Chapter 1: New World
There is a saying, "You die when you get killed." But the situation this time was different, He didn't get killed, nor was he dead. He just went to sleep and woke up in a totally different place, like for example… an entirely different world.
He never asked for this, nevertheless, it happened— Cradled in the arms of a beautiful elf...
"What should we name him, dear?"
The beautiful elf raised her head, looking somewhere his baby body couldn't hope to turn. Her soothing voice calmed him. The turbulent thoughts inside his head disappeared as he laid his eyes upon an indescribable beauty. Her golden eyes shined even in the bright room; her face was the perfect form one's imagination could visualize, and strands of her long light-green hair fell down his face, giving the smell of strawberries.
Suddenly, someone picked him up. "How about Luciel?" It was a man's voice. He looked at the person who was holding him. He had distinctive dirty blond hair and sky-blue eyes that looked at him with joy. He heard the beauty, who seemed to be his new mother, giggle. "Your father would be glad you're giving his name. Luciel it is." He supposed his grandpa in this new life had the name Luciel. He liked the name; it's better than his previous one.
The man before him, who seemed to be his father, changed his expression from joy to confused. He looked at his mother. "Eem dear, aren't babies supposed to cry when they are born?"
From the corner of his eye, he could see his mother tilt her head as she looked at him. "Give him to me." She spoke as her arms swayed to catch him.
'Easy there; I'm a baby!! He was once again in his mother's arms, and then suddenly, she started patting him on the buttocks. She was probably also confused as to why a newly born baby wasn't crying. To not arouse any suspicion, he held his pride back and prepared to cry. He cried his heart out. But maybe he wasn't acting, he was actually crying, he left a lot in the other world, if felt like he had everything taken from him. He had left family behind to take care of themselves.
'They will be fine, they'll forget about me eventually.'
"He's healthy." His mother stopped her pats and smiled, and he also stopped crying.
He didn't know whether it was his mother who was too strong or if it was because his body was too weak, but that hurt. Right now, the desire to know what was going on became dull as his eyes started to get blurry. 'Being a baby sucks…'
After some time, he woke up to the sound of chirping noises. It reminded him of his childhood days, when everyday was an opportunity to learn something new and play his heart out in the park.
He started to look around at his surroundings, but whenever he moved too much, his whole body hurt, it was similar to the soreness he felt when he exercised after taking a break for three months. So right now, all he could do was daze his sight with a designed wooden rooftop.
Luckily and finally, ending his eternal boredom, his mother decided to pick him up.
She kissed him on the forehead and smiled at the baby. "You sure slept a lot, Luciel."
'Ahh. Getting used to a new name might be a bit challenging…'
Three years passed like this, doing absolutely nothing. Wake up, drink, burp and sleep.
Pant! Pant!
Luciel wiped the sweat residing on his forehead as he sat down with his back against a tree, his heart pounding rhythmically. It was a beautiful day today.
It was spring, a time when the sun gives the most satisfying heat, and the wind had its perfect temperature, pleasant to the skin. The combination of these natural phenomena would have anybody legs over the moon with happiness. But it was not the same for Luciel..
"LUCIEEL!"
"Children sure are a pain."
He was currently spending time with the neighborhood kids. It was more like he was forced to, but he didn't have a choice in the decision, his new mother's words were heavier than law.
"Gotcha! Freeze!"
"Shit!" He cursed. A mere 4 years old kid managed to not only find him but also jump scare him in the process. 30 years of life experience, you would think he would be a lot more mature.
"Oya, it seems your mouth is really talkative these days, my dear Luciel."
A soothing, playful, and yet terrifying voice made way to his slightly pointed ears.
He didn't even have to turn his back to know who it was.
"A-ah, Sorry, mother. It's just that father uses this word a lot, so I say it sometimes." He fidgeted as he immediately found an excuse. He also didn't forget to pray for the casualties. Rest in Peace, pops.
"Auch Auch. It hurts." Luciel whelped in pain as his legs failed to keep up.
"So what? it's your fault for picking your father's habits. I'll also deal with him later."
His excuse went down the drain as he watched his mother get angry and grabbed his ear, dragging him till' home.
...
"So, did you have any fun today, buddy?" Luciel was currently sitting on a covered table, his head barely reaching over the table and his legs in the air. He looked at his father as he searched for an answer.
"Hmph! I would rather stay at home that go to the playground." For a three-year-old, this answer might sound suspicious, but because he was part Elf, people didn't find it too strange. After all, elves are one of the most intelligent creatures on the planet and blessed with magicules.
Luciel was slightly in disbelief when he realized that he has reincarnated in a modern world where magic exists. At first, he thought it would be the usual fantasy world, but his expectations were more than filled. Not only did he get to enjoy magic, but also the delicacy of entertainment, sports cars, ice cream, and a lot more.
"Hahaha, I was like you my age, at least that's what my father used to say about me, but you still have to make friends. How about this, if you make friends, I'll let you practice with me." His father leaned in as he said that last sentence, being wary of the elf that was in the kitchen.
"Really?" Luciel's eyes brightened up, as if his biggest wish came true. He still had to act like a kid in some ways.
His father's name is Lance; he is the Captain of the city guard. His job pays very handsomely, so they can be considered a somewhat rich family in the Moonless City.
But even though they are rich, the house that they stay in is very ordinary and very close to the border, which is the reason his father bought it. In case of an emergency, he could defend the city from his post.
He found such reasoning very flawed, but it's not like he can change his mind. His mother also liked the house too much to renovate it.
After they were done eating dinner, he went upstairs and quietly closed the door.
He didn't want both of them to hear him. Since about a month ago, he started doing various exercises, though not much, as his little body would break apart. He started with walking in circles for long periods of time, to jumping ropes. No matter what world you go to, a great body is needed.
After he was done with his little exercise, he hit the showers. A three-year-old showering by himself? It took a whole day to convince his mother.
He felt weird showering with his mother. Shure she looked great, but it was still his mother and was older than 30. Thankfully, she only chuckled when she noticed how uncomfortable he was.
After he was done, he exited the showers and grabbed a clean rolled towel to dry himself. Looking at the mirror, it was safe to say he felt satisfied with his blessings.
He had dirty blond hair inherited from his father and golden eyes from his mother, something that in his past life was only possible in movies. Despite him being half-elf, he was relatively normal, maybe slightly pointy ears, but it was within human standards. He slapped the chunks of baby cheeks and grabbed his pajamas. It was time for sleep after a long day of freezing with brats.
The next day, he cutely expressed his desire for writing and reading. The language of this world had a few similarities to English, so it wasn't that hard to learn writing and speaking. But his parents didn't know that, so he had to fake learning to write.
After his mother agreed, they headed out to the nearest library to pick up some notepads, storybooks, and the alphabet. His mother also dragged him to other stores to buy miscellaneous things.
After they finally got home, Luciel grabbed a pen and started practicing. He didn't do his best, of course. However, as he wrote letters, he made each one better than the previous to showcase his improvement. He was fine with his parents knowing he was a genius, but he wouldn't want to be seen as a freak of nature.
After a week, he surprised his parents with his writing and reading skills. He knew how to write and read fluently. This shocked them greatly.
1 and a half years later
Today he turned five and was intrigued to know that they were going to celebrate his first birthday. In this world, birthdays were only celebrated at five, fifteen, twenty-five years old, and so on.
Life expectancy was not the same for everybody. In this world, everybody awakens a talent at the age of fifteen. However, there were a lot of unlucky few who didn't awaken, or they awakened a trash talent.
Another thing that surprised him was that when you awaken, you receive an interface-like system that shows your status and abilities. To Luciel, it felt like it was similar to a game system.
When he found out about such information, he immediately thought that the talents people awaken define their strength in the future. And he couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the interface, which you receive when you turn fifteen, gives you the ability to level up like most systems he knew in his previous life.
"Sigh," he sighed at his mother's stinginess as he closed his notebook filled with all the information he had.
Normally, mothers would be proud that their son is studious, but not his mother. He had to play outside with other children just to have the information he currently possessed.