All Elements! All Elements!

Niu Niu didn't leave out of spite, but rather out of curiosity to investigate Ryan's physical condition. In Harry City, there was a small Magic Guild, staffed only by a level 3 Earth Mage, Toya Stephen, and three magical apprentices. Despite the modest staff, the guild's building was far grander than the city lord's mansion. In fact, the Magic Guild, Mercenary Guild, and Warrior Guild all shared the same building. While the architecture was vast and impressive, the number of people was few. Toya Stephen, as the head of the Magic Guild, mainly handled talent identification. When an individual with exceptional potential was found, he would immediately report it to the higher-level Magic Guild in Luya City, the capital of Luya Province. Most of the time, however, Toya Stephen focused on his own cultivation.

Recently, though, Toya Stephen had been in a state of distress. His magic book, which was incredibly expensive and had been a gift from the Magic Guild of Luya City when he first arrived in Harry City, had gone missing. The book, which was a low-level skill book, was invaluable, worth thousands of gold coins. Magic books at his level were rare, and Toya Stephen knew that only mages of a certain rank could possess such books. According to the rules of the Magic Guild, only mages at a certain level were allowed to own books of such power. The magic arrays within the guild had been drawn by Payne, a Level 5 Mage from Luya City, making it impossible for anyone below Level 5 to enter without the magic key. Toya Stephen was the only person in Harry City with the key.

At one point, he wondered if a Level 5 Mage had arrived in Harry City. The thought made him scoff, as Level 5 mages were already considered high-ranking mages, respected wherever they went.

The hierarchy of mages was as follows: Levels 1-4 were low-level mages, 5-7 were high-level mages, Level 8 was a Silver Mage, Level 9 a Gold Mage, Level 10 a Legendary Mage, and Level 11 and above entered the Holy Realm.

Toya Stephen looked around at the people working in the guild but realized there were no mages above level 4. This only deepened his anxiety and unease.

"Toya, shouldn't the apprentices have their break soon? The New Year is approaching," one of the apprentices asked respectfully. Toya Stephen was also responsible for teaching the apprentices with magical potential. If any apprentice were to advance to full mage status, he would report it to the Magic Guild of Luya City. However, the reality was that it was rare for even 100 apprentices to produce a single full-fledged mage. This made Toya Stephen eager to see results from his teaching.

"Yes, gather them up. I have something to say," Toya Stephen said with authority.

"Understood, sir," the apprentice bowed respectfully.

"You are all the pride of Luya City! You are rare geniuses! But remember, no matter how talented you are, the key is to work hard," Toya Stephen said to his eight apprentices. The oldest apprentice was 13, while the youngest was around 7 or 8. It was difficult for children as young as 5 or 6 to concentrate during meditation unless they came from noble families with special guidance. Toya Stephen himself had become a full mage at 18, reached Level 2 at 33, and reached Level 3 at 45. His peers had even reached Level 8, Silver Mage. This taught him that talent was important, but effort was something he emphasized to motivate the children. Unlike warriors, mages could continue to improve as long as they had the ability to speak—even if they couldn't walk. Warriors, on the other hand, had their peak before age 60, after which they couldn't level up. But mages could continue leveling up at any age.

The children, excited, received their magic cores and left. However, Toya Stephen felt a lingering unease. He went to the storage room, inserted the magic key, and opened the door.

"My heavens! What… what happened here? My magic books, my magic cores!" Toya Stephen cried out, horrified. Meanwhile, Niu Niu, who was on her way home, heard a distant wail.

"Qing, let's go," Niu Niu said, spotting a massive blue wolf that was twice as large as before. She threw her bag onto the wolf's back and climbed into its large, furry ear. The wolf quickly darted off, leaving behind only a flash of blue light and no trace in the snow.

Meanwhile, Ryan was deep in thought, considering his next step. "Yin-Yang, Five Elements—right now, I'm Fire. Fire generates Earth, and Earth is earth-colored. Let's absorb some and see," he thought. Ryan had recalled the Earth-based Five Elements theory from his previous life. In this world, there were elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. He decided to focus on absorbing just these five elements.

Ryan carefully began absorbing the Earth element. He was relieved to find that it didn't cause violent reactions with his Fire magic; rather, they harmonized. He shut down the Fire magic in his mind for now and carefully controlled the absorption of Earth magic. He began thinking of establishing a cycle where Fire creates Earth, Earth creates Metal, Metal creates Water, and Water creates Wood.

So far, it was going well. As Ryan absorbed more Earth magic, he began trying to absorb Metal. The magic he had been gathering behaved predictably, staying still in his mind and not shifting. The magic pattern he created in his mind—a pentagon—seemed to be functioning well. He hadn't expected this; he thought he would have to put a lot of effort into shaping the magic, but it just followed his mental command.

Sweat began to form on Ryan's forehead as he stayed focused. He was nearing a critical moment. If he stopped now, he feared that the magic might spiral out of control. But if he didn't press on, his mind might explode from the pressure.

"Damn it! I'm going for it. Maybe I'll get sent back to Earth and return to my shut-in life," Ryan thought. He was scared, but when he was cornered, he pushed forward with more determination.

Ryan carefully controlled his spiritual energy. The Wood element had just begun to connect with Water. Suddenly, there was a tremor in his mind, and the other elements started to shift. The magic he had been so carefully controlling began to move into a delicate balance. The Fire magic could now be converted into the other elements through this five-element system. If Ryan used Earth magic, the other elements were evenly distributed, which was a good sign.

Feeling that the magic in his mind had achieved a stable balance, Ryan gradually relaxed and prepared to rest.