Fully armed, Cain and his escorts left the armory. The echoing sound of footsteps bounced off the walls, and behind them, the doors closed with a heavy thud. Ahead of them awaited one of the oldest and most mysterious technologies — a teleportation circle.
The hallway they walked through was short, yet thick with anticipation. Lamps affixed to the walls flickered with a soft glow, as if warning of something otherworldly. Finally, they reached massive doors, already open. Beyond them lay a spacious chamber, at the center of which pulsed a vast teleportation circle.
It looked almost alive. Fine, incredibly complex patterns wove together in a bizarre dance. Spirals etched spirals, symbols replaced one another with a rhythmical harmony defying logic. Inside larger circles, smaller ones emerged, each filled with even tinier details — like runes living lives of their own.
At four cardinal points stood tall, glass-clear crystals — emitting a steady, deep flow of mana. Their glow shimmered in the air like mist, enveloping everything in a gentle haze of magical energy.
Cain and Eli silently took their place at the very center of the circle. Their silhouettes, frozen in tense anticipation, trembled slightly in the mana's light. Sebastian stepped to the edge of the circle and, without a word, knelt and placed his palm on the ancient stone.
Silence reigned for a moment. Then a pulse ran through the circle — it flared as if awakening. Sebastian's mana surged into it like current into an old mechanism. From beneath the floor, new rings rose — thinner, more agile, lighter.
They coiled around the group, twisting like serpent rings intertwining. Each circle spun in its own direction, creating a surreal dance of magical spheres. The space around them began to pulse, warp, flicker, shifting in hues of blue, sky, and silver.
It was dizzying. Space itself began to flow like water, distorting the outlines of bodies, walls, even time itself.
The light grew ever brighter. It devoured reality, erasing the boundary between material and ephemeral. The circle spun faster. The air turned heavy, as if charged with electricity before a storm. Then the light exploded.
For a moment, everything vanished into white silence.
And when the light faded, the room was empty.
Only the crystals continued to pulse — like a heart still remembering those who had stood at its center.
—
Elsewhere.
Many light-years away from the origin point.
Another room held a smaller, yet nearly identical teleportation circle. It trembled, its runes quivering and glowing with soft, otherworldly light.
The glow intensified, carving three ghostly silhouettes from the air. The outlines of bodies grew sharper — gradually, as if matter itself hesitated to return. After a few long, dragging seconds, faces became clear.
Cain. Eli. Sebastian.
But before the light had fully faded, Cain staggered. His legs gave way, and he almost fell. His skin — pale, almost translucent, veins dark like threads visible along his neck and temples. His breathing was labored, as though the air had turned to lead.
He had never used teleportation before. In fact, he had rarely left the manor. So this… was completely unexpected.
The world spun like a carousel in darkness.
And then — it appeared.
The [System] panel flashed before his eyes.
[You have experienced significant exposure to the Element of Space.]
[A hidden passive trait of [Affinity with All Energies] has been activated: ???]
[ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!]
[You do not have access to this information!]
[[System] is erasing memories of the last three notifications…]
[Passive Skill: Mental Fortress [B] resists [System] interference.]
[Resistance overridden.]
[Memory deletion… SUCCESSFUL.]
[Resuming notifications…]
[You have awakened an Affinity with the Element of Space.]
[Elemental Affinity: Space (0.05%)]
[Experience granted.]
[Experience reduced due to low affinity percentage.]
[You have reached LVL 6.]
The world spun even harder before Cain's eyes. Notifications flickered, fragmented, vanished, leaving behind something… strange. As if something important had been taken from him. But what?
Cain couldn't remember.
"Cain, what's wrong?!" — Eli rushed to him, her voice trembling. For the first time, she forgot protocol and called him by name.
"Young master, are you alright?" — added Sebastian, equally concerned.
"N-nothing… Just a little dizzy. I'm fine," Cain muttered, trying to stand upright. "I just… need a moment to rest."
Sebastian nodded, though worry lingered in his eyes.
When they left the teleportation room, a vast hall opened before them. People bustled everywhere. Some were just arriving from other rooms, others ran with papers, some shouting. Chaos and business filled the air — vivid, real, alive.
"Eli, stay with the young master until he feels better. I'll go rent a vehicle," Sebastian said shortly and disappeared into the crowd.
They had arrived at a small town near the dungeon's location. The dungeon itself lay outside town, in a forested area. So they needed a vehicle to reach it.
While Sebastian handled transportation, Cain and Eli sat silently on a small couch in a corner of the hall. Silence hung between them like a fine veil. But Cain didn't care — his attention was fully on his status.
How?
How had he gained an affinity with Space?
This element was considered incredibly rare and extraordinarily hard to control. Only a few possessed it, and each was worth their weight in gold.
Like any other element, Space was not gained easily. You either had it from birth, or — in even rarer cases — through an Affinity Stone. And those were so precious they were considered national treasures.
Even without affinity, one could study magic, but slowly and with heavy limitations. Cain knew this all too well — it took him two months to learn the most basic spells of the core elements (fire, water, wind, and earth). With affinity, he could've done it in a week.
That's how massive the gap was between those with affinity and those without.
But an affinity with Space… and so suddenly?
That wasn't normal. It was unprecedented.
So Cain chose to remain silent for now.
First — clear the dungeon. Then — reflect.
Besides… he had leveled up.
He now had 16 unallocated points. And he knew exactly where to put them.
—
STATUS
Name: Cain Ravenshade
Race: Human / Age: 9 / Gender: Male
Class: None
Title: Stain of the Ravenshades
Rank: G
Level (LVL): 3 → 6
Condition: Relatively Stable
Elemental Affinity:Space (0.05%) (New!!!)
—
STATS
Health: 94 / 100
Stamina: 137 / 150
Strength: 4 → 10 {+ 25}
Endurance: 10 → 15
Agility: 5 → 10 {+ 8}
Wisdom: 33
Intelligence: 41
Intuition: 20
Perception: 30 {+ 5}
Willpower: 25
Charisma: 10
Luck: 1
Unassigned Stat Points: 16 → 0
—
ENERGIES
Mana: 150 / ???
Psychic Energy: 1111 / 1200
—
Once he confirmed the changes, a wave of energy surged through his body. The world became sharper, his body lighter.
Even his mana and psychic energy — the two energies he had any control over — increased slightly due to the level up.
Cain felt much more confident. And just then, Sebastian returned.
"I got the vehicle," he said, leaning toward them. "We can depart whenever you're ready, young master."
Cain raised his gaze, nodded slowly, and stood.
A shadow of unease still pulsed within him. But now he was ready.
His journey — had only just begun.