Part 1

I woke up thanks to a beefy smell that filled my nostrils. It was somehow different from the smell that came from the kitchen when mother was cooking, it had way less texture to it but it was somewhat stronger.

I was exhausted, my head was hurting and my whole body felt heavy as hell.

[What happened to me?]

I asked myself touching my head. My hands came across something that seemed like bandages but rougher, something like clothes. Bandages made out of clothes. Under those so called bandages something was stinging, like a cut that's just being cauterized.

I remembered everything on the spot.

How I got that cut on my left eye, how I got attacked by a pack of monsters, how I massacrated them and how I fainted in front of the strange man that had a hole in his side.

[What's going on?]

I opened my eyes feeling the heaviness of every little movement. Slowly. I was in some kind of small cave, more like a hole between rocks though. Under and on top of me there was some wolf fur, black and orange, just like the one from the silverteeth wolves I slayed. To my right a small campfire had been set up and on top of it some dark red meat was being cooked. The cave was probably two meters deep and its walls were made of a light brown stone, it was so smooth that it seemed like it wasn’t even natural.

It was way too soon to stand up so instead I sat on top of these wolf fur blankets. I looked around me and sitting right at the entrance of the cave was that strange man.

Our eyes met. He walked a couple of steps and sat again on the opposite side of the campfire. The strange man checked the meat but, not satisfied with the results, he put the food back on top of the fire letting the juices of the meat drip into the burning flame.

At first that strange man seemed kinda old, maybe in his fifties, but after I had a closer look I could tell he was a lot younger than that. He had dark brown hair long enough to reach the end of his neck, locks of hair were randomly scattered on his head and forehead, some of those locks were even covering just a bit of his eyes. The ends of those locks were of a beautiful golden color that seemed to shine in the shadows casted by the fire. His eyes were of a light brown color with traces of gold, deep eyes, the one you can lose yourself looking into them. Sharp eyes, one could say menacing yet very elegant. His eyebrows were thin and very neat. Pure white teeth were shining between his thin red lips. I could swear that when talking to him before I fainted I saw his teeth being sharp, but at that moment I saw no traces whatsoever of those sharp canines. The only thing that made him look older and tricked my eyes was his beard, a light beard, probably a centimeter long, two at best. A very clean beard that reached the attachment of his hair and covered the lower half of his face. His presence was that of a refined man, one that was both wise and strong, it was not intimidating nor welcoming. He was like a statute, with an unfazed expression looking down on commoners.

He looked fine even though his wound was way worse then the one I had on my head. For a minute he did nothing but look at me and check the goods cooking on the fire, then he fixed his eyes on mine and spoke.

“It took you way less time than I expected for you to heal”

His voice was strong and deep, it was unexpectedly captivating to hear his speech. It felt like his voice was unconsciously hypnotizing me and every word he said was meant for me to fall deeper in this state.

“It was just one cut on the face, compared to your wound it meant nothing, yet you walk around unfazed. Was it your doing?”

“Yes, as soon as I regained my strength I was able to fully heal it”

He moved to his side the fur cape and raised his shirt showing me the place where there was previously a huge hole. The wound was fully healed, in its place only a small circular scar made of white skin was left.

“On the other hand-” He continued “-you didn’t have just a cut on your face, that's what I'm mostly shocked of”

“What do you mean? Was I wounded somewhere else?”

“You really didn't notice?”

I shaked my head in dissent. His expression changed showing both the traits of curiosity and wariness.

“This is most strange. I saw you fighting and by the looks of it I’d say you are one strong and capable magician. HA! I guess even high mages have flaws in their knowledge!”

“ Oi oi slow down for a sec! High mage?! No No, you must jest! I am nothing but a kid with a good magic basic knowledge. I’ve only reached the beginner tier in attack magic and what you saw was just luck mixed with instincts. I am no high mage!”

High mage is an appellation given to those mages who are able to reach the saint tier or higher. The magic guild keeps tabs on those mages and I heard that there is a sort of power ranking. High mages are considered some of the most powerful soldiers thanks to their knowledge and battle power. In battle, having a high mage in an army’s ranks means having the upper hand against the enemy thanks to their AoE spells.

[Me a high mage? Haha that's hilarious!]

“A kid?! What do you mean?”

“What? Wait...this may sound rude but have you not noticed that I’m not even a six year old human?”

“S-s-six?! Are you really six? S-shouldn't you be still hidden in the n-nest?”

[Gotcha! I was correct..this guy is not human! I knew that I was right when I saw the sharp teeth...Who is he?]

“Nest? I am no bird that lives in a nest. Let’s not try to fool each other... what are you?”

“What do you mean?”

His voice trembled a bit like a kid being found guilty by his mother.

[Uhh playing the tough game...not gonna work buddy!]

“I saw your teeth before, don't try to fool me, they were sharp. Clearly not human teeth, so what are you?”

He was lightly sweating. I had probably touched a sensitive spot since the look on his face gave off an intimidating aura. I felt no bloodlust but a lot of hostility.

“You are smart, that's for sure. I am not human, correct, but if I said that I have no intention of revealing my identity, would you want to pry further, kid?”

“I am not a fool who provokes a beast when sleeping”

“Hahaha I see. You are indeed someone who shouldn't be underestimated...but a kid, are you really telling me the truth?”

“Yes, I really am just a kid. There would be no point in lying at this point. Raphael’s the name, thanks for saving me”

I followed my presentation with a light bow with a hand on my chest. I decided not to say my full name since I still had suspicions about that strange man so involving my family in this was something I had no intention of doing.

“How interesting. Then it’s my pleasure to meet you, I am Kyrven but I should be the one thanking you”

“The feeling is mutual”

He seemed as if he was now a little more relaxed. I was still on guard, for someone to heal such a wound in such a little time could only be considered an incredible feat. Taken that into consideration I was not too keen to find out what his capabilities in attack magic were.

“What happened after I passed out?”

“It took me sometime to regain my strength, after that I dug this little cave with earth magic, hid you inside, skinned the corpses of the wolves left intact and covered you in their fur. Your temperature was rapidly decreasing. I guess you don’t know but you overused your mana flow leading to a leak of your own mana. Your condition was not life threatening but could have still been dangerous if not treated hastily. You then slept for at least ten hours. I thought it would take you at least one full day but looking at your mana flow right now it is fully healed.”

[So basically I overheated my mana flow. This is interesting! So it's something like an engine?]

“How does it work? The overusing of the mana flow I mean”

“For an untrained mana flow, consuming a lot of mana rapidly means exceeding the capacity of your mana channels causing the caster extreme exhaustion and possibly the inability to use the damaged mana channels. Lucky in your case it was just exhaustion”

I was starting to understand my condition. The fight I had that morning was the first time I consumed such an enormous quantity of mana in a small amount of time. I guessed the shock from being close to death and the exhaustion from the “overheating” of my mana flow made me faint and sleep for ten hours. I was still curious about how I was able to recover easily, as the man said, and how could he “look” at my mana flow but I figured that even he couldn't answer, or was willing to, all of my questions.

One thing was bothering me as I was mentally recalling the events of the fight.

“Kyrven-san, have you perhaps noticed someone hiding in the woods as I was fighting?”

“Mhhh not that I recall, why do you ask?”

“Oh nothing. I may have imagined it, it’s no big deal”

[No, something is wrong. I may have been exhausted but I'm sure that I saw someone!]

I indeed saw someone that morning. A girl probably around the age of fifteen with long dark black and light red hair styled in two side ponytails with only a lock of hair falling down on her face and two little side buns at each side of her cheeks. Her eyes were of a bright yellow colour with long black eyelashes. She was wearing a black lipstick and dark eyeliner around her eyes. Her clothes kinda matched her hair but instead of red they were pink and black. She gave off a kind of goth lolita vibe with her long dress with a large skirt, black long gloves that reached over her elbows, pink stockings and black high boots. It was only a moment before I fainted but I saw her clearly as she was looking at me with a pissed expression on her face.

“Tch! Lucky bastard”

I swear I could have heard her saying those words before I fell to the ground. I wanted to look into this matter a little more but I did not want to be considered crazy so I sucked it up.

“You should eat, then go to sleep. Recovering your mana comes first”

At the words of Kyrven I snapped out of my train of thoughts. I followed his orders and ate what he was offering me. It was the meat that was cooking when I woke up, wolf meat I found out. I wasn’t sure of how it would taste but there was no time to be picky.

The meat was not seasoned whatsoever and had a wild taste to it. It was not unpleasant or enjoyable, just edible.

[Probably if this meat was seasoned it would even taste good! Even just a tiny bit of salt...]

We ate in silence. Only the crackling of the fire and the sound of the wind blowing between the leaves accompanied our dinner. It was a change of pace, from the fury of the battle to the peaceful sound of nature. As I was eating I felt that all of my tension from the fight was slowly fading away. I knew it was late at night and that my family was certainly searching for me desperately. I really felt sorry for them, I could only imagine what they were going through right now, but I was in no condition to travel to the city and I couldn't just ask Kyvern to carry me all the way there. I decided that first thing in the morning I would go back home and explain everything to them but now I had to follow Kyrven’s orders, for my sake.

“Goodnight Kyrven-san”

“Goodnight kid”

I was the only one who slept that night. Maybe he was guarding or maybe his species did not need to sleep, he just sat there on the other side of the campfire curiously looking at me.

Strange enough I felt secure.

I crawled back into the wolf fur blankets and instantly fell asleep. It was a good sleep indeed.

Part 2

Morning came and I was gently woken up by the chirping of the birds coming from the surrounding trees.

I stood up, stretched my back, cracked my neck and walked outside the little cave. It was the first time that I looked outside after my battle against the wolves ended and right before my eyes was that aftermath. Remainings of corpses were scattered around the place and pools of dry blood had formed on the previously green grass.

There, sitting on a stone was Kyrven. He was skinning one of the wolves, behind him a strange structure made out of wood was holding up some freshly skinned fur and under it a light fire was crackling.

“Good morning kid, how do you feel?”

Said Kyrven without moving his eyes from the work in front of him. I didn't notice it before but he had a strange accent as if he learned to speak just recently. I thought it was the way of speaking of his species so I paid no mind to it.

Kyrven was skillfully cutting his way between the muscles and skin of the wolf he had in front of him with a small knife. It looked interesting so I approached him and sat beside him.

“I feel much better thank you. I think I have enough strength to walk to the city right now. My family must be going crazy to search for me”

He stopped his hands and turned his head towards me. His sharp eyes had a decisive and serious look in them.

“No, I won't let you go alone. I will escort you later. There is no room for discussion”

“Oh ah, ok I guess?”

I was shocked by his reaction. When I first told him I was a kid he did appear shocked, but to be so caring was something I did not expect from him.

“I want to finish cleaning here, leaving the place with corpses will only harm the forest. After that we are on march”

I silently nodded. For the next couple of hours I followed his every command: helping him skinning wolves, burning corpses, cleaning the blood with water from a nearby little river, ecc. It was interesting following him and looking at how he was doing things. He must have lived in the wilderness for a long time since each of every action he took had a purpose. I even asked him to teach me how to skin but he just said “Look at how I do things” and kept on working. Kyrven was not a very sociable person.

As soon as we finished cleaning the place we took off directed towards the city. For the first ten minutes we had no conversation whatsoever, but I was curious about something.

“Kyrven-san, you have a reason to be here, don't you?”

Without looking back at me he answered in a low tone.

“Yes. My goal is to understand humans. In my village I was taught that humans were a barbaric species but my curiosity forced me to leave my birthplace to see if it was the truth”

“A noble goal, but why were you wounded?”

“I got distracted while flying and fell on a rocky spike not far from where you found me”

“Flying? You know flying magic?! That's amazing! So flying magic does exist. I have yet to find any book that speaks about it!”

“Mhh yes, I guess you could say I used flying magic but I would ask you to refrain from telling anyone about it”

“I don't know the reason behind it but other than my family I have no one to talk to so it should be hard to keep this a secret haha”

“I appreciate it”

“So you know flying magic uh...does that mean that you are a skilled magician?”

“Mhh yes you could say that. I am no high mage but I do sport some knowledge in magic”

A thought kept bugging me. He was a strong mage capable of intensive healing magic and flying magic, probably his attack magic was on par with the level of those two others. I knew that studying alone could only get me so far, having a master or a teacher wouldn't be such a bad idea. Also having a teacher with such a high level of magic as Kyrven would only prove beneficial to me, even though he didn't seem to be keen on conversing...but what could I offer him in exchange for his teaching?

That's when an idea struck my mind.

“Soo Kyrven san, you said you are here to understand humans right? And understanding someone means having to make contact with that certain someone, right?”

“Mhh yes, you could put it that way”

“In that case I have a proposal for ya!”

He turned around looking at me curiously. His left eyebrow was raised. He had a funny face, very different from the serious face he showed me since then.

“What do you think about living in the city? I may be able to convince my family to let you stay for a while and during your stay in the city you could come in contact with both my family and humans of the city. Your ‘studying’ of humans would be way faster that way, right?”

[Actually that's the only thing I could offer and I'm not even sure if mother and father will approve but that's my only chance! I gotta risk it!]

“And? What do you gain from this?

“A teacher”

“A teacher?”

“Yes, you are skilled and far more knowledgeable in terms of magic than me and I want to learn magic as fast as I can. That's why I could really use your help! What I know of magic comes from books and self studying, but that won’t work forever”

He turned around without saying a single word and kept walking forward. I thought I had been rejected, until he said:

“I have to think about it...but it doesn't sound like a bad proposal”

“Then please bear with me so that we can come out with a decent story to explain what happened to my family”

I was happy. It was not certain that he would accept my proposal but at least he decided to think about it. It was one step forward.

We spent the remaining trip coming up with an excuse for my parents and a backstory for Kyrven. I was also preparing myself for the consequences.

I was about to be scolded for the first time. Who would have thought that the first time I was being scolded would have been for such a grave mistake?

Part 3

We reached my house particularly ealy. Earlier than I expected. Since I had yet to come across a clock in this world the only way for me to determine the time was to look at the sun’s position, but of course this wasn't a precise means of time measuring.

Turns out I woke up even earlier than usual and the city had yet to wake up. Shops were still in the process of opening with maids cleaning the windows and dusting the goods in the showcase while adventurers and soldiers were chatting in the street or outside the various inns. A gentle sea breeze was softly blowing through the buildings making my open cut sting. The light salty smell that accompanied my entire life since then was now filling my nostrils with a sense of security.

[I wonder if father has yet to wake up...wait, I wonder if he actually had any sleep!]

We were now walking the stone path in the garden. I had prepared a plausible story to tell my parents but I was still nervous, very nervous. Kyrven had probably seen it and gave me a gentle push on my back to incite me to go forth.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door with the iron knocker. I knocked one time but had no response. I tried a second time but the outcome was the same. I was about to knock for the third time but was interrupted by loud sounds of running and voices coming from inside the house. In no time both father and mother rushed outside the door.

They looked terrible.

Father’s beard had grown crazy. In just a day without care his usual clean and light beard became something you’d see on a homeless guy, scruffy and overgrown. Under his swollen eyes two big black bags made their appearance. It looked like he didn't get an ounce of sleep. He was wearing the top part of his armor, ready to set out at the first sign of my sighting.

Mother was no different. Her eyes were all red as if she cried all night long. Her skin looked pale in comparison to her usual bright colour.

I felt as if someone stabbed me in the stomach. Just by looking at them I understood how much they have suffered. I felt ashamed. Tears started flowing from my eyes as the two of them fell on their knees right outside the entrance.

“Father, mother *sob* I’m very sorry!”

I almost screamed as I reached their necks. I was not faking, those were my true feelings. I did see those two as my parents but I couldn't imagine that I would feel so strongly attached to them.

It felt as if one of the threads that connected me to my past life was finally broken.

They spoke but I didn't understand their words, too much sobbing was involved and I couldn't keep up but it was not necessary. The message behind those words was delivered loud and clear to me.

I was home.

It took a few minutes for us to settle down the mood and calm ourselves. After that we all went inside. In the meantime Kyrven stood there behind me as if he was looking at a play taking scene in front of him, curiously looking at us.

We sat on the table.

“So, what happened Raph? Where did you go? Why are you covered in fur? Why do you have bandages on your head? Are you injured? And who is this person?”

Asked father as soon as we sat down. He was probably dying to know what happened. He looked the most composed between them since mother was still in some sort of shock state.

I took a deep breath and started explaining.

The story I came up with was quite simple actually. It started when I was wandering outside the city gates because I heard some people in the library speaking of how beautiful the west side was so I got curious. While exploring I came across a wounded man and tried to help him to the best of my abilities but we got found out by a pack of wolves and a fight broke out. I was injured during the fight but we took down the wolves mostly thanks to Kyrven( I decided to omit the fact that I single handedly took down an entire pack since I wasn't sure of how they would take it), he then tended to my wound and created a shelter. Unfortunately we were too tired and injured to travel to the city so we decided to camp the night outside and set out as soon as we recovered. We used the corpses of the wolves as best as we could by harvesting meat to eat and fur to use as blankets. I made it up so that Kyrven was a lone human traveler, good with magic and able to defend himself. He left his city to look for exciting adventures and fortune.

Both father and mother listen to my story in silence letting out surprised sounds here and there. When I finished mother let out a sigh of relief and finally I could see a smile appearing on her face. Father looked more serious than her and glared at Kyrven with some sort of suspicion. He then stood up while still locking eyes with Kyrven and said.

“Is it true?”

And without even moving a single muscle of averting his gaze he coldly replied.

“It’s the truth”

“Then let me thank you from the bottom of my heart! You saved our son, we are grateful! If there is anything you wish for in retribution I will try and answer to your needs Kyrven-sama”

Father then deeply bowed and his forehead almost reached the table, mother promptly followed after his example.

[Now’s the chance!]

“Then father, how about letting him stay here for a while? We have a guest room and I also want to repay his kindness as best as I can!”

Father’s expression lit up just like a christmas tree.

“If that is what Kyrven-sama wishes for, then the Bluescale house shall welcome you for as long as you need!”

Kyrven looked at me as if to say “Within expectations uh brat?”, honestly I wasn't even sure that I could pull it off this easily. Luck was on my side that day. At that point the decision was on Kyrven’s hands. He had yet to give me a real answer but he had nothing to lose so I thought that it was already decided.

“It is a good offer but I'm still- wait, did you just say Bluescale?”

“Oh yes sorry Kyrven-san, sorry I didn't make any presentation. This is my father Arthur II Bluescale and my mother Elizabeth”

“A pleasure”

Responded both father and mother when hearing their names with a little bow of their head.

Kyrven was visibly shocked. He didn't speak or move a muscle but he started sweating profusely and his mouth was literally wide open.The shock in his eyes was palpable and they were open so much that I could clearly see small red veins inside the white of his eyes. After a couple of seconds he snapped out of it and replied with a deep bow.

“It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, I am named Kyrven. I would be glad to take up your offer of living here. I don't plan on bothering your family too much so I won't be staying here at your expenses for too long. In the meantime I would like to train your son in magic. He has great talent but he still lacks training and discipline. So if you’ll allow me I would like to be his master during my stay as a form of gratitude”

I was speechless. Something happened and triggered Kyrven to have a sudden change of mind. I didn't have any idea of what triggered him, I had only introduced him my family. At least I had reached my goal, finding myself a master, and a good one at it, but it bothered me that his whole stoic charade that he kept on till then was shattered in mere seconds.

Father and mother were also shocked. It was the first time for them to hear him speak so much, during the whole time he only replied in short words and nods.

“O-oh w-well there is no need of repayment but if you insist on teaching him- “

“I do insist!”

“I see, then it's settled. Thank you very much once again and welcome to our humble house!”

Father extended his hand and Kyvern firmly shook it. I had a master.

“Then honey, would you please show Kyrven-sama around the house?”

Asked father while looking at mother.

“Sure! Please follow me”

Said mother while showing a bright smile towards Kyrven. I stood up ready to follow after them but was grabbed by the wrist by my father who’s expression suddenly changed. His previously cheerful expression now turned into an angry one, looking down on me and asserting all of his presence my father fixed his eyes on mine.

“Not you. You and I must have a little chat!”

I gulped. I was ready for that. I had already prepared myself to be scolded and in extreme case beaten but if possible I would have wanted to avoid it. I had yet to see my father angry and I hoped to keep it that way.

It was an awfully ugly hour. I was on my knees in the corner of the room with father angrily shouting at me for going outside of the city without telling anyone. He told me about the dangers that hid outside, the bandits, how no one could help me if they didn't even know where I was and bla bla bla. I thought my ears would start to bleed but luckily it was only shouting. He made me promise that I would not go outside without being accompanied ever again and then finally calmed down.

His attention then turned towards my left eye hidden behind the bandages, mother also came to check how the wound was. Turns out it was already becoming a scar. It was my first time looking myself in a mirror since I got wounded and the first thing I thought when looking at it was:

[Damn I look cool as fuck with this scar! Hahaha]

A white straight line starting from my eyebrow and ending on my cheek. It was a thin line but very noticeable due to the slightly darker colour of my skin.

Mother wanted to have a look at it just to be sure and performed some healing magics on it without any noticeable results.

I had decided that this scar would become a memento of my first fight. Something I could never forget.

Now I had the knowledge and a master. I could finally start training seriously!