"Yes, father; everything is ready."
"Excellent! You must look your best when you see the lord; remember, stay still when speaking, lift your head, and-"
"Speak loudly and clearly; I know, I know."
"Alexius- this is a very serious matter, you had better be on your best behaviour!"
Colt, who had been adopted by the knight captain- no, knight commander Rowan, was now given the name Alexius Dalitso.
Following tradition, since adopted children were not recognised as legitimate heirs, Rowan could not pass down his own surname of Pelaggius.
'Ah, how I wish that I was given a cooler name, like... I don't know, Damien or something?' By Earth standards, Alexius Dalitso was a rather peculiar sounding name, even though it is normal here.
"What are you dawdling about for? Get in the carriage, or we're going to be late!"
Alexius looked up to find Rowan sitting in the carriage, with a foot sticking out.
Rowan had changed quite a bit too, ditching the fine moustache and growing out his beard- now he looked like Alexius' old uncle back on Earth, who used to love chicken wings and fried rice.
They were on their way to the lord's castle. For Rowan, it was a chance to visit the lord whom he was close to, and for Alexius, it was the meeting which would determine the path he would take in this life.
If he could become the lord's page, he would essentially be set for life; being able to become a squire and then knight, he would even be able to receive his own noble title and a plot of land to retire to!
But that thought was best saved for the future. Getting into the small and stuffy carriage, Alexius listened as the carriage creaked and rumbled ominously as the horses started moving.
'This place is really poor... if I can, I will definitely have to try to bring better amenities to it, like running water and toilets... especially toilets.'
For the past three years, he had been forced to bathe in a large wooden tub that looked more like a bowl, filled with cold river water. He didn't know how dirty it was exactly, but never inquired further about that matter, not wishing to hear the answer that was guaranteed to be disgusting.
Not everything was doom and gloom, though, as Alexius had established himself as a fast learner, gobbling up anything he was taught as he recognized the amazing opportunity that the lord had given him- for most peasants, receiving a formal education, even if it was just basic education, was a pie in the sky for many.
Thus, being able to receive one meant that he was very privileged, and immediately entered the ranks of the upper class commoners.
He sighed, reminiscing. 'The first time I awoke, I had nothing, barely even the clothes on my back. Somehow, I managed to shake of the shock of being reborn into this weird world, and got to where I am now.'
Alexius let a wry smile cover his face.
'I guess that it was because I really had nothing to live for in my past life anymore. My career, family, even my...'
Not bearing to continue further, he just sat and stared out the window at the rolling meadows passing by.
When the carriage finally arrived in the bustling castle in the heart of the town, Rowan and Alexius got off. Looking around, he found that not many guards were around, probably because Rowan was enough security in and of himself.
Being a tier 3 warrior mage, his body was extremely well-refined and he was as agile as a cheetah, with the constantly circulating mana in his body continuously strengthening his bones, muscles and tendons.
In addition, the leftover mana in his mana heart could be used for battle by either temporarily covering his sword in mana, which, if the wielder was proficient, could be used to cut through steel with ease, or to create short spells of all kinds, like the blindness spell, which Rowan had used on Alexius the first time they met.
That's right. During his past 3 years of education, Alexius had finally learned about the mysterious and elusive magic that was in this world.
At the age of 10, everyone would awaken their mana heart, which was an intangible organ that could not be tampered with except through mana. However, although everyone had one, very few had a large enough mana to become mages, with tier 0 mages making up only 20% of the population in the Rici Archonate, where Alexius awoke.
Tier 0 mages were weak mages who had not chosen a path yet, being able to only cast weak elemental spells derived from the magic energy around them. Although they were separated from the laity, that was only in theory and most were treated no differently from common people.
Alexius had also found out about the importance of choosing a path.
There were three paths of magic: the school of traditional magic, which focused on one's comprehension, understanding, and computing ability to calculate the exact amount of mana to use in order to influence the magic energy around them, or to achieve the desired result with their own mana. This school could be immensely devastating or bring great benefits depending on how it was used.
Next was the school of battle magic, which focused on strengthening one's body and physical abilities, as well as some simple spells with great effects. However, warrior magic was incredibly limited in that warrior mages only specialised in one field: killing. Therefore, most warrior mages were either under the employ of nobles like lord Caymen, or joined the Archonate's army.
Lastly was the school of enchantment magic, where mages used their mana to infuse objects with permanent, powerful enchantments, or runes that could provide temporary boosts in power. For example, a sword enchanted by a permanent enchantment could create larger wounds and prevent them from healing. Runes could boost its performance, like making it more durable to endure massive, powerful strikes.
Therefore, most enchanters became private practitioners, enchanting swords and making a killing off of it. They were, essentially, the backbone of the merchant class of this world.
The schools of battle magic and enchantment magic themselves were founded by a great magical and political prodigy over 3,000 years ago by a man named Amarillus Marlowe, founder of the Marlowe Empire, which was the greatest empire in human history, spanning the entirety of the Great plains and all land north of the Greycastle river, and measured over 20 million square kilometres.
However, it had been in a state of decline for over 500 years now, with its decline being expedited by multiple rebellions in the north hundreds of years ago, which ultimately succeeded with the end of the talented Marlowe bloodline.
After that, multiple reforms were made, most notably one which replaced all the petty kings under the Emperor with loyal archons, who themselves grew corrupt and split off from the Empire, returning the western Ophym continent into chaos with tens of small and large states, all competing for the former glory of the Marlowe Empire.
In fact, the Rici Archonate that was Alexius' country of origin was founded by an archon who, disagreeing with the ruling council of Marlonian archmages that took power after the destruction of the Marlowe family, successfully rebelled and split off entirely, becoming the 4th largest country in Western Ophym.
The schools of battle magic and enchantment magic, were, therefore, part of the heritage of the great empire, alongside a unified Imperial Standard language that was spoken throughout the whole western, central, and southern parts of the Ophym continent and a calendar that started when the Empire had been founded.
The two newer schools of magic were also the humans' best trump card against the other races on this planet, especially the orcs and the elves, who did not possess battle and enchantment magic. Alexius was surprised to learn that there were other sentient races on Nessim, but then realised that it made sense given the fantasy-like context of this world and did not pry further.
Alexius' head cramped. He still remembered the harsh teaching of lady Elina, who, unlike her appearance, had a fiery temper and did not tolerate any shenanigans. However, it had paid off, and he had learned much more about the world he lived in, which was called Nessim, meaning "Nature's mother" in an old tongue.
He had also learned about the difference between mana and magic power, the difference between tiers of magicians, the definitions of magicians, etc... it was like going through school a second time.
All this time, he had been earnestly praying to awaken a decently-sized mana heart. In total, there were ten tiers, and he did not wish to become a powerless stepping stone for someone else to power.
*Creak!* The carriage stopped as the horses in front also stopped.
"We're here, master."
A young voice came from the front as Rowan and Alexius prepared to alight.
The lord's castle was almost the same as when he first saw it 3 years ago, save for some minor alterations.
They took the same route to the lord's office as last time, with the guard bowing to his commander and opening the door to let him pass.
"Welcome, Rowan. So you are here to take me up on the promise I made three years ago, huh?" The lord seemed slightly paler than when Alexius had last seen him all that time back, but still had a regal aura around him, and his expression was still as unreadable as ever.
He looked down at Alexius, not giving his knight commander any time to respond. "So this is the lad... he looks just like me when I was young. Boy, you must understand the gravity of your decision. Are you willing to become a page and serve your lord faithfully for the rest of your life?"
Alexius steeled himself, dug his heels in and gave the lord a look of determination. "I am, my lord. I promise to work hard to not let you down!"
The lord scrutinized him for a second, giving a slight chuckle, breaking his perpetual look of solemnity. "I'm pleased with your eagerness, but the lord you will be serving won't be me."
What!? Alexius and Rowan stood rooted in shock. "But my lord, you mentioned that you would accept him into-" Rowan protested, but was silenced by a casual wave from his lord.
"Orders came down from the baron himself, demanding his retainers to send him young men that he could train. I cannot do anything to go against his order."
"My lord! Please, I'll take responsibility for this! He's my life, I don't know what I am going to do if he leaves so soon!"
"Rowan! Since when have you been so insolent to your lord? This is an order from the baron himself! Even if you take responsibility for this, if the baron is angered and decides to call in his allies in the army, what then? Can I keep my position, no, even my head if something happens to you?"
This lord's annoyed snap shocked the usually stoic knight-commander, who instantly shut up. Taking the opportunity, Alexius chimed in. "My lord... please, at least tell us who I am going to be sent off to. However, no matter what, I am still willing to become a page. I want to follow my father's footsteps and become a knight like him!"
"Son... Alexius, please let your-" "Rowan, the child has already made his decision. Let him follow it. It is rare to see someone with so much conviction, at such a young age. Besides, letting him get a taste of the world, away from his comfort zone, will be good for his future. What is there left in this country anyway, war and bloodshed? If that is the case, we can't keep sheltering him, now can we?"
"My lord... alright." Rowan took a deep sigh and acquiesced. "But please, as my son said, let us know whose page he is going to be."
Lord Caymen smirked, and said, "Alright, I owe you this. He's going to be a page boy of one of baron of Littlesberg's loyal knights. Do not worry, they're not going to mistreat him as everyone will be a noble."
Rowan heaved a deep sigh, this time of relief. Alexius, on the other hand, was having a great time ripping this lord Caymen apart in his mind. 'This damn lord... now I have to complete a whole ass quest just to climb the lowest rung of the nobility? He broke his promise... so now I know how much his words are worth!'
He looked at the lord with ill-disguised malice. 'If it wasn't for wanting to become a noble, I would've shut this down right here and now!'
Of course, that was just his irrational anger. He knew quite well that the lord could not very well go against his master's wishes. Just like how an officer that might seem aloof and omnipotent had superiors whose superiors had superiors, nobles were even more invested in this strict hierarchy as they had practically been born and bred in it.
Even so, he had wished to have a comfy, relaxing life in the countryside, like the king of the land, far away from the bloody politics in the big cities. Why was the world making it so hard for him? Did he kick a dog in his past life?
...Well, he didn't, but he did kill enemy troops during his time in the army. Maybe that was why?
Either way, he could do nothing but grit his teeth. He was already on this path; there was no turning back.