Chapter 3439 Dragon's Heart (Part 2) "But Aran Awakened and I didn't." Leria felt stupid saying that but she was not ready to back down. "And Onyx Awakened before me. Do you think less of me for it?" He asked, "No! You are great and your powers are much cooler. She replied. "They were worth the wait." "My point exactly." He nodded. "Leria, you can't compare yourself with others or you will always be miserable, even if you become a Magus." "That's not true." She shook her head. "If I were a Magus, I'd be on top of Mogar!" "Really? Wouldn't you wonder if you are as influential as Lith or if your contribution to the magical arts is as important as Silverwing's? How would you react if people ranked you low among the Magi?" At those words, becoming a Magus sounded more like a curse than a blessing to Leria, silencing her. "That's why I'm telling you not to compare yourself to others. There will always be someone stronger, smarter, taller, luckier, or more successful than you. You must only compare yourself with the past you. "What would the five years old Leria say if she saw you cry despite your powers?" He asked. "She would tell me that I'm dumb and that she'd switch places with me any time." Leria lowered her gaze in shame. "Back then, I thought I would never be a good mage, let alone learn Light Mastery." "Exactly." Abominus nodded. "If I think about my past self, I'm proud of who I am today. I started as any other Ry of my pack. Yet I was chosen by you. I learned with you. I evolved and Awakened by myself. "All things I never believed possible. For all I know, my future self is laughing in joy after evolving further. Maybe he has become a Divine Beast or even a Guardian. If he does, I doubt he's wasting his time with measuring contests. "There are only a handful of Guardians on Mogar and being even the weakest among them puts you above trillions of living beings." "I see." Leria nodded. "What do you think I should do?" "A better question is: what would the future Leria, the Awakened Leria, tell you if she could meet you right now?" Abominus stared her in the eyes. "To stop crying like a girl and take it like a mage." She wiped her tears with another handkerchief and washed her face with water magic. "She would tell me that everything she has achieved came through discipline and hard work, not by moping and crying injustice." "I couldn't agree more with her." The Pyrmir nodded. *** The next morning during breakfast, Aran couldn't stop smiling while wolfing down enough food to make even Elina raise an eyebrow in concern. "Don't worry, Mom, it's normal." Lith reassured her. "His body needs energy to stabilize after the changes caused by the Awakening. Once it's done, his appetite will go back to normal." "Why didn't I notice it with you?" Elina asked. "Because I ate my share of game before returning home from hunting and because Selia kept a secret stash of meat for me." "Do you know what the best part of Awakening is?" Aran already knew that story and didn't want to see his mother sad. "Spirit Magic?" Leria gloomily stirred her milk with a biscuit. She had overcome most of her envy but still didn't like Aran rubbing his success in her face. "I can finally go to school with you again. I can play with you and Onyx in the afternoon. I have free time! No offense, Grandma, but spending two weeks in your office is vexing." He turned to Salaark. "Tell me about it." She grunted. "I've been holed up in there every morning for almost a thousand years." "I'm sorry, Grandma." Aran left his food and gave her a consolatory hug. "I wouldn't take your place for the world." "Well, this is new, instead." Salaark chuckled, ruffling his hair. "You know, there are a lot of people who want to take my place." "They are insane." Aran replied. "You should let them. It would give you more free time." "I wish it was that easy" Salaark thanked him and sent him back to his seat. "Seriously? That's what you like about Awakening?" Leria asked him. "Of course." Aran nodded. "I missed you guys and past a certain point, no matter how much I love magic, practicing it turns into torture." "Good gods." Raaz shook his head in disbelief. "A kid happy to go to school. Mogar has turned upside down." "Dear!" Elina nudged him. "I know that you are tired so feel free to take your time and relax before starting our lessons." Tista said. "Yet learning Spirit Magic can't wait. An untrained Awakened is too dangerous and I speak from experience." "Are you offering to teach me?" Aran asked and Tista nodded in reply. "Thanks, but no thanks. I want to learn from Big Brother." "Why? I've learned from him and I'm just as good as him with Spirit Magic. Tista said. "I don't doubt you are as good as him as a mage, but there's no way you're as good as him as a teacher." Aran shook his head. "How can you say that if you have yet to listen to a single lesson?" She crossed her arms in annoyance. "No offense, Big Sister, but how many people have you Awakened?" He asked. "None, but I'm a self-Awakened just like Lith." She replied in confusion. "Disagree!" Aran resumed eating. "No one who learned from you Awakened. Everyone who learned from Big Brother Awakened. I want to reach the violet on my own so I need strong foundations." Tista opened her mouth to reply but failed to find a single argument to refute Aran's words. "Not everyone." Leria sighed. "I didn't." "Oh, please. You will. It's only a matter of time." Aran swept his hand with absolute confidence. "I know you well enough to admit you are smarter than me. I must have reached illuminance or something." "Enlightenment, not illuminance." Leria started to laugh so hard that her eyes watered. "I said 'or something so it still counts." Aran kept eating. "Gods, I can't believe you Awakened before me." Leria kept laughing but there was no trace of mockery or envy in it, just amusement. "Don't get too comfortable. I'll be on your tail sooner than you think." "Do you want me to tell you how I did it?" He asked. "You? As my teacher?" Leria scoffed. "I bet ice cream against milk you have no idea how you did it or at least you can't explain the process with human words." "Of course I can!" Aran replied in annoyance. "Then Hush yourself and explain your Awakening method to Onyx. If she understands it, you win. If not, you lose." Leria said. "I'll take that bet!" Aran conjured a small Hush Zone and started talking. "First, you sit down and close your eyes, breathing." "Makes sense." Onyx nodded, reminiscing her own enlightenment. "Then you see a light that's actually a flame but you don't understand it until it gets bigger!" At those words, the Utgard furrowed her brows in confusion.