Chapter 3
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Episode 1 - Sister [3]
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I didn't know why I needed to train.
For a butler like her, the training didn't make much sense.
The job of a butler is to be the right-hand man of the patriarch of the house.
If you asked, it was because training wasn't necessary.
'I see no need to fight.'
But he couldn't refuse; as a butler, he couldn't disobey his master's orders. For example, if he were ordered to commit suicide, he would have to do so.
But for a young woman who was not even 30 years old, following and accepting such orders meant giving up everything.
It doesn't make sense.
'Come on, it's just training, there's no reason to be nervous... It's just training with the person who makes your life miserable.'
You could say that Kadia protected the servants or all the staff in the house.
In short, Ivanth was a tyrant.
'Oh my God, what if it's just an excuse for what happened this morning during dinner? No, it can't be that, right?'
Before walking through the door, I take a deep breath and then exhale slowly.
With panic in her thoughts, Cynthia walked through the door.
'Uff, don't faint, don't faint.'
As he crossed the threshold, he found himself in a training camp.
It was usually filled with knights, who filled the air with the smell of sweat in the middle of the sunny day, with the sound of swords clashing and groans of pain or sighs of exhaustion.
"..."
However, it was empty.
"N-no... We're alone."
Feeling his stomach churn, he stepped forward.
"You're late."
"..."
Cynthia was about to faint.
***
In the previous cycle, there was a Mage on the verge of reaching the realm of 〖Saint Mage〗, the pinnacle of magic.
Unexpectedly, her name was Cynthia. I thought I was imagining things, but when I read the last part of the grimoire, after managing to unlock its final pages, I couldn't believe it.
My butler and assistant, Cynthia, turned out to be a genius at magic.
The grimoire said that Cynthia discovered her talent for magic too late; more precisely, five years before the destruction of the world that I caused in the previous cycle.
'In just five years, he was on the verge of reaching the top, and what's more...'
I looked away to the side; there was a window floating there with a new mission.
〖Third mission: Help Cynthia achieve her dream.〗
When I looked at the new curse mission, I frowned.
'Why does he say "dream" when Cynthia, at this moment, never thought about becoming a mage?'
According to the grimoire, even though Cynthia knew about her enormous talent for magic, she was not immediately interested in it.
And, at that moment, she despised most magicians because they had swindled her and her family in the past. Because of this, she lost her family and was left alone.
My younger self brought her to the Duchy of Ashford and made her my butler.
'But she her dream is to be a mage?... That contradicts the grimoire.'
The grimoire, written by my ancestor who had played 〖Dream Fantasy〗 thousands of times, knew all the routes and paths of the game, as well as the entire history and thoughts of each character.
It was an extremely detailed source of information about each character and every path they could take.
Even possible paths that did not exist in the game.
'Well, I'll have to see if there's a mistake later.'
I thrust the sword into the ground and turned toward Cynthia.
'I'm not a mages, but I know the basic principles and fundamentals of magic, and I also have 20 years of experience fighting mages, so I can train you to a certain extent.'
I took a deep breath and looked Cynthia in the eyes.
"I'll get straight to the point, Cynthia; the reason I will train you is because you have enough talent to reach the realm of Saint Mage in the future."
"...?"
Incredulous, Cynthia made a very confused face.
"Me? A Saint Mage? A talent for magic...? W-what do you mean, young master?"
"It's like I said: you have the talent to reach the realm of Saint Mage."
The more she talked, the more confused Cynthia seemed.
"Believe it or not, I brought you here today so you can start training in the field of magic. And if you complain... you know what will happen, right?"
Cynthia nodded repeatedly, swallowing hard.
"B-but... young master, I actually..."
"You hate wizards, don't you?"
"¡Eh...!"
With a sigh, I continued.
"Yes, I know you hate wizards, but that doesn't mean you should give up your great talent for magic..."
"Ah, young master, that's not what I meant. And I don't hate wizards."
"..."
I stopped mid-sentence when Cynthia spoke. I looked down and met her eyes.
They seemed like eyes that didn't lie and that said she wanted to be a mage.
What's going on?
Cynthia continued.
"Ever since I was little, I remember that some magicians saved my family and me... But my family was already on the verge of death, so they died within a few hours. The magicians at that time could only give me some money because they couldn't take care of me."
"...?"
'Wait... What?'
Cynthia continued telling her story from the past, and with every word, I felt more confused.
Everything he said was completely different from the words in the grimoire, and as a return, I knew that the grimoire was 100% true.
But this... there was something that changed compared to the previous cycle.
"And while I was wandering the streets, you found me and brought me to Ashford Duchy, young master. So I don't hate wizards, and my dream is to become a mage myself."
"..."
Why is it different from the grimoire and what I know from the previous cycle?
Looking at Cynthia, I was convinced she wasn't lying.
"O-okay, I understand. I think I was mistaken."
"Ah, it's not your fault, young master."
Not only that... now that I look at her, I feel like there's something different about her.
"Cynthia..."
Cynthia was startled by my sudden call.
"Y-yes... young master."
"You... do you hate me or are you afraid of me?"
"..."
Cynthia, as expected, your fear and hatred toward me remain the same as in the previous cycle.
"Yes, well... that's impossible to change."
But while I was thinking...
"W-well... I'm sorry, young master. I hate you and I'm afraid of you, but... you took me in when I was alone, and for that reason alone, I am still grateful."
"..."
I couldn't say anything. Perhaps because Cynthia answered me, or because she really is very different from the Cynthia I know from the grimoire and from my own experience.
'What if...?'
I thought of something that might have changed as well.
But I cleared my mind and sighed.
"Let's stop talking and get started."
I tried to forget about it for the moment, but I knew that later I would have to confirm my suspicions.
"To begin with, tell me if you know what the realms of the mages are and the basics of magic."
Cynthia, nodding profusely, replied:
"The realms of mages, according to the books I have read, are: Apprentice mage, Royal mage, Master mage, mage of the Soul, mage of Ascension, Archmage, and Saint mage."
"Great, that's right. Now tell me what you know about magic."
Cynthia thought for a second, then opened her eyes as if an idea had crossed her mind.
He raised a finger and said:
"Regarding magic, I believe that all magic is composed of Creation Runes. The more Creation Runes a spell has, the more powerful it will be. In addition, magic requires incantations, but it is said that the realm of Archmage does not require this unless it is extremely intricate magic, with an incredible number of Creation Runes. Furthermore..."
"Yes, yes, I understand, so you know the basics, right?"
After interrupting Cynthia, who was speaking ecstatically, I asked.
"My apologies, young master. I only know theory, but how to begin... I don't know. I only have a little knowledge."
"That's enough, let's get started."
As expected, even though he had limited knowledge, his future self managed to reach the Archmage Realm.
'He's a monster.'
***
First, the steps required to become an apprentice wizard are as follows.
Cultivation rule.
Creation of flow veins.
Building the heart of Myst.
Grade 7 spells.
Although spells are not essential to creating a wizard's body, what mege can be called a mage if he has no spells?
The cultivation rule is to absorb Myst, but before that comes the construction of the heart of Myst and the veins of flow.
For mage, it is a necessary first step. For knights, the heart is a storehouse of Myst, which runs through the blood vessels, so the vein of flow is unnecessary and unsuitable for a knight.
"All right, I'll inject Myst into your body and I'll make your 'Vein of Flow' myself, but you have to build your 'Heart of Myst.'"
"Understood, young master."
"Okay, now grit your teeth because this is going to hurt really badly."
"Eh, wh-what do you mean, young master...? Aaarrgh!"
Although you can create your own vein of flow, it is more difficult, so it is easier and better for a second person to do it.
With my experience, creating a perfect vein of flow for Cynthia is easy.
But the heart is different: a second person cannot understand the construction of another's heart, because the heart is different for every wizard.
With intricate runes and unique patterns.
Only you can understand the structure of your own heart.
But the process is equally painful for both.
Cynthia's screams continued for the next two hours.
"Ah."
I let out a tired sigh; beads of sweat dripped from my forehead. Without realizing it, there was a puddle of sweat on the floor.
Cynthia's body was equally drenched in pure sweat.
"Next is your heart. You have two days to build it, so we're done for today. Oh, and take this."
Lying on the floor, Cynthia barely raised her hand and took a book I gave her.
"W-what is this... young master?"
"That's a Rule of Cultivation."
It wasn't just any "Rule of Cultivation"; in fact, it was the rule of cultivation that Cynthia created for herself.
There was no better one for her than the one she came up with herself.
It's good that the grimoire detailed them.
Dream Fantasy is an ambitious game that was created with as much detail as possible.
Surprised by the sudden gift, Cynthia got up, even though her whole body ached.
"Y-young master, but a Rule of Cultivation... is very expensive."
"I never said you had to pay for it... or do you want me to charge you?"
Cynthia closed her mouth and shook her head.
The birth of a mage was extremely difficult; in 〖Dream Fantasy〗 there were few mages due to their difficult upbringing and the demanding requirements for entering the first realm.
The mages field was the most difficult in terms of advancing between Realms.
Drying the sweat from my body with a towel, I turned around.
"Rest, and tomorrow begin building your heart. The day after tomorrow, help me with the gift for the third imperial princess."
"Y-yes... young master."
As the days passed, Cynthia created her Heart of Myst, but without time to learn spells, the day arrived when she would go to the imperial palace.
In addition, I gave my sister a big surprise.