CH994

There really is no fairness in the world.

While Fontesh had made out well from what she’d gained from the surgery, acquiring not only a plant inclination but also mana recovery rate enhancement, her daughter had still walked away with more. A level to her own mana recovery rate enhancement and the acquisition of the same magic inclination Thera had was one thing considering that the girl had four different magics to her name that she’d work on raising as much as she could, but Ben couldn’t help but feel nearly indifferent to that in comparison to the final skill the surgery had brought her.

Genuinely cannot believe she walked away with a crafting inclination. God, I am so incredibly jealous.

Still, he hadn’t let it show on his face after she’d gained it or in the days since, instead getting back to work, training Delair and Mora while working on himself at the same time and taking his student’s new growth into account of it. After all, with skills that could help her raise her core abilities, he could easily let himself raise his expectations just a bit, even if what could come with it came with a question.

Hey Myriad, you around?

<A little busy, but I can spare you a minute. What?>

Got a question concerning my dear little apprentice. She’s just a kid still; what would happen to her if she awakens a skill?

<Presumably, like anyone else who does it, she’ll become substantially more powerful.>

Not what I meant. Awakening affects aging rates. If she awakens anything, would I be dooming her to stretch out her awkward teen years? I’m not certain about how long dryad puberty lasts but I can imagine getting something like another five years added onto it might suck a bit, even if the extra time would be better in the long run.

<Ah, that. Well, considering that giving you a completely accurate answer would mean that someone throughout history had managed to awaken a skill while still a child, I can tell you with certainty that you’re not getting one. You really think something like that could have happened?>

Okay, sure, but it’s not like there’s not a group that can give a good-enough comparison. After all, some people are born with awakened skills.

<The demigods and occasionally the extremely rare normal mortal, yes. While not exactly the same, I can tell you that until they reach the end of their growth phase, the way they age is more around a quarter slower than an average person’s, based on some rough observations, with the time they hit the end of that phase marking when they’d get the more expected aging reduction of any particular skill. Why, are you really planning on awakening your student before the third wave?>

… Debating it. I believe there’s a decent chance that by that point, she might have hit a level in one of her magics where I could help forcefully awaken her but to be honest, at least for her first awakening, I think I’d prefer it if she managed to cross that threshold by herself. The fact that she has me teaching her means she’ll absolutely be able to do it, and frankly, I think that would be more meaningful for her in the long run.

<And then you don’t need to worry about any of these pesky questions.>

Well, yeah, but also look at how far she’s come in the few months I’ve been teaching her. She could get an awakening by herself even in a decade at the latest if I’m not around to help her so long as she keeps up her practice, I don’t need to go into her head to force anything. Plus, if I’m still around after, I could help her with any awakenings after her first one if she wanted me to.

<Do you really think it’s that important she gets the first by herself? Not to put too fine of a point on it, but you may be underestimating the challenge a normal person would go through. If it were so easy to do then you wouldn’t have helped awaken as many as you have.>

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

I don’t think it’s easy, I just have a good view of what my student is capable of. Besides, getting that first one is important. It would show her that she’s capable of it, even without my help. The confidence that she can do it could be just as valuable as actually awakening in my eyes.