Chapter 18: Good News
After Rain’s class ascension, if Ember had thought his father would put more pressure on him, then he would have been thoroughly mistaken. On the contrary, he had been going easier on him after finding out his swordsmanship had reached an adequate level.
The problem only came when his father wasn’t home. Now that his long leave had come to an end, he had to return to the northern plains, as monster activity seemed to be a constant dilemma there. Besides, Cliff had been neglecting his own advancement for three years. Before leaving, he had promised that he would return soon as a Silver Knight.
The problem for Ember was that, after his father was gone, his grandfather took over the duty of training him in swordsmanship. The old knight was one of the clan's few silver-rankers. To anyone else, it would have been a delight to train under him. Ember wasn’t among them. The old fuck would beat him so brutally that he’d falter in his mana cultivation.
On top of that, his grandfather seemed to be in a foul mood at all times, regardless of how well or how poorly he performed.
There had been a few days when Ember returned with bad bruises on his limbs and back, mostly because those were the days he made intentional mistakes, thinking that the old man would leave him alone after sensing his disinterest. But who knew the old fuck had no merciful bones in his body?
It was so bad that his mother had gone to confront him. For someone of such small stature and power, she did not hesitate to speak to someone who was over a hundred levels beyond her.
But Timber Blackstone barely paid any attention to her. He only expressed one line to her: “I know how to teach my kids. Since Cliff hadn’t turned out too bad, Ember will do fine too.”
Now Ember could finally understand the bad blood between his father and grandfather. But then again, as far as he knew his father, he’d likely enjoyed this kind of training. Thankfully, Sir Cliff Blackstone had not let the generational trauma continue any further with his children.
On the days he was not present for training, his grandfather would leave it to Aunt Zephyr, who was at least better to talk to. Although she seemed to have inherited the same characteristics when it came to training kids, unlike her father, she wouldn’t just beat him for any mistakes he made in his form.
Still, all this gruesome physical training impeded his mana foundation, or he’d have already formed the 20th breath of mana.
“Em, are you listening to me! Ember!”
A familiar voice echoed in his ears as he finally opened his eyes to find his sister right under the branch of the ironwood tree he was sitting on.
[Mana accumulation (Copper): +8 → 9.][+90 EPs.]
This was due for some time now. Now he'd just have to push it to Max to get his desired skill.
“The Abyss blind me, I have been beating my lungs for two minutes now!”
“I heard you the first time,” he said, looking towards her. “What is it now?”
She suddenly froze, peering at his face. “What happened to your eyes?” she asked. “Is it grandfather again? No, he wouldn’t hit you there. And all the other bruises you have…”
Yes, although the old man was beyond unreasonable, he would not beat him so irresponsibly. His body was battered, with dozens of red and purple patches all over his form, the most severe being on his right eye, which had swollen like an eggplant.
“Ah,” Ember almost forgot about that, “they’re nothing.”
Merely the handiwork of a few eight-year-olds, would you believe it? Who could have thought the children would be vicious enough not only to band together but also to plan and ambush him on his way back from practice?
Those kids had been envious of his skills since day one. But now that he was occupying more of his grandfather’s time, and that of many other instructors, not to mention the defeats they faced in sword duels, they had to do something to let out their frustration.
“It’s those kids again, isn't it? Talon and his gang?” Rain saw through it right away. “How could they beat you like that? Did you tell the instructors?”
“You should have seen them,” Ember said, presenting a confident grin.
Despite his magnanimity, when they had blinded him with an ambush, Ember had struck back. Unfortunately, there were five of them, and his physical attributes were barely worth noting. He only managed to dislodge two of them with kicks and punches before Talon, their leader, pinned him to the ground with a Wand of Kinetic Push and struck mercilessly. Ember couldn’t even use Sprint Burst to free himself. He only managed to thrash his limbs blindly in protest until they were satisfied with battering him
“Anyway, why are you calling me?”
“Well, you have missed lunch, and there are a few guests came to deliver a message. They are waiting for you.”
“Who?”
Rain grinned. “You wouldn’t believe it, Dad has already advanced to Silver Knight. Grandfather is already planning on throwing a ball.”
“Really?” Ember was so elated that he jumped off the branch to land before her. “Is he here?”
Rain shook her head. “He’s still in the northern folded plains. It will take a few days for him to return. But you should know who brought the good news. It’s your Lady Evelyn. She also wanted to check on you since she came to visit.”
He blinked, and then, unceremoniously, he dashed off with his Sprint Burst to return home. He wouldn’t want to keep her waiting for long.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Rain called out.
Ember froze mid-step. Turning back, he eyed her quizzically. Only noting her gesture, he was reminded of the sting in his right eye. “Right, the bruises.”
He waited for her to heal him, but even after an extended moment, Rain only stared at him with a pointed look, showing no intention of casting her healing spell. Ultimately, he had to use the magical words:
“Please, it’s the last time. I promise.”
“I’m sure it won’t be the last,” Rain snorted. She pointed at him with her finger as specks of copperish light spread from her palm over his skin.
After attaining her class, Rain’s healing was more powerful now. Her Minor Healing spell had advanced into Light of Renewal, a class skill that could be used as a general healing spell for anything. Before, it would have required a few castings of Minor Healing to complete the job, but with just one cast, the copperish light spread across his body and mended all his flesh anew. It took a little longer for the swollen eye, but within half a minute, all the marks that might have worried his mother were gone.
“Can’t you make friends with them?” Rain asked. “Just pay them a little attention, and they will fawn all over you like little sycophants.”
“Please, you wouldn't believe the kind of stupid things they talk about,” Ember complained. “I fear I’d be losing a point of Insight every time I talk with them.”
“Gosh, you are hopeless,” Rain shook her head. “Perhaps it will be a different case if you meet someone as slick as you. Well, Lady Evelyn may have brought a couple of them with her. See if you can get along with them.”
A fat chance of that. While the Blackstone kids were envious of his skills, the high nobles only looked down on him.
Returning home, he found that there were already half a dozen people in the drawing room. Among the guests, there was almost everyone from the hunting party, save for Lady Evelyn’s brother, Lord Jamie. In his place was a stout-looking middle-aged man who was doing most of the talking, while Lady Evelyn sipped her tea in silence.
His mother, too unnerved by the company, was unable to converse freely with them. At least his grandfather had taken her place in accommodating the guests.
“There he is,” Rosanna said as soon as she noted his presence. “You kept us all waiting—” Her eyes contracted. “What happened to your clothes?”
My clothes? Only then did Ember notice that the sleeve of his tunic had been torn off from the shoulder.
“Just a little mishap during training,” he said with a straight face. If only he had taken Lying in place of Language Acquisition, perhaps he would have already advanced it to Deception.
His sister coughed unhelpfully. Thankfully, with so many high noble guests in the house, Rosanna didn’t go into a tirade about it.
“It seems you’re practising tirelessly with the sword as well,” Lady Evelyn said.
Ember smiled embarrassedly. You have no idea.
“Well, I can't help with that,” she smiled. “But if it's anything related to mana, I can give you a few pointers.”
There was so much to ask. Ember feared she didn’t have much time to give him, but with her permission, he began posing all the questions he had saved up, one by one, in the order of magnitudes.
To his dismay, she allowed her niece Elin to answer a few of the questions. Ember would have liked the answer anyway. Sadly, the girl had a smarty mouth, and she put it to use at all times. Thankfully, his questions began to delve into more complicated territories that only the bona fide mage could answer.
Ember didn't have an astonishing epiphany like the first time he came into her guidance, but he was certain it wouldn't be long before he'd gain his first Iron Skill.