Although the elven princess was gorgeous, Luka realized she was at least a hundred years old. Frankly, he wasn't mentally prepared to deal with the vast age difference between the two. Imagine dating someone old enough to be his great grandmother!
Moreover, Luka didn't forget the racial hatred that he endured from some villagers. Since he possessed the Singleminded trait, Luka could ignore it and carry on with his daily life. But if he ends up marrying Kaylessa, then their children would undoubtedly suffer from overt and covert racism as well. This problem was on top of handling the issue of their divine summoner bloodline and its baggage.
Finally, Luka would need to leave his dukedom and live with the Delfrir royal family. He didn't wish to leave his mother behind, but she must govern the Heavensfell domain in his stead. For these reasons, Luka refused Kaylessa's invitation to visit and pursue a deeper relationship with her.
Luka pushed aside his thoughts and began to perform warm-up exercises. Then he continued to practice his swordsmanship. When the mage tried to add a beacon to this plane, the spell failed and caused a backlash! Fizz! His mind stung for a moment, and Luka winced in pain. He focused on his breathing to distract himself from the awful sensation.
"That was foolish," Alectos chided abruptly.
The pupil turned in a deer-in-headlight moment and froze.
The teacher waved his hand dismissively. "This is my private plane. Others cannot enter without my assistance. There is a protective barrier surrounding this world, and teleportation magic will automatically fail unless the caster is more powerful than me."
"I apologize, teacher," the student said abashedly.
"Forget it. Let's check your current status." The god snapped his fingers, and Luka's status card hovered in the air:
"Name: Luka Heavensfell
Race: Human (10% Corruption)
Age: 14
Primary Class: Divine Summoner
Divine Summons: Alraune (Nature), Glacius (Ice), Stowne (Stone), Tes (Lightning)
Subclass: Sage
Magic: Air (I), Earth (II), Fire (I), Light (VIII), Shadow (VIII), Space (X), Time (locked), Water (I)
Familiar: Belphesto (sealed Demon King)
Contract Beast: Gripper (Thallian Gorilla)
Titles: Benefactor of Langerlan, Disciple of Alectos, Godson of Altima, Heir of Heavensfell Duke House, Honorary Elf, Master of Gilan's Shadow Realm, Ptelea's Friend
Health: 800/800
Mana: 10,000/10,000
Stamina: 4,000/4,000
Skills: Archery VI, Aristocracy II, Arithmetic II, Barehand Combat VI, Cooking III, Domestic III, Enragement II, Etiquette III, Farming V, Horsemanship I, Hunting II, Literacy III, Swordsmanship VII
Traits: Critical Insight, One with Magic, Singleminded, Spatial Sense, Toughness
Special Items: Pendant of Life, Recall Stone, Shadow Keystone, Staff of Alraune"
Luka, Bel, and Alectos read the screen carefully.
The God of Magic frowned when he noted the 10% corruption of Luka's human blood. He faced Bel and warned, "Don't give Luka any more of your blood essence. If he loses his humanity, then Luka could lose his divine summoning ability as well."
The familiar felt intense pressure from Alectos and quickly released his proper form to withstand it. Bel patted Luka's shoulder. "He is my servant, and I'll make whatever decision is necessary to protect his life."
Alectos raised his left hand and clenched it into a fist. An invisible force held the demon king's body tightly and began to squeeze.
"Sure, you could take my life. But your precious disciple will go down with me." Bel taunted while ignoring the growing pain in his figure.
"I don't need to kill you," the deity replied. "I could simply leave you here for all eternity and take Luka elsewhere. The magic barrier surrounding this realm will prevent you from teleporting via the familiar link." He released the invisible bonds and freed Bel.
"I won't accept any more of his blood essence," Luka interjected calmly. He realized that both Bel and Alectos held different views on how to keep Luka safe. Thus, the teenager tried to play peacemaker between them.
"You have eight months remaining before you turn fifteen and end your magic apprenticeship. In this remaining period, you will train in time magic," Alectos announced. Without warning, he grabbed the lad's forehead and sent divine energy directly into Luka's brain.
The pupil fought his instinct to struggle against his teacher's grasp. Instead, Luka concentrated on the imagery entering his mind. His view of the magic realm began to magnify as the world became microscopic. He saw the magical essences as distinctive particles of various sizes, shapes, and colors.
Alectos manipulated this landscape and pulled the mellow-colored dots into the forefront. The teacher then pushed his student inside a particle of time, and the two rode along through the temporal passageway. "Remember this sensation," Alectos said aloud.
"Yes, teacher," Luka replied with awe. He witnessed many scenes along the way, including a climactic battle between his world and the Netherverse invaders! The teenager saw a man with similar features as Luka summon Altima and sacrificed his life for the goddess to activate her ultimate attack, "Holy Judgment." This power erased the millions of undead enemy troops and expelled their overlord back to the other side of the rift hole. "Was that my father?" he asked in a small and unsteady voice.
"Yes, that was Tsunka Heavensfell, the Divine Summoner of the previous generation and your father," the teacher confirmed. "The Netherese entered our world through a rift. Unfortunately, the location was high in the sky and inaccessible. Our inhabitants didn't learn of the hole's existence until the Netherese sent armies through it."
"By then, it was too late to close the gap. Also, very few spatial mages exist on Zaleron. A majority of them focus on maintaining travel gates between cities and making magic bags for commerce associations. Moreover, the most proficient people devote their lives to academic research. Frankly, they might not duplicate your feat of closing that rift in the swamp," Alectos admitted with a frown.
"We returned to the past so that you could learn the truth about your father. I know that you lived under his shadow for all of your life, and you may even resent him to some extent," the god continued.
Luka quickly denied it. "While living in the Heavensfell manor, the maids and house staff often gossiped about my parents while pitying me. I pieced together bits of information and figured out that my father was a hero who sacrificed his life."
"I don't resent my dad for what he did because he was a Divine Summoner; that meant accepting his fate as a living sacrifice. And I will end up the same in the end. But I'll try my best to find and squash all the rifts to the Netherverse and stay alive until my hair falls out," Luka declared confidently.
"Good!" Alectos smiled and patted his student's back gently. "Let's talk about the magic of time. So far, we traveled back to the past. I need your promise that you won't use this magic to peek into the future," he requested solemnly.
"Why?"
"I'm asking you for two reasons. First, the future is uncertain while the past sets in stone. If you peek into the future, it could lead you astray. More importantly, make your decisions using the best and most reliable information available to you at that moment. You wouldn't want to regret your decision making by following the so-called 'fate,' right?" the teacher pointed out.
"Yes, you're right," the student agreed readily. "I promise not to misuse time magic to look into the future."
Alectos smiled broadly. "Okay, the next thing I will teach you is how to localize time. All lifeforms carry time particles. Your first task is to manipulate those mellow dots and excite them to move faster. But this is harder than it sounds because you need to locate them within the living creature. Once you achieve this, you could make the body move or age faster. Conversely, you could stop the aging process by forcing the time particles to stop moving; this turns the subject into a state of susp
ended animation," he lectured.
Luka listened closely to his teachings. He played fantasy games in his previous life and understood the concepts described by Alectos. "I could also use time magic to decelerate the target's movements, right?" he asked for confirmation.
"Correct," the instructor nodded. He purposely left out this aspect so that the student would discover it by himself. But Alectos didn't expect Luka to figure things out this quickly. "Alright, let's return to the magic realm. You will practice temporal acceleration and deceleration on your partners. I will observe your training initially," he stated. The teacher placed his hand on the boy's head and returned to the private plane.
When the two got back, they saw Gripper sparring with Bel -- and losing!
[Is that the best you could do?] The rabbit taunted while parrying a punch from the gorilla.
Gripper hooted angrily and flailed his fists.
Bel hopped around nonchalantly because his opponent was slow. Bam-bam! The punches landed on the ground and formed small craters.
Alectos glanced at Luka.
The student concentrated on locating the time particles within Gripper's body and began to excite them.
Gripper's arms moved faster and faster until he caught up with his partner. Boom! His punch connected solidly with Bel's torso like a golf club hitting a ball. The gorilla loudly hooted and clapped as the rabbit sailed through the air before Bel landed a short distance away.
Bel stormed back and stepped on Luka's foot. [Why did you interfere?] He demanded to know.
"Oh, I need to practice my magic," the mage answered innocently.
[Well, you could practice on ME.]
"Fine." Luka smiled mischievously and caused Bel's body to decelerate.
The familiar noticed his movements slowing down rapidly. [You bastard!]
Gripper sent him flying again.
Alectos observed silently for a few minutes before he disappeared.
Luka spent the rest of his days practicing time magic. Eventually, he learned to use it on himself and keep it active while fighting off Gripper and Bel simultaneously.
Eight months later, Alectos reappeared and said, "It's time for you to return home."
Luka bowed his head and replied, "Thank you for teaching me, master."
"Make me proud," the god said and teleported the trio back to the Heavensfell Dukedom.
Chapter 36
Cloten Evans
Luka's party suddenly appeared in front of a water fountain in the town square. But the passerby didn't notice their abrupt arrival since everyone was busy walking back and forth to run errands or go elsewhere.
[Where are we?] Bel asked as he climbed onto Luka's head to better view his surroundings.
The teenager examined the stone sculpture before him. The artwork depicted a man holding a staff in his right hand while his other hand faced heaven; his chin tilted in the same direction. He wore a robe with an emblem of a ray of light inside a circle.
Luka recognized the crest as belonging to the Divine Church of Light. Water sprouted from the open palm like a waterfall and collected in the enclosed, circular base. Luka noticed a plaque that read, "In Memory of Duke Tsunka Heavensfell, Godson of Altima and Hero of the Netherese War."
"That's my dad," the teenager yelled out in surprise.
Someone heard these words and turned around. The pedestrian was a man in his late fifties or early sixties dressed in aristocratic finery. A butler wearing a black uniform followed closely. The nobleman wore a monocle over his left eye and squinted at Luka. "Young man, I couldn't help but overhear your words. What is your relationship with Tsunka Heavensfell?" he inquired politely.
"I'm his son, Luka Heavensfell of the Heavensfell Dukedom," the boy replied and offered an aristocrat's salute. "I just arrived here by teleportation magic, but I'm unfamiliar with this place. May I ask for your assistance, milord?"
"Praise Altima that you've returned, Young Master Luka!" the man exclaimed and grabbed the boy's shoulders.
The butler coughed aloud.
"Oh, I've embarrassed myself in front of you. I am Cloten Evans, former head of the Evans Earl House. This place is Erz City in the Evans Earldom, a part of your Heavensfell Dukedom," the noble replied and bent a knee before Luka to pay homage.
"And I am Lartius LeFer, his butler. The LeFer Family holds a barony," the helper added and duplicated his master's posture.
"Please get up. I'm only the heir. There's no need to kneel," Luka replied as he looked around at the growing crowd.
The two men slowly returned to their feet.
"Please pardon me for getting up slowly. My hips are a bit cranky in my old age," Cloten said with a laugh.
"Not at all," the teenager replied politely. "I'm ashamed to admit that this is my first visit to your prosperous city, and I don't know how to get home. May I trouble you to contact my mother and ask her to make travel arrangements for my return?" Luka requested.
"Of course!" the former earl replied. "In the meantime, may I invite you to a meal at my home? We could talk further in private," he suggested while looking at the people gawking at them.
"That's Luka Heavensfell, the hero's son!" someone murmured and pointed at the boy.
Luka felt conscious of the pointing and staring by the commoners. "Yes, I gladly accept your invitation," he answered.
"I don't use a carriage in the city because I prefer to walk and exercise my legs. Normally, nobles travel in carriages displaying their family crests, but I prefer some privacy when I travel through the city. I hope you don't mind walking," the host said.
"That's fine. Please lead the way," Luka replied amicably.
The crowd recognized the nobleman as their former ruler; they quickly made a path for him and bowed their heads.
Luka walked behind Cloten with Bel riding on the teenager's head. Gripper was too heavy to carry in his arms; the gorilla held his hand like a child and walked together.
Lartius took the rear post, and his eyes alertly surveyed the commoners for signs of pickpockets.
Luka noticed that the guide walked with a limp in his right leg and wondered if the teenager should offer to treat Cloten's injury. But he wasn't sure how the Divine Church of Light would react if Luka provided healing outside the church setting. For all he knew, the organization might have a state-sanctioned monopoly over such services. Thus, Luka planned to mention it to Cloten privately during the lunchtime meal.
The visitor's head turned from side to side as he walked. Luka observed customers haggling with street vendors over the price of products. He saw many types of shops for clothing, bakeries, general goods, metalwork, jewelry, and books.
Cloten noticed his guest's interest and asked, "Would you like to visit a store?"
"No, I don't have any money," Luka admitted with embarrassment.
"Well, I could lend some," the host offered generously.
The teenager shook his head. "It's fine. There's nothing I need right now," Luka replied.
The group walked for roughly fifteen minutes and eventually arrived at the front door of a two-story house.
Luka was shocked to learn that the former earl lived here because his impression was that aristocrats preferred to reside in big mansions to entertain important guests and show off their wealth.
Cloten noticed the quizzical look and spoke up. "After I gave up my headship and appointed my successor, I didn't need to live in a big mansion anymore to hold social gatherings. In my retirement, I prefer a quiet and peaceful life. This house is perfect for my needs; it's in an upscale section of the city. The previous owner also built a wine cellar, which I use to store my favorite wines," he explained with a wink and smile.
Lartius knocked on the door, and a maid soon answered.
"Welcome home, master!" the middle-aged woman greeted with a curtsy.
"We have special guests joining for lunch, Ardgery," the butler announced.
The servant curtsied again and went to the kitchen to notify
the cook to prepare additional servings.
"Please come in," Cloten invited while standing at the doorway.
"Thank you for having me," Luka replied politely and entered the residence.
The host led his guests to the parlor room, and they sat on comfy sofas while waiting for the chef to prepare lunch. "How old are you now?" Cloten asked as the maid served teas at the coffee table.
"I just turned fifteen. I serve a ten-year apprenticeship under Alectos," Luka explained.
"I didn't realize you've been away from home for so long," Cloten remarked with a frown. "What did he teach you, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Magic," the teenager answered. Luka didn't wish to disclose his stay in Langerlan because he knew that some humans were antagonistic to the elven race. Also, he tried to avoid revealing his magical proficiencies to a total stranger. Thus, Luka smartly avoided elaborating further on his studies.
Cloten understood Luka's intentions and changed the topic. "Do you plan to attend the Royal Academy? I recommend that you do so because it's an excellent place to make lifelong friends and create connections with other noble families. I taught at the school briefly as a guest lecturer and met your father there," he noted.
"What was he like back then?" Luka paid extra attention.
"Disappointing," the nobleman replied bluntly. "Tsunka was best friends with King Joram before His Majesty took the throne. The two were handsome and came from powerful families. They attracted attention from other students, especially the noble daughters seeking marriage partners, and studied very little. As you can imagine, their academic grades were mediocre at best. But their swordsmanships were comparable to the instructors."
"Your mother was an honor student in the same year; she drew attention for her beauty and demeanor despite her commoner background. Juliette was also the best swordswoman in her class. Tsunka fell in love with her despite all the girls gathered around him, vying for his attention."
The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima Page 30
