"And you will do it again," he said calmly. "If no one teaches you control." Then he glanced at Blaze. "That creature is part of the cause."
I stiffened. "Blaze?" Elandor didn't react to the name. "Your mana reacts to external influence. It amplifies your fire affinity beyond your current threshold."
His voice turned colder."That makes you dangerous." Then he said it plainly.
"I will take responsibility for your training."
I blinked."W–what?" His gaze shifted toward Elariel. "And hers." That somehow made it worse. I said "You're just deciding that on your own?"
"Do not misunderstand." He turned slightly away. "This is not charity." Of course. "I simply see potential worth refining." Right. Definitely not charity.
Then he added, as if it were nothing. "I will speak to my brother." I frowned. "Who is your brother exactly?"
"The King... Aelthirion."
My eyes widened. "Wait WHAT?" I thought he's somehow connected to the queen instead when Elariel called her 'Uncle' well, come to think of it they actually have the same long silvery hair just like Elariel's..
Beside me, Elariel sighed. "You really don't notice anything, do you?"
Not long after, we were escorted to the royal audience chamber. The doors opened with a low echo.
At the far end sat King Aelthirion, regal and composed, carrying the same sharp features as Elandor but with a much gentler presence.
He studied me for a moment. "So. You are Lucien Greaves."
I bowed quickly. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Elandor stepped forward. "Your majesty, I request permission to personally train Lucien Greaves and Princess Elariel." I expected questions.
But instead–
"Granted."
I looked up too fast. "That's it?" A small smile formed on the king's face. "We have already investigated the matter of the ruins."
My shoulders stiffened. "One of our court mages can witness fragments of recent events from the past. Their range is limited to only a few days after the event itself, but it was enough." So they checked my story. And confirmed it.
"You spoke truth," Aelthirion said. "You protected my daughter. For that, you have my gratitude."
I didn't know how to answer that. Then he looked at Elandor. "And if my brother personally asks to train someone…" The king smiled slightly wider. "…then he has already decided."
Elandor exhaled through his nose. "For once, you are correct." The king ignored him with practiced ease.
Elariel leaned toward me. "This is normal."
"That's concerning."
We returned to the training hall soon after. Elandor stood in the center and motioned me forward. "Before training begins, we fix the foundation."
I said "That sounds painful." and he coldly replied "It may be." He raised one hand. Several silver magic circles formed around me, layered with rotating runes. They spun once, then tightened around my body.
A strange pressure wrapped around me.
The wild mana inside me suddenly calmed. Not gone. Restricted. I nearly lost balance. "What did you do?"
NOTICE
[Skill: Copy is active]
[Skill acquired: Mana limiter]
[Mana limiter detected]
He politely answered "A temporary limiter."
"You can just do that?"
"Yes." Unhelpful as always.
He continued. "Your output is now reduced to roughly the same level as Elariel's." The princess crossed her arms. "I'll take that as a compliment."
I tease her "You are free to be wrong."
Then he looked back at me. "You will learn control little by little. Your mana becomes violent not only because of your reserves, but because your familiars are enhancing you beyond your current capacity." He pointed at Blaze.
"That one grants stronger fire affinity and greater destructive output. But the boost exceeds what your body can handle right now, making your flames unstable."
I slowly turned toward Blaze. "So you're the reason my fire magic has anger issues." Blaze yawned. No shame.
Then Elandor pointed at Byakuren. "That one likely grants heightened senses, agility, and excellent vision at night."
Elariel and I looked at Byakuren "…That explains why I can hear people whispering outside my room."
Elandor folded his arms. "Every familiar grants different traits. They are tools."
Then his eyes locked onto mine. "But tools in the hands of fools become disasters." Rude. Accurate. But rude.
Then he turned away slightly.
"But before we can start the real training, you will wait one day." I frowned. "Why?"
"Because your mana flow must stabilize again. With the limiter in place, you will not be able to use magic properly for now." I looked at my hands. That explained the strange emptiness.
Elandor continued in the same calm tone.
"The seal will slowly weaken the more you train. As your control improves, more of your natural output will return—this time at stable levels."
So this wasn't just restraint. It was a training method. Then he gave me one final look. "The rest falls on your shoulders." he pause. "Practice. Learn. Nurture what you are taught." And just like that, the terrifying elf dumped responsibility back onto me.
He gently added, "For now, let the guards escort you to your quarters while you're here in Valerión."
I frowned. "And for how long?"
"Two years." He said it so casually that my brain refused to process it.
"…Wait, wait, hold on."
Elandor looked at me with the same calm face that made everything sound worse.
"Do you wish to become more polished in controlling your mana or not?"
"I do, but–two years?"
"Great things require a bit of sacrifice sometimes."
And there he went again, sounding like some ancient wise elf who spoke only in life lessons and emotional damage.
Before I could protest further, he turned and walked away as if the matter had already been decided. Which, knowing him, it had.
Two palace guards escorted me through the inner halls of Valerión. The place was ridiculous.
Tall silver pillars. Walls carved with glowing vines. Windows larger than my entire house back home. Even the air smelled expensive.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a pair of polished wooden doors and opened them for me.
I stepped inside.
Then froze.
The room was bigger than the living room in my parents' house.
There was a massive bed with silk sheets, a fireplace lined with white stone, shelves full of books, a balcony overlooking the glowing city, and a private bath in the corner that looked fancier than some inns I'd seen.
I slowly looked around. "Heh… fancy that."
Blaze jumped off my shoulder onto the bed like he owned the place.
"Living like a prince, huh?" He immediately curled into the pillows and fell asleep. I dropped onto the bed for a moment, then sat up.No way I was ending the day without testing the limiter.
I raised one hand. A basic fire spell should've been easy. A small flame gathered at my fingertips—
And produced a pathetic little spark.
…pff.
The tiny ember floated for half a second and vanished. I stared at my hand.
Then at the empty air. Then back at my hand. "Man, this sucks."
Blaze opened one eye, looked at me, then went back to sleep. Even the cat judged me.
The next morning came
I was brought back to the training hall where Elandor was already waiting in the center with Elariel beside him. She looked surprisingly focused for someone who usually enjoyed teasing me.
Elandor didn't waste time. "We begin with fundamentals."
I muttered, "That sentence should be illegal."
He ignored me. He stood in front of Elariel first. "Princess, your mana quantity is sufficient, excellent to be precise. Your problem is not power." She crossed her arms. "Then what is it?"
"Focus." That actually made her pause. Elandor continued. "You create proper spell forms, but your concentration wavers near completion. Because of that, your constructs lose stability and break too easily."
I raised a hand. "That's not the case. She nearly blasted my face on sight back in the ruins though."
Elariel turned sharply. "That was a warning shot!"
"That was attempted murder."
Elandor's crossed eyes shifted between us, already disappointed. He held out a hand. A glowing sphere of mana formed above his palm, perfectly smooth and steady.
"A spell is not merely summoned. It must be maintained." He dismissed the sphere and pointed to her. "Create one."
Elariel lifted her hand. A beautiful orb of light formed quickly–but after a few seconds, cracks of mana spread across its surface before it shattered into particles.
She clicked her tongue. Elandor nodded once. "As expected. Again." No comfort. No praise. Just suffering in elegant elf form.
While Elariel continued trying to stabilize her spell, Elandor finally turned to me.
That somehow felt worse.
He walked toward the center of the hall and motioned me forward. "Now then, Lucien." His voice echoed slightly across the chamber. "Show me how terrible your control truly is."
I placed a hand on my chest. "You really know how to motivate people."
"Begin." I sighed and stepped forward.
With the limiter still wrapped around my mana flow, even gathering energy felt strange. It was like trying to move water through a narrow pipe.
I raised my hand and focused. A small fireball formed. Too fast. The shape wobbled. I corrected it. Too much pressure.
The flame flickered wildly and shrank into something that looked more like a torch someone forgot to finish.
Elariel glanced over and smirked. "That is terrible."
"You literally exploded your own spell five seconds ago."
"Silence!" Elandor said. To both of us.
End of chapter.