As Lowen quickly took his hand back Roland was left standing there in shock, his hand still suspended in midair. As he looked down at his own empty hand and back at Lowen, the boy's words continued to echo repeatedly within his head.

(Nah, just kidding. Nah, just kidding. Nah, just kidding. Nah, just kidding.)

At first, Roland couldn't process what had just happened but as he stared at the smug look on Lowen's face and repeated the words in his mind, Rolands expression twisted in anger. His words stammered out in both embarrassment and irritation.

"You, you, you little bastard. I offer you power, knowledge, and a chance at immortality and you throw my goodwill back in my face as a joke, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

The temperature in the room suddenly changed, as Roland's fury seemed to raise it, Lowen's cold glare seemed to make it fall. As the two stared at each other with animosity it seemed as though a storm were brewing at this very moment. In the corner, Nia and Ben felt something off and the two wanted to leave but fear paralyzed their feet, all they could do was sit quietly and hope this storm passed peacefully. Lowen stared poisonously at Roland, although Roland could kill him instantly with a fire spell Lowen was not backing off.

"Hmph, I'm throwing your goodwill away and what goodwill would that be? Ever since I've come to this village you've done nothing but be suspicious of me. Not only that I've continuously felt your subtle threats. I still wonder if when you first asked me to help you recover from your injuries if I absolutely refused to help you that day what would you have done?"

Rolands furious expression began to fade at that question and before he had time to answer, Lowen answered for him.

"As I've come to know you I can tell with almost no doubt you would have either killed me then and there or you would have captured me, imprisoning me indefinitely as you torture my secrets out of me. Don't even think about denying it."

Roland's expression no longer contained anger, instead, it was fully replaced with embarrassment as well as a little fear, not a fear of physical harm but instead of one who could see all the skeletons in your closet. Like a glass window, Lowen seemed to see straight thru Roland. Roland took a hard gulp wanting to explain himself but again Lowen continued.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming you, nor am I mad at you. I could see it plain as day you were desperate. Even before you told me anything about your past I could see that hopeless air that surrounded you, I could see it in your dull green eyes and I could see it in the lines in your face, as you were suspicious of me, I to was doubtful of you. How could someone whos supposedly a powerful Mage be stuck in the middle of nowhere unless something unfortunate has happened? That's not all though, the way you treat people that hold no value to you."

Lowen looked behind him and Roland's eyes followed, as Lowen stared at Nia and Ben behind him Roland knew immediately who he was talking about.

"When their father disappeared you told me that he had asked you to take care of his kids, however when I met them they were both starving and malnourished."

Pointing at Ben Lowen continued.

"Ben, little Ben was on the verge of death, his body was skinny enough to see his ribs and he was so weak he couldn't even move."

Lowen then pointed at Roland, as his words were filled with anger he was almost shouting as he spoke.

"You the Chief allowed everyone to bully them. Because of you, they couldn't eat and they slept with painful stomachs crying for food, because of you, they slept in this broken down shack and felt the cold harsh wind every night. No proper clothes no blankets and hated at every turn is this the goodwill you'll give me as soon as I'm no longer useful to you. Tell me are you so generous, is that why you wish to make me your acolyte or is the truth much more simple than that. Roland, wouldn't I just be a prize to you, something that you could brag about and claim I was entirely your making, is your ego so big? Your actions..... I can not trust and your words...I trust even less. Tell me, Roland, if you were me could you follow such a man, could you not only entrust your life but your future as well to one such as you. I know my words have upset you but burn me to ash if I have spoken a single lie."

Roland was shell-shocked, every word that Lowen had said was like a painful dagger stabbing his weak spot repeatedly. There was nothing he could say to counter and if he were to attack, it would show just how petty he was. He was supposed to be this powerful and wise Mage, but in front of Lowen, he could see that he was no more than a joke and even one who couldn't keep his word. Roland tried desperately to remember when his views became so warped, he hadn't been this way in the past but right now he fully recognized just how fucked up he became and he hated it, hated himself.

As he looked at a terrified Nia and Ben he could see they were anticipating his violent reaction as they trembled in fear, to them he was a monster. Looking at Lowen, this small child that tore into him, it seemed as though the roles were reversed and that he was the child and Lowen was the adult. Roland finally realized where he went wrong, although Lowen was overbearing and cocky, Roland was 10 no 100 times worse; He played the wise old man, but the second he didn't get his way he would almost immediately threaten with violence. Roland shook his head silently, he looked at Nia and Ben and for the first time thought about how they felt and thought about what they went thru. He wanted to say something to say anything but the right words just wouldn't form. Looking down at Lowen he wanted to explain but that didn't seem right either, in the end, Roland once more shook his head silently, he then turned around and with no words, he quietly left.

As Roland walked outside into the night a cold breeze bit at his face, as he gazed up at the diamond-like lights that shimmered in the sky above, Roland began to seriously contemplate his life. With slow wavering steps, Roland quietly walked back to the Chief Hall.

Inside Nia and Ben's home, the two ran up to Lowen quickly embracing him. Ben's tears started to pour down his face and onto Lowen soaking him while Nia's spoke with trembling words.

"Why did you do that? He could have killed you he could have killed you and then you'd be gone and I, and I..."

Nia couldn't finish her words as she too broke out into loud crying, with tears that seemed as though they would never end. Lowen pat these pair of siblings gently on their backs as he said calmly.

"I was confident he wouldn't."

But these words made the pair of siblings cry louder. This time it was Ben who spoke up.

"Big bro, big bro's a dummy waaaah. Don't do that again, if big bro does that again then, then, he's not my big bro anymore waaah."

Lowen gave a small chuckle as he continued to pat the two softly on their backs. He was sure that Roland wouldn't attack him as that seemed to not fit the situation. Lowen could tell that Roland was a man who worked off emotion, although he would act as though he was logically based on the outside on the inside Roland was a walking contradiction. Lowen had learned that Roland was selfish and greedy prideful and egotistical but if this were completely true why then did he help suppress some of the fires burning in the village thus saving many villagers. If he was truly all of these things he wouldn't have used magic at all especially so much, at that time the amount of magic he used was in direct proportion to how much life he would lose. If he were so greedy why then would he sacrifice years of his life using his magic? Lowen could only conclude that he wanted to protect some people or maybe not the people per se but his pride as a Mage. In the end, it seemed that Roland needed something to make his existence relevant and to him, that something was his magic, without it his life is meaningless. So for him, not killing Lowen was once again for himself, if he kills Lowen then his injuries would no longer recover and his 4th magic circle may never truly be repaired, this is why Lowen was confident. After Roland recovers though, Lowen figured it would probably be better for him to leave this place, leave this village and move on, otherwise who knows what would happen later on down the line.

As the two finally settled down and everyone went to bed a peaceful calm washed over the small village. At this time only two people sat awake contemplating things. Roland thought about his life and the choices and past mistakes that led him here while Lowen, on the other hand, thought of something much more interesting. As Nia and Ben had drifted off to sleep Lowen was instead wide awake. Sitting with his legs crossed in a meditative position in his hands he held a small book the title of which read [Earth Elemental Basics.]. As he gently stroked the leather cover of the book he then opened it and read it in its entirety memorizing every word and every letter to the T. Going over the words in the book as well as what Roland had said before, Lowen's anticipation rose several levels.

(If what Roland said was true then all I have to do is connect my soul with my Mage Core, in doing so my first circle of magic will fully form and I will have truly stepped into the realm of Magic, officially becoming a 1st circle Mage.)

As Lowen thought of this, he was still cautious as the process involved using his soul. If he somehow damaged his soul in this process that would be very bad for him and could easily hurt his chances of successfully cultivating the 5th Ki stage, the Soul Connection stage. In that stage, the usage of the soul was the most important factor in whether you could successfully achieve soul mastery allowing one to control one's own soul too perfection. Lowen was only a little cautious though as he had easily controlled his soul the day he arrived in this world to once again become a Ki manipulator. With his previous life's experience, he had already reached a level far higher than the soul connection stage, he had reached the 7th Ki stage the Martial King stage. With that, his power of the soul was frightful. At that level not only was Lowen physically powerful, capable of lifting mountains but with his soul, he could absorb power from all living things allowing him to fight almost indefinitely. When 2 masters reached that level and fought one another, it wasn't strange for fights to last months or even years. As long as they were near living things their energy simply would not run out, that's how amazing the power of the soul is.

Although Lowen thought about that he was only a little cautious. He felt he had perfect control over his soul and so his worries were actually small. Closing his eyes Lowen began to breathe with calm steady breaths. Circulating his ki a few times he calmed his heart and relaxed. With absolute focus, Lowen with a thought slowly pulled at the edges of his soul. As he began to move his soul it seemed to gently stretch like soft weightless rubber. More and more his soul stretched as it wiggled like a small worm towards his Mage Core. The closer Lowen's soul got to his Mage Core the more he seemed to slow it's approach down. As he did this the outside world grew quiet and the movement seemed still. The wind on Lowen's face that once nipped at his nose and cheeks became a tickle and then nothing. The ground underneath his body seemed to fade away as he could now no longer feel it. Every sense within him had now vanished, the only thing left was a dark black void. His soul seemed to vanish his Mage core vanished and his mind ...Vanished. There was no up and no down, no left or right. Time did not move nor stop, how long this went on for, no one knew.

*BOOOOOOOOOM*