The Master of Uradan

"Eh?" Rohan blurted at the question of this old man. Was he not looking like a human in his eyes? But before he could think of an answer, the elder took him by the arm and guided him inside the building.

"Come, come!" He rushed inside a room with Rohan with an overjoyed expression, as if he had discovered an incredible treasure. "I didn't expect to see one of you here, I don't even remember that last time it had occurred. And this thing, it's very crude, but also very interesting!"

Rohan didn't know what this old fool was talking about as he was forced to follow him. From the way the three men had acted in front of this old man like puppies, Rohan thought that trying to flee was seeking death.

Soon, the old man entered a room. It was full of strange utensils, as well as a faint smell of plants floating around. The elder Kuud made Rohan sit down on a chair before he took out a notebook on the side.

"Such a use of the Breath…" He stared at Rohan with shining eyes. "Tell me, how did you learn it? I didn't know you people had already reached this stage."

"What are you talking about? The Breath? What is it?" Rohan tilted his head to the side. Sitting in front of a mad man was making him somewhat uncomfortable.

The old man wrote something on his book before lifting his eye and looking at Rohan with a frown. While Rohan thought he would be dead in the second, he saw a terrifying scene.

The old man disappeared from where he was before appearing near a shelf on the side. He took out something with lightning speed before teleporting once more to another place and taking once again another object. After several more occurrences, the elder stopped near Rohan with his arm full of different plants.

He carefully put them on the table in front of him before looking back at Rohan. He wrote something more while mumbling to himself.

"A compactification of the Breath inside the chest, link with several ways. The one who had created such a thing is a genius, but also completely stupid." He severely watched Rohan before writing once again on his book. "Such a thing is preposterous, daring to steal the Breath for making it own."

Rohan didn't know anymore what was happening. One minute earlier he was the culprit for stealing a strange orb, which was still in his damn bag, and the one after he was there sitting in front of this mad old man.

And what was this Breath thing? From what Rohan could understand, it should be mana. Was this another name in this region?

The old man kept mumbling to himself while walking around the room. The more Rohan was listening, the more he felt terrified. This Elder Kuud was actually saying that forcefully becoming the owner of a small quantity of mana was against nature.

Rohan felt a shudder rushing through his whole body. That also explained why he couldn't sense anything inside this old man or the other ones, even though they had magical capacities. They were directly using the mana around them!

"What is your name?" The old man suddenly closed his notebook and stared at the young man sitting there. His overjoyed expression had already disappeared.

"Rohan."

Elder Kuud looked carefully at this man. His face was calm, even though he knew he could die at any moment. Had he already given up on life? Such a weak-minded person.

The eyes of the old man scrutinized Rohan from top to bottom as if he could scan his whole body. He could easily see any secret, but there was something he couldn't understand.

There was a core inside his chest. The principle behind this one was almost like a beast, and the Breath inside was like the one used by a demon. He was human, there was no doubt about that. This core was also man-made. Then how could the Breath be stocked inside this weak thing?

It should crumble under such power. He couldn't think about anything.

There was also a strange stone inside the brain of this human, with a red rune engraved on it, as well as a white one floating inside. What was this? He had never seen anything like that, but the runes reminded him of something he had seen long ago.

There was also energy inside the stone. Whoever had successfully made this was without a doubt a genius. He had mixed the Breath with the power of elements and forcefully stored it inside this stone.

"You have two choices here. The first one is you become a slave and work for me, the second is you die here. What do you choose?" His voice was completely different from earlier. An unbearable aura left his body as he looked down on Rohan sitting in front of him.

Rohan squinted his eyes. Some people would choose death because they wouldn't want to live like a slave or anything, but he didn't think like that. Under the eyes of those men, Rohan couldn't flee at all. But all he needed was an opportunity. The instant they would turn their faces away, Rohan would run, or if he could, kill.

"Then I will become a slave."

Kuud's eyes widened on their own as he looked at this young man. He was weak, sitting on a chair, and forced to lift his eyes to speak to him. His face was devoid of fear, and the strange calmness he had seen earlier wasn't proof he had given up on himself.

The word slave in his mouth didn't seem to be degrading.

This man, it was dangerous to keep him alive. But Kuud only smiled after seeing this young man answering in such a way. He turned around and headed toward the table with the different kinds of plants on it.

"The way you are using the Breath is extremely interesting. It is also really crude, and the power it can give is pitiful at most. The one creating this method should be desperate to do this."

It was at this moment that Rohan suddenly understood something. It was so obvious, but also impossible. Since the beginning, this old man has been talking about it as if he had never seen it before.

But becoming a warrior wasn't a secret, and it was a method known since eons ago. Or at least, it was the case where Rohan was living. His mind spun at this impossible thought. Where was he? He could only voice his question to seek an answer.

"In which country are we?" His heart crazily jumped on his chest as he waited for the answer.

The old man glanced at Rohan with a strange smile. It was almost demonic.

"There is no country in our world, human." Sweat broke out from Rohan's forehead. "You are far from your land, far from your world actually. Our world is called Uradan. Welcome to you."

It was only now that Rohan understood the question of the old man earlier. It wasn't that he was questioning his humanity, but that those people weren't human in the beginning!