My day began like any other, morning training with my grandmother and then having breakfast with the family. The change comes right now: I’m heading with my brothers toward my training room. Today is their last day, and the three of us will spend time together until the family lunch. After eating, they’ll take a carriage together toward their respective destinations.

  “I feel a little sad thinking about saying goodbye to you. I won’t see you for many months.” I’m not a closed-off person emotionally, but I’m not completely open either; I just like to show enough. Today is a special case where I open my heart.

  “I’ll miss you a lot too, brothers. Even though we used to fight as kids, today we get along perfectly.” Ritmo, always serene, follows the flow of the conversation perfectly.

  “It’s just a year, it’ll pass in the blink of an eye. Ritmo, you used to be spoiled—that was the reason for our fights.” Sers, with his relaxed attitude, always tries to see the solution, not the problem.

  “Yeah, don’t remind me of that time. I didn’t want to be selfish; being the first son just came with that. Sers, you’re not innocent either—you used to bother Maki a lot a few years back.” Ritmo steered the conversation back toward me.

  “Yeah, it was fun seeing Maki cry over a toy or a picture book. Now he behaves and talks like an adult, he doesn’t cry easily anymore—what a shame.” Sers looks at me with a teasing smile, remembering those days from years ago.

  “I matured quickly—something impossible for you, Sers.” Playing along, I decide to tease Sers first.

  “Being the first son is just an excuse, Ritmo. I’m the youngest, I should be more spoiled.” I also start teasing Ritmo after Sers tried to mock him.

  We start laughing and joking about our childhood until we enter the training room.

  “Since today is the last day, let’s train seriously, Maki.” Sers starts playing with his axe, looking at me like a hunter looks at his prey. I should try going all out today—it’ll be my farewell gift. It’s lucky we won’t suffer injuries because of the necklaces.

  “As you wish, Sers. I’ll try to go all out. I don’t want to hear excuses if you lose to me.” Me, a basic Amethyst, beating a basic Emerald is almost impossible. My only option is to trust my sword and use magic as support.

  “Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re my younger brother. I don’t want to be an embarrassment by losing to someone newly awakened.” I can see the spark in Sers’s eyes. I’ll probably lose, but at least I have to make him show his full arsenal.

  “Hey, hey, calm down, both of you. Sers, first let me practice magic with Maki and give him some advice. If he’s too tired when fighting you, it’ll be hard for him to understand me.” Ritmo stopped us before we drew our weapons and went outside.

  Sers accepted reluctantly and sat in a corner watching us.

  “Maki, can you show me your progress with magic?” When Ritmo asked me, I started thinking quickly. What should I show them?

  I trust both of them completely, so there’s no problem showing my progress. The issue is that I want to surprise them in the future with my control over gravity magic, so that leaves only my electricity and ice magic. With ice magic I’ve reached the point of compressing mana into empty spaces—decided. I’ll show them all my progress except my gravity magic.

  I start by creating three spheres of electricity, trying to move them around me and changing the shape of one into something like a tree branch. Ritmo’s eyes widen for a moment; he quickly regains his composure and urges me to continue.

  I cancel the spell and create three ice spheres. After moving them for a moment, I leave only one.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Seeing Ritmo raise an eyebrow almost makes me laugh. His expression says: And now what?

  Before he can ask anything, I begin filling that sphere with ice mana. The sphere doesn’t change in size; it only increases in density. Something in my mind tells me this attack is double or triple as strong compared to a normal sphere—only if I fill it completely. I can’t be sure without testing it.

  I feel confused because Ritmo hasn’t changed his expression; he just keeps staring at the mana-filled sphere for a moment.

  “Maki, what are you?” His question freezes me. How do I answer that?

  “I don’t understand. What do you mean?” It’s better to answer without hesitation in these cases—or at least that’s what my instinct tells me.

  “It was just a rhetorical question. What you just did is not extremely complicated if we’re talking about someone at Advanced Emerald rank, but you’re a simple basic Amethyst. How did you manage to control a mana-loaded spell like that?” Ritmo doesn’t usually lose his manners or composure without reason. I managed to surprise him—one point for me.

  “Should it be complicated for me? Honestly, the idea just came to me and I started practicing it. It’s pretty hard to control; if I lose concentration it could explode—yesterday it almost did.” I’m completely honest; yesterday I got a bit scared when I almost lost control of the spell.

  “It should be extremely complicated. Just creating three spheres is already an achievement for someone who’s been controlling mana for a week. And yet you managed to concentrate mana inside a spell. I developed that ability when I was almost at Advanced Emerald rank and after raising my concentration skill to rank two.” As I understand it, I achieved something impossible—though in reality the idea came from knowledge from my past life. Without that knowledge, I wouldn’t have been able to.

  “It sounds impressive, but it’s been hours of practice for a single sphere, and I still haven’t managed to fill even half of it. If my mind wavers for a moment, it’ll explode. I don’t have good control yet; I can’t use it in combat, so I don’t see it as a great achievement, Ritmo.” It’s not useful in combat and it’s incomplete. I understand his excitement, but I don’t share it.

  “What’s more important is—what is this concentration skill?” It sounds interesting and helps my brother focus easily. I want one of those skills soon.

  “Sometimes your way of simplifying things is annoying.” Ritmo lets out a sigh before looking at me seriously.

  “Maki, a concentration skill is essential for both mages and close-combat fighters. Usually only mages obtain them because of all the time they spend concentrating and using their minds. There are many types: some increase focus, reduce pain, allow you to stay calm, block emotions, and so on.”

  “In my case, I can focus more and maintain calm. Sers, have you obtained any similar skill yet?” Ritmo turns toward where Sers is sitting, listening.

  “No, I’m on my way, but it’s not that easy for a close-combat fighter. I want a skill that lets me avoid feeling pain and stay calm during combat.” Sers sighs in disappointment as he lowers his head.

  “I see. The utilities are impressive. I’m a close-combat fighter and I also want to master long-range magic. A skill like that would be extremely useful. How can I obtain one?” I knew my brothers wouldn’t disappoint me; I can always gain knowledge from them.

  “It’s not that simple. You have to practice focusing on a single task for a long time and gradually start filtering mana into your mind. It takes a lot of effort and time. The type of concentration skill you obtain depends entirely on your elemental affinities—in your case, it’ll be something good.”

  Ritmo continued explaining little by little how he obtained his, and he also gave me advice on how to gradually concentrate mana into the sphere. I might obtain a skill related to that soon.

  My brother doesn’t use spheres like I do; in his case, he uses something similar to giant arrows. He usually doesn’t compress mana in them for normal attacks—only when he wants to use a finishing blow or seriously injure someone. Charging an arrow requires more time and concentration, and in the middle of combat it’s hard to find that time.

  They left me a few minutes to practice Ritmo’s explanations. It’s best to root habits as early as possible.

  I started practicing by concentrating mana into the sphere while gradually filtering electric and ice mana into my mind. It’s terribly difficult. My head throbs from the inside, and at times I feel a bit dizzy, but I keep going regardless of the cost—the benefit will be greater. After almost an hour, I stop.

  “You look tired as hell, Maki. Take ten minutes and then we can play.” Sers understood my situation and said nothing while I was concentrating; as soon as he saw me finish, he approached.

  “Thanks, Sers. I won’t disappoint you.” I’m also excited about my last practice with Sers. I don’t know how long it’ll be before I see him again. We need to carve this fight into our memory—it’ll be a reminder of our first clash after learning my affinities.

  I rested for ten minutes. Even though my mind is still a bit fatigued, I know I can practice without problems.

  “Come on, Sers. It’s time to dance.” I grab my twin swords and walk toward the door. I can feel my brothers walking behind me—Enhanced Senses is already bearing fruit.