SON OF THE HERO KING

"Now that you have taken a good bath, it's time for us to observe the changes you went through."

Sol now sat cross-legged on the clearing of Edea's world, Freya and Edea standing on either side of him.

He was once again had his upper-body naked, but he didn't particularly mind. He liked the way Edea was covertly peeking at him and feeling the appreciative glances of a beautiful woman like Freya wasn't bad.

"Well, Sol, before we begin we need to be clear. We already know your capacity, so today we must understand and judge your Mana Quantity."

Three principles were used to judge humans and magical beings, Mana Quantity for the two, quality for magical beings, and capacity for humans, this was the norm.

Once Edea was sure that she had Sol's attention, she waved her hand and made threads of blueish energy appear in her hand.

"Those who manipulate mana can do it in two different ways. Those who follow the first way are called mana users, or simply warriors. They manipulate mana in its raw form and can use it in different interesting ways."

As she said so, the thread of mana she was holding wiped around toward a rock not far from that and–neatly slashed through it as if it was butter. Before coming back to her, all that in less than two or three seconds.

Edea, undisturbed, continued her explanation, "Those who follow the second way are called mages."

As she said so, the mana threads in her hand suddenly changed in a fierce fire.

,m "Mages can create and manipulate physical and fantastical power, by using mana as fuel change and transforming it into another form. Of course, pure humans cannot become mages without having a contract and then being lucky enough to obtain an attribute. But, there are three exceptions to those rules."

Edea smiled as she pointed at herself and Freya, "The first exception are witches, we obtained the ability to use magic unconventionally, as such we do not obtain attributes. Our power isn't instinctive but born from knowledge. This is a booth and incredible advantage and limitation."

This was the case, witches could use absolutely any magic, but the fact was that they had to understand what they were using, how it functioned, why it functioned, etc.

That's why witches were seekers of knowledge. The sentence knowledge is power was the best way to describe them.

Magical beings, on the other hand, could only use the magic of their attributes. At the same time, they had an instinctual understanding of their magic.

Depending on how smart she was, a witch could take two years to learn something a young magical being could do from the day he was born.

"The second exception are nuns. By serving a goddess, they become able to use holy magic and it's as instinctual as the way magical beings use their magic. Holy magic is extremely versatile, healing, warding, shielding, protection, etc. Nuns don't need to train their magic, they receive as much holy power as their goddess allows them and in the same way, can lose everything once their goddess will it."

This was indeed so, the power of a nun mainly depended on how favored she was by her goddess. That was why holy and supreme daughters were so dangerous. While rare, some daughters were so favored that they were able to ask for a divine descent.

"The final exception are hybrids. Hybrids are," Edea chose her words wisely at this moment. "Should I say that hybrids are representatives of impossibility? Genetically speaking, people of two different races shouldn't be able to procreate. But sometimes, this impossibility becomes reality. Though, the higher the quality of the magical being, the lower the probability of this happening."

"Indeed," This time it was Freya who quipped from the side, "Edea was sealed here, but for me who lived all those centuries outside, I have met many hybrids between low-quality magical beings and humans, but a hybrid between an S rank and a human are almost unheard of. Even more so for someone like Blaze. Rather than S rank, she should be called a Super S rank."

"Thanks to this situation, this impossibility, Hybrids can have the gift of the two groups. Mainly, being able to use magic even without a contract and having the capacity to make contracts. As such, the most important thing we must determine before knowing your mana quantity is what attributes you have. The only problem is that this use isn't as instinctive as it is for pure magical beings. They need to determine their own attributes before being able to use it."

Freya continued while taking out of nowhere a bit of white squared paper. At first glance, this seemed like there was nothing special about it.

"We are going to determine your attributes, then your combat power, and finally the quantity of your mana. After today, your training regimen will completely change. Even though you don't need witchcraft, it will help you make your magic stronger."

Edea spoke nonchalantly as she pointed at the paper in Freya's hands, "This paper will determine your attribute after you circulate mana in it."

"How?"

Sol asked for the first time. Until now all they said was something he already more or less knew. But it was the first time he saw something like that.

"This paper was created by our sister Persephone."

It was Freya who answered as she looked at this paper with a little smile.

"That girl, has many hybrid friends, or rather she has many friends in general. She is the most fragile and the most gentle out of all of us. She created this to help them."

As she said so, she injected her own mana in it, but absolutely nothing happened.

"As you can see, even though I can use different elements outside of my main space one, I am considered to have no innate attribute. But for you, it will be different."

Taking the paper in his hand, Sol took a deep breath finally injecting his mana in it as he was told. better finish and be over with it.

Freya, Sol, and Edea focused on the paper and waited. At first, nothing particular happened, but then, Freya and Edea exclaimed in surprise at the changes.

"Very interesting, Sol, Your element is…"

-----

While Sol was learning the base of what would make him a powerful being in the future, unknown to him, another event was happening.

On the road, a standoff was unfolding.

The protagonists were a caravan and a group of bandits.

"This road is mine. If you want to pass, leave the money and the women."

The group of bandits was composed of nearly fifty individuals, it was rather large as bandits went, their equipment weren't particularly special, but from the wicked expression on their face, it was clear that they weren't at their first attempt.

The leader, a rugged and dirty man was looking lewdly at the three women, his eyes roaming their plump bodies. He could already feel his shaft harden at the thought of what he would do to them. As the boss, he would clearly take them first and fuck them hard for a few days.

Weirdly, the caravan that was composed of only one old man and three young women were in no way flustered. In fact, from the frown of one of them, they seemed more impatient than frightened.

"Seems like the security became worse since the last time I was here. To think that they would dare to act so close to the capital, I wonder what gave them such guts?"

The one who spoke was the girl that was initially frowning. Most of her features were hidden by a cloak but it was easy to see a part of her expression. The more blatant those bandits were the worse her expression became.

"Hum~! Hehe~! Don't you think it's really weird? As you said bandits shouldn't be so courageous. So, the question is, what gave them such courage?"

The young woman standing next to her, a brown-haired girl, spoke while adjusting her glasses. Her tight clothes alighted her rather large curve. She spoke as if those bandits were not even existing in her eyes. Her mind, already filled with different ideas.

The last woman, who was wearing skimpy maid clothes, gave a cold smile as she tilted her head,

"Isn't it clearly because we wanted to catch those bandits that we used such a simple ride without any insignia? Why bother guessing when we can just ask them?"

"Indeed,"

The first girl gave an equally cold smile as she lowered her cloak. Long purple hair became immediately visible.

"Let's not waste time, I missed him so much. We just have to finish here fast."

What followed was a bloody dance. One dainty purple-haired woman wreaking complete havoc on her paths. The bandits, nothing more than weakling, unable to even react to her sword.

All it took was three minutes, for the fifty bandits, to become no more than three.

The clearing around them became filled with blood, cut limbs, and grisly intestines. The girl walked with an impassive impression as if what she had done was nothing more than stepping on some bugs.

In her mind, only one thing mattered, meeting once again the sole source of warmth in her life.