I'm bored…. I thought while alone in my room. I can't believe no one's here to look after me!! I complained, a bit annoyed.
Three years had passed since I'd been reborn, and for some strange reason I still couldn't walk or talk very well.
I wonder if Zoe's home…. I thought curiously.
After slowly getting down from my bed, I headed to my sister's room, which luckily was next to mine, thanks to that it wasn't a problem to walk while leaning on the walls.
I have very careless parents. I thought upon not hearing any noise throughout the house. But being alone doesn't completely bother me either.
After several months of arriving in Birton, my parents started looking for work, because apparently a large part of the money we had was spent on buying this house, and what little was left gradually ran out over time.
Kadian became a great adventurer, although for some reason he only uses a nickname instead of his name. On the other hand, Irisha is a renowned teacher at the magic university here in Birton.
Yes! Here they are! I thought excitedly upon finding some books among my sister's things.
Since both worked, they didn't stay home much, so they entrusted my care to Zoe, who more than taking care of me spends her time training until our parents return.
No! All the books are about magic! I complained when I couldn't find the book I wanted, after searching for a few minutes.
With my parents out of the house and my sister busy, the days turned into a routine, making them pass faster.
The great diversity of the world...? Yes!! I found it! I thought happily. Yesterday I barely got to see you a bit before Zoe caught me snooping through her things. But now you won't escape!
Carefully I took the book from one of the shelves, then, being very careful not to drop it, I put it on my sister's bed.
Now yes, time to read! I thought excitedly as I jumped onto Zoe's bed. After getting comfortable, I started reading it.
The truth was that for days I had been looking for some book that would help me learn more about this world, at first, I thought there would be some in my parents' room, but I was wrong. For some reason the only books in the house were in Zoe's room.
So.... I thought as I slowly looked through the book. This book talks about the world's geography, its animals, its plants, the different races, the many languages, the traditions and religions that exist? Wow, it has a bit of everything. I thought after reading something similar to the index.
Being curious to know more about my parents' race, I started reading from that part.
Amazing! There are so many races. I thought upon seeing the variety of races the book described. This book is awesome! Besides talking about the races, it talks about the different sub-races within each race.
After reading for a while I saw something that caught my attention.
"Hum-humans!" I said stuttering. Damn, it stresses me out that I still can't speak well. I thought a bit annoyed.
But, it's just as I had imagined, there are humans in this world too!
I kept searching until there were two races that fit the description of my parents. As I suspected, Kadian is a Dragonborn and Irisha a demon.
Right, now that I think about it, I think it's weird to have parents of different races, but I guess it's not impossible.
"A-amazing" I said astonished while reading the description of my father's race. According to this, it says it's almost extinct.
With doubts about the book's veracity, I continued reading it until I found something that shocked and confused me at the same time.
Wait wait, I don't understand, according to this book it's almost impossible for two people of different races to have offspring, and that it's also very unlikely for two people of different sub-races to have offspring. I thought, reflecting on my family.
If what's written here is true... How could my parents have two children? I thought confused.
My head started creating many possibilities, until I came up with two theories that were gaining strength as I meditated on them.
Either this book is incorrect or Zoe is not my biological sister. I thought as I sat on the bed. I don't think a book that looks very renowned is wrong. And on the other hand, I know I'm my parents' child, because I saw them seconds after this baby was born.
But on the other hand, my sister looks almost nothing like Irisha, I at least inherited her eyes, but she nothing....
After thinking for a while longer I found something that confirmed to me that Zoe was not my sister.
Of course! That makes sense. Zoe is about 10 years old and my parents are about 22. They're very young! It's impossible for them to have a 10-year-old daughter. I said to myself.
But... if she's not their daughter, what would she be? They treat her like my sister, so... Why pretend? I asked myself very confused.
Suddenly hearing my parents' voices coming up the stairs forced me to put the book away.
Damn it! Why did they come back so early? I thought, feeling a bit dizzy as I lay down on Zoe's bed pretending to be asleep.
To my surprise, after just a few hours all my doubts were answered that very night.
"Happy birthday Zoe!!" We all shouted in unison. It's true, I didn't count on that.... I'm an idiot. I said to myself, a bit disappointed.
That same night we had celebrated Zoe's 20th birthday with a big feast, and although it was just the four of us, everything felt really good.
After spending a few days investigating, I found out that my mom, Irisha, is 89 years old. And that Kadian, my father, is 122 years old. Apparently, those of the Demonic and Dragonborn races can live for more than 600 years. That's insane! I ended up thinking.
°°°
And again, time kept passing.
Yesterday there was a small celebration because I turned 10 years old.
It surprises me that the custom of my parents' races is to celebrate birthdays every 10 years. But that makes sense! Because we live many years, and if we celebrated each one of them it would be... annoying? I reflected as I lay down to sleep.
Also, when you turn 40, you're only then considered an adult. Wait! Before being reborn I was 27 years old, so.... Ahh!! That means that even adding both my ages I'm not considered an adult. I thought, disappointed. That sucks....
Another thing that surprised and unsettled me was the fact that I was 10 years old, but looked like 6, just thinking about how long my life would be gave me chills down my spine. It's best not to think too much about it, and simply let the days pass....
In these last 7 years I hadn't done much, I wanted to learn to use magic, but I quickly discarded it when remembering the nightmare I had when I ran out of mana in my cores.
Inside, I had decided not to use magic for the moment, so in my free time I almost always went to my sister's room to read the books my mother brought her.
I guess because I'm very young I learn quickly. I thought as I settled into my seat at the dining table. Taking advantage of that, I think I'll tell mom to teach me the Demonic language, I'm sure that will help me in the future.
"Goodbye Drake, goodbye Zoe, see you tonight." My mother said before closing the front door and leaving.
Well, alone again. I thought as I got up from the dining room and quickly went up the stairs.
"Wait Drake! Where do you think you're going?" Zoe asked me, a bit annoyed. Damn it! She must have gotten tired of seeing me in her room. I bet she won't let me in in the future.... I thought, scared. I need to do something!
"Don't get mad Zoe, I just want to go up to learn a bit more about how this world works." I replied as I slowly climbed another step.
"If you want to learn more about this world, don't you think that locking yourself in your room and just reading some books won't do you much good?"
"No, they do help me, the latest books mom brought from the university are great." I replied as I climbed another step. "What's in those books you would have learned in three years exploring the world." She said a bit seriously.
"You're right, but I don't thi—" "Enough." Zoe said, cutting off my words. "You'll come down the stairs and we'll go to the garden right now." Here we go again.
"I don't want to!" I complained like a child. "I know you just want me to come down to use me as a target in your training."
"Huh? I didn't say anything about that." She said, looking at me confused. "I just wanted to teach you fencing, but since I see you're not interested I'll go train." She said as she turned around and opened the door to the garden.
If what she said is true this could be a unique opportunity!, because I wanted to learn fencing in the future, but if I learn from a young age I'll be more powerful in the future. Just imagining myself wielding a sword fills me with excitement!!
"Wait Zoe." I said just before losing sight of her. "On second thought, I'd prefer my sweet sister to teach me how to use a sword." I said with embarrassment as I looked to the side and scratched my cheek with a finger.
When I got no response from Zoe for a few seconds I decided to go down the stairs to see her face to face.
Huh? What happened? I thought a bit worried. When I was close to her I could see for just a blink a smile on her face before she quickly changed her expression to a serious one.
"If that's what you prefer, that's fine with me." She said before leaving the house.
Huh? But what was that smile? I thought bewildered as I followed her.
"Ok, before we begin I have one condition for teaching you." "A condition?" I asked while trying to look for a sword. "That's right, I'll teach you fencing on the condition that I also teach you a bit of magic."
"What!?" Damn it! This was all a trap! I thought, feeling betrayed.
"Listen Drake, you've been reading books for a long time and our parents were worried that you weren't learning magic, so that's why they asked me to teach you."
Dad and mom too? So this was a joint trap! I thought, disappointed.
"But... Why did they ask her?" I said quietly. "Huh?" Zoe said as she looked at me with doubt. Sh*t I thought I was speaking.
"No, nothing nothing, I was just thinking about how great you must be for our parents to entrust you with my training." I said with a smile in an attempt to fix the conversation.
"D-do you think so?" She asked a bit nervously. "Yes. But Zoe, there's no need for you to teach me magical theory, I already know all of that."
"Do you really think you know everything about magical theory? Let's see, how many ranks are there in magic and fencing?" Zoe said while giving me a smile. "It's easy, in both there are 7 ranks."
"Good good, but do you know how to rank up in magic?" She said as she sat on the grass.
How to rank up? Shit, that wasn't explained in the books. I thought a bit frustrated.
Zoe, noticing my frustration, gave me a signal to sit next to her. Grudgingly, I obeyed and sat in front of her.
"You may know some things thanks to the books, but you have to understand that not everything is found there." She said while looking at the sky.
"You're right..." I replied, resigned. "Don't be like that, now I'll explain things that aren't in the books."
"Okay, okay." I replied. She nodded with a smile, and then started teaching me.
"As you already know, every person in this world has a mana heart apart from the other one that's for blood. The mana heart makes mana flow throughout the body, and the core that's inside the mana heart purifies and stores mana for the person."
"Wait wait, does that mean each person has two hearts?" I asked curiously.
"You could say that, but the truth is that both organs are very different from each other." "Different? Ahh... I see." So the mana heart is an organ.
"Continuing, the mana heart can never be improved, unlike the core which can be refined."
"I have another question Zoe. Is it possible for someone to be born with two cores inside their mana heart?" I asked casually to avoid suspicion.
"No, that would be impossible, since a mana heart couldn't withstand that much pressure." She replied bluntly. What!? What does that mean?
"And... wh-what if someone was born like that?" I asked fearfully. "Hmm... if someone like that exists they would simply die over time." Zoe said turning to the sky to see a cloud that darkened the environment.
It's a bit scary but I expected an answer like that. I said to myself remembering that I read something similar in a book.
"Drake, are you okay?" My sister asked seeing my unfocus. "No, nothing, please continue." I'll have to find a solution to that later.
"Alright, as I was saying, a person's core can be refined as their control and understanding of mana increases." "That's where the core ranks come in, right?" "That's right, the ranks are:
Basic,
Beginner,
Intermediate,
Advanced,
Legend,
Semi-God and
Divine."
Most likely Bernal reached the Divine rank. I reflected, remembering how he controlled time with a single spell.
Zoe, realizing that I was unfocused, raised her hand and touched my chest with a finger causing me a lot of pain.
"Listen!" She said loudly bringing me back to the present. "A person, whatever their race, if they try hard enough can refine their core up to the Semi-God rank"
"Ow... How mean! You didn't need to do that." I complained about the pain. "It's your fault for being very distracted."
"It still hurt." I said rubbing the part she touched. "But leaving aside your abuse I have another question. Why only to the Semi-God rank? If that's not the last of the ranks." I commented again noticing that something didn't add up.
"It's true, but that's the limit for people." Zoe replied with discouragement. "But... if the divine rank exists it's because it can be reached, right? So tell me Zoe, do you know how to reach the Divine rank?" I said with a firm look.
She looked away for a second and then started to think about it while looking from side to side until she said something. "Look, to reach the divine rank it's necessary to kill one of those who are alive."
WHAT!? I shuddered inside upon hearing her words. If that's true, the only way to reach the Divine rank is thanks to the Divine spark that that God gave to the ancient inhabitants of this world....
"I understand...." I said quietly. "By the way, what are you supposed to teach me?" I asked to change the subject.
"Ah! Right! I'll teach you how to use basic magic and then we'll do some fencing." She said as she stood up and gave me a signal to do the same.
"The first thing you need to know is how to move the magic from your core to a point in your body." Zoe said after I stood up. "For that, first close your eyes and try to feel your core."
"I understand." I replied while closing my eyes. Zoe... if you only knew that I learned all of this days after being born. I thought with a mental smile. I think I'll try to play dumb so she feels proud of her teaching.
"I can feel it Zoe, it feels... very warm." I said quietly. "Very good, now you have to try to make that feeling flow through your body until it reaches the palm of your hand." She said while watching me closely.
As I did what Zoe told me, uncomfortable memories came to my mind. Damn it! Even though I now have more mana so as not to faint, it still gives me chills to use magic. I thought with a little fear.
"Ready Zoe!" I shouted once I could focus the mana on one point. "Very good, now keep that mana in the palm of your hand and listen to me." She replied very close to my ear, making me a bit uncomfortable having her so close.
"Refining or manipulating mana increases your understanding of it. So now you have to send the mana to act according to your will."
"What? And how am I supposed to give orders to my mana?" I said complaining as I didn't understand that part of her explanation. "That's what you get for not practicing. First, imagine what you want to achieve, and then, transmit that desire to the mana to achieve it." Zoe said with confidence in her words. "And... what do I imagine?" "For example, you can try to create a small flame of fire."
I don't understand anything! I thought desperately. The last time I used mana when I was a baby I didn't materialize it, I just let it out of my body.
Not knowing very well what feeling or procedure I had to follow, I let Zoe's words resonate in my head. Okay okay, first I imagine a flame... no, better a big fireball. Done! And then... I use the mana to make it real. I thought with the idea of showing off if I succeeded.
I kept trying for a few minutes until a slight warmth flooded my right hand.
"Well done Drake!" Zoe suddenly shouted. "Huh?" Did I do it!? Could I already create a big fireball? I thought before quickly opening my eyes only to be disappointed to see a small flame the size of a strawberry on the palm of my hand.
What the sh*t! I thought angrily at not finding a big fireball as I had imagined. In the next few minutes Zoe explained to me that this small flame would increase as I practice and repeat the same spell, to understand how it works.
"Sister, before training with the sword I'd like you to answer something for me." I said before Zoe went for the swords that were inside the house.
"Hmm... Sure, what's your question Drake?" She replied cheerfully and with a smile.
Wow, when she's excited she looks very pretty. I thought happily to have her as a sister.
"Ahem" I coughed upon realizing what I was thinking. "By the way Zoe, what happens if a person runs out of mana?"
"Huh? If a person runs out of mana?" She said, staying quiet for a second. "Hmm... if that were to happen that person would simply die."
"That means... if I use too much magic I could die?" I asked, worried and confused at the same time. "No, all bodies by nature won't spend all the mana in their core, and in case you try to force it you'll simply faint."
Faint? Of course! She's right, so that's why I fainted when I was a baby trying to use magic for the first time. "Oh... I see, thank you very much Zoe." I told her with a smile.
After she went into the house she came back with two wooden swords and all that afternoon Zoe taught me a bit of fencing.
"Thank you very much Zoe! Thanks for training me." I said when it was already night and we were inside the house. "Thank you too for paying attention." She said before going up the stairs.
"I'll shower first, so wait in your room until I tell you!" She shouted from the second level.
It was fun being with Zoe.... I reflected. All these years I've been avoiding her because of unpleasant memories with my previous sister, but... I think now I'll dedicate more time to being with her. I thought as I climbed the stairs and headed to my room.