A few days ago.

Adrian sat in his living room with a parchment in his hands. The letter was sealed with red wax, bearing the crest of a soaring falcon.

"An invitation to Viscount Alexander’s son’s coming of age ceremony." Adrian muttered softly as he read through the contents.

Viscount Alexander was the ruler of the neighboring territory. Unlike Oresfall, which had been a barren wasteland until recently, the Viscount’s lands were relatively stable and decent.

’It wouldn’t hurt to attend. If I want Oresfall to grow, having a positive connection with my neighbors is a good first step.’ he thought.

He folded the letter back to how it was before and placed it aside on the table before turning his attention to Aria who was busy with her own thing.

Aria was quietly reading through a book called Basics of Elemental Magic.

"Alright Aria, I think today’s lessons are enough." Adrian said with a warm smile, "Let’s go outside and practice some spell casting."

Aria immediately closed the book and nodded her head before putting it aside.

Adrian stood up and grabbed an old, slightly worn-out book from the shelf. The cover had the words Basic Book of Spells for First Circle Mages etched on it.

It was a book that he had bought years ago while he was studying at the magic academy. And now, he was using it again to both learn a new spell and to teach Aria some magic at the same time.

Once they were out in the open backyard of their house, Adrian handed the book to Aria and she looked at the first page of the book. Unfortunately for him, what he did not know was that it was just an act since she already knew most of the spells in this book.

She placed her hand on her chest and closed her eyes. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Mana surged outward and formed a thin, translucent layer of mana around her skin and clothes. A second later, it completely disintegrated into the air.

The visual effect wasn’t easy to see, but the spell she cast was a basic utility magic called Cleanse.

It cleaned one from all physical impurities like dirt, sweat, and oil. Since Aria was already pretty clean to begin with, the physical changes weren’t easy to see.

Yet, she could clearly feel the effects.

She felt lighter, the air around her felt cleaner, and her mood instantly went up at the same time.

’After all, which girl doesn’t like being clean?’ she mused.

In her past life, she had spent countless days covered in grime and blood, so simple utility spells like this were a luxury she had always wished she could use often.

It wasn’t because she couldn’t use the spell. The issue was that she was too pretty and it only brought trouble to her doorstep so she learned from her experiences.

But now? She had Adrian who could deal with those issues for her. At least she hoped that he would.

She had "learned" this spell a week ago and the speed was enough to surprise and please Adrian to the point where he ended up treating her to an entire feast.

Adrian clapped his hands, looking like a proud dad. "Perfect! You’re so consistent now!"

Aria gave him a bashful smile, playing the role of a genius but innocent child perfectly.

Adrian on the other hand, didn’t bother learning the Cleanse spell.

His main goal was to gain strength so he could protect his daughter in the future. So, he focused on learning an offensive spell instead. Or, one could say, an extremely versatile spell.

It was Telekinesis.

By using mana, a mage could wrap their energy around an object and move it around using their sheer control over mana. And since the mana was his own, he could theoretically control it freely.

The requirement for this spell wasn’t a high mana amount, but rather, high mana control. The better one’s control was, they could use this skill faster and more efficiently in combat.

Adrian took a deep breath and stared at a small stone on the ground which was roughly the size of a tennis ball.

He raised his arm, his open palm facing the stone.

The stone moved to the side a little. Then, it slowly floated up into the air, hovering just a few inches above the ground before it fell back into the dirt.

Adrian dropped his hand and let out a heavy sigh.

"Man... three weeks and this is the only progress I make." he said dejectedly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Even with his D rank mana veins, which was much better than his previous F rank, it took him a lot of effort and time to learn even a single spell. But he didn’t give up.

He gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and continued practicing with the stubbornness of a man who refused to be weak.

Beside him, Aria moved on to the second spell she had been ’learning’.

It was none other than the classic Fireball.

She extended her palm, her face scrunched up in absolute concentration. Small flames flickered to life above her hand, coming and going in weak bursts, but a proper fireball never ended up forming.

’I have to make it look like I’m struggling.’ she thought, making sure the flames died out before they got too big. ’If I master a destructive spell like Fireball on the first try, Papa might actually get a heart attack.’

The two of them continued practicing until they both ran out of mana and headed inside to have dinner.

In a territory right beside Adrian’s Barony, a tall and muscular man sat on a high back chair with red velvet cushions.

He looked at the list of people he had sent invitations to and a stack of papers that had information on each one of them.

"Haaaa... so exhausting." he said out loud as he looked at his daughter, "Keep an eye on these three. They’re the best candidates to marry you."