I didn't understand what happened. How did Kasa leave her room just to look for me, usually she doesn't leave her room because it decreases the time she spent learning magic. I knew someday someone would try to stop my prison visits, but I didn't expect it to be Kasa.

After she dragged me back to her shed, she started an explanation on why prisoners are bad people who can't be trusted. I was confused at first, but soon after I realized that she thought the prisoners didn't want me to talk to her. I'm not sure how she jumped to that conclusion, and I was about to fix it, but I decided to let it be. I can't exactly tell her the reason I didn't visit her was because of her attitude, not after she threatened me with fire magic.

I underestimated the impact I had on Kasa. I thought she wanted to focus on magic and didn't care about talking to people, but it seems like she craved social interaction as much as any person. The fact she insulted prisoners for about an hour emphasized this fact, and as I left, she said I didn't need to bring fruits until she asked for them. As this entire friendship was usually just a fruit trade, I was happy to see fruits being removed from the equation. 'Our relationship is pretty decent right now, I can take a break from thinking about it for a while.'

I did promise Kasa I wouldn't visit the prison anymore, but sometimes promises must be broken for the greater good. It's not like she would be able to find out anyways. I decided that I would start visiting Kasa daily again.

My visit to the prison this time was a little more interesting. I learned that the underground auction was attacked and robbed, which sparked underground organizations that had a stake in the auction to go on a rampage, and that Aric actually completed the tier one mage certification without mana, but was soon caught, and is now being interrogated by the mage tower. I felt a bit bad for Aric, he had been trying for years, and now that he accomplished it he's being interrogated.

I was still sad that I didn't learn any new soul techniques, but at least I was learning dagger techniques relatively fast. The scouts who were teaching me said they permitted me to practice at home using an actual dagger or knife. The scouts didn't let me practice with a real weapon earlier because they were afraid I would hurt myself.

I returned home and practiced my dagger techniques. The scouts said that their techniques focused on the essence of the dagger, simple attacks that were direct and short, because the dagger is a short weapon, a dagger user had to have a brave heart. The essence of using a dagger focused on taking the initiative, having good movement, and committing to the strikes, one good strike was better than 10 half-hearted ones, without a brave heart, a dagger user wouldn't be able to display these qualities. I wasn't sure whether I had a brave or timid heart, but I was happy to be learning something new. I wondered whether my brothers were learning sword techniques, I knew that they had tutors to instruct them, but I'm not sure what they taught.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

This simple routine continued for a few months, and Kasa turned ten and I turned eight. There was no real celebration for either of our birthdays, for hers I gave her more fruits than normal, and for mine, she finally told me her mana affinities, Light, Dark, Fire, and Wind, and that she was close to becoming a tier 2 mage. I was surprised about her affinities but shocked that she was close to a tier 2 mage. According to what I know, the Noble academy, which Kasa will be attending in three years, took 5 years and required mages to be tier 4 before they graduated. At this rate, wouldn't Kasa be able to graduate early? She does live up to her title of prodigy. I'm not sure how she knows she's close to a tier 2 mage, but I didn't bother asking, there was no reason for her to lie to me about this. Kasa and I were still good friends, I didn't see a need to make her more emotionally attached to me at the moment.

I also 'borrowed' a knife from the kitchen, and have been using it to practice my dagger techniques. I'm not sure how good my technique is, but I feel like I'm not bad right now. In addition to my dagger techniques, I was able to finish the second step of Tracking. The third step of Tracking was the most important one, letting out the whisps of soul energy and feeling when they disappeared. Tracking said that anywhere from 50-100 could be considered adequate for real-time use. I decided to go for 100 strands, just so I can feel a little more accomplished.

Months turned into a year, and I turned nine and Kasa turned eleven. I managed to fully comprehend Tracking and spent my time focused on my dagger technique. My attacks were getting swifter and more decisive, but without a real enemy, I have no way of making sure my attacks were effective. I decided to join the adventuring guild once I became 10, old enough to register, to test out my prowess. At the same time, Kasa had already become a tier 2 mage, I have no clue about her progress towards tier 3. We started having more conversations, and she started reading the books I got her. It seems that she likes romance books, I guess all girls her age do. Our relationship wasn't anything romantic though, it was closer to brother and sister than anything else. Kasa never found out I was visiting the prison, she never checked after what happened that time.

As I thought these peaceful days would continue, something I expected years ago to happen finally happened. I was finally confronted by my siblings.