Chapter 3 The Lightning God’s Way

“Does it still hurt? Are you sure you’re alright?” Maria was still holding Arias closely as if she was afraid the boy would disappear from her sight. At the same time, she was radiating a warm wave of magical power to inspect Arias’ body for any injury. An uncanny force it was, magical power could be utilized for several purposes aside from its use in combat. Summoning, crafting, inscribing, and healing were just a few examples of how magical power could be harnessed. Nevertheless, most mages chose to focus on learning the art of combat or other skills that were useful in battles. “I am really fine, Mother.” Arias replied with a smile. He felt warm like he never had before in his life. It was the first time he ever received such motherly love. In his past life, he did not even know what his parents looked like and grew up like a lone wolf. Although he had a friend, he ended up being betrayed. This warmth was unfamiliar but it made him inexplicably feel content. “I heard from a servant that when you woke up, you were screaming like a madman. So your mother and I rushed to see you. Are you sure you are alright?” Albert asked with concern in his voice. Upon laying his eyes on the middle-aged man who looked as graceful as a knight, Arias could not help but admire his father. The magical power exerting from Albert’s body seemed very powerful. “It was just a nightmare, Father.” Arias replied. Giving this kind of answer seemed to be better than telling the truth. Albert seemed a little suspicious of Arias’ answer and the slight change in his demeanor but did not pay much attention to it. After all, his son waking up was already a miracle. Albert knew full well that with Arias’ condition, there was almost no chance of recovery. If it was not for his wife’s pleading, he would have given up hope since the beginning. “Arias, how did you end up falling into the river? Who did this to you?” Albert asked the question that had been on his mind, his eyes glinting with a slight hint of murderous intent. Even Maria perked up as she, too, waited for an answer. This was something that had been bothering them all along. The couple did not believe that Arias fell in there on his own. Despite his lack of magical power, Arias was not the type of clumsy person who would just slip and fall into the river like that. “I’m sorry, father. My memories around that time are awfully blurry. It’s like they’re missing.” Arias lowered his head and answered slowly, putting on an act to hide the truth despite knowing full well that the one who pushed him was Mashelle, his own cousin. Although they were both heirs to the Scarcia Clan, the differences in their status were like that of heaven and earth. Mashelle was only eighteen but he was already a seventh-level acolyte and could probably become an adept in a few years. He was a prodigy, the hope of the Scarcia Clan. Mages were classified into 10 levels; neophyte, acolyte, adept, warrior, knight, sage, master, king, emperor, and grandmaster. All these levels were further divided into 9 sub-levels. Mashelle was considered to be the clan’s greatest prodigy. To make him pay for what he did would not be easy. In contrast, Arias’ words meant nothing to the clan. If he was not his parents’ son, no one would even care about him and he might have been banished from the clan long ago. This was not the time for his revenge yet. Even if he were to tell the truth, a slap on the wrist was probably all Mashelle was going to get. It was also possible for Arias to get punished instead. Even though Albert and Maria were strong warrior mages of the seventh and fifth levels, they did not hold absolute authority in this clan. Thus, it was best to keep this a secret for now. The fact that no one had yet to discover that he had magical power would make a lot of things more convenient as well. ‘It’s fortunate that I haven’t become a first-level neophyte yet. For that would reveal the truth that I can use magic to my parents.’ Arias could only sigh in relief. “You don’t have to look so guilty. Just talk to me and your mother if you ever remember anything.” Albert said before patting Arias’ head in a fatherly gesture. It was a kind of warm touch that Arias had never felt before. So this was what parental love was like. In his past life, he was just an orphan who never got to know his parents. Although Arias had regained consciousness, the couple still looked after him closely. Herbs and nourishing food were brought in by servants one after another. After staying for almost the whole day, Albert and Maria finally left for Arias to rest. On the other side of the Scarcia Clan, a certain young man was practicing magic in his large, lavishly decorated room. His body was surrounded by a burning flow of magical power. That was right. This young man was a fire mage. On his palm, there was a blazing flame the size of a toddler’s head. He was carefully trying to increase the size of the flame when all of a sudden, the door was thrown open. Another boy rushed in, seemingly in a hurry. Losing his concentration, the flame floating above his palm dissolved and the young man turned to look at the unwelcome guest with displeasure on his face. “What is it, Danesse? Don’t you see I’m in the middle of practice?” The owner of the room said irritably. Eyes glaring at the newcomer with disapproval. “We’re in trouble, Mashelle! This morning, my people told me that Arias just woke up!” Danesse hastily answered, not paying much attention to Mashelle’s temper. The two of them were siblings, both were the children of Merson, the second son of the clan leader. “What!? And did he say who pushed him into the river?” Hearing that Arias had woken up, Mashelle began to worry. He was the one who pushed Arias into the river and his brother Danesse was an accomplice. If people were to find out about this, he would definitely get in trouble. Even if he managed to find some excuses, things would surely get messy. But he knew that no matter what he did, the clan would not just drive him away for the sake of that worthless loser. “No, I heard that he hasn’t said much after waking up. The servants even told me that some of his memories are missing, including the one before he fell into the river.” Danesse replied. He was also worried since he was an accomplice. It was not like they were afraid of Arias. It was rather Albert and Maria that they feared. “Don’t be too relaxed. Instead, keep an eye on him. If anything seems off, report back to me immediately. His memories might come back any day. Get rid of him if you have the chance.” Mashelle stated coldly. He was only eighteen but he was way too brutal and heartless for someone his age. Although Arias was his cousin, he never once regarded him as such and even considered it a disgrace to have someone like Arias in the same clan. Back to Arias, once everyone had left, he started to concentrate and coerce the surrounding magical energy into his body. After an hour had passed, his dimly lit core of magic began to shine more brightly as magical power was starting to concentrate at the core. Finally, there was a small crackling sound and Arias slowly opened his eyes with joy. Magical energy was a natural magical force that could be found in every corner of the world. It was a pure type of magical force that could be used to nurture magical power. The concentration and purity of magical energy differed depending on the location. “I’ve finally become a first-level neophyte. But this is not enough. The power is still too weak.” Neophyte was the first level in the mage ranks. In general, people would start training to become first-level neophytes when they reach the age of twelve. Thus, Arias who had only just begun at the age of sixteen could be considered an opsimath. Becoming a neophyte meant taking the first step as a mage and all mages had to select a grimoire that fit their elemental power. Grimoires were magical skills of sorts, used to nurture power and also served as the foundation for each mage’s pattern of magical power circulation. Grimoires, as well as other types of magical skills, were classified into 7 levels; low, middle, high, terrestrial, celestial, heavenly, and legendary. They could be further categorized according to their usages. A skill’s level affected the strength of its users and the higher-level ones were more difficult to learn. In the city of Bernier, the strongest skills were high-level skills owned exclusively by the great clans. However, rumor had it that the Hargen Clan had a terrestrial-level skill in their possession. Coven, leader of the Hargen Clan, was the king’s younger brother as well as the ruler of Bernier. So it would not be a surprise if he were to have a powerful magical skill in his possession. “The grimoires that I have are the Skyward Thunder and the Thunder God’s Path. I must only choose one to learn.” Arias began to weigh his options. Selecting a grimoire would certainly dictate his fate and even the slightest error in this decision would be difficult to fix. The Skyward Thunder was a celestial-level skill that Arias had learned in his past life, so to learn it once again would be simple. This skill would take a short while to learn and it was a very powerful skill as well. On the other hand, the Thunder God’s Path was a legendary level skill that Arias incidentally got his hands on when he was a grandmaster mage but passed away before he got the chance to learn it. Taking some time to make up his mind, Arias finally chose to learn the Thunder God’s Path. Although learning this would be both risky and difficult, it was worth a try. In this life, he aimed to become a mage that could surpass even his old self. Those who successfully mastered a legendary level of skill would be rewarded with unfathomable power. However, it was an excruciating task that even Arias himself was not sure he could accomplish. While he did remember the grimoire’s details, there were several things about it that Arias had not quite understood. Legendary skills were quite a mystery. “The fact that I’ve become a mage should probably be hidden until I become strong enough.” Although he had parents who looked out for him, they would not be able to keep watching over him all the time. If he were to die, his parents would not be able to bring him back to life even if they took revenge. ‘Only trust in your own strength.’ This was his principle in the past and it would remain unchanged. The “Cloud-Shrouded Dragon” technique was a terrestrial-level defensive skill and one of the several hundred skills that Arias remembered. It was the skill that allowed users to conceal their aura which became incredibly useful during an ambush. However, its other function was overlooked by most people, that was, its ability to conceal one’s mage rank. Since he needed to keep his magical power a secret, Arias decided to learn the Cloud-Shrouded Dragon skill first. The goal was to learn it before morning came. If anyone were to read his mind now, they would surely think he had gone crazy. To learn a terrestrial-level skill within a single night was nearly impossible as even prodigies took months to grasp the basics of such skills. “I finally did it.” It was nearly dawn when Arias finally opened his tired eyes but inside, he was exhilarated. To be honest, he was not confident that he would be able to learn the skill successfully within one night but this body was surprisingly gifted, probably even more than his old self. This made him very excited. Three days passed since Arias first woke up. Every day, Arias found himself going through the same routine that he had now become accustomed to, that was, Maria and Albert coming to take care of him. He felt an indescribable warmth from the pure love which he had never before received in his life. Every night, Arias would spend time mastering the Thunder God’s Path. It was truly a complicated skill that he had yet to fully understand. He had spent more than three days with it and still had not succeeded. At that moment, his body was covered in sweat, his eyebrows furrowed, and his mind was deep in concentration. Suddenly, the circulation of magical power in Arias’ body began to change. Inside the spiritual realm, the flow of power abruptly caused the mist at the core of magic to gather together in a concentrated mass. The mist then began to switch back and forth between shrinking and expanding without a pause. Finally, something that looked like palm-sized lightning appeared at the center of the mist, its light shining brightly like a miniature Sun. Although the size of it was several times smaller, its inside was filled with a powerful force far greater than the mist. Like a starving child, it began to vigorously consume the mist at the core of magic. The situation was beyond Arias’ expectations. He furrowed his brows, sweat covering his body as he clenched his teeth. The pain caused by the turbulent flow of power felt like his body was being torn apart. Suddenly, something peculiar occurred. The magical energy surrounding Arias’ body vibrated before it was forcefully absorbed by the lightning. Every time the energy was being sucked in, the lightning would slowly expand in size. It took around an hour for the flow of power to calm. The magical energy within several meters around Arias had become so thin that it was difficult to sense. Inside the core of magic, the once-small lightning had grown to be around a foot in size, radiating a strong and raging power of thunder. “I finally did it. What a powerful grimoire. I didn’t expect that the turbulent flow of power would make me skip to the fourth level of neophyte, almost to the fifth level, even. The Thunder God’s Path sure is strong. With my power now, I could probably hold my own against upper-level neophytes. But that thunder is such a perplexing force. Without control, even I could be absorbed by it.” Arias smiled with delight. Fortunately, he was able to control it. The turbulent flow of power, if went out of control, could lead to unpredictable outcomes which would include either death or years of being bedridden. However, he was curious about the lightning which was the source of his power. It was so powerful and a bit peculiar. After recovering from his fatigue, Arias continued to nurture his power for several hours. However, he felt that he was progressing rather slowly. This must be due to the thinning of magical energy around here and it would take several hours for it to return to normal. It was then that Arias realized something. “Training by absorbing magical energy like this is time-consuming. If I had more materials, my training would progress much faster. For someone like me who is the clan leader’s grandson to lack resources like this...damn it! Even the guards might have more training materials than I do!” Arias cursed bitterly. As the one who was thought to be powerless, he was not given any resources to nurture his power despite him being a part of a great clan. What he had was only some monthly allowance that he had received from the clan. Aside from magical energy, mages could also absorb power from magical quartz, herbs, potions, and other relics. In fact, absorbing power from these items was a much more efficient way to accumulate power. Unable to rely on his clan for support, Arias began to think of ways to get his hands on more resources. Anything he could gather would be a big help at this moment. Suddenly, a cunning smile appeared on Arias' face as his eyes gleamed with delight. “This will surely solve my problem.”