Chapter 20: A whole new world

Days passed, and Colt did what he had to do. He would head to the Orphanage with Mina during the daytime, and in the afternoon, he would beat his body under the hellish “Tutorial Training”.

Colt learned three of the five basic footsteps, and to summarize, it was basically retreating and sidestepping, which, to be fair, was extremely useful. His training turned from being 6 hours to 10 hours, but every day he trains, he sees himself coming back for more.

He does not know what it was, but he actually became addicted to training. It was a miracle he didn’t think would happen. And as the final day of Tutorial Training came, Colt and Neun came face to face.

It was dead into the night, most of the manor staff were already resting, and only Colt, Mina, and Neun were outside.

“Hey, Butler Neun…?”

“That’s teacher to you, disrespectful disciple.”

“…Teacher, what exactly am I training for? To be honest, I think I am training for health reasons rather than to become strong.”

Neun looked at Colt and saw that the flames underneath his eyes are burning brighter than it had ever been.

“Did something happen? You seem to be in a rush, my disciple.”

Ignoring the fact that Neun was acting more and more like an old hermit that irritated Colt for the past few days, Neun’s actually pretty astute from time to time, and as he noticed the change, he was quick on his wits and reacted appropriately.

When Colt didn’t answer the question, he became serious.

“This training is nothing but the basics of the basic, and you know it, all to build the foundation for the aura to manifest in your body; you should be aware of what aura is right?”

“Yes, it’s basically the mana for Mages or the prana for Illusionist.”

“That is correct, aura manifest in different people at different times, others manifest it when under extreme stimulus and some heaven-sent geniuses are born with it, but the most fundamental way of manifesting it is through training.

“Train the body enough, and you will be rewarded with aura. We do not undergo much meditation like Mages or undergo baptism like illusionists. Warriors train their body and core to become stronger vessels, and once you reach a certain threshold…”

Neun picked up Colt’s training sword and made a vertical swing. A splash of water appeared as the swing was fully realized.

“You can call upon the elements and do this…”

Colt was honestly amazed, but being amazed is not enough for him to become stronger. But he also knows where being impatient will lead to. In the end, Colt shook his head.

He can work harder and push his body to the limits, but any more would be a detriment. In the end, he couldn’t say anything to Neun.

Neun, on the other hand, gave him a piece of advice.

“Whatever it is you are chasing, just make sure you take it slowly, if you run like a horse for war, you will trip as you cannot see the greater view. That’s enough, you can now rest. Tomorrow is the day you will leave for the capital. Do not do anything stupid, okay, my disciple?”

Neun then left, feeling satisfied as he had said something profound to his disciple and acted like an old master.

‘What the hell was he talking about?’ Colt thought otherwise.

As always, Mina helped Colt. She was patient, and while in the bedroom, she wiped him clean with a white towel. The towel became drenched in sweat. After, they would usually converse a lot but not today as Colt fell asleep quicker than expected.

Just as she was about to take her leave, she became conflicted about what to do. In her hand, she held the towel and Colt’s spare clothing. She looked at it and then turned to Colt’s wardrobe.

At first, she abandoned the idea that suddenly sprouted in her mind and decided to make do with the wardrobe, but in the end, she hurriedly took the towel and the clothes in her room and locked it so no one could enter.

No one ever knew what happened to the towel and clothes because before even the sun rose from the eastern mountains, it had already been washed.

Colt’s luggage had already been prepared since three days ago. The coachman loaded their carriage to the carriage. Colt and Mina said their farewells to the Edgeworths.

“Older brother, don’t go….the sweets!” Lyra hugged Colt and begged him to stay, she now had a much better relationship with him. But the sweets Colt donates mattered more.

“Don’t worry, in two months I will return… and I’ll bring back a lot of sweets then, okay?”

“You promise?”

“Yes, yes, I promise.”

Although Colt felt wronged being loved for the desserts he donated to Lyra, he couldn’t say much because he hadn’t really paid any attention to her ever since arriving in this world.

Their connection was built on top of the foundation of desserts, as brother and sister; that’s not good.

‘I need to spend more time with my siblings once I return.’

Good thing he acknowledges his mistakes, but how he acts on it as a different matter altogether.

Lyra was satisfied with Colt’s promise. He turned to his parents.

“Take care of yourself out there, okay?”

“Yes, Mother, do not worry about this son of yours. Besides, I have Mina with me, I won’t die by doing anything stupid at least.” Colt jokingly stated. But he shut his mouth quickly when the Countess gaze him a glare for what said.

‘It appears like every mother in every world is terrifying. The only thing missing is a slipper or a stick.’

“I’ll leave her to you, Mina.”

“You can trust in me…Mother.”

Count Shickly didn’t say much and only gave Colt a thumbs-up as if to tell him to go out there and be free.

As for Risa, she was merely looking at Colt with a pleasant smile.

“Get me the brand-new Heavenly Pillow from the Willow Merchant groups. I hear they made it using the fur of a Cloud Beast, and I’ll do what you asked of me the other day.”

“I’ll get you one, just make sure to watch swordsmanship training.”

It was bizarre for Colt to talk like this with Risa. She was supposed to be one of the most hard-working characters in the novel, so why was it does Colt need to bribe her for her to train?

‘This novel is getting fucked.’

The two said their farewells, and as they did so, Colt decided to head to the Orphanage where they said their farewells.

“Do you really have to go?”

“I’m sorry, Filla, but daddy has to go so I can take you back home with me without others looking down on you.”

“I don’t care about others; I only want to be with you!”

“Me too, sweety, but I can’t bear others doing that to you, so, wait for Papa, okay? I’ll come back in two months when your birthday comes.”

Filla was hesitant to separate from Colt. It was understandable as she was but a kid who just reunited with her father. But she knows that what he was doing was for the better.

“You promise you’ll return on my birthday?”

“Yes, I promise. Have I ever broken a promise before?”

“Yes, multiple times already!”

“…”

‘Fuck you original!’

Colt cursed the original in his heart.

“Well, this time I won’t break it.”

Filla hugged Colt and only separated minutes later.

“I leave her to you, Sister Mary.”

Sister Mary nodded her head.

Hylda looked at Colt and smirked. She chortled a bit.

“Take care out there, big bro. Make it big. I’ll come to watch the Scarlet Festival if I sell enough flowers.”

“I don’t even know if I’m participating in that thing, but if I do participate, just ask Sister Mary for money. She has a lot and doesn’t use it on anything..”

“I won’t hold back.”

It was finally time to leave the city. Colt and Mina would be escorted by the Vice-Captain, who supposedly just came back from vacation.

As Colt looked back at the city gates, he remembered the last week he was in there.

He felt a certain sadness that one would feel when they leave their homes.

Farewells were always sad and hard. But it was also exciting because once you leave your home, you’d be greeted by a whole new world.

And this world was filled with magic and adventure.

He does not know what would happen at this point in the story and what will change with his actions, but in order to live his life to the fullest, it was paramount for him to look around him and embrace the world.

‘Now, let’s see what’s ahead.’

Volume 1 end.

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