Chapter 17

The sun began its slow descent as the Crowley family continued their trek through the grassy plains. Devon still buzzed with excitement from the earlier battle, but Nick had already shifted from victory to what lay ahead. The thrill of leveling up and his first real fight against something that could have killed him was exhilarating, but he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.I might be a bit too suspicious, but I don't believe they would have brought us here only to watch us kill a couple of monsters. Their mother called for a stop just before twilight settled, scanning the horizon before nodding to herself. "We'll camp here for the night," Elena said, already taking off her pack and signaling for them to do the same. Nick shrugged off his backpack, the weight suddenly noticeable after the adrenaline wore off. His arms and legs ached, not from magic or battle but from the sheer length of their day. He dropped onto the grass and stretched his back, glancing over to the much larger pack his father had been lugging around without a complaint. Eugene then took out a thunderhoof loin, large enough to feed them three times over. Devon didn't seem as tired, being a physical class. "We can eat as much as we want, right? There has to be enough to feed us through the next winter in the backpack," he grinned, rubbing his hands together. Elena smirked and pulled a small knife from her belt. "If you want to eat, you'll help prepare it," she said. Devon blinked, taken aback. "Uh... maybe I'll just stick to setting up the fire." Nick chuckled at his brother's quick backpedaling, but Elena gave him a pointed look, and he coughed. "Nope," she said, handing him a knife. "You too, Nick. You wanted real experience, and that includes the less glamorous parts." Sighing, Nick took the blade and knelt beside the massive piece of meat, grateful that at least his parents had removed the tough hide. While they worked, their father prepared the fire. Eugene gathered dry grass and sticks and snapped them into place before flicking a finger at a piece of dark rock and causing a spark to fly into the stack. The smell of roasting meat soon filled the air, mingling with the cool evening breeze. The whole family sat around the fire, grateful for the warmth and the chance to finally relax. Nick found the meat's flavor to be surprisingly rich. It was gamey, a bit tougher than he remembered, but the savory taste mixed with a hint of something metallic—probably from the creature's nature. It wasn't bad, considering they had no time to age it properly. "So," Elena said between bites, "what did you two learn from today's fight?" Devon went first. "That I can totally take down something three times my size! I mean, did you see that last feint? I used the power surge that comes at the peak of the breathing pattern, like you told me, and it let me use [Power Strike] much more often!" "For me, it was that magic doesn't always have to be flashy. It was pretty hard to weaken the ground and control the rocks simultaneously, but I made it work. I managed to adapt my skills to what the fight required." Nick said. Elena smiled approvingly. "Good. I'm glad you both managed to win your fight without help." She stopped there, but a weird tension followed her words. It was obvious she wasn't done yet. When neither boy spoke, she sighed, "I don't want you to think I'm not proud of you—that we are not proud of your victory. But we have to talk about why you were both so skilled." Nick grimaced. He had known this conversation would be coming, but he still didn't know how to approach the matter. "I'm not saying you have to give me every detail of your lives—gods know I made my own escapades—but you both managed to handle yourselves better than I expected. And I clearly remember forbidding you both from experimenting with skills or seeking fights." "Your mother did not set those limits because she doesn't want you to grow. It's exactly because she wants you to that she did. We understand your eagerness, but you have to trust that we know what we are doing." Eugene added. Devon stomped the ground, pursing his lips in frustration. He then let out an explosive sigh, "I'm sorry. I've been sneaking some fights with the older kids. I made sure not to use any skill to hurt them, I swear! I just used [Fortress] to defend myself and the Stalking Gait to keep up with them, or I would have lost every fight!" Elena turned her piercing gaze on Nick, who lasted a scant few seconds, "I've been practicing my [Telekinetic Field], too. Sorry. I've mostly used it to handle the damn dust bunnies in the temple's library, honest!" And it was even the truth. Of course, it wasn't the whole truth, but that was something he didn't intend to reveal to anyone. Fortunately, his parents seemed satisfied with that confession. Oh, they knew both of their children were being cagey, but they knew when to cut their losses. "Wonderful. That wasn't so hard, was it?" The brothers visibly relaxed at that, but Elena only smiled devilishly, "Now, of course you can both expect doubled lessons for the time being. If you can't be trusted to keep yourselves away from danger, I'll have to ensure you can survive it. And you'll pick up double chores, too." Though Nick internally lamented the loss of even more free time, he knew better than to complain. Punishment doled out, Elena showed them how to set up camp properly, instructing them on everything from choosing the right spot to placing stones around the fire to keep the wind from snuffing it out. She even demonstrated how to identify edible plants common in the plains, much to Devon's dismay when she made him taste a bitter root that was apparently nutritious. Nick, for his part, soaked it all in. This was what he'd asked for—actual experience. And while the fighting was exciting, this practical knowledge would make a difference in the long run if he ended up following in his mother's footsteps as an adventurer. Learning to survive wasn't as cool as developing new spells, but it was necessary. As the night wore on, Eugene leaned back against his pack, his gaze fixed on the stars twinkling overhead. His voice took on a more serious tone. "You boys know I'm Floria's Captain for a reason, right?" Nick and Devon exchanged glances. "Because you're the strongest in town?" Devon guessed. Eugene chuckled. "Well, that helps. But no, it's more than that. I'm Captain because I'm the son of the last Captain. Your grandfather. And our family has been in Floria for a long time. Longer than most people realize." Nick leaned in, intrigued. Their father rarely talked about his past, especially his own father. "What happened to him?" "He disappeared," Eugene sighed, his voice low with old pain. "Inside the Green Ocean. It's the way most adventurers and guards go. My father was getting on with the years, and a powerful monster was spotted too close to the walls—he couldn't afford it drawing more of its kind to the town. Dealing with that is the duty of the Crowley family, in the end. I'll explain more when you're older, but know this: Floria isn't just some backwater town. We would not have remained if it were so. And one day, you will both understand that." His words hung in the air. Nick felt a shiver run through him, and not from the cool breeze. Once again, his family history seemed to go much deeper than he had realized. Eugene gave them both a knowing look before standing. "Get some sleep. We've got another long day ahead of us." As Nick lay down under the stars, the embers flickering beside him, his thoughts raced. His brother's shifts suggested that he was finding it hard to sleep, too. The next day dawned clear and bright, and the plains stretched endlessly beneath a pale blue sky. Nick woke to the sound of the wind rustling through the grass and the soft thud of his mother packing up their camp. He blinked against the sunlight, feeling some lingering soreness. His muscles ached, but there was a certain satisfaction in the pain. It felt like progress. They set out early, walking in silence at first. Nick followed while his mind wandered, still processing his father's words from the night before. I can admit that I didn't pay too much attention to our family history. In fact, I barely know anything about my grandparents. But that was still a lot to drop on us so suddenly. He hadn't expected to learn anything like that on this trip, but it made sense that his parents would take this opportunity to teach them more than just how to kill monsters. Searᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After a few hours of walking, Elena called for another break. This time, she led them to a small stream that cut through the plains, where water bubbled quietly as it flowed over smooth stones. "Take a seat, boys," she said, her tone shifting into something more serious. Nick and Devon exchanged curious glances but did as she asked. Elena crouched beside the water, her gaze distant for a moment before she looked back at them. "You've both come far, but there's more to learn than just fighting monsters and setting up camp. You'll need to develop your abilities further before either of you can go on an apprenticeship. Devon," she turned to his brother, "you're almost ready. You'll be able to handle yourself out there in a few more months." Devon blinked in surprise before grinning, puffing out his chest a little. "I knew it." Nick expected Elena to say something similar to him, but instead, she fixed him with a knowing gaze. "As for you, Nicholas… I doubt you showed everything you can do yesterday." Elena continued before he could respond. "You've come a long way on your own. And I'm proud of that. But if you're going to keep using magic, you need control. If you can't hold back until you can learn under a proper master, then I'll help you develop it properly." Nick's eyes widened. He hadn't thought that was a possibility. I thought the punishment would be more martial exercises. "In matters of magic, no matter the class, control is the key," she said, sounding like she was repeating something she had heard a thousand times. "One of my old companions used to do an exercise like this. It helped him keep his magic sharp. I want you to try it." Kneeling by the water, she placed her hand above it. "First, feel the flow. Mana is like this stream—constant, but it can be guided and redirected. Start by pouring it in and using it to follow the water. Learn the how and why of its flow." The stream didn't react to her motion, but she looked at Nick expectantly. He nodded, kneeling and concentrating—there would be time for questions later. Extending a trickle of mana in, he could feel the gentle pull of the water, its current flowing beneath his fingers. Nick didn't exactly know if he understood correctly, but he believed his mother might be talking about elemental manipulation exercises. The kind that any decent mage would do at the beginning of their career and then never touch with a ten-foot pole again. Still, if she wanted to see him do tricks, he wouldn't complain. Slowly, once he was sure he had saturated it enough, the water began to shift, swirling in a small eddy beneath his hand. He felt a spark of triumph since almost no one managed to get such a result on their first try, but then the connection broke, and the water merged back into the stream. "Too much force," Elena said, apparently unsurprised at his success. "Try again, but let it guide you as much as you guide it." Nick took a deep breath and tried again, pushing his frustration aside. This time, he relaxed his grip on the magic, letting the flow of the stream carry his intent. The water moved more smoothly now, swirling gently in a controlled spiral. Parsimonia is such a cheat. It took me weeks to get something like this last time. "Good," Elena said, watching closely. "Now, the next part is harder. Mud." Nick raised an eyebrow. "Mud?" Do I really need to show that I can do every basic elemental exercise? We'll be here the whole day. Elena smiled. "Mud. Water is fluid and easy to manipulate. But earth is stubborn. It doesn't want to move. See if you can control both." Nick stared at the streambed, where dark mud clung to the stones. He sighed and reached deeper with his mana, feeling resistance. It was heavy and sluggish, like it didn't want to be moved He pushed a little harder, trying to coax it into movement. Slowly, it began to shift, rising in a thick, messy glob. It wasn't as smooth as the water, but it was much more than could be expected of someone without an affinity and attempting it for the first time. Idly, he twisted the mana to resemble a proper spell matrix, filling it with elemental symbols and manually mimicking what it would be like to cast such a spell. Of course, nothing happened, but it wasn't a bad exercise done that way. "Not bad," Elena approved. "You need to work on your speed, but you'll get better with time. Wulfric could create new spells for every occasion because he had such mastery over the basics." Nick couldn't deny feeling a bit indignant at being compared to someone who obviously spent years, if not decades, practicing and so pushed a bit more mana into the river, lifting two perfect spheres, one of mud and one of water. Before he could smugly ask his mother if her friend could do as much on his first try, something clicked in his mind. A soft chime sounded, and a notification appeared in his vision while the spellform coalesced in his mind: CONGRATULATIONS [Minor Elemental Manipulation] unlocked. This spell allows the wielder to manipulate the five basic elements—Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Lightning—in their raw and untamed forms. Nick felt his jaw drop. "Ah, you got the spell already, huh? That is good to know. I expect you to keep working on it. Get the Intermediate version, and I'll consider sending you to Alluria early." Elena grinned, slapping his shoulder and standing up. Nick dismissed the notification and closed his mouth, trying to process what had just happened. He hadn't used his old world's knowledge. This was entirely new magic.