"People die when they are killed, but I won't! I refuse to die like this! ##########, I refuse!!"
The furious scream echoed throughout the heavens and shook the earth. Henry released all of his last energy. Death loomed over his head.
Finally, he closed his eyes, and everything fell into darkness.
"Wha—!?"
Henry popped his eyes out as his heart thundered in his chest. He looked around him and realized he was still in his room.
It was a small and humble wooden room of a commoner.
It started a few days ago. Henry dreamt of a magus' journey. That person was unbelievably powerful. He could shape the earth, split the seas, and shatter the sky.
He could barely get any sleep lately. The dreams became more intense each night.
They were vivid and realistic. And Henry would think he was that magus and relive all his experiences.
The feeling of having small rocks hit random parts of his body was so immersive. The spells raging about around him thundered his flesh and blinded his eyes.
There seemed to be two sides to the conflict, and Henry was at the heart of it. He led one side to fight against the other. And in the end, he died.
Henry was starting to think that it relates to his past life! He heard theories that people reincarnate. Henry barely believed that before, but he forcefully accepted it.
The thought of (What if that was me?) kept ringing in his mind. It was surreal and exciting to think about.
Alas, the truth was that Henry could not become a magus even if he saw all of those. The dreams never mentioned any method in how to become a magus.
He only felt mana coursing through his body, seemingly reminding him of its power. Unfortunately, Henry lacked information on how to initiate the mana to flow that way.
Perhaps, if he had a Magus Tutor or a Magus Teacher, he might just be able to.
But as fate would have it, Henry was a low commoner born into a household with no family name. He only had a name and nothing else.
With nothing left to think about, he opened the door to the living room and saw the food served on the table. It was a humble serving of egg and beans.
Filling and tasty. That was it. Nothing special.
"Mother, I had a dream again…" Henry mentioned and sat on his seat.
Felicia gazed worriedly at her son. These past few days she had were stressful for her as a mother. She watched as her son struggled with horrible dreams but was unable to do anything but hold his hands as he slept.
"Dear… Everything will be fine."
Felicia walked over and embraced Henry. She stayed in that position for a minute, then sat back down.
"Eat with me."
Henry nodded at Felicia's words and took a spoon of the beans with a bit of egg.
Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, Henry paused and dazed.
"Dear?"
He raised his hand and pointed all of his right fingers at the floor.
A chill ran down Henry's body. Mana moved through his body and shot forward. He had no control. It was an instinctive reaction.
At the contact with the floor, the mana gathered into a tiny point and compressed in of itself.
Blinding.
Henry and Felicia's visions turned white, and pain struck their eyeballs. They both closed their eyes in ache.
When they opened it again, they saw a small burnt mark on the wooden floor.
Their eyes were still painful. Henry turned to Felicia and noticed that she did the same.
"Dear! What was that??" Felicia shouted in horror.
Magic. That was magic. Felicia knew, but she asked out of shock.
"Mother… That… I-I don't know…" Henry stammered, speechless.
He did that. The feeling earlier was identical to his dreams. It gave Henry a sensation of euphoria and familiarity.
He hurriedly stood up. The chair fell on the floor, but he didn't care. The shock was too great for Henry to pay attention to other things. He hastily entered his room.
"Was that… really me?" Henry asked himself while staring at his right hand.
He touched his eyes with his left hand and sensed the pain was still there. It wasn't an illusion.
(I can become a magus?)
The thought rang deep inside of Henry's soul. He wanted to become a magus. It would save him and his mother from their damned present as lowly commoners.
"Henry!"
Felicia repeatedly banged the door with her hand and forced Henry out of his daydream.
"Mother…"
Henry opened a crack at the door and peeked at his mother outside.
"Henry! Was that…"
Felicia stopped in her words. The unbelievable thing happened, and she didn't dare utter it. The truth was that she wanted it to be real but feared that it was just a hallucination.
"Yes! That was magic, Mother…"
Henry took a deep breath after saying those words. The sensation of mana coursing through his body was still there. It was constantly reminding him of who he was.
"That's… good news! Was it because of the dream? Finally, we can get a better life. My baby…" Felicia cried.
Tears dripped down her eyes and wet her clothes. Her eyes became red, and she ran to hug Henry.
Henry was emotional himself. He tightened the hug in return and patted her back.
.
.
.
After a while, Felicia gently pushed Henry away. She looked up at him.
Henry was slightly taller than her. He was about 5 feet and 9 inches, 175 cm in metric units. As she looked up, her happiness could not be hidden.
She smiled with her eyes and mouth. Henry was happy to see her delighted. It was their love for each other as mother and son.
Felicia put her hand on his black hair and rubbed it. She then cupped his cheek.
"I believe in you, Dear," Felicia said endearingly.
Henry would never forget this moment. A son is happiest as long as the mother recognizes him with love.
.
A few seconds later, Felicia distanced a step further, feeling a fluttering in her heart. Earlier, she saw a bit of his father in his light blue eyes.
Henry was seventeen. He was already a man.
She was his mother, and she realized others might misunderstand if they walked in to see her like that with him. It was better to be careful.
"Mother, it's fine."
Henry slightly shook his head with an amused smile. His mother was being silly.
"Y-Yes!"
Felicia turned pink. Henry found out what she was thinking. Was it that obvious?
To change the topic, Felicia quickly thought of something else.
"Don't reveal it to anyone else, especially that grievous son of the Mayor! He will be filled with greed and jealousy towards my son!" Felicia warned.
She became serious at this moment. Henry could tell she wouldn't let him take it easy and get careless.
Felicia continued, "Promise me."
Henry straightened his posture and gazed straight into his mother's eyes.
"I promise."
A smile broke on Felicia's face once again. She relaxed and turned around. She was confident in her son. She was "his" son, after all.
But before she left, she paused in her steps.
"In this life, my only dream is to see you happy. I know you're unhappy being a commoner. Go follow your dreams. I support you."
Felicia continued her steps and left the room.
Henry took her words to heart. He would strive to succeed in order to prove his mother correct!
…
The night later was different. The dream was unlike any other before.
This time, Henry was watching the starry sky with someone else. It was a serene and relaxing moment.
The vastness of the stars enveloped him and gave him a feeling of insignificance.
"Master, who created magic?"
A male voice curiously asked Henry at the side.
Henry continued gazing at the stars.
He took a while to think before answering.
"Magic's discovery was an accident. It was not created by someone but by every prominent magi of the past. The system today was built by talented giants. Say, my eldest disciple. In the future, what do you think the magic system will look like?"
The voice was silent in contemplation.
"Won't it be so much better, Master?" the eldest disciple answered.
Henry shivered. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He was in his room.
He had just dreamt. He was confused by the contents. It was calmer compared to the previous nights.
"Master? Disciple?"
Henry understood the words uttered in the dream. He found them to make sense, but it shocked him a bit.
A while later, Henry shook his head, and a determined gaze replaced his confusion. He crossed his legs on the bed and focused.
He remembered the feeling of the magic coursing through his body yesterday. They were still fresh in his mind.
"I… Why is it not working?"
Henry repeated the same hand posture he made with his fingers pointing at the floor. It was the same, but he lacked something he couldn't put his mind on.
He was so close, yet so far from his goal.
"I can't do it again."
"Henry, I'll be going out! Remember to feed the chickens at the back!" Felicia shouted from the entrance to their house.
"Yes, Mother!" Henry shouted as loud as he could.
He walked into the living room and grabbed a handful of chicken feed from the sack at the corner.
He went out the back and threw them to the chickens. They immediately rushed forward and pecked the feeds with chicken excitement.
These chickens would become their dinner soon. He walked in the middle of them and counted.
"One, two… wait? Four?"
Henry stopped and swiveled his head around the area. There were supposed to be six chickens here.
Given that these chickens were not kept in cages, it was possible that they roamed too far or someone stole two.
Henry noticed something from the corner of his eyes. One of the chickens was walking oddly while it pecked on the feeds.
If Henry hadn't fed it, he would fail to notice the unnoticeable injury. He kneeled and lifted the chicken. He inspected the underside of it where a patch was bleeding.
Henry lowered it and gazed at it at the chicken level.
"Bak!"
The chicken seemed to greet Henry.
"A snake?"
"Bak!"
"Really? A wolf?"
"Bak!"
The chicken responded similarly to each of his questions.
"…"
Henry felt idiotic asking a chicken in the first place. He gently put it down and looked at the woods.
The woods were a place unknown to Henry. There were so many trees of various species within. Shrubs and small plants competed for light on the ground.
This place was perfect for sneaky predators to roam inside.
Snakes would hide in the canopies, bushes, and in underground tunnels. It was a dangerous place that Henry rarely entered.
He carefully walked inside and pushed aside the shrubbery. He looked around and perked his ears to listen for chickens.
Unfortunately, he found nothing relevant.
To be safe, Henry decided to return.
He found something odd standing by the door to his house.
"Goblin!"
Henry was startled awake. He immediately went on high alert.
Goblins were heinous creatures who plundered, raped, ate, and tortured humans. Everyone was told to report goblin sightings to the authorities to prevent them from multiplying.
If they were left alone, they could easily take down a village. In some cases, cities fell within a night if they were too careless.
The goblin grinned at Henry. Its yellowed and decaying teeth were disgusting to look at. It visibly looked hungry and vicious.
"Stay away, Goblin!" Henry roared.
He raised his arms and ran to the goblin. He did so to make himself look bigger. It got spooked in return as it ran away.
After a distance of 30 meters or a hundred feet, it stopped and stared at Henry with an evil grin.
Henry shivered as he felt something ominous as it looked at him.
But still, he couldn't care less. It was just a single goblin. As far as he knew, this was the first sighting. It should be safe for now.
He grabbed the chickens by lifting them from their underbelly. He brought them inside the house. He couldn't let these chickens become the goblin's food.
He wouldn't have eggs for food or chicken to eat. It was also possible for them to sell the chickens at a later date if they needed money.
Once inside, Henry locked the doors before closing the windows tight.
Since his mother was not home yet, Henry decided to wait. The goblin could easily steal more chickens if he left the house.
He could at least scare it if it tried to sneak inside.
Henry took this as an opportunity to try doing the magic spell again. Throughout the day, Henry pointed his fingers at the floor, recalling the course of mana in his body.
But no matter how much effort he put in, it felt like he was getting nowhere. It only took a few hours before Henry gave up.
He didn't know anyone capable of teaching him.
Night came fast, and Felicia returned home. She had a flushed expression on her face. Henry was aware of her job.
She didn't speak about it, but he knew, and she knew that he knew. It was something Henry had no say about. After all, their money came from that job of hers.
"Welcome home, Mother." Henry smiled.
No matter her job, it was fine as long as she was alive. She was the only family member he had left. He couldn't afford to lose her like he lost his father in the past.
"Dear, my client gave me some leftovers. Come! Let's eat," Felicia said and rushed to the dining table.
Henry grabbed the paper bag from her hands. The word 'Client' was stuck in his mind. The man who just… his mother… gave this food.
He took out a plate of fried fish. It was large and as big as the plate it came with. Henry had no idea what the fish was called.
He and Felicia just knew that this fish tasted good, and nobles loved eating it. This was not the first time Felicia had received such a gift from her clients.
Henry ate silently with a heavy heart.
They finished half an hour later. Henry left the table and locked himself in his room.
He closed his eyes and slept on the bed. He could only sleep the pain he felt.
Without him realizing it, he had already fallen asleep.
"Henry! Help! Ahhhh!"
Felicia's loud and horrified scream broke the silence of the night. Henry widened his eyes, and he forced himself awake.
He stood up and felt dizzy. However, he still grabbed a wooden club he always kept in his room. He wasn't ready for combat, but the screams of Felicia gave him the strength to.
When he exited his room, he was stung by a sharp, disgusting smell that permeated the living room. The scent consisted of feces, vomit, and rotten meat.
Many goblins crowded around Felicia as they dragged her out of her room.
"Hey!"
Henry smacked the goblins near him and rushed to Felicia's side. The monsters tried to attack him, but he swiftly dealt with them.
Urk! Urk! Aghh!
He managed to free his mother, and she hurriedly stood up and hid behind him.
"Run!"
Henry noticed the open back door. Goblins rushed in as they detected that the other goblins were down on the floor.
He pulled his mother with him and opened the front door.
He thought they would escape, but he underestimated the goblins!
A thick wooden stick greeted Henry's face. He fell down quickly like a log. He tried to force his eyes to remain open, but they felt weak.
He barely saw his mother get hit by the stick, too, and she went unconscious.
(Mother!!)
Henry screamed in his mind, unable to speak, and he lost consciousness, too.