Chapter 3: The Discovery of the Scroll
Four months drifted by, dragging beneath the slowness of the monk's training days. I was no longer the same as before. When I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, they did not protest like monolithic blocks of stone; instead, they responded with a new agility that even my mind took a second to process.
As I stretched, I heard the fabric of my old tunic snap across my shoulders, visibly tight around a chest that had expanded through the sheer force of hundreds of millimetrically perfect push-ups and grueling sit-ups.
Training with Alistair remained as sadistic as ever, but the fact that he alternated calisthenics days with library study days gave my six-year-old muscles precious breathing room to rebuild. I still hated every fiber of that cloistered monk, but I had to admit, with a closely guarded sense of pride, that my body was ceasing to be the soft clay he so thoroughly despised.
When Nella entered the room bearing a heartier breakfast of grains and pie, I faced the tray with an entirely different posture. The most valuable lesson I learned over those 120 days did not come from grammar books, but from my own stomach: after the hell of that first week, I never again committed the foolish mistake of devouring my food in haste.
I savored the fresh bread and the sweetness of the apple calmly, staring out the window without a single worry, knowing for certain that there would be plenty of time to finish my exercises before the first ray of sunlight appeared. I was well-fed, free from even a hint of nausea, and ready for whatever that cursed monk had cooked up for today.
Or at least, I thought I was. The monk stood in his usual posture, but instead of ordering me to begin my routine, he handed me a sheet of papyrus:
— I will need to leave for a few days to visit the church. I expect you to complete the exercises written there. Ah, during this time, I have already arranged for your lunch to be served.
I could hardly believe what he was saying. Yay! I will finally be able to get some peace! When I looked at the paper, I noticed a few strange details. First, he seemed to have mixed Aluvian words with the cuneiform script of Eudoria. Furthermore, there was a list of morning exercises for me to do:
«X push-ups, I walk with II full buckets of water, X sit-ups»
Okay, he wants me to do this on my day off?! He really is crazy! Obviously, I'm not going to do it. Though I said this mentally, to the monk I declared the exact opposite:
— Okay, I will do it with pleasure — I said in a firm tone, trying to imitate his. He looked at me with a side smirk, but to me, this strategy was foolproof, so I maintained my confident posture.
However, he quickly threw me off:
— That said... Let's do at least the 10 push-ups and 10 sit-ups now.
What?! I thought it was today! — I yelled in my thoughts. Right after, I started the exercises. It was relatively quick, as I could perform both push-ups and sit-ups perfectly. Out of the ten perfect push-ups, I had to redo one when my arms faltered due to a loss of rhythm. As for the sit-ups, an infernal itch on my leg made me lose form twice, forcing me to restart the count under the monk's stern gaze.
«The exercises aren't particularly difficult now that I've gotten used to them», I reflected, beginning to notice that I used to be weak, on top of my mentor's complete lack of common sense.
Regardless of what I thought at the time, the monk broke my train of thought by declaring that he would be leaving now and that I should carry out what was written on the sheet.
Yes! Now I can finally enjoy several days of rest!
As soon as I retreated to my quarters, I re-read the paper written in cuneiform characters: «I walk with II full buckets of water». This is the most annoying exercise of all! Thank goodness I'm not doing it!
To me, these next three days were going to be the closest thing to paradise I had experienced since entering this hell called "training." Without the monk's austere shadow watching my every breath, I threw the papyrus sheet on top of the wardrobe and declared an absolute vacation!
As soon as the monk passed through the gates of my house, I sat down on a dirt path, thinking about what I could do.
Phew, with that crazy monk gone, I can do whatever I want! I thought so enthusiastically that my excitement was plain to see. Now... What should I do first? Hm, I wonder if there's anything cool in the library besides astronomical or mathematical books?
Curious to fill my free time, I decided to go to the library to check what books were stored there. On my way down the stone hallway, I spotted Nella carrying two baskets full of clothes, just like in my bucket-carrying exercise. She walked slowly, with the firm steps of someone accustomed to the weight, yet it was easy to see the effort she was making. As I approached, I extended my hands to get her attention, offering to help carry the burden.
Nella stopped almost instantly, startled by my sudden approach. She took a step back, losing her balance for a brief moment before composing herself right after.
— Th-Thank you, young master, but it is not necessary — she replied quickly, averting her eyes to the floor while adjusting her apron with one free hand. — It is only the change of linens from the west wing. You should not bother yourself with the chores of a servant. Besides, if Baron Horus sees me letting the heir carry dirty sheets, I would certainly spend the rest of the month scrubbing the castle's latrines. — She let out a nervous chuckle, clearly embarrassed by the kindness, and began to quicken her pace.
The only thing I managed to say was a slightly hurt: — Okay... Right after, I turned toward the library to see if there was anything good there. When I arrived, I started reading the titles of the books on the lowest shelf, running my finger along the spines just to feel the embossed lettering.
«Linear Arithmetic for Heirs and Rulers» — This book has more calculations than text. What a terrible book!
«The Pillars of Aluvian Calculus» — One of the books I enjoyed reading the most, except for the fact that there was a cursed monk who wouldn't let me read in peace!
«The Standard Grammar of the Valian Language» — This book simply has as many rules as the monk's calisthenics.
«Galupono Experimental Journal» — What the professor used to teach me astronomy... It seems to have been written in the cuneiform script of Eudoria.
«Ugh, there's nothing here», I thought after reading each title in search of something cool. Next, I tried to grab a stool to read the books on the section above, adjusting the seat so it would be more comfortable to read the titles.
«Treatise on Truth and Fallacy in Court Discussions» — I'd first like to know how to read without him telling me to repeat the reading before understanding "fallacies."
«The Fundamentals of Clear Thought» — The title sounds cool, let's take a look.
The book had about 20 pages. Right as I flipped through the first page, I noticed the words were a bit difficult, though not as hard as the monk's training. The first five pages dealt with the foundations of logical thought.
To me, the biggest challenge was understanding what it was saying, not the message itself. Needing a book to learn that a piece of clothing cannot be both clean and dirty at the same time was, to my mind, ridiculous at best.
Pages six through ten, however, managed to grab a bit more of my attention. As my eyes swept across the dense lines, I began getting used to that pompous, slow-paced vocabulary. The author spent entire paragraphs explaining the importance of organizing concepts and defining them before debating them with anyone.
But the charm was short-lived. As soon as I turned to the tenth page, disinterest settled back onto my eyelids like a heavy sack of flour. The book ceased to be practical and began losing itself in infinite branchings of subcategory definitions that seemed to lead nowhere. I was not understanding a single thing of what he meant on those pages.
The breaking point came halfway through page thirteen. I was already getting annoyed because I couldn't make any sense of that book. — I think whoever wrote these pages was sleepy — I grumbled, declaring a reading "strike." I let out a long sigh and immediately slammed the heavy tome shut with a sharp, dry thud. Finally, I went to the shelf and pushed it back into its proper place on the middle shelf, promising myself — and lying blamelessly — that I would finish that reading on a rainy day.
While looking at the other books on the shelf, I noticed a paper with no title at all. It appeared to be abandoned, as it was covered in so much dust that it even exhaled the same smell the monk spread with his robes. Out of curiosity, I reached out carefully to pick it up without tearing it, which inevitably happened anyway.
When I placed it on the table to inspect its contents, I noticed a small tear near where I had held it. «Was it really so dusty that it tore just by being touched?!», I thought, indignant.
Redirecting my attention to the contents of the paper, I spotted a circle with several lines connected to geometric shapes like triangles and circles, all linked to a painted hand.
«Hmm, what happens if I touch here?», I thought, moving my hand closer to touch the painting.
When I touched it, my strength began to be drained from my chest into the circle while it took on a blue hue. As soon as the squares turned completely blue, a wave of wind swept through the library room, creating a circular area of cleanliness centered on the scroll. It became clean again, along with the table where I was sitting and almost the entire library. It looked as though it had just been built.
— Wow! How is this even done?! — I exclaimed, trying to see how it worked.
«It seems the squares store energy and then release it in this cleaning wind», I reflected. I began to notice that the squares were still blue, while the rest of the magic circle was not. Additionally, there was a line connecting to an inverted V right beside it, along with the cuneiform words "Activate."
Since I didn't know what those cuneiform letters said, I began spelling them out until I found something that made sense: — Ah-vah-gar... No, Ah-loo-nar? Not that either... Activate? — The moment I pronounced "Activate," it finally clicked in my mind that this was the correct word. «That's it! It's activate!», I celebrated internally.
Knowing this, I placed my index finger there, but noticed nothing happened. «Does the triangle need to be completed?», I thought. Since my fingers were small due to my age, I had to lay my finger sideways to use its full length and activate it.
Upon doing so, another wave of wind cleaned everything, leaving the library so spotless that I didn't even know such a thing was possible. The warm yellow glow of the torches failed to reflect only because the room was not made of iron, such was its pristine cleanliness.
— My goodness! This will help everyone so much! — I exclaimed. I noticed the squares were still quite blue, which meant I could use it several more times.
However, when I tried to stand up, I realized my legs had turned to jelly. The scroll must have pulled a massive amount of my strength for this to happen.
I braced both hands against the edge of the wooden table, taking deep breaths while trying to stop my thighs from trembling. The feeling of emptiness in my chest was strange, as if I had sprinted three full laps around the castle courtyard without taking a breath, yet without the sweat or breathlessness. I looked down at my arms, expecting to see some trace of smoke or blue light, but they looked completely normal.
«Just how much strength did this scroll pull for me to end up like this?!», I shouted in my thoughts, outraged. I had performed a household miracle, but the price exacted nearly brought me to my knees on the floor.
— What in... by all the gods of Valia... — A familiar, shrill voice echoed from the arched doorway.
I turned slowly, using my body weight so as not to reveal that my legs felt like two lumps of jelly. It was Nella. Her mouth was agape, nearly touching the corridor floor.
She took two steps into the room, stepping softly as if fearing the gleaming floor might break under her feet. Her eyes darted from the spotless ceiling, free from any trace of dust, to the table where I stood beside the scroll, equally clean.
She looked at me, then at the room, and then back at me. For a moment, she didn't know what to believe, until she asked me: — Young master... Was it you who did this?
— I'm not sure if it was entirely me... I just charged this scroll, and it did this. Isn't it practical? — As soon as I answered her question, I carefully picked up the scroll and placed it near her. — If you complete the triangle, the magic activates once more.
To demonstrate my explanation, I completed the triangle again just as I had done before. Once more, a wave of wind cleaned the library, which was already clean, as well as the section of the hallway right in front of the library entrance.
The difference was remarkable: the dusty hallway, previously littered with dirt along the walls, gave way to a completely clean and odorless space, although the outer section soon returned to its dirty state.
After witnessing this, I tried to stand up, but my legs played a trick on me; as I rose, I felt intense weakness flooding my lower limbs. Unable to stabilize myself, I fell flat on my rear.
— Young master, do not force yourself! It is already lunchtime; would you like me to carry you to your room so you can eat? — Nella said. I nodded in agreement, and right after that, she carried me on her back to my bedroom.
As soon as she brought me into the room, she excused herself to fetch my lunch.
«Phew, good thing she didn't suspect anything», I thought naïvely, letting out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding in my lungs. In my six-year-old mind, the plan had been flawless, and Nella's serious, quiet demeanor was definitive proof that I was a master of disguise, capable of obliterating an entire room's dust with a mystical breeze without raising a shred of suspicion.
After no more than five minutes, I heard a heavy knock on the door. It was my father, Baron Horus. As soon as he entered, Nella came in as well, carefully placing my lunch on the table. Afterwards, I tried to walk to the chair to sit down. I managed, but it was blatant how weak I was. My father, seeing this, decided to sit down as well and immediately dropped a rather uncomfortable question on me:
— Son, how are you feeling?
— I'm fine — I tried to play it off.
— Fine my foot. Look at the state you're in! — said the Baron, making a simple gesture for the maid to fetch something.
I froze for a moment, but quickly replied:
— I really am fine! I'm just tired from training — I tried to mask my real exhaustion, which came from the scroll.
Before my father could respond, Nella returned carrying the scroll of papyrus. As soon as he unrolled it, I knew for certain it was the scroll I had used. It still held a substantial amount of the energy I had channeled, as the blue squares continued to glow brightly.
— You just put your finger here and say the word, right? — the Baron asked Nella, who answered promptly:
— Exactly, sir.
Right after, Baron Horus placed his thick finger on the triangle, completing it. He felt a small shock, but the circuit surged to life. A sudden, powerful gust of wind expanded through the bedroom, cleaning everything instantly and nearly sending my bowl of stew flying across the room.
Curse her... I was about to conjure up a barrage of insults directed at Nella for blurting out my antics to my father. But my anger froze when I looked at the Baron's expression. Instead of displaying the stern look of someone about to administer a punishment, his face bore a look of surprise I had never seen before.
The two stared at each other for a moment. Then, my father looked at the table, lost in thought:
— And he was the one who charged it... Interesting — he whispered. Immediately after, he turned directly to me: — That's why you're as limp as dishwater! You have mana, so you managed to charge this scroll all by yourself. Excellent! I will hire a magic tutor just as strict as Alistair for you!
Upon hearing that, I nearly lost my mind:
— What?! No! I don't want another teacher like him! Isn't one monk enough?! — I yelled out in frustration.
My father was taken aback. He had no idea I hated the monk so much. But displaying his customary sarcasm, he turned my own outrage against me:
— Fine then, I won't hire someone like him... But you will keep training with Alistair! You are getting great results from your training, after all.
My mind spiraled into a storm of curses. Dammit! That was my PERFECT chance to get a new teacher and get rid of the monk, but I blew it! I let out a long sigh, swallowing my father's victorious smirk, and asked, utterly defeated:
— Fine... But what are you going to do with the scroll?
— I'm going to have the scribes copy the circuit and produce more. I'll give one to Nella. That way she can handle all the cleaning by herself and I won't need to hire anyone else, because this castle is starting to look like a fifty-year-old dilapidated mansion.
I noticed the comment hurt Nella, but she remained silent, offering no response. Finally, my father concluded:
— In the meantime, get some rest. When your teacher returns from the church, I assure you he will begin introducing magic into your studies.
He stood up and left the room. As soon as the door closed, I looked at the maid organizing the cutlery and asked softly:
— Were you hurt by what he said, Nella?
She didn't answer me. She simply gathered the remaining items with cold, mechanical movements and left to continue her chores. But it was abundantly clear that she had left the room with a heavy heart.
I settled into bed with my legs still weak, feeling the mattress sink under the weight of a body that seemed to have forgotten how to support itself upright. I tried to pull the blanket over me, but even my arms protested with an uncomfortable fatigue, as though the simple task of dragging a piece of cloth required the effort of an entire calisthenics session with the monk. I lay there, staring up at the spotless ceiling, patiently waiting for that strange numbness and the hollow void in my chest to give way to the ordinary tiredness I was used to facing.
I remained stretched out, staring at the wooden ceiling and huffing in pure frustration. What a nightmare. I had planned the best days off of my life, and instead of enjoying my vacation, I was trapped in bed, unable to even pull up the blanket without feeling like a lump of dough. The worst part for me was the fact that I, having endured four months in that infernal courtyard, ended up knocked out by an old, dusty sheet of paper. It was enough to make anyone furious with their own body.
While waiting for my legs to stop feeling like jelly, I tried to figure out what had gone wrong. That weakness didn't feel like the exhaustion from running; it felt as though a drain had opened in my chest and sucked all my energy out at once. I remembered the drawings on the papyrus: the circle filled with triangles and squares connected to that painted hand. Apparently, those geometric shapes served as a trap to capture the lifeforce of whoever touched it, storing it all in those little blue squares that kept glowing.
«At least the paper is friendlier than my teacher. I don't need to do tedious calculations to get something to work... But the price exacted is total extortion! Man, my vacation is over», I reflected, indignant at the papyrus.
If that cursed paper had attempted to create wind out of thin air or manifest matter where there was none, I probably would have turned to smoke right then and there. Luckily, the circuit was efficient; otherwise, I would be watching my father and Nella set fire to the papyrus.
I looked at my hands, irritated to see them so weak. If my grumpy mentor were here, he would undoubtedly use this as an excuse to double the exercises or invent some new torture in the courtyard, claiming my body was still soft. Dammit.
My only certainty, as I listened to the silence of the room, was that my plan for a perfect vacation had officially gone up in flames.
