“Magic?” Samuel asked, looking at his friend in great surprise, and a hint of disbelief on his face. “Are you… serious?”

“Do I look like I'm joking to you?” Luke asked curtly.

His friend shook his head and said, “No. Of course not, but… it's just that… I didn't think my son could use magic.”

Luke sighed after hearing his friend's words and said in dismay, “You see? This is the misconception that our society has over our children. If they're taking too long in feeling their energy or controlling it, that means they're defective and need to be conscripted into the army.

That ideology was forced onto us by our governing politicians! They wanted a way to increase the number of their army, and they discovered this to be the most suitable because 97% of citizens are able to feel their energy, so they obviously thought the remainder 3% won't be missed.”

“I had no idea…” replied Samuel in a hushed voice.

“It's not just you; it's our society as a whole that don't know and simply accept it as a part of life,” said Luke looking sad. He looked at his friend and asked, “You know that my grandfather worked in the council right?”

The Angel Council consisted completely of highly powerful magic users that were the key players in decision making in each country. Their authority was much greater than that of the king of a nation, and could easily change their rulership without any reason if they disliked them or their methods in ruling the country.

“Yeah,” said Samuel with a nod of his head. “He retired just last year and seems to be enjoying a quiet life taking care of his garden.”

“The old man loves his flowers,” Luke commented about his grandfather with a smile. “Anyway, he ran run a campaign thirty-year-ago against the conscription of children into armies due to their inability to feel their energy. He claimed that those unable to feel their energy could be able to use magic, however, his theory was squashed by his fellow council members, stating that only those born through their lineage are able to use magic.”

“Wow…!” Samuel said, looking stunned by what he heard. “It must've been very hard for your grandfather to cope with that, when his own fellow colleagues were doing that to him like that.”

Luke shrugged his shoulders and said, “I doubt he cared since he had nothing to gain out of it. The whole campaign was started with good intentions of raising awareness about the fact that people are capable of using magic, although, it didn't get far.”

Samuel looked down at his plate in sadness and asked, “So, what now? If even he failed to bring awareness, then what can we do?”

“We don't have to do anything as crazy as his campaigning,” stated Luke with a chuckle. “All we need to do is have your son get educated by a magic tutor.”

Samuel looked up with a shocked expression on his face and asked, “What? There are magic tutors?” When his friend looked at him with a sardonic expression, he smiled feebly and said, “I didn't know.”

Luke sighed and told his friend, “Listen, Sam. There are magic tutors, but they charge a very high price for being educated by them, and you have to pay the money upfront, otherwise, they won't teach.”

“That's fine but… just how much will it cost to hire one?” Samuel asked curiously.

His friend thought about it before saying, “You may have to sell your home and all other properties to hire one.”

Samuel, who had been drinking water from his glass, choked and spew water out of his mouth. Gasping for breath, he stared incredulously at his friend and spluttered in a shocked voice.

“What?! It'll cost that much?!”

“Well, yeah!” Luke replied as if it was obvious. “It’s why only the higher ups are able to teach magic to their children with their slogan “lineage” while the civilians struggle and have to get torn from their children. Quite a situation, isn't it?”

Samuel's spirit dwindled from receiving the shock of what it would cost to have his son learn magic. They would literally be living on the streets if he did that, and there is the chance that the tutor would escape with the money, never to be found, and never to face justice due to the difference in social status.

Luke watched his friend looking every worried before suggesting, “There is someone who will most likely be able to teach your kids magic and at lower fee, I'm sure.”

“Really?” Samuel asked, jumping at the suggestion and looking eagerly at him. “Who is it? Do you know them?”

His friend nodded and explained, “My grandfather had many students during his time as a councilman, and one of his students had a daughter several years back. She is also capable of using magic, but she was raised with the ideology that my grandfather wanted to inspire in people, something her father clearly was a fan of. Anyway, she started her own private magic tuition with hopes of spreading awareness and kick-starting her career as a magician lecturer.”

Samuel raised an eyebrow in amazement and asked, “Let me guess. The council decided to stamp on her idea and ensured that her tuition attempt would not get spread to people.”

Luke laughed and said, “You catch on quick.”

“It's easy to guess after hearing about your grandfather's experience,” replied his friend with a smile. “So, she'll be willing to teach my kid magic for a good fee?”

“You'll have to bargain for the fee, but I'm sure she'll leap with joy at the thought of her finally getting a student to start her career with.”

“That's fine. When can we meet her?”

“So soon? Don't you want to discuss with your wife?”

Samuel shook his head and said, “No need. I know Sarah will agree with my decision, and besides, I'm doing this with my son's best interest at heart. She'll be okay with it.”

Luke looked at him with amazement and said, “Lucky guy, you are. Getting an understanding wife is one of the many gifts God has granted to us.” As his friend laughed, he went on to say, “Okay. Let's head to her place after work is over.”

“Sure!” Agreed Samuel with a grin on his face.

They smiled and resumed to eat their meals before heading back to their cubicles to begin their session as soon as the lunch break ended.

[ ======= ]

In the meantime, Alex and Luna were sitting down in chairs with Sarah seating in a similar chair in front of them. She was monitoring them while they worked on mathematics, determined to educate them to be the best that they could become with her teachings. Her confidence stemmed from the fact that she was educated by her grandmother and was confident in her own ability to teach her kids.

“If you got any questions, ask me and we'll solve it together, okay?” She said to them with a smile.

“I'm fine for now, mother,” replied Luna happily, looking at her with a grin on her face before looking back down at her book.

Sarah smiled happily at her and turned to look at her son. He was looking at his book and solving the questions but not with the same interest he always had everyday. Today, for some reason, he seemed somewhat dull and losing focus quickly, shown by him looking towards the window every so often.

“What's the matter, Al?” His mother asked him with worry.

He looked at her, startled by her sudden question and automatically replied, “Nothing, mom.”

Alex looked down at his book once again, but his mother continued to look at him with worry. She knew that something was on her son's mind, and easily guessed that it was related him taking so much time trying to feel his energy.

She was actually spot on because that was exactly what he was worried about. From the readings he did on angels, he was confident in his ability to be stronger than the other races with much more capability, but his inability to feel his energy was disheartening.

“Why is this happening to me?” He wondered to himself, unable to focus on his studies and looking out of the window. “I'm positive the Entity Limitless knew what he was doing when he sent me back to be reborn in the past, but what good does it do me when I'm barely getting started? Dad and mom are proficient in controlling their energy, and even Luna managed to feel her energy and started demonstrating her ability to control it. So, why only me?”

There was no one who could answer his questions, and he did not like the idea of sharing his concern with his parents and childhood friend. He was already aware to some extent that his parents are worried for him even though they were doing a good job of hiding it.

“Al,” his mother asked again with a look of concern on her face. “I'm here for you if you want to talk.”

She did not want to force him to speak about his worries, but she did not want to leave him alone either. Luna also stopped doing her studies and looked at him with a worried look of her own.

“Come on, Alex. You can share your worry with us,” she said, looking hopefully at him.

He looked towards them and sighed before saying, “I'm just worried about my inability to feel my energy.”

“Don't say it,” his childhood friend said, looking alarmed. “I know you can do it! I did it! Your parents do it, so you can do it too! You just got to be a good sport about it!”

“Luna is right, Al,” said his mother warmly, moving her chair to sit down next to him. She began to rub his head while saying, “I probably didn't tell you but I had trouble feeling my energy for four day straight. I was very worried at my ineptitude, just like you Al, but my grandmother told me about a story of her childhood.”

She paused to find that the two children were listening to her story intently with great interest. Sarah smiled and resumed her story telling, which she recalled like it was just yesterday that her grandmother told her about it.

“My grandmother apparently struggled to feel her energy for more than ten days, and her family were prepared to send her off to join the army.”

“What? Ten days?!” Both Alex and Luna exclaimed, looking thoroughly shocked.

Sarah nodded and said, “Yea, but my grandmother, being the stubborn girl that she was, did not want to go and put every ounce of determination she had into focusing on her training. Finally, on the twelfth day, she finally felt her energy and began controlling her energy.”

“Wow…!” Luna said in admiration while Alex looked at her in awe. “That's some determination your grandmother had, mother.”

“Yes,” Sarah agreed with a smile. “So, taking inspiration from her story, I too pushed myself and succeed on the sixth day.”

“Nice!” Luna said happily, and Sarah grinned at her.

Alex, on the other hand, found a contradiction in her story and asked, “Sixth day? I thought you told us it took you four days to feel your energy. Is that a lie?”

His mother looked at him in surprise before bursting into laughter. While he and Luna looked at her in surprise, she calmed down a few seconds later and focused cheerfully at her son.

“It's a secret that women don't like admitting, Al,” she said with a wink. “It’s as important as hiding a woman's age because we're constantly conscious of us aging and try our best to look young and beautiful.”

“I see,” he said, nodding his head in understanding. “Then, that story about your grandmother? Is that also…?”

As he trailed away, she shook her head and said, “I don't know the authenticity of the story she told me, but I know it helped me improve, and I hope it'll do the same for you.”

Her son smiled and said, “Thank you, mom.”

She smiled and ruffled his hair before letting him go. Luna leaned over and shoved him gently with her fist with a grin on her face before leaning back and focusing back on her studies.

Even though he turned his attention back to his own studies, his mind was still thinking about what he was doing wrong that the energy was failing him. If the story that his mother told him about her grandmother was to be believed, then he should be doing more. However, he kept having this strange feeling as though he was missing something, a piece of a puzzle that would help him out.

He finally realised what that feeling was and thought, “There must be a method… an alternative.”