Another year goes by faster than I ever imagined. In my past life, time dragged on in my loneliness and depression. However, with Mephis watching over me and guiding my days, I am never truly alone. Every moment, I feel safe knowing that even if I close my eyes, he will stop anything and everyone that seeks to do me harm. That being said, I am not entirely sure if I am making the right choice staying in the Dead Forest. My parent’s enemies in this life want me dead. Mephis won’t tell me much about them, but it sounds like they’re quite strong. I need to grow stronger, faster if I am to survive.

[Flaming Ember of My Desire, Burst Forth-Burn]

Mephis knows the chants for the most basic of magics for all four major elements. His face is incredibly worried as he explains the other three which he cannot demonstrate to me. I know he is feeling guilty because he thinks that I am wasting my potential trying to learn without a proper teacher. However, I am happy just being here with him. It seems like it is slightly harder to learn the other three elements because I cannot see how the mana is supposed to flow. But even though it takes me a little longer to invoke the other elements than it did with Chill, eventually, to Mephis’s disbelief, I create another miracle!

*Pwoosh*

“Y-You!” The Blood Warlock can only gasp as he sees the merry campfire, I have created for us tonight. “I’ll never get used to this! Perhaps, children who grow up drinking the blood of beasts are meant for success?” He can only shake his head in good-natured dismay and sit beside the roaring flames. Even without Mephis’s Bloodstone glove, I have gradually increased my output with all four basic elemental chants until I can use them for all sorts of practical applications. According to Mephis, if you spend many, many years, and work hard, there are some people who don’t even need to chant incantations to perform some magic. My goal, since I cannot learn any of the more advanced Intermediate Level spells, is to be able to produce the four Basic Level spells without speaking, by the time I am ready to leave the Dead Forest. Mephis laughed when he heard that.

According to him, wordless spellcasting, or silent invocation, takes so long that its mastery is something which is rarely seen, except in the case of the longer-lived races, such as elves. And even then, only the oldest elves are likely to have any chance of accomplishing such a thing. Oh yea…apparently there are elves, demons, and all manner of creatures in this world. It’s not really surprising, considering we spend each day fighting monsters which could easily have sprung forth from a fairy tale on Earth, but still…what kind of place is this? How can such things, which were just myths in my past life, be real here?

*Clack*

I let my wooden sword fall down to the forest floor. Mephis slowly grills some Mud Boar meat on a spit over the campfire as I continue to practice my magic. Even though we spar every night, and I’ve learned a lot about fighting, I am at a bit of a loss when I see him get serious against a dangerous wild beast. When I was younger, hiding in the basket on his back, I couldn’t properly appreciate just how insane the warriors of this world are. However, now that I am too big to fit in the basket anymore, I watch from behind Mephis when he fights and I get to see just how fast he is. His movement is so fast that my eyes cannot follow him. He just flickers around as if teleporting. Even if I peer into the future for a second, I can just barely figure out where he will be before he arrives. Today…was crazy. He slew that Mud Boar like it was nothing! Yet no matter how hard I train, I can’t imagine myself doing that.

It seems in this world, there is something called the Art of Authority which allows people to imbue their physical strikes with a form of energy called Qi. Such attacks are so strong that even a small sword blow from a master can lop off the head of a dragon if done correctly. Mephis’s ability with the Art of Authority is strong enough to allow him to slay giant beasts with just a longsword. He insists that if I keep conditioning my body, I too can reach such a level, but severing a dragon’s neck with a sword is a bit hard to believe. I’d be happy just being able to keep up with Mephis’s movements!

*Crack*

Suddenly, there is a strange noise. A tree branch cracks outside our campground. Mephis immediately draws his sword. The delicious scent of cooking Mud Boar begins to get a bit smoky but neither of us moves to stop the meat from burning. Instead, we stare out into the dark night and empty trees. Something’s out there!

“Shh…stay quiet.” Mephis hisses to me and then stomps on the camp fire. However, it’s too large and refuses to go out. Wait, this is a good opportunity to use that! Concentrating, I focus everything I have and mentally run through the incantation for Chill in my head while pointing my hand at the base of the fire.

[Frozen Wind of My Soul, Come Forth-Chill]

However, without saying it out loud, all that happens is a slight puff of cold air shoots from my fingertips. Unfortunately, I failed the silent cast. The merry fire barely flickers and by then, Mephis is kicking dirt over the flames. Our campfire blows this way and that way, tongues of flame licking his boots, until finally all that’s left is slowly dying orange embers. If anything was out there, they definitely got a good look at us by now. Once the fire has died, Mephis starts to walk away from the campsite. Within seconds, he disappears into the darkness. Carefully, I draw his massive dagger from my waist and hunch down, remembering that some of the assassins which hunted me in the past used bows. He’ll come back right? It’s Mephis. He would never leave me.

Even after years of trust, the paranoid part of myself that doesn’t know how to rely on others still haunts me. The longer Mephis is away and the more time I am alone in the darkness, the more afraid I get that I’ve been abandoned. After all, a child is only a burden when people are trying to kill you. The darkness swallows me as the last embers from the fire, lose their light. For the longest time, I just crouch there under the faint moon, trying to see what’s out there in-between the trees.

*Crunch*

I whirl around, only to see Mephis walking out of the trees. He comes up right next to me and whispers in my ear.

“Stay close, we’re leaving.”

“Did you find something?” I ask. Mephis shakes his head. He puts a hand on my shoulder and pulls me up. We grab our things quickly and then he leads me away. Even though it’s night time, the Blood Warlock’s eyes will not fail him in the dark. Unfortunately, mine will, so I can only hold his hand and let him guide me through the Dead Forest.

“There may have been someone. But I couldn’t find their tracks. I don’t like this.” Mephis’s feet are whisper-quiet. Though I am quickly learning to emulate him, I still haven’t quite managed to perfect his silent steps. Fortunately, I’m a lot lighter than he is, so when I mess up, the noises aren’t too loud. “We’ll camp somewhere else tonight and then turn back. For some reason, I get the feeling that this part of the Dead Forest is no longer safe.”

“Okay!”

While we walk, I randomly peek into the future every now and then. Even if it’s unlikely that I would catch an ambush at the exact moment it will happen, it still makes me feel better to keep an eye out. If only I could see the future all the time like I did in my last life! Though I’ve kept up my training when I have extra mana, my Foresight still cannot be activated continuously. I can only do my best to cover us at the most suspicious moments when we are passing by a large tree or the shadows are particularly dark.

*Swoosh*

The wind blows and it’s unusually cold. Year round, the Dead Forest remains at a bearable temperature to sleep outside, though it gets hot in the summer. However, something about the breeze today makes me shiver. Perhaps it is all the nervous sweat dotting my clothes. Mephis takes a look around after we have been walking a while and leans down on his haunches. Wearily, I take a seat on the ground. Keeping up with my steward’s long strides, even when he’s slowing down for me, is difficult.

“That should be enough. Get some sleep, Kid. I’ll keep watch.” The Blood Warlock declares and I know better than to protest. Though I have a strong willpower, my young body is not good at staying awake when it is tired. Mephis on the other hand seems to have a hidden reserve of stamina that he can draw upon at will when the situation calls for it. “You know, one day, you’re going to have to pick a name. I can’t keep calling you, kid, forever. You’ll be five soon…”

“Mmm…” I murmur, already nodding off. So long as I have Mephis, I can sleep, even if I’m surrounded by enemies at all sides. After all, that’s how I got my first night’s rest when I was reborn. “Later…I’m tired…”

“I wonder what kind of name you’ll choose. No matter what, I’m sure it will be remembered in the years to come. It’s already been four years, huh? Your swordsmanship fundamentals are still incomplete, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m running out of time to train you. Maybe…maybe I’m being a bit too selfish keeping you here?” As usual, I fall asleep to my mentor and protector’s voice. Since I’m so used to it, I fall asleep quickly. It makes me remember those long nights traveling in a basket on Mephis’s back. Safe. That’s how I always think of those days. It’s a pity. If I had listened a bit more closely, I might have noticed that his voice was just a little bit different at that moment. But as usual, despite being able to peek at the future, I missed the important things in the present.