…

Jacob: “We now salute the return of our Lord, Issac Schneider!”

Servants: “We salute your return, our glorious master!!!”

A man walked through the gilded doors of the estate, clad in a large officer’s coat and several medals. His rugged face sported a well-groomed, pitch-black goatee. The same, pitch-black, color hair combed extremely flat and curled towards the back of his head. Several scratch-sized scars on his chin. Piercing blue eyes. And a serious expression that made it seem as if he was standing in a warzone, everywhere he went.

This was Issac Schneider, husband of Agatha and father of Fate. As well as, the leader of the Schneider Household, one of the most prestigious in the nation of Lunaris.

Issac: “...”

Jacob, one of his most loyal servants, approached him warily.

Jacob: “My lord, Schneider. It may be presumptuous of a servant of myself, but you have gloriously returned to us as the victor of your battle on the Plains of Keld?”

Issac: “...If that were not the case, I would not be standing before you. Though it would be presumptuous to believe you know all that occurs in the world, it seems my faith in your intelligence is not entirely misplaced.”

Issac answered Jacob in a cold tone. And yet…

Jacob: “I am honored to receive such words of praise from one as glorious as yourself, my lord! If you would not mind, could you please regale us with tales of your brilliant tactics and conquest?”

Jacob received such ‘praise’ heartily. Yet his lord Schneider did not care, for he had fought for honor and had now returned home, fatigued.

Issac: “I am weary from my travels and the recounting of my battle will have to wait for my report to his imperial majesty, tomorrow. Make ready a midnight snack and have preparations for a fine breakfast tomorrow morning, understood?”

Jacob gave a swift nod and promptly, headed off to the kitchen with several of the servants and cooks. Issac on the other hand, headed for his bedchamber to greet his beloved and have a much-needed rest, before his snack arrived.

*sigh*

Issac: “Those barbarians...The goddess showers this land with blessings and yet they squander them on foolish actions of violence and heresy! It makes me sick, thinking of how such filthy heathens exist in this world…”

The lord of a household, a servant of his majesty, and a pious spear of Luna’s faith. These were all duties for him, but also burdens…

He was powerful, there was no question about that fact. However, he barely had any time to do as he pleased, such was the unfortunate nature of his position as a noble. Whereas others might have riches enough to persuade fellow nobles or capable generals that could be deployed at their disposal, the Schneider Household possessed both. Yet, the lord of the Schneider lands would always be one, bound by pacts and servitude to others.

Issac: “I question if his majesty will allow me a chance at freedom… *sigh* Only if the goddess willed it could such a miracle occur…”

………….

*knock*

Agatha: “U..hh..mm…”

*knock* *knock*

Agatha: “Uhh..hmm.mmm…....”

*knock* *knock* *knock*

Agatha: “Ughh...ahhhh!!!”

Agatha was woken from her gentle slumber by a loud knocking at the bedroom door.

-It must be Jacob...if there was anything he needed, he would wait until morning! I swear if he ruined the arrangements for my husband’s return I will…!

*creak*

The door creaked open, much to her shock.

Agatha: “Who…!”

Agatha was shocked because the person who had woken her from slumber was none other than her husband, Issac Schneider!

Agatha: “B-beloved?! You’ve finally returned to me!”

Issac: “...”

Her husband did not respond...Was something wrong? Had she done something to displease him? She knew of his temperament, but she had expected to see him in a better mood…

Agatha: “...Beloved?”

*snore…*

Agatha: “...”

*snore…….*

Agatha: “I see...he fell asleep...at his feet…”

-I believe this was the method that he planned to use to get through his highness’ ‘boring ceremonies.’ To think that he’d be doing it when he got home…

Agatha grabbed her husband and dragged his puppet-like body toward the bed, step by step.

*plop*

She plopped her husband down on the bed and took off his boots and large coat.

-It’d be troublesome if I had to hear him complain of being too hot or having sore feet. Then again, he always seems to be like this.

She gazed lovingly at her husband, a man who constantly risked his life for the honor of the family name. A man who loved her, yet he always had to be somewhere at the behest of another.

-He truly is troublesome, his highness…

She planned on walking to put his boots and coat away, but just as she did…

Agatha: “...!”

Her husband’s arm reached up to grab hers!

-Is he awake?!

*snore…*

No, it seemed that her husband was not awake, yet reached for her arm as if by instinct. It was almost as if he was telling her not to go anywhere.

-...Fine, I guess even if he’s sleeping, it’ll be nice to be close to his heart…

She laid down on the bed, gradually falling asleep in her husband’s embrace.

………….

Fate: “Ughhh….”

If you couldn’t quite have guessed, everyone in the mansion could hear the greeting to the lord. Everyone, including Fate.

-What was with all the yelling and clinking? I just finished training and finally fell asleep, seriously! But if I can hear, it means I’m still alive.

Yes, over the past six months, Agatha had never visited the young Fate. The only person he ever saw was Jacob, one of his mother’s most loyal subordinates. Meaning that Fate only saw someone who copied his lady’s orders to the letter, treating him with odd tests of obedience and disdain. He worried that these tests would increase in severity if he did not obey, so he had no choice but to play along.

-I seriously question how Jacob has the time to tend to my mother and pop in at random intervals for unexplained reasons.

Fate: “...”

-...Then again, the time he spends attending to me is never anything but brief and he always seems to have those tests prepared. I don’t understand why the need to test this level of obedience at this age.

Indeed, as stated previously, Fate had been subjected to many tests. These included: Jacob glaring at him for an hour, consuming dishes that were either tasteless or possibly poisonous, forcing him to stand against the bookshelf with a decently-large book on his head, etc.

-Whatever, thanks to those ‘tests,’ I’ve been getting stronger.

Fate’s journal burst into existence, in a cloud of twinkling-blue dust.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Name: Fate
• HP: 9.5 / 9.5
• MP: 1 / 1.7
• Level: 0
• Race: Human
• Age: 6 months old (18+ years old)
• Job: None
• Previous Jobs: None
• Titles: 【Familiar of Fate】

--------------------------------

• Stats:
  • Strength: 2.850
  • Endurance: 3.075
  • Wisdom: 3.5
  • Intelligence: 1.0 (Knowledge of this world is low)
  • Stamina: 2.950
  • Agility: 1.9
  • Fortune: 1.0
  • Magic: 0.35

---------------------------------

• Passive Skills: None
• Active Skills: None
• Unique Skills: None
• Equipment: Fate’s Journal(Soul-bound)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-These are my current stats. *sigh* This is six whole months of work...even with Jacob bugging me all the time, it doesn’t explain the slow of my progress.

Magic can only be gained properly, with skills. It makes sense that it’s that low, plus I have only collected mana when I thought I could handle it. The gain after a stat goes past 2.5 goes from 0.75 to 0.5. My agility must be because I can’t actually do that much running without a disturbance or tripping over my own feet.

-Plus when Jacob almost caught me sneaking out of the crib this time. The wisdom stat managed to go up from the new method of escape, so that was good.

Fate: “Twis’ kinn owf swucs…”

Something that did progress greatly for Fate, however, was his ability to speak. Albeit, since he’s just a baby, he has quite a lisp and his pronunciation isn’t perfect.

-I can’t show my mother that I can talk at this age, it might just make her think I’m a freak. That’s on top of whatever grievances she has against me already! I don’t even know what a ‘good age’ for a child to speak semi-coherently in the first place!

It was a predicament that troubled Fate greatly. If he decided to display this level of intelligence, he could gain access to learning materials earlier on, but…

-If I do show my intelligence, they’ll definitely be suspicious. Besides, even if they accept me, I might just get forced into some ‘genius’ role and be given too many expectations. I’d rather decide my own self-worth than let anybody else do it for me!

And so, Fate returned to his sleep, unaware of his father’s return.

------------------------------------

Explanation:

Hey guys, it’s the author of FoF and today we’ll be talking about the basics of mana!

Mana in the world of Ilthea is imperceptible unless one has a natural talent or is in possession of an artifact with properties that allow it to view and gauge its potency.

Without natural talent though, even if someone has an artifact, they can’t collect mana properly without an understanding of it. At least without consequences.

Fate is a perfect example. He suffered a fever, nosebleeds, and severe muscular damage from forcing his body to help bear the weight of even a miniscule amount of mana. Granted, an affinity for magic can be fostered, but not without severe consequences, maximum effort, and assistance from external resources.

I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter of the Familiar of Fate!