Maki: 8 years old – Advanced Amethyst.
SKILLS:
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Sword Reinforcement (II) – Level 2
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Heightened Senses – Level 13
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Lightning Step (II) – Level 2
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Concentrated Spherical Formation (II) – Level 2
I'm not sure when my status changed to Advanced Amethyst; I’ll have to ask about it during training tomorrow.
When I arrive at the dining room, I'm surprised to see someone sitting there waiting for me.
“How are you, son? Was the training good?”
My dad, always with that same smile on his face. His eyes look a bit worn, his dark circles have grown since the last time.
“Fine, Father. Everything went great, as always. Are you alright? You look tired.” I don’t want to sound disrespectful, just express my concern.
“Yes, son, things have been getting better these past few days. It’s just been a very hectic few weeks.” He lowered his gaze toward his plate and then looked at me again.
“Your grandmother told me about your skills. You’ve almost got them all to rank two, right?”
“Yes, Father, I’ve been working hard these past weeks. I’m starting to see the results now.” His comment triggered a memory in my head—my status had changed while I was walking here.
“Father, I noticed something today. My rank went up from Basic Amethyst to Advanced. Why is that?”
“Didn’t your grandmother explain it? When you have three skills at rank two, your status automatically updates while you’re sleeping. An Advanced Amethyst at just eight years old—that’s impressive, son. You’re the pride of House Vichag.”
So, certain conditions must be met to update your status, and it happens while you sleep. Important information—I need to keep that in mind.
“I don’t know if I can be called the pride of House Vichag yet, Father. It’s still too early for that.” I’m not trying to be humble; I just feel that to be the pride of this house, I need to give more than I’ve received.
My father chuckled softly. “You remind me a lot of your mother in the way you speak. Very mature for your age—not just in appearance, but in your words too.”
As we ate and exchanged stories about our day, I learned more about the situation in both villages. In Talar, the village where I live, things are fine—we have enough guards to cover full shifts along the border, but in Mancor, the other village, it’s a different story. They don’t have enough guards to cover every post, so my relatives go every day to help.
Each village is surrounded by a barrier made of wood and stone, which helps protect the people. A rank one or two monster isn’t much of a problem; it would take them time to break through, time enough for reinforcements to arrive and handle the situation.
The real problem is the fields outside the barrier—vegetable and fruit farms. Guards have to patrol those areas daily and clear out any monsters, or else the villagers could die just doing their daily work.
Trying to think of a solution—which seemed impossible—my father made an unexpected proposal. “Maki, would you like to gain some battle experience?”
I wasn’t expecting that question. How could an eight-year-old help?
“What’s got you thinking so hard, son? Even though you’re eight, you’re an Advanced Amethyst. As long as you don’t fight a particularly strong rank two monster, you’ll be fine. Obviously, someone of rank three will go with you. There won’t be any problems. But if you don’t want to, that’s fine too.”
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He cleared up my doubts immediately—I didn’t even get a chance to ask. For someone usually so cheerful and carefree, lately he’s been able to read certain situations and act accordingly.
“Can you give me a few days, Father? Two or three should be enough. I do want to fight monsters, but I need to get my last skill to rank two first. Once that happens, I’ll be ready.”
According to both my father and grandmother, I shouldn’t have any problem fighting rank one monsters. I feel the same way—just need a lifeline in case of an emergency. My Heightened Senses might be the most important card I have for survival.
He waved his hands from side to side, as if to say “don’t worry.” “Don’t rush, son. It was just a proposal. It’s completely up to you whether you want to go or not. Don’t feel pressured.”
His actions made me smile. No matter how serious the topic, he’ll always be himself.
“I do want to go, Father. I just need to feel a bit more confident. I also feel like I’m close to gaining a new skill related to concentration. I’ll do my best to get it in the next two or three days.”
He scratched his head in confusion. “A skill related to concentration? That’s a tough one. I never got one.”
“You don’t have one? Isn’t that a basic skill for any fighter or mage?”
I saw him rub his chin, trying to come up with an answer. “No, I never managed to get one. It’s considered basic, yes, but not everyone gets it. It’s not as easy as you make it sound.”
“I see. I’ll keep that in mind.” We finished eating almost at the same time. My father said goodbye and left in a hurry, since our chat had gone on longer than expected.
Back in my training room, snacks in hand, I began thinking about the proposal again.
“If I want experience, I’ve got a knot of emotions inside me. On one hand, I’m excited to fight monsters for the first time in my life and help my family. On the other hand, I’m afraid of dying in battle. Maybe, if I get this concentration skill, I can calm that fear…”
I need to stop talking to myself while I walk. Someone might think I’m going crazy.
Once in my training room, I begin training concentration. At the same time, I cover my eyes and move around the wooden posts—I’m slowly starting to feel their positions.
If I walk slowly, it’s almost impossible to trip or bump into anything. I can see a bit without using my eyes. I don’t know what to call this ability to sense things around me.
The problem starts when I’m running or moving fast—my “vision” can’t keep up with my body. I hope that changes when the skill evolves.
My grandmother was also surprised this morning—I can already tell how many energy spheres she creates around me. The diameter is still small, about eight meters total. We practiced together, with her moving her spheres and me trying to intercept them with mine. A wonderful drill to train Heightened Senses and magic control at the same time.
“I should probably skip training Lightning Step today… but I don’t like breaking my routine…” I throw an internal tantrum. Honestly, I like to keep my life organized—these circumstances just don’t allow it.
I keep training my concentration while moving through the wooden posts, gradually increasing my speed.
After a few hours, my head spins and I feel a faint hammering in my brain. Using both skills at once consumes more focus than I expected.
The day ended without much progress in unlocking a new skill. I can feel it—it's so close. Just a bit more and I’ll gain it.
As for Heightened Senses, I managed to gain one more level. I only need one more to reach level fifteen and evolve it.
The next day, I talked with my grandmother while we trained. Now that I can sense her mana around me, I can spare some focus to chat about trivial things for a few minutes, while she gradually increases the difficulty.
“Have you made a decision, Maki?”
“A decision? About what, Grandma?” If this were a cartoon, there’d be a big question mark over my head.
“Don’t play dumb—about going to fight monsters. Your father talked to your mom and me before making the proposal. At first, we thought it was reckless. But after analyzing it, we didn’t see it as such a bad idea.”
“Oh, that… my answer was: yes. I’m just a bit confused by the feelings in my heart. I’m excited to help and fight, but at the same time I’m scared of something unexpected happening and losing everything I’ve gained.”
“Sweet child,” she said in a much softer, more compassionate voice. “We won’t let you die—or even get seriously hurt. Maybe a few bruises and scrapes would be fine.”
Her giggle afterward gave me the reassurance I needed.
“Feeling fear is the beginning of becoming brave. Facing life-threatening situations despite fear—that’s what makes a hero. You’ll never stop being afraid, Maki. You’ll always find enemies capable of killing you. You just need to learn to live with it and harden your heart.”
Her words left me frozen. I didn’t expect that kind of motivation in a moment like this.
I didn’t know it at the time, but those words stayed with me my entire life—giving me strength in moments when fear tried to consume me.
“Thank you, Grandma. I’ve found a new flame in my heart. You always say the right words at the perfect moment.”
“I’ll always be here to help you, little boy.”