Chapter 6: Loving Mother

Leon stared at the screen in shock. He gained a water affinity and a water spell from learning the spell. It was a basic spell, yes, but it was a spell nonetheless.

His eyes shined with eagerness. Ash and his mother saw that shine in his eyes and were excited, thinking that seeing the spell in action was what made him happy. They were not too far off, though. It was somewhat close to the truth.

After they said their goodbyes to Ash, his mother returned him to his crib in his room. Leon did not put up a fight. He was exhausted after a full morning of activity, so he lay and allowed himself to drift into sleep while his mother sat at the edge of the crib and looked down.

"You are different from any child I have had or seen. Calm, you only cry when you feel inconvenienced, never to cause an issue." She smiled as she spoke and stretched her finger to touch his cheek.

"You are special, Leon."

After she said that, she walked away and left him in the room.

Leon slept until it was late in the night. He had woken up a few times, but he saw his mother in the room anytime that he woke up, so he forced himself back to sleep to waste as much time as possible until he got the right time to try the spell that he had learned.

Soon, night came, and even his mother had to go to bed after she gave him a bath and changed him. He waited until he was certain that she was asleep, and then his eyes snapped open. He was ready.

"Alright, let’s get this whole training thing started. Greatness is carved out, and today I am carving it out."

He replayed the spell in his mind a few times and then moved his arms. He did not need to say any words. His mana flowed out perfectly, and the water began to form right over the bed, a ball of water the size of his fist.

His eyes lit up when he saw the water, happy to see that he was actually using magic, but after a few seconds, the water burst into droplets and landed right on him.

"Tch, guess I can’t just get it on the first try," he muttered, a bit disappointed.

He pushed the thoughts aside and got back to it, trying the spell again, only to fail again and get splashed with water. But there was one thing that he had as a baby right now, and that was time. He had quite a bit of time, and he was willing to use that time.

He went at it several more times, pushing himself to try and get the spell, but even after many tries, he still failed. At the end, he was out of stamina and could feel the claws of sleep reaching for him.

"Come on, one more try, just one more," he muttered to himself, pushing himself to go again, using the last bit of mana that he had in his body. He poured everything into it and created the ball of water. It formed perfectly and soon started to take a beautiful shape. It was working this time.

And then...

Pop.

It burst and splashed onto him.

Leon stared into the darkness for a long while and then shut his eyes. He was tired. No more. He would try another day. He allowed himself to drift into sleep peacefully.

When he got up next time, he would try again. After all, he had enough time.

[....]

Day 5, 12th month of the Vermilion Calendar, year 1005.

Leon woke up the next day. His mother cleaned him, sang to him, and fed him. She held him by the window side and looked over the city that they were in.

"All of this belongs to your father, Leon. But it might not ever belong to you," she said with sadness in her eyes. "But I want you to know that it does not define you. Your father’s legacy is not you.

"You will build your own legacy. You will become someone that rises to the top," she said and then pointed into the distance. "Because beyond this city, beyond the walls, and beyond where your eyes can see is a world that is ripe for the taking.

"You are special, and you will take it for sure."

She looked down at him with kind eyes and rubbed his cheek. "Sadly, it will not come easy. Being a noble, being the second son of the count, everything will be a battle against the odds, but I know you’ll get through it."

’She loves me a lot, I guess,’ Leon thought as he lay there in her arms.

After a while, she returned him to the crib and left to do something fast. The moment she went, Leon started moving his hands again and forming a water ball. The ball of water formed, and he began to giggle like a little child. He focused with all his might, and this time it worked. The water began to flow around him in a beautiful stream.

"Yes, yes, it worked. It finally worked," he yelled in excitement, which came out as baby happy noises. He kept it going for a few seconds until he could no longer do it, and the water splashed onto him.

He did not have an issue, though. He was at the start of something good.

In the following days, his mother took him to see Ash more and more. He got to see a ton of new spells: fire, wind, ice, and water. Leon gained an affinity for each one.

He also noticed that it got harder for him to dissect harder spells. Each spell that was higher level took multiple tries and, at times, days for him to fully dissect it with the skill.

He understood now that it was not all a bed of roses, but it was still far better than using a spell book to try and learn.