Chapter 28 - Guardian's Heart

Although thanks to Drannor, his magic studies slowed down a little, weirdly enough, Zaos actually began to grow a bit faster. Maybe it was due to his confidence or practice, but before he could become five years old, Zaos learned two spells, and he was able to use them in less than five seconds. While those spells probably wouldn't be much useful battle-wise, Zaos felt pretty proud after learning them. They were Holy Light and Detoxification. The first granted Zaos the power to create a small sphere of light that could exist for a couple of minutes. The later could be used to lessen the effects of stomachaches and nullify the chances of a wound becoming something more serious.

Thanks to his magic training, his Sorcery reached level nine. Things also sped up reasonably well on his physical training, thanks to Drannor. His Shield Mastery reached level six, and Swordsmanship reached level seven. In any case, on the day Zaos became five years old, his mother prepared a small party, and even his father took a day off. While Lyra wanted to make something big, Laiex wasn't a fan of such events. Neither Zaos wanted to be greeted by people who he didn't know. While the party had been small, he received presents from both of them.

"Happy birthday, Zaos," Lyra said with a large smile on her face while she passed a small box to him. "While you don't like fancy things, I believe this will help you a lot, since you like to study and train so much."

"Thank you, mom," Zaos smiled, and then he opened a box only to find the same amulet his father gave to the princess on her first birthday. "This is…"

"It is a focus amulet, it helps you gather energy from the surroundings," Lyra explained. "In a year, the amulet will disappear because your body will absorb it. Don't worry, its effects will last forever."

"… Isn't this expensive?" Zaos asked.

"You are too young to worry about money," Lyra said. "Just keep under your clothes and it will be fine."

Zaos wore the amulet and quickly noticed that he suddenly felt lighter and, at the same time, more… strong didn't seem like the correct word. Regardless, Zaos tried to use Holy Light, and then he noticed that his mana was being recovered two times faster.

After a while, Zaos learned that Focus affected the regeneration of his health, mana, and stamina. One point of health could be recovered every day when his focus was 01. Zaos could recover one point of mana per hour with the same amount, and stamina was one point per minute. Now, all that doubled thanks to a single amulet. Considering how useful that was, it was beyond expensive…

Now that Zaos thought about it, he didn't know the birthday of his parents, but it wasn't like he could give them anything aside from saying the same words. Trying his hardest every day was the only real thing he could do.

Laiex silently got up and then grabbed a box that was in the corner of the room. Since it was too big and heavy for Zaos, he opened it and showed Zaos a long silver sword. The glint of the weapon was really eye-catching. While Zaos didn't seem to have many weapons, he wasn't one hundred percent sure that it was a masterpiece.

"This is a sword that my father gave me when I was ten, it is called the Guardian's Heart and it is said that this sword is indestructible, as long as you use it to protect someone," Laiex said. "While you are too young to use any real weapon, this is yours now."

"Thank you, father," Zaos said and then tried to move the scabbard of the double-edged longsword, but he failed at that.

"It is also said that you can only wield it when you truly want to protect someone, I never managed to find the perfect moment to unsheathe it, but perhaps you will find it," Laiex said. "Until then, wait patiently for the moment."

It looked like it was a magic sword that had several restrictions. Still, Zaos had a lot of expectations from that kind of item since in the stories his mother read to him, all those magic items were impressively powerful. After storing his weapon in his room, Zaos had dinner with his family. While things were as silent as always while they ate, suddenly Laiex broke the silence.

"Next week princess Ameria will have her birthday party and we were invited," Laiex said. "Make the necessary arrangements for it."

Speaking of birthdays, Zaos couldn't help but wonder when Drannor's was. Those three were of the same age, but he never mentioned it. Maybe it will happen in a few months. That would explain why despite the fact that he bothered Zaos almost every single day, he didn't receive an invitation to a party. Unlike Laiex and Zaos, it didn't look like Drannor, and Drian would hate a big party.

"You are already big enough, Zaos," Lyra said. "So, it is time for you to learn some etiquette."

Zaos tried to hide those as much as possible, but he failed at hiding the moment when he rolled his eyes. In the end, Lyra only sighed after seeing that. Zaos inherited that from his father. While none of them complained about those kinds of things, they hated it with passion. 

"Don't be like that," Lyra said. "Since you are young, you just need to learn the basics. You can worry about dancing lessons, table manners, tea ceremony and other things in a few years."

Zaos's mouth was left hanging open after hearing that. He was born to be the next leader of a family of warriors that serves the royal family. Why the hell does he have to learn how to dance? In any case, it looked like his life wouldn't be as simple from that day onward…