"Hide it."
Quara stomped. A fiery flare emanated from her foot and stilled the shadows writhing below Killian.
Killian looked up from the screen to her. "What is—"
She snatched the necklace from his neck and the interface vanished. She looked around quickly for eyewitnesses. The hall was empty.
Quickly, she pulled off her cloak and covered him with it. It draped down to his leg. She tied her scarf around his neck.
"Stay low. We need to get you out before someone finds out about this."
Killian could tell something was wrong. He nodded and they quickly rushed towards her car.
His right ankle was under the sun and he could see smoke rise from it, and the black flame engulfed the exposed skin. There was still no pain.
Had he unlocked a corrupted fire element?
The car ride back to Quara's condo was silent. Killian stared at the interface, wondering what the element he unlocked meant.
[Killian Dominic]
[Rank: D-Rank Trainee]
[Registered.]
[Element: Void]
[Affinity: 40%]
[Capacity: 1%]
[Diagnosis: Anomaly]
[Verdict: Pending]
[Objective: Survive the Sun.]
Being an anomaly was one thing but what type of element was void? He had never been taught about that. He whipped out his phone and searched the web.
"Don't search about that. It is a side effect of Darkness. One of the forbidden elements."
Killian lowered his phone. He didn't know if he was being hunted by organizations or his dream of being a Warden would be permanently scrapped.
He looked back at his interface. Why was it called Void then? How did the schools never teach this?
Right.
It was a side effect of a forbidden element.
And the rulers of their state had the Light element.
"Am I now an enemy of the state?" He asked. Her reaction to escape the school immediately would make sense.
The car rolled into the estate's gate.
"You're still a son of the Dominic and Ammon family. No one will hurt you for awakening an element you have no control over."
Killian stared out of the window. He remembered the voice he heard in his head just before the interface stopped glitching.
Could that have been the Void? Was it sentient? His mind raced with different possibilities.
Sentience can't be born from mana alone. Sacrifices has to be made.
So what the heck are you? Did you devour the warning from WLog earlier?
"You're welcome."
Killian froze. He did not expect to hear a response.
"What is it?" Quara asked. She still watched him from the front seat.
"Nothing. And please, focus on driving. Don't crash me."
She squinted her eyes, before driving to a halt inside her yard.
She opened the door for him. Once again, she wrapped him with her jacket and scarf before making a run for the rooftop.
Inside the house, she closed the window blinds, the doors and all the rooftop shades. The house was pitch black.
"So," an ember bloomed in her eyes. The light coming from her eyes illuminated a foot away from where she stood beside Killian.
"Show me the interface again. We have to get this sorted out before you go for your first training as Warden."
Killian's back straightened. He had been practicing basic martial arts for that moment— His very first realm of monsters as a D-Rank Warden in training.
Even if he had awakened a ridiculously low affinity to fire or lightning, he had planned to use his physical prowess to clear the first stage.
With a thought, the WLog Interface came up again.
Quara's eyes narrowed at the two lower parts.
[Element: Void]
[Affinity: 40%]
[Capacity: 1%]
[Diagnosis: Anomaly]
[Verdict: Pending]
[Objective: Survive the Sun.]
"It really is an anomaly and you have a high affinity to it." She muttered. "How? Why did this happen?"
Despite how calm she sounded, Killian could hear her voice breaking.
He didn't know if he should be worried because this wasn't the worst thing that could've happened to him.
He had awakened something.
Not what was preferable. But it was something.
"I think my element is sentient."
The ember from Quara's eyes blinked before stabilizing. Killian nodded once. She was definitely twitching now.
He paced around the dark room.
His parents wouldn't want to hear of this. This would cause problems for them because they were loyal to the rulers who wielded the Light element.
Yet the thought that he had something powerful enough to rival the infamous Light element made his heart warm.
If the Void element was anything like the Darkness element, which was as dreadful as the Light element, then he had really scored.
"There's none in this world that knows how to wield a Void Element."
"He would teach me."
"Who?" Quara shook her head as she spoke. "The sentient void? Should you even be interacting with it? It can corrupt your mind with evil thoughts."
"Like the Light Warden, who created a sentient 'light fairy' , got corrupted with 'good' thoughts, and tried to eradicate all Nulls for being impure years ago?"
Quara was silent.
Killian scoffed. "You don't really feed into their good vs bad gimmicks, do you? It's hypocritical, really."
But he couldn't blame her.
At only nineteen, she was an A-Rank Fire Warden that had controlled seventeen B-tier realms and closed down six C-tier realms.
All without having an active team of her own.
The state's system celebrated prodigies like her. She would want to uphold their rules and regulations as well.
Meanwhile, he had already been abandoned by the Goddess and branded a Null, but was given a second chance to wield a Void Element.
He couldn't tell if it was a blessing from the Goddess, or a gesture of spite. But he'd take it.
"Give me time. During the first training, I'd use the E-Rank monsters to gain experience and I'd be able to get back to you. Don't worry about it."
E-Rank monsters were fodder, meant for D-Rank trainees like him. Simple, boring, yet safe.
It was a lifetime opportunity that he planned to grab with both hands.
.
.
.
"Should I get you a spatial storage? I can buy one for you quickly now." Quara asked, running around her house, gathering provisions. "It will help you keep your weapons since your bag is already filled."
Killian only shook his head, and occasionally said 'no' to her worried questions while staring at the countdown till he would be taken to his first training.
[New! First Training]
[Killian Dominic - D-Rank Trainee]
[Accept?]
[Automatic Acceptance After 45…]
[Automatic Acceptance After 44…]
Quara rushed to his side, stuffing more things inside the heavy bag, but Killian was unaffected by its weight.
His eyes never left the interface as he counted down internally with it.
"Are you sure you're ready for this, Kill? You never got training because… you know."
Killian turned to her, a small smile on his face.
"I know. No one expected me to get registered and awaken anything. But I can beat E-Rank monsters easily. The school fees you paid were not wasted."
Quara smiled back on hearing that. She ruffled his hair gently. "Of course. Kill at least ten and you'll qualify. Don't overdo anything. It only lasts a day anyway."
"How many did you kill in your time?"
She paused, then looked up, thinking. "Around fifty, I think. Maybe a little more."
Killian froze.
He wanted to talk big about doubling her number but he didn't know if he could get up to half of that.
"I'll do my best too." He said simply.
[Automatic Acceptance after 5…]
He tapped the 'Accept' button.
[Transporting Killian Dominic…]
[Welcome to the Realm Of Daln]