Chapter 14: Shadow Magic and Ari's Past

Months later.

Earl was standing still in his training room. His shadow was cast from the flickering torches in the room. His purple eyes suddenly flickered open and his shadow warped like a whip and turned into a dark sphere before landing his hand. The sight appeared unusual and unreal, with Earl standing still without his shadow behind him.

This was his own original magic that he had been working on, Shadow Magic!

Shadow Magic was inspired by the Darkness Element Magic of the demons. After adding his own twist to it, this new element was formed by using his knowledge of modern physics. As for how it works... It wouldn't be magic anymore if it could be explained, would it?

"Hahaha!" Earl laughed loudly at his accomplishment.

The shadow ball in his hand trembled and then returned to form his shadow. Because he was only an Intermediate Mage, he could not fully assimilate himself with his element yet. It was the ability of Advanced Mages to become one with their element to a certain extent after they fully realize their mana capacity.

Now you might ask, what led Earl to create his own magic? First, if you were to realize that you were crazy talented at magic, why wouldn't you try? And secondly, Earl really wanted a high-quality slave of his own. With his potential, creating his own magic would be the best way of achieving this. The creation of magic required deep thought and research, which in turn, deepened one's understanding of magic and control. It was like killing two birds with one stone.

Earl's desire for a slave did not mean that he was bored of Ari. It was quite the opposite, in fact, what he could not do with Ari, he would do with his future, beautiful slave. Man's greed was uncontainable and this was certainly the case for a degenerate like Earl. He remembered in his previous life, what he couldn't do with one girlfriend, he would do it with another. Each of his girlfriends had their own charms that provoked the desires of men. This did not mean he was incapable of love, but rather, he was a firm believer that one's love could not be contained by one person.

Of course, this could be considered double standard as his 5 girlfriends had to share one man, but what could do they about it? The more he thought of his previous life, the more content he became. He truly had died with no regrets so, with this life, he would die with no regrets as well.

Earl exited his room and looked out his mother's castle. The castle they were in was located by the Royal Palace. This meant he could have almost a full view of the city. Seeing the busy bustling streets, a happy smile emerged on his face. He really was happy and enjoying his life in this new world.

Later that evening, while Earl and Ari were cuddling on the bed, Earl asked an unexpected question about his family. "Mom, what was your family like when you were growing up?"

Ari ruffled Earl's hair gently and a fond expression came upon her face as she thought about her answer. "My family? My parents, or rather, your grandparents were former adventurers who had settled down. We grew up in a peaceful village..."

Ari's mind flashbacked to when she was younger.

The village they grew up in was a small one at the outskirts of the Kingdom. Her parents were former S-Class Adventurers that protected the village against any dangers. As such, their family held a special status in the village.

Her father, Herbert Roth, was a commoner who worked hard as an Adept to eventually become S-Class. Her mother, Daisy Roth was a noble who had eloped with Herbert and also an accomplished Expert Mage.

Life was simple in the village. They were days that she looked back on very fondly. Throughout the day, Ari would help her mother with various chores and would be taught magic by her occasionally, where she discovered her talent for magic.

Every day was the same until she reached the age of 6. That was when Daisy gave birth to another child, a beautiful baby boy. From that day onwards, Ari made a vow to protect this beautiful boy from harm no matter what.

From infancy to early childhood, Ari made sure to play with her little brother as much as she can. That was because, at the age of 10, she would be sent to the Royal Academy of Magic, where she would not come home for a long time.

At the Academy of Magic, Ari was the number one genius with no competition. She enjoyed crushing whoever thought they could match up to her like ants. That was because, by the time she had reached the Academy, she was already an Expert Mage, a realm that many would-be stuck at in their lifetime.

Every summer, she would rather home to spend time with her family, and her beloved brother who had ordinary levels of talent. However, that did not stop her from loving him. That was the time their "fun" began. It became their little secret that they would engage in every time she came back.

"That was until disaster struck." Ari suddenly said with a sad voice. "I was 15 when I returned home at the time. I returned to a village that was ruined by a beast tide. And my family had fallen with it." A single tear rolled down from Ari's eyes.

This was the first time Earl had seen his mother cry. It felt like his heart was being gripped. He crawled up to her face and hugged her tightly and said nothing.

It did not take long for Ari to get over her sadness. She returned Earl's hug and said sweetly, "Thank you, my Earl."

"You never said my late uncle's name, mom." Earl noticed that his uncle's name was never mentioned so he pointed it out.

"Your uncle's name?" Ari thought before replying playfully. "I named you after him, his name was Earl Roth."