Title The Beginning After the End Vol. 4
Author: TurtleMe (Story), Fuyuki23 (Art)
Publisher: Yen Press, Tapas
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
Genre: Fantasy, Action
Publication Date: November 21, 2023
The Story
Art has returned home and as one would expect, it was an emotional family reunion! The past three years have been tough on all of them; however, Art learns that he has a brand-new little sister named Ellie! Art’s parents have been staying with Vincent and Tabitha Helstea who own and run the famous Helstea Auction House. They also have a daughter named Lilia who is Art’s age as well.
After doing a spar with his father, they are shocked to learn that Art is a deviant, being able to use fire and lightning magic (at least that’s what he showed them). Impressed that he knew two elements at such a young age, Vincent uses his connections with Xyrus Academy and brings their founder, Cynthia Goodsky, to the house to meet Art. After showing her a demonstration using Earth and Wind magic, Art’s father suddenly realized that Art lied about only using two elements. When he shows that he can use all four, even Cynthia is stunned.
Art receives an invitation to join Xyrus Academy but he declines for now. He wants to join when he’s the appropriate age. Instead, he makes his intentions clear that until that day arrives, he wishes to leave home and become an adventurer. Of course, his parents are completely against it but after some very tough stipulations, they agree. Art said he will leave in three months so that he can spend time with his family. One of the things he and his family are invited to is the 10th-anniversary event at Helstea Auction House; however, with this being such a prestigious event, there is heightened security but the one they have to worry about is someone who is in attendance with the royal family itself!
Characters
Again, we get a lot of new characters in this volume so let’s dig in.
First, we have Vincent and Tabitha Helstea. I’ll lump them in because they both share the same traits in the sense that neither one of them are mages and they share a desire for their daughter Lilia to awaken as a mage and attend Xyrus Academy. In fact, Vincent made sure to get in good with Cynthia Goodsky so that all of his contributions to the school by way of his auction house would lean in his favor if the day should come when Lilia awakens. It sounds seedy and underhanded but it’s now. Lilia’s parents are kind-hearted and only want their daughter to have the things they didn’t. Everything they do is to nurture and support her!
As for Lilia herself, she wants nothing more than to awaken as a mage; however, she can’t do it no matter how hard she tries. When she meets Art and sees how powerful he is while being the same age, she becomes infatuated and jealous of him. Part of her may actually have a crush on him, too! Seeing her desperation and desire, Art decides to help her awaken her core; however, after preliminary assessments, he says it’s possible but it may take years for it to happen but he will be sure to help in any way he can. This elates Lilia and her parents and may have gotten him to score some relationship brownie points in the future… although Tessia might have something to say about that! At this rate, I might have to add the Harem tag to the Genre label.
Next is Cynthia Goodsky. At first, she looks strict and someone who would command respect; however, once things open up, she is quite humbled. She spars with Art and shows off the power of her wind magic then shows that she has an ace up her sleeve as she, too, is a deviant and can control sound magic! The fact that Art held her own impressed her and when he withstood the full power of her sound magic without passing out, she was more than willing to accept him into the academy. She also has a heightened sense of talent and even believes that Art will become the strongest mage in the world in the future. She even wants to tutor Art personally. From her introduction, you can tell that receiving that honor is no easy feat to achieve which speaks volumes about the respect everyone has for her!
Next, we have the entire royal family… all of whom with the last name of Glayder. There is the King, Blaine, the Queen, Priscilla, the Prince, Curtis, and the Princess, Kathlyn. None of them other than Blaine speaks and when he does, he seems annoyed at first that he is sharing the VIP viewing room with Art and his family; however, once Vincent explained things he noted that any friend of Vincent is a friend of his. Right away, Art is now friends with the Royal Family. Lucky him. As a former King himself (in his old world), it makes me wonder how these two will bond.
Next, we have Sebastian. Not much is known right now but he seems interested in Art due to his mutual contract with his mana beast. We’ll leave it at that but he looks like a creep and therefore must be evil!
Finally, we see all five members of the Twin Fangs again! It’s an emotional reunion but Jasmine stuck out as she apologized to Art over and over again as she felt the weight of responsibility for everything that happened to him over the past three years. One of the five is supposed to accompany Art on his adventures as per one of his parents’ stipulations. Something tells me Jasmine is going to be the one to take the job although nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
Final Thoughts
Another fantastic volume! The reunion was as emotional as I hoped it would be. It was hilarious how his father wanted to waste no time in sparring with him… especially since he learned that Art’s core advanced to the light red level. The thing is, his mother knows that Art is hiding a lot of information from them. It is so unnatural for someone his age to progress so much in so little time. When he explained everything that happened, there were a lot of gaps in his story so it was only natural a mother’s intuition would kick in and suspect something. Art did promise himself that he would tell them everything later… which I am assuming he means about Sylvie… but a part of me wonders if he’ll tell him about his reincarnation as well.
A lot of things were set up in the volume. We have someone keeping an eye on Art, we have Sebastian looking creepy and wanting to study his bond with his mana beast, we have Art wanting to go on adventures for three years, and we have his eventual attendance at Xyrus Academy to look forward to. Plus, let’s not forget, that he still owes visits back to the elf kingdom so he can further build his harem with Tessia! Lots of hands are in the pot on this one but it is laying the groundwork for a long tale and I like where it’s heading!
For the immediate future, looks like we’ll be dealing with this 10th anniversary event for the Helstea auction house. Of course, it’s a big event with a lot of people in attendance! What possible could go wrong!?
You can also check out other The Outerhaven reviews on your favorite social media networks:
Subscribe to us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theouterhaven
Subscribe to us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOuterHaven
Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/theouterhavennet
This item was provided for review by Yen Press.
