The Old Man With The Golden Tooth

"I should probably start by explaining some basic things first." Ruen looked at Enzo as though he had a better understanding of the things he knew and didn't know.

Enzo sat up a bit straighter in anticipation.

"There are three initiation stages before one is considered to be walking the path of Elementalism. One is called Core Consciousness, where one must find and sense their Core. Two is called the Core Guiding stage, where one guides their energy through and seldom outside the body. Core energy in this stage is mostly impure and for show. Energy guided here is only meant to strengthen the physical body. The third stage and considered the toughest Initiation stage is the Core Refinement stage. This is the biggest turning point throughout the Initiation stages, where one must purify their core and unearth its true color. The Color of their core after purification varies depending on the attribute they were born with. A red Core means that in the future, they could be a talented fire Elementalist while a blue Core could mean that one could be a talented water Elementalist. So in short, your goal right now should be to refine your Core to see what type of Element you'd want to familiarize yourself with."

Hearing the man's words, many of his questions had been answered, however he still didn't know exactly what Elementalism was.

"Thank you for helping me figure out what I should aim for next, but you still haven't told me exactly what an Elementalist is. Can you tell me what exactly an Elementalist is?"

It was at this point in time, Ruen realized he got asked nearly the exact same question three times. For some reason, it struck him like lightning. He entered a deep state of thought, a state he hadn't been in for many years.

'Was I unconsciously avoiding his question?' What is an Elementalist? What is Elementalism? These are basic questions, but does he himself actually know the answers to them? To him, an Elementalist is someone who simply trains to be stronger. Different people are born with different Cores so they compliment them with techniques. What is Elementalism? What is it?

The room suddenly got quiet. A dead silence filling its entirety.Enzo was starting to get nervous. Suddenly, he realized he already wasted his three questions.

'NO! I did it again! Why do I always overlook things!' He grabbed his head and looked down in grief.

Seeing the quick movements from Enzo, Ruen instinctively snapped himself out of the deep contemplation. Seeing that the movements were harmless, Ruen looked back at Enzo and said,

"I'll give you a short answer, along with a gift for being unable to answer your questions earlier. As far back as I can remember, everyone I knew and grew along side with trained in Elementalism for one sole reason, to get stronger. Perhaps that applies to you too, but just know, the answer to your question is one that only you can find the answers to. I am still looking for my own. Maybe it will change in the future. Perhaps the answer is already set in stone, and strengthening yourself is only a temporary solution, I can only say I do not know. My answer to you is to keep training, and possibly one day you'll come across your ideal answer."

Saying those words, Ruen touched the ring on his left hand, and a similar looking ring was brought out. The ring was silver and engraved on its face were four squares.

Enzo's mouth was agape, his eyeballs were threatening to pop out from how wide they were stretched. What did he just see? The man before him simply touched a ring and with a slight flash of blue light something else appeared.

"Here, take this as an apology." Ruen passed Enzo the ring.

"T-this...is for me?" Enzo was seriously stunned.

"Yes. These rings are forged under the strict rules of spatial law. They can keep items in a separate space linked through the ring. No one can take the items you put into the ring unless they wipe your Elemental energy clean from the ring and replace it with their own."

"Incredible!" To think that even something like this could exist! He immediately put it on his right ring finger. He felt extremely awesome right now, a lot more confident with his appearance.

"Keep in mind though, the requirement for the ring is purified Elemental energy, so you'd have to at least have refined your core first before you can use it."

Enzo's spirits abruptly dampened as he realized the requirement for the ring. However it resurged when he remembered he already found his Core and learned of some movements to guide its energy. That meant that he was potentially already halfway there.

The ring served as a massive motivation for Enzo to train.

Seemingly satisfied with how quickly Enzo brought up his mood, Ruen decided to say his farewells to this kid.

"Alright, I think you've gotten a better picture of Elementalism, It's time for us to say our goodbyes.

"You're leaving already?" Enzo was slightly surprised and sad as well.

"I have places to go, plus dangerous people are chasing after me. If I stay here too long, who knows who would get caught up in the storm." Ruen walked towards the door, ready to leave.

"Wait," Enzo called out.

Stopping with his hand on the door handle, Ruen looked back to give the kid one last remark.

"What's your name?"

"Ruen Zawfaish. We'll meet again, Enzo, on the Eternal Path." Opening the door, he left.

____________________________________________________________________________

DING.....DING...…

A massive bell was meticulously being rung. High above within a tower, a disciple bearing two white stars was striking the colossal bell. Only when the Headmaster was about to return, was this exact bell used. As the disciple religiously struck the bell, he looked down from his position and ordered to someone stationed below.

"Alert the School, tell them everyone has returned from Winterville. Have them all come to the back gates for the welcoming ceremony." One disciple spoke to another who stood beside a long table bearing exquisite marks. These were formation engravings!

The sound of the bell continuously rang as a one star disciple spoke into the table. This was the headmaster's sound formation he learned about during the Genesis expert's teaching session. This formation could allocate one's voice throughout the School so that all disciples could hear it.

"All disciples are to report to the back gate for the quinquennial welcoming ceremony. Those who choose to not show up will be stripped of their token and banished immediately."

Within room 55, Enzo sat rooted in the center of his room. He was currently remembering the old man's seminar on Core Guiding when a loud voice penetrated his ears. Hearing the voice, which reverberated throughout his room and the school, he stood up in slight confusion.

"Huh? Back gate?" He walked over to his desk and grabbed Kaiden's map to give it a closer look.

"Phew, good thing Kaiden took the time to draw this map for me, I might've been banished!" His resolve to pay back Kaiden grew even more as he realized the importance of knowing your surroundings.

Without any delay, Enzo walked to his door to find his way to the back gate for the ceremony when he abruptly stopped.

"Hahaha….." Looking back he saw that his blue gold token was still lying on his desk.

"Seems I'll need to keep this token on me at all times. Once I finish refining my Core, I'll be able to keep everything in this ring." Looking at the silver ring on his finger, he couldn't wait to start using it.

Grabbing ahold of the token, he put it snuggly into his pocket and left the room.

Upon leaving the room, he saw two other people step out of their rooms beside his. Enzo looked up and read the numbers on the door. Room 51 and 54.

The man who came out of room 51 was old and skinny. His short dark brown hair added to his raggedy appearance. He was sweating profusely for some reason, as though he finished some sort of difficult training regime. His appearance contrasted greatly with the woman who emerged from room 54. She had blonde hair, lighter than Enzo's, tied up with two braids hanging lowly by her ears. She had a small green jewel affixed to her forehead, adding an aura of mystery to her. Looking to her right, she noticed the old man and a deep look of disgust appeared on her face. She quickly look away when she noticed Enzo.

"You're a new face around here, I don't recall you being the caretaker for Village 3?" Seeing such a young boy come out of the main room and not the guest room puzzled her.

"I just moved in a few hours ago." Enzo was surprised at how soothing her voice was.

"I'm Lilaya, the caretaker for Village 1. What is your name?" She walked over and extended her hand.

Seeing that, Enzo smiled and walked over as well.

"I'm Enzo, I guess I'm the caretaker for Village 3…?" Enzo shook her hand while asking a strategic question.

She laughed lightly, not at all bothered by his question, "Whenever someone new gets a token, they usually go to Reception Pavilion to have things sorted out, such as School clothing, bands and any questions regarding Star Rankings."

"Ah, I didn't know that!" Enzo had only been at the School of Initiation for less than half a day, there was still quite a bit for him to learn regarding all the facilities and locations.

"We better leave to welcome the headmaster, elders and disciples in their return, lest we be late." With that said, Lilaya began walking in the direction of the back gate. Enzo was just about to follow after her when he noticed the person from room 51 walking over.

"Your name is Enzo?"

A dry, grainy voice entered Enzo's ears. He looked to his right and saw a scrawny old man. As the man saw that Enzo noticed him, he stopped moving. He hunched his back slightly, as though it helped him speak.

"Y'know," His shriveled arm; trembling, rose until he was pointing directly at Enzo. The skin of his arm looked as if it was struggling to stay joined together with his bone. He saw the old man's worn down appearance and was taken aback. "I was real fond of that Chung boy." His dry voice seemingly floated by Enzo's ears, making him shudder. He shuffled further over, sweat still raining down from his prior exertion.

His eyesight must have gone bad, as Enzo found he was soon within a few feet of his face. Enzo was clearly able to see all the veins and age spots. The various stretchmarks and scars from unknown engagements. He looked down at the old man's finger, which trembled millimeters from his chest.

"I hope you didn't get someone to bring him harm," The old man spoke, but his gaze was blank and unfocused. Enzo glanced at him once more, noticing the lenses of his eyes were glazed over, as though plagued by cataracts. "You didn't, right?" The old man look up, his face reflecting Enzo's. A golden glint flashed, catching Enzo's attention. It was his smile. A bright golden tooth which stood proudly in the middlemost position of his grin.

"Sir you don't have to worry," Enzo slowly took a few steps back, finding comfort at Lilaya's fading figure in the distance. "Nothing bad happened to Chung, he gave me his token willingly, so no one was hurt."

Feeling a bit anxious, he quickly spoke again, trying to escape the weird situation. "We should hurry up, I don't want to risk getting kicked out of the School."

He quickly turned and left, sprinting to catch up to Lilaya.

"Hmm." The old man stood rooted in place, glaring at Enzo's fleeting figure. Then turned around back towards his room.