The Solitary Mage (2)

Entering the door, the smell of wood and books entered his nose. Looking around, everything was still the same as before he had left.

There were pairs of a few old slippers neatly arranged in a cabinet beside the door, a woolen jacket hanging on a hook above the cabinet, and a sword on its hilt that was just laying on the ground.

He stopped and stared at this scene for a few moments before he entered another door toward the interior of the house.

As he entered, the sight of a wooden table and two chairs appeared before him. On top of the wooden table, there were a few plates and cups, and on a rather clean side of the table, there was a folded piece of paper.

He walked toward the table and sat on the chair adjacent to the side of the table where the folded paper was placed. He took the paper and unfolded it, peering through the same words that he had already read countless times.

Dear Clei,

Father is really sorry that he wouldn't be able to accompany you on your 10th birthday. A lot of things have happened, and… I'm not sure whether we'll be able to meet again. I know you have a lot of questions, but as things stand, I won't be able to answer them. Maybe in the future, that is, if we will ever have the chance to meet again…

Ah… however, I'm going to leave you this house and everything inside it. Once you think you are capable enough, you should go to a major city, perhaps Serdin or Lydia… and proceed your life there. The Great Forest of Althea might be your home, our home, but you still need to meet and talk with other people. With your talent, as soon as you enter any of these major cities, I'm sure that it won't be too hard for you to adjust. My child, you should live your life to the fullest. Take care, Clei.

Your Proud Father,

Laurel

"Father, your son, Clei, still doesn't know what to do."

Speaking of these words, Clei dropped his head on the table and closed his eyes. The complicated feelings inside his heart had caused his mind to be in turmoil, and in addition to running continuously for almost an hour, he was really really exhausted.

In a span of a few minutes, Clei had eventually fallen asleep.

…

Waking up in the middle of the night, Clei realized that he had fallen asleep on the table instead of his bedroom. After stretching, Clei was now fully awake, so he decided to rummage for food in a container nearby.

Picking up a few ripe apples, he once again sat on the chair and indulged his hunger. At the moment, he was considering what his father had said in the letter—go to a major city and proceed with his life there.

Thinking back, he had stayed in the Great Forest of Althea for so long. In truth, in the four years after his father had left, his only human interaction was when bandits attacked him.

These four years, Clei had only focused on training himself, improving his own mental force through meditation, and fighting against magical beasts to hone his skills.

His time was mostly spent on doing these things, and his only other pastime was reading books about the history of Falstne and the Human Realm, as well as books about all sorts of magic.

All in all, he spent the past four years in a quiet and solitary life, in which he was quite satisfied with. As such, he had never really thought of going out somewhere far away, such as the major cities.

But now, times have changed, and after he had completely read all the books in his house, he was left with nothing else to do.

He could explore the Great Forest of Althea, however, the places he could explore were quite limited because his strength was still lacking.

At this time, he had already explored all of the safer places, and the magical beasts on these places weren't really a match to him. As such, it didn't really hold much significance if he fought against them.

The only places where he hadn't gone to were those places the books and his father had strongly advised him not to visit before he reached a subtle amount of strength.

Although he very much wanted to explore these other places, he knew that if he met formidable magical beasts, or perhaps a bandit group that had people stronger than him, then it would be a no-brainer that only death or a fate worse than death awaited him.

It was not that he was afraid of death, but it was just that he knew that everything would be pointless once he died. Once dead, him reuniting with his father would become something impossible, and it was not something he wanted to happen.

So, at this point of time where he pretty much had nothing else to do other than increase his mental force, he was on the verge of deciding whether he should heed the words of his father and go to a major city.

"Should I… or should I not?" Clei asked himself, but he was still unable to decide. There were a few reasons why he just couldn't do it, and among all of these reasons, the most prominent was his distrust and hate toward humans.

Although almost ten years had already passed, the memories of that month, when he seemed to have been abandoned by the entire world, was still vivid. Although he didn't know the reason why those things occurred, he had more or less become repugnant to other humans.

If it were not for the fact that his father, a human, had saved him and given him a new leash on life, perhaps he would never even dare to think about interaction with humans again.

Maybe somewhere in the loathsome society, there would be people who would accept him. However, he still wasn't too sure, and it was the dilemma he was currently facing.

A sigh escaped his lips; he still couldn't decide. Taking in a deep breath, he muttered, "Right now isn't the time for it. I need to focus on becoming an Adept Magus first."

After speaking these words, he stood up and left for a vacant room next to his bedroom. He sat on the floor with his legs crossed, closed his eyes, and began to feel his surroundings.

...