Chapter 22: Mikaela’s Resolve

Although he had ignored it before, he soon realized and acknowledged the reason he was left behind. It was because he was young, much more so because he was weak. He wanted to protect his mother, his father, and everyone important to him. For that, he had to grow stronger. 

For that, he would have to train tirelessly and relentlessly.

Even the simple-minded Mikaela understood this logic.

A small portion of that motivation was to be better than Lucien who he heard had made a lot of progress from his Aunties endless bragging. 

"I want to learn from him as well," added Mikaela, for a more believable reason. There is no logical way an average five-year-old child could hunt.

Gustav and Nora became weirdly silent. Jamie was always silent, it didn't seem odd for him to be silent.

"Really??? W-why do you want to learn that this early? You have time and you can play and have fun with us and we can have soo~ much fun," grumbled Nora. 

Lucien slightly narrowed his eyes at this puzzling feeling. She was mostly supportive in trying to be better and being proactive. He couldn't put a finger on it but he found her behavior and reaction unexpected.

"Right! I mean, I am eight and I haven't begun training on such things. We should have fun while we can." Gustav nodded in addition adding to Nora's opinion.

"You should try to take a break even if you go hunt training. It is very tiring doing errands during training," said Jamie, reflecting on his own experience.

Seeing that none of his friends were supportive of his ideals, even just a little bit, Mikaela snapped. 

"Fine, you know what? I don't want to play anymore! You play by yourselves and I will be learning how to hunt from Father and be the best hunter in the village, j-just wait! Let's go, Lu!" screamed Mikaela.

Mikaela gave an outburst and left pulling Lucien along with him, disregarding if he wanted to play or not. 

They were always together so they should be together in not playing as well, right? This was Mikaela's logic. 

Lucien was surprised by Mikaela's sudden outburst of anger who would usually never say anything like that no matter how angry he got. But then again, he had never seen Mikaela angry. It was the first time. It was also the first time having his mother's absence for so long. Lucien felt like he had understood something.

This was partly because of Mikaela's built-up tension and bottled emotions. When they got home, Mitchell was tending to the garden and watering flowers and vegetables, clearly surprised by the children's early return.

"What happened?" asked Mitchell with a warm fatherly smile. 

He tried easing the tension in the air. He could see Mikaela fuming in anger and Lucien dumbstruck. As curious as he was, he approached it a gentle way.

"Papaaaaa! I-I hate it, I don't want to go to the village anymoreeeee!" Mikaela declared in a sobbing voice running in for a hug. 

Mitchell hugged his son and looked at Lucien who shrugged to show he didn't know what was happening. 

"What do you hate? Why won't you go to the village anymore?" Mitchell asked, his voice gentle while patting Mikaela's head.

"I don't knowww! Ahhh! Sob! Cough!"

Mikaela gave his answer. 

Mitchell locked eyes with Lucien and realized a smile had formed on the other. It has got to be the funniest answer one could imagine.

"Okay okay. Let's get you a warm cup of milk and a towel." Mitchell nodded at Lucien and picked up Mikaela in his arms.

'He is still a baby,' thought Mitchell.

That day had ended in such an absurd yet comical way.

…

During the next few days, Mikaela kept up with his training putting in more effort than ever. His mother's absence each day was enough daily motivation and torment. 

Mitchell would spend most of his time with Mikaela. He was worried about his son but he was also trying to fill a void in his heart. Their shared presence was a form of healing due to their shared pain. Maybe due to that their bond as father-son got better over time, better than it ever was before.

They had meals at Lucien's home since Bianca was the only other who knew the basics of making anything edible. Breakfast, lunch, and supper were held at her place. This way, the meals always had five individuals present.

Mikaela stopped going to the village town. Lucien, not having any reason to visit the village, remained home as well. 

He became more interested in the books on magic that his parents had. So, regardless of not understanding the content within he would be absorbed in them either way. Merlin didn't prohibit or limit this as long as it didn't affect his daily magic lessons.

It was at this time that Mikaela began feeling his body change. His morning routine had increased to morning and evening routine having nothing going on. One was overseen by his father while the other was his self-driven practice. 

Swinging his sword became easier and it seemed almost as light as paper. He felt every fiber in his body and had better muscle control overall after a while of practice. He began being aware of the air he breathed and felt something within it, something special.

He spoke to Mitchell about this. Mitchell was genuinely surprised since his son had broken logic. His logic, or at the very least, logic written in books. This was the first time he experienced such a scenario.

After considering it more, it made sense. Lucien and Mikaela basically, had unlimited talent. Within their bodies was an endless tide of talent and pure ether. With guidance, it would manifest faster. 

On average, practitioners would swing their swords until they formed an aura core within them. This aura within would temper their bodies making them physically stronger than average humans. From constant practice and exposure, one would begin sensing it. One could tell how much aura they had in their body. From there, one would manipulate it and then manifest it…

All this took years. Each stage would be a minimum of a year. It took him two years and a half to reach this point, and he was considered talented. Mikaela was something beyond a genius, something entirely different...

It seemed like the aura within Mikaela's body was supplementing his body even though it had not formed a core. The core would cause a forced cleansing and by that process, it would be evident by sudden physical and strength improvement. The core was not hidden, so with inspection, one would tell quite easily.

The main point was that Mikaela had not formed a core yet. Yet his body was going through changes which should only be possible after forming a core...

Mitchell was baffled on how to go about this. How would he teach his child something he had never heard of himself? 

(～￣▽￣)～