Part 1

A blinding light flashed in front of my closed eyelids casting shadows and strange shapes in my resting eyes. For a moment it stopped shining, leaving my eyes finally alone, only to come back after a couple of seconds. Annoyed by bothersome light I fatiguely raised my eyelids. For a moment the immense light totally blinded me leaving me only the sensation of my eyes being burned. It took me time to adjust to the intensity of the light but what I saw after was something I was familiar with even though I had no recollection of it.

[Is this a tunnel? No no wait a minute...this totally feels like a tunnel but it’s somewhat different...what is this?]

All around me dark blue, light blue and yellow light kept flashing intermittently as if they were following a programmed scheme. When those lights were not shining, a little faint spot of darkness could be seen. Everything felt as if I was in a moving tunnel. It was a feeling of dejavù. I knew I had already experienced something like this but couldn't force that experience out of my head.

One light was behaving differently from the others. The annoying white blinding light. It was brighter and bigger than the others, also it was nor flickering or moving. It was right there in front of me, watching me, waiting for me to do something.

“Touch it”

Said a loud voice coming from behind my head. It was an incredibly low-pitched voice, like the growl of a beast, something extremely intimidating that emanated strength. I turned around but nothing changed. There was no one behind me, only the lights of the tunnel.

“Who are you?!”

I screamed while frenetically looking around me trying to spot the source of that voice. But no answer was received.

I turned back towards the light. I didn’t trust that strange voice but something inside me was telling me to do so. I looked down at my body. For some reason I was expecting to see nothing rather than my own legs and arms.

[How strange...why did I even think of that?]

I followed my instincts and stretched my right arm towards that dazzling white light. As my fingers approached it, a fever-like feeling started spreading inside my body. I felt hot, then suddenly cold, then hot again, all in a matter of mere seconds. It felt like my body was breaking apart yet it didn’t hurt at all.

As soon as I was able to wrap my fingers around that light everything turned black. All the lights around me disappeared in an instant, not even the white light was there. In its place two giant golden eyes appeared. They were glaring at me, studying me. I couldn't move, both out of fear and impossibility to make any movement. I was stuck in place. Ten second after their appearance, the two eyes disappeared by turning themselves into dust and mixing within the darkness. While looking at the scene I felt like my whole body was becoming heavier. Intense pain was coming from both my stomach and my back. My head was also hurting but way more than the rest, it was like my head had been split in two and blood was flowing out like a river. I was losing consciousness. It didn't take me long to completely faint.

My lungs were completely empty and I felt like I was suffocating. I gasped for air. Finally fresh air started filling my chest again and with it the flow of my consciousness started to regain it’s substance. WIth my consciousness returning also the memories returned. A horned shadow, a tunnel made of light, two gigantic golden eyes...my resounding defeat against my master. All came back. I opened my eyes in that same instant expecting to see the forest covered in rain around me but, to my surprise, none of the trees were there. Instead, I found my room. It’s wooden walls, the big window, the poor wardrobe, my books scattered everywhere...I was in my room.

It was night. Just a tiny bit of light was entering my room, enough for me to distinguish my room's features. A moonless night. The air felt eerie, heavy almost.

I was laying in bed checking my own condition. To my surprise I noticed that I didn’t feel any pain where I was hit. I also wasn't wearing any bandages or anything like that. I was in a good condition, even though I was sure that I had been hit pretty hard by master.

[How much time has passed?]

This question struck my mind. How long was I unconscious? Has it been days? Weeks? Months? The thought was giving me the chills.

[No point staying here thinking Raph!]

As I thought that I began to stand up from the bed. I was only wearing my underwear so I looked around my wardrobe for something easy to put on and found a simple grey long-sleeve shirt and black pants. Now dressed I walked through the door. The house was in a state of complete silence. Everyone was sleeping. Only the squeaking sound of the wood while I stepped on it was filling the emptiness of the corridors.

My throat was as dry as the desert so I looked around the kitchen for some refreshment. I found a bottle of orange juice and sat on the table looking through the window.

“Was that a dream? That tunnel….was was it all about? I feel like I have already seen it somewhere….ahh damn! Can’t recall it. But seriously, that was weird..”

I was talking to myself. In my past life it became a habit of mine since I had no one to talk to. It was a means to escape the crushing weight of the silence. Ever since I came to this world I rarely saw myself indulging in that habit, but it did pop up sometimes when I was deep in thought.

As I was peacefully sitting and sipping on the fresh juice I heard footsteps coming from the stairs. It didn’t take long for the one making those sounds to show up at the end of the stairs. There a familiar face appeared, one that’s a little bit idiotic yet reassuring face, father’s face.

“Are you thirsty too father?”

I said with the plainest face one could ever show. Unlike me, father had a shocked expression, as if he had just seen a ghost. As he came closer I began to see the surprise in his eyes and the trembling of his hands. He then put his hands on my cheeks to prove if I was real.

“Son?”

“Whas? Why ase you squisshing me?”

“But, but..you were in bed….you were sick…”

I freed myself from his grip and was finally able to talk like a normal person.

“Phuaa, well looks like Im fine now but, how long have I been in bed?”

“LIZ! Wake up, Raph is awake!”

He screamed out of his lungs. He couldn't even hear me as I was trying to calm him down before causing a ruckus. Noises of someone waking up and the cry of a baby could be heard coming from upstairs.

“You still haven’t answered me….”

“Right, right, sorry. You have been unconscious for two weeks”

[Two weeks? Fuck that’s a ton of time! How strong did master hit me to make me lose consciousness for two whole weeks?!]

“And what happened?”

“I don’t know! You are supposed to tell me that!”

“Oh yeah about that it’s kind of a long-”

“Raph! Ohh thank the heavens you are fine! I was so worried!”

I was interrupted by the loud voice of my mother rushing to hug me at an incredibly high speed.

“Yes, as you can see I’m fine...but if you keep squeezing me like this I might die for real this time”

When she finally let go of me I gasped for air and sat back on my seat. I began to talk about my fight with master, how I lost and how I ended up unconscious. I purposely skipped the part about the gift. I had a feeling that it would have been pretty hard to make them understand.

“...and after that I woke up in my bed. So, how did I end up in my bed?”

“He brought you here right after your fight and said to treat your wounds then took his stuff and left saying his goodbyes very hastily...I didn’t think he could be the one who has done this to you!”

“You are right Liz. Next thing tomorrow I’ll go to the adventurers guild and put in a wanted notice!”

“Don’t worry about it father”

“What do you mean don’t worry about it? He almost killed you!”

“I already knew what I was getting myself into when I accepted the duel. Also you’d just waste money by putting in that wanted notice. You’ll not catch him, but I have a feeling that our paths will meet again soon”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s just a feeling”

[Yeah well, after all this I can't tell them that we are gonna meet in the future for sure!]

“It doesn’t sit right to me though...leaving things like this…”

“Don’t worry about it father. Actually I think I gained more than I lost thanks to the beating”

“Eh?”

“A valuable lesson. I’m nowhere near strong enough to keep myself and others safe. looks like I’ll have to work extra hard hahaha”

Even though they were not really satisfied with the turn of events both father and mother agreed to do nothing about the situation with master and went back to bed. Of course mother insisted on making me go through a full medical check. Just to be sure.

Part 2

The next morning I prepared breakfast for everyone since I didn’t sleep the night. Two full weeks of sleep were enough. Also, because I didn't sleep last night, I had lots of time to think about my current situation.

First of all : master’s gift. As he said himself, it was a gift that I couldn’t see or feel. There were no changes in my body and my mana flow was still the same too. This led me to focus on the “strengthen your soul” part. What could he mean by that? The only way that I could think of “strengthening” my soul was by gaining experience. Real experience. Fights against monsters, clearing dungeons, mock battles and so on. Other than that I had no idea what master meant when he talked about souls.

Then there was the matter of my body. He couldn’t teach me any more than what he did because my body was not developed enough and it would only result in wasted time. The solution for this matter was simple enough. I had to increase my training regimen, both for my body and mana flow. Since I was different from other mages and swordsmen that had to focus on either one of those, I had to find means to increase both. Meaning I had to do double the work that normal people do to reach a certain level. At least it was easy enough. In terms of swordsmanship and overall body performance I just had to keep training with father. While for the mana flow, I still had to master master’s teachings and meditate to better my flow.

I was planning to start training that same day since I was really pumped up about finding what that gift was about, but I didn’t take into consideration one single important factor: mother. As soon as I was heading out to train I received a heavy slap on the back of my head. She was furious, saying how irresponsible I was to start training the same day I woke up from two weeks of coma, how I didn’t think about how worried they were. Or at least how worried she was. Father didn’t care much. Either way he gave up on fixing my obsession with training or he just thought it wasn’t that big of a deal. Alas, she was right. Even though I didn’t feel sick or anything and could easily train, I should at least spend a day or two easing my parents' worries. And so one thing leads to another and I ended up spending three days between chilling around the house, reading books and playing with Julie.

Then again, I steeled myself to train once more. The question was how. I had become accustomed to training my magic by sparring master. Now that I was alone I had no choice but to find other ways to improve.

While training with master didn’t involve high tier spells since it focused on mastering the basics in battle, the training I came up with required a good amount of magic knowledge. I decided that my training should focus on two main things. Firstly I had to keep on with the natural mana manipulation and secondly I had to learn some higher tier spells and then try to modify them myself.

Well, it was easier said than done. As time passed and the hotness of the summer made way for the cold wind blowing from the sea to take place, my training didn’t progress further and I hadn’t sensed anything strange within my body. The only thing that was progressing a little smoother was my swordsmanship. Even though father had to eventually pick up work again, he still found time to train me in the evening. At that time I was about to break through the basic tier. Which was not something outstanding for my general age but since I had no talent with the sword I considered it a very big feat.

One evening, during our usual dinner conversations something came up that really piqued my interest. There were rumors going around the city that the number of monsters outside the city had suddenly increased. I didn’t really encounter any of them but it was probably because I was too close to the city.

“Raph have you heard the rumors about the monsters?”

“Yeah I did but you don’t have to worry about me father. Ever since the rumor started I have yet to come across any of them. I suppose they stay further away from the city”

“Yeah I guess. At least it won’t last long”

“What do you mean?”

“Haven’t you heard? The news is going all around the city! The military is preparing raids to subdue those monsters and to aid them they are hiring adventurers and mercenaries”

“That’s the first I heard of it! Is your squad going too?”

“Mhh yes, but we’ll depart later than the other squads. We still lack a mage so the higher ups gave us a bit more time”

“What do you need a mage for? I saw your squad and you all look like more than capable of getting rid of monsters”

“Indeed, but that’s not the issue here. We won’t just go in then, after a couple of hours, go out. It’s a lot more complicated than that. That’s why we have a specialized tracker who knows how to find monsters' dens and how to track them. While the tracker finds our prey and my squad deals with them, the mage is supposed to heal when needed and defend us against long ranged attacks. We don’t know what kind of monsters we will have to fight so it’s better to be prepared for the worst than to be sorry afterwards”

“Oh well, it doesn’t sound like a difficult job for the mage. I wonder why your group can’t find one?”

“Yes, if you look at it from your perspective it does sound like an easy job-”

Said father with a sarcastic tone and wearing the same smile he wears when telling a joke.

“-but, unlike you, the majority of the human mages are just pussies. They are scared of everything and like to cower behind armies and barricades rather then face the enemy themselves”

“Are you serious?”

“Hahaha unfortunately yes, it often happens that an adventuring party goes into a dungeon and the sole survivor is a mage. Wonder why? Easy. That’s ‘cause he leaves his party behind at the first sign of danger”

I had a disgusted face. Knowing that the reputation of mages, my reputation as a mage, was being dragged around just like that made my blood boil. Not only mages were looked down on because of their uselessness in close combat and, in most cases, their frail bodies. But now mages were also considered as cowardly and selfish people. Because of that, if I wanted to become an adventurer, I would have a hard time finding work. Who would ever work with a coward mage?

Father probably caught wind of my train of thoughts because of my expression and, in his own pathetic way, attempted to cheer me up.

“Don’t worry about it Raph. The solution is easy, you just gotta stop being a mage hahaha! I’ll just make you into a fine swordsman so you’ll have no problem either working as an adventurer or choose your own militia to serve hahaha”

“Ha ha ha, very funny father!”

Is what I said. But because of what father said, an idea flashed in my mind. It sounded crazy at first but the more I thought about it the more it sounded doable. When thinking about how to strengthen my soul, the first thing that came to mind was practical experience. That's the reason why the training with master was so focused on mock battles, or so I thought. But in order to gain experience I had to travel deeper within the outskirts of the city, which would prove to be very dangerous due to my lack of knowledge of monsters. So I had to either learn about monsters(which would take a lot of time) or get someone knowledgeable to accompany me. The latter option went accordingly with the idea that I had in mind.

“So father, you said that your group needs a mage right?”

“Yes”

“And you also said that from my perspective it would be an easy job, right?”

“Where are you trying to go?”

“How about hiring me ?”

As soon as I said that father stopped moving with the form midair. After a couple of seconds he put down his fork and started massaging his chin, clearly a thinking pose. The room was surprisingly silent. When he opened his eyes again I could see the tension on mother’s face as she was waiting for the verdict.

“In all honesty I had been thinking about it for quite a while. Our group was assigned to an area relatively safe and it should be about time that you get some real life experience. I suppose I can ask the guys in the group if they would accep-”

He didn’t have time to finish his phrase that his voice was completely overshadowed by mother’s shouting one. She was standing up with both her palms slammed on the wooden table and the chair laying on the ground. She was glaring at him like an angry beast.

“Are you going senile or something? Sending your own son on a raid? He just turned seven. Seven! And you want him to fight monsters?”

“What are you even saying? This wouldn't be his first time facing monsters, two years ago he fought against some wolvertooth wolves, remember? Also I’m not sending him on his own. He is going to be accompanied by all of my troops. He is not a kid Liz, he is a mage, and a fine one too. If he doesn’t get some work experience now, when there is the possibility of a safe environment, then when is he supposed to?”

“But still...the monsters…”

“I know you are worried and I do understand your concerns, but think about him. What if in five years he becomes an adventurer without prior experience? How do you think he is going to end up?”

Her stiff face softened up a little because of father’s words. But there were still traces of disbelief. She had yet to give her consent and one thing I learned about this household is that she held all the power. If she said “no” it would mean no. Father was doing a good job in convincing her but it was not enough.

“Mother, would you be at ease if you saw me fight?”

“Huh?”

“If I proved to you that I am more than capable of defending myself, would you allow me to go?”

“And how would you prove that?”

“Father, would it be possible to have a sparring match with some of your men?”

“Mhh? Oh yeah yeah, it could be arranged!”

“There you have it! What do you say?”

“I...uhh! Fine ! But I get to decide if you can or cannot go, alright?”

“Totally fine by me! Thank you so much mother, you are the best!”

[Acting cute and kissing-ass alway work!]

In the end my idea was approved, or at least partially. It was decided that, for me to participate in this raid, I had to prove my skills to mother. For that reason I had to duel some of father’s men. At least I could use both swords and magic, so at least I had some edge. Also another condition in case I went to the raid was that one of father’s men would always be with me, like a bodyguard. After all, those were not such bad conditions. I also wanted to prove my strength against someone trained. This was the best occasion to do so.

Part 3

Two days have passed since the discussion about the raid but the tension was still palpable between father and mother. I think she held him responsible for some reason.

I was now stretching my muscles together with the guys in my father’s troop before the duels started and mother was sitting on the side with Julie sitting on her lap. I could tell just by looking at her...she was tense.

“Ok everyone gather up!”

Shouted father out of nowhere. Wearing his usual iron chestplate with red strings of cloth and some protection in iron for thighs and forearms with a pair of heavy iron boots. Dangling from his waist were two sheathed swords. He was carrying a deep basket full of wooden swords.

Answering to his call, all of his men gathered up in a straight line showing a perfect military pose with their heels touching and hand behind their backs. I copied them and took a place close to Erik-san, who was kind enough to signal me to come closer.

“As all of you know today we are going to test the capabilities of the future group’s mage in the raid. I’m sure I have already been clear but since you monkeys never understand unless I tell you twice, I’m going to explain again how this is gonna work!”

Father was very different from when he was at home. He totally looked the part of a sergeant, even though he was simply put in charge of the group.

“I’m going to pick five of you who are going to fight the mage one at a time. You are going to use wooden swords. If the opponent exits the ring he loses. If you guys drop your swords you lose. If the opponent says “I surrender” the fight stops I.M.M.E.D.I.A.T.E.L.Y. The mage can use magic. And lastly, no foul play, understood?”

“Understood sir!”

Said the whole group in unison sticking their necks out.

“If I don't say your name just go spar somewhere else. Galdan. Albert. Furo. Connor. Erik. You guys are going to spar with Raphael”

The five men were looking at me with surprise, except Erik-san since he already knew what was coming. While slightly bowing I said:

“Thanks for accepting this fight. I’m Raphael”

They all looked surprised to see a kid as their opponent, also displeased it seemed. Well, it was understandable. They just learned that the mage that was going to accompany them in the raid was just a seven year old kid. Usually around this age in this world the kids start working. Easy jobs like serving in a tavern, helping the family shop and so on. But there are some cases where the kid has such talent that he becomes an adventurer, usually accompanied by a trustworthy companion from the family. I could have been considered one of those cases.

“Come on, we don’t have all day! Albert, you are the first. Raphael, try to give it your best!”

The duels were about to start. My first opponent was Albert-san, a man in his forties. He had short spiky blonde hair, dark brown eyes and a scar on his nose. He was smaller than Erik-san but still at least one meter and seventy tall, wide shoulders and strong arms. While sparing everyone only wore a leather armor that covered the chest and inner thighs. I was the same. Since I was a little taller than the average seven year old kid, father was able to find me a suitable armor to wear. When we both stepped in the ring and pointed the swords at each other the match started.

“Don’t be so tense, kid. I won’t hurt you too bad hahaha. I might even go easy on you!”

Said in a clearly taunting tone Albert-san. I was looked down on and that feeling was making me angry.

[Tch, just ‘cause I’m a kid you think you are some hot-shit? Let me show you something!]

“Oi old man, are you sure you wanna go easy on me? Would be a shame losing to a kid, wouldn't it?”

His expression suddenly changed from a triumphant smug to an angry frown. My taunt worked perfectly.

“Stupid brat. Looks like you are in need of a beating!”

“Fight!”

Shouted father and the match started.

Albert-san suddenly ran towards me with the sword in both his hands and the tip facing backwards.

[Diagonal swing. Left to right]

As I predicted Albert-san slightly raised his sword at the last moment and swung downwards diagonally from the left side to the right side. A powerful swing. He intended to finish the match with a single strike. As easily as I predicted the move I easily dodged. When his sword touched the ground he left an opening on his abdomen and I took advantage of it by landing a powerful punch on his stomach not before applying a [Low strength boost].

Going straight with a medium boost would have been a nice lesson for him but I wasn’t sure how the others would have taken it.

After landing the punch I jumped back, creating some space, while he wobbled backwards for a meter while holding his stomach. When he raised his head I greeted him with a taunting smug and the sword resting on my shoulders. After that I could easily count the veins swelling on his face.

He got ready to attack again, this time more smartly. He was making small side steps while holding the sword right in front of him. I was walking in a circle in the same position as him, waiting for him to make the first move. If he was at least a little bit smart he would have waited for me to attack but he was blinded by rage because of my tauntings. His sword moved fast with the tip pointed towards the center of my chest.

[A thrust]

Dodging to the side was impossible since his legs had a further reach than mine and he could have easily kicked me. Blocking him was not an option either since if I blocked his sword I would then be hit by a powerful punch. But I did not worry for this was within my expectations.

“Stone pillar”

As my words commanded, a square-like pillar of stone rose from the ground up and grew tall enough to hit the sword and divert it’s trajectory upwards, making it’s holder lose balance. It was the best opportunity to test in actual battle an application of mana manipulation. Taking advantage of the second that Albert-san lost balance I put my hands on the stone pillar at the same height that was his stomach and said:

“Stone push”

After my words a smaller pillar of the same stone that composed the first pillar, came out at an incredible speed and ended up hitting my opponent's stomach. Albert-san’s face turned pale as some drops of saliva rushed out of his open mouth. Thanks to the strength of “Stone push”, he was sent rolling a couple of meters backwards with his sword now falling out of his hands. He ended up supine with one hand on the ground and the other on his stomach.

A whistle stopped the match followed by father’s shouts.

“The match is over! Raphael wins!”

Clearly not satisfied with the results Albert-san tried to stand up and grab his sword while glaring menacingly at me. I sprinted towards him using a “low speed boost” and pointed my sword towards his neck as soon as he reached for the hilt of his.

“Soo, who were you calling a brat just now?”

I said while glaring down on him exerting the highest amount of presence I could. My goal was to show the other opponents that I was not someone that they could go easy on, in order to do that Albert-san was just a stepping stone. I was ready to counter his violent reaction but he unexpectedly dropped the hilt and raised his hands.

“Huff, I guess not all mages are wimps. I misjudged you, please forgive me”

I lowered my sword and extended my hand to help him raise. He accepted my hand laughing and gave me a strong pat on the back. Surprisingly he was completely different from the fight that just happened.

“Hahaha name’s Albert Dovan. I hope you’ll have my back during the raid...mage boy”

His taunting tone completely changed leaving the place to a more paternal-like one. To put it simply he had just acknowledged me as equal, or at least something like that.

“I’ll do my best sir!”

And with that the first match ended smoothly.