It has been nine months since William was able to see mana. He had practised every day, morning and evening, without fail.
Once, he was almost caught by his mother as he was too focused on the mana and didn't detect his mother coming into the room.
'I have to say; it's good that Mother thought that I was sleeping!' He mumbled inwardly.
SIGH
He sighed as he pursed his lips, remembering the voice. He tried calling out to him once in a while but was only met with silence.
'I hope it's not that serious,' he thought to himself as he recalled his last words about opening his seal and protecting him.
During these nine months, William had grown a lot mentally, as he had no one to rely on but himself.
'I understood a lot and could now talk a little!' He muttered under his breath as he looked up, his mother was talking to her sister, the first wife of his father.
He didn't pay attention to what they were talking about as he was bored after listening to them for a few minutes.
But he learned one of the most important things–his mother's name. "Ara."
Ara, William's mother, turned toward her baby when he called her name.
She squinted her eyes at him a little while her sister, Aquila, smirked at her sister playfully.
"My sweet baby, you cannot call me by my name. Call me, Mama!" Ara said as she lifted him into her arms.
"Mama!" William said with a smile on his face. He liked getting attention from his mother and quite liked playing with her.
Ara smiled at her boy and kissed him on his cheeks, "That's right! I am your Mama! And you are my sweet baby boy!"
GIGGLE
William giggled at this and hugged her neck while looking out, from her back.
They were in one of the mansion's living rooms, which was closer to their bedrooms. 'I
I haven't explored the mansion yet, but I do plan to do it after a few months. Once I reach the goal set by the voice I will do it!'
He decided inwardly as he remembered his goal to be able to see mana without much effort.
William almost reached his goal as he could concentrate faster enough to be able to see mana in two minutes.
'But that isn't enough! I have to be able to see Mana in a moment! My enemies won't wait for me to get ready!' He commented. He was tracking his progress and was not very satisfied with it.
As William was thinking about his goals and what could have happened to that voice. But then, he felt like he was higher in the air than he was before as he looked at his mother, who was now standing.
He then turned his head to look at the two women, who were now walking toward the hall.
'Are they going to my room!?' William muttered inwardly as he recognised the hallway, the one that led to his room.
And he confirmed it after a few minutes as Ara opened the room to his door and walked in.
Aquila followed her and they both walked toward William's bed. He was almost two years old and could walk, but William always insisted on getting carried by his mother.
Ara put him to bed upon reaching it and said, "I am sorry baby, Mama cannot play with you today!" Ara said, with a saddened face.
"Not play?" William asked as his eyes became moist; although he was sad, he was not that sad that he couldn't let his mother go when she had some important work to do.
"Yes, sweet baby, Mama has work to do and cannot play with you today."
William pouted his lips and turned to the other side, acting spoiled.
CHUCKLE
Aquila chuckled at his antics while Ara kissed him on his cheek and continued, "I promise, sweetheart, Mama will play with you tomorrow."
She then ruffled his head in affection, hoping that it would pacify him.
"...Okay," William said as he turned toward her. 'I can practise a little more today!' He exclaimed inwardly, happy that he could practise more, but also sad that he couldn't spend more time with his mother.
Both women stayed with William for a few moments before Ara closed the door and William was now alone.
"Hmm, acting like an innocent baby is tough!" He commented that although he liked playing with his mother, it was tough acting like one.
[It's not like you are not a baby though!]
The voice resounded through his mind, almost scaring William.
"You are back!" William exclaimed as a bright smile returned to his face. His heartbeat raised quickly in surprise, while he clenched his fists. 'I don't have to be alone when I am practising anymore!'
[Yes I am back! Did you miss me that much!?]
The voice teased playfully while William's bright smile dampened a little.
"Yes, I did! I wanted to show you my progress but you weren't there." William said as he hung his head low.
[Hey, no need to be all sad. I have returned, and I am not planning to give anywhere until you have gained all your powers back!]
The voice answered, lifting William's mood.
[Now, show me your progress!]
The voice asked, making William's smile widen.
"I think I have made really good progress! Wait a minute, I will show you!" William said as he sat upright.
He then immediately closed his eyes and concentrated on the place between his brows. Within a few moments, he could feel like a thumb was pressing on that place.
William then extended that sensation all over his face and also successfully covered his neck, feeling the same sensation all over his face.
He then focused on the surroundings of his face, quickly zooming in.
The zooming was so fast that all William could see were flashes of light as his vision zoomed in on the minuscule particles of mana.
And a few more moments later, William could see the tiny black particles floating around, avoiding each other.
William always waited until one of the mana particles turned green and flew off somewhere. He tried to observe and investigate it, but no matter what he tried he couldn't even catch a glimpse of it.
William watched the mana for some time before he ended it by Opening his eyes. He couldn't see them with his eyes open as it would require an even more tremendous amount of concentration.
"What do you think!?" William asked excitedly as he waited for the voice's response.
His fists were clenched while a drop of sweat trickled down his forehead as he nervously waited.
[Not bad actually. It only took you one and a half minutes to see Mana. I thought you would take at least five minutes before you could see it. You have worked hard!]
The voice praised, elating William to a new level. He clenched his jaw in excitement.
[But…]
The voice continued, stopping William from getting too excited.
[It's good that you did better than I expected. but that doesn't mean that you did your best!]
The voice said, pouring cold water on his excitement.
[You have to work even harder; you have to give your 100% to live a happy life with your family!]
The voice said, reminding William why he was doing what he was doing.
'That's right! I am doing this not for praise, but for the safety of my family. So that I can live happily with them!' William reminded himself as he renewed his vigour and decided to put more focus on his training.
[Remember William, there should be balance in everything! Just like how nature acts to maintain balance through creation! You must also ensure that there is balance in your life. You have to train, but also enjoy your new life!]
The voice said, giving some important life lessons to him.
William nodded his head in understanding and took mental notes to remember the advice.
[All right! Now that we are completed on taking the first step in regaining your power. Let's move on to the next step!]
The voice continued, making William excited. He was looking forward to seeing some more cool stuff.
'I am ready, I will make sure I am powerful enough to protect my family!' He muttered inwardly as he clenched his fist.
[Since you can see mana, the next course of action is to manipulate it! But you cannot manipulate pure mana as it's almost impossible for you yet!]
William listened carefully to the voice and took in the knowledge.
[But, you can manipulate the tainted version of it!]
"Tainted?" William asked in confusion as he tilted his head.
[Yes! Tainted! You have observed the mana particles turn green and just fly off fast, right!?]
The voice asked, to which William nodded his head and said, "Yes."
[That is tainted mana, pure mana becomes tainted mana when it turns into elemental mana. The green one is called Wind Mana, it governs over the wind in this creation!]
William's eyes widened as he took in the information. The voice, too, stayed silent for a while and let William sink in the information.
[And your next mission is to manipulate wind mana and store it in your body!]