If I had exchanged sharp words before a fight with him?

“I would’ve probably collapsed and been bedridden for three days.”

A mage, huh.

Crossing an ocean in a day.

Making others unable to move with just his majesty.

This is a different dimension of strength, far beyond my imagination.

If I go under him, I might be able to become like that.

“Think coolly. Think coolly. Both Master Abana and Kalasta are people I’ve just met. I could trust both of them, or I could trust neither of them. I need to judge objectively.”

One thing is certain: they both desire me.

Whether as a disciple or as a tool, I don’t know yet.

Then I should believe some parts and discard others.

I straightened my shoulders and sat upright on the spot.

And I looked straight at the spark Kalasta had left behind.

Let’s try moving that first.

If I do nothing now, Kalasta might give up on me completely.

I closed my eyes and focused on the energy of the spark.

Then, in the world that had turned black, a single spark rose.

It was exactly the same as that spark in reality.

I thought about moving it to the side.

Immediately, the spark moved to the side.

I tried raising the spark up.

Similarly, the spark went up.

It’s incomparably easier than moving water surfaces, for sure.

It feels like wearing clothes that fit perfectly after wearing ill-fitting clothes.

They say humans are children of fire.

“It’s like moving my own hands and feet. But I can’t bring the spark into the master’s castle. Who knows what kind of magic he might have hidden in that spark.”

So let’s keep the fire outside the castle.

I can hide it well and come out alone from time to time to practice moving it.

I need this spark to grow even a little faster.

Just then, the door of the cabin opened with a thud.

When I turned around, Master Abana was standing there.

Her complexion was pale, but her eyes were chillingly cold.

She was holding a staff in her hand.

“So? Are you thinking of leaving?”

She was listening, she heard everything.

I slowly stood up and answered.

Dangun

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