Opportunity (4)

"Are you really just fourteen?" Verdehile asked as her small and pretty face became flustered. She waved her hand, and suddenly, something similar to a miniscule totem appeared. It was only about the size of one of her delicate fingers, yet it was emitting a tranquil aura that was similar to world essence.

Seeing this, Clei couldn't help but ask, "That is?"

Verdehile presented it to Clei and said, "This is a Bone Totem. It can measure anyone's bone age if they pour in their mental force inside it. It's not like we don't believe you, but we'd rather be sure about it."

Clei looked intently at the Bone Totem, and only after making sure that there seemed to be nothing dangerous about it did he reach his hand and injected a bit of his mental force inside it.

As Clei's mental force entered the Bone Totem, it emitted a bright light, and after a few moments, Verdehile could see 14 brightly lit lines and one glowing line on its surface. This signified that Clei's age was truly as he said, a month away before reaching fifteen years old.

After confirming Clei's age, Verdehile and Tasha stared at each other in shock. A fourteen years old Advanced Mage! Just what kind of concept was this?

In the history of the Human Realm, only one person had reached this level younger than Clei. That person had become an Advanced Mage at the age of thirteen, and from that point onward, he had risen to become the most powerful man in the entire Human Realm. In a few more months, that same person would be inaugurated as the new king of the 1st ranked Major City in the Human Realm, Lydia. And that person was the Human Realm's Protector during the Plague of Demons, the Holy Paladin Reimus.

Just by this fact alone, both Verdehile and Tasha had immediately thought of the possibility that in the future, perhaps this fourteen years old boy before them, Clei, could eventually rise to the point where he could be in the same level as that peerless monster.

If at that time, Clei would stand with Serdin, then Serdin would most definitely be in equal footing to Lydia. In other words, only the gods could tell the limits of Clei's potential!

At this moment, Verdehile seemed to have thought of something as she asked, "Clei, right? When did you become an Advanced Magus?"

Clei thought for a few moments and answered, "About three years ago, I think"

Verdehile's eyes, which were already widened to its fullest, twitched as she stutteringly asked, "Y-You mean to say that you have become an Advanced Mage when you were t-twelve years old!?"

Clei simply nodded. He really couldn't mistake the time when he was first able to cast [Fire Storm]. After all, he had almost caused a section of his home to burn to ashes after losing control. Fortunately, there were domains in place that quickly eradicated the fire.

Verdehile, as well as the other two females, who had been silent since a few minutes ago, all sucked in a deep breath. It was not like they didn't believe Clei; it was just that they couldn't believe him!

Going by the history of the entire Human Realm, then Clei could easily be considered as the number 1 genius!

At this moment, Verdehile was finally unable to hold back. She turned her body to face Clei, and because they were too close together, their faces were now only a few inches away from each other.

Clei was shocked as he pulled his entire body back, almost nearing the edge of the branch where they were on. Suddenly, Verdehile placed both of her hands on Clei's shoulder, directed her eyes at Clei's eyes, and spoke in a flurried tone, "Y-You said you weren't a part of any faction, right? T-then how did you become so strong at such a young age? Do you have a master? Who taught you magic?"

A stream of questions burst out from Verdehile's mouth as her face turned redder and redder. Clei felt uncomfortable by this development, and he could only stare in shock at the mage in front of him.

Fortunately, Tasha, who had been silent for a while, opted to interrupt Verdehile's outburst, saying, "Think about your image as an instructor, Verdehile."

Verdehile, who had seemingly woken up from a trance, suddenly became even more flustered as she removed her hands from Clei's shoulder. At this moment, her eyes seemed to become moist as she said, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I-I was just shocked."

Tasha, at the side, sighed and said, "Verdehile's just like that, please don't mind her too much. Although she's like 'that', she's still a great instructor, sometimes, she just can't control herself. If you don't wish to answer her questions, then we will not be forcing you."

Clei, after hearing Tasha, seemed to have recovered his wits. He was totally shocked by Verdehile's outburst; he didn't know that human beings could actually speak so many words in one breath.

"It's alright. I'm just not used to this… sort of thing. I was an orphan till my father had adopted me ten years ago. My father was the one who taught me magic and the reason why I have reached this point." Clei spoke up to this point before a hint of sadness appeared in his eyes.

Although this hint of sadness wasn't visible to the females before him, the change of his voice from the usual to gloomy had still caught their ears. They immediately knew that it wasn't a topic they should talk about.

Tasha wanted to stop right here, however, Verdehile had managed to speak first, asking, "May we know the esteemed name of your father?"

Clei, with the same gloomy tone, spoke, "Laurel."

All the females thought about it, but it seemed that they haven't heard anyone who had such a name. Tasha then gave a sharp look at Verdehile, causing Verdehile to feel a shiver run down her spine.

Verdehile smiled wryly and kept her mouth shut. Tasha then spoke with a gentle smile on her face, "Since our mission was fruitless and one of us has been heavily injured, we will be returning to Serdin. You were planning on going to a Major City, right? You can come with us if you like. We could also help you in procuring the requirements if you want to permanently live there."

Hearing Tasha, Clei was somewhat bewildered. Wasn't this development a little too fast?

However, a few moments of deep thought made Clei decide, "Thank you for the offer, but I still have a lot more things to do."

Clei wasn't prepared to leave his home right now, so it was quite easy for him to reject their offer. Ever since he was adopted by his father, he had never been a part of any civilization. He would need a lot of preparation once he had totally made up his mind.

"Oh, is that so?" Tasha asked before she took something from inside her silver armor. She stood up, walked over to Clei, and presented him an emblem. On the surface of the emblem, a staff and a sword were crossed, and on the background, there was a sun with 7 sharp rays.

"This is the insignia of Serdin's Grand Academy. Once you go to Serdin, you should just present it in the gates, and the guards will escort you to the academy."

Clei received the insignia and kept it in his clothes. He then said, "Thank you. I'll keep your words in mind."

Tasha nodded and spoke no more. At this moment, Clei felt that the conversation had stalled, and as such, he was now thinking of going their own separate ways.

However, he had suddenly remembered that a while ago, even though he was the first to help them, they had still saved his life. Because of that, he thought of how to repay them.

He raised his head and looked at the skies, estimating their current position. Afterward, he said, "West from here, about half a kilometer away, there is a congregation of Land Boars. In that place, you can find a small pond where Spirit Lilies are growing. As long as you don't disturb the Land Boars, it is very easy to acquire some of those Spirit Lilies, but you shouldn't take too much unless you wish to be the target of the pond's guardian."

Spirit Lilies! Hearing this, all the female's ears perked up. Although it was not essential to improving their strength, its main use was still something beneficial to their physical appearance. The Spirit Lilies could be crushed and turned into an ointment, and it could make the skin healthier and rosier once applied.

From what Clei heard from his father, females liked things that could make them beautiful. As such, of all the things he could suggest to them, it was the Spirit Lilies which was on top of the list.

After saying so, Clei hesitated for a while before saying, "I should return now. When the time comes, I'll try to find you guys in Serdin."

Clei was about to leap away from the branch of the tree when suddenly, Verdehile said, "Hey, can you at least show us your face? How are we going to recognize you?"

Hearing this, Clei suddenly remembered that he still had his mask on. As such, he turned around and removed his mask, revealing a seemingly immature face with traces of handsomeness in it.

After doing so, Clei leaped off and disappeared into the distance, leaving all the three females in a daze.

...