Rylan sat on the edge of the bed with his eyes closed, shirtless. Gerard’s hand touched his body as the man spoke.

“Relax. Let the mana flow through you.”

His father’s red mana entered his body, making him feel as if a stream of hot water was flowing through him, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It followed the path of his blood vessels until it reached his metaphysical Mana Core and surrounded the Core, but there was no intent to harm him. After extending to his entire body, the mana withdrew, going back into Gerard. Rylan opened his eyes, and the hand left his back. With an inquisitive look, he turned around to look at his father.

“I still don’t understand it well, but it appears to be fine. Shoot me with a Magic Missile.”

Rylan let out a sigh of relief as Gerard stepped back to the middle of the room. A wave of his hand later, a Magic Shield surrounded him. Rylan pointed at him.

Recall how it felt when you fought Evenon.

At the time, his concentration had reached its pinnacle, allowing him to cast Magic Missile much quicker than usual and even without a wand. He wouldn’t be able to mimic it, but he could try. One and a half seconds later, he finalized his chanting after throwing away all useless thoughts.

“Magic Missile.”

Blue mana gathered and revolved around his fingertip, condensing into the shape of an arrow, which pierced through the air and collided with his father’s Shield. Shaken by the impact, it fell apart and crumbled into nothingness, not leaving even a scratch. Rylan frowned in distaste, scoffing. Gerard waved his hand, making the Magic Shield disappear.

“It’s a bit subpar for your Level because you didn’t spend your Free Points on Intelligence, but it seems to be fine. We’ll keep testing it. If your Mana Core or spells somehow fail you during a fight, it would be the end. I need to make sure your Mana Core is fully functional.”

Rylan sighed.

“It lacks too much power, even only as a tool to assist me in battle.”

“Then increase your Intelligence. Didn’t you save up the Free Points you got from reaching Level 25 from Level 20?”

“That would be worse than spending them in my physical stats. I only know one spell and it’s the most basic one.”

Gerard raised an eyebrow.

“Didn’t you say you would focus on magic?”

“I said I would learn it. My physical stats still provide me with the biggest boost because of the mana circulation and sword styles. Can Intelligence be raised through training?”

“Yes. It’s difficult, though. You need to know what you’re doing.”

Rylan rubbed his chin in thought.

“I’m already Level 25. I should build up my achievements as much as possible before the Class Evolution. I won’t spend my Free Points. It’s easier to raise stats through training the lower they are.”

Since he was already at the required Level, he could start the Class Evolution at any time. However, it wasn’t time yet. The Evolution took into account everything that he had achieved and all that he was before it. The longer he took to start the process, the better his options would be. Of course, that came with a downside. Until he underwent the Class Evolution, he wouldn’t be able to reach Level 26. It meant that he wouldn’t get any more Free Points until the Evolution happened.

Gerard nodded.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“It’s the best move, but it’ll take time. Are you sure you want to delay your Class Evolution?”

Rylan closed his eyes. It had been four days since he left Samantha’s clinic. During this time, he had merely relied on the family’s Healers to finally recover in full. Now that he was in his best condition, he could focus wholeheartedly on his training. As his thoughts reached this point, a question appeared in his mind.

“Yeah, I am. Also, you said I began training extremely late, which would make it difficult to enter a Magic Academy because there are younger people at the same level.”

“Yes.”

“How long do I have before the point where I’d have no chance to join one?”

Gerard went silent for a few seconds, seemingly thinking about the question.

“Honestly, you are very close to that point. You’re already eighteen, but you’re only at the First Circle. There are fourteen-year-olds at the Second Circle. Some talented students and applicants have reached Third Circle by seventeen,” Gerard’s expression softened as he spoke, “I think it would be better to pursue another dream.”

Instead of shaking his head or rebuking his father, Rylan merely smiled.

“Roland Steelsong never gave up. Rylan Flameheart won’t either. I need to learn about magic, and the Magic Academies are the best place for that. That is all. I will succeed.”

“…I could teach you about magic, and you’d be able to take all the time you need.”

“I know you’re a powerful Mage, but can our family match the wealth of information that a Magic Academy offers? Our library is barely bigger than my bedroom.”

Gerard sighed. Rylan knew that he was right. His two older siblings had gone to the capital’s Royal Magic Academy for that very reason. Even though Gerard was as strong as many of the professors, he was only one man.

“Fine,” his father grumbled. “It won’t be easy at all. You’ll need to improve faster than all your peers. I’d say you only have six months before your chance to join an Academy drops to zero.”

Six months, huh?

If he’d had two years, he could have become a wholly different person. With Roland’s memories, he would’ve been able to acquire several key Skills and Titles, as well as develop his body. With some luck, he might have also been able to awaken Aura, given that he knew exactly what to do. Still, complaining about this was pointless. He needed to make the most of the time he had. The plan hadn’t changed; he still needed to push himself to his limits repeatedly.

“I see. Then, I should start working on my first priority immediately,” Rylan said.

Gerard raised an eyebrow.

“Which is?”

“Getting rid of this awful Trait.”

His Trait was the one thing hindering his current self the most. It undermined him every time he tried to do anything worthwhile, including fighting and training. He had been able to deal with it and focus on getting the heirloom back, but now that he had some breathing room and had reached his goal, it became his highest priority.

“Even if I don’t get a great Trait, a neutral one would already be better than Weak-willed,” he continued.

Gerard shook his head with a complicated expression, as if he were thinking of the words to say.

“Changing your Trait is difficult. It might have been different in your past life, but things aren’t so simple in this one.”

Rylan simply nodded.

“They weren’t easy as Roland, either. I’m saying this because I know I can do it. Besides, it will happen naturally as I train. The most important thing about getting rid of a Trait like this is perseverance. As long as I keep challenging myself again and again, it’ll disappear.”

He needed to prove that he wasn’t ‘Weak-willed.’ Struggling to the bitter end in a fight, studying diligently, and training daily were all things he needed to do and that would help in getting rid of this Trait.

Even if I only get something like ‘Average,’ it would still be enough.

Rylan stood up, stretching his body.

“First, I’ll keep up my training with the soldiers and study magic with you. When there’s a lot of stuff that I need to try out in a real fight, I’ll start hunting. We’ll keep this up for two months and see where I end up,” he said as he looked at Gerard, who frowned.

“I don’t like the idea of you going out to hunt on your own. We don’t know what Evenon’s previous underlings might try to pull.”

Rylan grinned. He wasn’t bothered by Gerard’s worrying. Because of Roland’s memories, it felt like it had been far too long since he had last experienced something like this. He was grateful for his father’s unwillingness to throw him away, despite everything he had done before remembering his past life.

“Thank you, Father.”

“…What are you thanking me for? Are you even listening to what I’m saying?”

“Don’t worry about the hunts. I know most of Evenon’s subordinates and none of them are strong enough to kill me. I’ll be fine. I do agree that taking the soldiers is risky, though. I’ll have them stay behind for a while and focus on training.”

Gerard nodded with a complex expression after staring at him for a few seconds.

“Fine. Come to my study. We won’t be bothered there. I’ll start with teaching you the basics, since you have almost no foundation.”

He walked up to the door and opened it. Together, the father and son duo headed to Gerard’s study.

Rylan’s plan was to become not only greater than he was, but also greater than Roland had been.