Too early

'Did something happen to me?' Alex thought to himself upon seeing the worried expressions on the faces of his parents and the two old mages.

They quickly rushed over to his side when they saw him sitting up.

"How are you feeling?" Agnes asked

Although they looked super worried, they did their best to remain calm and not make him uncomfortable by asking him slowly and letting a single person speak instead of showering him with questions.

Alex stared at their faces before staring down at himself, he touched his face and also folded his fingers a few times to confirm that he was not feeling any pain before responding to his mother's question.

"I feel alright, did something happen to me?" Alex asked.

No one answered him for a while as the adults stared at each other for a while before the village head came closer to him while his mother made way for him.

"Alex, take a deep breath, and try to think of something then tell me if you feel anything" the village head instructed.

Alex followed the instructions given to him but still did not find anything wrong with his body, if anything at all, he felt better than ever.

" Looks like we won't be able to find out anything on our own since he doesn't sense anything himself, sending him to an academy as quickly as possible would be the best decision"

Alex heard the village head say to his parents and they began to discuss, Alex himself fell into thought.

'That old man must have left since everyone was able to return here, he must also be the reason why I passed out but what did he do? I can't find anything wrong with my body or was he really sincere when he said he wanted to invest in me? That can't be, he must be a bad person and must have done something to cause my parents and the villagers to worry.

Hmm, they want to send me to the academy as quickly as possible using the money that the old man left behind. Doesn't that mean I'll be able to attend the registration in the coming week? But I'll then need to leave the village so soon' Alex was busy in his thoughts after hearing the village head's words.

He was both excited and sad at the same time. Excited that he would be going to join the Royal Magic Academy, the most prestigious academy in the whole southern continent, so soon. And sad that he would have to leave everyone behind. It could not be helped, Alex had spent his whole fifteen years of his life growing up here and was very attached to this place, his parents were here as well.

Alex silently clenched his hands into fists, his eyes blazing with determination as he vowed to work hard in his heart so he would be able to help his village.

The village head and old man Vee later returned to their houses after having a few words with Marcos and Agnes, they bid Alex good night as well before leaving.

Alex's parents did not have him do any more work in the house that day as his mother, Agnes, took care of all the evening chores by herself with her husband helping with a few things like washing vegetables and cutting them up. Agnes's only request for Alex was for him to eat a lot and sleep.

Although Alex felt that the sudden treatment was suspicious and strange, no child would say no to such treatment. This was especially so for Alex, who despite being an only child was not too spoiled by his parents so he did not develop any bad habits.

That night, Alex's element had flared up again and he ended up freezing up the bowl of vegetable soup that he was holding. He was given another bowl but ended up freezing that one too, Agnes optioned to feed him instead lest he froze everything and unlike the previous time when his element had gone out of control, Alex did not freak out while his parents were secretly delighted in their hearts.

They had still suspected that the purple beam had done something to Alex's rare element and were secretly worried if it would pose a problem for him but seeing him freezing things up uncontrollably filled them with relief and they were able to sleep with smiles on their faces.

The next morning, Alex woke up earlier than usual which surprised even him because he would usually only wake up when the sky was already bright enough to provide light or would have his mother wake him up. But today was different because looking from the gaps between the woods of which their house was made, Alex could tell that it was still dark outside and most people had yet to wake up.

But what surprised him even more was that his parents still woke up earlier than him and were already preparing breakfast…breakfast at this time?

"Ah, Alex, you're up already? Go wait a moment in the living room and we'll join you soon" Agnes instantly caught sight of Alex at the entrance of the kitchen the moment he arrived, his father also turned to look at him and gave him a smile.

"Good morning Dad, good morning Mom" Alex greeted them before going to sit in the living room. Their house was not big and only had a living room, a kitchen, and a bedroom where the three of them slept.

Alex did not wait long before his parents came to meet him in the living room, they sat on the wooden chair opposite him as all three of them stared at each other in silence.

Alex did not know why but he suddenly felt that his parents were about to tell him something that he did not want to hear, at least not yet; regretfully, they could not read his thoughts.

"Alex…what do you think about joining a magic academy? Excited, right? There, you can fulfill your dream of always wanting to become a mage and meet other young people like you as well. Make friends and learn new and exciting things" Agnes started without giving Alex a chance to answer.