NOVEL NEXT Chapter 48: "Convince me..."
Ethan paused, exhaling quietly through his nose.
He set the sword down and walked over, snatching up the mana-stone powered phone.
Darius.
He answered.
"Good news this time, little brother," Darius's voice came through, light but edged with a sigh. "Father's wrapping things up. He's heading home now. Says he'll speak with you the moment he arrives."
Ethan's gaze darkened slightly. Finally.
Three days, but finally.
Darius added, "So yeah… get ready. Shouldn't be long now."
The call ended.
Ethan lowered the phone, his fingers tightening around it for a brief second before setting it aside.
He stood there for a beat, silent.
Then, with a shift of his shoulders, he let the towel fall from around his neck and turned back toward his sword.
His grip tightened around the hilt.
[Unfated Scoin summoning act will be ready once you've got enough Fate-Breaking points]
This panel was what had been fueling him these past three days, making him eager to get everything over with quickly so he could start farming points...
***
An hour later, the message came.
Gareth Drakethorne had called for him.
Ethan stood before the grand doors of his father's study, the weight of the moment settling on his shoulders. He pushed them open and stepped inside.
Gareth was there, standing by the tall windows, hands clasped behind his back. The golden light of late afternoon spilled in, casting his silhouette in sharp relief. He didn't turn when Ethan entered, nor did he speak at first — only silence, deep and pressing.
Finally, his voice rumbled out, low and even.
"So. You wish to leave."
It wasn't a question. It was fact.
Ethan met his back with steady eyes. "Yes. I want to go lone for a while."
A pause. Gareth's gaze remained fixed out the window.
"For how long?"
Ethan inhaled, then exhaled slowly. "I have no idea. Could be a year. Five years. Maybe ten. But I will come back."
His voice didn't waver.
For a long breath, silence ruled the room again. Then, to Ethan's quiet shock, he saw it — the faintest smile tugging at the corner of his father's mouth. Small, but unmistakable.
Coming from Gareth Drakethorne, that was as rare as snow in summer.
When the man finally turned, his eyes were sharp, but there was something else beneath — approval, perhaps, or something close to it.
"I'm proud of you, son," Gareth said, his tone deep and firm. "Out of all my sons, you're the only one smart enough to understand the path to true strength… and courageous enough to stand before me and declare it."
He stepped closer, his presence towering as always.
"You carry the same adventurous spirit I had in my youth — the hunger to carve your own road, no matter how dangerous it is."
His lips twitched again, that rare almost-smile.
"For this, I will let you go."
Ethan blinked. He had expected resistance, conditions, maybe even outright rejection. Never this.
Gareth's face grew serious again, his next words weighted like iron.
"But listen well, Ethan. From this moment, I no longer speak to you as a father to his son… but as an Equal."
His voice cut through the space like a blade.
"You are still my blood, and I will never disown you. But if you want to walk alone — if you wish to enter the world of Nexa without the shelter of this family — then you must prove you can survive."
He reached into his coat and tossed a thin silver card onto the table between them.
"Here. A direct line to me. Call this number, and I will answer. No waiting, no games."
His eyes narrowed, piercing.
"The faster you convince me, the sooner I will fully release you from this household's chains. Until then, you walk a thin line. The world out there will test you, and so will I."
With that, Gareth gave a single nod, final and absolute.
"Go, Ethan. Show me your worth."
Then, without another word, he turned and strode from the room, the air seeming to shift in his wake.
Ethan was left standing there, fist clenched, heart pounding with excitement.
Progress.
It was much easier than he expected. Honestly, he thought with Gareth's personality, he'd face a mountain just to get the first nod of approval. But no — things were moving faster than he'd anticipated.
'Good… this is good,' Ethan thought, exhaling deeply.
And as for convincing his father? He hadn't been sitting idle these past three days. No, he had already mapped out his plan.
His thoughts flashed back to that spar — the moment David had manipulated mana, even if only for a brief second. That moment stuck with him.
Mana manipulation.
Darius once told him — with true mana manipulation, he'd unlock the full potential of the Crimson Edge Technique. Not that shallow version he was using now. If he could show that to Gareth, there would be no argument left.
That was his way forward.
From what he knew, even David only got inspired during their fight. He hadn't truly mastered it yet.
A sharp glint flashed in Ethan's eyes. 'If I can cross that line, only then will I be truly free…'
With that, he turned on his heel and headed straight for the mansion's Library — his strides quick and deliberate.
The Drakethorne Library wasn't just any ordinary archive. It was massive, built like a vault of knowledge stretching back generations.
High shelves lined with thick tomes and ancient scrolls towered over him as he stepped in. The scent of old paper and faint traces of ink and dust filled the air.
Ethan's eyes scanned the room, settling on the section marked "Foundations of Mana."
He moved toward it.
After a few minutes of searching, he pulled out a few thick volumes: "The Breath of the World: A Beginner's Guide to Mana Sensing", "The Flow Within: Foundations of Mana Manipulation", and an old leather-bound scroll titled "Principles of Inner and Outer Energy."
He settled at one of the long wooden tables and cracked open the first book.