Chapter 24 - Within a Dream 2

(Third person POV)

Hiro, just Hiro. He was born as a commoner to normal ordinary commoner parents. Nothing about his life was ever remarkable until, at the tender age of 11, he had a chance encounter with the young lady of the Einzelfoth noble family who governed the territory where his town was located in.

Young lady Alicia had gone out to that town with her friend Atsuka, both disguised in commoner clothes, and had gotten lost in an area between the slum district and the shopping district.

Nothing eventful happened; young Hiro was out in the area doing some errands for the Adventurers Guild and bumped into the two young ladies before helping guide them to the guards after discovering they were lost.

When they were just some distance away from the Guard station, Hiro bid them farewell and went back to his errands without knowing that this chance encounter would change his fate forever.

After the two young ladies got back to the Einzelfoth mansion in that town and got some reprimands from both their fathers, Alicia requested her father to take young Hiro as her personal butler because she liked his character.

However, she was rejected and the two got into an argument until Atsuka's father suggested a compromise where the Einzelfoth would take Hiro in as a normal servant under their service for a period of time first before deciding any further.

Young Alicia's father reluctantly agreed to this arrangement and ordered his butler to handle everything; and so, within less than a week after their encounter, the three meet once again in the garden in the mansion's ground.

Young Hiro was happy and grateful to young Alicia for giving him the opportunity to work and earn money to help his family's living situation; with this new source of income, his parents won't have to work as hard and his little brother would be able to focus more on his studies rather than work.

Young Hiro continued to work as a normal servant within the mansion before being promoted to a servant under young Alicia's name within the span of a year; he continued to improve his skill as a servant three more years, but he was deemed unfit to be Alicia's personal butler so instead he went into the subordination of Leo.

One week ago, Hiro officially came under Leo as a trainee because Leo saw that Hiro has some potential due to his great stamina and physical strength from the four years of working in the Einzelfoth house.

Another thing is, Hiro was just at the right age to be tested and trained as he has just come of age. Most people in the world of Mirkaz would be able to determine their path by the age of 15, also known as the age where a child would become an adult.

At the age of 15, your mind and body will be fully developed to suit your soul and you can accurately determine which path will be the most suited for you.

However, there are some exceptions such as those who have talents in the path of magic, magical talent is far easier to gauge if you utilize the right magic item or skill. That's why all royalties, nobles, or rich merchants with excess wealth would try to gauge their children's magical talent at the age of 5 or 6 and if they couldn't find any they would try again at 10 or 11, some more eccentric people even do it every year.

More commonly, magical talents would only crop up when they come of age so most if not all commoners or poor nobles would just save their money and test their children's talent when they come of age. In fact, it was this exact reason that age 15 is universally considered to be the age when a child becomes an adult among humans.

Hiro had not been tested yet; his talents and potentials are frankly unknown apart from his physical prowess. Hence why he was hoping to find out right here right now whether he is fit to learn magic or not.

Hiro was prepared to be judged by this High Mage in front of him, someone who was but a step away from becoming a powerhouse among the masses according to the knowledge he has gained while working in the Einzelfoth house.

But when he had requested this High Mage to teach him magic, he didn't get denounced for not having any talent nor was his request accepted for having the talent for it; no, what he got was a question.

"Why do you want to learn magic? What is your reasoning? Depending on your answer, I will decide whether to accept your request or not"

This question stumped him, for about a few seconds only as various images flashed through his mind and gave him his answer, what exactly was the reason that he wants to find out if he was suitable to learn magic.

The answer was power.

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(Ren's POV)

"I-" Hiro seemed to be stumped for a few seconds before the aura around him changed completely, it seems he had come to the answer to my question, his reason for wanting to learn magic.

"I want power, no, I need power. I need the power to protect Lady Alicia and Lady Atsuka, Lady Alicia is the reason I was able to get to where I am today, she is the reason my family does not have to worry about money anymore.

Without her, I would still be running errands for the Adventurers Guild to help my family. Without her, my brother would not be able to focus on his study and would have to work at the Adventurers Guild just like me in the past.

I want to repay all the kindness the Einzelfoth family has shown me, the kindness Lady Alicia showed me over my time as a servant of the Einzelfoth. So please sir, teach me magic so I can protect Lady Alicia in place of Sir Leo, it was his last order for me before his passing"

Hiro started to shed tears while pressing his head harder onto the ground; I can feel waves of emotions coming off of him, both negative and positive emotions.

Such intense emotions were transmitted to me directly, allowing me to experience them in the flesh almost like I could see everything that was going on within his mind.

The feeling of being useless, of being unable to do anything in the face of danger, yet there was also the feeling of hope and unbridled determination.

A grin broke out in my face, he didn't change one bit, if anything he grew even further; instead of wallowing in his own incompetency, he shed off those negative emotions and took a step forward without fearing rejection, no, it's more like he felt he had more to gain from moving forward than losses.

"Hahaha, good, good, that's what I like to hear. It's decided then, I'll take you under me and train you to become an excellent mage or whatever you want to become.

Now, stand up and hold your head high, the path of magic is a very long winding, rocky, and steep road. Once you're on it, you can never turn back, all you can do to stop to rest before continuing forward"

I crouched down and grabbed his shoulder to make him stand up and look at me, face to face.

"T-thank you for taking me under you, sir" Hiro wiped the tear off his face and smiled brightly.

"Now, before we start. Have you done a magic affinity test? If not, put your hand on this crystal and we'll find out right here right now which elements you're able to use" I put away my staff and created a Fate Crystal, the most expensive and most accurate catalyst item to see a person's potential and their most suited paths to take; the materials to make it is very rare but not something impossible to obtain for someone of Master-tier.

It helps in reading the soul and body of the person who touches it to see their physical talent, elemental affinities, magical affinities, etc. do note that it can only read the soul of those willing or if they're Apprentice or Basic-tier.

Of course, there are some Special Skills or Unique Skills that can achieve the same or even better results like [Sage Eyes], [Eye of Truth], [Divine Appraisal], [Divine Eyes], [Dragon's Eye(s)], [True Dragon's Eye(s)], [Demon Eyes], [True Demon Eyes], [God's Eyes], and many more.

Well, enough of that.

Hiro didn't say anything but he stared intently at his reflection in the round, smooth Fate Crystal with clear nervousness written all over his face. Just with a glance, I can tell what he was thinking about; after ascertaining that this Hiro's personality is the same as the Akirou on Earth, I can read him like a book.

"If you're worried about whether you'll have talent in magic or not, don't. Talent is just one of the factors in becoming stronger in this world; in this world, everyone has the chance to become a powerhouse, whether you can make it come true or not depends on how you go about walking your own path.

You might not know this but, to become a powerhouse in this world, no matter the era, you require luck, hard work, and the ability to persevere"

I held up three fingers on my free hand while staring straight into his eyes.

"And before you refute my idea; talent, lineage, and the resources children of nobles or royalties are given, all of that, as far as I'm concerned, falls under luck. Nobody can decide which family they're born in, which position they're born into, what country their family lives in"

I turned my back to him in a dramatic fashion before staring into the sky that has already fixed itself.

"This will be your first lesson, life is not fair, nothing is fair, no one is born equal, everyone is different in some way, everyone has a different starting point in life, and everyone has different encounters in life.

However, in the path of magic, everyone has an equal amount of chances to succeed, you might start off at the bottom and make slow progress compared to those geniuses or those born with a silver spoon in their mouth, but in the end, what matters most is that you keep going, keep persevering no matter the hardship, and know your own limits.

This might be shocking to you, but a majority of those so-called geniuses end up dead before they even managed to graze the top, just because they were conceited and full of themselves, thinking they would be able to achieve anything with minimal effort.

Remember that you only have one life, always try to push past your limits but make sure to not overdo it. The reason why there are so few high-tiers in the world isn't just because it's hard to climb up there, no, other reasons are that most either get stuck at a plateau at Master-tier or lose their lives from being reckless or just straight up having bad luck"

I turned back around to Hiro, who was wide-eyed and frozen in place after learning the truth of this world.

"I kinda went off on a tangent there. What I'm trying to tell you here is, even if you have mediocre talent in magic, you can still attain enough power to protect your loved ones. Keep pushing forward little by little, endure the inevitable hardship that will come, and know when to lay down your pride back down. Only those who survive till the end can reap the rewards of the battle and eventually reach the top"

I waited for Hiro to digest the information before thrusting the Fate Crystal into his chest.

"Now, enough dilly-dallying. Let's see what you've got in that soul of yours"

"Y-yes, sir!"

Hiro touched the Fate Crystal before the clear reflective crystal was shrouded a black and green light with other smaller different colored lights mixed in the background, then a blue light panel appeared in front of the crystal.

[----------------------]

Akirou Hiro – Human Male

Physical Talent – S+

Magical Talent – A

Weapon Talent - Swords

Optimal Class – [Magic Swordsman], [Magic Warrior], [Paladin], [Guardian]

Elemental Affinities – Darkness, Nature, Metal, Light, Earth, Water

[----------------------]

"Hmm…This is very good" I marveled at Hiro's potential, this is actually his potential in the real world. If I trained him to be one of the classes above and give him access to the Sage Tower's storage, he could definitely reach Master-tier in a year or two.

"S-so, can I learn magic?"

"You're more than qualified to learn magic, however…" I paused and looked at him.

"H-however?" Hiro was a bit shaken up.

"However, it would be best if you focused more on training to use a sword and learn magic on the side with dark magic as your main specialty"

"D-Dark Magic!" Hiro looked a bit frightened.

"You're misunderstanding something here. What I'm talking about is magic of the darkness element, not Black magic, the one you're thinking about" I corrected Hiro on his misconception; Black magic is a taboo art, it's heavily frowned upon as it uses Life Force or Souls as catalysts to cast spells far above the user's tier.

Well, I used to use a branch of this magic called Sacrificial magic to empower my spells in desperate situations, but I haven't used it in battles ever since I ascended to Saint-tier. It just wasn't as cost-effective on spells of that tier as those of lower tiers.

"Anyway, your talent lies in your physical ability and you have more talent in the sword than any other weapon, you need to maximize your growth by focusing on your swordsmanship. However, you also have good talents in magic so make sure to set aside some time to practice magic too, especially in dark magic, it's the element you have the highest affinity with among your other elements.

Since it's almost morning already, let me teach you how to use a sword before breakfast, I'll teach you magic while we make our way out of here"

I created two black wooden practice swords in my hands before tossing one of them to Hiro, and while I was at it, I also took off my black mage robe and put it away.

"Umm, not to be rude, sir, but are you sure about this" Hiro looked at the black wooden sword then back at me with doubtful eyes.

"No need to be worried about me, even if I am a mage, you bare qualifies as an Apprentice-tier, I'm three tiers above as a Master-tier; our physical capabilities are worlds even if I'm more focused on magic.

Let me show you the difference in tiers"

Holding the wooden sword in my right hand, I took several steps back before getting into a stance and thrusting my sword towards Hiro. Wind coiled around the sword for a split second before shooting off towards Hiro in the blink of an eye and flying right past his head, hitting the tree behind him and piercing through that tree before hitting another tree behind it, making it shake.

I spun the wooden sword around for a bit for the cool factor, making the fallen withered leaves on the ground get blown away from the wind pressure before resting the sword on my shoulder.

Looking at Hiro's stunned expression, I smiled, content with his reaction.

"Lesson two, Hiro; this world's peak is dominated by those who are the best of the best in manipulating and controlling some form of energy. Whether it be mana, aura, or some other forms of energy, in a battle of those at the top, physical capabilities wouldn't even make it up to the top 5 most important factors.

When I said you need to mainly focus on your swordsmanship, I meant you have to refine your skills in the sword, not your physical body. You already have a very strong body, you don't have to worry about your power outgrowing your body; your own body will naturally adapt to accommodate your power slowly, in fact, the process of ascension to another tier is to make you able to endure the huge influx of power"

I stopped for a few seconds to give him time to process the information while setting up a sound barrier so we don't disturb the ladies' sleep.

"Now, let's get started. You'll be learning by experience, I'll attack you and you have to defend while also observing how I move and attack"

"!!!" Hiro's eyes widen and he started to tremble in fear.

"Don't worry, I'll be holding back so you won't die after a few hits" I smiled, reassuring him to not worry about his life.

"Y-y-y-yes, s-s-sir!" Hiro held the wooden sword with both trembling hands and took a basic defensive stance.

I chuckle a bit before dashing forward to quickly close the distance.

Arriving in front of Hiro, I swung my sword overhead and he defended with his sword.

*Bonk*

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(Ren's POV)

*Bzzz* *Bzzz*

*Bzzz* *Bzzz*

I woke up at 5 am on the dot and heard the sound of something vibrating on my desk; I got up slowly and walked towards it to see Mimi, Keirou's older sister calling me.

*Bzzz* *Bzzz*

*Beep*

"Hello, why are you calling me so early in the morning, Mimi-senpai?" I picked up the call while heading out to the bathroom.

[Ren-kun, I finally got through to you. I've been trying to call your old number since yesterday but didn't get an answer so I asked Kei-chan last night and he said you got a new number, and here we are]

"Sooo…what are you calling for?" I opened the bathroom door, head over to the sink, put the call on loudspeaker, and put my phone next to the sink before freshening up.

[It's not really important; a kouhai at my workplace should have just moved in next door to you with her guardians, I wanted you to ask Mitsu-kun to take care of her at her new school]

"Hmm? Does this kouhai happen to be in primary school like Mitsuo? And, I don't know, could have possibly been on the news recently?" I think I know who this kouhai happens to be.

[Hehehe, your head works pretty quickly as always, and yes, she's Achika Miri. She managed to wander off out of the hotel without being noticed and made it all the way to Itou Primary School before meeting Mitsu-kun in the playground]

"…They should maybe put a tracker on her if she can unintentionally evade a 5-star hotel's security system" I finished drying my hands and face before heading back to my room.

[Don't worry, they already plan to do that, but just as a precaution, can you have Mitsu-kun look after her? Even with that tracker, I'm still worried she'll wander off somewhere again if left alone]

"Alright, I'll pass on the message. Is that all?"

[Yep, catch you next time then]

"Yeah"

*Beep*

I laid down on my bed and thought about what I should do with all the free time I have before school.

'Ooh, that might be a good idea'

I quickly got up and sat down at my desk before pulling out some material to make a sword for Akirou.