At first, Kai struggled to adjust to life as a young noble of House Grant. But gradually, he grew accustomed to it. Every dawn, ten young maids in uniform would enter his chambers to help him wake up, dress, wash, and even brush his teeth. These beautiful maids—all virgins—had been personally assigned by Count Grant, and such treatment was unique to Kai in the entire castle. Thorin, the other heir to the count's bloodline, only had two personal maids to attend to him.
Since Kai was not a knight, he didn't need to rise as early as most people in the castle. His half-brother Thorin, though Kai dismissed him as all show, was still more diligent than many noble youths. Before the sun even rose, Thorin would join Count Grant at the castle's training ground to practice combat skills and refine his battle qi. For his age, Thorin's battle qi foundation and physical strength as a mid-tier squire were exceptional; his only shortcoming was lack of real battlefield experience.
From the count's recent actions and subtle hints, however, that experience was soon to come. As the war between the Kingdom of Sifa and the Orc Empire escalated, Sifa had sent two urgent pleas for aid—and the Lycia Alliance's army was about to march. Count Grant, a quasi-knight, would undoubtedly be among the Alliance's leaders. He might not fight on the frontlines himself, but he would be one of the battlefield commanders. Thorin, now an adult, would most likely accompany his father to war.
As a senior apprentice mage—with a suspected Tier 2 mage as his mentor—Kai had privately learned many secrets about these mortal kingdom wars from Count Grant over the past few days. The truth behind the wars was shocking, yet Kai said little. He felt no sympathy for the low-ranking soldiers who fell in battle, nor for the countless civilians harmed by the conflict. At heart, he still thought like a dark mage apprentice. He was no compassionate saint; he had his principles, but he would not waste kindness recklessly. The world was too vast for him to fix everything—looking after himself and those close to him was enough.
The shouts of squires training were the first sounds to break the castle's morning silence. Count Grant had initially worried the noise would disturb Kai, but once he noticed the crystal lamps in Kai's room often lit up even earlier, he relaxed. Mornings were when the mind was sharpest. Though Kai had no clear sense of day and night during his time at the Dark Magic Academy, he had grown used to strict punctuality in everything he did.
After being helped out of bed by the maids, Kai took a cup of green liquid he had brewed himself and walked to the window. His room was in the tallest tower of the count's castle—a spire-like structure. The moment he saw it, Kai had asked Count Grant for this tower as his living quarters; it reminded him of the magic towers at the Dark Magic Academy. Though it had no magical inscriptions, Kai felt strangely at ease there.
The spire's interior was spacious. Kai lived on the fifth floor, while the third and fourth floors he had converted into a laboratory, alchemist's workshop, and meditation room. The first and second floors connected directly to the main castle, where most of his maids lived. They also housed a collection of magic books Count Grant had procured for Kai recently.
Calling them "magic books" was a stretch, though. House Grant was a knightly family—apart from Kai, no one in its history had ever been a notable mage. Most of the books Grant had brought were similar to theLocal Creatures CompendiumKai had found in Pete City. There were a few rare volumes containing spell models, but the magic within was either useless to Kai or too low-tier (mostly below low-tier spells). He only flipped through a handful of them.
Instead, he spent hours reading books about the history and biographies of neighboring countries—works with no magical content at all. These books gave him a clearer understanding of the lands surrounding the Lycia Alliance. To the south lay uncharted wilderness; to the west, the Kingdom of Sifa; to the north, the Orc Empire; and to the east, an endless stretch of volcanoes. Beyond Sifa and the Orc Empire were other vast, powerful human kingdoms, but they had little contact with Lycia—only occasional trade, with no recorded wars. The Lycia Alliance had existed for nearly 5,000 years, while the Orc Empire and the Kingdom of Sifa were even older, with histories spanning over 10,000 years. Sifa, however, had long since declined—once an empire, it was now just a kingdom, and much of its ancient imperial history had been lost to time.
In his early days at the castle, Kai spent most of his time reading. After learning about the history and customs of neighboring realms, and mastering a few practical cantrips, he turned his focus back to experimental research and studying higher-tier spell models.
Count Grant had kept his promise: 50,000 gold coins was no small sum. With the funds in hand, Kai immediately asked the count to use his connections to purchase the experimental equipment and materials he needed. Beakers, test tubes, and other common lab tools were not rare—with enough gold, Kai could get top-quality versions. The magical materials and monster organs he requested, however, were far harder to obtain. Beyond expensive purchases, the count's household even posted bounties with Lycia's Mercenary Guild. In fact, if war hadn't been imminent, Count Grant would have led a team of knights into Lycia's monster forests to hunt for materials himself—it would have been good training, and he could have collected supplies for Kai's experiments in the process.
With an entire family and dozens of people at his disposal, Kai quickly felt the difference between researching alone and having support. Of course, he didn't rely entirely on House Grant. Thanks to his "imaginary Tier 2 mage mentor," Kai began regularly bringing mid-to-high-tier mana crystals into his laboratory—though he avoided revealing anything as shocking as Tier 2 crystals. When Count Grant learned about a Tier 1 fire mana crystal Kai had 拿出,he couldn't help but blink in surprise.
Kai hadn't brought out the Tier 1 crystal to show off. Besides using it to speed up his meditation and mana accumulation, he had also started researching other high-tier spells. He hadn't neglected alchemy, either.
While the castle's squires trained rigorously every day—with Thorin sweating profusely on the training ground—Kai was just as busy.
A thunderousboomshattered the castle's morning calm. Thick smoke curled up from Kai's tower. At the sight of the explosion and flames, the entire household descended into chaos. Maids and squires rushed back and forth with buckets of water outside the tower. Though disorganized, their movements were surprisingly coordinated—this was not the first time such an incident had occurred. It was the third explosion that month.
Mages explored the mysteries of truth in their laboratories to advance their power, but the process was far from safe or simple. Beyond the inherent difficulties and accidents of seeking arcane knowledge, straying down the wrong path could bring danger. For a fledgling senior apprentice like Kai—without a seasoned formal mage to guide him, relying only on Modesto's old books for reference—the gap between theory and practice was vast. Even with written instructions, hands-on experimentation often yielded unexpected results.
Barrel after barrel of water was hauled into Kai's laboratory. The flames from the fire-element matrix had been extinguished, and the small fires in the room were under control. The maids and squires carefully putting out the last embers did not dare disturb Kai, who stood like a statue in front of the blackened lab table, head bowed in thought. He was trying to figure out where he had gone wrong in the experiment.
Lately, he had been researching the high-tier spellEye of the Sun. Modesto's books contained many high-tier spells, andEye of the Sunwas among the top three most powerful. To master a spell, one must first understand its principles and core secrets, then construct its model in the mind. ResearchingEye of the Sunwas more than twice as difficult as masteringFlame Blade—and its power was roughly three times greater. It was a top-tier high-tier spell; once mastered, it would remain one of Kai's strongest abilities until he became a formal mage.
At his current pace, however, he might not even grasp the basics of the spell within six months. He thought back to how quickly he had learnedFlame Blade—it had taken just a month!
"Having a mentor to guide you is worlds apart from exploring magic elements alone," Kai muttered to himself. "Of course, I masteredFlame Bladeso fast because I'd already learned its prerequisite spell,Fire Chain Blade, back when I was a mid-tier apprentice."
He hesitated. "Should I putEye of the Sunon hold and focus on alchemy instead? No—if I give up so easily, how will I ever reach the end of my elemental path? I must overcome this challenge, even if it takes far more time and effort than I expected!"
Having pinpointed the possible mistake, Kai stepped back to the lab table. He embedded mid-to-low-tier fire-element crystals into the spell nodes on the table. When the maids saw what he was doing, they fled the laboratory in a panic, as if escaping a monster. Even the burly squires paled. They didn't understand the mysteries of magic, but the explosion's force and destruction had left these young knights shaken.
The laboratory fell silent again, and Kai resumed his experiment. Mages were often lonely seekers of truth—and in this empty room, he continued his research into fire-element magic.
...
At the end of Kai's second month in the castle, Count Grant forced him out of the laboratory where he had been holed up for days. "Forced" was no exaggeration: the count had called for Kai several times with no response. When he learned from Kai's maids that his son had not left the laboratory in three days and had eaten nothing, the count kicked down the door.
The result? The castle's fourth explosion that month—far more powerful than the previous ones. Over 40% of Kai's tower was reduced to rubble. Fortunately, apart from Kai in the laboratory and the count, who had just entered, there were no other maids or servants on the third floor and above. No one could say how many non-combatant casualties there would have been otherwise.
Kai had shielded himself with an earth-element barrier; apart from feeling dizzy, he was unharmed. Count Grant was less lucky—he was injured. Even with the tough physique of a quasi-knight, his arm was wounded in the blast. The incident was a stark reminder of just how powerfulEye of the Sun—the high-tier spell Kai was researching—truly was.
With the tower destroyed, Kai needed a new place to stay. Count Grant chose a location behind the main castle: a large garden and flower bed. He planned to demolish part of it to build Kai a new tower. The scenic location was a bonus; more importantly, it was quiet, with few maids or servants passing by. If another experimental accident occurred, there would be no risk of harming others in the household.
That evening, Count Grant sat at the head of the dining table. Kai sat to his right, Thorin to his left, and Lady Thea beside Thorin. The count's household did not hold grand feasts every night—some nobles enjoyed such extravagance, but Grant was not one of them. He only hosted lavish dinners for special holidays or momentous occasions. On ordinary days, lunch and dinner were simple affairs: the family sitting together, eating two dozen dishes, and drinking a few bottles of fine wine.
Tonight was slightly different, though. The count's right arm was wrapped in white bandages, casting an awkward mood over the meal. Before dinner, Thorin stole glances at his father, then at Kai across the table. In the two months since Kai's arrival, Thorin's feelings toward his half-brother had shifted subtly. Two months ago, he had openly resented and envied Kai's return. Now, he felt a reluctant sense of awe—and even fear.
Thorin had witnessed the castle's frequent explosions that month. He had also seen his "invincible" father injured for the first time—all because of Kai. It was no wonder he felt intimidated.