Arthur Leywin had become a constant presence in the palace over the past week.
Officially, he was there recovering from his injuries from the forest. In reality, my parents simply didn't want to let him go. An eight-year-old who had saved their daughter from class A mana beasts deserved more than just verbal gratitude. He deserved a home, at least temporarily.
And Tessia was delighted.
"Kael, Art, come see this!" Tessia called to us from the garden, where she had managed to make a flower grow using plant magic.
Art. She had already given him a nickname.
I watched Arthur walk toward her with that perfect posture no eight-year-old should have. Every movement was economical, calculated. The way his eyes constantly scanned the surroundings. The way his hand always stayed close to where a sword would be if he had one.
Grey King, I thought. Every inch of you screams professional soldier. How is it that no one else notices?
But I knew why. People saw what they expected to see: a talented child who had gotten lucky in the forest. Not a legendary assassin reincarnated.
"Kael, are you coming?" Tessia called me again.
"I'm coming," I replied, running toward them with the steps of a four-year-old child.
But while I ran, my eyes never stopped observing Arthur. And that was when I saw it.
Mana particles.
Floating in the air around Arthur, being absorbed into his body. Not in the normal way everyone absorbed mana passively. It was different. More efficient. Continuous.
The particles entered his body while he walked, while he spoke, even while he breathed. A constant, uninterrupted flow that fed his core without conscious effort.
The dragons' mana rotation technique.
In the novel, Sylvia had taught this to Arthur before she died. A technique that allowed dragons to constantly absorb and refine mana, accelerating their growth exponentially. It was the reason Arthur had progressed so ridiculously fast.
And I was seeing it in action right now.
I need that, I thought immediately. With the Legacy and that technique, I could—
I stopped. Could do what? Become stronger than Arthur? Change the future more effectively?
Yes. Both.
But there was a problem. How could I ask Arthur to teach me a technique I wasn't supposed to know he had? A technique taught to him in secret by a dying dragon.
The answer was simple: I couldn't. Not directly.
Unless…
The Request
I waited until the afternoon, when Tessia was taking her mandatory nap (something she hated but our mother insisted on) and my parents were handling royal affairs.
Arthur was in the training garden, practicing with a wooden sword my father had given him. His movements were fluid, perfect. Too perfect for a child.
I approached slowly, pretending childish shyness.
"Um, Art?" I used the nickname Tessia had invented.
He stopped immediately, turning toward me with that polite smile he had perfected. "Kael. Do you need something?"
"I… wanted to ask you something." I shifted nervously, biting my lip. "About magic."
Arthur lowered the wooden sword, his expression becoming more attentive. "Magic? Well, I'm not an expert, but I can try to help. What do you want to know?"
Here I go.
"I want to know how you do that thing with mana," I said, vaguely pointing at him.
Arthur blinked. "What thing?"
"The way you recover mana," I continued, keeping my childish voice but letting a bit of my real knowledge slip through. "You absorb it even when you walk. Mana particles go into you all the time, not just when you meditate."
The change in Arthur was instant. His posture tightened almost imperceptibly. His eyes focused on me with an intensity that was completely adult.
"How…?" He began, then stopped, composing himself. "How do you know I do that?"
"I can see it," I said simply, pointing at the air around him. "I can see mana. The colored particles floating. And I can see how they go into you. It's different from how Mom or Dad absorb mana. It's… constant. Like you breathe mana instead of just air."
Arthur studied me in silence for a long moment. I could see the gears turning in his head, trying to decide how much to reveal, how much to ask.
"You can see mana particles?" he finally asked, his voice carefully neutral. "At your age?"
I nodded. "As long as I can remember. I thought everyone could."
It wasn't exactly a lie. I had been able to see mana since I had awareness in this world. The Legacy gave me that innate ability.
"That is… extraordinary," Arthur said slowly. I saw something cross his face. Surprise? Concern? "Most mages don't develop mana vision until they reach advanced silver stage, if they ever do."
"Is it bad that I can see it?" I asked, finding a childlike concern.
"No, it's not bad," Arthur hurried to reassure me. "It's just… unusual. Very unusual."
He sat down on the grass, gesturing for me to sit in front of him. I did, crossing my legs.
"Kael," he began carefully, "why do you want to learn how to absorb mana?"
Moment of truth. How much do I reveal?
"Because I want to be strong," I said honestly. "I want to be able to protect Tessia. I want to be able to protect Mom and Dad. And I saw how you fought those mana beasts to save my sister. You're strong, Art. And I want to be strong like you."
It wasn't a lie. I was just omitting the deeper reasons: knowing the future, having the Legacy, needing power to change destiny.
Arthur looked at me for a long time, and I saw something in his eyes. Understanding, perhaps. Or recognition of something familiar.
"Wanting to protect the people you love," he said softly, "is a good reason to become strong."
He fell silent for another moment, clearly debating internally.
"What you're seeing," he finally said, "is called mana rotation. It's a very advanced technique that I was… taught. It allows your core to absorb mana constantly, even when you're not consciously meditating."
"Can you teach me?" The words came out fast, eager. "Please."
Arthur hesitated. "Kael, this technique is very advanced. Most mages can't learn it until they have at least a solid orange core, and even then it takes them years to master it."
"But I have an orange core," I said before I could stop myself.
Arthur's eyes widened. "What?"
Damn it. I spoke too much.
"I… um…" I tried to backtrack, but Arthur was already stepping closer, his hand extended.
"May I?" he asked, pointing to my chest.
I couldn't refuse without looking even more suspicious. I nodded.
Arthur placed his hand on my chest, and I felt his mana extend to examine my core. His eyes widened more with each passing second.
"You're five years old," he said, almost accusingly, his voice full of disbelief. "And your core is solid orange. That's… that's impossible. Even the greatest prodigies in history don't reach orange until they're six or seven."
"Dad says I'm a prodigy," I murmured, using the excuse my parents had prepared.
"Prodigy is an understatement," Arthur muttered, slowly withdrawing his hand. He looked at me with a completely new expression, a mix of amazement and something else… recognition? "Do your parents know how strong you really are?"
"Yes. They make me train in secret. They say that if others discover my power…"
"They'll want to use you as a weapon," Arthur finished, his voice turning dark and distant. "Or worse. Yes. I understand that perfectly."
There was something in his tone. Something deeply personal. As if he too understood what it was like to be seen as a tool because of your power. As if he had lived that before.
"Will you teach me?" I asked again, looking at him with the most pleading eyes I could manage. "Please, Art. I promise I'll practice a lot and not tell anyone that you taught me."
Arthur looked at me for a long moment, his blue eyes studying me with an intensity that seemed to see beyond my four-year-old appearance. Finally, he sighed deeply.
"All right," he said. "I'll teach you. But there are conditions."
Which ones?
"First, this stays between us. You don't tell anyone, not even Tessia or your parents, that I taught you this. Understood?"
I nodded vigorously.
"Second, practice only when it's safe to do so. This technique can be dangerous if done incorrectly. If you feel pain or excessive pressure in your core, you stop immediately."
"Yes, I promise."
"And third…"
He paused, studying me with those eyes far too old for his young face.
"Third, someday, when we're older, you'll tell me the truth about you. About how you can really see mana at your age. About why you're really so strong. About… what makes you so different."
My heart skipped a beat. Did you know? Did you suspect that I too was reincarnated?
"The truth?" I repeated weakly.
To be continued…
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