[POV: Mc]
It's been two months since I caused that phenomenon, and in that time, I've gone through twenty more books from the library.
Most of them were handpicked by my mother to prepare me for my pre-awakening training.
I feel a sense of pride in how much I'm learning in this second life.
Reading all these books has shown me something remarkable: my memory is incomparable to what it was in my past life. f
With a single glance, I can memorize an entire page, like snapping my fingers.
It feels as if I have a recorder etched into my very soul.
Today, my mother told me that my aunt, the Duchess of the Everhart Dukedom, will be arriving to meet me.
I closed the book I'd been reading, Mana Continuum, and glanced at the life-sized mirror my mother had placed in my quarters.
Physically, I've changed a lot over these past two months.
My mother has been giving me herbs and resources designed to prepare me for training and for my awakening.
Although pre-awakening training isn't strictly necessary, since the power we gain from it is minimal, she insists it's still valuable preparation.
The true strength, however, only comes after awakening, when we truly begin our cultivation journey.
Awakening itself is a significant milestone—no one can awaken before they're sixteen, and even then, it doesn't just happen anywhere.
A specific type of energy, found in only one location in the entire kingdom, is required to trigger it.
Anyway, I pushed these thoughts aside; right now, my priority is preparing to meet my Aunt Freya.
I wonder what she'll be like.
I took a closer look at my reflection in the mirror.
My height has reached 138 cm, and my mother tells me I'm growing quickly for someone nearly eight years old.
My crimson hair has been carefully groomed by her, and my green eyes, like my mother's and sisters', are as bright as emeralds.
I wore a purple shirt accented with crimson to complement my hair, along with dark-colored pants.
I'm quite lean but seem fit for my age, thanks to Elizabeth's guidance.
She created a routine for me that starts with morning runs, followed by light exercises.
I don't use weights yet; instead, I practice bodyweight exercises my sister taught me.
I asked her to teach me swordsmanship as well, but she said she'll only do so when I'm truly ready.
I noticed the door opening in the reflection of the mirror as the troublesome twins, Isabella and Annabella, made their entrance.
"Aww, my little brother looks so handsome!" Annabella exclaimed, leaping into my arms and planting kisses on my cheeks.
Isabella quickly followed suit, claiming my other cheek for herself.
"Our little Damian is the most handsome boy," Isabella added.
Though I didn't see myself as particularly handsome, I knew that to her, I must be the most charming man in the world.
They truly were the best sisters.
"And my sisters are the most beautiful sisters in the world," I replied, smiling back at them.
"Aren't you a charmer?" Annabella laughed. "Aunt Freya has arrived and is eager to meet you."
"Let's go, then!" Isabella urged, giving me a playful pat as she led me toward the private hall.
I still hadn't fully acclimated to the many hidden, empty spaces that filled our castle.
Every weekend, my mother would send the servants away from the castle, and she would take me out, ensuring that I remained unseen by anyone else through a special formation.
This arrangement allowed me some precious time outside the castle walls.
Despite my explorations, the castle felt vast and mysterious, with countless areas still waiting to be discovered.
As soon as I stepped into the training hall, my gaze fell upon two unfamiliar figures.
I sensed a strange familiarity emanating from them, much like the connection I shared with my mother and sisters.
Both women had long, chestnut-brown hair and striking blue eyes, identical in every detail.
It was clear that the elder of the two was my Aunt Freya, while the younger was her daughter.
A rush of warmth and coldness flooded my senses, causing my perception of reality to shift.
Suddenly, everything invisible to the naked eye became apparent to me.
This was a state I could enter with focus.
When active, it allowed me to see the hidden aspects of the world: temperature fluctuations, energy movements, and the presence of life all revealed themselves.
Before me, I saw a dark blue orb of energy—a mana core, the reservoir in which mages store their mana for manifesting magic.
Aunt Freya's mana core was overflowing with energy, and I could sense not just one but dozens of mana cores, each pulsating with unimaginable amounts of Mana.
My attention then shifted to Aunt Freya's daughter. "It looks like she hasn't awakened her talent yet," I mused, observing her dormant mana core, which was inactive despite its size rivaling that of the twins.
I wonder why she hasn't awakened her talent when she is already over twenty years old.
"Interesting," I heard a voice murmur as I released the heightened state I had been in.
When I looked up, I found Aunt Freya standing before me.
Up close, I could see her beauty in greater detail.
While she didn't quite rival my mother, she was striking in her own right.
Gently, she placed a hand on my head, her touch unexpectedly soft. "You are the most extraordinary child I have encountered in my two thousand years of life…not only the most beautiful but also the most incomparably talented in both magic and cultivation."
"You are Freya Everhart…the Duchess of the Everhart Dukedom?" I asked.
"That's what others call me. But for you," she said, smiling warmly, "I'm simply Aunt Freya."
Without warning, she pulled me into a hug, pressing my face against her chest. "Please, call me Aunt Freya," she whispered, her voice wavering with emotion.
I returned the embrace, patting her back gently. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Aunt Freya."
"Yes…meeting you brings me so much joy," she replied, releasing me and gesturing to the woman who had accompanied her. "This is my daughter, Fiona Everhart."
Fiona stepped forward, lowering herself into a graceful curtsey, her head bowed as she introduced herself. "M-my name is Fiona Everhart. It's a p-pleasure to m-meet you."
Her voice trembled, her face flushed as if feverish, and she avoided meeting my gaze.
I couldn't help but wonder why she was acting this way.
I simply nodded and introduced myself in return.
We spent the next hour together over a quiet lunch, with my mother and sisters handling the meal preparations.
Throughout the meal, the conversation centered entirely around me, and it became clear that my eldest sister, Elizabeth, had greatly exaggerated my abilities to Aunt Freya.
After lunch, we moved to a private training hall.
We had already tested my martial abilities in previous days, and my mother had suggested that my awakened talent might be unparalleled—perhaps something the world had never seen.
It was a nice thought, but I couldn't help but doubt her optimism. Who could truly possess talent to that degree?
The twins, too, had tested my magical potential, concluding that I held immense promise in magic just as much as my mother said I did in martial arts.
Though they were certain of my capabilities, my mother and Elizabeth insisted that Aunt Freya conduct her own tests to confirm that the unusually pure mana within me wasn't a mere coincidence or some other phenomenon.
"So, Elizabeth told me you've found mana within him that is nearly on par with a Mana Elixir in purity?" Aunt Freya asked, glancing at the twins, who nodded in agreement.
"But we couldn't measure the full depth of his core," they explained, shaking their heads.
"We don't have enough control over our mana to reach his core without risking harm to him."
"Then let me see," Aunt Freya said, turning her gaze toward me. "Come, dear. Place your hand over mine."
She extended her hand, and a brilliant blue magic circle appeared just above her palm.
Without hesitation, I reached out, laying my hand gently atop hers..
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