Chapter 6: Growing Up Quickly

Time went by in a flash and before Alaric knew it, 4 years went by just like that in the blink of an eye.

He had grown and gotten acquainted with everyone in the house for a while now. His progress when it came to training was outstanding and completely outside of his expectations, as he was already halfway through with both of his mana cores.

Aside from that, He started getting tutored at home by his mom and it was honestly nothing too hard because of his knowledge from his past life and character background, all academics became a bit trivial since he could just site everything in the books and change a word or two, then be done with it.

Inside a room with purple walls, a wooden floor, a couple of shelves, a wardrobe, and a bed with a wood frame. There was a child with black hair sleeping on their bed.

[Alarm: WAKE UP AND STOP BEING A LAZY LITTLE B*TCH!]

"Holy f*ck!" Alaric opened his eyes wide and immediately went from lying to sitting on the bed.

"I need to set a better alarm message..." He murmured as he looked at the floating screen right before his eyes.

The child got up from the bed and walked towards a wardrobe on the corner of the room and picked a pair of clothes from it, then he grabbed a towel and put the clothes on his bed then proceeded to move towards the room's door.

Outside the room, he didn't lose a second the boy began to move towards the left side eventually stopping in front of a door.

He then opened the door and went inside the room, closing the door behind him once inside. The room he's in right now is full of wood on the floor and walls. There was a bathtub at the end of the room, a pedestal sink on the right side, and a toilet on the left. There was no plumbing, but it worked.

The boy walked towards the bathtub then put the towel cloth on a towel hook, and turned got the cold water bucket.

(Man! Just tell yourself it's better for your skin.) A frown appeared on his face as he took the brunt of the cold water.

After a cold bath, The boy got out of the bathtub and got his towel cloth then he moved to his room, where once inside he began to dress himself up. Once fully dressed up, he sat on the bed and closed his eyes.

(I have to focus and circulate the mana in my body to all the points and nurture them with it and maintain stability. By that time I'm eight this will be over for sure.) The boy thought as a purple glow flowed all over his body.

He had made it routine to and every day there was some progress on his journey to form a mana link. This took him a while until he got a bit tired.

This caused him to lay down on the bed as he looked at the roof and narrowed his eyes, as a sigh left his mouth.

(I hope today something happens, cause since I became 4 years old, two months ago, I've been having lessons and my days have become somehow even more boring than the day when all I did was train to form my mana link.) He once again sat up on his bed and just as he did so someone knocked on the door.

*knock* knock*

"Who is it?" Alaric questioned as he looked at the door.

"Young master Alaric, the breakfast is ready and your presence is required, and as such, I came here to help you with bathing and dressing up." Sylvia announced as she calmly waited on the other side of the door.

He got close to the door and opened it, then said.

"I have already prepared myself, just guide me there." Alaric looked at Sylvia with a calm expression.

"Hm... I see, please follow me, young master." Sylvia looked at Alaric for a while before just turning around to show the way.

They quickly got there.

Entering the room Alaric was met with the eyes of his parents and sisters on him, then he approached the table that had only 8 sits, and sat in his own place.

"Good morning Father, Mother, Grandpa, Grandma, and my sisters." Alaric greeted everyone as he sat down.

"Good morning dear, surprisingly you're not late today." Mom smiled looking at Alaric.

Usually, during the mornings, Alaric was practicing for his mana link, so it was unusual for him to be on time.

"Morning, shortie." Lillian smirked as she answered Alaric's greeting.

Crystal nodded without letting out a single word and continued to eat.

"Good morning, I hope you're ready for today because we are going to hunt." Dad declared calmly as she continued to eat right after.

"Morning! Hope you slept well, sweetie." Grandma replied waving one of her six arms.

"Morning little champ, you should try being punctual more often." Grandpa added.

After the greetings were all done.

The breakfast was calm and some conversations about how well Alaric can already talk and about Crystal and Lilian's progress happened.

In succession to this, the days went on, and time just flashed before anyone could notice.

-Later-

From then on, Alaric continued with his training, and more time passed. Before he knew it, he was now 8 years old and had finally convinced his parents to let him begin his physical training, besides the tutoring and his mana training.

They refused to let him train with an instructor until he was 10, but he could at least train himself unbothered. His training routine would start with basic exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and a long run and then go on to some gymnastics, flexibility training, improvised weight lifting, and the only thing his parents insisted on, dancing lessons.

One day as he was going about his training as usual, he overheard a conversation between his sisters.

"I'm telling you! I'll be the wife of a great noble! Once that happens things will be much better for everyone. You just have to help me get their attention now." Crystal suggested with a confident smile.

"I don't know… that sounds weird…" Lilian on the other hand was unsure.

"Believe me! I know what I'm saying. Big sis here is very smart." Crystal insisted.

"I mean… If you say so…" Lilian was not so sure, but nodded in agreement anyway.

"That sounds like a terrible idea." Alaric got closer and let his presence be known.

"Shut up! You don't know anything. You're just good at magic, you're still a kid." Crystal crossed her arms and looked at him with a slight frown.

"I don't think you have to be mean…" Lilian suggested.

"Don't worry, I see your passion even if I don't think it is a good idea. Nobles are pretty shady, so I don't know." Alaric replied not bothered by her words.

"Hmph! Leave, go back to your crazy stuff." Crystal was not happy with his presence.

At the time Lilian looked at both one at a time but said nothing.

"Fine, I'll leave." Alaric raised his hands and left going back to his own things, it was none of his business anyway, or at least he believed so.

After that, things went back to their rhythm for him, and the events of that day became a buried memory.

Alaric's days grew tiring and it took time for his muscles to get used to it, honestly, he wanted to give up multiple times when he started this, but pushed through for his future as a ruler of the Omniverse, he couldn't be weak if he wanted those things. Vomiting a little and constant muscle pain would not be enough to stop him!

That aside, his mana training was reaching its apex and was almost complete, he was sure that in a few months, he would be able to activate both his mana cores.

Later on just as he had predicted, months later, he was able to fill both mana cores and began the activation of both. He felt the heat inside his heart and solar plexus as the mana built up inside them until it ultimately expanded, and he felt a wave of it go through his body.

It was now time, for the third step of creating a mana link. Unblocking one's mana circuits, also known as circuit activation.

All living beings have circuits in their bodies that allow them to fortify their body with mana as well as use it with ease, but those are naturally clogged and have to be unclogged before they create their mana link for better magical efficiency.

The process to unclog them was pretty easy, he had to use the mana in his cores to unclog the path, as his cores are directly connected to his mana circuit.

The only thing about doing this was that it was much riskier than the other steps because it was extremely painful and straining for the body's muscles, so he would have to go without physical training until he finished this part, or he might seriously damage his body.

Focusing on the new part of his mana training, he continued with the same routine of lessons without physical training until he was 10 years old.

The process was arduous and tedious as was most of the process before actual magic.

In time, Alaric unclogged his mana circuits completely, it was much faster than the second step, but also much more painful as he could still feel his body ache in pain.

Thanks to this, he basically burned all the unnecessary fat in his body, giving him an unnecessarily toned body for his age. It was like he never stopped his physical training at all.

Aside from vomiting blood every now and then as well as the never-ending muscular pain and spasms, there wasn't anything too concerning about the process.

It was now, the moment of the truth. Time to create his mana link. This part was probably the easiest out of all the things one has to do, as it consisted of simply meditating and opening their cores to the outside mana, completely. That being exactly what he did.

(The moment of truth has come…) He thought to himself after years of work.

Just then a whirlwind of mana formed around him as the flow connecting him to mana was established and he could now communicate with it, in other words, use magic.

[Master! You have gained the skills mana manipulation and mana operation!]

[Mana Manipulation: The skill to control mainly internal mana, and to a limited extent external mana. Allowing users to cause various phenomena, mostly known as magic.]

[Mana Operation: The skill to regulate the usage and control of mana to a precise and exact level with a minimal level of waste.]

[Congratulations master! You have just completed the first quest!

Quest#0(Hidden)- Create a mana link

Objective: Create a mana link

Failure condition- Never create a mana link or destroy your mana cores.

Reward: Mana affinity]

[Mana Affinity: A special connection to mana beyond the norm, making it so that the individual can use and understand mana to a level most would never be able to, aside from receiving its blessing.]

As soon as the second message popped up, the amount of mana flowing around him just increased a lot to the point where it was almost suffocating.

(Hidden Quests? Good… ) Alaric concluded. (Anything else you haven't told me yet?) He decided to ask as a precaution.

[hum?... Yeah! I have Vectis' soul in containment just in case Master needs or wants it for something.]

(You what?... like, Vectis as in my original character from Absolute Fantasy: Endless Possibilities?) He couldn't help but rub his forehead.

[Yes! That one, he was very rude and even dared to badmouth Master!]

(Of course, he did, I made him that way. Let me talk to him.) Alaric ordered as he sighed.

[Of course! As Master wishes!]

{Finally! I'm out of that measly prison, what type of barbarians are you? Not even having the most basic of commodities in your cells. It's my fault for expecting any more from third-rate opportunists.} Immediately Vectis started rambling.

(Your provocations won't work if you want anything to improve, you better be cooperative.) Alaric kept it simple and direct.

{How unsightly! Do you have no concept of subtlety? Honestly, I'm surprised anyone could survive with that attitude, but then again you're young, so I'll give you that.} He insisted on acting difficult.

(It seems we won't be able to reach an agreement as of now, so I'll give it a few more years and we'll talk then.) Alaric said with a smile.

{Ok, Ok, well done, you got me. Now, let us move to more pressing matters. I want my freedom and a body, what exactly do you expect to obtain from me in my current state?} Vectis cracked, a bit unexpected, as Alaric thought he would actually have to come back a few years later.

(Not too much, I want you to serve me.) Vectis as Alaric understood him, was a very loyal individual who would always repay his debts and would be satisfied as long as he was allowed to have his affairs...

So long as he stayed away from Alaric's loved ones, he didn't really care... However, he would definitely have to discipline early on to make sure no incidents happen.

{Not happening. I would rather rot in this barbaric prison. Even if right now I'm at the weakest I'll ever be, it's only a matter of time before I break out and take over.

{Once I do, I'll burn everything you love to the ground… Unless, you simply let me out now, and I let bygones be bygones.} Vectis proposed instead not interested in even thinking of the offer made to him.

(What if I tell you that I'm one of the Omniverse Ruler Candidates?) Alaric threw in the bait.

{Am I supposed to be impressed? I could claim to have slept with G herself and we would be on the same Plainfield, don't waste my time child.

{Even if it Is true, you're only telling me, you're an even better target than I initially thought.} Vectis was not moved and replied calmly.

(It seems you would rather be unreasonable, goodbye then.) Alaric smiled as he closed the connection before Vectis could say anything in return.

With that, he could now move on to continue his physical training, especially considering that now, his parents would have to let him get an instructor.

It would also be nice to get someone to teach him magic, as it would speed up the process, but that would be unrealistic, as not only would it be expensive, but it would also take a lot of work to get someone from a magic academy or a mage tower to come tutor privately.

The other option would be to hire adventurers, but that would be a bit risky since mages adventuring didn't tend to be the best ones, after all, as a mage there were many other jobs that would pay way better unless they actually managed to become a high ranking adventurer, but was that really worth the risk for a mage who could work safely and make a decent living?

Most mages who adventured were incompetent in some regard and the few that weren't, had their eyes set on going after fame, glory, or some complicated personal reason.

In short, it wouldn't be that easy to get a magic tutor. Even though Alaric's current family wasn't noble, his dad being a merchant, she makes her fair share.

That and Mom's bakery kept them above most commoners but still below any nobility financially.

That was still beyond the point, as it was time to go talk to Dad about getting Alaric an instructor.

Chapter end