Nox's eyes widened hearing this. Being born in a family of swordmasters, playing with swords ever since he was a child and hearing stories of great swordmasters from his father and elder relatives, becoming a wizard never crossed his mind.
But as he heard his brother saying this, a little hope ignited in his heart like a spark in darkness. He was shocked because he never thought about becoming a wizard, but he was equally more shocked because his brother said this. His brother was very proud to be a swordmaster, taking immense pride in their family's martial legacy. He doesn't like wizards and often spoke of them with barely concealed disdain.
'Wizards are very rare and becoming one is also very difficult. But we can find a way,' thought Nox, his mind racing with possibilities.
Nox turned towards his brother, leaning forward in his chair. "Can I even become a wizard?"
"Of course you can," Jason replied back with a smile that reached his eyes.
"But we are a family of swordsman, can we even become one? I thought only the descendants of the wizards can become one," Nox questioned again, his voice tinged with doubt.
Jason raised an eyebrow, his expression shifting to one of mild amusement. "Who said you have to be a descendant of a wizard to become one? Even if it was true, we also had an ancestor who was a powerful wizard, renowned throughout the lands."
Nox was once again shocked, his mouth falling open slightly. "Really?"
Jason smiled, nodding with certainty. "Of course, not just one but we had many ancestors who were also wizards. So you don't have to worry about becoming a wizard, we have a legacy of the wizard arts hidden in our family history."
Nox was shocked after hearing that they had many ancestors who were wizards. This revelation changed everything he thought he knew about his family.
"So although this is not a good thing for our family's reputation, you can become a wizard," said Jason, his tone turning more serious.
They both turned towards their father, waiting to listen to his opinion on this matter.
Godric pondered it for a few seconds, his fingers drumming once on the desk. "Hmm, we will consider it, but only as a last resort."
Jason smiled, relief evident in his features. "Of course, maybe we won't need to consider it. We will find a solution for his problem eventually."
"I have looked everywhere I can while being discreet. If I looked any further than this, we won't be able to hide it," said Godric, his voice heavy with the weight of his efforts.
Nox smiled weakly, the expression not reaching his eyes. He knew if word got out that he can't produce ki and the only ki he used was given to him by his father, he will face mockery. People will laugh that the son of the great swordmaster Godric is a cripple, whispers would follow him everywhere.
"That would be terrible," said Nox quietly.
"I have also reached out to some people, in case they know anything," said Jason, shifting his weight.
Godric looked at Jason, his gaze piercing. "Are they trustworthy?"
Jason frowned, his posture stiffening. "Of course they are, if they weren't I would have never asked them. I trust in their character completely," Jason looked as if he was offended by Godric's doubt, his jaw tightening.
Godric didn't say anything to Jason's explanation. He opened the drawer of his desk with a soft scraping sound, took out a wooden box carved with intricate patterns. He looked at Nox with an unreadable expression. "I have prepared more elixirs for you, take them today and see if they will increase your ki," Godric pushed the wooden box towards Nox across the polished surface.
"These will be your last elixirs for a while from me," said Godric, his tone final.
Nox's eyes widened as he heard the words from his father. He looked at his father hoping that he heard incorrectly, but seeing that ever serious and stoic face, he turned pale. He looked at his brother for help, his eyes pleading. His brother looked calm, like he knew it beforehand. 'Of course he knew it, he is like father's right hand man,' thought Nox bitterly. He knew his brother won't side with him here.
He looked at his father with pleading eyes, his hands gripping the armrests of his chair. "Why?" he asked his father, he barely managed to speak a word through his tightening throat.
His father said with a calm expression as ever, his voice steady and measured. "I have already given you plenty of elixirs. They don't work on you, we can't waste such expensive elixirs on failed attempts. Besides, even if they worked, I can't favor you over your other siblings. They also need elixirs, there are plenty of people in our family who also need these rare elixirs. I can't spend the whole family's money on you alone."
Nox frowned hearing this, his chest tightening with understanding. He knew his father was right. They can't spend the whole family's budget on him alone. His siblings also need these elixirs to boost their powers and secure their futures. He can't hog all the elixirs for himself. But hearing his father say it to his face still pained him, like a blade twisting in his chest.
His brother turned to him, placing his hand on his shoulder again with a reassuring grip. "Don't worry about it. You will be earning money on your own soon enough, you can buy elixirs like these on your own."
Nox nodded, hearing his brother's words, his mind eased a little. He looked at the wooden box for some time, studying its carved surface. 'Who knows, maybe they will work. I hope they will work or else I am doomed to be mediocre forever,' Nox inhaled a long breath, picked up the wooden box carefully, and left the room without even looking back at his father's face.
After leaving his father's study, Nox went in the direction of his own room. Nox's mind was filled with frustration and anticipation swirling together. He was frustrated because his father denied him more elixirs but he still had high expectations for these elixirs. Surely his father wouldn't give him some cheap elixirs for this final attempt.
As he entered the corridor leading to his room, passing under the hanging lamps, he spoke to the guards standing at the entrance. "I will be busy for some time, make sure no one will disturb me."
The guards nodded in unison, their armor clinking softly. "Yes, young master, we will make sure of it."
After ordering the guards, he went inside a room that was exactly opposite to his bedroom. He switched on the lanterns with a soft click, the room lit up with a gentle glow. Nox went to the center of the room and sat cross legged on the floor mat, positioning the wooden box before him.
The room was entirely empty except for the electric lanterns on the walls and the floor mat in the center. This room was designed for meditation or when someone needed isolation for their training. The walls were bare and painted white, creating a space free from distractions.
He placed the wooden box his father gave him in front of him on the mat. He closed his eyes and started breathing calmly, each breath deep and measured. Nox wanted to calm his mind before taking the elixirs. Although it won't change the outcome, but it will help him focus and it will increase the absorption of the elixirs, if combined with the rotation of the ki through the whole body.
Nox could feel the ki inside him, its like a cloud when gathered inside his chest and when he spread it around his body it feels like a mist flowing through narrow channels. Nox guided the ki from that fist sized cloud to his heart and then through his blood vessels to his all other body parts. Since he is not pulling his ki outside of his body through his pores and not using it to enhance any part of the body, its going back to his heart through blood vessels. Like this he is circulating his ki throughout his body in an endless cycle.
For normal people this circulation of ki through the whole body increases their ki level by a small margin with each rotation. But its doing nothing inside Nox, no matter how many times he repeats the process. Nox just circulates it so he can control it better and maintain what little he has. Their ki also increases as time passed throughout their life, growing stronger with age. But Nox's ki remains the same, frozen at its current level.
Whenever Nox used his ki outside of his body for practice or in sparring, his ki reserve decreased as it should and it recovers over time to its previous maximum limit like any other person. His ki behaves normally in every other aspect. It can enhance his body and sword when he channels it properly. It recovers overtime, like any ki should. The ki inside his body behaves like it does for any person, but his body doesn't produce ki on its own. There are plenty of people in the world who can't produce ki, but they couldn't control it like Nox does. Even if these people receive ki from someone else they still can't control it or circulate it.
Nox opened his eyes and stared at the wooden box for some time, his gaze intense. 'Please work this time,' Nox prayed in his thoughts with desperate hope.
Nox opened the box with trembling fingers and saw four elixirs within, nestled in velvet padding. All the elixirs were in glass bottles of crystal clarity. All of them were of different colors that seemed to glow faintly. They were orange, blue, green and red in color.
Nox looked at the elixirs while frowning, examining each bottle. 'He should have at least told me in which order should I take them. Maybe it doesn't matter.'
Nox drank many elixirs throughout his life so far, each one promising results. Except for increase in quality of his ki, reduced recovery time and increase in vitality, the elixirs did nothing else. Those elixirs were designed to increase his ki reserves but they failed and their energy was used in other areas instead. Due to elixirs and his training, his body was quite strong and his endurance is beyond the limits of any fifteen year old, perhaps even matching some adults.
Nox inhaled a long breath, steeling himself, then picked up the orange colored elixir with steady hands. The bottle was half filled with orange liquid that swirled slowly. The liquid didn't look dense, it looked more like orange juice with a slight shimmer to it.
Nox opened the glass bottle, the stopper coming free with a soft pop. 'Here goes nothing,' he drank the whole liquid in one gulp, the taste bitter and sharp on his tongue.
As the elixir went down he felt a hot sensation spreading through his throat to his stomach like liquid fire. He started circulating his ki as he was doing before, guiding it through his channels. The elixir started to spread in his blood vessels through his ki, following the pathways he had created. He felt the hot sensation in his whole body, growing stronger with each passing moment. He kept his whole focus on his ki and elixir, monitoring every change.
The elixir started to get absorbed by his body, its energy seeping into his cells. The hot sensation grew in his body, becoming almost uncomfortable. He tried to sense if his ki had increased but it was still the same as always, unchanged and stagnant.