“…A Mystery?” his master said, failing to control the expression of disbelief on her face for a moment. Not a bad way of revealing his Mystery to her, Alnea thought. “Other than taming another Aspect, did you also encounter a Mystery?”

“I did not just encounter a Mystery, master, I have already comprehended it. I have even tested it against the Origin Sea, and transformed my Domain.”

“…You were just saying something about knowing your limits.”

Or maybe, he should have waited to explain things to her in a more chronological manner, Alnea added to himself. The face that his master was making… It looked like she was worrying for him again. And rightly so. After all, taming an Aspect, and comprehending a Mystery in the same Wandering, that was not something that was often heard of. But…

“You don’t have to worry so much, master,” Alnea said. “I really do know my limits. After I had the tamed the Aspect, I still had somewhere around seventy units of Spirit Power left. It was then, that I encountered a Mystery. And by the time I was done comprehending the Mystery, I was still left with around twenty units of Spirit Power, enough to test my comprehension.”

“Testing your comprehension of the Mystery… Whether it is in the Origin Sea, or within your Domain, both requires you to expend Spirit Power. What if you had not been able to afford that consumption?”

“…About that, my Spirit Power was indeed too low to test my comprehension in normal ways. But isn’t there the method you used in the Art of Spirit Rebirth to summon the Mysteries? It hardly uses up any Oren. So, I decided to go with that. See, am I not smart, master?”

“…At least you are not a complete fool,” his master said, with the stern look on her face finally easing a little. Not completely though. “But that still does not justify your actions.”

“…But—

“There are no buts. How many times have I warned you against being reckless? Do you not know how dangerous testing the comprehension of Mysteries can be? Wanderers much stronger than you have been devoured by the Origin Sea just because they made a careless mistake in their comprehension. The Origin Sea… Just because the Aspects behave in a friendly manner with you, it does not mean that the Origin Sea will also be friendly to you.”

“…I know that, master.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“…I thought that it would make you feel proud,” Alnea mumbled, bowing down to hide his flushed face, only to hear a sigh, and feel his master’s hand on his head, gently patting him, giving him the warmth, and care that he was familiar with. The warmth and care of his master… of his mother.

“Silly child,” his master said. “I am always proud of you… More so than you can imagine. And one day, when you stop being so reckless, then I will be even more proud of you.”

“…I want you to be even more proud of me, master,” Alnea said in a low voice, using the comfort and warmth from his master’s hand to fight off the guilt in his Heart. “Prouder than everything else in the world… But I will try to think a little more before doing anything, and try not to be so reckless.”

“…That is all that I am asking,” his master said, using the same hand she was patting him with to ruffle through his hair, as a smile made its way to her face. “Alright, tell me about his Mystery that you have comprehended. I want to know what the first Mystery of my son is.”

“It is from the lineage of Night, master,” Alnea said, regaining all his enthusiasm, channelling it into words. “A Mystery that focuses on illusions… Not true illusions, but more like psychological ones. If I can make an Arcana out of it, then I will be able to twist the memories of my enemies to create cracks in their Heart, and use those cracks to draw them into an illusion.”

“A psychological illusion,” his master said, nodding at his words. “That does sound like a Mystery from the lineage of Night. I have not yet seen your Mystery in action, so I cannot say which Series it belongs to, but from its description it seems to be a Mystery from one of the Series of Inner Thoughts. Probably about Nightmares.”

“That’s what I think as well, master,” Alnea said. “Either that, or something related to memories.”

“In any case, it is good that your first Mystery is of the supportive type, and can help you restrain your enemies. It should prove helpful to you… for a while.”

“This is my first Mystery, master. Even if it was not useful, I still would be happy.”

“…Excited to create your own Arcanas?”

“Yes, master!”

“Look at you…” his master said, shaking her head at his grinning face, with a smile of her own, of course. “First the Martial Styles, now Arcanas… It has only been a week, and we have to change your training schedule once again. You surely do love giving me a headache.”

“It cannot be a headache for you, master. You are omnipotent, and omniscient, after all.”

“…Cheeky disciple,” his master said, flicking his forehead once again. “Let us keep the Mystery aside for now. Creating Arcanas is a very dangerous process… even more dangerous than comprehending Mysteries. You cannot afford to be either careless, or reckless. So, let us wait until you have supressed the excitement in your Heart before starting to work on your Arcana. Is that alright?”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“…I cannot say that I am thrilled, but you are right, master. My Heart is indeed a bit too excited.”

“It cannot be helped,” his master said. “This will be your first Arcana, after all. The first step towards completing your Oath… towards making your father proud of you.”

“…I will definitely make him feel proud of me.”

“I know you will,” his master said, nodding at him with a smile. “Now, shall we get back to what we were discussing?”

“…Can I tell Yuri about my Mystery first?”

“Oh? Have you not told her yet? I thought you would have told her the moment that comprehended the Mystery.”

“I wanted you to be the first one to know about the Mystery, master.”

“…Do not take too much time.”

“It will take only a few moments,” Alnea said, before concentrating on the ring in his hands. “I am back from the Origin Sea.”

“…You took a little longer than usual,” Yuri said, replying to him through the rings. “Did something happen?”

“Something did happen,” Alnea said. “Something very exciting.”

“Oh? Did you finally encounter your first Mystery?”

“…How did you guess?”

“Can there be anything else other than a Mystery which can make you this excited?”

“Of course, there are,” Alnea said. “Did you forget about the time when I helped you gain your first Aspect?”

“…How was your experience with the Mystery?”

“Did that embarrass you?” Alnea said, sending his laugh along with his words. “Anyways, you guessed only half. Not only did I encounter a Mystery, but I also comprehended it, and have also tested my comprehension, and transformed my Domain. Now, I can finally begin creating Arcanas. I can finally become an Arcanist.”

“…All in one Wandering?”

“Yes!”

“…When will you stop being so reckless?”

“…That’s what master said,” Alnea grumbled. “I will try to be careful next time.”

“Wait a moment. You accepted the fact that you were reckless? How? Unless… What else did you do, Alnea?”

“…I tamed my second Aspect.”

“…Faein’s mercy,” Yuri said. “I swear you are going to be the death of me one day.”

“…It was not as bad as you think,” Alnea said. “I tamed the Aspect much earlier than I had planned, and still had about seventy units of Spirit Power left when I encountered the Mystery.”

“It does not matter when you encountered the Mystery,” Yuri said. “Have you forgotten my first Wandering? What if something similar had happened to you?”

“…It was my first Mystery. I have been Wandering for seven days, and it was the first time I encountered a Mystery. I could not control myself.”

“…You are the most reckless person I have ever met.”

“…More reckless than you?”

“How am I reckless?”

“Leaving your home at the age of six, travelling half the world to find me based on just some text, coming to the Tes Domain… should I go on?”

“…They are different things.”

“Right,” Alnea said, laughing once again, as images of Yuri’s flushed face flashed past his mind. “Alright, I should get going now. Master is waiting for me.”

“…You seem to be in a hurry.”

“…Master is finally going to teach me new Martial Styles!”

“Already? It has just been seven days…”

“Hey, you are talking to the greatest Wanderer of the future. It is normal if I break some common sense, right?”

“…More like the cheekiest, and most narcissistic Wanderer of the future.”

“Are you jealous?”

“You need to catch up to me to make me feel jealous.”

“…That won’t take long.”

“…Like I said, the cheekiest Wanderer ever.” Hearing Yuri’s grumbled, Alnea burst out in laughter once more, and was soon joined by Yuri. After a while, when their laughter finally died out, Yuri added, “You have Aspects now… so be careful while practising Martial Styles.”

“Don’t worry,” Alnea said. “I may be reckless, but I am not a fool.”

“…You are definitely a fool.”

“Hey, what do you mean by that?”

“Nothing. In any case, big sis Nyssa is waiting for you, so you should get going now.”

“…You are getting better at changing topics. I will let you get away this time, but I will not forget what you said.”

“Why are you talking so much nonsense? Just go, and practise your Martial Styles.”

“Alright, alright, I am going. Ah, before I leave, there was one more thing I wanted to ask you about.”

“What is it?”

“Do you know about the sword of Farin?”

“…Why do you want to know?”

“Of all the swords that master had prepared for me, the sword of Farin suited me the best. Since it is going to be my sword, I naturally want to know more about it.”

“Sword of Farin… what did big sis Nyssa tell you about it?”

“That it is the sword made by the descendants of the country of Farin, and about how it shoulders the hope of regaining their lost country. But I have never heard about the country. Do you know anything about it?”

“…Somethings will only harm you if you know them too early.”

“…You are only making me more curious.”

“Forget about the country of Farin. Digging up past will not do anyone good. Instead, focus on your sword. Since you have chosen sword as your weapon, take as much advantage of big sis Nyssa as you can. After all, swords are also her weapon of choice. So, stop thinking about useless things, and go learn some Martial Styles.”

“Stingy,” Alnea mumbled, but he did not pester her about the sword again. It would be of no use. Sword of Farin… It looked like it was going to take quite some time before he would be able to learn more about his sword. Till then, as Yuri had said, he would just have to focus on honing his sword skills, and learning Martial Styles.