It has been 3 years since that day. I am still struggling to belive my current predicament, but I am getting more used to it. In this time I maniged to geather some useful information.
It turns out that I am the son of Arthur and Maria. My father is a blacksmith and he spends most of his day in the workshop. My mother stays at home and spends her days cooking and taking care of me.
This really is a different world. The most glaring difference is that this world has magic. All living beings are born with some capability to utilize mana to affect the world around them. Each person is unique in the amount and wavelength of mana they can control.
For example, I heard my mother was quite talented at healing magic, but she stopped working when she got married.
Children aren't appraised for their mana affinity until their 10th birthday. All children in the Kingdom of Emberfield are required to have their magic affinity appraised until their 11th birthday.
This system of mandatory appraisal is a remnant of a system used in the big war 40 years ago.
At 14 years old, children can be sent to an academy, but it is very rare for a non-noble child to attend due to the expensive tuition costs.
To be honest I am quite curious about magic myself. But my family can't afford to send me to the academy. But there are still chances, each year during the entrance exam for the Royal Academy of Magic the top 10 students get a full scholarship. This exam is actually very famous as the most competitive exam in the country.
The exam is said to be split into theoretical and practical parts. Each part can give up to 50 points and the total score is the sum of the two. It is notable to say that the best score in history of the exam was a 83.4 achieved by the now famous hero and king Edward Emberfield.
But for me to even be able to get a decent score I should start by studying for the theoretical test. And for that I need to get access to the books to read. That will be the first step of my plan, I will just have to wait for another three months until my 10th birthday.
"Lunch is ready!" - Yelled out Maria.
"Coming!" - I yelled back.
I went inside, cleaned my hands and went to sit at the table where both my father and mother were.
"Did you clean your hands?" - Asked my mother.
"Yes I did." - I responded simply.
After that the conversation quieted down and we began eating the food. A homemade bread, roasted meat and potatoes were prepared. It was very delicious. The meat almost melted in the mouth and the bread was fluffy and warm.
"It's very good!" - I exclaimed.
"I am glad you like it." - Mother responded happily.
When father finished his plate he started talking:
"We will be moving to the capital next month. I got a 5 year contract to make armor for the military and they will be providing a house and workshop"
"Why so sudden?" - asked mother.
"They only gave me a month to decide or else they will find someone else to fill the position." - he answered.
"What about this house?" - she asked.
"We will have to think about it, but I was thinking of selling it." - he said.
"We can't sell it. What will we do after the contract ends." - she said, alarmed.
"We get to keep the house after the contract is fulfilled." - he said happily - "We can finally live in the capital like we always dreamed about. And it will be good for our son."
"Well, I guess you are right, but we can't rush this." - she responded.
"This would get me one step closer to attending the academy." - I thought to myself as a small smile creeped its way onto my face.
After that I spent the rest of my days there watching father work in the workshop and helped mother clean up the house.