Mythshaper Chapter 03: Advanced Attribute

Chapter 03: Advanced Attribute

It barely took any ti to complete my howork, but I spent about half an hour on other studies before I ran to find Mum. A month had passed since I picked up running, and I hadn’t grown bored with it yet. Learning to run had stretched my world vastly wider than it used to be. I didn’t believe I would ever grow tired of it.

Mum was cooking our supper in the kitchenette, humming so familiar tunes soothing to ears.

“Move carefully within the house, pumpkin.”

“I’m done,” I called, sniffing the aroma wafting from the pan. “Spinach, yuck!”

“Already?” Mum turned to face , completely overlooking my dissatisfaction with the food. She took the notebook from and turned page after page, her eyes scanning over my ssy handwriting. “Wow, pumpkin, you weren't lying when you said you’ve learned all the letters.”

“That’s not all...”

She flipped to another page, where I had tried to arrange letters into words and sentences. Her brows furrowed as she examined the page.

It’s normal for infants to do at least this much, right? I thought as she returned her gaze to .

“Ari, how did you learn all this?”

I shrugged. “I read your books... I an, I tried to read them and imitated...”

“You imitated,” she mumbled, her impressed tone fading. “The sentences are clumsy, but for you to learn all this by yourself... Which books did you read?”

“It was a record of exotic creatures. It has a lot of beautiful pictures. Let bring it to you.”

Wasting no ti, I hurried to the study room and climbed onto the stool to pick up the leather-bound book, already set apart from the rest.

I returned with the sa enthusiasm, clutching the huge encyclopaedia to my chest, when my foot bumped into sothing. Unable to balance myself in ti, I fell, my head knocking against the hardwood floor.

It was only during sumr Mum had removed all the cushioning after I had learned to walk properly. Without it, I felt the full brunt of the blow. A yelp escaped my lips, causing Mum to leave everything behind to co to my rescue.

“My boy,” she cried, swooping down to take into her arms. “Are you alright? I told you not to rush within the house. Now look at yourself.”

“I’m fine—”

She shushed , drawing her palm over the slight bump on my forehead. Golden light spilled out of her hand and soothed the pain instantaneously, while the power rejuvenated any kind of exhaustion or weakness I hadn’t even realised I had.

It barely took a fraction of the golden light to heal the bump, while the rest spread throughout my body slowly—I could almost envision it in my mind’s eye. She has gotten better at this.

[Congratulations! Way of Essence Sense IV (100/100) is completed.]

[Way of Essence Sense V (100/250) is now accessible.]

[You have t both requirents for an Advanced Attribute.]

[Please choose between the two options: Arcane Acuity | Essence Sensitivity.]

“Wow!” I mumbled unwittingly before the spell could finish. I didn’t know what the other requirent had been, but for the first ti, I was given a choice for my reward.

“Ari, what’s wrong?”

Arcane Acuity or Essence Sensitivity... Why do both sound so impressive? I thought hard, as both options seed like they could push closer to wielding magic. One literally had the word “Arcane” in it, while the other, “essence,” basically ant the fuel of magic.

My joy knew no bounds. It was only when Mum nudged , pulling up to her eye level, that I ca out of my stupor.

“Pumpkin, are you feeling alright?” Worry tinged her voice. “If you feel any discomfort, I can take you to the healer, and—”

“Mum, which one is better?” I asked, excited enough to fumble the question. “Arcane Essence or Essence Acuity?”

Mum blinked, then her eyes narrowed sharply. “What did you say?”

“Oh, I said it wrong,” I admitted, realising my mistake. “It’s Essence Sensitivity and Arcane Acuity. Quick, tell which will make a magus...”

My voice slowed as I realised Mum didn’t share my enthusiasm.

“Sweetheart, where did you learn all this?” she said, a line forming between her brows.

“The spell told .” I noticed she was holding her breath. “The spell always rewards whenever I complete the Way, and this ti...” Mum rubbed her forehead. Did I do sothing wrong? “... it gave a choice between the two options.”

Her expression only grew grimr as she began examining . Her eyes squinted, spilling deep golden light. Those unusual eyes bore down as if searching to find sothing wrong with .

“Did I do sothing wrong?” My voice ca out hesitant, perhaps even frightened.

As though realising her reaction wasn’t appropriate, Mum’s eyes returned to normal, and she hugged tightly. “No, pumpkin, you did nothing wrong,” she said, soothingly stroking my head.

“Are you not angry at ?”

“I can never be angry at my sweet boy,” she said. “No matter what you do.”

“Even if I don’t eat spinach?”

“Even if you don’t eat spinach, broccoli, fish, or any of the vegetables,” she said, cradling quietly. “I’m sorry, Ari. Mum didn’t want to scare you...”

“Mum is never scary.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

She kissed on the cheek, her eyes turning teary. “Alright, can you tell Mum what this is about?”

I had learned a general idea about the Spell from all the stories she narrates to sleep. Of course, there were still many holes in my knowledge, as Mum deed so stories were too convoluted and sensitive for a child’s mind. Essentially, an Entity nad the Oracle had devised the Spell to fight against dark forces that had threatened to engulf the entire realm.

And it had worked. It had been centuries since the world had experienced any calamity. Civilisation was thriving. With the support of the Spell, the number of awakened was multiplying in each generation.

Apparently, only one in thirty was born with a mark like the one on my palm, and the Spell helped them cultivate their powers.

Of course, my curiosity had only piqued from there, and Mum had to narrate stories about the Oracle and the First Knight to appease my thirst. Nobody knew how much of the story was the truth and how much of it was pure fiction, but the presence of the Spell proved there was at least so authenticity to the tales.

I explained about the Way of Essence Sense, from where it all began. Mum listened in silence, her face was a mask of solemnity.

Eventually, she rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache building. “To awaken a perception-based attribute of Advanced rank, one must complete the seventh step of ditation,” she said to herself and turned to . “How did you even learn ditation, much less complete seven whole steps of it? You’ve not even seen two winters.”

“Watching you do it every morning...” I said, as though it was only natural. She seed like she wanted to object, but suppressed it. “Oh, it was an accident. Whenever you healed , I could see the golden threads spreading all over… then the Spell said it was ditation...”

“More like visualisation, which is a big part of ditation...” Mum explained, and then her eyes widened once more. “Wait, did you say you glimpsed the golden threads of light?”

I tilted my head in confusion and nodded slowly. Is this sothing to be surprised about?

Exhaling sharply, she stooped down to my level. “Can you describe it to , what you see when I cast the spell on you?”

I told her about the golden shimring threads, weaving their way inside in a symtrical form. How the power resonated with and beca a part of my being. By the ti I finished, her expression couldn’t have been more astounded.

“There’s no mistaking it,” she muttered to herself, “my son can really see the aether. I don’t think Jinn had that gift...”

“Mum?”

The sll of burned vegetables drifted to our noses, causing her expression to stiffen. She carried back to the kitchenette to stir the pan.

“Pumpkin, do not choose your rewards now, alright?” she said, turning the stove down. “Mum will check if it’s safe for you to gain those attributes at your age.”

I could only agree and stayed in her arms while she finished cooking. She didn’t seem to trust enough to leave out of her sight, while the promise of magical power lingered in my mind. After serving my supper, she crept to the study room and unfolded dozens of thick leather-bound books that were filled with small-lettered words.

She even put on her glasses at so point, which she always avoided unless she was drawing geotrical figures and runes on things. She flipped through one book after another, noting down things in my notebook, which went completely over my head.

I gave up on understanding an hour ago and instead concentrated on solving the puzzle piece Mum had made for . There were so complex rules in it that my feeble kid brain barely comprehended, but it was fun to play with. Not to ntion, my ti spent solving the puzzle counted towards the Way of Education.

“Arilyn, can you summon your [Profile]?” she asked, resting the tos.

I nodded again, eyeing the mark on my palm.

“Reiterate everything you see,” she said, her tone unusually serious. “Don’t leave anything out.”

As I listed my attributes and the points in them, she nodded along, though her expression twitched montarily once or twice. Surely, my attributes explained why I was so smart for my age. Her lips parted slightly when she heard about my gift.

“[Fractal Soul]?” she repeated after , her expression growing contemplative. “This is likely what enables you to see essence threads and aether.”

“You can't see it?” I cocked my eyebrows.

"I can visualize my threads," she said. "It's the others' I can't see."

I considered her words and expression and felt she wasn’t painting the entire picture. But she was my mum. It was likely for my own good.

“Alright, Ari, you’ve given a great scare today,” she said. “I guess it’s ti to educate you a little about the Spell and the attributes... I’m not sure I can make it clear enough for you to understand, so if you don’t get sothing, ask questions, alright?”

I nodded eagerly.

“Foremost, you need to understand that you’re special,” she said. I raised an eyebrow, urging her to elaborate. “There are two types of people in the world. First, those who are blessed by the Aether and born with the spark of magic, and those to whom the Spell grants magic.”

“I’m the first kind?” I asked, unable to keep my hope from spilling into my voice.

“Maybe.” The corner of her lips curved slightly upward. “Magic cos easier to the first group, but that also makes their path more... arduous. I won’t go into unnecessary details. It’ll only confuse you right now. You just need to make sure you keep your gift a secret until it’s ti.”

“Why?”

She explained that people blessed by Aether received unwanted attention from various groups, both good and bad. So simply wanted to study unique gifts, while others sought to use them for their own designs. The empire had a protection law in place that allowed them to take anyone blessed into custody, where they would be trained through all the hoops. While it didn’t sound bad to my ears, Mum seed highly against it, so I promised her to keep it all a secret.

“Now that’s out of the way, it’s ti to decide about the attributes,” Mum said. “Even with all its limits and constraints, the Spell is a force of goodwill and...”

She still seed worried and hesitant to go forward with this.

“Mum, as soon as I learn magic, I’ll help you with your work,” I said, clasping my palms into fists.

“My sweet boy, you don’t need to worry about that. But if you really want to learn magic, I suppose I can’t stop you. Be aware, however, for the path of a shaper is not easy to trudge through.”

With my enthusiasm returning, I didn’t even hear the last part. “Which one should I take? Essence Sensitivity or Arcane Acuity?”

“It depends,” she said, pausing to think of an explanation. “As the na suggests, Essence Sensitivity sharpens your senses toward various essences, while Arcane Acuity is a more specialised attribute that enables a shaper to explore so specific fields of study. I’d advise any novice not too keen about studying to take the first option, whereas Arcane Acuity needs imnse hard work for it to co to fruition.”

“Then which one should I take?”

“There is no wrong choice,” she said with a smile. Fearing I did not understand her explanation properly, she decided to provide easier examples. “Think of Essence Sensitivity as a magical nose, whereas Arcane Acuity is a magic wand which will only be useful if you know your way around it.”

I humd, considering. “Hmm, if I cannot use the magic wand in the end, is it not better to have a magical nose?” Hopefully, it actually doesn’t grow a second nose, or I might lose it.

“Like the answer to most questions involving magic, it depends,” she sighed. “But you can already see essence threads. There’s no point in taking Essence Sensitivity. It would hardly add anything that your eyes will fail to perceive.”

“Right,” I agreed, though I didn’t understand half of it.

“The process may give you a headache,” she said, “but I’ll be with you throughout to help. It shouldn’t be a problem.” She clutched my shoulder, her golden essence at the ready. “You can begin now.”

I sucked in a deep breath. With her approval, I wasted no more ti summoning my [Profile]. The Spell presented the options once more, and I focused on the tab for Arcane Acuity.

[Please confirm your choice: Accept | Decline.]

[You have chosen Arcane Acuity (Advanced). However, since your body and mind are not fully developed, as a safety protocol, the Advanced Rank Attribute may take a few hours to take effect.]

[The Spell hopes you understand their plight.]

Huh, I guess most of Mum’s worry was unfounded after all.

In the end, the process took all night. I didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary and slept through it, while Mum stayed awake the entire night to ensure nothing went wrong.