I woke up startled, once again dreaming of the events that brought me to this life.
"It's okay, it was just a nightmare," my mother whispered as she covered me and went back to sleep while holding me. I looked around the room, making sure everything was fine.
She's alive, it was just a dream...
Among my nightmares, mixed with events from my previous world, the ones that trouble me the most are from the first night I arrived here. After my mother fainted, I was taken away to another room and cared for by strange women. I cried for a long time until they brought me back to her, and I could see that my mother was 'okay.'
Those days were tough, but she never gave up and kept fighting. Katherine seemed to be energized when she was with me, so they always put me to sleep with her, a habit that has lasted until now, two years into my new life.
My mother became somewhat ill after my father died. She had fled from our family after his death. That's all I managed to learn, and I couldn't afford to ask more. At first, all I could say was "bababa," so communication wasn't really an option.
This world I'm in is completely different from my previous one. It's hard to explain, but even the plants seem more vibrant. Everything feels more colorful in a way, even though things are similar, I still notice the difference. It was as if the tone of life in my old world was a bit more gray, and here, everything is so colorful.
This world is... magical! I know it might sound crazy coming from someone who waged war against the gods, but this is real magic. In my old world, there was the concept of 'Aura,' which used a person's inner vital energy. The more pain and effort, the more their aura stretched. When someone said a warrior could be 'forged' in battle, that's what really happened in my world. The more you fought and used your Aura, pushing to the brink of death, you could increase your power. Imagine it like carrying a very heavy object, and your arms are giving out, but you see you're close to your destination, and then a burst of strength surges, allowing you to speed up and make it there.
In my world, to increase our 'Aura,' we had to reach the 'breaking point' where our bodies had no more energy. That's when the real training began. Here, that doesn't exist. People are born able to use 'magic.' I know it's crazy, but not even the gods in my world used 'magic.' They used something called 'essence,' which was their divine particle. Basically, the gods had their own divine Aura, and here in this world, there is 'mana.'
I looked at my mother sleeping beside me and watched her a little longer to make sure everything was okay. I had developed this habit. She was a very beautiful woman, and her long brown hair drew attention. I knew this because I heard the neighbors complimenting her looks when my mother wasn't around... so I knew she was very beautiful. I hoped I had inherited at least some of her beauty.
I didn't have the concept of beauty or attraction in this body, which was good because I had the unfortunate experience of drinking milk directly from a breast and was glad I didn't feel anything. Not that I would get excited or anything, she's my mother, and who would be crazy enough to feel that way? The milk had no taste, and I don't know if that's because a baby doesn't have a developed palate, but the milk was tasteless. All I felt in the beginning was an absurd hunger, and I know what it's like to feel hunger, speaking from personal experience.
The day I discovered I was in a magical world, entirely different from my old one, was when my mother took me to the market. What I saw there was bizarre. Everyone had a weapon or even a staff. I swear I saw an old woman holding a sword as tall as she was, and what surprised me the most was a woman throwing a water ball at a guy staring at her breasts. Good thing I'm a baby... because even I peeked, but it was very quick... and I just wanted to test if I felt attracted to another woman in this body, I swear that was the only reason.
I found out that my mother is also a mage. She has many live plants, which I discovered are actually carnivorous. They are small but quite frightening. Her magic allows her to create these tiny sprouts, which she nurtures with mana until they transform into plants that can even eat rats. She spread these plants around the house to ensure no insects or rodents come near me while I'm sleeping. She mentioned that my father was also a mage but didn't go into much detail and never talks about our family.
In this house, it's just me and my mother, making me the man of the house at only two years old... It seems my mother got some money from my father. She rented this house in a village near a city, and we live comfortably without lacking anything. I don't understand much about finances, so I hope she knows how to make the money last.
My days have been so normal that I still can't quite grasp it. Is this my hell? I'm not stupid; I understood what Charon meant. So why did he put me here? Is it just to make me live in constant fear of losing my mother? I never had a mother in my previous life, but if that's the case... I won't let anything happen to her. He said it would be a hell I'd fear leaving... so I guess the punishment is for me alone. Personally, I'm not very scared; I've conquered an entire hell once before. What's the worst that can happen? Whatever it is, I've decided to live this life as a simple person by my mother's side. I don't mind living in this little house for the rest of my life.
"Nate! Time to wake up, we have to go to the market," my mother is waking me up early... definitely the worst part.
"Alright, mom," I say, a bit grumpy. It might seem strange for a general to act like a child, but I actually enjoy it... I never had the chance to be a kid. If I'm going to live here, I'll try to live the life I never had. If Charon sends something my way, they better be ready to face a General.
***
The market is like a large fair with numerous stalls, people selling all sorts of things.
"Swords! Fresh swords!" a man shouted, waving his hands.
What did he mean by 'fresh swords'? Were they just forged?
"Fortification potions! Your man will never fail in battle!" a woman called out.
What!? Is that a thing? Wait... what kind of battle is she talking about? Judging by the number of old men gathering in front of her stall, I assume it's a very different kind of battle...
My mother loved looking at ceramic jars, especially the painted ones. I had never seen a woman so keen on buying jars for her plants.
Those plants are terrifying; it's a good thing they're small.
"Mommy! Over there, mommy!" I said excitedly, pointing to the magic books for sale while in her arms. From what I understood, they were only theoretical books for beginners; the real ones were kept in the academies.
"Nate... you always point to the same thing. Why don't you choose the toys I show you?" she asked, puzzled. I understood her frustration, but I didn't see the point in playing with toy soldiers holding swords when it was much more fun to play with a real sword.
For my second birthday, I asked my mother for a wooden sword. She was a bit pleased when I pointed it out but then got irritated and even said, "You're a child; you should be eating mud and stealing candy." In the end, I got the wooden sword and was happy.
"Please, Mommy, I want the book." I made a special face, my secret weapon.
She looked at me and rolled her eyes but couldn't look away for long.
"Alright, my baby. You know you shouldn't make those puppy eyes, I can't spoil you too much," she said, patting my head.
We approached the stall.
"What will it be, miss? Something for you or for your son?" the old man asked.
She looked at me. "Ugh… it's for my boy."
"Oh, I have some children's books. Which one do you want, young man?" the old man showed me some books with illustrations of stories from this world. I ignored them since my mother forbids me from reading about the history of this kingdom.
She doesn't let me read any stories about the nobility or the foundation of this kingdom and its neighboring realms. All I know is that this kingdom has an interesting nobility system. There is the Royal Family along with the Grand Dukes, and then there's the high nobility, which consists of Dukes. The order is: Royal Family, Grand Duke, Duke, Marquess, Count, Viscount, and Baron.
"I want that one," I pointed to one of the books, seeing several identical copies beside it.
"Interesting, you want the 'Beginner's Guide to Mana Study'?" he picked it up for me, noting the many identical copies on the shelf.
"I'm teaching him to read, so a book with more new words will be ideal," my mother said to the stall owner.
In the end, we bought the book. I found out that most people have it at home; it seems that the place we live in values having what they call 'mages'.
Days passed, and I couldn't read the book yet; even if I insisted, I probably wouldn't understand the content. My mother was teaching me to read, and I confess that I needed it. Somehow, I knew how to speak and understand the language, but reading was difficult for me. I came to this world already speaking their language. The interesting thing is that I didn't even realize I spoke another language until I started reading the words. It will still be a while before I can read that book; it has many pages.
***
I'm three years old, and at this moment, I'm hiding from a predator.
"Baby? Where are you, baby?" My mother was looking for me. I was hiding under the kitchen table.
I think she won't find me this time.
"Found you!"
"Ahh!" I was startled when she appeared.
This woman is the champion of hide-and-seek.
"Time for a bath, Nate. You smell... not so pleasant for someone who will give me trouble with the ladies one day," she said, picking me up and carrying me to the bathtub.
"Mom... can I bathe myself?"
She gave me a serious look.
"No, when you grow up, you'll spend your whole life bathing alone. I only have these few years to enjoy my baby before you reach adolescence and become a silly boy," she said while scrubbing my back.
"I'll always be your son, don't worry," I tried to reassure her.
"I know, but if you turn into a silly teenager, you'll feel the weight of my belt," she said, pinching my nose.
"That tickles, Mom."
Katherine laughed and continued washing me. I discovered that I had an overprotective mother, or maybe all mothers were like this. She worried about me in everything... the only downside was that she loved buying different clothes to make me look more 'adorable.'
If Cerberus saw me like this, he would laugh at me.
I was dressed in an all-blue outfit full of bows. She dressed me and let me play in my room.
Since our house only has two bedrooms, my room turned into a sort of 'storage room' because I sleep with my mom.
"Finally, time to get back to my reading about mana!"
I said, ignoring the fact that I had passed by a mirror and seen myself in a 'sailor outfit.'
"My face looks like my mom's, but my hair is black... must be from my dad."
I refocus on my book.
"Mana is the energy that permeates all life and living beings. Everyone possesses mana within themselves, even non-magical people. Animals that have mana within them are called 'Magical Creatures,' while the rest are common animals. Humans with mana are called 'mages'..." Okay, I've read and understood this part already. I want to get further along.
I flip through the pages, skipping all the history of mana and its discoverers, and go straight to the action… I had to skip a large part of the book, and I'm quite disappointed that it took me so long to finally read it, only to find the content filled with pure fluff.
"Mana is a living energy that is condensed within a person's soul through the Mana Gem. A Mana Gem is a small pearl that, the more golden it is, the more powerful the magic and the amount of mana it generates and stores." Interesting. So, it's like the essence of the divine particle of the gods in my world?
I skip some philosophical and theoretical debates in the book and get to the core information.
"Energy is condensed in the form of a pearl, forming the Gem. The Gem reaches temperature degrees where, as it passes its peak, the energy becomes stronger until one day it can reach its golden stage. Mages who reach the Gem's final degree are legendary and unique." Okay, I get it… let's move on to the concept of this power.
Skipping a bit more, I finally reach the core of the subject. I had to skip 95% of the book just to get to something that was summarized in 2 pages.
The Mana Gem has these stages:
1 - Ember
2 - Flare
3 - Flame
4 - Blaze
5 - Star
6 - Sun
From what I understand, there are intermediate stages between each level. The 'Sun' is the apex, so it doesn't have any stages beyond it. Once you reach the 'Sun' stage, you've achieved the maximum potential of your Mana Gem. In history, very few have reached the Sun level, and the geniuses of society have a Star Gem. I wish the book explained the intermediates, but it doesn't.
"The powers of a child only awaken as they grow older and their Gem is formed. Not every child is destined to become a Mage. Mages are only certain to awaken if they already belong to a family of..."
"Enough of this, I'll skip the fine print warnings and get to the real stuff."
I think this is the definition of hell: being thrown into a world of magic and not being able to use it…
"There is an initial test that can be done, although it almost never yields results."
A test? I decide to keep reading to find out what it is.
"The test merely identifies a trace of mana in the body; it does not reveal the element of nature a person might have. The common elements are: Fire, Water, Earth, Air. The uncommon elements are: Thunder, Plant, Light." Strange, isn't Light the same as Thunder?
I turn the page.
"Mages can only be trained until the age of 16; if you surpass that age, you have no chance of becoming a mage. Remember, the test will only identify if there is enough mana in your body to influence the test. Only a professional can confirm your test."
"Only a professional? What kind of test is this?"
"The professional will confirm the level of the leaf's tear and the influence it had on the vibration of the cup…"
Ignoring the hundreds of warnings, I rush to grab a cup and fill it with water. Luckily, I don't need to go outside; I just take a leaf from one of my mother's plants.
Running back to my 'room' or rather, the storage room, I place the leaf on top of the water.
"Okay, now for the tutorial."
"Position your hand above the cup and try to inhale…"
I try to focus, inhaling slowly.
"After you inhale, you need to concentrate on your heartbeat while letting the air flow into your lungs. If you need to learn to concentrate, repeat the process until your thoughts diminish…"
"This part I know... it's somewhat similar to using Aura."
"Pay attention to see if a tear appears on the leaf and if the water resonates in the cup. Once you're positioned, repeat these words out loud as you let your lungs receive the air…"
"Force of the universe that inhabits human beings, the flame of life and the breath of the soul. This humble apprentice requests an answer to my query. Do I have the potential to learn to use the Gem?" I repeat the words exactly.
I wait for a while, watching the leaf floating in the water in the middle of the cup.
"Nothing... now I understand why a professional is needed. If the leaf moved, I can't tell if it was in response to my mana or just moving normally…"
I place my other hand above the cup.
"Force of the universe that inhabits…"
'BOOM!'
The cup exploded and a force released from my hands sends me flying back, slamming into the wall.
"What the hell just happened?" I fall to the floor, feeling pain in my back, my whole body aching, and I hear a ringing in my head. I'm a bit dizzy, and my vision blurs. There's a terrible smell of burning in the air, and my hands are smoking.
I look around, trying to find the cup, but it's gone.
"No way…" I say, staring at the spot where the cup had been minutes ago.
The cup had evaporated along with the leaf, leaving only smoke and a hole in my solid wooden table.
It has a freaking circular hole…
"I guess I don't need a professional's evaluation…"