I think I have made some progress in terms of writing since I started writing this fiction several days ago; I’m starting to get a hang of feeling the characters and I’ve started to use up more of the words available in my vocabulary. This chapter had been the smoothest I’ve wrote over the course of these several days, and it’s also the longest so far! I felt like I could squeeze in more but then the chapter would be too long so I’ll have to split chapter 6 into two parts! I’ll try to improve the quality of the future chapters as well. Thank you for reading my fiction!

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The morning sunshine peeked in through the window, past the gap in the curtains and penetrated Chase Blackstone’s eyelids.

“Mmmmh..”

He stirred and woke up with a grunt. He stretched himself and got out of bed, memories of the night before still fresh in his mind.

‘Dad promised to teach me how to fight!’

He and his father had reached an agreement the previous night, where Chase is able to freely choose to do whatever he wants under certain conditions:

1. Do not go on adventures alone until he had reached Intermediate level in a combat skill.

2. Do not skip a single day of practice set by Aaron, unless he was sick.

3. He must enroll into the Academy in Emond at the age of twelve.

4. He must not slack off on his studies.

Chase did not mind, the conditions were reasonable and they tally with what Chase planned to do anyway.

‘Speaking of dad, where is he anyway?’

Chase walked out of his room and into the living room, where several bags and sacks are piled on top of the floor right in the middle of the living room.

“If you’re awake now, come over here and have breakfast! We move out at noon!”

Aaron’s voice could be heard coming from the dining room. Aaron is currently placing piping hot sausages and fried eggs on top of the plates set on the table. He sat down and beckoned Chase to join him for the meal.

Chase obediently sat and starts to ravenously eat the meal laid before him, skipping lunch the day before had taken its toll upon his stomach.

“Eat up quickly, brush your teeth and pack your stuff! We leave at noon” Aaron said while picking his teeth with his fingers. His plate was spic and span without a trace of food ever being placed upon it.

“To where?” Chase wasn't surprised hearing the sudden revelation. He had guessed they were going to move somewhere after seeing the bags piled up in the living room.

“Thanes, if I’m going to dedicate myself to teaching you combat I've got to change my method of earning money”

“A few acquaintances of mine over there had asked me numerous times to teach their kids combat, but I refused because of the distance from our house”

“However, now the situation has changed. I would gladly accept their offer”

“One of them has a spare house belonging to his deceased son, we’re going to be living there”

“You’re going to make some friends as well! So it’s a win-win situation!”

“Oh, and I’m very, very terrible with magic… so we’re going to have to find you a tutor over there”

Chase was excited with the prospect of living in the village, he had only been there once before and only for a short period of time.

He finishes his food down to the last bit and got up.

“I’ll clean the plates, just go pack up. Oh, and don’t forget to take a bath! You smell like goblins” Aaron said while wrinkling his nose.

Chase dashed off and took a bath, making sure that all traces of goblin smell had left him. He then put on a fresh set of clothes and started to pack his items into the travel bag he used the day before. The goblin clubs were set aside at the corner of his room like some sort of trophy collection.

‘I don’t think I would be bringing those along…’ Chase thought to himself.

He grabbed his books and started to stuff them into his bag, taking care while arranging them so as to not damage the delicate parchments of the book. He didn’t bother bringing anything else because he knew his father had already packed up all the other essentials.

‘Half of them won’t fit….’

He reached his hand out under his bed and procured an empty sack. He used to play around with the sack when he was smaller; such is the life of a boy who had no friends.

‘I wonder how this got here....oh well’

He filled in the sack with the rest of the books and carried the bag and sack to the living room.

‘Oof! These are heavy…’

It wasn’t heavy to the point that Chase would collapse from the weight, but it was heavy enough to hinder his movements.

“Are you done?” Aaron asked as he sees Chase coming into the living room.

“Yes, I think so”

“Here, take this” Aaron handed over two sheathed daggers. Aaron instantly recognized them having been in their company for the whole day yesterday.

“I took it off the stick and polished them, they’re yours now! You better take care of them properly”

“You don’t have to worry about getting a spear, we’d be doing some shopping for a bunch of weapons later on. I intend to get you familiar with as many types of weapon as possible”

Aaron put the daggers on his waist.

Picking up two sacks from the pile, Aaron gave them to Chase.

“You’ll be carrying these two as well”

“Eh?”

Aaron ignored him and started to carry the remaining bags with various parts of his body. He even had sacks tied to each of his legs.

“Yes?” Aaron asked while looking at Chase with a smug face.

“Nothing” Chase did not dare to complain.

Aaron exited the house with Chase following behind him. He locked the door and stuffed the key into his pocket. He looked at the house and smiled.

“Anything you want to say before we leave? Would you like to bid farewell to the house? Maybe giving it a goodbye kiss?” Aaron jokingly asked Chase.

“Nope, let’s go!” Chase shook his head in reply and excitedly exclaimed.

“That’s the spirit!”

“Your training starts now! We will run all the way to Thanes! Walking when you are tired is fine, but do not stop moving no matter what! I will see you there!”

No trace of the doting father that Chase knew was left, the person who stood before him is the battalion commander Aaron Blackstone. Aaron starts to run, he seems to be unfazed despite the extra weight on him. Chase is left behind staring at his father’s back.

‘Okay, here I go!’ Chase did not regret his decision to be part of his father’s training regimen and started to run.

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“Huff….huff…..”

Chase finally made it to Thanes. His body had minor cuts and bruises caused by him stumbling several times along the way. The sun is already about to set. Groups of passers by spared him some furtive glances and went about their way. A few carts drawn by horses go in and out of the village.

In front of the village entrance, Aaron stands formidably with his arms crossed with one of his foot tapping impatiently on the ground. The passers by seem to consciously avoid walking around him due to the aura he was giving out.

“About time!” Aaron’s voice boomed.

*Neeeeiiiigh!!!*

The horses in the vicinity were startled by his voice. Their owners glared at Aaron and proceeded to calm their horses.

Chase slowly approached his father, forcing himself to drag his tired feet.

‘Nope, not regretting what I asked for’

Chase intends to persevere through the whole training regimen, quitting on the first day or at any point in time is not included in his options.

“There’s no more time for training, it’s going to be nightfall soon. Follow me, I’ll show you where we’d be staying for the next couple of years”

Aaron’s voice is now back to normal, probably minding himself not to disturb the villagers and travellers.

Chase realized that Aaron does not have any of his luggage with him anymore.

‘I must’ve been too slow to arrive…he had already unpacked all his items’

Chase followed his father to a house almost identical to his previous one. The house is located at the edge of the village near a river. It had a nice feeling to it.

Aaron opened the door with a creak and got inside with Chase in tow.

“Pick any room except the one with my stuff and unpack then come by the dining room and have something to eat” Aaron told Chase with a commanding tone.

Chase hurriedly picked a room beside his father’s and unpacked his book neatly onto a bookshelf which is already available in the room. He did not waste any time soaking in the ambiance of his new room and rushed off to the dining room. The temptation of sitting down on his bed and maybe lying around is great, but he resisted for he knew that he would probably not be able to stand again should he do so.

The dining room is also identical to the one had back at the old house, except for the table being square instead of round. There were also four chairs around it. A plate with roasted meat and vegetables is set on top of the table.

“The food’s already cold, but it should taste alright… eat up and we’ll visit my friend who’s lending us this house”

“Okay” Chase curtly replied and began to eat. His appetite had been quite big since he started doing all these strenuous activities lately.

After finishing the meal, Chase followed his father to their benefactor’s house. The sun had already replaced by the moon and stars, the sounds of bird chirping had been replaced with owls hooting. They came upon a house about twice the size of their current one with a bird bath placed in the garden.

The door had a lion shaped knocker on it which Aaron took a hold of.

‘Whoever lives here has a nice taste’ Chase thought to himself.

*Knock* *Knock*

“Who is it?” A soft voice which could be attributed to a kindly old gentleman came from behind the door a few seconds after it was knocked.

“Aaron Blackstone, devourer of worlds, bane of evil and father of one!” Aaron exclaimed in a pompous manner, his breath visible in the frigidness of the night.

A chuckle could be heard from behind the door and the door swung open, revealing the interior. A stone fireplace could be seen right in front, attached to the wall. A warm, inviting fire is beckoning them to enter.

A figure just a little taller than Chase came out from behind the wide open doors. He is considerably short; he was probably half a palm taller than Chase at most. Aaron towered over him. He had a kind, gentle face just as Chase pictured a moment ago with wrinkled skin, white hair and beard which speaks volumes of his old age. His black eyes, however, contrasted the colour of his hair and had an air of playfulness unbefitting of his age.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Do the overlord of sorrow and solitude and his sidekick wish to freeze their butts off out there?” The man spoke in a jokingly rude manner and smiled.

‘They've obviously known each other for a long time’

Both of us stepped in and the old man swung the door shut behind us.

“You should know better than travelling around without wearing cloaks in this kind of weather, Aaron” The old man admonished Aaron.

“Bah! Real men don’t whine about such trivialities” Aaron retorted.

‘I can’t believe those words are coming from my father who never missed reminding me to brush my teeth’

*Pfft*

Chase almost let laughter loose as the thought came to mind. Aaron glared at his son for not supporting him.

“Well, you I already know, why don’t you introduce me to your son? He looks like a fine young man” The man moved his gaze from Aaron and looked into Chase’s violet eyes.

Chase averted his gaze; he’s still not good at communicating with strangers.

“Well he can introduce himself” Aaron said, still pissed off at his son.

“Umh-err-um” Chase stuttered not knowing what to say.

“Okay, calm down… why don’t I start off? My name is Gillian Cloud, former member of Aaron Blackstone’s squad. I held the position of a spellcaster and close combatant; I have assisted your father numerous times on the battlefield. I am also the one who lent you and your father the house you are currently staying in. Now, why don’t you start?”

The voice Gillian used was so relaxing that Chase pictured a scene of trees, birds and rivers in his mind. It worked like a charm and calmed his nerves.

Chase looked up at Gillian’s face. Gillian’s eyes seem to be twinkling in expectation.

“My name is Chase Blackstone, only son of Aaron Blackstone. A pleasure to meet you”

Aaron looked at his son with a shocked face. Even Chase was surprised at how smoothly he could talk.

“A pleasure to meet you as well, have a seat, both of you” Gillian pointed at three cushioned chairs placed in front of the fireplace with a table set in the middle. Both father and son took their seats next to each other comfortably and Gillian went off into a room, only to come back a moment later with a tray carrying a pot and three cups. He gently placed it on the table and started pouring the drinks into the cups; a reddish liquid could be seen flowing out of the pot. A cloud of steam rose out of the cups. He then pushed the cups closer to both of them.

“Have some tea to warm yourselves up”

“Thank you” Chase expressed his gratitude and started to take a sip.

‘This is the nicest and most normal man I've met yet!’ Chase thought as he recalled Garion the self-proclaimed inventor extraordinaire which he met at the edge of the Millennium Forest.

“So what business do the both of you have for visiting me tonight?” Gillian asked in a curious tone.

“I just wanted to introduce Chase here to you as the owner of the house and also his magic tutor”

“Mmph?!” Chase got taken by surprise and almost spurted out the tea in his mouth. He gulped it down instead and choked.

*Hack!* *Hack* *Cough*

“Calm down, Chase! What’s with the overreaction?” Aaron patted Chase’s back to help him.

“S-sorry, I was just surprised. I didn't expect my magic tutor and the house owner to be the same person”

“Actually, I am just as surprised as you are! I was never informed of this when you arrived earlier this afternoon, Aaron” Gillian spoke calmly to Aaron.

‘Is he always that calm?’ Chase mused as he eyed the unshakable calm expression on Gillian’s face.

“Well, I've been thinking about hiring someone from the adventurer’s guild in the village but I don’t think I could trust them. I've seen your skills plenty of time and you've saved my behind in more occasions than I could count. So, how about this… I’ll teach your son combat and you teach mine magic”

“Hohoho, that’s an interesting proposal…. I’m not the best spellcaster around though… you know that I’m a spellsword rather than a pure magician” Gillian responded while rubbing the beard on his chin with one of his hands.

‘He’s starting to give off the vibes of a wizard’

“I am well aware of that. However, in terms of combat experience you might be the best one in the vicinity who knows how to utilise your spells in combat.” Aaron insisted.

“Well, if you say so… then I would have to take you up on the offer. “ Gillian finally agreed.

“Oh, and it’s not my son you would be teaching combat skills to”

“It’s not?”

“I requested you to teach my son seven years ago, I already had someone else teach him and he’s not even living with me anymore”

“Then who would I be teaching?”

“My granddaughter, she should be around the same age as Chase over there”

“Well, it doesn't matter if I’m teaching your granddaughter or your great ancestor. You are aware of my training regimen after being in my squad for so long so this means you accept the hardships your granddaughter would face in the next couple of years right?”

“Hohoho, she’s sturdier than you’d think, that granddaughter of mine” Gillian puffed up his chest as he proudly said so.

“Okay now that we've settled that, we’ll be leaving then” Aaron stood up and got ready to leave.

“Wait, before you leave why don’t you let me test your son first? He might be abysmal at magic like you are” Gillian interrupted.

“Gah… don’t mention my weakness with such a straight face…”

“Fine, but make it quick. We have to go back and sleep soon, training starts early tomorrow morning” Aaron agreed and sat back down.

Gillian faced Chase and smiled.

“Now, I need you to follow my instructions… this would just take a short while”

“Close your eyes, and feel the source of mana within you. There should be a warm feeling inside your body flowing along your bloodstreams.”

Chase closed his eyes and followed the instructions.

‘A warm feeling, a warm feeling…'

Chase felt up every inch of his body and finally found something

A strong, pulsing, warm feeling seems to be coming from an area right beside his heart.

“Once you have grasped the source of mana, try to make it flow around your body by imagining it” Gillian continued to give instructions.

Chase imagined it to flow like a river, slowly but surely his mana started to move around his body starting from his head down to his toes.

“Good, you may now open your eyes”

Chase opened his eyes and saw Aaron making a satisfied face.

“There! See? He can control mana just fine!” Aaron exclaimed proudly.

“Yes, he seems to have some measure of talent as well. The speed which he channels mana with is quite high.” Gillian stroked his beard again as he speaks. It seems to be his habit while thinking.

“Why don’t I teach you a spell while we’re at it?”

“But we really have to go n-“

“Who was it that said real men don’t whine about trivialities when they entered my abode just now?” Gillian once again reprimanded my father.

“I’m just going to teach him ‘Light Ball’, it’s already dark outside and there are no streetlamps nearby the house you’re staying in”

Aaron nodded after listening to the explanation.

“Okay, I need you to observe what I do and then I need you to imitate me”

Gillian focused his mana on his palm and it started to glow with a bluish hue. It then changed white in colour and a ball of light formed itself on top of his hand. The whole process took two seconds.

“Can you do that?”

“I’ll try”

Chase repeated the same thing that he did just now, he made his mana flow towards his palm and made it stay.

“Hmmm?!” Gillian let out a startled sound.

Aaron had a dumbstruck face with his mouth gaping.

“What? Am I doing it wrongly?” Chase asked, concerned.

“No, no, please continue” Gillian answered while stroking his beard, signalling he was deep in thought.

Chase’s palm was glowing with a bluish hue and he imagined it to be white. Then he imagined a floating ball of light. A ball of light is formed floating on top of his hand.

“…. Could you try to change the light intensity? Try to dim it, and then make it brighter”

Chase nodded and proceeded to do so.

“….. Change the colour to…seven colours of the rainbow starting from red and so on…then finally make it a mix of all seven”

Chase is bewildered after hearing the request but did so anyway. The colour of the light emitted by the ball changed rapidly from white to all seven colours of the rainbow and then a mix of all seven.

*Gasp!* Aaron let out a gasp. Gillian’s eyes were wide open in astonishment. Chase felt something was definitely off and starts to inquire them.

“What’s wrong? Am I doing something weird?”

“…Wait, just try one more thing… maintain the shift in colours, change the luminosity and split the ball into seven”

Chase heard the most outrageous request yet and he started to think he’s being tested. Nevertheless, he proceeded according to the instructions. The ball of light split into seven and circled him, each one rapidly shifting colours while changing its brightness individually.

“Thank you, you may stop now”

Chase imagined the balls of light to go back inside him and they did. The mana flowed back into him.

*GASP!*

This time both Gillian and Aaron let out an audible gasp.

“Would the both of you mind telling me what’s going on now?” Chase asked irritatedly.

Gillian looked at Chase’s father and nodded. Aaron did not seem to realize and was staring at Chase open-mouthed and wide eyed.

“I didn't realize it before because you had your eyes closed, but just now when you were channeling mana your eyes changed colours”

“What? Is that normal?” Chase is not particularly sure about the subject as he did not have a single book regarding magic at home, most likely due to Aaron’s lack of talent in the field.

“No, it isn't.” This time Aaron spoke.

“Your eyes changed from violet to silver, just like your grandfather” Aaron told him.

“?!”

“It’s a rare ability called mana manipulation, the only ones known to have that ability had all been from our family. However, I did not inherit it from your grandfather”

“It must’ve skipped generation and manifested itself in you, and by the looks of it not even your grandfather possessed the level of control you’ve just displayed. Your ability far exceeds his or anyone in the family that I know of” Aaron explained further.

“You see, Chase… what you've exhibited just now could be said to be close to impossible to do for a beginner such as you”

“Anyone could form a light ball, even a beginner or someone like your father”

“Hey!” Aaron starts to object.

Gillian ignored him and continued to explain.

“As simple as it seems, even changing the luminosity of the light ball would've taken an Intermediate level of skill. Changing the colours as you did just now would be Advanced level. Making the light ball emit a mixture of all seven colours would be Master level. Splitting the light ball into two while changing the colour would've required a Grandmaster level of skill. But you, you split the ball into seven, controlled each ball separately while controlling their luminosity and colours at the same time and by the looks of it you could probably do more than that as long as you have mana. Then, the most surprising thing of all is that you reabsorbed the spell! Mana that had been manifested into spells could never be reabsorbed! They were supposed to just disperse!"

“…..Your ability defies logic, you might have stepped into the realm of the Legendary in terms of mana control” Gillian proclaims with an awestruck face.

“I believe the only thing I can teach you are spells, how to increase your mana capacity and how to utilise them in combat, everything else seems unnecessary”

“You should be careful to never display that amount of control again, you might attract unwanted attention” Gillian advised Chase with a serious expression.

“Have you had him checked at the Glyph of Evaluation yet?” Gillian turned towards Aaron and asked.

“No, not yet”

“Buy a portable one, and don’t show his details to anyone”

The serious expression on Gillian’s face spoke volumes of the magnitude of the situation and how bizarre Chase’s ability is. Chase didn't know what to do and just stayed quiet.

'Was it that impressive? All I did was just imagine it and it happened just as I imagined it would be' Chase was puzzled.

“Understood” Aaron nodded gravely.

“We should be heading back now” He stood up and once again prepared to leave.

“Yes, it’s already quite late… better you head off home now” The calm expression is restored on Gillian’s face.

Gillian sees the father and son off at the door and told them to come for Magic class thrice a week on the days in between Combat class. He also reminded Chase to be careful. The door swung shut and Aaron and Chase exited the compound of the house.

‘I’ll be very careful with this ability’ Chase promised himself.

Halfway to the house, there was no more light source around to illuminate their way home.

“Make one of those light balls, but keep it simple” Aaron requested.

“Okay!” Chase replied, delighted that he had learned something new.

A ball of light appeared on his hand and illuminated their way. They reached their new home by midnight. Both Aaron and Chase immediately headed off into their own bedrooms and slept like logs.

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Part Two will come out within 24 hours! Look forward to it! :blush:

Did i miss out some drama?ArmusMore training!