novelraw Chapter 69 : The Stumbling Shadow
Chapter 69 : The Stumbling Shadow
Rooga’s POV
The next morning, after the talk with Father, I made up my mind.
I won’t stop training. But I’ll make sure no one sees.
If Mama feared my strength, then I’d hide it from her eyes. From everyone’s eyes.
But first, I needed a way to know when people were nearby.
I cracked open my beginner’s spellbook, flipping through the pages. Flicker Light. Fireball. Aqua Ball. A handful of utility spells. But nothing like what I wanted.
“…No detection?” I muttered, pouting.
That evening, while Mama sat in her chair, I tugged at her sleeve. “Mama… do you know a spell to sense people near you?”
Selene raised a brow. “Why do you want that?”
I forced a smile. “So I don’t bump into anyone when I play outside.”
She looked unconvinced, but answered anyway. “No such spell. Mages don’t sense people with tricks—they feel mana. Everyone has it, and it leaves a trail. I just send
my own mana outward and catch the echoes.”I tried. I really did. I closed my eyes, pushed my mana outward… and got nothing. Just a headache.
By nightfall, frustrated, I stomped into the hall. That’s when I saw her.
Lyra. Quiet, as always, carrying a tray back from the kitchen.
But… hadn’t I just left my room? How did she always know where I was?
“Lyra,” I blurted. “Why do you always know where I am?”
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She stopped, tray balanced in her hands, golden eyes narrowing slightly. “…Why are you asking?”
“Because I need it!” I pouted. “I want to train without being found out. And you always appear whenever I sneak away.”
Her lips pressed thin. For a long moment, she stared at me, as if weighing something. Finally, she set the tray aside and knelt.
“…It’s not magic,” she said softly. “It’s a skill. Dark magic affinity. Shadow Movement. It lets me slip into the edges of sight… sense where light bends, where people step. But you—” she glanced at my stubby toddler legs, “—you’re too clumsy for it.”
I frowned. “Teach me anyway.”
Her mouth twitched, almost a smile. “…Persistent little brat.”
That night, she showed me how to breathe, how to move without letting my shadow stretch too far. How to press mana into silence, into corners of darkness.
I tried. Again and again. My small feet stumbled, my mana slipped, shadows flickered uselessly around me.
Lyra shook her head. “With legs that short, don’t expect much.”
I huffed, cheeks puffed. “I’ll learn it. Even if it takes forever.”
Because hiding my strength wasn’t giving up.
It was just another kind of training.
The next few days, I practiced in secret.
“Step softer,” Lyra would whisper. “Keep your breath low. Don’t push your mana—fold it.”
I tried. I really did. But to anyone watching, it probably looked ridiculous.
A three-year-old waddling across the yard, arms stretched out, tripping over his own feet, his shadow flaring one second and vanishing the next.
Lyra pinched the bridge of her nose more than once. “You look like a drunk duck.”
I ignored her. Because the HUD in front of my eyes told a different story:
[ Shadow Movement – Progress: 3% ]
Each attempt refines your connection to shadows. Failure still grants growth.
The more I tripped, the more it crept upward.
5%. 8%. 12%.
Every bruise, every stumble meant I was closer.
One evening, as the sun dipped low and the sky turned orange, I managed it for a heartbeat. My steps softened, my shadow blurred at the edges—and Lyra’s eyes widened as I slipped out of sight for a fraction of a second.
The HUD flickered again:
[ Shadow Movement – Progress: 20% ]
I fell flat on my face a moment later, dirt in my mouth. But I grinned anyway.
“See?” I mumbled into the ground. “I’ll get it.”
Lyra crouched beside me, shaking her head. “…You’re insane. But…” She smirked faintly. “…maybe not hopeless.”
For once, her voice didn’t sound mocking.
I spat out dirt, rolling onto my back, chest heaving. My shadow stretched beside me, long in the setting sun.
One day, I’d master it. Not for her. Not for the HUD.
But because hiding in shadows was how I’d keep Mama from crying.