Chapter 1
Safely asleep on the soft bed in the guest house of the Lumient Family estate, Wesley slept as soundly as he ever had. As he slept, he experienced a new dream. For the first time, he was not being taught by Thomas, or listening to instructors in a classroom; he was sitting in a cafeteria, surrounded by others who looked to be around the same age as himself.
A girl sitting next to him suddenly slapped him on the arm. “Wesley, tell me you don’t agree with them!”
“I—uh, huh? Ah, sorry, I was lost in thought. What’s going on?”
“Come on, we were debating whether or not Lawdin’s Third Law makes sense. It’s a law for crying out loud; of course it makes sense! Right, Wesley?”
“I, uh... I don’t agree with Lawdin’s Third Law. There has to be a way to engrave spell-casting seals onto surfaces. They just need to be stable enough.”
“Hmph.” The girl turned away. “Not you too! Come on, don’t any of you read books at all?”
Wesley looked on with amusement in his eyes. Although he wasn’t sure who these people were, they were quite a fun crowd to be around.
Friends, perhaps.
As the dream faded away, he woke up, smiling. He was looking forward to attending school again.
*Knock knock*
“Young master, are you awake?”
Ah, right. He was no longer Wesley the wandering child, but Wesley Gia, young master of the Gia family.
He sighed and scratched his head before responding. “Yes, ma’am!”
He wasn’t quite sure he preferred the latter over the former.
A middle-aged lady entered the room.
“Here, young master. I’ve brought a fresh set of clothes, and I have prepared a bath for you in the other room. Would you like any help?”
With what, my bath?
“No, thank you.”
“Please let me know if you need anything then, young master.”
With that the maid left the room, but not before giving this new “young master” a glance.
Truthfully, she felt quite puzzled.
Last night, Arthur had pulled her aside and told her to “treat Wesley as if he were his own.”
Well, whatever.
After exiting the room, she returned to her usual routine of maintaining the family estate, but was quickly stopped by Kate, Arthur’s daughter.
“Mathilda, I hear we took in some guests yesterday?”
“Yes, young miss. They’re staying in the guest area.”
“Hm, what are they like?”
“There’s young man who looks to be around fifteen years of age, and boy who around eight years of age. I wouldn’t think too much of the older boy. He has average looks and your father said nothing noteworthy about him. However, the younger boy has noblesque features, and your father told me to treat the boy as if he were his own son.”
Hearing this, Kate raised her eyebrows. “Oh?” Then, she narrowed her eyes.
Was this a bastard brother of hers? No, that can’t be right. Her father didn’t seem like the type to cheat, but…
“I see. I’ll speak to my father about this.”
“Ah…” Mathilda had wanted to speak further, but seeing the young miss’s expression, she held her tongue and let it be.
…
After Mathilda had left his room, Wesley left to wash up, then donned his new clothes:white mage robes decorated with intricate gold-lined designs.
Not that Wesley could see the fine detail.
Unsure of what to do, he returned to his room, and began to practice his magic.
Casting spell after spell, he tried his hardest to increase his drawing speed and to think of better ways to link spells together in synergistic ways.
After a few hours of training and resting, the maid showed up again.
“Hello young master, the patriarch would like to see you in the grand hall.”
“Thank you.”
Before Wesley could ask for an escort, however, the maid left.
Well, guess I’ll find Gust.
Wesley went next door to look for Gust, but he wasn’t there.
Well, guess I’ll just look for the grand hall on my own.
Wesley tried to find his way back to the grand hall, but the family estate was just far too massive.Wesley had trouble distinguishing buildings and pathways from each other.
After wandering around for what seemed like ages, Wesley finally stumbled into the grand hall, where he’d first met the patriarch.
“Wesley, you’re late.” The patriarch’s voice boomed through the grand hall.
“Ah, sorry. I couldn’t find my way here.”
“Well, no matter. I summoned you for two things, the first of which is to inform you that your friend, whats-his-name, has already left to a Hunter Academy north of here. He said he didn’t like to do good-byes, so he opted to leave without telling you. However, he did ask us to pass along a message.”
With a wave of his arm, a butler appeared by the patriarch’s side.
“Hello, young master. Your friend said the following, ‘Hey little man, don’t miss me. Work hard, or I’ll beat you next time I see you. See you, Gust.’”
With that, he retreated back into the shadows.
“Your friend is quite crude.” The patriarch harrumphed. “But, he seems to be a decent person, and his words are true. He’s been accepted by the most rigorous hunter academy in the Reiniad Kingdom, and if he survives, he will be a peerless fighter the next time he sees you. Will your rate of improvement be the same, I wonder?
“Speaking of which, Wesley, please introduce yourself to Headmaster Farhir, headmaster of the Reiniad Elementary Institute of Magic.”
“Hello, Headmaster Farhir.” Wesley could see a blob of a figure in the distance, so he bowed in that direction. “I’m Wesley Gia. Nice to meet you.”
He’d bowed at a statue next to Patriarch Lumient, prompting Headmaster Farhir to burst into laughter. Patriarch Lumient’s face darkened, but Headmaster Farhir quickly came to Wesley’s rescue.
“Don’t blame at the child, Christopher. You haven't gone senile in your old age, have you? The kid clearly has sight issues.”
Headmaster Farhir stood up from his seat and approached Wesley.
“Can you see me now?”
“Yes.”
He wrote a few letters in the air using his mana. “Can you read these?”
“No.”
“Hm. Seems like simple nearsightedness. This should be easy for me to fix. Stay still.”
The headmaster drew a seal with his left hand, then placed his right hand over Wesley’s eyes.
“Keep your eyes open.”
A few beams of light flew into Wesley’s eyes.
“That should fix-”
Before the headmaster could continue, a surge of energy knocked him backwards.
As he picked himself up from the floor, he exclaimed, “What happened?”
Both he and Patriarch Lumient quickly drew defensive shield barriers, then rushed to Wesley’s side to protect him as well.
After a few tense moments, Headmaster Farhir and Patriarch Lumient looked at each other, then deactivated their spells.
“Well, Wesley, any improvement?”
“No.”
“...”
A few thousand miles away, a middle-aged man lazily craned his neck to look toward the east as he nursed a bottle of wine.
“Oh ho, the little bugger has found quite a capable helper already, huh. He may succeed yet...”
Chapter 2
Headmaster Farhir approached Wesley more carefully this time, and then cast a detection spell to examine Wesley’s situation more closely.
This time, he noticed a stable tr
anslucent film of mana between Wesley’s pupil and retina. Remembering what had happened when he’d accidentally cast a spell against the film of mana, he sighed.
“Your nearsightedness seems to have been brought about by the meddling of someone extremely strong…”
“Christopher, why don’t you try? After all, you’re far stronger than I.”
“Hm.” Patriarch Lumient walked forward with a sense of apprehension and a tinge of anger. Who had dared to tamper with his great grandson’s eyesight??
After casting his own detection spell, he saw the same film of mana, but then cast a second spell in an attempt to clear it away without damaging Wesley’s eyes.
*Bang*
Patriarch Lumient flew backwards, just as Headmaster Farhir had moments earlier.
“Oh?” Headmaster Farhir looked incredibly surprised. Even the efforts of Patriarch Lumient, one of the continent’s premier King-class mages, had been useless?
Just who had planted those films of mana?
After a bit of pondering, the two decided to set the issue to the side for now.
Headmaster Farhir addressed Wesley. “Well, Wesley. Headmaster Lumient here has recommended you to attend my Elementary Institute of Magic. However, as of now, we know nothing about your abilities. As such, I’ve come to examine your mana pool and mana channels, as well as to assess your combat capabilities. Are you prepared?”
“Yes, headmaster.”
Headmaster Farhir stepped forward to examine Wesley’s mana pool and channels - and his jaw promptly dropped at what he saw. Didn’t Christopher say that his great-grandchild was only eight to nine years old? The development of these…
He almost started drooling.
Sitting on his throne-like chair, Patriarch Lumient hid a smile behind his stone-like facade. He knew better than anyone just how aberrant Wesley’s mana pool and channels were, and the insane potential that the two suggested.
He would be able to brag about this great-grandson of his for years to come.
After Headmaster Farhir completed his examination, Wesley shrugged and stretched his shoulders, uncomfortable with how long he had been forced to stay still.
“So, how are you going to test my combat capabilities?”
Headmaster Farhir chuckled. “Christopher, if you please. I believe this will be a good experience for his peers.”
“Indeed.”
Patriarch Lumient stood up from his seat, and firmly grabbed Headmaster Farhir and Wesley’s hands. “Hold on tight.”
With that, he leapt into the air and flew the three of them out of the grand hall.
After flying for a few minutes over the city, they touched down in the middle of a vast field.
All around them, students of the academy were practicing their magic. Upon noticing the trio’s arrival, however, the students stopped their activities and grouped around the trio.
“It’s Headmaster Farhir!”
“Who cares about him? Look, it’s Headmaster Lumient!”
Headmaster Farhir sighed. I can hear you, you know?
Then, the students then turned their attention to the little boy standing beside the headmasters.
“Who’s that kid?”
Hearing the murmurs, Headmaster Farhir addressed his students.
“This child is one who has been recommended to the academy by Headmaster Lumient himself. As such, as is the norm, he will try his best against me in a duel to demonstrate his combat expertise. Would you all like to watch?”
A chorus of agreements sounded out from the crowd.
“Headmaster Lumient, I’ll have to trouble you.”
“Mm.”
With a wave of his hand, Headmaster Lumient summoned an expansive mana barrier. “Come, students. Outside of the barrier.”
The students moved outside the barrier, but several of them gasped in shock. “Did Headmaster Lumient just imprint the seal for the mana barrier?”
“As expected of Headmaster Lumient!”
…
Headmaster Farhir shook his head. For a man who’d experienced so much of the world, Christopher still liked to show off a little too much.
“Alright, Wesley.” Headmaster Farhir said. “Don’t hold back.”
“Okay.”
Without another word, Wesley began drawing his first seal, then cast it.
Instantly, Headmaster Farhir found himself trapped in a cage of ice. However, only a mere second passed before he broke out of his prison.
“Oh? So you’re adept in ice magic? Well then, let’s see how you do against mine!”
Headmaster Farhir began drawing his own seal, but Wesley had already started his second.
Just as Headmaster Farhir was about to finish his first seal, he saw Wesley swipe his finger across his second.
“Hm?”
Headmaster Farhir was confused; he hadn’t been affected by anything, and nothing seemed to be -
POW!
Headmaster Farhir was knocked face-first into the ground.
He pulled himself up from the dirt, his face flushed with frustration, as the surrounding students cheered in awe.
“Fine, I’ll start trying now. I was just going easy on you!”
Meanwhile, Wesley’s mind was racing. The spell he had just cast had created a giant ice fist above Headmaster Farhir’s head. Once he was done drawing the seal, he’d let gravity do the rest of the work.
Doing this not only saved him mana needed to move the fist, but meant that he’d interrupted his opponent’s seal drawing, which would allow him to draw a third seal without response.
Draw! Faster and faster, Wesley’s finger flew through the air as he prepared his third spell.
Then, just before he finished his seal, he paused.
From where his opponent stood, he sensed a surge of energy.
“An ice spell. Bolts?”
Quickly, before the ice bolts were about to hit Wesley, he modified his seal, then immediately cast it.
A large ice wall materialized just inches in front of his face.
Just a split second after the ice wall formed, a flurry of ice bolts crashed against it. Wesley, unfazed, stood proudly behind his wall safe and sound.
“Heh?” Headmaster Farhir was incredibly surprised. Did he predict what spells I would use? Impressive, I must admit!
“Well done, Wesley. However, you’ve made a grave error.”
With a wave of his hand, the ice wall slammed back into Wesley, knocking him over.
Headmaster Fahrir smiled. “Remember, things that you create can be controlled not only by you, but by your opponents as well.
“That being said, this has been a very interesting duel. You definitely meet the standard for the Reiniad Elementary Institute of Magic. Report to my office tomorrow.”
With that, he quickly walked away, past the encircling students, who were shocked by what transpired during the duel.
Wesley had impressed them all! Of course, Headmaster Farhir had been going exceedingly easy on Wesley in order to see what he was capable of, but Wesley had shocked the observing students with his drawing speed and clever, quick thinking.
Nodding to himself, Patriarch Lumient walked up and patted Wesley on the head. “Good job there. Tell me, what is your official mage ranking?”
“I’m a Mage Initiate.”
“I, what?” Patriarch Lumient almost tripped in disbelief. “Come, we’re getting your rank updated. Tch. Mage Initiate my hat.”
…
Meanwhile, back at the Lumient family estate, Kate had finally tracked down her father.
“Dad, how could you do this to mother? How could you?! We trusted you!” She ran forward and starting punching her father with all her strength.
“I, uh, what did I do???” Arthur ran away from his fearsome daughter. “Kate, dear, what is going on??”
Chapter 3
After Kate had finally tired herself out and left Arthur’s body covered in bruises, she finally answered.
“
I saw the bastard boy you brought home! Who did you sleep with? How long have you been keeping him from us?”
Memory Seal- Volume 2 Page 1
