“What kind of proposal?” Shinazu asked, his voice laced with suspicion.
Minato reached into his robe and took out a crystal vial.
The liquid inside shimmered faintly under the room’s light.
Shinazu instantly recognized it.
A Mira Vial, the same thing used during the awakening ceremony.
Before the boy could react, Minato reached out and took his hand.
Shinazu instinctively wanted to retract his arm, but Minato’s grip was surprisingly firm.
The moment Shinazu’s palm connected via the catalyst, the liquid inside the vial began to rise.
Fast.
Very fast.
It spiraled upward through the glass in a fierce surge before it suddenly stopped.
Yet, even at a standstill, the liquid continued swirling violently inside the chamber.
Minato adjusted his glasses to peer closer.
Shinazu panicked internally, his heart dropping into his stomach.
This is it.
He’s going to find out I have Dark Magic.
“Interesting,” Minato murmured, his eyes widening slightly.
“Very interesting.”
“One hundred twenty-one mana.” Minato looked up from the vial.
“It’s average for a new awakener, but for a fourteen-year-old?
That’s extremely good.
But that’s not all.
Your constitution is far rarer, and your concentration and mana recovery rate are off the charts.”
Dark magic is also rare, I have that too, now kill me, Shinazu was crying internally, bracing himself for the inevitable betrayal.
“You have what it takes to be a great magician.” Minato continued, completely unaware of the boy’s internal crisis.
“As you only have Fire Magic, it would be hard for you to fight or become a good mage but if you come with me, I am sure you can become a world-renowned Mage Crafter one day, or even an Alchemist or perhaps even an unmatched Barrier Mage.”
Do you think I am naive kid to fall into such an obvious trap?
Shinazu thought frantically, his eyes darting toward the exit.
I know you plan to turn me in for a hefty reward.
Did you really expect me to fall for a honey trap like that, even when I refused to fall for it in the town chapel?
Panic crept in his chest as he searched for an escape, yet Minato kept a firm, unyielding grip on his right hand.
Then his thoughts abruptly ground to a halt.
Wait.
His mind spun with conflicting logic.
Everyone knows their own magic elements upon awakening.
This man is clearly sharp, so why bother fabricating a lie about Fire Magic right to my face?
On top of that, if he were truly hunting for a reward or fame, he could have turned me to the imperial guards while I was still unconscious.
Minato’s words made no sense to him.
The last thing he knew was that he had Dark Magic, the very reason people hunted him nonstop.
Yet now, Minato was telling him that he only had Fire Magic?
For a moment, Shinazu wondered if everything that had happened yesterday had somehow been a dream.
It felt like he’d woken up in a completely different reality, one where his entire past had been erased.
Everything about him seemed to have changed, except for his face and the ragged clothes he still wore.
With all this new information flooding inside his head, Shinazu’s head started spinning as he tried to make sense of it all.
He stared blankly at the vial, but as he did, his eyes caught something resting on his right wrist.
A bracelet.
It had a sleek silver metal piece in the center, bound by secure black straps.
His eyes widened in shock.
“I don’t remember this.” The words slipped out unintentionally.
Minato raised an eyebrow, tilting his head.
“What do you not remember?”
Shinazu quickly corrected himself, forcing his voice to stay steady.
“uhmm, nothing…”
Minato didn’t react, but he definitely noticed the slip-up.
Shinazu carefully examined the bracelet, his heart beginning to beat faster.
It felt strangely familiar, as though it had always belonged to him, perfectly molded to his wrist.
Engraved clearly upon the silver surface was a single word:
Tsukuyomi.
Tsukuyomi?
Suddenly, a translucent, glowing window manifested directly before his eyes.
Shinazu nearly jumped out of his skin, but he quickly realized that Minato didn’t seem to notice it and tried to act normal.
[ Celestial Silver Shroud Bracelet ]
Class: Celestial Artifact Owner: Soul Bound to Shinazu Tsukuyomi Abilities: Mana Imperception Status: Concealing Dark Magic Element
Shinazu froze entirely.
His heart nearly stopped dead in his chest.
Dark Magic.
The glowing words stared right back at him, confirming his reality.
For a terrifying moment, he forgot how to breathe.
Then, another massive realization struck him.
Concealing.
The bracelet was actively hiding his Dark Magic, his most dangerous, life-threatening secret.
A cold sweat broke out across his back.
How the hell did I even get a Celestial Class Artifact in the first place?
I have only heard it in legends.
His thoughts immediately flashed back to the beautiful, mysterious woman’s voice beneath the waterfall he heard in his dream.
Could it be her?
The possibility sent a violent shiver through his frame.
Not a shiver of fear, but of profound curiosity and awe.
Minato watched the boy scrutinizingly as the kid’s expression had changed several times within the span of only a few seconds, shifting rapidly from shock, to relief, to utter confusion, and finally to deep suspicion.
Curious, Minato examined the bracelet with his own eyes.
His spectacles were a Rare Appraisal Artifact, a rare item that helped him inspect almost every object, elements and magical artifact he had ever encountered in his life.
But as he focused his gaze on the boy’s wrist, the bracelet only displayed a simple reading.
[ Ordinary Silver Bracelet ]
Engraved with Tsukuyomi on it.
It’s just an ordinary bracelet, not even a common artifact, Minato thought, highly perplexed.
Why is the boy so amused to see it?
Maybe…
“Is it your family name?” Minato asked, looking at him intently.
“Family name?” Shinazu echoed, momentarily confused.
Minato gestured toward his wrist.
“Whose name is Tsukuyomi?”
“Oh yeah, yeah,” Shinazu stammered in a hurry, quickly pulling his hand back away from Minato’s line of sight.
“where did you get it from?” Minato asked, a hint of suspicion entering his tone.
How could a boy who looked so poor and destitute possess a polished silver bracelet?
“That I don’t know,” Shinazu replied, causing Minato to narrow his eyes.
Thinking fast, the boy added, “I am an orphan.
I don’t know who gave it to me, but it has been with me since I was born, so I thought my parents must have given it to me.
That’s why I cherish it forever.” he put the bracelet close to his heart.
Shinazu made up the story right on the spot.
Hearing the explanation, Minato did not push the matter further as his act felt too tragically true to doubt.
But inside, Shinazu’s mind remained in absolute turmoil.
Someone saved me.
The thought kept returning, anchoring him.
The mysterious voice.
The woman beneath the roaring waterfall.
The celestial bracelet.
The fully healed wounds.
None of it made sense to him, but one thing was absolutely certain: if the bracelet truly concealed his Dark Magic, then it had saved his life.
Without it, he would surely be a dead man by now.
Whoever that mysterious woman was, I will be eternally grateful to her for saving my life.
Slowly, his lingering panic began to calm.
The suffocating tension faded from his shoulders as he realized the most dangerous truth of his life was now being securely guarded by a Celestial Artifact.
But he wasn’t celebrating just yet.
If I still have Dark Magic and I am still in the same life, same world…
that could mean only one thing.
I awakened dual affinity.
First is Dark Magic, and Second is Fire Magic.
Minato noticed the intense, quiet contemplation on the boy’s face.
Finally, the older man returned the Mira Vial to the inner pocket of his robe and placed a calm, reassuring hand on Shinazu’s shoulder.
“You have talent and potential.”
Shinazu snapped out of his deep thoughts and looked up at Minato.
“You should study magic.”
“Study magic?”
Minato smiled.
“Come with me to the Himetsu Royal Academy of Magic.”
The words hit Shinazu like lightning.
Everyone knew that name, even the children living on the streets.
It was the greatest magic academy in the world, where all the prodigies, nobles, royals, and legends gathered.
For a brief moment, Shinazu genuinely thought the man was joking, and his face twisted into an unamused expression.
Even though he rescued me from the beach and doesn’t know I have Dark Magic, his lies are too obvious.
Minato caught his expression immediately.
“You don’t trust me, do you?”
“I am very grateful to you for rescuing me from the beach,” Shinazu said bluntly.
“But just look at me.
I’m an orphan who roams the streets.
I have no place to live, no money to afford food, and no identity.
That means I have absolutely nothing to offer you in return.
When a complete stranger tells me he can get me into the greatest academy in the world, it only sounds to me like you…” He abruptly cut himself off.