Julian’s eyes widened in shock as the scene before him changed. He watched as the red pixels from the fire ball that dissipated earlier, gather back into Augustus’ palm.
But then, something even more astonishing happened—the blue pixels which had been freely floating in the air(mana), suddenly began moving toward his grandfather’s palm. It was as though they were drawn to him by some invisible force.
And in an instant, the very same red pixels in Augustus’ hand transformed into vibrant blue pixels magically. The fire ball was gone and now replaced by a swirling water ball as the blue pixels pulsed with energy.
Augustus chuckled at Julian’s stunned expression. “Now, this is a water ball,” he said.
Julian could hardly believe what he was seeing, his grandfather had easily shifted from one element to another.
“How did you do it, Grandpa?” he asked, his voice filled with curiosity.
Augustus gave a small smile, pleased by his grandson’s interest. “You just have to sense the different elements in the air and absorb that element to use it,” he explained.
“That’s why we say that the element doesn’t matter when you reach a higher realm.”
Although what Augustus did was impressive, Julian had a different thought in his mind.
So, even a Grand Mage does not truly know what is happening, he thought. He is not absorbing the water element; he has simply mastered fire to the point where it imitates the water element when it senses the element(water) in the air.
He thought, So that means they are not using the actual element. Julian sighed, a sense of frustration settling over him.
The whole world is living in an illusion. He realized that they weren’t truly manipulating the elements as they believed; they were simply creating an illusion, a trick of the mind, where they convinced themselves they were using another element.
He thought, Since it’s just an imitation, the results of spells must be weaker and unstable.
This realization made him think of his father, Duke Alden. No wonder I have never seen him use any element other than wind, Julian mused.
Even in the deadly situation with Marcus, he only used wind. Julian now understood that his father’s mastery over wind was not just a preference, but rather was the foundation of his power.
Mages just use the term “multiple elements” to create an image of how powerful they are. What they considered as mastery over multiple elements was merely the ability to manipulate one element to mimic the properties of others.
He then turned to Gregoria and asked, “What’s your primary element, Grandmother?”
She looked at him with a gentle smile. “I use light,” she replied.
“Could you demonstrate how you use multiple elements?” Julian requested.
Gregoria nodded and raised her hands and a sphere of radiant light appeared. Then, with a shift in her aura, the light began to change to a faint blue, as though she were summoning water.
Julian focused intently as his vision adjusted to see the pixels. Just as he suspected, it was still the same light element, merely bending and adapting to imitate other forms.
She raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s gotten you so interested in multiple elements, Julian?”
Julian’s gaze lingered on her breasts before he replied, “Nothing, Grandma. I just find it interesting that others put so much time on mastering them.”
He then excused himself and made his way back to his room. On the way, he thought to himself, So if I want to merge all the elements, I can’t expect help from anyone, not even the system itself.
Julian realized that his path would be one he would have to carve on his own.
The knowledge was overwhelming for Julian, and he decided it was best to take things slow. He needed time to process everything.
Time passed, and soon it was time for dinner. Julian made his way to the grand dining hall, where he found his entire family gathered—his grandfather and grandmother, his father and mother, his sisters, and even his niece.
It had been four days since Julian was present in the dining table, so everyone was surprised to see him enter the dining hall. His family looked at him curiously, wondering what had kept him so occupied for so long.
Eva laughed and said, “Look who decided to come out of his cave.” Eliot joined in with a mischievous grin and added, “Yeah, he smells too.”
Julian chuckled as he leaned back in his chair with a confident smile playing on his lips.
“I am confident in my charm, my dear niece,” he said smoothly. “I can smell shit, and even that will not stop the ladies from falling for me.”
His tone was light, filled with teasing confidence as he addressed both Eva and Eliot.
“In fact, I’m sure some of them were relieved to have a little break” He leaned in a little closer, his voice lowering just enough to add some extra knack. “No need to worry about me, I will still be the center of attention wherever I go.”
Eva raised an eyebrow and laughed, clearly amused by his confidence while Eliot rolled her eyes. But they both knew that Julian’s charm was as undeniable as ever.
Alden was still skeptical and uneasy about Julian’s recent changes. With a furrowed brow, he asked, “What were you doing, Julian?”
Julian met his father’s gaze. “I was cultivating, father,” he replied, his tone casual.
Alden let out a heavy sigh, his eyes filled with a mixture of concern and regret. “Julian, I hope you won’t let power control you,” he said.
The others around the table exchanged confused glances, unsure of what Alden meant.
Julian however remained calm as he replied, “I will, father.”
Gregoria, ever curious, looked at her son with a raised brow. “What do you mean, Alden?” she asked.
Alden glanced at his mother. “I will tell you later, mother,” he replied, his tone signaling that it was a topic better saved for another time.
While Regina sat quietly at the table, her gaze fixed on Julian. Though she appeared calm on the outside, her mind was in turmoil.
Julian met her gaze, but he said nothing, giving her space to think.
** Author note: Do mention, if the chapters about pixels and multiple elements were confusing or hard to understand. If it is, I will add a short and simple summary.
