Part 1

A sudden flow of memories struck my mind. I was in the bathroom, I wasn't feeling very good, memories of my past life, of Kei, suddenly resurfaced, the pain I felt throughout my whole body and then...then…

“Ahh!”

I let out a light scream as I woke up.

I tried to stand up but my whole body felt exhausted and heavy.

My head and my back were hurting, I couldn't feel my left arm as if it was asleep and my ears were ringing.

I looked around me.

I was in a room, in my room. Outside of the window was dark and inside the room only the lamp was lighting it up. Fresh white blankets were covering my body.

As I was looking around the ringing in my ears stopped and the heaviness of my body started disappearing. I was feeling better.

[What the hell happened to me?]

Something was pressing against my head so I tried to touch it. As my hand reached my forehead I started to see my arm, it was covered in bandages.

My hand grabbed something wet and soft. I picked it up and brought it in front of my eyes. It was a towel, the same kind of wet towel that was used in my past life when someone had a high fever. I checked the rest of my body. Seems like I was covered in bandages on the head, back and arms, my legs were left unscattered.

I tried to stand up once again to sit on the bed.

It took quite the effort since even though the heaviness was now gone I could still feel pain.

Once I was able to sit I stood up on my two feet and started walking towards the door. I was reaching the door knob when someone suddenly grabbed my hand.

I turned around.

“What do you think you are doing walking around like nothing happened?!”

There stood Sora with an angry look and piercing scolding eyes directed towards me.

“Raphael Bluscale, go lay down on the bed in this exact moment!”

[Shit, she is really angry!]

I didn't know why but hearing my full name being called in such an angry tone made me unexpectedly obedient. As I was ordered I laid down on the bed.

“Wait here, and don't move! I’ll call everyone and tell them you woke up”

While saying that Sora left the room. I could hear her footsteps on the wooden floor going towards the stairs and then disappear. Going against her orders I was now sitting on the bed facing the window while looking at my left hand.

I had the feeling that it had something to do with what happened but I could figure out what it was. I didn't have any strange feeling nor pain so I tried to touch it in order to see if something was wrong with it.

As I was checking out my hand a bunch of people came bursting through the door. First in line was mother almost running, after her father could be seen with a troubled expression, then Elodor and Reyla followed by Sora and Youm.

“Raph! You finally woke up! I was so worried!”

Mother said while almost crying and launching herself towards me.

“You got me worried for a bit there son!”

Said father, his troubled look was now gone and in his place the usual warm smile greeted me happily.

“Mmhh looks like you are tougher than I was expecting boy. Haha truly, you won't cease to surprise me tonight do you?”

This time Elodor was speaking. A prideful look was shining on his face like he had just accomplished something amazing.

I turned toward the door and crossed my legs on the bed.

“Sorry if I worried everyone but wha-”

“You moved! I told you not to move!”

As I was speaking I got suddenly interrupted by the screaming angry voice of Sora. She was pointing her finger at me and looking like I just disobeyed an order from the general.

“I, uhh, sorry ?”

“Now now Sora, he is not as injured as we thought. Letting him move at least like this shouldn't put too much strain on his body, won't it?”

The one talking now was Reyla.

“I guess so...but don't force yourself!”

“You’ll have to excuse her, she has been very worried about you and for the past two hours when you were asleep she has been meticulously nursing you...looks like she took the job quite seriously!”

“F-Father w-what are you saying?!”

Sora was now blushing from her cheeks to her pointy ears while pulling a lock of hair from the front of her head.

[Damn, she is cute!]

“Is that so? Then thank you very much Sora, I'm grateful!”

I tried to pull out my best smile and it worked out perfectly. Her face became even redder and she started fidgeting with her fingers by pressing the indexes one against the other.

“I-It was no big deal honestly, I did it w-with p-p-p-pleasure”

“Well if you ever need anything please let me know. I want to make sure to repay this debt”

“O-ok, I will!”

A sudden shy smile was shown on her face and when I was about to ask what she wanted I got interrupted by mother.

“So Raph, are you sure you feel ok? Are you tired? In pain? Can I d-”

“It's ok mother thanks, I'm good! Only a little pain on my back and my left hand has- no no, nothing to be worried about!”

I tried to calm her but her worried looks didn't change much.

“Now now, we shall have a serious talk Raphael-kun”

It was the first time that Elodor said my full name. He didn't look angry but I could sense the tension in the air. A cold chill ran across my spine.

Part 2

The mood changed.

Everyone was now in silence waiting for Elodor to speak. His figure was that of a teacher scolding his students, honestly the pressure I felt from it was abnormal.

Elodor grabbed his wrists behind his back and started walking towards me. When he reached a distance where he was looking down on me, still sitting on the bed, he started talking.

“So you said something about your hand, care to explain further?”

“*gulp* Uhh yes, sure. So as soon as I woke up I felt pain in my back and head, but my left arm felt like it was asleep. When I snapped out of that feeling I still had the feeling that my hand had something to do with what happened but couldn't figure out what.”

Looking directly into my eyes he extended his hand.

“Mhh is that so? May I please check your hand?”

I did not answer, I just reached out his hand with mine.

He grabbed my hand and turned it upside down with the palm facing upwards. He was grabbing me by the wrist and his left hand was touching my palm. Then he pressed the center of my palm with his index finger and a sudden feeling of vibration struck my hand. The feeling was very similar to the one I felt before passing out but somewhat it felt like it was coming from an external source.

Instinctively I tried to retract my hand but my wrist was stuck. Elodor's hold was strong.

“As I thought”

He left my wrist and the vibrating feeling vanished.

“What happened?”

At that point I was just curious.

[Was he the one who induced the same feeling as before?]

“Before that, can you please tell me what were you thinking before the strange feeling struck your arm?”

The sudden strange question left me speechless for a moment.

“Mhhh. If I remember right I was looking for air because I felt hot and I was trying to reach the window with my hand soo yeah probably something on the line of air!”

“ASTOUNDING!”

The whole room looked astonished at the sudden change of volume in Elodor.

“HAHAHAHA! To think that you could be even fitter to be my son-in-law! What a surprise!”

I was now totally freaked out. I didn't know what was going on but the whole room replaced the previous heavy look with a relaxed and relieved mood.

“Ehm sorry but I still don't understand”

“Oh yes yes sorry my boy I got a little carried. So to explain it in simple words you just became a magician!”

“For real?!”

“Haha yes, and a formidable one nontheless”

“What do you mean?”

“You know how the mana flow works right?”

“Mhh yes. Everyone has it but only a little percentage of people can make contact with it. The stronger the mind and stronger the body the better the mana flow becomes and more complex magics can be performed. The better the mana flow also means that more control can be exercised over the power of a magic spell. And that’s pretty much everything I know about it”

“Ohh well done, short but full of information. I can see you studied well! Let me explain. Usually people come in contact with their flow around the age of six or seven and the flow itself is really frail so they train hard in order to make the flow stronger. But you, not only you came in contact with it at the early age of three but your flow is also very developed and strong. Honestly I'm amazed, this is the flow of someone who was conscious of it for years and trained in order to strengthen it. You really are amazing Raphael-kun!”

“I, uhh, seriously?!”

“Haha yes, what happened a couple hours ago was the contact. In your case it was very violent since you used magic right from the start”

“So what happened is that I used magic?”

“Mhhh, yes and no”

I didn't understand anything of what he was saying and made a very puzzled face. Elodor noticed my expression and started explaining in more detail.

“Mhh let's see...you know that spells are the manifestation of the manipulated mana right?”

I nodded.

“Well what you did is something that high tier mages are able to perform. You could call it ‘spell creation’. Basically you manipulate your mana in a way that differs from the spells you studied and create a new spell. Usually creating a spell means creating a subcategory of magic, for example mud or lava magic. On the other hand you, that didn't study any spell, manipulated mana to create wind so you probably created a spell already existing but without knowing it so it’s not a real ‘spell creation’. However, that's an exploit noteworthy!”

I had no words. My jaw dropped and my mouth was wide open.

I don't know who the others looked after I received such astonishing news but I did not care.

[So...I’m a mage...I’M A MAGE!]

“You have a bright future boy”

Tears fell from my eyes. My heart started racing and I couldn't contain my happiness, it took me a while to talk and the only words I was able to pronounce were “Thank you”.

Part 3

The mental exhaustion from receiving such unexpected news and the still persisting pain from being thrown through the door by my magic rampage caused me to feel sleepy once again.

I fell asleep after being nursed once again by an angry Sora, maybe she was more a mixture of worried and angry, but still screamed at me for being reckless even though I had no fault. She changed the bandages on my head that were now soaking wet, brought me a fresh wet towel and boiled some tea. After receiving all those cares I soundly fell asleep.

Waking up the next morning felt refreshing. A single ray of sun shone through the window and landed on my face gently warmly waking me up.

A set of fresh clothes were prepared for me on top of the bedside table.

I threw the towel to the side and slowly stood up. After stretching my back I dressed up. My stomach was growling signaling me to hurry up and go downstairs to eat.

“Ara-morning Raph”

“Good morning mother, has father already gone to work”

“Yes, he said he wanted to talk to you but didn’t want to wake you up so he'll probably do it when he’s back home”

“What about the Evergard family, have they already left?”

“Ohh right you were asleep at that time! After you fell asleep they left the house and decided to stay in the city for a couple of days, I think they stopped at the adventurers inn in the town’s center. Oh I think it's better if you dress up quickly, you are going out with them today”

I was drinking my juice when mother hit me with that notice.

“*ppfftt* What do you mean with ‘going out with them’?”

“Didn’t you say that you still didn't know much about Sora-chan right? Then this way you can get to know her better, also you should ask Elodor-san some good advices on magic”

“But mother, I have never gone out of the house!”

“Well, no better time than today, right? Now fast, go make yourself presentable”

I finished my breakfast in silence.

I had too much going on in my mind.

I had never gone outside of the house for a good reason...I was scared. This is not the world I knew, I could trust my parents but what about other people? How am I supposed to interact with them? There are many races other than humans, have they different principles?

Every question and fear started hitting me all at once, I was still in a three years old body, I couldn't possibly defend myself.

While showering many I tried to find answers to my questions or ways to just skip this ‘date’ but the answer was just one, soon or later I would have to go outside. So thinking of it like that today was the best day.

[I would be accompanied by Elodor-san and his family. Elodor-san is a strong mage so there is no doubt that in case of emergency he would protect me. Also I don't need to interact with other people today since I can just let the others do the talking and study their behaviours. Yes...today I'm going out!]

I finished my shower, mediated for a little and dressed up. I, then, went in the garden to wait for them to come since I didn't know the way to the inn.

Not much time passed before I could see them coming out of a nearby alley.

“Ohh good morning Raphael-kun, looks like you rested well”

“Yes I did thanks to a certain someone’s careful nursing”

I pointed a smile towards Sora. I found myself enjoying teasing her because of her shy and cute reactions, as last night her face turned red in an instant.

“I-it was no big deal”

“So, ready to go boy?”

“Yes, Elodor-san”

We walked around the residential area for a little while since they were curious about the architecture of this land which was different from the one in their county, more rustic. Father gave them some advice on places to visit around the city and most of them were in the town’s center. I was walking behind talking with Youm and Sora. It looked like that not only Sora took a liking to me but also Youm, even though he was still a little on the defensive but it was probably his character.

We visited some interesting places like the town’s square with it’s big white marble fountain, the ‘rich’ area where I could finally see up close those enormous villas, the outside of the castle and the shop district.

In the shop district our group divided into two smaller groups Reyla with Sora and Youm went shopping for clothes while me and Elodor went in another direction.

“Where are we going, Elodor-san?”

“Well I heard from Arthur that he doesn't have specific magic books in his library so we are going to the book store to buy you something to study”

“I appreciate it but, why?

“Why you ask? Because it’s faster to learn magic this way, you could probably figure out how to do spells by yourself but it would take quite a bit of time”

“I see, but why are you being so generous with me”

“Ohh that’s an investment!”

“Sorry?”

“If you are going to marry my daughter you have to prove yourself strong enough to defend her and also because you have a lot of potential, as a magic instructor I would be ashamed if such a talent went wasted!”

“You are investing your money on me even though you are still figuring out if I’m a good enough candidate for marriage?”

“Ohh so you figured it out uh? You are smart boy”

“Well it was to be expected, no one would give their daughter to some unknown man, but anyway I’m very thankful Elodor-san”

“Hahaha don't mind it!”

It didn't take long. We went into the library and Elodor picked up eight books from different shelves, he already knew what books to pick. While picking the books he briefly explained them. We bought four types of books : fire magic books, wind magic books, earth ones and water ones. Of every type we bought two kinds : the basic magic one and the beginner one. He told me that with my flow and my aptitude to study even the practitioner one wouldn't prove to be much of an effort but as starters the first two would suffice.

There are eight tiers of magic depending on their complexity and the difficulty of their mana manipulation. In ascending order the tiers are: 1st tier or basic(this is the first approach to magic), 2nd tier or beginner(slightly harder magics than beginner but still a level anyone could reach),3rd tier or practitioner(this is the tier reachable with just hard work, from now on the tiers will require talent), 4th tier or advanced(the most common magic tier, in most magic academies this is the highest tier teachable), 5th tier or adept(the majority of the teachers are adept tier and it's a tier that signals the line between a good mage from a talented one), 6th tier or saint(from this tier on we reach the level where a single mage could take on hundreds of normal foot soldiers), 7th tier or master(astonishing mages that can easily manipulate their own flow at will) and 8th tier or king(the highest magic tier, throughout history only a handful of people could boast the title of king).

On the way back from the shop Elodor proceeded to explain to me the best way to train my magical abilities until we met with the other group and resumed our trip around the city.

I came home about an hour before dinner.

In the garden father was training with the sword while mother was inside cooking. Without interrupting father’s workout I simply waved at him receiving a nod with the head in response. I hurried inside and greeted mother, I asked if she needed any help but was refused. I had an empty hour. I decided to use that time to write down the advice that Elodor gave me, check the books and think of a training program for magic.

Dinner was ready.

The mood was gloomy and somewhat heavy.

Mother was asking me questions about my day with the Evergard family with much interest but father was just silently eating his food while looking down at his plate.

When he finally talked a sense of pressure filled my heart.

“So, you are going with them are you?”

[This is what you were worried about!]

“No”

“What?! Why not?! I mean he did ask you to study with him right ? Honestly there is no demerit in going with them, I understand. It looks like you have talent with magic so why not?”

“Yes, Elodor-san did ask me to study with him at his house but I refused. You are wrong father, if you only look from the magician’s point of view then there is no demerit, but it’s not like I care only about magic. I don't want to leave you, not now, it's way too soon. So instead of taking the easy road with magic studies I’ll just have to work hard!”

Upon hearing those words father started crying. He jumped from his seat and lifted me up while hugging me. A very tight hug, suffocating I would say.

“How could I *sob* be blessed with *sob* such an amazing child?*sob*”

“Besides, didn’t you say that I had to be instructed in the sword to become a fine swordsman like father?”

His eyes were now lit with fire. He put me down on my chair, pumped his chest and threw a solid fist on it just like a gorilla.

“Yes! I know you have talent with magic so you’ll probably become a magician but never neglect your body! I’ll train you hard to achieve at least a decent tier in sword and be able to hold your ground in close combat.”

Mother was laughing clearly amused by father’s sudden change of heart. The rest of the night was spent like usual, eating, chatting, bathing and then meditating before going to bed. The next day would be life changing for me so I made sure to go to bed earlier.

Tomorrow my training starts.

Part 4

The next morning our family went to see the Evergard family off. No one was sad and no tears were shed since everyone knew that we were bound to see each other again because of the relationship between me and Sora. It wasn't arranged a date yet and I didn’t know how frequently the two families were planning to make me and Sora see each other, but that wasn’t the most pressing matter at that time. Training my magic was the only thing on my mind.

Magic training is mostly composed by mind work and repetition of spells in order to let the body remember the spell itself so it doesn't really put much of a stain on the muscles but causes exhaustion.

The training that Elodor suggested me was no different from a normal magic training used in schools. I would spend the morning studying the books learning the philosophy behind the spell and then try to recreate it in the afternoon. If I was able to rectate the spell then the next morning I would move on to another spell, if I wasn't able then I would start studying it again.

Since my mana pool wasn't endless I often had to make breaks in the afternoon due to exhaustion from mana consumption. With time those breaks became fewer and fewer meaning that, as Elodor said, my mana pool was growing along with my effort.

The hardest part of my training was controlling my own flow.

When kids first start approaching magic they don't have a developed mana flow such as mine so they execute their spells with a set amount of mana. Since my mana flow was extremely developed I should have been able to control my mana output. But that was easier said than done.

I would often lose control of my flow and let magic go rampage in my first months of training. In time my control over it became better and I would be able to exercise a small amount of control over the output, just enough to prevent my magic from going rampage.

Elodor told me that mages have a certain affinity with one of the four magic main elements, meaning that when performing a spell of that element it would result stronger than another spell of the same level but from another element.

I found out with my training that my element was wind, kinda ironic since the first magic I ever used was wind magic, but I was able to perform magic with every element nonetheless.

The spells explained in the books were basic and beginner level so I had no difficulty learning them, but I decided that for some spells I would not waste too much energy.

There were many different spells in the book, some useful and some not, so I decided that, after learning every spell, I would only train on those I consider useful. Spells like the earth magic ‘dust’ or water magic ‘sprinkle’ who were basic tiers with a very low level of damage were abandoned after learning them.

The time and energy that I would previously spend honing those kinds of spells were now used to improve my mastery over more useful spells like fire magic 'fireball’, water magic ‘surge’, earth magic ‘stone pillar’ and wind magic ‘gust’. There were many other spells trained but I focused mostly on those four due to their utility in a fight.

Unfortunately in my books, only attack magic was taught so I had no knowledge over utility magic and defense magic.

The issue of utility magic was easily resolved with mother’s help.

Since her forte was healing she was able to teach me beginner tier healing magic while boost magic was left behind at basic level.

As for defensive magic I had no way to learn it at the moment so I focused mostly on attack.

I started training at the age of almost four and by the time I was five and a half years old I completed the training suggested by Elodor.

The books he bought me had nothing more to teach me but I didn't want to stop my training at that level.

I had to find other ways to learn higher tier magic.