The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 46

“Why did you come all the way here? I’m sure you’re busy.”

“Even if I’m busy, there are things I must do. Seeing your face is one of them. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. As I wrote in the letter, I’m perfectly fine without a scratch. How about you, Father? Are you alright?”

“If you’re safe, then I’m fine too. I feel relieved now that I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

The family I met after nearly three years hadn’t changed. In fact, three years wasn’t a long time for anyone to undergo significant changes, so it wasn’t particularly surprising. My mother, who had been very worried, looked much better after confirming that I was safe, and my brother seemed more at ease, as if the burden of sending me in his place had been weighing on his mind.

“More importantly, what exactly happened? Suddenly being discharged is welcome news, of course, as it means you’re safe.”

“It’s not a discharge. I have to go back. It’s not completely over, just temporarily postponed, and there are things I need to do there.”

“Things to do?”

“Yes. There are things I must do.”

When Ignil, Renil’s father, saw the look in Renil’s eyes as he said those words, he couldn’t help but flinch. In the past three years, his son had changed in many ways, unlike them. Three years was a short time for someone to change, but also a sufficiently long time.

‘Has he become an adult… I suppose.’

Before leaving his embrace, his son was immature in many ways. He was still wandering, unable to find what he wanted to do, and didn’t show a firm will or action. That’s why, even knowing it was unavoidable, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy when Renil headed to the Terra Barrier. In his eyes, Renil was still a child who needed protection.

But today, the son he met after three years was already an adult. His eyes showed a firm will, and his actions were confident.

One unfortunate thing was that, although he didn’t want to show it in front of his family, the words about having things to do carried a sense of killing intent and loss.

However, it was clear that it was a step that had to be taken to become an adult. When he climbed all those steps, he would be able to stand firmly on his own two feet in the harsh world.

‘I’ll support you.’

After talking with my father, mother, brother, and sister to some extent, I felt that I needed to leave this place. Thanks to my status as a disciple of the Magic Tower Lord, I was able to unpack my luggage in a room within the Magic Tower since I had nowhere else to stay, but basically, the Magic Tower was not a lodging facility. The room was sufficient for me to live and study alone, but there were too many shortcomings for my whole family to stay.

“Have you decided where to stay?”

“Since we don’t have anywhere else to stay, there’s only one place we can unpack our bags, isn’t there?”

I nodded at my father’s words. The land prices in the capital were incomparably high compared to other places. It was only natural. It wasn’t just because of the Imperial Palace and the Emperor. It was because it was the center of the empire, whether it was culture, transportation, or administration.

Of course, it was impossible to own a private residence in the capital with ordinary wealth. Maybe a small house. But since nobles thought that such a small house would degrade their dignity, the number of nobles who owned private residences in the capital was not large.

So where do the nobles who come to the capital stay? Just as travelers look for inns in the cities they arrive in, nobles also had inns that suited their status. The prices were quite high, but our family was noble, and also nobles who owned a territory.

Even though the territory was small and not economically affluent, if they strained themselves a little, they could afford a decent mansion in the capital. Of course, my father would never do that because it would mean the territory residents would have to suffer even more.

“Let’s go out for now. Let’s have a meal together after a long time and talk some more. It seems like this place isn’t the best location.”

After that, I temporarily stopped training with Gadel and spent a few days with my family. It was the first time we had met in three years. Just one day, even a few hours, wouldn’t be enough to run out of things to say. I also had a lot to say.

However, I intentionally left out the story about revenge. It was dangerous, difficult, and I didn’t want to worry my family by telling them that I was going to walk a path where even a slight misstep could lead to a fall off a cliff. It wasn’t like I would change my mind if they tried to stop me.

After a short but long few days of meeting, I returned to my daily life. A few days were enough to look back. Now it was time to walk forward again.

“What do you think is your biggest weakness?”

“…My biggest weakness, you say?”

“Yes.”

One day, my master asked me. What was my biggest weakness? It was a topic I hadn’t really thought about. Weaknesses and strengths. To have those two, you basically needed to have at least minimal growth.

You call something you are noticeably bad at a weakness, not something you are bad at overall. And the realm of the 5th Circle was a realm that sufficiently satisfied the minimum growth value.

‘My weakness.’

It was an issue that needed to be addressed at least once. If increasing the overall size or further strengthening a special strength was growth, then compensating for a prominent weakness would also be a part of growth.

Let’s think slowly. Experience? Frankly, experience was not a weakness for me, but a strength. Age was not important. What mattered was what you had experienced during those years. And I prided myself on having an experience that was unmatched, one step above anyone else.

What about other areas? I had never really thought of my ability to handle magic as a weakness either. At the Terra Barrier, you had to cast spells faster and more perfectly, and there couldn’t be any mistakes.

Physical abilities were a common weakness among wizards, so it wasn’t something I could call my weakness. Moreover, I was relatively more physically fit than others. If I had to find a weakness in me.

“The amount of mana… I think.”

The amount of mana I possessed within my body.

“You’re aware of it.”

And Gadel didn’t deny it either. In fact, this was something that any young wizard would experience, and it wasn’t really a weakness compared to wizards of my age. However, if the standard was the same 5th Circle wizards as me, it was a clear weakness.

“You are a sufficiently excellent wizard. Not just compared to your peers, but also when looking at the overall level. It’s not just because you reached the 5th Circle despite your young age, but because of how well you understand magic, which magic is most suitable for which situation, casting spells quickly and perfectly, etc. It seems the time you spent at the Terra Barrier was not in vain.”

Hearing such praise from the world’s greatest wizard made me feel awkward and embarrassed. But I focused on the words that would follow. Each word from his mouth would be a clue to fill my weakness.

“But even with those experiences, you couldn’t do anything about the amount of mana. You can’t overcome that as much as the absolute standard of time.”

The reason why I had less mana than other wizards was not for any other reason. It was a simple and intuitive reason: time, the amount of time I had spent on magic compared to them.

I had known about magic since I was a baby, but I didn’t really jump into the world of magic until much later. Nevertheless, becoming a 3rd Circle wizard before becoming an adult meant that I had talent, but it was a much later start compared to the Magic Tower Lord or the heirs of other magical families who had lived with magic since before they could walk.

In addition, most of the people I was comparing myself to were wizards in their thirties and forties, so it was inevitable that the amount of mana would be a weakness. Moreover, I was not able to perfectly use the five circles right now. Precisely because of the lack of mana. A four streams pouring out was more efficient than five streams trickling.

In that sense, the dragon’s blood was a stroke of luck for me. It not only changed my sense of handling mana, but also made my body itself familiar with mana, allowing me to gather even a little more mana in the same amount of time. Perhaps if time passes like this, the amount of mana will become my strength, not my weakness. If time passes.

“You said you have someone to take revenge on.”

“Yes.”

“Then you need to get stronger even faster than now.”

Gadel paused for a moment, deep in thought. And I quietly watched the scene. I didn’t know what he was worried about, but it didn’t seem like something I should get involved in.

“I vowed to give you the best teachings. Then I have to do my best in all aspects. Sit down. From now on, I will pass on my Mana Cultivation Method to you.”

“!”

“Since you are already on track to some extent, there is no need to change everything. Just change what is necessary and discard what is not, but know that I cannot do that for you.”

“Thank you!”

Mana Cultivation Method. It was like history to a wizard. The secrets passed down from their ancestors, from master to master. Now that I had become his disciple, it might seem natural to inherit those secrets. However, considering that my relationship with him was not a normal master-disciple relationship but a transactional one, I wondered if he would, but he was going to do his best as he said.

“…It’s not a decision just for you. The faster you grow, the higher your understanding of that magic called Engraving will be, and the more you can explain to me. You must do your best as much as I have done my best.”

Gadel awkwardly turned away from my gratitude. What happened after that was simple. I carefully sat down and relaxed my body, and Gadel put his hand on my back. Putting mana into someone else’s body and controlling it required considerable skill.

If the person behind my back was not the Magic Tower Lord but just an ordinary wizard, I would not have taken the bait no matter what kind of bait there was. As such, I tried not to miss any of Gadel’s mana flowing through my body. It wasn’t an opportunity that would come again. If I missed the current flow due to unnecessary thoughts, I might regret this moment for the rest of my life.

Not only the best process but also the best results, I couldn’t miss either one. And his best teaching did not end with the transmission of the Mana Cultivation Method.