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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The First Spar
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Ten seconds later, the light slowly began to fade. Only after it had vanished completely did Kaizareu and Lucian blink.
“I see spots…”
“Ugh, damn it. My eyes still hurt.”
The two of them rubbed their eyes, still reeling from the aftereffects of the spell.
Ria, who had been staring blankly, was overcome with emotion and rushed toward Lucian.
[You did it, Lucian! That was the most perfect, immense Light spell I've ever seen!]
“R-really?”
[Yes! A Light spell of that caliber is by no means something a 2nd Circle mage can create! Ah! How are your mana circles now? Have they settled down?]
At Ria's question, Lucian hesitantly checked his mana circles.
Two mana circles were spinning tautly. They weren't overloaded; in fact, they were remarkably stable.
“Yes, I'm really okay now…”
As the tension drained away, Lucian's eyes fluttered shut.
Before Lucian could collapse to the floor, Kaizareu caught him.
“Hah, for a little brat, that was one hell of an initiation.”
Though he grumbled, the corners of Kaizareu's mouth turned up.
[How is he?]
“He's fine, aside from the accumulated fatigue. He suffered some internal injuries, but I healed them, so there shouldn't be any problems.”
[I'm glad it worked out. I was worried his mana would go berserk. You should have been more moderate with the mana.]
“I put in less than I originally planned. What was I supposed to do when the little bastard absorbed every bit I gave him?”
[Huh? Really?]
“Yeah. Normally, people can't absorb about thirty percent of another's mana due to resistance. But this kid absorbed one hundred percent of it.”
Was that even possible? It was a dragon’s mana, of all things.
“From what I can see… he has an innate talent. Otherwise, how could a greenhorn who can barely even sense the flow of mana create not just one, but two circles on his first try?”
[True… I admit, I thought of it as a gamble myself.]
“Besides, his mana passages expanded radically when he formed the circles just now. At this rate, he'll be able to reach the 4th Circle without any trouble. It must have hurt a lot…”
Seeing the gentle look in his eyes as he gazed at Lucian, Ria spoke up.
[You said you were going to be harsh, but you're more worried about Lucian than I am, aren't you?]
“W-who's worried! About a mere human…!”
Kaizareu huffed, stood up as if his job was done, and left. But even after going outside, he lingered by the door, sneaking glances at Lucian.
I had a feeling it was only a matter of time before those two made up.
* * *
Having achieved the 2nd Circle in a single go, Lucian suffered from a fever for two full days.
It was a kind of growing pain, his body's way of adapting to the sudden change.
While Lucian was stuck in bed, Kaizareu didn't show his face once.
Although he didn't show it, Lucian kept glancing toward the door, looking for Kaizareu. Meanwhile, Kaizareu constantly checked on Lucian's condition from the window, the doorway, or by eavesdropping.
They were both dying to approach each other, yet when they did meet, they acted like sworn enemies. Honestly.
Even after Lucian recovered and resumed his magic and swordsmanship lessons, there was no progress between them.
Ria sat with a sullen expression, watching the two of them.
Today's training consisted of Kaizareu casting a spell, which Lucian then had to defend against with a countering one.
Kaizareu conjured a fire spell in his left hand and threw it at Lucian. Lucian swallowed hard and cast his own spell.
“…Aqua!”
“Too slow!”
He succeeded in creating the Aqua, but the Fire reached him first.
“Y-you’re just too fast, Kaizareu!”
“Too fast, my ass! That was a snail's pace! If this were a real battle, you'd be dead! When you fight someone else, are you going to spout the same nonsense about them being too fast to see?!”
This had been going on for a while now.
If Lucian messed up, Kaizareu would berate him. If he did okay, Kaizareu would demand to know what was so great about it. And if he did perfectly, Kaizareu would just nag him to do even better.
There was absolutely no praise.
I knew he didn't want a repeat of what happened in the basement, but wasn't this a bit too spartan?
Unable to watch any longer, Ria stepped in.
[Kaizareu, how can you expect him to use magic he just learned yesterday so quickly? Besides, he's not just doing this; he's practicing his swordsmanship at the same time.]
That's right, this wasn't just simple magic training.
When Kaizareu threw a rock, Lucian had to strike it down with his sword. When he used magic, Lucian had to react instantly with a counter-spell.
He was only eight, and it hadn't even been a week since he formed his mana circles. It was ridiculous to expect him to pull this off immediately.
“Then how long is it going to take him to master everything? You think he can just dabble in a little magic, dabble in a little swordsmanship, and call it a day? If just knowing the basics was enough, every Tom, Dick, and Harry would be powerful by now! If he goes out into the human world with these skills, he won't last long before he's dead!”
[No, I'm just saying to take it a little easier.]
“Ria, you clearly said you were entrusting his education to me. If you argue any more, I'm done.”
[Aish, that stubborn old coot…]
He was just a hatchling, so why was he so rigid? Was it that hard to be a little more flexible?
“Ria, it's okay. I can do it.”
[But, Lucian…]
“Do you think I can't even do this? I'm going to knock him down a peg, so just watch, Ria.”
As Lucian no longer called him 'brother,' Kaizareu's eyebrow twitched.
Back at the birthday party, they were calling each other brothers and laughing, but now they were glaring at each other as if they wanted to tear one another apart.
“Feeling confident, are we? You've only succeeded five times out of fifty.”
“I'm used to it now, so I can do it faster. What? You think I can't?”
“Alright then—let's see how long that confidence lasts.”
Kaizareu picked up the pace and resumed the lesson. Lucian stumbled at first, but he soon gritted his teeth and focused with intense concentration.
[Ooh?]
As if he'd truly sharpened his fangs, Lucian began to gain the upper hand.
Kaizareu, seemingly surprised himself, raised an eyebrow. Then, wiping the smile from his face, he began to take it seriously.
“Now we'll do this like a real battle. I won't announce my attacks, and I'll be moving around. You do your best to defend in the most optimal way.”
Lucian nodded, and Kaizareu, who had been standing still for the entire training session, finally moved.
Seeing the spirited look in his eyes, Kaizareu grinned and began to mutter something.
Wondering what was happening, I watched the situation unfold, only to feel the ground tremble slightly and snap my head up.
[Lucian! The ground! There's something in the ground!]
Lucian jumped back. A hole then opened where he had been standing, and flames erupted from it.
[Hey! What if he gets hurt!]
As Ria shouted, Kaizareu clicked his tongue.
“I believe I said we were treating this like a real battle. I haven't used any magic above the 1st Circle. I just applied it differently.”
[You, you really…!]
“So applications are allowed, then?”
Staring blankly at the hole Kaizareu had made, Lucian's lips curled into a smile.
“Wind!”
Lucian used the pit Kaizareu had created to his advantage. Kaizareu calmly dodged. But that wasn't Lucian's true objective.
The wind passed straight through the pit, kicking up a cloud of dust and obscuring their vision.
“Hoh?”
A good idea. But this would obscure not only his vision but Lucian's as well. I wondered how he planned to counterattack from here.
Tap, tap, tap—
The sound of movement circled around as the dust cloud slowly began to settle.
Whoosh—
Faintly, from the left, the sound of wind could be heard as the dust began to clear faster in that direction.
Kaizareu, about to move to dodge the attack, looked down when he found his feet wouldn't budge.
“When did he…”
The earth had risen up to bind his feet, then been frozen solid with Ice to hold them fast.
Distracted by the dust and Lucian's approach, he had made the rookie mistake of leaving his feet vulnerable.
“Ha, haha… Interesting…!”
Kaizareu let out a dry laugh, his eyes flashing. He raised his left arm to block the incoming attack from his left.
Lucian swung his sword down, attacking Kaizareu, who blocked it with his arm.
The dust cleared completely, revealing Lucian and Kaizareu glaring at each other.
[That's enough!]
At the sound, both of them looked at Ria.
[Lucian wins this time. Right, Kaizareu?]
“…Well, obscuring my vision and distracting me to bind my feet was brilliant, I'll admit.”
Kaizareu glanced down at Lucian.
“Let's say you won this round.”
Lucian's face lit up.
“Ria! I won! I finally won!”
[Congratulations, Lucian. To think of binding his feet in such a short time. What made you think of that?]
“I knew it would be hard to win in a direct fight, and if he started running around, I'd have a hard time catching him, so I thought I should bind his feet first. And since he'd already dug a hole, I used the loose dirt to kick up a dust cloud.”
[The same trick won't work next time. You can still do well then, right?]
“Of course! Kaizareu is no match for me now, is he?”
Oops. He got too cocky.
Kaizareu, who had heard Lucian's words loud and clear, began to tremble with rage.
“What? No match for you? Technically, you didn't even win. If I had shot my breath at you, you would have died on the spot! Instantly!”
“Hmph, Ria would have blocked it for me. Besides, didn't you block with your arm because you were too slow to counter with magic?”
“Alright. Let's go again. I'll crush you so flat you'll never get cocky again!”
“Why should I? I'm tired now. I've used up almost all my mana, so I can't.”
As Lucian turned his head away with a huff, showing his nerve, Kaizareu grabbed the back of his neck and trembled as if he were about to collapse.
Kaizareu shrieked and began to snap at Lucian, who shot back without missing a beat.
“Coward!”
“Petty!”
“You idiot who can't even read runes!”
“And you're a bigger idiot for losing to an idiot like that!”
Grrrr!
A childish argument befitting their mental ages ensued. When neither could gain the upper hand, they turned to Ria with wide, angry eyes.
“Ria! Who do you think is better? Obviously, I'm the best, right? You said I was a genius for creating two circles at once!”
“Ha! You're not going to side with that snot-nosed brat, are you? You know full well what would've happened to him if I hadn't been holding back!”
“Ria!”
“Ria!”
[Aaaargh! Shut up! You're both the same, so be quiet!]
When Ria shrieked, both Lucian and Kaizareu froze.
[You're both just as bad! Kaizareu, you! He's a kid, he can get a little cocky! Stop acting so childish and arguing over every little thing!]
“But he was spouting nonsense…”
[And you, Lucian! Kaizareu might be a harsh teacher, but this is an education you could never get anywhere else. You should be thanking him, not constantly teasing him!]
“I was just… he started it…”
[How long are you going to keep acting so awkward! You two were getting along so well, calling each other brothers!]
At Ria's outburst, both of them whimpered and tucked their tails between their legs. But a moment later, a mumbling sound could be heard.
“…This is unfair. What did I do wrong?”
[What did you say?]
“Th-that's right! I didn't do anything wrong!”
Both of them pouted, insisting they had done nothing wrong. Magma boiled inside me.
Ria grabbed Kaizareu and Lucian by the scruff of their necks.
“Wh-what! Let go!”
“Ria?”
[Will you two shut up? Or I'll starve you both!]
Ria dragged them to a small room in the mansion.
Then she shoved them inside and locked the door.
“Aren't you going to open this?”
“Please open the door, Ria!”
[No. I have no intention of opening it until you two make up. Whether you have a huge fight or reconcile, do whatever you want.]
“Hey! You can't do this!”
Bang—!
Kaizareu, fuming, kicked the door. Ria phased her face through it.
Startled, Kaizareu and Lucian stumbled backward.
[Don't even think about getting out of here until you've reconciled.]
With that, she pulled her face out of the door and cast a barrier spell on the room.
Kaizareu screamed about how unfair this was, but once the barrier was complete, it became silent in an instant.
[Hmph, try for a hundred days. See if you can break this barrier.]
Since Kaizareu was in there, I wove together a highly complex formula. He'd find it much easier to make up with Lucian than to break this barrier.
[Sigh, an adult dragon, my foot. He still has the same mental age as Lucian.]
I thought Lucian was always so mature, but when provoked, he showed his childish side too.
It's nice for a child to act like a child, but with two of them, my head was about to split open.
[I guess I'll come back around dinnertime.]
Ria stretched and walked away from the room, feeling lighthearted.
Whether they made up or fought was no longer her concern.
