Man, why does a simple status check cost so much? Lucian furrowed his brows as he was on his way to the estate. His money pouch, which clinked with plentiful coins inside, had been reduced to a shell of its former self.

Fifty coppers…That’s like half a Rockbear’s worth of money...

As he let out a sigh, he walked a few metres with a sullen look on his face until suddenly, the expression on his face changed.

You know what? I’m getting upset for no reason. I have a year to get the money for the weapon, and I’ve only hunted for one day. Making the rest of the money is going to be a piece of cake.

With a newfound motivation to make more money, Lucian requested Cecilia to teach him something new as soon as he flung the estate doors open. Cecilia was busy reading a book in the living room, as she had been doing every time Lucian approached her to ask something.

“Teacher! Do you have any more Tier-2 spells that you could teach? I’d like to learn more combat magic so that I don’t get my ass handed to me every fight.”

“Before you learn any more spells, I suggest you start learning how to read words, numbers, and letters. After that, I’ll bring you tons of spell books. I won’t always have free time to teach you.”

“Is that so? How do I go about learning how to read them?”

“I know a tutor who can teach. He’ll teach you how to read and write, among other things. “

“Other things?” said Lucian as he stopped fidgeting while Cecilia was talking. His eyes were filled with anticipation as he waited to know what else he would be taught.

“Yes. You’ll also learn some noble etiquette while you’re at it so that you don’t embarrass yourself. “

“Really? Noble etiquette? A frown had appeared on Lucian’s face as soon as he heard the words. “Why am I learning all this useless stuff when I can learn more magic instead?”

“The reason for learning noble etiquette is that almost all of the powerful mages of the kingdom are nobles who take offence if you breathe on them wrong. So, you’d do well not to piss them off. Unless you have a death wish, then be my guest. “

“Damn. What fragile egos. At least give me more time to enjoy myself. All I’ve been doing is studying and training. I’m gonna lose my mind if this keeps up. “

“Look. I did this training when I was young, and I hated doing it too. But it’s an undeniable fact that doing this training now is the best course of action now.”

“Best course of action? What do you mean by that?”

“What else can you do now besides practice? Goof around the city? Sightseeing? If you go into the academy with a better foundation than others, then you’ll get more attention, and more attention means you’ll be considered for important and well-paying jobs.”

Lucian thought about what Cecilia had just said. A grin formed on his face as he imagined a future where he led a life where he had piles of gold into which he could dive into. In this future, he could let his parents live with the same luxuries a wealthy merchant would have, for as long as they lived.

Huh. Might not be so bad. I guess I’ll put in the extra effort.

Lucian daydreamed about his soon-to-come glory days as he began his two months of training. Cecilia had hired tutors that started their lectures every morning before his daily routine. The first thing that they practised was the way Lucian conducted himself. Every action Lucian took was scrutinised and improved upon, from the way he talked to the way he walked. Every mistake that Lucian made was sternly corrected.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

On top of all this, Lucian also had to learn how to read and write letters and numbers. Lucian crammed whatever the tutors taught in the short time that he had. Daily assessments were taken to make sure that Lucian didn’t forget what had been taught. As the day ended, Lucian would throw himself to his bed and would lay there alone with his thoughts.

I’m really gonna go crazy if I keep this up. Fuck, can’t even have an hour to get some fresh air.

He could feel his sanity slipping with the passing of each day. He had only an hour of free time after all the daily tasks, during which he started blankly at the ceiling as he lay on his bed to fall asleep.

I guess it’s not that bad. If I learn all this stuff, then I’ll be able to learn more about magic. Let’s look forward to that, I guess.

After the month had ended, Cecilia asked the tutors whether Lucian had passed his tests, to which he replied that he was ‘good enough’. She considered this a success as she herself didn’t care much about noble etiquette, and if she could get by without any trouble, then Lucian would be able to as well.

As a reward for completing the etiquette lessons along with learning to read and write, Cecilia gifted Lucian with the Tier-2 versions of the spells he had already learned, along with some new Tier-2 spell books. Lucian’s tired eyes lit up instantly as he saw the hardcover books.

“Finally, I don’t have to do all that boring stuff. Now I can learn magic in peace.”

“Learning that boring stuff is what made you capable of reading those books, so try to be a little appreciative.”

“Yeah, I get it. Can I go and read these books now?”

Cecilia sighed as she heard Lucian’s words.

“Sure. Go ahead.” Even though she was tired of lecturing Lucian that even the things that he finds boring have a place in his growth, she couldn’t help but smile as he hurriedly ran to his room to read the books.

Lucian dedicated his next month to learning all the improved versions of his learned spells. As he already knew the basic concept of the prerequisite spells, learning the new and improved ones took less time. One such spell was Incinerate, the Tier-2 version of Ignition. Ignition had less power than Incinerate and could only be cast in a stationary state. Lucian had to use Air Flick to propel the flames forward. But Incinerate spawned flames at any location Lucian wanted. It was also more powerful, although it cost more mana.

“I want to test these spells that I have learned. Is there any place that has a lot of beasts?”

“You could go to the barren wasteland to the southwest. Refer to the beast encyclopedia before you go there. There’s a variety of new beasts that you’ll find there. Never hurts to be prepared.”

“I’ll look into it. I wonder what type of beasts I’ll find there.”

“If you hate insects, then good luck. That place is infested with them.”

Heeding Cecilia’s advice, Lucian prepared for his journey. He brushed up on the fauna of the wasteland as well as prepared some potions from Cecilia’s inventory. After three days, Lucian set off to the hunting area.

Can’t wait to fight these beasts. Got some funky-looking beasts this time. I hope my spells work properly this time.

With a grin that extended across his face, Lucian cast Flight as he got ready to depart. He didn’t notice at first that the daily training had done wonders for his abilities. It was after he had cast Flight and flown for a few seconds at an increased speed than before that he knew he had grown.

Woah. The training actually works. I thought it was meaningless. I’ll have to put more effort into it after I get back.

Lucian could see the scenery change every hour as he flew Southwest from the capital. At first, he could see the farmlands and farmers working at the break of dawn. Their clothes were shabby, and their bodies were covered in dirt and grime as they worked the fields, but they looked fit and healthy from what Lucian could see several metres above the ground. The children ran after Lucian with cheers and laughter as he flew over them, and Lucian waved back at them as he went on his way.

The rest of the journey was underwhelming, however, as all Lucian could see were flat plains and mountains a little distance ahead of the plains. But as Lucian neared his destination, he could see the drastic change in the landscape. The land looked desolate; the trees were dead, and their branches withered, and the ground had cracks spanning long distances. The whole landscape was grey, with not a single blade of grass to be seen. As he flew more, he could see the location where it was said the beasts resided. A massive ravine with numerous cave systems could be seen. The river that used to flow with an abundant amount of water was now a shadow of itself. Barely any water could be seen as the river dried up years ago.

Lucian checked his stopwatch as soon as he landed.

A thousand and two hundred kilometres in eight hours? That’s faster than the last time I used Flight for actually travelling. And I haven’t even fully mastered the spell yet. I wonder how much more training till I reach the limits of the spell.

Lucian walked through the ravine and used his Mana Sense.

Not a single beast in this ravine.

As he probed further, he could sense mana traces coming from the caves in the ravine. He then walked to one of the caves and used Mana Sense again.

Hmm. It’s faint, but there are some beasts in here. They don’t seem to have any more mana than a Rockbear, though.

The cave gave an ominous feeling. As he approached the cave, a gust of wind blew past him. The air coming out from the cave felt chillier than the dead ravine behind him. The inner terrain of the cave looked normal, but he couldn’t help but feel that something might be squirming inside the walls.

“Here goes nothing.” Said Lucian, taking a deep breath and entering the cave.