Julius had to say that he liked his new mother as she was always kind to him, like his last one, and not one of the other maniac women of the world.
"I know we haven't had a lot of time together. How are you?" She gave him a warm smile, and Julius couldn't help but feel his heart tremble.
Margaret Augustine... A woman born without the ability to control mana but dominated the battlefield with her unique skills with a rapier.
Julius looked down with a sad face, and Margaret felt sad for her son.
Over the year, she was deployed to take care of multiple gates openings, and she hasn't had much time for her family, but now she's around.
Seeing her son's sad face made her heart quiver, and she sighed.
"I know you've been practicing with Sir Ray. Let me tell you now, magic isn't the only way. Your mother has no magic, dear, but I'm still powerful," she tried to comfort him, and Julius nodded to her.
She pulled him in for a hug, which caught him by surprise, and Sasha pouted.
"Mum, I'm also here!" She complained.
Sasha was like a big baby.
"Oh, come here too," she pulled Sasha in for a hug too, and then she left a while after talking with them.
She stood up and walked out of the room with Sasha, leaving Julius on his own. She met Ray on her way down the stairs, and she looked at him with furrowed brows.
Seeing her, Ray felt pressure against his mind, and as he closed his eyes, he felt himself held against a wall. He opened his eyes to see Margaret holding him up by his neck.
"If I find out that you're plotting to harm any of my children, you're dead." Her tone was cold, and her gaze was unwavering.
Under her powerful pressure, Ray couldn't even breathe, and the moment she left his collar, he panted hard and blinked.
That was the power of a grandmaster knight. It was truly terrifying!
He walked into the room and then he walked and entered Julius' room.
"Your Highness," Ray bowed, and then Julius looked at him.
"You're just in time. We're going to go on a trip. It's going to be a long one," Julius said with his hand on his chin.
"Oh, where do you plan to go, Your Highness?" Ray asked, slightly worried about the prince.
"The valley for forgotten dreams."
At first, Ray thought he was hearing things, but then, seeing the keen expression on Julius' face, he couldn't help but tell that the prince was telling the truth.
"Before you say you can't go, I had a dream. A message from the world. It said that I should go to that place and climb the mountain," Julius said.
Of course, everything he was saying was all things he knew about the novel. There was a mountain in the middle of the large valley, and up there, there was something which can help him.
"The world will..." Ray was speechless.
Those who receive messages directly from the world will are told to be favored by the world and would grow stronger faster than normal.
"Of course, Your Majesty, allow me to prepare," Ray said and left the room.
He couldn't help but wonder what the prince had to be favored by the world will. If the prince couldn't harness magic, then he could turn out to be like his mother, who was able to get to the level of an aura grandmaster and is still growing.
Julius summoned his maid and told her exactly what he told Ray, and she couldn't help but be excited.
"Does that mean you would grow to be a powerful person?" Alexa asked, extremely excited at the news.
Julius only nodded with a smirk.
...
In the castle's third floor, the king was in his room reading a book which had various symbols on it.
He closed the book, and then he stretched out his hand. His fingertips glowed a bright yellow, and he began to draw a circle with various smaller shapes inside.
The room temperature decreased, and then another formation appeared behind the first one. It was the same as the first but with a different color. Then the space around him tipped, and the two formations dissipated into particles.
Aman opened his dark-colored eyes and stared at the door. He had black hair too, but his handsome face made him look younger than he already was.
"You can come in now," he said as he fixed his position and sat on his bed.
"Still no progress?" Margaret said as she entered the room, and Aman looked at his wife and couldn't help but smile.
"I feel like I'm close, like I'm hitting a wall I cannot break. I'm tired," Aman said with a sigh, and Margaret went to his back and hugged him from behind.
"Your last son wasn't able to awaken magic. But it's not the end for him. Who knows, he might have his mother's talent," she said, and Aman shook his head.
"If not for the attribute of war you have, you wouldn't be able to come this far. Who knows if he'll be able to attain it," Aman said, and he looked back at her.
"I'm sorry. It's hard being a father. I'll talk to him."
Hearing his response, Margaret couldn't help but smile happily, and she bent his head backward and kissed him dearly.
...
*A day later*
Julius was writing a letter to his mum and sister. If he told them what he actually wanted to do, it would make them want to go with him, and he cannot allow that.
"Mind telling me where you're going to?" A thick voice came from his back, and Julius looked back with a shocked expression.
He couldn't even tell that his dad was behind him, and he also didn't know when his room door was opened.
'As expected of the strongest human,' Julius thought and smiled.
Julius couldn't help but probe his father's information with his skill as he was curious how the strongest man was currently.
____________
Name: Aman Augustine
Rank: Level 7 GrandmasterWhat the fuc Seeker
Attributes: Ice king (Legendary) lv. Max, the ruler of the Nile (legendary) lv. Max, He who dominates (Heaven) lv. 9, master swordsman (earth) lv. Max, God of war (Divine) lv. 8.
Abilities: Ice creation and manipulation, fire manipulation and creation, Frostfire garden, spirit of the heavenly sword, Space cutting sword strike, Eternal wave sword art.
Status: The king and guardian of the human kingdom who is able to single handedly made the other clans submit.
________
'What the fuck?!! Grandmaster seeker!!' Julius couldn't help but exclaim inwardly.
Seekers were the people of this world who practiced both aura and Mana. They are also called warrior mages by some.
He knew that his father would soon evolve from a grandmaster in a few years, at that time the entire world would be shaken.
But then looking at his skills, he couldn't help but marvel. He had attributes that were all earth rank and above.
Attributes rank are common, uncommon, mortal, earth, heaven, legendary, and divine. Attributes are sought out by all Gladiators of this world, and he was no longer surprised that he was mentioned as a terrifying existence. He couldn't imagine how much his father had to work in order to achieve this.
After being silent for a while Julius snapped out of his daze.
"F– father, I meant to tell you, but I can't tell mum. It's about a message I got from the world will."
The king looked shocked as he heard this, and Julius let out a low sigh as he would have to stick with this lie for now.