The inner Palace – The late Sage's library.

Iris Linding, a woman given the title of Ice Queen walked down the hallway of the Kingdom's Castle.

She had white hair which resembled snow. Her beauty was of the top ten in the kingdom while her swordsmanship was second to none.

Her talents earned her the position of leader of the Order. Her family was but a normal farming family.

Never in her life would she have believed her future self if she heard then that she'd be joining the heroes who protect the human kingdoms. She was born with the talent as a magic swordsman. Her specialty is ice magic which she can use to freeze anything no matter the structure or its nature. Even the hottest flames can turn to ice in mere seconds due to her Eternal Frost skill which made her name so deadly throughout the continent.

"My Lady."

A maid opened the door for her and she stepped inside.

The place was as usual, dark and quiet except for the frequent sound of pages turning.

Iris came to a stop and knelt.

"You grace me by–"

"Oh, shut it."

As Iris was about to do her greeting, an old woman's voice entered her ears.

It was the voice of a dying person.

The light shone on the figure on the bed. She had a wrinkly face, her hair was grey from old age and her body looked weak judging by the flesh and bones.

The Great Sage. The woman who could cause all the nations to cower just by hearing her name.

Odette.

"If I may ask, why do you not use age restoration to alter your biology?" Iris asked carefully.

The old woman chuckled.

"I have already laid eyes upon the descendant of my sister. That was my only wish and reason for living."

The other reason is because her mana has been exhausted. The curse that was placed on her soul after her revenge prevented her from recovering. She only has 1% of her total mana from the past. Odette didn't really tell the few people that know of her existence why she never used magic ever since that day of her revenge.

It was reasonable why she was given this curse.

She was much too dangerous so the gods had to act.

"Surely the girl will need your guidance…"

Odette held up her wrinkly hand to stop Iris from speaking further.

"She should figure out how to use those powers herself. I'm sure having an old hag like me teach her wouldn't be a good idea. I am already at the last years of my life."

Iris had a shocked expression on her face when she heard her words. She's a woman who rarely shows emotion.

"Surely you do not think you, the Great Sage is unqualified to teach that girl!?"

"Our natures are different. And stop screaming." Odette rubbed her earlobes.

"I promised my sister I'd join her in the afterlife so that's what I'll do… Anyway, give me a report. Sitting trapped in this tower is boring for an old fossil like me."

"Understood. Please listen to this. We sensed a disturbance of magical energy a few months ago. Although we aren't sure where the person is because a powerful barrier is blocking our magical detection."

Odette nodded for her to continue.

"The person you believed will inherit the powers of the Spirit King."

"Whaat!? Why do I hear of this now!? "

The old woman screamed causing her spit to fly in Iris' face. Iris quietly took out a napkin and removed the spit.

There was a prophecy involving the Spirit King's descendant and the person who receives the power of a Holy Saintess.

The two must conceive a child in order for the prophecy to come true. Legend has it that the child that will be born from the two will be the saviour of the world.

It will be a God's child. Descendants of the Angel Race and the Spirit Races are really rare so it was never really proven if this fact was true or not.

However, Odette saw a vision one day where the world was in chaos. A dark figure stood atop the world that was burning from its destruction.

A being from the immortal race.

The vision wasn't very long since it was the glimpse of the future. Seeing into the future despite not being an oracle is much too dangerous for a person. Odette had to forcibly wake herself up since it looked like that being saw her peeking.

Just before it crushed her head, she disappeared. If the past is changed, the future will change as well after all.

God's Child or its other name, the "Chosen One" will be powerful enough to defeat a true immortal.

Odette predicted that it was roughly 200 years before the immortal arrives.

Odette had many visions through her long lifespan. She even saw a prophecy about how a hero will be summoned by their goddess.

"Find out who that person is, Iris."

'The prophecy of the God's child or the one where the hero summoned by goddess Sol comes to this world. I wonder which one might come true. I should at least stay alive until then.'

"I must know if that person is the incarnation of Xio."

'He promised to reincarnate in the far future. Could it truly be him?'

◇

Jacob Sterling entered the Mage Tower.

He was ecstatic at the moment when he heard his pupil will be enrolling in the Royal Academy. Clyde Astley was by far the most talented person to emerge ever since the founding of the Magic Tower.

His abnormal amount of mana makes him the perfect person to enlist as a AOE mage leader for a mage unit in the army. Who knows, he might even be a direct subordinate of Viria, the continent's only head mage.

'Although, I'd prefer you'd join the Magic Tower as an official mage…'

Jacob thought as he read Clyde's letter. He had grown fond of Clyde during their time together.

It was almost like having a little brother and teaching him stuff.

Jacob was always called a prodigy, he was always isolated since so many of his friends and peers were jealous of his talents. His magic was so incredible that he rose to an elite of the Magic Tower at such a young age.

But it wasn't talent that made him this amazing. It was effort. And also a large amount of money to improve his foundation. The Purple Elixir is known to be an incredibly popular potion that could be used to heal broken mana veins.

The other effect is that it can partially improve your mana core's pool. However, this effect is only a meagre 0.3% increase. Jacob had to work hard in order to achieve money so he could get where he was today.

-Your sister will be coming today. You better get here or else…

Father

_

He crumpled up the letter that was sent to him by his father.

His rage flew up to his head and it felt like he wanted to burn his whole office.

Viria, a member of the order is also his sister.

He was always compared to her.

"Look at what your sister has achieved."

"Why can't you be more like her?"

"Humph! What is there to celebrate about you entering the mage tower?"

Those are the things spoken to him by his father. No matter what he did throughout his life or how many achievements he gained, his family never recognized him or saw him as his own person. He was always compared to his older sister.

But now he found someone far more talented than his sister. A boy with exceptional talent for magic was trained by him. He wants to nurture this boy to make him become what he couldn't.

Jacob's mood instantly lifted as he thought about the future of Clyde Astley. He hummed as he prepared his material for teaching his class.

A knock suddenly came from the door.

'Ah, that's right. I called Clyde.'

He sent a letter to the duke's manor to see Clyde at the tower.

It was regarding a certain letter he received.

"Come in."

Jacob sat up straight while a golden envelope was placed near his hand.

An assistant mage brought in a boy with light brown hair.

'He's wearing the robe I sent him.'

Jacob felt touched when he saw the robe he bought Clyde a year ago. It was his gift since Clyde completed the third stage of magic training.

"You wanted to see me, master?"

Jacob pointed to the chair. Clyde sat down quietly.

"Clyde."

"Yes."

Jacob slid an envelope over to Clyde.

'!!!'

There was red candle wax with a magician's hat symbol.

"The Magic Empire?"

Jacob nodded.

"Open it. You'll know soon enough why I called you here."

RIIIP

Clyde tore off the top of the envelope and took out the note.

–The Magic Imperial Academy.

Clyde's eyes opened wide when he saw the sender.

‐We of the Magic Empire wish to invite Jacob Sterling of the Marques Sterling household to come to our academy and teach as a fourth to final year class professor. The contract will last ten years but if there comes a need to update it then we shall let the receiver know.

As the Red Abyss dungeon is close to becoming active in the next decade, we need powerful and intelligent professors to lead the leaders of the future. The Magic Empire wishes to instate Jacob Sterling as a professor of the academy and a tutor for the Imperial children.

-

"…"

Clyde silently looked up.

"Surprised?"

"…Not really. Anyone can see that you're worthy of this position."

"Haha. You flatter me. The problem is that it's in another nation. The Magic Empire ,in fact ,which is known as a nation no one from the outside can enter."

"Why did that change? Was it because of the prediction that the Red Abyss will become active soon?"

Jacob nodded.

"There was probably another reason but I'm not sure. If the red abyss is close to becoming active then that's a big problem." Jacob tapped his thigh with his finger. "They'd obviously want strong allies in the future that must be led by a capable professor."

"And you were one of them."

"It's embarrassing but yes."

"But… why was I called here? Don't tell me…"

Clyde looked Jacob suspiciously.

Jacob cleared his throat and leaned forward.

"Clyde. I want you to become my assistant once you graduate from the academy."

"…"

Clyde narrowed his eyes.

"I knew it."

"But…"

Clyde's ears perked up when Jacob spoke again.

"Considering that you have a happy family waiting for you back home I cannot expect that of you."

Clyde still had a family that loved him. He had something back home. He wasn't like Jacob who had no one who was waiting for him back home. Sure, he might have a fiancé but the two of them rarely meet so there's no connection.

He only keeps contact with his older sister. Despite the fact that they were rivals in the past, Jacob still appreciates her being there for him.

"Then I guess this is farewell."

Jacob nodded.

"I might not come back. This is a one in a million chance for me to start a new life. I'm still 22 so I still have a lot to life for."

The two sat in silence.

Clyde gulped audibly.

"Our relationship as student and tutor still continues even without the pay. I like teaching a fellow prodigy the way of magic. And you actually like the lessons so that's what makes it even more worth it. Some of my previous students never even listened and didn't respect me just because of my age. If the teacher sees his student enjoying his class then it's obvious that he would want to continue teaching the student."

Jacob stroked Clyde's head.

"I'll keep in touch. Even if we're still so far apart I still want to know how far my student progresses. With your potential, you might even catch up to me in five years."

Clyde smiled bitterly.

"You overestimate me."

"Hahaha. But I'm serious!"

Jacob patted Clyde's shoulder.

Before he packed up his things, Jacob spoke again.

"…If I ever find myself facing a problem involving magic…. Can I rely on your help?"

Jacob held out his hand.

"Of course."

Clyde shook Jacob's hand.

"Well then. I'll keep in touch."

Jacob took his case and walked past Clyde.

He left a few words before leaving.

"Become splendid mage, Clyde."

After leaving those words, he left. Clyde heard the footsteps growing ever faint as he looked at the door.

'He left. My master I've known for four years….'

The two were always together daily during his stay at the manor of the duke. There wasn't a day that he missed his lectures or forgot to finish his homework.

He enjoyed it. He enjoyed learning magic from such an amazing teacher.

"…"

Clyde silently looked at the tear that fell on his hand.

"Crying over a goodbye… I really am a kid."

He cried for a while inside the quiet office of his master.

The next time they meet, Clyde might've caught up to him.

"One day I'll be master's equal."