'What’s this sensation?’

I felt something soft on my face. Something was also wrapped around my body as if not to let me go.

“...”

I opened my eyes in silence and looked up.

“Morning.”

It was Arielle. She tucked her beautiful silver hair behind her ear and kissed me.

“G-Good morning. Ugh...”

“You were asleep for two days, you know. I was really worried something was wrong.”

Arielle helped me sit up straight.

She was wearing the same nightie she wore on the night she confessed.

“Fortunately, it was just mana exhaustion.”

“That’s strange. I didn’t feel that tired when we arrived.”

It might have been Undine that was sharing her vitality with me to keep me standing on my feet. I battled against a dragon and a True Vampire. Isn’t that strange?

“Huh?”

When I looked at my staff next to the bed, I saw that the gem on top was gone.

I turned to Arielle still brushing her hair in the luxurious mirror.

“U-Um, Arielle?”

“Hm?”

“Did someone steal my gem?”

It felt like I was going to cry. We fought bandits, monsters and even a vampire together. And now it’s gone!?

“No. It was a little cracked so that elf girl offered to have it fixed. They couldn’t succeed though since they couldn’t identify what kind of gem it is. Check the bag on the bedside table.”

She pointed at the nightstand.

“Phew.”

I then put it back on Redheart. The space magic embedded in the staff locked the gem in place hovering between the V tip.

‘Yip. Now it looks cool again.’

It might be my imagination but it felt like the gem was happy too.

Arielle then kicked me out of the room so she can get dressed. I walked the large halls of the Elca Royal Castle.

Unlike us humans, they combined nature and their own construction together. There is even multiple trees sticking into the castle. But that doesn’t make the castle any less majestic.

Everywhere I looked, it was sparkling white all around the palace. The floors, the walls and the furniture. It was so white that it felt disgustingly overboard to me how much they like this colour.

I bet I could pick up my food that if it fell on the floor and eat it without the worry of germs.

Since I wanted some alone time, I summoned wind and used it to siphon myself into the air. I landed on top of a rooftop as I looked up at the World Tree.

It was often described in books as the tree of life. Just looking at it makes me feel much less insignificant then I already am.

I can’t put my finger on it but somehow... my mana core seems denser than before.

–Undine.

–Yes, master?

Undine replied inside my mind but didn’t manifest. They could detect her if she did.

“Can you quickly check my core? It seems to be different from before.”

The last time I had it checked was at the levelling stage that the academy has for all mages. My core was still green back then. As your mana goes from black to white, it doesn’t really mean that it makes you stronger.

That just means that your body can absorb more mana from the atmosphere. Your veins also grow much more stronger to support all that mana entering your body. So in the end you become stronger not from your core changing but your own growth and time.

It’s a different case for me. My mana pool is already abnormally large even though I’m at the Green Mana Phase. How much mana would I possess if I trained until I reached White Phase?

–Hm... you seem to be on the brink of unlocking silver, master.

Undine's voice flowed into my mind.

“Huh? I really skipped a phase?”

–It must’ve been due to using your mana consecutively during battle. Master has never fought much in the past but you’ve gone up against many foes.

It’s true that we ran into a lot of trouble in the Habsburg kingdom and on the road. That Dragon and Brynhildr definitely made me lose my will to fight once or twice during my battle with them.

“So that means it’s not long before I’m at Silver.”

I wonder how many times I can activated Lightborn and for how long.

“[Lightborn].”

The entire world turned grey as a time paradox soon engulfed it. I sat and looked at the grey and dull colour of the world. It was like looking at a giant panel of a manga.

The birds nearby look unmoving in mid-air.

“This is new.”

My voice sounded icy in this void of the stoppage of time. If I don’t move then it can be held for 5 seconds longer.

I looked at my hand.

‘The runes are even more abundant.’

My hair was completely white. If I use spirit magic then it only has bits of white but if I use this technique then my hair goes completely white and the runes spread throughout my whole body.

The technique isn’t perfect yet but at least it can be used in a fight against a stronger opponent. To escape for now that is.

The time spirits then began to fade as the world slowly regained colour.

‘I was right. I’m pretty sure I could hold it for four seconds now.’

–They’re looking for master in your room.

“Hm? Oh.”

I activated Spirit Sense and saw one individual inside the room with Arielle.

‘It looks familiar.’

I jumped off the building and flew to the palace again.

**

“Princess Miya?”

When I opened the door, a beautiful high elf appeared in my view. She was drinking tea on the table by the window. The wind on her white hair made it flutter.

She was busy talking with Arielle but turned towards me when I entered.

“There you are!”

I bowed respectfully. She is a princess after all. I’m only familiar with Charlotte because the two of us have known each other for years now.

“No need to be so formal. We’re friends , aren’t we?”

We only went on adventures two times though.

Nonetheless, it’s nice talking to her after so long. She’s the only elf I’m familiar with and the two of us share a connection through spirits.

Arielle said she’s going to see if she can ask Lady Laura for tips with the sword so she left.

Miya asked me where we were and what we did. She was like a little child listening to a fairy tale when I mentioned how we battled against a dragon.

I almost died though. I shouldn’t have overestimated myself. I might be stronger than an average mage my age and stronger than a few adults but I’m still weak.

‘When I enrol back to the academy then I’ll definitely train diligently.’

I shouldn’t make dumb decisions like back in my previous life. In this world you have to gain success by working with your own hands. Your path is already decided when you’re born. And what I mean by that is that if you have mana then you could become a mage, alchemist, priest or a wizard(this is different from a mage since wizards tend to study the meaning of magic and create more spells with the help of history books and modern scripts. Whereas mages are a type of warrior that either enrol into the army or join the mage tower.)

For people born with Ki or Aura, they become successful by using their bodies like swordsmen, martial artists etc...

Ever since casting my first spell back when I was a baby, I came to love magic and want to improve to become a better person than I was before. That means I should work hard on gaining complete control over my two cores. Undine told me that I have the potential to rule over all spirits and matter.

I can only use water and space matter(a type of spirit in this dimension) at the moment. The partial control over space matter allowed me to stop or slow down time.

I can only use it two times since my entire core is drained right after using it.

With my potential I might be able to improve even further.

‘I wonder how powerful my future self was.’

Imagine killing people from the White Order with your own hands. He did mention that he had to go through a lot to get that power. Betrayal, loss, pain, grief. That might be what he went through to get stronger.

Now he’s just an empty cell of what he once was.

‘I shouldn’t go down the same path. No matter what happens to me.’

Miya told me her parents would like to talk to me.

I stood in front of the throne room door. It’s even larger than our kingdom’s throne door and more decorated.

“No need to be so nervous.”

Miya’s gentle voice came from the side as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

I calmed down. Meeting royalty is more stressful than I thought.

“The princess has arrived, your majesty!”

The maid shouted and then the door was opened by a knight.

My eyes were almost blinded by the intricate decorations around the room. Two huge windows were the walls and you could see the beautiful landscape from inside the room.

A huge golden table was in the middle of the room and sitting around it–

“So you’re Clyde, huh. I do indeed sense the will of something similar to our Dryad.”

An elderly man wearing a white robe said.

“What a cute boy.”

The elven woman wearing a royal dress and a crown on her head said with a soft smile.

‘Is that the queen?’

She’s gorgeous. She looks like the older version of Miya, just a little thicker. I can’t take my eyes away from her deep valley. It’s like the dress is trying its best to keep her jugs contained inside.

“I am Zefra Ivy Mary-Ann Elca. I am the queen of this kingdom. Next to me–“

She pointed to the handsome man who is probably Miya’s father and the current king.

“My husband Elion Zach Driffon Elca. He is the king and Miya’s father. The grumpy old man right here is my father and former king.”

“Oi! Why aren’t you introducing me by saying my name!?”

The old man screamed as his spit flew. His daughter ignored him and looked straight at me.

“And you are–“

“Ah, Clyde Astley, Your Majesty.”

“Huhu. So you are the one that was born with the only spirit core in existence.”

Her face then turned serious.

“How many know of this?”

“Uh, that would be Miya, Arielle, Arthur, my mother, my father, Senior Francis and Aunt Kimberly. That would make seven people.”

I'm not sure if Erica knows. She acts indifferent to a lot of things so she probably doesn't care.

The queen nodded.

“It’s good that it’s only a few people. Things would be more complicated if the Republic also knew.”

Right, they don’t trust magic. If they heard I was born with spirit magic then things would get even more complicated.

“How far have you gone, child?”

“I’m only able to use water spirits and a little bit of space magic ”

Her eyebrows went up in surprise.

“That’s amazing. Gaining the love of the world’s laws themselves is astounding for a human.” She then pondered something. “You want to unlock your abilities, correct?”

I nodded.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Then how about this. Stay here and we shall help you.”

“Huh? But that i-isn’t necessary.”

“As the descendant of the Spirit King, you are in a way the son of our god. We worship him as our father and god. Respecting and guiding you would be our greatest honour.”

All three of them nodded at me.

“We have techniques that no other kingdom can teach you. Would you like to train here?”

“B-Before that... Can I go back home first?”

It’s been ages since I last saw my parents. And I still need the academy to improve my arcane magic.

Zefra then smiled.

“It is not a problem. But remember to come back once you are ready. The quicker we unlock your hidden potential, the better.”

I sighed and patted my chest in relief.

‘I wonder how my family is doing.’

“Please be safe on your journey. Oh, and please eat before leaving. Miya prepared a feast for all of you.”

Miya smiled brightly and took my hand when we left the throne room after bidding farewell.

◇◇◇

She wasn’t kidding. There really was a feast in the dining room. Meals of different kinds were prepared for all six of us. Since I haven’t eaten in two days, I dug right in.

Arielle and Helen ate the most out of us all. How big are their stomachs to finish four plates each and ask for more?

Charlotte told me that she spoke to her mother through a communication magic crystal. It’s great that she’s feeling better so Charlotte doesn’t have anything to worry about.

We’ll be departing later today since it’s still morning. I wanted to tour the elven kingdom but that can wait until I come back.

If the Queen herself says that there’s a method to get stronger, is the academy even necessary?

I shook my head as I thought about that.

‘No, I shouldn’t just focus on my spirit magic. Arcane magic is also important to my path as a mage.’

I’d be imbalanced if I was more used to my spirit core than my mana core. The two should be equally trained so that means I must go back to academy at some point.

We departed shortly after our meal. Our transportation was already outside when we exited the palace gates. Princess Miya saw us off on her Pegasus.

It’ll take about two weeks to get back to the Kingdom.

‘I wish they’d advance their methods of transportation...’

I grumbled as leaned out of the window. The beautiful landscape of the mana rich Elven Kingdom passed by us.

It was refreshing to feel the summer heat on my skin once again. Being surrounded by snow everyday wasn’t my ideal weather.