‘Was he looking at me?’
I wasn’t sure, so I quickly calmed my startled heart.
Anakin was the type who didn’t stand out much, as he always wore his hood up except when in the lecture hall or training grounds.
Usually, when walking around with Hilde and Lucien, people’s attention was drawn to the two of them, who were far taller than the petite Anakin.
However, Evan had been staring directly at Anakin.
……Did I see it wrong?
When I turned to look in that direction again, he appeared to be chatting with Heron.
‘Maybe I was just imagining it……?’
Anakin ate a spoonful of soup and pulled his hood down deeper.
I had been worried something might happen since I was in the same space as Evan, but fortunately, nothing occurred until I finished my meal.
‘Did he just come here purely because he was hungry?’
After finishing his meal, Anakin took steps toward Tran instead of the training grounds for a change.
Having barely survived and returned from the brink of life and death, I suddenly remembered my family, whom I hadn’t contacted once since coming to Pasadian.
As soon as he arrived in his room and confirmed Mantis wasn’t there, Anakin took out the artifact Roman had given him with a heroic determination.
A gold-rimmed bracelet artifact.
It was an expensive artifact Roman had gifted him the night before he left for the academy.
Anakin gazed at the video orb, the size of a large marble, in the center of the bracelet.
A soft light shimmered around the gold-rimmed frame encircling the jewel.
Anakin muttered as he looked at the sunny weather with the sun still high in the sky.
“He must be busy……”
I wanted to hear Roman’s voice for the first time in a while, but I didn’t know if he would pick up.
If the signal rang for more than four rings, I would just head to the training grounds.
I was just about to create the fourth ring of my mana core.
After activating the video orb, he waited quietly, but there was no response. Anakin looked a little disappointed.
‘This isn’t bLocken, is it?’
Anakin restlessly tapped his foot.
Just as the video orb was about to cut off, he heard Roman’s cavernous bass voice, which he had missed so dearly.
Anakin’s face brightened instantly, and he answered in a cheerful voice.
“Brother!”
‘……Anakin?’
Hearing Roman’s voice after such a long time made a smile leak out.
Was this what it felt like to have your face stuck in a permanent grin?
Anakin asked cautiously.
“Have you been well?”
The video orb, imbued with magic, projected Roman’s face into the air.
He was still as handsomely sculpted as ever.
‘Anakin.’
Upon hearing Anakin’s voice after a long time, Roman’s stiff face also brightened.
‘Your face looks even gaunter.’
Roman narrowed his eyes slightly as soon as he saw Anakin’s face.
“……It doesn’t?”
‘Don’t think about lying to me.’
Of course, I had been getting hurt almost every day since coming to Pasadian, but…… I couldn’t tell Roman that fact.
Despite everyone’s opposition, I had insisted on coming to Pasadian on my own.
Anakin had to grit his teeth and pretend to be fine, even if it hurt.
‘Haha. I definitely can’t get caught.’
‘I didn’t know this school would be such a chaotic mess either, Brother.’
I could never tell Roman that I had made this video call because I didn’t know when I might die in Pasadian, where my life was threatened at every turn.
‘You aren’t being bullied, are you?’
At Roman’s suspicious gaze, Anakin was startled and shook his small face from side to side.
“No? Not at all?”
‘…….’
Anakin swallowed hard at Roman’s piercing gaze.
‘Did I call for no reason?’
It seemed like I had made a mistake.
“I’m doing just fine. I’m not that weak. How are Mother and Father these days?”
‘……Always the same. Nothing much going on here. The business matters have been going smoothly lately.’
“That’s a relief.”
Anakin wore his brightest smile since coming to Pasadian.
Looking at his face, he had an overwhelming desire to return to Roman’s safe embrace and act pampered, but he had to coldly fold those feelings away.
‘If I achieve my goal, I’ll be able to return to the family proudly on my own two feet someday.’
Anakin decided to look forward to only that day.
‘Hmm…… You seem quite grown up, though. I’m happy to see you’ve grown in your own way.’
“Really? I’m about to reach the 4th Circle soon.”
‘4th Circle? That’s fast.’
Being at the level of the 4th Circle at only fourteen years old was considered quite fast, even when considering the entire continent.
It was just that there were many monsters around him right now, but Anakin’s growth was also quite rapid.
“There are too many strong kids at Pasadian. But it’s fun. There’s never a boring moment day by day. I’ve made a lot of friends, too……”
Anakin, who usually didn’t talk much, had more than enough to say right now.
He could have talked all day without stopping, but the conversation was soon interrupted because Roman’s servant knocked on the door.
“……You seem busy.”
‘Anakin, just a moment……. What? Send the security team immediately…….’
Beyond the video orb, Anakin could hear Roman having a hectic conversation with his servant.
It was a very familiar treatment for Anakin, who had frequently visited his room when he was at the mansion because Roman was always busy handling family affairs.
Anakin waited for him quietly with a bitter expression.
‘Whew. Anakin. What were you saying?’
“Brother, are you busy? Then you can hang up now.”
‘……No. What was your friend’s name again?’
Roman also wanted to talk a little more with his lovely younger brother, Anakin, whom he hadn’t spoken to in a while.
That was why he couldn’t easily end this call even when he became busy.
Realizing that, Anakin answered in a spirited voice.
“I have to head to the training grounds now, too. Brother, take care. I’ll call you again via video orb later.”
‘……If that’s the case, it can’t be helped. Anakin, your health is the priority. Don’t do anything reckless.’
“I know. See you later. Brother…….”
Anakin held back the words that had welled up to his throat at the end and hung up.
As soon as the signal cut off, the words Anakin had been holding back leaked out powerlessly.
“I miss you…….”
Anakin wasn’t exactly the sentimental type.
Even after hearing Roman’s voice, which he had missed, he didn’t forget the fact that this was Pasadian.
Anakin steeled his heart coldly once again.
“I have to become stronger.”
Even during the recent training, he had been short on mana.
He might have been called a monster among ordinary disciples, but…… strength is, after all, relative. There were just too many true monsters around him.
Anakin tied his hair back tightly and stepped into the training grounds.
He could see many disciples training here and there.
In the open-air training ground closely connected to nature, one could see at a glance the children who desperately wanted to become strong.
Anakin, who had been surveying his surroundings, headed to a corner.
To focus, he closed his eyes, expanded his sensory perception, and condensed his mana core.
Then, he felt an intense pain as if his heart had been squeezed.
“Gasp.”
Anakin collapsed, clutching his chest due to the extreme pain he felt for a moment.
He had to succeed in this process to become a 4th-Circle mage.
This was where the realm of true talent began.
Until the 3rd Circle, it was a realm one could reach through blood-sweating training, but from the 4th Circle, it was a battle of the elites.
This was the reason why it was easy to find 3rd-Circle mages, but 4th-Circle mages were rare.
Most mages couldn’t cross the wall of the 4th Circle and lived satisfyingly at that stage.
After all, reaching that level was enough to succeed moderately and make a living without any problems.
Anakin bit his lip, sat back down, and closed his eyes.
He let his mana flow through his entire body and circulated it slowly.
More refined and cleaner.
He had to condense his existing mana core as much as possible to create a new ring.
He attempted to condense his mana core over and over again using the power of the mana circulating in his body.
Anakin’s body was soaked in sweat, and a faint fever began to rise from his forehead.
His body, stressed by frequent physical pain, swayed.
At the very least, the optimal mana circuit that Mikhail had intricately opened for him was of great help to Anakin now.
Thanks to that, it was easier to refine his mana.
‘I have to condense it and make a new ring, but……’
While Anakin was busy training with blood and sweat, the sun was already setting.
Even as the children in the training grounds left one by one, Anakin was alone, madly absorbed in condensing his mana core.
A battle with himself.
In other words, a battle of mental strength.
As a weary Anakin leaned against a wall and panted, a dark shadow appeared in front of him.
The owner of long legs bent his waist and handed him a handkerchief.
Anakin knew who he was even without looking.
“……Hilde.”
Anakin barely had the strength to lift his head, so he only managed to raise his gaze.
Hilde, who had been watching him the whole time, opened his mouth.
“Pushing yourself too hard doesn’t mean your level will go up.”
Anakin chuckled at this.
‘Right, that’s true. This is just stubbornness.’
Clearly, Anakin’s body was a blessed one with talent concentrated in magic.
‘The problem must be that I’m not utilizing that body properly.’
As Anakin stared blankly into the void, Hilde, who was watching him intently, bent his knees and wiped Anakin’s sweat-soaked hair with the handkerchief.
Recently, whenever Anakin pushed himself too hard, Hilde would come to the training ground himself to hand him water or a handkerchief.
For him, it was a form of stopping him.
“Anakin. You’re waiting for me to wipe it for you on purpose now, aren’t you? As expected of a young master.”
“Pfft.”
Anakin laughed at his light joke, even though he was exhausted.
‘The precious second young master of the great Asta Dukedom is doing something that only servants do.’
“Hilde. But do you know what?”
“What?”
“I’m not moving a single step from here until I reach the 4th Circle.”
“……What?”
“This is a battle with myself.”
At the determined look in Anakin’s eyes, Hilde let out a hollow laugh, as if he found it absurd.
