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The feeling somehow— had become both familiar and frustrating. Mostly the latter because he had been trying for a long time now.

He sighed and inhaled, taking in a large amount of mana. He swirled them and with each complete circle, the speed increased.

A month. For a whole month, he’d been stuck at the cusp of the second circle, the bottleneck frustrating him more with each passing day.

Today, though, something felt different.

His Mana Heart felt unusual and he could feel the changes happening in it. The mana from the air felt chaotic, but as soon as he took hold of it, it responded to his will with coherence.

He pushed, channelling his focus, visualizing the swirling energy coalescing, solidifying.

Sweat beaded on his forehead and his face strained. The pressure kept building up as he circled more and more mana, trying to build up his third circle.

In the last month, he had tried several times and in a lot of them, he had managed to build his next circle, expanding his reserves, but as soon as he would let go, the circle would break, dissolving like it was never there.

He hoped it would be different this time.

He felt a sudden dissonance in his Mana Heart as his mana tried to build up his next circle, a force giving him a lot of mental pressure, but he kept at it.

Minutes turned into hours, but he didn’t give up. His Mana took on the form of his next circle, in the middle of the two he had made before.

Then, a click resounded. Not an audible click, but a feeling, a shift in the very core of his being. The Mana Heart, once a churning vortex, settled, a vibrant sphere pulsing with controlled power.

Slowly, he let go, but the third circle didn’t disperse. It settled there, pulsing with mana and giving him far more energy than he had expected.

A wide grin split Kai’s face.

The third circle, breached!

The rush he felt was something he hadn’t sensed in quite a long time. It was like his whole being steamed with newfound power and every breath he took filled him with a refreshing feeling.

He flickered his wrist with ease, a flame appearing on his fingertip. It seemed to be much stronger than before, giving a bright glow.

He killed the flame down after a few seconds and did a refreshing spell to get rid of the exhaustion. He pushed himself up, feeling the energy bursting in his muscles.

Stretching his body, he glanced out the window.

Morning light bathed the view in a golden glow and as he breathed in the mana-rich environment, flashbacks came to his mind.

It felt like only a moment ago he’d been battling with the mana fiend, then the next second, being awakened in a different body with an inability to feel the rush of mana — it was horrifying, to say the least.

After having spent all his life battling mana fiends, he had never expected to regress in time and awaken in the body of a young lord. It had all been strange, but in the last few months, he had gotten used to it.

The season of Frosania had passed and the first month of Florana was here. The snow was melting and people were finally feeling more energetic.

When he had first become Arzan, he had been powerless, riddled with debt and other responsibilities, but now, his territory was on the path of recovery.

Moreover, in just a few months, he had become a third circle mage from a mortal.

His stomach grumbled suddenly, pulling him back from his memories. He had been trying to reach the third circle since waking up and he had missed the morning training.

Breakfast was already long gone, but it didn’t matter now.

He withdrew himself from the window and walked across the room, reaching the door and opening it with a creak.

He paused as he saw a familiar face.

There, by the doorway, stood Claire, wearing her usual maid uniform, her brow creased with concern.

"Good morning, Lord Arzan," she said, her voice a gentle murmur.

Kai forced a smile. "Good morning, Claire."

Her lips pursed slightly. "Didn’t want to disturb you since I saw you were meditating," she said, searching his face for something. "Breakfast has gone cold, but I could heat it again."

While saying that, she gave him a particular look which he knew by now. It was the one she reserved for him whenever he pushed himself too hard, a silent plea for him to prioritise his well-being.

In the past month, he had been trying to break the barrier to the third circle and due to it, he had been skipping his meals often. It had worried everyone who knew him closely, particularly Francis, Killian and Claire.

Even Amyra had asked about it, but he shrugged off the conversation every time.

"Thanks," he said. "Since it’s past breakfast time, I’d skip it for the day. I’m feeling good after a long time and I believe I won’t be skipping meals from now on," he said with a smile.

His intestines yearned for food, but the surge of mana he felt was enough for him to not care about it.

Claire’s lips pressed into a firm line, but as she heard the last line, she smiled.

"That’s good news. I would let the chef know. He had been worried that his food hadn’t been up to your tastes these days," she said. "Are you going to head to the library then?"

"Yes, I believe Amyra will be waiting for me. It’s already late."

The path to the library was mostly silent. A few whispers among the maids, and passing guards who gave curt nods at Kai— he had gotten used to this treatment and didn’t flinch at it like before.

Reaching the library, Claire opened the door and they saw Amyra standing at her usual position.

Seeing Kai, her arms folded and a scowl etched on her face. It turned to a pout as she stared at him.

It had become a part of their routine to build golems together early in the library. It was training for him since he had been progressing into Golemancy, but for Amyra, it had turned into a fun hobby.

He approached the table and suddenly, her expression shifted. Her golden eyes widened comically, her pout dissolving into surprise.

It seems like she’s able to feel the increase in my mana. Though, she doesn’t seem to have much idea of my exact strength.

Kai smiled as he stood beside her.

Looking at her brought back memories of the battle against the necromancer. Amyra had been one of his captives and after he saved her, she had been living in the estate as a guest.

By building golems together, he had been trying to get close to her, being curious about her origins and although progress was slow, she had grown comfortable with him.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. I got busy," he said, his eyes going over to the table that was filled with lumps of clay. On one side, sculptures they have made over the last month were displayed.

"It’s okay. We can start now that you are here."

Amyra didn’t ask anything more about the surge of mana around him and although it disappointed him, he focused on the clay.

As he got on with their practice, Claire mixed in the background without making any noise.

The damp clay felt cool and flexible beneath Kai’s fingers.

Months of practice had transformed his initial clumsiness into a practised ease. Soon, he would be able to start building a real golem, one that could move and act as commanded.

He had read up on the process and tried to find more books about it. However, he had no success with it, so he was on his own with the necromancer’s journal being his only guide.

Even with that, he had gotten a good understanding of building up a clay golem, creating channels inside of it and connecting it to the golem core which was the main part of any golem.

It was a hard process, but he would be able to start on it within a month.

Narrowing his eyes, Kai focused more on the figure at hand, forgetting about all his future goals, and instead putting the work to his present.

He moulded the head, smoothing the contours with practised movements. A side glance revealed Amyra across from him, her own golem taking shape with impressive speed. Hers was a humanoid form, sleek and agile-looking, quite different to Kai’s hulking brute of a creation.

"Have you completed the book I gave you?" He asked, trying to strike up a conversation as they worked.

She took a moment to respond, her eyes not leaving the clay. "Yes, it was interesting. There were a lot of descriptions about golems and how they worked. Though, the sketches were rough."

"I drew them," he muttered as a matter of fact. Amyra looked up in horror, but he chuckled. "Well, they were indeed rough. I never got time to make them better. Glad you liked it."

His words seemed to ease her up as she nodded her head slowly.

"T-thank you for making it for me," she muttered, her soft voice barely audible, but he heard her clearly and smiled.

Two weeks back, she had asked him for a book on golemancy since she had gotten interested in it, building up the clay figures with him.

Since he couldn’t give her the book written by the necromancer in case bad memories resurfaced, he wrote one down himself.

They lapsed back into silence, the rhythmic scrape of clay the only sound in their corner.

Across the room, Claire sat at her usual table, hunched on a book. A stolen glance revealed her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to decipher a passage.

Kai noticed the book cover as she took it to her hand and knew he had read it months prior. It was a storybook about a young king and his fight to protect his kingdom from a demon king. It was mostly a children’s book with lots of pictures to go with the text, perfect for Claire who could follow it without any difficulty.

His focus came back to the clay in his hand and stayed there for the next hour.

It only broke when with a satisfied grunt, Amrya stepped back from her creation.

Her golem stood tall and proud, the clay smoothed to a flawless finish.

Kai nodded appreciatively. "It seems like it could take down a troll and ask for seconds. You are improving at a rapid pace."

Amrya gave a shy smile. "Yours isn’t bad either."

Kai looked down at his own creation, a pang of disappointment pricking him. Compared to Amrya’s elegant design, his golem looked like a pile of misshapen clay. But when taken individually, his wasn’t bad.

Or maybe on a second note, he was being too critical about his handiwork.

Mine is good, hers is just better.

It couldn’t be helped since unlike Amyra, he couldn’t give his entire day to practising with clay. When they had first started, he was clearly better, but with time, Amyra had taken a good lead.

It was to the point where he felt like she would do a better job building up an actual golem than him.

"Actually," he mumbled, "I was thinking…"

Amrya raised an eyebrow, a flicker of curiosity sparking in her eyes as she waited for him to finish his words.

"Do you want to help me build an actual golem, like the one in the book I gave you?" he asked.

Amrya stared at him for a long moment, then a slow grin spread across her face. "Yes! I would love to!"

***

Kai leaned across the worn table, his finger tracing a winding path across the faded map of Veralt city.

Francis sat opposite him, his brow furrowed in concentration.

Since he had taken charge of things, Kai had ended a few problems the city faced. The bandit situation was a thing of the past, people weren’t dying of hunger anymore and the reopening of the mines had breathed new life into the territory’s economy.

But for Kai, the victory felt hollow.

His trips through the city painted a sad picture— crumbling infrastructure, pockets of desperate poverty, and a palpable sense of despair clinging to the air like a shroud.

His community kitchen, while helpful, was a mere band-aid on a gaping wound.

So, to deal with other issues, Francis wanted to consult Kai.

They divided the whole city into different parts, areas which needed more mending and areas that were doing comparatively better. It seemed like the whole city was planned better than he had expected.

There were clear lines, separating streets with farmers living on the western side and miners on the east. Merchants and other shop owners lived more in the middle and the noble estate was across the river with the guards’ quarters evenly spread out.

Since the city was large enough to accommodate a lot of people, Kai had several plans running in his mind.

"We can’t just rely on the mines, Francis," Kai said, "It’ll help, sure, but it’s not enough. We need a long-term plan, something sustainable."

Francis nodded, his gaze flicking around the map. "Indeed, my Lord. The living conditions in the miners’ area are appalling, to say the least. Almost a slum. Most of our people depend upon farming and mining, so creating more industries would certainly help. For now, I believe we need to mend their living conditions."

"Exactly," Kai said, jabbing a finger at a specific area. "That’s our priority. We need to improve their housing, and sanitation, and invest in proper equipment. From what I saw when I was in the mines, there was barely any protective equipment." His gaze swept across the rest of the map. "The rest of the city isn’t much better. We need repairs, clean-up crews, cobblers to mend the roads…"

The sheer scale of the task was daunting, but it was long due. Kai still recalled his first trip to the city and how everything looked like a ghost town.

If he was going to correct things, he couldn’t be satisfied with the bare minimum.

"Roads themselves are a mess. Potholes everywhere, some streets are barely passable. We’ll have to prioritise based on what’s in a more critical condition."

Francis scribbled notes furiously, taking keen details into attention.

"And," Kai continued, a thoughtful expression replacing his earlier frustration, "I’ve been thinking about setting up a school in the city. We don’t even have one and most people can’t even read and write. If we let it be, most of them would never develop their talents."

"Isn’t the church school enough?" Francis asked. There was a Church of Luminous in the city that provided basic history lessons and maths to kids.

Kai had heard about them and from what he knew, the things they taught were aimed more at the indoctrination of kids to their church rather than giving them a basic education.

He wanted to change that.

"No, it’s not. Kids don’t learn anything other than how great the gods are there. We need to take a more practical approach," he explained, receiving a frown from Francis who seemed to have concerns.

"Lord Arzan, although your idea is—"

A sharp rap on the door startled them both. A guard, his face serious, poked his head into the room. "Lord Arzan," he announced, his voice tight. "There’s someone from the capital here. They are requesting your presence."

Kai looked at Francis and exchanged a surprised look.

Who is it now?