My day began like any other: morning training with my grandmother and then breakfast with the family.The change comes right now—I'm walking with my brothers toward my training room. Today is their last day, and the three of us will spend the morning together until the family lunch. After that, they'll ride off together in a carriage toward their respective destinations.

  "I feel a little sad thinking about their departure. I won't see them for many months", I thought. I'm not a closed-off person emotionally, but neither am I completely open—I just like to show enough. Today is a special case where I'm opening my heart.

  "I’ll miss you both a lot, too, brothers. Even though we used to fight as kids, now we get along perfectly", Ritmo always calm, followed the flow of conversation smoothly.

  "It's just a year; it'll pass in the blink of an eye. Ritmo, you used to be so full of yourself—that’s why we fought." Sers, with his relaxed attitude, always tries to focus on solutions, not problems.

  "Yeah, don't remind me of those times. I didn't want to be selfish—it just came with being the firstborn. But Sers, you're not innocent either; you used to tease Maki a lot a few years back." Ritmo skillfully redirected the topic back toward me.

  "Yeah, it was fun making Maki cry over a toy or a picture book. Now he acts and speaks like an adult, barely ever cries. What a shame," Sers looked at me with a mocking smile, remembering those days.

  "I’ve matured fast, something you’ll never achieve, Sers", I decided to tease him back, keeping the playful mood.

  "Being the firstborn is a poor excuse, Ritmo. As the youngest, I should’ve been even more spoiled", I teased Ritmo too for throwing me under the bus when Sers tried to mock him.

  We all laughed and joked about our childhood as we entered the training room.

  "Since today’s the last day, let's train seriously, Maki", Sers said, spinning his axe while giving me a hunter’s gaze. I should go all out today—it’ll be my farewell gift. Luckily, the training collars prevent serious injuries.

  "As you wish, Sers. I’ll go all out too—no excuses if you lose", I know it’s nearly impossible for a Basic Amethyst like me to beat a Basic Emerald. My only chance is using quick attacks with my twin swords.

  "Don't think I’ll go easy just because you're my little brother. I don't want to be embarrassed losing to a newly awakened kid."

  I could see the fire in Sers’ eyes. I’ll probably lose, but at least I want to force him to show everything he’s got.

  "Hey, hey, calm down, both of you. Sers, let me practice some magic with Maki first and give him a few tips. If he's too tired from fighting you, it'll be hard for him to learn", Ritmo stopped us before we drew our weapons and headed outside.

  Sers grumbled but agreed, sitting in a corner watching us.

  "Maki, can you show me your magic progress?"

  When Ritmo asked, I quickly thought—what should I show them?

  I trust them completely, so there's no problem showing everything. But... I want to surprise them later with my gravity magic. That leaves me with lightning and ice magic to display. In ice magic, I’ve reached the point of compressing mana into empty spaces. Decided. I'll show them everything—except for gravity.

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  First, I created three spheres of electricity, moving them around me and morphing one into something like a tree branch. Ritmo’s eyes widened briefly before he quickly masked his reaction and urged me to continue.

  I canceled the spell and created three spheres of ice next. After moving them around a bit, I kept only one.

  Seeing Ritmo raise an eyebrow almost made me laugh. His expression said, "Now what?"

  Before he could ask, I started filling the ice sphere with mana. The sphere didn’t grow in size; it just became denser. Something inside me whispered: This attack would be two or three times stronger than a normal sphere if I fully filled it. But I couldn't be certain without testing it.

  I felt confused because Ritmo’s face didn’t change—he just stared at the filled sphere.

  "Maki, what are you?" he asked, freezing me in place.

  "I don’t understand. What do you mean?" I replied, trusting my instincts to answer without hesitation.

  "It was just a rhetorical question. What you just did isn’t overly complicated... for someone close to the Advanced Emerald rank. But you’re just a Basic Amethyst. How can you control such a mana-charged spell?"

  Ritmo rarely loses his composure without reason. I had genuinely surprised him—point for me.

  "Should it be complicated for me? Honestly, it just came to mind and I started practicing. It's quite hard to control—if I lose focus, it could explode. It almost did yesterday" I answered sincerely.

  "It should be incredibly complicated. Even creating three spheres is an achievement after only a week of mana control. But you not only did that—you compressed mana inside a spell. I only managed something similar when I was close to the Advanced Emerald rank and after increasing my concentration ability." Apparently, I’ve done something impossible. Honestly, my past life’s knowledge helped a lot—without it, I wouldn’t have thought of it.

  "It sounds impressive, but it's been hours of practice for just one half-filled sphere. If my mind wavers, it will explode. I can’t even use it in a real fight yet. I don’t see it as a big achievement, Ritmo."

  "It's impressive nonetheless. But more importantly—what’s this about a concentration skill?" I asked. It sounded interesting and very useful.

  "Sometimes your way of simplifying things is really annoying," Ritmo sighed before looking at me seriously.

  "Maki, a concentration skill is essential for both mages and melee fighters. Usually, only mages get them due to all the time spent training their minds. There are many types: some improve focus, reduce pain, keep you calm, block emotions, and so on."

  "In my case, I can focus better and stay calm. Sers, have you gotten a similar skill yet?" Ritmo turned toward Sers, who had been quietly listening.

  "No, I’m working on it. It’s harder for melee fighters. I want a skill that helps me ignore pain and stay calm in battle," Sers answered, lowering his head in frustration.

  "I see. Those skills sound amazing. I’m a melee fighter too, but I want to master ranged magic. A concentration skill would help a lot. How can I get one?" I knew my brothers wouldn’t disappoint—they always shared their knowledge generously.

  "It’s not easy. You have to practice focusing on a single task while gradually channeling a small amount of mana into your mind. It takes a lot of effort and time. The type of skill you get depends on your elemental affinity, but in your case, it’ll likely be something good."

  Ritmo kept explaining patiently how he obtained his skill and gave me tips on how to compress mana into the sphere carefully.

  My brother doesn’t use spheres like I do—he uses giant arrow-like constructs. He doesn’t usually compress mana into them for regular attacks—only for finishing blows or critical hits, because it takes time and focus to charge them fully. Finding that time mid-battle is extremely difficult.

  They gave me a few minutes to practice Ritmo’s tips. It's best to build good habits early.

  I started practicing, concentrating mana into the sphere while carefully filtering small amounts of lightning and ice mana into my mind. It was horribly hard. My head pulsed painfully, and sometimes I felt dizzy—but I kept going. After nearly an hour, I finally stopped.

  "You look dead tired, Maki. Take ten minutes, and then we can play" Sers said, understanding my state. He hadn't said a word while I was concentrating but approached me immediately after I finished.

  "Thanks, Sers. I won’t disappoint you" I replied, just as excited for our last practice match. I don’t know how long it will be until I see him again. We need to make this next fight a memory worth keeping.

  I rested for ten minutes. Although my mind still felt a bit foggy, I knew I could handle one more spar.

  "Let's go, Sers. Time to dance," I said, grabbing my twin swords and walking toward the door. I could feel my brothers walking behind me—my enhanced senses skill is really paying off.