The chilly dawn air is flowing, and at the same time, the newly risen sun is slowly starting to emit its warmth.
At this hour, when the world hasn’t fully woken up yet, I arrived at the training ground to undergo training to become a mage.
Since I was slightly early compared to the promised time, it seemed like no one had arrived yet, and I began to wait for that ‘teacher’ who would be coming here, filled with a mix of anticipation and nerves.
‘I wonder who will come? … Surely, my father isn’t going to teach me himself, right?’
Given his outstanding abilities as a mage, it wasn’t entirely out of the question. However, considering how busy he was with the current state of affairs, the likelihood was quite low.
In that regard, I thought that perhaps someone unknown to me… or someone from the original work might show up, and I began quietly waiting for the person who would teach me.
Then…
“Hmm?”
In the next moment, I felt a slight question arise as someone started to become visible in front of me.
‘That person is definitely…’
A figure appeared early at the training ground.
I easily recognized who the person was and cautiously called her name.
“Dus…t?”
What I saw in front of me was undoubtedly my younger sister, Dust.
She sported a slightly prickly expression as usual.
I felt surprised by the fact that my sister, whom I hadn’t seen much in the past week, had appeared here at this dawn hour, so I carefully approached her.
And then…
Looking at me, Dust slightly lowered her head and said in a calm voice.
“.. I apologize, older brother. I have come here on my father’s orders to teach you magic starting today.”
“W.. what? Magic to me?.. You?”
Naturally, I displayed my bewilderment at what was truly an unforeseen development.
Seeing my reaction, Dust replied in a stiff voice.
“Yes, older brother. Unfortunately, that’s how it is. Although I am your younger sister, I pride myself on having skills that are among the best in Bohemia.”
“Well, that’s true…”
I knew for sure that there was no room for doubt about Dust’s abilities.
At her young age, she could easily take down many adult mages…
But the fact that the one teaching me was none other than my ‘younger sister’ brought an unexpected surprise.
Recognizing my attitude, Dust wrinkled her brow slightly and asked, “Do you have any complaints?”
“N..no. It’s not like that, but…”
“In that case, let’s get started quickly. As you can understand, we don’t have much time.”
“Uh… okay.”
Hearing her slightly impatient words, I thought there was really no need to push back any further.
As she said, given the limited time we had, I needed to learn magic as quickly as possible, no matter how prickly the teacher might be.
“Well then, I’ll be counting on you.”
“Yes, older brother. Let’s get right to it. First, please turn around and face away from me.”
Seeing me readily agree, for some reason, Dust seemed to exhibit a momentary sense of relief.
However, since it was such a brief moment, I felt like I might have been mistaken and carefully stood with my back to her.
“We’ll start by opening your magical power. This will stimulate the magical pathways in your body, so please be aware that you might feel some pain.”
“Okay, got it.”
As soon as my answer ended, Dust gently placed her hand on my back.
Along with that came the sensation of her soft hand.
I could automatically recognize that it wasn’t just the warmth of her skin but the magical energy gathered in her palm.
Opening magical power.
This is the first gate for an ordinary person to become a mage and a test to determine whether a person has innate talent for magic.
This act of the magic user injecting their magical energy into the other person begins like spilling a match on an oil-covered floor, awakening the slumbering magic within the other.
If the target has no talent for magic, nothing happens even after receiving the injection.
On the other hand, if they possess even a little talent for magic, they will be sensitive to this small stimulus from the injected magic.
And that reaction would be…
“! Ugh!”
In the next moment, an unbearable pain began to hit me suddenly.
It felt as if my entire body was being engulfed in flames.
Unintentionally, I let out a yelp.
‘Damn it.. I had expected some of this, but it’s more intense than I thought… No, this seriously hurts like hell!’
If I had my way, I would have wanted to roll on the ground and twist my body right now.
However, as I thought that any sudden movement might cause problems during the process of awakening my magical power, I gritted my teeth and desperately tried to endure the situation.
‘Damn… how long do I have to deal with this? Can’t we wrap this up soon?’
As I wished for this pain to end quickly, at that moment…
“… Haah…”
The next instant, what felt like an eternity ended with Dust’s sigh, and I collapsed to the ground.
“Huff… huff…”
“Haah… haah…”
Even after the opening of my magical power ended, the soreness in my back persisted.
I started to breathe heavily while, for some reason, I could hear Dust behind me breathing even more harshly than I was.
“Did… did it end?”
“Y-yes… it’s over… We were successful… older brother.”
In response to my words, Dust seemed to speak with a considerably heightened emotion.
From what I knew, the initiator of the magical power opening was supposed to be less affected, but it seemed that wasn’t entirely the case.
‘But still… I mean, I can understand my situation, but Dust looks pretty affected too? She’s all red in the face and gasping for breath…’
I observed my younger sister, who was clearly struggling.
Although it was due to my father’s command, I began to feel a sense of gratitude towards her for making such efforts for me.
Then, noticing my gaze, Dust managed to suppress her heightened emotions and replied in a calmer voice.
“Alright then. It will take about a day for your awakened magic to settle, so today’s lesson ends here. We will meet again at this time tomorrow.”
“Okay, got it. And… thanks, Dust.”
Even though it was clearly a burdensome task for her, I expressed my gratitude to my sister, who had taken it upon herself.
At my words, Dust, who had been in a hurry to leave, halted for a moment.
She then turned to look at me.
Her face still bore the marks of the magical energy opening, and it began to flush again.
“Ah… no, I just did what I had to do… older brother…”
After giving a slightly trembling farewell, Dust left the place.
Watching her, I felt that perhaps she wasn’t just the prickly character she was in the original work.
‘And above all, despite everything, she is my blood-related younger sister… It wouldn’t be so bad if we could get a bit closer during this opportunity.’
Thinking that, I began to focus on the faint power that was slowly enveloping me like steam after the magical power opening…
‘Is this magic?.. It does feel quite disorienting, just as Dust said…’
The power flowing from within and wrapping around the outside, then cycling back inside.
But that entire process felt wild, like a river bursting its banks, yet the momentum itself wasn’t very strong.
It was like a child running around wildly without knowing where to settle.
Even for someone like me, who had become somewhat accustomed to managing different kinds of power through auras, I could not control it at this moment.
As Dust said, it would probably calm down by itself in a day.
‘Magic, huh… Does this mean I’ve officially become a mage?..’
I felt a great joy at the fact that something I had often imagined before coming to this world was finally starting to become a reality as I carefully started to return to my room.
I held quite the anticipation for the lessons that would continue from my ‘younger sister’ starting tomorrow.
‘At the end, Dust seemed a bit uneasy, but… I doubt anything serious will happen? After all, when it comes to magic, she must know more than I do.’
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