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Riou and Max were approaching the camp, the soldiers were preparing the provisions for the night, sitting around the fires, watching the pots and meat cooking.

"Riou, how do you fare with the sword in hand?" Said the mage walking by an empty area with a few weapons stockpiled, he had an idea.

"How do I care? Badly of course… I only played with toy swords when I was a kid, and held a real sword once for a moment. I never had any proper training or fought with one if that’s what you are asking" he said, guessing the mage’s intention as he saw him reaching for some training swords.

"By what I saw, I find that very hard to believe" Max seemed convinced. "How about we put you through a simple test then? This certainly will be easier to verify" concluded the mage throwing a sword toward Riou that fearfully yet precisely grabbed it in mid air by the hilt.

Max chuckled seeing him doing that “Riou, let's try not to repeat the fire incident. Please, restrain yourself and try not to use any mana whatsoever, I don’t know what could happen if you do" The magus took an elegant poise, the old man clearly knew his way around the weapon.

"You can say all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that I never had a sword in my hand like this before" Riou took the same stance as the mage.

The sword was a bit crude but seemed unused, yet the metal looked a bit strange, there were signs of rust on the blade. Which was odd for a weapon that looked new and never used.

It was a common straight sword with two edges. Cross shaped guard and hilt, very similar to the swords Riou remembered from the medieval movies and documentaries.

Riou stood there, waiting for the mage. As his anxiety and stress began to build up, a eering, lingering sensation began to affect his body and mind. A similar sensation of when he first used mana, but this time he was not controlling it consciously. The mana seemed to have responded to him and activated by itself.

“Max… something is going on”

“What?”

“I don’t know… but it feels strange, it’s similar to what happened with the fire thing”

Max nodded “Let’s just do a practice run then, just remember to hold back and restrain any mana” Max signaled and prepared to launch an attack.

“I don’t think that’s gonna work!” But Max was already coming at him.

He brought the sword up above his head while pointing the tip at Riou. The old mage then lunged forward preparing a downward swing at him, Riou could see him putting a lot of strength behind that swing.

The mage was not holding back at all.

The imminent sense of danger on his already stressed and anxious body triggered something. A mindless reflex like those when your arm moves instinctively to grab something that suddenly fell.

Riou could tell the trajectory of the sword before it finished the move, and given it’s speed and the mage’s body position he knew exactly what he could do.

It was all very fast.

The boy moved quickly and precisely. He steps towards Max right, evading with ease the sword attack and gaining a superior position over the mage’s defenses.

Such momentum and positioning allowed him to get very close to the mage, the boy moved unexpectedly fast, far beyond any human capabilities.

And even before the mage finished his swing completely and could fully realize what had happened, Riou was already holding the sword to the mage’s throat.

The mage felt the cold blade on his throat and began to laugh "Only toy swords... right?" Joked the mage as Riou removed the sword and stepped back.

Riou was excited with the results "What was that? It was crazy, as soon as you attacked me it felt just like those quick time events. Really weird, it was like I could use a sword just like I wanted, I knew everything I could do from that position in an instant. This is insane... how is that even possible?"

Max just laughed “So I was right, you can use spells and sword skills just as efficiently”

“Please, now the part you actually explain it to me”

"I confess that I was expecting something of the sort. But I don’t know what you do or how you do it. But you must have such an intrinsic knowledge of… things it somehow allows it to happen. By what I just saw, your mana was used on it’s own, in response to your heightened mental and physical state”

“But that shouldn’t happen right? It should not activate on its own, right?”

“Well, you should be the one telling me how it happened”

“I told you something wasn’t right, I could feel something was weird, but then you attacked and things were already happening before I could actually make sense of what was going on”

“That’s just amazing. To be able to do it unconsciously, do you understand the level of understanding of the body and it’s mechanics to be able to do such a thing without even thinking about it? You see, in this world the mind and body are strongly connected by a third element called mana. Many things are known to cause it’s activation. Emotion is one of the strongest ways to do it. So fear and anxiety you felt could have triggered it somehow..”

Riou pondered on the subject “That’s why you said Emotion has a big part in controlling spells? Mind, body and mana fused as one thing… OK, I think I’m starting to understand it a bit more now”

Max continued “It’s not as simple. Only the best warriors can really use mana to enhance their body to fight. Even fewer can do powerful sword skills. It's much harder than learning spells. But those who achieve such a level can easily rival the greatest of mages and their spells" Riou was listening to the Magus explanation attentively.

"You are an anomaly, to have just discovered mana and already have this level of control, even if unconscious control, it can only mean that you have such a deep and intrinsic knowledge of the inner works of the body that your mind didn’t even have to think to have your mana to work it… Let me ask you, if I had to enhance your body to do what you just did, how would you approach such a thing? Do not overthink it, just say whatever comes to your mind”

“Well… I’d think on enhancing the muscle fibers at a cell level, more oxygen and energy to the fibers and most of all would think in a way to improve the response time of the nerves so it could react quicker to the brain’s orders.”

Max just looked at him with a confused expression. “We have a lot to talk about,” he finally smiled.

Riou nodded. “Sure, but you didn’t explain to me where this mana in me came from? I didn’t have it before”

“Well, many theories can be put together about it. But I believe that if you really didn’t have any mana before, the moment you go in contact with it, your body and your soul must have started to adapt to it and so it created your mana pool in your soul.”

“So you are saying that I’m like a sponge, absorbing mana from the environment?”

“At the beginning, yes. Now it must have stabilized and aside from the environmental mana you probably produce some yourself as all living beings do here.”

“That’s an interesting theory… so if I can use mana it means that this world’s physics and rules are not so different from mine. I wonder if more people from my world end up coming here too.”

Maximilian became serious once again: “This is not a simple matter Riou, to be honest with you, you should have died in the traverse. Many times over especially when you crossed the limiar and entered this world. The gates of the traverse should have crushed you by the mana echo alone.The amount of power and mana pressure that you received directly in your body is inimaginable”

“So I was feeling some sort of mana sickness when walking in that forest?”

“The limbo has a particularity no other place has, since it’s a traverse, a plane between planes. It’s borders are always open to the conjunction. The amount of infused mana passing through is just too much. There is nothing there other than trees for a reason.”

The mage stopped for a moment “But if you didn’t have any mana… and your pool was already there, like a dry ocean… then you would have some time until it was completely filled. Oh my, if that was the case, I can't even begin to imagine how much strain you were put through”

Riou thought for a few moments “So my size and age now could be a result of this exposure to this infused mana of the limbo?”

Max nodded “It could” The mage took a deep breath before continuing.

“It is possible that your body regressed to a state where changes could occur more easily. Like a safeguard mechanism. Using the newfound power in the mana to find a way to protect you from what was happening.”

“Is this permanent?”

Max pondered “I believe that you will probably recover your old self once your mana pool is completely full and your body fully adapted to it, since it was not a spell that was used, just mana, it can return to normal once you are completely adapted to this world”

“Will that take long? I just have to wait it out then?”

Max shrugged "Depending on how much mana is still needed to fill your mana pool… it could take years, even decades, there is no way to tell since I couldn’t measure it”

“So I’m stuck in this world and in this form”

The mage nodded.

“Great… just great”

“There is no way to tell if it’s permanent either, so in the best case you will grow again eventually”

“And the worst I will keep looking like this indefinitely… just keeps getting better. I guess 15 is not an adult in the world, am I right?”

“Well, it's still considered a child… you need to be a bit older to start adulthood”

“So I’m basically screwed, that’s what you are saying”

“Well, not necessarily… On our way back, you could earn some respect by training with the soldiers. With your skill I’m sure you will quickly grow on their eyes, just… just promise to hold back on them and please, let them win. If you manage to get their support you, you may be able to pass as a good swordsman in the city and not be treated as a child anymore.”

“I see, you mean like earn me some points with the army guys the people won’t think I’m a good for nothing?”

“Put it bluntly, yes. And during the night we could get some distance to test your magic. That would help you to control it better. Maybe we could make you my apprentice, that would surely give you some renown."

“Hmm, I don’t know... Apprentice to the great Magus may be a bit too much don’t you think? I mean, I saw how these folks look up to you. Perhaps just a servant status would be more appropriate.”

“Apprentice would be a bit too much indeed, been a while since I don’t do these things. It could get a lot of attention to you. But it would definitely help to explain when you come to explode something”

“That was not my fault, I had no idea what those crystals would explode!” The boy joked in a light mood.

Max laughed and nodded “You are taking this whole situation far better than I anticipated.”

“Well, it could be worse. Way worse. And let’s just say that this situation is a fairly known premise for many stories in my world, so it’s not completely new to me.”

Max was impressed to have stories that cover such strange and unexpected events like these. He couldn’t imagine how Riou’s world could be like.

“Come on, there is a dragon story that I wanna hear”

When they passed by the Knight Captain’s tent they heard a calling from him. Bhalrom wanted to talk with both of them.

Heeding the knights' invitation, they entered the tent and took a seat by the table with him

The tent was being illuminated by an oil lamp, almost unnecessary given the moonlight outside.

On the table there was a big piece of bread and a big bowl of some strange soup. The bread seemed to be hard as stone and the soup had a strange brown color to it, as if someone had boiled dirt water with some roots and leaves without washing anything.

“Have you eaten?” asked the knight.

“We were on our way to it, knight captain” replied the mage in quite a good mood.

“Then please, join me” Said the knight, pointing to a standing by his tent to bring more food for his guests.

The soldier returned very shortly after bringing the same kind of bread and soup to Riou and Maximilian.

“Great Magus, the king requested a report of whatever we discovered here, I believe you will be the one delivering it to him, but still, if you would you be so kind to explain your discoveries to me... in a way I could understand, I’d be eternally grateful"

The knight was honestly curious about the findings while preparing the bread to be thrown into the soup.

The mage nodded and began his explanation

"The event seemed to have been a magical displacement caused by the alignment of the spheres. Imagine that there are giant spheres moving about a fixed path in the great beyond. Inside of these spheres there are several realms that also are moving in fixed paths.

And every many years, eventually these paths cross each other. The spheres connect for a brief time and during this time the realms can also be connected by this path to each other creating some sort of bridge.

The magical power that accumulates by these connections are humongous. Most of the times these bridges cease to exist without repercussions. But other times they break apart before the conjunction ends, liberating the power within the realms still connected to it.

That’s what caused the first tremor.” The mage glanced at Riou “With its force it must have compromised the land beneath the forest that eventually collapsed causing the second tremor we felt here, that’s why it was much weaker than the first" explained the mage reaching for his bread. “I asked the king to send soldiers… because I feared this could not have been a natural event. And That Argos could be involved in it”

The knight seemed to grasp the basic idea "I see, so the king sent us here just in case" the knight was eating a piece of the bread soaked in the soup. Seemed to be the only way to chew it.

The mage that was also putting the bread in the bowl. "Yes, there was a chance that Argos mages were involved... the Twilight Council too, they always had an unusual interests in the Endher Forest"

"Now I see why the king sent the First Army... it makes more sense now since we could have been dealing with Argonian forces" Said the Knight, understanding the criticality of it.

"Why the name First Army?" Riou asked as they paused, he wanted to ask about Argos and the council but the topic seemed too heavy and lengthy to be brought up in front of the knight captain.

"The Kingdom of Allard has a total of five armies, each commanded by a Knight supported by the nobles of a specific region and city. The First is the one supported by the King himself in the capital. It is formed by loyal subjects, especially selected and trained to be the best soldiers in the whole kingdom. The second army is also a royal army but commanded by the next in line to the throne for military experience. The others are more independent and situated in their own cities that are ruled by the lords and the knight generals." Explained Max.

Riou got the concept. He then watched as they both began to eat the soup. He looked down at his own bowl and stared at it.

It looked terrible and the smell was not helping either.

But he was hungry.

Against his better judgement he proceeded to do as the other two. He picked a piece of that hard bread and soaked it on the soup.

‘Maybe the taste is not as bad’

As he prepared to eat Bhalrom spoke up "And about the young man here? Have you learned anything?"

"Yes,” said the mage.

"Based on his story, I could conclude that he lived south of the Beastmen lands. Near the Argonian border on the free lands. The dialect in that region is very different.

His family worked as house servants for a minor landlord. As the war between Argos and the Beastmen advanced into their land, they tried to escape north.”

Bhalrom nodded “I see, that explains his skin and lack of calluses… but the caravan? Did it go straight north? That would take them to the Elven forest? It’s suicide to try to cross it”

Max continued “Precisely, I believe that they chose to avoid it and ran into some bad people near the coast.”

“Those lands are perilous indeed, one road to follow, very easy to be ambushed” added the knight.

“The caravan was ransacked and Riou here ended up as a prisoner with few other young ones that survived. Probably to be sold at Iris.”

Bhalrom eyes flared by hearing the name of the city.

Max noticing the response of the Knight, hid a smirk and continued “Being the resourceful young man Riou is, he was able to break free from his captors and continued north to escape them. After a few days trying to survive in the wilds he somehow ended up here." Spoke the mage analyzing the knight’s response, the strong feeling against the city of Iris could be a great help to divert his attention from any inconsistency in the story. And if the knight captain approves of him, the soldiers will do so too.

"Iris... that city is a rotten apple... I don't know why the nobles support it so fiercely." A clearly angry Bhalrom pushing his food to the side, he had lost his appetite.

The mage agreed with him with a smile.

Riou looked to Max impressed, Max looked back understanding what Riou’s thoughts might be and took a proud pose.

With that settled, Riou finally mustered courage to try the food.

‘Yep, I was wrong, the taste is much worse than it looks’ the roots gave a really bitter taste to the lukewarm soup. But since that was it, he forced himself to eat it.

"Bhalrom” said the Magus "We have some time until we reach the castle, what do you think if we put Riou here to train with the soldiers? It's not everyday one can be teached by Allard’s finest"

The knight turned to Riou impressed "That’s a good idea, by the time we arrive at the capital he will be a man able to fend for himself.” Said the knight proudly to a struggling Riou forcing himself to finish the soup.

“Come on, eat up! This is the kind of food that makes hair grow on your chest!”

Max just laughed at the whole scene as Riou clearly was not used to that taste, especially while being pressured by Bhalrom to finish it.

Riou was given a very small tent to himself, there were no comforts, he’d lay on the ground on top of a thin fabric with no pillow. But as soon as he laid down on it, he immediately fell asleep.

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They lifted camp by morning and so the trip back to the capital bagan.

During the day when the soldiers stopped to rest, Riou would use the time to train with them the sword. At night he began experimenting magic with Maximilian, away from any prying eyes.

Their night walks were followed by flashes and loud sounds, the soldiers were told that the mage was just trying to teach him some Magic, as he was acting guardian they told the soldiers that the mage was just wanting to test the boy’s affinity to it.

That was his routine for the journey, weapons and physical training and then magic manipulation at night..

As time went by, the soldiers quickly noticed the quick increase on the boy’s ability, he was a natural born fighter.

The boy exceeded their expectations at every new day and quickly was able to spar with the soldiers. And as the journey was close to reach its destination, the boy even managed to win a few spars. The soldiers couldn't believe how much he improved in such a short time.

He was a prodigy in their eyes. A simple boy always in a good mood and always with the proper attitude towards their teachings.

He quickly befriended every soldier there.

Even the harsh Knight Captain started to have a soft spot towards him as his training progressed. He even made sure to come to watch Riou’s training from time to time.

Every time the knight captain showed up to watch, Riou began to struggle in his fight. The good captain, taken by the leader spirit he always has, quickly started to try to coach him during the fight, shouting strategies and corrections on his moves on the fly.

Riou then would follow his instructions, recover his ground and sometimes even win the fight.

Having fun with it, sometimes he stretched his act, just to see what the good captain would say.

Despite his appearance and military way, Riou could tell that Bhalrom was beloved by his soldiers. So his shouts of encouragement easily rallied their spirit as well, causing his fights to be a spectacle for all soldiers to watch, gathered just to hear the Knight Captain and his passionate advice.

"Put more strength in that right arm! What are you doing? Dodge against the swing! Dodge it, I said!"

"No! The motion is all wrong, it should be from the hips to the arm! No! No! put your hips on it boy! Don’t just stand there and take the hit! Deflect! Deflect and counter attack!"

"Now that he is open! Attack! Nooooo! Don't overextend, don't overextend the arm! Keep it close and tight so you can move into a new attack if necessary"

“Hahaha! I told you that you could win, you have a good foundation, but need more experience, you will be a good soldier one day!”

The soldiers told Riou that the knight captain came from a humble family, but his sword skill and leadership was so great that he quickly rose the ranks of the first army. Every soldier there clearly had the utmost respect for him.

Riou understood that the army was his entire life and the soldiers really liked their leader and loved to see him engaged.

So, Riou became very good at giving on a show for them.

And as the spectacle continued, some of the smarter soldiers began to notice the pattern.

Riou was a natural talent in their eyes, so why would he suddenly struggle every time the knight captain appeared? Maybe the boy got the jitters, wanting to impress the good captain, but despite the reason, they found it awfully funny to watch.

So they began to shout the Knight Captain’s most common advice, just to joke and mess around with him while he was fighting.

Riou acted accordingly every time, hearing the shouts he began to struggle and then putting up a show for them to see to revert the fight in his favor after the advice was given.

As time went on, eventually, even the knight captain recognized Riou’s strength, he never had seen someone improve so much in such a short amount of time.

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About four weeks later, they finally reached the city walls, high and thick made of some special white stones.

Inside, the city was very lively and full of people wherever Riou looked. The streets were paved with well cut and precisely positioned stones making an almost smooth surface which allowed carriages to circulate very easily, the houses were well made and resembled the medieval times from Riou’s world, much more than he anticipated they would.

The place was much more sophisticated than what Riou imagined. They were far from a modern civilization but clearly more advanced than just a medieval kingdom as he remembered from his world.

Bhalrom dismissed the troops and the horses back to the barracks while he took a oficial carriage near the main gate with Max and Riou.

“We shall see the king immediately,” said the knight as he invited Riou and Maximilian to join him.

The carriage was pulled by horses while they sat comfortably at a closed cabin with a door and a small window which Riou could see the busy city as they moved towards the castle.

It was a few hours past noon as they finally reached the inner gates of the castle. Riou looked at Maximilian, the mage could see he was a bit nervous about that whole situation. Max smiled and nodded at him, reassuring the boy there was nothing to be worried about.