A year later, Oscar was still hell bent on using magic. He was reading a book on flame and heat control called "The Burning Effect".
It was a book written by one his ancestors. He had read this same book countless times, but he liked reading it because apart from having insights on fire manipulation it also contained the experiences of the author.
That's right, Oscar liked the stories, he liked putting himself in the events. Whilst reading a particular chapter, he felt his body heating up, and the book… burned.
"Oh no. My favourite book!"
"Wait, I did it! I did it!!"
He was so loud that the whole manor could audibly hear him. Charles and his wife were discussing when they heard their son yelling and they went to his room.
"Oscar what's wrong?"
"Ossie what happened" his parents questioned almost simultaneously as they came in.
They were surprised by what they saw. Oscar who had been placed in a fireproof room and prohibited from possessing any flammable objects like lighters or flame-sticks was holding a burnt book.
"Son what did you do?"
"Mom, Dad I finally did it."
"You finally burnt a book?"
"Where's the flame-stick?"
"No Mom, please listen to me."
"Dear, let him explain himself" Charles said while trying to calm his wife down.
He knew Oscar always adhered to instructions and rules even as a child but he still needed an explanation for this.
"I'm able to control fire now."
"What! That's not possible, you've not awakened yet."
"I'll prove it to you now" Oscar said as he closed his eyes and started to focus on what he felt when he was reading that part of the book.
"The flame is part of me…part of me..."
He kept reciting this sentence like a mantra of some sorts, which took effect as his body started heating up, his hands were set ablaze in flames. He opened his eyes, overjoyed by the fact that he had achieved his aim of being able to conjure flames even without being awakened.
Amazement would be an understatement to describe the expressions on the faces of his parents. This phenomenon has never occurred in the kingdom or even in the world.
"My son you have made me proud, you have always given me surprises but this? This surpasses them all." Duke Charles said with a very bright expression on his face.
"How do you propose we break this news? We need to pay careful attention to the probable effects this discovery may have on our child and the family as a whole." Cassandra said with prudence.
"I know and that was why I retired from the imperial army in the first place. I can't trust the king and his greed for power. Regardless of that, they won't be able to do anything, we'll protect him till he grows strong enough to protect himself." Charles responded with a feeling of assurance and certainty quelling his wife's desire to keep this a secret.
The news of Oscar being able to control fire disseminated so quickly that it invoked various reactions.
The Lane territory was joyous, a genius with the ability to evolve the fire arts to the next level has come. In the other Noble provinces, it was a different case, some felicitated with the Lanes, many didn't believe it.
A few, particularly the commoners who didn't reside there were apathetic, showing no concern to it.
Some, like the king were displeased by the news, he summoned Oscar and his parents to the palace to validate the information.
The next day, Oscar and his family went to the palace with regards to the king's summons.
On arriving to the palace, they encountered a gathering of nobles. Duke Charles and his wife exchanged pleasantries with the one they were familiar with and gave slight responses to the others. Knowing the reason these people were here, they didn't waste much time before heading into the palace.
"We greet your majesty." They bowed as they greeted the King.
The King gave a nod of approval before looking towards Oscar. "Are you the child said to be capable of using magic without a core?"
"Yes your highness" The boy humbly replied.
"Hmm, prove it to me."
Oscar took off his shirt, closed his eyes and spread his arms. Shortly after, his arms were covered in flames. This phenomenon lasted for about half a minute before it stopped, with Oscar looking quite pale and tired but content.
King Eric was shocked. 'How can this be? He is just a child, from this family even.'
The king felt bothered as he thought to himself. The look of surprise was only on his face for a brief moment before replacing it with a blank look as he ordered the mages.
"Ascertain if he has a mana core."
"Yes, your majesty."
The mage in charge bowed, taking some tools with him as he went to carry out an inspection and examined Oscar's body. It could be done easily by any mage but the use of magical objects gave a more accurate output.
The mage turned to the King and spoke up, audibly saying "Your highness, he possesses no mana core or any semblance of it in his body. He also doesn't possess any mana signature."
"What?" The look of surprise was evident not only on the king's face but on everyone's faces at the moment.
There was also feelings of envy on the side of the nobles. Dukes Gerard, Johan and Jeffrey were pleased with this development as this was the beginning of something good for the kingdom, given the unpredictable situation of the region.
However, Dukes Cyprian and Elijah felt like they tasted lemon. For them, this would gravitate the Lane family to a whole new level, the next generation might not even stand a chance against such a monster.
The King asked the question that was on everyone's minds at that moment. "How did you achieve this?"
"Your Majesty, I carried out some inquiry and research on magic but I spent most of my time reading books."
"Books?"
"Yes your majesty, I've been involved in this since I was six years old. I only made significant progress just recently. It is not something that can be explained because what I did was based on an intuitive reaction to what I felt was possible."
"So it was your instinct that led to this."
"Yes your majesty."
"It's alright. I see a bright future ahead of you. Congratulations to you Duke Charles and Duchess Cassandra for bringing up such a diligent young man."
"Thank you, your majesty."
"Young man, I would like to support you on your path. If there is anything you need now or in the future do not hesitate to ask."
"I am grateful for such honor your Majesty."
"Okay, congratulations are in order for the Lanes. You may be dismissed."
"Yes, your Highness."
Outside the palace, the Lane family was congratulated on all fronts. Charles knew this was all to keep up appearances but was too happy to care. They responded well to the felicitations and went back to their dukedom.
On the next day, Oscar went to school with joy written all over his face. His school was one for nobles and people of relatively high standing in the society. It was located in the imperial family's territory quite far away from his home.
However, commuting was instantaneous through the use of a teleportation portal. This was why his mother was worried about him. If he was in their territory nothing could happen to him. Though with the additional concealed security her fears were allayed.
In his class, he had two close friends, Paul Bloom and Joshua Lonsdale, Paul from the Bloom Ducal family while Joshua was the child of a Viscount. The relationship he had with the rest of his classmates were either acquaintances, sharing a modicum of familiarity or as rivals, competing in one form or another.
"Hey guys" He spoke out.
"How's it going bud."
"Someone looks happy today"
Oscar and his friends exchanged pleasantries. They were all seated at the front, in the first row of the class.
'Why does it feel weird in here?' Today the atmosphere of the class room felt a bit different to him. If before they were reserved around him, now most of them were wary of him. His friends still looked cheerful though which was normal and the only thing he cared about.
"Bro"
"What?"
"Bro!"
"What?"
"Bro!!"
Joshua got smacked on the the head by Paul. Pat!
"Use your words you idiot."
"I'm sorry, got too excited. We all heard the news, you u could use magic now, right?"
"Yeah."
"Show me"
"Huh?"
"Show me! Show me!! Show me!!"
Pah!
"Oww! That hurts."
"Then stop acting like a caveman on drugs."
Oscar smiled seeing how his friends still acted normal around him. He was a bright student but this feat that he achieved set him at a level above his peers.