A/N - this chapter is a bit of an info dump so be prepared
another year passed and I turned 4.
I can finally read, and my mother has been buying books for me, I am a little disappointed that they were focused on children, but knowledge is still knowledge.
Although there are not many books, it still takes me a while to understand what the book is saying. unlike Earth, this world has one main language, but a few exceptions that don't speak or write the same.
since this world is so much larger than Earth there are many more people, but it is also more dangerous here, the number of people in total can be completely random at times of war and destruction.
as I read more I came across a book that I was especially interested in because of what the title said, it read 'Beginners guide to learning Mana, Magic, and Spells'.
I immediately opened it and started gobbling down all the information in the first few pages.
magic in this world was omnipotent, as long as a world has life on it there will always be mana, and the mana of the world was said to have a will that followed a set amount of rules, but as a person or monster, absorbs the mana in the atmosphere, the thing that absorbs it gains some type of authority or influence over the mana and can create spells.
mages could also enhance their body or form a core, there was no limit to the amount cores a person could make, but it takes a lot of effort to maintain and grow more than a single core.
having more than one core is not recommended because if that core gets destroyed during a battle from being struck, there is a chance of it imploding in on itself and instantly destroying the limb or body part it is connected to.
forming a core is not required to store mana, but it is the best way to have a larger mana pool to draw from. there are generally two types of mages, body enhancers, and mana manipulators.
body enhancers usually condense mana into their skin, muscles, and organs to strengthen themselves. there are not many limitations on how much a single body part could be strengthened, but if you were to strengthen your heart for example, if you strengthen it too much it could be too powerful for your body to handle and could kill you.
being both a mage and a body manipulator is a uncommon practice, but it is even rarer for people to reach a higher level in both.
If you were able to get to a level where your lifespan could last hundreds of years you could try and be both, but people that started with one or the other usually tended to be more talented towards the type they started their journey as.
as I kept reading I got to a page about windows. not actual windows but status windows. it is a trope I have read hundreds of times in my past life, but to think that this world has them too was surprising.
the book talked about how systems were a catalog of information that the world itself stores. but most of the things the book talked about were hypotheticals and educated guesses.
You usually develop a system when you cast your first spell whether it's a body enhancement or a fireball, because whenever you do that the world can absorb the mana that you release into the atmosphere, and since that mana has traces of your authority connected to it, the world catalogs it.
most people are unable to cast magic until they are around the age of 10 because that is when the body fully adapts to the mana in the air and absorbs it.
I thought back to when I first absorbed mana from the atmosphere, then realized I was way ahead of everyone in terms of absorbing mana.
it should be known that after the first time I absorbed mana, I have slowly been absorbing more and more. There was honestly not much I could do other than that since I could barely even crawl.
While I was thinking an idea came to my mind
'What if I create a core'
Although it's dangerous to have a core, that is only if it is in a vulnerable spot. so I decided to go with the most reasonable spot and put it in my solar plexus.
A/N The solar plexus is in the center of the torso above the navel
Although I wanted to start immediately I knew it was not the right place and time, I was currently in the open, and if I went into a state of concentration in the middle of the room, my parents would notice something wrong.
'I'll just wait until night to create my core'
While I was thinking of what to do in my mind, my father James came into my vision while walking into the room.
Although he was my father in this new life, I still had trouble accepting him as a father figure.
"Hey Adler"
My father said in a deep but caring tone.
"Hi, dad"
My childish voice I have gotten used to responding to him. it took me a while to accept that this voice of mine was my voice until I grew up.
"Are you even able to understand what that book says?"
He said while looking at the book I was reading
"Yeah, a little"
I responded, and then there was a brief uncomfortable silence. my father and I don't get to spend much time together since he leaves for weeks at a time, but there have been a few times when he was able to stay home for a month or two, before his next journey.
but it was not like we were total strangers, he tried to spend as much time with us as possible, so we did get to bond a little, but the problem was he was kind of reserved, it was probably because of his time as an adventurer, so I did not judge him for that.
my father soon broke the silence by saying what was weighing on him
"I will have to leave for an unknown amount of time, and it will be dangerous. I will be leaving in a few weeks so I wanted to spend as much time as possible with you before my departure."
when he finished talking I was quite surprised, he had never left for more than a month, so I was naturally curious about what was happening to make him leave for however how long. I decided I should ask him what was going on, and if he would be ok.
"Dad, what is going on, why do you get to go"
I asked him, trying to seem like I still did not know how to speak that well
he responded with a sigh, walked up to me, ruffled my white hair, which came from my mother, looked into my black eyes, which were like a mirror copy of his own, and began speaking.
"There is a beast hoard approaching. an unregulated dungeon appeared and has been producing monsters for a few years at least, and I am going to have to go defend the kingdom."
he explained what was happening, and looked out the window with a sigh.
the view outside was pretty amazing, we were close to the middle of the kingdom, so we were able to look out and see a large portion of the city, and past the towering walls that were a few miles out, there was a mountain range that was high enough that snow started to form on the tips of them.
A/N - I won't be using km or meters, I am American, so sorry if you have to translate it to KM.
the kingdom was quite large, the average medieval kingdom on earth was less than a mile in any direction, but the kingdom we lived in was at 5x it. but It be should known, that in this world this kingdom was still considered to be moderately small.
'I truly can't wait until I can go adventuring on my own'
I thought to myself, imagining myself growing stronger, taking on missions, exploring, making connections, and making a name for myself.
as we sat in silence, my mother came in and sat next to us. but none of us spoke a word afraid to interrupt the peaceful moment we were enjoying as a family.