《Indefinite》 1.Death White walls and beeping sounds. That has been my life for the last 10 years. Some might say it is nothing compared to my 93 years of life on the outside, however I must disagree. Tied to this room decorated with the instruments that keep me alive. A cold metal bed and a long metal table covered in my life¡¯s research. Above the table the only window shedding meagre light into my lonely room, nothing can compare to what seemed like eternity in a box. As I move my tired body off the bed and towards the window, the rattling of tubes and sensors while they follow my every move breaks the silence. Outside the window the red glare makes my eyes waver. The last rays of light, soon there will be darkness, then light again. And so time moves on. Time is an indefinite continuation, one that all existences succumb to. Although never scared of death, I have always been afraid of a meaningless life. A long time ago, I took great interest in martial arts and reaching enlightenment. I focused on the development of the body and mind. Surpassing my physical and mental abilities each time. Although fulfilling, within a few years the limits of my body were reached. I could do no more and kept searching for new meaning. I look around the stacks of papers on the table and move some folder out of the way. There I find a book with on the front, in scribbled writing the title reads, theories on the laws of the physical universe. Through my life I have read allot of books. They gave me insights, ideas and purpose. Starting out with books on reincarnation, magic, love, death and creation. Then, more explicit books like mechanics, quantum physics, thermodynamics, relativity, and interdisciplinary fields such as astrophysics, biophysics and chemical physics. Most of my life however, was devoted to understanding the laws of our universe. I wanted to know the principles and to understanding the purpose of life in the cycle of indefinite continuation. Thus, I created the theory on the laws of the physical universe. A well received theory that made me quite famous, although I did not much care for the opinion of others. Their trivial conflicts and seemingly meaningless existence confused me. My observations of the planet and the universe however lead me to understand more and more. Through my research I walked many paths, one in particular though, would be forever etched into my memory. Manipulating the surroundings in order to create phenomena. Actually bending the laws of this universe to your will. That was the path I had discovered. I had unravelled the very nature of the universe itself and I could influence it. Humanity had always called it magic, a power that can mysteriously or supernaturally influence the physical and natural world. However through observation and experimental means I had the beginnings to creating a systematic structure to accomplish what others deemed sorcery. It would have been my greatest accomplishment. Until my body gave in and I ended up surrounded by four walls. I scan the table with the remnants of my life¡¯s work. Although the purpose of life is still a mystery to me, I had found my goal. I had the means. However even with my immaculate health, time eventually took me.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Reaching over I press my hand against the glass window that separates me from the outside. My eyes wander over the landscape and eventually turn to look at the inside of my tiny room. A low sigh escapes my lips. Two regrets. After a meagre 103 years of life, to have only two regrets should be an accomplishment. My first regret is that I never got to finish my research, to become a being different from human, something much more. My second regret is that I never took the time to love another. Although rare, within the billions of people there were still abundant woman whose intellect outshone my own and whose beauty was astounding. I had not the awareness to appreciate them. Another sigh escapes me. I return to the bed with small silent steps and crawl under the covers. I get into a comfortable position, placing the cushions at the right angle behind my back. By the time everything is in place, my breath is heavy and my whole body aches. By now my room is in darkness. Out here, far away from everything, the light of civilisation does not reach. Even the moon and the stars seem to have disappeared behind the clouds. 10 years. It seems I held on longer then I could have predicted. The will to live has kept me going. However, now even that has run out. I look at the machine next to me. I reach out my hand and flip a switch. I try to move my hand back to the bed but it only makes it half way before it limply falls out of my control. As I close my eyes I listen to the silence around me while slowly falling asleep, never to wake up again. *** Before I can understand what has happened an unbelievable force pulls at my very being. My senses seem to go erratic; it feels like I¡¯m being pulled through a vortex. However I feel no pain. Eventually my surroundings stabilise. Slowly, I open my eyes and find myself surrounded by darkness. What the fuck is going on? There is no way a stupid concept such as the afterlife exists right? How over populated would that place be? I try took look at myself but cannot discern anything, like my mind does not understand my very surroundings. All I get from my senses is darkness. It¡¯s a very confusing feeling. ¡°Soul scanning in progress¡± An indiscernible voice surrounds me. Although not one of the 7 languages I am familiar with, I understand what it says. ¡°Soul scanning complete, titles allocated. Sage of Wisdom. Expert of Martial Arts. Philosopher of the Universe. Scholar of Knowledge. Elder of life.¡± Soon the voice speaks again. Although flattering, I do not completely understand the titles. The situation is starting to make some sense at least. ¡°Conditions met, more than two titles. Conditions met, extraordinary titles achieved. Options available. First option, do you wish to go to a higher plain?¡± Okay, more information. So if I¡¯m not mistaken, I died and got relocated to this place, wherever this may be. There is a being that seems to govern what it calls the ¡®souls¡¯ of my world. It allocating titles that most likely has to do with my life¡¯s achievements. And now I¡¯m given options? Higher plane sounds good though. ¡°Yes?¡± Soon after I declared my answer a new question followed. ¡°Do you wish to keep your memories?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I answer without thinking. My memories are everything to me. It is my life¡¯s work and my strength. If I can keep them, I can become as indefinite as time itself! ¡°Do you wish to be of the human species?¡± That is an interesting question. I never had an attachment to my humanity. In fact, if I were to be compared to some groups of my own species it would be a great insult. Although being an animal would be somewhat problematic. ¡°No¡± As I voice my answer, I feel myself being pulled away before I can make heads or tails of anything. Everything blurs as I once more drift towards another place. 2.This is new Darkness. Once again I find myself in darkness, this time because I am incapable of opening my eyes. At least this time I have a sense of touch. Although hard to discern, I believe I have arms and legs like a human. I also seem to have the same amount of fingers and toes. Some vague noises can be heard from time to time. My body feels uncomfortable, which might have to do with the fact that I don¡¯t think I am breathing. Also, my muscles spas on intervals and I have intense growth pains all over my body. Scratch that, it feels more like I have been torn apart and someone is reassembling me from scratch! It can only have been a few days but I don¡¯t know how much longer I can take this. Even though much better then the first few days, anyone would go insane in complete darkness and constant pains. As that thought kept going through my head for days, I didn¡¯t notice that the pains had already completely gone not long after I started complaining to myself. I kept doing the only thing I could, move any muscle and thinking. That is until sudden movements woke me from my thoughts. My body is being pushed and I am rushed towards something. I can feel my surroundings changing. It feels like I have been underwater for the last weeks and am finally meeting fresh air. I feel the touch of someone else. My eyes slowly open and my brain is met with surging pain from the brightness. The sounds in my surroundings became clearer; although I am too confused understand them. As I orientate myself, I can finally focus my vision. What meets my eyes are another set of eyes, full of happiness. They are hypnotising, a light blue with white speckles all the way through, with a deep black large oval pupil in its centre. This is new. I turn my face to get a better look. It is a woman. Her hair looks like it¡¯s made of feathers, the same pale colour as her skin with blue strands, falling down just past shoulder length and then down her back out of my sight. The rest of her features look human like. Then she smiles and two beautiful rows of teeth, with very sharp looking k-9 show themselves. ¡°kafe yoe teka gim?¡± The woman says something to someone beyond my vision that I cannot understand. Suddenly I get picked up and put on the floor. I try to move around and stand up, however very wobbly. I stabilize when I open up my wings. Holy shit, I have wings! After a small struggle I¡¯m able to stand up straight. I look down at my hands and feet; they are like a human''s, just very slightly claw like. The rest of my body is practically human, although my reproductive organ seems very small. I am covered in blood, but my skin is soft and smooth. Did I just get reborn? But I can walk. I must be a precocial newborn. I try to move around as best I can. When I look up, two people look down on me with happy faces. The woman and a man with similar features, however with green eyes, darker skin and brown feather like hair with black locks. Able to have a better look, their feathery hair seems to reach down all the way to the ground. However, going by my own autonomy, it must be their wings. Well, the likelihood that these people are my parents is very high. The man walks over and grabs me under my armpits to pick me up. Before I have a chance to complain I¡¯m dropped into moderately warm water. I get washed and picked up again. This is extremely degrading! I am a 103-year-old man you know! Well, I guess they don¡¯t know. I get carried over to a closet and, the woman whom I suppose is my mother, gets me dressed into some small clothes similar to what they are wearing. Which, now that I get a better look, seems very modern, made of some flexible metal. Almost like armour! What does a new born need armour for? My mother grabs my hand and I struggle to walk as she leads me to where my supposed father is waiting. There seems to be a balcony without hand railings. Don¡¯t they know that it¡¯s dangerous, especially with a newborn around! As my faith in my new parents is plummeting, my father picks me up holding me with one hand under my butt and one hand behind my back, facing him. Then they walk to the edge of the balcony and JUMP! No, no, no, no, no, no NOOO!This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. When I realise the falling sensation I was expecting never came, I open my eyes, which I had squeezed together. I¡¯m clenching on to my fathers clothes. Loosening my grip, I turn my head to the side to look around. I find my mother laughing, clearly amused at my actions. This is far too embarrassing! I¡¯m just happy I can¡¯t hear sounds due to the wind that is blowing against my face. The rocking sensation is making it hard to stay awake. Soon my eyes fall shut, as I fall asleep. *** Finally, some time to myself! Today I wake up and my mother is dragging me all over the place, first cleaning me, changing my clothes, feeding me weird looking food! I did get to see my own reflection. I look like a 2 year old, with the same features as my parents. I have the same eyes as my mother, stubby looking k-9¡¯s, and white-feathered hair with dark blue almost black strands. My wings have similar patterns as my hair, yet they are completely white on the underside when I unfold them. Having wings is a new and exciting development. They stretch the entirety of my body; yet fold away behind my back perfectly. Sometimes I forget I have them. Too bad biology never interested me too much; I only have very limited knowledge of my own body. As I turn the corner, I can see my father sitting behind a large wooden desk with my mother standing next to him. They are talking while my mother is handing him papers that he signs. Although my father is sitting in the big chair, behind the big desk in the office packed with books, he doesn¡¯t look like he is in control at all. My mother seems to be telling him what to do, and he doesn¡¯t even bother to read the papers he signs! Amusing to say the least. Shit! My mother spotted me in the corner and is coming over. I try to run, but before I can even take a step, she is already holding me in her arms. How fucking fast is she?! Although large for a newborn, my mother effortlessly carries me around with one arm. My new species must be quite strong. I get put down on a chair and my mother starts straightening my clothes and hair. My face distorts into a grimace, but I can¡¯t move as my mother easily keeps me in place going about her business. My father gives me a sympathising look from the side. This spineless man! Once I¡¯m all cleaned up, my mother admires her handiwork for a moment. Then she looks me in the eyes. They seem very overpowering and I get a shiver down my spine for a second. ¡°Stei¡± She signals at me with her finger. Although I still do not understand the language, it is pretty clear she wants me to sit here. Then she goes back to my father and keeps handing him documents, talking about who knows what. When my mother is once again too occupied to notice, I slip off the chair and sneak towards the door. Damn, she closed it at some point. My new house is impressive; we must be a well off family. It seems to be completely made out of wood, with elaborate designs. There are no other decorations, only objects with specific functions. Yet they all compliment the entire design. Everything looks very modern, even though it is completely made out of wood. Anyway, the door to the office has a specific way to open it. Lucky for me, I¡¯ve seen my parents open it before so I should be able to open it. I turn the disc surrounded by engravings on the side of the door, a few times left and a few times right, lighting up the correct engravings. When I finish, I feel something seeping out of me and into the engravings. Then the door opens. Before I make my escape, I look back one more time to see my father look at me like he cannot understand what he just saw. My mother seems oblivious. Before he can snitch on me, I close the door from the other side and toddle off. I go as fast as I can until I reach a door. I know it goes outside, and open it. Then I just stand there. Holy shit! How high is this? I look over the buildings that surround me. It is a city with high-rise buildings all around me. They look like giant elven castles with towers like in the stories I¡¯ve read as a child. Giant domes covering the buildings all around me. Most impressive are the green grass, green trees, and spider web looking tubes made of white wood rising into the skies, filled to the brim with flowers and plants. It¡¯s like the whole city grew with the wildlife around it, and nature made place for the buildings to grow. Crawling on my knees to the edge of the platform that the door opened up to, I make out the rest of my house below me. I¡¯m on a tower, surrounded by smaller towers. Well more like half tree, half tower, it is hard to discern. Large windows cover all the buildings unhindered by the growth of plants around them. The towers have long pointed roofs; wooden Staircases and bridges go from one tower to another. The branches of the trees support the arches and platforms forming one giant building. However the platform has no way to get down. I guess I could use my wings and fly down, but I¡¯d rather not test that theory right now. A sudden gush of wind almost pushes me over the edge and I grip the side of the platform in order not to fall down. Too close! I turn around and run as fast as I can back the way I came. I quickly close the door and don¡¯t look back. I don¡¯t know anything about this place! I¡¯m tiny! I don¡¯t even know how to get out of my own house, let alone anything else. I go to the office where I left my parents and open the door the same way I did before. My parents are still talking about stuff I do not understand. I sneak back in and climb on the chair. At that exact moment my mother turns around and looks at me. She gives me a knowing look and smiles. Even though it is a loving smile and I believe my mother is a beautiful person,her pointy teeth make sweat drops appear on my forehead. 3.Warmth ¡°That¡¯s not right¡± My mother corrects me as I¡¯m scribbling on a piece of paper. It has been about a month since I was born. My Mother had read me a few children¡¯s books from time to time. However the language still seems to be a hurdle to me. So I started to write down letters and associating them with sounds. Languages are like complicated puzzles. You have to distinguish the sounds, then the words and then formulate sentences with them. My parents however seemed very shocked at my actions. I guess it isn¡¯t normal for a child to suddenly start writing when it has barely said a word. It is just that it will take too long to understand the language the conventional way. Using my knowledge to decipher the language will be much faster. Eventually they stopped looking at me like I was a mystical being and started helping me. I think they have realised I¡¯m not a normal child. I too have realised some things about this world. I have seen people floating around even without wings and people forming water out of thin air. The lights all around the forest like city go on by themselves every night, even though I have not seen any electricity whatsoever. A semi modern city, without any of the innovations I remember from my world. I also think I found the reason why. It is much easier to interact with the laws of this world compared to my old one. Although, because everyone in this world seems to have an inborn ability to manipulate their surroundings, they had a far more superficial understandingthen the one I painstakingly put together with my years of research. Even ifsome rudimentary devices have been made, like the lock on the doors, it is nothing compared to what humans had achieved with nothing at all. With such a high amount of control over the power that surrounds us and a fusion of technology from my old world, many more things could be achieved. Maybe it is the great amount of power that stagnated the need to create new things. The manner in which buildings are made still astounds me. They are practically grown and carved like living things, howeverthey stop growing once in their final form. Well there are still many things I don¡¯t understand. First I¡¯ll need to get this language under my control. I look at my mother, who is still looking at me with intrigued eyes. I show her the paper I have been writing on. She looks it over for a while then hands it back, seemingly pleased. ¡°Well done Icarus¡± Oh yeah, that¡¯s right, I got a name! Let¡¯s just say, having lived in a box for so long, it had been a while since anyone called me anything. I¡¯m not sure how I feel about having a name of someone, who according to myths in my last life, broke his wings and fell from the sky though. I suppose I¡¯ll just have to learn from his mistakes and be as safe as possible. Yep, that was the plan. So why am I back here at the edge of the platform I had discovered on my first day exploring the house! After my mother and I had spent a few hours writing and talking, she suddenly cleaned up my stuff and took my hand. We walked through the familiar hallways and ended up in front of that accursed door.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. I tried to run, I really did! My mother is just too strong! And now, here I am, at the edge of the platform once again. However this time, I have to try my best to keep my balance on my wobbly legs. I tried to kneel down like I did last time, however my mother picked me up and placed my right back on my feet. As I look at her, my mother opens her wings and talks to me in a slow calm voice. Although I don¡¯t understand most of what she is saying, I guess she is trying to explain how to fly. Something about the flow and feeling or whatnot. Maybe seeing that I don¡¯t fully understand, she flaps her wings and lifts up into the air. Her surroundings fluctuate ever so slightly. I guess she is using her wings in combination with her control over her surroundings to keep herself airborne. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. From what I know of my mother, she won¡¯t let me go unless I at least try. Feeling the air around me, I search for the energy I have gotten familiar with the last month. I channel the energy inside my body and surround myself with it. After a few seconds, I feel stable enough to flap my wings. I have gotten decent control over them lately, although I¡¯ve never used them to fly. Maybe I¡¯m already in the air? I open my eyes to realise that I¡¯m in the exact same position, flapping my wings like an idiot. I look over at my mother. Bad move! She is giving me a look that screams ¡®step off the platform¡¯. Mothers are scary! Was my last mother like this? Gathering my wits, I slowly lean forward to try and glide down. Soon my feet leave the platform and I feel the weight of my body being pulled down by gravity as I work my wings to utter exhaustion. I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m falling. Very slowly, but I¡¯m definitely falling. At least it is a high building and my wings are doing their job, so I won¡¯t plummet to death as long as I can keep this up. I don¡¯t know how long I can keep this up though. This is exhausting. Like doing constant push-ups. The only difference is that if I stop or slow down I die. Taking another deep breath, I focus on the energy within me. Absorbing more from my surroundings, changing it into currents and pushing it out like I had researched in myprevious life. I try pushing myself up with the current and supporting my wings with the rest of my concentration. After a while, my falling stops and I do my best to stay in one place. I look up and realise that I had already fallen a long way down. My mother was but a tiny figure all the way up next to the platform. However, to my surprise, as I focus my eyes onto the silhouette of my mother they somehow zoom in and I can clearly see the cheeky smile on her face. She is sticking out her chest, like a proud mother hen. This woman is going to give me headaches. Having control over my flight, I slowly make my way up. It takes a few long minutes, but I make it back to the platform. As I land, I fall to my knees and breath heavily. My heart is pounding; my wings and back are sore. Before I have caught my breath, my mother picks me up with two arms and walks back through the door leading inside. I have gotten a little bigger over the last month; I should be slightly over 120cm by now. My mother should be around 2 meters and my father is probably 20cm taller still. I guess I¡¯ll grow up to be a big boy. Though I don¡¯t know what the average height is here. Soon, we make it through the hallways and through another door. I sure hope I don¡¯t have to do anymore of this! I get carried past another door and into, what I had come to know as, my room. Its nothing special but it is rather large and I love the fluffy bed. My mother puts me down on the bed. She strokes the feathers on my head, looking at me with her big blue eyes. I guess I¡¯m off the hook today. At least I know she is trying to teach me. It is definitely better than being alone. ¡°Well done, get some rest¡± I recognize the words coming from her mouth and nod my head. She strokes my head once more, before standing up and walking towards the door leading out of my room. Before she gets to the door I look towards her. ¡°Thanks mom¡± The moment the words travel though the room, she stops in her tracks. After a second she turns around with that evil grin I have seen many times now plastered on her face. However this time, all I feel is warmth. 4.Lineage I look over my shoulders to make sure he¡¯s not looking. Damn him. Making me study this stupid stuff. I focus on my surroundings, trying to feel the mana around me. That¡¯s what my parents call the energy that surrounds and dwells inside us. Stupid name, I know! Could have been something much cooler like¡­ well I don¡¯t know, I never cared enough to give it a name. Moving the mana outside my body, I try to focus it onto the book in front of me. Apparently controlling the mana outside of your body is a rare ability. I mean, I could do it in my old world and here it is a piece of cake. I focus on the information in the book in front of me. Then I try to connect it to my mind and absorb the information directly. ¡°AH¡± However, before I succeed, he slaps me on the back of my head and my control over the mana disappears. ¡°Don¡¯t learn like that, it is harmful to the mind to directly absorb information before the age of 10¡± My father is hovering over me with his arms crossed, giving me an intimidating look. Too bad I¡¯ve seen how mom dominates him and am not in the least impressed. We glare at each other for a good 5 minutes, before I break. ¡°Tch¡± He is stubborn; I¡¯ll give him that. It has been a bit over a year now. I can finally hold a decent conversation. I have been reading all the books in my father¡¯s office and my parents make me study... allot. Although I hate the political studies my father has me doing right now, I enjoy studying about other common knowledge such as; how this world works, the cultures and the practices. The city my family lives in is called Trygard, surrounded by four other cities just like it. They form a semicircle, facing the ocean 2km away. From left to right they are called Sifgard, Trygard, Midheim, Nidavill, and Aschheim. There are some other smaller cities and villages that surround them, but they pretty much fall under the jurisdiction of the closest major city. My family appears to be the ruling lineage of Tryfard. We have close relations with the other five cities and rule these lands together. Although I say that, we don¡¯t do much ruling and there seems to be hardly any conflict at all. All we do is set some basic rules, participate in somebasic governing duties and enjoy the peace. It seems we keep to ourselves and know next to nothing about the rest of the world other than ¡®it¡¯s big¡¯. Our little semicircle of cities alone stretches several thousand kilometre! We¡¯re a bunch of peace loving sloths. This is not better than my last world at all! Yeah we had conflict over meaningless stuff, but at least we did something! How pointless are these people¡¯s lives. At least invent something, or do something productive! What is our damn purpose! I could have dealt with it and done my own thing. However because I¡¯m of the ruling lineage, I have to do a bunch of stuff! Apparently, to make sure the new generation is qualified to keep ruling over the major cities, a test is held. They test your knowledge, strength, etiquette and character.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. What the hell is up with that! I guess knowledge and character, maybe even etiquette¡­ but strength? In our peaceful society? Anyway, because of its importance, I have to study and train all day. I hate politics the most. I don¡¯t care about who does what! And I don¡¯t care to resolving other peoples problems! But my father seems determined to make me absorb all the knowledge I can. My mother isn¡¯t any better. She is teaching me how to behave properly, dress properly, and eat properly. She found it best to show me how it¡¯s done, and make me follow her lead. If done incorrectly, she converts a small bubble of mana filled with kinetic energy into electricity and stings me. Although harmless, it still hurts! At least I am mostly left alone for the rest of my studies. My control over mana is getting better rapidly. I do my own martial arts studies to strengthen my body, which is harder with the difference in physique between my last and current body. The rest of my time I spend reading all the interesting books I can find. ¡°Dad, I finished, can I go now?¡± I try to put on my best puppy eyes, which is delightfully easy with my big glossy eyes. I swear they are made for it. This never works with my mother though, but the old man falls for it every time. ¡°Alright, but I want you back here tomorrow to do the rest¡± Hook, line and sinker. I get up and run out the office. Time to burn off some steam. Man I forgot how great it is to be a kid! I get to the platform where I had my first flight training and jump off without hesitation. My wings unfold and the air fluctuates, pushing me forward at an amazing speed. Not long after, I land in a large open space surrounded by buildings. I walk towards the usual spot. There is a bunch of people training in uniform clothes. This is the military facility of Trygard. My farther said we need it to showcase our power, even if we don¡¯t use it, and just in case. Whatever that means. ¡°Well if it isn¡¯t young master Icarus. Why have you graced us with your presence today?¡± A Man, almost a head taller then my dad, walks up to me. Apparently everyone is around 2 meters tall, this man just looms over the rest. I look at him with a pained expression. ¡°Captain, why you mock me?¡± The captain stops in front of me and gives me a helpless look. ¡°Sorry boy, you making me look bad. In just a few weeks you were able to go head to head with some of my best. These men have trained for years! If someone that isn¡¯t even 2 years old yet beats them, how would that make us look?¡± I guess that is true. I found this place about 2 months ago and asked if I could join them. At first they had mocking smiles, but let me participate because of my family. Soon their smiles disappeared, as I got to know my body better and started to beat them in physical power and martial skill. It seems my family is actually really strong compared to other people. It is still undignifying however, for anyone from the military to be on par with a 2 year old. I thought for a moment and looked up at the captain. By the way, I had gotten a little taller, but was still only half his size. ¡°Then tell me, where do you normally go for actual combat training?¡± I guess he didn¡¯t like that question. He made an uncomfortable face and started to rub the back of his neck. Finally he looked at me, apparently having made up his mind. ¡°Icarus, come with me.¡± He walked off and I followed. We went around the compound and into an office I had not been before. Should be the captains. I only ever bother to come for the workout. He closed the door behind us and gave me a serious look. ¡°Now I know you can handle it. But I need you to make sure nothing happens to you and if you are in danger you come straight back!¡± That means I pretty much had him! I had asked the captain to take me with once before, however he refused right away. Now I just had to play my cards right. ¡°Of course captain, I promise¡± He gave me a look and then looked away out the window. You could see the gears in his head turning. Then, for a second, he looked very uncomfortable. He turned towards me. ¡°Just don¡¯t tell your mother I was involved¡± I can¡¯t help but let an evil smile creep on my face. 5.The child within Fuck! I should have done some research! It is what I have always been best at. It is what I do! How did I forget it now? Maybe this whole new world thing and being reborn got me all screwed up! Once the captain had told me the location of their usual combat training, I had taken off without another word. I guess I was too excited and couldn¡¯t help it. The place was to the north, in the opposite direction from the ocean. There, lays a big mountain surrounded by forest and swamps. It was a short flight for me. Yet I didn¡¯t realise the trees would be hundreds of meters high and the swamps could suck down even the biggest creatures I had ever seen. Speaking of large creatures. I am now facing a 5 meter long, 3 meter tall, wolf looking creature with long teeth and giant claws. How the hell did the guys in the military survive this stupidly large thing? Safety in numbers maybe? Either way, I¡¯m screwed. If this thing doesn¡¯t kill me, my mom will. By now she should be home waiting for me. I had it all planned out. Go and have some fun. Keep an eye on the time. And be back before my mom came home for my studies. Then this fucker showed up and I¡¯ve been here ever since. It is like I¡¯m the tastiest thing it has ever seen. We have been going at it for well over an hour now! ¡°YOU STUPID ANIMAL! JUST LET ME GO¡± I jump to the side as its claws slice the space I had just been standing. Rolling on the ground I get up and try to flap my wings and take flight once more. I feel my feet lift off the ground, but before I take off a deep sense of danger engulfs me and I once more jump to the side, barley dodging some very sharp teeth. When I first entered the forest it was pretty easy, I just started to walk around and incapacitated anything that came too close. It was fun! I never got out much in my old world, growing up in the city and all. It is much harder to get around when you can¡¯t fly wherever you want and still be back home by the end of the day. Anyway, I was having the time of my life when I ran into a den with some puppies. They were the cutest things ever! Maybe it was the child within me, but I just couldn¡¯t help it! I went to go have a better look and maybe pet them if I could. I know it wasn¡¯t the smartest move, but what can you do? Soon wolfy here showed up and the rest is history. Now I¡¯m stuck fighting it off because I have become its new obsession and can¡¯t get away. Gathering the mana around me into my hand I converting the kinetic energy into a large electric ball. Then I fire it after once more dodging an incoming attack. It hits perfectly, like all the other times I preformed the same feat. I even made sure to gather the water vapour in the area and completely drench the animal. Before that I had tried loosening the soil and making it sink. I guess with all the swamps around, it knew how to evade those. Then I tried setting it ablaze by controlling and igniting the gasses around him, with little luck. It would seem the basic won¡¯t help me here. The basics are all I had learned up till now. I had done allot more research in my previous life. But those were all theories and not exactly safe once at that. Although I suppose I don''thave much choice. If I was going to do this however, I was going to do it splendidly. Absorbed as much mana as I could from my surroundings, I evaded all wolfies attacks. Then I formed packets of mana all around me, 20 in total. Once that was done, I let all the mana inside me surge through my body and focused on heightening my senses. Next came a sensation I will never forget. Time slowed down, everything around me was in slow motion, even my own body. Using 4 of the packets of mana I had collected, I cladded my limbs and manipulated them with my mind to increase my speed. I ran towards the thing that would become the outlet of all my anger. It practically didn¡¯t even move. As it launched off the ground, very slowly lifting into the air in my general direction, I slide on the floor right under the animal.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Taking what seems like a minute to think of the best locations to strike, I convert the left over packets of mana into spears of condensed matter and strike. The spears of condensed matter hit 8 of the joints in its limbs, 5 in the upper body, and 5 in the lower body. The mana within my body runs out soon after and I fall limply too the ground. My entire body aches! The pain is agonizing, my vision is blurred and I can¡¯t seem to smell or hear anything. I trying to stay awake and once again absorb the mana around me, to no avail. Soon I can hold on no longer and my conscious fades away. *** Slowly my eyes open. Ugh, my head feels like it split into two. I get my arms under me and try to lift my body off the ground. I sit on the floor and look around. Two meters away I find the body of the thing that had caused me so much suffering. I say body, because even from here it is fairly clear it will never move again. I suppose using theoretical techniques wasn¡¯t the safest move. If I hadn¡¯t killedit, I would be dead. Is that what they mean with ''you can''t run from death, but you can die trying?''. Gradually I climb to my feet and try to stand up straight. I make myself a mental note; don¡¯t mess with things that are 4 times your size and don¡¯t use untested theories. I walk over to the body to check it out, however I wouldn¡¯t know what to do with it. There is no way I could bring it back in one piece. I¡¯m pretty strong, but not that strong. Neither do I know what parts are valuable or how to salvage them. Actually, I know very little about anything here. I can¡¯t help but sigh as my hand massages the bridge of my nose. Why did I come running here without doing any research first? Then I quickly look up and start running. I just remembered the puppies. Once I get to the den the three little pups are still there. They seem scared as they are holed up together shivering profoundly. I slowly make my way over. They are not even a meter in diameter as they are rolled up into little balls of fur. Once I¡¯m close enough to touch them, I sit down and don¡¯t move a muscle. Now what am I going to do? If I leave them here the chance that they will die is very high. However if I take them home my mom will kill me. Then again, I can guess she will kill me either way. As I am thinking the little balls of fur unravel themselves into little wolf like creatures, just like a small version of their parent. They come up to me and start to rub their little heads against my arms and legs. ¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡± Seemingly uninterested in my retort, the little critters keep going about their business. Finally I make up my mind and stand up. Then I pick up the little pups before they can get away and open up my wings. I lift off the ground, realising the extra weight will definitely make me regret this later. By the time I got home I was out of breath, my body was in pain, I had a nauseating headache, while getting an earful from my mother. You¡¯d think a 105-year-old soul would find a way around getting scolded by his mother, but by now I was too tired to care. The tree little puppies were cowering behind me as I was getting the longest lecture in the history of lectures. It seems that my mother had already found out where I had gone when I was home late for our lesson. Then I brought home three puppies of what appears to be one of the strongest creatures in a 500km radius. My mom had put together the pieces and summarised the events that lead to my current ordeal rather well. Soon my mother realised her words weren¡¯t really getting through to me and grabbed me by the wing, dragging my body along the ground to my room. The puppies followed us while sticking to me like glue. Once we got to my room, the pain in my wing overshadowed the pain in the rest of my body as my mom dragged me to my bed. She let go and easily lifted me off the ground. She glared at me as I was lying there, not able to move what so ever. ¡°Stay right there, or so help me I will tie you to the bed for the rest of the week¡± The look in her eyes told me she wasn¡¯t kidding. We looked at each other a little longer. As I thought I could see a tear forming at the edges of her eyes, she gave a glare at the puppies that had gathered next to me on top of the bed, before leaving my room and slamming the door behind her. I guess I made her worry. I mean, to my parents I¡¯m just a little child that is slightly smarter than most other children. I should probably apologise later on and make sure things like this don¡¯t happen too often. I can¡¯t promise it won¡¯t happen again, I have to keep things interesting after all. Unquestionably, my actions were somewhat stupid. What can I say, live and learn. Today was certainly fruitful. I learned some new things about my skills, my surroundings and myself. Not to mention the three little puppies who will become fine animals in the future. I¡¯ll adapt myself to my current lifestyle and keep training and learning. For now that seems like the best plan. However I am definitely going to be making some changes around here! From my fight, I know my research was on the right track. I will have to experiment further. I will also have to do more research on mana and try to intertwine it with the technology I¡¯m familiar with. Once more a stupid grin is plastered across my face. I guess I am my mother¡¯s child after all. Still grinning and scheming, I drift away in a deep sleep. 6.Family things I don¡¯t know how I feel about this. My eyes sweep through the room for the hundredth time. My dad is sitting next to me, the perfect persona of peace and tranquillity. My grandparents are sitting a little further to the side. I met them about 2 years ago. Apparently they had been on a trip visiting the other cities. My grandfather has long grey feathery hair and beard, with silver eyes and black slits that overshadowed the rest of his features. My grandmother looked like a slightly older version of my mother, with even paler skin and hair. Yet neither looked aged, as they both had smooth skin and naturally dominating postures. As they sat there, they looked like two dignified owls. Brimming with wisdom and knowledge, yet splendours to behold. They are from my mother¡¯s side of the family. My grandfather was the last ruler of Trygard, and my father married into the family, taking over his position. I don¡¯t know much about my father¡¯s family, just that they live in Midheim. Ah, by now I¡¯m also 5 years old. The last 3 years were relatively uneventful. The puppies are growing well. I got my father to hirer 3 professional trainers. They still sleep in my room and stay with me most of the time; I just thought it would be best for more knowledgeable trainers to be around. The realisation dawned on me that I have much to learn, and many things I cannot be bothered to learn. If you do too many things at once, you¡¯ll end up being no better than when you started. A practice I took to heart. Thus I focused on finishing my studies, training and collecting as much common knowledge as I can. Once more my eyes sweep through the room. When I make a full round and I look next to me, I meet my father¡¯s eyes. He strokes my head and smiles. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so nervous you know¡± ¡°Like you weren¡¯t the first time around¡± My father¡¯s expression momentarily wavers at my grandmother¡¯s comment and I cannot help but giggle. I can hear both my grandparents laughing as well. It isn¡¯t that I¡¯m nervous really. I just don¡¯t know how I feel. I¡¯ve never been one before. Today, I¡¯m going to become a brother. For the last year, my mother has been walking around with a swollen belly. Apparently, it takes exactly 17 months for a child to be born. I hadn¡¯t even noticed my mother was having another child at first. And I have no idea how it all works anyway. This morning we all flew towards a building in the middle of the city. We have already been here for a relatively long time in a separate room from my mother. My father and grandparents don¡¯t seem worried at all. I also haven¡¯t heard a thing this entire time. I guess childbirth is no big deal here. My thoughts are blown away as the door opens and my mother casually walks into the room we have been waiting. Poor humans sure have it hard compared to this.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Then I make an important discovery. My mother is carrying two bundles! She walks to the middle of the room and puts them down. I can¡¯t help but make my way over as fast as possible, soon the others follow. ¡°Icarus, meet your new brother and sister¡± My mother introduces my new siblings as I take a better look. They are struggling to get up and flapping their wings intensely. They both have very light brown feathery hair with white streaks. My sister has green eyes like my father, and my brother pale blue eyes, resembling my grandfather¡¯s eyes. Yet they seem slightly smaller than when I was born. ¡°It is because they are twins¡± My grandfather gives me a reassuring nod and an interesting piece of information. I see, so twins are born slightly smaller. I look at my siblings one more time as they are still struggling to stand up straight. My father eventually goes over to pick them up and quickly moves over to the corner of the room to drop the two in a shallow pool of water. My mother follows and they each wash one. Once that is done, they move over to the closet and put on the same clothes I had to wear when I was born. Apparently all the children that are born in Trygard go through the same procedure. The clothes are made of a special, super flexible alloy that is stronger than steel and softer than wool. Every newborn gets one. Once they grow out of it like I did they will start wearing different clothes. Once my parents finished up they each take one child. ¡°Well let¡¯s go home first. Icarus, stay with your grandparents¡± My mother sends me a bone-chilling look. She hasn¡¯t completely forgotten about my little adventure just yet. I feel a hand patting my back and look up at my grandfather. ¡°I¡¯ve heard the stories boy. I would have dealt with it differently. Count yourself lucky¡± I try to smile up at him, but his toothy smile makes me shudder. It is official, wicked smiles are a family trait. I stand there frozen, not knowing what to do. ¡°Come on chaps¡± My grandmother saves me from the awkward situation and I spare no time; turning around as fast I can, I run past her. Jumping into the air once at the edge of the platform going outside, I fly after my parents. My grandparents soon follow. We fly at a low speed, but make it home in good time. ¡°I need to talk to you¡± My mother acquires my attention, as we are sitting in the main room of our house. There are three large couches placed in a half rectangle fashion. My brother is on my mother¡¯s lap and my sister on my father¡¯s. ¡°In a few days we¡¯ll go to Midheim. All the children of the ruling houses will gather to socialise. You¡¯ll need to brush up your knowledge on the different families¡­ Also, try to be a normal child¡± What the hell is up with that! My eyes go round and I stare at my mother for a while. I need to think of something. ¡°I don¡¯t want to play with other kids or something like that. I dislike spoiled people and I want to spend time with my brother and sister.¡± My mother stands up abruptly and walks over to my grandmother, she hands over my brother and walks toward me. She bends down, till we are eye to eye, keeping me in place with her stare. ¡°Icarus, my love¡± Silence follows for a while, but my mother is still staring at me. This doesn¡¯t look good. ¡°Yes, mother?¡± ¡°You are my son, yes?¡± ¡°I believe I am?¡± Her brows crease a little, as silence spreads through the room. The whole situation and my mother¡¯s eyes are making me nervous. Guess I¡¯ll just go with the flow. ¡°Yes mom, I am your son¡± Suddenly, my mother smiles and reaches out her hands, putting them on my cheeks. ¡°And as my son you have certain, RESPONSIBILITIES. We have to keep up appearances. When we go to Midheim, you will need to showcase yourself as the future asset of our family¡± I look at my mother, nodding my head. She pulls me into a hug that is slightly too tight. Everyone in the room is looking at me as i hear a wisper in my ear. ¡°I am glad you understand¡± 7.Lesson It is actually worse. I don¡¯t know how, but it is worse than I expected. How would you describe it? Maybe a bunch of highly educated dumb people? Or snobby children that believe to know everything, but truly know nothing? The Sifgard family brought their two sons. They behave well enough, but keep giving everyone looks, as if to say everyone else is scum. Little pricks looked pretty weak to me. Our Trygard family includes my siblings and myself. However my siblings are holding hands with my parents, while I¡¯m meant to mingle on my own. The family of Midheim has two daughters and a small boy. They seemed nice enough and I didn¡¯t mind them. It is just that they are children¡­ and probably not the brightest of the bunch. The house of Nidavill has only one son. It appears their family has no wings, but what they lack in wings they make up for in muscle. The guy is suppose to be my age but looks more like a 30-year-old rugby player. The Aschheim. Well, their family is probably the most weird. They wear very little clothes, where the men where shorts and the woman wear bikini looking things. Also they have more feathers covering the rest of their body. Not to mention that they have 3 sons and 4 daughters. Myself, I am wearing a formal suit like everyone else. Somehow, they don¡¯t hinder my wings, and it feels really comfortable. I¡¯m not sure about the standards here, but from the yearning looks I have been getting I deduce that I am not ugly. I feel cold sweat running down my back and turn around. My mother is staring at me from across the room. I guess I¡¯ve been idle for too long. Suppose I¡¯ll go talk to the midheim¡¯s again. I walk off into the direction I had seen one of the girls running around with a half eaten piece of bread and crumbs all over her face. *** My mouth gapes open as I sit up in my bed. A feat made harder by the three growing Amarok taking up the rest of my bed. That is the name of the species my three little wolfs belong to. I did some research this time to find out more about my new friends and limiting any surprises they might give me. My mother wasn¡¯t too happy with my conduct the other day. It would seem that she has taken it upon herself to re-educate me. You can¡¯t blame me for being far ahead for my age. And some of the people at the gathering were serious freaks. In the end it was concluded that I was not to leave the house till I learn some manners. The worse thing however is that my mom stopped making me the miraculous food she use to. Now all I get are the minimum nutrients I need in the plainest fashion. If my mother is one thing, it is merciless. I move to get off the bed as I hear a creaking noise. I look at my door. It is slightly open. I close my eyes and feel the mana around me, probing for the would be intruder. Suddenly I duck my head and grab something out of the air with one hand. Then I twist around placing my other hand at an incoming projectile. Now I¡¯m standing in my underwear, holding my sister by the waist in one hand and holding my brother by his forehead so he can¡¯t move with the other. I sigh and look at their cute little struggle. ¡°What are you two doing?¡± They both look at me, eyes brimming with excitement. The little stunt they just pulled could have killed me, had I been a normal person. My siblings sure inherited allot of my parents physical strength. ¡°¡°PLAY BROTHER!¡±¡± They both shout in unison. It has been little over a month since they were born; my siblings have started to say simple words. I don¡¯t want them to end up like some of the other families¡¯ kids! I better start training them soon.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Suddenly my door opens and my mother walks in. My father should be doing some official duties, so he has been busy as of late. Locking on to her target, she walks towards us. ¡°Icarus, drop Athena and Chronos¡± I let go of my Sister and brother, who gently fall to the ground, standing next to me on either side. My mother squints her eyes at me. ¡°It is about time we start your real training¡± She glances at the three Amarok lying on my bed. ¡°We¡¯ll go and see what you are really capable of. Follow me¡± She comes over to grab each of my siblings by the hand and starts to move towards the hallway. ¡°Um, Mom. My clothes¡± Turning around and realising I¡¯m still in my underwear, my mom shrugs her shoulders. ¡°You won¡¯t need them, but you can change if you like. Meet me at the training hall. You know where it is¡± Indeed I do. By now I knew every nook and cranny of our house. We don¡¯t use most of it because it is so big, but how could I resist the urge to look anyway. Running to the side of my room, I open a door that leads to my bathroom. I wash up, then go back to my room and grab some clothes. After that is done, I check myself in the mirror for a bit, before making my way towards where my mom and siblings are waiting. The training hall is just a big hall, plated with marble looking tiles to absorb impact. It is filled with different training equipment and tools on one side, and empty space on the other. Athena and Chronos are sitting in a corner poking each other. It seems to be some sort of game. My mother is standing in the centre of the far wall opposite the door I just came through. ¡°Alright, let us see what you can do first¡± My mother points towards another wall with rows of training dummies along them. I raise an eyebrow, before I unfurl my wings and take flight with ease. If focus and raise my palms into the air as 44 packets of mana surround me. The slightly shocked expressions on my mother and grandfather¡¯s faces, is worth all the training I had been doing to have better control over the mana around me. At some point my grandfather had walked in and is now standing next to my mother. I control the mana and convert the particles within into different elements at the same time. 11 spears of each; fire, compressed air, electricity and water, form around me. Then I wave my hands and they all fire at the dummies simultaneously. A torrent of chaos engulfs the place where the dummies were standing. I compress the gushes of energy with my mana, making sure it doesn¡¯t spread to the rest of the training hall. Once done, I land back where I started and look at my family. By now my siblings have stopped their own game and are staring at me with wide-open eyes and gawking mouths. My mother and grandfather have more complicated expressions. ¡°I WANT!!¡± The silence is broken when Chronos jumps to his feet and starts running towards me. Seeing her brother¡¯s actions, Athena soon follows. I can¡¯t help but smile. Being admired by your siblings is a pretty good feeling. My mother is still standing where she stood with her arms crossed. ¡°Are you supposed to use your mana like that?¡± My grandfather gives her a difficult look. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone use their mana like that in all my life. Not many people can control the mana outside their body to begin with, however even the once that do, do not have control like that¡± ¡°Well it isn¡¯t good to be too confident¡± Suddenly my mom starts walking over to me. I feel the mana around me being pulled towards her. She is absorbing insane amounts of mana. Pushing out the mana from inside her body, she sends two maelstroms of air to pick up Athena and Chronos. They slowly drift towards my grandfather, where they are both placed on the ground. ¡°Uh, mom¡­ what are you doing?¡± ¡°Teaching you of course¡± There it is. I should have known better. My mom is giving me a stunning smile while torrents of mana are gushing out of every part of her body. Fast! Before I know it my mother is standing in front of me. I try to absorb more mana to heighten my own senses and ability to move to no avail. I have a slight panic as my mother just stands there. I¡¯m like a sitting duck, not able to absorb mana or properly control the mana around me. Still quite a bit taller than me, my mom picks me up by the nape of my neck and starts walking towards the rest. ¡°You could have given him a chance, and trained him a little¡± My grandpa makes a remark when we are within earshot. My mother just shrugs her shoulders. ¡°He¡¯ll get better on his own, so what is the point. He already has better control than me. I just showed him that there are other ways to win a fight.¡± I guess I did get a little full of myself. If I can¡¯t even take control over my own mana, how am I supposed to beat someone? I thought I had learned from my previous mistakes. ¡°He is still young Hera¡± My grandmother walks over from the entrance. She signs to my mom to let me go, and I stand up straight as my feet meet the ground. ¡°You are never too young to learn¡± My mom retorts. But I feel the warmth rush through my body as she holds onto my hand. Slowly my mana is back to its peak and I¡¯m no longer out of breath. I look at my mom who is pretending not to notice. 8.Interesting The same. Every day is the same! A while ago, dad caught me building a prototype pocket watch to measure daylight and estimate accurate local time. I had only used a few normal metals and some mana conductors, so I don¡¯t know why he got so angry. Either way he banned me from, as he put it, ¡°playing around with dangerous stuff¡±. I get to do nothing Interesting! All I get to do every day is train with either mom or grandpa. Then I spend time with my brother and sister. They starting to learn more words and I¡¯m trying to get them to write. I¡¯m also showing them how to manipulate mana, which is actually really fun. Sometimes officials will visit and my mom will spend a good hour making sure I behave. We also went to visit my father¡¯s family in Midheim, they are¡­ how do I put this¡­ a dumb bunch. Maybe it is part of the culture? Luckily you normally marry into the more influential family. My mother¡¯s family being the rulers of Trygard and my father¡¯s family being traders in Midheim, I got the long straw. I had gone to the barracks to kick some ass a few times, but the captain was gone each time and I could find no one else I knew. I asked around and was told they were on a mission. What that entails, I had no clue. What it all comes down to is¡­ I¡¯m bored! There is only one thing left to do. I stand up and walk through the hallway. As I¡¯m looking around, I hear something in the kitchen. Making my way over to where my mother is sitting at the kitchen bench I tidy myself up. ¡°Mother¡± ¡°Yes Icarus?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been cooped up in this house too long and I can¡¯t take it!¡± Finally looking up at me, she makes a pondering face while talking to herself. ¡°It is a little early. But you have always been a smart kid. I guess I¡¯ll have to pull some strings. Wait here¡± Standing up, my mother disappears into her office for a moment and comes out with a bag and a folder. She hands me the bag and I have to run to follow behind her as we leave the house. ¡°Mom, where we going?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll see¡± Ugh, I have a bad feeling about this. We take off into the sky and fly towards the west. We land near a large building and make our way inside. Large hallways with shelves and doors on either side, noises of children talking and laughing¡­ I know what this is! this is a school! I catch up to my mom so we are side to side. ¡°Mom I don¡¯t want to go school!¡± ¡°You¡¯re almost 7 now. You¡¯d have to go to school when you turn 8 anyways, might as well start early right?¡± ¡°What could the teachers teach me?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, it is good to get to know children your age and make some important connections¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. But I¡¯m 110 years old! Me and my big mouth. I should have just enjoyed my boring life. Well at least it will probably be easy. I¡¯ll get to play around a little bit. Who knows, maybe I¡¯ll make some friends. Not to mention all the girls will technically be older than me! I could gain some experiences I¡¯ve never had. ¡°AUW, What was that for!¡± I rub the wing my mother just pinched. If I had know they could be used against me, I would not have been so happy the first time I realised I had them. ¡°Treat girls with respect, and remember our reputation¡± I look at my mother with wide eyes. How did she know what I was thinking about? ¡°I am your mother, I can read you like an open book¡± I¡¯m still in a daze from my mother¡¯s comment as we stop in front of a large door and she knocks a few times. ¡°Come on in¡± A deep husky voice invites us inside. Mom opens the door and gestures me to follow. We walk into a large office with a big wooden desk and chair like the one father has. Behind the desk is a big man. When I say big, I mean huge. As in, 3 times my height and 5 times my width. I wouldn¡¯t call him fat, but he is pretty damn close. ¡°Hera, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit¡± ¡°Apollo, I have come to send my son to school¡± My mother puts the folder in front of mister Biggy, who looks at me for a second, before he turns his attention back to the folder. ¡°He doesn¡¯t look to be old enough and even if he was, the year has already started¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, you don¡¯t have to teach him. Just make him do the tests; he¡¯ll do the rest himself. All I want is his graduation and some interaction¡± The man lets out a snort. He looks very displeased. Before he can say anything however, my mom already cut him off. ¡°Now you wouldn¡¯t deny me a favour would you Apollo?¡± There it is! The smile that could make even the fiercest of creatures kneel in submission. I think I just saw the big guy flinch. Man he is so done. After a few minutes of silence he breaks. ¡°Fine, here sign the documents and bring him to your old class. I¡¯ll inform the teacher¡± Apollo does something behind his desk and shortly after a petite lady walks in. He tells her something, before she once more disappears. My mother quickly filled out the forms and hands them back. Then we leave without another word and my mom brings me to a classroom. She bends down and hugs me for a while before separating and looking into my eyes. ¡°Behave yourself, but make sure you have fun. Alright, you can go in whenever, I¡¯ll pick you up when you are done¡± Before I get the chance to reply, she gets up and walks away. I look at her back for a while before I turn to the door separating me from whatever lies on the other side. What could be the worse that happens? I open the door and enter the room. 62 pairs of eyes lock onto me and I¡¯m slightly stunned. Man, someone can cut the tension with a knife. I look at the man standing in the front of the class, who I¡¯m guessing is the teacher. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m new¡± ¡°Ah¡­ yes, I know. Everyone, we will have a new student today¡± This guy doesn¡¯t look like he could teach a bird to fly. ¡°Well come on up here and introduce yourself¡± I walk to the front of the class and stand up straight, facing the class. ¡°Hi there, my name is Icarus Trygard. I¡¯m 6 years and 10 months old. Nice to meet you¡± I make a slight bow before looking up at the class. Oops, I guess that didn¡¯t help break the tension. Everyone is still staring at me in silence. Then chaos unfolds as everyone is talking shouting and whispering things to each other. Mother did always say first impressions were important. I look at the teacher, who seems to be at a loss as to what to do. Seriously¡­ I rub my temples, before taking a deep breath. ¡°SHUT UP¡± Well that got them quiet. Guess I should say something comforting. ¡°Just treat me like you would anyone else¡± I try to give the most welcoming smile I can, before turning to the teacher to indicate for him to take over. Seemingly understanding, he faces the class. ¡°Uhm, yes. Everyone. It is as Icarus says. Please be nice to him. You can take any free seat you like Icarus¡± There is a free table at the back and I take a seat. From time to time someone glances at me, it seems they are all brimming with curiosity. This could be Interesting. 9.Peace I smile while humming a tune. My hand practically moves by itself as I scribble the answers onto the sheet. Making short work of my test, I put my hands behind my head and close my eyes. Going to school is the best. I get to take a break from all that studying I have to do at home and can do what I want. The teachers didn¡¯t like my attitude at first. I guess when a kid, younger than everyone else, shows up and hardly pays attention; I can understand their frustration. But I did all my work on time, got full marks for all the tests and never bothered anyone on purpose. Well, to me this is my little holiday, so I¡¯m still going to make the most of it. The bell signals the end of the test, and the teacher comes around to collect them. Everyone starts talking to each other, while I look out the window at the trees. Once the tests are collected, the teacher takes a while to get everyone¡¯s attention and starts a practical lesson. All he wants us to do is use the mana in the air to condense light particles into a sphere. I open my palm and a ball of light appears as I keep looking out the window and enjoy the view. The rest of the class seem to be struggling. I blame the teacher. I¡¯m pretty sure he doesn¡¯t even understand the exact theory behind it himself. Just because you can do something, doesn¡¯t mean you understand it. There are a few competent once among my peers, but this will take a while. At least we have lunch next. Or at least that was the plan. I was looking forward to having food! I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. Maybe I had just hoped it would take a little longer. One of the girls in my class finally got the courage to come over to my table during lunch and started talking to me. I couldn¡¯t help myself and put on my most charming smile, answering all her questions. Maybe seeing that I wasn¡¯t so scary, one became two, two became three and soon there were ten girls standing around my table. It was like they had found a new toy. By the end of it I was exhausted. I¡¯m all for being popular and all, but being constantly questioned about your favoured this and that is not my cup of tea. First chance I got; I ran out the classroom to enjoy my lunch somewhere more quiet. No such luck. It would seem some of the girls that had come to talk to me had very possessive childhood friends. Early bloomers maybe? So I found myself surrounded by four boys. ¡°You should stop concerning youself with the girls in our class¡± The guy in the front is pointing at me with a shaking finger. Did they not resolve themselves enough? I smile at them. ¡°Look guys. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll do whatever I want¡± hahaha, that got them angry. They all run at me with clear intent. Now what to do? It would be bad if this happened often. ¡°I believe this would count as self defence¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it I hum wile looking at my handy work. I made sure not to hurt them too much, but it was still fascinating to see how they would react. They won¡¯t be getting up for a while. Now to make sure I wasn¡¯t seen. Probably should have done that before. I sense the mana around me, and scan for any large life forces. Shit, there is someone standing behind a tree not too far from where me. The fact it is hiding means that it must have seen something. I gather the mana inside my body and clad myself on the outside. The world slows down and I move. What must have been a blink of an eye to my observer was enough for me to get behind it and hold it down against the tree. I turn it around to look it in the eyes. What is this? They are beautiful! Even with the glare surely meant for me. Bright purple eyes with light blue specks all the way through with at its centre large round black pupils. It was like seeing a purple night sky filled with blue stars surrounding a deep beckoning black hole. ¡°Let me go you Trygard!¡± The loud but tranquil voice wakes me from my thoughts. So it is a girl. What did she mean with that? ¡°You know, since you live in this city, you could be considered a Trygard as well¡± ¡°Shut up and let me go you murderer¡± I look at the boys that are still lying limply on the floor not too far away. Is this a misunderstanding? I let go of the girl and slightly put up my hands. ¡°They aren¡¯t dead you know, they wanted to fight me¡± Is it bad that I¡¯m enjoying her glare? Looking her over, she sure is a pretty one. Her wings and hair are silvery feathered with purple strands. Her hands seem very soft though, pretty sure she doesn¡¯t have k-9¡¯s either, and I can see long pointed ears under her dishevelled hair. Never seen any of that before. Possibly noticing my glances, she straightens out her hair to cover her ears. I swear she is trying to pull my leg! How can you go from a glare to such a cute troubled look! ¡°You saw!¡± ¡°Saw what?¡± From what I know, it is best to act ignorant in these situations. ¡°So he really doesn¡¯t know¡± She whispered it really quietly, but I could still make out the words. Does she really think I didn¡¯t see? Why does she sound so serious though? ¡°You keep my secret, I keep yours¡± After saying that, she starts to walk away. That is not fair! I run after her. ¡°Hey! What is your name?¡± She stops but doesn¡¯t turn around. ¡°Eirene¡± Eirene, doesn¡¯t that mean peace? When I look up to ask another question, she is already gone. Mysterious one isn¡¯t she. At least the first person my age I couldn¡¯t figure out after the first 5 min of meeting them. *** It had to come to this. I scratch my head while looking out the window of Apollo¡¯s office. He is reading something and eyeing at me from time to time. I guess there must have been someone else that saw me. I don¡¯t believe Eirene would have snitched. Finally, he folds his hands together and gives me his full attention. ¡°Icarus, do you know why you are here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure sir¡± ¡°We found a couple of your classmates out back¡± ¡°Ah, you mean the guys that didn¡¯t show up for class? Everyone was talking about it¡± ¡°They were found unconscious and badly bruised. We were lucky they had no broken bones¡± I have to stop myself from laughing. Luck had nothing to do with it big guy. He gives me a one over and looks at the paper again. Before giving me an inquisitive look. ¡°You appeared to be the only other student that didn¡¯t stay inside the class at that time¡± ¡°Well the girls were all over me and I wanted to find a quiet place to eat, you must know how it is sir¡± Wow, he didn¡¯t even hide his brilliant smile. What a guy. I can¡¯t even figure out if he is actually good with the ladies or just a simpleton who liked my compliment. ¡°Very well, you may go now¡± ¡°Then I will take my leave sir¡± I turn around and leave the office. Once outside, I stretch my arms out and crack my back. Standing still for so long makes your body itch. Now, even if this has been allot of fun and all¡­ I¡¯M STILL HUNGRY! 10. Grade A piece of meat (new) My mouth is watering, pork, beef chicken, mixed vegetables, salad, it all looks and smells great. It has been a while since I got to eat nice food! ¡°Okay, let¡¯s eat¡± I can¡¯t help but think that just the amazing food makes being reborn so much better. I only ate to sustain myself in the past, but I really missed having nice food when it was taken away from me. To begin with I always ate by myself for as long as I can remember. ¡°It still amazes me how much you eat¡± I give my father a look and shrug. I¡¯m still growing, why wouldn¡¯t I eat. I¡¯m about to grab another chicken leg when suddenly I feel a pinching pain in my cheek. ¡°It is a blessing to have a child that eats well¡± I push my mothers hand away and give her an angry look. ¡°I¡¯m not a child mother, and you hardly gave me anything to eat the last days¡± ¡°You are my child, although you never did call me just mamma or even mom like the other kids. As for the last days, you know why¡± ¡°That is because I¡¯m better than most kids and you know it, don¡¯t punish me for being amazing¡± ¡°You sure are something, I¡¯ll give you that¡± ¡°You just don¡¯t want to admit you feel the same¡± As I¡¯m talking I feel something on my cheek again, just that this time there is no pain. I look at my side and see Athena holding a piece of bread. She is looking up at me with her big bright eyes. ¡°Icarus, eat?¡± ¡°Okay I¡¯ll eat it¡± My brother is sitting next to her looking at his food like he doesn¡¯t know what to do with it. It is nice to have siblings; I wish we could stay like this forever. I lie on my bed, looking up at the ceiling. Family huh. I¡¯ve gotten used to this lifestyle, haven¡¯t I? *** I¡¯m drowsy. It is early morning. I really hate mornings, it is always hard to get up. Manoeuvring my way out of bed, I stand up and close my eyes. I take a deep breath, feeling the mana around me. I let it run through me and let my thoughts roam. After a while I open my eyes and stretch my body. I think my control got a little better. Well, time to get ready for school. I haven¡¯t seen Eirene since the day we met. She seemed like a girl with allot of secrets. How fun would it be trying to uncover all of them! Problem is, I wouldn¡¯t know where to look for her. On another note, the guys in my class have been leaving me alone. Well everyone except for one. He has been on my tail ever since I beat up those kids. It seems his father is a military man and he wants me to make him stronger to impress him.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Not that it is all bad. His mother seems to be some kind of engineer and he picked up a few things from her. Hearing about the technology I didn¡¯t know existed, and a pretty good summarisation of how it works, is mighty satisfying. ¡°Come on Icarus, I told you about the mana accelerator and mana fusion projects. Now you have to teach me something too¡± I give Ares a look; his desperate eyes make me want to keel over from laughter. ¡°Alright, but I¡¯m only telling you once so listen well¡± Although Ares is definitely a smart kid, his control over mana isn¡¯t exactly great. The only thing he seems to excel at is physical strength and ignition of particles. The sheer amount of fire he can form through simply igniting the air around him surprised even me. Too bad he has no control and everything in range is set ablaze, him included. I lift up my hand to show him what I¡¯ doing while I explain. ¡°First you gather the mana. Absorbing as much mana as you can is a basic and very important. However, if you can gather the mana around you and use it, there is much more to use.¡± I let the mana flow through me to strengthen every part of my body, while cladding the outside of my body with another layer of mana. ¡°The way to properly control mana is to understand that everything formed by mana already exists. You are simply bending it to your will through your understanding. The mana outside your body is no different from the mana inside; it is just harder to bend it to your will. All I¡¯m doing right now is using the mana inside me to heighten my senses and reinforce my body. I use the mana outside my body to increase my speed, controlling everything directly with my mind rather than my nervous system¡± I disappear and reappear right on his other side. ¡°The same goes for your fire. It is not like you are making it appear out of nowhere, it is already there. Just in the form of harmless gasses. You use your mana to change the composition and ignite it, creating flames¡± It seems like he hasn¡¯t completely understood what I just told him, but at least it will keep him busy for a while. You can¡¯t really blame him; even the teachers have a very basic understanding. It probably has to do with the fact that there is no conflict and therefore no need to really use any of the powers they posses. I look at Ares who is scribbling down things on a notepad. It is actually an enigma how they know as much as they do. From what I have seen, most people are perfectly content going about their boring lives. There are far too few people that have an actual interest in uncovering unknown truths and ideals. It seems Ares has figured something out and is trying to move the mana around him. Maybe I was underestimating him, he could probably do it with a little more studying. I guess it won¡¯t hurt to teach him a little more. He also said he¡¯d help me to try and find clue¡¯s on Eirene. ¡°Icarussss¡± My thoughts get interrupted as someone hugs me from behind, their face seriously close to my own. ¡°Thalia, how many times did I tell you not to touch me¡± ¡°Awww, don¡¯t be ashamed. I haven¡¯t seen you for so long! It is like you are avoiding me¡± That is because I have been avoiding you! Thalia is a girl from the class over. Her body is too developed for someone her age and her mentality isn¡¯t much better. She is too clingy without showing any actual affection and something about her makes me feel uncomfortable. If I ever meet the person who raised her, I¡¯m going to smack them! ¡°Thalia, you better get off me before I make you¡± ¡°Icarus, you¡¯re no fun¡± She is making a face as if I did something wrong. ¡°Then go away and bother someone else¡± ¡°But you are much smarter than all the older boys and I like you the best¡± Of course I¡¯m smarter than the rest.I was smarter than most of the people here 100 years ago. ¡°Thalia, just stop bothering him¡± Thank you Ares, I knew it was the right choice to make you my friend. ¡°Icarus promised to train me and I made him a promise as well. Once we finish that, he is all yours¡± Thalia moves over to Ares. They look at each other with serious expressions. Then she moves her hand and lightning speed. ¡°It is a promise¡± They shake hands and Thalia strides off. I let my face fall on the table in front of me. This guy, sometimes he is too ignorant for his own good. My only friend just shoved me under the bus. Sold me off like a grade A piece of meat. Oh, how pitiful I am.