[TL: Asuka]

[PR: Ash]

A small flame flickered in the air, shining on the stone lantern around it.

The witchers had arrived at the Circle of Elements, and they both held down their trembling pendants as they looked around. Glimmering lake slept underneath them, while the peak overhead was covered in snow.

The Circle of Elements was made up of a bunch of boulders covered in runes written in Elder Speech and broken into four parts. Spring represented the element of water, the source of life. Summer represented the element of fire, the source of heat. Autumn represented the element of earth, the source of bounty. And winter represented the element of wind, the source of silence.

The runes and unique structure of the circle attracted a ton of chaos energy. Even without his witcher senses, Roy could still sense the elements dancing around and creating weird phenomena. Winds howled across the air, flames flickered before his eyes, water brushed atop his skin, and the scent of earth tickled his nostrils.

A numbing sensation flowed across his limbs as the mana within him resonated with the energy in the air. Every inch of his skin was vibrating gently, as if it were dancing to an unheard rhythm.

Roy was sure he could replenish all his mana and stamina if he meditated in the Circle of Elements for just three hours instead of the usual five.

"Told you this won't be a waste of time. This is one of the best places for newbie witchers to explore." Lambert loved the look on Roy's face. "Now cast some Signs and use up your mana. Prepare for deep meditation."

Roy cast all six Signs in the air. One loop and a half later, his mana was all gone, and the world started spinning.

"You only have one chance, so listen closely. Get as deep as you can during the meditation. There is a very slim chance, but" Lambert's flippant attitude was wiped off and replaced by solemnity. "If you see any elemental dimension, get as close to them as you can. The closer you are, the more you can get from them. Maybe you can even level up your Sign. Most witchers can only increase their Sign intensity though."

Roy stared at the ground and memorized everything Lambert told him.

"Now, meditate. I'll stand guard and make sure nobody disturbs you."

Roy nodded and sat down in the circle. He relaxed his muscles and slowed his breathing. Eventually, the light around him dimmed, and his soul entered a bizarre place.

Lambert was making a weird gesture with his hand, activating the runes in the circle. His eyebrow arched when he noticed Roy getting into the state so quickly. "That was fucking fast. For some reason, it feels like he meditates better than I do."

Under most circumstances, the better the meditator, the lower their presence would be in the material world. Their soul would be closer to the elemental dimensions and could absorb chaos energy better. I've only felt this kind of feeling from Geralt and Eskel, and they're both a few decades older than me. "Nobody can get to this level unless they've meditated for six or seven decades." Lambert was shocked. Once again, he saw Roy in a new light. "But that's impossible. He's not even twenty."

Even talented mages can't get to this level, and that's if they started meditating when they were babies. Lambert shook his head. The kid gave me more surprises in days than a year's worth of adventure.

Lambert had no idea Roy cheated with skill points. He closed the big gap with that.

***

The world of meditation was mostly made up of darkness and the void, but this time, it was different. Usually, the elements would be scattered around in all corners of this dimension, but the elements in the air were ten times more bountiful than usual.

Orange flames, blue water, yellow earth, and green wind surrounded the witcher's soul like curious fireflies attracted to a newcomer.

They were touching his body gently. Most of the time, the elements would only touch him carefully and break contact right away. Roy would have to chase the elements and catch them to replenish his mana. And he would use them to modify his body to better adapt to chaos energy.

Meditation usually took five hours, but not this time. The air was packed with elements, and they had to push each other away just to have some space to breathe. Of course, some of them fell into Roy's lap involuntarily.

But this is no time to enjoy them fawning over me. I need to find the dimensions.

The young witcher hunkered down and leapt ahead, flying into the distance easily. The elements crowded around him, eventually becoming a pair of beautiful wings that flapped around the witcher, propelling him where he wanted to go.

Eventually, his eyes feasted on four shining balls of light within the dark dimension of meditation. Elements flocked to these balls and danced around them.

The elemental dimensions.

Thanks to the elements, Roy was that much closer to touching the dimensions. Their light was almost blinding, and Roy could feel the elements around him. Winds were murmuring, the earth was trembling, flames were burning him, and freezing water splashed down on him.

He felt weakness and desire welling within him. At the same time, the elements that pushed him so far had gone away. Not an inch of a step could be taken anymore, and the young witcher stopped a few yards away from the balls of light.

They were laid out in a line, and the ball closest to him was burning and wriggling with fire. Through the veil of flames, Roy saw something he would remember for the rest of his life.

It was an ancient abode flanked by cliffs that stretched high up into the sky. A humanoid creature with reddish skin stood in the valley over the river of magma. Its back was as wide as a mountain, its arms were slender, and its lower body was nothing but a ball of gas. The creature had the physique of a troll, and its veins were flashing bright like fire.

Its nose and eyes were big, its fur was red, and a mane of flames surrounded its neck and chest. A wreath of smoke and magma hung underneath its curled horns like a crown. A pair of long, canine teeth protruded from its mouth, and flames flared from its eyes, nostrils, and teeth.

'Ifrit

?

An elemental who resides in the dimension of flames.'

Roy was only looking at it for one moment, and the ifrit had already taken notice of him. It suddenly turned around and stared at the one who was looking at it.

Its eyes widened with rage, and the creature roared. The river of magma exploded into the air like a waterfall, and then the valley was covered in flames. The ifrit suddenly became ten times larger and came dangerously close to the young witcher for one moment. In that moment, the ifrit seemed to have ignored the limitations between dimensions.

Its eyes were burning, and another roar escaped its throat. "Aenye!"

The air itself seemed to fizzle out from the heat that was covering Roy. It suffocated him, burning every inch of his skin and soul. The agony engulfed him whole, and the light erased him into nothingness.

***

Roy frowned and heaved a sigh before exiting his deep meditation mode. The moment he opened his eyes, a flash of red glinted within them.

The magma, flames, and that horrifying creature were nowhere to be seen. He could feel the breeze caressing his body gently, and what he saw were the stone walls around the Elemental Circle as well as a concerned Lambert.

"How do you feel?" The witcher noticed the weird look on Roy's face, and he quickly huddled closer. "Did you see the dimensions? What did you get from them?" he gushed.

"Stop. How long was I out for, Lambert?"

"About two hours."

"Give me some time. I need to think and sort things out." Roy sat back down and concentrated on his character sheet only to find a new message popping up.