"There is something wrong with the way you cast your spells."
"Something wrong?"
The man touched his chin and narrowed his eyes.
"I can tell it for sure. It's about your mana."
Kairen looked at the man in front of him with a puzzled face.
While being dragged here and there by that man, he got to know some mages that were also in the training ground.
Some of them showed indifference and some formally greeted him, but there were a few people who came forwards saying "Oh, we'll have a new mage here.", "Hello, junior." and such things and gathered around him.
'I haven't even passed the test, stop calling me junior!'
Kairen couldn't really show his dissatisfaction and just greeted them politely.
Then they told him to cast a few spells for them to see his abilities. It was extremely embarrassing as if he was a 4-year-old kid showing the adults in his family how he had memorized a poem. Kairen wanted to run away and never come back to this place.
After observing his magic, they commented on his work one by one.
"Your magic has great power, but you are using your mana the wrong way."
Someone else pointed at a training target that was burning.
"Such a spell should be able to destroy at least three of those things in an instant."
"What should I do then?"
A woman answered his question.
"I guess you should learn to control your mana better."
"Ah, yes. I agree."
"Hmm hmm."
The others agreed with her and nodded their heads.
Kairen tilted his head.
"But I have been doing anything that they have taught us in the academy?"
The woman answered him again.
"That's right. Your magic is great for a cadet, but it isn't good for a member of SMF. You should try to learn more if you want to work here."
"I understand."
One of the mages poked Kairen's side with his elbow.
"Come un, don't be so formal."
"Oww!"
"Don't hurt our newbie!"
"Sorry sorry."
DING-DING DING-DING
Everyone stopped their conversation at the sound that came from the speaker.
"Is it that late already?"
Someone looked at their watch with a surprised face.
"I guess we were too focused on the newbie."
"Right!"
The training ground had three work Shifts. The alarm just now showed the end of the first one, so they had to leave the training ground.
Everyone started picking up their stuff and wearing their clothes. Kairen said goodbye to the mages and exited the building.
He couldn't test his new spells as he had intended to, but he had learned a new thing.
'Controlling mana.'
He didn't really need to come to the training ground to control his mana. He could do that anywhere and anytime.
He wanted to test to see if he could use that mysterious power again. He had tried to use that again before in his missions, but he wasn't able to. He didn't know what he was supposed to do in order to bring out that power again.
He thought maybe he had to be in a special situation to use that power, like when he and his friends were in danger in the mission.
'Let's think about it later.'
Kairen decided to think only about controlling his mana for now and started heading back to Kain's house.
He had met with some new faces and got to know so many people today. He was quite surprised. Kairen used to think of SMF as a serious and strict organization. Just look at team leader Dains! If he is not serious and strict then what else can be called strict? But what he saw today was a bunch of normal and friendly people.
When he arrived at Kain's house, it was already evening. He rang the doorbell and waited. The door opened soon after.
Click
"Hello, uncle."
"Hello."
Ariyan, who was standing on the tip of his toes to reach the door handle, happily greeted him. Kairen patted the kid's head and entered the house.
"Where is your dad?"
"He is asleep."
Kairen turned towards Ariyan and sat down on the floor.
"Why did you open the door then? What if it was a stranger? You should ask your father first before opening the door."
"Nooo! I knew it was you. I saw you coming from the window."
"Is that so?"
Nod Nod
The kid nodded his head with innocent eyes.
"I was waiting for you besides the window!"
'He was waiting? No wonder the door opened so quickly.'
Kairen patted him again and stood up.
He went straight to his room and stood in front of the bookshelf.
'Books about controlling mana... There should be a few here.'
He looked at the books one by one and picked up the ones that seemed helpful.
"Uncle?"
Kairen turned around and looked at Ariyan while holding a bunch of books in his hands.
"Yes?"
"Um... Aren't you hungry?"
"Not really."
Tap Tap Tap
The kid ran to his side with small steps and stood right in front of him.
"No, uncle! You are wrong! You are hungry!"
"...."
"And that's why I'm giving you these."
Ariyan raised his tiny hands. He was holding a bunch of cookies in them.
"COOKIES!"
"....."
Kairen looked at the cookies and then the kid's dark gray eyes.
'What?'
Seeing him not react, Ariyan said again in an excited voice.
"COOKIES!"
"...."
These cookies, as well as a lot more different kinds of snacks, were bought by Kain as a punishment for what happened to his birthday. It was the final deal that both sides agreed on after a long and exhausting negotiation.
Kairen looked at the cookies again.
'Why are you suddenly giving me your precious cookies?'
He remembered that Ariyan didn't let Kain even touch his snacks. He would yell "THEY ARE MINE!" and take them back if his dad touched them.
Tap Tap
Kairen looked down. Ariyan was tapping his hand. When he saw Kairen looking at him, he raised his hands again.
"COOKIES!"
'Should I be excited now?'
"Oh, cookies!"
Kairen finally responded to the kid with a fake excited face.
"They are yours."
Ariyan brought the cookies forward and put them in Kairen's hand.
"Thank you."
"What a great honor..."
The two of them heard a sad voice at that moment. Kain was standing at the door and looking at them with a sleepy and gloomy face.
He looked at them once more, then shook his head and turned around while mumbling under his lips.
"My son loves his uncle more than me. How sad. Yeah... so sad... Where did I go wrong in my life? Sigh. Such a dark destiny I have..."
"....."
'I'm sorry Kain.'
Kairen sent an apologizing gaze towards Kain's back and sat down on the floor again.
"Ariyan, you should share your cookies with everyone, not just me. Ok?"
"...Ok."
Ariyan nodded unwillingly. Kairen put the cookies on a plate and continued to search for books.
****
"Yes. You have improved."
"Really?"
The mage looked at the destroyed target and talked again.
"It is not that much though. You have only gotten a little, just a tiny bit better."
"...."
The female mage patted his back and said with a smile.
"Don't worry! You'll get better if you train every day."
A middle-aged mage chimed in the conversation.
"You didn't show up yesterday so we thought that you ran away!"
Kairen rubbed his sleepy eyes and straightened his back.
"I wanted to try controlling my mana better as you said the other day."
Controlling mana was harder than he imagined. He started training after he arrived at home the other day and spent yesterday practicing as well. He trained the whole day and even the night, but the results weren't much.
The female mage thought for a moment.
"Hmm, maybe you should..."
She stopped her words suddenly and stared at somewhere. When the others turned their heads, they could see a woman entering the training area.
The female mage opened her mouth again.
"Maybe... Maybe you can ask her for help?"
She pointed at the woman with a bright expression.