Three Years

If that was really true, Arando thought, then he was certain he would teach a great Arcane Knight, a legend who would go down in the history of magic. But he couldn't completely believe Solam, either. Once he learned that Solam had used up his Spell Slots, he decided to wait until Solam had meditated for eight hours and recovered them. Then Solam would cast spells without preparing them first. If he could do that, it would prove what he'd said was true.

So Arando abandoned the day's training plan and had Solam start meditating at once while he watched from the side.

It was already afternoon, and Solam had meditated for two hours. He only needed six more to prove whether this was true or not.

Arando watched Solam meditating with his eyes closed, his mind in turmoil. It wasn't that he doubted Solam's character. After spending so much time together, Arando could tell that Solam wasn't the sort of brat who would lie just to get an adult's attention. But even he wouldn't believe this, let alone any other Mage of sound mind.

Six hours passed quickly. It was already getting dark outside. Solam opened his eyes and saw Arando's tense, elderly face.

"What spells did you cast today?"

" Mage Hand and Flare," Solam answered honestly. He could see an unprecedented seriousness and tension on the old man's face.

"Do you still remember the models for those two spells?"

To make his claim more convincing, Solam pretended to think it over before replying firmly, "I remember them. I haven't forgotten a thing."

"Then cast those two spells again."

What happened next was only natural. Solam cast the two 0-level spells without breaking a sweat.

The old man was dumbfounded. He'd been right there, watching closely. Solam really hadn't prepared the spells; he'd cast them directly. Arando trusted his own eyes.

In other words, Solam really could remember spell models without the Weave erasing them. As for the possibility that Solam had been lying from the start—that he'd never cast those two spells and had only pretended to do so—that was impossible. Nobody would play such a pointless joke when it could be so easily exposed. Besides, Solam had no reason to lie to him.

"How did you do it?" This was important. If there really was a way to do it, Solam could rival the great archmages of history.

"Do what?" Solam obviously couldn't just tell him the truth.

"How can you stop the Weave from erasing the spell models?" Arando cast Detect Lie. This was too important; he had to be cautious.

"I just remember them really well. There's nothing special about it." Solam hadn't realized the old man would be so careful. But he wasn't exactly lying, so he unexpectedly passed the Detect Lie test.

When Solam learned about this later, he was relieved, and he also came to understand the limitations of Detect Lie. You didn't need to tell a lie; you could deceive someone just as well by leaving out parts of the truth, and Detect Lie wouldn't catch you. It was practically foolproof.

Arando felt the spell's feedback and knew Solam hadn't lied. Then his mind reeled.

"Are you the Mysterious Lady's illegitimate son? Even her Chosen don't have an ability like this." The Mysterious Lady was another name for Mystra, the goddess of the Weave. Since the goddess had died three times, the current Mystra had become secretive and rarely showed herself. She couldn't help it; the goddess had too many enemies.

Solam simply stayed silent and looked at Arando in confusion, as though he, too, was baffled by his ability.

Seeing Solam's expression, Arando realized he'd asked the wrong person. Solam was just a novice. How could he know how to solve this problem when so many brilliant legendary Mages hadn't been able to?

Arando thought it over for a long time but still couldn't explain the phenomenon. In the end, he had no choice but to chalk it up to Solam's special talent. After all, in this strange and unpredictable world, nothing was certain. In a way, Arando wasn't wrong: an ability was a talent, wasn't it?

"Do you feel unwell at all? Any headaches or nausea?" Arando asked with concern. If the ability had side effects, it wouldn't be as useful.

Solam knew why Arando was asking. He was worried Solam's brain might not be able to handle it, causing problems. It was clear that this world's understanding of the brain was quite primitive; they didn't know about the brain's regions. In reality, the brain's storage capacity was enormous, comparable to the best information-storage devices. So a few simple spell models were nothing; even ten thousand more complex models would be easy to handle.

"I feel completely fine. There's nothing unusual at all," Solam said firmly.

Arando still wasn't reassured. He asked him a lot more questions and even used magic to examine Solam's body. Only after confirming that Solam really had no problems did he finally relax.

"Don't tell anyone about this special talent of yours. Not even your family," Arando warned him sternly.

"Why?" Solam hadn't planned on telling anyone, but Arando's grave tone made him curious.

"Why? Do you have any idea how astonishing your talent is? If someone accidentally let it slip and the Mages outside found out, every Mage would hunt you down. They'd lock you up and run all kinds of experiments to study your talent—or simply use Soul Swap to take over your body and gain the ability for themselves." If Solam weren't his student and his old friend's grandson, Arando might even have been tempted to do something unsavory himself.

This world really was damn dangerous. If they found out about his abilities, he'd be completely finished. He'd better keep a low profile from now on, Solam decided.

Seeing that Solam understood how serious this was, Arando relaxed. Then a surge of excitement welled up inside him. This truly was a gift from heaven. Solam's talent was even greater than he'd imagined. At this rate, Solam might be able to carry out his revenge for him.

Now that he knew about Solam's talent, Arando had to change the old study plan. He began working out a new one.

Solam's days afterward became uneventful. He followed a routine of studying and training. During his breaks, he went to Granny Karom's to charm the old lady, or got into mischief with Iluter.

Three years passed this way. During that time, Solam finally completed his apprenticeship. To be honest, his speed gave Arando quite a fright.

It was too fast. Arando knew Solam was exceptionally talented, but he hadn't expected him to finish this stage of his training so quickly.

Actually, it made sense. Solam's three abilities all worked perfectly with Arcane Knight training. His Toughness ability helped him handle the strenuous Knight training and also made Arcane Modification go smoothly. His "Communication" ability let him connect with the Weave, making his Mage level rise quickly. His Focus ability helped him learn every kind of knowledge and skill at a remarkable speed. Solam had mastered the knowledge required of an apprentice at a nearly inhuman pace, so it was no surprise that he'd finished so quickly.

Solam was now a level 3 Arcane Knight. He had also kept up his Shaman training over the past few years; otherwise, Granny Karom wouldn't have been so patient.

Name: Solam (18 years old)

Race: Beast Elf

Attributes: Strength: 20 (+2) Intelligence: 23 Constitution: 19 (+2) Dexterity: 15 Wisdom: 21 Charisma: 14

Classes: Elemental Shaman (level 7) Fighter (level 8) (Since he changed classes to become an Arcane Knight, he stopped training as a Fighter, so this level wouldn't change) Arcane Knight (level 3)

Spells: (There are too many to write down, and listing them would just be padding, so they've been omitted)

Spell Slots:

0-level spells: 3 (a normal Mage has 5)

1st-level spells: 0 (a normal Mage has 2)

2nd-level spells: 0 (a normal Mage has 1)

Talents: Elemental Totem, Armored Casting, Arcane Modification

When Arando learned Solam's attributes, he was stunned. They were far too incredible for someone who was only eighteen. Who knew how much they'd grow once he reached higher class levels?

All he could say was that Solam had been born lucky. The bloodlines of his two races had blended perfectly: the Orcs' robust physiques and the Elves' natural intelligence. And over the past two years, it seemed that Solam's Elf blood had started to show. He'd actually become pretty good-looking. He wasn't a great beauty, but he had a face that grew on you.

His silver eyes and white hair helped a lot, too. Solam was also quite vain; he'd even designed a hairstyle for himself. He'd cut the hair short around the sides of his head, left the hair on top long, and tied it into a ponytail. It looked incredibly flashy. (Think Geralt's hairstyle in The Witcher 3.) Arando found it horribly awkward, but, to his surprise, the other Orcs loved it. They thought the style was both wild and practical.

Then Krum shamelessly begged Solam to give him the same hairstyle. The kid had recently fallen in love, so he'd started getting vain, too. What's more, he'd been foolish enough to start a long-distance relationship. The last time he went with Solam's grandfather and eldest uncle to visit the Frostblade Clan, he'd fallen for the chief elder's granddaughter and shamelessly stayed with the clan, refusing to leave. The elders on both sides were happy to see them together, so he'd actually managed to spend a year with the Frostblade Clan. He'd only recently returned.