"Sir please show your identification card" The guard at village gate were doing their duty as usual and this is now their habit to meet different types of people with their own uniqueness but this person whose identity the knight was checking is quite a rare person whom they don't get to meet every month. The identification card is issued by the kingdom to every citizen on which their name, date of birth and other personal details were written and the most interesting thing is the rank of a mage or knight is specified if they are part of the kingdom's force. "Huh?! Sir you are a Grand Mage of Third Magic Tower?-" The knight exclaimed but the person interrupted "Ah, sorry I just retired and forgot to update the card, I will get it updated by today.". Vomon was at the patrol at early dawn which he starts from the village gate but not many people prefer to travel this early in the morning and that's why work went smoothly, even though from a far distance but he can see that knight was talking with someone, Vomon keep walking slowly to see what is taking this long to check someone's identity, after a couple of seconds he reach near them and Vomon try to look at the unknown person's face which is covered by a black hood, "Is there any problem Knight Max?" Vomon came from behind and called out the guard, "Oh, Captain Vomon, It's nothing I was just informing about Sir Bastro's son to his friend" Vomon knew that every knight in the village know about Felix but he didn't know this friend of Bastro and he got suspicious of this and thought of it as an another kidnapper because of the last incident "Oi, how do you know sir Bastro and his son?, and what's with this shady clothes, show your face!" Vomon growled and kept a ready posture to knock down this person. The person who showed his face was just a mere old man, holding some huge luggage and neither holding a sword nor any weapon. Vomon didn't understand why this person was claiming to be Bastro's friend and took the identification card to check the name, "...!" Vomon remembered Bastro's party member name, Danir Mackerwood.
Danir was heading to the Knight's training ground because after a few apologies from Vomon he got to know that both Felix and Bastro are at ground as per their daily schedule, he was hearing some shouting which was not clearly hearable but it was a familiar voice. Danir reached to the entry of the ground and now he can hear that Bastro was shouting at Felix to run more fifty laps which he can't see because of stone wall but understand the view, Danir took few steps through the stone made corridor which leads to open area and now he can see both, an oppressor adult who is laughing and shouting and an oppressed kid who is running in ground. Even though they didn't notice the mage but Danir had a sigh of relief to see that his friend is enjoying his life after that traumatising incident of the past. "Brat! you are harassing a child who is my student?!" Danir yelled just three feet away from the Bastro "Arghh!" and he screamed, Felix stopped running and looked towards them.
After some greetings and small talk, they went home, "Geezer, go and wash up, breakfast will be ready till then", "Okay and here, Felix takes these books" Danir handed his huge luggage to Felix, he held the books but it was surprisingly too heavy, 'What! You are telling me that this old man who is not even a knight was holding these heavy books and not even break a sweat' Felix's thought was written on his face and Danir tells him the answer "Hahaha, I know little genius what you are thinking, this old man never did exercise like you but the title of Grand Mage is not a show also." Danir's answer didn't give an explanation but it let Felix assume that the old man did some sort of spell, Danir went to the washroom but as curious Felix is, he wants a proper answer now, "Dad, what was the spell which sir Danir did?" "Eh? Was he not supposed to be your master instead of sir?" Bastro's question was valid but Felix did not want to trust anyone, after the talk of that day with Bastro on which he told Felix about the Mana and Aura was meant to tell Felix about the caution but he receives it as a threat, he thought about why his father suddenly ask to make a decision and knowingly or unknowingly he put the blame on Danir. Felix was not seeing Danir in a bad light but he did not want to assume that everyone around him would not pose a harm. "Yeah- I mean...Master" Felix hesitates to call Danir as master but Bastro didn't pay attention to it, "You ask about the spell he was using, right?" Felix nod, "Pfft… hahaha" Bastro let out a stifled laughter Felix annoyed and thought of trying out the result of training, "It was not a spell, when your bones and muscles get used to using Aura or Mana, they strengthen itself, umm… yeah! When you use Aura in sword training it becomes easier to swing, right? Just keep practicing and you will see".
After the breakfast they all lean on the sofa, and Danir asks the most awaited answer from Felix which he didn't give to Bastro even after asking multiple times, "Felix, you decide whether you will learn both aura and mana or move forward with one?" Felix stayed silent for a minute and look at Danir with a solemn face "I want to learn both Magic and Swordsmanship" Danir just as reminder but said "If things go south, it will cripple you", Nellie was listening this all and want to say something, it was probably to think again but Bastro stopped her, he knows his son was talented but still was worried, "It will not happen" Felix replied and a smile came on Danir's face, "Then we will head tomorrow", "Huh?!" Felix and his parents can't help but just exclaim in this unreadable announcement, "Don't 'Huh?' me, oi brat didn't you tell him how to create Mana Core?" Danir scolded them, "I don't know myself," Bastro said and everyone turned their faces at him.
After few yelling and taunts from Danir they proceed to a lecture, "So, I hope you know what is Mana Core," Danir waited for Felix's reply which was a nod and he continued "Mana core is formed by accumulating the mana particles in body and it has three ways, (First: by natural awakening which takes its own time to form if you have any affinity, it has no time limit but it is the most tireless and painless way, Second: this method is super expensive, by consuming elixirs and monster core which will simply reduce the time limit of first option, Third: by meditation and focus to joining mana particles of your body to form a core but if in earliest time, then this also takes few years, Fourth: this is last and most painful method, any external source will be inserting mana to stabilise your mana flow create a mana core) you understand?" Danir completed the explanation which in his view was far better than Bastro's explanation. "I will not wait to form it naturally, so first option is out and second option is exceeding budget so it is left with third or fourth option" Felix summarises this but he doesn't know which option will be better for him so he leaves it to his Master. "So which one are you intending to go with?" Bastro ask Danir, "Meditation will take at least three to four years and last method will take six to seven months if consider his age-" Danir was explaining this but Nellie who was the most worried cut in and ask "But sir, you said about heading tomorrow somewhere with Felix, where will you take him?" Nellie's worries and anxiousness was visible and her change in calm tone create a sudden tense atmosphere, to put her on ease Danir said with a chuckle "Don't worry, I already knew that we will choose from either third or fourth option and these methods require a calm and mana rich place to let the process with efficiency" Danir was expecting to end this topic but another new tension came, "That means Fel will stay away from house these many months?!" This time Bastro growled. 'I have to stay away from home for such a long time?' Felix didn't want to go but to create mana core this was necessary, it pushed him into countless thoughts 'Quickest way to come home!' Felix reached the conclusion and shouted "I will choose the fourth option!".