REYNOLDS LEYWIN

My baby boy!

I was so happy we’d had a son. I was eager to start training him—I couldn’t remember when I had started training, but I knew I’d been very young. I couldn’t wait to teach my baby boy all about magic! I hoped he would turn out to be an augmenter, like his old pops. I knew the basics of conjuring, but couldn’t do anything practical with it, except use it as a form of mental exercise.

Alice, on the other hand, was one of the most talented people I’d ever seen. Even as an emitter, she was exceptional. Back when we were just dating, she’d joined my party and we’d gone on missions together. Her restorative power was amazing in and of itself, but I could still remember how shocked I was the day she used an area of effect spell that healed all allies within a five-yard radius. Talk about one of a kind!

And she chose me for her husband.

I'll never get tired of saying that.

In the good old days, before we settled down, we often went into the Beast Glades to hunt for mana beasts. Mana beasts were unique animals—creatures born with the ability to absorb mana into their bodies and create their own mana cores, which we called beast cores.

Beast cores had unlimited uses, making them highly sought after. Of course, the higher the class of the beast core, the more valuable it was. Mana beast classifications ranged from the E-class, such as the domesticated fanged bull used for meat and leather, to the SS-class monsters. I didn’t know much about those—I’d never seen one, nor known anyone who had—but I believed they did exist.

As a rule of thumb, a mana beast was always assumed to be stronger than a human of the same class. This was simply because, even taking mana out of the picture, a beast’s physical body was much stronger than a human’s.

While the Beast Glades were dangerous, if you were cautious and didn’t get lost, it was pretty easy to keep yourself out of trouble. The stronger beasts tended to be down in dungeon-like caves underground or farther away. The first several miles of the Beast Glades were pretty well mapped, and as long as you were at least a C-class adventurer, you could handle the creatures there.

Once in a while, the Guild posted missions requiring multiple parties of adventurers, usually for clearing and mapping the harder dungeons that hadn’t yet been fully explored. If a mana beast was strong enough to create its own lair and have other mana beasts serving it, then you could bet there would be treasures to be gained. Questing was exhilarating—the danger added a thrill that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. If it weren’t for the... the incident with Alice and Lensa, I was sure we wouldn’t have settled down as quickly as we did.

I told Art about the adventuring life—all those stories and many more. Alice said I was brainwashing him, but I just wanted him to at least have some experience as an adventurer when he got older.

I didn’t know what I’d do if little Art never awakened as a mage. I didn’t care how long it took—if he could train to become any kind of mage, I knew I would be a proud and happy father.

It was easy to tell what type of mage someone would be when they awakened: While augmenters and conjurers both form a translucent barrier, the mana behaves differently around them during that time.

Augmenters, when they first awaken, form a sort of pushing force around the barrier, signifying that they have dominant mana channels in their body. Conjurers, on the other hand, form a vacuum of mana around them, which means their mana veins are more dominant. Of course, the degree of the pushing and vacuuming forces depends on their talent in either category.

Not to brag, but when I first awakened—at the early age of twelve, by the way—I was sleeping, and the pushing force made me float for a good couple of minutes. Enough force to lift a human body—imagine that!

I was with Alice in the front yard after dinner, making plans to train Art after his awakening. If he ended up becoming a conjurer, I could get him a tutor from Ashber, since neither Alice nor I were adept enough to be teaching him.

I had barely finished the thought when—

*BOOM!*

What happened?

Three-quarters of the house was gone. Art… Little Art was still in the house...

"Arthur!"

The blood drained from Alice’s face and her eyes went wide with disbelief and worry. I pushed her down, covering her with a temporary shield that would last for a few minutes.

I rushed toward the explosion, shielding my body with a layer of mana over my skin. The debris from my house came flying toward me as I drew nearer to the source of the explosion. After fighting my way through the scraps of what was left of my house and yard, I saw it.

An all but invisible barrier flickered around my son. It was clear that the pushing force of his awakened powers had caused this explosion. He was floating in the center of a crater that had demolished most of our house, as well as our entire backyard.

My legs gave out. I fell to my knees as I gaped at the sight. My son was almost three years old, and he had awakened. Only three…

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Reynolds! Honey!”

I glanced back at my wife, my mouth still hanging open from shock. The debris had stopped flying and she was slowly making her way toward me, taking half-steps and covering her face with her arms to shield herself from the strong pushing force still emanating from Art.

“Reynolds! What happened? What’s going on? Where’s Art?”

Still unable to find the strength to speak, I simply pointed my finger in the direction of our son.

Confused, she followed the line of my finger. All she could manage to whisper was, “Oh my…”