"Look,Roseth"

Marsal hurled a water projectile at the fence in front of the house, breaking it.

"See, I've enhanced my spell," Marsal boasted

"Marsal…" I looked at the damage done by my brother "Yara will kill you"

Marsal froze realizing his mistake, then turned slowly towards me.

"W-what do I do?" He said in a shaky voice

"Well, none of my business, good luck" I got up to go back inside the house

"Hey wait!" Marsal fired a water bullet right in front of my feet

"You almost got me!" I yelled in annoyance

"Please don't abandon me" Marsal knelt in front of me "help me, I don't want to face our mother alone"

But what does he expect from a child not even two years old?

"Instead of squirming, take advantage of the opportunity, you can shoot at the point where you broke the fence as many times as you want, the damage won't increase anyway"

"Don't make fun of me" Marsal hurled a bullet at me, making it pass a step away from my face.

The bullet…

"Marsal make another one" I ordered

"Huh? Why"

"You just do it"

"It's alright," he said materializing a water bullet

I carefully observed the whole procedure, even if it lasted just a moment but it was enough to get the intuition.

Thicken…

"Marsal, how do you create your water spells?"

"It's hard to explain, let's just say I recalls water mana around me"

Recalls? So it doesn't thicken, or maybe the process is simply automatic for him? It doesn't matter, I think I figured out how to turn my skills into a weapon.

I tried to gather the mana on my palm as much as possible, trying not to scatter it, a ball of blue dust was created, but in a short time I lost control and the mana dispersed.

That's not enough, if I want a weapon I have to thicken it until it becomes solid, I have to work harder.

"What are you doing Roseth," Marsal asked curiously

"nothing" I walked to the front door "good luck with the fence"

"Bastard!"

From that day on, I practiced constantly thickening mana, in the hope of being able to mold it into the shape of a weapon.

***

3 months later

It was the middle of the night, I was alone in my room, I was in my crib staring at the wooden ceiling, I couldn't sleep, I felt I hadn't worked hard enough, I was about to reach my second year in this world and yet I was still weak and helpless .

I can't afford to waste time.

I sat on the cradle before restarting my training, I wouldn't be able to sleep until I achieved something concrete. It happened often lately, but I couldn't help it.

My goal was to "mold" the mana into the shape of a weapon. I had been thinking about it a lot in the last few days and in the end I divided the process into 2 parts:

First I had to thicken the mana to look like something solid, and finally I had to mold it to be a dagger or arrow or whatever.

Hours passed as I continued my workout. I was in a state of absolute concentration, I had managed to sufficiently thicken the mana in my right hand, giving it the shape of a sphere, and was now carefully molding it.

My first goal was to give it the shape of a dagger, as my mana wasn't enough to create larger items like a sword.

I was with my eyes closed working on the dagger, but I lost control over the mana sphere which quickly dissolved. I thickened the mana again in my right palm, closed my eyes to increase my concentration, thought back to the image of the weapon to be fashioned and started again.

But unlike the other times I was able to mold it without problems, I didn't know what had changed, I had a kind of intuition, it was difficult to explain, but I had learned the trick.

I opened my eyes in disbelief, only to notice the faint light of dawn, I had focused too much on modeling that I ended up not noticing the time, but it was worth it:

In my hand I held a completely blue dagger that gave off a dim light, with intense fluctuations of mana around it that could be seen even with the naked eye.

I decided to test it. I approached the wall and then engraved a line with my dagger. I don't know what material that wall was, but it was similar to cement, yet my dagger cut it like butter.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Although I only wanted to make an incision I finally decided to stab the wall, fully impaling the 30 cm blade into it before realizing how powerful the weapon created was.

I dissolve the dagger and fell back in the cradle, happy and carefree I ended up falling asleep.

*** ***

I was immersed in my dream, I found myself tied up in a room with a high domed roof and an immense marble floor. The one who approached me was a woman with provocative clothes, long black horns and with decandid white hair.

She slowly approached me, while m…

"Roseth wake up we have to start training!" my brother shook the cradle sharply "it's time for lunch soon, hurry up!"

I opened my eyes and stared at him with murderous intent "Excuse me my dear big brother, but FYI I was enjoying a beautiful dream before you came to screw it up"

"Weren't you the one motivated to learn the use of pure mana?" He observed

my brother

"Yes but last night I managed to mold a dagger" I turned over to go back to sleep "so I'd say I deserve some rest"

"It's just an excuse" my brother said "if you don't get up I'll knock you down"

"Since when do you play the role of mom?" I remarked "it wasn't an excuse anyway"

In an instant I recreated the same dagger from the previous evening in my hand, leaving my brother speechless.

"Do you believe it now?"

"Ho-how?"

" Jealous?" I chuckled

Suddenly Marsal got sad "I still have the remorse for not having committed myself like you when I was younger" my brother looked at me with a fake smile "so what differentiates this weapon of yours from any ordinary dagger?"

"Don't underestimate him!" I stuck the dagger into the wall again "I'd say it's much more efficient than a normal weapon."

"So it was you," sighed my brother

"What do you mean?"

"This morning our parents noticed a hole in the wall" he explained "they were anxious because they didn't know how it was created" Marsal I stare annoyed "now how do we explain it to him that their adored son of just 2 years has materialized a dagger of pure mana and stuck it in the part?"

"E-excuse me," I begged.

The sound of footsteps interrupted our conversation, the door opened to reveal our mother's face.

"Marsal come downstairs it's time for lunch"

"Okay" my brother replied

"What were you doing?" my mother asked

"I was playing with Roseth," Marsal explained

My mother turned to face the wall, my brother and I looked at each other in fear before being interrupted by Yara.

"What happened here?" My mother pointed to the hole in the wall I'd just made.

My brother kept staring at the floor, hiding his anxiety, but my mother didn't seem angry, just worried.

"Jackal!" she screamed her husband's name before touching the hole in the wall

"What happens?" My father answered as he started up the stairs.

"Another crack has appeared in the wall!"

Luckily Yara didn't suspect anything, Marsal turned to me winking, I replied in the same way, all our anxiety seemed to have disappeared in an instant.

My father walked into the rooms staring at the damage I had done "we should call someone to check"

My mother picked me up "We'll think about it later now let's go eat"

We sat down at the table, our plates filled with white rice seasoned with some strange spices of this world.

My brother drooled at the sight of it, unable to hold back he grabbed the spoon ready to enjoy the dish.

"Marsal wait to eat" my father interrupted "your mother and I should talk to you about something"

"What?" My brother asked curiously.

"It's rare that someone gets an elemental affinity at your age" observed our mother "plus you can already practice several spells, so to make the most of your talent we would like to send you to Nirose Academy"

Marsal put down the spoon " What would it be?"

"It's a wizarding school," Jackal interjected, "the best in the whole kingdom."

"Really?!" Marsal yelled in disbelief "I can't wait!"

My brother was thrilled, I don't know what his goal was in this world, but going to a prestigious academy would definitely help him a lot.

Suddenly all of my brother's excitement died down in an instant, as if he had sensed something.

"How are you going to pay?" He asked "It must cost a lot, right?"

My Brother was right, our father worked as a mercenary to defend our village from magical beasts, and the money he earned was barely enough to feed us, getting to pay Marsal academy should be complicated.

"Don't worry, Marsal," our mother replied, "I'll start working too."

A small moment of silence passed, then as if nothing had happened my brother began with the questions: "When does the academy start?"

"Usually you start around the age of 12 but by passing a test you can access the academy from the age of 6" my father explained.

"So I don't have much time to prepare" Marsal noted "but I won't let you down, if you are so committed to me, then I'll do my best too!"

Isn't he the least bit ashamed to say things like that?

"We believe in you," concluded Yara.

From that day my mother started working in the fields for an elderly gentleman, she left early in the morning and returned for lunch.

Being small, she always took me with her, while my brother went with my father who would coach him in the breaks between work.

I had to spend hours sitting and watching my mother hoe the fields, so I began to use that time to train the mana channels, or rather the kind of capillaries that allowed the mana to pass through my body.

My training was to create an increasingly intense flow of mana that would push the channels to their limits.

In the afternoon, however, I trained in mana modeling, I tried to create different objects such as arrows or small shields.

My brother continued to perfect his mastery of the water element following the advice of a colleague of our father, who had an affinity for his own element.

I was getting stronger every day, but as in my previous life, I limited myself to training my mind and body without a precise goal.

Thus the day of my brother's departure arrived.

My whole family and I were waiting outside the house when a merchant arrived in charge of accompanying my brother to Nirose, which is the capital of our kingdom, where the academy was located.

His carriage stopped in front of us, driving him was a thin gentleman with a thick beard who shouted: "Hello Jackal"

The gentleman got out of the carriage and approached us.

"Hello Tal, how long!" My father replied

"I'm Yara, his wife, nice to meet you"

"Hello Yara, your husband told me a lot about you" the merchant replied shaking my mother's hand, then turned to my brother.

"You must be Marsal, the genius I have to accompany to the capital"

"Yes, I am, thank you for choosing to accompany me" my brother said as he shook Tal's hand as well.

Suddenly the merchant turned to me "You must be Roseth" he said stroking my head" you look a lot like your mother"

As he caressed me, I noticed on his wrist a gray bracelet set with a strange blue stone that emitted a large amount of mana.

"Do you like my bracelet?" Tal asked "Look, this stone contains mana that I use to protect myself from bandits"

" So besides being able to use the mana from your core you can also use the one in the stone?" Marsal asked

"Yes, bandits usually attack in groups so my mana isn't enough to defend me" Tal stated "You are very intelligent unlike your father"

"Meanwhile, I don't need an extra mana pool to defend myself," Jackal continued

"It's not that you don't need it, you just can't afford it," explained the merchant

My enraged father placed his hand on the hilt of the sword on his right side "Ugly basta..."

"Thats enough!" yelled Yara stepping between the two

The imposing Jackal immediately cowered as he apologized to my mother, Tal did the same before re-entering the carriage.

"I have to leave" explained the merchant "hurry up"

"Sure" my mother replied "give us a moment"

Yara approached Marsal beckoning my father to come.

"Are you ready Mars?" my mother asked

"Sure Mom"

"Then have a good trip" my mother kissed Marsal's forehead "please, do your best and always be polite"

"Your mother is right, education is everything," Jackal interjected

"Thank you, I'll remember it" replied Marsal "I promise you I'll become a very strong magician!"

"We believe in you," our mother said as she hugged Marsal.

Jackal also joined the hug and motioned me to come, with a big smile I joined too.

"Good luck Mars" I wished

My brother got into the carriage and said goodbye once more together with Tal and drove off.

Our mother burst into tears as she fell into Jackal's embrace, who tried to hide his emotion.

At that moment I noticed something, that is, I felt nothing.

In these 3 years I had focused on training putting my relationship with my family in the background, I didn't feel anything for any of them, they were like strangers, if one day they died I wouldn't cry. I thought things would change in this second life, but it didn't.

One week later

"Roseth take a bath we'll eat soon" my mother yelled from the kitchen

"Okay"

Mia got up from the chair I was sitting in and headed for the bathroom.

My routine hasn't changed since my brother left, but in the family we felt an emptiness, Marsal's liveliness was missing.

Entering the bathroom, I noticed my father in a wooden tub enjoying a nice bath in boiling water.

'Hurry Ros, we don't have much time before lunch,' my father explained

"I'm coming" I quickly took off my shirt and began to lower my pants "are you sure it's not hot?" I asked.

"You don't know if you don't come in," my father replied

Completely naked, I dipped my first foot and, feeling the boiling water, I immediately withdrew it.

"Be a man and come in" my father said pulling me in with him "so what's it like?"

"I thought worse," I replied

My father and I were facing each other, he leaned his back against the tub and crossed his arms behind his head.

At that moment I observed his muscular body, his skin was tanned and on his chest he had a large scar that ran diagonally across his body starting from the left shoulder.

We spent several minutes relaxing in silence until we were interrupted.

Yara entered the bathroom slamming the door.

"Are you still in the tub?!" she yelled "Lunch is already ready, hurry or you'll both starve"

"Sorry dear I forgot about it" my father replied scared "we'll be right there"

Yara gave us a menacing look before walking out, closing the door behind her.

"Quick Roseth," my father said as he got out of the tub.

I went out too, Jackal handed me a towel, I rubbed myself quickly before getting dressed and running out with my father.

We sat down at the table, everyone ate in silence, my mother was

tired from work and my father was never one for too many words, it was usually Marsal who enlivened the situation.

I was trying to enjoy these days as much as possible trying to get attached to my parents, but I felt it wasn't working, I was just getting bored hoping that sooner or later something would change.