Turning Point

  Erwin’s forearm glowed with a radiant light that sent pulsing waves of power throughout the large room. Watching the bright blue glow dance, coil and surge under his influence left me somewhat awestruck at the sight— It wasn't fear or anxiety that incited such a reaction—rather, it was his sheer proficiency in wielding that strange power.

  Although I couldn’t wield mana in the typical sense, I could still sense its influence in the environment. That was why I unconsciously took a step back when confronted with the power emanating from his right arm. It didn't particularly feel dangerous per se, but the dancing shroud of power clinging to his form felt anything but natural.

  It was hard to put a finger on the distinction, but the simplest way to describe it was in terms familiarity. Unlike ambient mana that remained somewhat dormant until it was influenced by a mage, his spell felt full of ‘direction’ even though he had yet to perform a chant or anything of the sort.

  Taking note of my unconscious retreat, Erwin laughed.

  "Your senses are sharp," he said, grinning amicably.

  "This isn't anything dangerous, Liam. It's just an enchantment meant to seal mana flow. It feels strange to you because enchantments like these are essentially spells condensed for efficiency. Instead of requiring chants or incantations, the magic is pre-formed and stored, allowing for immediate activation."

  “Pre-formed? You mean you’re activating the spell directly from your memory?”

  “Yes, in a way. These things take a lot of time to learn and utilize, but once you get the hang of it they’re actually pretty useful even with their limitations. I’m impressed you caught on to their mechanics that fast, most people tend to have a hard time wrapping their head around this stuff.”

  A proud chuckle came from the side.

  “Well, he’s spent a lot of time skimming through his father’s magecraft books. He probably doesn’t understand all of it yet but there’s no denying that our Liam is a genius.” Julia quipped, letting a note of pride slip into her light tone.

  “That’s good. All the more reason why you should let him stay here.”

  “Wha-Wait, wait I didn't mean it like that!”

  Caught off guard, she fumbled her proud facade in an instant. Erwin relished the sound of his daughter’s frantic rant as he approached me casually. He bent a knee and leaned in closer to my abdomen with a skeptical expression.

  “Alright Liam, are you ready?”

  It didn’t take very long for me to banish all traces of uncertainty from my mind, there was just too much at stake for my resolve to waver now, and more than anything else— I was done being powerless.

  “I’m ready, do it.”

  “A good answer! Now, brace yourself!”

  The blue light enveloping his palm condensed in a flash, shrinking down to assume the shape of small, candle-like flames on each finger. It wasn’t long before his arm swayed out of view and met my abdomen with a swift thrust.

  “Tch...!!”

  For a second, my vision swayed erratically, images split and the world seemed to spin as a strange, binding sensation suffused my core and spread like a wave as it sapped away at my mana and left me feeling hollow. My limbs grew sluggish, weighed down by an unseen force, and a cold numbness crept through my veins.

  Soon enough I found myself keeled over on the floor, wheezing up a fit of heavy breaths.

  “Are you okay?” a familiar voice sounded from above. Slowly, I turned my head along the floor to survey the looming gazes above, all but two were laced with hints of uncertainty, and the others seemed as if they were all but ready to jump at me for an answer.

  “I’m...fine, the seal just felt a little strange.” I replied, pushing my body off the floor. The simple act of standing up alone felt like a fearsome task, it took a bit longer than usual for me to regain my footing after losing about a third of my stamina, and even more so with all the curious stares impaling me from several different angles.

  If I hadn’t been feigning a smile the entire time Julia might have just acted on her maternal instinct to scoop me off the floor, however, I couldn't let that happen again. If I did, it would only make it harder for her to let go.

  I was already enough of a child in her eyes as it were, and soon enough, that was going to change.

  “Master will Liam be alright?” Irina piped up in a curious tone. At some point, she took the opportunity to draw closer, although seeing as what just happened had even me confused, I couldn’t blame her for that.

  “He’ll be fine, it’s just taking a while for his body to get accustomed to the seal suppressing his core. Once that’s finished, he should be able to move around like normal.”

  “O-oh, I see...”

  Even though she’d gotten her answer, she still chose to repeat her question again, but this time it was directed at me. “Does it hurt, Liam?”

  Hearing that made me want to laugh, childish curiosity really was a strange thing. Then again, she’d always been like that. It wasn’t totally out of character for her to show that kind of concern to someone who was still basically a stranger.

  “My body feels heavier; it’s a lot harder for me to move around but otherwise from that I'm fine.”

  “That’s part of the process. The original function of that seal is to bind your core so you can’t mold any mana, but I’ve tweaked the function to reduce your mana capacity instead. That sluggish feeling will fade over time as your body adjusts to the disparity. You’ll have some trouble at the start but....” Erwin trailed off; his eyes sharp with glee as he settled a finger on me.

  “...don’t you think it will be worth it in the end?”

  That was enough to convey his implication.

  I raised my palm and tried to recall a certain fading sensation, one of bright lights flashing across the heavens.

  “W-woah....” The child beside me held her breath, gasping in awe— her reaction was well timed as it perfectly coordinated with the other startled looks I was getting because of the bright red sparks dancing in my palm.

  “Lightning magic, eh? This should be interesting.” Erwin's statement sounded more amused than shocked, a rather fresh interpretation of my power, and frankly, it was one I wholly appreciated.

  “Mhm, I never thought I’d be so happy watching my son play with something so dangerous. I must be losing my mind.” Julia muttered offhandedly as she sighed in a somewhat conflicting manner.

  “It’ll be fine mother I know how to use this.”

  “I know.” She returned a belated smile, the edges of it touched with something unreadable. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”

  Her words came tailored to an unreadable expression, stacked to the brim with a cornucopia of even more conflicted feelings. I suppose her concern was reasonable, but even then, power was power and no amount of worry and concern was going to change that.

  “Um... L-Lady Julia, if you're worried about Liam’s magic, then... he could... um, he could stay in Heston t-to...”

  By the time Irina’s words reached that point, the deep crimson flushing her face had already shattered her train of thought. Now, all that remained was an elven princess, steaming like a kettle.

  The sight had left everyone—including Julia herself — at a loss for words. Her mouth hung open, unable to completely reject or deny the incoming request.

  “Fufu; looks like you’re in quite the bind Julia. If Heston’s very own princess is going to such lengths to curry favor with your son, it’ll add a bit more weight to your father’s proposition, no?” Fiona questioned from afar, smirking deviously as if this had all been planned.

  “Agreed. It looks like even our very own local deity has taken a liking to Liam, dear daughter. Knowing that, will you still take him away?” A rather cunning declaration came from my not-so-subtle grandmother, who had been exchanging visual cues with Fiona the entire time.

  I watched as the weight of their implications slowly pressed down on Julia; one by one, massive bricks of guilt chipped away at her resolve. Since I wasn’t opposed to it, I allowed their devious scheme to play out and observed the one-sided battle from afar. Since it was two against one, Julia didn’t stand a chance and by the end. her usually vivid gaze had watered down to little more than two dilating swirls.

  It was a clean sweep for her shrewd opponents. Their expressions morphed into smug grins upon sealing her defeat.

  As clever as she was, those two must have had a few decades, if not centuries of experience on her.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Hahahha! Julia, it looks like we’ve lost this one.” Oliver grinned, running a hand through his tousled hair as he leaned back in his chair.

  “This is serious Oliver.” She pouted stubbornly, the sting of that loss no doubt leaving a hint of bitterness in her demeanor.

  “I know, which is why I think we should accept your father’s offer. Either way someone is still going to have to teach Liam how to use his magic, and given that I’ve been away from the capital for a while I might not have much free time when I get back. And besides...”

  “You’re pregnant again, aren’t you?”

  “......”

  Irina let out a loud gasp as the room stood in silence, being filled with nothing but the sound of heat rushing to Julia’s face.

  “Y-Y--You knew!?” Her words spilled out on a cascade of shock.

  “Your father could have phrased it a bit nicer, but yes dear we’ve known for a while now.” Mavis replied coolly, fixing Erwin with an even colder glare.

  “See it’s perfect, isn’t it? Druids take longer to give birth, and they also need a long time to recover from the after effects. So, if its anything like your time with Liam then about four and a half years should do it. So, how about it?”

  He probed with a smirk as he matched Oliver’s gaze.

  “I’m willing to take him up on that offer Julia; what about you?”

  Julia raised her head with a deep breath, then responded boldly.

  “Fine, he can stay in Heston if he wants to.” The heavy emphasis threw off the balance of her statement, but at least she was willing to be flexible on this, and I was thankful for that.

  “I want to stay here until my mana core gets better. If I train here for a few years, I can get strong enough to protect the baby, right mother?”

  “Hehe~ Well, I suppose so. You’re going to be a big brother by the time you come home, but don’t pick up any of your grandfathers' bad habits while you’re here alright?”

  “I won’t.”

  “That’s quite the impression you have of your old man Julia. You’re making me sound like some kind of tyrant.” Erwin countered wittingly.

  “Don’t even bother trying to smooth it over father. None of us are going to fall for it.”

  “Oh, I’m sure someone will see me in a new light one of these days, if I'm lucky that is.” Shrugging theatrically, Erwin turned away from his daughter's skeptical stare.

  Julia’s gaze softened slightly as it drifted back to me in quiet contemplation.

  “Wait Liam, how did you know about the baby?” she asked, peering down at me.

  “I read about it in a book. It said that mothers get tired when they’re going to have babies.”

  “O-oh so that’s what gave it away. Well, I suppose it was obvious even before we got to Fallon.”

  That answer was easier for her to accept, but the truth was that I could actually ‘see’ it. However, no sooner than I’d said that something strange happened. The thin, translucent coating of aura I’d been seeing ever since I woke up in Sylvan visible shivered.

  It didn’t belong to Julia, the aura that just shivered was my own.

  Could this be....?

  “Ah Julia, that issue we were discussing earlier, the one about Demir, you can leave that to me. I heard his father recently found a successor that's around Liam’s age. He’ll be visiting Heston to have him compete in the trident within a few years' time so I’ll settle things with him then.”

  The finer details eluded me, but it seemed as if Erwin's declaration made her feel a bit more ‘comfortable’.

  “Oh, Liam there’s a strange symbol on your tummy.” Irina announced, her brows furrowing as she traced the faint, glowing mark with her fingertip.

  “W-wait!” I tumbled back from the strange sensation out of shock, landing on my backside in a manner that was far from graceful.

  “Calm down you two, that just means his seal has somewhat stabilized. Doesn’t it feel a bit easier to move now, Liam?” Erwin said in a plain, steely voice.

  I flexed my fingers and rolled my shoulders a few times and arrived at the same conclusion.

  “Yeah… actually, it does...” I admitted, glancing down at the glowing mark.

  “Good, then your body has begun adjusting already.”

  “Gbowehh!!”

  "Oh, one more thing," Fiona spoke up carefully. "Before you all wander off on your own, I'd like to address our two spectators eavesdropping on us. Don't worry, you two—it's fine to come inside."

  As if on cue, two familiar figures tumbled into the doorway with a loud crash. One was a small winged creature, and the other was a sheepishly grinning archer swiftly trying to recover from her shameful fall.

  “W-we weren’t trying to be rude or anything, we just wanted to ask for a little favor from Sylvan’s deity.” Jytte muttered the word deity as if it were something fragile, something that might shatter in her mouth if spoken too loudly.

  Their spectacular intrusion was rather comedic and filled the atmosphere with a much-needed levity. After that, they ended up spending a full three days in Sylvan, the days themselves were nothing noteworthy, but I spent a great deal of that time around them; knowing that we’d be parting ways soon.

  The seal weighing down my body certainly didn’t make things easy, but before I knew it, three days had passed. Now, we stood before a massive stone gate, its arch forming a perfect hemisphere. Strange runic markings were etched along its span, but even more captivating was the mysterious, ripple-like light emanating from its center.

  It was in one of Heston’s more crowded areas, but even then, Julia, Mavis and Erwin all seemed to be drawing quite a bit of attention despite the early time of day. The fog creeping through the forest still hung thick in the air.

  “Since there aren’t any teleportation gates that directly connect to Orna, you’ll have to make do with this, it’ll take you to a settlement close to Fallon. From there you can go....” Unfortunately, because of my presence here Erwin’s explanation went mostly unheard.

  "Listen, Liam, make sure you groom yourself properly every day, alright? Brush your hair, keep your nails trimmed, and don’t slack on hygiene. And take plenty of baths—no excuses! Oh, and one more thing: absolutely no using magic inside the house. I don’t care how small it is. There are guardian spirits around this place, and you don’t want to upset them. They can be... temperamental. So be mindful, respect their presence, and follow the rules. Got it?"

  Julia was reciting her third batch of instructions—much to everyone’s amusement — although I didn’t mind it very much. “Okay I’ll remember that too. You don’t have to worry so much mother, if anything goes wrong, I'm sure I’ll get help from grandma and the others.”

  “Ohh, you really are getting mature. Liam, I’ve already said my piece to you but let me add this one more time. Take care of yourself and listen to your grandparents, alright? Especially your grandfather he’s a bit.... excessive.”

  “I won’t do anything uncalled for father. I Promise.”

  “Hmm, good, now-”

  “Liamm!!”

  All of a sudden, Jytte’s predatory grip locked me in another one of her selfish embraces. She was taking advantage of the situation yet again, but since this was the last time we’d be seeing each other for a while, I resisted the tempting urge to zap her with my magic.

  “Want me to smack her for you Liam? You’ve probably caught on to her little scheme by now, right?” Myra asked in a cynical tone. Her cold stare alone was enough to make the archer’s hair stand on end and set her straight from afar.

  “It’s alright Myra. I owe the two of you a lot for saving me. When I get stronger, I’ll come save you one day.”

  As a result of her ripening cheeks, Myra’s gaze loomed on me for a second too long.

  “Heh~We'll see about that kid. You do have the potential so I’ll be holding you to that.” she said, grinning over her shoulder.

  Once the lengthy farewells concluded with a large ‘group hug’, their silhouettes disappeared into the shimmering swirl of light one after the other as if they were being whisked away by a tide of stars. Julia was the last one to depart after once again reminding me to ‘not take after my grandfather too much’.

  Once their figures had faded completely, the giant gate lost its majestic glow and returned to its usual state of serenity.

  “Alright, Liam, now that your parents are gone, your training officially starts today. I’ll make it simple for you: for the next four and a half years, your goal is to hit me at least once.” Erwin proclaimed fiercely, his words laced with unwavering confidence as he crossed his arms.

  It seemed like a simple task at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized—it would be the greatest obstacle I'd faced since arriving in this world.

  Four Years Later

  "Liam are you ready?"

  “As ready as I’ll ever be gramps."

  Tightening my grip on the wooden sword in my hand, I tried to mimic the offensive form I'd seen so many times before. Hearing my response, the man before me smiled just a bit, enough to covey his intentions.

  "Then.....let's go!"

  He dashed forth, kicking up the once trampled grass from beneath his feet. His shadow flickered across the lush greenery as if it was being blown by the wind, and as soon as he was in range, he unleashed a devastating slash with the wooden saber.

  "Gckk!" Performing a vertical block, I was barely able to withstand the force of the blow, failing to notice my feet skidding across the trampled ground like a loose stone.

  "Not yet!"

  Keeping up his relentless pursuit, he closed the distance once more and unleashed a flurry of horizontal thrusts, demanding my utmost effort just to defend against.

  Sternum, solar plexus, shoulder, thigh, hip, collarbone.... One after the other, fearsome blows rained down on my body like meteors, and the towering figure unleashing them held the same enthusiastic grin throughout the entire exchange.

  Despite the immense force behind each blow, their impact lacked both tension and power, so I could tell he was holding back the majority of his strength. What was even more surprising about all this was the fact that he'd been fending me off with just one hand.

  "This is bad..." The words escaped my lips as I hastily leaped backwards using the force from the man's last piercing thrust.

  Sensing my intent, he whipped around behind me, aiming to land a critical blow the moment my feet hit the ground —I heard the sound of whistling air coming from my blind spot, and driven by pure instinct, I jerked my head to the side and swung my blade in a swift upward arc, deflecting the incoming horizontal strike with less than an inch to spare.

  I caught a glimpse of his shocked expression just then, only for it to morph into an ecstatic smile a moment later.

  "Mmhm, you really are improving!"

  I heard him say that as my body fell to the ground with a tumbling motion. Hurriedly rolling over, I grasped the wooden blade in my hand even tighter, ready to continue my assault but by the time I'd raised my head, the tip of his saber was only inches away from my face.

  The same result again.

  ".....I concede." I muttered shamefully; forced to abandon any lingering hope of victory. Erwin’s smile deepened after scoring yet another victory. By now, we’d done this so many times that I could already guess what he was going to say next.

  “You’ve gotten better, Liam, but you’re still a far cry from ever hoping to beat me. This marks your 319th loss.”