Chương 57: An Offer Only his Father Could Make

As the weeks passed, Sieghart's control over mana improved in ways that were difficult to represent through levels alone. He did not create any additional elemental spells, despite experimenting with several possibilities. Water Lance collapsed before reaching a stable shape, while Earth Armor became too heavy for him to move properly. His attempts to create Wind Step were slightly more successful, but the technique remained too unstable for the system to recognize it as an independent spell.

Even so, Sieghart could feel the difference whenever he manipulated mana. The energy responded to his intentions faster, moved through his body more smoothly, and required less concentration to maintain. His increasing Mentality contributed to that improvement, but experience mattered as well. After years of practice, elemental manipulation had begun feeling almost as natural as moving his arms. The most visible result appeared during his wind training.

Sieghart stood in the middle of his isolated training field with both arms extended toward the ground. He gathered wind around his palms and compressed it into two constant downward streams. The first attempt pushed him backward because his hands released unequal amounts of force. Sieghart rolled across the grass before using Protection to avoid injuring himself. His second attempt lifted his right side while leaving his left foot planted.

He spun halfway around and landed with considerably less dignity than he preferred. Sieghart adjusted the angle of both palms and tried again. This time, the two streams struck the ground with equal force. Dust and loose grass spread outward as Sieghart's feet gradually left the earth. His body rose several centimeters before the wind became unstable and dropped him. He repeated the exercise until his shoulders began aching.

On the final attempt, Sieghart rose nearly one meter and remained suspended above the ground. His legs swayed beneath him while the constant blast of air roared against the soil. Maintaining his balance required continuous adjustments from both hands. Sieghart remained airborne for almost ten seconds before the strain disrupted his concentration. The wind weakened, and he dropped toward the ground. Protection absorbed most of the impact when he landed.

Sieghart remained crouched for several seconds before looking at the marks left beneath his palms. No system notification appeared. The technique was clearly useful, but the system still considered it an application of Breeze rather than a separate spell. Sieghart had not established a stable structure or activation method. That was mildly disappointing, although the practical result mattered more than receiving a name. He could finally levitate without relying on a falling motion to generate lift.

True flight remained distant. He needed both hands to remain airborne, and changing direction without losing balance was far more difficult than simply rising. However, the foundation existed. If Sieghart learned to release wind from beneath his feet or across his entire body, he could turn levitation into controlled movement. His earth control improved in a similarly informal manner. During the battle, Sieghart had created several small stone spheres and made them spin around his body.

The technique offered protection while threatening anyone approaching him. The Firian leader destroyed those spheres with a powerful fire attack, proving that they lacked both size and durability. Sieghart began addressing those weaknesses after returning home. He gathered sand from the surrounding ground and compressed it into spheres the size of his head. Each one required considerably more control than an Earth Bullet. Sieghart created four of them before making the spheres revolve around his body.

Their movement began slowly, but he increased their speed with every completed rotation. The orbiting masses eventually became blurred streaks of brown. Wind rushed around Sieghart as the sand spheres displaced the air with every pass. One mistake could make them collide with one another or strike him instead of an enemy. Protection reduced that danger, but being hit by a compressed sphere moving that quickly would still be unpleasant. Sieghart maintained their orbit until his concentration began to weaken.

He then launched the spheres toward four separate training targets. Three struck successfully and shattered thick wooden logs. The fourth missed its target, crossed the field, and buried itself inside the ground near a fence. That result represented significant improvement over his battlefield performance. Unfortunately, the system refused to recognize the technique as a spell. Sieghart suspected the spheres lacked a defined purpose.

They could serve as shields, projectiles, rotating weapons, or movable sources of earth. That versatility made them useful, but it also prevented the system from identifying a single repeatable structure. Sieghart needed to decide what the spell was supposed to accomplish. He could eventually create Orbiting Stone Shield for defense and Stone Meteor for offense. Until then, the spheres remained an advanced application of earth control. The greatest improvement came from combining three elements simultaneously.

Before the battle, Sieghart had attempted to create a rain cloud by producing water, heating it into vapor, and controlling that vapor with wind. He managed the first two steps easily enough, but maintaining three types of elemental manipulation at once overwhelmed his concentration. Sieghart had trained to cast two spells simultaneously. Adding a third created too many processes for his mind to control without allowing one of them to collapse.

His increasing Mentality finally allowed him to overcome that limitation. Sieghart selected a dry section of ground beyond the crops and extended both hands. Water emerged from his right palm and collected inside a shallow depression. A controlled flame appeared beneath the water without spreading to the surrounding grass. Steam slowly rose while Sieghart used wind to prevent it from dispersing. The three elemental forces resisted one another.

Too much fire destroyed the water immediately, while excessive wind scattered the vapor before it could gather. Sieghart adjusted each element carefully. More water entered the depression, the fire weakened, and the wind began pushing the vapor into a rotating formation. A pale cloud gradually appeared several meters above the ground. The cloud was barely wider than a wagon and thin enough for sunlight to pass through. Calling it impressive would have been excessively generous.

Nevertheless, Sieghart had created it. He continued adding vapor while forcing the wind to maintain its shape. The cloud darkened slightly as tiny droplets condensed within it. Several drops of water eventually fell onto the dry soil beneath. The rain lasted less than five seconds before the cloud lost stability and dispersed. Sieghart lowered his hands while sweat ran down his forehead.

His mana remained infinite, but controlling three elements simultaneously demanded more mental effort than any of his ordinary spells. Once again, no notification appeared. The system apparently wanted something more stable before recognizing Cloud Creation or Rainfall as a spell. Sieghart could understand that requirement. His creation had resembled an unusually ambitious puff of steam more than a true rain cloud. Still, the result proved that large-scale weather manipulation was possible.

Given enough Mentality, Sieghart might eventually create clouds above the entire farm. He could provide rain during droughts or weaken fire-based enemies across a battlefield. That possibility alone justified the training. A spell did not need to explode someone to become strategically valuable. Sieghart continued practicing his existing techniques while attempting those more complicated forms of control. Water Cannon, Wind Blade, and Earth Bullet advanced steadily.

Water Cannon reached Level Four after Sieghart increased its duration to ten seconds without losing pressure. The spell could now release enough water to flood a small room. Wind Blade reached Level Four when Sieghart improved its stability beyond thirty meters and gained enough cutting power to pass completely through a thick log. Earth Bullet also reached Level Four after Sieghart learned to fire four projectiles each second while maintaining acceptable accuracy against stationary targets.

Fireball gained another level once he reduced the creation time enough to launch the spell almost instantly. He could now produce several fireballs before the first reached its target. Each level granted another point of Magic, and the cumulative improvement became impossible to ignore. Even his weaker spells struck with noticeably greater force. One evening, Sieghart opened his status screen after completing his training. The translucent display appeared before him, presenting the results of his recent progress.

Name: Sieghart This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Race: Human Age: 5 Level: 1 Health: 60/60 Mana: ∞/∞ Stamina: 60/60 Strength: 6 Endurance: 6 Vitality: 6 Dexterity: 6 Magic: 29 Mentality: 33 Resistance: 9 Perception: 1 Skills: Black Magic — Level 5 Fire Magic Flame — Level 1 Fireball — Level 12 Giant Fireball — Level 1 Water Magic Water Creation — Level 1 Water Cannon — Level 4 Wind Magic Breeze — Level 1 Wind Blade — Level 4 Earth Magic Sand Control — Level 1 Earth Bullet — Level 4 White Magic — Level 1 Support Magic Protection — Level 2 Healing Magic First Aid — Level 4 Arcane Magic — Level 1 Transmission Magic Mana Transfusion — Level 16 Sieghart studied the numbers before nodding in satisfaction.

His level remained stubbornly at one, but his parameters and spell selection continued improving. The increase in Magic strengthened every elemental technique, including those that had not gained levels. Even Flame burned hotter than before despite remaining at Level One. His Mentality had increased through continued Mana Transfusion practice with his bow, although progress slowed considerably without the runesmith's enchanted weapons. Physical parameters remained unimpressive.

Sieghart trained his body regularly, but he still possessed the size and natural limitations of a six-year-old. Protection compensated for his weakness, but the battlefield proved that relying upon a single defensive spell was dangerous. A powerful Aura user could cross the distance between them before Sieghart reacted. Still, his current status looked far better than it had one year earlier.

Sieghart could attack from several ranges, defend himself, heal injuries, manipulate the environment, and maintain multiple spells simultaneously. Now he needed to learn how the hell White Magic gained experience. First Aid had leveled through continuous healing, while Protection improved when Sieghart increased its mana output. Neither achievement affected White Magic itself. Black Magic gained experience through killing or assisting in the defeat of enemies.

If White Magic followed an opposite logic, perhaps it required saving lives. Sieghart had saved Edric from dying, but the system provided no experience. That meant either his grandfather had not been close enough to death or the requirement involved something more specific. Perhaps Sieghart needed to prevent damage rather than repair it. Protection might grant White Magic experience if it stopped a fatal attack against another person.

Testing that theory would require convincing someone to participate in an experiment involving potentially fatal damage. Sieghart doubted his grandparents would volunteer. He also considered whether White Magic needed enemies of a particular nature. Black Magic could represent destruction, while White Magic might develop through fighting monsters corrupted by forbidden power.

The classification seemed overly simplistic, especially because Sieghart's so-called Black Magic included ordinary water used to irrigate vegetables. The system's naming conventions remained suspicious. Calling Water Creation Black Magic made about as much sense as calling a bucket an instrument of evil. Sieghart decided to focus on learning another White Magic spell. Creating a separate defensive or healing technique might reveal the requirement that First Aid and Protection had failed to satisfy.

A healing spell designed specifically for burns remained his best option. He could also attempt to create a barrier that protected other people from a distance. Arcane Magic presented a different problem. Sieghart understood Mana Transfusion well enough to charge his bow, but the broader path remained at Level One. The magical bow should eventually provide an answer. Every arrow consisted entirely of mana stored within the weapon, meaning firing it transformed transferred energy into a controlled projectile.

If Sieghart continued charging and using the bow, he might discover how to shape raw mana without relying upon elemental conversion. The weapon also offered a less conspicuous method of fighting. A child firing magical arrows looked unusual, but it remained easier to explain than an endless storm of fireballs. People might assume the bow carried powerful enchantments rather than realizing the user possessed infinite mana. Sieghart appreciated any weapon that encouraged others to underestimate him.

His lack of a formal Archery skill remained annoying, but his accuracy improved through ordinary practice. The system did not control every form of growth. Sieghart could learn through repetition even without receiving levels or attributes. His previous life had taught him that much, although it had taken reincarnation to make the lesson useful. He began spending several evenings each week practicing with the bow. The routine was simple but mentally demanding.

One night, his practice continued much longer than planned. Sieghart became absorbed in reducing the delay between emptying the bow and charging it again. The moon crossed the sky while the surrounding farm remained silent. He only noticed how much time had passed when the eastern horizon began turning pale. Sieghart lowered the bow and stared toward the approaching sunrise. His shoulders ached, his fingers felt stiff, and his eyes had become uncomfortably dry. He had remained awake throughout the entire night.

That was probably not what Elara meant when she told him to sleep if he wanted to grow tall. Sieghart decided not to mention the connection. He stored the bow across his back and began walking toward the farmhouse. The morning air felt cold against his face after hours of continuous movement. Farmers normally woke before sunrise, so Sieghart expected his grandparents to be preparing breakfast or checking the animals. He did not expect to find them waiting outside.

Edric and Elara stood near the front door with another letter unfolded between them. Sieghart stopped walking. A strange sense of déjà vu passed through him as he studied their complicated expressions. They looked almost exactly as they had after receiving the message about his sister's birthday. The letter carried the red seal of House Emberhart once again. Sieghart considered turning around and returning to the training field. Nothing good had resulted from the previous letter, and this one already looked worse.

He continued approaching because avoiding the message would not change its contents. His grandparents noticed him before he reached the house. Elara quickly lowered the letter, perhaps intending to conceal it until Sieghart rested. Edric sighed and folded the page. Sieghart stopped before them and spoke without hesitation.

"What is it?" His directness prevented them from pretending that nothing had happened. Edric looked toward Elara before holding out the letter.

"Your father sent us an offer." Sieghart accepted the page but did not unfold it immediately.

"What kind of offer?"

"A job." Sieghart raised one eyebrow. His first job had involved charging enchanted weapons for the old runesmith, while his second had involved being rented to a military force without his consent. Experience had taught him that employment offers connected to his father required caution.

"Do I get paid this time?" Edric's mouth tightened slightly.

"Yes. The payment is considerably higher than what you earned charging weapons." That sounded promising, which immediately made Sieghart more suspicious. Alaric Emberhart did not appear generous enough to offer high wages without expecting something unpleasant. Sieghart finally opened the letter. The language was formal, filled with unnecessary phrases concerning family responsibilities, appropriate service, and the good of House Emberhart.

His name appeared several times, but the message never referred to him as Alaric's son. Instead, it called him a young magic practitioner under the guardianship of Edric and Elara. Sieghart looked up from the page.

"What is the job?" Edric remained silent for a moment before answering.

"Your father heard about your healing magic."

"That part isn't surprising." Reports from the battlefield had probably described First Aid alongside everything else Sieghart revealed. Keeping the ability secret became impossible after he healed Edric's burns completely.

"He believes your magic could be useful within the Emberhart household," Edric continued.

"You would receive a room, meals, books, and regular payment." Sieghart glanced toward the letter again. Those conditions sounded far better than his treatment during infancy, which represented an extremely low standard.

"What would I actually do?" Elara looked uncomfortable. Her fingers tightened around the edge of her apron while Edric answered.

"You would serve as your little sister's personal attendant." Sieghart stared at him.

"What?"

"Your father wants you to accompany her, charge any magical tools she uses, and heal her if she becomes injured or sick." Sieghart's mouth fell open. For several seconds, he genuinely could not think of anything to say. The offer surpassed every possibility he had considered while approaching the house. His father had discarded him for lacking a combat Aura. Later, Alaric rented his services to the military and collected fifty gold coins without giving Sieghart anything.

Now that Sieghart had demonstrated healing magic, his father wanted to bring him back into the household, not as a son, an heir, or even a student. He wanted to hire Sieghart as his younger sister's servant. The wording inside the letter attempted to disguise that fact beneath titles such as personal restorative attendant and household magical assistant. Those phrases changed nothing. Sieghart would follow his sister, carry out instructions, charge her possessions, and repair any injuries she received.

His parents had finally discovered a proper role for their firstborn child. He could stand quietly behind the replacement heir and ensure nothing interrupted her promising future. Sieghart slowly closed his mouth. Then he opened it again, hoping a response might appear if he repeated the process. Nothing came. Sieghart had expected his parents to become interested after learning what he could accomplish. He anticipated manipulation, military service, forced training, or another profitable arrangement.

Somehow, the truth was more shameless than every prediction. His father was not inviting Sieghart home. Lord Emberhart was hiring him back.