The Elestar: Zero

"Interesting…"

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine, it's just… It turns out you can use blue flame."

"What do you mean?"

"In this world, four types of flame magic have been discovered so far. Eternal flame—that is, regular fire. Green flame—the one I used to kill the demon Baskervill. Black flame—a fire that can destroy any living being. And blue flame—a flame that takes shape according to the user's will."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It means you can use fire magic. Not just ordinary fire magic, but blue flame magic."

"What's so special about blue flame?"

"I told you—you can shape it. Not into complex forms, but into simple ones."

"What do we do now?"

"Tomorrow, we'll begin the first step to help you tame your flame. More precisely, we'll start with the basic exercises needed to use it. Now go get some sleep."

Knowing I had the ability to use fire magic, I went to bed full of joy. It truly made me happy.

The next morning, the sun had risen—but once again, I had overslept. Master Valorant was standing over me, having dumped a bucket of water on my head.

"Get up! Are you going to lie there all day? Morning training has started! Get up!"

"I'm up, I'm up…"

Master stepped out after waking me, and just by looking at his face, I realized something. He, too, seemed pleased to be teaching me.

When I stood up, I noticed something strange. My body had completely healed.

[How did that happen?]

For me, recovering so quickly in just two days seemed impossible.

"You look much better."

"Yes, I feel much better. Did you use some kind of magic on me?"

Master took out a black stone from his pocket and placed it on his palm. The stone began to glow green. I stared in astonishment.

"Wow… You can use green flame?! What does it do?"

"Yes, my flame is green flame. It allows me to attack an enemy from the inside and heal wounds."

"Healing sounds a lot better than attacking from the inside."

"And also, it's quite effective against poison—especially demon poison. When Baskervill's hounds bit you, they poisoned you. I used this flame to bring you back—to cleanse the poison and heal you."

"I see… So that's why I recovered so fast. That explains how I got back on my feet in just two days."

"Yes, that's why you're still alive. Today's your first lesson. I'll explain the basics of fire magic, then we'll begin."

According to Master Valorant, all Elestars who fight using fire magic are trained in one combat style known as "Flaming Wrath." It has seven levels:

1st Stage: Flame Mana

2nd Stage: Burning Hands

3rd Stage: Eyes of Fury

4th Stage: Augmentation

He said he'd only talk about the other stages once I reached the fourth. Master also explained that the style is called "Flaming Wrath" because fire magic draws power from wrath. But at the same time, wrath can consume an Elestar, throwing them into a "Berserk" state and leading to death.

He said that no matter the stage, anyone can fall into that mode. That's why the first priority is to learn to restrain my anger, avoid rage, and gain control over mana.

And so began my first day of training. The first task was to achieve stillness to regulate mana.

Every day, we practiced meditation. To be honest, I didn't understand what meditation even meant. Basically, we just sat in a peaceful, quiet spot.

To keep my mana stable, Master would sometimes suddenly scream during meditation, like "Aaaaaaah!" Sometimes, he'd curse out of nowhere, yelling things like "Donkey!" or worse. I tried to stay calm and not lose my temper—or at least not show it.

According to Master, in the Eastern Water Nation, this method is widely practiced. Meditation helps calm the mind and prevents wasteful mana use.

Meditation really helped me quiet my mana. I spent the first two weeks meditating every day. As a result, I began to sense the mana within my body. That's when Master started teaching me about concentration.

Concentration meant directing all focus onto a single mana point and keeping it circulating through the body. It was incredibly difficult at first. Because my mana was unstable and overwhelming, maintaining concentration was a serious challenge. During intense focus, there were even moments when I could see both my own mana and Master's.

Apparently, during battle, Elestars concentrate their mana, directing it through the body and focusing their awareness on it. This increases both their magic and physical power.

Training went on like this, but the exercises began to get harder.

"Today, we're adding something new to your training."

"What now?"

"You'll maintain mana concentration as usual, and I—" he picked up a stick, "—will hit you."

"What the…? Are you serious?"

Master stared at me with a dead-serious expression. He clearly wasn't joking.

"Let's begin. If you can hold your mana steady, I'll hit you once and then check your concentration. If it's still stable, I won't hit you again. Got it?"

"What if I can't hold it?"

"Simple. You'll keep getting hit until you do. Now stand up—training begins!"

Oh, and one more thing—I almost forgot. When concentrating mana, you can also sense who someone really is. If their mana gathers inside the heart or body, they're a mage. If it spreads throughout the body, they're an Elestar.

By sensing this, you can estimate their strength. The more a mage or Elestar uses mana, the more it gathers in the body part they primarily use. Based on how much mana is stored there, you can tell their level.

But I hadn't reached that level of perception yet. Master said it's a crucial skill. It helps you choose the right opponent.

With that, we resumed training. On the first day, we began with meditation and mana concentration. After a while—suddenly—a stick came flying like lightning and struck me in the head.

At the moment it hit, I saw a flash like the sun exploding in front of my eyes, and then everything went black. I lost consciousness for about fifteen seconds. When I opened my eyes, Master was standing over me, nudging me with his foot to wake me up.

"You awake? Then resume your concentration."

He walked off as if nothing happened. Honestly, I didn't even see him get close—I didn't think he could move that quietly. Must've been years of training. I had a huge bump on my head. It hurt like hell.

"Begin your concentration!" he shouted.

"Yes, sir!" I shouted back.

"Don't shout at me!" he barked.

"Yes, sir!" I shouted again.

"Shut your mouth!" he yelled again.

I resumed my mana concentration. One minute passed. Then five. Eventually, I was so exhausted that I stopped.

My body had never endured this much mana control before. I was so tired, I could barely stand. I didn't even have the energy to walk. Then I remembered how Master threw the stick at me earlier.

I turned my head and looked around.

[Left side… no. Right… also no. Front and back—clear. That means it won't hit me this time.]

I felt relieved, thinking I'd be safe, and took a cautious step forward.

That's when I heard Master's voice from the forest:

"From above!" he shouted.

I turned my head and looked up—and in that final second, I saw Master's stick descending rapidly toward me.

"Damn it!" was all I had time to say.