Paragon of Mana

For all her attempts to hurry to the task, it was already noon by the time they came to the periphery of the wilderness of Desir. Evelyn had only her brother Jamie to thank for that. The children were easy to organise. One glare from her and they would scurry to complete their tasks. That was the commanding air she had cultivated over the years.

It worked on almost everyone, not just children. Unfortunately, it seemed her brother was the only one impervious to it. If it ended there, Evelyn was fine with leaving Jamie to his devices. But despite reaching his twenties, Jamie was still as zany as ever, even pulling the children into his fold to make things difficult for her. It was as if he lived to annoy her. Even now, he was designing some stunts with their nieces and nephews.

And Evelyn had thought it would be a relaxing trip from her usual high-profile responsibilities.

She shook her head in admonition. Her eyes could not help but dart to the taller figure on her left, who seemed to be teaching his infant child how to nock an arrow from the quiver in one sweep. Unlike her unreliable brother, Sir Cliff exuded an air of restraint and responsibility. She was barely acquainted with him, and even then, she had heard a few good things about his command.

There were more than a few elite knights and warriors who came from House Blackstone, but even among them, he was one of the oddities. Why else would he have refused the chance to marry into House Oberon? Ignoring all the opulent structures and training regimes they had, just the Tier 12 mana-gathering arrays alone pulled in such rich and pure mana that anyone from a lower clan would salivate over it.

His refusal had certainly hindered his progress, as the man was still at the Iron Rank. Perhaps “hindered” was not the correct word. His foundation seemed solid, though she feared Silver would be his limit. Well, for most, Silver Rank was the ultimate goal. But noticing how patiently he was teaching his son, it became evident that rank and class were not his priorities.

Evelyn could laud his compassion, but she could not empathise.

From the very beginning, her talent had set her apart from all her peers. Not only had she been born at Tier 4, but she had also possessed an astounding talent in mana. Her father had allocated a number of renowned tutors to train her from as early as she could remember. Evelyn hardly even knew what fun was, but she had never been indignant at her father for stealing her childhood.

People are complicated, but mana—it’s fun. Exhilarating, even. That was how she had become the youngest to reach Level 100 in their household.