Chapter 3 : Childhood (3)

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Has a Busy Day

Early in the morning, before the dawn had fully broken, I woke up. 

I pulled the sheets taut and tucked them under the bedding, then neatly arranged the blanket and pillow on top.

Next, I opened the window.

The weather’s nice.

Soon, it would go from cool to outright cold, so I needed to ventilate the house while I still could.

I opened the windows in every room except for my master’s. 

The living room, the kitchen, the utility room, the storage room… 

Ah, right, the workshop too. 

Once all the windows were wide open, the air in the house became fresh and clear.

This is what I love about “Happy Medieval Land.” 

Just by opening a window, I could breathe in air that, in modern times, would only be found deep in the remote mountains.

I swept and wiped down every corner of the house.

After scrubbing and polishing, the house felt noticeably brighter.

With the cleaning done, it was time to start preparing breakfast.

I lit the fire in the hearth and placed a cast-iron pot over it.

I cut the beef I had gotten yesterday into large chunks and seared the outer layer.

Then, I added finely chopped onions, carrots, garlic, and turnips, sautéing them together. 

At the right moment, I poured in enough water to cover all the ingredients and added a bay leaf.

After seasoning with salt, I covered the pot and adjusted the heat.

In just two hours of simmering over medium-low heat, the Sorcerer’s Apprentice’s special beef stew would be complete.

I whispered softly to myself.

“Once the stew is simmering, I just need to clean and organize the workshop, and that’ll be 25% of my morning tasks done. 

The life of a sorcerer’s apprentice is seriously busy.”

“Aren’t you just making up extra work for yourself? 

Anyone watching would think I ordered you to do all this.”

At the sudden voice, I turned my head.

Kelten was puffing on his pipe with a look of disbelief.

“You’re up?”

“Old people don’t sleep much.”

“But I don’t sleep much even now.”

“Then you’ll probably sleep even less when you’re old.”

That… made sense? 

Probably.

It was a very reasonable assumption.

Impressed by Kelten’s wisdom, I nodded and headed to his room.

I opened the window for ventilation, pulled the sheets taut, tucked them under the bedding, then neatly folded the blanket and placed it with the pillow.

I stepped back and examined Kelten’s bed.

Hmm, the blanket’s angle looks slightly off.

Again.

“You probably would’ve done well even if you were sold off to a noble family.”

“Wouldn’t they have spared me from night duties, thinking it’d be a waste to make me do them since I’m so good at housework?”

“Not a chance. 

They’d probably jump at the chance to check if you’re good at night duties too. 

Just look at your face.”

Jeez.

This is why it’s exhausting being attractive.

After finishing up Kelten’s room, I moved on to cleaning and organizing the workshop.

An hour passed.

I added mushrooms to the simmering stew. 

I also added flour to thicken it slightly.

Another 15 minutes passed.

When I lifted the lid, a rich aroma filled the kitchen.

The beef stew was perfectly done.

“Kelten, eat up.”

“Hmm.”

Kelten got up from the rocking chair on the porch and sat at the dining table.

I ladled the stew into a wooden bowl and placed it in front of him, then poured water into a cup.

Kelten took a sip and narrowed his eyes.

“This is herb-infused water.”

“It’s rosemary.”

“You really make all sorts of things.”

“Honestly, herb-infused water is pretty common.

You’re just not paying attention.”

In “Happy Medieval Land,” most households grew their own herbs. 

What I did wasn’t unusual at all.

Kelten took a spoonful of the beef stew and put it in his mouth.

His eyes widened.

“This is—”

“How is it? 

It’s good, isn’t it?”

The umami of the beef, the subtle aroma of the mushrooms, the sweetness of the vegetables, all blended together, with the flour giving the stew a thick, velvety texture.

“It’s delicious.”

“Eat as much as you want.”

“You eat too.”

“I was planning to.”

I scooped some stew into my own bowl and took a big bite.

A warmth spread through my body.

The perfect meal for a crisp autumn morning.

After finishing the meal, I washed the dishes and went to the workshop.

With the chores done, it was time to get to my main work.

Whoosh.

 A flame flickered to life at my fingertips.

I silently watched the fire dance.

The flickering flames cast wavering shadows across the workshop.

Fire. 

Fire. 

Fire.

What is fire?

As soon as I posed the question, words surged through my mind.

Expansion, extinction, regeneration, purification, divinity, transformation, life, foresight, protection, summoning, fusion, resistance, transition, manifestation, enhancement, connection, healing, distortion, memory, guidance, imprint.

I stopped thinking.

I knew plenty about the universal properties and magical elements of fire.

But in this world, knowing something intellectually wasn’t much help in magic.

It had been a month since I met Kelten.

And I was still a zero-rank, powerless mage.

“How’s it going?”

“Not at all.”

At my response, Kelten leaned against the workshop wall and took a deep drag from his pipe before exhaling a puff of smoke.

Then, he spoke.

“I was never particularly talented, but you… you’re quite hopeless.”

“Why is that?”

“Does there need to be a reason? 

You just don’t have the knack for it.”

Kelten stepped away from the wall and walked toward me.

Whoosh. A flame bloomed in his hand.

“I told you before that magic is based on understanding, but strictly speaking, that’s not entirely true.”

“I’ve heard this a hundred times already. 

Is this just a review?”

“How do people usually understand things?”

“With their heads.”

Most understanding happens in the mind.

Analyzing mechanisms, logically grasping processes and outcomes—that’s what understanding is.

“But magical understanding doesn’t work like that.”

Magical understanding is more like intuition.

Your body, mind, and soul must instinctively grasp the essence of something.

That’s what magic users in this world meant by understanding.

“In a way, mages are kind of like physical fighters. 

Sensory perception is the most important thing.”

“So brainy types have no place here?”

“Accumulating knowledge does help you reach enlightenment a bit more easily. 

Studying isn’t pointless.”

After all, running toward a known destination is easier than running blind.

Not that it mattered in a world where talent and instinct decided everything.

I emptied my mind completely and just stared at the flame.

Fire. 

It’s hot. 

It flickers. 

It burns.

“If it’s not working, knowing when to quit is also a strategy.”

Kelten suddenly spoke.

When I met his eyes, he slowly continued.

“If you hole yourself up in here, you’ll just drive yourself insane. 

That’s why I compromised and settled into the rank that matched my abilities.”

“Rank 4?”

“A mage can reach rank 4 through sheer effort. But unique magic is a whole different realm—that’s pure talent.”

“Then I should at least aim for rank 4, right?”

“I said effort can get you there, not that it’s easy. W

ith your talent, it might take a lifetime. I barely reached rank 4 at my age.”

Exhaling smoke, Kelten murmured softly.

“If you keep bashing your head against the impossible, you’ll end up crushed under a thick wall and go insane.”

“You must have seen a lot of mages like that?”

“Why do you think mages rank number one on the list of people nobody wants to keep around?

Even though they wield magic, they’re still avoided—that tells you everything you need to know.”

I understood Kelten’s words.

I also understood what he was worried about.

But.

“Living as a low-ranked mage is not an option for me.”

“Why? 

Do you envy the status of high-ranking mages?”

At Kelten’s question, I finally voiced a thought I had always carried.

“Dying without having used every kind of magic this world has to offer… 

That would be too unfair.”

“Ah. Would it be possible to use high-level magic by offering something in exchange? 

I just need to experience it once. 

If necessary, I’m even willing to sacrifice my lifespan. 

Of course, if my lifespan shortens, I’d have fewer chances to try other magic, so I wouldn’t abuse it. 

If I did that, living as a low-ranked mage wouldn’t be a problem—”

Kelten interrupted me, shaking the ash from his pipe.

Then, he fixed his gaze on me and spoke.

“I’ve changed my mind. You…”

“I?”

“You’re either going to die, driven insane by your own obsession, or you’ll become a Grand Mage. 

One or the other.”

“Die?”

“I said one or the other.”

“But the odds seem heavily in favor of the first one.”

“Then use your common sense and quit while you’re ahead.”

“That’s impossible.”

If I were capable of giving up, I wouldn’t have reincarnated in the first place.

Kelten sighed and stepped out of the workshop. 

He was probably off to take care of some personal business. I saw him off casually, then returned my focus to the flames.

The fire flickered at top of my fingers.

I had been observing it for a full month, but I still felt nothing.

I knew what kind of sensation I should be expecting—I had experienced it when I first sensed an element. 

But no matter how long I stared at this flame, I didn’t get that tingling, instinctual awareness.

Hmm.

This won’t do.

At this rate, I’ll be stuck like this forever.

I felt bad for Kelten, but from now on, I was following my own curriculum.

I enlarged the flame burning on my fingertip.

Then, I shoved it into my mouth and swallowed.

Gulp.

The fire traveled down my esophagus and settled in my stomach.

Thanks to the past month of training, my control had improved enough that the flames didn’t burn me from the inside out. 

But it was still an extremely reckless act. 

My control could break at any moment.

Still, I ignored the risk and focused entirely on the flame.

I could feel its shape, its heat, and the way it moved.

Inside me, the fire danced.

When I reached out my hand, the flame mirrored me.

In that instant, a spark flashed in my mind.

I extinguished the fire inside my stomach and conjured a new flame in my palm.

A perfectly round sphere of fire.

I shouted in triumph.

“It’s magic!”

“You finally reached Rank 1, huh?”

“Kelten?! 

I thought you went out?”

“I came back to stop you from doing something reckless, but it looks like I was too late.”

“But thanks to that, I reached Rank 1!”

Kelten chuckled and asked me a question.

“What’s the characteristic of the fire you discovered?”

“Fairness.”

“Fairness?”

“I willingly swallowed the flame, and in return, the fire granted me enlightenment. 

That’s fair, isn’t it? 

Is it strange?”

“It’s… not exactly common.”

“Then is that a good thing?”

“As I told you when we talked about elemental attributes, there’s no such thing as good or bad in magic. 

What matters is how much a mage refines and polishes what they’ve discovered.”

I played with the sphere of fire in my hand before speaking again.

“Still, this isn’t too bad, right?”

“To be brutally honest? 

It is bad. 

Most mages reach Rank 1 within a week, at the latest. 

That’s why powerless mages like you aren’t classified as Rank 1, but Rank 0 instead. 

It’s not even considered a real stage—just a brief, passing phase.”

“That much of a difference, huh?”

No wonder they labeled me talentless after just a week. 

Everyone else had already reached Rank 1 by then.

That explained a lot.

Oh well.

I dismissed the flame in my palm.

It was a good day, so I decided to let myself be satisfied with that.