Chapter 7: Chopping order

***Nict State Free City, Tri***

***Azir***

I yawn as I walk down the hallway. My mother didn't react very well to my news. Apparently, Ingrid's daughter has the innate ability of the Siorda. Some of her blood was left behind on the carpet and Laney analyzed it. I'm a little scared of the scientific knowledge of this world. In some areas they are a super high and technological civilization and in others they are living like cave people. Magic makes everything possible, I guess?

The problem is that neither his father nor his grandparents are related to the Siorda. So that means she's a genetic regression from a distant ancestor, or she's genetically altered, or her official father is not her real father. Something that is not exactly forbidden in this world, but is still not very well regarded.

The point is that she is way ahead of her age and she tried to take a sample of my blood. Mom was enraged. She even thought about mobilizing our army to burn Hexa to the ground, but Dad stopped her.

In the end, it was concluded that we should keep our mouths shut about the incident. While the Tinn don't reveal that I'm not normal, it's best to stay silent. If we announce that Ingrid's daughter Annice is some kind of freak, surely they would be against us. The Tinn would have no reason to be silent about me either. As long as the two families don't say anything, no one is left in trouble.

At least Mom gave me a week's worth of candy rations as an apology for being treated like a stupid horse. She explained that the people in Hexa were more extreme in terms of gender difference. Having more mages of a gender seems to influence the social order in this way.

I'm not a fan of gender equity. There are simply things that men do better than women, and on the other hand, there are things that women do better than men. It's not just a case of who carries the children... or lays the eggs. Everyone who denies this is escaping reality. You can't judge all members of a race with two different genders with the same laws. You would always create a situation that is unfair to at least half of the population. But the thing Ingrid did to me was a step too far.

Turning the corner, I freeze. My sister's egg is broken and the little sister is gone!

"Wow!"

I run to the open egg and look inside. No little sister. Rubbish. I visited every morning to have a look. I expected my little sister to be bird-like. If I'm the first thing she sees, she might adore me and I'd have an easier way to deal with her.

I turn the egg over and shake it. Rubbish. Mom must have been faster. Don't underestimate a mother's instincts. That probably means she's with Dad, showing off her new creation. I leave the temperature-adjusted chamber and run to Dad's office.

When I get there, I find Daddy with a baby in his arm. Her skin is a bit wrinkled and her hair is a light metallic blue. Mommy is patting her on the head. So I get closer and it looks better.

"Say hello to your little sister, Valeria."

Mom is all smiles.

I take her chubby hand.

"Whoa, you're ugly. I wish you to get better with time. I hope you inherited more from Mom's side than Dad's."

"Nope!"

Yoran looks like a magician.

"I'll teach you that your father is still someone to be proud of! Grab a sword! I'm going to train your body until it bleeds!"

Valda strikes Yoran in the back of her head.

"He's still very young. His body won't develop in the right way if he starts training now!"

I nod. Yes, training until you bleed doesn't seem like the right way to do it.

Valda twinkles her eyes and looks at me.

"But we can begin your magical instructions. Then you'll have more time to focus on your body when you're old enough."

Tilting my head, I lift a finger to protest.

"yes, er. We have to talk about..."

"No objections! I'll teach you. Let's get started as soon as possible!"

Valda grabs my hand as her tail snatches Valeria into Yoran's lap.

"In fact, I've waited too long to find out what you're really capable of. Let's remove your badge and start with the basics."

***

"Hmmhmm…"

I've got my magic back!

"Hahahaha. Finally! It was like I had lost a limb!"

I raise my hands as ten glowing orbs of mana are circling around me. One thought and one of them form a magic circle under my feet. Active magic formation and gravitational magic makes me float upwards.

A wave from my hand causes another mana orb to form a zodiac flame rune, which ignites and a flame blast shoots one of the separate training manikins. Another thought turns the next orb into an arcane missile and impales the second dummy.

My clan's capacity is simply superior! I've always been good at magic, but this is a new level of control! And it only took my mom an hour to teach me the basics! Normally I would have to use my own body's mana to cast a spell. Or I would need to absorb it from my surroundings, then use it. But with this I can simply command the latent mana that's all around me.

I rotate my hands and my body starts spinning because of the centrifugal force.

"This innate ability to control mana makes casting spells so much easier!"

How powerful must be the ability of the other clans to do this?

"Aha…"

The mother is sitting with a deadpan expression on the floor while she is with Valeria. We are inside the large training hall on our clan's property.

Yoran is standing with his arms crossed at his side as he watches my display.

"Are you supposed to use your control over mana like this? Normally, our clan members would just infuse mana into something to take control of it. Or they blow the enemy to pieces with a burst of pure mana."

Valda shakes her head and a single tear runs down her cheek.

"This is not how it should happen. I thought I could teach him all my skills, but he's better at manipulating mana than I am! He created a gravitational spell without any effort."

Yoran shrugs.

"So battle practice then? And boom training?"

"Recovery..."

Valda pushes Valeria into Yoran's arms.

"I'll teach you to respect your elders' feelings instead of showing off your otherworldly knowledge!"

A surge of power nearly dissipates my flight magic and all the mana in the neighborhood begins to gather around Valda.

"I'll show you why I'm the leader of this clan."

"What?"

I struggle to maintain my control over the mana orbs I've gathered using my ability.

Then Valda stands up. No spells, no magic circles, no runes, just pure power and she rises to my height as the mana around her grows thicker! It's like a bubble of water is gathering around her. Lots of sis!

A tentacle of shimmering energy whips me and I hurriedly make a barrier.

"That's dangerous, Mom!"

The tentacle closes around my barrier and both forces oppose each other with a shower of sparks.

"Fufufu. I'm going to teach you the nature of magic. Do your best to survive."

Her smile turns mean and I realize that the mana that sustains my barrier is being consumed faster than expected. Is my barrier being absorbed by Valda's tentacle?

"You're stealing!"

I reach for the collected mana balls and absorb them. If Valda can take over my spells, I should try to protect my resources from her. So I concentrate on a place behind Valda and teleport.

I reappear and point both of my open palms at her.

"Drain!"

A small mana channel connects me with the bubble of power around her.

My attempt to steal your mana isn't as effective as I'd hoped. I feel my mana increase, but very slowly. It's not stopping her from sending me another tentacle and I then run away. The tentacle smashes the ground.

I sigh and dodge the next one. Why isn't she using more of them at once? Is she training me?

"That might take a while."

***Nict State Free City, Tri***

***Proficient***

I sing a happy tune as I walk with my hands behind my back to Yoran who has retreated to the entrance of the training hall with Valeria in his arms.

Azir is entangled in my tail and panting from lack of air. He put up a good fight and I could not recognize some of his spells. But in the end he lost the battle over mana in our matchup.

A magical battle isn't just a matter of weighing mana against another. You also have to fight for the latent magical power around you. Taking this power is by the strength of our clan. Azir has yet to realize how much power we can access with our ability. When he formed his mana orbs, he just focused on the mana in his immediate environment. I, on the other hand, had the entire area of our property to myself.

But Azir's mana handler control is excellent. He'll get over me with ease once he's old enough and has a grip on his ability. I'm tempted to keep him as the new head of our clan, even if it goes against our tradition.

Yoran clicked his tongue as he scanned the training hall.

"You washed out with everything. It's going to take a while to fix that."

"Hahahaha."

I cross my arms in front of my chest.

"I had to educate the young man to the fullest extent of our ability."

Azir slaps my tail weakly, not giving up even now.

"This... it was just... brute force... If I... was older... and had... more... resistance..."

I stroke her head.

"Don't worry about it. We'll get you in shape."

Yoran frowned.

"You can't stand it if someone is better than you, Valda."

Then he looks at Azir.

"And with regards to spear practice..."

Azir looks up with a hopeful smile on his face.

"Yes?"

"No magic during spear practice!"

He points to the destroyed training hall.

"I can't pay for the damage if we destroy our property in every lesson."