Chapter 82: A new hope
As Adrian ran forward, chasing after Sir Avalon, there was a single thought in his mind.
’I can’t let go of this opportunity.’
He was aware that his time was running out.
When he was five years old, the gap between him and other children was too vast. It couldn’t even be considered a fair comparison.
But now that he was ten, that gap was no longer that vast. He had realised that fact after completing the most recent test his mother had given him, alongside Ravian.
According to what he knew, Ravian also had a reputation as a genius child within the noble society, although that reputation was far smaller compared to Evangeline’s or his own.
But what mattered was that Ravian was a child his age who was also considered a genius.
And that ten-year-old child had not only kept up with the instructions Adrian had given him, but he had executed them so perfectly that it went beyond even his own calculations.
So wouldn’t Ravian and the others be able to match him in five more years or so? And after that... maybe it would be him who would struggle to keep up.
Adrian knew that something like that was inevitable, and he had also made his peace with that possibility after he chose to give up. But that was largely because he failed to find a way to maintain his position as a genius forever.
And that was still the case.
But after ’getting a taste’ of Sir Avalon’s capabilities as a teacher, he felt as though he had found hope. He knew that even Sir Avalon wouldn’t be able to help him maintain this facade of being a genius forever.
But maybe, with such an extraordinary teacher, Adrian would be able to at least prolong the inevitable.
He ran quite far, reaching the other end of the mansion. But just as he was about to take a turn, his feet came to a sudden pause.
Sir Avalon was standing with his back against the mansion’s wall with the same mysterious pose as before.
It was as though he had been waiting.
...as though he had been waiting for Adrian to chase after him the way he had.
Suddenly, Adrian was overcome with a strange feeling, one that was hard to describe. It was somewhat akin to discomfort.
He had realised it now. Although the two of them were quite different in comparison, he was somehow certain that Sir Avalon was the same kind of person as he was.
And that was why he could understand exactly what Sir Avalon wanted from him at this moment.
Adrian lowered his head into a bow and spoke in a tone that lacked the noble formality he always used.
"Sir Avalon, please forgive me for the rudeness in my previous behavior. I will do my best to learn from you, so please teach me to the best of your ability."
The corners of Sir Avalon’s lips twisted up into a smile.
"Child, weren’t you tired from your training?"
Adrian lowered his head even further.
"It doesn’t matter. I will still do my best to learn."
Then he heard the man chuckle as he spoke; his voice sounded amused.
"I like the enthusiasm, kid, but as I said before, today’s lesson was just to give you a little taste."
Adrian still kept his head lowered in a bow, not moving at all, even as he heard that.
Sir Avalon’s smile widened after observing that. He then took something out from inside his coat and offered it to Adrian. When he raised his head to look at the object that Sir Avalon was giving him, he froze.
What the man held out to him was something he had already seen before. It was an extremely thick book with a red cover and golden borders.
It was the compendium.
Sir Avalon spoke while smiling.
"But it would be a waste to end it like this after seeing your abnormally high enthusiasm, so how about I give you a task? Take this book and memorise everything inside it."
Adrian reached out his hand and slowly took the book.
"After you grow up and step outside the cage of safety built around you by this house, you will experience that mana and elemental spells are not the worst things. They follow logic and can thus be understood and predicted. But that isn’t the case for Origin Abilities, which makes them more dangerous. But after memorising this book, you, child, will know what to expect and will thus be ready."
***
After being given the book and having been tasked with memorising it entirely, Adrian forgot about everything and went straight to his room and began reading that book with extreme focus.
Usually, he would’ve gone to the library for such a task, but after the incident where he nearly lost his life, the library always had servants present. Seeing them constantly monitoring him felt very bothersome.
The sun dipped beyond the horizon, and night descended as the moon cast its ethereal glow over the dark landscape alongside the myriad of twinkling stars.
Adrian was still reading through the book with complete focus, even as it was now almost midnight.
But suddenly, the book was snatched from his hands, causing him to be startled ever so slightly. When he looked up, his personal maid, Rue, was standing in front of him, staring at him with a look of frustration.
"Young Master Adrian, it is time that you go to sleep, please."
Adrian stared at her for a bit, then slowly nodded.
’It’s not like I will memorize it in a day, anyway.’
He didn’t think he would be able to memorise that book even after a month.
Besides, today had been quite eventful, and he was exhausted both physically and mentally; he needed a good sleep to rest his mind and body.
So Adrian stood up from the cushioned chair he had been sitting on until now and lay down on his bed. As he closed his eyes, his personal maid pulled a blanket over his body.
Lying down was far more uncomfortable since he couldn’t properly bend his neck due to the bandages. But after a while, his eyelids eventually turned heavy as he drifted off to sleep.
At the same time, Adrian opened his eyes in the familiar corridor.
He sighed.
"Here we go again."
He had gotten used to opening his eyes to this scenery. Day after day, he was learning more about this place.
More than anything, it provided him with the opportunity to think in solitude without being interrupted.
’I wonder what today’s objective is. No, maybe I will just skip it today since I’ve got a lot of things I need to think about. I will just sit... and...
He trailed off as he casually turned his head to the right, his eyes widened slightly.
There was a change.
The window... was no longer covered by the dark fog.
