Chapter 6 : Childhood (6)

This happy medieval land was a very sweet, female-centered world.

It was to the extent that even adulthood was determined based on women.

In this world, adulthood was set at 15 years old. 

Compared to modern standards, it was quite a young age, but the people of Happy Medieval Land didn’t think so.

Being able to bear children but not being considered an adult? 

That was an incomprehensible concept to the people of Happy Medieval Land.

Therefore, they designated 15 years old as the age of adulthood.

And this year, I turned 15.

I had become of an age where I was unmistakably responsible for my own duties.

Anyway.

So, what changed now that I was 15?

Honestly, not much.

My daily life remained the same whether I was 14 or 15.

After all, believing that the world would change just because you became an adult was nothing more than a child’s delusion.

This was only natural.

Just like any other day, after finishing cleaning the house, I cooked a meal.

“Why?”

Kelton stared at me from the side.

When I asked in confusion, Kelton quietly replied.

“You’ve grown taller.”

“Really?”

“Come here for a moment.”

Kelton had me lean against the doorframe and then marked the top of my head with a knife.

I turned around to check the marking.

I had indeed grown taller.

By about 1mm. 

Hmm.

“I’m already 151cm?”

“You’re growing fast.”

“At this rate, 3m 20cm isn’t far off.”

My original goal was 3m 50cm, but since my height growth over the past five years had been slower than expected, I had slightly lowered my expectations.

I had grown 30cm in the past five years, but I still had a long way to go to reach my desired height, so I needed to keep working on it.

“Why?”

“It’s nothing.”

I tilted my head in curiosity and then opened the cast iron pot to finish preparing the food.

What’s on the menu today?

Oh, meat stew!

“You eat this every time.”

“In the current situation, this is the most reasonable dish. 

But I do give it some flavor variations.”

“That’s why I enjoy eating it.”

We emptied our bowls of warm meat stew and sat at the table.

A short while later—tap.

Kelton moved his court magician piece forward and spoke.

“Checkmate.”

“Did you spend the whole time after eating just playing Arcana Chess?”

“I was drinking too.”

I had played Arcana Chess with Kelton countless times, but not once had I ever beaten him.

Starting two years ago, I sometimes managed a draw, but that was as far as I got. 

Never had my knight been able to strike down Kelton’s king.

Was this man really a magician, or was he actually a professional Arcana Chess player?

How was he so good?

Cough.

Suddenly, Kelton coughed.

I pulled out a blanket and covered him, saying,

“The weather is cold, and you’re dressed too lightly. 

No wonder you’re coughing.”

“A magician born with fire affinity stops being affected by the weather around the fourth tier.”

“Is that true?”

I had never known that before.

But then again—

“Then why do you come inside the house every winter? 

If the weather doesn’t affect you, you could just stay outside on the rocking chair in the yard all year round.”

“Getting snowed on is a different matter. 

It’s unpleasant.”

“Ah, I see.”

Kelton put a pipe in his mouth. 

Chiiik.

After lighting his tobacco, he took a deep drag and then spoke.

“Ruina.”

“Yes?”

“How have you been lately?”

“The same as always.”

My current magic level was Tier 2. 

The same as it had been two years ago.

“Well, it’d be strange if you had already reached the third tier.”

However, unlike before, I wasn’t particularly falling behind either.

Typically, a zero-tier magician takes about a week to reach the first tier.

A first-tier magician takes about a year to reach the second tier.

Then, from the second tier to the third?

From here, it usually took ten years.

Since I had been a magician for five years and was currently at the second tier, that meant I was at a perfectly average pace.

“Someone who took three years just to reach the second tier is expected to take more than ten years for the third tier. 

That’s just logical.”

“Kelton, sometimes you’re brutally honest.”

According to the “Promising Bud Theory,” my future was already predictable, but here was one of life’s fun little quirks—just because the future seemed clear didn’t mean anything actually changed.

The only choice was to do my best in the present.

Hoo.

Kelton exhaled a puff of smoke and leaned back in his chair, resting his chin on his hand.

“That said, there’s no need to rush.”

“I’m not in a hurry.”

“I know you aren’t, but sometimes you do weird things, so I’m just saying.”

I had never done anything weird in my life, so why did he have that impression of me?

I felt a little wronged.

Seeing my reaction, Kelton straightened up and continued speaking.

“There’s plenty of time. 

If you continue your training steadily, you’ll reach a higher level. 

Look at me. 

Even living lazily, I still became a fourth-tier magician.”

“But becoming a fourth-tier magician as late as you did would be a bit of a problem.”

“Then just work hard at a reasonable pace.”

I nodded obediently.

I hadn’t planned on rushing my progress in the first place.

I was still young—what reason was there to hurry?

“By the way, are you heading somewhere?”

“A request came in. 

The village chief asked me to deal with some goblins that have been causing trouble nearby.”

“Should I come with you?”

“There’s no need for two magicians just to handle some goblins. 

Stay here and focus on your training.”

With those words, Kelton left the house.

After seeing him off, I headed to my workshop.

A magician’s training was a quiet endeavor.

And a dry one.

The act of endlessly observing the elements in search of an undefined answer resembled that of an ascetic.

No one knew if this was the right path.

Because no one had ever walked it before.

There were no true predecessors. 

The magicians who claimed to be seniors were simply ones who had walked different paths.

For a magician, there was only one source of answers—themselves.

Perhaps that was why magicians were so indifferent to one another.

Whoosh. 

A flame flickered inside the lantern.

It had already been five years since I started living this way.

By now, training came as naturally as breathing.

Though getting used to something and making actual progress were entirely different matters.

I opened the lantern and pulled the flame out into the air.

It danced through the space, moving according to my will.

Lost in thought, I gazed at the flickering light.

Fire held no discrimination. It burned all things equally.

However, there were rules.

Depending on the material, fire could burn fiercely or dimly.

Hmm.

I tilted my head to the side.

Something, something…

Something always felt just out of reach.

I had pondered this issue endlessly. 

Then, thinking that maybe I was overthinking, I had also tried emptying my mind.

Yet, I still couldn’t grasp the key to the next level.

I had even consulted Kelton about it.

“Could it be that I’m thinking too much?”

“My master is an eighth-tier archmage, but his mind is always noisy with thoughts.”

If even an eighth-tier archmage was fine despite constant thinking, then thinking too much wasn’t the issue.

That meant, after all the circling around, it came down to one simple conclusion.

I lacked intuition.

I crossed my arms and rocked my body back and forth.

Senses, instincts, intuition.

I had never felt particularly lacking in those, but I guess you never really know until you test yourself.

Thud.

I let myself fall onto the floor and stared at the floating orb of fire.

I muttered to myself.

Kelton had said there was still plenty of time.

There was no need to overcomplicate things—I should just take it easy.

I got up.

The flame followed my movements gently.

When nothing else came to mind, it was time to practice magic.

Today, I would train until my mana was completely drained, then go to the market to buy ingredients.

Hmm-hmm.

Humming, I guided the flame through the air.

Under my perfect control, it did not burn a single thing as it floated peacefully through the workshop.

But then a thought crossed my mind—

Wasn’t this “perfect control” actually suppressing the true nature of fire?

Since when has fire become something that could be controlled by human hands?

Fire—flames—were dangerous and beautiful precisely because they could not be tamed.

Acting on impulse, I cast my fire magic at a pile of firewood stacked in the corner of the workshop.

The logs ignited instantly.

The flames burned wildly—hot, intense.

Fire did not interfere with me.

Yet, I interfered with fire.

That wasn’t fair.

I had claimed that I wanted to understand fire, but in reality, I had always kept my distance.

That was arrogance.

I stepped closer to the flames.

Even though it was my own magic, the heat was overwhelming.

Of course—because I had abandoned control.

Slowly, I reached my hand into the fire.

My skin began to scorch.

I didn’t stop.

I stepped fully into the flames.

In the searing pain of my body burning, I closed my eyes and fully embraced the fire.

For a long time.

Continuously.

Endlessly.

This immense power had always been present in my magic.

Even though I had the ability to control it, I had chosen to suppress it.

I see.

True fairness is born from shared risk.

Hissss.

The moment I set my will, the fire was extinguished.

Staggering, I got up and grabbed a healing potion from the shelf, pouring it over my body.

As I felt my wounds recover, I lay back down on the floor.

“What the hell—”

At that moment, Kelton walked into the workshop.

His eyes swept across the room, pausing on the half-burned firewood before locking onto me.

“Ruina, your face—”

His lips parted as if he had a lot to say.

I grinned and forced out my voice.

“But I succeeded, didn’t I?”

“What am I going to do with this reckless girl…?”

“If I doubled the average pace, I’ll reach the fourth tier next year, and the fifth the year after that.”

“What kind of ridiculous math is that?”

Kelton let out a long sigh.

He looked both exasperated and as if he were surrendering to something.

Taking a deep breath, I conjure a flame in the air.

A fireball, the size of a human head, glowed brilliantly.

Third-tier—”Refined Flame” magician.

After fifteen years in this world, I had finally reached this level.