Page 79 of Is It Wrong to Escape My Fate?
His eyes widened. “What?”
“You told me a few years ago that you found your purpose,” I mumbled, glancing at Mia who had tried to hide her surprise at my sudden memory recollection. “I remembered it while thinking of how busy you are with research. Are they connected? Maybe the one and the same?”
It made sense. Since he poured all this time and effort into this project, it might have a bigger purpose. He was so dedicated to his goal.
Unlike me, who maybe put in half of my effort into my research, and the other half dealing with all these men. It sounded sad in comparison, but I would be lying if I thought it was pitiful. I actually liked dealing with said men. Tedious, sure. Frustrating even. But I liked it.
While Alec looked shocked at my words, he quickly got over it and laughed. “You’ve always been the smart one between the two of us,” he teased. “I’d like to talk to my sister in private. Mia, if you please.”
Mia stiffened, her eyes darting to me for confirmation. At my nod, she returned the gesture, then bowed and left for the door. My knights, who had stayed behind with Milo and formeda conversation with him, bowed as well. “We’ll be right outside,” they informed us before all four of them left.
Now it was just me and my brother.
“I became very interested in support magic thanks to Master Jeremus,” Alec began, getting a lot more comfortable on his sofa. “It’s not necessary to have Recovery affinity to become a physician, but it’s helpful. Unfortunately, I have an Earth affinity instead.”
“Same as me,” I grinned, and he smiled back.
“Well, we are siblings. It’s more common to have similar affinities than not.” He grasped his hands together on his stomach. “And I wondered if it was possible to excel in Recovery. Throughout history, most great physicians have the affinity. And I don’t doubt our own Derrick Altha will be for the books too, in the near future.
“Did you know Master Jeremus trained Derrick, too?”
“He did?” My surprise was genuine, because I did a quick math in my head and the timelines didn’t seem to align.
Alec laughed. “Casually, I mean. Not formally. Derrick is a resident of our barony. Our father employed Master Jeremus when he retired as a professor of this academy. It was he who discovered Derrick and proposed to our parents to vouch for Derrick’s schooling here.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met Derrick before,” I mused, unsure. “I only remember him as our physician.”
“There was no reason for you to see him,” Alec pointed out. “But as soon as he graduated and fulfilled the two-year conscription, he immediately returned to us and became our new family physician.” He waved a hand. “But I digress. I only want to emphasize how Master Jeremus had a knack for discovering talent. And he told me I’d do something significant someday. He just didn’t say what.”
Alec shook his head, a somber smile on his lips. “He didn’t tell me even until the day he passed.”
I felt for my brother, truly. Not only had a beloved mentor died, a promise of a glorious future was also left in the void. He could still pursue it, of course, but the certainty and direction were lost along with Master Jeremus’s life.
“It had to be support magic, because why else would he be teaching it to me?” He grinned, gesturing to his piles of books and papers. “Something like using Elemental magic for Recovery or Support work?”
“I read something about that,” I shared, recalling some of the other books I’ve read both as previous Bea and current Bea. “Like using Water magic to wash wounds, Fire magic to cauterize. Air magic to lift injured soldiers. Earth magic to make molds for broken bones.”
“You’re quite right. More practical uses for this sort of magic,” Alec mused. “But I was thinking of something more … internal. You know that one pillar of advanced magic is combining Elements, right? One of the more recent discoveries in the past fifty years is Lightning magic; a mix of Fire and Air, with a little Earth.”
He lifted a hand, and floating on his palm, a ball of lightning formed, glowing erratically with its jolts of electricity.
I had also read something about that. It was surprising that Lightning was a recent discovery. If humankind had more time to research it, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more advanced technology in a few decades, like how it was inmyworld.
Alas, in the current state of things, Lightning remained a mystery to most, and only a relatively few mages could consistently cast it. It was even rarer than Teleport magic, and that was saying something.
“You’re specializing in Lightning magic,” I concluded, shocked. If Alec could specialize in it, he’d be a pioneer in this branch of magic.
“Yes, something like that,” he admitted, dispersing the lightning ball. “Lightning is only known to cause destruction, like creating fires or cutting through hard materials, so it’s not a very popular form of magic. However, I believe this magic will have more practical uses aside from combat.”
Like creating modern technology.
I bit my lip to stop myself from talking. If I started blathering about what level of electrical technology I knew in my head, he would definitely know something was wrong with me. I couldn’t take that risk. Not even hint a little bit of all the potential things he could do with Lightning.
Alec beamed, sitting up straighter. “One of the first things I discovered was that a small jolt of Lightning could trigger involuntary muscle spasms. Relatively harmless and completely hilarious when used on extremities. And I thought, what would happen if the same magic were used on other muscles of the body? Perhaps the brain, or the heart?”
I sat there stunned. So, my brother, while oblivious to it, was in the process of discovering and inventing modern medical technology. But through magic, so that might even speed up the process. He could accomplish these things in this lifetime given enough resources and support.
Master Jeremus was right; Alec would achieve great, insurmountable success.
