Chapter 25 - Growth

Chapter 25 - Growth

I t had been two years since that nightmare in the swamp with the bandits.

I was seven now.

It was hard to believe, honestly. My body was still small, my arms thin, and I could barely swing a wooden sword without toppling over, but something deep inside me had... well, it had definitely changed.

My mana reserve had grown significantly. When I focused, I could feel it pulsing gently beneath my skin, steady and warm like a second heartbeat. It hadn't come easy, no no. I’d spent two years dragging my body through agonizing training, repeatedly draining my mana pool until I fainted—hell, there were nights I genuinely thought I was going to die from the sheer exhaustion. But the results were, somewhat confusing.

I didn't really have a frame of reference for what was considered "a lot" of mana in this world, but compared to what I started with? It was a completely different realm. Back then, my magic felt like a flickering candle in a drafty room. Now, it felt like a steady, bright lantern—maybe even bigger than a regular lantern, if I was being honest with myself. The point was, I still couldn't tell if the growth of my mana came from my training, or from my natural growth due to my very young body.

Maybe if I could find anybody my age that is also a mage, maybe I could actually form a definitive answer.

And I’d noticed something else about myself recently, too. I’d been shockingly productive over the past few years. Mom used to tell me back in my old life that my biggest problem was "it's because of that phone," and as much as I hated admitting it, she was right. No endless doom-scrolling, no staying up until four in the morning grinding for rare drops in a game, no binge-watching anime until my eyes frickin bled. Here, everything was old school. You worked with your hands, you moved your body, and you lived by the sun, especially when doing small chores around the farm.

Lyra was ten now, pushing eleven. In this world, that meant she was only around four years away from being legally considered an adult.

As for Saul, he had recovered well—at least, as well as anyone could. He was missing an arm now, the sleeve pinned neatly at his side, but he carried himself with such dignity that you’d almost forget it was gone. Lyra, bless her chaotic little heart, was racked with guilt over it. She had actually started trying to learn how to bake as an apology, dragging Dad into the kitchen to teach her. In all honesty, the stuff she made was atrocious. It tasted like burnt flour mixed with gravel, but Saul ate every single bite with a completely straight face. The man’s iron discipline was truly terrifying and very impressive.

Dad had tried to offer him a massive pay raise to express our family's gratitude for saving our lives, but Saul flat-out refused the extra coin. Dad kept pushing, his face lined with genuine concern like any true friend's would be. I'd overheard him hovering around Saul, saying things like, "Are you sure about this, Saul?" and "You really need to take it easy." But Saul would just smile softly and shrug it off with his remaining hand.

In the end, Dad refused to take no for an answer. He gifted Saul five goats and two of the finest cows from our herd, along with a heavy leather bag of silver. It was a fortune, but as far as Dad was concerned, it was the bare minimum for the man who had risked everything to bring his kids home alive.

Of course, Saul’s idea of "taking it easy" was making our daily training ten times stricter.

Ever since the incident, he had incorporated endurance running into our routine. A detail I came to despise with every fiber of my soul. But I didn't have a choice; I had to comply.

Right now, we were out in the wide pasture behind our estate. Far in the distance sat the wooden barn, and the three of us were kicking up dust as we ran past herds of cows, goats, and sheep lazily grazing in the morning grass.

"Another lap!" Saul’s voice boomed behind us.

"Argh... Ugh... ah ..." I choked out, every single step felt agonizing. My brown tunic was completely drenched in sweat, sticking uncomfortably to my back.

Ahead of me, Lyra was keeping pace right beside Saul, her boots rhythmically striking the dirt without a hint of fatigue.

I had been running for twenty straight minutes...

With every agonizing stride, a colorful string of curses echoed through my mind. Crap... crap... augh, shit...

I dragged my heavy gaze up to look at them. They were already fifty paces ahead, effortlessly pulling further away.

It had been two years, but the genetic lottery had clearly played a sick joke on me. Supposedly, I had powerful Barbarian blood flowing through my veins from Reyna, but by some stroke of bad luck, not a single drop of it was showing in my physical build. When Lyra was eight, she could run circles around the farm without even breathing hard, or casually sling heavy bales of hay over her shoulders like they were pillows. For her age, her natural strength was incredible!

But me? God... I couldn't do a damn thing with this scrawny body. Except, of course, cast magic.

Saul stopped on his tracks, Lyra continued her pace while I walked towards Saul.

"Kyro."

I came to a halt before him, pressing my hands onto my thighs to hold them together while leaning forward, panting. "C-can we take a break...?"

"This is your tenth break." Saul stated matter-of-factly, his face showing nothing. "If you want to keep up with Lyra, your body must undergo endurance training."

"I... this isn't my forte, okay?!" I panted hard, forcing my head up to look at him, while holding my knees.

Look, I accepted the fact that I needed to learn how to handle the sword, since I was living in this world where swords were prevalent, but at this very moment... I was thinking only of magic, and wanted nothing more than some rest from physical training.

Saul let out a deep sigh. "Regardless of whether it is your forte or not, you must have sufficient physical strength to backup your weaknesses. Besides, this training is not going to kill you, I started mine when I was seven like you."

"S-seriously...?" I stood upright, wiping a drop of sweat from my forehead. "Saul, I... I'm not really planning to grow up to be a warrior, or an adventurer, or do anything like that. I- I'm not really much of a fan when it comes to violence!"

He turned his full gaze onto me, stopping for a few seconds. "Then why did you let me to train you?"

"W-well, I..." I stammered, my mouth running ahead of my thoughts as I fumbled for the right words. "I guess... to pass the time? I mean, I get that the world is... scary, and dangerous. I guess I was just treating it like another way to defend myself. You know?"

He raised a single eyebrow. "Then that completely invalidates your excuse about this not being your forte." He took a step toward me, his single remaining arm resting casually at his side. " That is the point of training, Kyro. So that it may become your forte. You must understand, you chose this. Just like you said, you treated it as a means to protect yourself."

I froze, taking in his words as he turned his back to me.

"You are insisting on taking the easy route, yet you voluntarily chose to stand here and let me train you," he said, glancing back over his shoulder. "You either follow the instructions, or you quit. There is no in-between, Kyro."

I stared down at the dirt, my fingers curling tightly into fists as conflicting feelings coming over within me.

Dammit... he got me there.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked up at him again. "It's just... I'm sorry, Saul. I guess I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed with the sword training lately. I haven't had the time to check on my magic studies... a-and I couldn't help but notice our routine has gotten a lot stricter."

Saul let out another low sigh, the harsh edge in his posture softening just a fraction.

"I am simply adjusting my methods to match your age," he said softly. "Now that you are seven, you have far more strength than you did at five. The workload we are doing today wouldn't even register as a warm-up for a fifteen-year-old. And I am doing this for your sake... and Lyra's."

He then turned toward me fully, "Now, go. Your break is done."

"W-what?! But—!"

"Go!" his voice a little bit sharper, "Quick!" which my body just reacted on its own, taking another step forward as I began to jog again.

***

Clack!

My wooden sword met Lyra's, the sound echoing through the field.

"Great form, Kyro!" Saul called from where he sat cross-legged on a flat rock, watching us with his usual calm demeanor.

I grinned.

Clack!

Lyra swung low, I leapt to the side, rolled, and rose with a counter.

"Yes, that's it!" Saul encouraged.

I stepped forward, momentum behind me, eyes on my target. But then, Lyra's face changed and her grin faded. Her eyes narrowed and I was too slow to react to her sudden speed.

Whack.

Pain exploded through my stomach. The breath left my body like a punched wineskin.

"Gaaah!" I wheezed, crumpling to my knees.

F-Fuck...!

“Lyra!” Saul’s voice became stern. “What have I told you about control?”

"What? I had to try it at least once!" she protested, rolling her shoulder casually. "How else is he supposed to improve?"

"You don't test new moves on your younger brother," Saul sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "If you want to pull something risky, try it on me."

"Ugh, fine, " she said, then looked down at me. "Your face is just so puffed and squishy sometimes, I can't help it."

"I... I'll take that as a compliment.."

She knelt beside me and draped my arm over her shoulder.

"Again," Saul instructed, pointing his single arm toward the grass field. "Back to your starting positions."

Lyra and I separated, turning to face each other a few paces apart. We raised our wooden swords into guard stances, our eyes locking as we waited for the signal.

Saul gave us a slow, deliberate nod. "BEGIN!"

We charged straight at each other.

"AHHH!" I let out a battle cry, hoisting my sword over my head and swinging downward with everything I had.

Lyra blocked it effortlessly, the impact barely shifting her grip. In the same fluid motion, she pivoted on her heel and drove a brutal side-kick right into my ribs.

"Rghh!"

I staggered sideways, clutching my side, but forced my eyes back up immediately. Lyra was already stepping into her follow-up, her wooden blade whistling through the air in a heavy horizontal strike aimed at my head.

I ducked beneath the arc, my white hair whipping in the wind of her swing. But as I crouched low to the earth, a sudden, desperate idea flashed through my mind.

I grinned as I slammed my open palm directly into the dirt beneath my feet, channeling a subtle thread of mana into the soil beneath her boots. Instantly, the dry grass transformed into a patch of slick, suction-heavy mud.

Lyra went to step forward to crush my guard, but her front foot caught in the sudden mire. With all her forward momentum already built up, her leg stayed pinned while the rest of her body kept going.

FLOP!

She slammed face-first into the mud with an incredibly satisfying splat.

A dark shadow rose over her prone form. It was me, standing tall with a smug grin, pointing the tip of my wooden sword down at the back of her head.

"HAHAHA!" I burst out laughing, completely intoxicated by my tactical genius. "I GOT YOU!"

Suddenly, a hand shot out from the mud and clamped directly onto the blade of my wooden sword.

Eh...?

Lyra lifted her head, her face completely covered in wet, black earth, her golden eyes burning with fury.

"YOU CHEATER!"

She squeezed her fist, and with a sickening CRACK , my wooden sword shattered into splintered kindling.

I scrambled backward in absolute terror. "L-LYRA, WAIT—!"

She yanked her feet free from the mud, popping up like a vengeance-seeking demon, and lunged straight at me. "YOU'RE GONNA GET IT!"

She tackled me to the grass, grabbing a handful of my white hair with one hand while relentlessly slapping my cheeks with the other. I tried flailing my arms to block her, hitting her shoulders and pushing her back, but it was like punching a solid brick wall! Frick, my blows didn't even make her flinch.

"ARGH! LYRA, STOP, THAT HURTS!"

"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR USING MAGIC IN A SWORD FIGHT, YOU CHEATING BRAT!"

"Stop that, both of you!" Saul made his way toward us as he broke us apart. In the end, he just paused our training for a while.

***

I sat at the wooden dining table, resting my chin in my hands as my cheeks were throbbing with a stinging heat from Lyra’s ruthless slaps. They were completely flushed red, feeling twice their normal size every time I dared to twitch a muscle.

Right in front of me sat a grey notebook, my journal. I flipped it open, my eyes tracing the careful handwriting and diagrams inside.

Dad had been buying me spell scrolls whenever he could over the past two years. He’d apologized more than once, promising he’d get me a proper grimoire down the road, but asking me to bear with the scrolls for now since they were the only things that fit comfortably into our budget.

I never complained. I could see where every copper and silver went, and I completely understood why my parents had to prioritize the farm. The old wooden fences surrounding our estate had been replaced with sturdy stone walls, and the main house had gotten a bit larger to accommodate us growing up. Here downstairs, the cobblestone floor was finally covered in polished wooden floorboards. A luxury I appreciated every single day when I could walk around barefoot without getting my soles filthy. On top of that, our farming equipment had doubled in quantity, making life much easier for Dad.

The City of Fritz had plenty of mages, but like almost everything in that city, their services and books were obscenely overpriced. That was why Dad encouraged me to self-study for a while, doing his best to support my passion by picking up detailed single-spell scrolls whenever he had extra coin from a good harvest.

Mom had even mentioned that she was going to start teaching me advanced lessons soon, wanting me to get a head start before I eventually applied to Korona Academy in Ganghum, located in the neighboring kingdom just past Template.

So far, my hard work had paid off. I’d successfully mastered five basic spells and two intermediate ones. My core affinities leaned toward Fire and Geo. Now, I had three basic fire spells, two basic Geo spells, and one intermediate spell for each of those elements. I still hadn't unlocked any affinity for Wind or Water, which was fine by me.

And the move I used against Lyra out in the pasture was one of those basic earth spells: Mudpool . It was a simple trick that allowed me to instantly turn a small patch of dirt directly beneath an opponent’s feet into a sticky slurry.

"Oh, my baby boy..." Reyna’s soft voice broke through my thoughts. She approached from behind carrying a small wooden bucket of cool water with a cloth floating inside. "Let me clean your cheeks. They're dreadfully swollen."

I looked up at Mom, offering a sheepish smile. "T-thanks, Mom. But I'm fine, really."

"Nonsense," she hummed, wringing out the wet towel with motherly authority. "You're clearly in pain. Now hold still and let me treat it."

I leaned back, finally giving in. "Okay."

The cool, damp cloth felt like pure bliss against my burning skin. Once she finished dabbing away the dirt and soothe the bruising, she leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.

"All done," she smiled warmly. "You may go to your room if you want to rest."

"Thanks again, Mom," I said, my heart warming.

I grabbed my notebook and headed upstairs to my room. Inside, my shelves held neat rows of rolled-up spell scrolls alongside a singular, treasured book: Source of Power .

I walked straight to my desk, set the notebook down, and raised my hand to cast Verdant Touch to measure my current mana output.

1... 2... 5... 7... 22... 38... 59...

The spell sustained itself for a full 6 minutes and 44 seconds before sputtering out. Last day it was 6 minutes and 42 seconds.

I blinked, taking a quick breath. "Huh... another two-second increase. I'm getting closer to 14 ticks..!"

And what are ticks? In the two years I have been researching this, in some writings by Kalaum Jade, he has mentioned something about certain thresholds inside a person’s Mana Core. Whenever your mana is regenerated and reaches certain thresholds inside you, you will experience a slight tingling sensation in your chest area. It was basically a natural way for the body to measure how much mana capacity you have, and he referred to those thresholds as “ticks.” As per his research, usually a mage needs to reach up to 15 ticks capacity to unlock a new basic elemental affinity.

One measurable threshold represents approximately thirty seconds of sustained Verdant Touch output.

In my case, if I were to reach 15 ticks, my new Mana Affinity would be Water or Wind.

I opened my journal, pulling a sharpened charcoal pencil from a wooden mug, and flipped through the well-worn pages until I hit a fresh entry line.

---

Mana Training Log #902

Again, another gain of two more seconds. My mana pool is increasing slowly by about two seconds of mana gained every two to three weeks, but even that hasn’t yet allowed me enough mana to gain access to either Wind or Water affinities. Nonetheless, it’s a decent number of ticks.

---

I let out a soft sigh and nodded to myself. No matter how tedious the record-keeping felt at times, I needed strict data to track my growth. I flipped back a few pages to my Hypothesis Section.

---

Hypothesis 1: Does exhausting the Mana Pool through repeated strain cause it to expand over time, similar to muscle hypertrophy? Result: Negative. So far, there are zero measurable signs of total capacity growth through exhaustion alone. Unclear.

Hypothesis 2:(✓) Maximum mana capacity scales naturally over time as the physical vessel matures, regardless of strain. Result: Unclear, but more likely; I have no sources that I could actually say it is. It may be in Source of Power, but the book was torn, so maybe the answers were within the scratched sheets, or perhaps in future chapters. But this is the best explanation as to why Mages actually get more mana since exhausting the mana doesn't actually increase them, as far as my research currently goes. Positive, mana does grow over time as the person's body matures. (Jade, Kalaum. Source of Power.)

Hypothesis 3: A mage could theoretically have a huge mana pool but still be unable to cast a powerful spell because their core can't output mana quickly enough. Hypothesis made from what Source of Power's words mentioned about high-complexity spells. (Jade, Kalaum) Result: Unclear

Hypothesis 4: Complete mana drain (total available depletion resulting in unconsciousness) may act as the necessary trigger for core expansion, whereas mild fatigue only refines the efficiency. Result: Unclear.

---

Below Hypothesis 4, I scanned the two newer entries I had recently solved.

---

Hypothesis 5:(✓) Mana regeneration speed can be increased through frequent spell usage. Result: Negative. Kalaum Jade explicitly states that baseline mana regeneration rate is fixed for every individual. No matter how much you train your core or how often you cast, there is no known method to artificially speed up how fast your core naturally refills.

Hypothesis 6:(✓) Mana regeneration is reduced if the core is repeatedly forced to expel magic without rest. Result: Positive & Negative.

Positive: If you drain your available mana completely in a single day, wake up, and immediately cast spells to drain it dry again, your body forces you into an extended sleep period, effectively lengthening the total time required to fully restore your core.

Negative: If you drain your mana in a day and refrain from immediate casting upon waking, allowing a few hours of total rest resets the recovery cycle normally without penalty.

---

Finally, I flipped to the back section reserved for my Core Terminology Summary.

---

( Core Terminology Summary for Reference )

1. Mana Pool : The total available volume of energy/fuel a person possesses.

2. Mana Vein : The internal network of channels used to conduct energy through the body.

3. Mana Core : The central organ or origin point where mana is generated, which is located at the chest.

4. Mana Affinity : An individual's natural mana nature. (Basic Affinities: Fire, Geo, Wind, and Water) Unlock them all to cast advanced-tier magic.

5. Mana Ticks : basically mana checkpoints within the mana reservoir, your own body's measurement of mana within. You'll feel it tingling once you've depleted or regenerated that point of your mana. 15 ticks are required to unlock a new affinity among the four basic affinities. 1 tick is worth 30 seconds of Verdant Touch.

---

Okay, seems like I didn't miss anything. I closed the notebook. Though I feel proud reading my entries. It is still crazy to believe I actually wrote this much.

I looked at the open window as I smiled.

"Keep going, Kyro. You got this."

[End]