《Advent Of The Median》


 Prologue: Lucid Dreams

    Leaving the yoga studio after a 2 hour session, I was feeling quite relaxed. My body was feeling all nice and loose, and my joints no longer ached from sitting hunchbacked the whole day whilst staring at a computer screen. In hindsight, I probably should not have decided to work for an IT company if I was looking for a job that didn¡¯t kill my body by the time I hit twenty five.


    Getting in the taxi I called over, I began debating whether I should just find a better job. It¡¯s not as if I didn¡¯t have any other choices after all, I was young, at just twenty five years old, talented, and had an outstanding performance record to boot, I had both the time and option to look for better work, or at least a wage increase.


    Half way through deciding whether to leave or ask for a wage, I felt the car stop moving and the driver said that we¡¯ve arrived at the destination. Brought out of my thoughts by the vehicle¡¯s churning, I looked out the window to confirm that we were in fact at the right location. Confirming that this was my apartment, I turned back to the driver and payed him for the ride home along with a little extra because I was feeling generous.


    Getting off the car, I thanked the driver once more before he took off. Watching the car as it slowly disappeared on the next turn, I turned back and opened the door to the building. Entering my apartment, I locked the door behind me then went to my room to lay out a few clothes on my bed to change into, then I headed for the bathroom and got out of my clothes for a nice, hot shower to get rid of the smell of my own sweat. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    After scrubbing my lightly toned body with soap and then rinsing off with water, I got off the shower to dry myself with a towel. Wrapping the towel around my waist, I went back to my room to put on the spare clothes I left out to change into, I went to the kitchen for a light snack, seeing as I already ate dinner with the rest of my friends.


    After a light snack consisting of yogurt, cheese and some wheat bread, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. After that, I finally went to bed after closing all the lights and went to sleep.


    It didn¡¯t take long for me to finally doze off into dreamland, what was weird about it was that, despite being asleep,I felt way too awake and aware of my surroundings for it to be just a lucid dream, not that I ever experienced one, but still it felt too realfor it to be normal lucid dream. Looking around, I saw nothing, unless you considered the empty void something.


    After awhile, the blank void changed, and I instead found myself up in the sky soaring over the clouds with the winds blowing against my¡­.face? My face felt weird, angular in a way that was obviously not my own, moreso when I tried opening my mouth and let out a screech that sounded more like a bird than a human.


    After what felt like an hour of soaring through the air, I was beginning to feel tired if that were even possible considering I was in a dream, even if it was a lucid one. After another minute or so, my eyelids began to feel heavy and I fell asleep (again) ironically enough, in my own dream and darkness finally claimed me.

 Chapter 1: Into the World

    The darkness was calming, it was quite welcoming to me, I felt an intrinsic connection to the little space in the void. I couldn¡¯t feel my limbs or anything really, the only thing with me were my own thoughts, but oddly enough I felt calm despite the obvious lack of senses.


    Every now and then I would feel a pulse pass through me, it beat with a steady rhythm that enamoured me. As time went on I gradually regained the feeling of my body and would have the sudden urge to stretch like I usually did in my yoga classes, but I was always stopped by some kind of invisible force that prevented me from fully doing so.


    I have no idea how long I¡¯ve been stuck here, I can only imagine that it must have been months if not years, not that I really want to leave or anything, and why would I? This was the most relaxing thing I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing, the dark felt like a pleasurable embrace that not even my warm and fluffy bed or my yoga sessions that left me feeling all nice and loose could compare to. With those thoughts in mind, I continued to drift in the void in a state of half-consciousness as time moved forward around me.


    (An Unknown Amount Of Time Later)


    I was brought out of my state of bliss by an obnoxious rumbling and a quickening in the rhythmic pulse that washed over me. The change was quite alarming, I tried to move with what little sense I had left to repeatedly find a better place, but as usual, the invisible force once again prevented me from moving out of the confines of my personal little space. Regardless, I still tried to move out and did so with much fervour when I started to notice my personal space slowly get smaller and smaller as time passed.


    At one point, I felt my head bump into something, a barrier of some kind that was right above me with a small gap in the middle, one much too small for me to pass through. Despite this though, the space was still getting smaller and smaller, and it seemed to be pushing me towards the barrier.


    Seeing as I had no other option, I tried pushing through the barrier and squeeze myself through the gap, but because I couldn¡¯t move my body all that much, all I could really do was squirm my body left and right all to no avail. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Lamenting my failure of getting out of this rapidly shrinking hellhole that was once my own personal paradise, I felt a sudden and powerful force that sent me smacking head first onto the barrier I so desperately tried to get through. Before I could even gather my senses, another push came, much stronger than the last, then another and another.


    My head was already throbbing with the constant bashing against the barrier, but I could already feel the barrier giving way, the gap was already opening much wider than previously, but still much too small for me to go through. So without much of a choice, I let the unknown force push my body towards the barrier again, and again, and again.


    After what felt like an eternity and several more head bashings of immense pain, I felt the barrier suddenly give way. My head pushed pass the barrier, but the rest of my body was still stuck inside. Luckily enough, it didn¡¯t take long for the unknown force to push the rest of my body out from the other side of the barrier.


    I was immediately then pushed through an incredibly narrow passageway that squished my body with some kind of mushy substance, I could feel the space widening and I then popped out of the passage into what felt like open space.


    Before I could even celebrate getting out of that deathtrap that was formerly my home for God-knows-how-long, I was suddenly grabbed by something that felt oddly similar to...hands? I was lifted up into the air and I felt something gliding over my body, as if it were inspecting it. Then, I suddenly felt a great pain on my buttocks, much worse than the head bashing and I let out a great cry of pain.


    Halfway through my screaming, I finally noticed that I could move my body freely, though incredibly sluggish, it felt awkward and off. I also finally realised that my sight and hearing have also returned, though like my body, it was incredibly dull and off, I could hear but nothing more than the incomprehensible noise that seemed to be originating from the odd colourless shapes and blurs that I could barely make out with my eyes.


    After a short while, I felt my body being passed around multiple times with something caressing my body every now and then. My dulled sight and hearing made the experience my body even worse as it made me feel incredibly disoriented. Overall, it was an extremely uncomfortable experience, one I have no desire to experience once more.


    Afraid, confused and disoriented, I cried out once more, but before I could really let the tears out of my eyes and the scream out of my throat, I felt a piece of fabric wrap around me and a pair of arms(?) envelope me and unlike the others, this one made me feel calm, safe and secure, and I immediately stopped crying.


    After a while, my eyes were starting to feel heavy and I finally noticed how weary I felt. I closed my eyes and sleep took my weary body as the arms around me swayed me in gentle manner.

 Chapter 2: Realisations and Surprises

    (Week 1)


    I¡¯m a baby, and it only took me 3 days to figure that one out since I was really too tired (and unconscious) to even properly notice my surroundings in the first day.


    By the second day I was still slipping in and out of consciousness and too busy panicking and questioning myself about what the hell just happened to me and how I even got here.


    On the third, I was much, much calmer and had longer bouts of consciousness, long enough to make coherent, rational thoughts and properly examine my surroundings. My vision and hearing were still pretty bad, better than in the past, but still not enough to properly identify my surroundings.


    Then it hit me, my body was way, way to small to be my own and unless I¡¯ve been hearing things wrong, (which was pretty high considering how bad my auditory senses currently were) but my the sounds that have been coming out of my mouth was clearly not my voice and sounded like that of a baby.


    It helped that the odd looking shape that I now realise was my mother came often. She would come and coax me into opening my mouth whenever I let out a cry so that she could put what I assumed to be her breast (an odd experience considering I was in fact a mentally 25 year old man in a child¡¯s body). She would also come to wipe me down with a towel and change the blanket that was wrapped around me.


    Regardless, I felt like an idiot when I found out. I mean, all the signs were there, I just didn¡¯t really notice anything, too busy with the relaxing paradise that I now know is the womb of my new mother and being too freaked out by situation that I found myself in.


    Though, I should probably count myself lucky, my parents have long since passed on to the next world, my girlfriend and I already broke up after trying several attempts to work things out and my work has distanced me from friends apart from my coworkers. Still though, I couldn¡¯t help but feel sad about my abrupt change, but who knows? This life may just be better than the last.


    (Week 2)


    My eyes have finally begun to adjust and hearing was now more than just incomprehensible jargon and static. The sad part about it is that all I¡¯m hearing is still making no sense to me, my mother and father spoke in a language that I was not familiar with, it had at least sounded like one of those cryptic European languages, but since I was not expert, I chose to drop the topic all together.


    My sight on the other hand, was much better now, sadly it was still very much limited. The only things I could properly make out were things that were maybe one foot away? It made me very nearsighted, anything further than that was still a blurry figure.


    On a totally unrelated note, by the end of the week by my count (which I assumed by the days and nights that have passed through the window) I was finally able to make to somewhat make out the appearance of my own mother. She was caucasian and brown haired, I was unable to say if she was pretty though since I could only make out her general features.


    My father on the other hand was also bearing the same look with white skin and dark hair. He would often came along with mother to visit my room just so that he could cuddle and play with me, and on a rare occasion, it was him that would change my blankets and wipe me down. Though he did it with a disgruntled appearance and the lack of proficiency that mother had, not that I can blame him considering that I still couldn¡¯t control my bowel movements.


    (Week 3)


    By what I assumed to be my third week, I could finally move my body rather than just randomly jerking my limbs every now and then. I also began trying to form words outside of crying to try and cope with the boredom of being a baby, but to no avail. Aside from the screams that came out of my mouth, all it could make was babbling sounds that my mother apparently found adorable.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Recently my mother decided to start carrying me around the house which was rather exciting seeing as there was nothing else to do but to lay in bed and sleep. The house was surprisingly large, though it was most likely due my small size that made it seem that way and the fact that I was basically blind as a bat.


    Other than that, I have made an amazing discovery of how good snuggling with my mother feels like. To my luck, she found my attempts to snuggle with her very endearing and she pull me closer to her bosom each time I started to squirm towards her. Thus, I spent most of my days sleeping snuggly in my mother¡¯s arms.


    (Week 4)


    By this time I was starting the next step in trying to make contact, turning incomprehensible gibberish to sounds that could barely pass off as communication. Unsurprisingly no one seems to understand, I wouldn¡¯t too. A simple scream was all I could manage at this point and it was enough to signal mother to attend to my needs.


    Listening to my parents speaking has let me learn a few things, firstly it seems that my name is Markus, not too bad I must say and second my family seems to be devout believers though I couldn¡¯t exactly pinpoint which one it was, not that it mattered.


    As I was thinking about understanding the language I heard the ringing of a bell, which meant that it was time for lunch and my signal to start screaming. Almost as if on cue on the moment I screamed, mother came in and fed me until I fell asleep in her arms.


    (Week 5)


    My muscles are finally developed enough to listen to my commands, movements now are much smoother than they were 2 weeks prior. They no longer jerk around haplessly and my mother, god bless her soul had taken notice of this development and has allowed me to roam around the floor of my room. Though I did find it odd that I was crawling at this point albeit slowly, I quickly brushed it off.


    Now that I had something else to occupy my time aside from trying to form coherent speech, I decided to explore my room with great zeal. It was a liberating experience to say the least, being cooped up in a blanket all day and having nothing to do but sleep (which was admittedly enjoyable) and talk to myself was beginning to take its toll on me.


    The room itself was quite big for my baby self so the exploration itself took a rather long amount of time. The day after the start of my exploration though I found a book lying on the floor next to the chair mother would sit as she cradled me in her arms. So I decided to hatch a plan for my mother to read the book to me as room exploring was getting boring, plus her reading a book to may help in my understanding of their language.


    I let out a cry to call out for my mother as I was clutching the book with one of my hands (or at least trying to). Mother quickly entered the room after my cry, though what she saw was probably not what she expecting because I heard her immediately laugh after entering the room.


    Despite her laughter she noticed my tiny, stubby little fingers holding the edge of the book. Thankfully, she got the message and picked both me and the book up. Afterwards, she placed on her lap as she read the book slowly for me. As time went on I slowly fell asleep to the soothing sound of her voice and I vaguely remember her picking me up and putting me to bed.


    (Week 6)


    A few days after that, it seemed like I was finally being brought out of the house by my mother to go take a stroll around the surrounding area. I was rather shocked to see that people were actually riding carriages and as my mother and I continued to stroll around town, I was continuously shocked by vast difference between the modern era and the era I currently lived in.


    Majority of the people were walking around town in simple garments that had rather dull colours to it and just by looking at it, you could tell it was rather low-quality clothing. Every now and then, you could even see ordinary people walking around in armour and guards wearing a full set of armour with weapons (usually swords) strapped to their waist patrolling the area. Strangely enough, they respectfully nodded towards my mother whenever they passed by and saw her.


    The greatest shock to me however came from when my mother decided to by purchase some herbs and spices from a store near our house and pulled out gold coins to pay for them. I knew that back then, using gold/silver to pay for goods was a common occurrence, but seeing it with my own eyes was still shocking to me.


    That¡¯s when it finally hit me. I was somehow transported to the past era and that I¡¯m currently and for the foreseeable future going to be living here whether I liked it or not.


    The house I lived in was a rather large high-class Victorian era mansion (my current family clearly did not lack money). Despite that, it had lacked several appliances that one would normally see in a house, but I had simply assumed that it was because I simply have yet to see it or that it had been deliberately done as part of the design of the house.


    This however, was not what I was expecting. Not at all.


    I was shocked when I realised that I was somehow transported to the medieval era, after all, modern conveniences like toilets are now a thing of the past (or future in this case) and laws are probably much more barbaric and ridiculous than what I have been previously accustomed to.


    The only upside I could see from my current situation is that I could just laze around all day, I couldn¡¯t recall the last time I was this carefree. My last memories before becoming a baby all consist of work, which now that I look back at it, it was a sad excuse for a life. Though now I am thankful that maybe in this life I can change that.


    <hr>


    Nothing eventful really happens over the course of the following weeks. My daily life now consists of less shouting as they have learned to finally adjust to the time of when I need to eat, I¡¯m gradually learning the language by listening to the conversations and hopefully what I¡¯m learning is what I think it is. With no one to interact with besides my parents, time moves very slowly for me and it will continue to do so for the following years.

 Chapter 3: Unexpected Discovery, A Great Find

    A few months after my first excursion outside the house, I finally had discovered why the guards and basically everyone else were always so respectful towards my mother. As it turns out, my father was in fact the Guard Commander who was basically their boss and explained why we had such wealth.


    My initial thoughts (hopes, really) were that we were of nobility. Initially, I was childishly disappointed with the notion that we were not nobility. Maybe it was because in my last life I was so painfully ordinary, that I wished to be someone special in this life? I don¡¯t know. But I was still disappointed with myself, not because that I was not born into nobility, but because of my original reaction it was just so...childish of me to think that way.


    After beating myself up for thinking that way, I resolved myself to be better than that, and try hard to be someone in this life, not squander it like the last. Afterall, I highly doubt whatever let me reincarnate into the past would let me do it a second time.


    The first one alone could be considered a gift beyond measure, despite being born in the wrong era. Following that line of thought, I decided to make a small prayer in thanks to whatever entity or thing that allowed it to happen.


    <hr>


    (5 Years Later)


    5 years, 5 long years of what basically amounted to doing nothing all day or playing with kids of family friends. The days that followed my groundbreaking discovery of being transported to another world was marked by excitement, fear, joy, confusion and eager anticipation of what would happen to me now that I was in another world.


    I had initially thought that being reborn into the past would be the biggest shock I would ever receive in this life. I was wrong. I was very, very wrong. 5 years into my new life, my mother decided it was finally time to take me to where father worked.


    It was my first time heading towards the barracks and entering it, but it was nothing special, what was inside however, was. As my mother and I passed through the massive wooden gates into the barracks I saw them, the ever so valiant and powerful looking guards that protected the city, but that was not what was shocking. What was shocking was that they were being tossed around like ragdolls by a massive 2 metre tall and nearly 4 metre long rhinoceros that was for whatever reason, inside the barracks.


    Then I saw it, something that would change my life forever from that day onwards. I saw the rhinoceros glow as it transformed its body, slowly morphing into the familiar shape of my father. I was so shocked by what just happened that mouth went wide open and I nearly tripped on myself.


    I¡¯ve already seen magic nearly 2 years ago. It was while I was watching mother do her work crafting jewellery when her hands started to glow and she started inscribing patterns onto the gems, apparently enchanting them. Needless to say, I was both very excited and happy at the discovery of magic. This however was beyond that, it was so amazing and cool that I was nearly rendered speechless by what I saw, but luckily enough, that was not what happened.


    ¡°Dad!¡±, I instinctually called out to my father in my excitement.


    ¡°Hmmm?¡±, my father must have heard me as he turned around to face me. His face breaking into a smile as he saw me. He ran towards me and started chuckling at the sight of shocked expression and I could that my mother was also doing the same.


    ¡°Was daddy cool? Did you like that?¡±, he picked me up and asked.


    ¡°H-How did you do that?!¡±, I stuttered as my brain tried to process what just happened right in front of me.


    ¡°Hm, that was my spirit. This is his first time seeing one right, dear?¡±, he answered me, then asked mother.


    ¡°Yes, I haven¡¯t brought him outside the city yet, and I haven¡¯t brought him to the areas where people are allowed to use their spirits, either.¡±, she answered him back.


    ¡°C-Can you teach me how to do that dad?!¡±, I asked before they could say anything else, and then proceeded to mentally smack myself in the back of the for still stuttering like a bumbling idiot.


    ¡°Hehe, sorry Markus, but your still too young for this and besides, your body wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the strain of awakening your spirit¡±, his eyes lit up with amusement as he spoke to me, seeing the expression on my face.


    ¡°Awakening?¡±, finally managing not to stutter as I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know it when it¡¯s your turn, I remember when I awakened it was a painful experience to say the least.¡±, he replied.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    I could only imagine how bad it must be if even my father remembered it as a painful experience, it could only be much worse when time comes for me to experience this ¡®Awakening¡¯ ceremony.


    ¡°Show him around the city for now Sarah, I bet it¡¯ll get shock right out of him. You can drop by Old Hector, he¡¯d love to see Markus again and he even got the new batch of gems you¡¯ve been asking him for.¡± I was still too shocked by the information I just received to notice mother grab my hand as we walked out of the barracks under the gazes of the other guards who were also looking at me with amusement in their eyes.


    ¡°GET BACK TO PRACTICE! I WANT 200 SQUATS ON THE DOUBLE!¡±


    ¡°¡±SIR, YES SIR!¡±¡±, I finally snapped out of my daze when I heard my father yell at his men to get back to practice and smirked as they begrudgingly started the exercise.


    We got back on the carriage and I looked out the window, and I managed to see the city I¡¯ve been living in for the past 5 years. It was not how I first imagined it would be, the houses in the outer districts were tightly packed together, small, dull, made of stone or wood, almost box like in design and almost always in a state of disrepair. In comparison, the elegant mansion I now resided in was 100 if not a 1000 times better than those houses, even my old house in my previous life was nothing in comparison to it.


    The city seemed to be divided into districts that separated the people into a class system. It was unsettling to say the least, mother seemed to be used to it, but this was my first time taking in the sights and as much as I hate to admit it, I was happy that I lived in the inner district near the core district where the nobles resided and as far away from the slums as possible.


    I didn¡¯t hate the poor, nor did I feel myself better than them, but I was always uncomfortable around them. Even back on earth I was uncomfortable around them because of how my parents would always tell me when I was a kid to stay away from them and how most of them were bad people who were more than likely willing to kill and steal from you.


    While I was busy musing, we eventually stopped outside a large warehouse that stretched from one end of the street to the other and looked more like a fortress than actual warehouse. ¡°I know that you probably don¡¯t remember him Markus, but I want you to treat uncle Hector nicely, he helped me and your father out a long time ago and we owe him a lot for what he did.¡±


    I nodded curtly and followed mother inside. After passing through the gates, I was finally able to get a glimpse of what was inside of the warehouse, and much like its external appearance, the inside looked just like the insides of a fortress with it being lined with a silvery metal that glowed an eerie yellow. I could only assume it to be a barrier of sorts that protected this place.


    Further ahead, I could even see guards patrolling the area in full metal plate that covered them from head to toe, they were powerful, silent, mechanical and indifferent to all life. The gave off an aura that spoke of how many ways they could break you before ending your pitiful life. Who ever uncle Hector was, he clearly was a very powerful man.


    As mother dragged me through the warehouse we arrived at a corner that had an ornate door covered in gold outside of it. She started tapping on the door on certain positions and the door opened to reveal a room full of jewels and a man sitting at the center of it all.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while Sarah, you only ever visit if you need something these days. This should be about the next batch isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll just send them over to your shop.¡± I peeked out from behind to see an old man with large, pointed ears that eerily reminded me of an¡­elf?


    That was surprising, to say the least. I¡¯ve already seen the dwarves, but they were decidedly disappointing and not what I was expecting. One look at them and I knew that they were definitely not the fantastical creatures of high fantasy that I have come to love.


    No, these were just ordinary humans that were suffering from dwarfism and outcasted for it, reduced to slaves for reasons out of their control. I pitied them from the bottom of my heart and wished I could do something for them, but I knew I could do little for them and immediately acting in their defence would probably do me more harm than good.


    This...elf on the other hand was the complete opposite. Had he been younger, strapped with a bow and arrow, put on a rangers outfit and was in the middle of the woods, he would have made the very image of what an elf of high fantasy ought to be.


    ¡°Hmm...I see now that explains why you haven¡¯t been coming, it seems that your boy has grown quite a bit since I last saw him. You been feeding him the meat of Spirit Beasts haven¡¯t you?¡±, he asked, and I was curious to what exactly Spirit Beasts were. I could tell that they were related to spirits like that of father¡¯s and beast was pretty self explanatory, but could you even eat one? Do they not dissipate when they di¡ª


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s quite pricey, but we want to best prepare him for awakening. Given that both me and my husband have Spirits, he will undoubtedly have his own.¡±, before I could finish my own thoughts, mother replied to uncle Hector.


    ¡°I see, if that¡¯s the case, I might as well give something as well. I would be a terrible excuse of an uncle if I didn¡¯t.¡±, he waved his hand and suddenly an aura of green escaped from his hand, a few seconds later a gap within the jewels had opened and revealed a box of dazzling gems of bright colors.


    ¡°As thanks for the company that your parents have given me for the past few years, you can choose one from my personal collection, consider it a belated birthday gift from me.¡±, uncle Hector went up and stood before me, seemingly several heads taller than I previously thought and told me with a wide smile.


    ¡°...thanks you uncle.¡±, I said, still wondering if he was actually an elf or something else entirely, and what kind of person he is, considering the wealth and power he just blatantly displayed in front of me and mother. Not to mention the giant fortress/warehouse he apparently uses as his base of operations.


    I looked down into the chest and silently examined the jewels present before me, there was a deep blue gem that seemed to be alive, an indigo rock which kept glowing violet light, a white and blue opal with each side being symmetrically split and a large green orb that was shimmering with iridescent light.


    I looked at mother and her eyes lighted with unconcealed surprise. ¡°Hector¡­he can¡¯t take these, the-they¡¯re too valuable to be given away to a child. It would find better use elsewhere.¡±, it seems that uncle Hector is much more dangerous than I give him credit for, if even mother didn¡¯t think it was worth the risk of keeping even just one of them despite the obvious value they carried.


    ¡°If anyone even has the slightest thought of taking something I bestowed upon this boy they will have to answer to me, besides with the Waltem family backing yours only those with a death wish would steal something from you. Besides, you''re the best Enchanter in the city, you''ll put it to good use.¡±


    Waltem? That name sounded familiar but, I couldn¡¯t remember who they were, it seems that they¡¯re both important and very powerful based on mother¡¯s expression loosening. With that out of the way, I thought about it for awhile then grabbed a random gem from the chest. They were all of significant value if mother¡¯s expression was anything to go by, and I wouldn¡¯t lose out no matter what gem I picked anyways.


    ¡°Interesting choice, no matter, it seems that I thought wrong. It was wonderful seeing you once again Sarah, please do stop by more often, an old man could use some company.¡± With that settled, I gave the gem that I picked to mother who then stowed it away in a box for safekeeping and we went back out and rode the carriage back home.

 Chapter 4: Introduction To Spirits

    Arriving home, mother immediately ordered the servants to prepare our dinner as she and I went to the parlour waiting for father to come home. While we were waiting for him, I was thinking of the best way to ask mother on when I could start learning magic.


    Originally, I was going to wait until I was older to before raising the subject and asking my parents to teach me magic. After all, even if I was eager to learn, I was still much too young to learn something like that and even if I acted very mature for a boy of my age (a fact that they never bothered to question or wonder why) I still am a 5 year old boy. Not exactly an age I would start teaching a child something potentially dangerous.


    Even if I did, my parents themselves have shown no inclination to actually teach me magic, even when I showed great curiosity in it. Though despite that, a part of me was grateful that they never asked or said anything about it. After all, to me, I wasn¡¯t originally from this world and even if I was born here like everyone else was. I was still worried that I wouldn¡¯t even be able to use magic to begin with and I wasn¡¯t exactly ready to face my parents telling me that I was unable to use magic like they could.


    Thankfully enough, much of my worries were alleviated during the conversation between mother and uncle Hector. I was surprised to hear that even mother had her own Spirit, and just as much when uncle said I was being fed the meat of Spirit Beasts (which was probably the meat that glowed a little that I¡¯ve been eating for the past year). Regardless of that fact, I was delighted to hear that I was definitely going to have Spirit of my own.


    ¡°Markus? Markus, are you alright?¡±, mother¡¯s voice broke me out of my thoughts. Apparently worried about my silence since we¡¯ve arrived home.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m alright mom.¡±, I replied, and started fiddling with the white and blue opal that I got from uncle Hector out of nervousness. Finally deciding that it was now or never, I gathered as much courage as I could and finally asked mother the question that¡¯s been on my mind for the past hour.


    ¡°Mom?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Markus?¡±


    ¡°When will you and dad start teaching me that weird thing you guys do?¡±


    ¡°Thing?¡±


    ¡°You know...the one that makes you and dad glow.¡±


    ¡°You mean Spirit Arts? ...well, you¡¯ll have to talk to your dad for that. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be delighted to hear that you want to start learning already. Besides, we were about to get you started learning it anyways.¡±, I was surprised when she didn¡¯t say it was called magic, though I guess it made sense, considering that we were dealing with Spirits. I suppose that anymore questions will have to wait until father gets back home, for now it¡¯s time for dinner.


    Not a moment later after their conversation, father came back home and along with that, the servants immediately announced his arrival. I still was not used to having servants do that even after hearing them everyday, but it was still a bit cool.


    Mother and I slowly went to the dining room to meet up with father and dining room. Seeing him as I entered, I contemplated on how I should break the news to father when mother beat me to it.


    ¡°Dear, it seems like Markus wants to start his training early.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±, he looked at me and smiled.


    ¡°I was wondering when you would finally get interested enough to ask.¡±


    ¡°...So when can I start?¡±, I asked quietly.


    ¡°Tomorrow morning, for now let¡¯s have dinner.¡±, he replied as he clapped his hands together.


    Dinner after that was a quiet affair. While I was eating, I decided to take a closer look at the meat that I was eating, and true enough it was indeed special looking. Aside from its delectable fragrance, it glowed ever so slightly and each time I bit into it could feel energy running through my body. I was surprised that I haven¡¯t realised this yet, and needed uncle Hector to indirectly inform me for me to notice.


    After that, father called me up to him so that he could remind and prepare my mind for tomorrow. With that out of the way, I headed back up to my room and try then fail to go to sleep due to my excitement for tomorrow.


    I woke up the following day remembering the words that father told me last night, ¡°Markus, using Spirit Energy at such a young age is no game, if all you wanted to do was to glow and do cool stuff, then this can wait, but if you are planning on being serious about this, meet me in the morning before breakfast.¡±


    I hurriedly changed into my clothes and met father outside the house by the botanical garden, he was sitting cross legged in the middle of a circle. He beckoned me to come close to him and sit across from him.


    ¡°Before you start you must first know what are Spirits, they are things that exist within us they can only be felt and not seen. The origin of Spirits are unknown, but some believe that we are descended from animals and Spirits are beings that allow us to return to our ancestors. To access the Spirit you must first awaken it and form a bond with it only then can you use the power of your Spirit¡± By this point I was struggling to continue listening due to my lack of sleep last night and as the words became almost like a chant, I slowly let me eyes close themselves.


    He noticed my expression slackening, so he decided to raise his right hand put it on my head shocked me with his Spirit Energy or whatever it was to wake me up, ¡°As I was saying, before you awaken your Spirit you must first train the body to be a container that can hold its mighty powers. From now on we will be working to ensure that you survive the awakening.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    My eyes flew open, I was shocked by what he just said and asked with a shout.


    ¡°SURVIVE?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, not all who undergo awakening survive and while most do, it is not an uncommon case to see a child explode from the sudden surge of Spirit power. Don¡¯t worry Markus, that only usually happens to children who had weak bodies to begin with and rarely trained their bodies, It¡¯s highly unlikely that it would ever happen to you. Besides, me and your mother have been preparing you for awhile now.¡±


    Though it was comforting to know that It would probably not happen it didn¡¯t make me any less scared at the fact I might just spontaneously combust suddenly because my Spirit went out of control.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it Markus, awakening won¡¯t happen for you until you¡¯re 12 which gives us plenty of time to prepare you for it.¡±


    ¡°Alright. The way you¡¯ve been preparing me, that¡¯s the Spirit Beast meat I¡¯ve been eating right?¡±, I answered, then asked him back, remembering what uncle Hector said.


    ¡°Your right, did your mother tell you already?¡±


    ¡°No, it was uncle Hector who pointed it out. Though I still don¡¯t know what it is and does exactly.¡±, I said, hoping that he would finally answer the question that¡¯s been bugging me for awhile now.


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised, your smart and mature for your age, but we haven¡¯t started your formal education yet, outside of basic reading and writing.¡±


    ¡°So, what¡¯s a Spirit Beast?¡±, I asked a bit impatiently.


    ¡°Patience, I¡¯m getting there. A Spirit Beast is an ordinary animal that has learnt to cultivate and store Spirit Energy, like you in a bit. It is why their meat is so expensive, delicious and why it has a slight glow to it, it because the energy they absorb diffuse into their body, making them incredibly strong, but also great supplements for a soon-to-be cultivator like you.¡±


    ¡°Are all our Spirits, animals?¡±


    ¡°Yes, most Spirits that humans have are Spirit Beasts in form.¡±


    ¡°Then what ab¡ª¡°


    ¡°We¡¯re getting off topic, I know you want to know more, but you can find out some other time. For now, we can start by doing basic exercises, I want to know what I¡¯m working with.¡±


    I was pissed about getting cut off, but I knew that was my fault. So I decided redirect my energy to preparing by doing some light stretches. After which, I headed to brick path and began to run around the garden to show father what my current fitness level was.


    After an embarrassingly short 5 minute run, I was already starting to get tired. Father noticing this decided to switch it up, ¡°Good, your doing better than expected. Now switch to push ups.¡±, I went down on the ground and started alongside father for around 15 push-ups before my arms gave up on me.


    ¡°Good, now I want you to do some crunches.¡±, I immediately obliged and turned to have my back on the ground and immediately started the exercise. 10 crunches later, my body gives up on me and I lay down flat on my back.


    ¡°Well that was to be expected, though I have to admit I wasn¡¯t expecting you to do as much as you did, you did well Markus. You¡¯ll be doing this everyday in preparation for your awakening, do you think you can handle that?¡±


    ¡°Of course, this is nothing.¡±, I said as I tried to catch my breath.


    ¡°Good, now that you¡¯re tired it¡¯s time for breakfast recover your energy, remember not to overwork yourself, tonight I will teach you about something different¡± If the exercises were only going to be basic calisthenics I wouldn¡¯t have been so worried, but it seems father still has something planned for later.


    An uneventful day passes and I wait for father to return home from the barracks to see what he had to teach, waiting an entire day was killing me with boredom. I don¡¯t remember how I managed to survive the first few years doing nothing at home, actually shouldn¡¯t I be going to school at this point if they even have it. Regardless, it¡¯s not the time to think about such things.


    ¡°Earlier I tested your body, now I will test your spirit energy. I will simply force my Spirit Energy into your body to unlock your Spirit Heart, all you have to do is remember the feeling of the energy flowing through your body. Don¡¯t worry, it only hurts the first time.¡±


    We were back in the gardens, and I was wondering what the hell a ¡®Spirit Heart¡¯ was, but I then immediately shuddered at the mention of pain and of father forcing his immense power to penetrate my body and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t there ano¡ª ¡°.


    ¡°Hrrrrrkkkkkkk¡±


    The words could barely escape my mouth before I felt my body being penetrated by the Spirits Energy. My body suddenly felt bloated and I felt myself expanding outwards and then rapidly contracting, I felt like I would pop if he didn¡¯t stop now. I screamed for it to stop but to no avail.


    With a deafening shout he said, ¡°Focus Markus, you have to remember the feeling of it or else we¡¯ll have to try again.¡±


    I tried to close off my thoughts, ignore the pain to the best of my abilities and try to feel the energy as it entered and passed through my body, it didn¡¯t feel right to me¡­it was an indescribable sensation that affected my whole body, one I¡¯ve never felt before and I may have even enjoyed it, if not for the pain.


    After what felt like an eternity, the feeling suddenly vanished and my body hit the floor unable to move as it was wracked with pain,


    ¡°Sit up Markus, try and feel the spirit energy in the surroundings, now is your best chance.¡±


    I did as I was told and shakily sat up despite the pain and positioned myself in a cross legged position that showed me earlier. I attempted to empty my mind and tried to grasp the ethereal feeling from earlier, but it was to no avail. The pain was much too fresh in my mind for me to focus properly.


    I continued to try feeling it in my surroundings for the remainder of the day and then I felt it, a strand of the energy, I tried pulling with my mind it but it didn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°Dad, it doesn¡¯t want to move.¡±


    ¡°Try to imagine a rope, use that rope to bind it and bring it towards you.¡±


    I tried again, this time using father¡¯s idea to the best of my abilities and just as I was about to give up, I felt it give way and enter me resting within my heart.


    ¡°I DID IT DAD!¡±, he looked at me pleased by my success, but his expression told me we weren¡¯t done just yet.


    ¡°Now is the time for meditation, this will help build up your Spirit Energy reserves and give you better control of it. All you have to do is my instructions while moving the spirit energy throughout your body.¡±


    Still excited, I did as he asked and tried to manipulate the Spirit Energy according to father¡¯s instructions. It was a slow process, one that had to be repeated several times because of my lack of experience. Whenever I tried to gather the Spirit Energy it would almost always disperse, and when I finally did gather enough, when I try to manipulate it, it wouldn¡¯t budge at all.


    By the time I finally managed to properly cycle Spirit Energy throughout my body once, it was already the dead of night, and I was pretty sure I missed dinner as well. Father came up to me and asked, ¡°Now that you have an idea of what will be happening from now on are you having second thoughts?¡±


    I thought about then nodded my head, ¡°Dad, the pain was a one-time thing right?¡±


    ¡°Like I said a while ago, the pain only comes the first time.¡±


    ¡°Why does it have to be so painful?¡±, I asked rather pitifully, shuddering from the memory of it.


    ¡°Many reasons, but to be plain and simple, it was because your body was still unaccustomed to Spirit Energy, we mitigated that a bit by feeding you Spirit Beasts, but as you can tell, it was still a painful experience regardless.¡±


    ¡°What about the ¡®Spirit Heart¡¯ thing you mentioned earlier?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, to best describe it, the Spirit Heart is what allows us humans and elves to cultivate Spirit Energy. It is a metaphysical organ directly tied to your heart and is closely related to your cultivation stage. Now, go to sleep. I don¡¯t want to hear any excuses tomorrow.¡±, father cut me off before I could even say anything.


    ¡°...fine.¡±, I was ashamed to say that I pouted a little for being told to go to bed, but I couldn¡¯t argue, fatigue was already starting to set in and my previous excitement was already fading away, replaced by a drowsy feeling that threatened to have me fall asleep right then and there.


    We went back inside the house and I went straight to bed, I felt exhausted as if I had been drained of all my energy, but it was well worth it. As I closed my eyes, I couldn¡¯t help, but to feel excited for the days to come for one last time before darkness took me.

 Chapter 5: Halcyon Days & Unexpected Applications

    I woke up the next morning sore, but happy from yesterday¡¯s activities. It had been a long time since I had done anything interesting outside of reading a book and exploring the city with his mother. I would go as far as say that yesterday was one of the most exciting days I ever had. Of course, that is mostly due to the fact that I am now one step closer to performing Spirit Arts and apparently, awakening my own Spirit.


    After a warm bath and a bit of morning yoga (I had restarted doing my old yoga routines last year when my parents deemed me old/mature enough that I no longer needed a maid to watch over me whenever they were away) to get rid of the rest of my fatigue, drowsiness and soreness of my body, a maid knocked on my door to inform me that breakfast was served and my parents were waiting for me.


    ¡°Maria.¡±


    ¡°Yes, young master?¡±


    ¡°Inform them that I¡¯ll be joining shortly.¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡±


    After living in this world for 5 years, I was already used to having maids and butlers at my beck and call 24/7. It was unnerving at first, but I gradually got used to it after 3 years, a much longer time than I wished to admit, but for I who had originally grew up in an ordinary household, this was a very big change that would take a lot to get used to.


    When I asked mother why she didn¡¯t just ask the servants to clean up after me and do most of the hard work when it came to raising me when I was younger, she simply told me, ¡°You might not have noticed Markus, but you¡¯re actually much more intelligent and mature than most kids your age and beyond. Besides, me and your father both came from rags to riches, so we preferred a more hands-on approach when it came to raising you, but even that was a breeze compared to what we¡¯ve been told raising a child would be like. You were so well behaved that we didn¡¯t have to do much of anything outside of feeding and cleaning you up.¡±


    ¡°E-EH! R-Really? I-I didn¡¯t think was that behaved.¡±, I said, the last part barely even a whisper, I was so flustered and embarrassed from my mother¡¯s praises that I was blushing like a tomato and stuttering like no there was tomorrow. I wasn¡¯t that shocked when she said that I acted older than my age, but I think I should tone it down. A 5 year old boy that acted twice, if not thrice his own age is definitely weird, and I wasn¡¯t keen on being singled out for that. It¡¯s probably too late though, given what mother said about how I behaved since being born into this world.


    ¡°Is that why you make me clean up after myself rather than let the maids do it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but the real reason why we make you do that is that you don¡¯t grow up spoiled because of our money. It¡¯s also a great way to teach you to be independent.¡±


    Looking back at that conversation I had with mother, I couldn¡¯t help but praise her and father¡¯s parenting skills. I knew myself quite well, while I wouldn¡¯t grow up to be as spoiled as most people would be growing up in such an environment thanks to my previous life, I would definitely be less¡­me as I grew older.


    After finishing my morning routine and putting on a fresh pair of clothes, I head downstairs to the dining room. As I entered, I quietly greeted my parents, both of whom greeted me back and started eating their breakfast. I took my seat right next to father and in front of mother, and began eating my breakfast as well.


    Breakfast, like all other meal times was a quiet affair, used for quiet contemplation and resting of the mind and body. I found the silence awkward at first, but quickly found the appeal to it. Being a former working-class man, I understood the need/desire for a ¡®me-time¡¯, a moment to just relax and unwind.


    After breakfast, I went up to father who was just about to go and tried to ask about my training, but he beat me to it. Turning around just before he reached the door, he looked at me and said, ¡°Meet me in the gardens in 5 minutes, go change to your training attire.¡±


    I nodded at him excitedly (a rather childish thing to do, but I didn¡¯t really care about how I acted at this point), and rushed to my room, discarded my clothes and quickly dressed myself appropriately for training. Running towards the gardens, I promptly arrived 2 minutes early to see my father already seated in the middle of the field meditating.


    ¡°So, what are we doing today?¡±, I walked up to him and asked.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Uh...dad?¡±, seeing him not responding, I asked again.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m ready when you are?¡±, I was getting a bit frustrated, but I knew that would lead me to nowhere.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...ok.¡±, seeing as how he won¡¯t respond to me and with nothing else to do, I decided to sit down right in front of him and try mediating as well.


    2 minutes later, after trying and failing to properly meditate like I did last night, father finally responded.


    ¡°So, do you know why I didn¡¯t respond to you?¡±


    ¡°Because we were supposed to do meditation first?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°...oh, then...um...to teach me patience?¡±, I was running out of reasons why he would make me wait, and this was the last I could think of.


    ¡°Yes.¡±, thankfully, father cracked a smile at my answer.


    ¡°Why?¡±, disregarding my frustration with him at the moment, I was genuinely curious as to why he decided to teach me this lesson, now of all times.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re 5 years old Markus, far too young and much too excited. Me and your mother only agreed to teach because you act mature for your age, but just because we did agree on that, doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t make extra sure that you¡¯re ready for training. I don¡¯t want to come home and find out that killed yourself because you were impatient and tried awakening your spirit early.¡±


    ¡°Is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°Yes it is Markus, but don¡¯t get any ideas. Even if you are a genius, you¡¯re years away from reaching even the most basic requirements for Awakening. Is that understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes dad.¡±, I said dejectedly, I knew it was for my safety, but couldn¡¯t help it. Father said years of training before even thinking of Awakening, I wasn¡¯t pissed about the idea of training that long, I actually liked the idea of having something interesting to do for what seemed to be years to come if not a lifetime. The idea however, of waiting for years to get actual results was what was grating on me.


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    ¡°I SAID, AM I UNDERSTOOD!¡±, probably hearing the dejection in my voice, father repeated his words, much louder this time.


    ¡°YES DAD!¡±, I shouted back, much livelier this time, so that I didn¡¯t get yelled at again.


    ¡°Good, now let''s start our exercise. Let¡¯s see if you can do better this time.¡±, he then took the first step and started running without even bothering to turn back. He was taunting me, he knew it, I knew it, everyone else knew it, but I didn¡¯t care about that. I ran after him, eager to show my father that I could do better.


    <hr>


    (4 Months Later)


    The speed of my improvement was shocking, frightening and greatly gratifying. 4 months into my training and I looked like an Adonis, my body had lost all it¡¯s useless fat and turned the rest into pure muscle, a feat that I was certain was normally not possible back at earth. That, or the younger the body, the easier it is to mold into shape.


    All things considered, it was likely that it was the effect of Spirit Energy that I channeled every time I meditated (a feat that I was now easily capable of doing after the first 3 days of training by applying pranayama and dhyana techniques I¡¯ve learned from my years of yoga and adjusting it for static meditation) in combination with harsh physical training with father. It gave off an indescribable feeling as I let it wash through my body like how father showed me. It was a wonder how people didn¡¯t get addicted to it.


    Overall, I grew in height, speed, endurance, strength and flexibility far beyond what was possible for a 5 year old, my skin now had a light tan to it (it would have been darker if not for mother¡¯s fussing) and I had a feeling that even my senses improved. If not for asking father, I would have thought that I was simply overthinking things, though I was disappointed to hear that improvement in that area would not happen again unless I did special training that I couldn¡¯t do (I wanted to prove him wrong but decided against it when he said that even he wasn¡¯t able to properly without help).


    For the better part of the past 4 months there has been nothing but training for me, I didn¡¯t exactly hate it, in fact, I was actually enjoying it myself very much. I enjoyed the soreness of my muscles after my morning workouts with father and the feeling of Spirit Energy flowing through my body then entering into my Spirit Heart could only be described as blissful.


    There was enough rest time in between training sessions so that I didn¡¯t over exert myself and do my own stuff every now and then, but I was getting bored of training everyday. I didn¡¯t get bored of yoga, even till now because it was my relaxation time, what I did after doing something strenuous like work.


    Back in my old life, I would go to my yoga classes after work every other day to just relax and calm the mind. In the same vain, I was now treating my daily training sessions as work, albeit much more enjoyable than my previous one as an IT manager, but it was work nonetheless, and I was falling into a routine.


    That was bad, routine meant monotony and monotony for me meant boredom. It didn¡¯t mean that I was starting to hate what I was doing, far from it, I even lost track of time in my meditations (something that getting more and more frequent as time went on). No, mediation was not the issue for me. The issue for me was the physical aspect of my training.


    I enjoyed the fruits of my labour, I liked what I saw in the mirror, but physical improvement was getting harder and harder as time went on, and with less results to show for, it made it difficult to gather any motivation to exercise. Maintenance was a different beast, it was a pain in the ass, was grating on my nerves and made me question why I had to put in so much effort despite knowing the reason why. I could now finally understand why so little people bothered to go beyond just being fit/healthy.


    Father could tell I was losing my drive, it was quite obvious in our training sessions, so he decided a little demonstration would do the trick. So one day, he decided to bring me out of the house instead of the gardens, brought me to barracks and with a great show of authority and power, cleared an entire training field for us to use, and us only.


    At first, he did a simple show of strength by lifting up weights like they were nothing, to more hardcore stuff like, breaking a boulder as tall as he was with his bare hands (at this point, my embarrassingly half-man, half-boy mind was already amazed and ready to go back at training so I could do what father did), but he wasn¡¯t done with just that.


    After 30 minutes of showing his strength, father went a step further to amaze me more. He summoned his spirit and made it smash and bash rocks like they were made of cardboard, then he proceeded to merge with it, making grow even bigger, then looked at me in the eye and released his Aura.


    It gave off an oppressive feeling, like you were being stepped on by a mountain, had it been anyone else, I would have been scared, instead I was impressed, shocked at my father¡¯s display of power and thought that it was so many definitions of cool that I couldn¡¯t think of the right words to describe him. It was not everyday that you see your father do stunts like these, especially in my previous life.


    After turning back into a human, father came up to me and asked, ¡°Well? Did you enjoy the show?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I enjoyed very much. Thanks dad.¡±, I gave him my biggest smile to go along with it. I truly was appreciative for all the effort he and mother put into raising me and all the other things they do for me, an appreciation that should show more often to them.


    ¡°Are you alright Markus?¡±, father asked.


    ¡°Yeah dad, I¡¯m just fine.¡±, I replied, still smiling at him.


    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t we take a break for today?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s alright if we train today, besides, other than reading and meditating, there¡¯s not much to do at home.¡±, I said, a bit lacklustre compared to my previous mood.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I just a bit frustrated with exercising that much right now, seeing as how I¡¯m not improving much anymore.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get disheartened, your rate of improvement can be said to be outstanding Markus, I hope you see that. Besides, at this point you won¡¯t be getting any stronger until you get older and much bigger, so if you want to we can do basic physical maintenance instead and focus more on meditation.¡±


    ¡°...alright, I just wished there was another way to train the body. Exercising everyday is not exactly fun, it''s more rewarding than it is enjoyable.¡±


    ¡°Well...there is another way, the one I mentioned last time, but it really won¡¯t be much help to you right now.¡±


    ¡°WHAT! WHY?!¡±, I asked/shouted at my father.


    ¡°For one thing, I just learned it recently, about a year now and I¡¯m still having some trouble doing it. It requires the user to be in motion while meditating, sending the Spirit Energy absorbed into the muscles, bones and organs rather than the Spirit Heart like usual.¡±


    ¡°How come I¡¯ve never heard of it? What¡¯s it called?¡±, I asked excitedly, having read a lot of books regarding the Spirit Arts and anything related to it, I was surprised to not have come by the training method yet.


    ¡°Well, you are just 5 years old Markus, there¡¯s a lot of things that you haven¡¯t heard of yet, remember that. Besides, this training method is called Motion Meditation, and it''s generally reserved for those at my level and above, so most people wouldn¡¯t have known about it, much less write about it.¡±


    ¡°Wow. Can you show me dad?¡± I asked him excitedly.


    ¡°Sure, just stay there and watch me.¡±


    Going back to the middle of the training field, father began doing the basic exercises, from push-ups to sit-ups, though much slower than normal. After awhile, I began to notice the Spirit Energy moving towards father and saw it heading towards his abdomen, causing it to glow faintly in the sunlight. He then repeated it 2 more times for his arms and legs as well.


    By the end of it, father stood up, barely sweating and had a look of ecstasy on his face. Perplexed by the look of rapture on father¡¯s face, I asked how he felt.


    ¡°How do you feel dad?¡±


    ¡°Just fine Markus, perfect even.¡±, he said, I could hear a hint of bliss in his voice


    ¡°...really.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Motion Meditation combines the benefits of both meditation and physical training. It¡¯s why most people that are able to do this are said to have an monstrous growth rate in power.¡±


    ¡°Did you?¡±


    ¡°I did. Just last year I was only at the Partial Transformation level, now I can do a full transformation and even feel like I could make another breakthrough in another decade.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°Wow, indeed, now let''s start your training for today.¡±


    ¡°E-Eh?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to continue training today?¡±, father asked, and I could see a faint smirk on his face.


    ¡°Can we just do that tomorrow? Please dad? All this talk about training methods made me want to just laze around all day. I promise that I¡¯ll be at my 110% tomorrow. Promise. Please?, I asked sheepishly.


    ¡°Fine, but I¡¯ll be holding you to that promise.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe.¡±, I was laughing, but on the inside, I was cursing myself for digging my own grave.


    Heading home, I started thinking about Motion Meditation that father showed me. I could see why father said it was so difficult and reserved for people of his level, it required one to meditate while in motion. In normal meditation, even the slightest movement/sound can bring you out of it.


    After thinking about for awhile, I thought that yoga was perfect for Motion Meditation. Afterall, Hatha yoga which I was a practitioner of composed of three aspects: asanas (bodily postures), pranayama (breathing techniques) and dhyana (meditation). Thinking about it further, since I already use the latter 2 aspects for my meditations, using all 3 shouldn¡¯t be an issue. After convincing myself that it was a perfectly reasonable plan/idea, I mentally smacked myself in the back of the head for not thinking of it sooner.


    Arriving home, I went to my room after greeting my mother and locked the door. Afterwards, I headed for the bathroom to clean myself up before I did anything and changed to a fresh pair of clothes. Standing in the centre of my massive room, I took a deep breath to steady my breathing and began going through the basic asanas.


    After awhile, my mind finally reached a state of equanimity and awareness, I began to try to draw in Spirit Energy. To my surprise, the Spirit Energy didn¡¯t fight back, instead it complied and eagerly surrounded and drew into my body. Had I looked at myself from a distance, I would have saw 5 year old boy surrounded by a glowing white mist. As I changed postures my connection with the Spirit Energy would break, but as quickly as it did, it reconnected.


    I continued, unaware of the passing of time until one of the maids knocked at my door to inform me that dinner was about to be served. I would have been pissed at her for disturbing me now of all times if not for the cultivation-induced orgasm that my body was currently experiencing.


    The results of my experiment was much greater than I hoped it¡¯d be. By the end of it, I felt like I could run 3 miles and back without breaking a sweat. My joints felt nice and limber, my skin somehow returned to its original colour and now had a nice supple feel to it, even the calluses felt softer, my muscles seemed to be singing in joy and felt them radiating in power.


    I wanted nothing more but to rush to my parents, show them what I could do (and get praised by them), but I wasn¡¯t exactly keen on showing them that their beloved child somehow broke common sense and did the supposedly impossible.


    In light of that, I decided to calmly (tried to at least) go down for dinner while quietly contemplating the possible implications of what I just did and the effects it will have to my future.

 Chapter 6: Training Days & Old Memories

    (1 Year Later)


    Ever since I began incorporating yoga into my training and creating my own version of Shalfar through it, my training speed has shown no sign of stopping and has in fact only grew as time went onwards.


    Father was initially baffled by my sudden spike in progress, thinking that his little stunt did its work too well and that I was overworking myself because of it, but he has since come to terms with it.


    Apparently, I was a genius in his eyes because I was not only improving on a daily basis, but also haven¡¯t shown any signs of slowing down anytime soon. To him, I went from an extremely talented child (from a peasants perspective), to a child who could compete with children from the noble houses in terms of cultivation speed.


    I still haven''t told my father that I was capable of doing Shalfar yet, and I had no intention to. I¡¯d rather not find out what people would do or say when they find out that a 6 year old child is capable of doing one the most difficult forms of cultivation. I trusted my family to keep it a secret if ever it did get out, but the best way to keep a secret was for no one to know about it to begin with.


    That''s why till today I only practiced Shalfar in my own room with the doors locked and curtains closed in the middle of the night, early in the morning or both if I had the chance to do so. Though it was a hassle to do it everyday I loved every minute of it, the feeling of sore muscles I get after a nice workout was pleasurable in its own right, but Shalfar in combination with yoga made me feel like I just came out of a sauna and a 1 hour full body massage course.


    It was not just my Shalfar that increased my training speed over the course of the year, it was also my normal meditation. To be specific, it was the mental image I used during meditation practice. Instead of the mental image of a rope lassoing Spirit Energy and pulling towards my body like father originally taught me, I instead started using the of a black hole with me as the black hole and Spirit Energy as matter (which they probably were).


    It had initially somewhat mixed results the first 2 times, but as they say ¡®third time''s the charm¡¯. When I tried for the third time, my surroundings quite literally exploded into a mist of visible Spirit Energy that continuously flowed into me. Its effects were a bit less than Shalfar, but it was still leagues better than what it was initially which made me quite happy.


    When father, who was just meditating across me at the time saw this, he almost passed out. When he came out of his shock he called me a ¡®cultivation monster¡¯ and told me that what I was doing was something only the most skilled and talented Spirit Masters could do.


    With little stipulations and a bit of guilt for not telling him that I could also do Shalfar, I decided to try and teach it to my father as well. Since I couldn''t use the example of a black hole since he wouldn''t know what it was, I had to think of something else. Luckily enough, there was a rather strong cyclone that just recently passed our city which gave me the perfect example to use.


    After a week of trial and error, my father got it right. Not only my father, but even my mother learned it. Apparently she was still struggling to breakthrough from Awakening realm to the Transformation realm.


    I was happy to see them so happy after managing to perfect the exercise. After that day they started to call me ¡®little genius¡¯ just to tease me (or boost my self confidence) and took me out for dinner in the best restaurant (and most expensive) in the city that very day.


    Other than that, my mother finally finished turning the jewel I got from uncle Hector into a pendant that I could wear around my neck. It turns out the stone I got was called a Spirit Stone and it could be used to improve cultivation speed since it naturally draws in Spirit Energy. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Mother had apparently enchanted it to improve it natural ability to draw in Spirit Energy which improved my already improved my already monstrous cultivation speed. According to my father, I was probably the strongest 6 year old in the city discounting the children from the noble houses who probably trained from an even younger age with more resources to go around.


    Now here I am, in the middle of the field alongside father going through several exercises. Father was a behemoth of a man that stood at nearly 6 ft tall and ripped with muscles throughout his body. He could take on a dozen men without breaking a sweat, a feat he showed me when a group of muggers tried to rob and threatened us with knives.


    Their strongest guy, stood just a head taller than father, but had more fat than actual muscle. Suffice to say, that man went sailing through the air into a nearby wall with a loud crack with but a single fist from father, the rest tried to make a run for it, but father was quicker than all of them, he grabbed each of them and they broke under the force of my angered father.


    That day I saw, not my father, but an angry monster that was more than ready kill those pitiful people. It was the first time I''ve seen such level of brutality from my father, or anyone in general. The closing thing I''ve seen/experienced in comparison was getting mugged on the way home. It ended with me having a few scratches and bruises, but I was otherwise fine.


    Thankfully enough, he granted them mercy and didn''t kill them, he probably would have if not me being there with scared expression on my face. Though whether it was actually an mercy or not was beyond me, most likely they rot in jail for the rest of their lives or worse, my father would make sure of that.


    How they did not recognize my father who was the guard commander of the entire city was beyond me, but for them to be so unlucky as to try and mug him while I was there, I could only offer them my half-hearted condolences.


    Rather than scared, I was happy, pleased even with what happened. It was nice to see how far my father was willing to go for me, as morbid as it was.


    ¡°Stop daydreaming and pay attention Markus, you might be growing fast but there is still a need to train. Don¡¯t be complacent just because of your talent, start slacking now and you''ll soon find yourself at bottom of the ladder.¡±


    In the middle of remembering the events that transpired just recently I forgot that we were still in the middle of training.


    ¡°Go get back to doing your exercises before I add even more, unless you¡¯d want that?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll get to work right now.¡±


    I resumed my training an what happened after was a long day filled with more exercises that I thought was excessive for a 6 year old, but father seemed to know what he was doing, I was hardly the first person he trained. After dinner I went to my room and locked the doors and closed the curtains before I did my nightly meditation.


    I slowly found my body adopting poses I was long familiar with while ordering the spirit within me into action. The longer it went on the more my body felt filled with spirit energy and it relieved me of today¡¯s training. After a few minutes of that I struggled into bed after it relieved the soreness but not completely. As I felt my body sink into the soft bed I fell into a slumber.


    <hr>


    ¡°Son are you all right?¡±


    I looked around my surroundings in a daze trying to identify my surroundings. I was in a plain white room and saw my father pale and sickly, battered by an unknown disease, his hair had long turned gray. I sat beside him on the hospital bed and was grasping his frail hand. The hand that traced back into my own body was much bigger than his.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, are you feeling any better now?¡± I looked at him and saw his tired face and remembered when mom passed, he weeped for days on end until he didn¡¯t any longer. I imagine he must be having the same thoughts as I am.


    ¡°You¡¯re neither a fool or a child anymore Elton, you know well that I¡¯m sick and I can still see clear enough to know that something is bothering you. Tell me what¡¯s wrong son.¡±


    I stayed silent and looked at him, there were many things to say, but I didn''t feel that I had the right to. Without saying a word he reached out to me with what little strength he had and embraced me tightly.


    ¡°I can feel that I won¡¯t be lasting much longer, so don¡¯t you worry yourself. I¡¯ve lived long enough, and everything will be okay¡±


    With his reassurance I let myself go from his embrace and stood up softly from the bed, I let myself out the door and heard someone across the hall roaring loudly.


    It was an incomprehensible sound that seemed be growing louder as I tried to move farther from it. It grew to the point that it was deafening to my ears and just as it started to be unbareable, it stopped.


    Then the hospital started to shake wildly and there seemed to be no escape at this point, I ran to a nearby desk and huddled underneath and closed my eyes. I opened my eyes and I found myself in my room once more, drenched in sweat and more than just a bit woozy.


    I looked around and calmed myself I was in my room all alone with the creeping moonlight. I looked back to the dream I just had, why it brought me back to earth, why in that time. I laid down and stared at the ceiling remembering the words from the dream. I went back to sleep with his voice echoing that everything will be okay.

 Chapter 7: Waltem Family

    I awoke early in the morning to prepare for training, I walked past my way the unlit corridors and arrived outside.


    ¡°No one¡¯s here?¡±


    I must be dreaming if I got here before father, this must be a test, I combed my way through the garden carefully in search of a hiding spot that could hide a large man of his size.


    In the middle of my search I was disturbed by mother who seemed to be quite flustered.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t your father tell you that today was an important occasion¡±


    ¡°Uhh, No?¡± I thought about it for a bit and couldn¡¯t recall anything like that being said.


    ¡°Just get inside and get dressed we¡¯re leaving soon¡±


    It seems that my search was for nothing since he wasn¡¯t even in the garden in the first place. I went to my room and was greeted to the sight of flustered servants rushing around my room with several articles of clothing on each arm. Before I could say/do anything, they finally noticed me, and with a surprising amount of strength, grabbed me by the shoulders and dragged me to the changing room and quickly took all my clothes off.


    By the time they were done dressing me up, I looked nothing like I did previously. The clothes that I usually wore were obviously of great quality and cost as compared to what the common populace wore, but the clothes I was now wearing went a step further.


    The garments that I was now sporting looked like it was worth its weight in gold and every inch of it seemed to be made of fine silk or some other kind of high-class fabric. It felt comfortable to a ridiculous degree and I unsurprisingly looked great in it, almost aristocratic (which was probably the point), but it made me feel very self-conscious.


    Whoever we were meeting, he/she was obviously very important, so I could help but fuss and worry over my appearance. I initially thought that we were going to meet with uncle Hector once again, but crossed that out since the last time we met him we looked nowhere near as kempt and formal. I also had the feeling he was not one to care for such formalities from what little I¡¯ve seen and know of him.


    Leaving my room, I headed for the parlour where the servants told me, father and mother were waiting for me. As I passed through the doors leading to the parlour, I was greeted to the sight of my parents, and I couldn''t help but feel impressed by what I saw.


    Mother¡¯s appearance was now that of a court lady, her already beautiful countenance was further enhanced by a light dusting of makeup and her gown only further promoted her appearance with it showing off her impressive figure. She was quite literally oozing in sex appeal, a sentiment my father seems to share considering the enamoured look in his eyes.


    Father¡¯s transformation however was even more drastic, he now looked more like an aristocratic lord rather than the burly warrior that he was. Father¡¯s appearance was already very good, a subject of envy by all men, I even caught a few women sneaking glances at him in the few times I went out and around town with him. Now, with his freshly shaven face and stylish formal clothing, he looked even better.


    ¡°So, how do we look?¡±, mother, seeing me by the doorway asked while doing a little twirl for show.


    ¡°Great!¡±, I said, there wasn''t really any other way to describe how they looked.


    ¡°You don''t look so bad yourself son.¡±, father added, and I couldn''t help but agree with him. Especially if I were to inherit all their good traits.


    ¡°Alright, that''s enough of feeding each others egos. It''s time we headed for the carriages, I rather not have the duke wait for us any longer than necessary.¡±, mother said before finally explaining to me what we were doing and who we were meeting today


    By the end of it, I was pouting the entire way hoping that my parents would just leave me behind at home, though it was far too late for that. Visiting the nobles that owned the very city we lived in seemed entirely unnecessary and much too nerve wracking for me.


    Much to my dismay, we eventually arrived at the center of the city and the castle that resided there was gargantuan. I had never seen anything like it, not that I saw castles before, but still.


    It was the home of the Waltem¡¯s the very family who this very city is named after. Mother explained that they were not just close relatives to the current king, but also one of the most if not the most powerful family in the kingdom next to the royal family, thus why they were given the title of duke.


    I grew nervous at the meeting, it wasn¡¯t everyday that we got to meet powerful people. Even uncle Hector never made me feel this nervous before and I doubt these people would go out of their way to accommodate us the same way he did.


    As we neared the doors it opened and a single person came to greet us. A servant no doubt, but one that was clearly far beyond ordinary if the aura he was giving off was any indication. Even father seemed to be somewhat cautious of the man as he tensed slightly at the sight of him.


    ¡°The Lord is expecting your presence in the alcove¡±


    Father nodded briefly and navigated his way through the castle. He gave me the impression that he had been here before judging by his familiarity with the rooms.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    We stopped outside a bright red door that had the crest of a golden lion in its center. It was decorated with eyes that were made out of ruby and other jewels adorned its mane and seemed to come to life. Father pushed through the door and we were greeted with an unexpected sight.


    It was a short but stout man that was much smaller than father, a little plump around the edges. Like the lion crest he had red eyes and brilliant blonde hair, but his presence seemed much less frightening.


    ¡°Your presence is always welcome here, if you aren¡¯t too busy you might reconsider my offer¡±


    ¡°I am thankful Lord Gerald, but I believe that I would be much suited just leading the guards¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself but you should know that you¡¯re the only Full Transformation realm expert that I know of that is working as a guard commander, it is far too demeaning a job for someone with your level of strength.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the advice Lord Gerald, but I will not change my mind anytime soon. Perhaps when I achieve my next breakthrough I shall reconsider. Though it is still a decade away before I can say anything definitive.¡±


    ¡°A decade or two is nothing to us. Besides, with your talents, you''ll surely reach the Evolution realm within the next decade, I can already see hints of it as we speak.¡±


    My father bowed politely in deference to the duke and mother and I soon followed, ¡°You praise humbles me, milord.¡±


    We continued to bow as we waited for the duke¡¯s next words. As we waited to be acknowledged as per protocol, I began to ponder on the fact that father and the duke seemed to have been previously acquainted and much too friendly to have a simple lord and subordinate relationship, but how father would know a duke is beyond me.


    ¡°Rise, all of you. I requested your presence today because I have something to show you¡±


    The duke made a grabbing motions in the air and pulled out a giant red orb that seemed to appear out of nowhere. The instant that he did an intense heat flooded the room but it disappeared instantly as father released his spirit energy around me.


    ¡°This is the crystallized heart of a an adult Scarlet Lion, I need you to fashion it into a usable necklace. It needs to be suitable for someone about to undergo awakening and still remain useful afterwards¡±, the duke looked towards mother as he said this.


    It seemed that it was my mother who handled all things related to magical items and whatnot as she was the one who responded this time.


    ¡°It shall be done milord.¡±


    ¡°Good now that things are in order¡ª¡ª¡±


    A crashing sound from outside interrupted his words.


    SKRAAAA¡ª¡ª-


    The sounds of glass shattering were heard all around us and the door we came from opened.


    ¡°Gerald we¡¯re being attacked open the escape door.¡±


    A red haired woman opened the door accompanied by a small child that had similar striking red hair.


    The duke smashed the crest outside the door and grabbed the two ruby eyes and opened a drawer in the nearby tables. He placed the rubies inside and a door appeared in the middle of the room, as if it stopped being invisible.


    ¡°Through here this leads to a safe room outside the kingdom¡±


    My parents looked worried but they still stepped through with me in tow. The duke¡¯s family went through and we arrived on the other side, a dimly lit cave that was filled with provisions that could feed multiple families for weeks.


    ¡°Sorry to get you dragged through this mess, just another assassination attempt. It should be taken care of when we return¡±


    ¡°Of course Lord Gerald as long as you¡¯re safe it is of no consequence to stay in this cave for a couple days¡±


    ¡°Good, Good, the portal should be charged again within a week, in the meantime following the torched should lead us outside to the Dark Glades.¡±


    I observed the family of the duke while walking, the duchess seemed like a nice person. She was taller than the duke standing only a head shorter than father, possessing brown eyes and a calming voice. The child with her seemed to be their son, he had traits from both having red hair and red eyes but hasn¡¯t spoken a word since I saw him enter the room.


    He must have seen me staring at him because he started talking.


    ¡°My names Sebastien, if you didn¡¯t know already my dad is the duke. I¡¯ve been in the Dark Glades before it¡¯s mostly safe, we can play when we get to camp.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared?, you were almost killed just earlier¡±, I raised my eyebrow as I asked him.


    ¡°Oh you mean those people, daddy says not to worry about them. We also got attacked by them just last month, It¡¯s nothing.¡±, Sebastien stated much too calmly.


    ¡°You just got attacked?!, how many times does this even happen?¡±, I had an odd sense of pity for the kid, but if happens as frequently as I assumed, I suppose you do eventually get used to it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know, all I know is we just go here everytime something bad happens. This is my eleventh time here already, come on we¡¯re almost there.¡±, he said rather plainly as he unceremoniously grabbed me by the hand.


    He then proceeded to drag me around and rushed ahead of the duke and kept rushing till we reached the light at the end of the cave. I was worried that I was breaking proper decorum by letting this happen, but as I looked back at the duke, he simply waved me off and mouthed that it was alright, probably knowing what was going on in my head.


    For a place that was called the Dark Glades I was surprised to see that it was less menacing that I was expecting it to be. It looked like the dream getaway that I always imagined off.


    ¡°There''s a place here that has some baby animals, the parents don¡¯t mind if we play with them. Let¡¯s go faster.¡±


    <hr>


    (2 weeks later)


    The following days were filled with nothing but joy as I and Sebastien did nothing but play every single day. Father didn¡¯t seem to mind me not training and even encouraged me to play more as he was preoccupied with something else. I found great relaxation in just playing around and generally just acting like someone my own age.


    ¡°Faster Markus there''s a tiger cub in the cave we passed by last week. I want to go there and see it.¡±


    Removed from my rational thought over the crazy things he¡¯s done over the past weeks has numbed me to things like this as I followed him into a literal tiger den and saw the cute cub beside its mother.


    Sebastien grabbed it with a surprising amount of care while its parent was beside it and started cuddling it without care. The mother seemed to not mind as it didn¡¯t move in our presence at all.


    ¡°Here, you try Markus¡±


    He passed me the cub and I felt awed by its softness, its cuddliness was unlike anything I ever felt before. I couldn¡¯t have imagined holding a tiger cub back on earth, I would have been mauled by its parent.


    We went back to camp and the duke announced that the portal had finished charging, this finally meant that we were leaving soon. As much as I enjoyed playing with Sebastien, he was only a 7 year old boy while I was much younger physically, mentally I was much much older. He was a good kid, if a bit bossy and demanding, but playing with him for the past 2 weeks has left me mentally exhausted.


    We spent the night preparing for our trip back and when dawn broke the duke activated the portal with his own red spirit energy.


    ¡°Let us return to Waltem.¡±, the duke announced.


    We stepped through and ended up back where we left from last time. It didn¡¯t seem to have been attacked and it was brought all back to normal.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for us to go Markus, I think that the barracks has been doing nothing while we were put and we have to resume you¡¯re training when we return home.¡±


    ¡°Yes father.¡±


    We thanked the duke for bringing us back and went on our way home. Not before hearing a loud voice that came from the castle.


    ¡°Come back soon¡± I saw Sebastien waving from outside and saw his enthusiastic smile.


    ¡°It seems that you¡¯ve made a friend during our little trip Markus.¡±


    ¡°We just played around the area for a bit, besides we¡¯re not meeting their family every week.¡±


    ¡°Well that can¡¯t be certain for sure, you don¡¯t know what the future holds Markus.¡±


    We went back to our cozy home as the sun descended on our backs.

 Chapter 8: Indulging The Duke’s Son

    Since my visit to the Duke¡¯s estate and abrupt 2 week vacation, I started receiving letters that I really could not, not respond to. Why? Because its from Sebastian, the boy seemed to be more attached to me than I initially thought or could have imagined.


    The paper and envelope he would often send were practically screaming of wealth, status and power. The front was left bare save for the crimson red wax seal of the Dukal house. The back of the envelope on the other hand was designed with the symbol of Duke¡¯s house, its gold and crimson colours melding perfectly with the stark white of the high-quality paper.


    Inside the envelope was more of the same, over the top materials that were a clear sign of his wealth. I fear for him one day that he might attract the wrong group of people, but it¡¯s not my job to be worrying about royalty. I went on to make a reply using my own letter.


    In comparison, the paper and envelope I would use to send my letters were obviously lower quality. It was simple in design and not as pristine, but it was still better than what was used normally.


    I found it silly to spend so much on pieces of paper, but then again, never could I imagine that I would become pen pals with the son of the most powerful man in the city. Everyday for the past week I would receive at least 1 letter from the boy in the morning or late at night via courier or pigeon. It was weird but nothing really out of the ordinary at first, but I quickly realised something was not right.


    At first he would send me short letters and I would send him back a few, but by the third day he started sending me longer and longer letters. It soon spiraled out of control and the letters had gotten longer and longer, I wondered where he even got the inspiration to continue writing.


    Most of it was just childish drabble about how his day was going and whatnot. He also, in a very sweet way thanked me for being friends with him, then proceeded to rant to me in a 4 nearly 5 page essay on how other kids our age were not like me. To him, they were too childish, too vulnerable to being used by their parents to gain favor. I find the letter quite ironic considering I thought of him as childish though it continued to drag on and on.


    I found the stories he told to be a tad bit unbelievable and exaggerated in some areas, but chose to believe it anyways. Afterall, anything is possible in this new world of mine. Still, I pitied the boy, for he was separated from nearly everyone due to differences in status, he had no one to truly call as a friend, that is, until I came along at least that¡¯s what it seems like. I who treated him as any other child and didn¡¯t try to use our possible friendship for personal gain appeared to him one day. He must have been lonely without having anyone.


    Because of my new found pity for the boy, I decided to indulge him and continue to respond to his letters, despite how tedious a task it was becoming. My only saving grace was the fact that he would write me a particularly interesting story every now and then or unknowingly give me new, interesting information from the upper-class which helps me glean into the inner workings of high society.


    One thing that I could agree with him regarding high society was that there was too much niceties, too much fakes, too much mask¡¯s on, too much rubbing elbows, too much rules and regulations, too much hidden agendas, too much knives behind the back and too little genuine people. Really, I couldn¡¯t understand how some people would revel in such an environment, I would have longed since succumbed to the pressure of such an environment, another thing I¡¯ll be pitying Sebastian for.


    <hr>


    I couldn¡¯t stop shaking from what I was reading/holding.


    In my hand was another letter from Sebastian, but it wasn¡¯t the same as the other letters he would send me previously. I should have realised it was different from how the courier gave it to me in an almost reverential manner and how my parents eyed me intently as I received it from the courier.


    Before I could go up to my room and read my letter like I usually do, my mother gently laid her hand on my shoulder and told me to bring the letter to the parlour. That was when I realised that something was different with the letter I received.


    When we reached parlour, mother and father dismissed the servants who were inside and told them to not enter unless it urgent. Trying my best to ignore the now stifling atmosphere of the room, I inspected the envelope. It looked no different, that is until I discovered that it faint marking on it that glowed and could feel faint amounts of Spirit Energy from it.


    Enchantments, I realised what it was and what it meant immediately considering what mother¡¯s profession was. Such small and intricate enchantments were difficult to do and very costly, so it¡¯s only used on the most expensive or important of items.


    My breath was a bit shaky at this point, I was starting to feel a bit lightheaded and my hands holding the envelope were getting clammy. The stifling atmosphere, the letter in my hands plus my unusually silent parents were getting to me and if my parents noticed anything, they didn¡¯t mention it and continued to silently look at the letter in my hands.


    With what little courage I could gather, I finally opened the envelope and took out the letter. The letter, just like the envelope was glowing with enchantments, but this time it was much stronger. I didn¡¯t know what it¡¯s purpose was, but whatever it was, it must have cost an incredible amount of money.


    Without further ado, I unfolded the letter and immediately started reading it.


    I, Duke Gerald Augustus Waltem hereby formally invite Markus Hunn and his family to the Waltem Castle


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    It was a simple, direct invitation to the castle tomorrow noon, written and signed by Duke Gerald Augustus Waltem himself¡­addressed towards me. Not my parents, but me. No doubt through the intervention of Sebastien.


    ¡°Well, I suppose Lord Sebastian deems you a closer friend than you thought.¡±, mother said airily, despite the bombshell that the letter just dropped.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised as well mother.¡± I responded drily. I may not be a genius and have basically cheated through my current life using my former life¡¯s knowledge, but you didn¡¯t exactly need to have a sharp political acumen to know what kind of waves this news will make if it ever got out to the general public, which it eventually will.


    It would have been fine if the duke was summoning my parents because of their relationship as master and subordinate/employer and employee which gave them the perfect excuse/reason. It¡¯s another thing for the duke to personally, and formally request a boy, not even 10 years of age to his castle. People will start talking about what¡¯s so special about me for the duke to invite me to the castle, mark my words, they will.


    ¡°Tread carefully with this relationship of yours, Markus.¡± Father told me in a deep, almost ominous voice that he would sometimes use during training whenever I kept on making the same mistakes or when he¡¯s teaching something dangerous/important.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t raise a fool for a son, father. I know what this letter may entail and what it may seem to those outside of our family.¡± I answered back, though still unsure on how exactly I should proceed.


    ¡°You¡¯re a smart boy Markus, your tutors say so, and I¡¯m inclined to agree with them on that end, but smart does not mean wise. Tread carefully Markus, that is all I ask of you.¡± Father said one last time with the most serious expression I¡¯ve ever seen on his face.


    ¡°I will father, don¡¯t worry.¡± I said quietly as father looked me in the eye.


    ¡°Very well then. Go to your room for now, me and your mother have much to discuss.¡± Father finally conceded with a sigh and sent me of to my room while he and mother stayed in the parlour to discuss what to do next.


    My parents were right to worry for me, afterall, dealings with those on top are never truly safe. Especially in this world ruled by feudal society and customs.


    I headed to my room like told, went straight to bed and willed myself to sleep. It was just early in the evening, not even dinner yet, but I was tired. Mentally from the letter, and physically from the training I just had in the afternoon with father.


    <hr>


    We soon neared the castle while it was still bright out, a wonderful choice as the rays reflecting upon its walls looked magnificent. I was greeted by the sight of the castle again though this time I hoped that an incident like the last time would not occur.


    Though we were invited there seemed to be no special occasion at the moment. It only made the moment leading up to the confrontation much more nerve-wracking. When mother told me about the times of her visits to the castle she pointed out that not once did she ever receive an invitation signed by the Duke himself. It always came in the form of a middleman who requested to use her services.


    Sebastien was waiting for us at the front of the castle, he looked kind of cute eagerly waiting for us, like a puppy.


    ¡°Hello, Markus¡± he said almost too happily.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you too, Sebastien.¡±


    ¡°Father has been waiting for you, I was surprised he even called you here.¡±


    ¡°Wait, weren¡¯t you the one who asked me to be here?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just as surprised as you are. Let¡¯s keep moving we don¡¯t want to keep father waiting.¡±


    It seems that I was mistaken, this wasn¡¯t a request from Sebastien, but from the Duke himself, which made it all the more nerve wracking. I could only wonder why he would ask for me specifically, I haven¡¯t done anything that would make me stand out, except maybe hanging out/growing close with only son and heir.


    I looked to father, but he seemed just as confused as I did right now. If he had no clue what was happening it couldn¡¯t be good. Suddenly I wasn¡¯t so sure about being here anymore. What I thought was a visit requested by his son for me turned out to be from the Duke itself.


    We arrived at the same door again but this time it appeared much more imposing. Guards were not posted around it and they let us in.


    ¡°Welcome once again, it¡¯s a shame that our first meeting was interrupted by less than pleasant guests.¡±


    His words were welcoming but the the voice that carried it sounded like it was forcing its will on me. Though Sebastien being in the room acting like he had no clue whatsoever helped lessen this.


    ¡°We are humbled by your presence Lord Gerald, but it is a surprise that you would request for my son all of a sudden¡±


    ¡°Make no mistake this is no simple child¡¯s matter. I ordered you to come to offer you this, a proposal if you will. Your son will be provided for in the best school in the continent and ensured that he reaches the Late transformation realm within 20 years of his awakening.¡±


    ¡°Lord Gerald that is too generous an offer I thi¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t done, in exchange for the amount of money that will be going into your son he will have to become Sebastien¡¯s retainer so to speak.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    A heavy silence descended upon the room as no one uttered a sound for what seemed forever. Finally it seemed that it was too much to bear for Sebastien as he started making weird intelligible noise.


    ¡°Lord Gerald, I do not wish contradict you, but I believe my son is still too young to be able to take on a responsibility this large and surely there are others more suitable for the task.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking your son to protect him now and his duties will go beyond protecting Sebastien, I ask of you this because I see the talent in him. It is greater than even yours all those years ago, yet I do this not for his talent but for my son.¡±


    It seemed that father was intent on rejecting the Duke but this seemed like a great opportunity. The Duke was basically offering me everything I could ever want or need in this life. In exchange, I would serve them, or more specifically Sebastian dutifully for the rest of my life. I was excited for the opportunities that now lay in front of me, but I was less than eager to enter veritable cesspool of corruption and decay better known as politics.


    Obviously, not many would say no to a Duke, much less if it were a personal request from the man himself, doing so would humiliate him greatly. I would have gladly denied the offer if not for the fact that I was worried for the possible ramifications of such an act.


    He was already very magnanimous with his offer, had it been another peasant, I imagine he would have placed much less effort into it or even bothered asking if they were willing or not. Besides, he and father seemed to be friends, and I wasn''t about to be the one to strain the relationship between the two men.


    ¡°I accept.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± A sound came from all of them at once.


    ¡°Are you sure about this Markus, maybe you are expecting something different this isn¡¯t playing around¡±


    ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing, Mother¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still too young for this I think that you should that decision for us.¡±


    ¡°I think this is a great proposal it¡¯s all offering us things with nothing bad about it¡±


    ¡°You are not just protecting a simple person, this is the son of the Duke. This person has the blood of royalty flowing within him, a single mistake on your part could cost both his and your life¡±


    I really couldn¡¯t answer back after what my parents were saying, but I couldn''t just say no to them outright either.


    ¡°Let the boy decide for himself what he wants to do, he has more than the capacity to do so, Well what is your decision¡±


    ¡°I accept¡±


    ¡°You have caught me by surprise young Markus, I thought you would be swayed by your parents. Rest assured and know that there are always numerous protectors out of sight surrounding my son, you will be acting as his visible guardian amongst the numerous hidden in the shadows.¡±


    He reached out his hand to my uneasy father and thanked him, then my mother, then lastly to me. He said with an almost terrifying smile.


    ¡°Welcome to the Waltem Family¡±

 Announcement

    Dear Readers:


    Updating will be paused in favour of redoingcurrent chapters to fit in new ideas as well as fixing inconsistencies in the story. Do not worry, we are far from dropping the story and will be back soon. Do reread previous chapters in the coming days as they will be edited soon enough.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Leave a comment on what you want to see in the re-edited version of the story and it might just show up.


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