Finding a Way Out. (1)
There was no long, drawn-out process.
Nor were there any agreements or words of dissuasion.
His talent had already been proven by the fact that he'd engraved three Circles at the tender age of nine, but...
Kael had already engraved four Circles.
Even the Blue Tower Master-nim, the Pope, and the Elf Chief seemed to understand his mothers' anxiety.
If he really put his heart into mastering mana, if he really learned magic, there was no telling how high he would climb.
"... Hmmm."
Gusto, the Pope, finished preparing to help Aria by gathering his divine power to somehow disperse Kael's pain.
Laika, along with Marika, engraved a magic circle on her body to share in Kael's pain.
Alicia had gone to the Great Archive of the Blue Magic Tower and was creating a dimensional gate to return with the forbidden book, but...
'Such a waste, such a pity, so regrettable.'
The Blue Tower Master-nim was different.
He hadn't heard the details, but he could infer that Kael had learned magic for Alicia's sake.
Unlike other children, his son had cared for his parents from a young age.
And now, he was growing up for their sake, wanting to ease their pain, so why had they made him like this?
Regardless, if the boy named 'Kael' wanted to become stronger, shouldn't they naturally help him?
'Prophecy' would be realized when the situation approached, and Kael would get hurt badly anyway.
If a Demon King or demons that the heroes couldn't handle appeared, that would naturally happen.
"I've brought the forbidden book."
Although Alicia was a 12-Circle Archmage, that didn't mean she was well-versed in every single magic and every magic formula.
It was impossible to master the history of magic that had spanned hundreds, thousands of years in just a few years.
The Blue Tower Master-nim took the forbidden book from his tearful disciple and let out a short sigh.
'... It's just a matter of slowing down his growth, anyway.'
Bu-uk-!
He tore Kael's clothes to reveal his upper body.
He began to draw the magic formula of the Forbidden Magic written in the magic book onto Kael's body with his own blood.
However, it was a little different.
Originally, it was a magic formula that forcibly twisted the Mana Circuits, but a significant portion of the formula was blurred out.
If the Forbidden Magic succeeded, the mana in the Circles formed by the twisted Mana Circuits would leak out, and everything he had achieved would disappear, but...
'Isn't this talent too much of a pity to just scatter away like this?'
Anyway, over time, the circuits would naturally recover.
Depending on his talent, it might take 100 years, or maybe 50.
He was certain that even if left alone, Kael's circuits would repair themselves...
'As long as you don't give up, you will grow again someday.'
The Blue Tower Master-nim summarized the Forbidden Magic's formula.
It was the same in that it forcibly twisted the Mana Circuits, but he removed parts of the formula so that he could escape the Forbidden Magic more quickly.
He removed the formula so that he could live on with a few Mana Circuits remaining.
"Alicia, I need your mana, so close your eyes and focus."
Then, he spoke briefly so that Alicia wouldn't notice.
Even an Archmage cannot assert authority in the face of Kael's life.
Alicia drew a magic circle at Kael's feet and knelt down.
Seu-euk-.
A magic circle was drawn from the tip of the Blue Tower Master-nim's finger.
And when he drew the final stroke.
Pajijijik-!
The magic circle engraved on Kael's body glowed blue.
Blue, it glowed very blue.
Soon, Marika and Laika's expressions twisted-.
"Ah-, ugh, aaaaaah, aaaaaaack-!"
Kael's screams filled the special room of the Mayhead inn.
Even though he had lost consciousness, he thrashed about, and tears streamed from his eyes due to the unbearable pain.
"Mo-, ah-, it hurts-, mo-, mommy-!"
Kael unconsciously searched for those who had protected him.
"Ah, it hurts-, sa-, save me-, I'm sca-, scared, ah, aaaaaaaaack-!"
No answer came.
"Sto-, ah-, ugh-, stooooop...!"
For several hours, until his voice went hoarse and he couldn't even scream properly anymore.
Kael repeatedly woke up and fainted, his whole body drenched in sweat.
Those who shared the pain didn't faint, perhaps because they were used to this kind of pain, but...
"... Ah, Kael-."
They had to watch Kael scream and lose consciousness.
The Forbidden Magic ended successfully, and the fourth Circle that was forming scattered and disappeared, but three Circles still remained due to the Blue Tower Master-nim's greed-.
"... He will have to spend a few months lying in bed."
"W-, what do you mean..."
"Alicia. I clearly told you it was a Forbidden Magic. A Forbidden Magic that was used as a substitute for torture!"
"M-, Blue Tower Master-nim, i-, is it, p-, possible that Kael won't be able to w-, wake up, sob-. Is that what you're saying...?"
"... Perhaps for a few months, that might be the case, Saintess-nim."
Just as the Blue Tower Master-nim said, Kael did not regain consciousness.
His already small frame compared to his peers grew thinner and thinner.
His skin became dry and gaunt.
Sometimes, Kael would mutter in his sleep, saying it hurt, begging to be saved, but even when his mothers approached him, apologizing and asking him to wake up over and over again, no answer came.
Jjaekkak-, Jjaekkak-.
The clock moved.
It was only after more than half a year had passed that Kael regained consciousness.
"... It seems you had a fever, Kael."
At his mothers' words, he couldn't even answer and just nodded.
...
Kael soon turned ten.
The Circles did not increase beyond three, and mana did not move freely as it used to.
It was the same for divine power or wielding Laika's daggers.
The dagger that used to swim over his hand just from the lingering mana Laika left behind, now he couldn't even hold it, and it would constantly fall to the floor.
The divine power he received from God by praying with a sincere heart could no longer be handled either.
The most serious thing was magic.
He could still move the mana of the great nature, but it was only a tiny fraction.
Not being able to use external mana meant that the talent that even shocked Alicia had faded.
He could no longer perform the magic he shot when he killed the wolf, nor could he have the strange experience of forcibly engraving Circles.
The only mana he could use was the 3-Circle mana that barely squeezed through his broken Mana Circuits.
Kael had fallen to being an ordinary 3-Circle mage.
Of course, 3-Circle was a great achievement for Kael's age.
However, the problem was that even ordinary people could reach 5-Circle if they trained.
As time passed, the surprise he currently held would be painted over with mediocrity.
Everything had changed after experiencing the Forbidden Magic, but strangely, it didn't break Kael's will.
After he suffered from the 'fever', the three mothers didn't return to the mansion from time to time...
Because he could tell they were living as 'heroes', going back and forth between the Magic Tower, the Church, and the Elf Forest.
'... Someday, it will return to normal.'
Kael still didn't let go of anything and trained, and his mothers taught Kael from time to time, but...
"Try it like this, Kael."
"You have to understand the magic formula this way."
"... Divine power is imbued, Kael. You must have prayed hard, right?"
They no longer insulted or bullied Kael.
He had been training for over half a year since waking up from the fever, but he hadn't achieved any progress.
He had become a dullard who couldn't even understand the various phrases written in the notebook that he must have written himself.
There was no need to bully him anymore.
Someday, he would realize how low a position 3-Circle was and quit on his own-.
It was a sad and painful thing, but they believed that Kael would never be able to replace them.
'... I must be broken.'
Kael sometimes concluded his physical condition like this.
That he was broken.
As a result, the mothers' expectations were exactly right.
Kael let go of 'magic', 'prayer', 'archery', and 'assassination techniques' as well.
Instead, thinking of the swords stuck in every street of the Mayhead territory.
Hwi-ik-!
Apart from his Mana Circuits being shattered, his body was still manageable, so he turned his attention to wielding a sword.
"... Runie. I want to go look around the Mayhead territory today too."
Kael always told the servant hired by his mothers, who were leaving the mansion more often, and wandered around the territory.
To look at the heroes' swords that were stuck in the base of the Mayhead territory, which were originally supposed to be stuck in the mansion's field.
Since it was a territory where heroes were located, he wanted to observe those who trained in 'swordsmanship' and find out something.
And if he noticed something, he somehow remembered it.
He would swing the small wooden sword he got by asking Runie in his bedroom, and once again devoted himself to training alone.
So that his mothers wouldn't notice, always alone whenever no one was around.
...
Tik-, Tak-.
Time flowed again.
Kael turned twelve.
The mansion, where stories about magic, prayer, and assassination techniques had disappeared, was always filled with harmony.
Sometimes, when Kael was in pain due to the aftermath of the Forbidden Magic, the eyes of his mothers, including Alicia, would fill with sadness...
But that too would faintly scatter at the fact that he had finally escaped the prophecy.
His talent for magic remained at a mere 3-Circle.
As his mothers wanted, he was growing up 'normally', so perhaps it was a natural thing.
Naturally, Kael studied alone, organizing the swordsmanship of those training in the Mayhead territory behind his mothers' backs.
He trained in his own way, building his foundation step by step, but...
"Doryeon-nim, you must step forward a little more."
Runie, the servant the mothers had hired, felt pity for Kael, who couldn't inherit anything.
Because it was so pitiful that the little boy wanted to be recognized as his mothers' son and was learning even 'swordsmanship'.
He didn't bother telling the mothers, who were busy with the Magic Tower, the Church, and the elves, about these facts.
"... You should be resting, but thank you for helping me, Runie."
"... It is nothing, Doryeon-nim."
The mothers didn't even specifically ask Runie if he was practicing 'swordsmanship'.
Rather, he even doubled as a teacher who sparred with him and looked after his posture.
"There are only a few years left now, until you head to the Academy."
"... The Academy?"
"According to Imperial law, once you turn fifteen, all nobles must attend the Academy. Do not worry. If it is you, Doryeon-nim, there will be no problem at the Academy either."
He encouraged and comforted Kael.
"Compared to mages, the mana used by swordsmen is significantly less. Surely, you will be able to do well."
He told him without holding back the stories that the mothers had hidden just in case.
Even if they hid them, they were just stories that would be found out soon anyway.
"If you are worried, there is a prestigious swordsmanship family called the Pebure Family near the Mayhead territory. How about you stop by and have a sparring match with a child of a similar age?"
Runie suggested, and Kael nodded.
On a day when all his mothers had left the mansion for the first time in quite a while.
Kael got on a horse with Runie and headed to the Pebure family's mansion.