After a good night's sleep, Cain rose from his bed, brushed his teeth, showered, and headed straight to the castle's backyard.
When he arrived at his destination, he found his sister seated, reading a novel. Before he could say a word, he heard her remark, "You're two minutes late. As punishment, training will be limited to just two hours."
Cain wore a helpless expression but refrained from protesting. He understood his sister's temperament well and didn't want to risk offending her, fearing she might refuse to teach him altogether.
So he apologized and took a seat beside her.
"First, we will start with the basics," stated Lilith. "To be able to cast spells freely, you should first learn to manipulate every bit of ether in your body the way you desire. Otherwise, it can lead to serious consequences. As the saying goes, either you control the ether, or it will control you."
Suddenly, she produced a stone seemingly out of nowhere and hurled it toward him. Cain barely had time to react, but just as the stone was mere centimeters from his face, it abruptly disintegrated.
"This will be your first lesson. When you can accomplish that, your control should be barely passable," added Lilith, a playful smile gracing her face.
"Could you use something else for demonstration? I really don't like the feeling of being suddenly attacked," asked Cain, wearing a helpless expression.
"As you wish, darling," replied Lilith with a mischievous smile.
Cain, aware of his sister's hobby of toying with other's emotions, resisted the temptation and picked up the nearest stone to begin his training.
"Boring," said Lilith as she returned to her seat and resumed reading her novel.
Cain didn't pay any attention to her. Instead, he focused on the stone in his hand. He attempted to infuse it with ether, but failed miserably as the stone disintegrated immediately. He didn't give up and tried several more times, but without exception, he failed each time.
"Your ether is controlled by your mental power. It will respond to your command; if you will it, it can become a gentle energy incapable of causing harm," stated Lilith. Though she appeared absorbed in her novel, she was attentive to his training.
A look of enlightenment appeared on his face as he imagined the ether transforming into a gentle energy while infusing it into the stone. Unexpectedly, he succeeded.
"Oh, very good. Now, continue with this training. When you can change its nature with a thought, we will move on to the next phase!" exclaimed Lilith.
Cain spent the rest of the morning training. He could now change the nature of ether in under one second, which was still far from Lilith's requirements but nonetheless a considerable progress.
[STATUS
SPECIES: Devil (Aatrox bloodline)
RANK: Apprentice
AGE: 12
HEIGHT: 150cm
PHYSIQUE: 5
MENTAL POWER: 15
ETHER: 10
BLOODLINE ABILITY: Hellflame (rank 0)
Notice: Bloodline Ability advances with rank.
SKILLS : -Swordsmanship: Intermediate
-Ether control: Beginner ]
Lunchtime was approaching, and Cain knew his mother would be upset if he arrived late. He hurriedly took a shower and made his way to the dining room.
After finishing his meal, Cain's father looked at him and asked, "Cain, how was your training with Lilith?"
Cain, noticing his sister smiling at him, didn't dare to say anything negative, so he replied, "I think Lilith is a good teacher. In about a week, I should start learning some basic spells."
"You should thank your talent for that. Maybe our marriage will be sooner than expected," added Lilith, her voice tinged with amazement.
Venelena looked at the interaction between her children with a warm smile; she cherished this kind of warmth in the family more than anything else.
Lord Mephisto said a few words of encouragement and then left the room. As the lord of the Aatrox household, he had a lot of work to do, and adding his training time on top of that was a significant commitment. For him, taking lunch and dinner with his family was already pushing the limits of what he could manage.
After spending some time with his mother and sister, Cain went to the training field to practice with the guards. Due to his young age, he lacked physical strength. Even though he aimed to become a mage, he was determined not to let physical weakness hold him back.
Physical training was quite harsh, as Captain Darius didn't show any special leniency toward him. Nonetheless, Cain managed to barely complete the training session.
After showering and having dinner with his family, Cain went straight to his bedroom. He was determined not to give Lilith any excuse to shorten their training time the next day.