Chapter 4: "Great gains come from great suffering"
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"No, no, don't lower your butt! Keep your back straight! But didn't I just tell you to raise your hips?!" the female voice exclaimed.
My body was shaking non-stop. I was trying to endure, but each second was even more horrifying than the last. My fists were almost as clenched as my teeth.
Fuck! Come on! A little more...! Hold on...!
Finally, my arms gave out, and my body fell to the cold floor of the room. "Gah! Ah..." I let out a loud groan as I fell, my labored breathing beginning to calm down.
I looked up, but eyes full of disappointment greeted me.
"Unthinkable... This was your lowest time so far! Less than 20 seconds! How is this possible?! Brother, how can you look at yourself in the mirror and think you're a man?!" Sister exclaimed, her voice clearly reflecting her annoyance and disappointment, her abyss-like deep black eyes fixed on me.
She gave an audible sigh, trying to calm down. Then she began to pace restlessly from one side of the room to the other, with each turn the hair falling down her shoulders to her waist rising into the air, giving the illusion of being the night sky.
I slowly rose with support from Sister's fleecy bed, and did not answer any of her questions.
Since I tested my aptitude a year ago, my body has been deteriorating at great speed due to my Goetia Mortality, something I was not prepared for in the least.
In the manuscripts, there was no information about this; they only mentioned that the body of those who possess this Mortality would be weak and, probably, would not improve with time, but it never said anything about getting worse...
Since then, I have taken my training more seriously. In addition to practicing swordsmanship with Brother and studying (both on my own and with the support of some mentors), Sister would help me train in exchange for me helping her with magic, since I had already officially become a mage.
However, after a year of training, not only had my body not improved in the slightest, but my results were getting worse and worse; this time I failed to reach twenty seconds in plank.
Whenever this happened, Sister used to get fuming; however, I knew she was not angry with me, but with the situation itself.
Despite her intense personality, she cared extensively about Brother and me. In this case, my future was being seen at stake, as the state of my body is a crucial quality in all-kind of circumstances... Although I could also sense that her pride had been hurt, she had agreed to be my trainer and therefore saw it as her own failure.
"... Sister, calm down; it's not your fault-", I tried to comfort her and make her understand that she shouldn't blame herself in the first place, but I was interrupted.
"Calm down?! Sometimes you say a lot of nonsense for a genius! What do you think will happen when a stray arrow hits you on the battlefield, let alone a spell! Or even worse, what would happen if your situation worsened, and you fell on a rock one day?! I'm not an idiot, Brother; I know how to think very clearly!", she exclaimed in my direction. Her gaze was intense like fire, but her dark eyes seemed to forcibly hold tears behind them, preventing them from spilling out.
I couldn't stop my lips from curving into a soft smile; her concern certainly touched my heart. "Sister... How would you like it if, in the future, I become one of those scholar wizards? I would be in the safety of the castle; I would not go to any war unless necessary," I said calmly, trying to reassure her.
Sister looked at the ground for a few seconds before pinning her gaze on mine. "... Promise me that," she said with an almost threatening tone. "You will not take any unnecessary danger, ever...!" Silence filled the room for a few seconds. "... Do you promise...?", Sister's voice had softened a lot.
With the smile still on my face, I nodded my head. "Of course, I promise that, if my situation gets too much worse, I won't take any unnecessary risks... You should know that's already something I always do; luckily, I'm not someone who lives up to my name..."
Sister remained silent; she moved towards me, sitting on the edge of her bed. I followed her action, sitting next to her.
Sister was still looking towards the floor, but a serious voice came from her lips: "... A coward is someone who does not face what he deserves, whether good or bad... You, who avoid dangers for the sake of yourself and others and still try to do what you can to help, are bold and brave... You are someone noble and beautiful-minded... I believe there is no one who can bear the name mother bestowed on you better than you, Brother…"
Her words seemed to penetrate my heart… When Sister raised her face, our gazes met. There was no need for words. After a few seconds, our arms were wrapped around each other, but, from my point of view, it was clear that we were each lost in our own thoughts.
Honestly, I would have liked to be at least half as decisive and fierce as Sister was; it's certainly something to envy…
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Slowly, I lay back on my bed, my eyes closed.
I concentrated on myself as I put aside the situation that occurred earlier with Sister.
Almost instantly, I could notice the mana circuit within me. Although it manifested externally in the form of blue glows, inside me, it took the form of a substance with an intense light blue color. This liquid comes from my magic heart, which was located somewhat below the navel, since the magic heart is located in the center of mass of the body. After coming out of the heart, the mana will flow throughout my body until it returns once again into it. However, some of this mana remained spread throughout my body.
This stagnant mana throughout my being was my mana reserves. There was no specific place that acted as a storehouse, as it accumulated everywhere. Slowly, the body would feed on this mana, becoming stronger… Although, in my case, the loss of my physical capabilities for other reasons was greater than the gains this gave.
The amount of mana that could remain in the reserves and the speed of its absorption depended greatly on one's aptitude and individual characteristics.
This process had a natural order that made it a wondrous sight, anyone would consider it something worth seeing, but the amazing thing was that every living thing carried such beauty within it.
Mentally shaking my head, I focused on the job at hand, getting rid of the useless thoughts.
The glowing blue liquid began to flow faster and faster; it coursed through the entire body until it returned to the magical heart. However, unlike the usual process, only a small part of the mana was flowing back out of it, but the flow did not diminish in the slightest, as more mana was being generated inside the magic heart.
This was the method of enhancing the magic circuit; it allowed the magic heart to be nourished using the mana it produced. Technically this process was also done naturally, but the time required for qualitative advancement was simply absurd as it was far slower.
During the nourishment of the magic heart, the mana reserves would be completely closed, so the mana would only circulate through the body without being stored in it.
After finishing, the person would be left in a weakened state. This was due to the expenditure of energy during the creation of mana, since, naturally, this new mana was not generated out of nothing but came from the energy of the body itself. So, it was better to eat high-calorie foods an hour before this process.
The improvement was a rather slow change. With some time, its effects will be noticeable, as the magic heart will produce a greater amount of mana, of a somewhat higher quality, in the same period of time, although this was not a very important or noteworthy change. But, undoubtedly, the most valuable thing was the qualitative change it would produce after a large amount of time.
This change is what allows a rank 1 magic circle to become a rank 2. Along with it, the person will officially become a rank 2 mage or knight.
As for how long this takes, it depends a lot on the person. The quality and quantity of the mana that the magic heart produces greatly influence this process; it is also crucial to have enough energy in the body. Another factor is the dedication of the person; if he or she does not make an effort, failing to nourish his or her magic heart whenever possible, then it will slow down the progress to a great extent.
I took a deep breath, held it for a few moments, and exhaled the air in my lungs... It's time to focus completely on this.
I let go of unnecessary thoughts and let myself go through the process, putting all my concentration into it.....
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I let out a long sigh and slowly opened my eyes, seeing the familiar pristine white ceiling of my room.
My body was full of sweat, and my breathing had long since become agitated ....
I looked at the nightstand next to my bed, the clock clearly read 21:40. It had been about 35 minutes since I had started.
Ah... Too bad... The most advanced magicians can spend hours performing this process... Heh... Someday I'll reach those heights.
I got up from my bed with some difficulty and walked in front of the large window next to my desk.
A great landscape filled my view, mountains filled the horizon while great meadows joined them. The sky seemed to envelop the landscape in its blue mantle, while the Great Star still shone brightly overhead, giving one last effort just before it would start to fall once again.
Looking closer to the castle, I could make out the capital of the surrounding kingdom, bustling streets everywhere; stores filled the view and caravans constantly moved in and out of the walled city.
Although, I must say, nighttime becomes almost as beautiful as daytime in this place. Lights fill the capital, while people don't leave the streets until close to thirty.
This was another curious thing about this world, there were 16 hours of day and 16 hours of night; people used to sleep about 9 hours, going to bed at 30:00 and waking up at 7:00, when dawn began to break. Although… Of course, I imagine that working people in towns and other places would sleep less than that.
Certainly, this was something I had to get used to, the days were 32 hours long, while a month had 40 days… I did the calculations somewhat after I arrived here and, according to the results, the years in this world last over 70% longer than those in my previous world.
However, people in this Kingdom had a life expectancy of about 73 years, which would be more than 125 years of my old world. According to my theories, this is due to the magic circuit within everyone.
This was also one of the reasons why teenagers, like Brother and Sister, are more mature than those from Earth. Despite years in this world being longer, people's bodies take about the same amount of time to develop as in my former world. So someone 14, 15, or 16 still looks their age by my old standards…
But there are always exceptions, like my sister. Probably due to her Soma Mortality, her body has developed faster than normal, appearing to be about 16, even though she is a year younger than me, currently being 14 years old.
A gust of wind cooled my sweaty face…
Hum… I think I'd better go and take a shower…
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… This was unbelievable…
Ever since the big news about my kids, everything seemed to be going downhill… No, it's more like falling off a cliff…
According to my daughter, Társalo's situation just keeps getting worse and worse.
I turned my gaze to my beloved, but her face was as darkened as mine.
Why does fate have to be so depraved? After making you feel the greatest hope in your life, the assurance that your own children would have bright futures and lead this kingdom into a new era, it proceeds to damage what you love most?
I had participated in many conflicts during my life, my eyes had met death and certainly my hands were stained in blood. Many of the people I knew and trusted had left the carnal world just before me… My heart was weather-beaten and hardened by experience.
But… The suffering of my son and, consequently, of my beloved and other descendants hurt more than any loss that had befallen me or any spell that has ever struck me.
I read all the writings, tomes, and grails that mentioned Goetia, Soma, and even all the other Mortalities, but the number that included details about these barely reached double digits.
The kingdom I had ruled since my youth, though prosperous, was hardly a mediocre country in comparison to others. The information we had about the Mortalities was certainly outdated and vague…
There was nothing to explain this strange occurrence… But, I am not one to let things be, much less one to give up early.
If I can't get my hands on writings that will give a solution, then I will create it myself.
I will experiment as the magus that I am; I will leave no stone unturned until I come up with the answer and eradicate the problem at its root.
My hand instinctively tightened on the arm of my throne, when I wanted to realize, I noticed that my beloved had a resolute look on her face, two deep oceans seemed to contain flames behind them.
It seems that someone had come to the same conclusion just before I did… Certainly, this is the person I fell in love with…
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2,395 words.