A month has passed since I have started training my ability to its fullest extent and finally after so many tiring nights I have finally accomplished it, my ability is finally usable!

I could honestly cry my eyes out right now but having already cried from so many failed attempts I have done I decided not to.

Anyways the reason for my problem with my senses all this time was because I’m thinning my consciousness too much leading to it being muddy and unclear so to fix that I have to do the opposite and make my consciousness thicker to see more details.

Basically, instead of focusing on my surroundings as a whole, I focused on the little details of my surroundings instead.

Meaning from the slight movement to the faintest of sound, by focusing on every little movement down to the last detail my senses in turn had gone overboard to the point that a soft thud could startle me.

It’s honestly hard at first but using the mana and slight movements of my surroundings as the starting point on where I should focus first I can slowly figure out the surrounding area next.

Honestly, at this point, I feel like I possess multiple eyes and ears for I can see, hear and feel everything that is around me.

Another thing that I have improved during the course of a month was the range.

From just detecting what is around me in about 6 meters, I can now detect my whole surrounding for about 11 meters of radius.

Yes, too many good things but all these have a fair share of demerit as well and that is the side effects.

Ranging from nausea to terrible headaches, and sometimes full-on vertigo when used for more than half an hour or so.

Right now it seems that my body's limit in using this ability was about 30 minutes with a 2-hour downtime.

I tried going past the 30 mark to reach an hour but after 40 minutes I have started vomiting, So I’m going to settle with this record for a while till my body is more adept at using this ability.

And another thing I have found when researching about this ability was its origin.

It seems that multiple books and research papers written by scholars all claim that this can only be used by the inhabitants of the Oron kingdom namely the Elves, Spirits, Dwarves, and Treefolk.

It seems to be the reason they have the most edge in a battle and war for every cheap trick you can use will never be enough when they can just see the flow of mana.

This ability has also been dubbed [Eye of Nature] by everyone due to how the user sees and feels the surroundings with the use of mana present in the surroundings.

I guess that is why it is the elves' main ability since they are ‘loved by mana’ which I thought at first is an egotistic term they use to describe themselves but apparently, it’s not.

‘Loved by mana’ is actually a description given to people or in this case a race of people that are blessed by the mana itself for some reason.

I tried researching why elves are loved by mana but in the end, the closest answer I could get was because they live in a forest abundant with mana which in turn is being absorbed by their body giving them near superhuman magical prowess.

It’s the soundest conclusion I can make from everything I know so far so I'm going to settle that for the fact for now.

Nevertheless, it is said to be only innate to them yet here I am using it on my own accord.

Good grief, What’s up with the people of this world are they seriously telling me no one had figured it out that they can use this ability as well?

Honestly, I really shouldn’t fully trust everything these books are spewing sometimes.

Finally, the last thing I have learned while using this ability is I can see how someone uses their mana core for magic.

Suru for example is an Invoker who uses her mana core as a mana bank to cast spells instead of being a gate.

And using my ability while she cast a spell I could see how something in the middle of his body in the shape of an orb spew out mana to the designated area to where she had cast the spell.

For example, when casting an Aerial Blade I could see how the mana from her core slowly made its way to one of her arms that have cast the spell effectively coming out to the side of her palm and into the target in the shape of a blade.

Using this ability as well I could effectively gauge a person's skill when it comes to magic; For invokers to know if it’s a strong magic user their mana banks should be similar to a small sun, meaning the bigger and brighter the stronger the person is.

Suru for example is actually a prodigy into making due to how bright her core is even though she claims that she rarely trains and the last time she tried on furthering her skill was when she took the Royal Guard examination to be a knight a few years ago.

Though in the end, it seems that she failed the last test being cooperation and teamwork.

Poor Suru, I could see her dying a bit inside when she recalled the story for me.

Well, it’s her fault so I can’t really say anything that will not further kick her down so I decided to just pat her in the back.

But anyways with this newfound use of the ability, I quickly ran around the mansion peeking into everyone's core, and found that my mother is actually a quite competent mage, I didn’t expect nor know that.

Her mana core is brighter than Rita her supposedly protector.

That is actually quite unexpected but their core still isn’t really that much compared to Suru.

Comparing the two cores is like comparing a match to a mini gas lamp that’s just how vastly different their skills were.

But...the most unexpected of all the core I have seen was Raiden’s.

His core was just right. Not too small not too large, Not too bright, and not too dull.

What is the deal with this guy?

Yes, I’ve read that he relies heavily on his sword skills to the point that he only knows beginner to intermediate spells but it never crossed my mind that his core would fall in the mediocre valley.

But I guess when you actually think about it, this was the product of his choice of focusing his entire life and being to the sword to the point that he threw away any disturbance.

I’m not really sure if I’m supposed to respect his dedication or pity what he had become.

Though I guess what he is now is his choice as well so pity is something he doesn’t need.

Now laying on my bed I stared blankly at my ceiling as my mind processed every information I have gotten.

After running around the mansion I have come to the fact that there is no Animist in this household but merely invokers.

This is expected considering it’s a much harder path to take.

But that just means that Animists are an absolute rarity as well so it will be quite hard for me to find someone capable of teaching me some things.

I also don’t know what even the core of an Animist is like, Hell I haven’t even… seen my core.

Ah—I haven’t seen my own core yet.

I actually forgot to check my own core, what am I even doing?

Tch, Well anyways I’m quite curious what will mine look like, considering I haven’t partaken in any magical training till now.

I wonder will it be similar to that of animals.

Well…here goes.

Jumping down to the world of blankness I slowly turned my focus around in an effort to see myself.

“Hmmm…..I guess they are the same.”

I muttered as I inspect my body appearing like a skeletal frame in front with something akin to a blueish fog swirling inside it.

It seems that before any training the mana inside someone will be just a fog similar to that present in the surroundings.

This also seems to apply to some of the animals and monsters I have encountered around here as well, all of them possessing fog-like mana.

So that means this mana core that everyone uses was actually nothing but a by-product of training and not a natural occurrence.

I learned that in this world mana is similar to a life force and that is why it is always warned not to use your mana to near emptiness due to empty mana core could lead to death in a matter of seconds, people call it [Mana Sleep] due to it basically putting its host to sleep either forever or just momentarily.

I guess this is the reason why Mana Sleep occurs since the mana inside our body is not just ‘similar’ to the life force but it’s ‘basically’ our life force.

I didn’t think I would actually understand something so mystic like this but I guess I did.

But when you think about it where does mana even come from?

I mean the air we breathe came from plants so this thing called mana should be coming from somewhere as well but it seems that no one had really found out where does it actually from or should I say no one really has questioned it.

Good grief, another task on my never-ending list.

Spinning a pen on my right hand, my eyes soon gravitated towards a certain familiar book on the side of my table.

The word [Elements] is branded on its side in bold black ink.

I’m contemplating about it for a while now whether I should try magic or not, since I was now proficient with mana detecting and had quite an understanding of magic so I’m fairly certain that casting a spell should be easy.

But I can’t help but feel like something will go wrong the moment I tried to do the spell.

While yes risk is always involved when experimenting with the unknown……

Fine~….. I guess I should try it.

I mean, it was the sole purpose of my training, to begin with so chickening out now would just be stupid and idiotic.

I guess that settles it, I’m going to try tomorrow when Suru was helping in the kitchen.

Yet can’t help but feel chills down my spine…. Though probably just my imagination at this point.

It’s been 2 days since I have planned to use magic, I didn't expect that sneaking out like before would be much harder for I didn’t expect Suru to be that agile and strong so I basically just gave up sneaking out entirely and decided to use my room as my training area for now.

Honestly, I definitely don’t want to try this indoors knowing it can be destructive if wielded incorrectly but I really don’t have a choice so I just have to roll with it and hope for the best.

I really hope this doesn’t get messy.

Breathing my reluctance out I stood in the middle of my room with the familiar stack of paper in front.

The goal is simple and that is to just blow them away, I can do this.

Carefully I stretched my hand out towards the stack of paper and slowly painted a vivid image of the spell I wanted.

For I learned that there are actually steps you have to take in order to cast spells without incantation being: [Image of the spell >> Magical Power >> Size >> Speed >> Release]

So I have to follow just that, With my eyes fixated on my palm, I started envisioning a wind in the shape of a bullet, about the size of my hand with the power and speed of just a normal ball that has been thrown.

Next was to gather mana into your core.

Honestly, the specifics on how to pull just the right amount of mana into your core were honestly damn unclear and an annoying topic overall.

No one really explains it in a clear manner so I decided to just create my own version that I would use to know how much I need to put in a spell.

In my case, I envisioned a large beaker as my core with mana, speed, and size being the contents I would pour into it to create a spell.

It honestly made things easier as the moment I started using the image of a beaker as my core, the mana in my surroundings eerily flew through and into my body slowly filling me up with mana.

Honestly, it feels like something ice-cold was passing through my flesh and bones and into my heart, nevertheless, I didn’t falter and continued on.

Now slowly envisioning the spell to appear on my hand, a sudden chill along with a burning sensation ran through my veins and into my right arm.

In that instant, my concentration broke off, the beaker holding my mana spilled all over the place as my knees crumpled from the unexpected pain.

Damn, I didn’t expect it to have a backlash that early in the process but it is mentioned that new mages would feel their nerves be fried due to the use of mana for the first time in their life.

So I guess I just have to try one more time.

Regaining my bearings once again I stood up and stretched my hand forward.

The spell probably would have worked if I didn’t break my concentration so I can probably bet that this is the right step now just have to follow it once more but this time I would brace myself from the pain.

And If it ended in a failure then I’ll just try again and again till my nerves and body would be used in letting mana pass through them.

“Breathe….”

Taking a deep breath, the mana I have spilled has begun to enter my beaker once more filling it up and along with it was that same bone-chilling feeling.

Don’t mind it just focus.

Carefully and meticulously I have begun to add bits of mana to the beaker once more, for power and speed.

Now slowly the phantom pain now emerged next, it flow from my heart and into my palm in rapid continuous succession.

I flinched a bit from the sudden eruption though this time I was more prepared and continued on.

Though the pain was bearable it was still uncomfortable yet what I’m seeing in front of me washed that uncomfortableness away, replacing it with awe and wonder.

For on my palm was a green-like fog slowly forming into the shape of a ball about the size of my hand.

I was in awe at first but soon broke off from that stupor as I remembered that I have to release the spell.

Quickly shifting my focus into the paper I fired off the spell with a silent command from my mind and just as I wanted it to be it shot off from my hand and into the stack of paper, ripping all of it into shreds in the process.

“I...did it…”

That is all I could say as I fell down on the wooden floor with shredded paper swirling all across the room.

Before I knew it I have begun to laugh at my achievement as the realization that I actually managed to cast a spell finally dawned on my mind.

“I really… did..it, I really did it…, I really did it!”

From confusion, my face turned to pure joy as I began to run around my messy room in excitement.

The achievement I have just accomplished is one the lowest I would probably gain in all my life yet I couldn’t contain the excitement and glee that is bubbling up inside of me for the fact that I actually managed to cast a spell.

Guess that’s another theory wrong as well, for it is actually possible to cast a spell even though you’re not at the age of 5.

And I think I know the reason why they believed that.

And that is because every living being would generally gather mana in their surroundings as they continue on living. Some are greater about this aspect like the elves and some are not but in the end living things consume mana like air.

The major difference is that mana doesn’t get breathed out once breathed in.

So instead it will slowly build up inside a person's body until the body couldn’t contain it anymore and needs releasing.

So I think that is why at the age of 5 is where the elements have started showing because the body of the child couldn’t handle the amount of mana that has congregated inside of them in the past 5 years or so resulting in a few outbursts of mana that they call the symptoms.

That is why they wholeheartedly think and know magic only came to the age of 5 and above due to the nature of how mana inhabits a person's body.

Damn, it seems that I already found this much misinformation and groundbreaking discovery in just the span of 4 years, I wonder how many more would I find given some more time.

Though I really would rather that not be the case, since going blind to something isn’t really my thing.

But well I'll deal with all of this later.

I’ll focus on furthering my knowledge in magic for now since it is much more enjoyable.

But I have to be careful since I might accidentally cast something dangerous.

Since magic is after all a still foreign & dangerous concept to me that can probably cause damages beyond repair.

“Lady Lore is acting a bit odd lately?”

Turning my head in curiosity upon the sudden news Suru have brought, I couldn’t help but wonder what it is that Suru had found odd about the little lady this time.

“Yeah, It feels like she’s hiding something from me…I really don't know what it is but I feel like she is.”

“That’s too vague, Suru, are you sure you’re not overthinking?”

“Oh, come on! Trust me here, will you! She’s hiding something from me and I need to know it!”

As if taking her frustration upon the situation to me, Suru began to shake my collar violently as she continued complaining about the little lady’s ‘odd’ behavior.

Feeling that the shaking is slowly getting more violently by the second I decided to stop it by giving her the usual flick before she started to rip my uniform which did make her stop and return back to her seat.

“Well… let’s say that she is indeed hiding something then why do you even want to know something she is trying that hard to hide?.” I asked in a stern yet calm tone as I tidied up my butler uniform from her initial outburst.

I’m well aware of the little lady’s habit of hiding things so I’m really used to it by now to the point that I don’t really question anything she says.

As I find it extremely disrespectful to poke into her personal business without any regard to her feelings.

And most of all because she tends to get extremely defensive when it comes to her personal affairs.

But nevertheless, I can’t help but feel curious as to what could Suru's reason be to pursue this topic so passionately.

Cause don’t take me wrong Suru might be a one-of-a-kind idiot but she is not stupid enough to not understand the personal boundaries of important people in her life.

So for her to pursue this despite knowing that the little lady would feel uncomfortable with it is definitely quite odd in itself.

So I waited for her answer and...

“Well...because I’m worried for her safety as her big sister of course!” She proudly proclaimed as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world

An unexpected yet should have expected answer.

Why did I even think it would be something grand or anything?

But this is, I guess interesting in itself as Suru is actually the one being mellowed down in their relationship instead of the little lady.

Good grief, I feel like the pecking order has changed entirely.

“I feel like she’s trying to do something dangerous alone, So….So! As her big sister, I can’t help but feel worried for her!”

At this point, I can really hide my amusement and wide warm smile for the entire situation.

As not just that Suru is worried for the little lady but would even go through this length just to guarantee her safety.

Truly I expected them to become close but to think it would be like this, I really can’t help but feel warm inside.

Regaining my composure from her sudden pure answer I replied back in an effort to calm her down.

“I think you should trust her a bit more, Suru. Lady Lore is more competent than you think.”

“Huh?! What are you talking about?! Are you saying I’m supposed to trust that she will not hurt herself?” Suru with an almost feral-like look on her face pounded the table as she glared at me for my answer.

Letting out a sigh I decided to elaborate my point that she took the wrong way.

“No, not at all. What am I saying was you should put your trust that she has a good reason for not telling you and you should merely wait for her to tell you that.” Hearing my elaboration to my initial answer the pissed look on her face slowly faded as she slowly took in what I have said.

Seeing that she is still listening I decided to add one more thing, “After all you have to always remember forcing our feelings into someone else no matter how good the intention behind it will just be calling for a hard backlash.”

And with that, her face began to calm down as she sat back down, contemplating what I have said.

Good grief, to think that the little lady would influence Suru this much.

This was beyond my initial expectation.

But I do wonder what is the little lady doing this time that had taken Suru’s attention like this…..

I do hope it’s nothing dangerous of sorts.

It’s the middle of the afternoon Suru just left to cook some snacks so I’m yet again left with quite a bit of free time.

So just like usual, I’m going to do some magical training.

Well, that’s really all I’m doing for the past few weeks since I was able to cast magic.

Basically, trying out different spells and even invented a few base on my understanding and control of mana.

It was hard to use a new spell at first but as I tried more and more different spells my core and body began to get the hang of it.

And as much I am this skilled already, I still haven’t really told anyone that I could do all of this since I’m not really sure what would their reaction be.

Would they alienate me?

Distance themselves?

Or be terrified at the possibility that I could hurt them?

Honestly, all of these pessimistic thoughts plaguing my mind are all likely to happen if I’m not careful.

I mean my reputation in the household is already a few stairs down so I don’t think they would take kindly to the fact that I could use magic so efficiently as well despite still being at the age of 4.

Damn, I really shouldn’t have been too snobbish in my first few years in this place.

Letting out a disheartened sigh, I released a small pocket of air from my finger into one of the books I have placed on my desk in an effort to make a shooting target of sorts.

In an instant as the wave of air met the hard book it quickly began to lose its balance and soon after toppled to the side resulting in a thud to resound in the silent room.

I have been casting a different variety of spells as of late but all of them were merely just Beginner and Intermediate spells.

Beginner and Intermediate being the lowest types of spells when ranked based on effectiveness and skill cap.

And if I remember correctly that ranking was:

[Beginner < Intermediate < Apprentice < Arc < Grand < Lord < Emperor < Paragon.]

Beginner being lowest tier and Paragon being the highest with strength said to rival the Luminaries.

That is why when you reach the level of Paragon you’ll be given a title base on your respective element.

[Paragon of the Sun] for the fire element, [Paragon of the Deep] for water, [Paragon of the World] for the earth, and finally [Paragon of Freedom] for wind.

I read that there have been a total of only 3 people who have managed to acquire at least one of these titles so far and one of them was the Luminary of Wisdom, a normal human man who is currently missing at the moment.

And the other 2 are the founder of magic themselves, So one could guess that Paragons are definitely reserved for those who are actually the pinnacle of their element just like Luminaries.

And I a feeble small girl yearn for such a title.

Considering the only title I have gained in my past life was all based on my crimes, Having a title based on my skills would be a breath of fresh air for once.

So I want it, the title of Paragon.

But knowing Paragons are the top dogs, I think it’s better to take things slow for now.

Since I don’t really want to dream too high and ended up being disappointed in the end.

Ahhh~ I guess I’m going to focus on the basics for now~

A bit boring but better to master the basics first since it’s called basic and fundamentals for a reason.

And as much as I want to have a Paragon title I’m well aware of the current level of my skills at the moment.

I’m basically just an Intermediate mage so I guess apprentice-level should be my goal instead of paragon.

Hah~ I really want to reach paragon soon.

Slumping down on my bed with a dejected sigh, I furrowed my eyebrows for a training grind to come.