Chapter 40 - Magic

Magic is real?

The bewildering thought spun inside his head as Viktor received and read the entirety of the message. When he closed his eyes, flashes of bright light in many colors could be seen piercing and flickering through the darkness.

After a few seconds, the flashes eventually reduced their brilliance a bit and gathered together, forming a hexagram drawing with eight symbols on its sides and two on its center. Each symbol was accompanied by a writing of mysterious runic letters. But when Viktor tried to read it, he was surprised to discover that he could understand what they meant.

It was a symbol detailing the connection between the ten elements that were known in the world; water, ice, wind, lightning, fire, metal, earth, plant, darkness, and light.

When Viktor opened his eyes, the notification appeared again with the same message.

[You may now choose one of the 10 elements of spirits]

[Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Metal, Plant, Ice, Lightning, Darkness, Light]

Viktor finally realized the implication of what he saw, hence he grinned in excitement.

"Is this for real? Wow!"

<kekeke… Believe it.>

"Then, Djinn, do I really get to choose whichever one I want?"

<Yes, can't you read it?>

"Hahaha, I am sorry. This is just amazing! Okay, just to be sure, I can really… only choose one, right?"

<Yes, only one and no more.>

It was clear from his voice that the Djinn's patience is wearing thin.

"Alright, alright. Were there any guides at all for this? This is a very important decision!"

<Alright, I can help you with that, just close your eyes and focus on the diagram again>

Hearing that, Viktor quickly adjusted his seating position on the flat rock and closed his eyes. As the Djinn said, the diagram reappeared along with the symbol, and he focused his mind on one at a time.

As he focused on the symbol with the word "Earth", Viktor saw the images of the ground splitting off and cracking, along with the false feeling of the place he sat on trembling violently. Afterwards, the ground closed and knitted together as if the cracks was never there,

Next to it was the word "Water". Sprays of water started to rise from the ground, forming into a lake, a sea, then turning into a massive deluge that swallowed everything in its path. For a moment, Viktor's body tensed as he watched the disastrous sight unfold.

After that, the word "Plant" flashed brightly. Immediately after, it created the images of life sprouting from the ground; saplings of many kinds began germinating and eventually covering the entire place, turning it into a massive forest.

Before Viktor could make out any details, the word "Wind" flashed in front of his eyes and strong gusts of wind blew upon the landscape, coalescing into a cyclone that swept the leaves from the forest away, leaving barren trees in its place.

"Lightning" appeared next, and this time, Viktor waited with expectation. Soon, he was presented by the sight of a sea of gray clouds covering the sky before a flash of blue thunder struck down, turning the barren forest into a sea of fire along with the appearance of the "Fire" symbol.

As the blazing flames weakened and flickered before eventually fading, snow began to fall from the sky, and the brittle trees began to turn into dust and freeze along with the rest of the ground, creating a frozen and barren area devoid of life. Soon after, the word "Metal" flashed, breaking the icy ground and revealing the shiny metallic minerals underneath.

<That is the introduction of the 8 elements. As for Light and Darkness, they are unique elements that are opposite only to one another.>

For Viktor, the flood of information was overwhelming, but as he could only choose one, he had to proceed carefully. He decided to ask a bit more.

"Then, does that mean the light and darkness are the more premium type of elements?"

<I can't say that is accurate, but I can't say you are wrong, either.>

"That means it will be more beneficial if I choose between the two then?"

<If that what you wish, then yes.>

Even though Djinn's answer didn't make sense, Viktor still took his opinion into account in his decision-making process. At first, he was tempted to just choose light or darkness, but considering what he had seen so far, there is no way that was all there was to the so-called 'premium' elements.

In the end, he decided to hold off choosing for now and appeal to the Djinn's.

"Please, Djinn, give me some tips. Is there anything about the elements that makes one better than the other?"

The Djinn fell silent, but Viktor waited patiently as he knew this moment was very important for his future. A few moments later, his voice finally sounded again.

<Alright, each element has a different attribute, and generally, each was more suited in some applications than others. For example, Wind and Lightning generally have more and better speed-oriented spells. Due to its nature, Earth and Metal would have more and stronger defensive spells. Fire and Ice have many good offensive spells with large area of effects, while Plant and Water have more amazing healing and auxiliary spells.>

The explanation was simple, and therefore Viktor managed to quickly grasp the gist of it. Overall, all elements have its pros and cons, and he just needed to find an element that would complement his fighting style.

With this information in hand, Viktor quickly went into deep contemplation.

Fire element spells would be really nice for when he found himself in a similar situation as when he fought the lemmings before, but then again, if his choice was to choose between a good offensive spell and a spell to increase his survivability, he would choose the latter at any day without an ounce of hesitation.

He believed that speed would always be the key to survival, as it would be better to run as quickly as possible when cornered to live and survive another day. But, that was why he pushed a lot of his points in speed, and most likely, another speed-based element to make him faster would be redundant.

His situation left him with the other important point of survival in case speed wouldn't help him - a good defensive capability that would protect him from getting hurt if he happened to get caught by his opponents.

To conclude. The [Allmight] skill would be enough for his offensive capabilities, as for all his bonus stats, he will boost it into agility for speed, while finally, he would rely on magic spells to boost his defense.

This seemed like a solid plan indeed.

"Djinn, tell me which elements have the best defense!"

<Between Earth and Metal, the latter is the hardest and most durable one>

"Alright, that settled it, then. I don't need to think any further, I choose the Metal element."

<As you wish>

As soon as Viktor made his decision, a flash of light entered his mind. Following that was the arrival of a notification message.

[Affinity in metal element was found]

Viktor could see within the flashes a bright silvery light forming into shape. But then suddenly more notification surprised him

[Congratulation you have mastered the foundation of metal elements]

[Your spirit core was upgraded by fate]

[Spirit Core of Anvil - foundation]