Sedah sat cross-legged on top of a circular, flat, raised stone platform situated in the centre of a cave where he made his home. His eyes were shut; he was meditating. He continuously honed his magical abilities, never stopping throughout his immortal life.
"Wahhh!! Wahhh! Wahhh!" Arthur cried, throwing his small hands and legs into the air.
Sedah's eyebrow twitched a little, and yet he remained steadfast in his meditation.
"Wahhh!! Wahhh!!" Arthur's cries remained unwavering.
"There are no cries. Just me in a cave. All by myself in silence—"
"–Waahhh! Waahhhh!"
"Goddammit, Arthur! I'm trying to meditate. Stop your whining already! Aren't you tired? You're a man, aren't you? Sheesh. Give me a break."
"Goo ga?" Arthur tilted his head while he was chewing on his index finger. It quickly became coated in saliva.
"Ah right... I guess you are still a baby. Anyway, that's not the point. You shouldn't cry! Tears are a sign of weakness to the enemy, and you, Arthur, are strong and, therefore, must show no fear. Agh! What am I even rambling on about to a baby?"
Sedah stood up and walked over to Arthur, carrying him by the scruff of his neck. "I wonder what kinda magic you possess. How high is your aptitude level? Let's see..." Sedah closed his eyes, focusing on Arthur's presence. "Wind magic, huh? Ah! It seems like you possess the ability to make use of all the elements. Your wind magic is the highest out of all of them, but your aptitude for every other element is still quite high."
Sedah placed Arthur on the raised platform. He crossed his arms, towering over Arthur. "Now listen! People are classed as really lucky to be born with two elemental affinities, but it seems you possess the four main elements, though there are more than just those. Don't get a big head now!" Sedah's face grew a smug expression. "I have every single element!" Sedah exclaimed while planting his thumb onto his proud, puffed-out chest. "That includes fire, earth, ice, and wind, which you possess, and I'm willing to teach you! Aren't you a lucky baby?" Sedah grinned from ear to ear.
"Gah!" Arthur exclaimed excitedly.
"I wonder how old you are? A year or two, maybe? Anyways, I'm about to teach you magic!... Even though you can't walk yet. Ahem!" Sedah had opened his palm up in front of Arthur. Just then, a huge sphere of wind accumulated in his palm.
"Look closely and listen! There are two types of magic wielders: Accumulators and Casters. Now, an accumulator can take the magic around them and bring it forth, whereas a caster brings out an element or multiple elements from within themselves. Pretty simple, right? Ahem! Now, there are cases in which a person can be both an accumulator and a caster. As a matter of fact, you're looking at him!"
"Gah!" Arthur said excitedly as a solid sphere of wind formed, encapsulating his body, lifting and carrying him midair.
"Ah! A quick learner, huh? Or maybe my teaching is just that amazing? Am I a genius? Ah! Wait! You'll hurt yourself, you damn brat! Stop flying!"
Sedah leapt into the air and grabbed Arthur swiftly and gently before he flew towards the entrance of the cave. The cave Sedah lived in had been located inside a small mountain; outside, there was an overhanging piece of sturdy land, which had jagged rocks underneath. It overlooked the beautiful landscape of the entirety of Vastos's forest.
Sedah held Arthur and looked at him with a serious expression. "What kind of power—no, what kind of man will you be, Arthur? Haha! I look forward to seeing you grow." His face soon changed to a wide grin.
Four years passed by in the blink of an eye...
During this time, Arthur learnt how to walk on two feet and had also learnt how to wield a sword, as well as being taught the fundamentals of magic by Sedah. At the very young age of six, he began to take on quests, facing monsters and hunting them.
"Goddammit! Where has Arthur run off to?"
"Squakk!! Squuakk!!"
A raven appeared outside of Sedah's cave and hovered in the air, continuously flapping its wings.
"Oh? What's this?" Sedah grabbed and unfurled the curled-up letter, which had been tightly bound by a red rope, out of the raven's mouth. "A boy around Arthur's age burnt and incinerated a village full of Colderians. How interesting... Ah! Never mind that! Where the hell is Arthur?!"
The raven flew off to observe the world again after delivering the letter's contents.
Arthur was running through the forest at a quick pace, his feet enhanced by wind magic. Carrying a simple sword around his waist, he jumped from branch to branch, hunting for a monster—a berauin.
Berauins are monsters with bodies shaped like bears, though they are drastically larger in size. From the centre of their heads protrudes a horn surrounded by crackling sparks of thunder. Their black skin is covered with leaves from the forest, allowing them to camouflage themselves from unsuspecting prey. Their piercing red eyes are enough to leave wandering humans frozen in fear. Berauins typically dwell inside caves and survive on a diet consisting of fish and wild berries.
Currently, Arthur had picked up a C-class quest to gain more experience. He searched and found tracks of large paw prints, which led to a cave where he found three cubs snuggled together, all shaking and scared.
A gargantuan shadowy figure loomed over on the ground where Arthur stood.
"GRAAAHWAK!!!"
One great and swift slash from the berauin mother would have gravely injured Arthur if he hadn't narrowly dodged out of the way. He managed to gain some distance away from the fully grown berauin. Arthur's breath started to become heavy. He took a second to analyse and trace the source of magic flowing from the mother berauin.
"The horn!" As soon as Arthur realised its weak spot, he dashed forward without hesitation and swung his sword, cleanly separating the horn from the berauin's head.
The berauin stumbled back and fell onto the ground, completely unable to recompose itself.
"It's weakened! Now's my chance... Gahhh!!"
He unleashed a full overhead swing with all his might, skillfully slashing right through the berauin's head. He then harvested the material from the corpse and dug to find the magic stones stored within the monster's body.
Collecting magic stones is an essential part of adventuring. They are found within monsters and used to make weapons and armour. It is better to harvest magic stones, as other monsters can absorb these stones to become stronger.
"Finally! The job is done now; I can go back to the village and collect my reward. Sweet!"
The cubs looked at the corpse of their lifeless mother; they whimpered and rubbed their heads against the corpse of their now-dead mother. Arthur took notice of this.
"They won't be able to survive in the wild... It's better to kill them right now, quickly and painlessly."
Blood splattered onto Arthur's face.