From the day Captain Frase brought Kanone to the family estate, the grandmother had not returned.
She had departed immediately, leaving the boundaries of the Empire to execute the long-term mission entrusted to her by the leadership.
Geehrt did not mind her absence. In fact, he found himself incredibly excited to dive deeper into the world of magic.
Despite possessing a monstrous amount of mana, Geehrt was self-aware enough to know that his actual techniques were unpolished.
He had mastered the Zoltraak spell, but his skills in every other aspect of sorcery were practically nonexistent.
Kanone began training Geehrt exactly how Frase had trained her and the other elites. She stripped away his status as a noble and treated him as if he were a military recruit who had just passed the initial screening exams. Geehrt's day began before the sun even crested the horizon.
The morning routine consisted of a grueling physical regimen. Kanone forced him to run around the perimeter of the massive property for more than three hours straight without stopping.
While he ran, Kanone would fire offensive magic at him, requiring Geehrt to maintain his pace while simultaneously dodging or blocking with precise barriers.
Initially, Geehrt found this task manageable thanks to his Six Eyes, which allowed him to predict the trajectory of her spells with ease.
However, Kanone was a veteran instructor. When she noticed he was having an easy time, she retrieved a set of enchanted bracelets and anklets. She clamped them onto Geehrt's limbs.
These were not ordinary weights; their density increased in direct proportion to Geehrt's own physical strength.
The added burden exhausted Geehrt's body rapidly. Even though his mana reserves were bottomless, his physical stamina was not.
As the exhaustion set in, his reaction time dulled. His eyes could see the attacks coming, but his heavy limbs could not move fast enough to evade them.
For the first time, he began to get hit, suffering burns and bruises from the Zoltraak spells Kanone fired relentlessly.
After the morning torture concluded, Geehrt was allowed a recovery period. However, he did not spend this time sleeping.
Instead, he spent the hours until lunch meditating, forcibly expanding his mana volume and refining his control.
He was given exactly one hour for eating and resting before the afternoon session began.
The afternoons were dedicated to combat sparring.
During these sessions, Kanone stopped using simple offensive spells and began utilizing a specific type of illusion magic similar to what the mage Neu would one day use against Ubel and Land.
This magic completely erased her presence, disabling Geehrt's sight and nullifying his mana detection capabilities.
This countered Geehrt's greatest advantage. Without the omniscient vision of the Six Eyes, the fights became incredibly difficult.
He was not used to fighting blind. He often ended the day covered in injuries inflicted by Kanone's unseen attacks.
However, whenever the damage became too severe, he was treated immediately.
Kanone made sure to remind him that if he were truly training for the Magic Special Forces, he would not be given such a luxury as healing magic after every failure.
This grueling routine became Geehrt's daily life. It was far more intense than he had imagined, yet he had no complaints.
As the days turned into weeks, he realized his development was skyrocketing.
He also understood the hidden intent behind the brutality. Frase had realized that Geehrt might become overconfident in his natural gifts.
She feared that if he relied only on his eyes and talent, he would eventually let his guard down and lose his life on the battlefield.
It seems that Grandmother really does care about me in her own way, Geehrt thought to himself.
It was the end of another long training day. Geehrt was lying on the grass, his chest heaving as he looked up at the night sky.
The clouds had parted, revealing a bright, luminous moon. Kanone, who was preparing to leave for the night, saw him lying there and approached.
"Do you have trouble moving?" Kanone asked, looking down at his exhausted figure. "I do not remember our training today being harsh enough to paralyze you."
"No, I am simply enjoying having my line of sight back. I can still move," Geehrt said with a tired smile.
Kanone took this as confirmation that he was fine and turned to walk away. However, before she could take a step, a sensation washed over her. Her vision went dark, and her ability to sense mana vanished.
Geehrt had cast the same sensory deprivation magic she had been using on him all afternoon.
After having it used on him repeatedly, his eyes had deconstructed the formula, allowing him to cast it himself.
"May I ask you something?" Geehrt asked calmly.
He instantly dispelled the magic, restoring Kanone's senses. Kanone blinked, looking at Geehrt with a mixture of surprise and resignation.
She was getting used to this. The more magic she used in their sparring, the larger Geehrt's arsenal became. It was as if he were simply copying the spells she had spent years learning.
"What is it?" Kanone decided to entertain his question. She sat down on the grass beside him, joining him in looking up at the moon and the stars.
"Is this training really the one that Grandmother gave you? Or did you create this routine yourself and she just ordered you to follow it?" Geehrt asked.
He held a sliver of doubt that Frase would subject the entire Magic Special Forces to this specific regimen.
Despite his lack of formal technique, he was fairly confident that in a raw contest of power, he could already defeat Kanone.
"It is a little bit of both," Kanone admitted. "Most of the physical conditioning is part of the process I experienced at the hands of your grandmother.
However, she also gave me a list of potential exercises and training adjustments to add in case you progress too fast. You are an incredibly talented young mage.
You are perhaps the most talented mage this Empire has seen since Flamme, the founder of humanity's magic.
Your grandmother has seen many individuals fall from grace or lose their lives due to arrogance. She does not want that to happen to you."
Kanone spoke with honesty. She knew better than anyone what kind of person Frase truly was. Despite her tough, cold exterior, the Captain cared deeply about her bloodline.
"I figured as much," Geehrt said softly, closing his eyes. "I guess individuals born in an era of violence can only show care for their loved ones in the only way they know how. That answers my question. You are free to leave if you wish."
"I have a question as well," Kanone said suddenly.
Geehrt opened his eyes again and turned his head to look at her.
"What is it?" he asked.
"What do you envision yourself becoming in the future?" Kanone asked.
Geehrt did not hesitate. In both his past life and this current one, there was only one path he desired.
"I want to have my own journey and adventure like the Hero Himmel when he defeated the Demon King alongside Eisen, Heiter, and Frieren," Geehrt answered, his voice firm.
"That is all I envision myself becoming. I have no interest in the Empire's Magic Special Forces. It is an organization full of responsibilities and politics that I know I will not be able to handle."
Kanone smiled slightly. Geehrt's answer was exactly what Frase had predicted before she left.
When the Captain had handed Kanone the training instructions, she had noted that her grandson would likely never follow in her footsteps.
The only way Frase could support that decision was by ensuring Geehrt was strong enough to survive the path he chose.
Satisfied with the answer, Kanone stood up and left Geehrt alone under the moonlight.
The training continued. Days turned into weeks, and weeks bled into months. Geehrt's skills continued to sharpen to a razor's edge.
Six months into their regimen, Kanone decided he was ready for the next phase and introduced weapons into his training.