Austin tried to hide his shock as he arrived at this new area. If anything, he felt less shock and more worry. There was an initial shock, of course, but the Survival Game made him feel like anything was possible. He worried because now he was even further away from Maya and Elliot. If he were stuck in this place, then he wondered what that meant would happen to them. First, he needed to understand where he was at, though.
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“Where am I?” Austin asked the man.
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“No shock about meeting an elf?” The man seemed disappointed. “I at least thought you would be in awe of my presence. If I’m right, your planet doesn’t have elves.”
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“I’m not particularly surprised,” Austin said flatly. “I’m thrown into this Survival Game and just sort of assuming that anything can happen.”
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“And here I was so excited for you to bask in my presence,” the man sighed and lowered his head.
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“I don’t really have time to bask,” Austin rolled his eyes. “You still haven’t even answered my question.”
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“Has anyone ever told you that you’re rude?” The man said. “I mean, you didn’t even introduce yourself!”
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“I prefer to think of myself as direct,” Austin replied flatly. “But if it’s so important to you. My name is Austin. What’s yours?”
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“Austin? Hmm, that’s a strange name,” the man seemed to ponder the name for a moment before he continued and made a grand gesture with his hands. “My name is Artas of the Thousand Wood Fist! The pleasure is all yours!”
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Austin rolled his eyes once more. He got the impression this man had an overly inflated ego. He thought that there must be something special about him to have a statue and transport him to this place, but the ego was a little too much. He got the impression that this guy was some sort of martial arts master, but he always thought that they were supposed to be humble.
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“Okay, now that we've got introductions out of the way. Where are we?” Austin asked.
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“See, that’s so much better, now we know each other’s names,” Artas smiled. “This place is just one of my many temples. I take on students from those who are lucky enough to find it.”
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“That sounds nice and all, but I don’t really have time to be someone’s student,” Austin replied. “So can you send me back so I can get to my wife and son?”
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Artas paused for a moment before he exploded into laughter. He seemed to have lost control of himself completely as he laughed wildly. Tears even started to stream down his face. Once he finally stopped laughing, he coughed and straightened his body as if he was regaining his composure.
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“Sorry about that,” Artas said. “I’m just in a bit of shock. You came all the way down through a cave to my shrine, and you don’t want to be my student?”
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“I mean, I’m sure you are great and all, but that sounds like it would take a lot of time,” Austin explained. “I don’t really have that kind of time right now.”
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Artas nodded while holding his chin with his hand. “I see. I see. You’re an interesting guy. Most people who meet me jump at the opportunity of getting stronger without a second thought.”
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“I’m guessing most people don’t have a family to look after,” Austin replied. “Power would be nice, especially because it would help me protect them. But I can’t risk their safety.”
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“A very valid concern,” Artas nodded. “One you don’t need to worry about.”
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Austin raised an eyebrow. “What is that supposed to mean?”
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“This place lives outside the normal flow of time,” Artas explained. “So your time with me will move slower than the time outside.”
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“Why didn’t you lead with that?” Austin asked.
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“Well, one, you didn’t give me the chance to explain,” Artas explained as he raised a finger. Then he lifted a second and continued. “Two, even if someone finds this place, I don’t just train anyone. That would be grossly irresponsible. So I evaluate a person and decide if I want them as a student. I’ve decided that I definitely want you.”
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“Yeah? Why is that?” Austin seemed skeptical.
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“The action of growing one’s Essence draws battle-hungry power freaks. Guys who just want to get stronger to get stronger,” Artas responded. “I prefer the type of person who has a reason to get stronger and to fight.”
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“Why’s that? Wouldn’t one of those other guys be more eager?” Austin asked. “I mean, I was ready to just leave.”
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“They certainly do have potential. Many might go on to be great masters of their own and reach Gold, but you never know how they will act. They could suddenly decide to turn on their masters for more power,” Artas explained. “Even then, I could probably handle them just fine. My reasoning mostly comes down to personal preference. I prefer people who do not see power as the goal but as the means.”
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“So you see me as a pet project,” Austin concluded with a flat tone.
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“All students are a project of their masters,” Artas declared with a grin. “That is not a bad thing. It is instead part of what a master gains from a student. We don’t train people just out of the goodness of our hearts.”
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“Okay, fine,” Austin sighed. “Say I accept all that. What happens now?”
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“Well, first you have to say it,” Artas smiled widely. “Then we can move on.”
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Austin let out a large groan before he spoke, “I will be your student.”
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Artas clapped his hands together and jumped for joy. Austin was taken off guard by his Artas’s excitement. “There we go! I’m so happy to have you! First, we get you a change of clothes!”
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“That’s first?” Austin said with a confused expression.
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“Of course! I can’t have you training in those bloody rags!” Artas replied. “There should be some training outfits in my shrine. Go change.”
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Austin nodded and walked past Artas into the shrine. Next to the center of the shrine was a singular black uniform, almost as if Artas knew that Austin was coming. Austin noticed on the right chest of the uniform was a circle with a fist symbol and a green background. He assumed that it must be a representation of Artas.
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After putting on the uniform, Austin walked back to Artas. He had placed his old clothes back in his pack. He felt like he could not just throw them away. As Austin walked back to Artas, he was shocked that the uniform seemed to fit him perfectly.
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“Much better!” Artas exclaimed. “I can’t have my newest student looking bad.”
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“I will say it is nice to get out of those clothes,” Austin said with a very slight smile.
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“I knew you would like new clothes,” Artas grinned. “You’re just the type who takes himself too seriously most of the time.”
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“You don’t even know me,” Austin said. “I could be a very relaxed person.”
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“You definitely aren’t,” Artas laughed. “I can tell that much.”
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“Whatever, can we move on?” Austin rolled his eyes.
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“Well, now I’m disappointed,” Artas sighed. “I was sure you were going to ask how I could tell.”
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“I mean, you aren’t wrong. I assume that you figured I was serious because of the way I acted when I arrived,” Austin explained. “No need for me to ask further questions on that.”
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“You are just no fun,” Artas frowned with exaggeration. “Has anyone ever told you that? No, don’t answer that. Our back and forth has gone on too long.”
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Before Austin could respond, Artas ran into the shrine in a gust of wind. It only took him a matter of seconds to run into the shrine and back. When he arrived back at Austin, he had a notebook and a pen in his hand.
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“Okay, time to explain. This is good for your training, too,” Artas began to draw on the paper. He quickly sketched out what appeared to be an uncontrolled flame and an arrow pointing from it to another flame, except it had a teardrop appearance like a candle. An arrow then pointed from the candle flame to a perfectly shaped ball.
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“Alright, think of this diagram as your Essence from Lead to Copper. You start out as a wild flame. Through proper breathing exercises and Aether purification, you gain control of that flame. The next step determines your elemental affinity. As you bring in Aether, you mold and change your Essence to better suit you,” Artas explained. “This is a natural process as you accumulate and purify Aether. Now there are self reflection and breathing techniques that can help mold your Essence better. That is actually the preferred method, but for many, they just accumulate Aether and eventually get their Essence elementally aligned.”
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Austin nodded as he listened along until he raised a question. “What does this have to do with my personality? I mean, this is all helpful info, but I don’t understand how it relates to my personality.”
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“I’m getting there, I’m getting there. Calm down,” Artas waved a hand downward. “Essence’s elemental affinity can be determined by the Aether of the surrounding environment or the person’s personality. Once you get skilled enough, you’ll be able to see someone’s Essence. That’s how I knew what kind of person you are.”
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“Well, wouldn’t I have been influenced by the Survival Game forest?” Austin asked. “So you couldn’t be exactly right.”
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“Good question, points for my student,” Artas smiled kindly. “The Survival Game’s Aether has not influenced you at all. Each time you take it in, you purify it. Which makes the Aether align with your own natural affinity. Someone can choose not to purify it and make their Essence align with the affinity of that Aether. There are two major reasons to do so. The first is if someone wants to use that specific affinity for their path. The second is that a person can gain power quicker if they don’t purify the Aether.”
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“Whoa, this is kind of information overload,” Austin started to rub his temples as he tried to process the information. “So if it is faster. Why would I want to purify it?”
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“I’m already happy to have you as a student. Another good question, the best students ask good questions,” Artas said. “I mean, you have probably already seen the effects. Purifying Aether gives you better control of your Essence. Also, while someone can learn to use an affinity outside their own, it is much harder further down their training when they use an affinity that does not match their personality.”
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“Sounds like there are trade-offs either way then,” Austin nodded in understanding. “One last question before we move on. What is my affinity then?”
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“So I can’t give you a specific answer,” Artas said. “But it makes me think of something hard and rigid like earth, metal, or ice.”
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“Interesting, I guess that gives me an idea of what is to come,” Austin said. “I’m guessing you are like nature or something?”
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“Yeah, my title gives it away. My affinity is wood,” Artas said before clapping his hands. “Now let’s move on with your actual training since we got the Essence explanation out of the way.”
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“Wait, how am I supposed to be your student if we have different affinities?” Austin abruptly asked before they moved on to training.
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“We don’t need to have the same affinity. I can guide you regardless,” Artas responded simply. “Now like I said, let’s move on.”
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“What are we going to do?” Austin asked. “Are you going to teach me how to fight or what?”
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“Oh, I will definitely do that. Since you are a total novice,” Artas smiled. “But first, we are going to get your affinity shaped, and you will leave this place as a Copper.”
