When William muttered, harmony. Carina, the one who proposed the theory that he should accumulate various attributes, knitted her eyebrows.
"So it wasn't about having more attributes?" She muttered, feeling distressed. She tightly gripped the bedsheets and pursed her lips.
'Because of me, all of this has happened.' She blamed herself, recalling William's earlier state and Lyra's mental breakdown.
"I wouldn't say that." Gaia said.
Carina looked at Gaia, wanting her to continue.
"Although you were wrong about how William should progress. You were correct about the fact that he should accumulate attributes." Gaia explained. Her mind was racing to find any mistakes in the theory she had come to believe.
"Yes, Aunt Gaia is right, mother. You don't have to worry. I am alright now." William consoled while hugging her.
Carina, who was surprised by William's embrace, gradually felt the guilt gripping her heart melt away. "Thank you, William." She whispered, her voice cracking.
Orion, standing a few feet away from William, looked at William's core checking if there was any damage done to it.
But much to his surprise, not only was there no damage but his core was shining in violet light, indicating that William had become a beginner.
Orion's eyes widened as he observed William's core. "William, have you become a beginner?" He mumbled, still shocked by what he was seeing.
'Normally, even a genius human would take at least a few weeks to become a beginner, but my little brother did it in a few days!' He exclaimed inwardly.
At Orion's question, everyone else looked at William's core, surprise evident on their faces. William, too, was surprised as he tilted his head at his brother and asked, "Beginner?"
"Yes, William, you are a beginner now." Ara confirmed, a smile bloomed on her face, happy that her son had become a little stronger.
"I think his realization about Harmony made him advance to the 'beginner' stage." Vela theorized.
"I agree; I think that for William to advance to the next stages, he has to learn more about harmony than accumulate more attributes." Carina added.
However, Gaia shook her head and said, "While I think it's true that he has to learn about harmony, he also has to accumulate more attributes. They will be of help in battle."
"I think that the discussion about William's advancement can wait. We all should leave and let William rest." Aquila said in a commanding tone, leaving no room for debate.
"I agree; William should take a rest after all he has been through," Ophiscus said, agreeing with his first wife.
The group then began to leave one by one, with the last being Ara. She turned towards William with every step she took, concerned that something might happen to him while she was away.
William, who was alone in his room, stared at the door for a while, clenching his fists while muttering, "Harmony." His determination shone through his amethyst eyes.
...........
Two years had passed by,
William is now twelve years old; he has also added Wind and Earth, making them his powers. It took him two months each to synchronize Wind, Earth, Heat, and Cold.
But the moment he did, his core turned indigo making him an apprentice. Cementing Gaia's theory that he should accumulate a lot of attributes while learning more about harmony.
Right now, inside William's core were balls of mana, made up of Heat, Earth, Cold, and wind, they were revolving around each other, maintaining a perfect diamond shape and not moving an inch off course.
At the moment, William was standing in a training field surrounded by boys who were two years older than him.
The expressions of the boys were tense. They were the best training cadets in House Spade.
'What is this? Why should we have to fight the second young master? If anything happens to him, the madams will have our heads!' One of the boys thought, gulping nervously.
He recalled the day when the instructor handpicked the best of them. He thought that they were going to give them special training.
But much to his misfortune, he was told to fight the second young master of the House Spade, who was widely known to be loved by everyone in the mansion.
The boy looked to his side, gazing at his comrades; unsurprisingly, everyone had the same expression as him.
He then turned towards William, who was standing in the middle of the sparring ground with his eyes closed.
He was five and a half feet tall, almost reaching the boys who were older than him by two years, his silver hair fluttering across the air.
At one of the corners, Aquila was standing with her arms folded, watching over William's training. Gaia suggested that he should stop accumulating attributes and train on how to use them in battle.
Aquila looked at the cadets cowering in fear. She knew why those boys were like that, and she couldn't blame them. But they have to do their job.
"Hey Idiots! If you don't give your all in this spar, I will personally make sure that you will experience hell." Aquila yelled; her voice made the cadets almost piss in fear.
"And don't worry about injuring him. Give it your all." She commanded.
A few seconds later, William slowly opened his eyes. His amethyst eyes shone in determination, looking at the cadets.
He turned to his mother and nodded, signaling that he was ready.
Aquila, noticing her son's nod, raised her hand and shouted, "Begin!"
At her shout, one of the cadets, who was tall and bulky, shouted in annoyance, "AHH! Fuck this!" He dashed towards William while activating his attribute.
'Titan's hands'
At his invocation, his hands glowed in a brownish-gold color, and his hands grew multiple times in size.
He reached William in a blink of an eye, his body towering over William and swung his hand to punch William in the face, his hand casting a shadow covering William's entire face.
William looked at the oncoming punch with calmness, his eyes resembling a still lake.
'Wind'
He muttered inwardly, a ball of wind mana materialized in his left hand. He swung his hand upwards, intercepting the punch and redirecting it.
A look of surprise adorned the bulky boy's face. He was about to pull his hand in and punch William with his other hand,
'Earth'
William used his right hand, imbued with the heaviness of earth mana, and punched him in the gut.
The bulky boy flew like a kite with broken strings. The cadet's eyes bulged and his face reddened in pain as he fell to the ground.
THUD
The bulky cadet's back arched up as he groaned in pain. "Aaargh!" He screamed as he clutched his stomach where William's hit had landed.
The rest of the group's eyes widened in shock as they looked at the bulky boy groaning in pain.
'He was the strongest of us!' One of the cadets.
Aquila's eyes shone in pride as she looked at her son's prowess. 'As expected of my son'.
William turned to the rest of the cadets and muttered, "You should all come at me together." There was no pride or arrogance on his face; he looked at them with cold indifference.
The cadets' bodies shook at William's indifference. One of them gritted his teeth in annoyance and yelled, "Don't regret your words, young master!"
The bulky boy, too, was now standing, glaring at William. "He is strong." He informed his comrades.
The rest of them nodded their heads in acknowledgment, and at once everyone activated their attributes.
'Bow'
'Spear'
'Lightning fists'
'Earth shield'
'Titan's hands'
The four cadets rushed towards William, with the bow user staying at the back to provide support. He activated his attribute and a wooden bow materialized in his hand while an arrow made of mana appeared in his other hand.
The cadet with lightning fists came sprinting towards William; his hands crackled with lightning as he swung his fist, making an upper-cut.
CRACKLE
William's eyes widened a little at the speed of the attack, and before he could react, the cadet's fist was already nearing his chin.
'Earth'
William fortified his chin with the earth mana and muttered, "Wind."
He then sent wind mana to his feet and leaped backwards. While airborne, another cadet hurled his spear, aiming at William's chest.
Fwoosh
'Earth'
A shield made out of earth mana materialized in front of the spear and blocked it. At the same moment, wind surged behind him from the ground soaring like a pillar and deflected the incoming arrow aimed at his back.
"Tsk"
The bow user clicked his tongue in annoyance and materialized another arrow, waiting for the right time to strike.
William landed lightly, his eyes scanning his opponents. The cadet with lightning fists recovered quickly and charged again, his movements a blur.
'He's faster than before,' William noted, his mind racing.
'Wind'
William focused wind mana into his legs, enhancing his speed. He sidestepped the lightning fist cadet, feeling the crackle of electricity as the punch missed him by a hair's breadth.
'Earth'
He countered with a punch to the cadet's ribs, sending him sprawling to the ground. Another cadet with a spear lunged at him, but William deflected the spear using wind mana.
The cadet with the earth shield moved in, trying to close the distance. William shifted his stance, ready to face him.
The fight was far from over, and William was determined to see it to the end.
"Come."