1 year later...
In that time, Kayden managed to learn an incredible number... 0 things. It felt like every book in the library was blank to him. The only ones who had anything talked about stories of men slaying dragons and other childish drivel. Kayden wasn't sure they were true; they looked like a fairy tale. Hypocrite, right? Kayden doubted magic in a magical world.
It wasn't very successful in finding its way either, it was almost like looking for something that doesn't exist. On the other hand, his ease in manipulating the surrounding mana has improved to absurd levels. Now, even using the current, he was still able to move it for a few minutes at a time. He was eager to get those shackles off and see where his potential lay.
During that time, he also became attached to the old man even more. Often, while reading a book, he would sit with the old man in the living room or accompany him in the kitchen. Perhaps because he was the only adult in the household, it allowed Kayden to have "kids" time with his childish behavior. In addition, each birthday was celebrated with gifts and cake from the old man. Kayden couldn't remember anyone being so fond of him in his two lives.
His parents don't count in that equation. Their memories were extremely blurred, not even his name was remembered by him. His life started in the hospital in his head. Today was one of the first days of January, it had been a few days since he had completed his four years.
After waking up, he went straight to get something hot to drink while sitting in the living room. Like every day for the last 4 years of his life, the old man was there drinking the same coffee in the same position.
"Good morning, old man. Did you sleep well?" Kayden asked sympathetically.
"I fell asleep. Now stop bugging me." The old man answered as rudely as ever, but that didn't startle Kayden. He knew the old man was a big tsundere. He had a hunch, at least. He couldn't try so hard for the children if he didn't like them.
Unbeknownst to Kayden, the old man loved these morning moments and their warmth. It made him feel loved, but even so, the old man would rather die burned than admit that kind of feeling for a second.
While the two were having their coffee, Heimer entered the room and greeted the two cordially.
"Good morning, Heimer," Kayden replied cheerfully.
"Day." Short and blunt answer, the old man's favorite.
The friendship between the two surprised the old man at first. Usually, children bonded with similar age. It may not seem like much, but the difference in mentality between a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old was huge. But something quickly became evident to the old man: geniuses relate to geniuses.
Heimer was his most talented child in recent years and had no doubts that he would be able to get into the imperial academy (oops, spoiler hehe ). But to date, Kayden has not demonstrated an equal level of talent. His only achievement was learning to read. At his age, Heimer was already capable of manipulating mana in ways superior to bracelet suppression. But that didn't matter to the old man either, talent meant nothing to him.
"Old man, when can I start the gym? I feel like you're stringing me along." Indeed, the old man was winding Kayden up these times, but not without reason. He was choosing which gym to put Kayden in. I was waiting for some sign from him so I could get him into the same elite academy as Heimer, but they had high standards and Kayden wasn't meeting them.
"Since when do I owe you satisfaction, huh? In the next few days, I'll be taking you to the nearest public academy." The old man expected to see disappointment on Kayden's face and questions like "Why can't I go to the elite academy like Heimer?" but there was none of that. Kayden just nodded and said thank you.
"Remember to choose your path to power well. I always gave the orphanage children freedom for that. I don't want them to be stuck only in the ordinary", the old man reminded Kayden for the thousandth time. At the base academy, they were taught many things, and one of them was how to progress in levels, something Kayden was extremely eager to find out.
"Will there be books that aren't just children's stories in the academy library?" Kayden jabbed at the old man, who in turn coughed as if he weren't with him.
February 1st...
The day had finally arrived when Kayden would go to the academy. That day, he woke up especially early. I was anxious, excited, and happy. He drank his coffee and greeted the old man. It didn't matter when he woke up, the old man would always be there first. This day was also special in another way, as for the first time he would leave his home in the countryside.
The orphanage was out of town, in the middle of nowhere. The old man prevented the children from going too far too, the maximum limit being the edge of the forest. This gave them something in the diameter of 1km and a half for them to play with, it was a lot of space.
Kayden had already realized that this was a modern world with advanced technology, similar to his old world. But he never saw anything other than the old man's cell phone, not even a TV.
Children usually took the train into town. Normally, the train came at 8 am and the class started at 9 am, but that day the old man said they would go another way. Kayden assumed it was a car. Heimer said he would surprise the boy, but Kayden didn't care, he had been in a car before.
"Are you ready Kayden? Got your backpack and notebooks and such?" The old man asked in an unpretentious way, but his concern could be seen in the tone of his words.
"It's all here, old man." Kayden went through every item in his small backpack at least 3 times.
"Alright, off we go then."
"Aren't you missing something, old man? Like a car?" Even as he spoke, Kayden heard the old man chuckle and at the same time, his feet left the ground. That was a very strange feeling. Kayden likened it to what astronauts went through in zero gravity.
Quickly, Kayden's surprise turned to shock as they began to rocket skyward. They accelerated quickly and then came to a slow stop. His cry of desperation soon turned to pleasure, it was one of the craziest extreme activities Kayden had ever participated in.
"Kayden, I like to go on the first trip with you to explain some basics. You're a little more mature for your age, so I won't wind it up too much or embellish it to make it easier to digest," the old man said as he guided the path without paying too much attention.
"We're going to base academy number 7. You'll stay there for about 10 years and then you'll be able to take the test to enter the real magic academies. The base ones are for you to learn about our world and its history. You too will understand a little about the ways of magic and the different levels of power in society.
"Only there is one annoying little detail, your talent level will be tested..."
"How, uncle?" Kayden was unaware of this detail and interrupted the old man.
"I told you not to interrupt me, kid. The test is performed by seeing how much mana your body is innately able to manipulate. Don't take it too seriously, an average result is already able to take you very far. There are 5 levels of talent, starting from the lowest, which is 1, up to 5. An average talent is considered to be 3, 4 is enough to make you stand out, but still not very rare. Level 5 is only for a few people per generation. "
"What about levels 1 and 2?" Kayden asked out of curiosity.
"Level 2 is for those who are destined to serve for life in our society. They hardly make it out of apprentice level. Level 1 is almost as rare as level 5. They don't make it out of 2nd level. apprentice."