chapter 9:Fınal advice
Ethan and Mary were working on their lessons together on another day. Both of them were aware that it was the last day of their classes, so they continued with their lesson. A few hours later, after the lesson ended, they chatted for a bit before heading to the training ground.
Once they entered the training ground, Mary said, "Ethan, today is your last day as my student, so I'll show you all my power just for this occasion." They took their combat positions. The training ground was constructed to withstand even 10th-level spells, as it was located in a special section of the palace.
Mary was a master in water and earth magic, capable of using spells up to the 7th level in both elements. Ethan, on the other hand, had abilities in fire, air, gravity, and mind-reading, able to use spells up to the 3rd level. He had only shared his mind-reading ability with his parents and Mary. His other abilities had spread throughout the kingdom, and Ethan was regarded as a prodigy.
Mary threw a water ball towards Ethan. Using his air magic, Ethan accelerated and dodged the water ball. Then Mary closed off Ethan's escape routes with earth walls and launched another water ball. The water ball hit Ethan violently, and then Mary created a swamp beneath Ethan. Thanks to his mind-reading ability, Ethan understood Mary's plans, but his reaction speed was still slow.
Ethan lightened himself using gravity magic and freed himself from the swamp. But the next moment, Mary teleported behind Ethan. Yes, this was Mary's secret ability. She could teleport to any desired location within a certain area, which was quite a functional ability.
Mary swung her sword towards Ethan's back. Ethan used gravity magic again to weigh down Mary's sword. He then created an explosion using fire and air magic towards Mary. To escape the explosion, Mary created a large water ball. The explosion ended before reaching Mary. Afterward, Ethan used a few more spells towards Mary but didn't harm her. Eventually, Ethan pretended to exhaust his mana. When Mary noticed this, she used teleportation magic again.
Mary said, "Ethan, I have one last advice for you. Never exhaust all your mana during a battle." Ethan replied, "You're right, teacher... but if you allow me, I have a piece of advice too." These words made Mary tense. Ethan continued, "First, make sure your enemy's mana is truly depleted," and simultaneously used gravity magic to weigh her down and threw a fireball towards her face.
However, Mary had plenty of experience in battles, and in such situations, her instinct to escape kicked in. Using water magic, Mary managed to dodge the attack with a few burn marks. She was affected by the attack and was angry with herself for being careless. Mary said, "That was impressive, Ethan. Apart from your last attack, you handled the other attacks quite skillfully. As your teacher, I'm proud of you. I'm sure you'll surpass me in due time," and directed her sword towards Ethan's neck. Ethan raised his hands in surrender because his mana was indeed depleted this time. After a brief moment of recovery, they parted ways towards their respective rooms.
The next day, Ethan was getting ready to go to the academy. Bringing items to the academy was forbidden, but not for someone who possessed the royal ring. Only the king could judge someone with the royal ring. Richard had given his son a very expensive ring with a space-time portal. This portal could hold various items up to a certain capacity. The ring itself was valuable, but Richard had filled it with many items that Ethan didn't even know about, such as healing elixirs and mana replenishment elixirs. Later, Richard had also gifted his son a good sword.
As Ethan was about to leave his room, his mother Luciana entered with a servant carrying a box. Luciana asked, "Are you ready to go?" Ethan nodded and said, "Yes, mother." Luciana looked at Ethan for a while, her eyes starting to well up. "Why do you have to grow up so fast?" she said and ran to hug Ethan. They stayed like that for a few minutes. Ethan didn't refuse the hug; after all, he had long accepted her as his real mother.
Then Luciana remembered something and wiped the tears from her eyes as she stepped back. She instructed the servant to take the box and pulled out a necklace with a red crystal inside. Luciana said, "After my father realized that my mother had been sold to the king, she gave me this as a gift. My mother always said it was something valuable, and even though my father wanted to sell it, my mother refused. This necklace will suit you well," she said and moved behind Ethan to put the necklace on him.
Ethan said, "Mother, this necklace seems valuable to you, and you got it from your grandmother. I think you should keep it." Luciana replied, "It's true that this necklace is valuable to me, which is why I'm giving it to my son. I can't give something worthless, and besides, if you find out what this necklace does, we'll be even," she said and put the necklace on him.
As we left the room, we ran into Richard and Mary. Richard hugged Ethan and said goodbye. Mary also gave Ethan a white stone. Mary said, "When you're in danger, break this stone, and I'll teleport to wherever you are," she said and hugged him goodbye.
Ethan left the palace with a dozen royal emblem-bearing horse carriages. As they passed through the streets, he saw that all the citizens were looking at them and bowing their heads. The Royal Academy was a few hours away from the capital, so the journey was short.
Upon arriving at the academy, he knew that many eyes were on him; after all, the entire kingdom already knew about his talents, and rumors and stories about King Richard's miraculous offspring were circulating even in neighboring kingdoms. At the entrance of the academy, besides the principal, vice principal, and many important teachers, there was also Emily, who held the title of the most talented student and was also a princess.
The horse carriages passed through the stone paths of the academy and stopped at the entrance. All the students were eagerly waiting to see what the child coming out of the carriage looked like. A handsome boy with black hair and blue eyes stepped out of the carriage with a confident stride. The child was none other than Ethan.