《Dream and Death are Synonyms》


 Prologue|Ouroboros

    "...I just wanted to follow my dreams."


    This silent plea could be heard amidst the loud city noises.Following came the sound of an Impact.


    Nakame Yumeii perished at the age of 36. Cause of death: head trauma. Suicide.


    "Shit, the fall wasn''t hard enough, I should have tried a taller building," Yumeiithought to himself.


    "How laughable, even at the very end, I''m still failing."


    The bitter resentment that brought him here was still lingering. The regret he felt was stronger than his will to live.


    Slowly, he opened his eyelids, the area around him was already crowded with onlookers. Understandable, it''s not everyday you get to see someone die. In a big city, death was normally not a topic to be discussed, but right here, there was a body, surrounded by blood. Whether it was out of good-will or sheer morbid curiosity, ignoring this occurrence was not an option.


    | Oi, oi! This is bad! You, call an ambulance! |


    "Don''t bother, I can''t even feel my legs. Even if the height wasn''t enough to kill me instantly, I doubt I''m making it out of this one," or at least, that''s what Yumeii tried saying, but his mouth was filled with blood, rendering him unable to utter anything other than a weak gurgle, so he quickly gave up.


    "Hah... But seriously, it really hurts. I can''t even breathe."


    In the air, many emotions mingled, mostly disgust and pity.Amongst them, there was a handful of very outspoken people.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    | Geez, what an Idiot. |


    | He looks so young, he still had so much to live for. |


    | Honestly, I don''t get why anyone would kill themselves. |


    "Of course you don''t. I doubt ''suicide'' is even part of your vocabulary."


    However, it wasn''t really a prominent part of Yumeiis'' life either. To someone like Yumeii, suicide is not a notion, it''s more like a phenomenon. In the beginning, it is contained by high-and-mighty ideas such as morality, fear or hope. Even the simple idea of self-harm can''t slip through. But when questioned, when faced with bitterness that surpasses even hope, the fear of death and societal morals, the will to live will naturally crumble, and with nothing left, suicide will seem surprisingly easy.


    Not that it mattered now anyways.


    "Now I can finally find peace," Yumeii repeated to himself while slowly losing consciousness.


    His train of thought was interrupted by the man screaming into his phone.


    | Yes, yes, come quickly, please! Or both of them will die! |


    "What did he just say?" Yumeii opened his eyes again.


    To his left, there was a woman. Dark hair and clothes, with colorless, fair skin. In fact, the only part of her, containing color was the puddle of blood quickly spreading from underneath her head.


    "Are you kidding me?!" Yumeii quickly came to a realization.


    He didn''t survive because the jump off the building wasn''t high enough, but he survived because this girl had broken his fall. She''d probably slowed his momentum, causing a softer landing.


    How unfortunate.


    "Fuck, this wasn''t supposed to happen, I was supposed to die alone!"


    A piercing pain coursed through Yumeiis'' body, this time an emotional pain. Seeing a person die because of him, that was the one thing he couldn''t bear. He thought to himself, if only he hadn''t jumped today from this spot, this would not have happened. An innocent girl sacrificed for his selfishness. All he was able to do now, was to quietly pray for her to not die. Then again, if that worked, he wouldn''t be here in the first place.


    "Fuck, Fu...ck, Fu..."


    As he croaked his last obscenities, he finally passed away.


    Crushed dreams, a dead girl and vulgar words. Those were the final moments of Nakame Yumeii.


    Truly, how unfortunate.


    Thankfully for us, when one story ends, another begins. Just like a snake consuming it''s tail, life is bound to repeat.


    So rejoice! Adventure awaits!

 Chapter 1|The Pain of Childbirth

    <hr>


    "I am free."


    In his mind, Yumeii had finally done, what he thinks was long overdue. The stress from his past life vanished instantly.


    "No pain, no suffering, nothing can hurt me-"


    Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a pressure, wrapping around his body. Like being squashed between two walls. Like an Insect dying.


    "Aaaah! It hurts!"


    Was that the punishment, he received for taking his own life? Was he in hell?


    Various questions popped up, but he had no time finding the answers, as the pain got worse. He felt like he''d be completely crushed at any second.The sensation of agony lingered for a long time, and when he felt that the torment had reached it''s peak, he let out a scream,


    "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?"


    And with that, the pain disappeared.


    "Well what do you know, it actually worked."


    Torn away from the glow of his achievement, he was greeted by a variety of unfamiliar noises.


    | xxxx-Xx! Xx. |


    | XxxXXXx? |


    "Is that... Talking? What are they saying?What''s happening?"


    Yumeii carefully opened his eyes, his vision was blurred by an intense light. Surrounding him were several shadows .


    "So I did survive after all."


    In that sentence, his emotions were clear. Anger, sadness and bitterness. There was a childish note of betrayal in his tone. Yumeii wondered what was going on. He was sure he died. The memories of his suicide were still fresh. Especially that girl.


    "Did she also survive?"


    His survival was a waste, he thought,"my will to live was already broken. Even if I got patched up, I would just try again. A higher place, less crowded, head first, whatever it would take to make the next try the last."


    He would make sure the next time, he would not fail.


    Suddenly, a headache inducing red light coated his vision, followed by a shout.


    | XX!XXXX-X XX! | |XXXXxXXXx!?|


    The voice was deep and controlled, but it still shocked Yumeii. This was definitely a voice of anger.


    "Are you that unhappy that I survived?" He frowned, "make up your mind."


    Yumeii saw how the shadows started to move. The only thing he could tell with his poor vision was that they were moving frantically. Not even the silhouettes were there for him.


    | XxX! XXx XX. |


    | X XX. Xxxxx! |


    More people started talking. This time, the voices were soft, feminine even. If it wasn''t for their shrill screaming, Yumeii imagined the voices would be soothing.


    He then felt how his eyelids became heavy with a sudden onset of narcosis.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    "What now?", he thought.


    I woke up just seconds ago. How could I be tired already?


    But the tiredness persisted.


    "Ah... this situation... is beyond weird." He murmured, falling into a deep slumber.


    Soon enough, he had a dream. A dream about his past. Like the reminiscent dream, that comes at deaths doorstep.


    In his dream he saw a body. The body was lying in a pool of blood, which was turning the clothes to a deep red colour. As he slowly approached the person, the smell of iron was permeating the air. The pungent smell was penetrating his nose, causing him to also taste the blood. Step by step he walked towards his destination in a trance. Only when he heard the splashing sounds caused by his steps did he notice how close he had gotten. As he began inspecting the body he realized who it actually was.


    Suddenly, he felt something wet drop onto his face.


    "I must have been crying," he assumed.


    Waking up, he noticed that the scenery had changed.


    His vision was no longer blurry. Up above Yumeii, there was a vast sky stretching over the blush of dusk. It was about to hit nighttime and it just started raining. The great, looming clouds were rapidly parting and merging, making different shapes and forms. It was as if if they were telling a story, acting on the endless canvas. The sun was illuminating the horizon, it''s warm colors blending smoothly with the darkness surrounding it. The brightest stars were already showing, reflecting their light on the raindrops that were now falling on the ground. Looking at it, his spirits lifted.


    At this point, Yumeii wondered why he was able to see the sky in the first place.


    "Did they really just throw me out!?"


    But somehow the ground felt soft. Like he was lying on a blanket or a cushion.


    "They couldn''t have thrown me out with the whole bed, right?"


    He should have died, but he didn''t. He woke up in a place with a foreign language and was now gazing at the wondrous sky. This situation was truly bizarre. Was he still dreaming? But, he had just been dreaming and this was definitely real. Plus it wouldn''t explain how he''d survived the fall. Trying to understand the situation, he tried sitting upright, but with no use. He couldn''t move.


    And just like that, he felt his consciousness slowly fading away again.


    "Hey really, this isn''t funny. what exactly is happening here?!" further confusion overwhelmed Yumeii.


    Desperately trying to escape the weariness, he figured out that he could tilthis head. As he was shifting to the left, he saw a child, an infant to be exact, resting just next to him. And at this moment he understood.


    The baby was holding a hand, a hand about the same size of a plum. It was Yumeii''s hand. The crushing feeling, his strong need to sleep, everything made sense.


    He had been reborn. With his previous memories intact.


    What a predicament.


    And with that he also came to another shocking truth.


    His first and last words were of the same tasteless cut.


    "I really need to update my vocabulary." He groaned, trying to plot a way around his situation as his mind faded into the void.


    A while after sunset, as the last rays of sunlight began to fade, a young girl carrying groceries found a basket lying next to a field road. Inside, she found a pair of infants asleep.


    "What is, Oh my, Are they alright, such young kids. Did they got abandoned by their parents? It does appear like that. poor children."


    Pitying those two, she grabbed and brought them to a orphanage, situated in a nearby church, where she was living and working at the same time, in a hurry.


    When Yumeii woke up again, he found himselfin an unknown room with a low ceiling. It was illuminated by sunlight that shone through a tall window. The interior walls were primarily encased in stone, but also contained some wooden beams as support frames. Next to himwere several other cribs that, resembling the one hewas lying in, standing on a simple rug. A door was also located at the front, which allowed himto occasionally see adults and curious children alike, walking theough the corridor or entering the chamber to look and feed them.


    Naturally it wasn''t just quiet, from time to time a baby cried or was screaming.


    "So annoying, thankfully the one besides me isn''t noisy like the other children."


    Yumeiilooked to his left and saw The child he was thrown out with.


    He had soon found out that she was actually a girl, through the various interactions of his caretakers.


    She would sometimes look at himas if she was observing him, wouldn''t do anything further than that.


    When nighttime arrived, a person would come in to closethe shutters and light some candles that provided a dim light accompanied by a warm atmosphere after which the noise would die off and it became calm again.


    "Finally, it seems like they eventually moved on to sleep."


    The truth was he also felt sleepy but the thought, that he was abandoned right after hisbirth kept himawake for a little longer.


    "The hell! What did I do, to deserve this fate?"


    While he was spouting his usual profanities and complained about his bad luck, Yumeii''s mind drifted off and fell asleep,too.

 Chapter 2|The Worlds Knowledge

    A month had since passed by.


    Yumeii learned a lot of things about his current situation.


    He definitely died and was now reincarnated as a newborn baby. For some reason, he retained all his memories of his former life. How that would be possible, he did not know and he did not mind. For him, it actually felt refreshing to start from the beginning. Even though his situation could have been a bit better.


    It seems like, he was indeed abandoned by his parents and was now raised in a church. This church clearlyacted as an orphanage, seeing how it wasn''t only him who was looked after. Even the other baby that was with him, was taken in their care.


    The one that looked after all of them was a girl young enough to be his daughter in his previous life. She had long brown hair, was a bit short in comparison with others and always bore a gentle expression.


    Sometimes, a groupofolder menwould walk in to talk with her, wearing white robes resembling that of a priest''s, but they did not stay for long.


    For a while, he thought, that he may be in an underdeveloped country. Maybe he even jumped in time. The reason for that, was because of the interior design of his housing.


    No electricity was to be found, the only things emitting light were candles and oil lamps. The walls definitely weren''t build with modern material like reinforced concrete. Curtains seem to not exist, at least they weren''t used in this building. Heat wasn''t generated from a heater or air conditioner but by a nearby oven outside this room, but it''s power was weak.


    So when night broke in, the temperature changed drastically.


    Fortunately for Yumeii, the brown haired girl tried to help as good as she could. Even though she should feel cold herself, she prioritized the kids first. For that, he was truly thankful.


    If he really was in the past, Yumeii hoped, that he might be able to use his historical knowledge that he accumulated in his life to help him survive and become wealthy.


    The thought of this exited him and he could not help but wanting to grow up fast, to see the world.


    This idea was shut down relatively fast.


    One night, while trying to fall asleep, he could hear the cries of another kid. The girl repeatedly tried to calm it down, but the kid would not stop crying. As time passed, the noise grew more and more obnoxious. The shrill screams caused the other kids to wake up and also cry.


    Almost like a chain reaction, more and more screams could be heard. Really, the noise was unbearable. Even the brown haired girl looked like she was about to cry, as she made a startled face and consecutive hand movements.


    "This is going to be an exhausting night" Yumeii murmured to himself.


    The girl, seeing how none of her actions would stop the cries of the children fell on her knees and gave a loud sigh. He almost felt bad for her, but suddenly she stood up again and raised her hands.


    "XXXXX Gods, Xxx, XxxxxxXxx Xxx- Xxx. Xxxx prayers xxxx light. Amen!" she began saying in a rhythmic tone.


    Yumeii was already able to understand some words, even though it wasn''t a lot. Only the ones that were used the most. Given that this place was a church, it would had to be those words.


    It might have been a lullaby. Or maybe she started praying. Just when he was thinking that, light started surrounding the place and in an instant, the crying had stopped and a calming effect engulfed him.


    "Eh!?"


    The girl, with a proud look in her face, walked away with her chest puffed out.


    "So that''s how it was!" Yumeii said while his eyes shined bright.


    The small disappointment of it not being time travel still resided in him, but from within came another feeling. Although he could not entirely believe it, he saw it with his own eyes.Stolen story; please report.


    He landed in a fantasy world.


    A wave of emotions hit him. Thinking back, the setting of his favourite games were also set in a fantasy world. Because of that, he occasionally entertained the idea of living in one. Of course, at that time, it was just a simple thought exercise. That it would turn into reality, wasn''t even a topic in his wildest dreams.


    A slight grin escaped his mouth.


    This was a chance given to him by the heavens and it would be foolish not to use it.


    "Will I be able to also cast magic like that?"


    Thinking of this made him really excited and in the end he felt glad to have the opportunity to live in such a world.


    Almost Half a year has passed by.


    It was now possible for Yumeii to crawl around on all fours.


    "Oh how I have missed this feeling!", he said with great satisfaction.


    Having to stay in a sluggishly-made crib for 5 months, he learned to appreciate the little things in life. He also had enough time to think about what he would do next.


    After being able to understand the language, thanks to his fast learning infant brain coupled with an adult mentality, he found out that the older kids learned the basics about this world, from the brown haired girl. It resembled a kindergarten.


    For Yumeii, gaining knowledge about this world was the most important step. He also wanted to know more about magic, since magic did not exist in his old world. He decided that he would listen to the lectures whenever they talked about history or were learning reading and writing.


    After some time, he grasped the situation.


    In this world, humans weren''t the only ones on top of the food chain. They shared that position with other races such as Beastkins, Elves, Spirits and Demons and many more that weren''t even known to humanity.


    Countless mysteries were still shrouded in darkness, to blame was


    the current state of world exploration and research.


    The reason for that: there were no proper and reliable transportation systems yet. The most used method of traveling was per horse-drawn carriage. Short distances were always covered by foot.


    The church that they lived in, was located near a major city, governed by humans.


    Right now, this land was ruled by a king. In other words, it was a monarchy.


    However he was also bound to a constitution.


    This kingdom, was one of the five ''Pillars of Peace''. There was another one in the beastkin region. The third was in the territory of the elves, and the last two stood in the demon realm.


    In the past, war between the races were the norm. Everyday, was a battlefield, with no one planning to yield to one another. Only after, millions of life''s were lost, resources were completely depleted and nature was destroyed, did they realize that prolonging this conflict was futile.


    The sole survivors were those who did not believe in violence, since they were trying to avoid battle as much they could. In the end, they founded five nations to guarantee the recovery of the barren lands.


    If one were to wage war against another, the other three would stop it. Fighting against four kingdoms alone would be insane and foolish. Even if there came a time where the five had two different opinions, the majority would always end up winning, which is why, when it came to international affairs, it resembled a democracy.


    Using this simple method, peace was upheld for more than 297 years, but racist remarks and prejudice were still a problem.


    After that, fighting people shifted to fighting beasts and monsters. Even though there was peace between the nations, the citizens were far from safe.


    This world was not only inhabited by humanoids and common beasts, but also by creatures known as monsters. What distinguished them was not only their outer appearance, but also the ability to communicate and form complex thoughts.


    In short, they were intelligent. At least some of them.


    Within their ranks would always be hostile ones, inclined to assault others.


    And because of that, monster slayer or hunter, commonly known as adventurer made their first appearance in this world. Of course there was also the military to defend the people but, their applicability was limited, unlike the ones mentioned above.


    Adventurers were people seeking excitement in their lifes. They wandered around, fighting monsters, unearthing and raiding ancient ruins and risking their lives for the sake of others, as well as recovering objects from from places far away.


    Due to their great contribution to the establishment, being an adventurer was later seen as a valid and honorable profession. Thanks to the support of the 5 Pillars, they were able to earn enough money to live from it, by being one.


    Every city would have at least one place for them to register and accept tasks given by people in need of help. These places were known as ''Adventurer''s Association''.


    The requests could range from acquiring specific plants, too subjugating a beast for their raw materials, depending on the difficulty of a task, a rank would be decided for it.


    Rewards would be given by the client via guild or personally, but the current king decided to also add funds from the taxes, as choosing this occupation contained a lot of risks and deserved more benefits. There was also great fame that came with the title of adventurer, and by completing a hard task, even a festival was not out of question. That''s just how important an adventurer was.


    In the end, everything else resembled the medieval ages, only with the slight distinction that this world contained magic. Blacksmiths and carpenters existed, taverns and inns could be found, and the bigger cities were guarded by knights and a stone wall.


    "This really is just like a game, " Yumeii thought.


    Sadly, the girl did not talkabout magic.

 Chapter 3|Constellation

    Celesta Vandalle,


    after half a year, he had finally learned this girls name. How? Because the old men that barged in were screaming it over and over again.


    "It''s time, it''s time! Celesta, bring the kids!"


    "Miss Vandalle, finally the time has come!"


    "Huh, William, Nicolas? It''s this time of the year again?"


    "Yes, yes! Isn''t it exciting?"


    Overall, there were four men that came into the room. Clearly enthralled, they were overshadowing Celesta''s timid voice. She was flustered as she did not know what to do in their strong presence.


    If Yumeii had learned one thing about her, then it would be that she was a very shy girl. He didn''t mind though, because her expression were always cute when she was embarrassed.


    "Wait? Am I a pedophile?", was the daunting idea that came into his head.


    Even though he was in a child''s body, his mind was still that of a 36 year old. Having such thoughts about a girl that looked like a middle-school student felt morally wrong for him. Or is it that attraction was actually build on the age of the body and not the mind? Trying to find an explanation, he only came up with excuses.


    In the end he distracted himself by listening to their conversation.


    "How many new kids have arrived?"


    "Uhh, overall there are three. Two boys and one girl."


    "Ah, almost forgot her" Yumeii thought. The baby that was with him when he was found. He didn''t know who that was and while being too focused on his research about this world, he forgot her.


    "Maybe it''s my sister", he contemplated.


    That was a possibility. After all, what other reason could there be for them to be found together? He wished that he could judge it by the similarities of their appearance, but to him, all babies looked the same.


    "That''s a lot! Maybe amongst them, is a kid with great talent."


    "I''ll go get them!"


    "Great! Prepare them for the examination!"


    "Yes!"


    And after some time, the three of them were lined up. It resembled an audience.


    A small audience. Now, Yumeii was interested, they spoke about talents and a test that could determine it. What kind of talents, he did not know, but it seemed to be of great importance seeing how everyone made a big fuss over it.


    One of the men stepped forth and stared at his face. Just like the other three, he was wearing a white robe that reached to the ground. He looked like the oldest of the group, as his wrinkles were the most defined and even though it wasn''t noticeable at first glance, he was slightly stooping. He also wore a necklace, which the other three did not. It was made out of a silver coloured metal and looked like two wings, formed into a shield.


    "This one has great eyes! He must possess great potential."


    The old man said, while patting Yumeiis'' head.


    The man bore a compassionate smile and appeared very cheerful. Even though these words were unexpected, he did not seem like a bad person.


    "Well then, I will leave them in your care! I''ll come back later!" And with those words, Celesta disappeared after going out of the room. She looked happy and was humming as she strolled around the corner.


    Following that, the person with the necklace said:


    "I''ll personally take care of this boy, you guys look after the other two."


    And with that Yumeii was carried away to an other place.


    Ever since the day he was taken in, Yumeii never walked outside this room. It as an unspoken rule between the older kids to only leave the room when going to the toilet. They never wanted to trouble Celesta by doing something unnecessary. Somehow, even they knew how fast she started to pout.


    Of course, Yumeii abided to it.


    The church was bigger then it originally appeared. When walking outside the room, they got into a long corridor which lead to even more rooms. The place was dimly lit with candles placed on pedestals. Decorations were kept to a minimum, reducing the furniture and doors to only what was necessary. Everything was made out of wood with tiny amounts of metal, and on the floor lied a carpet with the pile made of wool, giving off a homely, but worn out appearance. Overall, it had a rustic feeling to it.


    In the end, they walked through the door on the other side. It bore similarities to the room that Yumeii normally resided in, only the decorations were different. The place were usually the cribs lied, was occupied by a small bed. Next to it was a wardrobe filled only with clothes. In front of the wardrobe was a dining table equipped with two seats. The place was dimly lit and contained a closed window, making it hard to ascertain a detailed design.


    After placing Yumeii on the bed, the old man sat down on a chair and began scribbling into worn out notebook. He was very engrossed in his work and continued for a while until Yumeii felt his stomach grumbling.


    "Hey, I''m hungry." Yumeii declared.


    Since he was not able to speak in their language yet, the noise that came out of his mouth usually resembled the babbling of a baby. Strangely though, Celesta always seemed to understand him. Maybe it''s trough the experience from working with other kids, that she began to develop these motherly instincts. Whenever he needed something, which he could not do by his own accord, he would call out to Celesta.


    "Huh? What''s the matter?"


    This time however, there was no Celesta.


    "I''m hungry."


    Are you sleepy?


    "I''m hungry."


    "Uhh, I don''t know what to do."


    "Are you serious!?"


    The man was frantically looking around with a distressed look.


    "Don''t volunteer to look after me, when you have no idea what you''re doing!"


    "Come on, why are you crying?"


    "I want to eat. How can you not realize something this obvious?"


    "Ah, I know, I know!"


    The man began to stretch out his hands and suddenly some kind of glowing circle appeared in front of him. A faint warmth could be felt and a blue flame was suddenly ignited on his hands. The flame started swirling around his fingers, moving and changing directions until it changed it''s colors into yellow, orange and finally red. In the end it diminished and a small spark appeared. Like the novelties that were always given to kids during new years. Mesmerized by the sight, Yumeii forgot to talk.


    "Oh, that''s a good reaction!" the old man said and became a lot more energetic.


    "This is known as the <Healing Flame> or the <Dancing Flame>. As the name implies, it is a flame with healing properties. It''s a beginner spell, but can be improved, which increases the duration and the intensity of the effect. By the way, I''m already at the stage of having a blue flame!", he proclaimed proudly.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    "I have no idea if this is impressive or not."


    "Albeit, I may not have the initial talent that Celesta has, I still have stuff that I can be proud of, hahaha!"


    "Well, as long as you are happy", he thought.


    "Now, since we have some time to spare, how about I tell you about magic and the plans we have for you guys today?"


    "How convenient."


    Ever since the day Celesta used magic, he was deeply interested in this topic, and as he also wants to know about that talents they spoke about, there was no reason to refuse.


    "So, magic is the ability of influencing forces by the usage of the powers residing inside your body. This power is known as mana and acts as an energy source that gets converted. Every person is born with a certain amount of it that can only be slowly increased through practice. The moment you are able to access your mana storage, you''ll be able to use magic. Further more, some spells do need a chant or ritual while other don''t necessarily require one, the latter depends on proficiency and understanding.


    Magic is categorized in six types:


    <Elemental magic>, the act of manipulating and altering the forces of nature, mostly offensive spells.


    <Occult magic>, which enables the usage of curses and witchcraft that need a ritual or offering of some sorts.


    <Spirit and Summoning magic>, allows the commanding of familiars ranging from beasts and monsters to spirits and corpses.


    <Enchantments>, allow the process to modify an entity or material through inscriptions or infusing of magic power.


    <Alchemy>, is the creation and transforming of new matter using existing ones.


    <Neutral magic>, are spells with no prominent affinities like <Healing Flame>, it basically accounts for magic that can''t be categorized in the previous five.


    People who primarily use magic for their living are known as magicians or sorcerers. Even though they''re many who work as adventurers or artisans, most are actually focusing on the research and theorem of magic."


    The description on the idea of magic resembled the games that Yumeii played. Mana, Elemental Magic and magicians, those were exactly the types found in light novels or fantasy stories.


    "Adventurers are mostly made out of combatants that are also able to use magic but, aren''t as knowledgable about it to be called magician. That means they are able to ignite a campfire but aren''t capable of incinerating a whole camp. They are categorized into three different types:


    those who follow the ''Earths Legacy'', they specialize in weapons used in melee, such as swords or maces,


    the ones following the ''Heavenly Arts'', they are known for their long range weapons, for example bows and throwables


    and lastly there are the people following ''Nirvanas Reason'', who fight with fists and other parts of the body, armed with protectors on their striking zones.


    They are called Martial artists. Of course they are weaker than a pure magician who is able to call upon the forces of nature."


    A fantasy world.


    Those words echoed in Yumeiis'' mind. Thinking about it, his heart began to beat faster. Even after all these months, it was still hard to believe. The beauty in such a setting was that it does not have to be rooted in facts. Imagination was always a key factor, that is why it was called a fictional genre. So a reality in where the world was governed by fantasy should be an Oxymoron by itself.


    "Oh!, I have strayed off topic. Actually, today is not about magic or martial arts, but talents."


    "Ah I remember. They mentioned that when they talked with Celesta."


    "Talents are powers, essential for every living being. Every Individual possesses one, even though some talents are better than others. They can range from mundane tasks to miracles. In the beginning there was no way to determine what kind of abilities one had, until a girl was born with a talent called <Constellation>.


    This made it possible, for every person, to create a page containing their names and personal abilities. That page was editable to a certain degree and gave the''Adventurer''s Association'' the means to track quests for adventurers. Right now, it is a driving force in the economy, working as a means for identification around the world. It contains several additional information such as professions, social standing and criminal records. This is how it looks like."


    Suddenly a translucent blur engulfed the dim room and a screen, resembling a window on a PC, popped up and was floating between them. It emitted an azure blue shade and had the size of a sheet of paper. On it were numerous letters, which he couldn''t read. Most were written in black but one sentence was a contrasting blue. It was a bizarre sight.


    "That''s a status system ain''t it?" were the first thoughts that sprung to his mind.


    Even though Yumeii couldn''t understand what was written, he knew from the previous words, that those faintly glowing letters where the priests personal records, made possible through the talent known as <Constellation>.


    "As you can see my talent <Lesser Debating>, is written in blue. The color determines the rarity. When it comes to them there is a special order:


    Starting from the red color, the rarest but also the most useless one. Usually it has a very unique name, but doesn''t actually do anything. Maybe it''s a prank played by the gods.


    The most common one is the blue coloured followed by the green ones. They mostly help in mundane tasks or menial labor.


    The violet talents are more rare, granting abilities that might even define your life and those around you.


    Lastly there is the orange color, which is a talent that can easily change the whole world. The best and most used example would be <Constellation>."


    "I see."


    "Naturally, you also have page, but for that, we have to create it first.


    The process requires an abundance amount of mana, which you of course, at your age, cannot possess. So I''ll temporarily pour my mana into you. The process might take a few hours, but it should open without any problems."


    Soon after, the priest placed his hand on Yumeiis head. Light began to emerge and gradually increased in intensity. Feeling the warmth in his body, he felt drowsy. Since it would apparently take some time, It shouldn''t be a problem to fall asleep, right? But those feeling were immediately washed away by the dazzling brightness from the window that appeared in front of them.


    The priest couldn''t help but show an astonished face.


    "...huh? T-that''s impossible!", exclaimed the priest. Overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of the status page, he bit the nail of his thumb and fell into deep thought.


    " For this to happen... You would either need a huge amount of mana or have it created beforehand. So what do we have here... Eh?"


    Again, the priest was shocked. However, this time he showed a more perplexed face as his complexion turned pale.


    He started skimming through the status plate and uttered out the written talent.


    "<Dedication to Dreams>"


    Silence swept through the room. Even Yumeii began to panic, after realizing the meaning.


    "It''s red."


    If remembered correctly, the red talents are supposed to be the most useless ones. Yumeii hoped that he would at least get green one. Normally in stories with this kind of setting, being reincarnated meant that he should get a special ability, and turn into someone amazing. But since this wasn''t a story, he was ready for getting a less important talent too. However, red... Saying that it was a disappointment would be an understatement.


    Not knowing how to react, Yumeii began to laugh. "Ahaha... ha."


    "No wonder you got disowned. Haha." The old had a stiff expression. An uneasy atmosphere surrounded them, while they looked each other in the face.


    Right after, the door was slammed open.


    "Hey, hey, get this, the little girl has a green talent, and you won''t believe how fast it popped up."


    Behind the door, there was one of the priests who had taken his alleged sister. Acting irritatingly cheerful, he waved his hands around and was clearly agitated.


    "What! Really?" The old man jumped up, and as if he had forgotten what had just occurred, he rushed towards the younger priest and grabbed him by his shoulder.


    "Woah, that''s amazing!" delighted by the news, he hopped around the room. That guy changes emotions so fast, one might mistake it for dissociative identity disorder.


    "Come, show me which talent she possesses!" He said while grabbing Yumeii and striding out of the chamber.


    They walked along the same corridor and entered a nearby door. The insides resembled the room from before, with slight deviations like personal belongings or location of furniture.


    "It even opened instantly! There, take a look at her page."


    "Hmm, she indeed holds a green talent, <Magic Perception>..."


    "Haha, but that''s not the only thing, she even got a name, perhaps she received it from those that opened her page for the first time. Her name is Elise, unfortunately there is no surname that came with it."


    "That is regrettable or else we could have found her parents- hey wait a second, could he by chance also have a name?" He asked while looking at Yumeii and opening his page"


    "What! His page opened instantly too, which means he''s the same as her, quick let me take a look!


    Yumeii... what a strange name but, also no surname, on the other hand those two certainly are related to one another."


    "You may be right but, their talents are surely not."


    "What do you mean by that?"


    "Take a look for yourself..." he said while letting out a deep sigh.


    "<Dedication to Dreams>", after this already, his expression turned quite sour.


    "It''s red... How unfortunate."


    "Could it be that they both got thrown out because of him?"


    "That would be cruel but, not impossible."


    "Hey stop rubbing salt into my wounds! I''m on the verge of crying here you know!" He complained.


    "Did he just now react to our words?" He wondered.


    "That can''t be, he''s only 6 month old. Haha you''re getting old!"


    "Haha maybe you''re right, even though you are older than me!"


    "Hahaha!"


    "..." Yumeii was speechless.


    With that, the examination of the two came to an good end, of course with the exception of Yumeii who wanted to dig himself a hole and jump in.


    Afterwards all four of them left the room together and waited for a couple of hours for the final result of the third kid. The group moved to a dinner room to get something to eat and found some vegetable soup. While eating and feeding they talked about the recent events.


    "Almost forgot how hungry I''am, at last food!" Yumeii said in a good mood.


    "Ahh, that''s what you wanted!"


    "Yes, what else?"


    "Hmm? Perhaps you should learn a bit from Celesta how to handle children." He suggested.


    "Well, I may consider asking her next time I see her."


    "You better do." Yumeii wanted to say.


    "But seriously, the disparity between the two talents is... let''s not talk about it."


    "Hopefully the next one has a useful blue or even a green talent."


    "I have confidence that thats the truth."


    In the end they let the time pass trough idle chatting accompanied by the occasional laughter or intense discussion about the world and it''s inhabitants.

 Chapter 4|Growing and Moving out

    Celesta showed up a while later, apparently searching for someone.


    Having looked around she eventually found the group and approached them.


    "Ahh, there you are. How was it, Nicolas?"


    The older priest answered her.


    "Well, I have a good and a bad message for you, as well as a odd one. Which, would you like to hear first?"


    She pondered for a second and answered, "tell me the bad first."


    "The bad is, that, the boy possesses a red talent." He said while looking at Yumeii.


    What for real?," asked Celesta in a suppressed but clearly shocked voice.


    "Unfortunately, yes," said the younger priest.


    "Could you show me his page, William?"


    "Sure."


    With a hand motion of William a translucent blue window opened and one could see in between the black letters a distinct red portion which read:


    "<Dedication to Dreams>, it''s red," she said after verifying the colour.


    After a slight pause, she asked, "and what''s the good message?"


    " The good message is that, the girl, in turn has a green talent named <Magic Perception>," Nicolas told.


    While heaving a sigh of relief, she pressed for the odd message,"what about the odd one?"


    "The pages of both of them opened instantly. This could only mean that they have already been opened once, probably by their parents," continued William


    "How cruel, to throw your own children out, after just seeing the talents," she concluded.


    "But that''s not all, they also have a name. Here let me show you."


    The page of Elise also showed up and the pages were brought together.


    "Yumeii and Elise, so that are your names."


    After a pause, "but what about the surnames?


    "There were none, they have probably received their names before their first examination."


    "So we don''t even a clue who their parents might are," she said in a sunken voice while, looking at them.


    "Sorry, for that."


    "No, please don''t apologise. There was nothing that you could have done." Said Celesta and waved her hands in front of William.


    "Okay, thanks for your hard work, I''m leaving. Please bring the kids back, you know where, yes?." Saying that in a seemingly better mood she turned around and left.


    Having seen Celesta off, they waited again for their colleague and after approximately an hour, he finally emerged out of his room carrying the other boy in his arms, joining them.


    After the both priests confirmed the colour from the boys talent, did they also told him what happened at their side of the examination and started the discussion again.


    Nicolas and William talked about, Yumeii''s red talent, the green talent of Elise, about the incident were both pages opened instantly and how the two kids had a name.


    The explanation of the events took a while and as the duo slowly came to an end, had one of them noticed how late it was.


    Nicolas was the first who spoke up.


    "Ok, the conclusion of this day is that we''ve got an uncommon green talent, a common blue talent and lastly the most surprising, even a extremely rare red talent.


    We also found out about the names of Yumeii and Elise.


    "What a day," added a tired William.


    "Let''s wrap this up and bring them back to their rooms"


    After they were brought back and the priest dispersed.


    Yumeii still pondered about the matter of today and as he was about to complain about his bad luck again, he suppressed the urge to do so and realized:


    "What would it help now at this point. I can still become successful in life because of my knowledge of the modern world and my experience from my mental age. I should just leave them stunned when time to shine arrives!"


    But there was still one thing on his mind.


    "The name of the girl is Elise and the chance that she may be my sister is really high, I should interact with her more, in the future."The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Hence, Yumeii made up his mind and plans and could rest in peace.


    The time as infant passed by with nothing else really happening besides, the lectures of Celesta he heard now and then.


    Yumeii became older, his body developed and he could speak more clearly. His muscles could now support his body to walk on two legs and he ultimately turned more independent.


    Some years have passed, Yumeii and Elise were now at the age of five and the resemblance between the two started to show. Which has confirmed that, they were siblings.


    Both had long platinum blonde, almost white hair, sky blue eyes, fair skin and bore almost the same height.


    Yumeii''s build was on the slim side while, Elise was petite and a little shorter than her brother.


    They where also not living in their old chamber anymore but, another similar room with a wooden floor that was a bit larger. It contained small beds instead of cribs, equipped with dressers at the front. Inside where already other children that were a bit older or at their age.


    They entered the first time with Celesta, after moving in the afternoon and got immediately surrounded and bombarded with questions by the kids:


    "Hi, what''s your name?"


    "How old are you?"


    "Are you siblings?


    "What''s your favourite colour? Mine is orange!"


    "Do you want to be my friend?"


    Overwhelmed with the situation, Yumeii and Elise didn''t know how to react.


    Fortunately, Celesta was with them.


    "Alright! Please disperse and stop bothering the two, they have just arrived. You can question them later, one at a time. Do you all understand?"


    "Yes!" Answered the kids.


    "Nice one, Celesta," thought Yumeii and gave her an imaginary thumps up.


    Elise also looked relieved and said to Yumeii, "good that we had Celesta with us."


    "Yeah."


    "Ok, Yumeii, Elise just make yourself comfortable. I''ve already made your beds and filled the dressers with suitable clothes. You can also use them to store you other belonging, but be obedient.


    And when you change your clothes, please put your dirty laundry into the basket next to the door, Okay?" She instructed them.


    "Okay," said both.


    Elise wore a simple, white one piece dress, whilst Yumeii had a white shirt and brown shorts on, as it became warmer outside.


    This land had four seasons, like in the temperate regions of earth.


    That seem to also have similar lengths as well. The arrival of a season was determined by observation alone and didn''t had a particular date when it began or ended.


    Other climates also existed, dry and cold, or even tropical and humid with vast unexplored forests.


    There was also, another known continent on the other side of the ocean that was recently discovered.


    However, expeditions were almost impossible due to the difficulties of sailing across a sea, filled with unknown monsters and sudden weather change. Thus, explorations stagnated till a solution was found.


    "Then, I will come back later." Informed, Celesta and strode to the door.


    Barely, after she was out of sight, the children were approaching them again. This time without causing a ruckus.


    "Sorry for just now, we must have startled you ." Said a boy that was probably the oldest and their leader.


    "No, no, we don''t mind it," said Yumeii.


    Elise nodded.


    "Let''s become friends, my name is Eric." He said while holding his hand out.


    "Sure, I''m Yumeii," and grasped his hand.


    "And who are you?", he asked Elise.


    "Elise."


    A thing that Yumeii discovered relatively fast in the past was that, Elise usually spoke little or was quiet. Yet she did not seem shy or timid like Celesta.


    "Errh, okay. Then, I won''t bother you further, but, I think the other will."


    With that said, the other kid swarmed at them again and inquired them with questions.


    It started from their most liked seasons and ended with how fast they could run.


    The children were satisfied and left them alone after they answered every question that they came up with.


    The pair was now sitting on their beds, recovering from the assault.


    "I''d never thought that answering so many people could be that tiring." Said Yumeii to Elise.


    "Yeah."


    "And what should we do now," he asked to extend the conversation.


    "Don''t know, didn''t Celesta say that she would come again."


    Coincidentally, she called for them the moment Elise finished her sentence.


    "Yumeii, Elise could you please come with me?"


    Both of them got up and followed her. They were escorted into an open room near their old chamber.


    Peeking inside, they saw rows of tables and simple benches. At the back was again a tall window with a pair of shutters and on the tables where framed slates that resembled a small blackboard, that were probably for writing.


    It was without doubt a classroom.


    "Both of you are now five years old and I think that you should also participate when I teach. I just wanted to show you the room where I will hold my teachings," she explained while smiling at them.


    "So what do you say?"


    Not hesitating, the siblings answered with:


    "Yes, please teach us!" Even Elise was excited which, surprised Yumeii a bit.


    "Alright then, please join with everyone else, tomorrow after breakfast, understand?


    "Yes, understood!" Agreed both together.


    "Then, see you tomorrow. I still have some things to do, bye."


    "Bye."


    "Bye."


    Enthusiastic about the next day, they left and walked back.


    Elise took the initiative and questioned Yumeii.


    "Yumeii isn''t it nice that we also get to finally participate?"


    "Sure it is!"


    The reason why they were so happy about it was that, both already expressed their wish to attend Celesta''s class, to one another.


    "Let''s ask the the older kids what Celesta is going to teach." Suggested Yumeii to Elise.


    Arriving, they asked around and found out:


    "Hmm, you want to know what Celesta is teaching?"


    "She shows you how to write and read."


    "That''s true, she will also teach about you history."


    "And numbers too!"


    "Does she talk or teach about magic?" Elise wanted to know.


    "Don''t know, maybe try asking Eric, he''s the oldest."


    "What about me?"


    "Do you know if Celesta teaches about magic."


    "Well, she does sometimes talk about it."


    "What about teaching?" Interrupted Elise.


    "Not that I know of. But you could try asking her personally if, she would show you something."


    "Yeah, we will do that. Thanks Eric." Said Yumeii.


    "No, problem."


    Overall, they found out that from tomorrow onwards, Celesta will also teach them about the basics of this world and perhaps magic if they get lucky.


    Determined to learn more about magic, Yumeii and Elise decided to ask her personally about it and if possible let her show them how to use it.


    The day ended and they were going to eat dinner together with the others in a communal hall for the first time.


    The hall was quite big and contained several long tables and chairs.


    Inside the children were already setting the tables and brought the food from the nearby kitchen.


    A quick prayer when everything was finished made the meal accessible and the dining began.


    After clearing the food, the kids had to help cleaning and proceeded afterwards to their bedrooms to rest.


    Only Yumeii and Elise had a hard time falling asleep due to anticipation for their first lesson.