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Chapter 6: The foundation, the celebration

*You will be able to purchase talents Arcani Understanding, Elemental Affinity, Trial by Tooth and Artifact Appraisal. All they are beginner-level talents with *

*And they are?..*

*Arcani Understanding increases your comprehension of Arcani, allowing you to understand the meaning of others\' spells. Elemental Affinity slightly boosts your spells of a chosen element, as well as increases your mana restoration speed in areas dense with mana of that element. Trial by Tooth lets you eat alchemical ingredients to understand part of their properties. Artifacts Appraisal allows you to understand the general purpose of an artifact from their aura.*

Cael hummed in thought. Arcani Understanding sounded immediately useful for fighting other mages, while Elemental Affinity would give him power, but a limited one. Other talents were for crafting, and Cael didn\'t have resources or knowledge for it.

No. What he needed now was to increase his stats, train to use more spells in practice, not just in theory, and seek ways to get more blood.

Money would only go that far. Cael needed to fight! On his own, as a free bounty hunter, or join the ranks of his father\'s soldiers. Then he\'d be able to splurge on talents and spell upgrades for actual combat-relevant spells.

*Alright, System… By the way, don\'t call me \'user\'. Just Cael. You have no name yourself, right, System?*

*Understood, Cael. But I do have a name—it is Blood Mage System.*

*That\'s not a real name…*

*It is a sequence of sounds my creator, and then you, have used to identify me. Therefore, by definition, it\'s a name.*

*If you say so, System. Anyway, I want to buy Lesser Exsanguination with all its prerequisites, Arcani Understanding…* That still left him with one upgrade to spare. *And one more mana upgrade.*

*Confirmed. Upgrades in progress… 87 BP until next upgrade.*

This time Cael felt so dizzy he had to sit down, but just like before, the overwhelming feelings of energy coursing through his body and his mana pool quickly subsided. When his head cleared, it somehow grew even clearer than it was before. Thoughts became easier. Movements, too. But of course, the change in his mana pool was the most obvious.

The words and passes of a new spell sprang to Cael\'s mind.

"*Crimson river, follow your master!*" he exclaimed, not putting any mana into it. Still, he grinned, and his thoughts raced towards his next step. He should go to the training hall there and test some basic combat spells… Good thing that sensing the state of other\'s mana in detail without instruments was hard even for high-ranked mages, and impossible for those like his third-ranked father. Cael didn\'t want to explain his sudden growth spurt to Mother or Vittorio.

His stomach growled. Cael looked at the sun, which hung low over the city.

But first, he\'d better get home before he was late for dinner.

***

Cael wasn\'t too late, but he still was the last one to come to the dining hall. Usually, only Mother and, occasionally, Vittorio came to dine here. Father preferred to eat in his study, and his sons ate in their room from time to time.

But today he was shocked to see everyone present. And the dinner itself wasn\'t a usual one, either.

The long table was full to the brim with delicacies. Cured meats, olives, cheeses, artfully arranged vegetables and fruits—and that was just the first course. Their family cook—not a spectral servant, as those were too primitive for complex tasks, but a real person—really worked hard.

"You have come, after all, son," Emilia stood up to greet Cael. "Good thing that you didn\'t vanish for a day again and miss a feast in your own honor."

Cael was struck speechless. For a moment, elation filled him—then he met his father\'s dark stare.

"Indeed, Cael. Do not think that your miraculous recovery lets you prance around, doing whatever you want—or makes you my heir. While Vittorio is a stronger mage than you, he\'s the one to inherit my lands."

"Thank you, Father, for your generosity," Cael spoke venomously as he walked towards his seat.

"I will teach you magic, of course," Gianni continued, as if ignoring Cael\'s remark. "Maybe you will even be of use in the upcoming war."

"Enough, husband of mine. This isn\'t the time for such words." Emilia gently patted Gianni\'s elbow. "The difficulties of yesterday shouldn\'t stop us from having joy today. Quite the opposite—it\'s more important now than ever to remember that not everything is bad in the world. And we all, no matter what, are family."

Gianni looked down at her, his harsh features softening. "You are, as always, wise in all matters, wife of mine." He sighed and turned to Cael. "Congratulations, son."

"You still have no chance of beating me, brother," Vittorio whispered to Cael. "You\'ve basically been born anew today, so I\'m eighteen years older!"

Cael snorted. "Just wait and see, Vit."

"Children," their mother chastised, forcing them into silence.

"You will have enough time to compete later, boys." Gianni stood up and lifted his wine goblet. "For my eldest son, Cael Oliveira, and his health!"