Time skip (1)

"You weren't told?" asked Cassandra, looking to Lillian.

"I don't understand half of what you say here. Did you expect me to go spouting things I'm not sure of?" asked Lillian in a sort of embarrassed tone.

"So you can see mana?" asked Streya, a faraway look on her face.

"Yhup," nodded Arya as he continued to perform calculations at the back of his mind.

"W-What do you see now?" asked Armin.

"A large cloud of mana is clinging on to your mana core, yours looks fairly complex," Arya said, looking at Armin's mana core.

{Wait, now that I think about it. How come I can't see Argen and Cassandra's mana cores?} wondered Arya.

He had never really paid much thought to it since he wasn't so interested in other people's mana cores. But now that he had to carry out research on it, it got his attention.

"W-What about me, what do you see?" asked Streya hesitantly, her eyes looking the other way.

"There are small wisps of mana clinging to your mana core. However, yours looks smooth, whereas Armin's has a lot of notches and grooves, sort of like comparing a maze to an open field," Arya said without a second thought.

He didn't think about how it would affect Streya, he was merely speaking the same way a scientist would about the readings that his instruments were telling him.

"I-Is that so," she said, her head drooping down.

"B-But that could mean anything. I-I mean look at me, I don't even have a mana core," he added once he noticed Streya's change in mood.

"Argen, when can I get the book with your notes?" asked Arya, trying to change the topic.

"You can come get them right after this,"

"Do you also have a book on constructs? I would like to study those as well..."

{Arya is really amazing. He almost died yet his interest in magic didn't wane. He lost his mana core, yet he still looks for ways to use magic. I guess he's the real genius in the family,} thought Armin as he listened to Arya talk to Argen.

"I-I want to come with," blurted Armin.

"What? I thought you said you didn't want to learn magic anymore," said Lillian, turning to look at Armin.

"I-I want to help Arya with his research,"

"Can I come too?" asked Streya.

{If Arya can find a way to use magic, then maybe I can find a way too,} hoped Streya.

On that day, Arya gained his first two followers, and coincidentally, they were his older siblings.

***

The family got home just in time to prepare dinner. They had gotten delayed because Armin, Argen, and Arya were discussing a few magical concepts.

Although Armin lagged behind on the conversations, he was naturally gifted at understanding magic, so he caught on to a few things.

Streya on the other hand was completely lost, however she still felt happy being included in a talk about magic.

"You two look happy, where were you?" smiled Lillian as Gray and Neel walked into the kitchen, faces beaming with excitement.

"The soldier who lives at the end of the district agreed to help me train. I'm going to become a knight!" shouted Gray in joy.

"Old man Jenkins is a war veteran. He agreed to teach Gray a few things before he takes the entrance exam to the Knightingale Academy," added Neel in a calmer tone, however small hints of excitement were still audible in his voice.

"But we don't have the money dear," said Lillian, feeling a bit ashamed for bursting their bubble like that.

"Of course, he'll have to go there on a scholarship basis. So he'll have to train twice as hard for the scholarship as well,"

"Work hard, Gray," said Streya and Armin in unison.

"Thanks,"

"I know you can do it, Gray," added Arya. Although being a baby hid most of the awkwardness, he was still figuring out how this whole family thing worked.

"T-Thanks... brother," Gray said, his face tinged red.

***

A few more days passed, and Neel had to go back to the mines. Once again Gray was upset at his father leaving, but this time he wasn't angry.

"When are you coming back?" asked Gray.

"Perhaps they will give us another break in a few months, but I can't promise anything," replied Neel, before saying goodbye to his other children.

When it was Gray's turn, he said goodbye with a promise, "I'll become a great knight," he said. And with it, a new resolve had etched itself in his heart.

***

Three years passed, and a lot had changed.

Gray had continued his knight training, leaving for old man Jenkin's house at noon, and returning just as the sun was about to set every day.

At first, Gray would come back completely exhausted, passing out on the front porch on several occasions. But now he would only come back with a few cuts and bruises, but that was it.

He was now twelve, and a bit big for his age, much like his father. He was lean and muscular, with good vascularity -not a pound of muscle or fat more than he needed for knighthood.

His face now held a sort of stoic expression, which reminded Lillian a lot of how Neel looked when he was younger.

His scholarship exam was in a few days, and he put his all into preparations.

Armin also continued his training. He had let his hair grow out, making him look sort of feminine.

At the age of nine, he was already at a level in magic that most wouldn't even have reached at fifteen.

Of course, that was partially due to Arya's help. His insight into the world of mana greatly helped Armin better understand magic concepts.

He and Gray were going to attend their scholarship exams at the same time. If he succeeded, he would probably go on to be the youngest mage at any Magical Academy.

Streya on the other hand spent her nights reading books on magic. Trying to catch up in order to better help Arya with his research.

However, each time she felt like she was catching up, Arya would make some new breakthrough that just made her realize how wide the gap was between hard work and natural-born talent.

Nonetheless, she was still happy for her siblings, though the aching in her heart worsened by the day. Now she was truly the outcast, the only one without a reason for being.