7 Chapter 6: Testing

Noah made his way to the four Crystals on the log, He couldn't hide the excitement on his face and Ryan seeing that just chuckled even more. The crystals were elemental crystals with each corresponding to the four basic elements, depending on which of the crystals he was able to make glow and the intensity of the light produced, Ryan would be able to tell just how talented and Noah was and how high the chances of him awakening is. Although not entirely accurate, it was the best they could provide with the current status quo

As Noah finally arrived at the log with the crystals on it, Ryan gave him his instructions

"Try injecting the crystals with energy, normally you should be able to use simple bending, but since you lost your memory I'm not sure how far you can go with that, just imagine pouring water out of you into the crystal, that should do it" Ryan instructed

Noah took the first crystal in his hands, a blue crystal that had a cold feeling to it, shaped roughly sized big enough just to be enclosed by his fist. Closing his eyes he tried doing what Ryan told him, drawing out energy within him.

While Noah knew that until the day of awakening, most people could conjure and control small amounts of the the element they had affinities for, since he awoken he had never been successful, that made him worried about his future and if he'll ever become a practitioner

"Calm down, take deep breaths, and find the source within" Ryan's voice came from outside, instructing Noah on what to do.

"There is an ocean in everyone, the source of life, find it, use your minds eye to see it, it's a part of you, your existence, feel it"

Ryan actually had no expectations, even a trained soldier would have a hard time finding the source on their first time if they haven't awakened yet , it took him a month when he first started and that was even after he had awakened, he just wanted Noah to start out and understand the process involved since he wouldn't always be there to teach him. His work required him leaving the area regularly. He was going to let him try for one hour before he moved on to the next phase of the training session. But barely twenty minutes into the session Ryan was left shellshocked. The water crystal shattered, Noah had succeeded.

Noah had taken twenty minutes to sense the source of in him and even succeeded in manipulating it successfully drawing a bit of it that shattered the crystal. He looked at Ryan waiting for instructions on what to do next but Ryan just stood, staring wide ahead of him. Noah mistook this as instructing him to continue with the other crystals and that he did.

Moving on to a brown crystal with spikes and rough edges, he repeated his earlier actions, this time finding it even easier. He made the crystal glow brightly, no glow was an understatement, the crystal was shining like a beacon. Noah didn't know what the results meant but instinctively he knew This result was worse than the last he had when he started, so his countenance darkened. If only Ryan knew what was going through his pupils mind, he'd probably beat the living daylights out of him, but he wasn't a mind reader so Noah was safe.

He continued on the next crystal, a smooth smaller green crystal with a refreshing feeling. It was like a breath of fresh of fresh air. Again, he was able to make this piece share brightly but was unable to shatter it like the first.

"Unbelievable"

Ryan muttered. Noah was pulling off impossible things one after another, shattering the crystal meant the potential of the person was so high that the crystal couldn't handle it. and making the crystal shine was also an indicator for greatness and how high the person's future ability would be. normally it would be enough to just make the crystal clear as it was not the standard tool for measurement.

It had inaccuracies and could only show if someone had the potential to be practitioner but could not show just how high the attunement and the level of sensitivity towards the element the individual had, but Noah just broke all of Ryan's understanding, it was no wonder he couldn't do anything but stand and stare.

Noah finally held the last crystal present on the log, it was red and warm and just as he injected his energy into it , it shattered. Ryan had seen enough to drive a normal crazy but he just shrugged it of. He remembered the boy had mysterious Origins and he had enough time to cool his head

' I can't make a fool of myself in of my pupil on my very first day ' He encouraged himself.

"Alright, I've seen enough" 'Not like you could do any worse than this anyway' Ryan chucked to himself, trying to get his emotions under control, If only he knew just how wrong he was.

"Get over here and let's properly begin your training then" Ryan continued

From the results you showed me just now you could awaken in any element, but suspect, your chances are most likely going to and up between water and fire. It is amazing you show such affinity for such extremes. And no don't bother asking you can't awaken in both elements" Ryan added when he saw Noah was about to cut in to ask a question.

Noah really wanted to know if it was possible to awaken in more than one elements. His earlier search in the library turned out to be futile as he couldn't ever get a clue or glimpse about the topic. All he found was it wasn't possible, it had never happened and it will never happen.

Not even Ryan knew this but people had tried many ways in the past to do this many of these methods inhuman and utterly disgusting so a strict ban was placed on it and it then passed on from then on that one could only awaken in one element.

" If you want to know why " Ryan continued, " It is that during awakening your body and its channels are marked by the chosen element like a marriage between a man and his wife"

Noah grinned at that explanation and waited for his teacher to continue.

"While I can't teach you anything about the divine path as I am not a mage, until you awaken I will teach you all I can about combat and the sage path, even if you don't end up as a sage It won't hurt knowing how to use a weapon and your body. You'd be surprised by how many mages are killed after they strained their pathways and were left with only their bodies as protection. Plus I know a certain mage that in terms of skills alone, he could rival me in close quarter combat , If you're lucky you'd meet him. Now let's start with building up your physique and developing the foundation for your future."

And thus began Noah's new cycle.

Physical training in the early hours of the day, from just before dawn to after the sun was high in the sky, before he moved on to his chores and his trip to the library for his lessons with Diara. He had begun to adjust to life in the temple and was filling in the blanks in his knowledge at a steady pace. Slowly but surely he was finding his own path.