章 4: Failed to become a mage
"Ding~"
[Host has become an apprentice mage. Press any one of the options below.]
[1. Tell your parents that you have awakened and enroll in Xyrus Academy when you reach the eligible age.]
[Reward: 1-Rank Magician]
[2. Continue hiding and do not enroll in Xyrus Academy.]
[Reward: Full-Counter]
Just when I entered my room the system's voice rang in my mind. I looked at the options. Both options were tempting. Option 1 could allow me to immediately become a 1st-rank magician. But I can feel it I am close to becoming a 1st-rank Mage. It is not worth it to be below my Cover just to become a 1st Rank.
The second option is much better. The reward of a Full Counter is enough for me to deflect any attack but the system does not classify which type of Full Counter is it. There are two types of Full Counter one is for Magic attacks the other is for Physical attacks. However, there are many drawbacks of Full Counter, the user can not initiate any attack themselves and they would not be able to reflect attacks if the opponent does not allow them to read the nature and timing of their attacks.
After some more consideration, I chose.
Tap.
The second option. At least it granted me security from all attacks regardless of the opponent's rank. On the other hand, the first option is not worth it. I do not know how strong the first rank is compared to Arthur and Director Cynthia or the other strong individuals on this continent.
I did not feel any changes in my body. Except for being able to sense my surroundings better. I hurriedly checked which variation of Full Counter I got.
[Full Counter: Able to deflect all physical attacks regardless of the power of attack with twice the power, all the weakness which comes with this ability has been nullified.]
ARTHUR LEYWIN'S POV:
I start concentrating on my mana core, distracted by a series of unexplainable sneezes. I was getting too impatient with my training. I wanted to hurry up and get to the previous level in my past life but that wasn't happening as fast as I wanted it to.
The little fight with Director Goodsky made it all too real for me. I was too inexperienced and weak. It didn't affect me until now, but I wasn't used to fighting the way mages fought in this world. The fact that there was nothing like conjurers in my previous world made fighting one a lot more difficult.
My concentration wavered while my mind flashed back to my past life. The scene on that foggy night when the orphanage's head caretaker, the closest thing to a mother figure I had, was shot. I was still young at that time, but if I think back now, that was probably the reason I had started training like a madman. Head Mother was the one who picked me off the streets, giving me a steamed bun. After that, she took care of me, taught me how to read and write, scolded me, and taught me basic manners.
I didn't want to become a king; I just wanted vengeance. I just wanted to be strong enough to kill the ones responsible for the death of the person who had taken care of me... who had loved me. It was never as simple as that, though. It had turned out that the ones responsible for killing the orphanage head caretaker, along with other leader figures of the various orphanages, were the military from another country.
I realized then that no matter how powerful an individual was he was still just one person. I needed authority along with my power. Becoming a king then served its purpose. The first thing I did when I was appointed King was destroy that country. I bloodied my hands with the corpses of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and millions altogether. The cruel thing, though, was that no matter what kind of revenge was taken, it didn't change what had happened to her. She still had died an unjust death.
This life was going to be different. I wasn't going to let the ones I treasured suffer.
Sylvie nudged her wet nose at me, a concerned gaze fixed on my eyes. 'I'm here, feel better' was what she seemed to say to me.
Petting her head, I stirred myself out of my unpleasant memories.
I washed myself off, laughing at the crying Sylvie who still hated getting wet. I was glad I had her by my side. It wasn't healthy for me to be alone thinking by myself for too long.
Just on time, the girls got back from their shopping trip by the time I had finished dressing up. I hopped down the stairs to greet them.
"Hmph! Brother is a meanie!" My sister just puckered her lower lip with her arms crossed.
"Is it because I didn't go shopping with you, Ellie? I'm sorry." I patted her turned head, which made her tense her face as she forced herself to keep from smiling.
"How was shopping Mom, Lady Tabitha? Did you guys buy a lot of stuff?" I asked, my hand still on my sister's head.
"We didn't buy much, just a couple of new outfits for Ellie and Lilia," my mother responded.
At this time, I heard a storm of footsteps coming toward us. Vincent arrived before us with an excited look on his face. His eyes were a little red and he had an uncontainable smile on his face.
"You guys are finally here!" He said picking up his daughter and kissing her cheek.
"Honey, why are you so flustered? Have you been crying? "What is going on?" Tabitha had a bewildered look on her face from confusion and worry. Vince did look a little crazy right now.
"You didn't tell them yet, Arthur?" He faced me, the goofy smile still pasted on his face.
Shaking my head, I chuckled, "I just got down as well. I was about to tell them."
"Tell us what, baby?" My mother had a look of concern as well. Mothers never liked not knowing what was going on.
"I discussed with Mr. Vincent about teaching Ellie Lilia and Rudolf mana manipulation starting today. Of course, only if Lady Tabitha was okay with it."
"..."
Tabitha just shook her head, looking at her husband. "W-wait, hold on. Is this some sort of prank? If it is, it's not funny."
"No ma'am. I know both you and Sir Vincent aren't mages but Lilia and Rudolf can become one." I gave her a sincere look.
"N-no way. I've never heard of a method for teaching someone mana manipulation. I've been taught that it's up to the child's innate talent to awaken by herself. Why haven't I heard anyone else teaching kids then?"
Tabitha had a lot harder time believing that Rudolf and Lilia could become a mage than her husband. I didn't blame her though. Vincent didn't even question me, which was surprising. The biggest worry for a mother from a noble family was the future of her children and in a society where mages are the elites, the Helstea's lineage, no matter how rich they were, would get more than a few looks of pity.
"I've never heard of anything like teaching a child mana manipulation either, Art. How do you plan on doing this?" my mother quizzed.
"Mom, you guys all know how I awakened at the age of 3 right? I still remember what happened and why it did. I'm going to do what I did to myself to them. I'll have to test them before I can even start but for Ellie, I'm 100% sure she'll be able to awaken, and for Lilia, around 70%, and for Rudolf, around 50%." I answered. The probability was higher than what I said for Rudolf and Lilia but I didn't want to get their hopes up too much. There was still a chance she wouldn't be able to awaken.
"Heavens. T-this is. Give me a minute. I need to sit down." I noticed Tabitha's knees were wobbling as she made her way to the couch.
"This isn't going to be an instant thing. It'll take a few years for them to awaken on their own after I teach them."
Rudolf also arrived after hearing the crying sound of his mother and father.
"What Happened?"
Before anyone could respond Lily grabbed my hand and said, "Brother, Arthur says that he has a way of making us mages."
"What?!! You are not trying to prank me right." Said Rudolf in a Shocked tone.
He has read the history of this continent and he has never heard anything like force awakening, in the books it has said it is innate.
The Helstea parents just nodded at this and he turned to face Lilia and Eleanor, they also nodded.
"Ellie, Lilia, and Rudolf can you guys sit down on the floor over by the fireplace?" I instructed, guiding them into the living room. "I want you guys to sit in your most comfortable position, back to back. Leave some space so I can sit in between."
Ellie was still a little clueless as to what was going on, but Lilia had gotten the gist of what was happening and I could see the determined look on her face. Ellie sat down with her legs stuck out in front of her while Lilia sat in a more ladylike position with both her legs tucked into her left side.
As Rudolf was paralysed he could not move his legs. He just sat there and waited for further instructions.
He did not immediately try to deny the idea of becoming a mage. It would just garner more attention from others. He planned to first try this so-called method and say it did not work for him and in the future when his family is in danger he could just say that it was because of Arthur he became awakened.
"Okay. Before I do anything, I want you guys to close your eyes and concentrate. If you try hard, you'll be able to see some spots of light. Do you see it?" I placed myself between them now as Tabitha, Vincent, and my mother were all staring intently.
"..."
"N-no... I don't see anything," I heard a murmur from Lilia. I expected much but I turned to see everyone having looks of panic on them. Ignoring them, I turned to face my sister and asked her the same thing. I was less afraid of her seeing the light, but not recognizing what to spot.
Thankfully, she responded, "Bruhder, I think I see a small pretty light!"
The next step involved doing something that only I was capable of doing. I had to will mana of all four elemental attributes at once into their bodies. By doing this, they would be able to see a lot more of the specks of mana that were scattered in their body.
"Okay, I'm going to start now. You guys will feel a little feverish but I want you guys to endure it and just focus on the specks of light." As soon as I said that, I willed my quadra elemental mana into them.
The reason that all four elements had to be exerted unto them was because the mana that had yet to gather and form a mana core was at its purest form, meaning that all four elements needed to be exerted at the same power into their bodies to trigger any sort of responses from the dormant mana inside them.
"Eep!" "Hng!" Lilia and Ellie yelped out a little in surprise.
"I-I think I see some of the lights! They're so pretty!" exclaimed Lilia.
"Wow! So many!" Echoed my little sister.
"Okay, this part is important, I'm going to help you guys with this part but your job is to try and connect all of the little lights okay? Do you get that Ellie? Pretend that all of the little lights are friends and they need to meet together. Can you do that for me, Ellie?" This was the trickiest and longest part and I had to make sure that they understood what to do.
"O-okay! I think I get it!" "The lights are friends? Okay!"
I remained in my position for over an hour to trigger the dormant mana in their body, at least to the point that they would be visible enough for them to manipulate and gather.
Taking a deep breath, I removed my hands from their back, instructing them to continue gathering the little lights until the lights disappeared.
"How is it? D-do you think Lilia will be able to become a mage?" Both the Helstea parents are a mess. They had anxious looks on their faces while Vincent was nervously chewing on a fingernail. I looked at my mother and even she had a hint of uneasiness in her eyes.
I responded with a wide smile. "Don't worry, both Lilia and my little sister should awaken as a mage within a few years. I planned to do this with them every day for the few months that I'd be home. By then, they should be capable of training on their own to form a mana cor..."
Tabitha didn't even let me finish as picked me up into a big hug. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you. My baby will be able to learn magic! Oh my goodness I was so worried what her future would be since both of us aren't mages. *Sniff* Uuu... thank you so much, Arthur."
Vincent's face was streaming tears as he kept his gaze on his daughter meditating. My mother patted my head silently, giving me a proud smile.
"And what about Rudolf?" Asked Vincent.
"He, I think he might be unable to awaken as he did not seem to respond when I asked if they saw lights in the air, Ellie and Lilia both saw it." Said Arthur.
It wasn't as big of a deal for Ellie to become a mage since our whole family could use magic. The chances of her never awakening would have been slim to none even if I didn't do anything; I was just speeding up the process. I figured the faster she learns magic, the faster she would be able to protect herself.
The two girls lasted a couple of hours before the mana I exerted dispersed out of their bodies. Surprisingly, Lilia lasted longer than Ellie. She had more willpower than my four-year-old sister.
Rudolf went back to his room, he did not seem to be affected as he failed to awaken. He was genuinely happy for his younger sister. Tabitha and Vincent tried to console him. He still had a smile on his face. But you could see the sadness in his eyes. We chose not to say anything and give him a little space. They knew he was a strong kid who did not break down even when he was paralyzed and would die anytime.
My father came a bit after from the Guild Hall and was ecstatic for the Helstea family that they were going to have their first mage in the family.
Picking up Eleanor and rubbing his beard on her cheek, my father just cooed, "Aww, my baby is going to be strong like her older brother! Promise me you won't be stronger than father, okay? Or he'll be very sad."
My mother just laughed at this while my sister just giggled, pushing Father's face away. "Papa! Your beard tickles! St~op, hehe!"
We had a great dinner party that night. Rudolf did not come out of the room to eat. Lilia was happy because she managed to awaken, they did not tell her about her brother not being able to become a mage. They just told her that Rudolf was trying to become a mage within a month, which was why he did not want to waste any second. Vincent and Tabitha went all out on the delicacies leaving my mouth watering and Sylv drooling right next to me. We ended the night with everyone merry, Vincent going around offering drinks to even the maids and butlers.
The following days consisted of condensing my mana core and my elemental skills along with my dragon will's powers. This was a mind-numbingly slow process and I felt myself stagnating because of the lack of stimulation.
I spent a few days out of the week sparring with Father but I could tell he was afraid of hurting me, always holding back even when it was unnecessary.
Besides my training, I spent a couple of hours every day watching over my sister and Lilia while they continued their journey to form their cores. It was a strenuous process and I could see my sister being a bit more impatient with the training but I did my best to help her through it by making games out of it. Rudolf was not seen in the following days. His parents said he was alright. I also did not care much about Rudolf's well-being.
During this time, I got to talk to my mother about her abilities as an Emitter. I asked how she was able to learn it and train it when there were so few Emitters and she smiled at me mysteriously, saying how a woman needed to have a few secrets of her own.
I guess I would have to ask her again when she was feeling less secretive.
Two weeks before my birthday and the start of my career as an Adventurer, I was startled by loud, obnoxious knocks on the front door. Opening the door, the faces of the all-too-familiar group made my lips curl up.
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