NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Family
When I woke up, my mother was holding me, staring at me with those striking red eyes of hers. Her long black hair cascaded all the way down to her waist, a striking contrast against the softness of the moment. As I lay there in her arms, my stomach growled loudly, alerting both of us to my hunger.
After feeding me, my mother went to the library. She began reading books to me, explaining how mana worked and how mana cores were formed. Her voice was soft and comforting as she turned the pages, her eyes reflecting a deep knowledge I could barely begin to comprehend.
Later, she decided to read me a few fairy tales, and as she looked down at me with a loving smile, I couldn't help but feel warmth radiating from her. After some time, my father arrived to take me to the training room.
Today wasn't going to be about mana training—it was time for physical training. According to my father, and the books my mother had read to me, if I wanted to circulate mana properly within my body, I first needed to strengthen it. A strong body would allow me to absorb more mana at once. Endurance training, it seemed, was one of the best ways to prepare for that.
Of course, I was still just a few weeks old. Physically, I couldn't even crawl yet. But my father had a method.
Gravity Magic.
Every tiny movement I made felt like it required immense effort, and with each stretch of my tiny limbs, the strain built my muscles. My body began to develop, albeit slowly.
After each session, a maid would come to heal me, and I would be returned to my mother. We'd spend the rest of the day relaxing, and though my mother was exhausted from her own training, she always took care of me—feeding me, changing me, making sure I was comfortable and happy.
Three Months Later
By now, I had begun circulating mana. I could last for about half an hour in the mana training room, which was an improvement. I had even started circulating the mana by myself. Though it was only a small portion at a time, I could send it to my mana core, slowly beginning to solidify it.
As I concentrated, I found myself wondering: What would happen if, instead of sending the mana directly to my core, I compressed it first—condensed it to a small point before inserting it into my core?
Curious, I decided to try. As I compressed the mana, I felt a sharp, painful pressure build inside my body. It was as if the pressure in my veins was about to explode. The pain was unbearable, and for the first time, I cried out in agony. Desperately, I pushed the compressed mana into my core, hoping it would be enough.
But even as the mana entered, I could feel my core strain. The pain intensified, and I coughed up blood.
"What's going on?" Garret's voice was filled with shock as he looked down at me.
Fortunately, my father had stopped attending my training sessions, leaving them entirely to the servants. After Garret healed me with magic, he took me back to my room, where I fell into an exhausted sleep.
During that rest, I took the opportunity to look at my mana core. Some parts of it were much stronger than others—specifically the areas where I had directed the compressed mana. That portion of my core had been reinforced, strengthened. It was an unexpected discovery.
Despite the progress, my mana core was still far from complete. I didn't even know what element I would awaken, or if I would awaken more than one. All I could do was train and wait for it to fully develop.
I come from a large family. I have six brothers and five sisters, making me the twelfth child. Not every child is my mother's, but we all share the same father's blood.
My father is the Patriarch, the strongest person on the continent. And that strength is the key to everything. I have more extended family—uncles, aunts, and cousins, though I'm not sure of the exact number. It's likely in the hundreds. The family is vast, and every branch has a chance to rise to the top, provided they have the strength to claim it.
There's a fierce competition among the branches of our family, each one aiming for the position of Patriarch. The laws are clear: anyone, no matter which branch they come from, has the opportunity to ascend to the throne as long as they can prove their strength. To become the Patriarch is to hold dominion over the entire family and, by extension, the continent itself.
The competition begins early. When we turn six, every child in the family—whether from the main house or a branch—gathers at the estate to duel for a chance to attend the family's academy. However, entering the academy is not immediate. At the age of twelve, after receiving years of intense training and preparation from the family, we are sent to the academy to continue our education.
The academy doesn't accept children younger than twelve, and that's when we are officially allowed to leave and explore the world beyond our family's teachings. But entering the academy is not a simple privilege—it's earned through the family's rigorous training, and only those deemed worthy by the family's standards are sent there.
I am the twelfth child, and while that may seem like a position of little consequence, it's not. I am the last chance for any of the family branches to send someone to the academy. Once I am old enough to enter, there will be no more opportunities for any other children to compete. This means that after me, no one else in the family will have a chance to go to the academy for generations to come.
The competition is fierce, but with the stakes higher than ever, only the strongest will prevail. If any branch wants to secure a chance for their bloodline to rise, they must succeed with me.
The road ahead would not be easy. But I had been given this second life, and I would not waste it. No matter what, I would do whatever it took to survive, to become strong enough to navigate the cutthroat world of my family, and to face whatever dangers awaited beyond the borders.
The path was clear. All that remained was to walk it.