Andrew washed up within fifteen minutes. He then donned his sleek suit, shoes, and watch before exiting his bedroom and descending the stairs.
His father's Castle was like he remembered.
All the interior decorations and furnishings were extravagant beyond measure. Andrew's step-mom had handpicked them herself to ensure that everything in the castle matched the status of the Robinson household as a leading entity among the hidden families of the Dartolonian Empire.
Andrew was already starting to accept his rebirth, but that didn't mean he would mistake himself as a privileged core member of the Robinson family after his twelve years away from his home.
He observed the whole interior of the castle with a bystander's mindset and nodded at some maids doing their chores in the living room.
Of course, there were issues he didn't wish to experience again. He didn't want to start one of those conflicts with his step-mom and step-siblings just after his rebirth. With that in mind, he avoided the dining area, where they usually enjoyed breakfast and headed to the kitchen.
He greeted the ever-passionate chef and enjoyed a quick breakfast of bread, bananas, and milk on the kitchen table. After satiating his hunger, he slipped out of the castle through the rear entrance and found Cody Yates waiting near the side courtyard.
"Time is of the essence," exclaimed the butler as he checked his watch. "Hold on tight. I'll take you to the Elder's Hall."
Without delay, he pulled out his cane and tapped the air before him. A magical circle appeared out of nowhere and transformed into a dark mat hovering mid-air.
Cody was excited to explain, "This is the rank-zero auxiliary flying spell! Even an apprentice sorcerer can use it. It's called the Flying Mat. If you work hard after awakening, you'll be able to use it in just one year. So, what are you waiting for? Hop on, and let's fly to the Elder's Hall!"
Andrew didn't move immediately, but gazed at the spell before him with tangled emotions.
In his past life, all he yearned for was to awaken and fly in the air like the other mighty sorcerers in the family. But after experiencing the wars with the demons, he realized how useless the flying mat spell was.
The flying spell couldn't enable you to escape the lowest-level winged demon. It was rigid and couldn't improve a sorcerer's maneuverability during combat.
So, what was the use of learning it, especially since the war against the demons was only a year away?
'In this life, I must only learn spells that can increase my combat ability or my odds of survival. I will not waste my time mastering useless spells. But first things first, let me face the awakening ceremony again.'
Andrew's mind was wandering.
He glanced at the majestic Robinson Castle for the last time and sighed. He knew this was the last time he would look at his home in a long time. But he didn't mind, as that was the price he had to pay to strengthen himself.
"Let's go," he said to Cody and stepped on the flying mat.
Cody smiled and placed a hand on Andrew's shoulder, just to support him. The butler then performed his sorcery with his cane, and the mat slowly rose upwards.
Sorcerer's flying around was a common sight within the Robinson hidden dimension. As such, the gardeners and maids around only gave the middle-aged butler a cursory glance as he controlled the flying spell to ascend to an altitude of about a hundred meters. With expert mastery, Cody then guided it towards the ancestral mountain, where the Elder's Hall was located.
Andrew had been through a lot during his twelve years of continuous battle with the demons. He had even ridden on powerful flying beasts in that lifetime. As such, he was as steady as a rock on the flying mat even after Cody removed his supporting hand from his shoulder.
"Aren't you scared?" Cody asked while glancing at him with surprise.
"Why should I be?" Andrew replied with a question of his own. "There's a barrier surrounding the flying mat. I wouldn't fall even if I wanted to."
Cody chuckled. "You are a brave one. I sure hope you awaken a strong battle totem. Maybe you can join the ranks of the strong sorcerers of the Robinson family sooner rather than later."
Andrew sighed on hearing the butler's words. He already knew he would experience the opposite of what Cody expected during the awakening ceremony. But he didn't say anything and concentrated on observing the sights below the flying mat.
Aside from his home, he could see dozens of majestic castles and hundreds of smaller homesteads spread in valleys and hills around a majestic mountain.
The castles were the residences of the other direct members of the Robinson family, while the smaller houses belonged to the side families and the dutiful family subjects. Combined, they formed a small city that was the source of most of the forces of the leading hidden family of the Dartolonian Empire.
The majestic mountain itself was the ancestral mountain of the Robinson family, and on its peak was a small building housing a ceremonial temple and the famous Elder's Hall. It was the place where the elders conducted the awakening ceremonies of all Robinson heirs.
Cody was a powerful sorcerer, even by the strictest standards. His mastery of sorcery was superb, and he effortlessly controlled the flying mat to arrive before the Elder's hall within only fifteen minutes. He then patted Andrew's shoulder and said, "Andrew! I can't enter the Elder's Hall unless the Family Council summons my presence. So, I'll only escort you up to this point."
"Thanks for the ride, Uncle Cody!" Andrew thanked the butler and stepped off the flying mat right after it came to a halt.
Cody nodded and whispered. "Your mom was the one who brought me into the family when I was at the worst point in life. She was brave. She wasn't even five decades old, but she had already ingrained her esteemed name on the ranks of the strongest sorcerers among the hidden families of the Dartolonian Empire. You have her blood running within you. I'm sure that you'll do well during the awakening ceremony."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Uncle Cody," Andrew said, as the sad memories about his mom flooded his mind. He shook his head and sighed. "I'll be heading inside now."
"Off you go. Good luck!"
Andrew forced a smile on his face before turning and heading towards the Elder's Hall. Even though it was his second time walking that small path toward the peak of the ancestral mountain, he still couldn't prevent the waves of complicated emotions from assaulting his psyche.
He had returned twelve years into the past. He was back at the start of everything, and with his experiences, he could effortlessly think of many ways to strengthen himself after his awakening.
But first, he had to face the family council members and escape the family dimension before his competitors could threaten his life.
'Let's do this.'
Andrew brushed the imaginary dust off his new black suit and pumped himself up as he finally entered the Elder's Hall.
His eyes took in everything within the dimly lit gallery, from the many paintings of past family members hanging on the walls to the murals of fantastical beasts at the far end, before landing on the high seats arranged in a semi-circle around a platform adorned by enigmatic inscriptions.
Seated on the seats were the members of the Robinson family, who made up the family council. With a glance, Andrew recognized his archaic great-grandfather on the most elevated and center-most seat. He also saw his grandparents, father, uncles, and aunts atop the other high seats.
A few council members were looking at him with curious gazes, while some could barely mask the traces of malice within their stares. But all that didn't matter to him as he was only in the hall to undergo his awakening.
He would partake in the ceremony and then disappear from the hidden dimension long before the family's internal struggles caught up with him.
"Andrew Robinson, son of Miles Robinson, congratulations upon reaching your eighteenth birthday today! You can finally call yourself a man of the Robinson family." A solemn and deep voice sounded from the figure atop the highest and center-most seat in the gallery. It was Duke Magnus Robinson, Andrew's great-grandfather, who had spoken.
"Thank you, family head!" Andrew replied with a slight bow.
The old duke smiled, the wrinkles on his face becoming more pronounced. He caressed his long white beard and continued, "As per the custom set by our ancestors, you will undergo the ceremony to awaken your sorcerer's totem today on your eighteenth birthday. Miles! Present your son with the awakening elixir. Let's witness the birth of another sorcerer of the Robinson family."
"As you command, family head," Andrew's father, a suave-looking middle-aged man seated at the far side, replied. He rose from his chair and picked up a bowl atop the runic platform surrounded by the high seats. He arrived before Andrew with a few graceful steps before presenting the bowl.
"Good luck, son," Miles said solemnly. "May you awaken a strong battle totem that can make you a worthy Robinson heir."
"Thank you, Father," Andrew replied with another bow. He then received the bowl and downed its contents in a single gulp without even looking at them.
What poured down his throat was a few sticky drops of a liquid with a searing and sour taste. It burned his tongue, throat, and esophagus until it reached his stomach.
It was then that a few changes occurred within his body.
He experienced a shortness of breath as his heart started racing. Lightheadedness assaulted his entire being, and his legs turned wobbly. He started losing perception of his surroundings as his thoughts turned chaotic. It was as if he was about to lose consciousness.
"Andrew!" His father's voice sounded in his mind at that moment. "Try your best to focus. Do not let the awakening elixir overpower your mind. Use the Robinson Soul Abacus technique to meditate and concentrate your thoughts as you awaken your battle totem."
Andrew's mind sharpened after hearing his father's guidance.
During his previous life, he had experienced the worst awakening when he allowed the awakening elixir to overpower his mind. The family council had obviously saved him by placing him on the awakening platform, but in so doing, he had wasted his potential.
He couldn't make the same mistake again in his new life.
Andrew immediately settled down cross-legged on the ground. He regulated his breathing and started concentrating his thoughts using the familiar Robinson Soul Abacus technique that he had repeatedly used throughout his younger years to prepare for the awakening ceremony.
With his experience from another lifetime, everything worked out well, and he visualized a gigantic golden abacus with ten rows of beads in his mind. He focused and followed the instructions of the technique to move the beads from one end of the abacus to another with his willpower.
He moved bead after bead from left to right until something incredible happened. An explosion went off in his mind, and he blanked out for a mere instant.
But just as suddenly, his consciousness returned. He opened his eyes and found himself floating cross-legged in a foggy space. Before him was an all-familiar and large golden book, which happened to be his awakened battle totem. As for below him, there was a sea of silver liquid representing his consciousness.
All this symbolized his soul space, meaning that he had successfully awakened as an apprentice sorcerer without the help of an awakening platform. He had taken his first step toward strengthening himself during his second life.
Andrew sighed wistfully and opened his eyes. He found all the family council members looking at him with surprise. With his experience of eleven years battling the demons, it only took him a second to acclimatize to his enhanced condition as an apprentice sorcerer.
"You managed to awaken without the help of the runic platform," Magnus, the family head, remarked. "You have even recovered from the procedure within seconds. Your willpower is commendable."
"Thank you for the compliment, family head," Andrew said with a deep bow.
Duke Magnus nodded as his gaze turned solemn. "Summon your totem. Let's look at its potential."
'Here it comes," Andrew thought and sighed again. With a wave, he summoned the small golden book that had accompanied him for twelve years in his last life.
The book didn't look as majestic as it had appeared in his soul space while he was meditating. Instead, it appeared worn out, as if the passage of time had long eroded its brilliance. But for Andrew, it was the only battle totem he could have wished for, as he had already mastered how to unleash its potential during his previous life.
"What is this?"
"Why is it giving off an aura much worse than the worst low-tier human-grade totem?"
Some whispers sounded within the family hall for a few dozen seconds before everything quietened.
A momentary silence descended upon the hall as Duke Magnus and the other family council members observed the small book with awkward stares. As for Miles, Andrew's father, he was gazing at him and his small totem with a complicated expression.
It seemed that everyone in the hall had expected a lot after Andrew underwent the awakening ceremony without the help of the runic platform. But the nature of his totem had toppled their anticipations.
Other apprentice sorcerers would awaken weapon-type, element-type, or even beast-type battle totems that would set them on a straight path to power. But how was their promising heir supposed to use a small book with such a feeble aura for his sorcery?
Would he use it to beat people, or would he utilize it during meditation?
Magnus coughed slightly to break the awkward silence. "Is this your totem?" He asked lightly.
"Yes," Andrew answered simply.
"Well, it's quite unique," the great-grandfather said. "Could you have discovered its powers during your awakening?"
"Nope," Andrew answered. "But I felt my mind and body growing stronger."
"Oh!" The family head exclaimed and turned to look at Miles. "Give your son one of the runic bracelets for the newly awakened heirs. Let's see how his attributes measure up."
"As you command, family head." Miles nodded before hurriedly stepping forward and presenting a silver bracelet to Andrew. "Use your blood to bind it. You will be able to use it immediately after."
Andrew nodded and received the bracelet. He bit his finger and used his blood to bind it before wearing it on his left arm.
"The bracelet is one of the runic artifacts manufactured by the Robinson family," Miles continued. "Every Robinson heir receives one after awakening. It has an inbuilt spatial storage measuring up to five square meters of space. It also acts as a communication tool and an aura scanner that can measure your attributes and the grade of your awakened totem. Just use your consciousness to access its scanning function."
Andrew nodded and did as instructed. He effortlessly accessed the bracelet's scanning function before requesting it to measure his attributes and the grade of his summoned totem. Then, with just another command, he ordered the artifact to project the information in the air.
[Subject: Human Male, Bone Age: 18 Years]
[Attributes -> Physique: 1.4, Agility: 1.5, Mentality: 2.1, Mana: 2.5, Battle-Totem: Low-Tier Human-Grade, Combat Power Evaluation: Primary Stage Apprentice Sorcerer]