Informing the villagers

"What's…what's happening to me!!" Alex screamed in fear as he stared at his hands thinking he was turning into some sort of beast; he somehow refused to think of magic and mages for some reason and all he could imagine were bad things.

He had ended up freezing almost half of the water supply that they were supposed to carry back. If only he had thought of the old man's stories, Alex would have been jumping around in delight instead of this grieving scene he was displaying.

Alex was later taken back to the field by other kids to meet the adults. Alex had cried all the way from the village to the field, and by the time they got there, he was already looking like someone who had cried for days.

"What's going on?"

Someone asked when they saw all the kids surrounding Alex as they approached, the adults had to leave whatever they were doing to check things out. Alex's mother instantly ran towards Alex and hugged him when she saw how miserable he was looking.

"What happened to him?" She asked the other kids while the other adults also looked at them for an explanation.

Not knowing how to explain what had happened, the kids simply presented the frozen water flasks to them.

"Every water flask he tried to touch, becomes frozen," a kid said as they dropped the water flasks in front of the Village head who was standing beside Alex and his mother.

Everyone's eyes widened when they heard this and even the village head could not hide his shock. Unlike the kids who were having misguiding thoughts, the adults knew exactly what this meant.

The village head wanted to ask the kid who had spoken just now if he was certain about what he just said but his eyes fell on the frozen water flasks that the kids had brought back with them and then at the sobbing Alex who had gradually stopped crying under his mother's care.

What more proof was there to give? The truth was as bright as daylight.

The village head crouched down beside Alex's mom and touched Alex's face.

"It's alright Alex, there's no need to cry," He said to Alex in a gentle tone.

"Am…I, hic! Going to become…a monst-er?" Alex managed to ask amidst sobbing.

The village head had the urge to laugh at Alex's question but held himself back. The villagers were not that much so it was not surprising that he knew every one of them and the kid's fantasies to become mages one day.

'Hehe, you should be dancing and rejoicing if you knew just how lucky you are, Alex' the village head laughed inwardly but his face remained gentle so he did not give the kid a wrong impression. Kids in such states were quick to misinterpret things.

"No, you won't become a monster. Why don't you try carrying another water flask if you don't believe me?" The village head suggested.

Alex stared at him with his red and cloudy eyes before turning to look at the not-yet-frozen water flasks with a hint of fear in his eyes like he was afraid of them, but he still managed to get up from his mother's embrace and approach them just to be sure nothing would happen to him.

'The village head is a mage, he will definitely not let anything bad happen' Alex thought to himself as his hand moved back and forth over a water flask. His hesitation only lasted for a few seconds before finally grabbing the water flask.

Seconds passed slowly but nothing happened, the water flask remained the same in Alex's grasp, it did not freeze as everyone had expected.

Alex and the kids stayed at the water flask in Alex's hand with confused expressions on their faces, they were starting to doubt their memories if what had happened back then had been a strange dream but they knew it was not as the proof was still there.

Alex proceeded to touch other water flasks but the result was the same, nothing happened.

Alex was both confused and glad. He was confused as to why nothing was happening but glad that the village head did not lie to him, he really was not going to become a monster.

"Alright, that's enough work for today. Everyone go back to the village, we will continue another time" The village head nodded at Alex, a grin on his face as if telling Alex "I told you, didn't I?"

Before asking the villagers to retreat.

"Vee, Agnes, and Bretrato, please come to my place later. Oh, and Alex as well" the village head suddenly said before the three could leave.

Agnes was Alex's mother and Bretrato was the old storyteller, the three of them already knew why they were being invited to the place of the village head but Alex did not know why he was also invited and could only stare at his mother for an explanation.

"Don't worry, you will know later" Agnes, Alex's mother, said to him with a bright smile on her face. She was so happy that she was beaming like a new bride.

The old storyteller, Bretrato, nodded at the village head, a delighted surprised expression on his face when he looked in the mother and pair direction.

"Happy that one of the victims of your fake stories is about to become a mage?" An aged voice whispered from behind Bretrato, causing his aged heart to almost stop beating from shock.

He recognized that the owner of the voice was the despicable old man Vee but the sudden whisper had startled him because he was not expecting it.

"Fvck you, damn old man! You are planning to kill me?" Bretrato hissed at the white-haired old Vee before matching away in heavy steps.

Vee just watched him leave with a smile on his face before turning to stare in the direction of Alex and his mother.

"About time he showed a sign, I was starting to wonder if I had seen it wrongly back then" Vee muttered to himself and chuckled softly.

" But I didn't expect his soul to actually contain two abilities although even I can't see the other one clearly, looks I'll have to do something so his soul doesn't explode upon awakening. Unlike me, he does not have a powerful soul to hold two powers before the mage king rank" Vee headed in the direction of the village while mumbling to himself.