Chapter 61   - Secrets

Waking up to the first ray of sunlight peeking through his window, Kai wondered for the hundredth time if he should find something to cover it. But there was little point when he had to get up at dawn.

With eyes half closed, he put on a shirt and walked out of his house. The smell of salt and the crashing of the waves greeted him more strongly than usual. Today the tide was high and he only had to walk a short distance, before being faced with the crystal sea.

This is the life.

He stretched his limbs briefly and sat down by the shore to meditate. It had been a month since he came back and Kai deeply appreciated these few quiet moments.

Every day, his body and mind were pushed to their limits by his teachers. He was constantly tested and told to always perform better. And yet, life at the estate was easy. He didn’t have to make difficult choices or worry about anyone else. There was no time or energy for that. The only thing that mattered was how much further he could push himself.

The first few days had been especially hard. He had been diligent with his training in Greenside and gained a lot. Maybe that was why Elijah wanted to bring him down a peg, pointing out each tiny mistake he made with the weapon stances and increasing his physical training.

A pointless attempt to not let him get cocky with his successes. It would have probably made sense if he were a normal child, but it was completely unnecessary with him. He was the personification of modesty and his cheekiness a deliberate choice. No amount of humbling was going to stop him from giving sassy responses to Elijah.

When he was not completely exhausted, he spent every moment silently swearing after the aggravating butler. It had worked wonders for his mood.

Practicing Alchemy with Dora had also been challenging. His improvements in that field had been the biggest and her demands had grown proportionally. Contrary to Elijah, Kai didn’t think there was any ill intent, Dora seemed just excited to move to more interesting experiments and exercises.

No one mentioned the events that had transpired before he got back to the estate. There was not much more that could be said. This was the life he chose and he had to make peace with it. Their answer had been clear: if he wanted to be free, he needed to become stronger.

Time seemed to fly as Kai sat cross-legged by the sea. Exactly an hour later, Elijah's shadow appeared over him.

Time to get on with it.

Without waiting to be told, Kai began to run. The first two laps of the bay were without mana, then he was allowed to use it as long as his reserves didn't go below 90%. He would need all of it with Dora later. While the higher mana density around the estate helped, it was never enough.

Kai took a moment to appreciate the privilege of running on sand and not pebbles. He didn’t need to continuously scan where he stepped, afraid to encounter a sharper rock positioned at the wrong angle.

The wind blew in his ears as he sped along the beach. He remembered how long it felt the first time he had to run its length. Elijah always increased the distance, adding time limits and giving him weights to carry, but he had grown to appreciate a good workout. The feeling of weightlessness as his small body exerted much more strength than he should be capable of.

In Greenside he had kept a low profile, here he was free to let go. Elijah would throw him judging gazes regardless, why not jump with all strength for meters in the air? What was the point of training if he didn’t enjoy the results?

He still had a lot of room to grow stronger as his body matured, but so would his weight. He would need to keep improving his race to do the same. It felt almost like his body could defy gravity as he jumped in the air. For now, this was the closest he could get to flying. If there was a way to achieve flight, he would find it.

“Stop messing around, I won’t count this lap unless you focus. If you have so much energy, run faster.”

Damn, butler.

Kai stopped hopping around like a rabbit on drugs. That jerk always ruined his fun. Reaching the third lap, he started directing a small trickle of mana toward his skill. An invigorating wave of energy washed over his body, allowing him to run faster with less effort. There was a subtle feeling of invincibility, but he had learned not to get fooled by that. On one of his most reckless days, he had tried to test his limits, pumping as much mana in the skill and adding Empower on top. Let’s just say the only reason he had not broken any bones was because he had the foresight to jump toward the sea.

The mana enhancement protected his body, but only up until a certain point. The strength it provided was greater than the sturdiness. If he wasn’t careful, he would risk tearing his body apart.

He had been relieved to learn he had not fucked up when he specialized Running. It was a common red skill with not much room for growth. There was a limit to how good one could get at Running. Mana reinforcement was one of the easiest and most effective ways to open more paths of improvement for the skill.

His teachers warned him not to make such a hasty decision in the future. After taking a specialization there was no way to go back, unless he wanted to level the skill again from the very beginning. His application of mana had been generic but left plenty of ways to grow the skill in the future.

Each red-tier skill specialization could only change the skill a fixed amount, which grew bigger in the higher grades. That was a definite difference with orange skills. They tended to have a wider purview and breadth of possibilities.

Alchemy or Mana Sense could appear limited and very specific at first glance, but they had almost infinite growth potential. On the other hand, Running or Reading had a clear ceiling. Without adding a mana component some red skills could not even evolve to the next grade, remaining stuck at level 100. It wasn’t an iron rule, but it was true for the vast majority of skills.

Red skills had a smaller number of potential applications and paths for growth unless he chose the right specializations.

Finishing his last lap, Kai moved to Swimming. Jumping amidst the waves, he enjoyed the cooling effect on his body. With the high tide, the sea was more unpredictable. Unexpected currents could form at any moment and push him offshore. There was also a small chance that some awakened beast decided to take a trip closer to land. At least that was what Elijah told him. Kai suspected the butler was making things up to scare him, but better safe than sorry. He made sure to stay close to shore and keep his Mana Sense and Awareness partially activated.

Now that I think about it, this could all be a plot to make me optimize my training. He must be laughing to himself.

Despite his suspicions, Kai didn’t deactivate the skills. After his first full lap of the bay—over five kilometers—he could use his mana for Swimming. After consulting with both Dora and Elijah, he discovered directly improving his oxygen efficiency was possible but pointless. It required a far greater mana mastery than what he possessed and was not worth wasting an evolution on it. Instead of going for a complicated and niche evolution, he could indirectly achieve the same result with an easier route.

The quantity of oxygen he consumed was proportional to the movements he made underwater. If he used mana to lessen the burden on his body, he could consume less oxygen while moving at the same speed.

With the help of Empower, it had been extremely easy to manipulate his mana and obtain the evolution he wanted. However, that highlighted another dilemma: Empower filled the same niche of his specializations. Applying mana through Running and Swimming required less focus and was more efficient, but he could probably achieve the same result after more training and experience with the orange skill.

With only fourteen skill slots, he could not afford to be sentimental with his choices. The two red skills had served him well and granted him a lot of XP. Now that they were nearing 100, they were about as hard to level as orange skills while giving 100 less XP.

Empower could probably achieve most of what they did with two fewer skill slots. However, they were so close to evolving to the next grade that it would be a waste to abandon them now. After they reached Orange and evolved, he could discard them without them reverting to lv1 red skills in his Archive.

To his surprise, Elijah had agreed that was the best course of action. Probably, he wanted an excuse to increase his training regimen without him being able to complain. The sooner the skills reached orange, the sooner he could learn two more skills. There were no shortcuts except grueling training.

After Kai emerged from the waters heaving for air, it was time for stretching exercises. He still remembered the pain when he had yet to achieve a perfect split, now it was mostly to ensure he didn’t lose any flexibility. This also served as his rest time before passing to the last part: sword combat.

He liked the spear, but always felt a bit clumsy with it. Maybe they were all excuses—the truth was that he was a basic bitch and thought a sword looked cooler. He was fine with that too. The choice had been made.

“Come at me,” Elijah commanded, assuming a fighting position. Somehow, the pale man seemed to take this part of the training a bit seriously. Not like he needed it. Kai did not have a chance to land a single hit if the butler closed his eyes and tied both his legs and arms.

Kai did not have to be told twice. This was the part he preferred. Without hesitation, he swung his practice sword at the butler. Elijah didn’t use more strength or speed than him but easily deflected each blow. He was likely moving even slower than him, rendering all his efforts useless with minimal movements.

“Is that all you’ve got? I’ve seen grandmas with more grit than you.”

Kai clenched his teeth but didn’t let himself get provoked. The unsaid rule of their confrontation was that Elijah was only allowed to counterattack if he made some obvious blunder. His collection of bruises made him wince every time he went to sleep.

Elijah continued to taunt him, pointing out his minor mistakes that didn’t warrant punishment. Putting a little too much strength in a lunge, Kai immediately knew he fucked up. As expected, pain exploded in his forearm a moment later.

"Blessed spirits!" Kai stepped back massaging where he had been hit. “Was it necessary to hit me that hard?”

“You were getting sloppy and left yourself exposed. Pain is the best teacher. If you don’t want to get it, you must do better.” Elijah replied, covering a yawn with his hand. The butler looked up at the sun. “I guess we can stop here for today. Virya wants to see you.”

Hurrying to take a shower and make himself presentable, Kai walked towards the pavilion where he knew Virya would be waiting for him. The high tide had brought the water not far from the structure, but not even the wind dared carry a droplet of water inside.

As usual, the mage was skimming through a large tome as she drank her morning tea. Kai made sure to not disturb her as he sat down. He helped himself to the breakfast prepared for him chewing quietly.

“Are you still committed to your decision? Your training is not going to get any easier and you’ll need to take more difficult decisions in the future if you want to keep growing. People may ignore Kai the talented villager, but they will take notice of your progress.” Virya suddenly asked, moving her penetrating orange eyes on him.

Taken aback, Kai took a moment to answer. “Yes, I’m sure this is what I want. I thought my decision had been final.”

Her gaze examined him a few seconds longer. “It would be disappointing, but you’ve proven an acceptable amount of determination. You are now free to change your mind. There is no shame in choosing to undertake a different path if you don’t want this any longer.”

This was the third time she called for him since he came back, but they had never talked about what happened. He was surprised she was bringing this up now. Could he go back to his family and use what he learned here to lead a comfortable life?

No, that’s not me.

Before he came here, a quiet unremarkable life in the archipelago had its charm. Now that he had touched upon something more, he knew he could never go back. He could only do his best to ensure the person he became was someone the old him would have liked.

“I’m sure of my choice.”

Virya's lips curved upwards slightly. “Excellent. Then I suppose I should answer your questions. I wasn’t lying when I said the knowledge could put you in danger. But at this point, it could do more damage if you didn’t know.”

Kai’s heart skipped a bit. There were only a few questions Virya had refused to answer since he came, but she could only be referring to his blessing.

Sure she had his attention, the mage continued. “If there is a thing every religious organization on Elydes has in common is that they don’t like when people poke around and ask dangerous questions. I won’t ask you to swear to never speak of this outside of my estate, but be sure there will be consequences to pay if you do.

“Favor is inextricably linked to divine entities and the workings of the Guide. You can’t truly understand one without some knowledge of the others.

“A high seventh stat is going to be one of your biggest advantages over your peers. There are ways to engineer situations and set people up for success, but the Guide can’t be fooled. Those born at the highest echelons of society will have to spend ten times the effort to achieve the same results.

“Now then where to begin…”