The Talentless Sage

Axel and Merlin are on their way to Merlin's tower in the night breeze. Owls and crickets cover the silent night as they slowly walk into the depths of the forest.

Mertil's tower is located between the Village and the Purple Forest. Though it may feel dangerous to stay on such place, the tower is protected by a copper level barrier, so only a spiriteer with a higher rank than the user can destroy it.

As they walk in silence, Mertil started a coversation, "Do you know what a spirit demon is?" Mertil asked faintly.

Axel looked at Mertil puzzled, "Yeah, aren't they spiriteers that are corrupted by the impure energy?" Axel anaswered.

Mertil giggled, "Correct. Then you should know what a spiriteer than?" He asked another question, like he is testing Axel.

Axel, who's starting to get bored with the questions, "They are the manifestations of spirits, creatures that though lack intelligence, can also cultivate their spirit sea." Axel answered with precise accuracy, "What about it?"

Mertil stopped walking and Axel got puzzled, "We're here." Mertil said as he looked up to see the very head of the tower.

"Ohh.. We're here." Axel was simply stupified, even though he has seen the tower from his village; it was really far away, thus looking small. Looking closer, it was bigger than he thought. Axel never got close to the tower in his past life since it is close to the Purple Forest.

They entered the huge door into the tower, it was really big; the same size as the church, maybe?

The moment Axel entered the tower, he saw a huge amounts of books. It looks like they are even rarer than the village's school, "This is a lot of grimoires." Axel muttered loudly, [though not as many as mine in the past life.] he thought confidently

"So you know about grimoires too? You're smart for a child." Mertil shouted in the distance, "Come here, I want to let you see something." he shouted again. Mertil was already on the second floor, leaning on the wooden fence that leads inside the stony entrance.

Axel was beginning to doubt Mertil's motive but his traveler's instincts are telling them to go, telling Axel, "You can trust him." his intincts said.

Axel went along the stairs leading to the stony entrance and went inside. He again saw Mertil going to a hidden door, it was a rotating bookshelf, "smart" Axel muttered.

Axel went to the hidden door, entered it and saw a deep staircase going down. Now, Axel is really doubting but his instincts is fighting with him, [I can't take the chances, I didn't even learn a single spirit skill to defend myself yet] he thought.

But his instincts are telling him to go, that it will help him severly. For the guy who got defeated by his instincts a lot of time, he gave up and went down.

Axel then got startled as he went deeper and deeper, feeling killing intent on the bottom; but it's not Mertil's killing intent, "Who or what is below there?" Axel muttered with high alert.

Walking down a few more stairs, he finally arrived to the very bottom. It was a long staircase with little light, then, he saw something he did not expect. A creature with a purple color and red eyes was lying on the room, "What do you think, Axel?" Mertil said.

"T-thats..." Axel was getting excited but hides it, "A Spirit Demon... but it's dead." he mumbled.

"I was practicing making spirit tools since five years ago." Mertil smiled greatly, "Do you know what I experimented this time?" He asked proudly.

Spirit tools are technologies made by the beastkin to eliminate their inability to produce any spirit skills. Spirit tools also have the categories of offensive, defensive and offensive and has various effects depending on the spirit tool.

They are made as the Spiriteers spirit sea as the power source. What makes spirit tools special is that its really convenient and easy to use. But there are also spirit tools that...

"Don't tell me." Axel was shocked at what he calculated, "You made a spirit tool with the Spirit Demon's spirit sea as the power soruce?!" Axel was speechless. No one has ever dared to put a spirit demon's spirit sea on a spirit tool.

Spirit tools are powered by the spirit energy given off by the spiriteer's spirit sea. If they were to be powered by an impure energy, the user would get corrupted and become a spirit demon itself.

Mertil laughed evilly, "Correct!!" While he laughed, he went behind the spirit demon's corpse. He arrived back with something on his hands, it was a spirit tool

It was a gauntlet that has a diamon-shaped red gem on the center. It was yellowish in color and had some patterns on the sides, it was giving off a chilly aura.

"Wait!" Axel made a stop sign and said, "Why are you showing me this?" Axel was puzzled by the sudden invitation.

"I see..." Mertil then puts the gauntlet on the table and replied, "Because you are the most promising in this village... besides, to have such a child already detecting killing intent on such mastery is really rare!" he grinned.

Detecting killing intent is a skill that is hard to master. It's a spirit skill that helps you identify impure energy that is resonating on a body. Impure energy is the source of killing intent, dancing rapidly as if it would explode.

But... What Mertil releassed back on the classroom was a speck of killing intent, it wasn't even enough for the strongest on the village to discover yet Axel was startled by it. Mertil was not sure and thought it was a coincidence so he tried it again.

He released a small amount of killing intent when Axel was going home, this was the moment he was sure. For a kid to have such mastery on the skill, he is the one.

"Crap..." Axel discovered his mistake, "Sigh, mom has been telling me to practice atleast to detect killing intent when I go to the forest to get herbs, we don't know a spiriteer may attack." he answered with a straight face.

[It was true that mom told me that, but she never told me how to practice it. For a talentless sage to be so reckless, hehehe] Axel was amiss.

"I see... shut a clever mom." Mertil complimented with a faint clap, "Then, will you wear this gauntlet for me? If you succeed it will be yours."

Axel was speechless and didn't quite understand, ".... No, showing me was okay but wearing it might destroy my body." He explained.

Mertil grabbed the gauntlet and reached his hand to Axel, "You'll survive. You're stronger than I know." Mertil said in confidence, like he knows what Axel is hiding.