At the dawn of day, Elena was running through the Royal Residence with lightning speed.
"Head Maid!" Seeing her so panicked, the maids she encountered shouted to get her attention, wanting to know what was wrong. Elena bolted past, not bothering to reply or spare them a glance, leaving a flurry of wind in her wake.
"What's wrong with Head Maid?"
"I don't know either."
"I wonder what could have happened."
"It might be related to the Princess being greatly distressed yesterday. She didn't eat for the whole day and I heard Her Majesty even had to force her to sleep."
"Oh my, that does sound really bad. Did something happen to Austin?"
Having seen it all before, the maids knew what the only thing was that could trigger such behavior out of Elena and the Princess...
Elizabeth was still sleeping in bed when she awakened from a disturbance. 'This is... Elena's aura? Why is she coming so early in the morning...' Before she could get out of bed, Elena barged in without caring to knock. An act towards the Royal Family that would normally result in execution, let alone towards the Queen.
Met by the undressed Elizabeth laying on bed confusedly looking at her, Elena quickly realized her mistake, bowing and apologizing in amend. "Elizabeth! Sorry, I-I." The always clear-headed Elena was stuttering with tears running down her face.
Getting up from the bed, Elizabeth walked towards Elena, not caring for her messy appearance. "Tell me what's wrong Elena." She said with a calm voice. "This is the firm time I've seen you like this, what happened?" Elizabeth was stroking Elena back consoling her. Despite being servant and master, the two did not treat one another as such.
Elena was sobbing, she wiped her tears and tried to gain her bearings. Lifting her head and grabbing onto Elizabeth's arm, "Your Maj-Elizabeth, Please help me! Austin... I don't know where he is! I went to check just now and he wasn't in his room. The blankets were untouched so he didn't come back last night like he said he would..."
Hearing what Elena said, Elizabeth frowned. "What? Indeed, that's a big problem." Finding out the issue, she became a little bit flustered as well.
Wiping the remnant tears on Elena's cheek, Elizabeth exclaimed, "It's okay! He can't be outside of the Royal Palace. We will able to find him as long as he didn't vanish into thin air."
Despite having a lowly status, Austin was one of the only few people in the world that could make the Krashal Queen worry. Except for her daughter, no one else in the Royal Family was able to enter her eyes. Whenever they requested something of her, Elizabeth did not care and ignored all of her responsibilities as the Queen. Hence, she solemnly appears outside of the Palace, spending all her time in the Residence. Unsurprisingly, no one bothered her for doing such a thing.
With a common goal in mind, the two women quickly calmed down. After thinking it over, Elena's agitation softened. Comforted by Elizabeth's words, she knew Austin would be safe no matter what happened to him if he was in the Palace. She had overreacted, becoming greatly alarmed when her son had not returned and couldn't help but assume for the worse.
Because of her duty as the Head Maid, Elena did not have many opportunities to interact with others. Austin was very dear to her in not only being her son but also as a friend who she could talk to. Outside of their duties, the two spent most of their spare time with each other. Thanks to Austin's hidden maturity, they often had meaningful conversations. As a result, their bond deeply strengthened overtime with Elena being unaware of the strangeness in her son's disposition.
"Austin probably just fell asleep at the Library," Elizabeth said with confidence.
"Yeah, that has to be the case..." Elena replied. She was relieved by the fact that what Elizabeth said was most likely true, but annoyed at herself for not realizing such a simple deduction.
"You stay in the residence. Laura might wake up soon and she will definitely make a big fuss. I'll need you to calm her down if that happens. I'll go grab Austin from the library and quickly come back." Elizabeth no longer looked like she had just gotten out of bed. Immediately after, she retreated into a spot of shade in the room and vanished into the ground just like that.
Elena sighed, aware that Elizabeth made herself look good first before leaving and assigned those miss-matched roles on purpose. She was glad that Elizabeth cared for Austin, but felt discomforted because she cared for him a bit too much...
Suddenly, a suffocating pressure broke out.
"MOM!!!"
Laura had awoken.
...
Austin was still in the Dark World practicing his newly learned spell.
"Shadow Bolt!"
After a day of training, Austin's Shadow Bolt has improved by leaps and bounds. Unbelievably, it was now nearly identical to his copy's perfect version.
"99%... I'm not too far off. A few more tries and I should be able to get it."
What Austin didn't know was that no one has ever achieved complete comprehension of a spell before, be it Rank 0 or Rank 5.
100% comprehension of a spell was understanding literally everything about its composition. It was understanding nature itself - a task that has deemed impossible by every Mage ever to use magic.
Why?
Because the origin of magic did not come from Man but is rather embodied in the World itself, having existed since its formation and played a vital part in its creation.
One of the most senior Mages in Fantasia once said, "a Peak Diamond Class Mage with full comprehension over their spells is no longer using magic, but being magic." Since then, this saying has become widespread belief across every continent.
'Full comprehension.' It became the ultimate goal for those who dedicated their lives to pursuing the pinnacle of magic.
'Being magic.' It was described as chasing perfection but never achieving it.
Not a single person denied this as fact. Let alone the amount of Mages who have ever reached Peak Diamond Class, reaching 100% comprehension over a single spell alone is an achievement no one has come close to attaining.
Solomon, the previous ruler of a highly prestigious Rank 1 Nation, was publicly recognized to be Fantasia's strongest Mage. He was part of the very few who journeyed to the Central Region and the only one who came back alive.
When asked what his highest comprehended spell was, Solomon answered 92%.
"92!? Solomon must be the top genius across ten generations of Mages!"
"What did you say? give credit where it's due! He is the most brilliant Mage to ever exist. Don't forget - Triple-Attribute, he was a Triple-Attribute Mage!"
"Exactly right. who's ever come close to 92% comprehension? That's simply unbelievable! The spell I have the most pride in and spent half my life learning is only at 70%..."
"It's such a shame he died. Curse those creatures from the Central Region!"
News of Solomon's comprehension skills were immediately spread and he was showered with endless praise.
If it was made known a child who entered the World of magic for no longer than a day reached 99% comprehension on his first spell, what insanity would arise? Perhaps even the Royal Nation will not be able to keep Austin safe.
Every capable Nation in the Western Region will target and poach Austin to their side. And if they cannot bring him over, they will inflict destruction upon the Krashal Nation to rid of this potential calamity at all costs.
Not enough strength to protect him? It doesn't matter.
As long as there is a chance, minuscule as it may be. More than a few Rank 1 Nations would be willing to take the risk of annihilation to shelter Austin, hoping he will forever bear their flag and raise them to the status of Royalty. Though he is currently a young fledgling with a future fret with innumerable dangers. Once grown, he will become the most indomitable force the Western continent has ever seen.
Prodigal child Mages are commonly stolen away or killed before getting the chance to grow. That is the jeopardy and prestige one with unparalleled talent wields. In a World colored with blood where fighting is surviving, would you let a young Triple-Attribute Mage develop right next to you? No, You would send out the cavalry! send out the assassins! Eliminate them and eliminate them now!
Shameless? Yes. But smart? Also yes.
"Shadow Bolt!"
A ball of purplish-black whizzed through the air
'Blast!'
And for the first time in the history of magic, a spell was mastered to its complete form.
"That took longer than expected... Dark-Attribute and Light-Attribute spells should be the hardest to comprehend. I hope the other ones don't take too long, otherwise, that girl will have gone crazy by the time I get back. Elena will be fuming as well... Sorry Laura, Sorry Mother. This opportunity, I must grasp it now. Wait for me just a little bit more."
Austin was oblivious to the scenes in the Residence. Laura was rampaging amok the Residence and she had well and truly gone beyond the realm of crazy.
'Whoosh'
Leaving the Dark World with a thought, Austin summoned himself back to the small room. The Dark-Attribute spellbook dulled in color, no longer shining light like the others.
Proceeding to the stone table, he set out with determined steps.
"Light Beam!"
The training of complete Rank 0 comprehension resumes.