Seth jolted upwards as if his insides were pulled out.

"AHH! D-Dad! Don't scare me like that!" shouted the frightened Heldrin.

"Sorry, sorry." The man rubbed Heldrin's back. "I was supposed to observe you two quietly but it was actually impressive that I said it aloud."

"I-I didn't feel your presence..." stammered Seth.

"Hahaha! It's because I filled this area with my own wind magic and blended myself in."

"The coldness... I should've figured it out."

Seth immediately regretted that he ignored that detail earlier.

"But you didn't," the man grinned. "You let your guard down because it's evening."

Seth let out a defeated sigh.

"See, Heldrin? I'm not strong."

"Nah! My father is just a freak," jeered Heldrin

Laughing through his nose, Seth pointed a lit finger towards the kid.

"Look, Uncle Harris. Your son just said you're a freak."

"Haha! No worries. That's half-true anyway," the man played along.

The man who Seth called "Uncle Harris" was no other than the father of Heldrin and Lynstella, Harris Aerithan. He is a third-stage wind mage and a veteran warrior. He had a good connection with the royalties, so was often tasked to train the newly-recruited guards of the Kingdom of Anatheron. As a mage, he was, without a doubt, stronger than Seth's father, Ephrael.

Harris grabbed Seth's wrist.

"More importantly... how many fingers can you ignite right now?"

"All of them. Except for the ones in my left hand," replied Seth.

Strangely, Harris's eyes suddenly widened in a way that seemed surprised. And then, after a second, his tone became serious.

"So your elemental mana can't reach your left hand yet, well that's natural. I have a feeling that in no time, you'll reach the first stage. Probably after a month."

"See? You're strong, Seth!" chirped Heldrin.

"No. That's just impossible." Seth shook his head. "Even Lyn — who's more talented than me — took two years to get into the first stage."

"Also," added Seth, igniting his remaining three fingers of his right hand afterward. "What's impressive about this? The fire can't even grow larger than a candle's."

"That's how you see my daughter, huh? But you're wrong." Harris patted his shoulder. "Lyn is indeed talented, but not as talented as you. She is—"

"Hold on. What are you saying, Uncle Harris?" Seth cut him off. "Sorry. I mean, how am I more talented than her if she had awakened earlier than me?"

"You don't have to take this seriously since this is just a feeling, Seth. But..." Harris paused. "No. Actually, I'll take that back. Let's just say that both of you are equal in terms of talent in your respective element. The reason why Lyn had awakened earlier than you is because she was all focused on wind magic. On the other hand, you never once practiced any sort of magic other than body reinforcement. Not until you've awakened."

"W-well... that's because of my father."

Ephrael was a strict father. Seth had insisted to focus on learning fire magic but Ephrael told him that it was just a waste of time. Of course, Seth didn't follow what his father said at first, so he ended up getting rough treatments from him. He was left with no choice and decided to obey his father, that was why they were already on good terms.

Despite that, Seth did not hold a grudge towards his father. In fact, he was glad that he followed his words. It was because of his skills in physical combat that he had managed to prevent a lot of bad things from happening.

"Ah, yes. Your father." Harris shook his head. "That beast... How did I forget about him?"