Rylan looked at Scott as the man started to speak.

"It happened when I was seven," Scott said, his expression getting darker. "My parents were ordinary merchants. We lived on the outer edges of Cantavega, close to the city market. But before that, we wandered around a bit from town to town, wherever business would be better. We were too poor to afford to stay in the same town indefinitely."

Rylan nodded slowly. So far, it was in line with what he knew about Scott and had expected from the story. Eager to grant their kid a better life, the man's parents had moved around, seeking opportunity.

"One day, when we were already in Cantavega, I followed my father out of town to help him hunt for meat. My mother stayed home. We delved into the forest and," Scott continued, then stuttered, his brow furrowing. Rylan could see the deep sadness in his eyes. "I guess we were just fucking unlucky. We ran into bandits led by a fucking Mage."

Rylan frowned. At this point, it was impossible not to see where this was going.

So that's it.

Cantavega was a town of significant size and population. However, it was also rather isolated from the rest of Ceotha, surrounded by difficult terrain. The town's soldiers patrolled its borders and the outside, but there was only so much Mages at their level could do to scour the town's surroundings.

The room went silent for a few seconds. Jack was looking at the floor, while Daniel and Raniel shifted uncomfortably. Scott continued, his voice heavy.

"We shouldn't even have been there. Dad wanted to grab one more boar, just so that we would have enough leftover meat to cook our family a good meal, so we went deeper inside the forest than usual. Dad was a First Circle Mage, but that was all he was, after spending decades trying to follow the teachings of those free books we came across sometimes. The leader of the bandits was at the Second Circle."

Rylan resisted the urge to sigh. The ending was obvious. Scott took a deep breath.

"Dad bought me enough time to run away," he said. "That night, I got home alone, injured and crying. Once I told her the story, afraid and cold, Mom reacted in the same way. From that moment on, I vowed two things. First, I would never be so weak again. If something like that ever happened again, I would be able to fight back. Second, I wouldn't learn magic. I wasn't going to be similar in any way to that man."

The man raised his gaze to look deep into Rylan's eyes, who held his stare. The room was completely silent.

"And there you have it, Master," Scott finished. "If possible, I would like to stay true to my vow."

Rylan slowly nodded.

"It's not impossible," he replied firmly.

Scott's eyebrows shot up, and the other soldiers snapped toward Rylan, looking surprised and confused.

"…What do you mean?"

"Do you trust me, Scott?"

Scott blinked before nodding.

"I do," he replied firmly.

"Then, know this. As long as we keep training, one day, you'll achieve the power you're seeking. Of course, learning magic before then would make things easier if you got in a fight. But if you really don't want to, it's not the end of the road."

Scott stared at Rylan with a dumb expression. Slowly, the darkness in his eyes shifted to shining hope.

"Are you serious?" the man asked tentatively, sounding like he couldn't even believe what he'd just heard. "Is it related to how you're so strong?"

Rylan nodded with a grin.

"Just follow my lead. We'll make it."

For the first time since the conversation started, Scott smiled widely.

"Just don't slack off," Rylan continued. "It'll be hard and tiring, and it'll likely take some time."

"I've said this before, Master. If you can make me stronger, I'll follow you to the ends of the world."

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"Young master," Jack said from the side, making Rylan look at him. Deep in the man's eyes, he could see the same hope that burned in Scott's. "Can we become stronger, too?"

Rylan nodded with a warm smile.

"Of course."

Jack smiled, as did Daniel and Raniel. Rylan looked at the twins.

"And you two?" he asked. "What's your story?"

Daniel scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Nothing crazy, really," the young man said. "We started out as workers who'd take on any job we could find."

"After some time doing odd jobs, we decided to try and become soldiers," Raniel completed. "After training, we managed to get hired by the Flameheart family. Nothing too special."

Rylan narrowed his eyes.

"Never got the urge to try to learn magic?"

The twins shrugged almost at the same time.

"It felt far out of our reach," Daniel said.

"Just something we wouldn't succeed in even if we tried. Becoming ordinary soldiers was much easier," Raniel continued.

Rylan nodded.

At least the twins don't have a special reason not to learn magic.

Finally, he looked at Jack.

"What about you, Jack? You said before that you knew some magic but were completely talentless at it."

Jack nodded as well.

"Yes, young master. As I've told you before, close combat was the only path that seemed feasible."

Rylan leaned back on his chair.

Jack is more talented than Scott, but Scott will probably awaken Aura first.

Determination and drive were factors that also affected Aura's awakening speed. Not only that, but Scott would likely be willing to train harder and for longer because of his history, therefore pushing himself to his limits more than the others. It was only natural that he would be the first one to awaken Aura at some point in the future. Nevertheless, that didn't mean the others wouldn't be able to do so as well.

Jack might be undervaluing his talents. The same goes for the twins.

Daniel and Raniel had never tried to push themselves too far. They likely didn't even know what they were capable of and what they weren't. Rylan also knew he needed to investigate Jack's magical talents closely.

Dragging himself out of his thoughts, Rylan took a breath and stood up, then walked closer to Scott. Once he was close enough, he extended his hand for a handshake.

"Thank you for telling me, Scott," he said. "I won't stop trying to make you stronger. Just trust me. We'll make it."

Scott smiled, then stood up and shook Rylan's outstretched hand.

"I know. Thank you, Master."

The other three soldiers smiled as well. Rylan took a step back to bring them all into view.

"Alright, now listen. We'll do physical training with the other soldiers, but I'll raise the intensity for you guys. Jack, Daniel, and Raniel, you guys will start learning magic from me, Father, and Damian. Scott, I'll create a more specific type of training for you, one that the others will start doing soon enough."

The soldiers nodded at the same time.

"By the way, what Circle have you reached, young master?" Jack asked from the side.

"Fourth Circle," Rylan replied s he turned to look at the man.

The four of them reacted almost at the same time. Scott blinked and looked like he'd just heard something absurd, while the twins tilted their heads with a furrowed brow. Jack gaped before starting to chuckle.

"Is it supposed to be so easy to create more Circles? That can't be right," Daniel said.

"It isn't," Jack replied, looking at him before turning to stare at Rylan again. "It just shows how talented the young master is."

Rylan smiled and stood up.

"Alright, that's enough talk for now," he replied. "You guys can talk among yourselves about what you think we'll be doing. Tomorrow, we'll start. Now, there's something I need to do. See you guys soon."

All four soldiers stood up and bowed.

"Until later, Master!" Scott said. Rylan could hear the excitement in the man's voice, making him smile again.

I can imagine how relieving it was to hear that there's another path to power.

Naturally, Rylan would make good on his promise. He just needed time. Unfortunately, it was unknown just how much time he would have with the soldiers before the Empire made another move, its nature also unknown. As his thoughts reached this point, Rylan furrowed his brow, his expression getting a bit darker. Unwilling to show his worries to the soldiers, he quickly turned around and walked up to the door.

"See you guys soon," he said before opening the door and walking out, then closed the door behind him.

Alright. Now, there's only one thing I need to do as soon as possible.

Rylan walked toward his room with firm steps.

***

Back in his room, sitting on his bed, Rylan drummed his fingers on his knee, lost in thought.

The Classes that will appear will somehow be related to my current Class, The Dreamer.

The Dreamer was a rather unique Class that had surprised him greatly in the first Class Evolution. It also represented the start of a path that Rylan couldn't easily anticipate.

The first Class Evolution is the foundation on where the others are built.

However, there was a crucial difference between his past and current selves. Aura. After struggling for a year, he'd finally managed to awaken the single power system that he knew best. It was only obvious that this Class Evolution would reflect this change.

I can't get Prodigal Swordsinger because I don't have the Complete Prodigy Trait.

In fact, his Trait hadn't changed since the first time it had been altered. Still, he could now wield magic, and he was on the Fourth Circle. It was something the Evolution would also take into consideration. Even without a Profession, he was confident that he would get better options compared to his first Class Evolution.

His heart throbbing with excitement, Rylan raised his gaze.

"System," he said. "I would like to begin the second Class Evolution."

The atmosphere changed, as if something had descended, before a translucent window appeared in front of him.

[Your second Class Evolution will now begin.]

[A list of possible options will be shown. You may select any of the options. However, you will not be able to select Classes you know about but that are not on the list.]

[Different Classes come with different stat gains and growth paths. Choose wisely.]

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