"Impossible..." she whispered, her eyes wide with a mixture of awe and terror as the light touched the eighth circle - Low Mystic Rank. "How did the Illusion Temple let go of an illusionist with this kind of talent? Combine this rank of affinity and the fact that it'll let him use a Mystic Rank breathing technique... his growth to the peak of the Soul-Born Rank is basically on easy mode. I can even bet he breaks through from initiate to Soul-Born Rank within a year. If the inner temple monsters hear of him, regardless of his element, they'll fight over him as a disciple for their own egos."
Ethan stood there, shocked, but his eyes never left her face for a moment. "Isn't this some main character nonsense happening to me? I came here to have fun, not as some circus freak for everyone to look at. And that look on her face... It's giving me goosebumps. I can bet she goes all over bragging to everyone how she knows a kid that has a Mystic Rank affinity."
"Uhhhh.... mister, you can step out of the array now."
"Tsk.. tsk.... that look is just not good news," he muttered as he stepped out of the array towards the lady, with Ethan standing behind him.
"Excuse me, miss?"
"Huh?..... Yes, sir, is there anything I can help you with?" she replied, her voice trembling slightly.
"Do you have a sharp object? Anything at all - scissors, a razor?"
She had imagined a million things he might ask about, but this... this never crossed her mind. It took her a few seconds to take in the information.
"Uhhh... scis? Razor? What are those?" she replied while thinking, Did he lose his mind from seeing his own talent?
"Don't think about it. I need something sharp, anything at all?" he spoke while raising his brow as if he could tell what she was thinking.
"Well... well, I have my weapon here." She waved her hand, and a huge broadsword that eclipsed her figure appeared in her right hand. She held it effortlessly with one arm.
Immediately after the huge sword appeared, Ethan quickly took a few steps back, falling into the array again. The array automatically started its function with Ethan's presence in it, repeating the whole phenomenon once more.
"Wow... seeing it again really makes it settle in. I finally feel like it's true," the administrator murmured, her eyes once again fixed on the glowing circles.
The figure everyone had forgotten about, standing behind the lady, finally spoke.
"You know I'm a genius too," Alan said, a hint of playful indignation in his voice. "You're just a monster, Ethan."
The administrator, Elara, finally remembered Alan, the Gold Rank talent who stood behind her, and thought, They're both monsters in their own right. I'd better not get on their bad side. But what does this crazy one want with a sharp object?
"Uhhh... Mister Ethan? The sharp object you requested for..."
Ethan, finally realizing that weapons like this were probably a common sight among ascendants, stood up while muttering,
"You know? You could have warned me or given me a heads-up.... Where I'm from, we don't play with sharp objects."
Moving towards the sharp edge of the broadsword she held up, he gritted his teeth and pricked his finger gently. Immediately, he took out the silver card and dripped his blood on it. He watched as the card transformed, the silver melting away to reveal solid gold, elegantly engraved with a single, stark letter 'K'. It became denser, heavier in his hand, thrumming with latent authority.
"I can't believe I already have to use this," he murmured, "but if I want my peace, I have to."
Taking his eyes away from the card, he noticed the administrator's look of shock had returned, deeper than before. At this point, she might just faint.
Alan, who already knew what the card was for, grew scared. "Uhm, Ethan, are you thinking right now?".
"We can only use it three times! After that, Master said he wouldn't interfere until we could see him again!".
"Yeah, I know. But see that look on her face?" Ethan replied, his voice low and serious. "She's going to tell everyone what happened here the moment we leave."
"Trust me, Alan, you don't want that. Not now."
Elara flinched. "Well.. uh... I didn't... sigh." She couldn't even refute it.
The temptation to be the one who discovered a huge talent like this, just imagining what she could sell this information for alone, was worth it.
"Here." Ethan passed the card to her.
Knowing what the card represented, she activated her 'Elemental Eyes' skill, her irises shifting to a deep, glowing red. She saw the initial "K" engraved, but woven from threads of pure, potent Mystic-space energy. The power radiating from the simple card was a signature she recognized from temple legends; everyone knew who he was.
Immediately, she knew who this was. She turned to the two kids, forgetting to deactivate her skill, ignoring the continuous energy drain from her skill. "You're students of The Mystic Kaelen?"
"Well, yes, we both are," Ethan confirmed, his tone casual yet carrying an unshakable confidence. "And if you need him to prove it to you, he will, but that'll be a waste of time if you ask me."
The administrator, realizing she was facing an opportunity, decided to nod, consciously clearing her mind of any thoughts.
"There'll be no need for that..... call me Sansa. I'm a Fire ascendant, peak Soul-Born rank." It was both an introduction and a statement of her own standing, a subtle way of establishing that she was not without her own value.
Ethan nodded, appreciating her shift. "I'm Ethan, and he's Alan. We're both students of the Space Mystic. But that's not why I showed you the card."
He spoke as he took the card back from Sansa, the solid gold feeling weighty and significant in his palm. "I'm sure in the Order, as newly awakened, there will be many procedures that draw too much attention. But that is not the wish of our master. In fact, the 'Guardian' of the Order, Brutus himself, has already borne witness to our talent before we got here." He let that staggering piece of information hang in the air for a moment. "Do you understand what I'm getting at, Sansa? I wish I didn't have to inconvenience you with brute words, right?"
Sansa's mind raced. No one in the Temple, if allowed to stay in close contact with people like this, would think twice about it.
These were the students of a goddamn Mystic—not just any Mystic, but Kaelen the Dreadful Space Mystic. The rumors swirled in her head: that he was a recluse, that his battle power was unmatched within his rank, that crossing him was a form of suicide.
Immediately, she replied, her voice now layered with a new, respectful warmth, "Of course I understand, Ethan." She paused, a calculated hesitation. "...You don't mind if I call you that, right?"
Ethan smiled, a genuine, knowing curve of his lips. He recognized the kind of person he was dealing with—ambitious, pragmatic, and sharp enough to see the long game. It was the kind of dynamic he understood, a transaction of mutual benefit. For the first time since his chaotic arrival in this world, a thrill of excitement cut through the confusion and fear. This, he could work with.