May the God of Fire bless this follower and show your wrath to us mortals. As I conjured the fire bullet, it hurtled towards Ron at an astonishing speed. But Ron remained unfazed, showing no urgency to defend himself. He patiently waited until the fire bullet was almost upon him. Just before impact, he manifested aura and leapt higher, effortlessly evading my attack.
Ron's vertical jump, reaching almost five feet, was truly remarkable. If I hadn't been familiar with his moves, I would have found it hard to believe that a ten-year-old boy was capable of such a feat.
After gracefully landing, Ron launched himself at me with a swiftness that surpassed even my fire bullet. He closed the distance between us rapidly and initiated a barrage of punches, aiming to force me into close combat. Being a mage, I needed time to conjure spells, so he attacked mercilessly to deny me that luxury.
Offensive magic was not the only option available to me, however. Magic barriers formed from raw mana required no incantation or time. Just before each of Ron's punches was about to connect and knock me out, the barrier manifested only around the areas that needed defense. This selective defense minimized the mana usage, as defense magic demanded a considerable amount of mana.
While Ron's blows landed on my magic barrier, my palm started to emanate a shimmering azure blue glow. The next moment, an icy dome enveloped my surroundings. Ron immediately realized what I had planned. I had drawn an ice dome magic circle on my palm, an intermediate defensive spell. Meanwhile, my previously conjured fire bullet spell was still in effect, about to hit him from behind and secure my victory. As the fire bullet exploded upon contact with him, the resulting shockwave cracked the ice dome that had been shielding me.
Through my Divine Sight, I could witness the events outside the ice dome despite its opacity. Rather than letting the fire bullet strike him, Ron swiftly created a hole in the ground, which he used to evade the impending attack. Consequently, my own spell, the fire bullet, collided with my magic circles spell, the ice dome, causing the cracks I observed.
As I ceased the mana flow in the magic circles drawn on my palm, the ice dome melted away. But before it could fully vanish, Ron's fist broke through the wall of ice and landed a powerful blow on my face, knocking me unconscious. The ice dome shattered alongside my defeat.
"Darris declares young master Ron as the winner of the fight," announced Darris solemnly. It was yet another training duel between us, one of many that occurred on a daily basis.
I allowed Ron to win, especially since his mother and father were observing from the sidelines. Through my Divine Sight, I noticed Ron enveloping his fist with his manifested aura. If I had sent mana to another set of magic circles inscribed on my left palm, I could have conjured the fire spell once again, catching him off guard in such close proximity.
With the aura enhancing the strength of his punches, even a ten-year-old was capable of delivering blows stronger than those of Mike Tyson in his prime. I took the punch square on my jaw, dislocating it and causing blood to flow from my mouth as I lay on the ground. Ron approached me and placed a cloth with a magic circle drawn on it against my dislocated jaw.
The magic circles on the cloth were of intermediate rank, specifically designed for healing purposes. Ron poured mana into the circle, which triggered a reversal of time and allowed my jaw to relocate itself seamlessly.
"Amazing, Ael. How did you change the trajectory of the spell?" Ron inquired curiously, extending a helping hand to assist me in getting up.
"I didn't," I replied. "I employed the fire boomerang spell, pretending to cast the incantation of the fire bullet."
"You sneaky one, using my own spell against me," Ron remarked, recognizing my deception.
Indeed, it was Ron who devised the spell for the fire bommarang, an ingenious creation considering his lack of scientific knowledge about the world. How he managed to infuse rotation into a fire bullet during his visualization process is nothing short of remarkable. The spark of inspiration for this spell came to him when a merchant from the eastern continent attempted to peddle a bommarang toy as a magical trinket to Lady Sara. Ron simply adapted the principle behind the toy's curved trajectory and applied it to a fireball, altering its previously linear path.
Unfortunately for the duplicitous merchant, Lady Sara was no naive noblewoman, but rather a high-ranking mage in her own right. Unsurprisingly, the merchant's brazen attempt at deception was swiftly brought to light, leading to his swift and fitting punishment: the gallows.
Even as I retorted, I found myself on the losing end.
"Of course you lost," said my opponent with a wry smirk. "After all, I have more experience on you. But I must admit, you do give me quite the challenge. I nearly fell for your cleverly crafted fake incantation," Ron remarked.
"Ron!" Lady Sara interjected, her voice cutting through the air.
"Come here. Let the maesters take care of him," she instructed with authority.
A shadow of disappointment crossed Ron's face as he was abruptly halted in his tracks.
We were interrupted by Lady Sara, who called Ron over, ending our conversation abruptly. Ron's expression shifted, displaying a touch of sadness as their interaction ceased. Although he had become my friend during our early training days, Lady Sara forbade such closeness, claiming that we should not fraternize with "bastards." I didn't mind, as his constant presence would have hindered my endeavors to practice new spells.
Ron was different from my other half-siblings. While they were primarily raised by their mothers, Ron's upbringing was mostly left to the nannies. Lady Sara was preoccupied with managing the Duston Viscounty due to my father's alcoholic and promiscuous tendencies. As a result, Ron's mind remained uncorrupted, unlike that of my other half-siblings.
To be honest, I couldn't help but envy Ron. It had nothing to do with him being the heir to my father or any similar reasons. The boy was undeniably a genius. He had been learning magic from a young age, while also training in martial arts. Ron was one of the youngest individuals to manifest aura, effortlessly covering his body parts with it before reaching the age of ten. This ability placed him on par with low-ranking knights.
Meanwhile, I struggled to even manifest aura, relying on my Divine Sight and the scientific knowledge inherited from my previous life on Earth for my magical successes.
While Ron went to Lady Sara, I assessed the previously dislocated jaw before approaching Master Darris. He attempted to console me, encouraging me not to be discouraged despite this being my hundredth consecutive loss to Ron.
I refuse to be disheartened, master. I am fully committed to pushing myself to the limit in order to keep pace with the young Master Ron and to serve him to the best of my abilities. I replied My resolve remains unshakable.
"Your plan is wise, Aelfric. Train harder to keep up with young Master Ron," Darris acknowledged.
I inwardly scoffed at Darris's words. My plan was not to serve Ron obediently, as they believed. I was merely pretending, allowing them to groom me as a loyal hound of House Duston. In reality, I had different intentions altogether.
I'm not discouraged, Master i thought. Just a little jealous of Ron's martial arts skills. In terms of magic, I overpower him. If I were to infuse a little more mana into any of my spells, I could easily defeat him. However, that would only make me a target...," especially from my father's mistresses and their children.
I would have fled this castle long ago if not for my unwavering dedication to mastering martial arts and harnessing my aura. Unlike mana, which resides within the body, aura is a manifestation of human will and life force, requiring rigorous training to unleash its full potential. While strengthening the body with mana is feasible, it pales in comparison to the formidable results achieved through aura strengthening, given that mana is a stable energy form, whereas aura ignites with explosive force.
Despite my determination, I find myself plagued by the ominous notion that I may never be able to unlock my aura, having come across the troubling concept of the "curse of excess mana" in my extensive reading. It is a condition that afflicts those with extraordinary mana reserves, rendering them incapable of manifesting aura due to their bodies becoming habituated to the strengthening effects of mana. It seems nearly impossible, as if defying natural instinct, to shift focus to aura fortification in such a state. Even my own father, a High Mage and esteemed master of martial arts, possesses only a fraction of the mana that I do.
"Very well, Master. I will continue to train diligently," I replied, masking my true motives.
"Go and clean yourself up before Maester Darwin's class begins," Darris instructed.
"Yes, Master," I acknowledged before making my way towards the guard halls.
Due to my room being taken away and given to my new half-sister and her concubine mother, I resided in the guard halls. Thankfully, I received decent treatment from the guards due to my higher ranking. In return, I taught them how to read and write, as education was a luxury for common folks. Their loyalty and protection were the currency I exchanged for knowledge. Additionally, my father's mistresses were pleased that the "bastard" child was no longer within the main halls.
I paid no attention to their petty politics, determined to distance myself from their games. In my previous life, I lived in a studio apartment and various hostels, so crashing in military-style bunks was not uncomfortable for me. This arrangement afforded me the privacy I desired, provided I kept the guards occupied with additional tasks and avoiding any potential nuisances.
Leaving for the common bathhouse first, I cleansed myself before attending Maester Darwin's history lesson alongside Ron.
*