The Regression Of A Grand Mercenary - 13 - Never Stay Idle

Theresa’s POV:

In these past few days, my brother Thill has changed a lot.

A lot in a sense that he’s become more dependable, more responsible, more keen to actually do the work.

He wasn’t like this before the plague ever visited our village, because he was more childish than anything. When it comes to being a blacksmith, he barely could withstand the heat that comes from the furnace of our father’s workshop, now he comes out of nowhere with his talents and creates swords that are better than I imagined.

And his expressions…their more mature than before. Usually he would show a cowardly face when facing a problem. Like when we got in trouble for denting one of our father’s crafted armors on display, Thill didn’t even think twice of running away from the house just to escape the punishment. But now…now, he went on to the city on his own and sold his swords in just a day. He provided for the family more than I could.

He even brought back a lot of the things that were missing on the house. Like spices and chickens to be raised here.

And more than anything, the way he’s emotionally looking more mature than us when we lost our parents. Since then, he’s been the pillar of support.

I’ve never expected this from him…

I thought that he would run away and abandon us, but he pulled through.

I guess I thought I knew him more, but I guess I was wrong.

He’s changed in more ways than I expected…

***

“Are you sure this is okay?” asked Theodore.

“I’m sure, so give it your all.”

“But what if you get hurt?” he asked as he looked anxious.

“Do you really think you can hurt me? You’re just starting out as a studying mage, don’t be so confident in your skill.”

“Sheesh, you don’t have to be so mean about it. Still, I’m really curious how you got to attain such powers.”

“I train…” I said vaguely.

“Since when? I’ve never seen you do something like this before.”

“I just decided to.”

“That’s pretty vague…from what I’ve read, adventurers and warriors who attain a pure core is mostly due to an awakening in their understanding. It’s like an enlightenment of some sort.”

“.…”

“I guess you won’t tell me then?”

“No, I won’t.”

“But its obvious that you do have a pure core, so that’s one mystery about your strength solved.” he said.

“…”

“And speaking of pure cores, mages are pretty different in that sense. Instead of a pure core, we have what’s called a ‘Mana-Core’ where unlike the pure core, we solely rely on the source of our power through what is called Mana. The source of all magic.”

“Unlike the Pure Core, one doesn’t have to train one’s body to develop it’s mana core to the next level, instead, one has to develop one’s own mind through studying and reading. Mages can only ever grow through education and the discipline of the mind.” he added.

“Have you developed a mana core yet?” I asked.

“No, it’s not as easy as you think. I don’t really know how to develop a mana core. I know it comes from the development of the mind but, I just don’t think that reading through and through is what develops a mana core.

‘He’s got that right…just like the Pure Core, Mana Cores can only be developed through a process of enlightenment that doesn’t focus on the body but on the mind instead. I can’t really give any pointers on how to develop it since I’m clueless to it, so all I can do is prepare him in a different matter.’

I know a friend who was a mage back in the past. He told me that unlike what most mages are, you can develop your core simply by the prospects of continuously using magic.

Even to someone who hasn’t awakened their Mana Cores yet, they can still use magic at a limited amount. This alone is a show of one’s talent in using magic.

That’s why Theodore was guaranteed a magic user since the day he first used a flame spell even without knowing any proper spells. He has a sense of how to use magic, and that’s talent enough.

“Theodore, I want you to show me just how strong you can conjure your magic.” I said.

“O-okay…”

As he puts out his hands in front of me, he closed his eyes and started using magic without a chant or spell. And soon enough, veins started popping on his forehead. With that much stress, surely he could succeed.

To his concentration, he was able to develop a small flame before his hand.

It was a ball of fire as big as my fist.

“…Hmm, that’s a good start.” I said, but after I said it, I destroyed his work with my own fist.

The flame scattered into the air and then nothing.

“That….that’s the best that I can do right now.” he said as he was struggling on keeping his breath.

“Show it to me again.” I said, without batting an eye.

“W-why?” he asked. “I showed you all that I can do, so why do I have to repeat it?” he asked.

I can understand why he would act like this. He’s still young and his best work may seem great, but to me…I’ve seen better.

This isn’t enough to convince me otherwise.

“To become one of the greats, do you really think that with this much effort alone, you could succeed?”

“…N-no, but my talents show for it. Look, I can conjure a fire ball without a mana core, that’s worth more than any average mage out there.” he said.

“It’s not. Don’t be so soft on yourself just because you’re different from the rest.”

“W-what?”

“Do you really think I’m out here supporting you just because your above average from the rest? I’m not going to send you to the academy just so you can come back to be a mage…you need to be more harsh on yourself. You need to know that you can be better.”

“…”

“Again…show me just how much you can conjure out your flames without a chant!”

“O-okay.”

Trying his best, he conjured another fire ball that was a little bit smaller than the first one.

“…” and yet again, I erased it with my fist.

“!?”

“Again.”

*Fwoosh*

And he did it again. But at the next second, I erased it.

“…Again!” I shouted.

*Fwoosh*

“Again!”

*Fwoosh*

On the tenth time, the fire was the size of a marble. It showed that his ability was nearly at it’s limits.

And from it, he collapsed down to his knees before I could even erase the flame.

“Haa…haa…I…I can’t anymore.” he was out of breath. Barely could he breath in the air as he struggled to keep his mind calm from all the stress of conjuring those flames.

But to his efforts, he showed a clear promise.

“…You did great…in fact, you did more than what you thought you could.”

“…”

“You conjured ten flames before you fell to your knees.”

“…”

“And before you could even do so much, did you think you could reach this far without even thinking of the risk.”

“…I didn’t.” he said.

“To become someone great, one must endure the pain. One must become a person who goes out of bounds from his comfort. Do you think heroes and great mages ever became what they were because they took the easy path? No, they became legends because they took the risk of pain and suffering.”

“…”

“In this world, to grow is to experience every pain and surpass it beyond your own ideas.”

“…”

“Never ever stay idle.”

“I get it…” he said as he sounded convinced. But I knew otherwise.

“No you don’t. you don’t understand pain…you don’t understand that through risk, you need to sacrifice your own comfort simply to grow. This is just the beginning Theodore. From now on, you and me will come here everyday for the last two months to train your ability to use magic to its limits.”

“W-what?”

“If you miss even a single day without reason, I won’t support you in your dream of going to the academy.”

“…I-”

“I know it going to be hard, but it will all be worth the sacrifice.”

“.…” he could not say anything. This is on him. If he fails to show up, I will not pay his tuition to attend the academy.

He must make the effort himself to show up to me everyday.

From here on out, we have two months left before the academy opens up again for registration.

During that time, I have to train him.

***

By the next day, an expected storm came.

Normally at this sight of such a strong storm, no one should even wander by the roads. They should simply stay inside their homes and let the storm pass by the next morning.

But to a certain merchant family, it seems as though they didn’t get this information.

As a pair carriages ran across the strong storms, they continued to struggle against the strong winds.

Inside one carriage was a woman who had blonde hair and a beautiful pair of blue eyes. She was one of the main jewels of the Amber merchant family.

Her name was Evelyn Amber.

And along side her was an old butler who looked worried over the passing storm.

“How long before we could arrive at the village Desmond?” asked Evelyn.

“It won’t be long now Miss Evelyn, an hour at least…but from the looks of the storm, I don’t think it’s safe that we continue on our journey to the village. We need to take cover in a more secure area.” said the butler.

“I don’t think there’s anywhere here we can rest? At best, we should continue forward.” said Evelyn. For as far as what she can see, there wasn’t anything to protect themselves. No gatherings of trees no houses on sight. All there was near the road was a plain flat field with trees apart from one another.

Slowly but surely, the carriage was wobbling from how strong the winds were.

But they perservered.

But through their efforts, suddenly, one of the horses fell to their knees. And the carriage that Evelyn was riding on suddenly halted all but immediately.

*Thud*

“!?”

“What’s going on?” asked the butler to the coachman

“One of the horses fell.” said man up front.

“What?”

“Oh my, this is troubling.” said Evelyn.

“Don’t worry Miss Evelyn, we can fix this” said Desmond as he quickly got off the carriage.

As Desmond stepped into the raging storm, he hurried over to the fallen horse, struggling to shield himself from the harsh winds. Rain poured down in sheets, drenching his coat, but he pressed forward. The coachman was already beside the injured horse, inspecting the damage.

“It’s bad, Desmond,” the coachman shouted over the howling wind. “The branch went deep, she’s not going anywhere!”

Desmond furrowed his brows and turned back toward the carriage, where Evelyn Amber sat inside, looking out through the rain-soaked window. He could see the worry etched on her face, but she remained calm, her hands resting elegantly in her lap.

“We’re in quite the predicament,” Desmond muttered under his breath before rushing back to the side of the carriage. “Miss Evelyn, it seems one of the horses has sustained a severe injury. I fear it won’t be able to pull the carriage any further.”

Evelyn glanced out, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I see. Then what do you suggest, Desmond?”

“The Village is only an hour away, our best hope for escaping this storm altogether is to ride to the village using a single horse while the other carriage carrying the mercenaries continues on riding forward. And If we ride without the carriage, we will arrive faster.”

“Who will go to the village?” asked Evelyn.

“Hmm, it’s dangerous to stay here inside the carriage, Miss Evelyn. And I also don’t recommend leaving you to the mercenaries…at best, it may seem risky, but we must ride to the village together using the other horse and I must come back here carrying two other horses.”

“Will the Coachman be fine on his own?” asked Evelyn.

“I’ll be fine Miss Evelyn, what’s important Is your safety.” said the coachman.

Having seen the worst of the storm, Evelyn finally nodded and agreed.

Without wasting anymore time, the coachman pulled out the other horse and Desmond quickly rode on top of it.

“Come Miss Evelyn, we must hurry!”

And from then on, Evelyn rode with her butler to the Village. What stands before them was a natural disaster…but Evelyn, in her own bravery, did not cower.