Reborn as the Last van Ambrose

The following morning, Grim woke to find Rowan already dressed and waiting for him.

"Get up," his father said without hesitation. "We're doing something different today."

Grim rubbed his eyes, still groggy. "Different how?"

"I'm going to help speed up your mana cultivation," Rowan replied. "Now that you've formed your second heart, we need to strengthen it before you do something stupid."

That got Grim's attention. He jumped out of bed. "How? You never mentioned you could do that before."

"Because you need to learn hownto ciltivate on your own," Rowan said. "This technique is taxing for both of us. I wouldn't use it unless it was necessary. "

Grim narrowed his eyes. "What changed?"

Rowan was quiet for a moment. "Your progress. It's... unexpected. Two mana hearts at your age is rare. We need to ensure they're both stable and strong."

[He's not telling you everything,] the voice commented. [There's something more.]

"Shut up," Grim thought back. Out loud, he asked, "So what do we do?"

"First, breakfast. This will require significant energy." Rowan pointed to a tray with twice the amounf ot food Grim would normally eat. "Eat all of it."