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4248 words
----
The next day
Soft sunlight poured onto the open training ground of the Blackthorn estate. There were only a few people on the field: four adults and one small figure.
Jody, a mage with a light yellow core, approached and began talking to the small figure. And although he was not the strongest or the smartest, he led this group because Lucius agreed with him more often than with others, although he rarely refused any activities unless they were completely ridiculous and stupid.
"So, young sir, today will be your first real combat training against several spellcasters at once." Jody said, crouching down to face Lucius. "This is also a little test, as the elders and the head of the house are standing nearby. They want to see how much you've improved, but I didn't tell you that," he smiled playfully and pressed his finger to his lips as a sign (I didn't tell you anything).
Quickly standing up, he made a sign with his hand, and immediately he and the three other mages stepped back a little. Slowly, their staffs began to radiate the light of their own element.
The first blow was struck by a woman with brown hair, green eyes, and copper-colored skin. She was a fire Conjurer and its deviant form. She was most likely the strongest mage in the group in terms of pure combat power, although she lacked experience and patience.
In Lucius' field of vision, the staff of Mila, the only woman in their group, glowed bright red, and in the same second, a flame burst from her staff, taking the form of an arrow about a meter long.
[Fire Arrow]
Next came a strike from the earth mage Ober, a man in his 40s who was stuck at the light yellow level. Earth mana burst from his staff, taking the form of a three-meter hammer that immediately flew toward Lucius's side.
[Hammer] A simple but extremely effective earth spell that any mage can learn.
Lucius's eyes, hidden behind his mask, narrowed slightly.
"Right away?" he muttered, but in the same second, the mana in his core flowed through his mana veins and mana channels. The ice element mana flew out of his hand and took the form of a thick shield, not very large but quite thick, as it had to absorb the penetrating power of [Fire Arrow]. At the same moment, he stamped his foot and sank a meter and a half into the ground, escaping Ober's spell.
As soon as Ober's spell flew over his head, he jumped out of the hole with the help of wind mana and, using its deviant form, sent a sound wave into [Hammer]. At the same moment, cracks appeared on the spell, which Lucius had counted on, and he immediately sent an ice spike to crash directly into [Hammer]. With a loud bang, the spells collided and destroyed each other.
Or so it seemed.
The ice spike continued its flight at tremendous speed toward Ming, the Wind Conjurer, who had not attacked yet. Without losing his composure, though slightly surprised, he raised a barrier of petals, which forcibly changed the trajectory of the projectile straight into the ground.
"Ooh, two spells in a row," surprised sounds came from near the training ground.
Rhodes and the other elders nodded slowly, understanding why the head of the house spoke with such confidence about his son. They had tried to do something before, but Lucius was under the constant supervision of several shadow guards whom Joshua had ordered to watch over Lucius and drive away anyone who wanted to harm him in any way.
"How amazing," Rhodes said with reverent awe, "how spells of different elements mix and swirl around him." He faltered with emotion and couldn't find the right words in time. "He really is a blessed child."
"That's exactly what I was talking about," Joshua said in a simple tone, adjusting his glove. "He hasn't even started yet, and you're already so impressed."
As if to confirm his words, an ice snake about three meters long lunged toward Mila. The snake's mouth opened, revealing hundreds of small teeth.
Jody finally decided to start training. Ice mana gathered in his palm as he crouched down and placed his hand on the ground. At that very moment, a wave of ice lunged toward Lucius, and a wind bullet flew toward him from behind. He had no choice but to jump, at least that's what the outside observers thought.
With the sound of breaking glass, Lucius' ice mana took the form of a shield again and took all the damage from the wind bullet. The fire mana had already formed a dome above him, protecting him from Jody's spell, and he pushed himself underground and slightly to the left into the open area, just in case. Ideally, he would have liked a pyramid shape, but it was too mana-intensive, and he didn't have much experience with this spell.
Chic
The ground split open and a humanoid figure of a three-year-old child flew out, attracting the mage's attention for a second, only to realize that it was a mannequin made with the help of earth magic. Realizing this, their gaze instantly returned to the hole, but it was too late. Lucius had used that second to approach Ming with an icy sword, which he accelerated with wind magic and slashed at him.
Ming immediately used a barrier-type spell, and in an instant, gusts of wind pushed Lucius into the center.
"I got you, teacher," Lucius smiled weakly, pointing his finger directly at the back of Ming's palm. Attracting the attention of the elders, Ming raised his palm and showed the cut from which his blood was beginning to ooze. Ming wasn't giving it his all, like everyone else here, but still, getting wounded by a three-year-old child was simply ridiculous.
With a twitch of his eyebrow, Ming's mana began to take the form of a bird. His colleagues, except for Jody, also prepared their spells. Lucius's face returned to its calm state when he felt the mana of fire and earth take shape.
As always, Lucius reached for the ice attribute, and the air around him seemed to begin to freeze. He brought the air around him to absolute zero and tried to fix it in that state to create something like an indestructible barrier.
[Snow Crystal Shield]
Seeing all this, Jody smiled faintly. He understood perfectly well what Lucius was trying to do. "As always, your control over mana is simply amazing, Lord Lucius."
Jody himself, being a mage with a light yellow mana core, could not repeat such a trick. Even if the mana in his core was purer and dozens of times greater, he did not have such brutal control. He was not offended; he loved magic with all his heart, so he could not despise other elements as other mages did. Therefore, seeing how this little anomaly was doing what was considered practically impossible, he could only smile cheerfully.
"How wonderful," he muttered, squinting slightly.
Boom
All the spells crashed into the barrier, but the barrier didn't even flinch, and although these weren't their strongest attacks, Ming Milly and Ober looked stunned. Yes, they were holding back, but who would seriously fight against a three-year-old orange core mage? Even so, Lucius' barrier should have suffered damage, but it was unharmed.
Crackle crackle
The snow crystal shattered, releasing an unharmed Lucius, except that his long hair was covered with snow and pieces of ice, and his fingers were slightly numb from the cold. A second later, he summoned the mana of wind and fire to create a warm stream that enveloped his body.
"Haah," he exhaled wearily and sat down on the ground as Jody approached and began to brush the snow off him. "That last blow was too much. I know Jody didn't attack to be able to protect me, but still, you could have been a little gentler. And sorry for the wound, teacher Ming."
Ming shook his head and waved his hand slightly. "It's nothing, young master, I'm not hurt. As for your request," his lips curved upward and his ever-calm voice sounded a little cheerful, "denied. We give you as much as you can take, no more, no less."
Lucius gave him a look full of indignation.
"Young sir," Jody's voice caught his attention, "can you tell us how you made that shield?"
Lucius nodded his head, from which water dripped from melted snow.
"It's very simple," he raised his hand and a small crystal came to life in his palm. "Basically, I just melted the ice barrier to a thickness of twenty centimeters and then simply fixed the surrounding ice and wind mana and didn't let it disperse."
"Very simple?" Jody tilted his head to one side, his voice sounding cheerful and slightly admiring, as if he had heard a funny joke or found a treasure. Lucius's control over mana was simply too strong; it defied logic. Everything he did looked so easy, but even experienced mages could not compare to him in terms of mana control.
Clap, clap, clap
The sound of rhythmic clapping caught Lucius's attention. His father and a couple of elders he had seen in paintings at home were clapping, their faces expressing shock, confusion, acceptance, and reluctance, but in a moment, flattering smiles appeared on their faces, like those of foxes.
----
A couple of days later
A man of about 35 sat in a richly decorated room. Even sitting down, it was clear that he was a tall man with long blond hair tied back in a ponytail. He had a couple of scars on the left side of his face. He had a stern gaze and a thin beard on his chin. Otis, as befits a nobleman, looked majestic in a dark suit with an ascot tie.
But now all his lessons in etiquette were forgotten. His face expressed a mixture of emotions: shock, disbelief, contempt. The reason was the letter in his hand, which contained information about Lucius Blackthorn. Blackthorn was one of the most famous families, on par with Wykes Aurae and Flamesworth, and now they had announced to the entire continent that they had a child who had awakened at the age of three.
"At three years old, damn it!"
In anger, he crumpled the letter, and in a moment, his fist was covered in blue fire, and the letter disappeared without even leaving dust behind.
His fist, covered in blue flames, struck the table. "Damn, damn, damn!" A couple more blows landed on the table, which couldn't withstand the force and broke with a loud sound, snapping Otis out of his rage.
Sighing heavily, he finally pulled himself together, slowly adjusted his suit, and went to the training ground.
Zzzz zzzz
The sound of lightning could be heard even before the large door was opened, and the loud blows caused the walls to shake and reverberate through the floor. This display of power returned Otis to his usual arrogant state.
"Hmph, don't be proud, Joshua. Even if your offspring woke up earlier, it doesn't mean he's more talented than my Bairon," Otis muttered under his breath, as if trying to convince himself of this.
Top top top
The sound of his footsteps attracted the attention of the maids and knights, who dropped everything and bowed their heads low until he was gone. Reaching a huge wooden door, Otis's hand reached out and pushed the door with a loud bang. The door opened and interrupted the concentrated spearman, whose eyes first narrowed in contempt and dissatisfaction, then relaxed.
The young man stood up straight and bowed his head. "Father is glad to see you," he said in a very submissive tone. "Something serious has brought you here?"
Otis's gaze appraised the young man in combat uniform, who was no older than fifteen. Even now, Bairon had fair skin and platinum hair combed to the left. His head was oval, and the transition from teenager to man was easy to see in his prominent chin. Even at fifteen, Bairon was very tall and imposing, standing out thanks to his piercing green eyes.
In a world where mages bodies were renewed after transitioning to a new mana core color, in a world where old injuries disappeared the moment you broke through to a new level, Bairon's efforts were too obvious.
His hands were calloused from endless training with a spear, even though his family provided him with opportunities for rapid development.
It was his character and determination to do everything possible that made him so strong. He was truly worthy of becoming a white core mage.
Otis nodded approvingly. Although Bairon was only fifteen, his mana core was already light yellow with cracks.
"Bairon," Otis' voice cut through the air like a knife, "we must accelerate your progress as much as possible."
Bairon's head rose, his gaze expressing bewilderment. Could his current progress be called slow? No, definitely not. He was above many adults as both a yellow core mage and a spearman.
But Otis continued, ignoring his gaze. "Varay from the Aurae family, who awakened at eleven, is already catching up to you in terms of core development, even though she is two years younger than you. But that's not so scary. What's scary is that a three-year-old boy from the Blackthorns family has also awakened."
Bairon's gaze became sharp, his heart pounding wildly as he quietly clenched his calloused hands.
"At this rate, your place as a Lance may be stolen. You were able to reach the yellow core in four years because of how much we gave you, but now just imagine how much the Blackthorn family can invest in this boy. Reaching the silver core before entering the Academy may become a reality."
Otis's gaze sharpened and his hands tensed as he continued, "We will triple the amount of resources allocated to you." Bairon's eyes widened. As the genius of the Wykes family, he was already given a lot of resources, and even a double increase would be worth thousands of gold coins a month.
Otis's hand rose and rested with an iron grip on the shoulder of his most talented son. "Speed up, Bairon, or you will lose your place as a spearman, and I don't want to see that happen, and you know it."
Bairon's body stretched out, his hands clenched tightly, his fingers digging into his palms as he said through clenched teeth, "Yes, Father... I will push my body to its limits and even beyond." His voice became rougher. "I will break through and put in even more effort."
Otis's face showed approval as his hand left Bairon's shoulder. Nodding, he turned sharply and left the training ground.
----
Elsewhere, a man of about 35 stood calmly. His white hair was medium length, tied with a green ribbon. His blue eyes looked with fatherly love at the little snowstorm in the form of a 13-year-old girl. Laugus Aurae is the current head of the Aurae family, as well as a loving husband and an excellent father. But when he was alone with his family, he turned into an idiot father.
"Varay," his soft, calm voice called out to the 13-year-old girl with the same white hair but silver eyes she had inherited from her mother, "can you interrupt your training for a minute? Daddy has something to tell you."
His soft voice combined with his sweet smile threw Varay off balance. She was already going through adolescence, and on top of that, she was a little ice princess. His sweet tone and loving eyes sent shivers down her spine.
But she still obediently dispersed the blizzard, breaking the ice that covered almost the entire training room.
"Yes, Father, what is it?" she said in a prim tone.
But her father did not answer her question. Instead, he clutched his heart, and tears comically welled up in his eyes.
"Oh, my little girl has grown up so much, she even stopped calling me Daddy. How can you be ashamed of your old man? Come on," Laogus stretched out his arms and tried to hug his daughter. "Hug your beloved Daddy."
But instead of love, he received only a cold ball of water in the face from his beloved daughter.
"What did you want, Father? If that's all, I'll continue training." Her words, spoken in an awkward, cold tone, broke her father's heart. The idiot had even forgotten why he had come here in the first place.
Smack
A faint smack echoed in the almost empty room.
"Ahahaha, Daddy is a fool, a fool," a child's voice rang out loudly in the room. That voice seemed to restore some of Laogus' strength. He immediately stood up and rushed towards the owner of the voice, a three-year-old boy with white hair and blue eyes, just like him.
As soon as he reached the boy, his hands stretched out and his fingers began to knead the child's chubby cheeks.
"Hahaha, you're just in time, Maron. Go talk to your older sister while I talk to your mom, okay?" he said softly, his voice incredibly joyful.
"Okay, Daddy," Maron nodded vigorously and immediately rushed towards Varay. "Big sister, show me magic, magic!"
Laogus' heart was reborn at full power. His eyes glazed over as he muttered in a silly tone, "Daddy, Daddy, hehehe, that's right, I'm Daddy!" His tone gained momentum, but then another slap to his head brought him out of this state.
"Stop laughing so stupidly, have some dignity," a female voice made him flinch.
"What do you mean stupid?" Laogus' tone was deadly serious as he continued, "Lariel, my little girl, has stopped calling me Daddy, so now I simply must hear the words 'Daddy' so many times that I have no regrets when he grows up." His tone was firm, his eyes sharp as blades, but what he said made his wife sigh heavily.
Putting her hand to her forehead, Lariel Aurae, Laogus' wife, sighed heavily, and although she had seen this scene more times than she would have liked, it was always like the first time.
With a sharp movement, she grabbed her husband by the ear and pulled him. "Varay Maron, let's go eat. I made dinner for you myself." The eyes of the two children lit up, although Varay quickly hid it.
"And you," her tone became eerily cold, "you won't be eating dinner today, and you won't be able to touch Maron's cheeks for two days."
Laogus' eyes lost their light. He didn't even try to argue. He knew nothing good would come of it, so he just quietly closed his eyes and died from a lack of love from his two charming children.
----
A lone man in aristocratic attire, looking every inch the gentleman, walked through the castle's vast corridors and halls. Handsome, with shiny black hair neatly trimmed and dressed in an impeccable military-style suit that looked as if it had been tailored that very morning, he seemed to be going to command troops rather than to speak with the king. His eyes were piercing and deep-set, and his pupils glowed slightly red.
He was the patriarch of the Flamesworth family, Trodius Flamesworth.
Approaching the huge, beautifully decorated doors guarded by two silver-core mages, Trodius Flamesworth didn't let them say a word and handed a letter with the king's signature to one of them.
"How arrogant," thought the knights, and although indignant at his attitude, they read the letter and, confirming its authenticity, opened the door.
Entering the beautifully furnished room, Trodius's eyes did not linger for a second on the jewels or the alcohol, which could have been more than a hundred years old. Instead, his gaze was immediately drawn to one man. A middle-aged man with dark red hair sat twirling a glass of alcohol. His red eyes were slightly pensive, but a second after Trodius entered, he noticed him and immediately stood up. Standing up, his back straight as a ramrod and broad shoulders overshadowed his appearance. His stern gaze and thick, sword-like eyebrows gave him an undeniably attractive appearance.
"Trodius, how glad I am to see you," the man approached with a satisfied smile on his face.
"King Blaine is glad to see you well," Trodius's face was controlled as he put his hand to his heart and bowed.
King Blaine smiled more broadly and waved his hand, pointing to a chair. "Sit down. We need to talk about the connection between our families and that three-year-old mage from the Blackthorn family."
At the mention of the Blackthorn family, his face contorted with fatigue and indignation, and there were reasons for that. The Blackthorn family was very power-hungry, which led them to aggressively promote mages within their family. Over several generations, their power grew so much that if it weren't for the white core mages and the economic boycott, they could have threatened the royal family.
Trodius calmly sat down in his chair and took the tea from the table, slowly sipping it.
"Regarding the connection between our families," Trodius began in a calm tone, his eyes seeming to glow red, "my daughter Azulia may become engaged to one of your distant relatives, the fire mages, so that our bloodline may be strengthened."
Despite his noble and gentlemanly behavior, Trodius was far from it. Trodius was a cold, smug, and arrogant man who firmly believed in the superiority of the nobility and the division of classes into townspeople and nobles. He feels an undeniable sense of superiority over other nobles and is also firmly convinced that the Fire Kin, whose magic the House of Flamesworth is famous for, is the strongest form of magic. Trodius loves no one but himself. His family is merely a tool for strengthening the status of House Flamesworth in Sapine and increasing his power. And now he has demonstrated this by readily giving his daughter to King Blaine's relative in order to strengthen his position.
For about half an hour, the two of them chose a candidate, deciding their lives and fate for them.
Blaine nodded as he drank his alcohol. "Then let's do it. I know one who is already twenty and whose mana core is light yellow with a connection to fire."
"Yes, I am quite satisfied. Let's discuss the boy from the Blackthorn family," Trodius nodded as he drank his tea.
"Yes, he is Lucius Blackthorn, the boy who awakened his mana core a few days before his third birthday." Blaine nodded wearily.
Trodius tapped his fingers on the armrest, thinking about what to do with Lucius. After a while, he nodded to himself.
"Why not connect him with Princess Kathyln? I understand your fears that if you accept him into your family, he may make things more difficult due to the barbaric upbringing of the Blackthorn family," Trodius said, looking straight into Blaine's cloudy eyes.
Blaine shook his head slightly and sighed sadly. "I've thought about it, but Priscilla and the boy himself are cause for concern. Priscilla can still be calmed down and made to understand that this is the best option, given the possibility of the existence and hostility of another continent, but..." Blaine sighed heavily.
The existence of another continent was discovered relatively recently and kept secret from most people. The recent accidental capture of a couple of spies, as well as strange disappearances of people in Beast Glades, confirmed a lot.
"The boy and his family could cause far more problems than necessary in these difficult times," Blaine's gaze clouded over as he thought about his daughter Kathyln, a small, fragile girl who didn't want to talk to anyone because they weren't princesses like her.
"I understand your concerns, but it would be better to invite the Blackthorn family to Princess Kathyln's fifth birthday party and arrange their engagement there. Under the pretext of introducing Lucius and Princess Kathyln, take the boy away from his family for at least a couple of months so that his behavior can be assessed." Trodius said in a tone as if he had done this himself a couple of times, which was probably the case.
Blaine's eyes suddenly flashed with a loud sound as he put the glass on the table. "That's exactly what I'll do! That's why I like you, Trodius. Your ideas are very timely at moments like this."
Trodius smiled his calm smile. "I'm glad to be of service, King Blaine." His hand reached for the glass of alcohol. "To strengthening the bond between our families and to the prosperity of the royal family."
Blaine smiled much more relaxed than at the beginning, grabbed his glass and raised it. "To the prosperity of the royal family and to strengthening the bond between our families."
---
Important news: I have realized that I cannot cope with the current workload in the real world, so I will change the update schedule for chapters. Now there will be one chapter of four or five thousand words, but only once every five days. This way, I will be able to update regularly and do my current job properly.