"Sage Rian…"
Thalen stared at Northern, amazed and stunned.
"You look… so different… even your presence…"
So many things had changed about the boy since their last meeting. Northern was a Sage, just as he was. They were of the same soul rank, and yet Northern felt so much stronger, so different.
Of course, being a Sage was just one of the many things that defined Thalen. He was also an elf, probably privy to devastating battle methods and strange spell arts. No one had seen him fight to tell.
Even knowing all this, he still felt so inferior, so small compared to Northern—in a very pronounced way. If he were being brutally honest, Northern's presence threatened to terrify him.
Northern, meanwhile, smiled.
"It's nice to meet you again, Headmaster. You look… quite the same. Are you sure you've been eating well?"
Thalen looked at Northern and exhaled with a smile.
"For a moment, I thought your presence alone would rip out my throat, but surprisingly, you're still him."
