Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Chapter

The next few days passed peacefully. Learning was put on hold until Athos fully recovered, which allowed him to fully focus on practicing mana manipulation. Which wasn’t much, as his core was still in the early stages, he could only practice for 25-30 minutes before he wore out. But while the effect lasted, he would be stronger, faster, and have better reflexes.

Another thing he discovered was that his body could passively regenerate mana by absorbing it from the environment. According to his mother, it should take at least 4 hours for the core to fully recover, but Athos could do it in 30 minutes. He could also actively absorb energy from the environment, but it required a lot of concentration which made him forget about his surroundings.

Finally, he also learned to use the mana absorbed in the environment to further increase his physical reinforcement, but this came at a price. Boosting his body with more mana than he was able to handle caused muscle tension and if used for too long could damage the muscles.

When he told his parents about the abilities, they were shocked at the unusual abilities he had. Her mother was mostly envious of her ability to passively absorb energy saying that when she started training, she only lasted 15 minutes before getting exhausted.

She spoke openly with him, helping as best she could, but she never mentioned the training again. She seemed to be conflicted about whether or not to bring it up again. His father, on the other hand, remained completely neutral. He wasn’t able to feel his own core, so he couldn’t assist; He also didn’t mention training, leaving the decision to his son.

This placed Athos between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, he really liked the feeling of using mana. The feeling of strength he got every time he used it was intoxicating; And the support she received from her mother every time she asked for help also helped.

On the other hand, he really couldn’t see himself facing monsters or bandits. The idea of ??having to constantly fight for life and being able to die at any moment was unsettling. He’d heard stories of adventurers who bought potions at the store and they were spooky. Nothing about glory or rivers of money, but about dangers and deaths. In comparison, life as an alchemist seemed boring and monotonous, but infinitely safer and more stable.

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He agonized over what to do until he decided to seek advice from the smartest person he knew who appeared to be neutral.

“Dad, are you busy?” Athos entered the laboratory asking.

“Athos? You can talk, I’m done here.” Robert dropped the tools he was using on the table and turned to look at his son.

“I was just asking for advice, actually. I’m not sure if I should train with mom or not. I like to use mana, but I don’t know if I want to be an adventurer. Before I dreamed of being an alchemist because I don’t I had another option. I couldn’t fight with a weak body, so I always took it for granted that I would have to be an alchemist.

Now, there are so many possibilities that I don’t know what to do. I may be an adventurer, but it’s risky. I may be a knight, but the idea of ??spending a lifetime serving a noble doesn’t seem the least bit pleasant. I may be an alchemist, but it seems monotonous. What should I do?” Athos breathed, relieved to be able to share that weight with someone.

“...”

“Um? Why are you silent?”

“No, it’s nothing. I’m just... surprised. I thought you were just playing with a new toy, but you’re really thinking things over. You really act like an Athos adult.” Robert said surprised at his son being worried about the future.

‘Athos really is different from other children. Not only is he smart, but he worries about things like no child should. Even I, at his age, didn’t give a damn about those things.’ Robert thought.

What he didn’t know, is that Athos only became this way because of them. Athos did not have much contact with other children, always talking to the adults around him. He spoke like an adult because it was the only way he knew how.

“So what do you think I should do?” Athos asked.

“Son I think you should do what you want. Regardless of what you choose I’m sure you will succeed.” Robert said trying to cheer up his son.

“You know Dad, answers like ‘do what you want’ or ‘whatever you choose’ are the worst answers.” Athos crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance. “Besides, I know I’m going to succeed. I’m just not sure what to do in the future.”

A vein popped in Robert’s forehead at his son’s smug attitude. ‘Now I understand how he manages to get on her nerves so easily. He really is annoying when he wants to.’ He thought.

“Well, since you’re so confident in your success, why not try a little bit of everything? While it’s impossible to experience what it’s like to be a knight, you already know what an alchemist’s life is like and you can ask your mother to teach you the basics of an adventurer.” your father said.

“That’s it! You’re a genius dad! If I try both might find out which one I’m a better fit for. I’ll ask her right now. Thanks.” Athos thanked his father before running out of the laboratory.

Robert smiled at the sight of his son cheered up again, but he stopped abruptly before leaving.

“Anything else, Athos?”

He hesitated for a second before asking. “Aren’t you upset with me? I mean, I might end up turning into an adventurer instead of an alchemist. And you seemed to be against it.”

Robert’s eyes widened at his question, but then he started laughing like it was a stupid question. “Did I really give that impression? I’m not against you becoming an adventurer, I’m just worried about your safety. Almost every day I see adventurers passing by here to buy potions and they say it’s risky to work in this field.”

“Then, why aren’t you trying to stop me?” Athos asked confused.

“Because my job as a parent is not to decide your future, but to nurture and teach you so you can make your own decisions.” His father said with a gentle smile.

After hearing this Athos began to look around suspiciously as if looking for something.

“Why are you looking around like that?” Robert asked.

“You always say nice lines like that. There must be some catchphrase paper around here, nobody’s that nice naturally.” Athos said seriously, going so far as to boost the vision with mana to make sure he didn’t miss anything.

“You won’t gain anything by fawning over me, you know? Now go talk to your mother.” He tried to be serious, but a smile still crept onto his face.

“One more thing. How long are you going to stay mad at Mom? You know she didn’t mean that, right?” Now that the weather was at its best, Athos decided to test the waters.

“About that? I’ve never been annoyed to be honest.” He said with a shrug.

“Eh?” Now it was Athos’ turn to be confused.

“We’ve been married long enough for me to know when she’s serious or not.”

“Then why the bad weather?”

“Because you’re right, it’s so much fun to play with her. Her reactions are top notch.” He said with a playful smile.

‘This guy is not afraid of danger.’ Athos thought. ‘I better be away when she finds out.’