A young boy around 18 years of age appeared to be meditating in a training ground of sorts. The boy had his eyes closed and was focused on observing the Flow of Mana surrounding him. Suddenly, a grey aura erupted around him. The cloudy and pulsating aura entered his body through all of his pores. His body devoured the grey aura like a hungry beast. In an instant, the entire grey aura was absorbed by the boy. The grey aura could be seen pulsating in his blood vessels as veins popped up on every inch of the boy’s body. After some circulations, the boy breathed out heavily as the grey aura spilled out of his pores. Quickly, the entire aura had exited the body of the boy. He opened his eyes, apparently finished with his meditation.

Just as the boy opened his eyes, Haldir entered the training grounds with a smile on his face. Seeing Haldir, the boy’s lips slowly curled into a happy smile. The boy’s piercing jet-black eyes shone in affection as he spoke, “Hello Grandpa! How are you today?” Haldir, still smiling, replied, “I’m feeling great! How about you? Did you finally decide to overcome the Hurdle of Awareness?” Aldon answered, “Not yet, Grandpa. But, I’m very close! I’ve finally finished all my preparations. I’m ready to confront the Hurdle of Awareness after today’s event.”

Haldir spoke as if he just remembered today’s event, “Ah! Your Coming of Age ceremony is today, right?” He teased Aldon, “You do know that there will be numerous elves of similar age to yours in the ceremony, who would have already overcome the Hurdle of Awareness, right?” Aldon replied nonchalantly, “Good for them! I have no interest in comparing myself with them. I’m progressing on my own terms. I have my own goals, and I’ll take every necessary step to achieve them. I am currently focusing on developing my prowess properly, rather than standing out.” Haldir felt proud of his grandson after listening to his words since he knew how much he had worked hard.

To check Aldon’s progress, Haldir suggested, “How about we have a quick spar with no holds barred? Of course, I’ll restrict my Mana usage to that of peak Realm 3. Come at me like you are in an actual combat. This won’t be a friendly spar. Don’t worry! I have quite a bit of mastery in healing magic. I can heal all the wounds incurred during the spar.” Aldon wryly chuckled as he replied, “I know you can heal the wounds completely, but do we always have to do this?” Though Aldon spoke words of complaint, he stood up and began warming up with a twinkle in his eyes. Haldir, noticing this, laughed, “Hahaha! Don’t act as if you don’t look forward to this! I know all about your battle mania.” Aldon laughed sheepishly as he suddenly sprung with unbelievable speed towards Haldir.

Haldir easily evaded the attack and countered with a jab of his elbow aimed towards Aldon’s head. Aldon had anticipated the elbow jab as he put pressure in his feet and somersaulted to avoid it. The moment he somersaulted, he started to gather Mana as he began casting ‘Flame Pillar’. Flame Pillar was a Realm 3 Fire-attributed Spell that generated a bunch of scorching flames and discharged them in one direction. The enormous quantity of flames spewed gave it an appearance of a pillar. Hence the name, ‘Flame Pillar’. Haldir was taken by surprise at the fluidity and the swiftness of Aldon’s spellcasting. He quickly cast a defensive Realm 3 Wind-attributed Spell, ‘Wind Barrier’. A spherical dome of whirling wind formed around Haldir as a result of the Spell.

Still airborne due to the reactive force of the Flame Pillar, Aldon’s mouth curled into a smile as he watched Haldir cast the Wind Barrier. He quickly started casting the Spell ‘Lightning Storm’ towards Haldir. Lightning Storm was a Realm 3 Spell that combined the Lightning and Wind attributed Mana to generate a destructive storm. Aldon cast the Spell, and it instantly engulfed Haldir. Instead of repelling the Spell cast by Aldon, the Wind Barrier amplified the power of the Lightning Storm. The Spell’s might approached that of a Realm 4 Spell due to this phenomenon.

Aldon, still on his guard, observed the rampage of the Lightning Storm. Suddenly, a hand appeared behind Aldon and moved ferociously and straight towards his heart. The hand belonged to Haldir! Without Aldon’s knowledge, Haldir had crept up behind him and had attacked one of his vital points in one fell swoop. Instinctively, Aldon cast ‘Lightning Steps’ on his feet to avoid the attack and put some distance between them. Lightning Steps, as its name suggests, was a Realm 3 Lightning-attributed Spell that increased the agility of the intended target by two times. But, unfortunately for Aldon, Haldir chased him with all his might, and he could not create a distance between them.

Giving up on the long-ranged approach, Aldon changed course and charged towards Haldir, intending to take Haldir by surprise. Haldir just laughed and easily countered the hasty attack. The spar now took a turn to a close combat one. Aldon went on the offensive, focusing his Mana on his arms and legs to strengthen them, and started pummeling Haldir relentlessly. Though it looked as though Aldon had the upper hand, it was actually Haldir who had the upper hand. Haldir easily evaded or straight-up blocked every one of Aldon’s attacks.

Chuckling and still blocking Aldon’s attacks, Haldir spoke, “Hahaha! Though your Spellcasting has improved significantly, your close combat skills still require polishing!” He continued, “Get ready! Now I’ll go on the offensive.” Suddenly, Haldir stopped blocking Aldon’s attacks and started retaliating. The weight behind Haldir’s punches and kicks were no joke, as Aldon was completely suppressed and was pushed back without any noticeable resistance. It was entirely a one-sided thrashing.

Though he was suppressed without any openings for counters, Aldon still had the same calm, calculating eyes he had at the beginning of the spar. It appeared that he still had a backup plan to emerge victorious from this situation. He bent his left hand behind his back and started casting a spell. The removal of his left hand from the combat seemed to be a mistake as his right arm began to bleed, not able to solely withstand the pummeling. Just as his right hand was about to give out, Aldon finished his spell. A ball of violet flaming mass was gathered in Aldon’s left hand. It was Aldon’s Unique Spell that he had developed in his previous life, the ‘Explosive Matter’. A Unique Spell was a Spell that was created entirely from scratch by an individual. The process of creating a Unique Spell was a very rare feat and usually required the individual to possess quite an understanding of Mana. It was remarkable that Aldon had developed his Unique Spell during his previous life with almost no higher understanding of the nature of Mana. Explosive Matter combined the Lightning-attributed Mana with the Fire-attributed Mana to create a ball of highly unstable and explosive matter.

Just as Aldon was about to thrust the Explosive Matter towards Haldir, the sky rumbled, and an enormous, earthy yellow hand appeared out of the blue and dropped on the ground, flattening the unsuspecting and unprepared duo of grandfather and grandson. A beautiful figure stood near the entrance to the training grounds. She reprimanded Aldon, “Aldon! You can’t just get into fights with the old fart every now and then! What will you do if he pulls his back from too much exercise?” Aldon, pulling himself up, answered wryly, “You surely jest Aunt Aerin! In what way do you see this monster of a grandfather as a senile old geezer? Me breaking my back is more probable than this old geezer pulling his back! Why did you interrupt our spar just when it was getting interesting?!”

Aerin speechlessly spoke, “Interesting? You were getting your ass handed over to you by that old geezer! You should thank me for stopping the spar!” Aldon protested, “But I had a trump card that I was about to use!” Haldir, dusting his clothes, joined in on the conversation, “You sure had me surprised with that Explosive Matter. But you weren’t going to change the flow of the spar with only that. It would have, at most, only bruised me.” Ruffling Aldon’s hair, he continued, “If you improve on your close combat skills, you can fight even more ferociously and boldly! And it would be better to also concentrate on casting the Explosive Matter quickly. Then, the lethality of the Spell will go up a notch.”

Aldon thought deeply about his spell and began muttering to himself, “The speed of casting, eh? I thought it was sufficient. But, if I do this and that...” Aldon delved deep into his thoughts as he pondered over a way to make his spellcasting speed quicker. Haldir, mistaking Aldon’s pondering as being distressed over losing, tried to lift his spirits, “Don’t bother about the outcome of this spar! Be proud! You almost went head to head with a Realm 6 Mage!”

Snapping back to his senses, Aldon replied speechlessly, “What the actual fuck!? I’m not distressed over the outcome of the fight! I was just thinking of a way to make my spellcasting speed more efficient! And what’s that nonsense about going head to head with a Realm 6 Mage?! Hahaha! We both know if you had gone all-out at any point in the spar, I would be mincemeat! Don’t patronize me, Grandpa. With my current power level, I can only inflict a bruise before being turned to mincemeat if I went against a full-powered Realm 6 Mage!”

Haldir could only scratch his chin sheepishly in response to Aldon’s words. Aerin became dazed by Aldon’s words and couldn’t believe what he had spoken. She thought to herself, ‘Did my nephew really brush off bruising a Realm 6 Mage while being in Realm 3 as not remarkable? Does he really not realize that he’s on a really short list of those who can match Father’s level of combat expertise? Given that Aldon was at a disadvantage, with Father still retaining his tempered body even when he reduced his power level to that of Realm 3, I really wonder who would win if both their power levels were the same?’

Snapping out of her thoughts, Aerin remembered why she had come to the training grounds. Aerin looked at Haldir speechlessly and spoke, “Father?! Have you finally gone senile? Why did you start a spar? Have you forgotten what day today is? It’s Aldon’s Coming of Age ceremony, for hell’s sake! Now quickly heal Aldon! Luthien has asked for him.” Haldir just grinned and cast a healing spell on Aldon. In an instant, Aldon was completely healed.

Aerin pulled Aldon’s ear and led him inside the mansion while lecturing him on always having his mind filled with Training. Aldon helplessly followed his aunt and speechlessly listened to her lecture.

***

Haldir watched on cheerfully as Aldon entered the mansion with his aunt. He then looked up at a particular spot in the air and spoke, “Old Hag! Is it fun to spy on my grandson?” Hagan appeared out of thin air and replied embarrassedly, “Don’t mind me, Old Hal! I was simply observing how much he had progressed since I last saw him.” Haldir questioned Hagan teasingly, “Impressed by what you saw?” Hagan answered, amazed by the fight, “Impressed? More like mind blown! His proficiency in casting Spells has increased enormously since I last saw him! He is also close to realizing the knack of multi-casting Spells! His Unique Spell is even more impressive! I’d have dreaded being his opponent if I was in the same Realm of Magic as him!”

Haldir sighed and spoke, “It’s certainly true that his Unique Spell is powerful. But he should still improve his spellcasting speed and close combat skills. The current state of his Unique Spell, though impressive, cannot be trusted as a trump card. It’s too volatile.”

Hagan rebuked Haldir, “Shut up, Haldir! He’s still a boy who has not even undergone his Coming of Age ceremony! For that boy to be able to match combat experience with you, the Commander-in-chief of the Elven Empire's military is no laughable matter. He will be a monster in the future for sure!”

Embarrassed by the high praise for both him and Aldon, Haldir changed the topic, “How’s your granddaughter doing? Has she crossed the Hurdle of Awareness?” Hagan answered proudly, “Sylph? She’s doing great! In fact, she successfully overcame the Hurdle of Awareness yesterday, and she even advanced stably to the 5th Realm of Self Actualization in only a day!” Haldir, completely impressed by Sylph’s achievements, congratulated Hagan.

While the pair of old friends were chatting, Aldon reappeared from inside the mansion. He had freshened up and had changed into new clothes. A royal, bluish-black cloak hung from his broad shoulders. The Throm family insignia, a silver four-leaf clover, was embroidered beautifully on the cloak’s left chest area.

Both Haldir and Hagan stopped talking the moment Aldon appeared outside. Both of them were startled by how much the outfit suited him. Aldon gave off a regal atmosphere as he approached them. Luthien, Neia, Aerin, and Elrohir followed closely behind Aldon. Aldon was surprised to see Hagan and greeted him, “Hello, Uncle Hagan! What brings you here?” Hagan answered, “Hello, Aldon! Nothing much. I was just having a little chat with Old Hal here. All prepared for the Coming of Age ceremony, Eh?” Aldon smiled and replied affirmatively.

As Haldir went inside the mansion to freshen up, Hagan, remembering something, bid farewell to the Throm family and left the premises.

Elrohir gave Neia a bowl that he had been carrying. The bowl contained some curd and sugar. Neia took a spoon and scooped out a generous portion of it, and offered it to Aldon, “Here, eat this. There is a belief that before doing something auspicious, it is always good to eat something sweet. Even if you don’t believe in it, at least eat it to please your Grandma’s request.” Aldon happily ate the contents of the entire bowl to put his Grandma’s mind to rest.

Haldir dressed up and came out of the Mansion, looking like a war hero. The whole Throm family had assembled in the training ground. Elrohir then activated an artifact that looked a lot similar to a pillar. A large Magic Circle engulfed the entire training ground, and in the next instant, teleported the entire Throm family to where the Coming of Age ceremony was being held.

***

The Throm family appeared out of thin air on a slightly elevated platform, positioned in the corner of a ridiculously large amphitheater. In the middle of the amphitheater, instead of a platform, a large tower was present. It gave off an antique feel as it appeared to pierce the heavens, with no end in sight.

Aldon was awed by the majesty radiating from the ancient tower. He looked around curiously. His sight fell upon an impressive throne on a highly elevated platform in the middle of the people assembled in the amphitheater. A relatively young man donned in royal red sat majestically upon the throne. It was the Keeper of Peace, the Emperor of the Elven Empire!

Sensing Aldon’s gaze, the Emperor looked right at him. Noticing it, Aldon bowed in respect to the Emperor. His bow was neither too deep nor too shallow. The Emperor noticed this, and His mouth curled into a slight smile. But Aldon couldn’t perceive the Emperor’s amusement as the distance between them was too far. The Emperor soon became engaged in other matters. Perceiving the Emperor’s gaze leave him, Aldon straightened his back. Elrohir, not noticing this little interaction, ushered his family away from the Magic Circle as it had started glowing, indicating that another teleportation was underway.

The Throm family occupied the seats in the front reserved for them. The Throm family wished luck to Aldon as he bid farewell to them and approached a large crowd near the tower where many young elves had assembled.

The moment he arrived at the assembly of young elves, a plus-sized bald elf approached him and struck up a conversation, “Hey! You look absolutely stunning in that ensemble! Where did you buy it?” Aldon answered with a small smile, “I didn’t buy it anywhere. My mother made it from scratch with this ceremony in mind!” The bald elf, impressed by the needlework, replied, “Amazing! It really suits you!” He smacked his own head as he realized something, “How rude of me! I’ve not yet introduced myself. I’m Taeral Lunos, son of Myrin Lunos. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Taeral extended his right hand in greeting. Aldon shook it and introduced himself, “Pleased to meet you, too! I’m Aldon Throm, son of Elrohir Throm.”

The boys started chatting enthusiastically since they enjoyed each other’s presence. While they were engrossed in their conversation, a commotion had broken out among the assembled elves.

A gorgeous girl of the same age group as the elves in the assembly had started to approach them. Every step she took drew her closer to the group, and they could perceive her beauty even more vibrantly. Every step she took charmed the assembly even more.

She was just about to enter the assembly when the group of elves became rowdy as everyone tried to strike up a conversation with her. The duo of Aldon and Taeral finally became unable to ignore the commotion and turned their head to know its cause.

Aldon’s sight fell on the girl, and he instantly became entranced with her. He remembered something and awoke from the trance. He scolded himself mentally, ‘You have a fiancee, for fuck’s sake! Though you still don’t have any idea what her name is or how she looks and sounds, it’s still inappropriate to be enamored by another girl!’

He looked around and saw an uninterested Taeral picking his nose lazily. Aldon looked at him strangely. Taeral, noticing the weird look Aldon was giving him, asked puzzledly, “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Aldon answered, “I was just wondering whether you are hiding your interest in the girl.” Taeral replied innocently, “I don’t need to hide anything. I’m not even interested in that girl. I only find blondes attractive! The girl is as brunette as they come.”

Aldon became speechless after hearing Taeral’s words. He found the sight of Taeral picking his nose uninterestedly among the background of people rushing to interact with the girl funny. He laughed good-naturedly as he patted Taeral’s back and gave him a thumbs up. Taeral became confused at why Aldon gave him a thumbs up. Taeral’s confused face made the situation even funnier to Aldon as he burst into loud bouts of laughter.

Aldon’s laughter was very loud as the assembly of elves stopped their clamor to grab the girl’s attention and looked at Aldon, wondering what had happened. The girl looked at Aldon briefly and used this opportunity to blend into the crowd. Noticing the stares of the elves, Aldon suppressed his laugh. But, he was not entirely successful as he was still chuckling.

When the group of elves tried to interact with the girl again, they realized, to their surprise, that she was nowhere to be found. They glared at Aldon, blaming him for the distraction. Aldon grinned sheepishly and scratched his head awkwardly.

Just then, a woman clad in a spotless white gown appeared near the group and spoke, “Silence, young ones. Your Coming of Age ceremony is about to begin. I have a list of your names here with me. When I call your name, come forward and enter the Tower of Gods. That’s all. Are you all ready?” Taeral questioned, “What will happen inside the Tower? Will we face any trials? I have heard that we can take any weapon from inside. Are weapons present inside? Can we really take them?” The woman smiled and answered mysteriously, “You certainly won’t be harmed inside, that much, I’ll guarantee. The matter of weapons... you will understand it once you enter the Tower. All I will reveal is that whether or not you obtain a weapon inside the Tower depends entirely on yourself.” She paused for a while and asked, “Any further questions?”

No one questioned the woman, and she continued with a booming voice, “THEN, LET TODAY’S COMING OF AGE CEREMONY COMMENCE!” The Tower of Gods rumbled in response to the woman’s words.