As Sulfias and her group walked towards the inn, Aric, who could barely walk, asked them to stop for a moment. Everything appeared blurry, and he could hardly understand what the others were saying.

  —That crazy old man —spat Sulfias— look at what they’ve done to my boy.

  —It’s true that Thandor went too far this time, leader —Valerian replied, sighing—, but that just proves the tremendous potential of the boy.

  —I hope his team doesn’t turn against us for bringing him like this —she said, worried, as she rubbed Aric’s back.

  —You’re right, his group joined us, and two of them ended up in the hospital, and that mage Lucien... —Valerian began.

  —Ah, damn it, you’re driving me crazy —Sulfias said angrily—. Are you comparing me to that old man?

  —Leader, you are the leader, but to accomplish your goals, sometimes you can... how should I say it... be too brutal —Valerian timidly criticized her.

  —You’re comparing me to the old man! —she scolded, rubbing Aric's back harder, who was still unconscious—. Hmmm, anyway, what I’m doing for Lucien is something she will thank me for later.

  —Then Aric will also thank the Great Elder in the future —Valerian concluded—. Let’s leave it at that, Sulfias, when the old man gets an idea in his head, there’s no getting it out; and it only gets worse with age.

  —Leader —Aric murmured—, I’m starting to feel a bit better, let’s go back to the inn.

  And so they resumed their journey. It wasn’t long before they spotted Lysandra standing by the door.

  —Where are the mages? —Sulfias asked—. It’s time to go to my contact.

  —Leader, I’ve already made a decision! —Lysandra said determinedly; this time her face reflected her resolve—. I don’t want to take the pureblood path! What I really want is to sign a contract with a dragon.

  —Well, you’ve said it —Sulfias replied, stroking her hair. Lys couldn’t help but blush—. Now go and give the instructions to the others so they can prepare.

  While Lysandra followed Sulfias’s order, the latter headed to Serpensqi’s chambers, where he was reading some old books on bloodstones. They talked for a while without going too deep. Sulfias explained that they would stay inside the labyrinth for a week and needed to prepare for the specialization early, to which Serpens agreed naturally and casually.

  After agreeing and exchanging information, Serpens promised to wait for them at the designated location for specialization. Sulfias left the inn and met up with the others. Valerian had already explained what happened with Aric, and they were all informed. Once everyone was ready, they headed toward the outskirts of the capital.

  Sulfias positioned herself under a bridge and recited a spatial magic spell. A door materialized on a beam of the bridge and, after a few seconds, opened, revealing a completely different location.

  —Whoaa —Kaenia said, amazed—. This is tenth-grade spatial magic, “Door of Desire.”

  —For an illusion mage, it’s surprising that you know these types of spells —Sulfias complimented her—. Alright, everyone inside.

  One by one, they entered through the door. Finally, Sulfias closed it from the inside, and it disappeared without a trace.

  —Welcome to the self-proclaimed “magical world” —Sulfias introduced—. Don’t stray from me at any moment. If you see a powerful fox, don’t approach it or talk to it. It’s an extremely powerful creature, and it’s not someone I want to make enemies with.

  —Does your contact live here? —Valerian asked—. Why had you never shown me this place?

  —Don’t be annoying, Valerian —Sulfias told him, shushing him—. This is just one of my many tricks up my sleeve.

  —Leader, you’re incredible —Lucien said, admiring her—. This place has a very high concentration of pure aether.

  —I’m glad you noticed —Sulfias replied—. You’re becoming more and more likely to be my apprentice, young lady.

  Lucien turned pale with fear and stepped back. Valerian, seeing her change expression, gave her a few pats on the back in support.

  After walking for a few minutes, they reached a large tree with an ancient, wrinkled face, which appeared to be dozing.

  —Oh Primordial Forest Being —exclaimed Sulfias—, I have come in search of your guidance. Awaken from your sleep and share with us your wisdom.

  —Ho ho —the ancient tree laughed gently—, but if it isn’t little Sulfias. This time you’ve brought some young promises.

  —Indeed, great master —said Sulfias bowing, which seemed more like adoration than respect.

  The others, having been caught by surprise, were observed by the great master.

  —This girl —he said, looking at Lucien—, I can see that the mana in her body is in chaos. If you push her a bit more, she could become attuned to all the elements.

  Lucien was surprised and blushed.

  —We are grateful for your guidance, great master —Sulfias bowed, pushing Lucien's head down.

  —This great knight has a truly big heart! —he said, looking at Valerian—. For you, I only have one piece of advice, brave warrior: “Cum tempus torqueri videris, nullam vitam servas, hoc solum res aggravabit et cor tuum nigeriabit.”

  —Thank you very much for your wisdom —Valerian thanked, bowing, impressed by the harshness of the advice.

  —This girl —he said, looking at Kaenia—, has a great affinity with illusions. She will need to compensate for her illusions by developing spatial affinity.

  —Thank you for your guidance, great master —Kaenia said, happy to discover her latent potential.

  —You, young lady —he said, looking at Dandra, who was very nervous—, your heart is noble, and that makes you attuned to support magic, but the twists of fate will test the nobility of your heart. You must master defensive magic. Only by protecting yourself will you be able to protect others.

  —Great master, thank you for your guidance —Dandra said, a little frustrated.

  —You need to raise your voice, girl —said the great elder—. You will cry blood and vomit magic, but you must learn how to use and turn that defense towards attack.

  Sulfias approached Dandra and pushed her head down.

  —Thank the great master from the heart, girl! —she silently warned her—. The great master has given you an invaluable piece of advice.

  —...Thank you, great master! —she thanked strongly, now satisfied with the great tree's guidance.

  —Young one —he finally said, looking at Aric—, within you there are three forces fighting for supremacy. Two of them are seeds battling for nutrients to grow. If a great sage guides you, both seeds will germinate, but once they have, there will be no turning back. The gifts they have given you are hard chains, from which you will never be able to free yourself.

  —Great Master, what kind of seeds are these? —Aric asked doubtfully.

  —You carry a seed of death and a seed of life —the great master explained—. The seed of death, when it germinates, will unleash the latent potential inside you. I assume an elderly sage planted this seed in you after seeing a small glimpse of affinity, the power to make your enemies’ strength your own.

  —It’s a magic that was banned decades ago —commented Sulfias—. Old Thandor and a few other elders know about it, and it’s not something that can be acquired by other means.

  —As my dear Sulfias says, boy —the great master affirmed—, if you were not naturally attuned to it, “the authority of the world” would impose a silence that would nullify any attempt to learn this forbidden knowledge. The seed of life is a blessing in every way; it will protect your heart from the inherent evil of the dark seed.

  —The Basiligon mentioned that he had given me two blessings. If one is the seed of life, and the great elder gave me the seed of death, what is the third blessing? —Aric asked.

  —So you’ve faced that kind of beast? —the elder commented, surprised—. That you’re still in one piece is a clear indicator of your intelligence. Surprisingly, I can’t see beyond that. If it is a blessing, it must still be in a pre-manifestation state. Once you have integrated your two blessings, you will surely understand what that cunning beast planted in you.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  —Thank you very much for your wisdom, great master —Aric said, deeply grateful.

  —Thank you very much, great master —Sulfias said—. Come on, guys, let’s leave the great master in peace.

  —You can come whenever you like, little Sulfias —he said, finishing with a gentle laugh. His eyes closed, and his face relaxed once again, indicating that his being had fallen into a deep state of sleep and meditation.

  The group retraced their steps and passed through the door again. While discussing their impressions of the great master, they arrived at the specialization hall where Serpensqi, who no longer needed specialization, was waiting for them.

  —Lucien, Kaenia, and Dandra —Sulfias said—, you will enter with me and advance to specialization. Valerian, take Aric to old Thandor.

  —Understood, leader —Valerian responded in obedience—. Come on, boy, I’ll explain everything on the way.

  During the journey to the guild, which was located between the suburb and the specialization zone, Valerian explained to Aric that Thandor wanted to take him as an apprentice and pass on his knowledge. He also warned him that Thandor was a very powerful mage and had trained both Sulfias and himself. However, in Valerian's case, Thandor had only focused on training his endurance and teaching him advanced techniques to maximize his physical strength with the least amount of energy possible. Valerian didn’t manage to finish telling him about the tortures they endured in their youth with Sulfias when they arrived at the guild.

  —Well, Aric —Valerian said—, Thandor asked Sulfias to keep you with him for two days. After that, you will need to make a decision. It goes without saying that in about five more days we will return to the labyrinth to explore the sixth floor.

  —Thank you, Valerian —Aric responded confidently—. The great elder is truly someone powerful. I cannot refuse his request to be his apprentice. I will surely become very strong under his tutelage.

  Aric said goodbye to Valerian and entered the guild. He went up to the second floor and knocked on Thandor’s office door.

  —Come in, boy —said the great elder, happy to receive him—. The fact that you're here says it all. I was expecting you. Go on, leave your axe here, and if you can take off your clothes from the waist up, even better.

  Thandor got up from his seat holding a black dagger. Aric was startled at first, but decided to trust his new master and obey without protest. Thandor showed him a stretcher in the room next to his office, and Aric lay down semi-naked on it.

  —It’s good that you're so calm —commented Thandor cheerfully while holding the dagger in his hand, which startled Aric again—. What I’m going to do now is create a contract scar on your chest. This will allow the blessing I placed on you to be released and begin awakening your dormant potential.

  Aric accepted and prepared for the operation to begin. Thandor bathed the black dagger with a viscous, purple magic that fully soaked the blade. Then, gently sliding the dagger around Aric’s neck, he recited an incantation to engrave the contract scar.

  —Cum benedictione autoritatis mundi, ego, tu magister, excito in te antiquam potestatem torquendi leges vitae et mortis. Haec vulnera te separant a viventibus, et haec cicatrix te separant ab mortuis. Hic terminat tua vita, hic terminat tua mors. Nunc nihil es, nunc nemo es.

  At the end of the incantation, the scar on Aric's neck turned purple. From the center, a line extended toward his chest forming a spiral, indicating that the ritual had been successfully completed.

  —Master, did everything go well? —Aric asked, unsure as he felt no change in his body.

  —It did, boy —Thandor said proudly as he opened a portal beside the cot and, grabbing Aric by the neck, threw him through it—. You have more than a full day to return —he added with a smile.

  —Maasteerrrr! —Aric screamed as he fell through the portal to an unknown place—. My weapooooons!

  —Oops —Thandor said—. I suppose this dagger should be enough for you —he commented as he dropped the dagger through the portal.

  Aric, who was already on the ground, narrowly dodged the dagger as it plunged a few centimeters below his groin.

  —This master of mine is really going to make things hard for me —Aric assumed frustrated—. Well, what's done is done... or neck in my case.

  He touched the purple scar and observed with difficulty the spiral tattoo that had been etched onto his chest. As he picked up the ceremonial dagger, a strange vision appeared in his field of view: a kind of bluish screen manifested in front of him.

  —Holy shit! —shouted Aric—. This thing almost scared me to death.

  Suddenly, he thought of the basiligon and remembered its words:

  —Hmm, could this be its blessing? —he said thoughtfully as he brought his hand closer to the vision in front of him— I have my doubts... The Great Master mentioned it would manifest once the other two blessings are regulated... how suspicious.

  Ding Ding Ding!

  —Waos —said Aric contemplatively—. This is not what I expected... wait ... I CAN'T FAIL! —Aric shouted—. If I lose affinity with my master, I'll be lost.

  Aric, desperate, searched for a beast or an animal to kill. As time passed and nothing appeared, he felt his life flash before his eyes when a small white rabbit appeared in front of him.

  "Time remaining: 20 sec"

  —I'm sorry, little bunny —Aric shouted, swiftly attacking the rabbit, but it dodged at the last second.

  "Time remaining: 8 sec"

  Aric twisted wildly to change direction, catching the rabbit off guard and making it hesitate on where to move. Taking advantage of the situation, Aric threw the dagger with all his strength.

  "Time remaining: 1 sec"

  —Phew, I thought I wouldn't make it —he said, relaxing.

  —What is this? Another mission right away? —said Aric, surprised.

  —This must be a joke —shouted Aric—. You're forcing me to register the rabbit.

  "Time remaining: 05 seconds"

  Aric gave up and registered the rabbit's soul in the Soul Storage Slot.

  —You don't need to give me the mission, okay? —he spoke to the window, anticipating what was coming—. I'll summon it myself.

  —AHHHHH! —complained Aric—. This window is pissing me off.

  —Soul Summoning! —shouted Aric, using his skill, and from his hand, a small orb shot out and embedded itself in the rabbit’s forehead.

  The orb absorbed all the animal’s skin, flesh, and organs, leaving only its bones. The undead creature stood up and approached Aric.

  System: Error... Reinitializing... $#$$%/.../&%!:;;...

  System: ...error... !“#$!“####“... ........Reward restricted until reaching 50 Affinity Points with the Master.......

  —Haha —said Aric, somewhat concerned—. Window, what is my current affinity with my master?

  “...”

  —That makes a lot of sense —said Aric—. Well, what about my rabbit?

  Aric thought to himself that the rabbit was just a simple wild animal. Now that it was his first summon, there was nothing more to do. He had to wait for his master's teaching system to grant him a new mission. For the rest of the day, Aric spent his time searching for stronger beasts to have at his disposal and looking for a place to rest.