Chapter 12: Get into adventuring

Ash left Leon with her wand, the first wand that he had met her with. She also left a two-star Fire and Water spell book. He was excited about the gifts that he got, but learning spells from the book would take longer than stealing them. He had no choice, though, and so he focused on learning them fully for the next one year.

And just like that, he was now 5 years old, growing extremely fast physically and mentally. He was now fully articulate and could read the most complex text. But that was not limited to him alone, as his brother was also pretty grown and doing things for himself.

The count had not come back once in the last five years. Word was that the war against the demonic monsters had grown beyond what was expected, and he was stuck there leading armies.

Leon really did not care about his father. He was focused on simply handling his own growth. His birthday was in a day, and so he and his brother would finally have their mana cores checked. Leon was not even sure that he had a core, but he would check it either way.

[..]

Leon stood with a wooden sword in his hands as he faced Roger. Roger stood there lax with his sword in one hand and a look that said he had no urgency.

Last year, his mother had asked that he start training with a sword. She knew that he was good at magic, but she wanted him to get sword training too and get physically strong.

"Alright, young master, come at me," Roger said.

Leon gritted his teeth and rushed at him. He moved fast for a kid his age, almost double the speed of a kid his age. He came with a slash to the lower abdomen. Roger stepped back and dodged the attack before countering with his sword.

Leon blocked the attack. He was pushed back a step. He spun around and dashed forward, crossing the distance first as he leaped and slashed.

"Your form has gotten better, young master," Roger said as he blocked his attack. He pushed Leon back and closed in before going for a thrust, the sword pressed against Leon’s chest.

"Tch, I could fight better if you allowed me to use magic, you know, right?" Leon said.

"Oh, for sure, but I want you to get used to the sword, and also, I don’t believe the difference will be that much," Roger said.

"I assure you, it will be that much. I might be able to defeat you," Leon said.

"Ouu, big words for a small man. Fine then, come at me with all of that and let’s see how it goes."

’Hehe, now it’s my turn,’ Leon thought. He struck back and then used wind magic to float a few feet over the ground.

"First, let’s get rid of the height difference, and next, let’s attack." Leon propelled himself faster, the wind pushing him until he became a blur. Roger was stunned by his speed, but it was still not something that would shake him. He blocked the first attack, but he felt the increased pressure in his hands.

"Whoa, that packed a lot."

"Not done yet." Leon pulled back in the air. He gripped his sword tighter and then pushed forward again. He thrust at full speed. Roger parried the attack, then spun around and swung down at Leon, but a life formation blocked the attack.

Leon used that opportunity to charge in closer. He went for the head without hesitation. His wooden sword almost slammed into Roger, but Roger pulled back and evaded the attack cleanly.

Leon pulled back after that. "Tch, your agility is way too high."

"Spend so many years fighting, and you’ll have the same."

"Nah, that’s not true. You have a lot of talent, a genius," Leon said.

"Well, even geniuses need to train, and you are also a genius, in magic, maybe even in swordplay. But you still have to train. You do that for magic, but you need to give the same time to sword fighting as well," Roger said.

"Why not focus on one and become a master in it?" Leon asked.

"I wish I could be like you and have the opportunity to learn both, and then I would, but I barely have any talent for magic. But I did for the sword.

If you master both, you’ll see that you can be more versatile when the time comes," he explained.

He placed his sword aside, walked to Leon, and patted him on his head.

"Your mum will have to get you a new guard soon."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, I’m heading to join the war soon. It’s in its final stages, but the people that are fighting have already exhausted all."

’Seems everyone has a habit of leaving me and running off.’

"I see, that’s fine, as long as I can get the best lessons out of you before you leave, and I’ll be fine," Leon said.

"I’ll do my best. Also, I think after tomorrow, when you get your core checked, you should give adventuring a chance. Go at it as best as you can. It will give you some experience, some low-level experience at best.

The world is brutal out there, and I have a feeling that you will be getting yourself into a lot of trouble.