Early morning sunlight flooded the small yard of the Dawnsinger home, dewdrops glistening faintly on the blades of grass.Vetril had just woken up from his sleep when his father, Gareth, pulled him into the centre of the yard. He was dressed in crumpled pyjamas, his hair was dishevelled, and he was clutching the hard bread he hadn't finished last night.
'Today, is an important day for you to step onto the path of the strong!' Gareth then stood under a large tree in the centre of the courtyard, his voice loud as a bell. The longsword in his hand glistened in the sunlight, and his entire person exuded an aura of 'I'm powerful'.
'The Path of the Powerful?' Vetril rubbed his eyes and looked at his father in confusion, 'Is it to let me help you chop wood?'
'Nonsense!' Gareth glared at Vetril and said solemnly, 'I'm trying to teach you to perceive Mana, which is your first step to becoming a knight!'
'What's Mana?' Vetril was filled with confusion.
'Mana is the core energy of the world, running through everything and nourishing the earth.' Gareth raised his head, his gaze deep, as if recalling distant years, 'Knights and mages, they all enhance their power by sensing and manipulating Mana. Just like your great father, me! Is a knight.'
Vetril listened in awe and looked at his father in admiration, 'Father, you must be a very strong knight?'
'Of course! Your father me!' Gareth straightened his chest and looked up to the sky, his face filled with pride, 'I am a level 16 Junior Knight!'
'Level 16?' Vetril's eyes widened and his tone was filled with awe, 'You are too powerful! Is it possible to split mountains with a single sword then?'
Gareth grunts softly and puts on an 'almost' expression, 'Er, theoretically ... it's not impossible.'
'Theoretically it can't be split open.' A cool voice came from the room.
Vetril turned his head and saw that his mother, Elena, was leaning against the doorframe, a cup of hot tea in her hand, her eyes full of teasing.
'Elena!' Gareth's tone held a hint of embarrassment, 'Don't interfere with my teaching!'
Elena slowly walked over and gently took a sip of tea, saying in a calm tone, 'Don't you mislead the child into thinking that you're some kind of top-tier powerhouse.A level 16 Junior Knight is not even a rookie in the eyes of an Intermediate Knight.'
Gareth's face instantly turned red, 'How do you talk! A Junior Knight is also a Knight! And with my level of a level 16 Junior Knight, I'm also a peak character in the middle of the town.'
'Oh?' Elena raised an eyebrow, a faint smile hanging at the corner of her mouth, 'Then do you want me to tell Vetril about the time it took you ten whole years to rise from a trainee knight to a junior knight?'
Gareth was instantly like a balloon that had been punctured, his aura instantly deflating by a large margin. He awkwardly waved his hand, 'That's because when I was young ... er, I pursued all-round development and didn't focus on training.'
'All-round development?' Elena sneered, 'Meaning that in order to pursue the girl from the neighbouring village, you used the "Mana Flame" to ignite a pile of wet firewood, and as a result, you almost burnt down the sheep shed at the entrance of the village?'
'That was an accident!' Gareth reddened and hurriedly explained, 'Who hasn't been young before, I just ... wanted to show it.'
'Oh, then there was also a time when you, in order to show off your sword skills, slashed your sword at a stone, but the stone didn't split, and instead, the sword bounced off and smashed into your own head.' Elena stepped forward with a smile in her eyes, 'And then you were even shouted "Iron Headed Knight" for half a year by the village children.'
Hearing this, Vetril finally couldn't hold back and fell to the ground laughing with his stomach in his hands, 'Hahahahaha! Father, you are truly a legend!'
'What are you laughing at!' Gareth was so angry that he drew his longsword, 'That's all in the past! Today we are learning about Perception Mana, not my glorious history!'
Elena shook her head gently and added with a grin, 'Remember, Vetril, half of your father's glorious deeds were blown out of proportion by himself.'
Gareth turned his head and glared at Elena, 'I knew you'd tear me down!'
In a fit of laughter, Gareth struggled to find his majesty and cleared his throat, 'Alright, listen up! The realm of knights is divided into multiple stages, but today I'm only going to talk about the first three.'
'Apprentice knights are the most basic stage.' Gareth waved his sword in a solemn tone, 'The goal of this stage is to perceive Mana and allow it to flow through the body. Through meditation and basic sword training, your physique will gradually increase.'
'So am I a trainee knight now?' Vetril asked curiously.
'You can't even sense Mana, you can only be considered a trainee apprentice knight.' Gareth hit him mercilessly.
'When the 'Core of Source' condenses in your body, you'll have reached Junior Knight.' Gareth patted his chest, 'The bigger the nucleus is the more mana it can store, and the mana in the nucleus will gradually turn into aura to be used to enhance your strength.'
'Father, how big is your 'Nucleus of Source'?'
'Erm ...' Gareth paused for a moment, equivocating, 'Size doesn't matter, it's the function that counts ...'
Elena added without mercy, 'His nucleus is as small as a pea.'
'Shut up!' Gareth was so angry that he jumped straight to his feet, 'In short, the strength of a beginner knight is already enough to carry out simple tasks, such as exterminating low-level magical beasts.'
'Upon entering Intermediate Knight, you will master a variety of melee combat techniques and initially comprehend the 'domain'.' Gareth's tone became serious, 'The Domain is a special combat ability that can enhance your perception while suppressing the enemy.'
Vetril was dumbfounded by what he heard, 'That sounds awesome!'
'Of course it's awesome!' Gareth said proudly, 'But you just need to focus on sensing Mana for now, we'll talk about the rest later.'
'Wow! Knights are so powerful, what about the magic system?' Vetril asked curiously.
'Okay, I'll tell you.' Elena walked over to Vetril and sat down on the grass, gesturing for him to sit down as well. 'The first realm of magic is the magical apprentice, below level 10. Wizards at this stage are just starting to learn magic, they are able to sense the flow of mana around them and try to direct it, but compared to the equivalent realm of a knight, a mage's physical body is weaker and has a single means of attacking, only one named 'Mana Wave', which is based on the principle that the magic apprentice directs and compresses a small slice of mana by force and striking it in a selected direction.' Elena patiently explained.
'When you manage to condense the core of a spell within your body it means you have reached the second realm named Trainee Mage. Wizards at this stage begin to Due to the presence of the spell core, Mana can be converted into magic power, through which a mage can cast spells and perform simple tasks by chanting incantations. Take for example, your mother me! It's a trainee mage who has mastered first-order wind magic and first-order water magic!' Elena continued to explain, a hint of pride in her voice.
'And what about the third realm?' Vetril continued to ask, his eyes filled with curiosity.
'The third realm is Wizard, level 30. Wizards at this stage are skilled in a wide range of magic and can master silent spell casting, not only that but they can also fly freely for a short distance ... all sorts of wonderful abilities.' Elena explained, a hint of yearning in her voice.
'Wow, that sounds awesome!' Vetril exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with yearning for the practice.
So under the guidance of his parents, Vetril sat cross-legged on the grass, closed his eyes, and began his first attempt at perceiving Mana.
'Close your eyes and relax your body,' Gareth instructed patiently, 'Imagine that there is an invisible energy in the air which surrounds you like a stream.'
Elena added, 'Do not try to catch it, but let it flow on its own. Patience, is the key to perceiving Mana.'
Vetril held his breath and tried to immerse himself. Gradually, the image of a breeze brushing through the grass appeared in his mind, as if there was really a force flowing through the air, Mana sensed Vetril's call and began to frantically surge into Vetril's body as if returning to its source, and within a short while Vetril felt as if his body was about to explode, and immediately stopped sensing it.
Suddenly, a semi-transparent light screen appeared in front of his eyes, displaying a line of information on it:
Status Panel
Name: Vetril Dornsinger
Age: 8
Level: 1
Realm: Unknown
Comments: human cub, but with promising potential.
'Huh? What's this?' Vetril startled, opening his eyes and looking around, feeling a hint of wariness.
Seeing this, Gareth assumed that he had come to some realisation, and hastily asked, 'Well? Did you feel something?'
'Uh ... a little.' Vetril waited a moment to say even perfunctorily. He looked down at the light screen and realised that no one but himself could see the panel, so he studied it carefully for a while and realised that he could manipulate it through his mind.
Trying to focus and stare at Gareth, he said 'Gareth' and the screen instantly refreshed:
Gareth Dornsinger.
Level: 16
Age: 35
Realm: Junior Knight
Comment: young and trying to swing for the fences, limited potential, but has years of experience in steady paddling.
He surreptitiously turned his head to Elena again, and with a thought, the light screen changed again:
Elena Dornsinger.
Level: 12
Age: 33
Realm: Trainee Mage
Comments: slightly weaker talent, but poisonous skill point full, not bad in combat just as bad.
'Interesting!' Vetril couldn't help but mutter in his mind. He looked again at a stone not far away and thought:
Ordinary Stone
Status: mediocre
Comment: it's a stone that has no presence whatsoever.
'What's wrong? Why the weird smile?' Gareth frowned.
'Ah, nothing, it's just the thought that you're so strong father, I'm sure I'll become great in the future too!' Vetril hurriedly put away his smile.
'That's right!' Gareth was instantly enraptured, 'As long as you cultivate well, you will definitely be infinitely close to me!'
'Oh right, how do people detect realms, levels then?' Vetril then voiced the query.
'Through the Stone of Elle, of course!' Gareth then explained. 'The Stone of El is a special crystal whose internal structure contains a complex circuit of magical energy. When magical power or fighting aura is injected into the Stone of El, it resonates with it, thus accurately measuring the strength of the level that the power will correspond to.'
Vetril then asked, 'I see! Then is there anyone who can check their status without using the Stone of El?'
'As far as I know, no one has ever been able to do that ... By the way, why are you suddenly asking that?' Gareth looked at Vetril suspiciously.
Vetril hurriedly lowered his head and acted as if nothing had happened, but his heart was already churning away. He didn't dare to tell his parents about his seeing the status panel, and he didn't know if it had anything to do with having any special bloodline or talent. He only knew that this secret could be very important to himself.
'Alright, that's enough training for today.' Gareth waved his hand, 'Remember, sensing Mana is the foundation of the foundation, don't rush it.'
'Right, cultivation is a long run, not a sprint.' Elena added with a nod, 'Don't get carried away by momentary results.'
Vetril nodded seriously, 'I understand, I'll work hard!'
Looking at his son's determined eyes, Gareth patted his shoulder in relief, 'Very well, I look forward to the day when you can become no less than an excellent knight than me.'
Vetril got up and patted the grass clippings on his trousers as he stepped towards the house. His mind, however, was still reeling from the information he had just received from the status panel. His mind was both nervous and a little confused; there seemed to be some secret hidden behind it.
'I hope I'm overthinking it, perhaps, this status panel is the Stone of Elle that belongs to me.' He thought quietly in his heart.
In the distance, Gareth and Elena stood together, looking at their son's back. Gareth lamented, 'This kid is a bit like me when I was young, not afraid of hardship and full of energy.'
Elena couldn't help but smile, 'No, he's much more reliable than when you were young. At least he didn't fall asleep and snore while sensing Mana.'
'Elena!' Gareth shouted tearfully.
And so it was that Vetril ended his first day of practice.