YEAR-0020

  AFTER 3 MONTHS

  Nishant came out of the Lightning Altar after 3 days and checked his mobile.

  "Hello... who is this?" Nishant saw an unknown number who has called him 18 times. So he called back.

  [Hello Nishant it's me. I hope I didn't disturbed you during cultivation. From next time you go into seclusion remember to inform me otherwise I will be worried. Anyways, I lost my mobile a few days ago so switched to a new phone. So save this number.] mother said.

  "Ok, but how did you lose your phone?" Nishant asked.

  [I don't really remember maybe it was a thief. Neighbours are also complaining about movements in the dark. It's quite terrifying actually. I hope police do something quick. Anyways, how are you doing? Are you eating on time? You are not smoking or drinking, are you? Smoking and drinking is bad for your health and also for your career. You should stop drinking and smoking... { I don't drink or smoke! }... Oh! Good, Are you... oh I left milk on the stove. I will talk to you later.] mother hanged up.

  'Haa~ I should investigate my neighborhood. In this world full of magical creatures, anything can happen. I should take 2 weeks leave.' Nishant decided.

  NEXT DAY

  Nishant returned to his home to investigate the matter.

  "Here son, your favourite Gajar ka halwa (carrot pudding)." mother brought a tray with a steel bowl releasing a lot of steam.

  "Thanks mother." Nishant took the bowl with bare hands frightening his mother.

  "You will burn your hands quickly put it down." mother said in panic but controlled herself from making sudden moves, last thing she wants the hot halwa to fall on Nishant.

  "Don't worry mother, I'm a fire mage, I play with fire on a daily basis." Nishant said and formed a flower out of fire surprising his mother.

  "Ah! Right. Although being a mage is good but don't go to dangerous places. I'm not a mage but I watch the news daily. I hope you will be cautious." mother said.

  "Don't worry mother, I'm always cautious." Nishant assured.

  AT NIGHT

  'Huh? There is no doubt about it, it is Shadow Element and there are quite a few of them. They can't be mages. The Shadow element is not easy to awaken and to have 7 shadow mages in this small town. What should I do? Intercept them or wait to find their goal. No, it is too risky they might harm civilians.' Nishant decided to subdue them.

  'Blink!' Nishant disappeared and appeared in the middle of the street.

  'Space Rhythm: Delay!!' Nishant casted twice and slowed down everyone in a radius of 100 metres.

  'Space Rhythm: Compress! Telekinesis: Void Claw.' Nishant made a prison using 'Compress' then picked Zinds and threw them into the prison.

  "Please wait! Please wait! We are not here to harm anyone." a Zind shouted in desperation.

  "Shhh!" Nishant indicated to be quiet. He doesn't want to wake neighbours and start commotion. Hell this might force everyone to abandon this area forever.

  "What are you doing here?" Nishant asked.

  "Umm... we are here to retrieve one of our artefacts." a zind finally spoke when it noticed Nishant losing his temper.

  "What artefact?" Nishant asked. He really wonders what sends these Zinds to their certain death.

  "It's a bracelet. It is... please it is very confidential. The fate of our villages depends upon it. We can't disclose its purpose to anyone." zind begged.

  "So you want to die." Nishant said in a cold tone. Before he was weak and didn't dare to do more than bare minimum but now they are here in front of his home. He will not let them live.

  "Now now young man, don't be impulsive." a man came out of the shadows who appears to be in early 30s. He was certainly a human mage with a shadow element. He is also stronger than Nishant in terms of cultivation and battle prowess.

  "It's a nightcrawler, we are saved." Zinds were relieved with the appearance of the mysterious man.

  "Why are you siding with monsters?" Nishant asked. Nishant doesn't know if the man is foe or friend and in a fight against a strong opponent he can't guarantee that anything in the radius of 100 metres will remain in one piece.

  "Don't misunderstand young man. This world is not just black and white. I'm just trying to save a delicate ecosystem of the region. Also, killing them will not solve the problem. Another group will come for the artefact and they might not be as disciplined as these ones." Nightcrawler said.

  "So what do you want?" Nishant asked.

  "Let them go just this once. I will guarantee that they will not return here." Nightcrawler said.

  "But..." zinds tried to protest.

  "Shut up!" Nightcrawler hissed in anger and subconsciously released thick black smoke.

  "I will find your artefact and if you ever dare to enter a residential area. I will not be merciful next time." Nightcrawler threatened.

  "Please let them go." Nightcrawler requested Nishant.

  "Your ID." Nishant demanded.

  "Of course." Night crawler showed his hunter badge. Nishant was a little surprised, the man before him is a 3-Star Hunter Master. Nishant scanned the badge but he didn't have access to the hunter's public information.

  'At least he is not blacklisted.' Nishant released the Zinds who left without any delay.

  "You live here right." Nightcrawler asked after thinking for a while.

  "Yes." Nishant replied.

  "Good, you see. About a year ago or so I don't really remember the time, an unruly zind happened to steal an artefact from the village head. That unruly zind also kidnapped a human girl who was saved within 24 hrs. by a mage. It seems that mage or that girl took that artefact while leaving the village. Zinds have been searching for that artefact since then and the clues have led us here. I hope you can help me, that artefact is shared by quite a few zind villages and if delayed any further. Something big might happen." Nightcrawler explained.

  "Well I was the mage who saved that girl but I didn't take anything from there. I don't know whether she took it or not." Nishant replied.

  "That's amazing. You can go to that girl and claim that the artefact is yours. It will solve everything. Here is the drawing of the artefact." Nightcrawler showed the drawing. Nishant's eyes widened when he looked at the drawing.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "Wait a sec." Nishant said and teleported back to his room and then returned with the artefact.

  "Here" Nishant gave the artefact to Nightcrawler.

  "Umm... I know it was urgent to find the artefact but you shouldn't just teleport into anyone's home. It is unethical as a mage." Nightcrawler degraded.

  "It was in my room. I think that girl mistook it as mine and gave it to my family." Nishant guessed.

  "Whatever, I'm going to return it now." Nightcrawler said and left.

  "Wait, at least tell me what that artefact does?" Nishant asked. It wasn't like he didn't think of keeping it for himself but then decided to return it as it caused a lot of trouble.

  "Well, as you may have already known, Zinds resides in Compressed Spaces. Zinds uses this artefact to make entrances for their Compressed Spaces. If the location of an entrance is compromised, then the entrance is closed by using another artefact. And Zinds are quite unruly and change entrances quite a lot. Without this artefact village found itself in a pinch with a single entrance and if it was compromised, either they had to be trapped in the Compressed Space or get raided by mages." Nightcrawler explained.

  "Oh I forgot to ask you. Would you like to join Nightcrawlers? You look rather talented." Nightcrawler asked. He was quite impressed with how Nishant dealt with Zinds. If it was any other Advance Tier mage. He would have wreaked havoc with most zinds escaping.

  "What are Nightcrawlers? Mages dealing with urban legends." Nishant asked. He is a little intrigued.

  "Sort of, we are a reputed hunter guild which works at international level. We deal with monsters which are very tricky to deal with and most mages might never have heard of them in their lifetime. For example Zinds. You will also have a lot of freedom. No one will force you to take any mission. So what do you think?" Nightcrawler explained.

  "Fine I guess." Nishant agreed. He was thinking of joining a hunter guild to get missions which can help him become Master Hunter.

  "Good, let me scan your badge. Guild Admin will contact you if you fulfill the requirements." Nightcrawler pulled out his modified mobile to scan the badge.

  "What?! You are just an Advance Hunter." Nightcrawler was lost for words. Just what kind of pampered Advance Tier mage you had to be, to stuck at Advance Rank, hell even few Mid Tier mages can become Hunter Master with enough efforts.

  "Umm... I wouldn't be for long. I will soon be doing a few A-rank missions." Nishant was feeling ashamed. He didn't expect Nightcrawler to react to this extent.

  "Wait a minute... you are still a college student!" Nightcrawler exclaimed when he got Nishant's publicly available information.

  "Yeah, does that mean I can't join your guild?" Nishant wondered. He can understand, he is more of a battle maniac hunter than your typical ghost hunter. Nightcrawler looked at Nishant from head to toe.

  "Ahem, don't worry about that. Our guild is not picky. I will take my leave now" Nightcrawler assured and left.

  NEXT DAY

  Nishant is wandering the streets of his town and refreshing his memories of his childhood.

  "Huh?" Nishant raised his eyebrows when he saw a student standing at the boundary of the roof of his high school. All of a sudden student jumped down.

  "Holy Crap! Telekinesis: Void Claw!" Nishant hurried towards the student and gently put him on the ground.

  "What?" students was utterly confused.

  "What are you doing brat? Committing suicide in broad day light?" Nishant said half jokingly. The student stared at the ground.

  "What was your first element?" student asked.

  "Fire" Nishant said and understood the boy's dilemma.

  "Then you will not understand. I awakened Light Element. I worked so hard and scored highest in every exam, I even forced my parents to take a massive loan and in the end. This happened. I awakened a loser's element." student started crying.

  "Stand up and tell me your name." Nishant said in stern tone, student subconsciously obeyed him.

  "My name in Himanshu." Himanshu replied.

  "So you think Light Element is bad huh? I wouldn't blame you but... this is not the end. You will get another chance at Mid Tier then at Advance Tier. There is nothing wrong with Light Element but the fact that it brings hopelessness in young mages. Cultivate as diligently as you would have after awakening Lightening Element and you will see how wrong you were. Haa~ considering your expression. I assume you are not taking me seriously. You are my junior, that's the only reason I'm bothering with you. Let me give you an advice. Start practice writing with 2 hands and you will see a miracle." Nishant said. Himanshu gave him an awkward look.

  "First you were saying I should diligently cultivate my Light Element and now you are asking me to waste my time. I don't understand you." Himanshu complaint.

  "Here, this is Spirit Grade Stardust Tool. Use this for cultivation and also pratice writing with two hands. If you do, you will become one of the best mages out there." Nishant advised. Himanshu's eyes glittered when he found the equipment was legit.

  "Are you sure?" Himanshu asked for confirmation and looked at Nishant for the first time.

  "Of course I'm, this is nothing more than a junk for me now." Nishant said.

  "What is your name Senior?" Himanshu asked. He found the senior little familiar.

  "You are Nishant! You used Space Element to save me!" Himanshu recognized Nishant after staring at his face for a while.

  "Ho!" Nishant exclaimed at his own popularity. He then waved his hand and left.

  "Haha everyone will be jealous if I tell them I met Senior Nishant. No if they went to his house and disturbed him he might take back his equipment." Himanshu chose not to boast.

  AFTER FEW DAYS

  Nishant spent a few days with his parents and relaxed. Then he returned to his usual life of cultivation and monster hunting.

  "Thunderbolt: Madness Dance!" Nishant killed a dozen sand hyenas with his Spirit Grade spell. A servant soul essence flew into his soul container.

  "Heavenly Funeral: Blazing Rain!" Nishant casted after his Lightning Nebula dried up, hundreds of fireballs rained down on servant rank monsters and burned down several dozens of monsters.

  AFTER 2 MONTHS

  Nishant came out of the Lightning Altar and did some stretching. He started walking down the stairs with slow steps. He has a very calm expression as if he has no worry of the world.

  ...

  Tap Tap Tap~ someone was climbing Lightning Altar with heavy steps. He has frustrated expression on his face. Soon he came across Nishant. He clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth. His knuckles went white due to tight grip.

  'If this bastard hasn't been transferred to our school. I wouldn't have lost the support of my clan. He ruined everything.' student kept neutral expression, last thing he wanted was to mess with an Advance Tier mage without his clan's backing.

  AFTER 1 MONTH

  6th semester's 1st monthly challenges are going on. Everyone was praying only one thing and that was they don't get Nishant as their first opponent.

  "Next! Vijay vs Nishant!" Teacher announced and shook his head in pity. Vijay bit his lower lip and cursed Nishant and his own bad luck. He usually gets 2nd or 3rd rank which means he goes to Lightning Altar very often but now he will be eliminated in his first match. There is no hope for him.

  Both students entered the arena.

  "Begin!" Teacher signalled.

  "I-" Vijay was about to say something but Nishant was faster.

  "I forfeit!" Nishant shouted. The whole arena fell silent. No one believed their ears. Nishant walked out of arena. Teacher stared at him and then his eyes widened at realisation.

  "Nishant forfeits the match! Winner is Vijay!" Teacher announced.

  AFTER 2 MONTHS

  Nilgiri Hills, military mages are having lunch while watching the National Team Selection Tournament.

  "Captain, doesn't that Fire Mage look familiar?" a military mage said.

  "Yeah, he is the Space Mage from the group of those brats who caused trouble in the territory of Blood Sucking Monkeys." another military mage identified Nishant. They can't forget those troublemakers. After that incident, Blood Sucking Monkeys went berserk. The squad was punished for the incident and then send to Nilgiri Hills. Captain would have also become a commander by now. Though they aren't childish enough to hold grudge against some brats.

  "He is quite strong." a military mage said.

  "Hmph! what strong? Advitya can beat him with a single spell. Right Advitya?" a military mage said in pride. Advitya didn't bother to reply, everyone in the squad knew he was an Advance Tier mage. It is foolish to compare him with a Peak Mid Tier mage even if the mage in question has Space Element. Advitya joined the military after his excellent performance in NDA academy and early graduation.

  "That just proves your ignorance. Watch this video, a student from IIM uploaded it. Nishant is also an Advance Tier mage for quite some time." military mage rebuked. Advitya's ears perked up. He remembered that Space Mage was at least a year younger than him. He pulled out his phone and searched for Nishant.

  'He is an Advance Tier mage for almost a year, same as me.' Advitya felt his lips curled up in a smile.

  "Captain! I want to compete in the National Team Selection Tournament." Advitya said. Captain raised his eyebrows. A month before he refused to participate in it by saying he isn't interested in the child's game and would rather participate in the Commonwealth Games Selection where the true talent of India participates.

  "Then talk to the General as soon as possible before it is too late." Captain advised.

  ...

  A young man is watching the National Team Selection Tournament with a bored expression. But suddenly there was a sharp glint in his eyes when both teams entered the arena.

  "It's him." young muttered to himself. When the match ended there was a smile on his face.

  "What a monster? Considering he had Level-4 Fiery Fist a year ago, he should be an Advance Tier mage by now. I can't lag behind him." young man switched off the LED and went to his personal training ground.

  AFTER FEW DAYS

  "Team 6 vs Team 7!" Judge announced. Both teams entered the arena.

  "Hmm... that Psychic Mage needs to be dealt with quickly." Hardik shared his thoughts. His teammates nodded in agreement.

  "Don't worry I will take care of him." Vishal assured, he was a Wind Mage and was skilled in harassing the enemies.

  "We can leave the Fire Power to Nishant, with his Tier-4 Fiery Fist he has no equal." Samarth said in a joyous tone. They know Nishant is an Advance Tier mage but they highly doubt he can cast an Advance Tier spell.

  After discussing for a while, both teams prepared for the match.

  "Begin!" Judge announced.

  "Fiery Fist: Nine Dragons!" Nishant casted from the start.

  "Damn it! Light Blessing: Guard"

  "Rock Barrier: Stone Bunker!"

  Team 6 casted defensive spells without any delay but they proved futile before Nishant's Fiery Fist.

  "Magic Shield!!!!!" Seeing their defenses crumble team 6 used their defensive equipment.

  "Damn it we have to use our defenses from the beginning!" a mage from team 6 said in a disheartened tone.

  "Fiery Fist: Nine Dragons!" Nishant casted almost immediately.

  "What?!" Team 6 felt like crying when they saw another 'Fiery Fist: Nine Dragons'. There was no way their armour could stop that.

  "We surrender!" Team 6 surrendered.

  "Flower Sky: Heaven's Water" refree casted and easily stopped the fearsome 'Fiery Fist: Nine Dragons'.

  "You! we told you to interfere with his casting then why didn't you?" a mage accused Psychic Mage.

  "I tried but his mental strength is much stronger than anyone I have ever faced." Psychic mage said in his defence.

  Nishant won his 3rd match of the national team selection tournament in the least possible time.

  ...

  Several hundred kilometres away from the Delhi, another match was taking place for the Selection of National Team.

  "Ice Realm: Ice Coffin!" Advitya casted and the entire opponent team got frozen in an instant.

  "The winner is team 4!" judge announced.

  "Advance Tier mage?! As expected of the military?"

  "The military has the most talented mages of our country, no doubt about it."

  ...

  In a Naval Base in Karwar, Karnataka. A group of mages is watching the tournament during their lunch break.

  "Hmph! Our Major lieutenant could have done much better than that." a military mage said.

  "Now now, let's not start that. He is a strong mage in his own regard." a young man in Navy uniform said in a warm tone.

  "But still, sir you have a Soul Grade Seed. That alone puts you above the rest." a military mage insisted. The whole squad admires the young man for his courage and strength.

  "Haha..." young man burst into a small laughter when he remembered how he got that Soul Grade Seed. It was the game of 'Dare or Truth' which enabled him to get the seed. He was dared to climb up against a 100 metres high waterfall. He found the soul grade seed behind it in a cave. His batchmates cried buckets when he found it.

  "I really want to see his Space Element, I have recently awakened Space Element and want to have some insights. But it seems like no one will be able to force him to use that." a military mage in his mid 20s complaint.

  "In that age group only our Major lieutenant can force him to do that." a military mage said.

  "Everyone! on your posts!" young man ordered.

  AFTER 1 MONTH

  In Bangalore, quarter finals of National Team Selection Tournament are going on and the competition is intense.

  Two teams entered the arena from opposite sides. Both teams took their positions.

  "Begin!" refree signalled.

  "Violent Waves: Flooding!" a mage casted at insane speed which seems unachievable at Mid Tier.

  The spell swept away the opposing team. The

  "Winner is Team-3!" refree announced.

  "Hahaha... that's our Major lieutenant Arjun for you." a military mage said in pride.