The Beginning After The End Chapter 4: My Life Now

REYNOLDS LEYWIN’S POV:

That’s my boy!

I am absolutely thrilled that we have a son. I can’t help but wonder at what age infants can begin their training. When did I start, exactly? I am incredibly eager to show my little guy the wonders of magic! My hope is that he follows in his old man's footsteps and becomes an augmenter. While I understand the fundamental theories behind conjuring, I lack any practical skill in it; I only use those concepts as a way to sharpen my mind.

Alice, however, possesses talent unlike anyone I’ve ever met. Her skills are remarkable, even for an Emitter. Back in the day, once she finally agreed to be my girlfriend, she joined my adventuring party for our missions. Her healing abilities were impressive enough on their own, but I was truly stunned when she cast an area-of-effect spell that restored every ally within its range. She is truly one of a kind, and she’s my wife!

Hehe... I never get tired of saying that.

During our younger years before we decided to settle down, we frequented the Beast Glades to hunt mana beasts. These are various unique creatures and animals born with the innate capacity to draw mana into their forms, creating what we call beast cores.

Because they have nearly infinite applications, beast cores are extremely precious and in high demand. Naturally, the value increases with the rank of the core. Mana beasts are categorized from E-class—like the fanged bull we use for leather and meat—all the way up to SS-class monsters. I can’t provide much detail on the latter since I’ve never actually encountered or even heard of one, though they are rumored to exist.

As a general rule, you should assume a mana beast is more powerful than a human of the same rank. This is because a beast’s physical constitution is naturally superior to a human’s, even without considering mana.

The Beast Glades are certainly hazardous, but you can usually avoid trouble if you stay alert and keep your bearings. The more formidable creatures typically reside in the depths of underground dungeons or toward the heart of the Glades. The first few dozen kilometers of the perimeter are well-documented; any adventurer of at least C-class should be perfectly safe there.

Occasionally, missions are posted that demand multiple adventuring parties. These are usually intended to clear and chart the more difficult, unexplored dungeons. If a mana beast is powerful enough to establish its own territory and command other beasts, you can be certain there is treasure to be found.

I share all these stories with Art, hoping to brainwa—I mean, encourage him to gain some experience as an adventurer when he grows up.

I’m not sure what I’d do if little Art never manages to awaken. Honestly, I don’t care how long it takes; as long as he can train to be any type of mage, I’ll be the happiest father alive.

Identifying a mage’s type at the moment of awakening is fairly straightforward. When augmenters, conjurers, or deviants manifest a translucent barrier, the surrounding mana reacts in distinct ways.

Upon awakening, augmenters create a repelling force around their barrier, which indicates that the mana channels in their bodies are dominant. Conversely, conjurers generate a mana vacuum around themselves, signaling that their mana veins are more prominent. The intensity of these pushing or pulling forces depends entirely on the individual’s natural talent.

Not to brag, but when I awakened—at the young age of twelve, I might add—I was asleep, and the repelling force actually made me float for several minutes! Imagine, enough power to lift a grown human body.

If not for that specific moment... I doubt we would have settled down so quickly.

Regardless, I plan to train him the moment he awakens. If he turns out to be a conjurer, I’ll likely need to hire a tutor from the main town, as Alice and I aren't skilled enough to teach him that path...

...At least, that was the plan, until...

*BOOM!*

Right now, three-quarters of our home has been obliterated...

What just happened?

Fortunately, I was in the front yard with Alice after dinner, but... Art... little Art was still inside...

“ARTHUR!”

Alice turned deathly pale, her eyes wide with shock and terror. I pushed my wife down, protecting her with a temporary shield intended to last a few minutes.

I sprinted toward the blast site, coating my skin in a protective layer of mana. Debris pelted me as I fought my way toward the epicenter. Navigating through the wreckage of what used to be my home and piles of stone, I finally saw him.

A translucent barrier flickered unmistakably around my son. Even more incredible, the sheer force of his awakening had caused this destruction. He was hovering in the middle of a crater that had wiped out most of our house and the entire backyard.

Haha...

My strength left me, and I collapsed to my knees, my mouth hanging open. My son was barely three years old when he awakened. Only three...

I didn't know whether I should be laughing or crying.

“Reynolds! Honey!”

I turned to look at my wife, my face still frozen in shock. She slowly approached me once the dust from the explosion settled and the immediate danger passed.

She took small, hesitant steps, shielding her face with her arms against the lingering pressure still radiating from Art.

“Reynolds! What happened? What’s going on? Where is Art?”

I couldn't find the words, so I simply pointed toward our son.

Confused, she followed my gaze, and all she could whisper was, “Oh my...”

ARTHUR LEYWIN’S POV:

Wow, I feel incredible!

Feeling invigorated by my breakthrough, I closed my eyes to examine my newly formed mana core. My beautiful little mana core!

“ART! OH MY BABY! Are you alright?”

I saw my mother sprinting toward me while my father remained on the ground, kneeling.

What did he do this time to get in trouble with Mom?

My mother scooped me up and squeezed me so hard I thought my tiny ribs might snap.

I managed to squeak out, “Mom, no cry. What’s wrong?”

She didn’t answer, just kept sobbing while holding me tight. My father joined her, patting her back and ruffling my hair with a faint, shaky smile.

Confused, I pulled away from my mother’s embrace and looked around. We were standing in a massive crater, and the house was mostly gone.

...What the hell?

Who did this? Who dared to wreck the home of a King?! They will regret this day! I’ll hunt them down relentlessly until—

“Congratulations, Art honey. You’ve awakened, Champ.”

“...”

“...”

I did this?

In my previous life on Earth, a similar event occurred when a person awakened. A translucent barrier would appear, accompanied by a slight pushing force. I assume the repulsion in this world is significantly more powerful because of the atmospheric mana, which didn't exist on Earth.

As a former King of honor, I realized I had to apologize for this... situation.

“I’m sorry Mom, Dad. Am I in trouble?”

“Haha... No Art honey, you aren't in trouble. We were just so scared for you. I’m just happy you’re okay,” my mother said, managing a small laugh through her tears.

My idiot father, however, was far more enthusiastic.

“My boy is a genius! Awakened before he’s even three! This is unheard of! I thought I was a prodigy, but man!”

The touching family moment was interrupted when a passing neighbor shouted in shock, “What on earth happened?!”

“Haha, we should probably start cleaning this up,” my father said, grinning and scratching the back of his head.

________________________________

Several weeks have passed. We decided to keep my awakening a secret for the time being. My father reached out to some former members of his adventurer party to help reconstruct the ruined section of our house while we stayed at a local inn. With conjurers leveling the foundation and augmenters handling the heavy lifting, the repairs were finished quickly. Magic truly is wonderful! Surprisingly, none of my father’s old friends questioned why the house had exploded.

That really says a lot about my father’s reputation.

During the middle of the repairs, my birthday arrived (May 29). My parents woke me up with a gift and what appeared to be a loaf of... bread(?) in their hands.

Oh! It was a cake! It would have been easier to recognize if it wasn't burnt black.

I opened the gift to find a beautifully carved wooden sword. I hugged them both, thanking them for the present and the cake.

I was surprised, as they hadn't celebrated my first two birthdays, leading me to think this world didn't observe them. I later learned that birthdays are only celebrated starting at age three, due to an old tradition from a time when infant mortality was very high before that age.

How very medieval.

I also noticed something else interesting.

Seeing kids and teenagers working the fields or apprenticing at forges made me realize there is no formal, mandatory education system here. Basic education, like literacy, is handled by the families.

Once I turned three, my mother started giving me daily lessons in reading and writing. Playing the part of the gifted son, I pretended to learn rapidly. This delighted her and allowed me to start reading more advanced books in the library without making anyone suspicious.

The last few weeks flew by. Following my awakening, my father did his best to teach me the fundamentals of mana manipulation and training. He tried to keep it simple enough for a toddler to grasp, but without my adult intellect, I doubt I would have understood much of it.

The basics are as follows:

The color of your mana core is the easiest way to measure your strength. Initially, the core is black because blood and other bodily impurities mix with the forming mana particles. As the mana is purified and the impurities are filtered out over time, the core shifts to dark red. From there, the shade lightens from dark red to red, and finally to light red.

The progression is: black, red, orange, yellow, silver, and finally white.

From the red stage through the yellow stage, the colors are divided into three shades (Dark, Solid, and Light). Generally, a lighter color signifies a purer mana core and greater access to power.

While my father’s lessons were helpful, I was growing restless with the slow pace. A few days later, I asked, “Mom, can I have some books on magic?”

Using her old connections at the Guild Hall, my mother managed to get a decent collection of books regarding mana manipulation and combat techniques. Some were simple picture books about condensing mana, which I ignored. My mother gave me odd looks because I was interested in the high-level texts. She assumed I couldn't understand the vocabulary and tried to push the simpler books on me, but she eventually gave in.

A normal day consisted of literacy lessons with Mom and augmenting training with Dad. Once we finished the theory of augmenting, we moved to physical conditioning. Since I was too small for sparring, we focused on running and bodyweight exercises. Watching a three-year-old try to do pushups was probably hilarious, but my father did well to hide his amusement.

When I wasn't in lessons, I spent my time in the library, reading and meditating to further purify my mana core.

As the year went by with little change to my routine, my father spoke up during dinner one night.

“Honey, I think it’s time we find Art a real mentor.”