Darrik stood before the baron's office door, his expression unreadable.
He raised a hand and knocked.
The sound reverberated briefly before a stern, deep voice responded from within.
"Enter."
It carried the weight of authority that the entire house was used to.
Darrik gulped and stepped into the room, closing the door tightly behind him as if afraid someone might overhear the conversation from outside.
The air smelled of smoke and polished wood, the candles illuminating the room.
And there also stood Haric, with his arms crossed.
"It's rare for both of you to visit me simultaneously," Baron Kaelor said, studying his subjects.
"For what reason did you two decide to come here?" he asked, his expression unreadable.
Darrik glanced at Haric and bowed before answering the question.
"My lord," he started. "I recently started teaching Young Master, and he showed exceptional talent in magic."
"Can you expand on that?" Kaelor questioned, his lips parting into a thin smile.
Darrik nodded before adding,
"Not only did the Young Master sense mana, but he also unlocked First Mental Threshold. His mana recovery is also faster than anything I have ever seen."
"That's great but troubling news," the baron exclaimed and questioned further. "What about his affinity?"
Shaking his head, Darrik answered softly, "According to Young Master, he doesn't know yet."
Kaelor thought for a moment.
No one could realize better than he how terrifying it would be if word got out about Noa's success in sensing mana.
However, for him to even reach First Threshold showed how undeniably talented he truly was.
"Do not speak of this matter with anyone else," Kaelor then ordered, his voice clear and commanding.
"Only me, Young Master, and his maid are aware of this, my lord. I warned them to keep quiet about it,"
Darrik said and bowed again.
"Good job," the baron replied, his smile widening. "I am surprised he showed an interest in magic, and no matter how scary his talent is, I am happy for him."
He spoke like a father.
Not the baron who ruled the house, but a parent proud of his son's achievements.
Seeing that Darrik had nothing more to add, Kaelor's gaze moved towards Haric.
"What about you?" he asked. "You told me that you wanted to meet me because of Noa as well."
Haric smiled and bowed lower than Darrik.
"That's right, my lord. Young Master Noa also showed talent in physical and martial arts training," he explained.
The baron narrowed his eyes, gesturing for the commander to continue.
"Young Master Noa unlocked First Physical Threshold as well. It happened soon after I started his training," Haric added.
The moment he completed his words, unreadable silence descended.
No one spoke for a while, as though the world decided to hush all sounds.
Both Darrik and Haric looked upon their lord in silence and saw a man stoned like a monolith.
Finally, after allowing silence to live in his office, Kaelor spoke again.
"I feel you have more to add," he said to Haric.
The commander nodded low.
"My lord is correct," he stated. "That wasn't the end of what Young Master showed me. I sparred with him for a while, and I can confidently say that he is the most talented warrior I have ever seen. I would even dare to call him a monster."
Haric knew he had to explain more.
So he took a breath and continued, darting his gaze between Kaelor and Darrik.
"His movements were fluid. He was improving at a terrifying speed as he absorbed all of my movements and executed them almost flawlessly. It felt like I was teaching a seasoned master who was just holding himself back."
Kaelor leaned back in his chair as Haric finished speaking.
The same thing happened as before, and for a heartbeat, the room was silent.
Then he laughed.
It wasn't a forced or polite chuckle, but genuine with a father's pride.
"HAH-HAHAHAHA! The boy has monstrous talent for both mind and body?" he echoed.
His voice pulsed with pure energy and shook every time another wave of laughter sneaked in.
When he finally stopped, his grin persisted.
"Fate has finally favored us… he will achieve more than I have ever imagined."
"What are your plans for him?" Darrik chimed in, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"What else?" the baron chuckled again. "I will send him into the academy as soon as he awakens."
"But our funds…" Haric tried to ask.
He knew how tight the budget really was because of how much the army struggled.
"We have no other choice. He is our only hope to defeat him."
Kaelor answered and left his seat.
Meanwhile, Noa was reading the book Darrik had written and recommended. Thalia remained beside him, also educating herself by skimming through different genres of books.
The page Noa was currently reading spoke of the same question he had since arriving in this world.
He leaned in, eyes scanning the first sentence.
[The path of the Warriors is colored with blood, sweat, endurance, and resilience. They cultivate their body into a weapon.
Warrior Tamers own the frontline as the beasts they tame strengthen mostly their bodies.]
Noa flipped the page.
[The path of the Mages is shaped by focus, perception, and control. The mind is cultivated to become the conduit of mana.
Mage Tamers fight from a long range as the beasts they tame strengthen mostly their mind.]
Noa paused, raising his eyebrows.
'Reading so many webnovels affected my ability to guess how the world operates. There is almost nothing new here.'
But he still scanned another page and finally found something he couldn't guess just yet.
[Though one can train both mind and body, no one truly walks on the same path. The more Threshold one reaches, the more distant the other path becomes.
A warrior who tries to shape mana and cast strong spells would most definitely lose his edge.
A mage who tries to strengthen his body and use weapons would most definitely lose his insight.
This is the hard rule of Verdora, and everyone greedy enough to chase after both paths would be too shallow to reach either destination.]
'I didn't know about that,' Noa thought inwardly.
He believed this entire time that he could have just trained his body and mind alike.
But now he stood against a wall he wasn't sure if he could ever overcome.
Just then, when he was considering his options, the door swung open and a tall figure stepped inside.