The Beginning Of The Ruler
Chapter 18: Practice Match With My Father

It was strange to be more nervous now, to meet my family, more than when I first raised a king while in the midst of the most powerful people in the world.

"Wah~ let's do this Eve."

"Kyu~" He replied, my joy spread to him.

The blunt sound of metal clanging on metal sounded extremely loud.

Unexpectedly, I could hear a faint pattering sound followed by a childish voice. "Come~!"

A servant opened the door along with a little girl. As soon as he saw me, he hid behind the waiter.

The waiter looked at me curiously, clearly surprised to see an eight-year-old knocking on the door of the noble house.

"Ahem, nice to meet you. My name is Arthur White. I was told that my family is currently living in this manor. Do you mind if I talk to them?" I bowed a little, Eve swung my head.

Before the confused waiter could even reply, I heard an overly familiar voice in the background.

"Alicia White! Here goes! You should stop running to the front door every time someone.." My mom stopped in the middle of the sentence and dropped a small bowl that looked like food for.

I looked down to see the girl with dazzling brown eyes, looking at me with plain curiosity. Her light brown hair shimmered with a much prettier quality than Dad's hair, but I knew who she got that color from. Her hair was tied into two pigtails on the side of her head above her ears.

I struggled to take my eyes off my sister and turned to face my mother. My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes, I said one thing I knew he was waiting to be heard.

"H-hi Ma'am. I'm home." I gestured with an awkward little wave, not knowing what to do if he couldn't recognize me.

Fortunately, my fear did not come true and he ran towards me at a speed that I swore faster than Grandpa Victor, but it was probably only because of my blurred vision.

"Oh my dear! Whites!!" He arrived in front of me and fell to his knees, his arms wrapped around my waist, gripping with all his strength, afraid that I would disappear again if he let go.

"You're still alive! That voice.I know it's you! *sniff* You're back now! Yeah, you go home now. White, honey!" That was all she managed to get out before crying sobbing.

I couldn't even arrange a complete sentence before closing my lips tightly to hold back my sobs.

Inevitably I thought while my head was buried on my mother's shoulder: you can be a very powerful immortal tyrant, but when you are in front of your loved ones, you can be a very powerful immortal tyrant, the ability to control your emotions betrays you.

I kept repeating in half-gurgling sentences that I was alive and that I was home, that I was not going. My mother was overwhelmed with emotions. He's happy I'm back and alive, he's angry because I can't go back any faster, he's sad because I have to be away from them and how hard it is for me all at the same time.

At one point, Alicia walked towards us and started patting Mom on the back. "Mama. Please, Please. D-don't cry." But after not succeeding in comforting her, she began to cry as well.

"White!" I turned my head, face still wet with tears to see beyond the figure of the father who was running in sweat. I think the waiter told him I was back.

He didn't stop when he reached us and just knelt down, hugging all of us as we all almost rolled over.

"White! My boy! Look how big you are. Yes God! You're back, you're finally back!" My father cupped my head with his hands to see my face better. She cried while putting her big hand behind my head, carrying my forehead to touch it.

Our little family reunion continues. My mother sobbed uncontrollably, hugged me, and my unconscious sister cried with her, while my father and I only looked at each other with tears in our eyes, we were all happy to finally be together.

Eventually, we all managed to calm down.

We were sitting on the couch, my mom right next to me with Alicia on her lap. Dad was sitting on the chair he pulled, facing me, elbowing at the knee as he leaned forward. She held my hand and still cried every time she saw my face.

"Are you okay now? Do you eat three times a day at least? You sleep in warm clothes every day, right? Oh beloved. Look how big you are now." Tears escaped his eyes as he squinted and smiled.

She stroked my hair as she planted a soft kiss on the top of my head. "Thank God you're back. I'm so happy" he whispered, his voice still trembling.

Alicia looked at Eve and I curiously while the baby dragon sat next to me attentively observing the three unknown humans.

My father looked at Eve with a curious expression but he did not mention it. Turning his gaze towards me, his eyes softened and he continued to shake his head, repeating how big I was now. It must have been quite a satisfying but distressing feeling for the parents to see how big his son was but not to be there with him the whole time to witness it.

"Alicia, greet your sister. He's gone for a while but he'll be staying with us from now on. Come on, say 'hello'." My mother gently urged my sister.

"Brother brother?" He tilted his head, reminding me of the confused Eve.

He cupped his hands in my mother's ears and whispered something inaudible.

"Haha yes, that brother. Which I always tell you. He's the only one."

My sister's eyes started to sparkle as she looked towards me. Inevitably I now wonder what story Mom has told him.

"Hi Sister~!" She beamed, waving her two little hands at me.

"Hello Alicia. Nice to meet you, sister." I laughed, patting his head in response.

I'm talking up now. "White, we were devastated after the incident, and we hardly believed it when you communicated with us through our heads. Tell me, how did you survive the fall?"

It took me a while to explain everything from the beginning. I withheld some information that I thought might not be good to tell them just yet. I explained to them that I subconsciously wrapped myself in a protective layer of mana and I was lucky enough to hit a bunch of branches on the cliff before landing on the river. From then on, I told them about Thania's meeting and how she was almost kidnapped. After saving him, he took me to his Kingdom and I stayed there.

"You said something about an illness that kept you from coming back sooner. What's that about? Are you healed now?" My mother chimed in, a worried look on her face.

Shaking my head, I explained, "Mom don't have to worry about that anymore. I guess there's some kind of instability in my core that makes it so I'm having episodes of pain. It was initially very bad but fortunately there was an elder who knew how to cure it. The process was slow but he assured me that it was not threatening if treated consistently."

Reynold replaced his previous worried expression and he silently patted my head again.

"So what about your little friend?" My father just laughed a little, finally picking Eve up.

"Haha, while I was traveling, I stumbled into a den of ferocious beasts where. And the mother of him was badly injured at the time. A little after I was there, he died. When I look around, it looks like he's guarding. Something so I took it because I thought it was something precious but I didn't know it was an egg. She just hatched a few months ago so she's still a baby. Say hello to Eve."

I lifted her up, held her body so that her limbs dangled like a kitten.

"Kyu~!" He snored, as if greeting everyone.

I didn't really lie to my family when I said this, but I had promised myself to tell them everything only when I was older and more capable.

I then asked them to tell me about everything that happened to them after we separated. The only thing I could tell from seeing them through the water divination the first time was that they lived here in Cyrus, but nothing more than that, I was very curious.

After Dad explained what had happened since then, my mother chimed in. "That's right! The Helstia family had travelled but they should have arrived back today. They'll be very surprised to see you, White!"

I turned to face my mother. He hasn't changed much since the last time I saw him. The only thing I noticed was that she lost a little weight and her skin was a little paler. My heart ached because I knew it was caused by stress and depression after losing myself. Dad's body is actually much more built now. Coupled with his beard, he looked much simpler than before. I guess working as an instructor for the guard of the Helstia Auction House has made him fit as well.

"Dad. What's your core color now?" I asked as Eve made her place back above my head, her tail swinging in satisfaction.

A confident grin emerged from his face as my father proudly replied, "Your parents broke through from the pink stage a few years ago and were dark orange witches."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. In his early thirties, my father was quite successful for himself. The average witch who doesn't attend school usually stagnates on the pink stage, perhaps a deep orange if they're lucky. Of course it was different for the elites who had much purer bloodlines and had access to better resources, but for a standard magician, my father was fine.

He then asked me, leaning closer, "I'm sure you're just asking me so you can boast. Let's listen, at what stage are you now?"

Scratching my cheeks, I muttered, ".pink."

My father had already leaned forward in his chair, but upon hearing that, he stumbled completely from his chair. Even my mother gasped in surprise.

"Damn it!" exclaim my father.

"Shut up!" Alicia echoed, laughing at my fallen father.

"Darling! What did I say about cursing in front of Alicia?" Reprimand my mother while covering my sister's ears.

"My son is still the same genius as before. Come onl. Fight fast with your parents." My father grinned menacingly while grasping my shoulder.

"Darling! He just got home! Let him rest." Mom pulled me back.

"It's okay Mom." I gently placed my hand over her hand, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Male! Always trying to fight! Isn't that right, Alicia?" My mother shook her head helplessly.

"Father and Brother!" Echoes of Alicia, trying to imitate our mother's expression.

My father and I laughed this time. It was great to be back.

We all got up to move into the backyard when I heard the door open.

"Rey! I just heard your son is alive. What's going on?" I saw a skinny man in glasses and split hair in a sweaty suit, with what I thought was his wife and daughter running behind him.

"Alex, everyone! I want you to meet my son, White! He's back Lex, Haha!"

My father wrapped his arm around the man's shoulder.

"Ehite, this is Alex, my old friend and the man who now works for me. It's his house so introduce yourself before we start ruining it" he grinned widely.

Bending down to a ninety degree angle, I introduced myself. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Arthur White. I'm not sure what my family said about me, but I got in touch with them a while back. I'm also the one who told them not to tell anyone until I got back, so I'm sorry for this confusion. Thank you for taking care of my family all this time." This man was the one who took care of my family in their toughest times. As far as I'm concerned, I owe him and his family.

"Y-yes, it really doesn't matter. I'm glad you're alive and safe." He adjusted his glasses as if making sure he was actually talking to an eight-year-old. "This is my wife, Jessica, and this is my daughter, Layla," she continued, pushing them forward so they're in front of her.

"It's nice to meet you Aunt, Layla" I bowed again, Sylvie introduced herself also with "Kyu!"

Jessica gave a friendly smile in response. "It's good to have you in our house, Arthur. Hello, Layla! Arthur's your age so don't be shy."

The girl named Layla spoke up, hesitantly pointing at the creature in my head. "What's that! It's funny."

"This is a baby where animals are bound to me. Name's Eve. Eve, get down and say hello."

Eve jumped out of my head and meowed at Layla.

"Geez!" Layla squealing.

"Rey, what do you mean by ruining my house?" Alex asked after taking his eyes off Alex.

"We're just on our way to the backyard. White and I will be sparing a little. Wanna come?" She laughs.

Alex stammered in disbelief, "W-what? Are you serious? Your son just came home and you want to fight him? After all, your son hasn't been awake for more than eight years. Why would you argue with him?"

"Don't let my son's age fool you! He was already a pink stage Augimenter!" my father snorted proudly, puffing his chest.

Alex just shook his head. “Don't be silly, Rey. Your eight-year-old son has woken up, and he's already gone through three stages? Even the arrogant genius children who were accepted into the Cyrus academy were barely at the deep red stage, and that was when they were eleven or twelve!"

My father only laughed louder in response before he added while leading us into the backyard, "You'll see. Besides, I also have a little surprise."

We put the right distance between each other on the big lawn outside.

"Whenever you want!," I smiled, putting Sylvie aside beside the audience, which consisted of my family and the rest of Helstia's family.

"Be careful, White! You may be a pink stage but your parents are still on a higher stage than you!" He clenched both of his fists, giving me a confident grin.

I looked at Uncle Alex, who was still shaking his head in disbelief.

"I'm coming!" My father scoffed, taking an attacking stance.

Let's see how much my training with Grandpa Victor has paid off.

My body, which had been strengthened through assimilation, responded to mana much more acutely than before. Before my father could get ready, my fist was already within his reach.

Even my hearing became more sensitive now that I could hear Alex muttering softly, "What is there.." along with some******* by others.

My father immediately responded when I could feel the mana spreading throughout his body.

Pretending to punch, I twisted my body and did a high kick, but it was immediately blocked by my father's left arm.

Obviously he didn't expect my kick to be so strong because his arm was thrown backwards from the punch, opening up his defense. However, before I could make use of the gap, he used that momentum to slash his right hand into my body.

It was clear that I was now in an unfavorable position, but with the previous lifetime of fighting it had prepared me on how to fight it.

I took the piece with my left arm and right palm to soften the blow, and also to create enough space for me to sneak in.

My body wasn't big enough for me to throw on his shoulder, so instead, I grabbed his right arm and kicked the back side of his right knee.

Losing her balance, she fell forward as I used my mana-coated body to throw her away. Unfortunately, he regained his balance too quickly and I had no choice but to make some distance between us before he caught me.

"Well, I must say that you are better than all the witches I have trained! Your parents are going to be serious now! Careful." He put on a more serious face. It was clear to both of us that we were both holding back.

The mysterious fact about which one formed inside the core during the initial stage was that it was different depending on how the Augimenter and Magician used it.

Although expensive, many parents choose to test their newly-wake child to see what elements they are best at using a special device. Magician attributes become highly visible depending on what type of element they are casting more easily.

However, for the Augimenter, it was much less obvious as most of their attacks focused on the use of mana to improve their bodies. However, even Augimenters have differences in how proficient they are in certain types of elements. One quick example is the culmination of gathering mana into a single point and releasing it in an explosive attack. Although there was no visible flame, an augmenter that was easier to use mana in that way would usually be considered a fire attribute mage.

It was only applied at the beginning.

Although it differs per person, after a certain threshold in the mana core and understanding of one's element, he can use mana in a way that is completely related to the user's attributes. For Magician, this means that they can begin to slowly move away from the wheel of pronunciation training and begin to shorten their verse or even completely ignore it in the elements they are mastering.

For Augimenters, it will become much more visible because they can begin to manifest their element attributes rather than manipulate mana in a way that matches their element attributes.

For example, before breaking through, a fire-attribute Augimenter attack would only bring about a stronger explosive explosion, while a wind-attribute Augimenter would be easier to manipulate mana into a faster and sharper attack.

However, after sufficient understanding, the attributes of the Augimenter element would actually affect their attacks physically. Earth-attribute augmenters can learn to generate Earth challenges and can even learn to make small seismic shocks by stomping their feet, while the wind attribute Augimenter can be taught to release a small wind blade and create a vacuum effect on its blow, and immediately. All of these are basically techniques that can be used by magicians with sufficient understanding of each element.

Of course, the Magician still had a great advantage as it could affect more of the environment around them. Their range is also much further, but their weakness is still the vulnerability that they have to chant as well as their bodies which are naturally not protected by mana.

Because of this difference, the two types of magicians who could break through the threshold were much stronger than magicians who could not, and ultimately determined the talents and future achievements they could achieve.

While Magician can innately control the elements because of how adept they are at absorbing the mana of nature with their mana vein, Augimenter is different.

For every one augmenter attribute that exists, there are ten that are not. There are cases of Augimenter attributes that never break a threshold and become a complete Augimenter elemental attribute. This is where a decent school comes into play; with enough guidance from the start, witches will most likely be able to be led to understand their elemental attributes.

Both of his fists lit up, exploding into fiery red gloves. Control over this fire element was new, visible from the steam coming out of his body. This meant that there was unnecessary mana scattered all over his body.

I had learned early on that my father was a fire attribute magician, but after reaching a bottleneck for many years while busy as a father, he was able to reach the orange stage and, more impressively, he was able to reach the orange stage, able to pierce his comprehension in flames. He could now be considered an official elemental Augimenter, or abbreviated elemental.

I gave him a proud grin, before preparing myself as well.

"Impressive, Dad, but now it's my turn."

...----3.075 Word----...