Chapter 15: Return

Chapter 15: Return

On the way back to Seynhold, Ember decided to traverse half of the path on foot. His father wasn’t against it, even going as far as leaving all the horses with his attendants, as the father, son, and daughter embarked on the path together.

Rain was the only one peeved about the whole thing. The last few days hadn’t been easy for her, leaving her with little energy to complain. Meanwhile, Ember ran ahead of them freely. With each stride, his figure launched over three metres forward as he trained his new running skill, Sprint Burst.

The system had given him three paths of evolution for Running: March, Enhanced Running, and Sprint Burst. For Ember, it was a relatively easy decision after his discussion with Cliff and Lady Evelyn.

The most common choice for everyone here was Enhanced Running, as very few seemed to get the Sprint Burst option. Well, Rain hadn’t gotten it, and she could be called an elite. Anyhow, Enhanced Running was, as the name suggested, it improved speed, efficiency, and balance while moving at high velocity. On the other hand, March allowed for a prolonged, measured tread and reduced stamina drain, the complete opposite of Sprint Burst.

Sprint Burst allowed his body to shift at its very limit in a short burst. For now, his limit was merely four metres, but he had only gained the evolution yesterday. Thankfully, there was no cooldown like in a video game. He could lurch forward in Sprint Burst as long as his stamina and mana allowed him.

Ember had only spent about an hour on the skill, and he was already seeing improvement. Finally, he had a skill to spend his hard-cultivated mana on. The skill didn’t even burn much mana at all. It was his stamina that limited him, leaving him exhausted within a few minutes. But what else could he expect from the body of a five-year-old?

At this rate, the journey home would take all day. But then he got a notification.

[Sprint Burst (Copper) +1 → 2]

[+20 EPs.]

The first couple of levels were supposed to come quickly, but Ember hadn’t expected it to happen this fast. Then again, his father had said the skill would come easier to him since he was more efficient with mana. Now he wondered how much improvement he could make by sprinting all day. He surely wouldn’t have sufficient endurance for it, unless…

“Why’d you stop?” Rain asked, pacing towards him. “Finally run out of energy, have you?”

“No,” Ember grinned at her. “I just gotten Sprint burst to +2.”

Rain made a disgusted face and ignored him completely.

In all honesty, Ember had always been good at running. Perhaps it had transmigrated with him into this life as well, along with his autism. Or it could just be his delusion. Of course, his current speed eclipsed his past self by more than double.

After exhausting himself, he finally stopped for a breather, panting like a dog in the summer heat.

“Thank Heaven,” Rain said, looking up at the sky with her palms clasped in prayer, “for giving him low endurance.”

Ember snorted and went over to his father, who opened one of the bags to bring out a water container and the sandwiches they had brought from the inn. He sat down for a moment. His father and sister joined him as well, having their lunch early.

After much discussion with his father and Lady Evelyn, Ember decided against saving his skill slots, because there was a good possibility he’d gain an Iron skill without spending any more slots, and much more quickly as well.

As it turned out, the criteria for evolving Mana Sense involved advancing the other two mana skills to maximum mastery as well. Only then would the three mana skills merge into one Iron skill called Mana Shaping. As it was based upon the three Copper skills collectively, it didn’t require any extra skill slots either.

Additionally, Mana Shaping was a foundational skill for the mage path. Although Ember was a little unsure about his talent, Lady Evelyn’s words managed to persuade him.

She had only asked him one question, “Is mana fun?”

As Ember answered positively, she said he didn’t have to worry about talent, because he did have talent. And as long as he spent some good points on Insight, he wouldn’t have to worry about obscure elements like talent.

Of course, Ember didn’t explain his situation of reincarnation to her, though he agreed with the thought of talent being trainable. As Will was necessary for spellcasting and utilising skills, Insight did play a huge role in one’s ability to learn.

“Many people see it as an insignificant attribute,” Lady Evelyn had said, “but what is life if not to learn things.”

That phrase had resonated with him deeply. It allowed him to break through his constraints and dream a little higher.

“Dad,” Rain asked, sneaking a glance towards him, “isn’t Ember about the age to learn swordsmanship?”

Ember began to sweat profusely. He glared at her. Haven’t you suffered enough? Why are you pulling me into your suffering?

Even though Ember would like to try his hand at the sword, he did not believe he would enjoy being trained by a slave driver.

“I am considering it,” Cliff said. “Even if he does not want to master swordsmanship, it is still a good self-defence skill to learn.”

Looking at his earnest expression, Ember chewed on his lower lip. “I want to learn swordsmanship,” he said slowly and carefully. “But more than that, I want to learn your breathing art.”

Cliff cocked an eyebrow. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Although it’s a good skill, it’s for the martial class in comparison to the mage path.”

Ember nodded heavily. Considering it involved mana, there were likely variants for the mage path as well. Even judging by its name, Ember wouldn’t be surprised if it became something like Mana Breathing at a higher rank.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“So will you teach me?”

His father nodded, sparing a glance towards Rain. “At least one of my children is eager to learn from his old man.”

Ember could not help but give a snarky glance towards his elder sister, who sniffed at him.

“Now, it won’t be the exact knight’s breathing art you’d be learning,” Cliff explained, “but a Copper variant of it. But make no mistake, it is still beneficial. Even at Copper rank, it will greatly improve your endurance and help your body recover quicker.”

Which meant he could train Sprint Burst all the more.

While saying all that, Cliff let Rain impart the skill to him. The girl grumbled, though she didn’t go against their father’s wishes.

“There are two facets to the knight’s breathing art,” Rain said. “One is the breathing itself. The other is circulating mana in tandem with the breath to ease the heart and body. You have to train both to the point that they become second nature to your body.”

Under their father’s watchful gaze, Rain demonstrated the technique. She even went as far as to show him where to draw his breath of mana and how to channel it. Cliff didn’t disturb her and only added a couple of words if she forgot to mention something important.

“Do you want me to explain any part?” Rain asked. “Or demonstrate it all again?”

Ember held up a hand, drawing his breath long and heavy as she demonstrated. The mana circulation wasn’t difficult either, though he wasn’t sure how he’d manage to make it second nature. His father seemed to have already reached that point, as his breathing, despite being silent, always seemed rhythmic and harmonious.

Either way, he accepted the skill prompt that came his way after about eight minutes. With that, he had only a single skill slot open.

[Skill acquired: Breathing Art (Copper) +1]

[+10 EPs.]

Continue Reading

You are reading a free preview (50%). Log in to unlock the full chapter and join comments.

Log In to UnlockCreate Account