Six months later…
—STATUS—
Name: AlexanderBeginner Mage (99.8%)
Age: 15
Mana: 1098 / 1098
Mana Gathering: Wind Gathering (Beginner), Water Drop Meditation (Beginner)
Mana Control: Senturion Control (Master – 6.36592%)
Mana Sense: None
Elements:
Wind (apprentice – 42%)
Water (apprentice – 22%)
Skills:
Windslicer (Beginner – 100%)
Watershield (Beginner – 100%)
Alex was now fifteen years old. Since most orphaned children didn't know the exact day they were born, they simply celebrated their birthday in the month they arrived at the orphanage. In Alex's case, that was Dusmire, the ninth month of the year — autumn.
Today, Alex was checking his status window. He seldom did, but every once in a while, it was nice to see how much progress he had made.
He had just returned from the library, a place he had started visiting more frequently over the last three months, even though it pained him to spend fifty silver each time he entered.
But it was indispensable to go — first, because both he and Marc would start in the fourth year of the academy, the second to last, so they needed to catch up with the rest of the students. Second, because he had been having serious doubts about what the Mana Control method actually did — if it even did anything at all. After all, he had trained Senturion Control for a year straight and didn't seem to notice any major change.
But now he finally understood how Mana Control methods worked.
They gave a boost to a mage's training and combat ability.
A Mana Control method provided a 10% decrease in mana consumption per skill level. Besides that, it gave the other two training methods a 2.5% efficiency boost per level.
In his case, Senturion Control at 100% would give him a 60% mana cost reduction and a 15% efficiency boost in the other mana training methods.
'Right now, at 6.3%, it gives me a little over 4% mana cost reduction and a 0.9% increase in efficiency — barely noticeable,' Alex thought.
'But it doesn't matter. After all, the cap is much higher, and once I reach 100%, Windslicer will go from costing almost 50 mana now to just 15 mana at full mastery. This becomes even more powerful the stronger the skill I use.'
He knew from the dream that Senturion Control was less effective in the speed of improvement, but in exchange, it gave the user the ability to practice anywhere, without restriction — and he could train longer the more mana he had.
He was also close to reaching a 10% mana cost reduction, which was the norm for a beginner's Mana Control at a 100%.
After finishing thinking about the Mana Control method, he began to think about the academy.
It had actually been last month when he finished gathering enough money for it.
It took much less time than expected since Octavius gave him the benefit of selling his plants directly to customers, with the condition that Alex could pick some for free whenever he wanted.
This, coupled with the fact that Marc helped him explore more of the jungle — and that Susan had started joining them to train her skills — greatly increased their range. Even the bear that had nearly killed Alex before was no match for the three of them. Thanks to this, Alex was making almost 24 gold coins a week, sometimes more, sometimes less.
So, during the remaining time, he simply saved money to sustain himself at the academy and help his family.
Speaking of family, Susan was also close to becoming an Apprentice Mage. Her energy levels had skyrocketed the day her core awakened, and with Alex's help, she improved rapidly. Eve, on the other hand, had just turned nine — two years away from the minimum age to start harvesting mana, which was eleven.
Marc, on the other hand, had already stepped into the Apprentice level. Unlike Alex, he had no job other than hunting beasts every day, so he spent the rest of his afternoons training like the maniac he was. He had already developed his mana veins — the stage that came after mana arteries.
After returning home, Alex took a shower. Looking in the mirror, he could see how much he had changed after a year of eating well and training in the jungle every morning. His body was healthy again — not as big as Marc's, but lithe and athletic. Combined with mana refining his genetic potential, Alex now stood in the slightly handsome range. Not stunning, but no longer plain.
He then went to the kitchen to help Susan. What once began as a deal between them had become a routine. Alex liked to cook, and Susan enjoyed spending time with him.
"Hi, Susan," he said, after coming in.
"Oh, hi, sweetie," Susan replied. She had given up trying to get Alex to call her Mom months ago. When he explained how he felt about it — that he wanted to feel comfortable enough to say it without it sounding awkward — it left her with mixed feelings. On one hand, she was touched that he cared so much about her feelings; on the other, she wanted to see her son flustered and awkward, since that was such a rare sight.
"Today, Octavius is retiring," Alex said.
"Really?" Susan replied.
"Yes. He said that after a hundred years of working, he just wants to spend his last years living the best life he can," Alex explained.
Indeed, Octavius was a novice mage, which meant he could live up to 250 years. He should be around 210 now, and with no kids, he had a fortune to spend before dying.
Still, the stingy old man didn't even leave him one recipe, saying:
"You need to figure out your own potions. I taught you all you need to make that on your own."
"Well, good for him," said Susan.
"Also, tomorrow I'll trim your hair. You have a mane instead of hair — you look like a homeless person. So don't go anywhere in the afternoon," Susan said.
"Did I ever tell you that you're ruthless?" Alex commented. Susan had a great talent for teasing while making it sound as if she spoke from the heart.
"Well, you ought to bring home a girlfriend sometime, right? How would you do that looking like a caveman?" she replied.
"You know I'm not actively looking for a relationship, right?" Alex said.
It wasn't the first time Susan had hinted at him bringing home a girlfriend for her to meet. But Alex had other priorities in mind. It's not that he was against falling in love, but it would have to come to him — he wouldn't go looking for it.
"Humph, anyway, now that you're going to the academy, you'll be surrounded by pretty girls, so someone is bound to catch your attention," she said with a mischievous smile.
She was already imagining herself gossiping with his future girlfriend about her son.
Alex chuckled and said nothing, shaking his head.
He had dinner with his family and went to sleep.
The next morning, Alex lay in bed, finishing a report he had memorized from the dream.
This report looked a bit different, though, and after checking it closely, Alex noticed several things — really important things.
First of all, the date. The report was dated Velnara 9th, 1659.
'But this year is 1457 — the report is from 202 years in the future!' Alex was stunned. He was dreaming about things that hadn't even happened yet!
'But the Senturion Control works like a charm…' He couldn't exactly say that his dreams were nonsense, since what he gained from them was undeniably real.
The second thing that caught his eye was the title:
— Dionysus Movement Report —
The report detailed the movements of what they believed to be key members of a terrorist group called Dionysus.
After thinking about it for a bit longer, Alex resumed his day. Today, he needed to prepare for the academy, which held its entrance test in three days. He still had a lot to do — and not much time to waste on the dream matter.