It was early in the morning, the sun rising on the horizon was a scene that comforted the hearts of many and terrified the hearts of others as a new day started, and it was time to get up.
In the same room from the day before, Niel calmly slept in his wooden crib. The first rays of light slowly shone over him as Niel then woke up, now realizing that both his parents were no longer in the room.
(Isn't it slightly irresponsible of them to leave a baby on its own?) Niel asked, seeing that his parents were no longer present in the room. (Well, they must've had something important to do) Niel concluded.
The warm sunlight was bathing him as he thought of what to do next, (Hum, I guess I should try
Having decided on what he'll focus on since he found nothing else to do, Niel started trying to figure out how exactly this skill worked.
(How exactly is this even supposed to work? Is it all about visualization like in all those isekai stories? Or is there something else to it?) Niel questioned then decided that it might be best to ask the system. (System, how does mana work? What exactly is it?)
[Mana functions as the energy source or fuel to all magic-related phenomenon, the law of magic by Zeltris, states that all magic, has an inferior effect when compared to its cost, so all magic is in the end a waste of mana. His quote is "For every magic spell, there's an energy conversion from mana to something else, and during that conversation, most of it is lost, so stop wasting it with magic and do something productive with it!" which led to the dissatisfaction of most magicians, and his law was disbelieved for centuries before being proven correct by Gustav the great safe.]
(Wait? What?!) Niel squeezed his eyes shut to this new piece of information, then said, (You'll have to elaborate on how exactly this loss in mana happens.)
[Yes, my lord. Whenever a magical spell is used, a certain amount of mana is consumed, if an individual uses 15 MP for a spell, from those 15 used only a certain percentage goes to the actual effect of the spell while the rest is wasted. Zeltris said in the past that no matter how well versed in magic one is, there will always be a mana waste of at least 0.1%.]
(Ah! So the mana wasted is the portion used to cast the spell, not your mana. But since if it's a law, it means it applies to everyone, so I have no reasons to worry about it.) Niel came to his conclusions, then decided to ask one more thing. (If that's the case, does the waste vary from person to person?)
[Yes, every individual has their particular mana waste per spell, defined by their mastery of mana and how much mana they use for a specific spell when it's cast.]
(Even the amount of mana used affects it, huh? That's rather alarming, I'm happy my class isn't magic-focused.) Niel said then let out a sigh of relief, and another question surfaced. (So, how exactly is mana used?)
[Mana is a form of energy present in every being of Origo, and to control it, an individual must first be able to sense it, then slowly adapt to its flow. Once that is done, it will be possible to use the spell casting method by Zeltris. Which states that spell casting is divided into 3 steps, namely spell genisis, determination of power, and activation.]
[There are three ways to cast a spell, magicraft casting which is the art of making a magic circle to cast magic, an incantation casting which is the reciting of a preset of words to cast magic, and mute casting which is an advanced technique to cast magic simply using the casting method all the one's mind to cast magic, mute casting requires a great understanding of the spell before it can be used.]
(That's quite some information there, it is similar to stories I've read in the past, but also not quite the same.) Niel compared it to isekais in his past, (So, now all I got to do is sense mana? Let's go!)
Niel started practicing mana manipulation at that moment, and he felt nothing. He tried, again and again, to feel this so-called magical energy that surrounds him, but he felt nothing.
As he kept trying, he started to doubt his ability to do so. While he trained for the skill to perceive mana, a woman with short straight brown hair and an expression that transmits nothing would appear outside the room from time to time, she was wearing a full-on black dress with a white apron on it.
Niel's training to perceive mana continued, and this woman comes and goes without him even noticing her presence since he's inside the wooden crib.
After 2 hours of none productive training, Niel was feeling very hungry and could not resist his instincts as a baby, so.
"Waaaaa!!!" The cries Niel let out were easily heard throughout the room and very possibly the corridor.
Almost immediately the woman with brown hair came inside and walked to the wooden crib at a fast pace, she got close enough a leaned in, then with both arms, she picked up Niel by his armpits, and when she pulled him in, she put him in a proper carrying position laid on one of her arms with his head on her elbow and his body close to her chest.
Her physique wasn't anything out of the ordinary her body is slim and doesn't seem very tall, and she doesn't even have any noticeable muscle, her skin being quite pale and making it like she rarely ever got exposed to the sun. Her yellow eyes are one of her most notable traits as they stick out, from her rather ordinary look, and make her seem unveiled in secrets and whether she has them or not is something unknown.
Her chest is modest, and her lower back's assets are pretty noticeable. Her skin is dark, her ears pointy, and she has no tattoos.
Niel looked at her eyes with no sign of focus or anything, and if someone saw him now, they might've inferred he's hypnotized.
"Do you like my eyes?", The woman asked Niel with a monotone voice and blank expression after she realized his glare.
Niel would have nodded his head if he could, but he couldn't, so he smiled at her to which, she smiled back.
Not long after this short exchange between both of them, they so reached another room.
The room was big enough to throw a party with 20 people, and everyone could still isolate themselves if they wished to do so. There are bookshelves on the four corners of the room, and some vases with plants, some antique-looking small statues, cabinets, and even a wine cabinet; the carpet on the floor seems to be of high quality and covers the floor of the whole room, and in the center of the room there are three couches with a small tea table with a tea set on it, on the wall on the other side of the room, there are big windows that lead to the view of a garden full of flowers of all kinds.
Now seated on one of the couches is Niel's mother, Elaina, who was now holding a piece of parchment in her left hand, while her right hand had a cup of warm tea in it. She sips on the cup of tea before laying it down on a small plate and focusing on the parchment with a wrinkly expression and her right hand now holding the side of her face.
Then she turns her face to the left only to see the brown-haired woman carrying Niel to her.
"Oh, Sylvia, you're here?... I got so distracted with this I forgot Niel must be hungry by now." Elaina said as she hit on her head with her right hand softly while smiling, upon realizing her mistake.
"Miss Elaine, you shouldn't worry. I've kept an eye on the young master just as you ordered, and only a few seconds ago, did he start crying.", Sylvia said as she could see the expression on Elaina's face and narrowed her eyes while shaking her head.
Sylvia gives Niel to Elaina, then Elaina breastfed him while complaining about her current problems.
"I'm so envious of you, my little star, you can just be cute, eat and sleep while mom has to deal with these matters of the magical academy! I'm not even a part of it, but since I was their best student, they somehow think they can just ask for my help every time something goes wrong, and I almost regret having studied there." Elaina ranted about her problems to her child being he can't understand her.
(Didn't she just give birth to me? Why on earth would they just throw work at her like that? Life really doesn't stop even in another world... Well, I guess I can only cheer, you can do it, mom!) Niel thought after hearing the situation.
Sylvia just stood there on the side with a very small smile.
Once Niel was full, he once again fell asleep against his will.
Then Sylvia Carried him back to his crib.
*Sigh* "I really don't want to get involved in politics and now they want me to start a war? I wasn't made for this!" Elaina continued to rant about her the situation to herself while she drank tea.
The contents in the parchment were those of a letter written to her by the principal of the Magic Academy of Sage Gustav, the same person who taught her magic.
"I guess I have four years to think..." Elaina said while laying herself back to the couch with a thoughtful expression.
-In the bedroom-
Back in the room, 6 hours after getting breastfed, Niel just woke up.
(I wonder if my mother's ok? Well, I can't do anything about it, so I will focus on my training) Niel thought right after waking up.
The sun was still high up in the sky as it seems to be midday.
Niel focused and tried to mentally visualize the mana flowing through his body, as he pulled it towards him. Even though the first time he did this he didn't get any results for hours, this time a tingly feeling started emerging in his hand as he felt something tickle and his hand went numb.
(Progress! This is amazing, I didn't expect it to be this fast.) Niel said with a smile that could melt hearts.
Then after Niel continued to try, but never got to experience that same phenomenon again, until he eventually fell asleep.
-Later-
While Niel was once again waking up from his sleep on his crib, he felt hungry as would be expected from a baby. Just when he was about to once more succumb to his instincts, both his parents came inside the room.
"I'm so tired! Why don't we have more time to rest or sleep? I would give anything for one more hour of sleep." Elaina said as she entered the room and immediately let herself fall on the bed.
"You already have 9 hours of sleep? Isn't that enough?" Farn said with a smile on his face seeing his wife's behavior.
"A day has 33 hours, and you're telling me that having only 9 of them to sleep is enough?! That's not even a 3rd of the day!" Elaina kept ranting.
(what?! Did she just say a day has 33 hours?! Am I hearing things?) Niel widened his eyes and opened his mouth hearing this information.
"You don't usually complain like that unless you're worried about something, what happened?" Farn asked now having a serious expression.
"Nothing really... Please, check to see if little Niel's already awake. If he is bring him to me." Elaina said with a tired voice.
Farn didn't insist and just did what she asked then he found that Niel was awake and with a present, so he picked Niel up and then put him down in a clean piece of cloth to start changing his diaper.
"What are you doing?" Elaina said seeing Farn change Niel's diaper.
"I'm changing his diapers." Farn said calmly.
"Yes, I see that. But today should be my night turn." Elaina said in response.
"You're tired, besides you're the one's going to feed him anyway." Farn said as he finishes changing Niel's diaper and gives him to Elaina, then leaves to dispose of the diaper.
Elaina smiled and then started breastfeeding Niel.
After a while, Farn comes back, and once Niel is done he takes Niel to the crib.
Niel continues his training to be able to feel mana until he once again falls asleep.
-On the next day-
Niel once again woke up in his crib with no one around, then continued his training to sense mana.
This time after a few tries the tingly feeling from before came back to Niel, this time he was able to grasp it, and the feeling slowly extended to his arm as a warm feeling started to emerge in his whole body bit by bit, he could feel the flow of something he never felt before like it was something that was always part of him. His purple eyes glow slightly and then a screen window popped up.
[The skill
[Mana sense- This skill is given to individuals who can now feel the flow of mana in them and the existence of mana around them. From this point on the utilization or acquisition of the skill
(Amazing! I never thought it would be this easy!) Niel grew excited as his first step into becoming something more in this world is complete.
Just as Niel was celebrating his success. Farn came in like a bullet and immediately looked around with a very worried expression.
"Who dares?!" Farn shouted at the surroundings.
Not long after Elaina came in holding a white staff with a dark blue orb on its end and immediately asked Farn.
"How many and where?!" Elaina had a very serious and angry expression as she asked this.
"I don't know! Whoever it was they already escaped but it seems they didn't take anything. It actually looks like no one was here." Farn said with a very serious expression.
"How can it be?! We both clearly felt a mana fluctuation coming from this room!" Elaina said as she got progressively more worried.
"I don't know, we'll have to reinforce the security around the mansion and make sure Niel and the girls are under constant surveillance." Farn said as he looked around.
"Hm... Lord Silverheart, I might know what happened..." Sylvia said in a shy manner.
"Speak, what did you see?" Farn said serious and cold, as he looked at Sylvia.
"I believe... The one who caused the mana fluctuation to have been the young master." Sylvia said slightly hesitant.
"What? How would a newborn be capable of that?!... Don't tell me you betrayed us after all these years, Sylvia?" Farn immediately refuted Sylvia's claim and instead started suspecting her.
"Calm down Farn! We can't make rash decisions... Sylvia, why do you think it was Niel?" Elaina said and then asked Sylvia.
"The young master's eyes were glowing right before I ran to call you, and the mana fluctuation came from his crib... Also, the Silverheart is known for being a household of geniuses, so maybe..." Sylvia explained.
"Are you going to buy this nonsense?!" Farn exclaimed frustrated.
*Sigh* "You really shouldn't be so overprotective, I'm also worried but we have to look at the situation calmly. Let me try something." Elaina said as she moved closer to Niel's crib.
A blue light came from Elaina's hand and then a purple line formed in the air went from her hand in loops and circles right onto Niel's hand.
"You tend to forget when you're mad." Elaina said with a smile.
Farn's eyes widen, and his expression turns dumb, and no words leave his mouth.
Sylvia seems to be just as dumbfounded as Farn as her eyes are also wide open and her composure none existent.
"Impossible!" Farn couldn't believe what he just witnessed.
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