Lucien turned the Solar Carrots and Winter Radishes into juice. He poured the vibrant liquids into empty bottles that once held Honeys.
Conveniently, each bottle held just the right amount to grant the magic attribute.
He also realized sothing else. Their liquid form made them far more effective.
He had tested it firsthand.
When he bit into a chunk of Winter Radish, the effect was barely noticeable. But after observing his body more carefully, he understood why.
The body needed ti to digest solid food before the magic could take effect. That ant delays and worse, it threw off his estimations.
But with the juice?
The results were almost imdiate.
After drinking it, the Ice Magic Affinity took hold within seconds.
A chill spread through his veins. It wasn’t just cold... it was refreshing, like a deep breath of crisp mountain air. It felt as if his entire body was being cleansed from the inside out.
The Solar Carrot juice, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.
It went down like hot ginger tea.
Warm.
Spicy.
Energizing.
Yet it was just as delicious in its own way.
Lucien handed a bottle of Solar Carrot Juice to Cecil.
"This will grant you Fire Magic Affinity. Are you willing to take it?"
Sebas, who had been in the middle of scolding Cecil, fell silent.
Cecil froze. It was as if his world had stopped spinning for a mont.
"M—My Lord... I—Is that really true?" he stamred. His eyes were wide with disbelief.
He swallowed hard. His throat dry.
Faced with what might be the fulfillnt of his lifelong dream, Cecil couldn’t even process it properly.
Lucien gave him a single, quiet nod.
Cecil straightened up, forcing his legs to move. He walked toward the table. Each step was shaky.
His hands trembled as he reached for the bottle, holding it like it was the most sacred thing he’d ever touched.
"May I try it now, my Lord?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Go on," Lucien answered.
Without another word, Cecil opened the lid and drank the entire red liquid in one go.
Almost imdiately, he groaned.
His body shuddered. Heat surged through his throat like he had swallowed fire.
"Ugh..." he gasped, forcing himself to remain standing. His body trembled under the sudden intensity.
Lucien and Sebas observed closely, ready to intervene if sothing went wrong.
Cram Session had expired with the arrival of a new day, taking with it Lucien’s temporarily copied Divine Sense.
But even without DIVINE SENSE and INSPECT, he could now perceive mana and divine energy with his own eyes... as long as he directed his divine energy to his eyes.
Lucien saw it.
The red liquid coursed through Cecil’s mana vessels, glowing faintly as it moved.
With each surge, Cecil groaned. Heat spread through him like wildfire.
The energy didn’t just flow. It carved itself into him. It etched deep into his mana vessels as if branding its presence.
Cecil didn’t know what to do. His whole body felt like it was on fire but he endured it.
Because this was his dream.
He slowly sat down and crossed his legs, careful not to circulate his mana. He didn’t want to disrupt the process.
He was afraid that even the smallest interference might ruin everything.
So he waited.
And endured.
Until... sothing shifted.
A spark ignited deep within him.
A fire.
Cecil’s eyes snapped open. He could feel it now... undeniably.
He had gained the Fire Magic Affinity.
With tears streaming down his cheeks, he jumped to his feet.
"My Lord! It’s true—huhu—it’s really true! I can’t believe... soone like , a commoner, can actually be a mage!" he cried dashing toward Lucien with open arms.
But just before he could throw himself into an embrace, Sebas appeared behind him like a shadow. One firm hand stopped him cold.
A glint in Sebas’s eye said it all. "Watch yourself."
Cecil froze. He then coughed awkwardly and straightened up.
He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure.
Lucien could only laugh at Cecil’s flustered recovery.
"Alright now," he said. "I’ll write a few fire spells for you to learn later."
"I’m grateful, my Lord." Cecil replied, bowing. His tone was suddenly formal again thanks to Sebas’s sharp gaze still burning into his back.
Lucien gave a small nod then tilted his head curiously.
"Oh, by the way. How did you finish the requirents for Steady Hands so quickly?"
The conditions weren’t easy especially for soone without prior training.
• Copy the sa passage 100 tis without a single stray character
• Write your na 100 tis with perfect accuracy when blindfolded
Lucien suspected there had to be a trick sowhere.
Cecil scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, my Lord... I think I already fulfilled the first condition a long ti ago."
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
"Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved writing. I used to copy the sa passage from my favorite storybook over and over again. Probably even more than a thousand tis..."
He laughed nervously. "So I skipped straight to the second condition and, uh..."
Cecil hesitated.
He looked like he was bracing himself for a scolding but then took a deep breath and confessed.
"Please don’t be angry. I... cheated a little."
Lucien narrowed his eyes, intrigued.
"The requirent only said I had to be blindfolded," Cecil continued quickly, "but it didn’t say I couldn’t see in other ways. So I used the skill you gave , Burrower’s Eye, and wrote my na perfectly."
At Cecil’s confession, Lucien burst into laughter.
"Good, good! We need more clever people like you," he said, thoroughly amused.
His mind was already racing. If one skill could be bypassed with a bit of creative thinking, how many others had hidden loopholes? The possibilities were inspiring.
Then a thought struck him.
"You know... even the first condition has a loophole," Lucien mused aloud. "What if you just wrote the passage once... and traced over it 99 more tis? It’s still copying... just overlapping."
Cecil’s eyes lit up.
That would make it so much easier for his fellow division mbers to learn the skill. He couldn’t wait to share the trick with them.
Before Cecil turn to leave, Lucien called out, "Oh right. Before you go, what was the passage you used back then? The one you wrote so many tis as a child?"
Cecil paused then smiled. A nostalgic look crossed his face.
He adjusted his stance, mimicking a pose. Clearly, it was inspired by a character from his favorite storybook.
Then, he recited..
"The world rejected , so I will rewrite its fate in my own blood."
Lucien paused, the weight of the line hanging in the air.
Cecil gave a respectful bow and quietly took his leave.
Only after the door closed did Lucien snap out of it.
"...Good line. Good line," he murmured.
He reached into a hidden compartnt beneath the desk and pulled out a small notebook. Carefully, he wrote the phrase down, word for word.
The world rejected , so I will rewrite its fate in my own blood.
"Umu, umu... Who would’ve thought a children’s storybook could produce sothing this powerful?" Lucien chuckled to himself. "Now... when’s the perfect mont to use it?"
He was already deep in thought. His eyes glinted with ideas about the future.
Beside him, Sebas shook his head and smiled.
Lucien turned to Sebas and handed him a bottle filled with frosty liquid.
"Take this, Sebas. It’ll grant you Ice Attribute Magic."
Sebas accepted the bottle.
He was curious on where did Lucien even get these things.
But he didn’t ask. He was Lucien’s shadow. If Lucien wanted him to know, he’d tell him... just like the ti with Luke.
With a short bow, Sebas uncorked the bottle and raised it to his lips.
Then Lucien casually asked.
"Am I adopted?"
Sebas choked mid-sip.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
He coughed so violently it echoed off the walls. Fortunately, he managed to swallow the juice before he sprayed it all over the floor.
A cold surge spread through his body but he was too stunned to process the magic taking effect.
"Th-that... cough cough..."
Lucien couldn’t keep a straight face. He burst out laughing at Sebas’s rare flustered reaction.
He didn’t press any further.
Sebas’s reaction said it all.
But in the end... it didn’t matter.
Not at all.
Lucien was still laughing.
Sebas was still coughing. He tried to compose himself... even as the chill from the Winter Radish spread through his core.
Suddenly, a sharp knock ca at the door.
Clara’s voice followed imdiately. It was laced with urgency.
"My Lord, this is Clara. I found a suspicious man wandering in the forest. I knocked him out with Light Magic."
Lucien and Sebas exchanged a look.
They beca alert.
They had no idea who it could be... but thankfully, Clara was thorough.
"Bring him in," Lucien said.
The door opened... and the mont they saw the man’s face...
Lucien and Sebas collapsed to their knees.
It’s as if their souls had been ripped from their bodies.
This was bad.
Really bad.
Because the man Clara had heroically knocked out was...
The Tax Collector.
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