The scene shifts to a certain room. Sitting on an ornate chair beside piles of documents, a middle-aged man with a muscular build was working diligently.
That man was none other than Konan, tirelessly handling the stack of important paperwork.
Normally, everything would have remained routine. Konan would manage matters in place of the head of the family, taking care of the minor territory so that the head could focus on affairs in the capital.
But then, a sound shook the heavens.
—Zap… zap… boom!
It was the sound of lightning, striking while the sun still shone.
The noise was loud enough to make Konan lose focus; he flinched, dropping a sheet of paper, and hurriedly glanced out the window behind him.
A radiant blue light spread, filling nearly the entire frame of the window.
Peeking outside, Konan's face froze in astonishment.
Unable to contain his surprise, his mind overflowed with thoughts.
"Is… is that a blue lightning bolt? Or perhaps something resembling one?"
"It's connected to a small dark cloud… normally it would definitely be a thunderstorm, yet the color is unusual."
"More importantly, if this truly is lightning, it's a Saint-Class Spell—Lightning Annihilation."
"Who could possibly have performed it?"
"In this mansion, there are only the children… and if we exclude those who could only wield mid-tier magic until recently, that leaves five who might be capable."
"But realistically, a six-year-old wielding a Saint-Class spell… in this family, only four individuals have achieved such a feat."
"The head of the family and the late husband, naturally, are two of them."
"Besides them, the eldest and second eldest grandchildren, Leon von Velton and Elysia von Velton, performed it at ages four and five, respectively."
"Even so, accomplishing this at six is an impressive feat."
A surge of envy rose within Konan, as memories of performing his own first Saint-Class spell at age ten came flooding back.
Yet his early achievements were constantly overshadowed by the next generation of his brother's sons.
Still, he quickly pushed aside these selfish feelings. Konan had always lived for the family.
A sense of pride, the pride of being part of the most powerful Lightning family in the Leonhart Holy Kingdom, welled up in his chest.
He was proud to witness the family's achievements, nurturing young talent for glory rather than wasting energy on petty jealousy toward the children.
"But who cast that spell…? Most likely one of the lowbro, midbro, or highbro."
"It would be unbelievable if it came from a branch family or the useless child who spends their days sleeping."
"Just thinking about that… irritates me."
His mind wandered to the day Cyan had laid his hand on the family's treasured sword in the main hall.
That sword was left by their ancestors, embedded in the hall as a historical testament and a symbol of the family's pride.
Long ago, mages were considered a lesser vocation. Even though their spells could inflict tremendous damage, they always stood behind melee fighters.
From commoners to high nobility, everyone preferred swords, spears, or daggers.
Mages needed protection—they couldn't match the frontline glory of melee warriors.
Even when capable of strong damage, they required casting time and were vulnerable during the process.
They couldn't form a mana shield on their own.
While no strict rule existed, most who could equip mana armor—a power known as combat energy—opted to become fighters.
Yet a shift had begun. Talents with Non-Channeling Magic emerged, eliminating the weaknesses of traditional mages.
But more than that, what truly changed the foundation of magic was Lightning Magic.
A system that ensured speed, range, and devastating power.
With Non-Channeling talent, anyone wielding Lightning Magic could rival a swordsman.
The Velton family, then a young clan, had once defeated a powerful family—the Ravenshield Black Swords—for the first time in history.
The sword in the main hall had belonged to the head of the Black Swords at that time.
Even as a powerful magic family, their tradition of embedding swords served as both a historical testament and a display of wealth, authority, and faith.
Thinking of Cyan wanting to touch, even briefly, that sword, Konan's rage surged.
Yet his higher duty remained—guiding the next generation to lead the family. Even if he despised or looked down on Cyan, Konan remained silent.
Deep down, Konan wanted to guide the family's prodigies on the path to greatness—creating the first true Lightning God the world had ever seen.
Cyan had Non-Channeling talent; though his current magic rank was low, he had the potential to surpass inexperienced soldiers or ordinary branch children.
Konan had always valued power.
He didn't just want parity with swordsmen and spearmen…
He wanted mages at the pinnacle, an existence that would remain unshakable for centuries.
With that thought, he looked once more toward the window.
"I need to investigate this thoroughly… find the true wielder of that mysterious power."
Thinking this, Konan cleared the documents on his desk and left the room.