I gasped awake, choking as icy water cascaded down my face and chest.
"W-what?! Huh?! I'm drowning! Help, I can't swim!"
A deep chuckle came from above. Kael stood there, empty bucket in hand, a smirk playing on his lips. His red eyes glowed faintly in the dim morning light, making him look way too pleased with himself.
"Lucian," he said, voice smooth as silk, "it's time for class. Wake up."
"Class? You nearly killed me!" I sputtered, wiping water from my face and hair. My nightclothes clung to me like wet rags. "Who even wakes a child up like this?"
There's got to be a law against this. I'm reporting you to child services—if those even exist in this world.
Kael tilted his head, still smiling faintly. "Get ready."
I groaned. This was going to be hell.
By the time I dragged myself downstairs, I'd changed into dry clothes and still felt like I was walking in a dream. Kael was waiting in the dining hall, leaning against the long, dust-covered table. He gestured casually.
"Breakfast," he said.
"Finally," I muttered. "What's on the menu?"
He placed two slices of bread and a bowl of soup in front of me.
I stared. "This is… the same soup from last night."
"Leftovers," he said with a shrug. "Efficient."
I picked up the bread and took a bite. Crunch. My jaw nearly cracked. "The bread is stale."
Then I braced myself and sipped the soup. Cold. Lifeless. Betrayal in liquid form. "…And the soup is cold."
Kael didn't even blink. "If you have energy to complain, you have energy to cook. Make your own food."
I gawked at him. "I'm five."
He leaned forward, utterly serious. "Which is exactly the right age to start."
This man. This insane man.
Still, I forced myself to chew the bread and choke down the soup. Every bite tasted like betrayal.
After breakfast—or what passed for it—Kael led me outside into the mansion's overgrown yard. The grass brushed at my knees, branches clawed at the sky, and the air smelled faintly of damp earth. The place felt less like a training ground and more like a cursed graveyard.
"Here," Kael said, gesturing to the center. "This will be our classroom."
I blinked. "Here? In this… jungle?"
"Magic doesn't care for polished floors and decorated halls," he replied calmly. "Mana is everywhere. You'll learn better in the open."
Well, at least that sounded kind of profound.
"So then," he said, folding his arms. "Tell me—what do you know about mana?"
I straightened up proudly. "Mana is the fuel for magic."
Kael nodded once, then tilted his head. "That is correct. But it's only the surface." He crouched slightly, tapping his fingers against the dirt. "Mana is fuel but intangible which cannot be touched physically, can only be felt. It flows like water and fills the world like air."
I blinked. "…Oh. That actually makes sense."
It did sound obvious when he said it like that, but I never thought about it that way.
"Mana isn't only for spells," Kael explained, his tone calm and precise, like a lecturer guiding a lesson. "It also fuels skills and reinforces the body itself. And to master it properly, you need mana techniques."
I stared. He might act like a bully, but when he talked about magic, his eyes lit up. He really did love this stuff.
Then he asked, "Do you know about mana control?"
"Yes," I said quickly. "It's mana pooling—where you concentrate to form a bubble and fill it with mana."
He froze for a second, then snorted. "Who taught you that? Some idiot? Ah, no—wait. That's what the Academy teaches children, isn't it?"
"…So it's wrong?"
"Not wrong. Incomplete," Kael said firmly. "Mana control has five pillars: mana pooling, mana spreading,mana sensing, mana materialization, and mana absorption. If you master all four of them you can have greater mana control."
I stared at him, jaw hanging. "Five? That many?"
"Yes." He extended his hand. "Show me your mana bubble."
I focused, drawing on the familiar tug of energy in my chest, and pushed it into my palm. A small bubble appeared—tiny, faintly glowing, and a little denser than before.
Kael leaned forward, inspecting it. "Good." His lips curled in a smirk. "But pathetic."
I scowled. "Hey—"
"You've worked hard, but your first step shouldn't have been mana pooling, Instead mana spreading."
"Mana Spreading?"
"Yes. Watch."He lifted his palm, and I nearly staggered back. A faint blue glow emerged and Mana poured from his hand like a waterfall, thick and heavy, cascading down to the dirt. It wasn't wild—it was controlled, precise, flowing endlessly as though he'd opened a river inside himself.
"This is mana spreading," Kael said, his voice sharp. "By pushing mana outward, you can increase your mana output and strengthen your connection with it. Every other technique is connected to it."
I gawked. "That's… insane."
"Your turn."
I braced myself, closed my eyes, and pushed. Hard. So hard I thought I might burst something. My face scrunched, my arms trembled, and I swore if I kept this up, I'd poop myself in front of him. But… nothing. Not a single drop came out.
I collapsed to my knees, gasping.
Kael laughed. Full, rich laughter. "Hahaha! Stupid boy."
"Stupid?!" I wheezed.
"Yes. Stupid—but interesting." He turned, pocketing his hands. "Keep trying. Don't stop until you succeed. I'll be back later."
"Wait, what?!"
But he was already strolling away, humming to himself.
I gritted my teeth. "I'll show you, you bastard."
The sun had already dipped low, painting the sky in streaks of orange and gold when the creak of the iron gate broke the silence. Kael stepped through, a small paper bag in one hand. He stopped short, eyebrows rising.
"You're still at it?" he asked, his voice carrying mild amusement.
I turned toward him, drenched in sweat, chest heaving like a bellows. My arms trembled, but I grinned wildly. "Hah… hah… look—I finally did it!"
I lifted my palm, and a thin wisp of mana slipped out, curling like smoke before disappearing.
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly, intrigued. But before he could say anything, my legs buckled. The world tilted.
"Oi—" Kael dropped the paper bag, lunging forward to catch me. My body sagged in his arms, already slipping into unconsciousness.
"Hehe… he's interesting," Kael murmured. "More than I hoped. This will be fun."