Chapter 16: Noble
Gara breathed a sigh of relief. That’s why Madha had seemed so much more relaxed facing the Mayor. Their Talents and Liner status gave them the upper hand.
"By the way, is that why there were fewer than five well-dressed people at the ceremony?" Gara asked, referencing their earlier conversation.
"Yes, but the real reason is that most nobles awaken their bloodlines before sixteen."
Gara nodded, confirming his presumption.
Madha continued, "That’s because nobles are far stronger than common people."
"Hmm." Gara silently disagreed. "Madha, if you knew a way to awaken your Bloodline, would you try it?"
"Is there a way? I thought it was just something you’re born with."
"Have no common people ever awakened before sixteen?"
"There have been. But they were certainly exceptionally talented individuals."
Then, Gara’s prediction had to be true. There was a hidden method, kept from common folk. Those who awakened before sixteen must have encountered some fateful trigger, but common people simply attributed it to innate talent.
"Hmm, if you heard that taking gold to the mountain would make you awaken, would you do it?"
Madha looked confused by Gara’s question, but still answered, a skeptical look on his face. "I don’t think so. My family doesn’t have much gold, and that information might be wrong."
Gara nodded. ’ That’s how commoners think, and also why it’s so hard for them to awaken before sixteen.’
His own body had awakened because he’d smelled the aroma of seven natural flowers and herbs. As a villager, he’d had no reason to smell all seven of those plants. Even if his mother was a herb farmer, no one would think to waste money just to smell their aroma.
But wealthy people, particularly the nobles of this world, possessed the money and means to do just that. For them, becoming a Liner was a path to power, and they had both the knowledge and the funds.
Not long after, they reached the front gate. Two soldiers stood guard. Gara hadn’t noticed them before, having been inside a carriage and in no condition to observe.
"Sir Soldiers, we’re going to look at the scenery outside. We’ll be back in a few hours."
The soldiers stared at the young boys, then nodded curtly.
The gate remained open, and the soldiers didn’t stop them. "Why did you ask for their permission? The two women before us didn’t."
"The town charges a fee. If we didn’t inform them, or if we returned after the shift change, we’d be charged again."
"What? So yesterday, did you pay my entry fee?"
"It was already included in the carriage fare."
It dawned on Gara just how much he didn’t know about this world.
"I’ll definitely pay back your money."
"No, you don’t—"
Gara raised a hand, cutting Madha off. "Let’s find the right place to learn."
"Learn what? I thought you just wanted to stroll."
Gara slapped his forehead. Perhaps he’d been caught up in too many internal monologues, leaving Madha unaware of their reasons, or perhaps Madha was simply too much of a pushover for him.
"How to use our Talents."
"But why did you refuse to go to the academy if you want to learn how to use your Talent?"
"Why not? I just can’t go this year. But I’d still like to go next year. For now, let’s study on our own."
"But why—"
"Stop asking questions. We’re going to be Liners, just like any other Liner. As for the academy, just pretend we never got the offer. Okay?"
Madha finally nodded. He remembered Gara’s mother’s opposition. Perhaps Gara would go to the academy once his mother gave him permission.
They stopped talking when they reached a small river not far from the town wall. Gara touched the water, unsure how to activate his talent.
"Madha, just go over to that tree. Try punching it, or anything you think might activate your Talent," Gara instructed. Madha nodded and walked towards the tree.
Meanwhile, Gara submerged his hand, crushing water, clapping his hands together underwater, trying anything to trigger his talent. Nothing happened.
He sat on a large stone, looking at his blurry reflection, still thinking. ’Unlimited wate’ means I won’t run out of water.’
Looking at the river in front of him, something clicked. ’ Of course, I can’t activate my Talent with this much water around. I need to find a place without water.’
Gara approached Madha, who was obediently punching the tree as instructed. "Madha, let’s find another place."
Madha stopped, turning to Gara. Gara noticed Madha’s reddened knuckles. It reminded him of his own wrist. ’ Running water would make them feel better.’
At that exact moment, Gara felt his palm grow wet. When he raised his right hand, water flowed from it.
"Is that your talent, Gara? You’re so cool! You actually learned it!" Madha praised, his eyes wide with admiration.
Gara was equally shocked, staring at the flowing water. "Stop," he mumbled. The water stopped.
"I’m thirsty, I want water." Nothing changed.
Gara looked at Madha. "Madha, are you thirsty?"
"A little bit, but we—"
"Madha’s thirsty, we need water." Water flowed from his hand.
Madha’s mouth gaped, impressed.
Now, Gara rushed to a muddy spot on the road, purposely dirtying his feet. "I want to clean my feet."
Just like before, water flowed, but not from his hand, this time, from his leg. "Wow," he exclaimed to himself.
Gara called Madha over to help him experiment with how his talent worked. ’ Magic is so much fun.’
After thirty minutes of experimentation, he concluded that water could flow from any part of his body, depending on convenience. To activate it, he simply needed to think about why he wanted to use the power. As long as he wasn’t lying—like when he’d claimed to be thirsty when he wasn’t—the water would flow.
"Such a convenient talent! Madha, we’ll never lack water in the future!" Gara almost jumped with joy.
Madha smiled back. "Yes, we’ll never lack water."
...