It's been two weeks of intensive training and body-breaking training.
I hate my body because my healing speed is queerly high and Klaus exploits this, breaking me and waiting for my body to heal and repeat.
I've been gathering mana in the cells of my body via my mana pathway for almost a year now and I don't know how to use it. I need to learn how to manifest mana.
I'm looking at myself in the mirror.
"I gotta admit this training thing is working."
My body has changed drastically compared to last year, my muscles have made all my clothes to become tight on my body.
Now I know why most adult flame mages I've seen are all muscular and huge, they had to go through all this suffering and training.
I look good though.
Today is my birthday.
Wild. Five years. I've been alive for five years in this world and the only thing I've learned from all the class lessons is that the world is divided into four continents, the northern, southern, western and eastern continents. The Empire I'm in is the Jolazi Empire, and the Flameworths household is one of the four duchies and the second powerhouse in the Empire, they rule over the western part of the Empire. That's it. I know nothing else. They always brag and brag about the Flameworths household and refuse to talk about the real things I'm interested in."
I mutter under my breath.
And I need to find out where Ludia is. But damn that Phoenix for just telling me to go to Ludia without giving me directions.
"I'll just ask the Patriarch once I meet him to receive my gift. Because once I gather enough mana and form a circle, learn how to manifest my mana and cast spells. It's over, my life here is over, I'll make a foolproof plan to run away and go to Ludia."
I walk toward my door.
***
I'm standing inside his office, I'm waiting for him because he went to pee.
So even eight-circle archmages take pee breaks.
"I'm done. We can go now."
He finally comes out of his toilet, adjusting his pants and his robe.
"Where are we going? Didn't you say you had a gift for me?"
I ask him, I'm confused because he had told me that he had a gift for me that he'd give to me on my birthday, but now he's telling me 'we can go now'? Go where sir? To get pushed into a boiling pool of water again? No!
He smiles as he looks at me glaring at him with defiance.
"We're going to where I'll give you your gift."
He lets out in a calm voice.
"And where is that?"
"You'll see."
I follow behind him as we walk out of the door and through the same hallway that led to the pool of doom last year.
Passing through this place again makes my body shiver.
***
We arrive at a metallic door again like last time, but a different one.
I gulp.
Does he finally want to kill me after all these years?
He opens the door with his key and we walk in, it's just as narrow and dark as the last one. But there's no torch in this one, so it's just a narrow, dark stairway, leading down to where I don't know.
"Um... Your grace?"
I call out to him, hoping he hasn't disappeared like last time.
"What is it?"
"I have a question."
"I've already told you... We're going to where I'd gift y–"
"Not that."
"Hey." All of a sudden, his voice becomes louder and more aggressive.
"Never cut me off while I'm speaking again. Ever."
As he warns me, my body tenses and I gulp then let out: "Yes your grace."
"I hope you adhere to my advice. Because I'm short short-tempered a bit hot-blooded, even I don't know what I might do."
His words make my heart squeeze with fear. However, I'm confident in having a one-on-one battle with anyone under 24 and Winning or at least drawing. But with this man. I don't see myself ever being able to stand up from the ground due to only his fighting spirit alone if he chooses to spar with me. And that's when it's a spar with rules, not to talk of when he's angry and unpredictable.
I might just get roasted alive. This is the reason I hate being around this guy, You just have to watch every little single action you make and words you utter around him.
"So... I wanted to ask, where is Ludia located?"
He raises his eyebrows as he hears my words.
"Hmm, Ludia, that place, it's indeed been a while since I met him..."
It seems like I triggered a missing memory in his mind and now he's suddenly pondering to himself about something and he forgot I asked him a question.
"Your gr–"
"Ah, we're here."
This evil moth–
He cut me off.
I look at the sight before me. It's a large, stone door that looks dusty and ancient. That's filled with a design of a dragon breathing fire.
Oh, a dragon-designed door. I keep forgetting I'm in a fantasy-like world and a dragon might exist. What next? Am I going to meet a dragon and get ordered to go to Ludia by it too?
I scoff at my dry joke.
Alexander turns to look at me with an expectant eye, then he turns back to face the door.
He bites his index finger.
Oh, is this some kind of unique door that uses blo–
I flinch and shudder as I see the content that's supposed to be his blood drip out of his index finger.
It's not blood.
What's that?
I narrow my eyes to see it better.
It's...
Drip!
He puts it in the mouth of the dragon.
The content that came out of his body spreads from the mouth of the dragon to every part of the design of the dragon and the design of fire coming out of the dragon's mouth lots with fire.
Kugugugu
And the door slowly opens.
It divides Into two as it opens slowly, left and right, opening simultaneously.
"It's time for your artifact selection."
He didn't look at me or anything, he just went inside the dark room that was on the other side of the door.
I follow behind him.
But...
How come the blood running through his veins... No, I mean, how is Lava running through his veins like blood?