After reaching Home Helena looked at Kael with a kind smile—one that was betrayed by the words spoken by her "You should rest well today, Kael. You have a lot of studying to catch up on, and from tomorrow, you won't be getting any break until I give you one." With that, she gently took Emily away from his arms, as the little one had been sleeping since they left town.
At Her words, Kael shivered and quietly retreated to his room. After freshening up, he sat in a lotus position and started meditating. His goal was simple: to sense and absorb the mana around him. He continued for two hours ,But he had no success in sensing mana around him. Still, he didn't loose confidence as He knew that truly sensing mana would take more than a year of continuous practice, and he was excited about the additional benefits— better mana control and improvement in concentration.
After dinner, he returned to his room and slept like a log, fully aware that from tomorrow onward, his mother wouldn't leave him alone until he completed every task she assigned.
Next day morning He woke up at 5 am, freshened up and went to the same training spot he did yesterday and started his morning exercises. He exercised until his body refused to move any further. After resting for fifteen minutes, he headed home at 7:30 AM.
When he walked in, His parents were both shocked by seeing that Kael continued his training another day, Lucas turned to Helena and said, "Are you sure you didn't leave our son in town and bring back another child who just looks like him?" Even Helena had a similar thought for a brief moment.
Noticing that they were teasing him, Kael snorted. "That's not even funny, Dad!"
saying that he went to his room, took a bath, put on fresh clothes, and sat down for breakfast. After breakfast, Helena took over his studies, teaching him history, language, and math. Kael had no choice but to relent—his mother was too strict for him to argue.
Since he came from another world, he paid extra attention to history and language. As for math, well… back in his previous life, he was already 23 when he died. He could easily solve the entire textbook but decided against it. If he solved questions she had never even taught him, she might just pass out from sheer shock.
Even so, Helena was already stunned. Kael, who could barely do divisions just a few weeks ago, was now solving every problem with ease after hearing her explanation only once.
She couldn't believe her eyes. "Is this really Kael?" she muttered under her breath.
Seeing her expression, Kael muttered to himself.
'Good thing I only solved the problems of the concepts she explained. If I answered everything, she might actually faint. I can't blame her, though. The previous Kael was so hopeless at studying that anyone in her shoes would feel exactly the same.'
His lessons continued until lunchtime. After eating, he thought he could sneak out—but his mother had other plans. This time, it was runecrafting.
Seeing his reluctance, she told him that she don't know anything about runecrafting, so She proposed a bet with him for getting him interested, saying If he wins the bet then He can be free from this continuous torture ,But if she wins He have to do whatever she says to him without any complaints. She also let him decide the terms of the bet.
Kael's eyes lit up, since he had the upper hand he replied grinning "Alright then, just don't go back on your word when you lose, Mom." inwardly he thought 'She must be thinking in the lines "He's just a kid, I can learn faster than him and beat him easily." But little does she know, that I was a top graduate back in my world. I might not have majored in the arts, but I did practice calligraphy. This will be a piece of cake! I can't wait to see her face when she loses. Hehehe...'
Helena shook her head amused by her son's grinning face, She could tell exactly what was going on in his mind. She couldn't help but think 'So gullible. He believed me without even questioning whether I was telling the truth. He has no idea that, while I might not know advanced runecrafting, I'm already at the intermediate level. This is just like how Lucas always trick him with that sword.'
the duo of both Mother and son were lost in their own thoughts — one oblivious to the fact that he had already lost, and the other thinking her son was too gullible.
Ending his thoughts, Kael opened the book Introduction to Runecrafting and skimmed through its contents. His analysis was quick. 'This book is a monster in itself. It contained over 120 different rune symbols, each with its own properties and functions. So Some create basic constructs, while others act as catalysts to amplify seals. Memorizing all of them would be both impractical and inefficient.'
Instead of learning every symbol one by one, Kael devised a different approach. He would start by focusing on rune seals—small formations that combined multiple symbols to create functional effects. He picked a few useful E-rank and D-rank seals and broke them down into their component runes.
After a moment of thought, he selected a simple E rank storage seal consisting of 12 rune symbols . He then turned to his mom and said his analysis and laid out the terms: "since learning all individual symbols is difficult, I've chosen the E rank storage seal consisting of 12 rune symbols . By dinnertime, whoever learns the most rune symbols wins. You agree, Mom? Think carefully before accepting—you can't go back on your word!"
He folded his arms, watching her reaction.
Helena raised an eyebrow, lips twitching as if holding back laughter. "Oh? You're giving me a chance to reconsider? How generous of you, my son."
Kael folded his arms, brimming with confidence. "Well, it wouldn't be fair if I crushed you too quickly."
Helena put up a troubled expression, and said. "Kael… sweetie… are you sure you don't want to set different terms? Something easier? Like, say… how many cups of tea we can drink before dinner? Or who can braid Emily's hair the best?"
Kael snorted. "Nice try, Mom. I know what you're doing. You're trying to psych me out, aren't you. But I've already analyzed everything, and there's no way I'll lose"
Helena smiled, her expression unreadable. "Alright then, I accept."
Kael grinned victoriously and turned back to his book, already imagining how he'd rub his win in her face. 'She's probably underestimating me. Thinking she can just pick this up as we go. But little does she know, I have YEARS of learning experience in another world! This is going to be a piece of cake!'
Meanwhile, Helena leisurely picked up a book from the shelf. Unlike Kael, she wasn't frantically flipping pages. In fact, she wasn't flipping any pages at all.
Kael was too focused to notice.
Kael dove into the E-rank storage seal, breaking it down rune by rune.
First rune? Memorized. Second rune? Easy. Third Rune? No problem.
After memorizing three symbols, he thought 'Even though these runes seemed to be easy to memorize , the main part starts when practicing them, If even any slight mistake was there in drawing the rune, It will not work and after learning all 12 runes I have to make sure that I aligns them in the particular manner so that the completed seal will work. This almost reminding me coding if even a slight error occurred, the whole code wouldn't work. Similarly we can change the positions of runes if we think that new combination will yield better results, and similarly we can use other runes and change number of runes used in making a seal. '
he started practicing them he know that even a slight mistake that rune might not work. He practiced first 2 runes for nearly 3 hours. seeing that he took nearly 3 hours for just practicing 2 runes , he wondered how his mother is faring .
He stole a glance at his mother. She was still sitting there, not even looking at her book.
Kael snickered. 'She must be struggling with the first symbol. Too bad, Mom. You should've picked an easier bet.'
He chuckled to himself and pressed on, moving through the next symbol. But he got nagging feeling from her.
By the time another two hours passed, he had practiced three symbols each over a 100 times . He just need to draw them on the special parchment with special ink, to check whether the runes he drew are working or not.
He stretched, cracking his fingers. seeing that Helena wasn't even looking at the book he asked teasingly "How's it going over there, Mom? Need me to explain anything?"
Helena finally looked up, blinking as if just remembering they had a bet.
"Hmm? Oh, no, I'm good. I memorized them all a while ago."
Kael blinked. "...What?"
"I said I memorized them already. Should I guide you" Helena said, shruggingly.
Kael stared. Then, as if hearing a joke way too late, he let out a nervous laugh. "Hah! Good one, Mom. Almost had me there!"
Helena just smiled sweetly. "Of course. Keep going, honey."
Kael muttered "You don't have time to playing jokes , there is only one hour left before the time of our bet ends"
After an hour, Kael turning to his mom with a smile and said "Time's up! Alright, let's test each other. We'll both draw the runes we learned, and whoever draws more runes perfectly will win the round."
They both grabbed parchment and drew. Kael confidently turned his paper around. "Done!"
Helena did the same.
after exchanging their parchments Kael eye's widened as he saw 12 runes on the parchment. while he only drew four and not sure whether the fourth one will work or not as he didn't practiced that rune as much as other three. and He checked her mothers parchment by infusing mana through it to know whether the runes are working or not . To his shock they are working perfectly.
[A/N: To check whether a completed seal (a combination of runes) or a rune is working, simply pass mana into the object where the runes are inscribed. If it's a seal, it will react to the mana by performing its intended function—for example, a storage seal will allow you to store and retrieve objects when mana is injected. If it's a rune, it will glow when mana is channeled into it, provided it has been drawn correctly.]
He muttered in disbelief "H-How?! how did you get all of them correctly? You didn't even practiced once. "Saying that He stared at her.
To his stare, Helena tapped her chin smiling and said "What do you think? I must be a genius in Runecrafting" Hearing her answer and smile on her face, Kael's expression become black . He instantly realised that he had been played by her.
Kael inhaled sharply, forcing his expression to remain neutral. "...Mom, be honest. You already know about runecrafting. don't you?"
"Oh? Didn't I mention? I already know up to the intermediate level." Helena said feigning innocence.
Silence
Kael's brain crashed. "...You already know runecrafting?"
Helena answered nonchalantly "Yes. That's what I said."
"Mom."
"Yes, sweetie?"
"You know, this was supposed to be a fair bet"
Helena blinked innocently. "Eh , but it was fair. You picked the terms, after all."
Kael opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
Then, he did what any child in his position would do—he shamelessly declared, "This bet is invalid! You cheated by saying that you don't know much about runecrafting. So I won't acknowledge my defeat "
Helena raised an eyebrow. "Oh? That's strange. I seem to recall someone saying, 'Think carefully before accepting—you can't go back on your word.'"
Kael scowled. "That was before I knew you were cheating."
Helena gasped dramatically. "Cheating? Kael, I would never!"
"You literally did! You pretended not to know runecrafting and let me walk straight into a trap!"
Helena waved her hand dismissively. "Hmm... It's not my fault, though. You're the one who agreed to the bet without knowing the details. And it's not cheating. Cheating is when you break the rules during the bet. What I did was simply betting when you were sure you would win..Also It's an important life lesson—you should never enter a bet without knowing what you're up against."
Kael groaned, running a hand down his face.
"Fine! I lost. What do you want?"
Helena beamed. "Oh, I'm so glad you asked! For the next six months, you are going to do what I say without objecting"
Kael looked like she had just sentenced him to life in prison. "SIX MONTHS?! MOM!"
Helena hummed thoughtfully. "You're right. That might be too easy. Let's make it an Entire year. During this year, I will hammer everything I know about runecrafting into your brain—along with your remaining subjects."
hearing this, his face drained of all color. Even though he didn't hate studying as much as the previous Kael, he still despised the idea of studying nonstop from morning to evening , this will make his plans useless. He wanted to retort, but seeing the determined expression on her face, he knew it was useless.
He give in and thought 'Though this will disrupt the plans I made, this isn't entirely bad. Knowledge is also power, and if I want to attend the Imperial Academy, I need to be good at my studies. If I complete the subjects she's teaching me in the morning, it won't be too difficult—probably just two or three months. Once I finish them, I can get my mornings free and can start practicing controlling mana in my body by distributing through out it. I should also continue meditating before bed; it will help increase my mana reserves and concentration.'
After considering the situation he thought 'hmm, this seems doable. Alright, once my mana control improves, I should start training with lightning nature. I'll follow the methods in the book introduction to the Elemental Affinities that I bought yesterday.'
Seeing him remain silent, Helena stifled a smile. When he noticed her expression, he said begrudgingly, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
Helena didn't even try to deny it. "Of course I am, dear. Now, go on, get some rest"
Kael groaned as he dragged himself toward his room. "I was so close to freedom…"
Helena smirked, watching him go. "Maybe next time, you'll think before making a bet with your mother."
Kael grumbled under his breath.
"Maybe next time, you'll play fair and won't lie before betting."
Helena only laughed, sipping her tea in victory.
Kael sighed. There was no getting out of this.
After dinner Kael went to his room and sit in lotus position and began trying to sense the mana around him. After a couple of hours, he went to sleep, knowing he had to wake up early.
The next year passed in a similar manner—studying, training, and meditating. No major events occurred, but Kael could feel himself improving, slowly but surely.
As the days turned into months, he realized something surprising. Despite the grueling schedule, Helena's relentless lessons, he was actually enjoying the process. Little by little, he was growing stronger, and soon, his real journey would begin.