Versatile Mage: Starting with the White Tiger Pendant

Being born with dual elements or possessing innate dual elements across all levels is a vastly different concept.

The former refers to awakening two magic elements at the primary stage but reverting to the standard one element per level later on, essentially gaining one extra element compared to others.

However, innate dual elements across all levels mean an additional five elements at the pinnacle. This is not a simple matter of addition but rather a multiplicative advantage.

Lu Jun's guess was indeed correct. The fusion of parallel-world counterparts was not merely transmigration; it was the superposition of two origins, doubling the benefits. This was true for Mo Fan and equally true for him.

Standing in the large training field, Lu Jun struggled to suppress his excitement. This magical world was far too dangerous, and no cheat was excessive. For instance, Mo Fan would later become the strongest human, wielding all elements and forbidden curses, yet even he could only barely rank among the top twenty against the world's monstrous threats.

The Southern Pole monsters, Pacific monsters, Atlantic monsters, Kunlun monsters, Ancient Capital monsters, Northern Asian snowfield monsters, Egyptian monsters, Sahara monsters, Amazon monsters—each was terrifying beyond measure. Even at his peak, Mo Fan couldn't completely resolve any of them.

However, before Lu Jun could fully savor his delight, the White Tiger Pendant around his neck emitted a radiant platinum glow. A sharp power surged, shattering the energy transmitted by the Awakening Stone and replacing it. This energy coursed along his arm and entered the spiritual world of his mind.

Buzz!

In the void of his spirit, a sharp platinum light slashed through, akin to a supreme flying sword tearing the world apart, creating a new realm of platinum stardust out of thin air.

In the dim spiritual universe, the blue and platinum stardust now glimmered side by side.

Lu Jun was caught completely off guard by this sudden change, staring blankly. Even with his extensive knowledge, he struggled to identify this platinum stardust's element. The white hue was somewhat reminiscent of the summoning element's dimensional magic, but its brilliance was far more dazzling.

Soon, he received an answer: a stream of messages flowed from the White Tiger Pendant around his neck. This was a new magical element never before seen in the original timeline, named the Metal Element—the "metal" in the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. It was classified as part of the elemental magic category.

"Of course," Lu Jun muttered to himself. "The Western White Tiger represents the metal attribute. Plus, given that the planet is predominantly composed of metal, it's strange that the original timeline had all sorts of magical metals and even the lightning element but lacked a metal element. This anomaly always puzzled me.

"Even the wood element, essentially the plant element, exists and is categorized under white magic."

Lu Jun forced himself to calm down and observed the unexpected new element for a moment.

In the outside world, the students saw Lu Jun enveloped in a hazy mist of water, as the metal element, being more introverted, did not manifest externally.

Seeing this, Lu Jun glanced around and breathed a small sigh of relief.

This development was excellent. One of the most troublesome aspects of the magical world was internal human strife. Talented individuals were often targeted by the Black Church, noble families, and other dark forces. At the same time, some authoritarian factions within the Magic Association deemed extraordinary talents as threats and dealt with them harshly.

With both innate dual elements and the metal element, Lu Jun was essentially stepping on multiple landmines, drawing the attention of both the dark and the light sides of humanity.

No wonder humanity struggled against the monsters.

Beside him, Xue Musheng noticed the change in Lu Jun's expression and tried to comfort him. "The water element is pretty average, but its primary magic, Water Barrier, has decent defensive capabilities."

For some reason, Xue Musheng had a feeling that his comment might come back to bite him.

Sure enough, Lu Jun smiled and replied, "The water element is great! Along the coastal regions plagued by sea monsters, like Shanghai and Hangzhou nearby, the water element will be quite valuable."

Internally, he was pleased. Knowing the trajectory of future events, he was aware that the water and ice elements would become the most crucial.

In about ten years, the glaciers in the extreme south would melt, causing global sea levels to rise and submerge nearly all coastal regions. Massive oceanic monsters would invade, and even Mo Fan could only delay the catastrophe. On top of that, Mo Fan was a terrible swimmer.

With the water element, Lu Jun's chances of survival would be much higher along the resource-rich coasts, where water-element resources would abound.

However, at this primary stage, the water element was indeed unimpressive. Only at the intermediate level would it gain a semi-control, semi-destruction spell.

Among the seven elemental systems, only the lightning and fire elements possessed pure destruction spells at every stage, from primary to super. These elements symbolized extraordinary power most directly, which explained their popularity.

"They'll be calling me 'Daddy' in the late game," Lu Jun encouraged himself. He hoped the unique metal element would give him some surprises.

Before long, the whole class had completed their awakenings. Zhang Xiaohou awakened the wind element, a system known for its exceptional evasion abilities.

Finally, it was Mo Fan's turn. Lu Jun paid close attention as he awakened. As expected, a purple lightning glow appeared first, followed by a fiery red radiance.

Innate dual elements: the violent and destructive lightning and fire.

However, this scene was overshadowed by a neighboring student, Xu Zhaoting, whose lightning element awakened brightly, drawing everyone's attention away from Mo Fan.

"Lightning element! Only one in a thousand awakens it. It's the strongest among the elemental systems. So envious!"

"Ugh, why am I water element? Why couldn't I get lightning? Someone stop me, I'm going to the rooftop!"

"The ground's already littered with light-element bodies."

"…"

Lu Jun shook his head. His luck was holding steady; his actions hadn't yet triggered a butterfly effect. The future remained unchanged for now.

In this magical world, foreknowledge wasn't everything. Personal effort and opportunities mattered far more, and destiny wasn't something one could simply manipulate.

Mo Fan looked around nervously, realizing no one had noticed his dual awakening. At first, his face darkened at the wasted opportunity to flaunt his power, but after some thought, he concluded it was better to keep his innate dual elements hidden.

Then he noticed Lu Jun staring directly at him, causing his expression to stiffen.

The homeroom teacher soon noticed Mo Fan's awakening and praised him, "The fire element! Second only to lightning. Across the entire school, maybe only thirty or forty people awaken it."

Mu Bai and Zhao Kun San looked visibly upset. Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohou took the chance to mock them.

Mo Fan, however, showed no joy. After stepping off the podium, he approached Lu Jun, placed a hand on his shoulder, and led him to a corner.

"Lu Jun, you didn't see anything, right?" Mo Fan whispered near his ear.

Suppressing a laugh, Lu Jun glanced at the inconspicuous, tiny black pendant around Mo Fan's neck and replied coldly, "Call me 'bro.'"

"Bro, bro, bro!" Mo Fan said quickly, not missing a beat.

"Call me 'Dad!'" Lu Jun teased.

To his shock, Mo Fan almost blurted it out.

"Hey, hey! Were you really about to say it?" Lu Jun was astonished, clearly underestimating Mo Fan's shamelessness.

"Ha ha." Mo Fan chuckled awkwardly. "Alright, just don't tell anyone."

"I'm not interested in gossip," Lu Jun replied flatly, shrugging off Mo Fan's arm. "As long as you don't reveal it, I won't either.

"By the way, your situation falls under what's called an innate talent."

"Innate talent?" Mo Fan asked, confused.

"Exactly," Lu Jun explained. "Some people are born with exceptional abilities, and magic is no exception. Innate talents come in many forms; yours is just one example.

"You've heard of Mu Ningxue from Bo City, right? She has an innate talent as well. That's why she's already been accepted into the Imperial Capital University."

"I see," Mo Fan muttered, falling into deep thought. His usual arrogance slightly receded as he realized even the girl he used to tease had grown so powerful. Determined not to fall behind, he felt motivated to improve himself.

Believing Lu Jun's words for now, Mo Fan decided to trust him, especially since Lu Jun seemed to know a lot. Knowledge was a form of strength worth befriending.

The awakenings complete, each class returned to their studies.

Lu Jun had no intention of exposing Mo Fan. It wouldn't benefit him and would only make enemies. He preferred for Mo Fan to grow steadily; after all, given the future disasters, even ten Mo Fans wouldn't be enough.

Shortly after, under the guidance of their homeroom teacher, Lu Jun began his first magical training.

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Note: The metal element is an original addition to the story. While it serves as the protagonist's unique cheat, its skills and manifestations are designed to remain balanced