Chapter 2

Leaving his room, Lucas headed toward the dining room. There, he saw his father, mother, and his three siblings. His first older brother, his older sister, and his younger sister. As for his second older brother, he was at the academy and had not yet returned.

"Hurry up, Brother!" His younger sister, Liliya, called out excitedly. "We're starving, and you are too slow to come down!"

"Only you, who are starving," his older sister, Rosaline, teased, earning an angry pout from Liliya.

"Shut up!"

"Now, girls, be calm," his mother gently warned them. "Since Lucas has come out of his nest." 

That earned chuckles from his siblings. 

"Let's pray together and then dine," his mother said. And so they prayed together before eating the food on the table.

"How's the progress?" His big brother, Steven, asked loudly enough for others to hear.

"Not good, another failure," Lucas replied with a shrug. "It seems the only choice is to use a mana stone. But I have to be creative about it. After all, everyone can use a mana stone."

"Lucas," his father, Peterson, called. "Are you sure you want to keep going with this? You always have other choices."

"I am sure, Father," Lucas affirmed with a nod. This question had been asked several times and answered the same. "Being a mage is my dream. I can't just stop with this setback."

"That is good." His father nodded, but Lucas noticed his father wanted to say more but refrained from doing so.

"Still, staying in your room for too long isn't good," his brother said. "You mustn't neglect your body. Why don't we exercise together in the morning?"

"What your brother said is true," his mother, Isabelle, agreed. "At least do exercise in the morning."

"Yeah! Do it with us!" Liliya agreed with beaming eyes, too cute to be refused.

"Hmmm, fine," Lucas begrudgingly agreed. He wasn't a physical person, so it didn't excite him to move his body around outside of necessity.

The dinner went smoothly, and when he was about to go back to his room, his father stopped him.

"Yes, Father?"

"Let's go to my office," his father said, not showing any hint of emotion but making it clear it was not a request. Lucas nodded and followed his father to his office.

.

.

.

In the office, his father immediately started to talk. "Lucas, I did say it is good that you have a strong determination to reach your dream. However, sometimes we must know our limitations."

Lucas realized this was what his father wanted to say when they were eating. He didn't like it though. "I know, but—"

"Let me finish," his father interrupted. "Your condition is an oddity, and nobody knows exactly, what is wrong with you."

"You possess a magic core and mana but can't cast magic. This is your limitation, and you are aware of it."

He nodded at that. He already knew this, so why was his father telling him this?

"As such, I think you should stop thinking about trying on how to cast a spell—"

Lucas' eyes widened in disbelief, and he was about to retort but stopped when his father glared at him.

"—and focus more on cultivating your magic core and mana."

"Yes?" He asked in confusion.

"Lucas, perhaps in the future you will know the reason why you can't cast magic but it won't be today, tomorrow, or any time soon. So stop doing it and focus on what you are able to achieve."

".... Father…. Forgive me, I am confused, but I thought you were trying to stop me from becoming a mage?" he asked carefully, earning a snort from his father.

"I wish, but I know how stubborn you are. So I opted for the second best; to make you focus on cultivating mana. To be a mage requires two things. The ability to cast magic and mana. You don't have the first one, but you do have the second one. So focus on that."

Lucas pondered. What his father said held merit. He was so focused on trying to cast magic that he forgot to take care of his own mana. However, this really didn't solve the problem of enrollment in the academy. Having a lot of mana wouldn't increase his chance unless he managed to reach tier 3 mana already, which was kind of impossible. Still, it was better than nothing. He could cultivate his mana while thinking about what to do.

"I know what you are thinking, Lucas," said his father. "Just increasing your mana isn't enough. Which is why the next step is to make you a mage scholar."

"Mage scholar?" Lucas knew the term. In truth, a mage by nature was a scholar inside, but a mage scholar meant a mage who delved deeply into the theory of a particular magic school or various magic schools.

"Yes, you have already learned about various magic schools. Now, you just need to deeply understand them and then do research. A challenging task, I'm sure, but it is the path you must take if you want to enroll at the academy."

It was indeed a tall order. Six months, and he had to come up with an interesting research that would make himself valuable. A significant challenge for a kid at the age of eleven years old.

"Father, I need access to numerous books for that." If he had to conduct research, then he needed to study ahead and much further than anyone else.

"Of course, you will have free access to the library without restriction under the condition you mustn't practice higher-tier spells," his father warned, and Lucas nodded. It wasn't a difficult request at all.

Previously, his access to the library was restricted, limiting him to reading magic books suitable for his age, which meant no access to dangerous magic spells-books for him. With unrestricted access, he could read any book he wanted as long as he didn't cross the line. Not that he wanted to since attempting to cast a higher-tier spell could be fatal or kill him.

"Thank you, Father."

"Hmm," his father nodded. "You can go now, and don't forget to exercise in the morning. It will be good for your health," he added at the end, and Lucas froze up for a moment before nodding begrudgingly.

".... Yes, Father," Lucas swore he could hear his father snickering quietly, when he left the office.

Lucas went back to his room and headed to the bathroom to wash up and clean his teeth. After that, he changed into his pajamas. However, instead of going to sleep, Lucas opted for meditation.

He breathed in, taking in not only air but also external mana that permeated the atmosphere. The external mana entered his respiratory system and then moved toward his magic core to be refined into internal mana or refined mana, serving as fuel for his magic. There was a difference between external mana and internal mana. External or raw mana was mana in its rawest form. It was powerful energy but wild and dangerous. For that reason, raw mana must be refined. A magic core was necessary to control and refine raw mana. Refined mana became less powerful but more controlled and less risky to be used as energy for magic.

As a tier-one mage like him, his refined mana wasn't of the highest quality yet. But as he reached a higher tier, his magic core would be able to produce higher-quality refined mana, signifying better energy and enhanced magical power.

He meditated for two hours and then went to bed. He planned to sleep early, he aimed to wake up early and for meditation before he had to face the dreadful morning exercise.

Closing his eyes, he hoped to have a good dream.

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