Landor was silent for a moment. He said, "Are you sure you want to choose the elemental route?"
Daren nodded and said, "I can't afford to be slow."
Landor nodded and said, "I'm glad that you are able to recognise that yourself. Now, I will only make suggestions. You have to be the one making the final decision. Do you understand?"
Daren nodded. Landor continued, "Well, the most obvious choice would be Life. That way, both of your Anima would boost each other. And it is one of the most suitable elements for Body Anima Users, especially since your entire body is the Anima.
It will basically mean an alternative physical path. The overwhelming vitality of the Life element will seep into your body, boosting its basic features."
Daren thought about it. Landor said, "I can already tell from the look on your face that you don't like it. And I can guess why."
Daren was surprised and asked, "You can?"
Landor replied, "Yeah. You want to increase your combat abilities. And the Life element is too passive for that. At least initially. All elements become extremely strong when they reach a certain height of power."
Daren said, "That may be true, but it is not for me."
Landor said, "Alright then. We'll explore other options."
Daren was shocked once again. He asked, "Just like that?"
Landor nodded and replied, "Just like that. I already told you. I will only give suggestions. Daren, this choice will determine the course of your path. Not mine. So you must be the one to make the ultimate decision. Besides, you're a smart kid. I trust that you will make the best choice for yourself."
Daren smiled and said, "Thanks, Uncle Landor.'
Landor said, "Coming back to the topic at hand, Daren, what do you want the element for?"
"What?" replied Daren. Landor said, "Let me rephrase that. Each element has a speciality. Earth boosts your defence, fire does wonders for increasing damage, etc. What do you need? Not want, but need. Really think about it."
Daren sat down and began thinking. He was clearly pursuing strong combat power, but that was too obvious. Landor told him to think about his needs, not wants. So what exactly did he need?
He was going to be a healer, but his tree Anima had that part down. Wait, but did it though? Sure, he could hea,l but he wasn't supposed to be a normal healer.
His patients wouldn't be brought to him. He would go to them. But what if someone died before he could even reach them? Daren muttered, "I see. I may want strength, but I need speed."
Landor chuckled and said, "Good job. You're right. You need speed. But why?"
Daren told him the reason. Landor said, "Correct. But your answer is incomplete."
"Incomplete?" Daren asked. Landor said, "Yup. You don't just need speed for your patients. But also for yourself. You won't spend your entire life in the village, would you? Which means you will face something far more dangerous than the beasts."
Daren looked at Landor curiously as the older man continued, "You will face other humans. And we always go for the healers first. So you need to be able to save your own life first."
Daren nodded. Landor was right. Taking out the healers first made the most sense. He asked, "So what elements are the best at boosting speed?"
Landor replied, "The best ones are undoubtedly Time and Space. But getting time is almost impossible. Space, while comparatively easier to obtain, is still not possible for us."
Daren looked a little down after hearing that. Space… sounded so sick. He could just imagine disappearing right as someone was about to attack him and appearing behind them, hitting them instead.
Damn, that would have been so cool. Landor could imagine what was going on in Daren's head and chuckled.
He said, "Then comes Light. Light is the epitome of speed."
Daren nodded and thought, 'That doesn't sound bad either.'
Landor said, "Though Light has its own cons. While it will give you unparalleled speed, your attacks will be much weaker initially. Light focuses more on the auxiliary aspects in the beginning."
Daren said, "But… We will be hunting, won't we? Won't Light attract too much attention?"
Landor replied, "It will. That brings me to the next option. Wind. You'll be able to ride the wind. And, it's invisible. You'll also be able to boost your allies, increasing their own speeds, and it is much safer."
"Safer than what?" asked Daren. Landor replied, "The final option. The choices that I gave you are much forgiving on the body. But some particular elements, such as Fire, Poison, etc, are not. They are extremely strong, but wielding them directly through your body is just as dangerous. For speed, that element is Lightning. It is just a little slower than Light and has strong attacking abilities.
But it is also just as dangerous. For one, it will be particularly dangerous for you during rainfall. Your body might just randomly attract lightning. Second, you might not be able to withstand your own abilities. So it is pretty life-threatening."
Daren's eyes began glowing with ambition as he asked, "But if it's so dangerous, the results must also match that, right?"
Landor replied, "They do. Not just Lightning, but all such elements result in extremely strong Body Anima Users. Because they all also assist in body tempering and-."
Daren interrupted by saying, "So does that mean it'll help in getting rid of the Essence Fat?"
Landor mentally sighed and said, "There is a high possibility that it will."
Daren said, "I've decided. I'm gonna choose Lightning."
Landor's chest tightened. He had wanted the boy to be bold, but now that boldness might be the death of him. He said, "Daren, are you sure. Don't just think of the benefits. You could die."
Daren replied, "If you really think about it, it's much safer for me than other Body Anima Users. I have a lot of Essence Fat. And I'm a Gemini Anima User with Wood and Life Elements. So I could just heal myself.
It would also increase my chances of achieving Crystal Body. So there really isn't much to consider. I will choose Lightning."
Landor said, "Very well. To get your Lightning Origin Bead, we need to return to Celeste anima Realm first."
Daren asked, "Huh? Why?"
Landor replied, "Because if we're to chase lightning, we must enter the storm"