As he opened his eyes to the gentle swaying grasses beneath him and the vast, unblemished sky above, a surge of conflicting emotions gripped the young boy's heart. A chill ran down his spine, a sensation both unfamiliar and thrilling, as he absorbed the sights around him. "What... where am I?"
Rolling onto his side, he touched the cool, damp earth, breathing in the scent of fresh grass. For a fleeting moment, he thought he was dreaming, but the earthy fragrance, the soft rustling of leaves, and the distant calls of strange birds were too vivid.
Gingerly sitting up and struck with a sudden headache, fragmented memories that floated in his mind like scattered leaves in the wind, started piecing themself like a puzzle.
Touching his head in pain, he muttered to himself, "My name is Asaru Takayoshi. I'm 16 years old. And I go to Yamauchi High, in Kusatsu town, Gunma Prefecture. I was on my way to Tokyo, I took the bus and then, and... then… "
His voice trailed off upon the final memory hit him hard—a flash of screeching tires, the sudden impact, then darkness. His heart pounded as he grappled with the dawning realization. "I... died? And now I'm... here?" A jolt of fear and disbelief coursed through him.
He'd read so many stories of people transported to other worlds in manga and novels, yet standing here, the reality felt surreal. "I really got... Isekai'd in another world?" he chuckled as his thoughts raced, the sound tinged with both irony and confusion as the weight of the situation settled upon him.
A voice echoed louder and louder as he was lost in his thoughts. "Big bro, big bro, big bro, BIG BRO!"
"Wha?!" exclaimed Asaru as he finally heard the voice that seemed to call out to him.
It was a young child, a seemingly spirited 7-year-old boy, his small face lit up with mischief. His reddish-orange curly hair, and his green eyes sparkling with an innocent wonder.
As he observed the young child, he wondered who the child was. He ran his fingers through his hair, a head shock suddenly striking him. "Shaw... Blakelord. My... little brother?" he thought as images of Shaw and unknown memories started flashing through his head.
The wind brushed through his hair, and it felt different—lighter, almost silken. Looking down when he accidently stumbled due to the pain, he noticed his body felt strange too, smaller almost childlike. Seeing his reflection in a nearby puddle, a small face stared back at him with wide, inquisitive eyes, framed by short, silver-streaked hair.
"This... is... me?" he thought as his vision blurred, resulting in him fainting due to the headache he suffered. "My head hurts. I don't feel... so good..."
"Help!" yelled Shaw, his shout echoing strongly as people came running to help.
Inside Asaru's inner consciousness, memories flashed before him. Memories of his new identity, the language of this new world among other information related to this new world which overloaded his mind.
"My name is Ace, Ace Blakelord. I'm 10 years old. My father is Chris Blakelord, and my mother is Ellie Blakelord. I live in Turbana village, within the Infilia Kingdom, on the Eastern Continent. There is swords, magic and monsters in this world. There are..."
Inside a small room within modest house on the village's edge, people were in distress as 'Ace' had collapsed without any reasons.
Among them, a beautiful red-haired woman, with emerald-green eyes, and generous body, her expression tinged with concern, emitted light from her hands trying to heal him. It was Ellie Blakelord, the mother of the household.
At that moment, a tall man, with sparkling brown hair, focused blue eyes, seemingly in his early thirties, clad in worn mercenary garb and armor, his face dripping with sweat and etched with worry, burst through the door. "How is he? I heard he collapsed!" It was Chris Blakelord, the father of the household.
"He's in bad shape," she said, seemingly exhausted yet her gaze filled with determination. "I'm already using healing spells continually, but he still has a high fever, and I can't figure out why."
Ellie's eyes teared up as she looked at Ace, a worried expression etched on her face. "I thought it might be related to magic, but his mana is completely stable. I just don't know what is going on."
As it seemed that Chris and Ellie's worries were about to reach an extreme threshold, Ace's expression quickly calmed down and his fever went down.
"What's going on?" Chris asked, his voice tinged with confusion.
"I don't know," Ellie glanced at Ace with a smile that was both tender and motherly. "But thank goodness he's better," she said, falling down to her knees as relief and exhaustion caught up to her.
That evening, over dinner, around a flickering hearth, Ace found himself seated at their table, Chris and Ellie shared their concerns with Maria, a sister in the church who is also a specialist in magic.
"Do you know what happened?" asked Maria, a beautiful woman with long purple hair and purple haze eyes.
"No," answered Ellie. "Shaw simply said that Ace was acting weird and then collapsed suddenly."
"I see," mumbled Maria holding her chin, thinking about what would explain what happened to Ace. "Do you mind if I check on him?"
"No," Chris replied. "You're more than welcome."
Making their way towards Ace's room, they climbed the stairs, turned on the right corridor and then entered the second room on their left.
Maria approached Ace who lay on his bed still unconscious. "I'll check on him now."
She took his hand and closed her eyes. Her aura started to emerge, and her mana seemed to flow from her to Ace. At that moment, she saw a vision of a condensed dark purple light that seemed to merge and blend in with a silver light. She opened her eyes, her expression etched with disbelief.
"I think I have an idea of what happened to him though I'm not so sure myself."
"Please tell us!" inquired Ellie followed by a nod from Chris.
"If what I sensed is correct," Maria started, taking a deep breath. "It would seem that the mana inside Ace is being refined. That process is then affecting him on a spiritual and physical level. Though I'm not too sure myself."
"Has there ever been a case like this one before?" asked Ellie followed by an immediate "No" from Maria.
"I've never seen anything like this before. All I can say is that his life doesn't seem to be in danger. His condition is stable, so we'll just have to wait for him to wake up. But what I can guarantee is that his condition won't worsen further."
Upon hearing those words, the parents of the young boy could only worry while waiting for their child to eventually wake up, ignorant of what was really happening within him.