"There's no need for the first part." The chubby black dragon stood up and proudly introduced himself. "I am the almighty black dragon, Lindwurm. I am your father's avatar."
"My father's avatar?" Auric was dumbfounded. "How could an avatar talk? In the first place, how are you separated from my father?"
He looked around to make sure his father wasn't hiding in the store and that this wasn't a prank by his father.
Lindwurm looked away before saying, "You can forget about that part. If you want to know, find it yourself."
Auric just squinted without saying anything.
It didn't look like Lindwurm would be willing to tell him everything, so he tried to get all the answers he could. "So, can I ask some questions? You told me to ask questions after we're done with that girl."
"I know, I know. Before that, I need you to answer one question of mine. Are you interested in becoming an evolution master?"
An evolution master, a highly respected profession, as they were the people who could help avatars evolve.
Avatars were random for each person, so more often than not, people from the same family couldn't help the next generation in evolving their avatars. Hence, they would ask for help from evolution masters.
"Whether I'm interested or not doesn't really matter. What matters is the fact that I don't have an element."
Lindwurm shook his head. "Do you know the basic information about evolution masters? For example, how does an avatar evolve?"
"I have some knowledge." Auric nodded as he pointed to his bracelet and pressed the only button on the bracelet.
This was a bracelet everyone received after the awakening ceremony, so even he received one.
Name: Auric Elfe
Avatar: None
Grade: None
Affinity: None
Element: (Fire 0%) (Water 0%) (Lightning 0%) (Wind 0%) (Earth 0%) (Plant 0%) (Light 0%) (Dark 0%) (Unique 0%)
"There are six general elements, two contrast elements, and one unique element. The general elements are fire, water, lightning, wind, earth, and plant. The contrast elements are light and dark, while the unique element is, as the name implies, unique elements, such as gravity, time, space, sound, and so on."
"Correct. Then, how about evolution?"
"If you have an affinity, you will see your element reach 100% on the bar. However, most of the time, you absorb too much elemental energy. That's why you need an evolution master to help with it."
Auric paused for a moment. "Every element has its weaknesses. Fire is weak to water. If you want a successful evolution, you can ask someone to use the water element to suppress it during the evolution."
Lindwurm considered the answer passable. "If that's the only reason, you can just ask someone else who happens to have the required element, no?"
"No. One's element is not so simple. They have their respective intensities. An evolution master is able to sense it. They combine beasts, herbs, or other sources of energy to match the intensity of that person's element."
"That's right." Lindwurm nodded. "A careless evolution can lead to a disaster. All you need to do is to keep the element 100% all the time until the evolution is completed. There are some books about the basics of evolution over there on the shelf, so you may browse them if you want."
"I understand. How about the battle technique?" Auric was curious why the battle technique was a problem.
"It actually still follows the same principle. We want that element to be 100% during the evolution. However, the way to do it is not limited to what you currently know about."
"What do you mean?"
Lindwurm scribbled something. "If we take the case of the elf earlier, her element will look like this."
Name: Arina Teneresa
Affinity: Plant
Element: Plant 112% (+12%)
"Another value?" Auric raised his head. "So, due to her battle technique, that plant energy has accumulated in her body. By resolving that extra 12%, she will be able to evolve."
"Correct."
"Interesting." Auric rubbed his chin. "Still, her case is special. The problem won't just be about their battle technique. Without an element, I wouldn't be able to do anything."
"That is true, but the way you humans utilize elemental power and the way we, avatars, utilize our elemental power is different."
"!!!" Auric's body shook. "Do you mean I can somehow utilize an element?"
The black dragon confirmed with a smile, "Yes. In your case, it looks like you have a very high sensitivity to magical energy. This is a talent that an evolution master needs. With this, you might be able to become one."
"Ah?!" Auric was startled, not because of the potential of having an element, but because he realized that the black dragon didn't know about his condition.
'It looks like he doesn't know about the particles?' Auric had to confirm it first. "Sense… How do you sense the magical energy? I mean, I want to see the difference between your senses and mine. Does magical energy smell?"
Lindwurm waved his hand. "You should have seen the colorful, blazing aura coming out of one's body. That's what people can see. However, if you sharpen your senses, you can feel their flow. This will be very useful for an evolution master."
As expected, the black dragon didn't know that he could see particles within the energy.
He didn't know the cause, but he guessed it was due to his awakening. He didn't awaken an element, but that didn't mean the awakening ceremony itself was a failure.
Since Lindwurm was hiding information about his father, he also chose to hide this fact until it was necessary to disclose it.
Still, there was something he was curious about. "How does an avatar utilize their element? Can you show me? A little is fine."
"I can't manifest my power right now." Lindwurm shook his head helplessly.
"Is that so?" Auric felt a bit disappointed. He looked down, contemplating.
Suddenly, Auric raised his hand. The energy from the air suddenly moved toward him.
"!!!" Lindwurm's body twitched the moment there was a fluctuation of energy. 'That's…'
Auric looked at his hand, wondering if he could control the magical energy in the air using the battle technique. It showed him what happened to the right arm, so he just used it to let the magical energy enter his body.
The result was actually beyond his expectations.
"This is…" Auric couldn't contain his surprise. "The element…"
"You. What are you trying to do?" Lindwurm squinted his eyes.
"I was trying to use the battle technique. This battle technique could give a positive value, right? So, I can't help but wonder if I can use it to get my element."
Lindwurm mentioned a method before. Although he hadn't explained it, Auric couldn't help but think of this possibility.
Considering there was a positive value, could he actually use that positive value to get himself an element?
Lindwurm was completely speechless. "You… Have you really not learned anything from your father? This is one way avatars can get stronger."
"Really?" That statement truly piqued Auric's interest. This meant he really could wield an element.
"That's right. After learning the battle technique, you understand what an anchor point is, right?"
"Yes. Just as the name implies, it is an anchor for your energy."
"That's correct. Everyone has an anchor point and that is…"
"Their affinity." Auric thought for a moment. "So, does that mean I'm still unable to wield an element?"
"You just have to create an anchor point in your body."
"Oh!" Auric nodded in understanding. "But where?"
"Your heart. Your heart is the most important place. If you breathe, your heart will pump blood, which will give you the power to move your body. The same applies to your magical energy."
Auric felt that something was wrong. It was clear Lindwurm didn't know about the particles.
'Something is weird. I can see the particles, but since they are absorbed by the body, is it something real? The pores of human skin are too small…'
It was clear that something was missing. He needed something that could connect his suspicion to the answer.
'No, wait. If I can truly see the energy, why can't I see the magical energy in the air? I can only see them around someone.'
Auric looked at his hand again. When he used the battle technique from earlier, he realized one thing.
The magical particles began to appear the moment he used the battle technique. And according to the description of the battle technique, he gathered the magical energy.
'Ah. Is the reason I could see magical energy because they're concentrated enough for my eyes to see? They enter the body by breaking apart, which makes them smaller than the skin's pores.'
Lindwurm didn't know what he was thinking, so he continued with his explanation. "Do you know a porous stone?"
"All stones are porous to some degree."
"Yes. There are some gaps in our bodies. That gap can be filled by accumulating magical energy. However, just like the concept, there is a limit to being porous."
Auric frowned. "So, even if I use this technique, I won't be able to reach 100% element?"
"Unfortunately, yes. But looking on the bright side, you don't have an affinity, so you will be able to wield all elements to a certain extent."
It looked amazing on one side, but without being able to reach 100%, he wouldn't be able to evolve. Then again, he didn't have an avatar and an affinity, so he might not be able to evolve at all.
On the other side, Auric noticed a small gap that he might be able to exploit.
"Wait a minute. There are variations for elements, right? Take the fire element, for example. Normal fire, magma, the sun… All of them could be considered fire elements, right? And whether you have normal fire or magma, you will still have a 'fire' affinity."
"!!!" Lindwurm thought he had enough surprise today, but Auric shocked him once more with a ridiculous theory.
However, it might be plausible. For other people, they had an avatar and an affinity. Their affinity meant they were locked onto one thing.
On the other hand, Auric didn't have an affinity, so as he mentioned before, Auric could potentially wield multiple elements.
What if Auric used the method he talked about? He might be able to reach 100%.
He might get 20% from normal fire, 30% from sun fire, 30% from magma, and 20% from other flame variants.
If a normal person could only get one of the values, Auric could get all of them.
Lindwurm hadn't thought about this possibility. After all, this was the first time he had seen someone with no affinity like Auric.
"Wait. So, having no affinity doesn't mean having the weakest talent, but the other way around?" His jaw dropped.
Auric thought the same thing. However, this was all just a theory.
Auric asked a more important question. "I understand about the anchor point, but I want to confirm one thing. Why can I use other elements? I mean, won't they cause a conflict in my body?"
"There's nothing you need to worry about. If you use your heart as an anchor point, as long as you don't use two elements at the same time, it won't become a problem. But make sure that you don't use two elements at the same time!"
If that were the only requirement, it shouldn't be a problem. "I don't mind, but what will happen if I use both at the same time?"
"To put it simply, the two elements will conflict with each other. I'm not sure what will happen if you use two elements that belong to the same category, but if you use two elements from different categories, then the result will be different. The stronger one will win, but the resulting clash will damage your body."
"I see. So, this means I can just start using this battle technique?"
"Yes and no," he said. "Yes, you can use that battle technique, but there is a limit to that battle technique. No, it will limit your progress. At most, you will get 12%, just like that girl. You can't change it even if you find something better."
"If I don't use it now, I won't even have a starting point." Auric smiled. "We need to start somewhere."