"Eternal Branches: Chronicles of Yggdrasil"

Early morning sunlight flooded the small courtyard of Dawnsinger Manor, the leaves of the trees swaying gently, the air filled with the scent of fresh grass.Vetril stood in the centre of the courtyard, gripping his wooden sword tightly, beads of sweat seeping from the corners of his forehead. His father, Gareth, stood at the side, his eyes like a torch, the longsword in his hand glowing coldly in the sunlight.

'Remember, strength does not come from your arms, but from your heart in harmony with Mana.' Gareth's voice was low and strong.

Vetril nodded and took a deep breath, focusing his attention on the wooden sword in his hand. He closed his eyes and tried to feel the subtle flow of energy within him. However, halfway through raising the wooden sword, his arm began to tremble slightly, and then he lost his balance.

Gareth shook his head with a hint of helplessness in his tone, ''Too impatient. Feeling Mana needs to flow slowly, like a stream, not rampantly like a flood.'

At that moment, Elena came out of the house with two cups of hot tea in her hands. She smiled and said, 'Let the child rest. Cultivation requires not only sweat, but also relaxation of the mind.'

Vetril took the cups of tea handed by his mother and whispered, 'Mother, can I really do this?'

Elena gently patted his shoulder and smiled gently, 'As long as you believe in yourself, you can definitely do it.'

Just as the family was sitting around the courtyard, enjoying a moment of peace, a familiar shout came from the distance.

'Vetril, come out here!'

Jack, Lily and Tommy ran into the yard one after the other, full of excitement. They first greeted Gareth, who was by Vetril's side, and then Jack waved a branch as if holding an invincible holy sword. He shouted, 'Vetril! I heard that you're going to become a Grand Knight! Do you need a Grand Knight to accompany you? I'm ready to teach you a lesson!' He swung the branch exaggeratedly in a comical pose.

Tommy stood at the end, looking a bit rushed. He rubbed his hands together and whispered, 'I'd like to learn a little ... though I'm probably ... not very good at it.' His voice got lower and lower, almost blown away by the wind.

'Don't worry, Tommy!' Jack sauntered over and patted him on the shoulder with a teasing smile, 'I've got you! Follow my lead and in three days you'll be able to sense Mana, or at least find that boot you lost last time!'

Tommy shrank his shoulders and looked down at his toes, unable to resist whispering, 'But can I really do that? I always feel like I'm going to hold everyone back.'

'Tommy, you're too lame! The four of us are going to form an adventure group in the future! Without you, there will be no one to front us! And if you're dragging us down, won't there be no one to hold the rear when we run away?' Jack laughed.

Tommy froze for a moment, his complexion suddenly changed, and tears appeared out of the corner of his eyes as he said accusingly, 'That's horrible! I'm not going to be a meat shield, Jack, if you go on like this ... I won't play with you anymore.'

On the other side Lily panted and patted her chest, crossing her arms and saying, 'Jack, stop it! Stop teasing Tommy, look at him he's about to cry.'

'Just kidding! I'm just lightening the mood.' Jack spread his hands proudly, 'After all, cultivation needs the spirit of entertainment too! Speaking of which Vetril, how's your cultivation going?'

Vetril looked at his three friends and scratched his head, smiling coyly, 'I haven't quite mastered the flow of Mana myself yet ...'

Jack says smugly, 'Would you like me to teach you? It's not skilled, but I've already had one successful experience sensing Mana.'

Gareth swept a glance at the several people, his tone was serious but with encouragement, 'The path of cultivation isn't easy, you have to be persistent, and you can't be proud of a small success. But if you guys truly want to learn, I can give guidance. However, this means that you must put in the effort.'

Jack nodded repeatedly, 'I'm not afraid! I have long been prepared to surpass a great knight like you, Mr Gareth!' He paused and added, 'The future is my "Great Jack Knight" world.'

'Stinky brat is such a big talker, wait until you do it in the future.' Gareth teased.

Next to her, Lily shook her head helplessly, 'Jack, can you spare some of that extra confidence for Tommy?'

Tommy hesitated for a moment and also raised his head, whispering, 'I ... will do my best.'

Gareth nodded in satisfaction, 'Very well. From today onwards, the four of you will practice together, Lily, Jack, and Tommy you remember to talk to your parents when you go home so that they don't worry.'

The four of them stood in a line and Gareth began to teach the most basic methods of meditation. His voice was low and slow, 'Whether you are going to be knights or mages in the future, sensing Mana is the most basic training, now close your eyes, adjust your breathing and imagine that you are in a silent lake. The lake is crystal clear and Mana is like ripples in the lake, gently and naturally surrounding you.'

Jack closed his eyes and within a few moments felt a little bored. So he opened one eye, stole a glance at Tommy next to him, and muttered in a whisper, 'Tommy, is your lake drying up? Want to borrow some of my ripples?'

Tommy shot him a hard look and whispered back, 'Jack, will you be quiet?'

Gareth cleared his throat and said majestically, 'Jack, focus!'

Jack hurriedly shut his mouth, an embarrassed smirk appearing on his face.

Lily was obviously far more focused, her breathing gradually smoothing out and her face relaxing. A short while later, a breeze whipped through the air and Mana coalesced in her hand into a melon sized Mana Bomb emanating a shimmering light.

Elena in the house happened to walk out, looking at Lily's appearance then she walked forward in surprise, 'Lily, your Mana perception is very strong, you are really a good seedling for a mage.'

Lily opened her eyes and looked at the tiny Mana Bomb in her hand and said with surprise on her face, 'I feel it! It's clearer than ever!'

Tommy, who was on the sidelines, looked at Lily with envy when he saw it.

Jack noticed the look on Tommy's face and immediately moved over to him, pretending to say, 'Lily, your light is too bright, be careful of steaming Tommy's lake dry.'

Tommy said with a reddened face, 'Jack, are you here to practice or to make trouble?'

'Both, of course!' Jack replied with a grin.

Vetril couldn't help but laugh at his little friends, he remembered his strange panel and mentally flicked it at them. Within moments three status panels appeared before Vetril's eyes.

Jack Stone.

Level: 1

Age: 9

Realm: Apprentice Knight

Profession: None

Comments: confident brat, but occasionally too cocky, needs more focus.

Lily White

Level: 1

Age: 8

Realm: Magic Apprentice

Profession: None

Comments: a female brat with slight magical perception and a fine mind.

Tommy Greenwood

level: 0

Age: 8

Realm: None

Profession: None

Comments: snotty little fat kid, timid and introverted, but with outstanding stamina and detailing skills.

Right under Gareth's careful teaching, it wasn't long before Tommy was able to vaguely perceive Mana and managed to become a rank 1 apprentice knight.

Meanwhile, Vetril was also silently perceiving. His breathing became steady and he vaguely felt a warm flow in his mind. He tried to channel this energy into his arm, and instantly felt that his arm seemed to heat up slightly, and even became a bit lighter. He tried to swing the wooden sword in his hand, and his movements were more fluid than usual, even bringing up a breeze.

Just then, Jack suddenly let out a 'wow'. He opened his eyes and waved the branch with excitement, 'I feel it! I really feel it! My body seems to have lightened up a bit, look!' As he said that, he jumped hard and actually jumped a centimetre higher than usual.

'Don't you get carried away, Mr Jack of 'One Centimetre'.' Lily couldn't help but warn from the sidelines.

Jack turned red with anger and said, 'What nonsense, I'm a born genius! I'll definitely be able to poke through the sky in the future!' As he said that, he took a branch and swung it around, his movements were a bit clumsy, but his strength and speed were obviously improved from before.

Vetril couldn't help but laugh at Jack's appearance, 'Your Mana Perception is indeed good, but can you be quiet? Don't forget that Mr Gareth is still watching.'

Gareth nodded and said lightly, 'Not bad, Jack, being able to perceive Mana and slightly strengthen your body shows that your efforts are bearing fruit. But remember, this is only the first step in cultivation.'

Jack scratched his head proudly, 'That's for sure! When I practice a few more times, I'm sure I'll be even better than I am now.'

Vetril, who was on the side, suddenly had a strong roaring sound in his head, which scared him and he immediately squatted down to cover his ears.

Along with the roaring sound, Vetril suddenly felt that the Mana energy he had channelled didn't dissipate, but instead entered his body as if it had opened up a fuzzy space.

Gareth and the others saw Vetril's strange appearance, Gareth rushed forward and asked with concern, 'Vetril what's wrong with you, is there something wrong?'

Vetril hurriedly told Gareth what happened to her body.

Gareth zouched his eyebrows and said strangely, 'I've never heard of this strange case, as a matter of fact the mana induced by a trainee knight will basically disperse out of the body very quickly, and it is only when it reaches a junior knight and condenses the nucleus of the source to convert the mana into aura, that it can exist in the body for a long time.'

Elena also noticed the situation over here and hurriedly checked Vetril's physical condition with Gareth, but no matter how much she checked, Vetril's body still didn't have any abnormalities.

Gareth saw that it was getting late, so he said to the others, 'It's getting late, you guys should go home now so that your parents won't worry, we'll just take care of Vetril's situation, don't worry.'

Lily, Jack and Tommy nodded to each other and gave Vetril a few instructions before heading home first.

The Dornsinger estate was quiet and peaceful at night, the sound of insects chirping outside the windows and the moonlight spilling onto the stone paths of the courtyard reflecting a silvery-white glow.There was the sound of even breathing coming from Vetril's room as he drifted off into a deep sleep, but in the study next door Gareth and Elena were discussing in low voices the events of the day.

Gareth stood by the bookshelf, his brow furrowed as he whispered, 'Elena, what do you think is going on here? Mana going straight into her body and opening up space is completely out of character. How could a trainee knight possibly do this? Even an extremely talented Junior Knight wouldn't be able to carry Mana without a Source Core.'

Elena put down her teacup and held Gareth's hand as she said firmly, 'No matter what, he is our child, we must protect him. Perhaps tomorrow we can go to the old mage Alvin in the next town, he is well read and may be able to provide some clues.'

Gareth nodded, a hint of weariness in his tone, 'That's a good idea. Alvin is indeed well read, he may have heard of something similar. We'll leave first thing in the morning.'

The two were silent for a moment before Elena asked softly, 'What about tonight? Should we wake Vetril first and ask him what he's feeling inside?'

Gareth shook his head, his gaze softening a bit, 'Let him rest. He should already be tired after training all day today. We'll talk about tomorrow's matter tomorrow.'

Elena nodded her head in agreement, and the two of them exchanged glances, and despite both feeling uneasy, they could only suppress their doubts for the time being. The moonlight outside the window spilled into the study, reflecting the resolute figures of the two, their hearts had long made up their minds that no matter how difficult the road ahead was, they would work together to guard Vetril.