Chapter 7 Reflections

Amos sat on the edge of his bed.

“It was just plain dumb.”

His right hand slowly clenched and unclenched as he stared at it.

The image replayed inside his head again. The Goblin Champion’s that he thought had given up gave him one last attack that almost kill him. A sudden blast of condensed mana tearing through the air fast enough that his brain barely registered it before his body moved.

“I almost died from a low rank monster, me? ME? I am a Kyros for goddamn sakes.”

The realization settled heavily in his chest.

If his instincts had been duller, if the angle had been slightly different or if he had not injured the goblin champion's knee. That attack would have put a hole in his chest right now.

“Tsk. Pathetic”

His fingers pressed against his forehead.

DUMB. DUMB. DUMB. DUMB. DUMB. DUMB.DUMB. DUMB. A FUCKING DUMBASS.

It bothered him how stupid it was.

“I got careless at the last second.”

That annoyed him more than the danger itself.

The fight before that had gone too smoothly. His absurd mana reserves combined with reinforcement made goblins feel weak. Their movement were slow. Their bodies fragile and because of that.

He became too relaxed.

That was a problem.

“I arrogantly thought I already won.”

A stupid mistake. Despite having no real experience of fighting life or death, I dared to relax.

The kind of mistake people made before dying.

Amos leaned back slightly against the bedframe, eyes narrowing.

“I am too reliant on physical reinforcement. I should have used spells.”

His body strengthening through mana was powerful. Ridiculously powerful for someone his age. No, he is probably the most powerful among people his age but that was not the main uses of mana.

“I’m supposed to be a mage.”

Amos stared at the ceiling blankly.

He had been blessed with monstrous mana capacity.

And yet what did he do with it?

Punch harder, kick with more force, and run faster.

Fucking amateur.

Mana quantity alone meant nothing if he used it badly, he had much mana spared after the fight. He doesn't even feel 1/5 of his mana pool used in that battle.

“And that beam”

Amos slowly raised a hand.

A faint layer of mana instinctively wrapped around his fingers, compressed and unstable, before finally dispersing.

The goblin’s attack wasn’t even refined. In fact, it wasn't even controlled.

Yet it still almost killed him because it had caught him off guard.

“That’s truly pathetic.”

Someone with mana reserves ridiculous enough to comparable to a newborn dragon and he almost died to a goblin because he fought like a damn idiot.

“I need more actual combat experience.”

“Reinforcement alone isn’t enough.”

He needed proper mana manipulation and spells.

And most importantly, fix himself.

He needed to stop acting like fights ended the moment the enemy almost fell down.

Even though monsters were monsters and people were people. One thing that is similarity in both are they could kill you the moment you relaxed.

“I really almost got myself killed over arrogance.”

Then Amos buried his face into his hands.

“THAT’S SO EMBARRASSING.”

The muffled groan echoed through the room.

Knock knock.

The door opened before he could answer.

Rude

There is only one person in the estate that could do that.

Elena stepped inside quietly carrying a tray with a teapot.

Her crimson eyes immediately landed on him.

She walked over calmly and placed the tray down near the bedside table.

Amos glanced toward her.

“Elena.”

“Yes.”

“Was I stupid?”

“Yes.”

Amos pointed accusingly.

“You don't even know what it is about yet.”

“Yet my answer stays the same no matter the context.”

“Ouch.”

She poured tea calmly.

“You don't have to be too hard on yourself. No matter what you do, I can see why you do it.”

“That feel like a backhand compliment.”

“Yes.”

She passed him a cup, and Amos took it without a word. It was warm, and a gentle hint of herbs rose with the steam. She knows just how I liked it. One thing Elena is, that she is a very good maid.

“I thought I was strong.”

Elena looked toward him.

“You are.”

Amos laughed weakly.

“A goblin almost killed me.”

“You are still strong.”

“Are you caring about my feeling?”

Elena sat beside the bed, her expression remained as unreadable as always.

Yet her next words came softer or at least that how Amos heard it.

“You survived and recognized your mistake.”

She looked toward him directly.

“And you are reflecting on it instead of pretending it never happened. That is why you will continue becoming stronger and stronger.”

Amos stared at her quietly.

“You know, moments like this make me forget you are a sadist toward me.”

“Yes.”

“See? There it is again.”

He took a sip of tea, warmth spreading through his chest. Outside, moonlight drifted softly across the floor, while inside the room remained still. Amos gazed into the curling steam above his cup. The heat against his fingers felt oddly steadying after the chaos earlier. For a time, neither of them spoke, and only the faint ticking of the clock and the distant whisper of wind against the manor windows broke the quiet.

“Elena.”

“Yes.”

“How strong do you think I am?”

Elena answered immediately.

“Strong enough that average adults would probably lose against you.”

Amos blinked slightly.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Elena calmly took a sip from her own cup before continuing.

“You possess overwhelming mana.”

A pause.

“But your usage is lackluster, no imagination at all.”

She went straight for the throat.

“As expected of my personal assassin.”

“I am your personal maid.”

“Same thing.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“You know, sometimes I wonder why I keep you around.”

“You cried for three hours when I went absent for one day after getting sick, moving on. You fight like someone who suddenly received overwhelming power without understanding how to properly wield it.”

“That obvious?”

“Yes.”

“You rely too much on your instinct and raw mana output.”

Her eyes made contact with his quietly.

Elena set her teacup down softly.

“If that goblin champion had been stronger. We would have died.”

Amos exhaled quietly through his nose.

“Yeah.”

The goblin had been weak.

Weak enough that Amos could dominate it physically despite having almost no real combat experience and yet, he still nearly died.

“I hate that I had all that mana and still fought like an idiot.”

“You are an idiot.”

“Please support my recovery a little.”

“No.”

Amos groaned dramatically before leaning back against the bedframe again.

“Magic really is ridiculous though.”

He looked toward his own hand again.

“Even that thing could fire compressed mana.”

Magic had no regard for common sense. One careless moment, and suddenly a beam was trying to rip out your organs. Amos narrowed his eyes.

“I need ranged spells.”

“Yes.”

“Defensive spells too.”

“Yes.”

“And perception abilities.”

“Yes.”

“Can you stop agreeing so fast? Make it feel more important moment for my character dammit.”

“I did.”

Amos fell silent, his gaze drifting back to the ceiling. Slowly, a grin began to spread across his face.

“I’ll learn everything.”

Elena raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Everything?”

“Magic formulas,” he began, raising a finger.  

“Spell structures.” Another finger.  

“Mana compression.” Another.  

“Casting speed.” Another.  

“Combat applications.” Another.  

“Defensive barriers.” Another.  

“Long-range attacks.” Another.  

“Detection.” Another.  

“Countermeasures.” Another.  

“And whatever the hell that goblin did.”

His eyes narrowed.

“I’m never getting caught off guard by something like that again.”

“Yes.”

Amos pointed toward her again.

“You know, you agreeing every time somehow feels mocking.”

“It is.”

“Cheeky maid.”

“Yes.”

Amos sighed before finishing the rest of his tea in one go.