Kai of the Sorcerer’s Tower sat on the floor, his legs crossed in front of his bed. His eyes were closed as he focused on his circles.
All his senses were drawn away from the external environment due to how focused he got in his meditation every passing second. As he circled his mana around in his Mana Heart, he got closer to a particular feeling.
The feeling somehow— had become both familiar and frustrating. Mostly the latter because he had been trying for a long time now.
He sighed and inhaled, taking in a large amount of mana. He swirled them and with each complete circle, the speed increased.
A month. For a whole month, he’d been stuck at the cusp of the second circle, the bottleneck frustrating him more with each passing day.
Today, though, something felt different.
His Mana Heart felt unusual and he could feel the changes happening in it. The mana from the air felt chaotic, but as soon as he took hold of it, it responded to his will with coherence.
He pushed, channelling his focus, visualizing the swirling energy coalescing, solidifying.
Sweat beaded on his forehead and his face strained. The pressure kept building up as he circled more and more mana, trying to build up his third circle.
In the last month, he had tried several times and in a lot of them, he had managed to build his next circle, expanding his reserves, but as soon as he would let go, the circle would break, dissolving like it was never there.
He hoped it would be different this time.
He felt a sudden dissonance in his Mana Heart as his mana tried to build up his next circle, a force giving him a lot of mental pressure, but he kept at it.
Minutes turned into hours, but he didn’t give up. His Mana took on the form of his next circle, in the middle of the two he had made before.
Then, a click resounded. Not an audible click, but a feeling, a shift in the very core of his being. The Mana Heart, once a churning vortex, settled, a vibrant sphere pulsing with controlled power.
Slowly, he let go, but the third circle didn’t disperse. It settled there, pulsing with mana and giving him far more energy than he had expected.
A wide grin split Kai’s face.
The third circle, breached!
The rush he felt was something he hadn’t sensed in quite a long time. It was like his whole being steamed with newfound power and every breath he took filled him with a refreshing feeling.
He flickered his wrist with ease, a flame appearing on his fingertip. It seemed to be much stronger than before, giving a bright glow.
He killed the flame down after a few seconds and did a refreshing spell to get rid of the exhaustion. He pushed himself up, feeling the energy bursting in his muscles.
Stretching his body, he glanced out the window.
Morning light bathed the view in a golden glow and as he breathed in the mana-rich environment, flashbacks came to his mind.
It felt like only a moment ago he’d been battling with the mana fiend, then the next second, being awakened in a different body with an inability to feel the rush of mana — it was horrifying, to say the least.
After having spent all his life battling mana fiends, he had never expected to regress in time and awaken in the body of a young lord. It had all been strange, but in the last few months, he had gotten used to it.
The season of Frosania had passed and the first month of Florana was here. The snow was melting and people were finally feeling more energetic.
When he had first become Arzan, he had been powerless, riddled with debt and other responsibilities, but now, his territory was on the path of recovery.
Moreover, in just a few months, he had become a third circle mage from a mortal.
His stomach grumbled suddenly, pulling him back from his memories. He had been trying to reach the third circle since waking up and he had missed the morning training.
Breakfast was already long gone, but it didn’t matter now.
He withdrew himself from the window and walked across the room, reaching the door and opening it with a creak.
He paused as he saw a familiar face.
There, by the doorway, stood Claire, wearing her usual maid uniform, her brow creased with concern.
"Good morning, Lord Arzan," she said, her voice a gentle murmur.
Kai forced a smile. "Good morning, Claire."
Her lips pursed slightly. "Didn’t want to disturb you since I saw you were meditating," she said, searching his face for something. "Breakfast has gone cold, but I could heat it again."
While saying that, she gave him a particular look which he knew by now. It was the one she reserved for him whenever he pushed himself too hard, a silent plea for him to prioritise his well-being.
In the past month, he had been trying to break the barrier to the third circle and due to it, he had been skipping his meals often. It had worried everyone who knew him closely, particularly Francis, Killian and Claire.
Even Amyra had asked about it, but he shrugged off the conversation every time.
Kai nodded appreciatively. "It seems like it could take down a troll and ask for seconds. You are improving at a rapid pace."
Amrya gave a shy smile. "Yours isn’t bad either."
Kai looked down at his own creation, a pang of disappointment pricking him. Compared to Amrya’s elegant design, his golem looked like a pile of misshapen clay. But when taken individually, his wasn’t bad.
Or maybe on a second note, he was being too critical about his handiwork.
Mine is good, hers is just better.
It couldn’t be helped since unlike Amyra, he couldn’t give his entire day to practising with clay. When they had first started, he was clearly better, but with time, Amyra had taken a good lead.
It was to the point where he felt like she would do a better job building up an actual golem than him.
"Actually," he mumbled, "I was thinking..."
Amrya raised an eyebrow, a flicker of curiosity sparking in her eyes as she waited for him to finish his words.
"Do you want to help me build an actual golem, like the one in the book I gave you?" he asked.
Amrya stared at him for a long moment, then a slow grin spread across her face. "Yes! I would love to!"
***
Kai leaned across the worn table, his finger tracing a winding path across the faded map of Veralt city.
Francis sat opposite him, his brow furrowed in concentration.
Since he had taken charge of things, Kai had ended a few problems the city faced. The bandit situation was a thing of the past, people weren’t dying of hunger anymore and the reopening of the mines had breathed new life into the territory’s economy.
But for Kai, the victory felt hollow.
His trips through the city painted a sad picture— crumbling infrastructure, pockets of desperate poverty, and a palpable sense of despair clinging to the air like a shroud.
His community kitchen, while helpful, was a mere band-aid on a gaping wound.
So, to deal with other issues, Francis wanted to consult Kai.
They divided the whole city into different parts, areas which needed more mending and areas that were doing comparatively better. It seemed like the whole city was planned better than he had expected.
There were clear lines, separating streets with farmers living on the western side and miners on the east. Merchants and other shop owners lived more in the middle and the noble estate was across the river with the guards’ quarters evenly spread out.
Since the city was large enough to accommodate a lot of people, Kai had several plans running in his mind.
"We can’t just rely on the mines, Francis," Kai said, "It’ll help, sure, but it’s not enough. We need a long-term plan, something sustainable."
Francis nodded, his gaze flicking around the map. "Indeed, my Lord. The living conditions in the miners’ area are appalling, to say the least. Almost a slum. Most of our people depend upon farming and mining, so creating more industries would certainly help. For now, I believe we need to mend their living conditions."
"Exactly," Kai said, jabbing a finger at a specific area. "That’s our priority. We need to improve their housing, and sanitation, and invest in proper equipment. From what I saw when I was in the mines, there was barely any protective equipment." His gaze swept across the rest of the map. "The rest of the city isn’t much better. We need repairs, clean-up crews, cobblers to mend the roads..."
The sheer scale of the task was daunting, but it was long due. Kai still recalled his first trip to the city and how everything looked like a ghost town.
If he was going to correct things, he couldn’t be satisfied with the bare minimum.
"Roads themselves are a mess. Potholes everywhere, some streets are barely passable. We’ll have to prioritise based on what’s in a more critical condition."
Francis scribbled notes furiously, taking keen details into attention.
"And," Kai continued, a thoughtful expression replacing his earlier frustration, "I’ve been thinking about setting up a school in the city. We don’t even have one and most people can’t even read and write. If we let it be, most of them would never develop their talents."
"Isn’t the church school enough?" Francis asked. There was a Church of Luminous in the city that provided basic history lessons and maths to kids.
Kai had heard about them and from what he knew, the things they taught were aimed more at the indoctrination of kids to their church rather than giving them a basic education.
He wanted to change that.
"No, it’s not. Kids don’t learn anything other than how great the gods are there. We need to take a more practical approach," he explained, receiving a frown from Francis who seemed to have concerns.
"Lord Arzan, although your idea is—"
A sharp rap on the door startled them both. A guard, his face serious, poked his head into the room. "Lord Arzan," he announced, his voice tight. "There’s someone from the capital here. They are requesting your presence."
Kai looked at Francis and exchanged a surprised look.
Who is it now?