Enlightenment

The difference between crossing the line once and crossing it countless times might just be zero times or countless times.

When Borne had relied on his cuteness to get a magic bag from the Earl...

...Well, from his grandfather.

It was so worth it!

"Grandfather, what's this?" Borne asked in a babyish voice.

"Oh, this is a magic pouch. Look."

His grandfather smiled kindly at Borne, picked up a sword from one of the guards, and put it inside. Then he hefted the pouch in his hand.

"Wow! That's amazing." Borne's eyes lit up. He took the pouch and found it wasn't heavy at all—quite light, actually.

He stuck his little hand inside and felt around, discovering that it had quite a lot of room.

How interesting!

He picked up a book, put it inside, took it out, and played with it.

His grandfather watched him fondly as he put things in and took them out. Suddenly, Borne looked up at the Earl, his eyes full of hope. "Grandfather, could you teach me how to make one? It's so amazing!"

The cat was out of the bag. Borne had spent a long time laying the groundwork before finally asking.

The Earl paused, then lifted Borne into his arms. "Making magic items is very difficult. You have to become an Arcanist first."

"Okay! I want to become an Arcanist too!"

"Hahaha! Becoming an Arcanist is hard work. First, you need a thirst for knowledge and the patience to study in solitude. You'll also have to learn a great deal. You won't be able to spend your time playing anymore."

The Earl spoke to Borne seriously.

Borne seemed moved by his grandfather's words and fell silent for a moment.

Nearby, Viscount Gordon watched Borne anxiously. He had gone through the same thing as a child.

Viscount Gordon blurted out, "I want to become a powerful knight, be a hero, and marry the most beautiful woman!"

This kind of question, which struck at the heart, was always accompanied by Psychic magic. The person under its influence would honestly reveal their deepest thoughts.

The Earl was furious.

But it really did work. Even though the Earl had later kept forcing Viscount Gordon to practice magic and meditate, he had made no progress. Instead, father and son had grown estranged!

Gordon did indeed become a knight in the end, though only a third-rate one...

Although Borne had been on his guard against it, the little bit of Breathing Technique he had learned offered little protection against the Psychic magic. This time, it was aimed squarely at him!

"I want to become an Arcanist and the greatest Archmage in history!"

A childish yet resolute voice rang through the room.

A smile appeared on Gordon's face.

The Earl took a deep breath.

He took out a white crystal and placed it against Borne's forehead. "Child! Close your eyes, concentrate, and focus your attention on your forehead."

Borne could hear a tremor in the Earl's voice. As if he had realized something, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Time seemed to pass both slowly and quickly.

The room was silent.

Borne could even hear his grandfather's and father's breathing.

Then Borne suddenly heard Gordon cry out in surprise. He immediately opened his eyes, and a flash of red light vanished from their corners.

The Earl felt a little regret, but he was still delighted. His descendant had the talent to become a spellcaster.

His talent was a little low. Perhaps he would only reach the lower or middle ranks.

That was fine!

As long as he had the talent and could get started, that was enough.

Arcanists didn't have especially high talent requirements. Magic itself was the greatest miracle, and there were plenty of ways to increase Elemental Affinity!

Borne felt a little groggy, like he did after staying up all night.

He knew the test had just consumed his mental energy.

The Earl told him to get an early night.

After he bowed and left, he heard the Earl laugh happily. The corners of Borne's mouth lifted, and excitement stirred in his heart.

It had worked!

That night, Borne slept deeply and had a dream.

In the dream, he became a great Mage. All kinds of monsters and dragons bowed at his feet, and in the end, he opened a portal back to Earth.

He ordered a feast at the finest restaurant.

Fish-fragrant shredded pork, braised pork ribs, braised tofu, Dongpo pork knuckle, layered pork belly...

Borne stared at the table full of food, swallowed, and picked up his chopsticks...

When Borne opened his eyes, he found himself still in bed, drool on his pillow.

He sighed softly. It was almost dawn, so he sat up and practiced his Breathing Technique.

It had become a habit. He believed that steady effort could wear a hole in stone.

Quantity leads to qualitative change!

After breakfast, a guard led Borne to a spacious room.

The Earl was drawing patterns on the floor. Borne didn't disturb him and watched quietly from the side.

Even without understanding the details, Borne could tell it was a huge magic circle, clearly used for a ritual spell.

The Earl held a strange pen. Though its tip looked soft, it could carve runes into the hard flagstones!

Some materials for spellcasting lay at places that looked like nodes in the circle.

Borne already knew that his grandfather had highly advanced magical craftsmanship.

In the world of Toril, alchemists had only appeared as a profession in the middle and later periods of Netheril.

At this time, magic items were extremely rare, and every one was a precious treasure!

Before the Scrolls of Netheril appeared, humans had obtained all their magic items from the elves!

Only in the past ten or twenty years had humans begun making their own magic items, such as Netheril's first magic item—the Ioun Stone!

It was the kind of stone floating above the Earl's head.

Before permanent magic came along, making a magic item meant infusing it with the maker's magical power to create a permanent enchantment. The power used up was gone for good, and the loss also meant losing some of the maker's life force!

Life force meant lifespan.

That was right!

Enchanting came at a price. Every magic item contained a portion of its maker's life, which was why they were so precious.

Even the ancient Ioulaum House had very few magic items!

That was why Viscount Gordon had been a little envious when he saw the Earl give two to a little kid.

Every spellcaster skilled in enchanting looked older than people their age.

Enchanting was a high-level magical craft. Without several generations of inheritance, how could anyone afford to waste so many years figuring it out on their own? Even the long-lived elves wouldn't do that.

Unless they were high-ranking spellcasters or legends, people generally wouldn't touch this field, even though magic items did possess some peculiar powers.

The entire room was covered in densely packed magic runes. It seemed the Earl had begun preparing as soon as Borne left the day before, and had stayed up all night.

When the Earl finished the final stroke, he let out a relaxed breath and smiled.

Borne was deeply moved!

He hurried over to greet his grandfather, then charmed him again with his cuteness.

The Earl took out a red bead, handed it to Borne, and pointed to a round spot in the middle of the magic circle.

"Sit there in a moment and hold this Heart of Elements against your chest. I'll cast Identify on you. Today, I'll perform the 'Enlightenment' ritual, and you'll set out on the path of an Arcanist."

"Enlightenment?"

Borne asked, puzzled.

Didn't spellcasters meditate to sense the Weave? Since when did they need an Enlightenment ritual? Wasn't that a Druid's trick?

"This is a unique tradition of the Ioulaum House. My grandfather—your great-grandfather—was once a powerful Druid. This Enlightenment circle was adapted from the Druids' Enlightenment ritual. It can directly give the recipient the magical power of an intermediate- or high-level magic apprentice!"

"All right, get in there. Gordon, guard the door. Don't let anyone interrupt the inheritance ritual."

The Earl turned and spoke to Gordon.

Only then did Borne notice that his father and the captain of the knights had arrived. Many knights and guards were standing at the door as well.

"Yes!"

Gordon led the captain of the knights to the doorway and took up his post.

The ritual seemed important. Holding the Heart of Elements, Borne walked to the middle of the circle and sat cross-legged.

He clasped both hands around the Heart of Elements, pressing it against his body.

The Earl began murmuring an incantation.

Borne felt a mysterious power descend upon his head. It was as if something had opened up inside him. Time seemed much clearer, and his thoughts sped up, like he was on the highway!

Identify!

Borne immediately realized that this spell could increase the recipient's intelligence.

"Focus. Don't get distracted."

The Earl's voice reached him. Borne immediately closed his eyes and imagined himself sitting atop a mountain, surrounded by white clouds!

It was a visualization technique Borne remembered from his previous life, one that helped clear away distracting thoughts!

Then the Earl began chanting again.

This time, he didn't lower his voice. Borne could hear him clearly. The language was very different, clear and melodious, like birdsong in the forest.

Elvish!