Narrator's POV
"Interesting..." Olivia observes the changes shown by the crystal ball. She hopes for an intensity strong enough for Merlin to qualify for at least Rank A talent.
This was the average talent among male magus ,and for comparison, Olivia, who is considered promising for a woman, has a B+ rank talent.
This demonstrates the monstrous talent of men, and according to the information in the novel Merlin possesses, the empress has an SSS rank talent, which is the highest.
She's an anomaly, and the reason for this abnormal talent was explained later in the novel, but Merlin will never improve his talent in this way.
It just amounts to sacrificing his freedom, which was a side effect he couldn't accept.
"So... Miss??" Merlin finally spoke up to wake Olivia from her reflection in front of the crystal ball.
He was sweating because of the strange absorption the crystal ball was exerting on him. He could barely wait for the AI's notification beep.
The crystal ball was already illuminating the entire room after a moment, and Chloe and the others were starting to have trouble seeing.
"That's enough, your talent is at the top of S rank, so you have an S+ rank talent," she said in a satisfied tone before looking for a strange device resembling a watch.
"This will hurt a little," Olivia wounded the tip of Merlin's finger, and a drop of blood fell on the strange device.
There was a dark mist that began to emerge from the watch-like object, and it took various forms before evaporating.
"You have an affinity with darkness like me, but also a slight affinity with illusions."
Merlin didn't show much emotion on the surface, but he was actually extremely satisfied to have an affinity with darkness.
It's exactly the affinity he wanted to obtain, or that of light.
You should know that true magus at the peak of power in this world don't worry about that , but at the beginning, the affinity occupies a central place in a magus's evolution.
You must understand that a magus has three central zones that affect their evolution. They have a dantian like cultivators in Chinese stories, they have a "mental space," and finally, they have their "physical."
The difference between the magus and the knight like Chloe lies in the first two elements, namely the mental space and the dantian.
The dantian is an abnormal mutation that was born in humans and other intelligent creatures during the great catastrophe 800 years ago, it's lodged in the lower abdomen.
It's its activation through meditation techniques that allows the magus to have control over mana or magical energy, and this leads to another side effect.
The human slowly begins to have access to their mental space, it's literally inside that the magus's spiritual force is trained.
To put it simply, a magus uses their dantian to train and increase their mana but also its quality.
And they use their mental space to train and increase their spiritual energy.
The two are extremely linked, a magus can't cast spells without sufficient spiritual or mental energy to control the corresponding mana.
Of course, there's another extremely well-kept secret, and that's also why men have never been able to take control of the world despite their frightening talent.
It wasn't their small numbers that were the problem, but crucial and well-guarded information.
"It's good that I have darkness and illusions as affinities, but my talent is good??"
Merlin played dumb, he couldn't decently stay planted without asking Olivia the elementary questions.
"Yes, you have talent above average among men," She also began to explain the influence of talent on the evolution of a magus, but also how rare it is to have a double affinity.
Normally, a magus has just one elemental affinity, and it's recommended to learn only the spells linked to it to facilitate the evolution of a magus.
So yes, a magus can learn magic linked to another affinity, but it's not recommended, and it will come back to bite them in the ass later.
"You should thank your mother, according to recent studies, it's strongly implied that people with a double affinity are often mixed-race." she said after finishing her explanation on affinities.
Merlin nodded, satisfied with Olivia's explanation, she really had a gift for teaching.
"Miss Chloe, take this and don't forget our agreement," Olivia stood up and gave Chloe three books emanating an indescribable mystical aura.
"Yes, Merlin will do it," she received the books with slight hesitation and a slightly painful look, but it was temporary.
Chloe adopted a resolved expression after seeing Merlin's confused face.
'It's for your own good, Merlin, if you want to have a chance to compete with the other boys once at the empress's academy'
Chloe could only comfort herself in this way, she obtained a boy by pure chance and she doesn't have the heritage of a man like her half-sister.
She didn't want to reconnect with her family, she could only accept the olive branch that Olivia offered her, she couldn't risk affecting Merlin's potential.
"See you tomorrow, my little one," Olivia leaned over to give a little kiss on Merlin's forehead, which slightly took him by surprise.
He had always seen Olivia adopt a professional tone and attitude, but she gave him a kiss on the forehead in a familiar tone after her short interaction with his mother.
Before Merlin could express himself, the woman in dark clothing left the room without looking back with her guards.
"Mother, can you explain??"
...
Merlin's POV
I looked into my mother's eyes, I could see guilt and fear in them, an emotion I had never observed in her before.
"The truth is that I made an agreement with Miss Olivia," she motioned for me to sit closer to her.
I just sighed before approaching, she caught me in a slightly suffocating hug.
"Promise me you won't be angry against me "
I already had an idea of the deal she had made with Olivia, she even dodged my attempts to try to get information.
If I didn't react badly, it's simply because I don't care, but that doesn't mean I can tolerate my body being monetized in a deal without my consent.
"I won't get angry then, tell me the truth"
I detached my head from her surprisingly soft breasts despite her training and fixed my gaze on her scarlet eyes.
"Olivia offered to provide us with information and books, even private lessons later before your entry to the empire's academy, but... She wants a child from you later"
She couldn't look me in the eyes while explaining all this, she had to teach me very early certain things related to adult life for my safety because of my "kindness."
So, I'm officially aware of male-female relationships.
"You... sold my body?" I slowly backed away with a shocked expression and a bit of disgust.
"It's for you but also for the future of the Blight house, and I wasn't sure you would have magical talent because of your grandfather!!"
She had raised her voice when she mentioned her father before taking on a slightly shocked expression.
She must have realized that she had raised her voice towards me.
"I... I'm sorry, but I just want your happiness, and without support currently, you're just... a fragile little boy, and your mother can't..." She slowly approached to try to take me in her arms, but I gently pushed her away.
She was stronger than me, if she really wants to, then Chloe could forcibly hold me back, but she didn't resist.
I don't really blame Chloe for offering me a woman like Olivia for my first time in this world, I blame her for the way she did it.
I'm not the equivalent of a b*tch or a gigolo from Earth.
I don't sell my body for money or services, I'm Thomas before being Merlin.
All this to say that I have my dignity, I must draw a clear line that mother can't cross. I don't want to become a seed-distributing , today it's fortunately Olivia, and tomorrow??
"Mother, I'm going to train to clear my mind," I turned around and headed for the door.
I could see that Susan was worried and the other servants too, it was the first argument I had with my mother in this life.
I can understand their current emotion.
"You know, I'm not angry but I am just disappointed," I said these words before closing the door.
I hadn't taken the books left by Olivia, my mother can keep them for now. I want my anger to seem real in front of her.
"A few training matches with Adrianne will clear my mind, I must also unlock my aura quickly," My words might seem crazy by the standards of this world, but I had sufficient knowledge to succeed in this before my 5 or 6 years.
It will be even easier now that I've performed my awakening ceremony and I even have an S+ rank talent.
You must understand that aura is the weakest form of mana which is magical energy, unlike that of magus which has been trained thanks to the dantian.
Aura is only the magical energy of the body, it doesn't require a dantian for its evolution, and that's why it's naturally weaker than the magical energy used by magus.
Physical training is the only path of evolution for aura, and at a certain level, it can allow a knight to face apprentice magus.
Of course, there have never been knights who have defeated real magus in the history.