GUARDIAN OF THE END

"So I am a prodigy and not a prodigy at the same time?" Jason asked while thinking whether he should be happy or sad about his luck.

On one hand, he would pass off as a good dark mage while on the other hand, he had the thunder element which didn't have any grading.

"I guess you can say that," Risa replied before her eyes turned serious. "Remember one thing, never and I mean never, show your thunder element to anyone. Just disguise it as a lightning element."

Jason nodded before Risa decided to resume her teaching.

"The first step towards becoming a mage, someone who can use mana and process it to do things, is making the mana appear in front of you. What I showed you earlier is one way to do it."

Jason listened attentively as Risa went through two more ways of making the mana appear out of one's body.

The second way to do this was to focus on your entire body instead of a focused portion and try releasing your mana in this manner. A layer of thin mana would then cover the entire body if anyone managed to do it.

Though the second way was much easier than the first one, it also meant that the level of precision and the amount of mana required greatly decreased and increased respectively.

"The third way is rather unique so you should probably step back a bit," Risa warned as Jason took a few steps back and waited for Risa to show him the third way.

His grandma raised both of her hands together before joining them as if she was about to pray.

She then took a deep breath and exhaled. A white mist slowly started gathering around her palms and soon enough, her entire hand was covered with mana.

"This way is similar to the first way," Risa spoke while taking her hands apart. "However, it doesn't require the same amount of focus. You can just make all of the mana in your arms move towards your hands this way."

After she was done, Risa showed all three ways again so that Jason would memorize what to do.

The boy indeed managed to learn all the steps but was still confused about what option he should choose.

"Now, you roughly have six months to practice as much as you can and talk with me. After that, my attention will be divided between both you and Nora, and might not be able to give both of you the required time."

Risa then patted Jason's head once as a smile appeared on her lips. She could see the determination in Jason's child, reminding her of her children's childhood.

Risa had taught all of them magic herself and was proud to say that they hadn't been behind the prodigies with expert teachers.

'I wonder if you will reach the same level.' Risa never thought that if someone was a prodigy, their son or daughter would have to follow the same path.

For her, strength was only up to the point where one could protect their loved ones.

'So, what should we try first?' While Risa was thinking of the past, Jason consulted the system.

He also looked at his mana side by side while making sure that Risa didn't find him staring at an 'empty' place.

---

Mana: 5000/5000

---

Jason had more than enough to use all of his skills at least a few times.

He could summon ten lightning bolts with this much mana which was probably more than what any kid his age could do.

[ You are right about that, host. Let's try all of the methods one by one to see which will be the easiest. Also, only focus on your thunder mana. ]

After hearing the system's words, Jason raised his right hand and focused on his palm. He closed his eyes in concentration and thought of storms and anything related to thunder.

Yet nothing happened for the next few minutes but that didn't make him lose focus.

Jason instead changed his thoughts and imagined a small orb of lightning appearing in the palm of his hand.

The moment he thought that he felt something expanding in his chest and right arm.

Jason immediately directed the feeling towards the palm of his hand as sparks of lightning flew around his arm.

A second later, a banging sound echoed around the entire place as Jason was thrown back by the explosion.

"Don't be so over enthusiastic kiddo." Risa immediately appeared behind Jason and placed her knee right behind his backbone.

Jason felt like throwing up and emptying his stomach. His vision was getting blurrier every second and he felt a sharp pain rising in his right hand.

"Looks like you burned through 95% of your mana," Risa muttered as she bent down and placed her right hand on Jason's shoulder. "Genezen."

As soon as the words left her mouth, a golden light appeared around Risa's right hand. The light then passed through her hand into Jason's body and started relieving him from the pain.

"I guess that's the end of day one of training. At least you ended the day with an explosion." Risa then put her hands under Jason's shoulders and lifted him off the ground.

The latter had started feeling sleepy as he felt his eyelids getting heavier by the second. By the time Risa had brought him to the mansion, his eyes were already closed as he had passed out.

Risa only had a small smile on her face as she took Jason to his bedroom and placed him on the bed.

"You will learn from the mistakes you make." She whispered in his ear before leaving the room.

Down in the hall, Issac was waiting for her with a curious expression as he had seen Jason being carried to the bed.

"What happened?" He asked as Risa climbed down the last stair. She then looked at the couch in the room and patted it before sitting down.

"He did the same thing Michael did and ended up using almost all of his mana in one shot," She finally replied while chuckling. "It was so similar that I wondered if it was staged."

"So I guess he will be reckless too," Issac added as a smile blossomed on his face. "But I hope that Evelyn's genes do make him a bit more sensible than Michael when he was a child and a teenager."

"Only time will tell that," Risa replied while sighing herself as Issac sat beside her.

The old couple stared at the door of the house as though waiting for someone to open it and come inside.

"Indeed, only time will tell."