As Kael wandered through the village of Riverbend, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. It was his first time visiting the place in either of his lives, and the village was larger than his home village of Littlebrook by a significant margin. Its bustling atmosphere and neatly arranged streets held a certain charm that he hadn't experienced before.

Riverbend had a couple of major roads, both made of packed dirt, that intersected at a central town square. This lively hub was filled with colorful stalls, and the chatter of townspeople filled the air as they went about their daily business. Kael marveled at the stone fountain at the center of the square, surrounded by lush greenery and blooming flowers that added a touch of life to the otherwise earthen landscape. The village's wooden buildings were adorned with intricate carvings and painted shutters, showcasing the craftsmanship of the local artisans.

Beth hadn't told Kael where to find the items on her list, so he had no choice but to engage with the villagers. As he went from stall to stall, he struck up conversations with the local shopkeepers, who were more than happy to offer him directions and advice. He even found himself sharing a few laughs with a boisterous blacksmith who playfully boasted about the quality of his wares. Kael was surprised at how much he enjoyed these interactions, feeling a sense of camaraderie with the villagers that was absent from his previous life.

At least, aside from one interaction with a lady. When he went up to a stall that looked to have some produce, and questioned the woman about the prices, instead of answering, she came up from around the stall and crouched next to him. After staring for a moment, she blurted out “How adorable!” before pinching his cheek. Kael’s face quickly flushed with embarrassment, and he greatly wanted to correct the woman’s behavior. Kael, who was a battle hardened warrior who had mercilessly killed thousands of enemies, wasn’t sure how to handle being cooed and having his cheek pinched. He was eventually able to get the produce he needed from her though.

Once he had returned to the clinic, he appreciated it a bit more. It wasn’t an overtly beautiful building by any means, but it was different. The building was painted white, with the exposed support beams being painted a pale blue. The space in front of the building was covered in a sort of soft green moss and was cut in two by a cobblestone walk-way in the middle that led to the front door of the clinic. Right in front of the clinic on either side of the door were two long rose hedges that spanned the length of the building. Red, white, and yellow flowers abundantly adorned their dark green leaves. Kael thought the rose bushes rather fit Beth. She had an easily coveted wealth of knowledge and skill that was quite alluring, but at the same time, man was she one thorny woman.

Another two weeks had passed in the blink of an eye once Kael got used to the routine. In the morning he would wake up and do some chores before breakfast. After breakfast, he would continue to do chores while maintaining his mana sense to feel when someone visited the clinic, and tend to them in a clerical sense until Beth came to give treatment. He was surprised at how cheap her services were,

His findings on the limitations of ranged magic were fascinating to him. It seemed that for every five meters or so away a point was, it would take an additional second for him to make magic originate from it. This did not include the increased difficulty and concentration required for trying to use magic starting from further away however. Once he tried to cast magic that was further than twenty five meters or so, it became so difficult to control that it would take him at least three times as long to get the mana to do what he wanted, then it would take the extra five seconds for the effect to actually happen.

On the morning of the start of the fourth week of Kael’s new life, his father showed up. Once he saw Kael he gave him a tight hug and bombarded him with questions. Things like if he was eating enough and staying out of trouble. Beth quickly came out and told them to quit making a scene in her waiting room, and that Kael had to be back early the next morning.

It took a couple of hours for Kael and his father to get back to Littlebrook. During the walk Kael had practically explained everything that happened in the last few weeks as well as his opinion on every little thing while answering his father’s questions. He knew he would have to say everything again when they got home, but it was better than an awkward silence during the walk.

Sure enough when he got home his mother asked almost the exact same questions and he repeated what he had told his father during their walk there. At the end of the questioning, Tristan asked if Kael could do magic. Kael thought for a moment before answering. He could do magic, but he wasn’t sure if he should tell them about it. After all, he learned some magic before he even met the healer, but it would be strange for a child to be able to use magic without learning for even a month. He eventually decided to be honest about it. Partly so he wouldn’t have to lie, and partly to try to show his parents that they made the right choice. Once he told him that he could use magic, Tristan immediately blurted out a demand for a demonstration.

Kael had no reason to deny him his request. He extended his hand in front of him with his palm facing up. Tristan stared at it intently. Then, he made a small flame appear above his palm. Tristan's eyes widened as he watched the flame dance above Kael's palm, his expression a mixture of wonder and amazement. However, Kael noticed a shadow quickly pass over his brother's face, replacing the excitement with a deep sadness that seemed to weigh down his features.

Kael hesitated before asking, "Hey, Tristan... are you okay?"

Their mother, noticing Tristan's distress, walked over and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sweetheart, what's bothering you?" she asked with a concerned tone.

Tristan shrugged, avoiding eye contact. "It's nothing, Mom."

Kael did not like the awkward atmosphere, and desperately wanted to cheer up Tristan. He wasn’t sure how when he didn’t know what was wrong however. “Do you want to see more magic?” Kael offered.

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Tristan quickly looked back up at Kael, his face scrunching up in what looked like anger. “No I don’t want to see any more of your stupid magic. Go have fun doing your magic stuff. I’m going to go look after the animals.” And he stormed off outside. Their mother went to follow but their father stopped her.

“Just let him go. He needs to vent and it will be harder to do that with his mom watching.”

Kael felt incredibly stupid at that moment. Sure, he wasn’t the most social fellow. But how could he be so insensitive? He should have tried to look at the situation from Tristan’s view. His younger brother, whom he felt responsible for, went away for a while to apprentice for a mysterious healer, and came back with arcane powers. It was basically a dream scenario for a child. Yet Tristan was stuck here on the farm. He would inherit the farm, work on it presumably his whole life, and give it to his eldest son. It was a very mundane life, and definitely not something a child would dream about. From what Kael remembered, Tristan always felt a sense of pride about being the one to inherit the family’s farm. So he probably felt quite conflicted with his new feelings.

Kael struggled for a moment to try to think of some way to resolve the situation. He was interrupted by his father obviously clearing his throat to get his attention. He looked over at his father, and his father sternly looked back. He remembered his father’s words to his mother, and realized there was nothing we could do. Tristan simply needs to blow off steam and come to terms with his situation, and there was nothing Kael could do or say to make the situation better.

Kael continued to interact with his family minus Tristan until dinner time. Answering questions and playing with his little sister. Tristan came back for dinner, and seemed to have calmed down a bit, but he lacked the childlike energy he normally had. After a few minutes of awkward silence while eating, Kael spoke up.

“I was always really jealous of you. You are going to get the farm and get to stay with the family. Meanwhile dad has been trying his hardest to find something for me to do. It felt like I wasn’t really needed here. The farm is such a big part of this family, and it was going to be yours, and something for you to protect and pass on to the future family.”

Everyone had stopped eating and was looking at Kael. Kael stared nervously at his porridge as he spoke.

“Because of Beth I can find somewhere I belong and people that need me. Here the family and the farm need you. Heck, even I’ll need you. Even mages need to eat. Without you the village here and even nearby villages won’t be able to survive. Only a few people who get hurt will need me, but it’s still more than before.”

There was a long pause after Kael finished speaking. Only after a while did Kael look up to his family. He saw his father nod approvingly, and his mother fighting back tears. His brother Tristan, much like he did, was silent staring into his bowl. He looked like he was deep in thought. Satisfied with the effect of his speech, he finished his dinner, and headed to bed.

The next morning Kael’s father escorted him back to the clinic. This trip was much quieter than the first. Both because they were still tired from waking up so early, and also because there wasn’t much for them to talk about. Kael’s father lectured him on being a good kid. Eventually Kael mentioned that he could make the trip on his own in the future, but his father would have none of it. Kael even demonstrated that he could do much more with magic than make a small flame, and explained he could protect himself. But what was magic before the will of a father?

As much as he loved his family, he was relieved to be back at the clinic. Sure, he had to work hard, but hard work is what he was used to anyways. For the last forty years of his life he spent every day working as hard as he could. At this point it felt wrong if he wasn’t working. Every day you spent not working was a day the enemy got an advantage on you after all.

On the evening of his second day back, Beth came to check his handwriting while he was practicing it.

“Well, it’s still not great. But it’s acceptable. You can now start spending some more time with magic. Tell me, what have you discovered with the practice you’ve been doing?”

Normally when she asked him a question, Kael would get nervous and overthink his answer. But ever since she actually started teaching him, she seemed to be a lot less mocking and sarcastic. It could also be due to the fact that he seriously thought about the things she taught and assigned him. He can’t deny that his experiments prior to meeting her had been a bit thoughtless.

“The rate of travel for mana commands seems to be roughly one second per five meters. However, in addition to this, the further away the point of manipulation is, the longer it takes for me to get the desired outcome due to the increase in difficulty of controlling the mana. So the actual time required to cast magic increases exponentially with distance. Granted, I believe that is just due to my lack of skill. I believe that with more experience and practice, I can increase the distance that the previously mentioned linear rate applies to.”

Once Kael finished his explanation, Beth nodded. “The further mana is from you, the harder it is to sense and manipulate it. But like you said, you can train yourself to be able to use it as quickly as mana right next to you. Have you read any of the books here?” She asked.

“Not yet. Not sure when I’d have the time with all the chores and practicing my writing.” Kael responded.

“You’d have plenty of time if you didn’t insist on running around lifting heavy things like some sort of caveman. You know humans are the dominant species on this continent because of our intelligence, don’t you?” She jested.

“You can’t be saying you’re not interested in the possibilities of combining magic and a warrior’s techniques?”

Beth closed her eyes for a moment while thinking. She smiled for a second before sighing, opening her eyes to turn back to Kael once more. “Hmph. As far as I can tell, the two have no way of complimenting each other. They’re fundamentally different. But… You never know what could happen… I only wish it was someone smarter leading the research. Well, either way, you still have to learn magic. Here, read this book.” As she said that, a book floated from one of the bookshelves to the left of them and neatly placed itself on the table in front of Kael. Of course, Kael knew it was Beth that placed it there, probably using some delicate implementation of wind magic, but it was still impressive.

Kael took a look at the book. It was huge. It had to have had at least a thousand pages. It had a simple brown leather cover with the title etched in what looked like gold. The Basics on the Properties of Mana. He was never much of a reader, so he was definitely not looking forward to reading the thickest book he’d ever seen on what looked to be the most boring topic regarding magic.