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Chapter 6 - 06. Gate Appeared

The next day, the grandma took Zeha into the forest to hunt animals using a bow. The main purpose of the training was to sharpen his instincts, reflex speed, and concentration.

Zeha stood in the middle of the forest, trying to sense his surroundings. From the outside, he might have looked like someone focusing with all his might, but in reality, he was merely closing his eyes and daydreaming.

"I said focus, not take a nap!"

The grandma's voice rang out so sharply that it startled Zeha into a jump.

"I-I know!" Zeha felt embarrassed for failing at something that sounded so simple. It might have seemed easy, but concentrating all his senses on a single point was extremely difficult for him.

"Behind you!"

The grandma's warning made Zeha flinch. He quickly spun around, nocking an arrow, ready to release it at the first sign of an animal. But there was nothing before him, only empty forest.

"You fool! If you can be deceived by such a small trick, you won't survive for long!"

Zeha's head began to throb from the constant echo of her shouting. Even though she wasn't in sight, her voice carried as though she stood right beside him.

"Then stop bothering me, grandma!" Zeha snapped back in annoyance.

Rustle. Rustle.

From behind a bush, Zeha heard a faint rustle noise. He immediately turned, drawing his arrow in readiness.

Rustle. Rustle.

He remained completely still, waiting for something to emerge from the bush.

"Idiot! Do you think they'll come out while you're standing there? You should be hiding somewhere and observing from afar. What's the point of holding a bow if you're going to attack from close range?"

"Uukh..." Zeha's face soured. He was clearly reaching his limit with her constant nagging. Reluctantly, he stepped away and hid behind a large tree, keeping his eyes on the bush.

Rustle. Rustle.

A few seconds later, a rabbit emerged, moving cautiously as if inspecting the area. Zeha quickly pulled back his arrow, focusing so it wouldn't miss. Once certain, he let go. The arrow shot swiftly toward the rabbit.

"Good!"

Unfortunately, the arrow failed to hit its target, as the rabbit leapt away in the nick of time, as if it had sensed the danger.

"Huh? No way—"

"You fool!"

"Ouch!"

Zeha clutched his ears, the grandma's yell so loud that it sent nearby birds scattering.

"You're truly hopeless. The worst of the worst."

Zeha was left speechless. He was used to hearing others belittle him, and in those moments, he would simply stay quiet and accept the insults. He could never get angry or talk back, he was nothing more than a commoner, after all.

But when it came from the grandma, for some reason, it made his blood boil. He wanted to curse back at her.

At the night, after dinner, Zeha practiced swordsmanship. As usual, he sparred with the grandma, and none of his strikes landed.

Weak swings, slow movements, and no form whatsoever, utterly terrible.

"You only use the same technique over and over. In short, you're just swinging randomly. The worst loser I've ever seen," she remarked.

Her words pierced Zeha's heart. Yet strangely, he didn't feel humiliated. Perhaps it was because she didn't speak with the intention to belittle him. She was simply being honest. Still, it was irritating.

"Then what should I do?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Huh?"

"Ask yourself. What kind of Swordsman Mage do you want to become? You know your own body better than anyone else. That means you're the one who has to figure out what you need."

Her words were somewhat confusing, but Zeha understood the gist. He looked down at his palms.

"What I need, huh?" He clenched his fists tightly, then relaxed them again. "Right now, my magic is sealed. But I can still control mana. Should I focus on training my mana concentration?"

The grandma smiled. "At last, you understand. This might be a great opportunity for you. You must train your mana concentration to its highest limit. It may take a long time, but since your magic is sealed, you can keep training without distraction."

"But if I only train mana concentration and my magic stays sealed, what am I supposed to do then?"

The grandma fell silent. Truthfully, she was a little worried. Training mana concentration wasn't difficult, but the technique was so basic that it was often overlooked and rarely studied in depth.

At the academy, mana concentration training was only done once before moving on to magic development techniques, and even then, they only taught the basics. As long as someone could control mana, they could start developing their magic. For them, magic development was far more important than refining mana concentration.

Still, the greater one's ability to control mana, the more skillfully they could wield their magic.

"What should I do first?" Zeha asked.

"First, you must be able to sense mana. Second, circulate it throughout your body. Third, convert mana into energy and then into magic. The last stage is to manifest the magic into the desired form and channel it into your weapon. That's the standard process at the academy. But your case is different. You can't use magic, so you won't be able to convert mana into magical energy."

Zeha froze completely, staring blankly with his mouth slightly open. In short, he hadn't understood a single word she just said.

"You didn't understand a thing I said, did you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Huh? N-no! I understood! Uh... It's... circulating mana through my body and then turning it into magic. Right?"

"Idiot!" She smacked him on the head, clearly frustrated. She truly couldn't understand how a fool like Zeha had managed to enter such a prestigious academy.

The grandma let out a long sigh. "The point is, you'll be learning a different technique than what you were taught at the academy."

"You mean you're going to teach me?!" Zeha's once-lazy gaze instantly lit up, his expression now like an excited puppy given a new toy.

"Have I ever not taught you?"

"Woooh!"

"Stop gawking and get ready!"

"Yes!"

In the night, in the Imperial Capital of Bern.

A massive blue magical vortex suddenly appeared in the middle of the street. The citizens nearby were thrown into confusion, they had never experienced anything so strange. None dared to approach, let alone touch it.

Those who saw it believed it to be a portal.

"S-someone! Call the knights!" someone shouted, but not a single person moved.

"Hey, doesn't that look dangerous?"

"I've got a bad feeling... something's going to come out of it."

"Shouldn't we report this?"

"Quickly! My feeling tells me this portal is bad news."

Many were anxious and restless, but none had the courage to act. They could only wait for help to arrive.

Unfortunately, the portal didn't just appear in the capital, it also manifested in the southern, northern, and western regions. Each was identical in size and color.

Meanwhile, at Callister Academy, a man with black hair stood by the window, gazing out over the city. He was the Academy's third-generation Headmaster—Klaus Sylstallone.

Moments later, another man appeared behind him—his secretary, Joe Griennde.

"Sir, there's a report from the Knights," Joe said.

Klaus glanced at him briefly before looking back outside. "What is it?"

"They say about seven mysterious portals have appeared across the Empire. They're still unsure what type of portals they are, since no one has dared to enter them."

"Portals?" Klaus smirked. "And they don't dare go inside? Look at how cowardly they've become."

Klaus turned, walking past Joe. "Prepare the carriage. We're heading to the scene immediately."

"Yes, sir."

Just as he reached the doorway, Klaus paused. "Oh, and send word to Riana and Kai to check the other regions. Also, write a letter to the palace, to request Xavier be reassigned to investigate the southern region."

Joe's eyes widened slightly. "Are you serious? He's the Crown Prince!"

"So what? As long as he has power, shouldn't it be used to protect the Empire? In this generation, only Riana and Crystal are his equals. Besides, the Emperor has surely already received reports about the mysterious portals. He knows the Empire's current state better than anyone. He will grant my request..." Klaus smirked faintly. "Unless he wants to watch his Empire crumble."

Klaus's reasoning made sense, but Joe still wasn't convinced. The Emperor wasn't someone you could negotiate with easily. Right now, the only people who could go toe-to-toe with him in an argument were Klaus and the former Headmaster.

One wrong word could lead to disaster, and Joe was extremely worried about Klaus's request. Still, there was nothing he could do but obey.

"Understood. I'll do it immediately."

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