The first light of morning had barely brushed the horizon when Lucien Balmore's eyes flew open. No grogginess, no hesitation... just instant awareness as if his body refused to waste even a second of the day.
Above him stretched the familiar view of his bedroom greeted him.
'Six o'clock. Right on time.'
He exhaled through his nose, already swinging his legs over the edge of the bed when the door creaked open.
"Good morning, Young Master."
Elena stood framed in the doorway, her hands folded precisely at her waist.
"Morning, Elena," Lucien rasped, rubbing sleep from his eyes. As he sat up, the pendant slid across his bare chest - always the first thing he checked upon waking. One of the last few memories from his mother.
"You slept well?" Elena asked as she drew back the curtains with practiced tugs. Not the empty pleasantry of a servant, but the genuine concern that came from years of taking him.
"Well enough," he replied, flexing his left hand.
"Good." She replied, "I know you want to rush off to train so I will just get your bath ready." she said already slipping into the adjoining bathroom. The sound of running water followed moments later.
Lucien stretched, rolling the stiffness from his shoulders, and began undressing. His sleep clothes... a simple linen shirt and trousers... hit the floor in a heap. The only thing he left on was his underwear and the pendant that never left his neck: a silver locket housing that strange black stone.
Steam curled from the bathroom doorway when Elena emerged, her cheeks pink from the heat. "Your bath is ready, Young Master."
"Thank you, Elena," he said, and meant it. She had been with him since he was a boy, and by now, her presence was as much a part of his mornings as the sunrise.
The bathwater was scalding, just how he liked it. Lucien sank into it with a hiss, letting the heat sear away the last remnants of sleep.
He washed quickly, scrubbing the night from his skin with brisk, practiced motions.
By the time he stepped out, dripping and refreshed, Elena had already laid out his clothes: a fitted training tunic, dark trousers, and sturdy leather boots. He dressed in seconds, fingers making quick work of the laces.
Then, he grabbed the sword leaning against his bedside. The scabbard was worn from use, the hilt smooth under his calloused fingers. He didn't need to check the blade's edge; he knew it was perfect.
The manor halls were still dark, the servants only just beginning their day. Lucien moved through them like a ghost, his footsteps silent on the stone floors. Outside, the air was crisp with the bite of early morning, the grass damp with dew under his boots.
And then... the training grounds. Empty.
'Perfect but first… Manifest.'
[NAME: Lucien Balmore]
[BLOODLINE: Balmore bloodline]
[BODY RANK: Mid Initiate]
[MANA RANK: Early Initiate]
[AFFINITIES: Wind]
[SOUL SLAVE: Elena Harper]
[TRAIT: Iron Fist]
[PASSIVE: Horse Riding, Combat discipline, Noble Etiquette]
[SKILL: Aura(1), Gale Step(1)]
[SPELL: Mana Bolt (1), Mana Shield(1), Mage Sight(1)]
Lucien's eyes settled on his status, a faint smile curling on his lips as a small but satisfying acknowledgment of his hard-earned power.
The first thing he checked was Trait.
Traits were rare abilities etched into one's very blood... gifts passed down through lineage or born from exceptional talent. Most were passive in nature, and even the ones that consumed mana barely used as much mana as spells with similar effects.
And yet, Lucien couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh as his gaze drifted to the sword resting beside him as he checked the description of his trait.
[Name: Iron Fist
Type: Passive
Effect: Enhances the user's unarmed strikes, increasing damage dealt by fists and elbows. Over time in combat, blows become heavier and harder as momentum builds. Also slightly reduces damage taken from hand-to-hand attacks.]
The Balmore name was synonymous with the blade. For generations, his family had produced sword masters, knights, and champions... all wielders of swords. Their bloodline traits reflected this legacy by producing members with traits like, sword precision, blade instincts, Slash and so on.
But Lucien? His trait had taken a different path.
Iron Fist...a trait suitable for brawlers, not swordsmen. It wasn't even linked to his mother's side, whose lineage gave traits like merchant instincts and financial brilliance etc.
The irony stung sharper than any blade.
Despite months of relentless training with a sword, Lucien hadn't awakened a single passive skill related to it. Not one. And it wasn't due to lack of talent. On the contrary... he was a prodigy. Barely half a year had passed since his Awakening, and he was already halfway to the second Rank, Adept, a feat most would envy.
But talent meant little without support.
A quick glance at his paltry list of spells made it painfully obvious: his father and stepmother had offered him nothing. No guidance, no resources, no mentorship. Everything he had, he had earned though his own hard work and his dead mother's grace.
He turned his attention to the next things, The Passive.
[Name: Horse Riding
Type: Passive
Effect: Allows the user to ride and control horses effectively, even in battle. Increases riding stability, reduces stamina drain while mounted, and improves combat performance on horseback]
[Name: Combat Discipline
Type: Passive
Effect: Trained focus and battlefield conditioning reduce stamina consumption during physical combat by a small amount. Enables sustained performance in prolonged engagements and grants slight resistance to exhaustion effects]
[Name: Noble Etiquette
Type: Passive
Effect: Grants the user refined manners, posture, and knowledge of noble customs. Improves interactions with aristocrats and royalty, slightly increasing persuasion success and reducing chances of offense in formal settings.]
The last ones were his skills and spells.
Skills are combat/support technique used by people that followed the path of the body while Spells are similar techniques used by people that follow the path of mana.
[Name: Aura
Rank: 1
Element: Neutral
Effect: Concentrates ambient mana around the user, subtly enhancing their bodily functions and cognitive processing.]
[Name: Gale Step
Rank: 1
Element: Neutral
Effects: dashes the user five meters in any direction using a burst of wind.]
[Name: Mana Bolt
Rank: 1
Element: Neutral
Effect: Fires a small, fast-moving bolt of raw mana.]
[Name: Mana Shield
Rank: 1
Element: Neutral
Effect: Generates a temporary barrier of mana that blocks incoming damage.]
[Name: Mage Sight
Rank: 1
Element: Neutral
Effects: Allows the user to see mana flow and active enchantments.]
These were basic spells that didn't require affinity, in fact they were neutral spells that everyone know.
He learned Gale Step by accident, and discovered Aero Blade while attempting to channel Mana Aura through his sword... yet, despite all that, he still hadn't awakened a single sword-related passive.
There are two main ways people learn to harness mana... the Path of the Body and the Path of Mana.
The Path of the Body focuses on using mana to strengthen the body rather than storing it. Practitioners of this path pour mana directly into their muscles, bones, and organs during training, gradually hardening and enhancing them.
The body becomes tougher, faster, and more resilient, but the mana itself doesn't remain inside. However, over time, traces of mana energy linger in the body. These traces can be refined into something called Aura, a force born from physical mastery.
The Path of Mana, on the other hand, is the opposite approach. Instead of channelling mana through the body, practitioners learn to store and circulate it within themselves.
This is done through calm meditation and controlled breathing to draw mana into a special part of the body called the mana core... a kind of spiritual organ that holds and processes mana. The Path of Mana strengthens the mind and enhances magical abilities. While it doesn't directly make the body stronger, the energy flowing through the user often improves their endurance and vitality in subtle ways.
Both paths are shaped by talent, the measure of how compatible a person is with mana.
People with low talent can't safely store mana; their cores are too rigid. For them, the Path of the Body is the only option.
Those with high talent have flexible mana cores that can expand and hold energy, allowing them to walk the Path of Mana.
However, training in both paths at once while possible was not recommended because each requires full dedication to totally different training methods... the Path of the Body demands brutal physical conditioning and magical infusions, while the Path of Mana calls for deep meditation and precise control.