Age of Beast Tamers and Exorcists
Chapter 74: Two Ways

Chapter 74: Two Ways

Zmey made up his mind. He would meet Silvan Ferox. Gabriel’s earlier advice resounded in his mind. *** He lit the incense sticks. He had traded his food for them with a merchant when he was still on the police force. After doing that, he closed the room’s window. And he repeated the same thing he had done inside the cell; this time, he used his sword to draw a thin line on his wrist. Then he sat in the middle of the circular blood rune. The silver-blue mist rose with every passing moment. It clouded his entirety, now appearing as though Zmey had vanished. ---- Right away, Zmey opened his eyes. He didn’t have to think about the surroundings or what lay ahead. Because he had been here two times now. Everything felt so familiar as though he had been coming here for years. The crackling sound of a growing flame echoed in the air. Left and right, the land was on orange tall flames. The air was warm at one point and very hot at the other. But, despite feeling any of this, the pain was negligible. It was unreal, and dangerously so. The feeling was like a feather rubbing against his skin as he moved towards the silhouette. Very strange... and convenient. In no time, he closed in on the silhouette - Silvan Ferox. Silvan’s shadow stretched tall across the orange-light-illuminated surface. He sensed a sudden shift behind him. He looked over his shoulder and pictured someone standing there. With ease, he turned around to face Zmey. His tone gentle, his back and shoulder straightened as always, he asked, "Why are you back here? I taught you don’t want to see me anymore..." Always the stoic man. Reserved to an average level even if danger is near. The question sounded more like a query to Zmey. This made him smirk, replying, "Don’t be ridiculous. This land belongs to me..." Silvan nodded. "... Cut to it. I know you’re here for a reason." Zmey said immediately, his tone frank, "Tell me more about the Inheritance Cycle. I don’t seem to trust you. Well, you can lie to keep your own plans. But know that doing so won’t be beneficial for you. You’re nothing but a shard of your real self after all, hanging by something as thin as a thread. You can’t exist without my Soul Land. Now, I can send you out, causing your death. But first, I have to determine whether you’re a valuable ally..." "Well, you can tell immediately whether I am lying or telling the truth since we’re in your mind. Your realm. A land created from the shards of your past and your true self. It’s your choice if you want to make a deal with me or not." Zmey, on one hand, seemed to believe the fact that he would be able to tell truth from lie here in his Soul Land. If helping someone very vulnerable... as humane sense demanded of Zmey now, why not make it a friends-with-benefits situation? Because with only one party benefiting from a relationship, it makes it sour. And unworthy of keeping. Silvan explained, "The Inheritance Cycle is simple and straightforward. Not as complex as the discovery of magic on the Blood Island..." Zmey interposed, "... the Blood Island?" Silvan nodded in agreement. "The island is in the other dimension of Magi Lords, which we call the Great Sage Hall. But the mysterious island lost its title right when pure magic dominated. We now call it the Ancestral Island," he added. Then, he deviated back to the original discussion, "The cycle isn’t complex in how it works nor its purpose. Its only direct gifting of a mage’s power to the one in proximity with them at death. But... not just any human. It’ll be a mage who has the same Mage Body level with the dead one, causing a direct breakthrough to the next Mage Body..." Zmey creased his brows. As far as he knew, he was in no way the one in proximity to Silvan when he died with the activation of Rain of Stars. In the sense of proximity, it would be the other Marked Ones from their pavilion. However, in the sense of equal stage of cultivation... ... Neither he nor the apprentices met that. Was this guy trying to act smart? But still, he had a strong feeling that he was being truthful. At that moment, realisation struck him with force—his jaw dropped. An Abnormal Mage. A symbol of uncertainty. "... Oh. Is that why it happened?" Zmey mumbled. But Silvan didn’t seem to have any interest in whatever he mumbled about. He asked, "Are you an Abnormal Mage, Zmey Ashbane?" Zmey creased his brows straight away. It didn’t seem like he was asking him this, having heard what he actually said a second ago. But he seemed curious... "What conclusion would you reach if I told you I’m one?" Zmey queried in a calm, yet frank tone. In a split second, Silvan rubbed his hand across his face like wiping sweat. He replied, "It’s obvious now that you’re one. You don’t care what an Abnormal Mage implies. In literal senses, your vague power scaling shifted towards my Immortal Mage Body on that day. And in that way, you were the only one that could inherit my power. However... it shifted back to your Starless Mage Body right after that. It’s like you were being favoured by something..." Zmey asked straight away; excitement washed over his face. "Does that mean I can use your Immortal Mage Body’s power now?" Silvan shook his head with a gentle sigh. "Not already. Instead of the shift creating such an opportunity, it made a loophole instead." Zmey creased his brows. "How?" "Take a grasshopper as an example," Silvan explained. "It’s always green. But due to laying an egg with 185 more inside, it received a divine grace that changes its colour to a golden one. As long as the offspring from the egg live, it still has the grace of the heavens on it. But right after its colour changed, it shifted back to green..." Zmey got the flow. ’Immortal Mage Body back to Starless Mage Body...’ Silvan continued, "... Meanwhile, grasshoppers become golden after living for a thousand years. Golden grasshoppers, a thousand years old, can ascend the cotton throne. They must have killed a hundred other grasshoppers. The grasshopper isn’t golden anymore, but at least it killed a hundred grasshoppers. Right after completing it, it gained back its golden colour and became the king. The heavens’ grace from its laid egg created a loophole for the organism. A cheat to become golden without living for a thousand years. That’s what the Abnormal Magic is aiming towards." Zmey rubbed his chin. "Then what should the goal be? Since this world is based on survival of the fittest, does it need me to rise to stardom? To survive and become stronger?" Silvan nodded in agreement. "Yes, get stronger. The main focus is to survive. And the cheat would work in a surprising manner for you. It’s a challenge, but with choices. You can choose to follow it, or to go the normal way instead. The normal yet tough way to rise in ranks." "What’s your choice? Going for the cheat means surviving against beasts and Necrots. While even not doing so makes things more difficult." Zmey contemplated the question. Whatever choice he makes will change the course of his life. What should he go for? The easy way or the hard way?