It's Europe!
That was Alger's first thought after flipping the map upside down. It finally clicked.
That must mean "Unknown" refers to the continents of North and South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. The six continents of Terra were likely the same as Earth's, but this world counted Europe and Asia as one.
Alger had just uncovered a major hint. Maybe even a key to understanding how this world came to be.
Excited, he quickly searched the map for a city name he had heard countless times since arriving here—Zephyr. He remembered the sisters saying things like: "There are fewer orphans in Zephyr this year," or "The harvest in Zephyr was plentiful."
After scanning the map for a while, he found it.
It was hard to pinpoint the exact location without modern borders, but based on geography, Zephyr was somewhere in what had once been Ukraine. That placed him in the Eastern Territory.
He was making progress.
He flipped to the next page. The heading read: Calamities.
The word had appeared earlier... and now Alger was about to find out what it really meant.
But as he read, it became clear—Calamities had everything to do with magic.
Inferno? Tempest? Bound? Echo? What is all this?
His head was spinning. He closed the book.
He needed context.
He walked back to Sister Twilight and asked, "Can I have a book about magic?"
She raised an eyebrow. "You didn't even finish five pages of the last one and now you want another?"
As much as Alger wanted to say, Shut up, woman! or You simply can't comprehend my genius! He kept a calm smile.
"Please?"
She sighed, handed him a thick book titled Basics of Elemental Energy, and left to check on the other kids.
Now alone in the Element section of the library with both books in front of him, Alger exhaled with relief.
"Finally... some peace."
He opened the book and started reading, only speaking aloud the important parts to help him memorize them better.
"Everything in the world has Elemental Energy. But this energy is useless unless it's first converted into something useful.
To do this, all living creatures possess something called a Gate.
Gates differ in two ways: their Elemental Affinity... and their Tier."
Alger was immediately intrigued.
Each Gate could be tied to one of ten elements. But three of those had been lost in Unknown.
He read through the elemental list:
1) Inferno - Control of elemental temperature.
2) Aqua - Control over elemental liquids.
3) Tempest - Control over elemental gases.
4) Terra - Control over elemental solids.
5) Soul - Unknown
6) Solus - Control over Light.
[Very Little is known about this element because it has almost none recorded users.]
7) Shadow - Control over Darkness.
[Very Little is known about this element because it has almost none recorded users.]
8) ???
9) ???
10) ???
Alger leaned back and whispered to himself:
"So the knowledge of the three lost elements... is still out there in the lost continents."
He turned to the next section.
"Gates have 10 tiers. While elements are equal in strength, the tier defines mastery.
Four of the tiers have been lost to Unknown. The known ones are as follows:"
1) Broken – [Not Applicable]
2) Awakened – Able to draw on the element in the environment.
3) Conjuror – Able to generate your respective element from within.
4) Bound – Able to fully control the element within limits.
5) Echo – Able to sense the element nearby.
6) ???
7) ???
8) ???
9) ???
10) Celestial – ???
"Alright," Alger whispered. "Time to break it down."
He reviewed what he'd read.
"Broken... the lowest. At this tier you are basically a normal human. Awakened... they can control the environment. Conjuror... can create. Bound... have full control. Echo... have awareness. And the rest... it is lost to Unknown."
To ascend to Awakened, one first has to sense their Gate... and accept the element tied to it.
The element is inherited—either from the mother or father. But Alger had no idea who his parents were. It was a complete gamble for him.
Humans weren't the only ones with Gates. Animals, plants, birds—even insects had Gates within them. The difference? They could have multiple gates and were often born at higher tiers.
Then came the Calamities.
They were apex predators. Beings far beyond the Echo tier. Every continent has or had at least one. Mytherra's Calamity, however, had been slain during the beginning of the Dawn Era.
Its name, Lost in Unknown.
Alger closed the book and took a deep breath.
He knew it was pointless to try sensing his gate this early. Most people couldn't even feel theirs until their teens. But... knowing his element would give him a head start.
He sat cross-legged and focused on the center of his mass, just like the book instructed. He visualized a gate—something personal, something meaningful.
He imagined the front door of his old apartment.
Slowly... the image began to take shape in his mind.
But then something strange happened.
He didn't just see one door.
He saw many.....
He stood in a vast, dark space... the ground beneath him was an endless void of darkness. The place felt real, not imagined. This was his soul.
He turned slowly.
Ten doors surrounded him in a perfect circle.
Ten gates.
His voice echoed out softly.
"This... wasn't in the tutorial..."
Wasn't I supposed to have just one gate?
Ten? What does that even mean?
Does this mean I have access to all ten elements?
His heart pounded in his chest.
If that were true, then Alger might just be the most powerful living being on Terra.
But he forced himself to calm down.
Even with ten gates, it meant nothing if he couldn't awaken even one. And besides, half of the elements were lost in Unknown. He didn't even know what they were, so awakening those gates was out of the picture.
And what would people think if they discovered what he had?
It took most mages ten years to reach the Bound tier in just one element. If Alger tried to train all ten...
It would take him over a century to bring every gate to the Bound tier.
He had to be smart.
He decided then and there that he would choose one gate. One element to develop first... bring it up to the Conjuror tier before even touching the others.
That left six known options.
But Solus, light, was a mystery. Only a Few had it, so information was rare. Shadow... was out of the question. The memories from Earth were still too fresh.
So that left four:
Inferno, Aqua, Tempest, or Terra.
His journey was about to begin.
And it started with a single choice.