Chapter 2

“Let me try again,” Sirone insisted.

His father stepped back while the boy remained still, observing the notch in the wood. Vincent, who had suspected he might be being idle, immediately shook his head. He’s not a child who would fool his parents.

Suppressing his impatience, he waited, but Sirone still didn’t move. What is he looking at? Chopping wood is much more about the body than the mind. Come on, Sirone. Pick up the ax. Strike the wood with all your might. Contrary to what Vincent was thinking, Sirone was feeling a light thrill.

I see. The boy thought to himself. Strike the exact spot, but adjust the angle slightly.

While explaining the principle behind felling a tree might’ve been complex, it stood as one of the earliest realizations in the history of humanity. And that realization was evolving into an even stronger form within Sirone’s senses. I think it will work if I strike here.

Finally, Sirone pointed towards the notch and spoke, “Dad.”

“Yes?” Vincent replied.

“Should I try getting it in one go?”

“Do you think it will break when you haven’t even cut it halfway yet?” His father laughed heartily.

“If I’m lucky, it might.”

Of course, a skilled lumberjack could exploit the notch’s weakness to fell a tree in fewer strikes. Such proficiency was challenging even for Vincent, making it an unthinkable feat for young Sirone.

“All right! I’ll put my faith in your luck, son!” Vincent spurred him on to avoid dampening his spirits. Regardless of success or failure, the eagerness to try was admirable.

“If I manage to break it this time, please grant me a wish.”

“Hmm? A wish?” he asked, feeling uneasy. Is he going to ask to learn how to write? Or perhaps to be sent to school, like the children from wealthy families?

“Please take me with you when you go to the city to sell things this time,” the boy stated his wish.

Vincent felt like he had dodged a bullet, but he didn’t show it and chuckled again. “If that’s all, then so be it! I’ll take you with me as much as you’d like!”

Sirone smiled with the ax in hand. Then, a moment later, as the smile faded from his lips, Vincent felt a shiver down his spine. The young boy stared at the wood as if he were seeing something invisible and swung his ax. He managed to accurately hit the target once more, but there was a subtle distortion imperceptible to the human eye. The sound of thunder striking made Vincent’s eyes widen, a crack echoing.

What’s this? Cracks formed where the ax was lodged, and the tree, unable to bear the weight, snapped.

“Yahoo! I did it!” Sirone cheered.

Vincent couldn’t believe it. What his son had just accomplished was a legendary move amongst lumberjacks known as the “Thunderstrike.” I can only achieve it on rare occasions, and even then, it’s a stroke of luck. There must have been a vulnerable spot.

Incorporating variables such as form, weight, and structural combination constituted an event with an extraordinarily slim likelihood of taking place. While most lumberjacks experienced it at least once, intentionally achieving it was akin to a dream. He was reminded of what a seasoned lumberjack once said to him.

“There’s no need to approach it in that manner, but if swung with the expectation of achieving it, one will just tire oneself out.”

On the other hand, in the world of swordsmen, where the technique of wielding a weapon was crucial, the story was different. Unbeknownst to Vincent, it was already a researched phenomenon among them. Even among those swordsmen, it was a technique that beginners wouldn’t dare attempt.

“I did it! I did it!” Sirone was more thrilled about being able to go to the city than his success. “Dad! You’ll keep your promise, right?”

Vincent’s mind became a whirlwind of thoughts as he gazed, somewhat dazed, at his son’s exuberant bounding. What should I do? He found himself unable to decide whether he should raise this child to be a lumberjack or if that path would be a misstep.

***

The cart crossed the city’s gate. As Vincent held the reins and led the way, Sirone’s eyes sparkled from atop the cart.

“It’s been a really long time,” the boy remarked.

Just seeing the number of people passing through the streets already made his heart race.

“We have plenty of time,” his father reassured him.

The cargo compartment Sirone sat in was filled with goods acquired from the mountains. Leather went to the weapon shop, meat to the grocery store, and offal was supplied to the apothecary or the magic shop. Given the route was quite long and he expected to do a lot of haggling, it would likely take at least four hours to complete everything he needed to do. When Vincent arrived at the grocer with the bag of meat, he turned to Sirone.

“You must return before sunset,” he told his son.

“Don’t worry. I’ve memorized the way.”

“Only stick to the main roads, and don’t go into any narrow alleys. If anyone asks why you’re alone, point to the nearest shop and say you’re waiting for your father.”

“All right. Nothing happened the last time I came here anyway.”

Vincent’s heart ached at the thought of leaving his son alone, but now their livelihood depended on the haggling that needed to be done.

Once out of the market, Sirone’s first destination was the largest library in Creyas. As the boy looked up at the colossal, grand building, his heart began to beat rapidly.

Knowledge. Does this place hold all the knowledge in the world? The only way to satisfy his curiosity was to see for himself, but access was restricted to nobles only. As two female students emerged from the library carrying books, Sirone quickly stepped aside.

They’re nobles. They are all probably the same.

Evil existed everywhere in the world, and even among nobles, there were surely good-hearted individuals. However, when Vincent spoke of nobles, he always did so with a sense of caution, as if he were talking about goblins.

“Never challenge them under any circumstances.”

Nobles possessed the wealth and power to easily shatter the daily lives of commoner families. Even so... Sirone glanced back at the female students, who passed by without care. I just want to read books.

With a touch of determination and longing, he followed the two into the noble district. He wondered about what kind of lives they were leading. However, his initial thoughts were crushed by the grandeur of the buildings in the noble district, and he couldn’t lift his head. Were these made for people to live in?

Among them, undoubtedly the most impressive was the school, which appeared as grand as if several mountains had been combined. Sirone, who had stopped walking, read the elegant inscription engraved on the arch of the main gate. It was the Alpheas School of Magic.

Magic... It was the only word Sirone couldn’t fully grasp the meaning of in the language. Though it appeared in countless books, none provided an exact description of its principles. Unless one was a mage, any attempt to explain it felt futile, even arrogant.

“Hey! What are you doing here, you little rascal?” one of the guards at the main gate shouted at Sirone. His shabby attire stood out even more in the noble district. “Get lost! This isn’t a place for a kid like you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Sirone replied. He hurriedly fled, but no matter how far he ran, the wall seemed endless, causing him to stop once more. Just how big is this place? Then, from beyond the wall, an old man’s voice reached him.

“Listen up, everyone! Today, we’ll be discussing what magic is.”

“Nooo! Show us magic. Just once more!”

“Fire! Show us the fire magic, Headmaster!”

Sirone stared at the top of the wall. It seemed that the headmaster was giving a lesson in the shade. The children’s voices sounded young. Of course, being nobles educated from birth, it was not strange for them to attend a magic school.

“Oh, ho! Causing a fire at school would be a disaster,” the headmaster chuckled. “Instead, if you can give me the correct answer to my question, I’ll show you an interesting spell.”

“Yay! What’s the question? Hurry and give it to us!”

As his curiosity piqued, Sirone listened closely.

“What is the most important talent for learning magic?”

A silence settled. While it was a fairly subjective question in Sirone’s opinion, the children, recognized as magical prodigies, each gave their own answers one by one.

“Effort. Because even if you study magic your whole life, you can’t learn it all, so effort is important.”

“I think it’s knowledge. I’ve read over a hundred magic books!”

Other plausible answers about concentration and memory followed, but the headmaster didn’t say anything. He was probably smiling with understanding.

“Money. To learn magic, you have to buy a lot of things.”

The children burst into laughter, and in between, the headmaster’s sincere laugh could be heard. By this point, Sirone was genuinely curious. Not effort, knowledge, or money? Then what is the most important talent for learning magic?

Finally, the headmaster spoke. “The most important talent for learning magic is insight.”

A second silence fell.

“What’s that?”

The headmaster groaned softly but soon explained it in a kind voice. “Insight is something more accurate than knowledge and quicker than effort.”

“Wow! So, it’s like real magic?”

“Ha! It could be seen that way. No, that’s actually correct. All the magic in the world originates from insight. Let me give you an example. Do you know what 1+1 is?”

“Two, of course.”

The children answered with a tone asking why he would ask such an obvious question.

“I see. Can you explain why 1+1=2?”

“Huh? Well, obviously...”

The children quieted. They couldn’t figure out where to start explaining or how to explain it. While Sirone couldn’t see it, Alpheas, the headmaster, smiled.

“The strange feeling you’re experiencing right now, that’s insight. A long time ago, people didn’t know that 1+1=2. But through countless trials of knowledge and effort, they verified it. However, you all know that 1+1=2 without having to go through such a process, correct?”

Sirone had gradually become engrossed in the story.

“Magic is a phenomenon that has always existed. It’s like how 1+1 is always equal to two, even when people didn’t know it. Some people proved it through effort and knowledge, but others, like you, simply understand it naturally. Like that, insight is the fastest means to understanding a specific rule.”

“So, we don’t need to study or make an effort?”

“Is that how you understood it?” the headmaster laughed. “Well, to be honest... That’s right.”

Common sense was a sweet rule. Sometimes, it was convenient to make things understandable, which was how it got its name. Sirone could sense Alpheas’ burden of having to speak the harsh truth.

“So, we don’t have to go to school then?”

“Insight isn’t something easily obtained. The reason why 1+1=2 is because scholars have verified it over many years. Of course, there are cases where people realize the answer without going through such processes. Those people are often called geniuses.”

“My mom has called me a genius before!”

“She was not necessarily wrong. Every human is born with talent, and with effort, anyone can become a genius.”

The moment Sirone heard those words, his heart swelled. Can anyone become a genius? Can they really? Sirone wondered if a chance to cross the impossibly high wall before him would be granted to him as well.

“Well, you there, standing behind that wall. I’m curious to hear your thoughts.”