Chris pulled out his sword, and closed his eyes. A sword blade wasn’t as simple as just collecting everything together. It needed shape, structure, but Chris knew his sword well. He coated the edge of it with magic, and maintained concentration. Everyone in the village already looked shocked, as this magic was being performed without a chant, and the color of it was so pure, but what Chris did next shocked everyone to the core. He powered himself up, and swung his sword, and with the same push concept from the ball, imagined shooting out a curved slicing edge.

When he opened his eyes, he began to hear the cracking and creaking of trees crashing into each other. What lay in front of him was a large chunk of forest entirely chopped down and collapsed. “See, my parents weren’t lying. I’m sorry for scaring everyone earlier, I’ll be more careful!” Chris smiled so wide at his new accomplishment.

He huffed and sat down on the ground. He was a bit tired after all that of course. That’s when the little boy he saved ran up to him, kicking up dust the whole way. “That was so cool, can you teach me how to do that? Ohh, I guess I should tell you my full name. It’s Haven Kyvan, pleased to meet’cha,” he grinned wide. Haven had dark black hair, and deep blue eyes. He had freckles splotched all over his face, and a few of his teeth were missing, but Chris could tell that this kid was genuine. Chris stood back up, and offered his hand. Haven took his hand, and Chris proudly smiled, “I’ll do my best as your teacher then.”

With the craziness in the village settled down just a little, Chris and his new pupil, along with his family, went back up to the house. The boys chatted about what they do for fun, and Chris' parents talked about what the hell was going on.

“Did Chris always show that much magic potential? What kind of magic was that anyways? It wasn’t a fireball, it wasn’t water, it wasn’t even wind even though it was used to slash. What do we do? I knew he didn’t need to chant for the field anymore, but to make something so destructive without it is just crazy,” Geralt spluttered out this hodgepodge of words and thoughts.

Kayreen pondered for a moment, “This is our chance right? Our son is showing a potential of magic that surpasses most Earl families. The kingdom’s church is coming by late next year, a little after he turns eleven, to see if there’s any potential useful magic users. If he keeps working at it, he could get a scholarship to the capital’s magic academy. Those graduating in the top of the class are granted a noble ranking.” Kayreen stumbled a little at the end, realizing she was acting a bit selfish, “And he has so much potential, we don’t want to keep him locked down here. Your leg is good enough to work in the field again. There’s no need for us to hold him back.”

Chris was given time off from the fields to develop his swordsmanship, and his magic, and it turns out he was an awful sword teacher. He kept hitting Haven just a bit too hard, and crushing his spirit, but Haven’s love of magic was just as strong as Chris'. Chris taught Haven a few of the basics, and while Haven couldn’t use many chantless spells, he still could use a large amount of the basic spells.

Haven’s best spell was what the book called a mana-bolt. It wasn’t near as destructive as Chris' but Haven was able to focus it down into a smaller ball, and it flew much faster. It was one of the few spells Haven didn’t need to chant for as it was the simplest manifestation of mana, and it even allowed him to understand the “warmth” that Chris talked about.

Just as Chris' parents saw the opportunity with Chris, Haven saw the opportunity for himself. If he could get good enough at magic, maybe he could help his grandparents get better, and make something of himself. He desperately wanted to live, but couldn’t do a single thing when the Boar attacked. He just curled up and hoped he would live.

When someone his same age jumped in to save him and looked angry on his behalf, he wanted to dedicate his life to that savior, and to getting stronger. He wanted to protect those who cared for him, simple as that. So no matter how frustrating training by someone his same age was, he was determined to learn and improve.

When Haven was at home taking care of his grandparents, Chris focused on his swordsmanship. He needed to control the mana on the blade to add strength, but he didn’t want to destroy the forest anymore. As he watched the village process the wood he cut down he thought of something he could do. He watched the men saw back and forth on the wood cutting through it.

‘That saw is really big, but what if I made something smaller?' He walked to a tree with his sword, collecting the mana onto the blade like before, but instead of launching it, or just using it to harden the sword, he imagined the mana in a small saw tooth shape, and then imagined it moving back and forth really fast. He felt his sword begin to shake a little in his hand, but he firmly gripped it, and swung. It took a large chunk out of the tree, but it wasn’t smooth. Chris focused more, and more, and suddenly it was vibrating much faster than before. Chris could feel the warmth extend past his hands, and onto the blade. He swung one more time, and cleanly cut through the tree.

Over the course of the next few months, Chris and Haven trained for hours daily, no days off, because they were determined, but also magic was so fun for them. Chris and Haven’s birthdays came and went, Haven turning eleven, and Chris turning ten, and then winter came.

Darius returned, and immediately challenged the boy to a fight. “I’m not gonna go easy on you, so you better bring your best, you hear me boy!” Darius grinned, but Chris' dad grabbed Chris by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. “Unless your life is in danger don’t add the tree cutting magic to your sword. You have to promise me. Even Darius could be severely injured if you use something like that.”

Chris confidently nodded, “Got it dad, I already knew it was strong because it normally takes a bunch of people to cut down trees. I’ll make you proud,” Chris' bright smile turned to a look of determination when he looked back over at Darius. “I’m allowed to use some magic on you right old man?” Chris jeered him on. Darius chuckled, “If you think some simple tricks are enough for you to beat me, then sure, go ahead.”

Darius began to chant, calling upon the mana in his body for physical enhancement. “I’m ready boy, come at me.” Haven sat on the side with Chris' parents, and he was ready to see the culmination of their hard work. Chris did the same simple dash that he started with one year ago. He launched himself at Darius, and Darius dodged to the side, parrying with his sword. Chris rammed his hand into the earth, digging in his fingers to slow down, and began to charge again.

Darius prepared to do the same thing again, readying his stance, but suddenly Chris' feet began to glow. He kicked outwards, planting his right foot, directly on the air. His foot caught, and he kicked off, launching himself to the unguarded side of Darius. He skidded, kicking up dust, then quickly leapt up, hopping onto Darius’s back. Chris clung on, squeezing Darius’ core, and he placed his sword to the old man’s neck. “Looks like I win!” Chris smiled so bright, that not even the stubborn Darius could be mad at his loss.

Haven congratulated Chris and introduced himself to Darius. “My name is Haven, I’m Chris' pupil. He teaches me magic. I heard he is your sword student, so I’d like to thank you.” Darius looked a bit confused, “Why would you thank me for teaching the lad sword skills?” “Because he saved my life with those sword skills you taught him. An Orcish Boar attacked me, and he risked his life to kill it.” Haven was fidgeting with his hands, “So I want to thank you for teaching the person who changed my life!” Haven bowed to Darius.

“I thought I told you to save girls who were in danger, where’d you grab this runt from?” Darius chuckled, “I’m proud of you, protecting someone with your life at such a young age, and succeeding even. I can’t wait to see what you do. BUT! You only beat me with that cheating magic. You need to practice the fundamentals still, let's go again, but this time only use body enhancement. Got it boy!” Chris stood straight up and shouted, “Yes sir!” And with that Chris began his second winter of swordsmanship training, focusing on parrying, dodging, and angle of attack, as well as practicing and teaching magic during the evening with Haven.

Just as soon as the training began, it was time for it to end. The planting season was coming around again, and Darius needed to get back to his family. He didn’t tell Chris this, but he was running out of things to teach. ‘No matter how hard I try, I exhaust myself trying to keep up with the kid when he uses that damn movement magic. Not to mention his pure fundamental strength. Kids these days are scary,’ Darius smiled at that thought.

At the age of ten and a half, Chris was a true magic swordsman. Darius was pretty scared for anyone who crossed the boy because Chris had a bunch of other tricks that him and Haven practiced. From illusions to fireballs, he watched Chris develop his skills incredibly quickly. He even saw Chris turn invisible for a short bit. ‘The only way I could find him was when he made a slight mistake and the visuals shimmered.’ Darius shuddered at the thought. With the knowledge of what Chris' family had planned for him, and knowing well that Chris was a strong and good kid, Darius left back for his family, debt paid to Geralt, and pride in his heart.