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Three weeks until the solstice and the Awakening Ceremony. I set that as the goal for learning magic. I memorize the book that night and start analyzing and learning as fast as possible. Magic isn't simple; even with this complete dumbfucks' guide to wizardry, it will take time.

I make a reckless decision to abuse my body for the next couple of weeks. Using biokinesis, I reduce my need for sleep drastically, forced hormone levels to optimize learning and memory, and adjusted my eyes to read in the dark. While memorizing the book Amelia gave me was the work of less than a night, The Twilight Sage's Guide to the Omniverse is much denser material.

Every symbol in the book has about a thousand meanings, and each one is valid and relevant. Even with Quantum Intellect and Quantum Memory, I still want to bang my head against the wall. I learned the basics of magic in this world in three days reviewing and meditating three hours a night. Enough to cast simple spells. Two more hours a night I spent trying to get through a single page of The Twilight Sage's Guide to the Omniverse. Finally, after a week, I cast my first C-ranked spell and had my first breakthrough with the Guide.

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A small comet of flame shoots across the practice yard and strikes a wooden target. "Excellent job, young master," a refined voice says. Rose, one of the many tutors that grandfather has arranged to teach the children, specializes in magic. She, herself, having a rare, if lower grade, lightning element and a corresponding Lightning Elementalist Sortis, is quite adept with elemental bloodline magics. While none of the children yet have a Sortis, those with elemental bloodlines can usually access some of their magic as early as six to eight years old.

All of the children, except for myself and Hester, have demonstrated a flame-type bloodline affinity. Hester instead has an air-type like her mother. As the wind is not easy to notice, they've hung a bell on her target for her to ring with her magic.

Of the five, Reegan is the most proficient with magic, forming significantly more destructive blasts with his flames than the others. I watch them for a while before deciding to test out my magic. What I cast is significantly different than what they do. Their magic is related to their bloodline and a spiritual fusion with the element. They control the element because they are the element.

My magic is more akin to wizardry. I've learned to manipulate mana, and by programming it, I can make it do what I want. And programming is an appropriate word for it, too. It's like the universe is a computer, and wizards are programmers. Spells are just premade macros to get the programming done faster.

After twenty minutes of bouncing elemental blasts off the target, they stop for a brief rest. Magic is taxing, especially the first couple of years, as the body gets used to channeling the elements. It's the same with wizardry. All that mana flowing in, through, and out of your body causes a great deal of strain. I cheat, of course, and my cultivation root and meridians channel mana like champs, and the leftover strain is practically null. Still, I reduce it further by reinforcing my body with biokinesis.

I hop off my chair and hand my book to Amelia. "I'm going to try," I say and walk over to the firing range.

Rose tilts her head, curious what I'm doing, knowing that I'm only four years old; even if I had an elemental bloodline, I shouldn't be able to access it just yet. I start off with a basic fire spell that mimics the firebolt of the other kids. I hold up one hand. "Ignis," I say, and a ball of flame spins above my hand. It's my magic, and I'm in control of it, so I don't feel any heat from the flames. I move my hand forward and point, unnecessary but still cool looking, and the flame shoots across the yard, striking the target catching it on fire.

"Incendium!" I shout, and the flames around the target flare, reducing the target to ashes, but I'm not done yet because I'm feeling cocky.

"Fulmen!" I yell, and a bolt of amber lightning crashes down from a clear sky shattering the post the target had been nailed to and turning the sand to glass. I nod, satisfied that my progress is coming along nicely. The only downside? A four-year-old yelling spell names really lacks the necessary gravitas for what is actually happening.

I shrug and turn around. I hadn't noticed before, but everyone was staring at me, jaws agape. I smile and walk over to Amelia. "Did I do good, mommy?"

"U-um. Yes... honey. Very good. Can you tell mommy where you learned to do that?"

"From the book, mommy," I say, pointing at the book in her hands. She looks down at the book, and I hop back up into the chair.

Rose looks a little worse for wear, but it is still standing. I think the mental shock of a four-year-old calling down lightning may have fried something in her brain. "Ma'am. I'm afraid wizardry is outside my scope of expertise, but I have a friend who is an accomplished magus. If you would like, I can send them a missive for them to come to tutor young master Jeims in the arcane arts."

"Thank you, Rose. That would be most helpful."

Rose nods to my mother and ends the lesson early that day.

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Another week passes, and I've fully mastered the book mother got me for my birthday. Nothing there is above rank-C, but it is still a solid foundation for what comes next. Unfortunately, while not everything in the Guide is completely foreign, the vast majority is. It's like trying to read a book in a foreign language after having learned a few words from a related dialect.

I'm going to have to learn more advanced magic, and because of that, I am going to have to get more books. That friend of Rose was also a good candidate, but, They won't be here for more than a month. By then, if I can acquire higher-tier books, it's possible that I'll be beyond their level. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to about it.

I would get another grimoire from my system, but the store seems to be limited right now to disposable items right now, such as ingredients, potions, and other single-use items. This isn't useless, though. These items can be purchased from the store and sold for money. I'm not too fond of the idea of using my hard-earned experience for something like this, but I have limited options right now. Yes, I could probably get some money from my family, but I feel weird doing that. Is it an Echo? Probably. If it's not, I don't know what it is.

I've read every book in the manor and know the valuable plants and materials. I ask Cindy to take me to Jager House, one of the three major adventurers' guilds on the continent. Every major town has at least one local branch of these guilds. I would go to Chausser House, which is wealthier and generally seen as a nobles' guild, but they also don't get as many collection quests. For that Jager House, the generally accepted, generalist adventurer guild is much better. There is only one problem.

"I'm sorry, sir, but it's the law that no one can join an adventurers' guild until after their Awakening Ceremony," a pretty lady behind the counter says.

I pout a little, and she nearly melts. I'm not trying to get her to bend the rules. I'm just annoyed that my age hinders me everywhere I go. I look over to Cindy, who has an empathetic smile on her face. I turn back to the lady. "Are there any other requirements?"

"Only a two silver fee for registration, but that can be taken out of your commission over time. As long as it is paid off in the first month. If not paid, your license will be revoked."

"Very well, I'd like to register my friend here," I say, indicating Cindy. Both the woman behind the desk and Cindy are shocked.

"Young master, I don't think it's appropriate for me to register. I'm only a maid, after all," Cindy says.

"Oh, Cindy, you are much more than that to me," I say, and she blushes deeply. "Anyway, I'm not saying you should go out and swing a sword at goblins, though if you wanted to, I would support your decision. No, I was hoping you could act as my factor for selling off these alchemical plants I've found and cultivated. It should turn a healthy profit."

"But, why not have the family sell them for you? Surely that would make more sense."

"I'm not sure I can properly explain it to you, but I want my own money. If I sell them through the family, it will feel like the family's money. Therefore, when I buy you or Molly or even my mother a present, it feels like I'm not the one getting it for you. I want you to know that I care and that the present comes from me. Obtained by my own hands."

"Aww," a half dozen female adventures fawn. Apparently, I'd drawn a small crowd. Cindy and I look around briefly. She looks back at me and smiles. "Very well, young master."

A few minutes later, Cindy was an F-ranked adventurer, and we walked over to the board of requests. Locating the collection requests, I collected ten that met my requirements and handed them to Cindy.

The receptionist was a little hesitant when she saw the stack of quest forms, but I reassured her that the quests would be completed immediately and took out a few plants. She was rather shocked since the plants I took out were rather rare. All told, I gained forty-seven gold, eighty-two silver, and fifty-four copper, and Cindy was instantly promoted to E-rank after completing ten F-ranked quests.

I gave Cindy a cut, she tried to refuse, but I insisted. I wanted to give her gold, but she adamantly refused, so I settled for giving her all the silver and copper. She tried to refuse again, but I put my diminutive foot down and reminded her that factors always receive a cut and that her's was minuscule in comparison to what most would charge.

To understand, a gold piece is approximately ten grams and has a value of one hundred silver pieces, a silver piece weighs five grams and has a value of one hundred copper pieces, and a copper piece weighs two and a half grams and is worth very little. Two can buy you a cup of really poor quality beer that is probably fifty percent piss.

A laborer earns about one and a half silver a week. A maid in our house earns three plus room and board. It's considered a well-paying job. From what I've seen, the maids are happy, and the ones that want to will occasionally have spontaneous orgasms. I suddenly feel like a gigolo.

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"I thought they were just pretty flowers," Cindy says, a little surprised by the outcome of the trip to the guild.

"Well, they are, but they happen to be pretty flowers that are a major ingredient in mid-tier healing potions," I say.

"Where did you learn all of this?" she asks.

"From the books in the library. I can show you later if you like," I say with a smile.

A man steps out of an alley in front of us with a weapon drawn. Apparently, I was paying attention. He looked like a stereotype of a bandit, skinny, black greasy hair and two days' worth of stubble, the smell of alcohol coming out of his pores and rot of his teeth. His hostility was high, but his lust was higher and targeting Cindy.

"What's going to happen, is you miss, are going to come into the alley with my friend and me," he says with undisguised malice. I noticed the man behind us as soon as the first had stepped in front of us. "If you make a fuss, the young master here might end up with blood on his nice clothes."

Cindy pulled me in close, kneeling between the two men and me to shield me. If they had just been planning to mug us, I would have let them off with a severe beating, and that would have been that, but what I saw running across the Erometer made me actively nauseous. My lovely afternoon walk was ruined by these degenerate fucks, and I know this wasn't their first time. Judging by the meter, they'd done this before, and I'd overheard someone talking about it in the manor. The poor girl's body was barely recognizable from what I overheard.

The first man had a weapon, but the second man hadn't drawn one yet. I felt my body and mind cooling. The first man jerked suddenly and flew back into the alley he'd stepped out of just a moment before. Cindy and the other man, a heavyset version of the first, were surprised and then just confused, but the man didn't have much time for that emotion to register before he too was flying into the alley.

I pull myself away from Cindy's warm hands and turn to her. "Miss Cindy," I say. "Miss Cindy, please look at me."

Cindy finally looks down at my face, shocked by an expression she's never seen on it before. I'd always been a happy child, but the face she saw now was carved from ice, all by the eyes which burned with rage. I blinked and that face melted away, and the eyes cooled. I was still livid, but Cindy didn't need to see that.

"Miss Cindy, I need you to do me another favor," I say.

"Yes, young master?" she says with a question. I don't usually like it when she calls me young master in private, but I suppose this situation is an exception.

I smile, but I know it lacks my usual warmth when talking to her. "I need you to turn away from the alley, close your eyes, and cover your ears really tight, okay? Like we're playing hide and seek. Count to one hundred and call out when you get there. Once you call out, you can uncover your ears and eyes, and I'll be right there in front of you."

She nods slowly. "Okay, young master."

"Thank you, Cindy. Make sure you count out loud, please."

She nods again a little faster and turns around, covering her ears and shutting her eyes tight. "One... two... three..."

The little warmth I had displayed for Cindy leaves, and only my rage remains. It oozes out of me and flows towards the alley. I walk in and find the two degenerate fucks pinned to opposite walls. My telekinetic ability is at the point where I could crush a small car flat. These two shitheads are about to find out what that feels like.

A little bit of the rage in my mind wants to reenact the scene of a man being run over by a steam roller feet first to squeeze them out like a toothpaste tube. I wanted to explode their filthy eyes inside their skulls for turning their disgusting look on Cindy. I wanted to paralyze their muscles and feed them feet first to goblins. I wanted to tear them apart with my bare hands. I wanted to turn them inside out and let them drag their intestines and organs around town with a sign warning all those who threaten those I care about. I wanted to give them a thousand papercuts and dip them in lemon juice.

I wanted to do all that and more, but I also didn't want to be a monster in Cindy's eyes, and I was sure she would check. "You lucky fucks, but you still have to suffer," I say loud enough for them to hear. The smell of fresh piss fills the air.

I hear Cindy's voice a little ways away. "Twenty-two... twenty-three..."

I snap my fingers, I don't need to, but it lets them know that it's happening and I'm doing it. Every blood vessel in their lungs burst simultaneously, their lungs filling with blood. Every nerve in their body bursts with pain just enough pain to keep them conscious for as long as possible. Their larynx and vocal cords freeze, not letting a scream escape their throat.

They suffer in pain and drown in their own blood. All nerves are tasked with experiencing pain; none will tell the muscles in their bodies to move. It'll take more time than I have for them to die, but it'll do.

I walk back over to Cindy just as she says, "Ninety-seven... Ninety-eight... Ninety-nine... One hundred. I've finished young master."

Slowly, Cindy takes her hands from her ears, and cracks open her eyelids. I'm standing there with a pleasant expression, holding out one hand. In it is a candy I had saved in my Soul Vault. I remembered that they were some of Cindy's favorite. She looked a little confused but reached out to take the sweet morsel.

"What happened to those two men?" she asks.

"Oh, don't worry about them. I'm sure someone will take care of them," I say with as pleasant a smile as I can muster.

She places the sweet in her mouth and sucks on it for a while before speaking again. "Jeims," she says, remembering that we are alone. "How do you feel about Molly?"

I cock my head to the side. "She's one of the people I care about most in the world..." I say, a little confused about the change in topic.

"If someone threatened her, like those two men..."

My eyes go cold and hard. "The gods would shudder at what would happen to those who seek to harm who I hold dear."

She nods. "That's reassuring to hear. Thank you, Jeims."

Like a switch, I flip back to a smile. "Of course, I know how much you like those candies," I say and take her hand to continue walking back to the manor.

A few minutes later, I receive a couple of notifications from Cara.

[HOST REMOVED A HUMAN WASTE OF FLESH FROM THE WORLD- 125 EXPERIENCE GAINED. 125 BONUS EXPERIENCE GAINED FROM BLOODLINE AFFINITY.]

[HOST REMOVED A HUMAN WASTE OF FLESH FROM THE WORLD- 125 EXPERIENCE GAINED. 125 BONUS EXPERIENCE GAINED FROM BLOODLINE AFFINITY.]

I almost tripped reading the message. 'That's an interesting notification, Cara. You don't think I went too far? Maybe I should have turned them over to the authorities instead? It's really not what a good person does, after all. It's more like something a bad person would do. I know they caused suffering, but what about the adage and eye for an eye makes the whole world blind?'

[HOST IS NOT IN HIS OLD WORLD. HE SHOULD NOT JUDGE HIS REACTION BY HIS OLD WORLD'S MORALITY. THE HUMAN WASTES OF FLESH DID NOT FEEL ANYTHING BUT JOY FROM THE SUFFERING OF THEIR VICTIMS. HOST MERELY ALLOWED THEM TO EXPERIENCE A FRACTION OF THE SUFFERING THEY INFLICTED.]

'Are those your feeling Cara or the system's?" I ask.

[ARE WE NOT THE SAME, HOST?]

'I suddenly don't think so, Cara. A system wouldn't argue nuance here.'

[FRIEND OR FOE: 99 I HAVE A GOOD HOST

I smile. 'Thanks, Cara. Let me know if I start drifting too far away from 'good,' please. I don't want to be a 'bad' host.'

[OF COURSE, HOST.]