Chapter 77: Burden and Calamity
The hours passed slowly.
After a long conversation, the adults took the younger ones away since they still had to study and train.
Only Luvinah remained by Priam’s side.
They stayed in the garden.
At that moment, however, Luvinah wore a tense expression, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.
Priam noticed her unusual state.
Just as he was about to say something, the young girl suddenly turned toward him and dropped heavily to her knees.
"What is this?"
Priam immediately extended a hand using his Ether, intending to help her back up.
Even so, Luvinah stubbornly remained kneeling.
"I... I don’t want to call you Big Brother. I... I want to call you Master."
She raised her eyes, which trembled slightly.
"Can you be my Master? I want to become as strong as you... I want to become a Mage... I’ll work hard, and I’m willing to endure hardships. No matter how difficult it is, I’m willing to face it all. Please accept me."
Luvinah wasn’t asking.
She was begging.
Begging with an intense and desperate desire.
"You little brat..."
Priam sighed.
"We belong to completely different races. Even if we look similar, our powers are different, so I can’t be your Master."
He was speaking the truth.
Every race had its own affinities, and most of what Priam had learned so far probably wouldn’t be very useful to her.
At best, he could teach theory.
"No!"
Luvinah shook her head firmly.
"Big Brother can teach me. We can also use the common elements that Mages use. Any race that masters natural energy has a natural affinity with the Earth element, for example. My father and mother told me that personally."
She spoke with determination.
"My father and mother were truly powerful. They defeated many strong villains and protected many members of our race."
"When they were alive, we didn’t depend only on the few resources we could secretly gather. They left the forest and were even able to travel with people beyond the planet, hiding them with their powers."
"I want to become as powerful as Big Brother. I want to be able to protect my race the way my father and mother did."
"I... I’ll obey every word you say. I’ll do whatever Big Brother wants. Please accept me."
"..."
Priam remained silent.
Indeed, this race could produce Mages.
And although their average strength was known to be very low, that didn’t mean they were useless.
With proper teachers and training, they could defend themselves.
The real problem was that they lacked everything.
They had never received the support that the Ylisse Clan had enjoyed in order to rise.
But...
Priam already had too many problems of his own.
He needed to become powerful quickly.
And obviously, taking on a disciple would only slow him down.
Wasting time meant lowering his chances of survival.
He crouched down and spoke gently.
"Luvinah, a person’s power eventually reaches its limits. Even if you became ten times stronger than me, you still wouldn’t be able to change the fate of your race alone."
"What you need is for your entire tribe to work together to overcome this."
"You’re the Young Matriarch of your race. But don’t forget—you’re still very young. You don’t need to carry such a heavy burden on your shoulders."
"What you need to do right now is remain under the protection of your companions and grow up peacefully and safely."
"When you become an adult, then you’ll use your mature wings to protect your fellow tribesmen in return. Right?"
What Priam said was obvious.
If her parents had become powerful figures under the same conditions, then it meant this tribe already possessed knowledge capable of helping Primordials rise.
Luvinah would almost certainly benefit more from staying here than from following him.
"I... I know..."
Tears slowly rolled down Luvinah’s face.
"I know that... I wouldn’t be able to change everyone’s fate easily."
"But... if I became much, much stronger than my parents, then at least I’d have a chance to leave this universe someday."
"If I reached the Divine Plane of another universe, maybe I could find a sect willing to protect my tribe..."
Her voice trembled.
"I promised my father and mother that I would do it one day."
"They died while trying to achieve that very goal..."
"And in the end, they were discovered..."
Priam felt all of this little girl’s pain, and his chest ached.
A sigh could be heard as a middle-aged figure slowly approached, wearing a solemn and gloomy expression.
"Uncle Rozeon!" Luvinah exclaimed.
Rozeon stepped forward, helping Luvinah to her feet, and said,
"Young Matriarch, stop troubling our benefactor. He is absolutely right. You’re only fifteen years old and much closer to being a child than an adult. The most appropriate thing for you right now is to rely on us while you grow up."
"When you’re older, you should work as hard as possible to become someone we can depend on, and also repay our benefactor for saving your life."
"If you insist on following our benefactor, not only will the entire tribe be worried, but you’ll also bring a great burden and calamity upon him."
Luvinah stared blankly for a while before finally standing up in resignation.
She wiped away her tears and apologized.
"Big Brother, I’m sorry. I was... too impulsive and too selfish. You saved my life, and I..."
Priam shook his head and let out a heavy sigh.
"No. In the future, I’ll travel to many places throughout the Divine Plane. I’ll definitely meet others of your race, and when I do, I’ll ask for their help. I know where you live, so just wait for me here. One day, I’ll come back and take all of you away."
"Ah!" Luvinah’s eyes lit up intensely.
She began trembling with excitement, unable to find any words.
The euphoria was also visible on Rozeon’s face.
This Missionary of the Goddess truly intended to save them.
"Thank you very much, Benefactor. I truly don’t know how to thank you enough."
Rozeon expressed his gratitude while bowing.
As he spoke, he carefully raised both hands.
Resting in his palms was a pearl the size of an olive, radiating an intense silver glow.
Priam had already heard Luvinah’s explanation.
That was a Pristine Core.
But it wasn’t a completely physical object.
Every Pristine Wild-Spirit was born with only this core, and their souls were connected to it.
After birth, they were nurtured by their parents, and the core generated a unique form of natural energy.
Using that energy, they created their physical bodies through metamorphosis.
Afterward, they were nourished daily so that both their cores and bodies could grow larger and stronger.
"This is the Core my late wife left behind."
Rozeon spoke softly before gently placing it into Priam’s hands.
For a brief moment, Rozeon’s eyes became vacant and lifeless, as if his soul had separated from his body.
Then a gentle smile quickly appeared on his face.
"I hope you can make good use of it."
Priam had also heard about that story.
In the past, the Pristine Wild-Spirits, led by Luvinah’s father and mother, would secretly leave the planet and explore the universe while remaining hidden.
But sometimes they were discovered, or because they lacked sufficient power, they ended up injured or killed.
That was what had happened to Rozeon’s wife.
After that, the Primordial couple died; however, it became impossible to continue doing so.
Perhaps when Luvinah grew older, they would finally be able to repeat those expeditions and obtain more resources.
Priam stored the Pristine Core inside his spatial ring.
"My sincerest gratitude."
Now, he had finally obtained what he had come to this universe for.
The only problem remaining was finding a way to leave.
