The surface of the ocean rippled and the old man standing within the water scowled. He observed the water which danced on the ocean surface.

As the grey-haired man’s scowl deepened, the ice dancing along with water, melted in an instant and water fell back into the ocean, lifeless. And just like that, the dance of the water and ice came to an abrupt end.

The corpse of the creature, which had been placed at the centre of the dance floor, began to burn from the inside out before finally turning into ashes in a matter of few moments.

A sigh fell into the grey-robed old man’s ears and his eyes narrowed in disgruntlement. He hadn’t wanted to do this in the first place. But now that he was doing it, he had to suffer through her disrespect for it?

“Failed again?” The woman spoke as she massaged her temples. Her voice was tired and she looked up and her gaze fell on the old man but before she could continue, the bearded old man sent a sharp look to the green-clad woman standing on the beach and her words died in her throat.

“What else did you expect?!” The brown-eyed old man snapped. “I am no ritualist or enchanter. I am a [Ward Smith]!”

The old man had always had a rather light fuse on his temper; the same fuse that had been blown off after the repeated failures of the ritual that he had been asked to perform without any prior knowledge.

[Monster Tamer]'s words had been just the trigger he needed to take his frustrations out on her. Given the fact that she had been the one who had requested this ridiculous task of him, he felt little pity.

“Asking a [Ward Smith] to perform a ritual? Do you think both are the same?” The old man scolded as he kept the green-clad woman pinned under a sharp look. “I was magnanimous enough to agree to your ridiculous request, yet you show me contempt? Such insolence!”

“You misunderstand-”

“Silence!” The man snapped and the woman winced. But the man did not stop his grumblings. “No matter your lineage, you should respect your elders. Even more so to the ones you request assistance from. I had already Tiered-up before you were even born. Yet you dare to show impertinence? Such daring!”

“Maharaja@ Bandhan, I didn't-”

“Did I allow you to speak?” The man’s gruff voice resounded and the woman’s voice, once again, died in her throat. She pursed her lips and breathed deeply before deciding to speak no more.

The old man continued to grumble for a few more minutes before he barked. “Bring the next carcass!”

The woman breathed deeply before she nodded and activated her Tier 3 Skill. “[Essence Space].”

AS she activated her Skill, a glow emanated from her body before it began condensing in front of her in the form of a monster carcass. A moment passed and the glow vanished, leaving behind a carcass almost the size of the woman's arm.

“Drag it here.” The older man ordered, and the woman complied without hesitation.

“Be ready Pratibimba#!” The man called out and a small being poked its head out of the water. The being seemed almost like a cross in between a fish and a lizard.

The being was about the size of a mortal’s palm and had black eyes at the side of its head. But that was not all that was strange about the being. For as one gazed upon the being, one would get the bizarre feeling that the being was unreal, despite the flesh it possessed. Its edges blended with the world around it.

If one were well acquainted with the various creatures of nature, they would recognise that the being had a shape that was quite similar to that of a mudskipper.

The mudskipper nodded at the old man, with a mannerism that was quite mortal, before diving back into the ocean.

The old man nodded as he began the process all over again. “[Mana Manifestation]. [Mana Manipulation]!”

The surface of the ocean rippled as a ring of water rose above the ocean surface. The water ring was massive and spanned at least the length of two mortals, with the old man standing just outside the perimeter.

The old man turned and, along with him, the ring of water moved. The old man kept on turning and the ring kept on moving until the ring reached the monster carcass and enclosed it within.

The grey-robed man moved one last time and adjusted the water ring until the carcass was right in the centre. The old man nodded with furrowed brows before he called out. “[Mana Binding].”

The water and the air, both, rippled as the water rose from the ocean once again and began forming shapes that began from the centre of the circle, raced towards the perimeter and then turned back towards the centre, where the monster carcass lay.

“Pratibimba!” At that moment, the older man’s eyes narrowed and he called out to the mudskipper. “Freeze it now.”

The water within the lake froze, in but a moment. A moment before it had flowed and churned but, in the next, it had turned to ice. The old man’s narrowed eyes observed the pattern of ice before he called out. “[Intent Creation]!”

Nothing changed as the brown-eyed man’s Skill activated, but clearly, something had happened as the older man nodded and mana poured out of him and into the ice-ring.

As the mana finished pouring, the man stepped back and watched his work come alive.

The ice within the frozen ring began moving and as it moved, the monster carcass within it began to bubble as if it were not made of flesh and shell but thick, gooey liquid.

The bubbling shell began to fall off the carcass, in pieces and droves, revealing the pink flesh, one chunk at a time. The bubbling continued and the shell continued to bubble and fall until all that remained was nothing but a small mass of flesh.

The man did not recognise what part of the monster’s biology it was and neither did he care. Instead, his attention was occupied by the moving ice within the froze ring.

The pink mass of flesh rose above the surface of the ocean water and hovered in the air, for a moment, before it too began to melt. The flesh lost its shape and what had once been solid became pink soupy liquid.

But the change did not stop there as the liquid continued to change. The pink of the liquid slowly began to fade and the consistency of the liquid began to loosen as it was stretched and moulded by the bound mana of the ice-ring.

The change continued for a few moments more before it finally stopped, revealing a clear watery liquid hovering in the air.

“Take your elixir.” The old man turned away from the ice ring and began to leave. “And don’t bother me with such worthless pursuits in the future!”

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-

Maharaja@: Merely a respectful form of address. Literally means king of kings but not exactly an emperor. The old man is neither a king nor an emperor.

Pratibimba#: Name of the mudskipper. It means Reflection.