As days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and months turned to years…
I was slowly getting a hold of this whole "mana situation" of mine.
Now I'm 6 years old. Would you look at that…I've actually been living here long enough to start enjoying it for real. A new life. New parents. And a world where magic wasn't just real, it was structured. Something I could understand. Something I could learn. And then there was him.
My father. Our sparring days became… a routine. Or more accurately....his idea of "training."
He really was strong. Too strong. Not normal strong. The kind of strength that felt like he was a retired adventurer who forgot to stop being dangerous. He didn't even need incantations. Just pure control. And there's more… he used two elements at once. Fire and water.
At the same time. That alone should not even make sense. Today was another sparring session. The wooden fence training yard behind our house was already scorched in some places and damp in others. A perfect representation of my father's fighting style. He stood there with a wooden sword, calm as ever.
Then suddenly–
BOOM–SHHHH
Fire wrapped around his blade. Water spiraled along it like a living current. I took a step back immediately. "Are you trying to kill me, dad?!" He tilted his head slightly. Then smiled. Not the friendly kind. The "you are about to suffer" kind.
Then he asked me "You want to be strong, boy?" A pressure dropped in the air. I can sense his intense aura..
–"Then you have to endure this." He said while grinning like hell...
I was scared for the first time during our sparring session "…That's not an answer!" He moved. Instantly. No warning. Just motion. I barely reacted in time. I pulled mana instinctively...just like I had practiced.
"Fire… shape… flow… compression–!"A fireball formed. But unstable. Too slow. Too raw. My father's blade came down.
–BOOOOM–!!
The clash sent me skidding back. My arms stung. My body shook. But I was still standing. Barely.
My father paused. "…You blocked it." I exhaled sharply. "I think that was illegal parenting." He didn't reply.
He just attacked again.
Faster. Heavier. More precise. And somehow… I started copying him. Not perfectly. Not cleanly. But I saw it once.
And my body just… remembered. "Water flow… fire compression… like this…?"
Flames flickered along my hand. A thin layer of unstable water wrapped around my other hand.
My father froze mid-step."…You're joking."
I swung. Bad form. Bad control. But the same structure. Same concept. My father actually stepped back. For the first time.
"…You copied it?" I blinked. "…I think so?"
Silence.
Then–
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'I THINK SO'?!" He looked genuinely flabbergasted now. Before things could escalate further–
"STOP RIGHT THERE!!" My mother came running into the yard. Panic on her face.
"WHAT DID YOU TWO DO THIS TIME?!"
She saw the burns. The cracks in the ground. The steam. The scorch marks.
"…Oh my god." She immediately grabbed both of us. "You idiots are going to destroy the house!" And started healing us on the spot for the first time after our sparring session, because yeah we both went a bit overboard. Warm light spread from her hands. Bruises faded. Burn marks softened. Pain eased....
and then–
NOTICE
[Skill: Copy is active]
[Skill acquired: Healing Hands]
I paused."…Wait." I stared at my hand.
I actually remember seeing this once before… and so I tried to use it, my hand glow in faint green...
I called mom's attention.."Hey mom look at this" My mother froze slightly.…Come to think of it, I was able to obtain the knowledge of using some spells just by experiencing them.
I looked at the faint healing light on my hands.. I think I still need to master it.. My father and mother stared at me in awe.. "…He definitely broke something," my father muttered. My mother smiled proudly anyway. "I told you he's a genius. I wonder what class he will end up in the future."
I exhaled slowly. So this was how it works? There are certain conditions in order to learn one's spell huh?. Experience, Observation, Replication, Absorption, This world is actually cool.
But just like in my old world, I can't be with my parents everyday just like when I'm still on my younger days, as my father still has work, something about the farm, physical labor, and responsibilities I've long stopped trying to fully track.
And so two days passed. Quiet, Normal.
Almost suspiciously peaceful. Until he came back. I felt it the moment the door opened. That shift in atmosphere. That pressure. Like the world itself had just acknowledged a problem walking in.
He stepped inside, stretched his shoulders once, and looked straight at me. Then smiled. He's grinning like hell again. The one that always meant I was about to suffer for "growth."
"Are you ready, boy?" I blinked. "…Wh-what?" I slowly sat up."Shouldn't you… rest first, dad?"
He tilted his head slightly. "Rest?" That word clearly wasn't in his vocabulary. "No," he said simply. he cracked his knuckles then he grabbed his wooden sword. "Training first."
I'm actually trying to find an excuse just this time so I answered on top of my lungs "…That's not how fatigue works!" But he was already walking outside. So I followed of course I did.
Once in the yard, something felt different.
This wasn't random sparring anymore.
This was structured. Maybe ntentional?. I don't know but I'm sure it's much worse.
"Today," he said, "you learn techniques."
I narrowed my eyes. "…That sounds like suffering with extra steps." He raised his sword. Fire wrapped around it. But in perfect control. No incantation. No delay. Just execution.
"First..." He moved. "Inferno Quad Dash."
Four after images exploded around me instantly. Each one delivered a timed slash infused with fire, spaced perfectly like a pre-calculated chain attack. I barely dodged the last one.
"WHAT KIND OF IDIOT NAMED THAT ATTACK?!" I asked right just after he almost cut me in half.
Father's face turned serious for a moment "I did.." Yeah well, I wasn't expecting that, but I know my old man is pissed as hell because of that.
"Next." He rotated his wrist. "Slashing Waves." One swing. Just one. Three compressed water blades shot forward in a fan area, cutting through the air like invisible pressure lines. I raised my hand instantly.
NOTICE
[Skill: Copy is active]
[Skill acquired: Inferno Quad Dash]
[Skill acquired: Slashing Waves]
"Flame barrier–!" But I was too slow.
BOOM–
I got launched backward again. "…This is just violence with instruction labels!" I muttered. He nodded once. "Good observation." Then he shifted stance again.
"Basic mage combat." I froze. "…There's more?" He sighed like he was disappointed in the existence of beginner-level magic. "Aqua Shot." Water condensed into floating spheres above his palm. Then fired. Like bullets. Fast. Precise. Relentless. I dodged one. Another hit my arm. Cold shock spread instantly.
NOTICE
[Skill: Copy is active]
[Skill acquired: Aqua Shot]
"…Tch!"
Then–
"Fire Fist." He coated his hand in flame and rushed forward. One punch. No technique name needed beyond that. Just pure violence wrapped in fire. I barely managed to block with a weak fire coat on my arm.
[Skill acquired: Fire Fist]
BOOM–!!
The force sent me sliding across the ground again... He exhaled slowly. "You're adapting faster than expected." I coughed. "…Is that a compliment or a threat?" But before he could answer–
"YOU TWO!!!" My mother's voice cut through the yard. She stormed out, furious. "Can you two behave like normal humans when you're training for FIVE MINUTES?!" She stopped. Looked at the damage. Looked at us. Then sighed like this was her daily nightmare.
I slowly sat up. "…I got it." My father paused. "Hm?" I raised my hand slightly. Mana gathered. Unstable at first. Then structured. I didn't realize I didn't even said any incantation or enchantment.
Warm light formed around my body. Bruises faded, Pain dulled. My father stared. "…Since when can you do that?" I shrugged slightly. "Since the day you hit me hard enough that I have to choice but to use mom's healing magic."
My mother froze. "…That's not how learning should work."
My father nodded slowly.
"That's exactly how learning works."
My mother looked like she was about to explode again. "I'M SURROUNDED BY TWO PROBLEMS!"
I closed my eyes slightly. This world really was structured. Even healing. Even combat. Even pain. Everything could be learned. Everything could be replicated. And I was only getting faster and stronger.
End of chapter.