13 Crafting a Staff (1)

He was sitting at the porch, enjoying the cool breeze of evening wind with a warm cup of tea. A group of kids were running in the field, smiling and laughing as they messed around and creating playful noises.

"They're so rowdy, I wonder who did they take it from?"

A familiar voice, a familiar sight.

An elderly woman sat beside him, her hand covering his palm, providing him with familiar warmth. Her hair, as well as his, had already turned white, a proof of the time they had spent together; a life time.

"Definitely not me," the old man chuckled, his eyes never leaving the children.

Silence befell the couple, just as usual. It was how they had loved each other over the past decades. A comfortable silence, where a mere presence was more than enough to convey their feelings.

"Hey..."

The old man suddenly broke the silence. His eyes started to turn blurry.

"I had a dream lately. A very strange dream..."

---

Sasha opened his palm, and then closed them back. He repeated this action for a while until he was sure that nothing was there.

Lifting his empty hand, he narrowed his eyes as he reached toward that familiar ceiling.

"...That one was actually the dream, not this..."

He sat up on the bed, scratched his head, and then turned his gaze to the window.

What he saw wasn't the ruined territory of house Granberg, nor was it the rising metropolis that he had built after he altered their destiny and developed them further. It was still the quaint little village in the border of the kingdom from the time before the catastrophe.

"I really... had been thrown back to the past, hadn't I?"

Shaking his head, he jumped out of the bed.

---

Baron Granberg would never break his promise. Since Sasha had indeed showed the Baron that he could use magic, he would be allowed to learn it.

Moreover, the Baron would provide whatever resources that he needed. Fund wasn't a problem. If it was for his children's education, the Baron was never frugal.

As for the last part of his promise... Sasha and Lenard had managed to make him forget about it with some trusty percussive persuasion.

They still wanted to keep his image pure in their heart, alright? There was no way that they'd allow a stupid promise to stain it!

After Sasha's magic performance, the family finally took breakfast together.

"Do you want to go to the Mages' Tower Academy?"

Magic evaluation was mandatory upon a child's birth. Those with exceptional talent would be brought to the Mages' Tower almost immediately, while those with high affinity were given the freedom to delay their study for a few years. People with average affinity was merely given a recommendation letter that they could bring if they wanted to attend the academy. As for those with low affinity, they were just ignored.

An exception like Sasha was groundbreaking. Even without recommendation letter, Baron Granberg was sure that the Tower wouldn't reject him.

Studying in the academy was every aspiring mages' dream. They would be taught world-shattering spells by the most powerful mages in the continent. When they graduated, guilds and kingdoms would scramble to recruit them right away. They wouldn't have to scrape for coins anymore, riches would pursue them instead!

To this luring prospect, however, Sasha merely shook his head.

"Why not?" the Baron asked. Rather than disappointed, he was just curious.

"Hmm... think of it this way. If I want to learn swordsmanship, will Father send me to the royal academy?"

"Of course not! That thing is rather pointless. I'll just teach you myself... oh."

A candle light up in the Baron's mind.

The Royal Academy that they were talking about was the school that nobles sent their children to. It was a place to teach them swordsmanship and battle strategies. It could be thought as the equivalent of Mages' Tower's academy in this kingdom.

In reality, there wasn't really a need to go learning in that place. What knowledge taught in the royal academy came from public books, which the noble houses had copies of in the first place. The academy's main purpose was to serve as a gathering ground for future nobility, a place for them to build connections.

From Sasha's experience during his stay in the Mages' Tower's territory, this magic academy served the same purpose. It was just a means for the Mages' Tower to maintain their monopoly of mages. As for the actual knowledge imparted, while they were of high quality, it didn't mean that the academy was the only place to get it.

Just like Baron Granberg didn't care about politics and would rather educate his sons himself, Sasha also preferred to stay out of the Mages' Tower's influence and learned magic at his own pace.

While the Baron had little knowledge about how the Mages' Tower operated, since his son had likened it to the royal academy, he could deduce it to that extent.

Anyway, Sasha didn't plan to be the greatest mage ever lived anyway. Just learning a few basic spells should do. As for those world-shattering spells like summoning thunderstorms or raining down meteors, if he could learn it, he would, but if he couldn't then it was fine.

"What do you need, then? Don't be shy to ask."

"Hmm... I want spell books. Any spell books that you can find."

Books explaining basic spells were published periodically. Several mages would even write about the same single spell, but with different approach and mindset.

It was like sword techniques; the most secretive ones were kept exclusively by masters for their students, but the basic ones were fine for the masses to train in.

Buying spell books weren't a problem for the Baron, of course. He just hadn't bought any before this since nobody that he knew could use magic. He made a mental note to purchase some when the merchants from the capital passed by the village.

"Do you need anything else?"

"That's all for now."

The Baron frowned. Was that really all? Just a few books? No need for specialized equipment and such?

"Really, Father, that's all that I need," Sasha reassured him with a smile.

"Actually, I've been wondering... how did you know so much about magic training?"

"I read it in a book!" Sasha replied, still with a smile.

"...Which book?"

"I forgot!" Sasha promptly replied. His smile still looked the same, but it was totally fake.

"..."

The Baron had some doubts, but that smile... Ah damn, he really couldn't win against that smile!

"Fine, fine! You don't want to tell your father, then I won't ask anymore! Just finish your breakfast!"

Thus, the topic was dropped just like that.

---

Sasha's magic training was one thing, but his grounding was still in effect. He couldn't exit the manor for the entire month.

He didn't plan to do so anyway. Right now he was too excited about learning magic. Since he was finally capable of conjuring a spell, even though it was just a glorified lighter, he was eager to train further.

How to train as a mage?

Take a warrior for example. While battle techniques were important, the most crucial point for a warrior was to build their basics, their fundamental body strength. This was achieved by consistent, grueling exercises. There was no easy shortcut, only harsher training. Sasha understood this well, as he had experienced it firsthand.

A mage was the same.

The core building block of a mage wasn't their repertoire of spells, but their ability to manipulate mana. The first thing to train was their speed in gathering and molding mana using their internal mana. The other part was their mana capacity.

Casting a spell required a certain amount of mana. While a mage with lower mana capacity could supplement it with faster processing speed, it would be more efficient if they could gather enough mana in one go. As such, a bigger mana capacity was always a plus.

A person's mana capacity was determined from birth, which was a part of their affinity's evaluation. However, while their sensitivity wouldn't be able to change in their entire life, their mana capacity was more flexible.

Internal mana and mana capacity of a mage were the same as body muscles of a warrior. The more they trained them, the faster their internal mana could move and the bigger their mana capacity would grow. The trick was to keep filling them up to the point of bursting out, and then letting them out before repeating the process again and again.

Thus, both mages and warriors shared the same concept: hard work would always be rewarded.

Sasha's training method was simple. He would gather as much mana as he could, keep them for a short moment, and then exhaled them out. Repeat that ad infinitum. Improvement was minuscule at best, if any. However, it was definitely the correct path to follow.

A month passed like that.

Both Lenard and Sasha trained from dawn to dusk, one in the way of the sword and the other in the way of magic. However, Lenard had the advantage of having the Baron as his mentor, allowing him to learn techniques while building his basics. On the other hand, Sasha only had one self-made spell in his disposal.

With a busy season coming, it would take another month before the merchants from the capital would visit the frontier area. He wouldn't be able to get any spell book before that.

Still, Sasha was content with this life.

Got up, have breakfast with his father and brother, train until lunch, train again until dusk, then go to sleep.

A kid might find doing the same thing again and again utterly boring, but for Sasha who had technically lived for more than a hundred years, it was more comfortable than a life of constant upheaval.

Rufus was the one bothered by it, though.

His young master had turned from a rowdy little boy into the picture of tranquility. It did make it easier to serve him, but the abrupt change made him a bit uneasy.

The sudden desire to learn magic, then this instant personality shift... He wondered whether his young master had gotten possessed.

One day, he secretly smuggled a bottle of holy water. Putting it inside a jug, he pretended to stumble, pouring the entire content into Sasha.

The poor boy was just enjoying his tea when suddenly he got a surprise bath. He had gotten soaked from head to toe.

The memory of previous bonfire incident flashed through his mind.

"..."

"I'm sorry, young master!"

Rufus gave a perfunctory apology, grabbed a handkerchief, and then quickly wiped the water off Sasha. In an extremely slow manner. He was searching for burn marks, a definite proof of demon possession.

"There's no sign..."

"...Rufus...?"

Sasha twitched his lips as he watched Rufus scrutinized the skin on his arm. The butler seemed to take forever just to wipe him. No, actually, wouldn't it be better to just take off the wet clothes first?

Rufus finally ended his examination in around ten minutes. He gave Sasha a solemn gaze, and then he bowed very respectfully.

"My apologies, young master! I have been mistaken!"

"..."

About what, exactly?!?

Rufus was too embarrassed to tell the truth, so he played stupid and remained silent. In the end, Sasha decided to just drop it, blaming the incident on the head butler getting senile.

---

Sasha was allowed to go out of the manor starting today.

At first, he had wanted to follow his daily routine, but then a better idea popped up in his mind. After asking for permission from Rufus, he darted off through the front gate.

Right in front of the Granberg manor, the Baron had constructed a separate training ground for the knights under his rule. It was an important facility to maintain the discipline of his men, as well as shaping up new recruits.

Unlike the common nobles, Baron Granberg allowed civilians and mercenaries to join his knighthood as long as they were worth grooming. It was a big chance for the general populace. Although they would start as mere soldiers, if they made enough contributions, they could be promoted into actual knights, a real title!

There was a recent addition in their ranks, a young boy from the village called Norman.

It was rare for the knights to accept children as recruit. They would rather take them after they had reached adulthood, when their talents had fully bloomed. However, this boy had been vouched by both sons of the Baron himself. Rumors had it that the boy had contributed majorly in solving last month's kidnapping case.

Norman was hardworking. No matter how rigorous the training he had been given, he would always finish them without a single complain. As such, the older knights quickly grew fond of him, viewing him as a promising newcomer. This kind of person was exactly the kind that they could leave their backs to in battle.

He had just finished a running session with the other recruits when a senior called out to him, saying that someone had come looking for him.

"Senior, is it Filia again? Please tell her to come back. I'll play with her in the evening."

"No, you idiot, not her. Sheesh, I know you adore your girlfriend so much, but no need to bring her up every time!"

Norman's face heated up upon hearing that remark. His friends guffawed when they noticed it. They quickly looked the other way when Norman glared at them though. Those cowards, they were still afraid of Norman's fists after all!

"Okay, enough joking! Move your ass out there, don't keep the guest waiting!"

Sensing the urgency in his senior's tone, Norman didn't dare to dawdle. Only, he still harbored some doubt.

"Senior, is it someone important? Why is that person looking for me?"

He was just a new recruit after all. Just a civilian from the village. Why would anyone with even the slightest bit of status look for him? It should've been the other way around.

"Well... he could be considered important? It's our young master, after all."

Young master... that would mean, their boss, the Baron's, son?

"Which young master?"

"The younger one. I think the name is... Sasha? Anyway, just go! He'd been waiting for a while now! If he complains that he waited too long, the Baron will whip my ass!"

Sasha?

That little boy from back then?

Norman left toward the entrance in a flash, curious about what that kid had wanted from him.