GUARDIAN OF THE END

"I…" Jason had no words as he saw the purple ball of light in the middle of his palm. It was a marble-sized ball and was translucent.

But if compared to what he had been doing in his past summons, the marble ball was a huge step forward.

"Try using the same method you use while milking Feta," Karna suggested again as Jason nodded enthusiastically. The result he had gotten made him see Karna in a new light as he decided to listen to the shepherd's words carefully.

He then focused on the ball of light and gently spread it. The ball seemed to get bouncy in Jason's palm as it jumped an inch in the air before settling down on Jason's palm and vanishing

Jason looked up at Karna for an explanation even though he knew that it was way too quick for him to be learning everything.

"Watch and listen closely." Karna raised his right hand in front of Jason and casually summoned a ball of light in his palm.

The size of the ball was the same as the one Jason had summoned but felt different from his. Karna let it stay in his palms for a few minutes before the ball started shaking.

"You know how to direct the milk to the bucket but you don't know how much pressure to apply," Karna said as the ball bounced up and down. "Similarly, you now know where to gather the mana but don't know how much to gather and control it."

The ball suddenly expanded to be the size of a baseball before shrinking down to become the size of a curled-up ant. Karna then dispelled the ball of mana and looked at Jason with a smile.

"So how do I control the amount?" Jason asked calmly as Karna's smile widened a bit. He opened his mouth as Jason's ears perked up to listen to the important instructions.

"We will work on that tomorrow."

Jason blinked in confusion as he wondered whether Karna was joking but it turned out to be true when the shepherd moved back inside the shelter and left him standing alone.

With no other choice, Jason returned home. Since he had come to practice in the evening, the sun had set down when he reached the manor.

Karna had been calling him twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, for practice.

Though Jason didn't like waking up in the morning, the breakthrough he had made changed things for him. He resolved to continue showing up daily until he learned all three ways to show mana physically.

"So, any progress today?" Risa asked as Jason entered the dining room and sat down on his seat at the dining table.

Jason had already told his family that Karna had been teaching him in exchange for his help and they didn't seem to mind much.

Jason wondered why none of them had offered to teach him. He knew that there must be a reason behind it or it was just the fact that all of them were too lazy or careless.

That was why he had decided to not keep having Karna as his teacher a secret. The news would have reached Issac's ears anyways.

[ Then how are you going to explain about me to them? ] The system asked in a curious tone as Jason smiled and politely ignored it. He couldn't answer the question regardless.

"I can summon the mana in a marble-sized ball form," Jason replied as he raised his right hand and demonstrated the process.

Risa was surprised to see Jason making so much progress in a lesser amount of time. The other members of the Syrward family were currently out and Risa was left behind to take care of the two kids.

"You are doing well, Jason. Now eat your dinner and sleep soon. I don't want you to fall ill." Risa replied with a smile as she patted his head before moving out of the room.

Jason quickly finished his dinner before dashing up the stairs two at a time. He rushed inside his bedroom and closed the door behind him.

After settling down on his bed, Jason decided to use the first way a few more times but he showed no further progress.

Jason exhausted all of his mana soon enough and decided to go to sleep. Despite the exhaustion, Jason found out that he couldn't sleep due to the excitement he felt inside.

He kept tossing and turning in the bed for hours before realizing that unless he did something, the entire night would go by in such a manner.

[ Go and drink some warm milk. It will help you sleep. ] The system said in a gentle tone as Jason stood up and rubbed his eyes.

He was tempted to use the first way to present mana to the fullest and knock himself out but that would create a loud explosion and would wake up the entire house.

Despite how lazy he felt, Jason decided to go down to the kitchen to fetch a glass of milk himself. He exited his room and made his way to the stairs when he noticed something.

'The lights are still on?' His sleepiness was suddenly replaced by alertness as he saw the lights in the hall being still on. 'System?'

[ The time is currently 2 am in the morning and no, there is no one else in the house except your family. ]

Jason tiptoed to the bottom of the stairs before bending down and seeing beyond the stairs.

He knew that no one in their right mind would try to rob his family and the system had also confirmed that there was no intruder in the house. This could only mean that some super-secret important discussion was going on.

"So, you will be setting out now?" Risa's voice entered Jason's ears as he saw his grandparents standing in the middle of the living room.

"Nora's birthday is less than five months close. If I help Karna in finding that bow, it's going to take 3 months at least. Ray and Zara will be going with me too so I don't want to risk it after both of my grandchildren would be five years old."

Issac replied while tightening the laces of his shoes. He had a small bag hung on his back and was looking out at the entrance of the manor.

"I have to set out now. Make sure to keep them safe," Issac added before chuckling. "But looking at the history of our family, something is bound to happen so make sure they don't die."

Risa could only sigh while shaking her head as she knew that Issac was telling the truth.

Jason on the other hand turned his gaze towards the door to see Zara and Ray standing outside with their own bags.

"Then I guess I will look after them in the meantime. I hope Jason doesn't feel too bad about losing his teacher for a few months." Risa muttered.

"Make sure to divert his attention. Imma set out now." Issac replied before he walked out of the door. Zara and Ray followed him as the three of them left the manor.

Risa watched them go silently as she closed the door before going towards the kitchen.

Jason on the other hand was still hiding while cursing at his bad luck. Just when he had started making progress his teacher was leaving him.

[ Host, don't forget that I am here to help you. After closely observing how Karna summoned his mana and what he said, I think I can teach you enough to at least not lag behind too much. ]

'Really?!' Jason felt like jumping in excitement but then remembered what the time was.

He then acted as though he was half asleep by closing his eyes and walking up to the kitchen.

Risa was easily able to hear his footsteps as she turned to look at his fake half-asleep version.

"Trouble falling asleep?" She cocked an eyebrow at him as Jason slowly nodded.

She turned back and picked up a glass made from a yellowish metal. Risa then placed her index finger on the rim of the glass and supplied it with a bit of mana.

The entire glass lit up with red patterns before returning back to normal. Jason wondered what Risa had done with the glass but he got the answer to his question when he started drinking the milk.

"I always keep a glass or two of milk outside just in case," Risa added as Jason finished the glass and wiped his face.

He was genuinely starting to feel sleepy as he said goodnight to Risa and moved back to his room.

While lying on his bed, Jason closed his eyes and got ready to sleep.

'Today was a good day and tomorrow would be good too…'

Jason remembered that he used to think the same words back on earth whenever he had a bad day. He motivated himself by thinking he had a better day than a lot of other humans.

But for once, he thought the same words genuinely and fell asleep.