Chapter 8 Mother...
A/N:- There'll be Arthur's Pov for the majority of this chapter, to build up for the future..
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(Arthur's Pov)
More than 5 months have passed since the crazy move I made. To say a lot of things happened is an understatement.
First and foremost, just 4 months back, or a month after the whole Oath of Aura thing, I had finally managed to construct my mana core, gaining the official title of a novice wizard.
Yay!
Ginny had already explained the rankings for wizards,
(Flashback)
"The 1st Stage mana core users are also called novice wizard or magician. In this stage, one can acquire their natural elements, usually a single one, specialize in it, and then increase their affinity for it. For example, when I was at the 1st Stage, my natural elemental affinity was wind. Now my combat specializes in wind magic spells. And yes, the second part is, you can finally use spells." She said, which made me excited.
Finally! I can use cool spells like her!
"Now take this paper. " She said, as she handed me a blank paper.
"Infuse your mana into it. " She said.
I did as she told me, and then...
The paper had a combination of reactions..
Each part was affected differently.
"Woah! "
"Incredible." She murmured.
I looked at her for further instructions, but only saw her bewildered gaze.
*snap
!!
She's back.
"Amazing Art! You have a natural affinity for all five elements. Each part represents an element of nature,
Fire: The paper will catch on fire and turn into ash.
Wind: The paper will be split in half.
Lightning: The paper will wrinkle.
Earth: The paper will turn to dirt and crumble away.
Water: The paper will become damp.
And you have an affinity for all of them. Usually, this would be a good thing, but. " She said, with a serious tone,
I sense a 'but' in it.
"I won't sugarcoat you. Although having all elements seems good, in a way, this affects you're growth. By splitting your time on training all the elements, especially during the early stages, you would restrict your growth to a certain extent. You'll have to choose one of the elements to increase affinity. Wind specializes in high-speed combat and high combination rate with other elements. Fire is good at its destructive power and counter, lightning is regarded as the strongest element and hardest to control, Earth is regarded as the sturdiest and increases endurance, while water is the most flexible element of nature." She said.
Wow. I have so many options.
'Maybe Earth would-
"You can even form minor combination spells, while after you attain higher ranks, you might even form new combined elements. There are many magician noble houses famous for it. The Imperial Family of the Astoria Empire used to be famous for their ability to combine wind and water to form the Ice Element. This ability allowed them to conquer the vast tundra lands of the east. "She said, while continuing,
The Royal Family of Britannica is famous for their water elemental mastery. They are so good at it that their family has created a special technique or spell that allows their entire body to be intangible to normal attacks. "She said.
Hmm.. If they were famous for this, then..
" What about my Ignivar family? "I asked. Even teacher Volfor never taught me about it.
Now that I think about it, no one has ever told me what's special about being Ignivar.
" That's... *hah... Fine, listen, it's a story from my childhood. "She said, with a sigh.
Story?
I obediently focused on her.
" The story goes that, when the final Emperor of the Valgus Empire died, the entire empire was thrown into utter chaos, because of the sudden invasion of the mythical godbeast Basilisk, and its followers, who probably originated in the Northern Continent. At that time, the Duke of Ignivar, a duchy that encompasses today's capital city, Cardinal Von Ignivar, drove away the godbeast and saved the entire continent. After that, he established the Eldorion Empire and reunited most of the previous Valgus Empire. "She said.
I didn't know about it. My ancestor defeated a Godbeast!
I remember the teacher talking about them for a while.
" It is said that Emperor Cardinal used both magic and aura during the fight. "She said.
What?
Magic and Aura?
" And he was probably the greatest warrior in the history of the Eastern Continent. "She said, with an unreadable expression.
Then that means,
" Does that mean-"
"Yes! You can achieve both magic and aura. " She said.
If there's higher than shock, then that's probably my facial expression currently.. Control yourself, Art.
"I see. "I said, with a 'calm' face.
To think my ancestor was this strong. And to think no one ever told me about it! Now I know what I have to do.
"If you had told me before, I wouldn't have understood it, but now I do."
"Now I want to break free from them. The chains. I do not know about being Emperor or something else, "
"But..I do know one thing. To survive, I had to get stronger. To break free from them. I don't want to be anyone's puppet anymore. "I told her.
My heart was filled with unwillingness to wield in this world.
*zoom
(Flashback ends)
~~~
I didn't understand that day, but my mana core had gotten stronger. Even the ranks are further subdivided into Beginner, Intermediate, and Peak.
Currently, my mana core's rank is Peak 1st Stage. And I am barely 5, four years, eleven months!
I am filled with potential!
But Ginny said that I would have to wait for my next rank up.
My body is still adapting to my current rank. If I 'force' my rank-up, I'll go BOOM!
That's why patience is the key.
...
I want to get stronger..
Anyway, that was just my story so far, but why didn't those nobles find out about my ability to use magic because..
They don't have time for it...
Cause both Archdukes' territories are in danger...
~~~
A few weeks after the whole Internal territorial thing, both of the noble factions were 'united', against my only servant, Garfield Elmsworth, whom I call Uncle.
But this so-called alliance collapsed immediately after two major incidents.
Firstly, those traitorous Nordheim nobles actually had a deal with some northern nations, to provide support when the territorial war started, in return, they would give those invaders free passage to pillage and loot the neutral nobles' provinces. Unfortunately, these countries were spooked because of the intervention and involvement of both factions in support of Elmsworth, and the agreement was nullified as well, because the Nordheim nobles backed off.
Well, all countries abandoned their plan, except for one....
Nadur Republic..
Yeah...
Them..
From what Uncle Garfield and teacher Volfor told me, Nadur Republic is a powerful Kingdom that borders the entire North-eastern frontier of the Empire. Both of the nations are bitter enemies, dating back to the Valgus Empire times. The founding Emperor Cardinal had managed to crush the Nadurs so badly that they lost their status as an 'Empire'. It was a really big deal, as in the entire Eastern Continent, only 3 countries had the authority and ability to call themselves an Empire.
Anyway... So the Nadur Republic invaded...
But unlike the agreement, they invaded deep into the northern borders... Directly into the Upper Duchy of Raul..
Yes, the Prime Minister's province...
This move caught everyone off guard. The one who came up with this plan is either a lunatic or a genius...
Well, according to me at least...
And because of this, Duke Raul had to withdraw the majority of his capable men back to his duchy to battle the Nadurs.
On the Western side, things are worse for my Gramps..
The Duchy of Aquila is located on the Western coast of the Empire, with many ports and beaches. Across the east of the Empire lie many island chains, forming the Lawless islands of Maleret. These chains of islands were completely lawless, with no ruling Royal families or nobles.
They were divided into numerous regions ruled over by either the brutal pirates or something worse. But that all changed a year back, when this entire chain of islands was United for the first time under a dude called the King of Pirates.
This dude is a complete menace; they brought that lawless hell with their garbage people under their control. Damn. A novel can be written about their story.
Why am I calling the King of Pirates as 'they'?
Well, cause their gender is still unspecified. I don't know what it means, but that's unsettling me for some reason. Ginny had told me that they might be a female.
Anyway..
What was I speaking about? Oh yes...
King of Pirates, uniting the islands..
Well, naturally, they had nothing much to do, so they invaded the empire, or more specifically Aquila duchy.
And boy, was their attack venomous...
It's as if they are Gramp's personal and extreme enemy...
Yeah, entire shipping lanes and sea routes are thrown into chaos. I do feel bad, cause many innocents would perish. Just cause I am a puppet doesn't mean I don't care about them.
It truly hurts to be so powerless...
"I'll become strong! Strong enough to do what I want. "
(Pov Ends)
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Underneath the night sky, two figures can be seen talking. Of course, those two are Ginny and Arthur, training again. This time Ginny had started training as well, to not only get stronger, but also to show how magic spells are used when one becomes a sorcerer.
"Now that you are a 1st Stage, you can use elemental spells. Magic spells are divided into:- Offensive spells for attacking, defensive spells to defend, Rune seals to activate magic formations, and Sealing techniques, which deal with sealing and unsealing various things, including objects, beings, and mana. "Ginny said, with a fake spectacle, acting like a professor.
" The spells are also divided into two parts: Elemental or attribute spells and non-elemental or non-attribute spells. Elemental spells, as the name suggests, contain a fusion of mana and a natural element. "Ginny said, as she fused her mana with the wind element, and showed a spell, to demonstrate to Arthur.
"While Non-attribute spells don't contain any natural elements, and can only be used according to the magician's control over mana. This contains offensive spells like Spiral Sphere. " She said, gathering mana just outside her raised right hand, that started spiralling violently. She then threw it away into a tree, which resulted in its destruction.
"Wow! Can I learn it? " Arthur said, though he used mana vision to see the full process of the spiral sphere's creation.
"This spell requires extraordinary mana control and a 3rd-stage mana core minimum, so not yet. " She said, teasing him a bit.
*hmph
Snorting away, Arthur pouted adorably at her teasing. Ginny couldn't control herself and started pinching his cheeks.
After a few more of their antics, they got back on track.
"Non-attribute spells also include illusion techniques, especially those that are personally made by the Third Emperor, who was said to be the best illusionist on the continent. It is said that one of the migrant families from the central Continent has special spells that allow them to read minds." She said.
"What! Really! " Arthur asked, thoroughly surprised. Reading minds is creepy.
"Fufu, don't worry, that technique has a lot of limitations, like the targets needing to be stationary and their spirit should be weakened. "Ginny said.
" Spirit? "Arthur asked, his curiosity at peak.
" Something that you'll learn when the time comes. "Ginny replied with a mysterious smile.
Hmph*
'Mum loves her secrets, huh?'
"Other than that, the spells are ranked into beginner level spells, can be used once a mana core is formed and reach 1st stage; expert level spells, that can be used once mana core reaches 2nd stage; Master level spells, which can be used once mana core reaches 3rd Stage; Grandmaster level spells, can only be used once mana core reaches 5th stage; and finally Legendary Rank spells, which can only be used by those who surpassed the Grand Sorcerer level. "She said.
" Can Grand Sorcerer Rank be surpassed? "Arthur asked.
" Yes.. It is said that the founding Emperor Cardinal did indeed surpass the Grand Sorcerer stage. But I don't know if it's real or not. But one thing is for sure. "She looked at Arthur seriously,
"The majority of the spells available for nobles and commoner magicians are made by the Emperor Cardinal himself. "She said.
'Wow. Didn't know he was such a badass! 'Arthur thought.
" Take this. "She said, while removing a few short books from her storage seal.
These books contain beginning-level magic spells. Once you have fully ingrained these spells into your mind, activate this, and these books will burn away. And of course you can't show these books to anyone." She said seriously.
"Un, I will. " Arthur said seriously, but then faltered at the last words, "Thank you, Mom."
These words, he always wanted to say. From the time his 'eyes' awakened, to the time during the Territorial crisis, had made him realize how much of an impact Ginny made in his life, and that his life isn't his anymore...
Now, he has people he wants to protect.
Ginny's eyes widened, then a warmth overflowed her, as she realized that the child whom she had raised had finally called her mom. Her eyes moistened a bit, but she held back for her son.
"I am glad, to have meet you, to be your Mother. Art. " She said with a smile.
"Hehehe," Laughed Arthur cheekily, as he lunged at her for a warm hug.
And just like that, a new chapter opened in their relations, not as Emperor and servant, nor Caretaker and her Lord, but as Mother and Son.
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