Rylan tilted his head at Damian. At the edge of his vision, he could see that both Gerard and Elizabeth had frowned almost at the same time. Henry, on the other hand, didn't seem to be surprised at all. He only maintained his composure, looking straight at Rylan.

"You don't seem too pleased by your words, Damian," Rylan said after a second.

Damian gritted his teeth and let out a deep sigh, then looked at Rylan's parents.

"I'm sorry," he said slowly before turning to look at Rylan once more. His words sounded sincere. "It's just that what you've created is… even the word 'monumental' doesn't do it enough justice. On your own, you have created something that can and will revolutionize the way we look at mana and magic. Given this kingdom's situation, I can't keep myself from asking you to share your knowledge."

Once his words died down, the group remained silent for a few seconds.

"But, again, I'm sorry, Rylan," Damian continued in a heavy tone. "I wish you didn't need to be at the center of all this. I wish you didn't need to fight at all. You're too young to be forced to know the reality of war. But we have no other options. You're simply too great. Please, help us."

Rylan stared deep into his master's eyes, raising his hand to keep Elizabeth from taking a step forward, much to her apparent displeasure, judging from the glare she threw at him. Truthfully, Damian's proposition wasn't a bad one. Ceotha's back was against the wall, and so was its people's. Rylan had no desire to let the kingdom he and his family had grown up in go up in flames, and there was no other way to try to match the Empire's sheer military might than to teach Mana Cultivation to as many people as possible.

However, that didn't mean he was blind to the consequences of doing so. Unlike his past life, where Aura was the sole system of power and one everyone knew about, just like magic in this world, he had created something entirely new. An ability that the System itself acknowledged, born of the unison between both of his lives and capable of changing the world as a whole.

People will try to find ways to exploit it and then hoard it.

If left to its natural course, the kingdom would be divided between those who knew Mana Cultivation and those who didn't. The gap between those with knowledge and those without would widen even more and would translate into differences in combat ability. That was why he hadn't immediately agreed to teach Mana Cultivation to the army, as Henry had asked him to – it would have been far too easy for the military to try to devour this knowledge completely and seal it off.

Damian's proposal, on the other hand, was slightly different. Instead of teaching Mana Cultivation to the kingdom's military, Rylan would teach it to his closest allies and then to the Academy as a whole. From there, it would be much easier to spread the information among countless people.

There was just one problem with that logic. Rylan blinked, dragging himself out of his thoughts.

"I agree with you," he replied. "And I don't mind teaching it to everyone in the Academy. But we also need to think about the Empire's reaction. Not that we have any other choice, but we still need to think about it."

Damian frowned, as did Henry. Rylan could tell it was something they had already gone over. Both men sighed.

"As you said," Henry interjected. "We don't really have any other choice. Even if the Empire retaliates, we need Mana Cultivation to keep this kingdom from being razed to the ground."

Rylan looked at him.

"Sure. But are you prepared to deal with whatever the Empire is going to throw our way?"

"We have to be," Damian said, his expression dead serious. "Don't worry about the specifics. That's my and Henry's job. We old men will come up with strategies and everything else. I don't want to burden you with Ceotha's entire war effort. I just need to know if you're willing to teach Mana Cultivation to the others I mentioned."

Rylan smiled calmly at him, then nodded.

"I am. But there's another group I want to teach at the same time."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Damian furrowed his brow.

"Another group?"

Rylan nodded again.

"Yes. Back in my hometown, I trained the Flameheart family's soldiers for a bit. Most of them hadn't even formed a Circle, but I believe it would be easier for them to do so if they follow Mana Cultivation's method. I also want to make sure my hometown will be safe from now on. It deserves it, after all the shit I put the town through."

Damian nodded in a heartbeat.

"Deal. I don't mind," he turned to look at Henry. "What about you, Your Majesty?"

Henry also nodded.

"Very well," he said slowly. "Rylan's will start by teaching some Academy students and the Flameheart house's soldiers, then the other students. Just know that we're heavily betting on our future here. If the Empire's forces surpass our ability to deal with them before the army becomes stronger, we're finished."

Rylan shook his head.

"If they act that quickly, even trying to teach Mana Cultivation to the military would be pointless. It's a training method, not a miracle. It takes time. Either way, we'll be relying on the Empire not to make a move for some time. If they do, we're fucked anyway," he said.

Even after awakening Aura and his Aspect, he knew that he was still no match for the Empire's strongest Mages.

I need to keep getting stronger.

Still, teaching Mana Cultivation to others would help strengthen the kingdom. He would have time to improve himself in between his lessons.

A professor, huh?

Rylan grinned. It was a funny scenario, one he hadn't expected at all. He had no experience with teaching, even when taking both lives into account. Roland had had no disciples or students. Yue and the sword were all he'd had. Rylan looked at Damian.

"I'll teach it to you, too, Damian," he said. "You'll need it."

Damian smiled at him.

"I guess we're both each other's masters now. Curious. I'll be waiting," the man stated.

Rylan smiled back at Damian, nodded at his parents, and turned around.

"Thank you, Rylan. I mean it," he could hear Damian say from behind him. "Without you, we'd have no hope at all."

Rylan looked over the shoulder at his master.

"Don't mention it. I want us all to get through this alive, too."

He moved his gaze to Gerard and Elizabeth, who were throwing him piercing stares. Rylan mentally winced at the thought of how Elizabeth would scold him for making such an important decision without talking to her and Gerard first, but he would worry about that when it came to it. He looked at Gerard, who only nodded at him with a grave expression. Nodding back, Rylan then started walking back to where Hayden and Jasmine were waiting for him.

"So?" Hayden asked once he got close enough. "What did you say? What did he say, actually?"

Rylan shrugged as he took another step closer to them.

"He apologized for the previous offer, and Damian asked me to teach Mana Cultivation to you guys and the student council, then to the Academy at large. I agreed," he replied.

Both Hayden and Jasmine blinked at the same time.

"You agreed!?" Jasmine exclaimed in a hushed tone. "Just like that? Aren't you aware of how valuable that knowledge is? My dad has talked to me about it at least six different times!"

Rylan looked at her.

"It won't matter if this kingdom is destroyed. Trust me, this is the best course of action in this current situation."

"So, when do we start?" Hayden suddenly interjected, sounding excited.

Rylan looked into his eyes, seeing nothing but burning excitement and competitiveness. Had he already realized that there was no other option left? Or did he simply not care? Either way, Rylan could tell that the boy wanted to learn as much as possible, even if from his rival. Rylan couldn't help but smile.

"Soon," he replied. "But let's enjoy this little party first. There will be enough time later. There's also a lot we still need to learn about magic and spells."

Now that he had reached the Fourth Circle, he could learn an even greater variety of spells. Of course, now that his time would be even more limited, and that learning spells took time, he would need to truly pick and choose which spells he should focus on.

I need to prioritize spells that can empower the Stormcaller Sword Style.

Those would grant him the greatest boost in power in the shortest amount of time. However, they weren't everything.

Now that I have Aura, I can start working on other sword styles. I'll start with Setting Sun.

It was a sword style he'd recalled long ago, back when he was still in Cantavega. Finally, he was strong enough to shoulder its physical burden.

There's a lot to do.

Still, it didn't make him anxious or desperate. He would handle things one at a time, just like he'd always done. The sound of footsteps reached his ears, making him turn around. His three siblings and Sarah were approaching him and his two friends. He smiled and beckoned them. Once they were close enough, Rylan took a step to the side and pointed at his family and Sarah, then looked at Jasmine and Hayden.

"Here's my family," he said proudly, then pointed at his friends and looked at his family and Sarah. "And these two are my closest friends in the Academy."

Everyone smiled.

"It's a pleasure to finally talk to you two," Lillia said as she took a step forward to shake Hayden's hand. "I've admired you since the tournament."

Hayden nodded a bit too quickly.

"Thank you!" he said loudly. "Rylan has talked a lot about you!"

Rylan narrowed his eyes at him, while Lillia raised an eyebrow, then grinned. Meanwhile, Regis greeted Jasmine, and Aelfric and Sarah walked to Rylan's side.

"She looks nice," Sarah said in a low tone to him, her voice almost drowned out by the conversation between his siblings and his friends. "She's pretty."

Rylan scoffed, deciding it wasn't worth a reply. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but smile warmly at the scene in front of him.

Tomorrow, his life as a secret Academy professor would begin.

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