Not long after Valorant stepped outside, Aster hurried out as well.
The old man was clearing the area in front of the hut, preparing something as if the place were about to descend into chaos once again.
Aster rushed up to him and asked eagerly,
"Master Valorant, where do we start?!"
Aster was genuinely happy to finally begin learning Elestar.
Valorant studied his new disciple for a moment, then cleared his throat before replying.
"Master… call me Master Valorant."
"Yes, Master Valorant!" Aster replied energetically.
After completing all the preparations, Valorant began explaining things to his disciple.
"Elestar means perfectly controlling the mana within your body. That's why the first thing I'll teach you is what mana truly is—then how to regulate it, hold it, and sense it."
From the way the old man spoke, the training sounded interesting.
Valorant looked the young disciple up and down, inspecting him carefully. Then a puzzled expression appeared in his eyes, as if he had realized something. He turned toward a tree stump standing in front of the hut.
"Do you see that stump?" he asked.
"Go sit on it and watch the sky. That will be your first training."
Aster stared at his master in confusion.
'Why do I need to stare at the sky?!'
Trying to understand, he asked,
"So… I just sit there and watch the birds?" he said, pointing at the birds flying overhead.
"Focus your attention on one place and simply observe the sky."
"Nothing else? What's the point of that?"
"Do you want to learn Elestar?"
"Y-Yes."
"Then if I tell you to do it, you do it!" Valorant snapped, his voice rising.
Unable to find meaning in his master's words, Aster grew irritated. It wasn't confusion—it was the anger in Valorant's voice that bothered him. Since childhood, no one had ever spoken to him like that. Even his mother had never raised her voice, always explaining his mistakes calmly.
Without another word, Aster quickly went over and sat on the stump. The old man returned to his usual tasks.
Aster sat there, continuing to watch the sky. Sometimes he followed the birds flying overhead; other times, he turned his head toward whatever sound caught his attention. When boredom set in, he even started drawing shapes on the ground.
Even at noon, Valorant told him not to move and brought him food. Lunch was eaten right there, on the stump.
Still, Aster didn't waste the day entirely. To make good use of the time given to him, he began analyzing his memories.
That was when something caught his attention.
'I was staring at the Demon King on the battlefield. That means I fought him. But when?'
When could that have been?
A hundred years ago? A thousand?
No—those answers were wrong.
The Demon King—more precisely, the Demon Kings—had attacked the world four times.
The first Demon King appeared ten thousand years ago. No one knew where he came from or how he emerged in this world.
Only one thing was certain.
From the moment he appeared, he tried to destroy the world.
With his demon army, the Demon King waged war to conquer everything. No city or nation could stand against him. One by one, all human lands were reduced to ash.
Then, from the darkness that had engulfed the world, a single man appeared.
He possessed strength humanity had never seen before—and a mysterious power later known as magic.
Before long, the demons began to fall. Human territories were reclaimed, and the Demon King was slain.
That man created Elestar.
He was the first Elestar.
Despite such monumental achievements, his name was never recorded in history. Instead, he lived on in legend as the First Elestar.
Humanity believed everything was over after his death.
But 2,500 years later, the Demon King returned.
This time, the demons were stronger—smarter.
Once again, someone rose to oppose them, and the Demon King was defeated.
It seemed final.
But it wasn't.
Two more invasions followed after that.
Aster lay back against the stump, gazing at the vast blue sky stretching above him, thinking about the most recent invasion.
'It's been more than two thousand years since the last attack. That means… I'm at least two thousand years old.'
The thought startled him.
'But what if I'm even older?'
He froze for a moment, then scratched his head and laughed bitterly.
'That's impossible. It doesn't make sense.'
But did remembering a past life make sense at all?
No.
He could feel it—there was something far greater hidden beneath all of this.
'I'll stick with at least two thousand years.'
Lost in those thoughts, Aster remained seated until nightfall.
***
As the sun dipped toward the horizon and its light vanished behind the trees, Valorant approached him.
"Aster. That's enough. Stand up."
Hearing those words, Aster finally exhaled in relief.
At last.
He tried to stand quickly—
Pain shot through his lower back.
As he bent forward, a sound came from his lower back, causing a grimace to form on Valorant's face as well.
"Ah…"
Aster clutched his waist and slowly stood up, slightly hunched.
Despite the pain, he managed to walk over and sit near the fire pit in front of the hut, where Valorant had already prepared dinner.
Seeing his disciple sit down, Valorant handed him a bowl.
Before taking it, Aster asked,
"What was today?"
Valorant looked at him in surprise.
"Training."
"That's not what I mean!" Aster said, taking the bowl.
"I mean sitting on that stump all day without moving."
Valorant looked at Aster's face. Whether he was treating him like a disciple or simply teasing, he replied,
"Didn't you like it?"
That answer annoyed Aster.
"I wasted my whole day doing nothing."
"If sitting bored you that much, lie down tomorrow," Valorant replied without emotion.
"Why are you laughing?! I thought you were going to teach me something," Aster said bitterly.
Valorant responded calmly, ignoring his agitation.
"Only someone who understands the pain of staying still can appreciate the value of action."
The old man added firewood to the flames and stirred the embers with a poker.
Aster stood there, fuming. He felt hurt—having spent the day doing nothing, and feeling as though his master was mocking him.
'Does this old man even know what he's doing?'
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Valorant shot him a cold, piercing look—as if he had read his thoughts.
Aster broke into a cold sweat.
'No doubt about it… he might be testing me.'
He sat back down.
Despite Aster's mood, Valorant treated him as usual.
"Sit and eat. Then I'll explain," he said, setting the poker aside.
Aster sat beside him and began eating.
"There was a reason I made you sit there all day," Valorant said.
"I needed to confirm something."
"What?" Aster asked, pausing mid-bite.
"Whether the mana flowing from your body is the result of emotions—or truly your own."
Staring into the fire, Valorant continued.
"Humans are strange beings. We live together, build bonds, and lose each other. When we lose someone precious, we feel grief, anger, despair, regret, guilt. All those emotions affect mana."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"If a person can't control themselves, mana production increases uncontrollably. That can lead to death—or severe injury."
Aster looked at his master in confusion.
'I don't understand…'
"Imagine this," Valorant said.
"Glasses of different shapes, sizes, and colors. Think of each glass as a person. Some have water inside, some more, some less. That water is mana."
Aster nodded.
"You are one of those glasses. You have your own capacity, shape, and color. When you use magic, you pour the water out. Afterward, your body refills it."
"But sometimes," Valorant continued,
"the glass tries to refill itself without pouring anything out. What happens then?"
"The water overflows," Aster answered.
"And if it can't overflow?"
"The glass… breaks?"
"Exactly. When people lose control of their emotions, their bodies produce far more mana than normal. If they don't release it or use more than they produce, they die."
Valorant paused and looked at Aster.
"You don't need to worry. Your mana isn't caused by emotions," he said lightly.
"How do you know?"
"If it were, you'd already be dead—or screaming in pain."
Aster stared at him.
"So… sitting on that stump all day was to see whether I'd live or die?!"
"Yes. What's the point of teaching a child who'll die tomorrow?" Valorant laughed openly.
Aster's breath caught in his throat.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Was surviving this luck—or fate?
Seeing his expression, Valorant softened slightly.
"Alright, don't worry. Everything's fine. We couldn't start physical training with this body anyway. Tomorrow, we begin working with mana."
Then he added,
"Give me your hand."
Aster hesitated, then held it out.
'If I trust his words… surviving really was my luck.'
Valorant placed a black stone from his pocket into Aster's palm.
Aster stared at it curiously.
An ordinary stone? Impossible.
Elestars wouldn't carry something ordinary.
Then what was it?
"Close your eyes and focus on the stone. Visualize it," Valorant ordered.
Aster closed his eyes.
In his dark inner world, a flame appeared from the void.
The fire wrapped around his body.
It wasn't hot or burning—just a gentle warmth.
Then Valorant's voice rang out.
"Open your eyes."
Aster slowly opened them and looked at the stone.
The stone that had been black moments ago had turned blue.