"You weren't half bad~ 

Not everyone can quickly recover from my attacks at such an young age, you know?

Even if I was taking it easy.

Look, Martha! He's rolling around to dissipate damage. I never knew our son was so good at using his body!" My father laughed after giving me a few merciless beatdowns consecutively. 

I tiredly lifted my head in regret. I couldn't even defend against anything after his first attack.

I'd thought my body would be able to follow up and counter the second time he rushed at me... 

Who could have thought that after defending the first strike my father telegraphed just like before, he would have the time to swiftly follow up it up with a second perfectly executed strike? 

I was powerless against him...

After experiencing a Magic Swordsman's mighty battle prowess for myself, I couldn't help but feel a little suspicious about my father's current mindset towards this 'training'. Wasn't he just having fun?

He's just having fun beating me up, isn't he?

Why is it that I felt that my father's willpower was unshaken after striking me down… even though I'm his beloved little child? Is Father good at controlling his emotions, or is he just a kind of battle maniac?

"By the way, when did you learn Burst Manipulation? I'm sure I didn't teach you that" My father abruptly stopped his victorious laughs and spoke with a curious light shining in his eyes.

"I copied the uncles who usually train here."

"Amazing...! 

Your talent for martial arts is incredible! 

It's only a pity that you only have a mere F Rank Magical Talent. If not, you would've been stronger.

If you had D Rank Magical Talent or even a E Rank Magical Talent, you would have been able to learn my personal and unique form of Earth Style swordsmanship. Oh well… Today was just to test your reaction time and battle senses anyway. 

I would have beaten you down tomorrow as well if you failed this little test. I'm glad you're able to live up to my standards." Father spoke his thoughts ruthlessly. A felt a tingling sensation form my spine.

Mother, was watching at the side, just sighed in our direction after hearing his scary words. 

She kindly helped me up and patted the dust off my clothes. Her movements were practiced now.

Then, my mother let me nod off for a while. It was better to have a good rest to recuperate stamina. 

When I awoke, I found myself laying on the bed in my room. My entire body felt lacking in energy.

"That was so intense!" I muttered to myself. 

It felt like my life was going to be more chaotic in the future. I got up and stretched my muscles before walking out. Coincidentally, this was also the same time my mother wanted to meet me.

"Oh Simon, you're awake? Good timing! I was just about to wake you up." She said before grabbing my hand. Her hands were holding a book towards  me after dragging me to her and father's room.

It was a strange grimiore I had never seen before. 

It's exterior looked quite magical with all the Mana that seemed to have been infused into it. 

I would've been excited to read a book so precious… if it weren't for the title written on top.

"What is this 'Introduction to using Magic for Dummies'? It sounds so suspicious...!" I stared at Mother with gloomy eyes. 

Although I was interested in the prospect of learning how to use magic since birth, there's no way I'd learn from such a suspicious book that calls me a dummy... This is NOT gonna happen! 

I'd rather stay ignorant!

Hah... Since when did I become such a child? 

I don't remember having such an easily triggered personality in my past life. 

Well, I did have such a volatile temperament in the youth of that life. It stayed with me as I grew older.

If my comrades were here, I'm sure they'd calmed me down... Saying that it wasn't worth the time.

"It's something that was written by… err… a good friend of mine. 

Although her wording is a little eccentric, there's no need to doubt the validity of its contents. 

Let's just read it and try it out. 

You've already found the benefits of learning how to use Burst Manipulation, so learning some knowledge about magic won't be detrimental to your growth." My mother answered with a confident look on her face. 

I looked at her with an expression of doubt.

Even if I was interested, there's no way someone with a 'Failure' rank magical talent could use Spells

It didn't take a genius to figure that out. 

There was a qualitative difference between F Rank Magical Talents and E Rank Magical Talents.

It was more than just how much of their body could be covered using the Burst Manipulation technique.

What was different between the two ranks was that Rank E Magical Talents were able to use simple attack Spells. Although only the size of a fist, they had enough versatility to be used in battle.

The 'Fireball' Spell that's fantasised by people of Earth was actually commonly used to light up fires and the works by F Ranks. After all, they only had the ability to manifest thumb size conjurations.

The difference between a thumb size fireball and a fist sized one was obvious. It was a big gap.

Elemental Spells that couldn't be used for anything other than small chores like cleaning were collectively called 'Common Spells'. This meant every F Rank could never use anything stronger.

There was a limit to what they could conjure outside their body. It was fixed with capacity.

Actual 'Combat Spells' could be used in battle by Rank E Magical Talents or above could use.

This was common sense…

"Who said Rank F Magical Talents couldn't use Combat Spells? 

It doesn't matter how large your spells are so long as they are useful in battles." My mother comforted after seeing the doubtful expression on my face, one I made no attempt to even hide. 

Her words shocked me for a moment, but also filled my heart with hope...

"Then let's read it." I said in excitement and opened the book on the desk. 

In this world, books were scarcer than the ones on Earth. Especially books related to magic. 

This was due to the rarity of true mages on Sphera... 

That and adding the fact that Mages usually didn't spread their secrets to success...

{Greetings, my dear dummy reader, and congratulations~ 

If you're currently reading this grimoire... then you've just admitted to being a dummy! 

Hahaha~!} My mother stopped me from throwing the book on the ground with an irritated face.

She calmed my surging anger…

I have to thank you for stopping me, Mother. 

However, if I ever meet the writer of this in the future, I'll beat him within an inch of his life!

Hah... breath in and out... I must stay calm! I hadn't even bothered to hide my emotions these last few years. After all there wasn't a need for me to be so disciplined towards myself in this new life.

Huh...? Why do I feel like my mind is being affected by an external force? Am I imagining it? 

Meh, that can't be the case. I'm definitely just imagining it... That... can't be... the case...

Let's just move on to reading...

{But let's not focus on the fact that you're a dummy. Because it's time to learn about Magic! What is the art of magic you ask? Well, let's just say that it's different from 'Arts' of the modern age. 

A dummy like you probably never understood the difference between Arts and Spells, so I'll make sure to properly explain.} The scorn in the writer's words seems to be bottomless.

However, I didn't react the same way as before. 

Instead, my eyes continued to read in order to comprehend from the writer's advice thoroughly. 

However, if I meet this abnormally arrogant in the future, I'll break his legs! (Joking.)

{'Arts' are magical abilities that use Internal Energy (Mana) to effect the world around them. 

They are able to affect the user and in various ways in order to increase the user's battle prowess. 

It is essential for a Martial Artist to have many kinds of Arts other than the Burst Manipulation. 

This is in order to react to different scenarios.} I felt enlightened by the detailed explanation that came after that eccentric start.

Now it seems this arrogant guy is able to get down to business when talking about something intellectual! 

I thank the writer by deciding to only break one his legs after giving him a light beating as a sign of respect. (Dead serious... Nah~ I'm just joking again.)

If anyone asked, I'm no longer angry. 

It's best to not take note of the bulging vein on my forehead, nor the burning flames in my eyes. 

My heart's just warm... that's all...

{Spells are the true form of magic that only the smartest and most imaginative are able to use. 

They best ones only use External Energy (Ether) in their surroundings rather than Internal Energy (Mana) for activation. 

The types of magic one can use depends on the user's Ether Affinity and Magical Talent.}

{Even a F Rank Magical Talent would be able to use some degree of miniaturised Spells, but that doesn't mean they will be able to use Combat Spells effectively. They only need some creativity.

Most Modern Spells created nowadays consume a lot of Mana to manipulate the Ether. However, that is only because consumption of more Mana can help boost the effects of a Spell beyond its rank.} 

This part of the detailed explanation made me feel disappointed for obvious reasons... 

…but even so, it wasn't like I hadn't predicted such an answer after experimenting with my own Manaz

This, along with my personal Attributes:

Light, Dark, Sun, Moon, and… 'Eclipse'.

I wonder how the last one worked. After all, 'Sun' and 'Moon' had lesser Attributes as a template.

It was easier to guess the former's abilities.

Anyway, from what this guy was saying: 

One's Mana is like a 'Wand' that manipulated the omnipresent Ether existing in the atmosphere. 

By imbuing Mana into Ether, a Magic User could extend their will into the element they could use.

I remember being told about Ether before, but never really got around to sensing it like Mages. 

In fact, this explanation seems to be better than the one I'd originally thought of.

What was written was that intelligent people had a chance in using more intricately woven Spells. 

A former eighty year old soldier like myself was definitely smarter than the average youth! 

Though I wonder if I could keep up with others my age in the whole 'imagination' department?

{To find out what Ether Affinities you have, the first thing you need to do is manipulate your Mana and insert it into the black ink dot on the other side of this page. 

Once you do, something interesting will happen, so give it a shot~!} 

I followed the eccentric writer's instructions and turned the page. 

Only to find that the two pages on the other side were completely blank. 

The only thing on the page the writer indicated was a single tiny stain made by ink.

Why does this feel like a trap? 

Could it be one of those prank Magic Circles where it electrocutes the finger of whoever imbued Mana into it? 

The writer of this seems like the type to pretend to be serious before playing a prank... 

My eyes shifted to Mother.

"Don't worry. That person wouldn't prank someone in this situation." My mother noticed my hesitation and comforted me. 

Oh yeah, she's actually met the writer of this. 

I nodded my head, following the instructions written previously and focused some of the Mana within me into the dot of ink.

The dot of ink expanded and turned into drawings of red flames, purple streaks of lightning, droplets of water, spiralling winds and mountainous stones of earth. Sparkling like gemstones on the page.

Paragraphs of information appeared on the other page next to it:

{Congratulations~ You have now used my own unique Spell Circle to find out your own Ether Affinities. Have pride in this. This Spell Circle is a special creation for those who read this book. 

If you want more specialised Spell Circles customised for different uses in the future…

…Be sure to visit Hilda's Magic Circle Workshop!

The location and address are on the back. 

Also, to find what the picture drawn on the side represents, just match what you see with this list:

Affinity to Earth Ether represent your love for stability and structure.

Affinity to Wind Ether represent your free heart and love for innocent tricks.

Affinity to Fire Ether represent your love for violent battles and conflicts.

Affinity to Water Ether represent your love for eternal peace and prosperity.

And last but not least, the affinity to Lightning Ether... Actually, I don't exactly know what it represents. Maybe it just means your an eccentric...?} My right eye started to twitch.

Not from the shock of the amount of affinities I had, but from how ironic this person was being.

{Meh! Who cares anyway? 

I myself have a Lightning Affinity, but don't seem to see anything wrong about my personality. 

It's probably nothing~}

Yeah, right…

{Although your affinity doesn't determine your personality, some people like to use this as their horoscope. 

Just go and some have fun with this 'horoscope'. 

Those who have one element affinity are ordinary but those with two or higher are extremely talented and might one day have many achievements in magic. 

However, don't get your hopes up if you're an F Rank Magical Talent, because there's no way you'll be 'outstanding' in magic without higher Magical Talent.} I looked at the advertisement written in there and noted down the address on the back.

Now I know where you are now! 

You insufferable, crazy, eccentric witch!

Get ready to be beaten and have your leg broken after I've grow up! 

How dare you show me the light of hope before destroying my dreams!!! (I'm still joking, but wow~ I'm such a melodramatic guy, aren't I...?)

Ahem, well, it seems I really am quite a violent guy on the inside. However, after thinking things through, I realised that I was just overreacting about it. Her opinion isn't everything.

There was no point in losing my cool for such a stupid reason like this, so I decided forgive and forget. 

It definitely had nothing to do with the fact that I just remembered that Hilda is the name of my grandmother. 

Why didn't Mother tell me about her sooner?! 

Grandma is the scariest!

I never want to make an enemy out of my father's mother in my lifetime. 

It's not because I respect her, but due to the fact that I sincerely fear her...

Merilin won't ever shut up about how awesome our grandmother is. Especially after Father mentioned that she was a powerful Lightning Archmage recognised by many. A really famous person.

I might as well pretend to be the calm type of person who doesn't get angered much...

That was for the best…