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Chapter 14: What’s to Come
Grandpa Virion, Tessia, the Diviner Rinia and I were currently all situated around a circular table with a jar of water in the middle.
“Umm… Elder Rinia? You said that you were a diviner correct? I’m a little lost as to what it is you can do. Gramps said that I’d be able to find out if my parents are okay by seeing you.” I ask, staring curiously at the jar of water.
“Kekeke! Gramps huh? Virion, you’ve really let yourself go if you’re letting youngsters like him call you that.” She snickers.
“Bah! He’s an exception! An exception! If any other brat dares to call me Gramps, I’ll have them hung upside down and beaten with a cactus!” He grins back, looking at me.
Ouch. How descriptive.
Glaring at me, she shoots, “Brat! You don’t even know where your parents are but you want to travel all over Sapin, find them and then come back to train? You’d be already dead by the time you make yourself back here.”
I look at Grandpa Virion. Did he tell her? Almost as if he knew what I was thinking, he chuckles and says, “I didn’t tell Rinia any of this. There isn’t much you can hide from her, but usually she doesn’t bother looking into a person. What made you so nosy Rinia?” Directing his gaze towards the elderly lady.
“You and I both know he’s special. So special, in fact, that there are parts of his life that even I can’t see. Arthur, whatever the beast that passed its will unto you is, it’s not an ordinary beast. Limiting it to an SS class wouldn’t give it justice.” She ponders for a bit before continuing.
“Enough about that though. Arthur, you’re here to see your parents so that’s what I’ll do. Close your eyes for a moment and picture your parents. Focus on their appearance and their mana. I’ll take care of the rest.”
I close my eyes and imagine the last scene I had of them both together. My father badly wounded and my mother healing him.
“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”
I look at her to see the color of her eyes swirling. The water was floating out of the jar and was swirling around, forming a spiraling disk. Suddenly, I see my parents in the water.
*Thud*
The chair I was sitting on is flipped back as I stand up and leaning closer into the table. I see my mother and father together, sitting around a dining table. It doesn’t seem to be our home in Ashber. My mother’s face is a bit paler and she’s saying something to my father. I can see she’s lost a bit of weight but otherwise looks pretty healthy. Her stomach! It’s pretty evident now that she’s pregnant by the fairly noticeable bulge on her belly. My father looks the same! He’s wearing some kind of uniform now though and has grown a beard!
Tears stream uncontrollably down my face at this point, as I don’t dare to peel my eyes off of the image of my parents.
They’re alive! They’re doing okay! They’re fine.
“Sniff.” “T-thank you Elder Rinia. Thank you truly for showing me this.” I stammered.
She looks a little uncomfortable at my sincerity and just waves it off.
“Ahem! Let me see where they are now.”
The image zooms out and I can see the outside of where they’re living and it is definitely not our home in Ashber. Zooming out even more, I can see the layout of the city that they’re staying in.
“It seems like they’ve made their home in Xyrus. That makes things simpler for us.” She says, a content look on her face.
Tess, obviously worried about me crying, is patting my back but her eyes don’t leave the swirling water.
“Art’s parents…” I faintly hear her mumble.
Grandpa Virion claps his hands together and stands up.
“Okay! Arthur! Let’s let your parents know that you’re alive!”
According to Grandpa Virion, strict regulations controlled communications between the Kingdom of Elenoir and Sapin. However, Rinia, being a Diviner not discovered by the Kingdom of Sapin, allows us a certain bit of unregulated freedom in a sense.
“How this process will work is that I will pour some of my innate mana into you, establishing a temporary link. When I give you the signal, start speaking as if you’re talking to your parents. It’s important to know that they will hear your voice inside their heads so they may not believe what you’re saying at first. Make sure to get them to believe that it really is you that’s speaking to them and that they’re not going crazy. Remember, we’re just doing this to let them know you’re still alive. I’m going to emit your voice directly into both your parents’ minds. I can’t keep the connection up for long so say what you need to within 2 minutes.” She asserted, a serious gaze from her eyes.
I nod at this, my face turning serious as well.
“Begin… NOW!”
Her whole body starts glowing the same color as her eyes and I see the same glow spreading unto me as well.
I breathe a deep breath and start.
Hi Mom, hi Dad. It’s me, your son Arthur. You’re probably really surprised that you’re hearing my voice inside your head huh? Well there’s a reason for that. Before that though, I want you to know that I’m alive and safe. Again, I’m alive and well mom, dad. I managed to survive the fall off the cliff and I’m currently living in the Kingdom of Elenoir with the elves. Please don’t tell anyone else this. I don’t have much time so I’ll only say the things most crucial. A friend of mine is a deviant like you mom, except she’s a diviner so I was able to see how you guys are doing just now too. She is also the one that is allowing you guys to be able to hear my voice. I want to go back to you guys as soon as possible but I can’t right now. No, I’m safe and alive right now but I have a sort of er… illness inside my body that I need to get rid of before I am able to go back. Don’t worry, as long as I stay here and have the elves treat me, I’m 100% okay. So please, don’t worry. I don’t know when I’ll be able to talk to you guys like this again but what’s important is that I’m alive and I know you guys are as well. Dad, Mom, both of you guys should be hearing my voice right now so confirm it with each other if you still can’t believe this. Remember; don’t tell anyone where I am right now. Better yet, just keep it as if I was still dead to make things simpler. It may take a couple of months or even years for me to be able to go back but just be sure that I WILL be going back home. I love you guys *sniff* so much and I miss you. Stay safe, and dad, make sure to keep mom and my baby sibling safe. Mom *sniff*, please make sure dad doesn’t get into trouble. Your son, Art.”
I have trouble keeping my eyes open from the tears and I just keep rubbing my eyes, staying silent, holding it in. The glow fades around both of us and Elder Rinia looks visibly worn out. She’s sweating and her face pale.
“Elder Rinia, I don’t know how to thank you for this.” I manage to croak out.
“Train well and continue to cherish those close to your brat. That’s how you’ll thank me. Also! Don’t forget to drop in once in a while. This grandma here gets lonely kekeke~!” She says with a weak smile.
I give her a tight hug, which makes her almost jump, and she scratches her cheek before shooing all of us away.
While we’re walking out, I notice Tess pouting a little, looking at my chest.
Was she jealous?
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By the time we arrived back at the castle, it was already dark. A maid greeted us on arrival, but before I had the chance to go back into my room, I see the King and Queen.
The King comes up to me first.
“Arthur, I know you overheard what we were saying earlier today and I apologize for that. Years of being a King has made me a bit old fashioned and I was unreasonably stubborn on you not belonging here.”
The Queen continues for her husband, holding my hands in hers.
“You are now Elder Virion’s first disciple. This gives you more than enough reason for all of us to accept you. Even if that fact didn’t exist, you still saved our daughter. Please consider this place your home. I know you miss your parents dearly but if I can be of any consolation, don’t hesitate and treat me as you would your own mother.” She says, giving me a sincere smile.
“Papa! Mama! …” Tess says with her hands covering her mouth.
She then runs up to them and hugs them both.
I smile back and I thank them as well. They were good people. They were simply looking out for their kingdom.
Smiling behind us, Grandpa Virion nods in approval before exclaiming, “Brat! Training starts tomorrow so sleep early!
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I wake up from an immense pain covering my body. I wake up in cold sweat as the feeling of my body burning intensifies.
“AARGH!” I clutch my body tight and just simply try to endure, when Grandpa Virion suddenly appears next to me.
“I didn’t think it would this fast…”
He places both hands on my sternum, where my mana core is located, and starts emitting his own mana into me.
Slowly, the pain subsides and I’m left panting and clothes drenched in sweat.
“T-thank you.” I manage to wheeze out.
He nods before saying, “It’s a bit early, but lets start training now.”
Looking out the window, I notice that the sun has yet to come out. I probably wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep again so I nod and follow him out into the courtyard.
Sitting cross-legged, he looks at me before explaining, “Until now, you’ve been purifying your mana core and manipulating your mana using your mana channels. While for normal mages, this method is efficient, for Beast Tamers, we can’t rely on this approach. Instead, we do something called assimilation.”
I sit down facing him, blank eyed, an eyebrow raised.
“Haha! Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it soon enough. What it essentially is, is integrating the mana from your core directly into your body’s bones and muscles, hence the method, assimilation. Brat, throughout the period of assimilating, your mana core won’t develop at all, but that isn’t the point of this. Once the mana from your new core is absorbed throughout your body, you’ll be able to start utilizing whatever power your beast’s will had.”
So this is what Sylvia meant! Throughout this whole journey through the Forest of Elshire and meeting the royal family and Grandpa Virion, I can’t help but think that Sylvia planned out all of this. I quickly shake my head in dismissal though and pay attention to gramps.
“Will your mana out of your core and don’t be tempted to use your mana channels. Instead, let it seep out into your body and slowly have all of your muscles and bones absorb the mana. This will take time and effort but throughout this process, your mana core should reject your body less and less.” He says.
There isn’t much I can help you with for the first part of your training except making sure your mana is distributed evenly throughout your body and relieving you when your body spasms like earlier.
Training continued on with me just meditating, dispersing the mana out of my core and into my body. I got the hang of it after a few days but I realized how long of a journey this would be. Directing my mana to form a core when I was an infant took a couple of years but this was doing the exact opposite except with more mana and an extra step further of assimilating the mana directly into the muscles and bones.
I didn’t leave the castle during this time because I wouldn’t know when my body would act up again. I was really grateful for Grandpa Virion for sticking by me throughout this time. Unfortunately for Tess, this left her very little time to play with me. The times I wasn’t meditating, I was resting in my room, where she would just barge in at this point and chatter on about her day.
After a couple of weeks of assimilation, my body acted up less frequently and I was allowed to go out into the city. So after promising Tess that I’d go touring around the city of Zestier, I went to sleep.
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Waiting outside my room was an adorably dressed Tess. She was wearing a white sleeveless sundress and a white see-through cardigan over it. The light pink colored sun hat she wore over her head was decorated with a white flower, giving her a very fresh and innocent look.
“Took you long enough! Hurry, let’s hurry!” She takes my hand, half dragging me as I fight to keep up with her pace.
I’m astounded by the view of the city again as we make our way to the heart of Zestier. We get off the carriage and start walking, visiting the numerous stalls and stores that the city has to offer. We’re met with a lot stares from the fact that a human child is holding hands with their kingdom’s only princess. While most of these gazes only hold curiosity in them, some stares are filled with hostility.
Coming out of the armor shop, I’m bumped by an elf child that seems to be a little over 7 years old.
“Hmph! Well if it isn’t the human brat that Elder Virion has taken under. I’ve heard all about you. Gross, I got human germs on my clothes.” He snidely says with a pompous look on his face.
It is fairly obvious by the clothes and attendants behind him and his little group of friends that he’s a noble.
Wow. So this is how a spoiled 7-year-old child acts. I almost forgot how immature children are after only spending time with Tess.
He then flashes a smile at the princess and takes out his hand, palm up.
“Princess, it is below your level to be with this human brat. Allow me to escort you around.” He urged, expecting Tess to receive his hand.
Not even looking in his direction, Tess just links my arm with hers and coldly says, “Art, let’s go. There seems to be a bug that I don’t want to accidentally step on.”
Ouch! Even I feel the burn. Tess can be awfully cruel. I think her words are a more effective weapon than mana to be honest.
I glance back to see the noble boy’s forehead crease in anger and veins pop out.
“Hold it brat! I’m not done with you!” He shouts, gripping my shoulder.
“I heard you’re pretty talented for a human mage. Around here, I happen to be a pretty well known genius myself. My mana core has already reached red stage and aside from water AND earth manipulation, I’ve been begun showing signs of being able to manipulate plants!”
His ego must be inflating ‘cause I swear his nose is getting longer.
I just put on a nice surprised expression and innocently exclaim, “Oh my word! Princess Tessia! It seems we are in the presence of pure genius here. I am not worthy!”
No point in getting angry with a 7-year-old.
Tess just giggles at my sarcasm, trying to hide her face under her sunhat.
“I’ll be sure to give you proper respect Lord Genius of the Elves. So if you’ll excuse me…”
I lead Tess out back into the main road while I see the attendants and his little posse trying to control their giggles. Mr. Lord Genius of the Elves himself turning bright red.
I wasn’t going to fight him like he wanted. I may win, but this isn’t my kingdom and it’s not right of me to do anything excessive. I was representing Grandpa Virion as his disciple.
The days that followed consisted of training with Grandpa Virion in the morning, spending time with Tessia in the afternoon and training by myself at night. During this time, I’ve sent messages to my parents every once in a while to let them know I’m still alive and that I miss them dearly. I tried keeping out of trouble from the elves and they did the same.
Like this, 3 years has come to pass.
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