I opened my eyes and saw the sky still quite dark. "Going to bed early wasn't a great idea." Even though I spent hours talking with my family, we ended up going to sleep rather early and left the conversation hanging when my father started drinking beer and invited me to join.

At first, my mother resisted, but after a few solid arguments from my father, she finally gave in. The bitter sweetness of the beer slid down my throat, and with that, last night's conversation came to an end.

"This is about the time I used to wake up…" Seeing the clock on the wall brought back fond memories of training with my grandmother every morning. Almost four years had passed since those days. "I feel like an old man thinking this way." I'll be twelve soon, and here I am having nostalgic thoughts like I was already in my forties.

Before I could even fully process my actions, I had already changed into a comfortable outfit. Winter wasn't too harsh in Talar; a light training set would suffice. The smell of breakfast preparations distracted me, and I ended up grabbing a quick bite while chatting with the cooks, sharing a few stories about my absence—though I spared them the details.

"Let's make use of the new training room." Thank goodness my grandmother added my mana and Imra signature to the door, or I wouldn't have been able to enter.

"Time to check my status—I've received quite a few notifications." Two days ago was my final assault on the fortress, yesterday was my training with Dad, and finally, today I had the chance to review my progress.

Maki: 12 years old – Advanced Emerald Rank SKILLS: • Sharpness of Death (IV) – level 2 → level 4 • Fortified Construct (III) – level 11 → level 14 • Unified Malleable Mana (III) – level 14 → level 17 • Electrifying Charged Steps (III) – level 10 • Dominion (III) – level 12 → level 14 • Frozen Core (III) – level 13 → level 15 • Vital Synthesis (III) – level 11 → level 12 • Gravity Well (II) – level 4 → level 9

Laws and Pseudo Laws: • Yin Yang Law: Life and Death • Pseudo Law of Ice

I had gained several levels from that final push into the fortress. Pushing myself to that limit had paid off. During the fight with my father, I only gained one level in Gravity Well.

"Will leveling up be harder from now on?" All I had left were training and exploration near the villages—but it was rare to find third-grade monsters, and some weren't even worth the effort… The sound of the door opening broke my train of thought, and at the same time, I activated my Dominion—only to notice it was my grandmother standing at the entrance.

"Some old habits don't die." Her voice made me turn. She looked exactly the same as years ago—always well-dressed no matter the occasion, with a mature smile and deep eyes overflowing with knowledge.

"Good morning, Grandma." She sat in the guest chair in the corner while I approached and sat on the floor a few meters away.

"This brings back memories. In this very place, you took your first steps as a mage—and now, you already know how to run." As she spoke, she began forming dozens of tennis-ball-sized spheres. I tried to mimic her and managed to create around thirty without losing control—it was much easier when I didn't need to overload them with mana or other effects.

"I'll always be grateful to you, Grandma. You carved time out of nothing to raise me as a mage." Our classic game of Catch Me If You Can began—she played the thief dodging my spells, and I, the officer trying to catch them as quickly as possible.

"Your words make me feel old." A chuckle escaped her lips. While we kept forming spheres to keep the game going, I looked up and admired the view—it looked beautiful from my perspective. Yellow and sky-blue spheres darting in every direction, like stars dancing in a magical sky. Magic truly was something impressive.

"Sweetheart." That tone in her voice made me lower my gaze. She wasn't looking at me—she always avoided eye contact when she wanted to talk about serious or painful topics. "When you disappeared, I blamed myself for a while. I thought it was my fault for training you, for instilling those values. I felt you sacrificed yourself because of the way I raised you."

Her words struck my heart. I had never really thought deeply about what she must've felt during my disappearance. Of course I knew she was sad—but not her thoughts. Before I could say anything, she continued. "After a few weeks of self-blame, I remembered your personality. You wouldn't have stayed in that place unless you had a plan or a good reason. You've always been a smart child—sometimes more mature than your brothers."

Her words lingered in the air. I knew that tone; she wanted to keep talking, just needed to organize her thoughts. "Seeing you again and hearing your story… it all made sense. You saw an opportunity in a disaster. You wouldn't be this strong in such a short time had you taken another path. Staying and surviving was the right choice."

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We kept playing with small constructs—she continued to train me while we talked. She had always cared about me and understood my priorities. We asked each other questions—she about details of my dungeon life, and I about how she had lived during all those years.

"Don't forget about the plans before lunch." My confused expression must've caught her off guard, because she widened her eyes a bit. "Did you really forget?" she asked again, then sighed in defeat before explaining. "The Solar family and young Lady Arisa will be joining us for lunch."

A smile of joy slipped out for less than a second, then my mind filled with unnecessary thoughts. My parents and grandmother had clearly misinterpreted my relationship with Sol and Arisa… my face must've twisted with those thoughts because Grandma laughed sincerely for a few seconds.

"They're fourteen, Maki. That's the age when young girls start to fall in love—and in the world of nobles, many already have engagement agreements by now." Her words made me think more deeply about what kind of relationship I had with them.

"Do you like one of them? Both? Neither?" I tried to find an answer and couldn't. It was hard to distinguish my feelings in such a young body—and in my previous life, I never had time for serious relationships. They were always fleeting.

"I don't know… and I'm a bit afraid to find out." I was honest. What if I lost a friendship just because I liked one of them? What if I liked both? Would they both stop being my friends because I was a flirt?

"Love is that complicated. It can make you fear something intangible or overwhelming." Her gaze met mine, and a teasing smile followed. "The mighty limit-breaker is afraid of his feelings—but not of hundreds of high-grade monsters." I just rolled my eyes. Before I could say anything back, she continued.

"Don't worry about understanding it now—you've got plenty of years ahead. If they truly love you, they'll wait." I hadn't even been home for three days, and I already had to deal with something even harder. We changed the subject quickly and talked about what I wanted to train next.

I told her in detail about my abilities. With all the information, we thought things through together—two heads were better than one, especially when one had so much knowledge and experience.

"Most of your skills will eventually reach Rank (IV); you don't need to focus on them right now." I agreed—it would only take time, no need to force it. "Your Gravity Well might stagnate, but since it's an unusual affinity, don't worry too much. It'll remain useful even at Rank (III) until you find a way to acquire gravity-related pseudo Law or Law." That wouldn't be easy.

"Your real bottleneck might be your movement skill—it's a core ability for any fighter. You can't afford to let it fall behind." We both reached the same conclusion. After fighting my father, I realized just how important that skill was—he seemed to teleport when using it.

"What should I do? I could ask my dad about his electrical Law." That seemed like the easiest option.

"You have to consider a few things. You could also go for a pseudo Law or Law of Speed—it's commonly used. I don't recommend it, but it's still an option." According to Grandma, obtaining that Law wasn't too difficult, but it wasn't as strong as a Law tied directly to your affinity. I ended up asking what she did.

"In my case, I got a pseudo Law of Light early on, and most of my skills are light-based." Light was fast—it made sense. "But I was lucky enough to obtain a pseudo Law of Space and ended up using that as my base."

She began teleporting all around the room, then returned to her spot. "Thanks to my chaotic mana field, which is similar to your Dominion, I obtained that pseudo Law." A Law related to space… it sounded amazing. I started fantasizing about teleporting throughout my Dominion. That would make fighting multiple enemies or escaping so much easier.

"I recommend obtaining a pseudo Law or Law of Electricity for your affinity and future skills, and also aiming for one related to Space. That way you'd have Laws linked to three supreme affinities." We kept chatting a bit more. Apparently, even if they explained for months how they used Laws, acquiring one came down to personal comprehension—first of the element, then of yourself in relation to it.

"Your clothes for lunch will be on your bed when you return." Grandma said this as she walked to the door. Even with good staff, it seemed she still needed to personally check on certain things.

"Will we train again tomorrow?" My question stopped her at the door.

"I'll confirm it tonight—we'll probably return to the same routine. We can start at dawn." She closed the door behind her, and I was left alone.

As my grandmother said, some old habits never die. We've gone back to talking and training together just like we used to, without thinking about the years we lost, as if they had never happened. I'm grateful to have a grandmother like her—she will always be etched in my heart.

Should I start understanding Space or Electricity? I'd been thinking for a while—I wasn't making the most of my electrical affinity, and my father confirmed it. Using it to enhance my ice constructs or even boost my mind and reflexes—though I used it in nearly everything, it always came second.

My ice and electric spheres in all versions, even the strongest, were great against enemies of my rank or even a grade higher—but they were all focused on small-scale combat.

Maybe I should develop a skill to attack and paralyze large groups of monsters—something like that electric wave my father used. That way I'd have the upper hand against hordes, and it'd be easier to finish them off with my swords without wasting too much mana.

Priorities for upcoming training:

Develop an electric skill as a base to paralyze masses—then later add Ice to freeze them too.

Obtain a pseudo Law or Law of Electricity.

Obtain a pseudo Law or Law of Space to integrate skills into my Dominion.

With clear goals, I started training the first point. In the end, I didn't get much done—I'll need more time to practice my affinity with electricity.

Back in my room, the outfit I was supposed to wear was already waiting for me—a formal shirt and trousers, a somewhat elegant suit by the standards of my old world. Showered and dressed, all that was left was to wait for the guests to arrive. A long sigh escaped my lips. "Let's hope everything goes well…"

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