ã€ŠInsanity is Just a Formulaã€‹


 B1-C1

    Have you ever felt that disgusting feeling of emptiness in your chest that made you hate yourself for doing nothing about your life, and at the same time, prevented you from doing anything about it?

    If your answer is yes, you probably understand that I was talking about depression.

    While you wanted to play games, read books, socialize, go out for a walk, or even breathe, you just couldn¡¯t. And when you started thinking, ¡°Why couldn¡¯t I do this, or why wasn¡¯t I doing that?¡± You couldn¡¯t find an answer, and it made you feel even worse.

    There were no types of depression; there was only ¡®depression¡¯.

    I lived like this in middle school and high school¡ªthe times when we found friends or experienced things like relationships.

    I wasn¡¯t always like this.

    When I was a child, I had a lot of friends. Both my friends and my teachers liked me. I was that specific sweet and smart kid you could find one or two of in every school.

    But things didn¡¯t keep going like that. We bought my pc around that age. I became addicted to video games and eventually became antisocial without even realizing it. My only hobbies other than games were my cheap bass and electric, which I only played at home. I was enjoying most of the time I spent, but with each passing day, I became socially terrible.

    Loneliness hit hard. But let¡¯s not forget an important point here: being alone and feeling alone were completely different things. If you felt lonely, all I could say to you was, ¡°Good luck.¡±

    The strangest thing was that loneliness was actually just a gentle wind pushing the dominoes. It affected your choices, your choices affected your social interactions, your social interactions affected your grades, and your grades affected your life.

    And finally, as you grew older, anxiety about the future took over your mind.

    I remembered sitting for hours while taking a shower, feeling like I wanted to cry but couldn¡¯t even manage to do that.

    I only had four friends before university, and I met one of them while playing video games.

    I had a lot of trouble socializing because I couldn¡¯t hold a conversation, and I hated being in groups of more than three people. I hated going to places like bars and cafes. I hated sitting quietly in the corner playing mobile games while people were talking. Games were good though, but you probably understand what I meant.

    I was too insecure to be in love with someone, and I became afraid of love when I heard about people¡¯s experiences, such as cheating. I had only been in one relationship, and messed everything up because I was an idiot.

    I made so many mistakes in my life, delayed too many things, had so many regrets.

    But I didn¡¯t give up. In the last few years, I have started to feel better, thanks to some new friends.

    Normally, the only person who cared about you in life was your mother. At least, that¡¯s how it was for me. Other people didn¡¯t care what happened to you, everyone had their own life, and you were naturally not part of it. But for some reason, these people made an effort to make me feel better. They tried to motivate me, and I decided to follow them. Maybe it was the first successful step I had ever taken in my life: making good friends.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    They were the ones who pushed me to adopt a dog. It may sound funny but they were my gym bros, and they were the ones who trained me to become a bartender and forced me to chat with people. The ones who forced me to go on stage even though my breath and hands were shaking. They were the ones who reminded me that I was a human, had feelings, and I could always stand up.

    ¡­

    But I didn''t know if I could stand up right now. My legs were nearly crushed by the truck that hit us, and I watched my friends dying in the burning car. With blood pouring from my head, covering my left eye, I looked around and started to crawl toward the car. When I got closer to it, I saw that the ones in the front seat were already dead.

    I tried to stand up, holding onto the car window full of broken glass. Smoke filled my nose. There had been seven of us in the car. I checked the car seats, hoping that maybe someone was alive, but¡­

    Dead.

    Dead.

    Dead¡­

    Lost, I noticed that one of them was not in his seat. I was about to search for him when I heard one of my friends coughing.

    As soon as I heard his cough, I tried to move toward him. Using the last strength in my legs, I fell to the ground. I tried to crawl, and when I got close, I realized he was smiling.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I shouted at him.

    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡±

    He was stuck inside the car; he couldn¡¯t move his body. Even if he could, there was a very high chance that he would injure himself because of the tons of broken glass and crushed parts of the vehicle. I wanted to help him, but I couldn¡¯t even stand up. Then my friend, who I couldn¡¯t see in the car earlier, came limping toward us with a cut on his belly and helped me to stand. Together, we tried to save our friend who was trapped inside.

    After trying several times to get him out of the car, I suddenly lost all strength in my body and fell again. I guess even adrenaline had its limits. I looked at my friends as they screamed my name, and my vision blurred.

    We were planning to barbecue on a hill with a beautiful view, but it looked like we were the ones who would be barbecued. I held back my laugh as my friend tried to lift me up.

    ¡°Are you going insane?!¡±

    It was funny, why did I have thousands of internet memes running through my head right now? Didn¡¯t people see their lives one last time before they died?

    Oh wait¡­ I finished that part a little while ago.

    I asked my friend to let me go, and I sat next to the car. I looked at him and then at the one inside and realized that he was also holding back his laugh. I was about to say, ¡°What¡ª¡± when he suddenly said, ¡°Man, I¡¯m dead.¡± And that meme became his last words.

    I chuckled as I looked at my friend''s dead body, then I realized that my other friend was trying to pull me away from the fire.

    ¡°You guys are fucking idiots¡­¡±

    My chuckle slowly turned into giggle. ¡°Man, I¡¯m dead¡­¡± I wondered if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time or if it had just come to his mind now.

    I continued to giggle silently for a short while as my already blurred vision slowly darkened and left me in complete darkness.

    I remembered trying to cry and failing when I felt so terrible. At the time, I didn¡¯t know why I couldn¡¯t, but now I know. I had no right to cry. I could have always tried, started, or done something, but I didn¡¯t.

    ¡­

    I wished I had spent more time with my mom.

    Now I¡¯ve lost everything. I had watched my friends die, and just when things were getting better, I lost my life. At least I didn¡¯t have to worry about my future anymore.

    My laughter slowly turned to tears, and I started crying like a child. I cried for my friends, I cried for my family, I cried for my dog, and I cried for my life, which had been getting better. As a strange feeling took over my whole body, I started to think that I had cried so much my voice was getting thinner. But then I heard the voice of an old woman and experienced the greatest confusion of my life.

    ¡°++ boy, me¡¯a lady!

    ++ ++ boy!¡±

 B1 C2

    It was the first thing I heard after I opened my eyes. An old woman, who looked like she was in her fifties, was holding me as if I were a baby.

    We were in a room that had a special ancient feel to it, with things like marble and custom-designed wooden furniture. When I looked around a bit, I saw paintings on the walls that looked like family portraits.

    While I continued to look around the room in confusion, trying to figure out where I was, because this was definitely not a hospital room, the old woman handed me to a woman who was lying in bed and looked tired.

    And an incredible fear gripped me. No, the woman holding me wasn¡¯t a monster. In fact, she was incredibly beautiful, probably in her late twenties, with long, wavy gray hair and strange red eyes. The reason I was scared was that I couldn¡¯t understand how they could hold and carry me so easily.

    Had I lost some of my body parts? No, I didn¡¯t think so... I mean, everyone around me seemed so happy. Personally, I couldn¡¯t look at someone who had lost body parts so happily, even if they had survived. Besides, I could still feel my arms and... little hands?!

    ¡°Me¡¯i amor, look ei+++ ++++++

    Curies ++.¡±

    The woman holding me chuckled and said something in a soft voice. Then I realized there was a man sitting on the side of the bed. I was definitely not in a hospital bed¡ªthis was a big canopy bed. The sheets were a mix of red and black, and the curtains were black.

    I looked at the man, and he came closer to us with a smile on his face. Light brown hair, bright green eyes, and long, pointy ears. What?

    I looked at the woman again. There was nothing unusual about her, except for her contact lenses, but the man¡¯s ears were really long and pointy. They looked too real for cosplay.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Did he just said ''Yes''?

    I couldn¡¯t understand what language they were speaking. She just said ¡°Amor¡± and looked at him. It couldn¡¯t have been French, and it definitely wasn¡¯t Spanish. They used some English words, but it was clearly not English either.

    I tried to move my arms and saw my tiny hands again. I felt weird. These were the hands of a baby, this body was not mine.

    If... If I wasn¡¯t going crazy... Was I reincarnated? But everything had happened so fast and¡­

    I thought this reincarnation thing was either an Indian religious tradition or the idea of suicidal Japanese men who working like slaves, seeing this kind of thing as their last hope. How could this be possible? And why did I still have my past memories? My mind was full of questions, and I couldn¡¯t keep my focus.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    I didn¡¯t know whether I should pray to a god with happiness or spew hatred. Was I supposed to see this as a second chance? After going through the worst years of my life, just when things were getting better, all the friends I trusted and loved had died. What should I feel?

    I guess... I could thank god for not making me a cow or a snail. It would sucked to spend the rest of my life chasing a billionaire.

    Again, I tried to make jokes to ease my mind.

    What should I do now? I mean, I couldn¡¯t move. Even if I could, what was I going to do?

    I wondered if my friends had been reincarnated like me.

    As I struggled with my own thoughts, the man reached for me. She passed me to him, and he took me in his arms. I looked at the man and then at the woman. Should I call them mother and father? They looked so happy. The woman was watching me silently, her head resting on the man¡¯s shoulder.

    Did I kill their...

    No, I had to stop empathizing.

    I was surprised when he gently stroked my head and caressed my long, pointy ears. I was an elf. No, I was probably a half-elf, this woman was a human... I think? I reached for his hand and held his index finger between my new little hands.

    I turned my head slowly and looked at my body, then at the room. I wanted to look at the people who had been in the room, but they had already left. I didn¡¯t have any specific purpose while I was doing these things¡ªI was just trying to get used to my new body and looking around.

    Then I heard the woman¡¯s voice and tried to look at her.

    ¡°Curies, e calm

    ++++ name ++?¡±

    Name? Oh... I would have a new name, right.

    The man looked at me, tilted his head slightly, and I felt a strange sense of curiosity that I hadn¡¯t felt in a very long time.

    ¡°Altevia Aulus Cornetia.¡±

    Was that... my name? That was... long. I mean... it felt like it belonged to Ancient Rome. And also, could this be a dream? Or was I in a coma? I hoped not, everything felt so real. And I didn¡¯t want to wake up back in that world after everything. I didn¡¯t want to go back to my doomer days. I would try to think positively.

    The man, or¡­ I guess I should start calling them father and mother. Even if it felt weird, I¡¯d probably get used to it. I probably, must get used to it.

    My father kissed me on the forehead and handed me to my mother. Then I studied her face. She was incredibly beautiful. I¡¯d say my father was quite lucky, but to be honest, he was pretty handsome too. They both had small noses, my mom had sharp, charming eyes, and my dad¡¯s eyes looked a bit more tired.

    My mother was wearing a long white dress, and my father was dressed in a white and gray robe.

    ¡°+++++ ++++ ++¡±

    ¡°++++ +++¡±

    Their clothes were definitely not from modern times. I couldn¡¯t see any TV or phone. What era was I in?

    I hoped there was toilet paper.

    After my mother brought me close to her lips and kissed my cheek, I realized I was hungry, no starving actually. I put my hands to her chest and she smiled "++++ ++ +++?" I couldn''t speak properly and don¡¯t understand what she said, so I opened my mouth and waited. She giggled and brought me to her breast. This feels weird, but I have to survive.

    For now, I needed to understand my situation better and try to get used to this new life. There was no point in thinking about my old life, I had been bleeding a lot and couldn¡¯t even stand up. I was definitely dead, just like my friends.

    The thing that bothered me the most was that I had died before my mother.

    ¡­

    After she breastfed me, I felt an incredible heaviness in my body and had trouble keeping my eyes open. Or, in short, I started to feel sleepy. They looked at each other, then placed me in the baby bed, and my first day in this world ended.

 B1 C3

    It had been about four months since I was reincarnated. It was very frustrating not being able to move on my own, but somehow, time moved on because I got tired for no reason and slept through most of the days.

    As the days passed, I started to understand their language. I never thought that learning French and Spanish would help me in this way. No, it wasn¡¯t French or Spanish they spoke, it was a Latin-style language that had been developed and organized with structures similar to modern European languages.

    The language they spoke was called Rosarish, and the country I lived in was called the Rosarium Empire. Though it was also called the Marrhea Empire, I noticed that Rosarians referred to it as Rosarium, while everyone else seemed to call it Marrhea.

    And, of course, during this time, I learned a little bit about my family. My father¡¯s name was Eliar Vibius Cornetia, my mother was Aurelia Cornetia, and I had an older sister named Lucretia Cornetia. I think my sister got married and moved to a very far place, but I wasn¡¯t sure, I might have heard wrong.

    By the way, I have to say, I was incredibly surprised that I only had one sibling. My parents were a little... too passionate.

    For the first month, I could sleep comfortably at night, but starting from the middle of the second month, it became impossible to sleep despite my baby body.

    They were literally doing it every night.

    Sometimes, I tried to turn my back and sleep, but sometimes, I decided to watch. Why, you ask? Because I never thought magic could be used like this. I don¡¯t want to go into details, but all I could say is : this is art. In the future, I would definitely learn telekinesis.

    Oh, and yes, there was magic in this world. I had no idea what kind of magic system they had, but I saw my mother applying makeup with illusion-type magic and the servants creating something like a stone blender to make juice. I thought they could create and control the four basic elements and more.

    Apart from that, they had lamps that worked with what looked like small stones, so there was no light problem.

    And you know how I told you that my new name made me feel like I was from Ancient Rome? I was right. When my mom first took me out on the balcony and showed me the view, I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes.

    Our house was on top of a hill overlooking most of the city, Rosarium, the empire''s namesake and capital, which was sort of the Rome of this world. White houses surrounded by nature and trees, magnificent Roman temples, the reflection of the moon on the sea, and the city illuminated by magical light, even though there was no electricity, was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen.

    If we go back to my family, well... My father seemed to be a politically powerful nobleman, or an important merchant, I wasn¡¯t sure. The house we lived in looked like a very expensive place, so I was expecting something like this. At least two or three days a week, people who looked like nobles from different races, such as dwarves and elves, wearing purple, white, or red togas or late medieval-era silk clothes (I thought togas were some kind of cultural symbol, and they still wore them in hot weather,) visited our house, and spoke with my father.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    I thought my father must have been tired of talking to these people because, sometimes, he came to me, poked me, and asked me to cry. When I cried to help him, he would come running to me and kick his guests out of the house. I think he started to like me a lot because I helped him in this way.

    At first, he would stroke my head once in a while, but lately, he had started spending more time with me or taking me with him when he went somewhere. He was a bit strange, he reminded me of my old self a little bit, which might even have been one of the reasons I took to him so easily.

    And my mother¡­ She sometimes sat quietly reading a book, sometimes combined random elements and tried to create new spells (I think), and sometimes chatted with the other noblewomen. She was the opposite of my father¡¯s personality.

    My father didn¡¯t like people, it wasn¡¯t hard to understand. There were very few people he actually sat and talked to or spent time with. When I said, ¡®sometimes my mother chatted with the other noblewomen,¡¯ I didn¡¯t mean she liked to have tea with a few friends. She knows everyone.

    There were many other races in this world besides elves and dwarves, and I was able to see most of them at the parties my mother organized to talk and have fun with her friends. There were elves of different skin colors, gnomes, demons whose only difference from humans was their horns, and animal people who walked on two legs and talked like humans. Cats, dogs, fox girls or men straight out of animes, everything.

    And I have to say, I had been in the arms of so many gorgeous women, but none were as comfortable as the arms of a giant bear lady wearing a white dress. She might have been a little hairy, but the comfort was top-notch.

    I was in the middle of a party again. We were in a big room that I would have called the living room of our house. I might have said ¡®living room,¡¯ but this place was huge. There was a fountain on the right side of the room, surrounded by two long sofas where beautiful elven women were lounging. The servants were waiting at the entrance with trays of fruit and appetizers. And sculptures¡­ sculptures were everywhere.

    There were about 15 nobles here, talking and talking and talking. But the bear lady seemed to like sitting on the couch, so I was fine.

    ¡°Look how relaxed he is,¡± the bear lady said softly, and I noticed my mother. She was behind the couch.¡°Isn¡¯t that normal?¡± She walked slowly toward us. When she came closer, she first looked at the bear lady, then at me, and tickled her belly, ¡°When he has a pillow like this.¡±

    While the bear lady giggled, mom picked me up, lay down on the couch, and rested her head on the bear lady¡¯s belly. She placed me on her chest, and we looked at each other.

    ¡°How do you feel, Aurelia?¡± The bear lady asked, looking at us with a smile.

    Mama hugged me tightl, ¡°Tired and a little bit happy. Can I lie here for a while?¡± Her hair spread over the bear lady¡¯s dress, and she just nodded.

    My mother may have stolen my place, but I didn¡¯t mind.

    After lying like that for about two or three minutes, one of my mother¡¯s friends, a demon woman with short pink hair, came up to us and leaned over. Some people in this world had really strange eye and hair colors. But considering I had just been lying on a talking bear a few minutes ago, it didn¡¯t seem so strange anymore.

    ¡°What are you doing here? Did you hear what happened to Tania last week?¡± she asked, speaking so fast.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Mother answered instantly.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it marvelous that¡ª¡±

    ¡°I said yes, hoping you wouldn¡¯t tell.¡± Even though my mother interrupted the demon, the smile on her face didn¡¯t change.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s how I feel over there.

    Anyways, Brunhilda found out she¡¯s pregnant, and she wants to talk with you.¡±

    With a glass of wine in her hand, she pointed to dozens of nobles gathered on the left side of the room. There were more people than I remembered, all gathered around a large rectangular marble table. The table was covered with wine and food.

    My mother raised her head quickly. ¡°Really? When did she come?¡±

    ¡°Just seconds ago.

    And Mona, how long do you plan to sit here?¡± After the demon said that, my mother took me in her arms and stood up, with the bear lady following her. Mama kissed me on the forehead and stroked my hair, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll come after I put Altevia to bed.¡±

    I was already sleepy, so it was fine.

    She took a step, but the demon grabbed her shoulder, ¡°No, take him,¡± she said, trying to take me in her arms.

    ¡°They''re competing to hold him, he''ll get a headache.¡±

    Thank you, mother.

    ¡°Headache?¡± She chuckled, ¡°He was happy fondling us, an hour ago.¡±

    Lie, I literally couldn¡¯t control my hands properly.

    My mother giggled as she looked at me, ¡°Brunhilda would want to see him,¡± she handed me to the demon and added, ¡°But only for a few minutes.¡±

    Were you going to give up that easily, mom? I think I had decided what my first words would be.

    After my mother threw me into the midst of the witches and I was passed from arm to arm for a while, I started to get a little headache. Luckily, Mona, my lady bear, took me in her arms and saved me from the torture.

    Life was going well for now. No matter how bored I was, I knew I would soon start crawling. Until then, I had no choice but to wait.

 B1 C4

    Today was the 372nd day of No Nut November.

    I had fought a great battle that pushed my focus to the limit. I resisted, and I won. Then I transformed the power accumulated inside me into cosmic energy and offered it to the gods. They accepted my offer and rewarded me in return.

    I could walk now.

    I found out that my birthday was November 7th. While everyone at home was busy preparing something for my birthday, a tall, muscular black man was looking for me. His name was Nazir. He was a half-elf, an old friend of my father¡¯s, and also my bodyguard, or should I say knight?

    When I was 6 months old, I started crawling everywhere in our big mansion with the wonderful feeling of freedom. After some time, my parents got tired of following me every day.

    About two weeks later, I met Nazir. My parents could have assigned one of the servants, but I think they wanted someone who could protect me. He usually carried a great sword with him at all times, but he didn¡¯t have his weapon with him now. I wondered where it was.

    Actually, that wasn¡¯t important. The important thing was that I didn¡¯t have a reflection. I was in my father¡¯s office, which could also be called his library. There was a small mirror there, and ever since I had seen this mirror and realized I didn¡¯t have a reflection, I had been coming back to look at it for a while. I still couldn¡¯t get used to this situation.I wasn¡¯t a vampire, my teeth were normal, I didn¡¯t crave blood, and the sun didn¡¯t harm me.

    I was also still trying to understand how different this world was from my old one. Yes, there was magic, but how far they were technologically advanced was very important.

    When I was looking around, I found two or three copies of the same book, which meant they had at least passed the age of the printing press. The toilets flushed, and they seemed to have a sewage system, so they were close to a modern level of hygiene. As far as I could see, their paintings, sculptures, and artistic approach surpassed the Renaissance period.

    I didn¡¯t know if colonization had happened, but sometimes my father drank something similar to coffee¡ªmaybe there was a coffee-like fruit in this world.

    And this flat rock in my hand with the green markings on it was a runestone.

    Lamps, flushing, showerheads, heating, and many other things were powered by these magical stones. These runestones contained an element within them, and I thought you could activate them using your mana. There was even a job called runestone engineering.

    I threw the runestone on my father¡¯s desk and stood up slowly. I still couldn¡¯t get used to this small body; I felt like I could get injured at the slightest mistake. Anyway, Nazir had been wandering the hallways for a few minutes, I¡¯d better find him before my parents got worried.

    I looked back at the door of the room and saw that it was ajar.

    Oh, it looked like he had found me already.

    When I left the room, I saw Nazir waiting by the door. He greeted me with a nod, his voice thick but his tone gentle. ¡°Have you been looking at your father¡¯s books, my lord?¡±

    I would have liked to say reading, but I tried not to seem too suspicious, so I just nodded, and he smiled. ¡°My lord, Lady Aurelia asked me to find you. Do you want me to carry you to her?¡±

    I nodded again and raised my hands. After holding me gently, he sat me on his arm, and I placed my hand on his chest.

    Nazir was tall¡ªreally tall. In my old world, I was sure that with his height and physique, he could have been either a famous basketball player or a fighter. So, I liked it when he carried me. Everyone around me looked like a giant because I was still very short, but when I was on his arm or shoulders, everything felt normal again.

    ¡°Do you like books, my lord?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Even though I couldn¡¯t fully read any book yet, as I was still trying to understand their words, reading was my only hobby at the moment¡ªthere wasn¡¯t much else to do here.

    ¡°Can you understand the things you read?¡± he asked with curious eyes. I answered instantly, ¡°Non.¡±

    He chuckled, and as he kept walking, I looked around. White walls, paintings, vases, and statues¡ªeven the hallways of the house were filled with elegance. It was a mansion I couldn¡¯t have even dreamed of back then. A PC would be nice, though. I missed watching videos while eating.

    I sighed and Nazir looked at me in surprise ¡°Is something wrong, my lord?¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°Non.¡±

    He watched me silently for a while, and then we came to my parents¡¯ room. Nazir tapped twice on the white door, waited for a moment, and then opened it. My mother was sitting on her bed, and next to her were small clothes in purple and white. She turned toward us, and her eyes widened.

    ¡°Come here, love.¡± She was as happy as always.

    After Nazir put me down gently, I walked like a penguin to my mother, and Nazir left the room.

    She opened her arms, I hugged her, and she picked me up and placed me on the bed. ¡°Your cuteness will kill me one day.¡± She kissed me on my cheeks several times and then began to take off my clothes.

    ¡°What were you doing in your father¡¯s office?¡± she asked as she held me.

    ¡°Books.¡±

    We made our way to the en-suite bathroom to the left of the room.

    ¡°What did you read?¡±

    ¡°Red one.¡±

    I was trying to answer her questions in the way a child would, even if it bothered me sometimes.

    ¡°There are lots of red ones, was there anything on it¡¯s cover?¡±

    ¡°Gold dragon.¡±

    ¡°Subjugation of the Dragons?¡±

    She was always talking to me¡ªnot just her, actually, but everyone in the house was talking to me all the time. It was probably something they did to help me learn the language, but I felt like I was suffocating. That was one of the reasons why I went to my father¡¯s office all the time.

    The bathroom in their room was quite large and looked like a modern bathroom, with black and white walls. They had a large rectangular marble bathtub at the end of the room, a white toilet bowl on the left, and a blue glowing runestone faucet with a small square mirror on the right.

    After my mother sat me down in the middle of the tub, she reached her hand over my head, and a warm stream of water began to flow from her hand. There were no incantations or anything like that. I thought that, in this world, when someone wanted to cast a spell, they just had to imagine and focus. But when I had tried that before, it didn¡¯t work. I thought I still didn¡¯t have enough mana, because when I tried to create a fire in my hand, I felt a tingling in my palm.

    My mom kept talking while she was washing me, and I, being a sweet boy, kept answering. ¡°Close your eyes.¡± She even put something like shampoo from a glass jar next to the bathtub on my hair. It was a strange pink liquid with what looked like pink petals in it.

    After a short cleaning session, we went back to the room, and my mom dressed me. I was wearing a comfortable silk robe in purple and white, with a small short purple cloak. For someone who used to have six of the same black oversized t-shirts in his closet, these clothes were a great improvement. My mom put on a long black dress, took me in her arms, and we left the room. We headed for the garden and came to a place I had chosen not to go before because I thought it was the basement of the house.

    Mother opened the big white door in front of us. There was a staircase leading down. As we went downstairs, I began to look around. It looked like a Roman bath, with marble walls. Warm, comforting water ran down the left and right sides of the room, filling little pools, and there was a light steam.

    But most importantly, there were dozens of people in there. As soon as they noticed us, they all turned to look at me, and a strange feeling filled my nose and chest.

    ¡°Happy birthday, Altevia!¡± They all shouted at the same time.

    I remembered the first time my friends came to my house to celebrate my birthday. From my childhood to my depression, I had spent every birthday with my mother¡ªeither I would go somewhere with her, or she would prepare a surprise party for me at home. Those were good times, rare moments when I felt special. But as beautiful as they were, they were also a bit sad to think about. Besides my mom, the only other friends who celebrated my birthday did so by giving me a hentai game as a gift.

    When I left home for university, my first years were spent with my own thoughts and loneliness. The day my friends knocked on my door with a cake, I stared at them in confusion. I couldn¡¯t believe what I was seeing¡ªit was a really big surprise and brought me so much happiness.

    I knew my parents were going to prepare a party for me; it wasn¡¯t a surprise. But I was really happy that they had prepared so much for a toddler. There was a blue birthday cake in the center of the room that looked like a big wedding cake. Eight muscular, half-naked men¡ª, probably gladiators, stood in a line on the left side. Dozens of people I didn¡¯t know filled the room, and my father was holding the leash of a red beast.

    Standing on four legs, it was a creature with a dragon-like head and big red scales, but it had no wings. I¡¯d consumed enough fantasy content to know what that creature was: it was a drake.

    ¡°Aaah, he''s scared.¡±

    A middle-aged man with short orange curly hair and a beard came up to us and took me in his arms. He was a very energetic and happy man. He was my uncle, Pedro, one of the two or three people my father would chat with.

    We went to the center of the room, near the cake, and I looked at my father. He gave the creature¡¯s leash to Nazir and took me from my uncle¡¯s arms.

    ¡°He is confused,¡± he said as he looked into my eyes and then kissed my forehead. He was wearing a long robe in black and gold.

    I looked around me again. Although I knew almost no one, there were a few familiar faces, like Lady Bear and my uncle¡¯s daughter, Orea. She was a girl about 10 years older than me and used to bring me toys so I wouldn¡¯t get bored lying in my cage. But apart from them, I think I only knew Iris, my grandmother. She was my father¡¯s mother, an elf with classic blonde hair and blue eyes. She had a long blue snake earring that was always in her left ear. I didn¡¯t know anything about my mother¡¯s parents, but my father¡¯s father was already dead.

    ¡°I think we can begin.¡± After my father looked around and said this, he glanced at Nazir, who grabbed the drake by the neck and laid him on the ground.

    Begin to what?

    My mother came to us with a strange turquoise dagger in her hand. Father gently put me down, and everyone formed a circle around me while my mother placed the dagger in my hand. The dagger was too big for me to hold, so she helped me.

    The drake lay on the ground, waiting to die. I had never killed an animal in my life, and I wasn¡¯t sure I could move my hands with the drake looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

    ¡°A sacrifice to Lady Morta, my love. Go on.¡±

    With my mother¡¯s help, I slowly thrust the dagger into the beast¡¯s neck, where my father had pointed with his finger. I was about to look into the drake¡¯s eyes again, but my mom wouldn¡¯t let me move my head. When the tip of the dagger touched his scales, it made a small hole, and the beast tried to move. This dagger was too sharp.

    My mother slowly moved my hands forward, thrusting the dagger deeper. And as the beast¡¯s blood started to flow into the pool and he stopped moving, I knew he was dead. The dagger fell from my hand, and my mother caught it and handed it to the servant behind her.I thought it was over and wanted to get away from the drake. It was very strange¡ªeveryone around me was watching me with curiosity. I wasn¡¯t sad or happy. I was curious too, and also shocked. As I took a few steps backward, my mother pushed me forward and made me touch the creature¡¯s chest.

    ¡°You''ll feel a tingling in your hand.

    Do you see this red smoke?¡±

    ¡°Smoke?¡±

    She kissed my head, ¡°A flow actually but it looks like a smoke.¡±

    There was indeed something that looked like red smoke coming out of the beast¡¯s body, and I noticed people had started whispering amongst themselves.

    ¡®He has guardians.¡¯ ¡®Yes, but how many?¡¯

    Guardians?

    ¡°That flow, a piece of mana of the drake is yours. Take it.¡±

    After holding my hand on the beast for a while, I felt a strange sensation, and the red smoke started to move toward my hand. It was a special sense, like seeing, hearing, or touching. I could do it, but I didn¡¯t seem to have complete control over it.

    After I gathered all the smoke in my hand, my father took the dagger, and Nazir lifted the drake up. He made a cut on the drake¡¯s neck with the dagger, and they poured its blood into a bowl.

    My mother looked into my eyes with a smile on her face and kissed me on the forehead. She smeared the blood under my eye and then on her own forehead. Then everyone started clapping. My strange sense of curiosity was growing. I never thought I¡¯d experience something like this in my whole life.

    I just participated in a pagan ritual.

 B1 C5

    They were having fun.

    A gladiator had just been killed in front of my eyes. I had dreamed of watching such a show all my life. I¡¯d always been interested in sword fights, but I didn¡¯t realize how different it would feel to witness someone being killed right in front of me. My whole body trembled as the man plunged the sword into his opponent¡¯s chest and slowly dragged it into his stomach. It wasn¡¯t the first time I had seen someone die, but normally, when someone was killed, people tried to help or ran away screaming. They didn¡¯t cheer.

    Normally¡­

    Was this the new normal?

    ¡°It seems Altevia enjoyed them.

    Should we have him choose a gladiator from my Ludus?¡± My uncle was laughing as he spoke. I was sitting on his arm again; he was like a grandfather who liked to take care of the children.

    ¡°Do you have someone in mind?¡± My father raised an eyebrow, looking at him in surprise.

    Uncle smirked. ¡°Davos, come here.¡± He looked at a bald man and signaled with his head for him to approach. The man came up to us. He had sharp, light brown eyes and a body that I could easily call a Greek god.

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    My father looked the man up and down. ¡°I don¡¯t know, does he fight well?¡±

    ¡°DOES HE FIGHT WELL?!¡± Uncle¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Have you followed any tournaments lately?

    You¡¯re looking at the man who beat Crexa himself. Mila and Vicius too.

    The battles were so good that Jupiter himself watched from the heavens, drank barrels of wine, he pissed on us 4 day straight, rain never stopped.

    Does he fight well¡­ Watch some games, brother.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Father shook his head with a funny smile, and my uncle laughed again.

    ¡°35 gold coins are enough for his monthly feeding and rewards.¡±

    ¡°Is he eating dragon meat?¡±

    My uncle just laughed, and Father continued,¡°If he dies before his 5<sup>th</sup> match?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll repay the double.¡±

    Had we just ¡®rented¡¯ this guy? They were killing each other just to create a fun show for my birthday. Were people¡¯s lives really that worthless? If this was how the nobles entertained themselves, what did the common folk do?

    Anyways, I just needed to get used to these new ¡®shows.¡¯

    As people were having fun, suddenly the door opened, and in walked one of the most normal-looking men I had seen in the world since I was born. He was out of breath. His long, light brown hair was tied in a bun, he had a stubble beard, and he had a more relaxed posture compared to the noble posture of most people here. He was wearing a thin, loose white shirt and black baggy pants¡ªa pirate outfit, I¡¯d call it.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    He came running up to us holding a small black rectangular box and took a deep breath.

    ¡°Yunus?¡±

    After my father looked at the man, whose name was Yunus, in surprise, Yunus tapped my father on the shoulder twice and handed him the box.

    ¡°I guess I''m not late.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ but?¡±

    Yunus shook his head with a strange smile and took me from my uncle¡¯s arms. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Solonius will take care of the shipment.¡±

    ¡°Solonius?¡± WWhen my father looked at Yunus with a frown, Yunus raised me up in the air. ¡°Look at the little captain, he looks just like his mother! Could I miss your birthday ? Of course not !¡±

    My father sighed, and Yunus turned to Pedro. After bowing his head, he asked,¡°Good to see you my lord, but where is everyone?¡±

    ¡°Orea is here.

    And Julian is now with his mother in Capsa.¡± Pedro answered.

    ¡°Is Lady Elanoir still sick?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±

    As Yunus was saying ¡°I saw Sergius in-¡±, I saw Nazir coming.

    And as soon as Yunus noticed him, his eyes widened. With a smile on his face, he sat me on one arm and shook hands with Nazir in a way that echoed around the room.

    ¡°You son of a b-¡± Yunus fell silent as Nazir''s eyebrows rose and his eyes turned to me.

    ¡°He learns very fast.¡±

    ¡°A genius like his father? Are some of his screws missing, too?¡±

    ¡°Na.¡± As I tried to say ¡®No¡¯, Yunus turned to me and laughed.

    ¡°We''ll have a lot of fun with you.¡±

    I realized that Yunus was a very talkative person. He chatted with my father, Pedro and Nazir for a while then he carried me around like a VIP card, drank most of the drinks at the tables and ate dessert after dessert. I don''t know exactly who he is and how close he is to my father, but most people didn''t seem to like his presence.

    Not everyone seems to hate him though.

    A man with white hair and interesting yellow eyes approached us smiling and touched Yunus on the shoulder. Yunus turned quickly, looked like he was going to say something, but his eyes widened and he put the glass down on the table behind him and stood straight.

    ¡°Hello.¡± The man started the conversation and Yunus answered immediately. ¡°Hello.¡± And the man continued.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Eating.¡±

    ¡°Eat, but drink some ale too.¡±

    ¡°No, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Okay, would you drink some wine?¡±

    ¡°I will drink some wine.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    After this awkward conversation, the man took 2 steps away and suddenly he turned and said ¡°You won¡¯t try my ale, right?¡±

    ¡°No, my emperor, with all my respect, please do not ask again.¡±

    Emperor?

    ¡°If you don¡¯t like the wine?¡±

    ¡°There is water.¡±

    The emperor took a deep breath and then walked away.

    That was¡­ Never mind.

    ¡°Maniac.¡± Yunus muttered.

    ¡°Eliar! Your man is making me sad.¡± The emperor shouted at my father and then went to them and I saw my mother and a tall woman with short black hair coming towards us.

    As soon as Yunus noticed them, he took a handkerchief from the table and wiped his mouth.

    "Is he still messing with you?¡± After the woman giggled and said this, Yunus smiled and looked at my mother and then at her and bowed his head.

    ¡°My lady, my empress.¡±

    The woman looked at me silently for a while and then turned to my mother. ¡°How can he be so quiet?¡±

    ¡°He is Eliar¡¯s son, what were you expecting?

    I think he''s only cried three times so far.¡±

    ¡°Can we swap babies?¡±

    After my mother laughed, Yunus gently give me to her arms.

    ¡°How are you, Yunus?¡±

    ¡°I''m fine, my lady, thank you for asking.

    I have to go to Mirstone again in 2 days, I won''t be back for a long time. I wanted to see the little captain while I had the chance.¡±

    ¡°You did good.¡±

    As Yunus bowed his head and was about to walk away, my mother called out to him. ¡°Before you go¡­¡± One of the guards of our house came up to us and handed Yunus a brown pouch.

    As far as I could see, there were only 6 guards in our house, I don''t know why, but it seems too few for a family like ours, but maybe these 6 people were incredibly strong warriors or something, I don''t know. The guard who came to us was named Alwyn. He normally wore a full plate armor and cape in gray and blue like the other guards, but now he was wearing a white shirt and gray trousers. With his short blue hair and blue eyes, I don''t know if he was a nobleman, but he stood out among the dozens of nobles here.

    ¡°What is this, my lady?¡±

    Yeah, what''s that? As I tried to raise my head, Yunus opened the pouch and I saw that it was filled with dozens of different precious stones like rubies and sapphires.

    ¡°Can you distribute these to people in need?

    Say ¡®Lord Eliar wishes that the week of his son''s first birthday would be a good time for everyone.¡¯¡±

    It''s so nice to be rich.

    Yunus took an emerald and a sapphire from the pouch, put them in his pocket and nodded after closing it.

    ¡°If there''s nothing else?¡±

    ¡°No, you can go.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, my lady.¡±

    "Is Eliar planning a rebellion?" The empress giggled and my mother answered. "He doesn''t even know." My mother looked at me for a short while and then quickly kissed me on the cheek. "I want people to feel good when they think of his name.¡±

    Thanks mama.

    Mama turned toward papa.

    ¡°Let''s go to them.¡±

    After that, nothing much happened. As my family and the other nobles chatted amongst themselves, they cut me a small piece of my birthday cake and I ate it with my hands.

    It was a good day, even if I was a little annoyed that everyone was gathered around me like watching a puppy.

 B1 C6

    ¡°And this blue flower?¡± I picked up the flower on the table and looked at her.

    ¡°That¡¯s Leviora, my lord.

    It''s the flower that makes desserts taste sweet.¡±

    I looked at the flower with pointy ends in my hand once more.

    ¡°Sugar?¡±

    ¡°I heard that there is something called sugar in lands of Shiva but there is no need for importing that.

    People who have tasted both say they are almost the same.¡±

    She''s very knowledgeable for a maid.

    I was in our kitchen, and it was one of the biggest kitchens I had ever seen. It was like a small bakery. My father liked to eat warm and fresh bread in the morning, so he had a big wood-fired oven built there. There were two large refrigerators that worked with ice runestones, a huge cupboard full of various jams, and even a big table so the maids could eat together.

    Now that I looked at our kitchen, these maids had better lives than an average third-world country citizen.

    At that moment, I was trying to have fun and spend time on my own because Nazir wasn¡¯t around. I thought he was supposed to be accompanying someone, but I didn¡¯t understand what he had said. So, I decided to try one of my old hobbies, cooking, while he was away.

    One of the very few things I had enjoyed doing before I came into this world was cooking. As much as it pained me that there was no whipped cream in this world, there were spices with flavors similar to those in my old world.

    Across a huge sea called the South Sea, there was a country called the Shiva Kingdom. Their culture and land resembled India. Marhea, the great empire where I live now, imported a lot of spices from that kingdom.

    ¡°Thank you Helene.¡±

    ¡°Always, my lord.¡± She smiled and I left the kitchen.

    I had spent enough time there and wondered what my father was doing. He had said something about a friend from Asai coming to visit. Like Shiva, I was sure there were countries with cultures very similar to my old world. So, I was expecting an Asian¡­

    And, I think my expectation was right.

    A man with long black hair and small, slanted eyes was sitting in the garden with my father. He was wearing a really long, loose, and elegant white robe, the fancy outfit that every arrogant young master in every xianxia novel wore. I had always wanted to try one of those clothes; it was a strange little desire of mine.

    Our garden was a big open area, full of various flowers, and there was a gazebo on the right side with a view of the sea. We even had a pool. It felt so good to be rich.

    Maybe I could buy one of those robes, actually.

    When I started to walk to the gazebo, I saw Nazir, and he noticed me and rushed to my side. I guess a 3-year-old noble boy couldn¡¯t walk alone even in his own house.

    ¡°I was about to come to you, my lord.¡±

    ¡°Guest?¡±

    ¡°Yes my lord, he is Lord Eliar¡¯s guest.¡±

    When I came up to my father, he stroked my hair and sat me on his lap.

    ¡°Is this the little lord I''ve heard of?¡± The slant-eyed man said as he looked at me with a smile.

    My father nodded.

    ¡°Altevia, say hi to King Sun Hao.

    He¡¯s come a long way.¡±

    ¡°King?¡± Why was there a king in our house? I knew the emperor had come to my birthday, but he lived here.

    ¡°He looks surprised,¡± Sun Hao chuckled and father stroked my cheek.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°I taught him the nobility rankings, he''s very bright for his age.¡± Father looked me in the eye and smiled, ¡°King Hao is a close friend of mine Altevia, you don''t need to be formal or nervous.¡±

    ¡°Your rosarish is good,¡± I said and he chuckled again, ¡°Well of course, it is the only language our empress can speak.¡±

    My father looked at the king with a forced smile.

    ¡°Oh, before I forget¡­¡± The king took a scroll out of his robe and handed it to me and I gave it to my father.

    ¡°This letter needs to be delivered to Laxendria.

    At least one of your ships should be going there tomorrow.¡±

    My father looked at the scroll for a while and his eyes narrowed.

    ¡°There is no seal.¡±

    ¡°So that you can read it.

    It says who it goes to and who it comes from.

    I don''t want you to do anything you might be uncomfortable with.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate that.

    But all the way from Xinshui to Laxendria?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I have friends across the sea?¡±

    Father chuckled and put the scroll on the side table next to him.

    ¡°And I noticed, you seem to get along with your son better than I thought.¡± King turned to me.

    ¡°I love my father.¡± When I said this looking at my father, he put both hands around me and looked at the king.

    ¡°He''s a little beast that runs around and asks questions all the time-¡±

    ¡°Do I really run around and ask questions all the time father?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but I love your curiosity.¡±

    Compared to my old father, Eliar was like a gift from the heavens¡­ I liked calling this man "father."

    ¡°Your relation touches my heart, I wish I could get along with my children like that.¡±

    ¡°You can start by giving them some freedom.¡±

    The king looked at my father with a funny expression and started laughing.

    ¡°Freedom?

    The one I let off the leash finds an excuse to attack his other brother, and the one who doesn''t want the throne goes to the flying islands to learn martial arts.

    What kind of freedom are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°You didn''t ask me when you took twelve wives.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that I should shackle my heart?¡±

    ¡°Heart?¡±

    ¡°Heart.¡±

    They looked at each other in silence for a very short moment, then both laughed and the conversation continued in this way for some time. I enjoyed listening to them. But all this chatter stopped when someone came up to us. My eyes widened and my jaw almost dropped.

    A giant green woman with huge teeth was standing in front of me. She was almost the same height as Nazir. She was wearing a robe similar to the king''s, and I could see her muscles through the fabric.She was perfect. I never thought I''d see something like this in my whole life.

    ¡°Ah! Here¡¯s the woman I wanted you to meet.¡± The king grabbed the orc woman by the wrist.

    ¡°Where did you find this chunk of meat?¡± Father looked at that beauty.

    I wanted her to smash my head like a watermelon.

    ¡°Her name is Urzul, she is like an¡­ experiment of mine.

    She is using and learning ki for building her physique.¡±

    Ki? I thought this world has mana, does it have both?

    ¡°Father, what is ki?¡±

    ¡°It is a way of using mana without conjuring spells and elements.¡±

    ¡°You use mana for defence, is it called ki?¡± I looked at my father with a confused face then turned to king as I heard his voice.

    ¡°No, it is a bit different.

    In order to attack someone using your mana, you normally need to cast a spell. Like creating a fireball.

    But when you do that, your mana leaves your body and you become defenseless.

    The art of ki is practiced if you want to use the mana in your body directly to strengthen your punches or kicks.¡±

    ¡°More mana means stronger punches?¡± When I tilted my head slightly and looked at the king, he laughed.

    ¡°You also need to learn things like meridians and controlling the flow of mana through your body, but basically yes more mana you have stronger your punches are.

    He really is bright Eliar.¡± He looked at my father with one eyebrow raised.

    So, its for martial artists, unarmed fighting¡­ I looked at Nazir.

    ¡°Can you use ki, Nazir?¡±

    ¡°I practiced a little my lord.¡°

    ¡°Can you beat her?¡± Everyone suddenly looked at me and Nazir stared at Urzul.

    ¡°It would be rude to answer that question, my lord.¡±

    After Nazir¡¯s words a smirk appeared on King Hao¡¯s face.

    ¡°Actually, I''d like to see how much Urzul has improved.

    What do you say, Eliar?¡±

    Father looked at Nazir and Nazir nodded.

    ¡°Sure, why not?¡±. Father said.

    Urzul and Nazir looked at each other then they both moved to an empty space in the garden and stood with some distance between them. Nazir clenched his fists and took a boxing-like stance, while Urzul opened her hands and took a stance similar to what I had seen in Chinese martial arts movies. It was a bit weird to see a big orc woman like that.

    When they both looked at me as if they were waiting for me to start the fight, I raised my hand and Urzul gestured ''come''.

    I noticed a smile on Nazir''s face that I had rarely seen. He seemed a little bit excited and a little bit curious. Taking quick steps to the left and right, he approached Urzul and threw a swift punch. After Urzul easily dodged the attack by moving her head, Nazir started throwing punch after punch. She blocked most of his attacks with her elbows, and the ones she couldn''t block, she easily avoided.

    No matter how much Nazir pressured her, Urzul dodged one more punch, hit him in the chest in the small chance she found and pushed him away. Even though I was watching from a distance, I could feel the impact of that punch. Nazir opened his eyes in surprise, exhaled heavily and scratched his chest. Looking carefully, I noticed a hole in Nazir''s shirt and turned to look at Urzul. But what surprised me most was the look of confusion on her face. I looked at Nazir again. That punch was strong, extremely strong, but his body didn''t seem to be wounded.

    ¡°You alright Nazir?!¡± I shouted and Nazir looked at me with a smile. ¡°She is strong my lord.¡±

    ¡°Can you win?¡±

    He just nodded.

    He took his stance again, but this time he opened his hands. Urzul was just waiting. He charged at her, grabbed Urzul''s elbow after the second punch he threw, and as she took the opportunity to attack, he spun around and threw her to the left. Nazir charged at her again, threw a punch at her head, but Urzul parried it with the back of her hand, then struck him in the chest, neck and stomach with her palms and fists more times than I can count. She was incredibly fast. After another attack, she kicked Nazir in the stomach and made him fall to the ground.

    Nazir lay on the ground for a while, rested his head on the ground, looked up at the sky, sighed and slowly stood up. And I saw her confused face again.

    Nazir looked at Urzul with a smile on his face and waited with open hands. This time Urzul approached Nazir, but it was Nazir who started the attack. His successive punches were again blocked by Urzul''s elbows, but now he managed to hit her upper arm, breaking her defense, and when Urzul lost her balance he punched her really hard in the stomach. With this chance he punched her stomach again and as she tried to kick her, he jumped back, grabbed her ankle and slammed her to the ground.

    ¡°Practiced a little¡­¡± King Hao started to laugh.

    Nazir walked up to Urzul and offered her his hand. He helped her stand up and looked at the king.

    ¡°This woman is a far better fighter than I am, my lord.

    I was just lucky to have more mana.¡± When he smiled at her, I saw her eyes widen.

    ¡°More mana, stronger punch?¡± I looked at the king and he put his hand on his chin.

    ¡°Yes but¡­ You moved all your mana in the direction of the attack to reduce the damage, didn''t you?

    That level of control is amazing.¡±

    Nazir nodded ¡°Thank you.¡±.

    If I understand correctly, Nazir gambled a bit. But he won, so that¡¯s good.

    ¡°Your shirt''s torn.¡± I walked up to him and he kneeled down. I touched a part of his stomach where he had received damage. It was hot. What kind of attacks were those?

    ¡°I¡¯m alright, my lord.¡±

    I turned to Urzul and walked to her. When I touched her, she looked at me surprised. I was just checking her wound, certainly not an excuse to touch her muscles. As I was slowly moving my hand over her abs, Nazir picked me up like a puppy.

    After all this they fought once more, but they did not use ki and Nazir won easily. But this time he had to use some wrestling moves. Nazir is a really good fighter. He knows he is built like a tank and he uses it.

    They fought, we had fun, chatted all day long and I even made her smash watermelons with her thighs. I ate lots of watermelons.

    When my mom came home, she did it one more time to show her. It was a wonderful day. A day I''ll never forget. The king of Xinshui spent the day with us. He was a good guy, maybe I¡¯ll visit him in the future.

 B1 C7

    Nazir Ramenor

    It''s been more than 3 years since Nazir became the little lord''s guard. When Lord Eliar first invited him, he thought he was bored and wanted to meet, but he never thought he would offer him a job. Also he thought it was impossible for Lady Aurelia to get pregnant again. He really didn''t know if Lord Eliar was extremely lucky or unlucky. He didn¡¯t like children because he liked peace and silence, but he seems to like the little lord Altevia a lot. It was actually normal because the little lord was one of the calmest and kindest boys Nazir have ever seen, even though he has some weird kinks. Also he looked like his mother a lot with his gray hair and red eyes, that was a plus.

    Nazir understood that little lord knows his father doesn''t like to be disturbed so he was usually with his mother or with him. But the little lord doesn''t like to hang out with other lords'' children either. At first he played with them but then he just stopped. His personality was definitely close to his father¡¯s.

    And he was strangely interested in alchemy. The first time he used his mother''s alchemy workshop, he asked him how to make something called a healing potion. Nazir had a chuckle at that moment, the little lord still didn¡¯t know most of his incredible racial abilities. The healing potion he described was not even a tenth of his own regenerative power, but he wished that they could make such a potion. Even though they couldn''t make the thing he wanted, he showed him how to make painkillers. Since then, he has been making different potions almost every day, and for some reason he started making poisons and stockpiling it. A small army could use these. Now that he thinks about it, it was a bit dangerous.

    Besides alchemy, little lord also loved reading books. He knew many words despite his age. He even gave him a nickname like ¡®Big black ears¡¯. He was a funny kid, Nazir loved him.

    ¡°Nazir, why are you standing so far away?¡± Little lord asked, raising one eyebrow.

    ¡°Even the smell of the poison you''re making is dangerous to me, my lord.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel bad, red rabbit''s foot, giant scorpion venom and lavier flower.

    It''s a strange mix, but I don¡¯t think even the smell can be dangerous.¡±

    The little lord looked at him for a while and then continued mixing. As he continued to make his poison, the door to the room opened and Lady Aurelia entered. She was as beautiful and dignified as always. She was wearing a long white dress and was probably chatting with other noble ladies.

    ¡°Are you making potions again, love?¡± She sounded a little disappointed.

    Nazir could actually understand her a little bit. As much as the young lord has potential and talent for alchemy, socially he was even worse than his father.

    After the little lord nodded to his mother, Lady Aurelia pulled up a chair and sat next to him.

    ¡°Did you need something, mother?¡± he said, looking at her with his big eyes. Lady Aurelia smiled, she probably wanted her son to socialize.

    ¡°What is this, another poison?¡± She stroked his hair.

    ¡°Yes, but I don''t think this one is strong enough either.¡±

    ¡°Strong enough?¡± She giggled.

    ¡°If you''re thinking of killing a dragon with poison, I have bad news for you.¡± The little lord looked at his mother in confusion.

    ¡°No, no, not that¡­

    The book you gave me and Nazir said that even the smell of some poisons are fatal, but they don''t seem very effective to me.

    Mother¡­ Can I go hunting with Nazir and try the poisons?¡±

    ¡°I''m sorry, but you''re too young.¡±

    ¡°Then how will I know if they are¡­¡±

    ¡°Effective?¡± Lady Aurelia finished his sentence. ¡°We can try if you want to learn that much.¡± she added and little lord looked at his mother with surprised eyes. ¡°Mother that¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what?

    Nazir, can you get us two glasses?¡± she said as she continued to look at her son ¡°There is also a guy, a gift from Eralith, bring him too.¡±

    After her words, Nazir nodded and left the room. He could imagine what''s going to happen, but¡­ they should be fine.

    Lady Eralith was probably at the event in the garden, so he''ll get the glasses first.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    When he entered the kitchen, the maids looked at him in wonder.

    ¡°What did you need sir?¡± A woman with brown hair came up to him. Nazir had a very good memory. After he looked at the faces of the maids one by one, he remembered her name.

    ¡°Can I have 2 glasses, Olga?¡±

    ¡°Sure¡­¡± She turned and after three steps took the glasses that another maid handed to her. After thanking them, he hurried to the garden with glasses in his hands. If he wasn''t wearing these fine quality clothes, people would probably think he was a servant. Sometimes even the little lord says he''ll set him free. He probably looked like a gladiator from the outside.

    When he went out into the garden, he saw that the huge open field was filled with dozens of nobles. He didn¡¯t know how many hours he had been standing in the alchemy room with the little lord, but he didn''t realize that the crowd had grown so much. The sun has already set and did he hear a violin? He wondered where Lord Eliar is. Though right now he needed to find Lady Eralith.

    He asked the nobles around for where she was and after wandering around for a while he was able to find her. The moment he saw her, his heart almost stopped. She was an incredibly beautiful woman with long blond hair and delicate skin. She was wearing a long black dress with a low neckline. And her body was blocking all of his thoughts.

    He shook his head. He must not forget Lady Aurelia''s request.

    ¡°Are you Lady Eralith?¡±

    When she heard his voice, she turned toward him, but she was much shorter than him, so she looked at his chest. She slowly lifted her head, looked at his face and a smirk appeared.

    ¡°Don''t you think you''re a little overconfident?¡±

    After looking at her in confusion, he realized the glasses in his hands and took a step back ¡°Oh, I''m sorry.¡± She took a step and approached him ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I liked it.¡±

    ¡°You misunderstood, Lady Aurelia sent me here.¡± As her smirk grew wider, she took one of the glasses from his hand and put it on the table behind her.

    ¡°She usually does nice favors in return for my gifts, but I didn''t expect this.¡± When she came close to him, she put one hand on his chest and he put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her slowly.

    ¡°As happy as I am for your interest, I really came for something different.

    Lady Aurelia wants the guy you gifted her.¡± Nazir sighed after she looked at him with surprised eyes.

    She giggled.

    ¡°Forgive me, you wanted him, right?¡±

    She showed him a half-naked, muscular man with short brown hair standing a little ahead. He was a little shorter than him, but if he compare him to the average, rather than to himself, he was quite tall. He was very muscular, probably a gladiator or an old adventurer, one of the strong ones. The scars on his body showed his experience.

    ¡°He is Tom, I bought him from Bastian''s Ludus.

    8 battles, 7 victories, 1 loss.¡± She tapped him twice softly on the shoulder, laughing.

    ¡°I never thought Lady Aurelia would train a gladiator,¡± he added.

    ¡°She said he was for a friend of hers.

    Why does she need him now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Meh, it is not important. You can take him.¡±

    He nodded and thanked her, and as soon as he looked at Tom, he started to follow him. But after the second step they took, Lady Eralith grabbed Nazir¡¯s arm, stopped him and pulled him down ¡°A gift, yes, but tell your lady I''m expecting a favor.¡± she whispered in his ear and pushed him.

    This woman was dangerous.

    ¡°Is she like this to everyone?¡± He asked Tom while they were walking.

    ¡°I can''t say everyone, but she''s a woman who knows how to get what she wants.

    It hurts me that I don''t have anything she wants.¡±

    Nazir chuckled ¡°You''re too relaxed for.¡±

    ¡°Gambling debt and a past I am not really proud of. I''m just waiting for the day I die on the sand now.¡±

    ¡°I can watch one of your battles.¡±

    When Nazir looked at Tom and smiled, he realized he was holding the other glass.

    Lady Eralith got his head all messed up.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± He reached out his hand to him and he bowed his head once and gave him the glass. ¡°I can carry them if you want.¡± he said but they were already in front of the room.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to.¡± After opening the door, he was about to take a step inside but a dangerous smell hit his nose. He felt his eyes redden and pushed Tom back.

    ¡°Strengthen your body with mana before you enter!¡± Lady Aurelia shouted at them from the other end of the room.

    When he felt Tom using mana, he strengthened his body with mana and stepped inside. After they came to the lady and the little lord, he saw them making potions together. It was like they were playing with toys.

    He handed the glasses to her. ¡°I know Eralith was stalling you, don''t worry.¡± she said and put the glasses on the table.

    He looked at their desk, different colored liquids had spilled everywhere. Strange animal parts and various plants were also spread on it. But what interested him the most was the bowl in the center with a red liquid in it. Lady Aurelia grabbed the bowl, poured the liquid into both glasses, placed one of them in front of the little lord and took the other.

    ¡°Mother, are you sure about this?¡± Little lord asked nervously and took the glass with both hands. ¡°Won''t you join me?¡± she smiled and held out her glass to him.

    The little lord clinked glasses with his mother, sighed, and when his mother started drinking, he did too. What they drank was probably an incredibly dangerous poison, so if that red thing was the cause of the air in the room, it must have been.

    ¡°How do you feel?¡± she asked after stroking his cheek.

    ¡°It hurt my throat a little bit but¡­ Just like I thought, I failed.¡±

    ¡°You think so?¡± After looking at her son with a funny smile, she took his glass and poured some more of the liquid.

    He looked at Tom and saw the look of confusion on his face. He still didn''t realize why he had been called here. Nazir didn''t know if that¡¯s a good or bad thing.

    ¡°He looks like a strong man, doesn''t he, Altevia?¡± She looked at Tom.

    After little lord nodded, poor Tom slowly approached Lady Aurelia, took the glass she handed him and stared at it for a while.

    ¡°Go on, drink it.¡±

    Tom looked at Nazir once and then started to drink, and when he was halfway through the glass, a purple stain appeared in his throat and he collapsed to the floor as it conquered his whole body. He had a face as if he wanted to scream, but he couldn''t anymore. He was dead before he hit the floor. A quick death, almost instantaneous. And the purple spots on his body¡­ Nazir took his glove out of his pocket, put it on, kneeled down and touched the spot. The area was hardened.

    ¡°I must say it was a bit cruel, my lady.¡±

    ¡®I guess, that''s being in the wrong place at the wrong time.¡®

    He seemed like a good person.

    When he stood up, he turned and looked at Lady Aurelia. Her calm smile was on her face as always. ¡°Look at Altevia.¡± she said and he looked at the little lord.

    Little lord was terrified, his eyes were wide open in fear. He couldn''t even move, just staring silently at Tom''s body. This wasn¡¯t the first time he had seen someone die, they watched gladiators before but it was the first time he had killed someone.

    ¡°My lord.¡± he called out to him but he didn''t seem to hear. ¡°My lord!¡±

    He slowly raised his head and looked at him then he turned to his mother.

    ¡°Mother¡­ Was that¡­?¡±

    ¡°So, was it strong enough?¡±

    ¡°How¡­ I¡­¡± Lady Aurelia caressed the little lord''s hand.

    ¡°I wanted you to grow up a bit more to explain, but you''re smart enough to understand what happened, right?¡±

    Lady Aurelia stood up after her words and took the little lord by the hand. ¡°Come, after we wash our hands, there are some people I''d like you to meet.¡±.

    ¡°What about him?¡±

    Should he be happy that the little lord is not one of the thousands of lords who don''t care about people''s lives, or should he be sad that it might traumatize him? He didn''t know if there was a more precise and easier way to tell him that he was immortal at such an early age, but Nazir wished she have thought of a different way.

    As Lady Aurelia looked at him, he put on his other glove and picked Tom up.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Nazir will take care of him and do not be sorry that your poison killed him.

    It was an instant and painless death, if he hadn''t died here today, he might have died horribly in the arena another day.¡±

    The little lord looked at his mother for a while and then lowered his head.

    ¡°And Nazir, after that I want you to spend the next day with Lady Eralith.

    She saw you so will ask for you.¡±

    After they left the room, he looked at the body in his hands for a while. Whatever happened here, Lady Aurelia was actually a good person. The woman he knew was a good person, and she''s his master now.

    He sighed.

    At least he¡¯ll get to spend time with Lady Eralith. Every job has its upsides as well as its downsides...

    Now¡­ Where the fuck was he supposed to throw him?

 B1 C8

    Altevia¡¯s POV

    Now that I realized, it was impossible for me to die as a virgin in this world.

    Why was that the first thing that came to my mind after I woke up?

    I actually knew why. I dreamt about the man I killed again. I was trying to clear my head with jokes.

    Cold.

    I didn''t want to get up.

    It was cold outside.

    After that day, mother told me about some of our racial abilities. I could stop aging, heal all kinds of wounds, and see in the dark. I had actually noticed the seeing in the dark thing, but I thought it was related to me being half-elf. And, I didn¡¯t know why, but my mother said I should avoid getting sick even if I could regenerate a severed limb in seconds.

    My race is called pureblood. It''s not a vampire type; in fact, when I asked my mother if I was a vampire, she told me not to compare myself to those lowly creatures. I think she didn¡¯t like them.

    But I wished I could see myself. Everyone said I was incredibly cute. My mother had shown me my face with a small illusion before; I had gray hair and red eyes just like her, but it would have been nice if I could check how I looked once in a while.

    Should I leave the bed?

    ¡­

    No.

    Apart from myself, I have learned so much about this world and mana. I thought there were 11 levels of mana based on what I heard. And also I thought the mana we have is set from the moment we''re born. I was both right and wrong.

    What is set at birth was not our mana, but our potential. There are 2 types of mana in this world. One is mana spirits, the other is mana guardians. But before explaining these types, I need to explain how someone can increase their mana.

    We didn''t have many books at home to study these subjects, which surprised me a bit, but I still managed to find some information after a bit of walking around my father''s office, and took some notes.

    1 - Using mana : In this world, even the smallest actions, like moving your fingers, consumes mana but as the mana you have now decreases, your maximum mana increases little by little. So, to increase your maximum mana you can do push-ups, swing a sword or just run. And you can also cast spells. As you cast spells or interact with elements, you naturally spend mana and some of that mana you spent increases your limit.

    2 - Absorbing the mana of a creature you killed : I did this when I killed that drake. Basically, when a creature dies, its mana is released and you can absorb it. Part of the mana of that creature becomes yours.

    3 - Meditating : You meditate¡­ I don¡¯t know the details. But it¡¯s probably related to ki.

    Now, coming to the types of mana, let me start with the simplest: the spirits. People with spirits couldn¡¯t absorb the mana of the monsters. But the amount of mana they gained by moving and casting spells was far, far more than what people with guardians gained.

    For people with guardians, they could absorb the mana of the monsters and other people¡¯s spells, which is why they were called guardians. But in order to absorb someone¡¯s spell, you needed to have more mana than that person. Or you needed more than one guardian. Moving and casting spells made them gain mana, but the percentage was extremely low, so if they wanted to get stronger, they had to hunt monsters.

    When I said that our potential is set when we are born, I was talking about the number of spirits or guardians we have. When someone is born, they have anywhere from one to five spirits or guardians. The number of spirits or guardians you have increases the rate of mana you gain. You can think of it like an XP boost in any RPG game. When someone born with 5 spirits casts a spell, they gain 50 times more mana than someone born with 1 spirit. Yes, the numbers are that ridiculous, but the chances of someone being born with 5 spirits or guardians are incredibly low.

    The book I read last night said that most people had 1 or 2 spirits or guardians. While most adventurers had 3 spirits or 2 guardians, people known to be really powerful had 4 spirits or 3 or 4 guardians. If you had 5 spirits or 5 guardians, you became one of the few people mentioned in the history books.

    There was also a situation where the gods came into play. This world had gods like Odin, Jupiter, and I thought they were real. In incredibly rare cases, a god could give a person his or her own power. You could use the powers of that god, and the amount of mana you had became incredibly high.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    I had 3 guardians, and these things looked like¡­ I had no idea how they looked like, they were like some kind of light, I could not describe.

    If I wanted to be stronger, I had to hunt monsters¡­ Even if I was immortal, in my current state I was no different than a training dummy.

    Tons of grinding this world needs.

    A ¡®ding!¡¯ sound would be nice.

    There was no point in complaining¡­ I had an eternity. Unless I fell into magma, or got eaten by a giant monster, or someone put a weight on my foot and threw me to the bottom of the ocean¡­

    I was overthinking again¡­

    I put the book on my face on the nightstand.

    In times like these, I thought about what I could do in this world¡­ I had been planning to make a to-do list, but I just¡­ didn¡¯t know¡­ I was slowly beginning to feel that emptiness in my chest again¡­

    Being immortal definitely gave me an advantage, and I actually had some fantasies I wanted to live. Even if they were a bit embarrassing and cringe to think about¡­

    Like becoming part of a shield wall, building a house in the forest, or fighting a giant monster.

    Simple, not much relevant, but fun.

    And, I still didn¡¯t know if they¡¯d been reincarnated, but I could find my friends. But to do all of these, I needed to become stronger¡­

    I couldn¡¯t get 3 am motivation, so I went back to sleep.

    After I closed my eyes and rolled around on my bed, I stopped and stared at the ceiling. My bed was too big for a kid my age. Actually, most of the things in this room were too big for me. I looked at the window to my right; the sun would have hit my face if the white curtains hadn¡¯t blocked it. Then I rolled and examined the desk to my left. It was a simple, white, wooden desk with many drawers and a small runestone lamp. Almost all the furniture in my room was white. Like an asylum¡­

    I wanted to play games. How many years had it been, 4? I had lived at least 4 years without looking at a phone or touching a PC. I also couldn¡¯t watch porn. Maybe that''s why I found most of the women around me beautiful?

    No.

    I found most of the women around me beautiful because most of them were elves, half-elves, or demons. Two long pointy ears or horns were enough to multiply a woman¡¯s beauty by at least 10.

    I chuckled and got out of bed, wrapped the blanket around me, and turned myself into a burrito. Burrito¡­ I was hungry¡­ This world had some good foods. I had eaten really good steaks, something similar to butter chicken, Rosarians used sauces made with tomato a lot, mama liked peas, papa adored a good pasta with meatballs and marinara, both of them loved wine a lot, and this world even had pizza. But wraps? I hadn¡¯t seen any. Maybe they were street foods? I never had the chance to see the streets. And also burgers¡­ I had seen sandwiches, but not any burgers¡­

    I was hungry and I had nothing else to do.

    I put on my fluffy dragon slippers and headed to the door.

    When I opened it I saw Nazir waiting outside the room. He bowed his head respectfully as usual. ¡°Good morning, my lord.¡±

    ¡°Good morning.¡± I lifted my head to look at his face and yawned.

    ¡°My lord, your blanket¡­¡±

    ¡°What about it?¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to wear a coat?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±

    Nazir followed me as I went to the kitchen and the 4 maids inside bowed their heads as soon as they saw me. Helene took a step forward, her blonde hair tied in a ponytail. They were probably going to start preparing breakfast. It was still early and my parents probably wouldn''t be awake.

    ¡°Good morning, my lord.

    We were going to serve the strawberry jam you asked for today.¡±

    ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°Scrambled eggs with cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, black olives, kafe for Lord Eliar, tea for Lady Aurelia and milk for you.

    Oh and also, Nysemell yogurt.¡±

    ¡°What yogurt?¡±

    ¡°Nysemell.¡±

    Motherfuckers stole yogurt again.

    ¡°Is something wrong, my lord?¡±

    ¡°Nothing¡­¡±

    Helene took eggs out of the fridge and looked at me, ¡°My lord, if you''re hungry, I can make a small sandwich for you,¡± and I shook my head.

    ¡°No need. I''ll come when breakfast is ready.¡±

    I left the kitchen after the maids nodded at me.

    **

    ¡°Nazir¡­¡± Lying in the garden among the flowers, I looked at Nazir standing next to me.

    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±

    ¡°There is something I wanted to ask you.¡±

    He tilted his head to the side in curiosity.

    ¡°Why are you black?¡± His eyes widened in surprise, ¡°I can''t say I understand your question, my lord.¡±

    ¡°I mean, you''re the only black elf I''ve seen, do you belong to a special race or is someone in your family black.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± He smiled, ¡°My mother is an elf from here and my father is just an immigrant human from the south of Laxendria.

    There aren''t many black people on the Marhea continent, you''re right.¡±

    ¡°So how did they¡­?¡±

    ¡°My mother is a noble and I think she liked the different look of my father and just ¡®took him¡¯ as his consort.¡±

    Suddenly I raised my head, ¡°Took him? Are you a noble?¡± and he chuckled.

    ¡°No, my father was one of my mother''s 4 husbands, except for the first one, the other children can only stay and grow up in the mansion. Then we either leave the house or become one of the servants.¡±

    ¡°I think you chose the first option.¡±

    He nodded.

    I sat and wrapped my blanket tightly around me. I looked at Nazir for a while then stood up.

    I''ve killed enough time, my parents must be awake.

    I started to walk home and Nazir followed me, ¡°Where are we going this time, my lord?¡±

    ¡°I''ll ask my mom for permission to go hunting again.¡±

    ¡°Ask if you can go to the city.¡± He said, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

    ¡°You mean she won''t let me?¡±

    He did not answer.

    As we kept walking, I looked at him and sighed. We made our way to my parents'' room, and I was about to knock on the door when I realized that they were already awake and started the day with a lot of vigor.

    ¡°Seems like they are awake my lord but I think we shouldn¡¯t disturb them now.¡±

    I glanced at Nazir and realized I was in one of the few moments when I could use my childish innocence.

    ¡°What are they doing?¡±

    ¡°Lots of things, my lord,¡± he responded instantly, and held my shoulder ¡°Come, we can ask later.¡±

    Lots of things? Where is that moment of panic when you try to explain? I rolled my eyes and headed for my room. Without saying anything, I went to my desk and checked the ingredients I had. I could spend some time making a few potions.

    When we entered my room, I looked at the glasses and bottles on my desk, as I was checking my jars for ingredients Nazir spoke again.

    ¡°I just thought about it again and realised the reason for your question.

    When I visited my father''s hometown, there was a race of elves called sun elves who looked like me in appearance, but I think, I''ve only seen maybe like 1 of them in Marhea.

    Maybe they don''t like the climate here, I don''t know.¡±

    I looked back at Nazir, ¡°We could travel there one day,¡± and he nodded with a smile.

    I glanced at my desk again, and saw the dark purple flasks standing side by side on the corner. They were tranquillising, numbing or, if I needed something a little stronger, paralysing poisons. After that ¡®incident¡¯ I started to pay extra attention to the potions and poisons I was making. Aurelia didn''t seem to care too much about such things, maybe it''s because she was born and raised in this world, but I don''t want to face a similar situation again.

    This world was tough, I realised that one day I might have to defend myself, and fortunately, even though I know I''m stupid, I''m not stupid enough to believe that I can solve things by just talking. I felt that piercing the flesh with a steel in my hand was going to be a lot more difficult than I had imagined, so I figured that if I could do it once, I might as well finish the job at that once.

    ¡°Are you all right, my lord?¡±

    One of the flasks was in my hand, and I was staring at it. I shook my head slightly when I heard Nazir''s voice, and looked at him, ¡°Yes, I''m fine.¡±

    ¡°They should be done,¡± he said, and I put the flask back in its place and we left my room.

 B1 C9

    When we went to my parents'' room, luckily they were finished. I had to beg for a long time to get permission from my mother, and after breakfast, I was able to get permission to go to the city, although I couldn''t get it for hunting. After dressing me in a long black shirt and a white wolf fur coat, she braided my hair. I didn''t know how my hair looked right then, but the wolf head on my right shoulder looked cool, so I trusted my mom''s style. After my mother whispered something in Nazir''s ear, we left the house.

    And just now, after about 20 minutes on horseback, we had arrived in the huge city that I had been watching from the balcony of our house for a long time. Nazir was riding the horse, and I was sitting in front of him, holding the reins sometimes.

    Everywhere I looked, I saw either incredibly detailed sculptures, temple-like houses with pillars, or restaurants reminiscent of medieval inns. And the city was incredibly crowded. Surprisingly, there were no walls protecting the city. We came here following a big stone road among the trees, and when we entered the main gate, the huge road was divided into two parts with a thin lane full of roses in the middle. No matter how big the sidewalks were, the crowds at the entrance were so large that some of the people walked on the side of the road. There was little traffic on the roads with horses and carriages. When I looked at the crowd again, I noticed something.

    If I remembered correctly, the name of the race of bear men, werewolves, pandas, rabbits, cats, etc., who walked, talked, and dressed like humans was Argon. For example, the cat-type Argons were people who resembled a cat in every part of their body but were human-sized and lived like humans.

    The Mehums were the race that looked like humans but had features such as cat, dog, fox, bear ears and tails. Like anime cat girls.

    I see a lot of dwarves around, demons, elves, even elves with different skin colors like blue or purple, argons, mehums and lots of half elves. I can distinguish half-elves from pure elves by their shorter ears. But I think I saw only about 10 humans in the whole crowd.

    I threw my head back and looked at Nazir, ¡°Aren''t there very few ''humans'' around?¡±

    He looked at me with a confused face. ¡°What do you mean, my lord?¡±

    ¡°I thought humans were the most populated race?¡±

    After looking around for a while, he turned his head to me.

    ¡°Maybe 1000 years ago? Most of the humans mixed with other races so that their children would be stronger and live longer. They have very short lifespans.

    If you want to see humans, I think Xadora and Xinshui are the only kingdoms where humans are in the majority.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°I might be remembering wrong but Xadorans don''t allow humans to marry other races and Xinshuans can extend their lifespan with something they called cultivation.¡±

    ¡°Is Xadorans a bit racist?¡±

    ¡°A little bit, maybe.¡±

    I looked at him in silence for a while and then continued to look around. I didn¡¯t know what to say, it was strange.

    ¡°You said human lifespans are too short, how long can a half elf live?¡±

    ¡°Up to 800 years and I''ll be 103 in 3 months, if you are wondering.¡±

    ¡°My father? They never celebrate their birthdays.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    He chuckled after my words.

    ¡°It probably loses its meaning after something like 200<sup>th</sup> time, my lord.

    Lord Eliar is more than 300 years old but I''m not sure exactly how old he is.¡±

    ¡°My mother?¡±

    He paused for a moment, looked up and moved his head left and right.

    ¡°She might have even seen the Unification.

    So, probably more than 1500.¡±

    ¡°Huh?!¡±

    I raised my voice a little in surprise, but it was lost in the crowd.

    Nazir chuckled and then looked at me with a smile.

    ¡°Yes, being a pureblood is literally a gift from gods. You are very lucky, my lord.

    But your race is not very well known among the public, if we were not under the sun right now, most of the people around us would probably think you were a vampire because of your eyes.

    So if someone asks, say you''re a half elf.¡±

    After I nodded to him, I realized that we were passing by a large statue. An old man with a long beard was holding what looked like a lightning bolt, and next to him was another bearded man with a trident.

    I pointed my finger at the statue ¡°Are they Jupiter and Neptune?¡± and Nazir nodded.

    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±

    After a moment of silence, I asked the question that had been on my mind for a long time ¡°Nazir, have you ever heard of a god named Zeus or Poseidon?¡± When I was reading a book about gods, I saw that gods like Jupiter, Odin, Amaterasu, Sun Wukong, Tengri, Anubis, etc. existed in this world, but the gods in the Greek mythology did not.

    I know that the Roman gods and the Greek gods are mostly the same, but there are significant differences between the two mythologies and in my old world they were separate gods.

    ¡°Never heard of it, my lord.¡±

    ¡°I remember seeing it in a book, but I think I saw it wrong.¡±

    The crowds thinned as we moved further into the city. Looking around was much easier now. I saw 6 amphitheaters and in all of them there was either a show or they were playing music and I was able to see the Colosseum through the buildings, however far away from us. And there was also a huge, tall stone structure in the middle of the city, easily recognizable from all sides, but I couldn''t figure out what it was.

    ¡°Is there anything specific you''d like to see, my lord?¡±

    ¡°How long would it take to see the whole city?¡± I asked and ¡°A week¡­ maybe?¡± he answered.

    ¡°A week?¡±

    ¡°Rosarium is one of the largest cities in the empire, my lord.¡±

    I sighed ¡°Where should we go first?¡±

    ¡°There is so much to see, but let''s prioritize the places you might enjoy.¡±

    Nazir showed me a huge museum-like temple in our part of the city, a huge fountain with incredibly detailed sculptures, and many other wonderful sites, I even bought my mom a bracelet with a white flower design on it. And after wandering around for hours, Nazir brought me to an open area, almost in the middle of the city, with an incredible crowd. After a bit of riding through the people, Nazir stopped the horse and he looked for a while at a sign that said Northside.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±

    Nazir looked at me with a smile, "No, nothing," and changed the direction of the horse. Just as we were about to move, a passing carriage stopped and a half elf, who appeared to be middle-aged, dressed in fine white and red silk, rolled down his window and looked at us with a surprised expression, ¡°Nazir?¡±

    ¡°Sir Anthinos?¡±

    ¡°It really is you.¡±

    The man looked Nazir up and down and then continued talking.

    ¡°When Yunus told that you were back in the Ocean, I couldn¡¯t believe him.¡±

    ¡°I didn''t come back.¡±

    ¡°Sure, if you say so.

    Then you''re not going to Northside?¡±

    ¡°No, we''ll tour a few neighborhoods in the east and then return.¡±

    The man turned his eyes to me.

    ¡°Who is this friend of yours?¡±

    ¡°He''s a cousin of a friend of mine, I''m showing him the city and killing time while they''re busy.¡±

    ¡°You know I''ve seen Lord Altevia before, right?¡±

    Why was Nazir hiding who I was and also ¡°I''ve never seen you before.¡±

    The man chuckled. ¡°We never really met, my lord, because you were just a baby then.

    So, Aurelia still doesn''t want her son to talk with the commoners.¡±

    Nazir slightly frowned and looked at Anthinos, and the man chuckled again.

    ¡°What? I am not blaming her, I wouldn''t have raised my son here if I didn''t have to.

    But I hope she realizes, he¡¯ll have to learn how to swim.¡±

    Nazir suddenly started giggling. ¡°Do you want me to tell her exactly what you said?¡± and Anthinos'' eyes widened, ¡°Fuck, no.

    But anyway, I won''t keep you any longer.

    I''m meeting Eliar in a few hours, show him the harbor, you don''t have to go through Northside for that.

    It was nice to see you, come to my place when you are free.¡±

    Nazir nodded after his words and the man waved at us, he closed his window and the carriage continued on.

    What''s wrong with this Northside that my mom doesn''t want me to go there?

    ¡°Nazir, who was that guy?¡±

    ¡°A professional horse thief.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You heard it right, my lord.¡±

    ¡°How can you be professional at this?¡±

    ¡°He''s got tons of people working for him all over the world. They steal special breed horses like Laxendrian, load them onto ships and sells them to Marhea''s nobles.

    I remember him selling a perfectly black horse in front of my eyes for 600 gold.¡±

    ¡°They load them on ships?¡±

    ¡°Yes, your father''s ships.¡±

    ¡°My father''s a smuggler?¡±

    ¡°No-yes? How did you learn that word?¡±

    ¡°But there''s one thing I don''t understand. If he earns that much gold, why doesn''t he do his ¡®business¡¯ with his own ships?¡±

    ¡°Who will protect him if he does that?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    ¡°But, my lord¡­ You seem to know a lot about the things we talked about.¡±

    Oh¡­ Play dumb.

    ¡°What you mean?¡±

    Nazir looked at me silently for a while, ¡°Though you''ve spent almost your entire life in Lord Eliar''s office.

    How many of those books have you read?¡±

    ¡°Mama said I¡¯m a scholar at this point.¡±

    He chuckled, ¡°Yes, you certainly are, my lord.¡±

    I turned my head and looked at the Northside sign for a while.

    ¡°Nazir.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord?¡±

    ¡°I want to see the Northside.¡±

 B1 C10

    ¡°I am sorry my lord but we can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because¡­¡±

    ¡°Mom doesn''t need to know, we can just wander around a bit and come back.¡±

    ¡°Believe me, my lord, she will find out.¡±

    I sighed.

    ¡°Okay, can we at least go to the harbor? I want to see my father.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we can.¡±

    After a small tour that lasted about half an hour and took us through many buildings that looked like apartments of this era, we came to a long harbor full of wooden ships. Like the entrance to the city, it was very crowded, but this time, instead of civilians walking around, there were tons of people with weapons like swords and daggers on their backs and belts. A lot of people greeted Nazir as we moved through the harbor. He was more popular than I thought.

    And when we finally came to a huge ship, Nazir got off the horse and helped me. Suddenly 3 people came up to us and as they started to greet Nazir, I looked at the huge ship in front of me. A Galleon, if I remember correctly, that was the name of ships like this one. There were a lot of cannons on the sides and on the deck.

    Does that mean there is gunpowder in this world? If there are cannons, shouldn''t there be guns?

    Among the ships lined up along the harbor, there were only 6 or 7 ships that were by far this big. It was just sitting there with its sails closed on its three masts. When we came close to ship, I saw a wooden ladder. And there were 7 people chatting in front of it. When they saw Nazir, he greeted and hugged them too and one of them turned to me.

    ¡°It''s good to see you, but I have to ask, who is he?¡±

    Nazir turned his eyes to me, "He is Lord Eliar''s son, Lord Altevia," and when he said that, there was silence.

    ¡°Lord Eliar''s son?¡± The man asked quietly, surprised, and Nazir nodded.

    ¡°The captain''s son?¡±

    Nazir nodded again.

    Everyone started to look at me with surprised eyes and slowly people started to come towards the ship and look at me from a distance, as if they were looking at a strange animal in a zoo.

    ¡°Is that Altevia?¡± - ¡°I think so.¡± - ¡°Isn''t he so cute?¡± - ¡°He''s Lord Eliar''s child, of course he''ll be cute.¡± - ¡°He looks like his mother.¡±

    ¡°Lord Alt-, capta-, my lord?

    I''m sorry, I don''t know what to call you.

    Come aboard, please, your father''s here.¡±

    People who had just been standing casually, chatting and joking amongst themselves, were now suddenly acting like professionals and being very careful about their moves. Were they afraid of something? They were perfectly normal.

    After I got on ship, I examined the deck and when I saw the cannons, I couldn''t resist and ran to one of them. Just then the man who brought us here shouted in surprise ¡°Capta- my lord!¡± and I heard Nazir''s voice, ¡°Just say, ¡®My lord.¡¯¡±

    The cannon on the deck didn¡¯t have a rope to burn. Actually, I didn¡¯t know if they normally had one; I just remembered that in the movies they burn a rope and then bam! But on the cannon, there were 2 runes, like scribbles¡ªone brown and one red. Did this also work with runestones?

    ¡°My lord?¡±

    I turned to Nazir when he came up to me and bent down on one knee, "How do I use this?"

    Nazir sighed, "If I tell you, will you use it?"

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    ¡°No.¡±

    Even though I said no, Nazir looked at the ship next to us and checked to see if anyone was there.

    ¡°Promise?¡±

    ¡°Promise.¡±

    Nazir put my hand on the brown rune.

    ¡°This is an earth rune, when you transfer your mana here, a cannon ball will appear inside.¡± Then he took my hand to the red rune, ¡°And this is a fire rune, but it also contains wind energy. When you transfer your mana here, you shoot the ball.¡±

    ¡°That''s all?¡±

    Nazir nodded.

    ¡°I want to-¡±

    ¡°If you want to use it you can fire one of the ones on the front cap¡­my lord.¡±

    As I turned to the man whose voice I had heard with excitement, he paused, ¡°I''m sorry, I shouldn''t have interrupted you.¡±

    ¡°No problem, but won''t that be a problem?¡±

    ¡°Maybe your father will allow it.¡±

    Oh right, I came here to see my father.

    As I was walking away from the cannon Nazir grabbed me by the shoulder and guided me to where my father was and when we got to the door I knocked twice.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be here if you need me.¡± Nazir said.

    When there was no answer, I slowly opened the door and as soon as I poked my head inside I saw my father sitting at a desk. Yunus was sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk, wearing a blue shirt and white pants and in front of me there was a¡­ Centaur?

    He had short black hair, blue eyes, was wearing a green shirt and on the lower part of his body, well... Everyone had their own preferences¡­

    As I looked at the centaur with curious eyes, he sighed and approached the door.

    "Seriously, you let a child-"

    ¡°Altevia?¡±

    As soon as centaur heard my father''s voice, he fell silent and his eyes widened. When I heard the men giggling in the back, I ran to my father and he picked me up and sat me on his leg.

    This was a large place. At the end of the room there was a wooden desk in the center with 3 chairs in front of it. On the right a bookcase against the wall filled with books and on the left there were small statuettes and decorations such as miniature ships. The desk was covered with papers.

    While I was examining the room, Yunus looked at me with a smile, ¡°If he is starting to come here already, he can be captain next year. Your retirement is not far away.¡±

    My father chuckled and looked at Yunus, ¡°I hope so,¡± and then he turned to me.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to see you.¡±

    My father looked at me with a smile and patted my head, ¡°You did good, but you might get bored-¡±

    Yunus interrupted my father, ¡°Let him stay for a while, he can leave if he gets bored.¡±

    ¡°If that''s okay with you.¡±

    The Centaur had been watching me silently while my father and Yunus talked and finally he decided to speak.

    ¡°It''s my first time seeing him, but they really grow fast.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right.

    Altevia, do you know who he is?¡±

    ¡°No, did you buy him from Anthinos?¡±

    As soon as I asked my question, Yunus'' eyes widened and I noticed that he was biting his lips. At that very moment the centaur turned to Yunus and as he was saying ¡°Please don¡¯t-¡±, he heard my father trying to hold back his laughter. Yunus made a few sounds through his nose like he was breathing heavily and finally he started laughing like a monkey.

    Yunus raised his hands as he continued to laugh and just as he slowly stopped laughing, saying, "I''m sorry, I''m sorry.", He looked at my father who was giggling quietly and they looked into each other''s eyes for a while and then Yunus couldn''t stand it and started laughing even louder.

    I''ve never seen my father laugh like that.

    ¡°Anthinos¡­ Heheheheehehehe, Anthinos¡­ how do you know him?¡± Yunus asked, amidst laughter.

    ¡°While we were exploring the city, he saw Nazir and they chatted for a while.¡±

    After father took a deep breath and calmed down, he kissed me on the head.

    ¡°Okay, okay... Enough.¡±

    The centaur stood there, frowning. My father looked at him and grabbed my shoulder. ¡°This is Solonius, another close friend of mine.¡±

    Solonius sighed.

    ¡°Another close friend? Who was the first one you introduced?¡±

    ¡°Hao.¡±

    ¡°Hao? Sun Hao?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why did you say his surname?¡±

    My father put his hand on his chin, ¡°Hao is his name.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Yunus suddenly put one hand on his chair and looked at Solonius with a puzzled expression, and Solonius continued to speak.

    ¡°Wait a minute, now you''re saying that their first name is their last name and the second is their given name?¡±

    And Yunus answered his question.

    ¡°117¡­

    Let¡¯s say first 30 years of your life you never talked to a Xinshuan. We started working with you when you were like 40 if I remember correct. So, at least 60 years¡­

    How many business have you done with the Xinshuans?¡±

    Solonius raised his eyebrows and scratched his chin.

    "Wait, wait¡­ How do you know my age that certain? Even I¡¯m not sure how old I am.¡±

    ¡°I have a notebook for that.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± My father asked with a confused expression and Yunus answered, ¡°Yeah, why did this make you two so confused?¡±

    Then he turned to Solonius, ¡°Go on, answer.¡±

    ¡°I don''t know, I thought they always used similar names, you know... there are so many of them."

    ¡°You didn¡¯t say that,¡± Yunus started laughing again.

    ¡°But, you were calling him Sun Hao, too?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s their culture! They just don¡¯t care when Eliar does that.¡± Yunus raised one eyebrow.

    Father facepalmed. ¡°I can''t believe¡­¡± and then he sighed.

    ¡°Why do you call him Hao?¡± I asked my father and he quickly replied, ¡°I called him Hao once by mistake, and he said ¡®Okay.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Anyways,

    Let''s continue before I completely forget what we just talked about, what was it?¡±

    Yunus cleared his throat and turned to my father then chuckled once before speaking.

    ¡°The peacocks have arrived, they''re on the ship to Fyndell.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± My father ticked one of the papers in front of him and handed it to Solonius.

    ¡°What about the restaurant?¡±

    Yunus stroked his forehead  ¡°Eliar, we''re talking about a place in the middle of the harbor, that''s full every day, he''s going to sell it, but the price he''s asking is too much.¡±

    ¡°It''s funny how you act as if we can''t pay. If we don''t have enough gold now, just borrow it.¡±

    ¡°Let''s not incur another debt just for that, it''s not worth it.

    Alt, can you tell your father ¡®no¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Why? Debt that doesn¡¯t kill you makes you stronger.¡±

    It was something I learned when I used to play strategy games.

    ¡°You''ve gotta be kidding me,¡± Yunus said as he looked at me.

    ¡°Altevia.¡±

    As soon as I heard my father''s voice I looked up at him and he kissed me on the forehead and then turned to Yunus.

    ¡°You heard him.¡±

    Yunus chuckled, "You can put that on your wall now."

    After Yunus'' words, my father opened the desk drawer and took out a brown box. After he opened the box, I saw that there were 5 necklaces side by side with precious stones in different colors. My father took the necklace with the blue stones and handed it to Yunus.

    ¡°If they ask for a guarantee, give this.¡±

    Yunus looked at the necklace briefly, then took it and nodded.

    My father crossed out some writing on a piece of paper on the left side of the table  and as he was pulling the piece of paper he had just ticked, he looked at me.

    ¡°But yes, Anthinos was supposed to come today. Where is he?¡±

    As my father was saying this, someone knocked on the door and Anthinos poked his head inside.

    ¡°Speak of the devil,¡± Solonius said.

    ¡°Something happened?¡±

    After another hour or two of business talk, I really started to get bored like my father said. I could even say I started to get sleepy. My father must have realized this and called Nazir and I offered no resistance as Nazir picked me up and carried me. I just remembered the good things about being a kid.

    And the last thing I remembered about today was my mom laying me on my bed while I yawned.

 B1 C11

    Is this what they called ¡®Show, don¡¯t tell¡¯?

    I can¡¯t say I like seeing my headless body falling on ground.

    When my head reappeared on top of my body with turquoise particles, I shook my head and put my hand on my neck. It hurt like hell.

    ¡°Now do you understand why you should not be afraid, my lord?¡±

    ¡°I already know I shouldn''t be afraid!¡±

    ¡°But you are still afraid.¡±

    ¡°Because it hurts!

    Also, you are stronger than me, you are faster than me and you''re more experienced than me. Not to mention you''re five times bigger than me.

    Why do you use steel while I use wood?

    Where is the balance?¡±

    Nazir plunged the steel long sword into the earth and looked around at the field of flowers around us. It was early morning and slightly cloudy. So, with his words, it was a great day for training. And I was a brat in the middle of my seventh year, hadn''t even learned how to do magic.

    ¡°It doesn''t make much difference that I''m five times your size, my lord. If there is a disadvantage, there is an advantage, your advantage is that you''re agile and¡­ durable.

    What was our rule? If you can hit me once, you win, and am I not the biggest target here?

    And about the steel, your immortality gives you an advantage that noone else can have, both in this training and in the future. I believe that we can turn you into a really great warrior in as little as 5 years by killing you every time you make a mistake.

    And about the wooden sword, unlike you, I can get hurt and more importantly, there is no way you can lift a steel sword.¡±

    I threw my head back and rolled my eyes.

    ¡°This is not fair.¡±

    ¡°Life is not fair, my lord.

    And by the way, even if you don''t put it into words, what''s going through your mind is true.

    It is impossible for you to defeat me.¡±

    ¡°Then how will I-!?¡±

    Ooh¡­

    As Nazir was raising his sword, I remembered a small point that I had not noticed before.

    I didn''t have to beat him, the rule was simple, if I could hit him once, I won. In all my previous attempts I''ve tried things like running around him or throwing my sword, but I''ve always failed. I still couldn''t use magic , but I was right on top of one of the elements that can really help me. If there was no way I could beat him in a fair fight, I shouldn''t have fought fair. After all, I didn¡¯t need to beat him, I need to ''win''.

    Before I got up, I slowly filled my left hand with some dirt. I stood up and pointed my sword at him, then straightened my shoulders and took the one-handed stance he had shown me. One of my legs was forward and my left hand was close to my chest.

    ¡°My lord, as I said before, if you don''t have a shield, it is better to hold your sword with both hands and I''ve shown you that stance in case you want to use a rapier in the future.¡±

    ¡°I can''t beat you in a battle of strength anyways, I want to try this.¡±

    He sighed, ¡°Alright.¡±

    After his words, he grabbed his sword with one hand too and started to approach me.

    ¡°One, one, two, three.¡± As Nazir swung his sword swiftly, he was saying the numbers like we had practiced before, so that I could defend myself more easily. One meant the right side, he was going to attack either my right shoulder or my right arm or my right hand. Two meant the left side, and the three meant my stomach and chest. But I had to figure out exactly where the attack would come at.

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    This time when he attacked, he swung his sword first at my right arm, then at my right shoulder, then diagonally at my left arm and finally at my stomach. I deflected them all and dodged the attack on my stomach, swung the sword at his arm but Nazir said, "One, three," as he parried my attack and swung his sword at my chest.

    What I was going to do next was going to hurt like hell, but it was the only thing I could do if I wanted to win.

    I purposely did not avoid the sword that was coming at my chest, and as it pierced me, with incredible pain I threw the dirt in my hand in his eyes. As Nazir backed away in surprise, I swung my wooden sword at his arm and...

    I hit him¡­ I really hit him.

    Nazir raised his left hand and took two steps away and as he wiped his eye I asked him, "Are you okay?" Nazir chuckled at my question and looked where I had hit him.

    ¡°Yes, I''m fine my lord, but next time, strike somewhere fatal.¡±

    ¡°I don''t think I can reach your neck.¡±

    After the wound on my chest healed, I put my hand there. The pain was gone. It was really weird. If I had gotten a wound like that before, I would definitely be dead. Even if I didn''t die, it would take years for the wound to heal, or maybe it wouldn''t heal at all, and I would be crippled. It was going to take me a while to get used to this.

    I shook my head slightly to clear it and looked at the wooden sword in my hand. All jokes aside, I was actually training with a sword, if I did something like this in my old world, maybe I could have fun with my close friends, but it would be a completely awkward sight for people looking from the outside.

    Anyway, now I had something to do besides hiding in corners and scaring my mom.

    I raised my head and looked at Nazir, he was obviously restricting himself so he could train with me. Because he was much taller than me, whenever he came close to me, he would put some distance between us so that we could clash swords as if it were a real battle.

    ¡°Are we going to continue?¡± After looking at the sky, I asked Nazir and he shook his head.

    ¡°I think maids are starting to prepare breakfast,¡± he looked behind me and when I turned around I realized that a maid was passing by. That was Olga. She was wearing the long cream-colored dress that all maids wore, and her long brown hair was tied up in a bun. As we were walking home, Nazir called out to her, she turned and came to us.

    ¡°Can you prepare the lord''s bath?¡±

    Olga nodded and held out her hand to me and I handed my sword to Nazir and started to follow Olga. I was still not used to being bathed by someone, but my mom won''t let me do it by myself, so there wasn¡¯t much I can do and there was no need to act like a rebellious teenager too.

    ¡°Altevia.¡±

    As I tiredly walked home, I paused when I heard a charming voice. I looked back, and stared at this woman who seemed to get more and more beautiful every time I saw her. The woman whose voice I heard was Lady Eralith.

    Eralith was a beautiful woman, that''s the first and most important thing I can say about her. Her long blonde hair was loose as usual and this time, I think because the weather is a bit cold, instead of wearing one of her long thin dresses, she was wearing long brown trousers and long boots and a white thin shirt and a brown coat on top. And I have to say that these clothes suited her better than her thin dresses.

    Eralith took quick steps to my side, then leaned over and caressed my cheek.

    ¡°You''ve grown so much!¡±

    Sometimes I liked being a child... Before I didn''t have a problem talking to women, I had a problem talking to all people. I don''t like to chat with people, but I''m not an animal, when in work or someone shows interest in me and wants to talk, I try to have a conversation.

    And I loved talking to Eralith, she was a really easygoing and sweet person.

    I looked at Eralith''s face and after meeting her turquoise eyes, my gaze shifted to her hair, a little black mixed in with her naturally blond hair.

    ¡°You dyed your hair?¡±

    ¡°Have you noticed?¡±

    Eralith stroked my cheek once more and then sat up ¡°How is it?¡±

    I nodded and said, "I think whatever you do will look good on you because you''re beautiful," and Eralith looked at me with a smirk, ¡°You''re becoming very dangerous.¡±

    When she finished, she turned around and waved to Nazir, who merely nodded and walked away to leave the swords in the area at the edge of the training ground.

    As I looked at Eralith in silence, Eralith said "May I?" and reached for my hand. I looked at Olga once, then Olga walked away and I took Eralith''s hand.

    ¡°Looks like you''ve started the trainings,¡± said Eralith as we walked home.

    ¡°Yes, and I''m sweaty, I need to take a shower.¡±

    ¡°Is that an invitation?¡±

    ¡°If you want to.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure there are lots of girls who¡¯d want to do lots of things with you, if you weren''t too young for me I might consider it, but¡­ I don''t want to anger your mama.¡± After she told me these things, she winked at me and I said, "You can do lots of things to me, I won''t tell mama."

    Eralith paused for a moment and then laughed, "Look at this little monster!" She chuckled as she played with my hair and tickled me briefly.

    "So, what kind of weapon do you want to use? You were practicing with a sword just now, but I wanted to ask."

    I raised my head slowly and looked up at the clouds. What kind of weapon did I want to use? Actually, I''ve never thought about that before. In almost every medieval themed game, I''ve played with broadsword and shield, classic but fun. Though, I was leaving this duo whenever I found a magical greatsword. Ah, I wish I could find a moonlight greatsword. Especially something like the one in the Bloodborne.

    Actually even if I find it now, I didn¡¯t think I can be able to lift it before I became 16 or something, but I could hang it on my wall.

    If I think realistically, spears has always been the easiest and best weapons in history or maybe I could try to be a little different and use a mace, but I don¡¯t know...

    A scythe maybe? No, too anime.

    Maybe in twenty years or so I would use a halberd, but I think I wanted to use the good old longsword.

    ¡°I haven''t decided yet.¡±

    ¡°What about the element?¡±

    Right, I had to think about that too¡­ In this world, anyone who decided to master magic could use all the elements, but they usually focused on 1 or 2 elements they chose. This was something they called elemental mastery. When you started practicing on an element, your mana started to merge with that element and away from the others.

    ¡°I think it''s the air.¡±

    ¡°A good choice, but why?¡±

    ¡°No particular reason.¡±

    As you could guess, fire was the most popular element, and since this world didn¡¯t have a periodic table like ours, I assumed they weren¡¯t very knowledgeable about things like oxygen. I thought I could use that to my advantage.

    It was also an element I could protect myself with, and it was pretty versatile.

    ¡°Which element are you using? I know you''re a sorcerer, but I''ve never seen you fight,¡± When I turned to Eralith and asked her this, she looked at me with a smile.

    ¡°Lightning.¡±

    ¡°Lightning? I''m curious, how do you practice that?

    I read an encyclopedia about the elements and magic-¡±

    ¡°Encyclopedia?¡± She raised one eyebrow and looked at me with a funny smile.

    ¡°Yes, the encyclopedia talked about elements like fire, water, earth, air, lightning, ice, light, and some special magics like telepathy, telekinesis and time.

    There were also 2 different ways of practicing: understanding and imagining. But no matter how much I try both of these methods, I can''t use them.¡±

    Eralith chuckled ¡°It is almost impossible to use both methods without someone showing you how to feel and use your mana first, and children are not usually taught how to cast spells because of the imagination method you mentioned yourself.

    You can cry all you want, but at this age your imagination is really dangerous.

    But don''t worry, they will probably start teaching you next year.¡±

    I sighed. I thought maybe she''d show me, but she was much more responsible than she looks.

    We walked for a very short time and then we entered the house and saw my parents in the hallway. My mother was surprised for a moment when she saw Eralith, but she came to us without saying anything.

    They started to have their usual daily conversation and then mother invited Eralith for breakfast and we sat at the same table. We were in what I would call the dining room of the house, there was a long table in the center of the room, glass wall with a view of the sea on the right side and pictures on the other walls. The room didn''t have a lot of furniture.

    There was nothing much different at breakfast, almost every day there were tomatoes, 2 types of cheese, eggs, milk for me and tea or coffee for my parents. One thing I liked about this world was that they called coffee ''Kafe'' and although the taste of kafe was very similar to the one in my old world, the color was purple.

    Eralith got kafe, as did my parents, and I got milk.

 B1 C12

    The table was louder than usual today. In dinner¡¯s and lunch¡¯s my parents would try to chat with me, but because of the tiredness of the morning, there wasn''t much conversation at the table, and we would just watch the view and have a quiet, sweet breakfast.

    Eralith''s presence forced my mother to talk to her, and Eralith was trying to have a conversation with my father. She seemed to want something from him. I thought she was one of the people my father did business with. I didn¡¯t know exactly what she was doing, but I thought she was a successful woman in her own business. That was something I could respect, especially in an age like this. But that wasn¡¯t our subject right now, our subject was¡­

    ¡°Mother, can I go hun-¡±

    ¡°No.¡± My mother answered my question without even letting me finish.

    ¡°But, why?¡± I gave her one of my puppy looks, I really wanted some action in my life.

    Just as my mother was about to say something, my father suddenly entered the conversation and my eyes widened with happiness.

    ¡°He can go.¡±

    My mom looked at my father in surprise, "What do you mean he can go? No."

    Father took a sip from his kafe ¡°You''re being overprotective again, let him go. He¡¯ll be fine, Nazir and 2 people from the Ocean will be with him.¡±

    I watched my mother in silence and saw her gaze fixed on her kafe. She was sitting right next to me.

    She sighed, leaned over and kissed me on the head, "You''ll be careful."

    I nodded my head a few times rapidly. I could finally get out of here. If I had a computer, I wouldn''t mind so much, but there was really nothing to do in this house. I had read almost every book and I was tired of the childish jokes and games like hide and seek. Even though I''ve been practicing sword lately, as I said, there was really no activity in my life.

    ¡°If he''s going hunting you should at least give him a weapon, do you have something you''re keeping for him?¡±

    I jumped in, ¡°Can I have that turquoise dagger?¡±

    ¡°Turquoise?¡± My father looked at me for a moment in confusion and then asked, "The one you used on your first birthday?" After I nodded, he shook his head slowly and said, "That dagger is too dangerous for you, I''m sorry, but no."

    ¡°Why? Is it cursed?¡±

    My father chuckled and was about to speak but Eralith interrupted. "Is he talking about the caerrum dagger?"

    Father nodded and Eralith turned to me, ¡°That dagger is not for hunting, it is made of a metal that is very dangerous to use in general, and it is usually used for special events such as your first birthday.¡±

    She tapped the wooden table twice with her hand, "It can cut through this table like it''s butter, but more importantly, it''s probably worth more than this house, so you mustn''t lose it."

    I listened quietly to Eralith. It wasn''t a problem for me that the dagger was so sharp, after all, even if I cut myself, I could still heal. But it¡¯s worth¡­ That would be a problem. Anyway... I guess I would have to find myself another weapon.

    As I continued to eat my breakfast in silence, I heard Eralith''s voice again. ¡°If you want, I can give you a present for your first hunt?¡±

    "That''s not necessary," my father said, thanking Eralith, but Eralith insisted, ¡°I know, but I want to, if that''s okay with you.¡±

    My father looked at my mother once and she nodded. ¡°Sure, will you take him to the blacksmith?¡± Eralith nodded and took a sip of her kafe. And I continued to eat my breakfast in silence with a smile on my face.

    After an hour or so, me, my father, Eralith and Nazir went to the city in Eralith''s carriage. When we reached the middle of the city, my father got off the carriage, took a horse from an inn, left us and went to the harbor. After a while we got off the carriage on a circular street in one of the most crowded parts of the city and Eralith took me by the shoulders and guided me to the blacksmith she told me about.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    The place was huge, through the glass walls I could see the crowd inside, there were dozens of people looking at the weapons on the stands. The walls were covered with weapons and shields, like halberds, spears and swords. The interior design was red and black with a magma-like theme and one of the things that surprised me was that there were people sitting upstairs having a drink. I turned and looked at Eralith.

    ¡°Is there a cafe upstairs?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it''s very popular in winter.¡±

    As Eralith, me and Nazir made our way to the blacksmith, we passed by a short queue at the front of the place, the horned guard at the door bowed his head when he saw Eralith and we walked in as the people in line looked at us. The moment we walked in, I looked around. Impressive even from the outside, these weapons were eye-catching up close. I''m not an expert on weapons, but even I could tell the quality of the metal and the details like engravings. While I was staring at the weapons, Eralith grabbed me by the shoulder and moved me to a staircase leading down.

    As we went down the stairs, we started to hear a man screaming.

    ¡°JUST WHEN I THOUGHT GODS DONE FUCKING ME!

    VULCAN COMES!

    ASKS WHAT¡¯S THIS LINE!

    ¡°THORMUND!¡± Eralith shouted as she covered my ears but I had already heard everything.

    WHAT?!¡±

    When we finally came down, I wasn''t surprised to see a dwarf. Unlike the dwarves I''d seen on the streets, this one had a shorter beard, wore a black apron and held a hammer, and fit the image of a blacksmith''s dwarf. He was so dwarf that I¡¯d call him a dwarf even if the word ¡®dwarf¡¯ was not existed.

    When he saw us, he took off his circular goggles and put them on his forehead and Eralith interrupted him without letting him speak.

    ¡°What are you angry about again?¡±

    ¡°Nothing important, I''ll tell you later.¡±

    The dwarf threw the hammer on the wooden table behind him and took off his black gloves.

    This might have been the warmest place I''ve ever been, the huge forge next to the dwarf was burning, there were two large anvils on the left side of the room, and shelves with parts like hilts and pommels on the right.

    ¡°Who is this?¡± The dwarf came over and started to look at me with curious eyes, but his brow was still furrowed.

    ¡°He is Altevia, son of Eliar.¡±

    ¡°Eliar?¡± The dwarf looked at Eralith and then at me again, sighed and continued.

    ¡°I''m Thormund, nice to meet you.¡±

    I held out my hand to him and jumped back with the sudden heat I felt when our hands touched.

    ¡°How can you-¡±

    ¡°You get used to it.¡±

    After interrupting me and answering my question, he looked at Nazir, nodded, then turned to Eralith.

    ¡°So, what do you want?¡±

    Eralith folded her arms, looked at the forge behind the dwarf, and then turned her eyes to me.

    ¡°I want you to make a nice dagger for him, the finest quality.¡±

    ¡°Did I ever make something not finest?

    Do you have something in your mind?¡± The blacksmith looked at me and I immediately answered his question.

    ¡°I want something simple.¡±

    "Simple? That''s all?" The eyes of everyone in the room widened in surprise.

    ¡°Yes, simple, and not easily broken.¡±

    The dwarf put his hand on his chin and started walking left and right.

    ¡°I''ll do something simple, but I don''t want to give Eliar''s son just a simple steel dagger.¡±

    The dwarf walked around a few more times and finally stopped and turned to me.

    ¡°What''s your favorite color?¡±

    My favorite color?

    ¡°Purple, I think, and black.¡±

    As soon as I said that, Eralith jumped in. ¡°I think you can use siyah.¡±

    ¡°I was thinking the same,¡± dwarf turned and looked at Eralith, then looked in the direction of the forge for a while, ¡°But we don''t have any siyah left.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean we don¡¯t?!¡±

    ¡°You know, none.¡±

    ¡°And you''re telling me this now?!¡± Eralith''s eyebrows furrowed and her voice rose slightly, and then the dwarf''s voice rose too.

    ¡°I would''ve told you if you''d come, you''ve been gone for days!¡±

    ¡°You could have sent someone!¡±

    ¡°You can check your place once in a while!¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Eralith was about to say something, but she looked at me and took a deep breath, ¡°Since when?¡±

    ¡°Three days.¡±

    ¡°Three?!¡± Eralith scratched her forehead, looked around and sighed, ¡°Okay, I''ll ask Eliar. Don''t accept special orders for now.¡±

    ¡°Do I look like an idiot from up there?¡± The dwarf spread his hands and walked backwards to the forge, ¡°Do you need this dagger now?¡±

    ¡°I was going hunting.¡±

    ¡°Hunt? What will you hunt with a dagger?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, that¡¯s for protect myself.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± The dwarf picked up his hammer, took two steps and then stopped and looked at Eralith.

    ¡°You know what, don''t ask Eliar for siyah,¡± as the dwarf said this, Eralith looked at him in confusion and the dwarf continued, ¡°I mean ask it but, let the boy go and get the ore for himself, isn''t he going hunting anyway? Can be a great adventure.¡±

    ¡°Going to Mirstone hills, 2 week journey, just for the hunt?¡±

    ¡°I can do it,¡± as soon as I said that, Nazir put his hand on my shoulder, ¡°My lord, I don''t think your mother will allow it.¡±

    When I turned my head to look at Nazir, he moved away from me with a frightened expression, ¡°But, my father will.¡±

    ¡°I''m not sure that''s a good idea.¡±

    ¡°What''s the worst that can happen?¡±

    And so we went to my father and explained the situation, and my father let me go as I thought, but this time the number of guards with me increased from 3 to 8.

 B1 C13

    Nazir Ramenor POV

    The little lord is shrewd. That was one of the things Nazir would have said to describe him.

    With the support of his father, he managed to convince his mother that he wanted to see a different city. But according to Nazir, Lady Aurelia only allowed her son because she didn''t want one more child to run away.

    Lord Eliar called Lady Aurelia overprotective, but in fact her concerns were not exaggerated. After all, the only way to fully kill a pureblood was to kill him when he was a child, or more precisely, before he had increased his mana. That''s why Nazir had warned everyone in his team to be extremely careful, the little lord''s life was more important than theirs.

    The fact that he was the only one who knew that Lord Altevia was a pureblood also stressed him out a bit.

    Almost everyone in the team were people he knew from before, people who worked and lived in the Ocean. Including Nazir, there were seven people traveling with the little lord.

    Euric Engels : He was a short blond-haired demon who, like Nazir, wielded a great sword but was also skilled with the bow. Even though he wasn''t great at magic, his perception was very keen.

    Lisa Engels : Especially adept at ice and earth magic, she was a very dangerous sorceress both on defense and offense. With her blond hair and horns, it wasn''t hard to see that she and Euric were siblings.

    Ivo Mendoza : Nazir didn''t know this young boy, but he recognized the red ring on his finger, probably a sorcerer who had mastered the element of fire.

    Wyll Morley : He was one of Nazir''s old friends, they had traveled a lot together and the first thing that struck Nazir was that this man who used to have very long hair was now bald. He was an experienced warrior who had mastered the air and plant based magic and was also very dangerous with the short sword.

    Alicia Corby : This red-haired girl was not only a very good tracker, she was also very skilled in fire magic, and Ivo must have been her student or something, because he was always with her.

    And lastly Elsie Cole, was a time mage, someone who could heal them if something went wrong in the hunt. With her tall height and long cream-colored hair, she had captured Nazir''s attention again.

    The first thing Nazir noticed from the day they boarded the ship was how shy the little lord was at first, after spending the first week almost not speaking to anyone, eventually, with Nazir''s encouragement, he was able to join in their conversations and the card games they played.

    But one thing frightened Nazir terribly, the little lord could lie like he was breathing. He was able to win almost every card game they played, especially the bluff. That gave him a little more confidence and made him closer to the team and the crew on board.

    Later, he also met the ship''s bartender, learned how to prepare cocktails and made Nazir a special drink. Nazir didn''t know much about cocktails, but he liked the drink the little lord made by mixing an ounce of sweet vermouth, an ounce of gin and an ounce of red alcohol and throwing in an orange peel. The bartender said that he hadn''t shown him this cocktail, and when they asked the little lord, he said, ¡°I just mixed some things.¡±

    And then, however long the journey was, it flew by like water. They arrived in Mirstone without any problems. As they approached the Mirstone, Nazir saw a fat rabbit type mehum man with short brown hair, a monocle and fine clothes waving towards the ship. He did not know this man, but it was clear from his movements that he was waiting for them to arrive. It seems that the bird sent by Lord Eliar was for this man or his master.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    As the ship approached the dock and the ropes began to be tied, the man looked at the little lord and called out to them, ¡°My lord, you must be Lord Altevia!¡±

    The little lord looked at him in wonder and nodded.

    As Nazir, the little lord and the rest of the party disembarked, the man came up to them, bowed his head and quickly grabbed his monocle before it fell and said, ¡°I am Erotir, my lord, sent by Lady Mira, and I will escort you to the manor.¡±

    ¡°Lady Mira?¡± As Nazir said this the little lord turned to him ¡°Do you know her?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s been years since I saw her.¡±

    Reminiscent of a giant fat rabbit, Erotir turned towards Nazir and raised his head.

    ¡°Ah, you must be the lord''s guard, Nazir, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, nice to meet you,¡± Nazir extended his hand towards Erotir and Erotir quickly shook it a few times. ¡°Oh, you don''t have to be so polite, I''m just a simple servant,¡± he said then he looked at the others one by one, ¡°I would like to meet you all but I don''t think you want to waste time here,¡± and he gestured to the 2 carriages standing back to back.

    **

    ¡°This is our big but humble city of Mirstone. We trade mainly in minerals, but it''s also a busy and vibrant city where we trade in things like fish, animal and beast skins.¡± Erotir continued to introduce the city as they made their way through the crowded streets, pointing out the stalls and shops around.

    ¡°I heard you came here to hunt and study nature, my lord, but be careful, the monsters in the demon forests are far more dangerous than those on the other continents.¡± After Erotir had said this, the little lord turned to Nazir and looked at him with a curious expression.

    ¡°Nazir, monsters are dangerous and can do a lot of harm to people, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± Nazir looked at the little lord in wonder, and he continued.

    ¡°Why are creatures that are so dangerous allowed to live? Wouldn''t it make sense to exterminate them?¡±

    Nazir looked at the little lord in silence for a very short time and then smiled.

    ¡°No, my lord, it wouldn''t.

    Almost everything about them can be used, like their skin, teeth, venom and mana.

    There are even laws protecting monsters for this very reason, such as bans on hunting them at certain times of the year.

    It can be said that they do more good than harm.¡±

    ¡°That''s right, my lord!¡± Erotir jumped in and continued to introduce the city and after about half an hour of riding they finally arrived at a huge mansion with red walls and colorful flowers decorating the huge garden in front. As the fatigue of the day and the journey pressed down on their bodies, the flower garden and the vines along the walls of the house filled them with peace.

    After everyone got out of the carriages, with Erotir walking ahead, they came to a wide but not very long staircase and they noticed a girl with short purple hair who looked like she was about 16 - 18 years old looking at them with her arms folded. As the girl lifted her chin and looked at them, she turned to Erotir and said, ¡°Are these our guests?¡± and Erotir said, ¡°Yes, my lady!¡± and the girl''s gaze turned to the little lord and after looking at him in silence for a moment, she frowned and walked quickly into the manor.

    ¡°Was that Lady Mira?¡± The little lord asked and Erotir bowed his head and replied. ¡°No, my lord, it was our Lady''s daughter Rea. I am very sorry if you were offended.¡±

    Erotir looked up, gestured with his hand towards the stairs, and the others followed him into the manor. As soon as they entered, they saw a staircase leading up to the second floor, starting from the left and right and converging in the middle.

    At first the red walls of the house seemed depressing, but the light from the many windows kept the interior cozy. Erotir quickly showed them the room in the house where they would have dinner, the balcony with a view of the city, the big backyard with a gazebo covered with giant flowers and clematis, and the rooms where they would stay. As the party settled into their rooms, the little lord and Nazir continued to follow Erotir, and they came up the stairs they had seen when they entered the house and stood in front of a door.

    ¡°My lady is inside, my lord. I hope you have a good time here.¡± After Erotir had said this, the little lord thanked him and knocked on the door. He was about to go in when Erotir noticed that Nazir was following him, he stopped Nazir by holding his hand and said, ¡°Only Lord Altevia may enter.¡±

    ¡°Pardon me?¡±

 B1 C14

    Altevia¡¯s POV

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±

    After I said this, looking at Nazir, his eyebrows furrowed, ¡°I''m sorry, my lord, but my orders are clear, I must not let you out of my sight.¡±

    I sighed after Nazir''s words, ¡°Will we sleep in the same bed too?¡±

    ¡°But my lord¡­¡±

    ¡°My father wouldn''t have sent us here if this place was dangerous.

    Like I said, it''s okay. Wait here.¡±

    After Nazir was silent, I opened the door, went in and... Okay, now I know why I was the only one allowed in.

    An incredibly beautiful woman with purple hair, who looked to be in her early thirties, sat cross-legged on a stool, a palette in her right hand and a brush in her left, painting herself on a canvas. As soon as the woman noticed me, she turned to look at me and quietly put the things in her hand on the small wooden table next to her.

    ¡°You really do look like your mom.¡±

    Why was that everybody''s first reaction?

    I silently nodded at her and she said, ¡°Did you get your personality from Eliar? I wish you were a little more talkative,¡± and I gulped.

    ¡°You draw well.¡±

    After my words, she watched me for a while, her serious expression never wavering, and then she took a glass of wine from the small table behind her and sipped it.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    When I finally managed to take my eyes off her and look at the painting, I was actually impressed, it was very high quality. Looking in the mirror next to her, she was able to draw her whole body.

    I approached her and said, ¡°Are you practicing anatomy?¡± and she frowned slightly, ¡°Anatomy and light, but how do you know?¡±

    I looked at her, but then I turned my gaze back to the painting, ¡°I read a book about it.¡± It was actually a lie, I had a friend who drew beautiful paintings before I died. As I continued to examine the painting, I noticed something and pointed my finger at it.

    ¡°There is a mistake here.¡±

    As she bent down and looked at where I was pointing, I said, ¡°Your hips are bigger,¡± and she furrowed her eyebrows even more and looked at me silently, then looked in the mirror and took her brush and drew where I was pointing again.

    ¡°You have a pretty good eye.¡±

    I looked at her again without saying anything and as she continued to draw, she said, ¡°Are you looking for more details?¡± and I think for the first time in this world I was blushed with embarrassment.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Don''t be, I''m the one who allowed you to come here, but if you''ve reached that age, I''m not the person you should look at.¡±

    ¡°I can''t say I understand.¡±

    ¡°My daughter, Rea.¡±

    If she was talking about the girl at the entrance, nope. But¡­

    ¡°If I have to choose one of you, I want you.¡± As soon as I said that, Mira froze, looked at me and I said, ¡°I didn''t know my father had such beautiful friends.¡±

    I''ll have as much fun as I can while I''m still a child and words that come out of my mouth has no weight.

    Mira chuckled and said, ¡°You know my daughter will look like me in the future, right?¡±

    ¡°Aren''t you an elf, you''ll look like you in the future too.¡±

    ¡°Half elf.¡± Mira chuckled again and was about to say something when I interrupted her.

    ¡°By the way, before the chat goes any further, I have to ask.

    I mean, not that I have a problem, you can stay like this if you want, it''s your house, but¡­

    Why are you naked?¡±

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Mira looked down at her body, then out the window and said, ¡°It''s hot.¡±

    ¡°Understandable.¡±

    ¡°You can undress too, if you want.¡±

    As she said that, I stopped, looked around, it was actually really hot. I took off everything except my gray underwear, folded it and put it on the brown couch on my left.

    **

    Nazir Ramenor Pov

    It had been hours since the little lord had entered the room and, apart from barely audible conversations, Nazir had no idea what was going on inside. Lady Mira was a merchant, she had a way with words and was a master of analyzing people. So she shouldn''t have been left alone with a boy she could influence, but the little lord was not a naive boy who could be easily fooled. Most of the time he approached things really carefully, like an adult.

    For the first few hours Nazir stood at the door with Erotir like a statue, then, with the stress building up on him, he started to walk left and right in front of the door.

    His old friend Wyll came up to him and offered to chat in the garden. Nazir actually wanted to chat with him, especially to find out what had happened to his hair, but he¡­ already let the little lord out of his sight. He sighed.

    ¡°I''ll come after like an hour.¡±

    Wyll nodded and walked away.

    Nazir turned to Erotir, ¡°I will check the little lord,¡± and as Erotir was saying, ¡°My lady said-¡± Nazir knocked on the door. As Erotir''s eyes widened and he reached for Nazir, the little lord''s voice was heard from inside and Erotir looked at the door in surprise.

    ¡°Come in!¡±

    Nazir looked at Erotir with a frown, then slowly opened the door and entered.

    ¡­

    Should he not have entered?

    ''You can tell me about the trip later.'' That''s what Lord Eliar had said, but... How could he tell him this?

    ''My Lord, I have one good and one bad news?'' No, at least Lord Altevia seems to be quite¡­ satisfied with his situation, so two good news?

    It was a little difficult to describe this scene, Lady Mira sitting completely naked in an extremely comfortable looking leather couch, Lord Altevia in her lap, wearing only his underwear, holding a glass cup with a dark red drink in it, looking at Nazir with his head resting on her.

    Maybe things that would be considered bad for a child of his age had not happened? But when did the two of them get so close?

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±

    Hearing Lord Altevia''s words, Nazir said, ¡°No, no... It''s just...

    Are you all right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I''m wonderful, Lady Mira is very hospitable.¡±

    Nazir looked at the glass in the little lord''s hand, ¡°What are you drinking, my lord?¡±

    Lady Mira looked at Nazir with a smile, ¡°Cherry juice, we grow it in our garden.

    But, it''s been a long time Nazir, how are you?¡±

    Nazir looked back at Lady Mira and averted his eyes, ¡°Forgive me, my lady, I''m fine. How are you?¡±

    ¡°I''m fine too, is there something you wanted to ask?¡±

    Nazir looked at the little lord for a moment and then said, ¡°No, I just wanted to check my lord, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡±

    After the little lord and Lady Mira nodded, he left the room.

    Altevia¡¯s Pov

    Fast forward to the next day, the night was very comfortable. I even managed to sleep with Lady Mira. Well... Actually, I can''t say I managed to, she was the one who invited me and I couldn''t refuse such a beautiful lady. But nothing special happened, even though I had my own desires, I managed to restrain myself, we just cuddled and slept.

    On the morning of the next day, I put on a simple leather armor specially prepared for me, it didn''t seem to be very durable. The armor on my chest and shoulders weighed almost nothing. Over the armor, I put on a green, hooded cloak, cut to my height, and attached the steel dagger Nazir had given me to the belt around my waist. And finally, today Altevia joins the hunt.

    As I was leaving the house, I noticed Mira''s daughter, I forget her name, looking at me with her eyebrows furrowed. I think she was aware of her mother''s plans, but she needn''t have worried. Both in my past life and now, I still like older women.

    We left the city in 2 carriages and headed towards the forest and after about 2 hours we found a flat area among the trees and set up camp. According to the party, an inexperienced boy of my age had to learn the basics before he could hunt in the demon forests. In my past life I camped alone, so I was knowledgeable about a lot of things, but I had never picked up a hunting rifle or a bow and arrow before, so they were actually right. And I did not want to use a bow, so they taught me to move quietly through the forest and I watched them hunt small animals like boars and rabbits. Like playing the training part of a game.

    **

    ¡°I¡¯mma puke the dragon,¡± said Wyll as he left the campfire and Euric stood up after finishing his drink, ¡°I''m coming too.¡±

    I spent the first day watching the party, time flew by and it was night. I really needed a change like this. As darkness was falling, I went for a walk in nature with Nazir, we had to go to the mine tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to check the shipment and the mine was on top of a hill. So we moved our camp a bit higher up. When I went up the cliff to look at the city, I felt a sense of peace as I gazed at the landscape of dark blue, black and green tones. It was like I was back in middle and high school, playing Skyrim non-stop with incredible enjoyment.

    But this peaceful moment was shattered when I noticed Euric and Wyll pissing down the cliff.

    I chuckled and looked at the moon and realized something. The moon in this world has been blue like the ocean since I was born, and although it was strange at first, I got used to it quickly, but now the color of the moon were all yellow.

    ¡°Moon is yellow,¡± I said curiously and Nazir informed me, ¡°It seems Konshu visited Lady Diana.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I turned to Nazir in surprise and he looked at me in confusion.

    ¡°I thought you might have read that, my lord.

    Moon is the kingdom of Lady Diana, Goddess of Moon. But Khonsu, a god from Laxendria is count as a Moon God too. Every once in 8 years Lady Diana accepts him to her kingdom and Khonsu takes a form of a falcon and wanders around the moon.

    He checks that if there is a problem on it.¡±

    ¡°And if there is?¡±

    ¡°He can demand the problem to be solved but the decision is up to Lady Diana.¡±

    ¡°Are there more gods in the moon?¡± I raised my head slightly and looked at the moon again.

    ¡°During my time in Xinshui, I heard about a woman named Chang''e, but I''m not sure if she is goddess or not, all I know is that she is immortal and lives on the moon.

    Other than her there are few more like : Yugenese God Tsukuyomi and Demon God Ay Ata.

    Tsukuyomi is banished to the moon. It''s said he was there even before Lady Diana established her kingdom. And Ay Ata is known as the creator of ice and moonlight spells. They say that as the moon''s cycles change, his battle style and mana pool grows and changes.¡±

    I looked curiously at Nazir and put my hands in my pockets.

    ¡°Sounds like a fun place.¡±

    Nazir chuckled, ¡°The gods'' idea of fun can be very different from ours, but yes, it is fun to imagine them there playing cards.¡±

    I couldn''t think of anything to say to keep the conversation going, so I slowly kicked the dirt and waited for Nazir to say something, but since he usually doesn''t speak until I ask him something, there was a short silence.

    To break the awkward silence, and also out of curiosity, I approached the cliff and was about to look down, but Nazir stopped me by grabbing me by the shoulder and I was reminded again that I was a child.

    ¡°I can''t die anyway.¡±

    When I turned to Nazir and said this, he frowned slightly, ¡°There is no need to test your limits, my lord.

    Also, if you fall, it will be a difficult climb back up here.¡±

    ¡°Can''t you create a stone platform underneath us and get us back up here?¡±

    Nazir shook his head, ¡°I can try, but it won''t be funny if I run out of mana halfway through or a monster jumps on us.¡±

    I was surprised for a moment. ¡°I thought you had more than enough mana?¡± I said and Nazir put his hand behind his head, ¡°I do, but to put it simply, I have very little control over the amount of mana spent.¡±

    ¡°I don''t understand.¡±

    ¡°Let''s say I spend 4 mana on a spell that I should spend 2 mana on.¡±

    ¡°Is that a common problem?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that''s one of the things that distinguishes a good mage from a normal one.¡±

    I kicked the dirt with my foot again, then looked at Nazir.

    ¡°Can you teach me how to cast spells?¡±

    Nazir and I looked at each other in silence for a while and then, as I waited for him to say ''No'', he started talking and my eyes grow slightly in surprise.

    ¡°You have read the methods of understanding and imagination, right?¡±

    I nodded to him.

    ¡°Many people say that the method of imagination is easier, but in fact the method of understanding is easier, because imagination eventually leads to understanding. If you focus only on the path of understanding, you will fail, but if you aim for it, you will find the shortcut.

    Man looks down from the cliff, he sees the birds, he wants to fly like them and go down, but man is clever, he throws a stone and sees it fall, then he thinks, he looks for a way to fly.

    He imagines that he flies on all the ways, and when he realizes that he cannot fly, he finds the way that is closest to flying.¡±

    Nazir turned his head with a smile, ¡°Yeah, it''s a little complicated for you-¡±

    He was saying something after his smile, probably thinking that the subject would be too complicated for a boy my age, but there was a small detail he didn''t know.

    After a strange tingling sensation under my feet, I slowly started to ascend on a stone platform and noticed Nazir''s surprised face.

    ¡°Man wanted to go down, but I want to see the view.¡±

 B1 C15

    If I¡¯ve understood the magic correctly, and I¡¯ve just succeeded for a moment, it was actually very simple.

    I sat cross-legged on the platform, which was slightly higher than Nazir''s height, and looked at him. It was not difficult to understand why he had a surprised and confused expression.

    To put it simply: the method of understanding was not really a method at all, it was an awareness.

    When we imagine something, like creating a fireball in our hand, we just imagine creating a fireball in our hand. Values like the size and temperature of that fireball don''t come to mind at that moment, we don''t think about the details. This covers the imagination part of the job.

    The understanding part works when we start to think about these details even partially, but I have to think in a way that I am aware of my limitations, of my mana.

    To give an example with incredibly simple math: let''s say I need 12 mana points to create a fireball in my hand, and I have 15 mana points. If I don''t spend between 12 and 15 mana, this fireball won''t form, I actually understood the logic of the magic a little bit when Nazir said ¡°I spend 4 mana when I should spend 2,¡± but I wasn''t sure. And what he said afterwards confirmed the idea I had already formed in my head.

    One of the things that makes it difficult is that you can''t be quite sure of the control over the mana spent, I may have just given numbers like 12 and 15, but there are no such numbers, so I was doing this calculation purely by feeling.

    A system would be really nice.

    I sighed and tried to form a fireball in my hand. I don''t know whether to be sorry that it took me so long to realize it or glad that I finally did.

    I canceled the spell and heard Nazir''s voice as a small flame formed in my hand and showed its heat and light on my clothes.

    ¡°Congratulations, my lord, I didn''t think you would be so successful.¡±

    I looked at Nazir, for the first time he was raising his head to look at me.

    ¡°It''s like trying to draw a straight line, it''s difficult but I figured it out.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Nazir chuckled, ¡°If you say something like that in an academy, you¡¯ll argue a lot with the professors.¡±

    ¡°Academy? Why?¡±

    ¡°Because it is almost impossible to draw a perfect straight line.¡±

    ¡°There is no need to argue,¡± I stood up and tried to slowly lower the stone platform beneath me, but when I was halfway down, I lost control. I was about to fall when Nazir caught me and helped me regain my balance. ¡°Are you all right, my lord?¡± He said worriedly and I nodded and thanked him.

    I happily put my hands on my waist, looked at Nazir and asked, ¡°Did you go to the academy?¡± He quickly nodded, ¡°At Nova I studied battlemagic and the manipulation of mana within the body. In fact, one of the reasons I went to Xinshui was because I wanted to write my thesis on Ki."

    ¡°It sounds complicated.¡±

    ¡°I- I was about to say it''s normal for someone your age, but I won''t.¡±

    After Nazir laughed, I laughed too and sat down, forming a small chair out of the stone behind me.

    Now that I think about it, what kind of graduation project would I have written if I hadn''t died? It would probably be something about AI. What''s the year on Earth now? I''m 7 years old now, so it would have to be 2030 or something.

    I wonder if it''s considered normal to have an AI girlfriend. Humans are species very prone to change their minds.

    Or a more important question, have fast food restaurants started to open where orders are taken only by AI? Or have big chain restaurants started to adopt this system? There are still jobs for humans, robots that can clean and cook properly have not yet been built... Although I can''t be completely sure of that, since technology works like exponential numbers, you never know what will happen...

    I was engrossed in my thoughts again, when I noticed Nazir standing silently as usual. I was doing this stopping and thinking thing a lot, it was something I did a lot in my previous life too. I was completely detached from reality and living with the thoughts in my head. I was aware that I was seen as weird, even if someone didn''t say it directly to my face at the time, but there wasn''t much I could do. At least Nazir doesn''t seem to have a problem with it, and I know that Eliar sometimes, though not as much as I do, when he is alone in his office, he would take me in his arms when I was very young, and think quietly to himself for hours. I guess that''s why Nazir doesn''t see it as strange.

    ¡°How did you meet my father?¡±

    ¡°Can you say that again, my lord?¡± Nazir was looking towards the city when he heard my voice and turned to me and I asked my question again.

    ¡°How did you meet my father?¡±

    ¡°Ah... It''s a long story, but in short: The first time I saw him, he looked at me and asked, ¡°Can you carry books?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±

    He chuckled ¡°Yeah, sometimes I wonder where or what kind of person I would be now if I had said ''No'' that day.

    I don''t want to sound like a lecturing grandpa, but a simple decision can really change your whole life.¡±

    As I giggled, Nazir looked at me in surprise.

    ¡°Is something wrong, my lord?¡±

    ¡°No, no...

    But you''re already a grandpa for humans.¡±

    Nazir looked at me silently for a while, then he chuckled and I stood up, ¡°Let''s go back to camp.¡±

 B1 C16

    "My back is starting to hurt," Alicia said, sweat soaking her hair.

    "Almost there, I can see the mine," I looked at her and Alicia raised her head and looked at me without the energy to hide her frown. I told that I will climb with them, but I didn''t tell them where. Climbing on Nazir''s shoulders was also a struggle for me, (Not really)

    After climbing a hill for about an hour, we came to the mine.

    Normally, as far as I knew, the ores were usually in the interior of the mines, but I could recognize the siyah ores even from the entrance. Small light runestones placed on the walls of the mine provided a nice reflection.

    We were about to continue towards the mine when Ivo took a step forward, held out his hand, looked at Nazir and asked, "Where are the guards?"

    I narrowed my eyes slightly and looked carefully at the mine. Really... Shouldn''t there be at least a few guards at the mine? This place was too quiet.

    Nazir tapped me twice on the leg, pulled me off his back and took the rectangular runestone from his belt, which had been on my eye for a while but I couldn''t figure out what it was, and smashed it in his hand. And as I took two steps back in astonishment, a great sword appeared in his hand, gray in color, with fine lines of engraving on it, like a zweihander.

    This was not the great sword Nazir usually carried. The old one was a much simpler design, a beautiful claymore-style sword made of quality steel, but nothing compared to the sword he has now.

    Nazir looked towards Alicia and she nodded. She examined the earth and then approached the mine, clicked her finger and a woman''s voice was heard inside the mine, "Is anyone there?"

    I think Alicia cast an illusion spell, the voice was too real. We hid behind the trees and waited for someone to come but instead of someone, something... came out of the mine.

    After the creature on 4 legs, pale gray in color, but without fur, with blue eyes and claws the size of my two hands came out, I was looking at it curiously and Nazir covered my mouth with his hand and raised his index finger.

    I frowned in surprise, we waited in silence until the creature entered the mine again, and then Nazir looked at the team and said, "We''re going back to camp." The others nodded and we started to walk back. I looked at Nazir, "Are they that dangerous?" I asked and Nazir sort of answered my question by saying, "We don''t talk unless we have to and we walk away slowly."

    There were so many things I wanted to ask¡­ Why were 9 people afraid of one beast? Did they live in packs? Why was it so important to be quiet? Does the creature hear very well? Etc, etc... And how long would it take to slowly and quietly return the way we traveled in an hour with all our energy?

    As the questions in my head continued, Nazir grabbed me by the shoulder and whispered, "My Lord, be careful with your mana, if you feel any pain in your arms or in your chest, do not try to cast a spell. Also, if we are attacked, do not leave my side, and if I am attacked, do not leave the Wyll¡¯s side."

    "Can''t you kill that creature?" I finally couldn''t resist and whispered my question and Nazir nodded, "Five or six, yes, but if there are more than six, and Blightheards usually live in packs, I will definitely lose.

    They are fast and clever, and when they realize they are losing, they will retreat and look for an opportunity.

    They can think of basic sneaky tactics like waiting for us to tire."

    ¡°That sounds scary.¡±

    "How did they manage to reach the mines undetected?" Lisa asked and Euric added, "I wonder too, there are several roads that connect to the mine, even if it''s new, someone coming here should have at least noticed the problem."

    "I noticed some dungeons..." Alicia joined the conversation and continued when everyone looked at her, "But since we''re not involved, I didn''t feel the need to report it, the most likely possibility is that they found a way out of those dungeons to the mine."

    "That''s possible," Nazir nodded, "And we need to check them."

    Nazir turned to look at me and after a short silence said, "We should at least mark the entrances so that people don''t die for nothing."

    "I can go-" Alicia was saying this when Wyll cut her off, "No, we''re not splitting up."

    "This is not our responsibility." As soon as Elsie said that, everyone turned to her. "Let''s leave the signs on the roads. I think it is absurd to even approach the caves, let alone enter them."

    It sounded a bit harsh, but in fact Elsie was right, at least in my opinion. Yes, if we didn''t check the caves, maybe we would have left them to die if there were people inside, maybe we couldn¡¯t learn if the creatures had found a tunnel or if they had dug a tunnel, or if they had reached other places such as mines or wells near the city or near the main road, but it was not our responsibility to try to find out.

    But as much as my word was superior to theirs, it was also true that I was the most clueless person in this party about the nature of creatures. I didn''t want to make a mistake with a decision I thought was logical.

    Wyll turned toward me and bent down, saying, "Getting Lord Altevia to the city is our priority." He picked up a large stone from the ground and put it in front of Nazir and Nazir sliced it in two with a straight swipe of his sword. Wyll held out his hand to me and asked, "May I take your dagger, my lord?" And when I took it out and handed it to him, he carved the words ''Blightheard Ahead, Stay Away'' into the stone and dropped it in the middle of the road.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    "We''ll make a few more of these and put them in the middle of the road, we don''t care about the rest," he said, and after everyone looked at each other, then at me and nodded, we moved on.

    The trip was quieter than I expected, but there was a nervous side to this silence. After about 2 hours we reached the camp but... Of course there was going to be a problem, could I have a quiet, carefree activity?

    The camp was in shambles, pots, chests, tents, everything was scattered and shattered. Wyll put his hand to his forehead and I said, "At least the carriage is intact," and he turned to me and held his laughter.

    Alicia rolled her eyes and looked at the almost completely eaten horses for a while, surveyed the camp, then said, "I think they were looking for food, and they seem to have found it..." and threw the small crate she had picked up onto the ground. She sighed too.

    "What do we do now?" She asked, and as Wyll said, "Let''s have a look around and then-" his eyes widened and he grabbed me by the shoulders and threw me towards Nazir and grabbed the monster by the neck, whose silent roar I could suddenly hear, and started to choke him. He took a step back and wrapped both arms around the creature''s neck, and while I was in the shock of the moment, a sharp icicle from the ground pierced under the creature''s chin and came out over its head, and the creature stopped moving.

    From that moment on, my body began to tremble and my heart began to pound. After the ice shard disappeared, the creature''s blood soaked the earth. Even though Nazir grabbing me by the shoulders and pulling me close gave me a sense of security, I can''t lie, I was extremely scared.

    "To the main road, now!" As soon as Euric said that, we all ran to follow him and Alicia. As we were moving through the trees, we heard a few more roars close to us, but I couldn''t tell where they were. No matter how much I looked around in fear, I couldn''t see anything. Which made me even more uncomfortable.

    As soon as we started to approach the road, I felt a sense of confidence, but then I realized that three blightheards were running towards us. All three of them were approaching from our left, one of them occasionally getting up on two legs and using the support of the trees to increase his speed. The other two kept running around the trees. And despite these three creatures, only Wyll and Lisa were looking to our left. Nazir, Alicia, Ivo and Euric occasionally checked to our right and behind us, but in general they never looked to the left.

    And just when I thought we were getting close to the road, we saw 4 blightheards in the direction we were running and Alicia said, "They''re trying to scare us, we¡¯ll attack!" and the team nodded and the creatures realized that we were running at them and started running towards us.

    "My lord, don''t stop, we''ll keep running!"

    As Nazir said these words, he thrust his sword into the chest of one of the creatures that jumped at us and caught it in the air like a shishkebab, and swung his sword to the right and threw it away.

    Seeing this, the blightheards started to increase their speed and Ivo killed two of the other 3 blightheards by trapping them in something like a stone box and filling it with flames, while Euric first stunned one with a small knife and then sliced it in half with a large sword resembling a claymore, and we continued running at full speed.

    And as we were running, I realized something. I was getting tired. These little legs were already not very strong, and on top of that, I was living a very sedentary life, even though I was a child.

    Fortunately, the creatures must have realized that they can''t beat us, so they started to retreat. The blightheards who had just come from our left have retreated back into the woods and out of sight. But actually, I wasn''t sure if it was really a good or a bad thing.

    "Are you all right, my lord?"

    I nodded breathlessly and when I saw that we were on the main road, I stopped, put my hands on my knees and started to catch my breath. My heart was beating faster and faster.

    "We shouldn''t have let the three of them go," Elsie said, breathing slowly.

    "If we started chasing them, they would start running away, there''s nothing we can do," Alicia replied and touched her shoulder. Elsie sighed and smiled looking at her, and noticing that Euric had a cut on his arm, she reached out her hand towards him. After a flash of dark blue color, the cut on Euric''s arm disappeared.

    It was the first time in this world I had seen a healing spell other than my own. I looked curiously at Euric''s arm and then at Elsie. "Are you hurt, my lord?" Elsie asked as I looked at her and I shook my head.

    After the team took a breath, Alicia scratched her forehead, "On second thought, Elsie was right, we should at least have tried to chase them." She continued to speak as everyone looked at her in amazement.

    "We need to shorten the road, it''s too dangerous now."

    "What do you mean?" Lisa asked and Alicia pointed in the direction we had come.

    "Let''s create a path down the cliff, it''ll save us at least 3 hours and might get rid of the blightheards altogether."

    "It''s too dangerous, why take such a risk?¡± Wyll entered the conversation in a harsh tone, but I don''t think he meant to start an argument.

    "We just fought a scouting pack of about 10 creatures, do you really want to know how many creatures are in the main pack?"

    After Alicia''s words, there was silence. "That¡¯s a horde, not a pack..." The words slipped out of Wyll''s mouth.

    "I''ll build a stairway, Ivo will keep it going when I''m low on mana, and if we both fall short, Lisa will finish last," Nazir said all of a sudden and everyone looked at him and there was silence again for a very short time. Everyone looked at each other with a bitter smile, then we started to walk back the way we had come.

    As we started to walk again after running back and forth, I took the purple potion from my belt to help me in case of danger. This was a paralyzing poison far more powerful than anything I had ever made before. If the blightheards'' resilience system is similar to ours, they would be paralyzed for 7 hours 16 minutes 23 seconds if they were affected by this poison.

    Don''t ask me how I know that.

    I took my dagger out of its scabbard, poured some of the poison from the flask into the scabbard and put the dagger back in and placed it on my belt.

    As we continued to walk at a fast pace, we heard countless roars through the trees and we started running again. I was getting more and more tired, but I was a person who had won a life-changing race twice, I could keep running.

    With the tension building, we picked up the pace and continued to follow Alicia and finally we managed to get to the edge of the cliff.

    "Too high!" Ivo''s voice trembled and I saw Nazir frown and look down.

    "We have to try," Nazir said, and he was forming a stone step from the edge of the cliff when five creatures charged on us at the same time. I realized that we were surrounded by at least 30 creatures as Lisa was blasting them away with the spikes of ice.

    "Don''t waste your mana!" said Wyll and Lisa looked at him in shock but said nothing.

    "This will not work, let''s run down a bit and force them to retreat. Then we can safely go down."

    After Alicia''s words, we started running and as we continued to move, Alicia kept the endless number of creatures that jumped at us away with walls of fire she created. Nazir and Euric slaughtered those who crossed the wall with their greatswords.

    Everything wasn''t going well, but it was going somehow, but at the end, as the bodies of the creatures continued to pile up behind us, I couldn''t breathe with an icy burning feeling in my throat. I reluctantly slowed down, or rather my legs stopped listening me, and in that split second a creature jumped on me.

    And we started to fall off the cliff.

 B1 C17

    With the wind rushing through my body and Nazir shouting "My Lord!" My eyes widened and I began to breathe rapidly as my heartbeat quickened.

    My hand went to my dagger and I drew it from its scabbard and stabbed it with all my strength into the chest of the creature that had its claws on my back and shoulder and was trying to bite me. As the creature began to fall, motionless, I realized that something like ivy was wrapping around my body.

    I hit my arm and shoulder against the cliff wall, looked up and saw the vines coming out of Wyll''s hand.

    "Hang in there, captain!" Wyll shouted and I shook my head. I looked up again and saw them still running. My shoulder was hurting from hitting the wall constantly. I put my hand against the wall, pushed myself slightly away and started running. As I kept running, sometimes I made little stone steps under my feet to keep my balance, but I didn''t know how long my mana could last.

    Why didn''t we build the steps and cover ourselves? I was thinking that we would have escaped easily that way, when Nazir said, "My lord, watch out!" and I noticed 3 creatures chasing me on all fours on the wall behind me.

    ¡®Oh, that¡¯s why¡­¡¯

    In a sudden feeling I turned my head, looked back and realized that one of the creatures was jumping towards me. I jumped with all my strength, supported by a pillar I had created next to the wall, and after the creature swung its claw at me while falling, I hit the wall and the pillar disappeared. I cried out in pain.

    When the other creature jumped at me, I managed to stab it in the arm with my dagger, but when it kept moving, my eyes widened in fear. With my head thrown back and my hands shaking, I managed to get the flask out of my belt and put it in his mouth as he tried to bite me. When he bit my hand and the bottle, he started to fall to the ground motionless, I exhaled a huge breath of pain and clenched my teeth and a new hand was formed with turquoise particles.

    As I continued wall running, I looked back and saw that the last creature was just running and watching me instead of attacking. The feeling of unease that filled me was heightened when I heard a very loud howl and the creature stopped following me and went up. Then I felt that I was being pulled upwards.

    "They''re retreating," Alicia said, and as I took a deep breath, Wyll grabbed me, lifted me up and helped me balance. I realized that all of them were looking at me in amazement. Nazir knelt down, put his hand on my shoulder and checked my body, my clothes were dirty and there were some cuts, but there were no wounds because the creatures'' claws were mostly caught in armor. Although, I could heal even if I was hurt.

    "Are you all right, my lord?" Nazir looked at me with worried eyes, but my eyes had shifted to the mountain of creature corpses behind them. To the mountain of corpses and the red smoke slowly drifting in the air... I nodded to him and Nazir stood up and looked at the others and then the stone steps began to form at the edge of the cliff.

    I bit my lip. I didn''t want to leave all this xp- I mean mana in here, but I was also aware that the creatures were not running away, they were retreating... I quickly approached the corpses and as soon as I raised my hand I felt the red flow fill my body.

    "My lord, don''t get me wrong, but we don''t have time for this."

    I absorbed the flow of 20 or 30 creatures in front of us, but there were tons more corpses behind us... I looked at the bodies and then at Nazir and I took a deep breath and ran to him.

    Nazir at the front, followed by Ivo, Lisa, me, Alicia, Euric and Wyll, we started to descend the stairs leading downwards, adjacent to the wall. Nazir was creating at least 10 steps ahead of us and after a while the steps behind us would turn to dust. After some time I couldn''t follow, we were halfway down the cliff and Nazir said "I''m done" and he and Ivo swapped places.

    After some time with Ivo, we finally made it to the bottom and I took another deep breath and let myself fall to the ground.

    As the earth and plants soiled my hair and clothes, I noticed others sitting on the ground and catching their breath. We all sat in silence and waited for about half an hour.

    Finally Euric got up and said, "We''ve got half a day''s travel ahead of us, we''d better go now," and we huffed and puffed and got up and started walking to find the main road. I didn''t want to walk at all, but I was aware that Nazir was too tired to carry me. I decided to walk at least as far as I could.

    We walked for I don''t know how many hours without any problems, Alicia somehow always managed to find the right path. Luckily we joined a passing trade caravan and made the journey faster.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    When we explained what had happened, I realized from the reaction of the people in the caravan that it was not a planned attack, it was just my bad luck. At least I could sleep peacefully in my bed. That was good.

    When we got to the stairs of the manor, I saw Lady Mira looking at us in confusion from upstairs, she was asking, "What happened-?" and I interrupted her and said, "I''ll tell you later, can you prepare a bath for everyone?" She was silent for a moment, but then she raised her right hand and snapped her fingers twice quickly and said "Bathroom, fast."

    As Erotir came up to her. He bowed his head and rushed into the house and Mira said, "You, come with me."

    As everyone entered the house and was escorted by the servants, I followed Mira and saw that in her room, right next to the giant rectangular window, a large marble jacuzzi-shaped tub was being filled with warm water. I was in no mood to object, and even if I normally wanted to take a bath myself, I didn''t have the strength to lift my arm, so I took off my clothes and got into the bathtub. The comfort I felt at that moment was priceless. As I was breathing slowly, I noticed that Mira had sat down next to me, and she lifted my arm and started rubbing a blue liquid she had poured into her hand on my arm, "I can''t see a wound."

    ¡°I was lucky.¡±

    She washed my shoulders and arms. Nothing was said, nothing happened, but it was a very weird moment. After that, I went to bed and I think for the first time in my two lives, I fell asleep as soon as I put my head on the pillow.

    **

    When I opened my eyes, I looked around before lifting my head from the pillow. I took a bath in the bathtub on the right side of the room, the king-sized bed was in the middle and the room was very big. There was a wooden door on the left, probably leading to the toilet. Next to the door was another door, Mira''s dressing room. Apart from the doors, there was a large mirror on the same wall, and next to it a table full of makeup stuff.

    After rolling on the bed for a while, with comfort surrounding my body, I reached for the nightstand and searched for my phone.

    Searched for my what?

    I took a deep breath, sat up and threw my hair back. There was a glass of water on the nightstand, I took a sip and got out of bed. Mira wasn''t in the room, and when I put my hand on my butt to scratch it, I realized I was naked.

    As I approached the huge window of the room, I realized that it was also a door leading to a small balcony. I looked outside and saw Mira talking to a man like a knight outside the house. I hadn''t seen the guy before, he was wearing a full plate armor in a style reminiscent of medieval Templar armor, but with a red brush on the top of the helmet and a long red cloak. The armor was too cool.

    After they had talked for a while, he left and I turned towards the door when I realized that it had opened.

    Mira''s daughter opened the door, holding a tray with bananas, cherries and eggs. As soon as she saw me, she froze and I hid the grin on my face and my little buddy and screamed like a little girl.

    Suddenly she slammed the door shut, I giggled and went to bed. I was getting better at improvisation.

    After I put on my white shirt and gray underwear and pants, I opened the door and saw her waiting for me at the door. I took the tray from her, thanked her and closed the door. I was glad she didn''t drop the tray, I was hungry.

    I think she spilled my lemonade a little bit, though¡­

    I sighed.

    After having breakfast, I got bored and left the room because I couldn''t find anything to do.

    "I have seen you well, my lord," Nazir said.

    He was standing at the door with his hands behind his back. I said, "Good morning," and he bowed his head slightly and said, "Good morning."

    "You''re alright, right?" He asked.

    "Yes, I''m fine.

    I saw Lady Mira talking to someone outside."

    Nazir looked down through the window in the hallway, "It must be the city guard, they''re getting a team together to clean up the mine."

    I sighed, "Were we so unlucky?"

    "Unfortunately... But if you want, we can go hunting again in a different area."

    I looked at Nazir for a while without saying anything, then I said, "No need."

    I was exhausted, too tired for one day, but this little trip had brought something very important to my attention. But I could start that when I get home, for now I was going to treat this as a vacation.

    As I started to walk in the hallway, Nazir came after me, "I saw Lady Rea coming here," he said and looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "Yes," I replied.

    ¡°My lord, there''s something I want to ask.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    Nazir suddenly looked at me with a curious expression.

    ¡°Kids your age are usually... how should I say, starts to build friendships and...-¡±

    ¡°Feelings?¡± I finished what he said and he started looking at me in amazement.

    ¡°Yeah¡­

    Do you have any feelings for anyone? For example, what do you think about Lady Rea?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°That''s all?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    It had been a long time since I lost faith that a girl could fall in love with me; I was too aware that I was weird and boring. And, also, I wasn¡¯t interested in little girls; that was a completely different subject.

    And, I didn¡¯t know why, but one-night stands were too weird and unattractive for me, so I would probably die alone and a virgin in this life too¡­

    Oh, I couldn''t die though, yohohoho.

    Wait, I died before seeing what One Piece was¡­

    ¡°Are you alright, my lord?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good.¡±

    ¡°Well, my lord, if you don''t get me wrong¡­ Is there a chance that you might like boys?¡±

    I stopped and looked at him for a while with my head tilted.

    ¡°No, in fact, I''m so sure I don''t like men that the idea of sleeping with a man doesn''t bother me in the slightest.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I can''t say I understand, my lord,¡± he was looking at me with puzzled eyes.

    ¡°You like women, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°And you''ve never slept with a man?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°So you don''t know what it feels like to sleep with a man.¡±

    After Nazir was silent, I added, ¡°I think you understand.¡±

    We walked in silence for a while, then Nazir asked what was on his mind, ¡°But my lord... What if you like it?¡±

    And I answered.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the step 5, acceptance.¡±

 B1 C18

    We came to a room that I wouldn''t call the library of the house, but it had a lot of books. The first thing I did when I walked into the room was to look for books on magic, and as I expected, there were a lot of books about magic.

    I read a few pages of each book I got my hands on and I realized something. My father or my mother had removed all the books about magic from the house. From the first time I cast a spell I already knew something was wrong. I guess my parents didn''t want to take the risk, I can''t blame them though, I wouldn''t want my child to suddenly start a fire in his room. Since I was probably a child prodigy in their eyes, it was quite normal for them to think that I could have learned magic on my own.

    Anyway, it doesn''t matter anymore.

    After a few hours of being immersed in books, I started to get bored. I used to spend time with my electric or bass at times like this, but I don''t have that option now, unfortunately. I could use the illusion stones and listen to some rock and metal from my old world, but I wasn¡¯t not crazy enough to take that risk yet.

    Gods, I was bored!

    "Nazir!" I suddenly called his name and he looked at me in surprise, he was reading a book, "Yes, my lord!"

    ¡°Hit me.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Hit me.¡±

    ¡°Why, my lord?¡±

    One of the most incredibly important detail I discovered about myself on this trip was : I was a coward. I was like a deer in the middle of the road, locked and staring at the car instead of running away from it. I could have pushed the creature with the wind instead of losing my hand and my bottle on the cliff, but I panicked and made a stupid decision... This world was dangerous and I couldn¡¯t let anything like that happen again.

    ¡°Punch me right in the face, I should take it without fear.¡±

    At that moment Nazir stopped and said, "No."

    ¡°I am not going to train you in hand-to-hand combat, if you want to face such fears, find someone your own age.¡±

    ¡°What if I order you?¡±

    "I will not do it anyway, I have the option of asking Lord Eliar for your orders, depending on the situation.

    So you don''t really have the right to order me to do anything you want, my lord."

    I was impressed, he didn¡¯t even care if I get angry.

    ¡°Alright.

    Can you find Lady Mira and ask her how long it will take to clear the mine?¡±

    Nazir tilted his head slightly and looked at me. "I don''t need to ask, my lord, some units from the city guard will probably take care of the problem in three or four days."The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    "Three - four days!?" I threw myself back and started to lie on the floor and Nazir said, "My lord, you''re getting dirty."

    **

    Boring day 1

    **

    Boring day 2

    **

    Boring day 3

    These days were more boring than waiting in a short staffed Subway line.

    **

    And unfortunately, boring day 4¡­

    In the last few days, I had really found almost nothing to do. Except for reading tons of novels in what I would call the shojo books of this world... When I said it like that, it might have sounded like I was forcing myself to read them, but I had to admit something: Shojo novels were my guilty pleasure, especially the ones with villainesses and those reincarnated as noble girls. Who Made Me a Princess was one of my favorites. There were tons of novels in this world that weren¡¯t exactly about reincarnation but followed a similar charm, like a girl from a small village secretly attending a ball. Yes, you might recognize that. Or stories about a poor but proud peasant girl who replaced a noble bride who fell ill at the last minute. The second one was actually a pretty famous trope.

    And where did I find these books? It shouldn''t be too hard to guess: Mira''s daughter had a small chest full of them. I was wandering around the house and I saw her doing something sneaky, so I gave in to my curiosity. I''m glad I did, otherwise I would have gone crazy these past few days.

    The book I was reading at the moment, Backdoor to the Duke''s Heart, was about a girl who finds a hole in the palace and steals the food from the kitchen and takes it back to her village. One day the Duke¡¯s son notices the girl - why am I talking about this?

    ¡°What do you think you''re doing?¡±

    When I looked in the direction of the voice, Reeee- Rea was her name. I saw Rea, holding tightly the skirt of the long white and black dress she was wearing despite the hot weather.

    I was sitting in the gazebo in the garden, and after looking at Rea, I turned the corner of the page I had left and put the book on the table.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    She approached me with a frown, "Where did you find this?"

    I looked at her in silence for a while and then took a small piece of my cheesecake and ate it, "It was on the floor in the hallway," I said as she watched me in surprise.

    And as I expected, she sighed, "Good... I''ll take that."

    As she reached for the book, I quickly slammed my hand on it and said, "I''m not finished yet."

    "What!?" She stepped back with a surprised expression and when I started to speak, her eyes widened and she frowned again.

    "And, I need more books like this."

    When she started looking at the ground, I realized that her curious expression had turned to confusion. If you didn¡¯t know why she was so surprised and tried to hide her books, you probably have never read these type of books or have read a few pages and left them at the beginning. If you want a short answer : Smut. Most of these books have smut. I present to you a funny fact, the amount of porn that men watch and the amount of porn that women read are pretty close to each other.

    ¡°Tell me what happened in that book.¡±

    ¡°I don''t understand.¡±

    ¡°You heard what I said, you said you read it, right?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s what you wish¡­¡± I started after a throat-clearing cough.

    ¡°Marie is a girl who lives in the village of Soria, where an epidemic is destroying crops and the villagers are starving. So when Marie goes to the lord for help, she is ignored and is about to leave in anger when she notices a hole in the wall of the lord''s house. She manages to sneak through the hole and find the lord''s kitchen and flee the palace with as much food as she can stuff into a sack. After doing this a few times, she is discovered by the lord''s son and he allows her to take the food on condition that she does not come back again. She goes again, but this time she is caught by a palace guard and the lord''s son rescues Marie from the guards and takes her to his room-¡±

    ¡°Okay, that''s enough,¡± Rea interrupted me as I was summarizing the story, "You really read it."

    There was another silence and I took a sip of my tea.

    I broke the silence with a little drama by saying, "Aah, my family would be very angry if they saw me reading such things, but I enjoy it very much. I wish I could read more books like this."

    "Bring me the book after you read it," as soon as she said that, I had a smile on my face that I couldn''t control. "And... please don''t let my mom see it."

    ¡°Of course¡­¡±

    "What was your name again?" Rea asked.

    And, well¡­ I made a new friend.

 B1 C19

    ¡°So, did I understand this right?

    You want a full plate armor a little bit bigger than Nazir, it will be blue, it will have gold plating on the sides, the shoulder pads will be too big and there will be a skull with wings on the chest.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Can you do it, or not?¡±

    ¡°How are you going to pay?¡±

    ¡°My father.¡±

    **

    After the area and the mine were cleared and we got the ores, we went back home. My mother, Aurelia hugged me tightly the moment I walked through the door. But, leaving such small details aside, first thing I did was to take the siyah ore and go straight to Thormund. Apart from my dagger, there was a *little* figure I wanted to add to my room.

    ¡°You can get your dagger tomorrow, but you have to give me a week or two for the armor.¡±

    ¡°Not a problem.¡±

    Now that this is done...

    After I got home, the first thing I did was to drink as much water as I could, then I started stretching. And after I finished warming up, I started to run in the garden. I ran, ran, ran at least 8 laps.

    Nazir had been watching me in amazement from the moment I started running, and when he realized that I was still going on after my laps, he finally couldn''t hide his curiosity.

    ¡°My lord-¡±

    ¡°After what we went through on the hunt, I realized something, Nazir," I cut him off, I was out of breath and my heart was racing.

    ¡°Condition?¡±

    ¡°Exactly!

    I know that one day life will give me a lemon.

    When the time comes, I have to squeeze that lemon so hard that my name will always be remembered.¡±

    I never cared about my new body until now. I didn''t eat healthy, I didn''t exercise. If I was in modern times, maybe whatever, it wasn''t a big deal, but... I was really fighting monsters, and of course there were a few other small reasons.

    **

    To summarize the next few months: I started to train with Nazir almost every day when I woke up, then a few hours of rest, breakfast, and in the afternoon I was doing simple exercises like running, sit-ups, quizzes, whether under the sun or in cold weather. Even in these last few months, I could easily feel my body developing.

    Apart from my education, something happened that added a little color to my life, Rea started sending me different books every 2 weeks. We started sending letters to each other talking about books and our lives.

    So what happened differently today? First of all, I was almost 8 years old.

    My parents were now insisting that I make friends. Children of my own age, naturally I couldn¡¯t hang out with them because they are children. And people older than me didn¡¯t care about me that much. And my mother started to take me to literally every party, ball or feast she goes.

    And now I was in one of those parties. It was very crowded, the long rectangular tables were full, and everyone were chatting. As for children my age... I think they talk and have fun too.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    When I looked around at the people, my mother grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me.

    I said, ¡°I don''t want to.¡±

    ¡°I didn''t ask your opinion,¡± mom replied right away.

    ¡°Can''t I sit at one of the tables?¡±

    ¡°No, and you know what?

    If you don''t make a friend today, I''ll take your alchemy set.¡±

    ¡°Ma-¡± I was about to object when she cut me off.

    ¡°Ma-ma-mamamama. What mama?

    I said what I had to say, I don¡¯t think you can become a child again.¡±

    I sighed, looked around and locked eyes with a beautiful elven woman with short red hair and a thin black dress. I was about to spend another night being pampered by beautiful elves when my mother grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me towards her.

    ¡°No-no, not this time. You''ll hang out with someone around your age.¡±

    I took a deep breath and rolled my eyes. If I hang out with girls around my age, I would be grooming them whether I wanted or not, after all, I didn¡¯t like the things they like and if I directed them to the things I like, which was very easy to convince young children, it was wrong. I couldn¡¯t take the slightest risk of a relation, it was really weird... And if I hang out with the little boys- Even that sentence could put me in jail¡­ They did nothing but play simple games and bully each other.

    I sighed again, approached my mom and kissed her hand, ¡°Okay, show me someone.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a start I guess¡­¡± She sighed and looked around. She watched in silence for a while and finally directed me towards a boy sitting alone in the corner at one of the tables.

    ¡°What luck, your cousin''s here.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Julian, Uncle Pedro''s son. He''s about four years older than you, but I think you can get along.¡±

    I looked at Julian in silence for a while. He was a boy with orange curly hair and orange eyes. He was a little tall for his age and fit the stereotype of the quiet boy. Shoulders slumped, a bored expression on his face and zero eye contact. He reminded me a bit of my old self... Maybe I could really get along with him?

    ¡°Go, go,¡± My mom pushed me and I went to Julian.

    He was sitting at the far end of the rectangular table, the 4 chairs next to him were empty and there was a bowl of cookies in front of him.

    ¡°Hello,¡± I put my hand on the chair next to him and he nodded at me and passed me the cookies.

    I thanked him and sat down in the chair and it was easy to describe the look he gave me : ''Go, I want to sit alone until the party is over.''

    I knew I was disturbing his peace, but there was nothing to do.

    ¡°You''re Julian, right? I''m Altevia,¡± I gave him my hand and smiled. But I know deep down you want to make friends, cousin.

    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± He looked at my hand for a short while and then we shook hands.

    ¡°I''m sorry, I don''t want to bother you, but my mom insists that I make friends, do you mind if I sit here for a while?

    ¡°Yours too?¡±

    And¡­ The dam collapsed.

    When I realized he was looking at me with a strange expression, I dispersed the sly smile on my face with a fake snort.

    I looked him in the eye and waited without saying anything until he became uncomfortable. We were going to be stuck here if he didn''t keep the conversation going, and as I expected, he finally spoke up to break the awkward silence.

    ¡°You said you are Altevia, right? Uncle Eliar¡¯s son.¡±

    I nodded to him, ¡°And you were Uncle Pedro''s youngest child, I''ve seen your sister before, but I''ve never seen you or your brothers.¡±

    ¡°I''ve only been to your house twice, in fact, one of them was a few months ago, and both times you weren''t there.

    I remember Uncle Eliar said you were out hunting.

    But what surprises me the most is that I never saw you in the Ocean.¡±

    I tilted my head slightly to the right and smiled, ¡°My mom won''t let me go there...¡±

    A surprised expression took over Julian''s face, ¡°What do you mean she won''t let you? That place is literally yours.¡±

    ¡°I know my father does business there, but like I said, I''ve never been there before.¡±

    ¡°That''s really strange.¡±

    ¡°Do you go there often?¡±

    He stopped for a moment, looked at me and said, ¡°I can visit the areas near our house, but I always have someone with me. But my brothers are usually there, and Sergius sometimes shows me other areas.¡±

    ¡°Sergius was your eldest?¡±

    Julian shook his head, ¡°My oldest brother is Theodoro, but he''s not here.¡±

    ¡°Sorry. Is he dead?¡±

    ¡°No, he''s in exile. My father said he did something he shouldn''t have done.

    After him, Sergius. He helps your father, he''s the most important person in the Ocean after your father.

    Then Leonida and Albert, they build and repair your ships with my father.

    And finally me, I''m not doing anything right now,¡± a bitter smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°And I have an older sister, but I''ve never seen her before.¡±

    Julian looked at me, then there was silence and this time I broke it, ¡°Do you know anyone here?¡±

    Julian looked around and shook his head, ¡°No, why?¡±

    ¡°''Cause those girls over there were staring at you.¡±

    And, as I predicted, his cheeks turned red. I know your insides very well, cousin. But don''t ask me how.

    I chatted with Julian until late into the night. He didn''t have many hobbies, all he did was working on runestones, looking at the landscape and practicing with his sword. Pretty boring person, didn¡¯t have anything to speak.

    So he was a lot like me, that''s why we were able to talk easily.

 B1 C20

    I put on my green cloak and ''''took'''' some gold coins from my father''s office and put them in my pants pocket. The coins had a dragon''s head on one side and a phoenix on the other, a really nice design. But that''s not important right now...

    I climbed up the walls of the garden, creating a ladder made of stone, and jumped off the wall. It was dark, the moonlight was reflected in the sea, recreating the magnificent view.

    Julian told me that there was a dirt road that leads from the city to our house, which I could use to reach the city after about half an hour of hiking. And yes, I would take that risk.

    Finding the road was easier than I thought, just as he had said, I walked a little to the left of our house, followed a signpost and the narrow road down the hill revealed itself. I moved slowly, taking my steps carefully, even if I had darkvision, there was still the possibility of slipping on a wrong step. It would be great to be able to cast a light spell right now, but Nazir said that it takes a lot of work to be able to use the that element.

    As much as I was nervous about going out alone after so many years, and also about walking in the dark on an unfamiliar hill road, there was also a sense of excitement in me. I followed the road for a very long time and finally I could see the lights of the city. With a sudden smile on my face, I quickened my pace and stopped when I noticed someone looking at me from a distance.

    The person looking at me was a cat-type argon, his fur was all red except for his face and paws, which were white. He was wearing a good quality red and white colored long coat. If the coat hadn''t been so dirty, disheveled and torn, I might even have mistaken him for a nobleman, but his posture and his look were very timid. I took two steps towards him and looked into his clear blue eyes, but he ducked his head, took two steps backwards, and after his paw touched the city wall, he backed away with a shy expression. He looked at me, then he looked towards the trees, he looked at me, then at the trees, me, the trees, me, the trees, me, the trees, me, the trees. Then he walked to the right, then to the left, to the right, to the left, to the right, to the left, to the right, to the left, to the right, to the left, and finally, looking at the ground, he walked between the trees and disappeared.

    It was weird, was he a beggar or something? Anyway¡­

    I walked through the buildings into the city and looked at the hundreds of people walking side by side laughing in the streets. I was in a place like a bar street, most people had flasks with, I guess, liquor in them, and many people were sitting in front of different places drinking from wooden mugs. And the sounds... It reminded me of where I used to work.

    As I was walking down the street I saw Wyll and, if I remember his name correctly, Euric, having a drink and chatting with 6 other people in front of a bar-like place with red walls. I immediately put my hood up and kept going, but I must have looked at him for too long because he seemed to notice me. I broke eye contact, ducked my head and disappeared into the crowd.

    After a few steps I stopped when my shoulder bumped into a brown-haired half-elf boy who looked about my age. And the boy stopped, looked at me and shouted, ¡°I think I found him!¡±

    My eyes widened in surprise and fear and I was about to take a step back when the boy grabbed my wrist and said, ¡°Where are you going, I thought we were going to play tonight?¡±

    I paused in surprise, ¡°What?¡±

    The boy''s eyebrows furrowed, and when he looked at my face under my hood, he had a surprised look on his face, ¡°Oh! I''m sorry, I thought you were someone else!¡±

    The relief I felt at that moment was indescribable.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    We were approached by a boy with blond hair, a little taller than us but not much older. The two children were dressed alike. One was wearing a gray tunic and the other was wearing a similar white tunic. Their clothes didn''t look torn or old, they were more like... common.

    The blond boy came up to us and said, ¡°That''s not Len,¡± and the other one added, ¡°Yeah...¡± The boy let go of my wrist but then immediately grabbed it again.

    ¡°Let''s take him! It''s not like Len''s coming anyway,¡± he yelled and the blond boy looked at me for a moment and then asked, ¡±Are you from the Ocean?¡±

    I nodded nervously and quickly added, ¡°We just moved here.¡±

    I didn''t want to take any chances.

    ¡°New kid? Alright.¡±

    ¡°Come on, the others will go home!¡± The boy with the brown hair shouted, and they took me with them through an alleyway to an area with what looked like basketball hoops. There were nine other children on the playground, two girls and seven boys. I walked into the area with the kids looking at me strangely and the boy with the brown hair said, ¡°We brought you here, but do you know what we''re playing?¡± As I shook my head, he sighed and went over to the girl with the long brown hair and took from her the blue, weird gel-like ball-shaped thing.

    ¡°Have you ever watched anyone play falling spell?¡±

    I shook my head again and he looked at the boy with blond hair with a sad expression.

    ¡°Can you cast spells?¡±

    This time I nodded and he suddenly smiled with a joyful expression.

    ¡°The rules are simple, we play 6 v 6. You have to put the ball in the other team''s hoop . You can use spells, except for things like fire elements that can hurt someone badly, and most importantly, if you have the ball and someone knocks you down without using spells, you are out of the game until one side scores.¡±

    ¡°What about fouls-¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s start already!¡±

    It was really hard to get along with children of my age, but there was one thing I liked about them. They were very enthusiastic. Falling spell was a very strange mix of basketball and American football. In the simplest explanation, you took a slime-like ball and try to throw it into the opposing team''s hoop, the ball was very sensitive to the elements, so even a small gust of wind can be used to push and pull the ball through the air, so when you threw the ball into the hoop, someone on the opposing team could push the ball with the wind, but in the same way, if you used a wind spell, you could help the ball keep its balance. If you didn¡¯t want to risk throwing the ball, you could try to create steps out of the stone and try for a dunk, but getting that close to the hoop was a risky move. It was a game with a lot of flaws if you look carefully, but it was also a lot of fun.

    After playing for I didn¡¯t know how many hours, I left the area and went back to the street I first came from. And there was a problem... I think I was lost. The street was right, I was sure of that, but... Which alley did I take to get here? If I couldn¡¯t find that path, it would be very difficult to return.

    I continued down the street the way I had come and realized that Wyll was still hanging out with his friends outside the same place. That was a good thing, I was on the right track, but... Did this place get more crowded as the night went on? Maybe I should ask Wyll for directions - No! There was a good chance he¡¯d tell my father I was here. I couldn¡¯t risk it, best to ask someone on the street.

    I looked at the people nervously for a moment, then gulped and held out my hand to a man with short hair, wearing a gray shirt and a long sword on his belt. Just as I touched his leg, he shouted ¡°Hah!¡± and turned around and looked at me with an angry expression.

    ¡°There was something-¡±

    ¡°You fucking thieves are shamelessly trying your luck again!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    After the man shouted, the people around stopped and walked away from us in surprise. I was saying ¡°You misunderstand-¡± when the man interrupted me by shouting ¡°What the fuck are you talking about, where the fuck are my golds!?¡±.

    There was another person with him, wearing a long robe, and he looked at me and said, ¡°I think I saw him with the other boys,¡± And he yelled, ¡°The guards are not taking care of you anyway, I will do the punishment!¡± and he drew his sword and I took a step backwards as my heart started to race. My mana was too low from the game we had played, and even if I had my dagger with me, I didn''t think I could resist with a small dagger against someone much bigger than me. I took another step back and the man shouted ¡°Where are you running!¡± He pushed me and I fell to the ground.

    As soon as I hit the ground, my hood opened, and in the split seconds that followed, the first thing I noticed was Wyll taking two steps, followed by dozens of people I didn''t recognize, and in the blink of an eye, the sound of the swords coming out of their sheaths silenced the whole street.

    All that people were pointing their swords at the man from all directions.

 B1 C21

    ¡°Are you alright, my lord?¡±

    Wyll gave me his hand and I stood up.

    The guy who drew a sword on me was beaten by a lot of people and thrown into an alley. Don''t get me wrong, I didn''t have the slightest sympathy for the guy, I think he thought I was one of the kids who robbed him and he was a bit drunk, but he was also an asshole who pulled a sword on a little kid, on me.

    And I froze again, at a moment when I should have protected myself... But what could I do against him?

    ¡°My lord?¡±

    I looked at Wyll, ¡°I have to go home,¡± and he looked at me silently for a while and then nodded.

    They brought two horses for us, put me on one and Wyll on the other and we rode the normal way to my house. The guards at the gate looked at me in shock and opened the gate. One of the guards, Elron, entered the house with me and escorted me to my room. When we got to my room, he opened the door for me and after I entered my room and took 2 steps, I jumped at the sound I heard.

    ¡°Did you have a good time at least?¡±

    The owner of the voice was my mother, and I looked at her in fear. She was sitting in my chair, crossing her legs, waiting for me. She had a strange expression on her face that I couldn''t tell whether she was angry or happy. Her eyebrows were fortunately not furrowed.

    It was like she was thinking... My punishment?

    No?

    ¡°I''m sorry...¡± The words came out of my mouth.

    My mother got up from the chair, came to me and hugged me. I could hear her taking a deep breath.

    After a while she stood up and after gently playing with my hair, she left my room without saying anything.

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    **

    Breakfast... Well...

    My father didn''t seem to know anything, for now. He was looking at my mom strangely because she kept turning her head and looking at me. And after breakfast, my mother unexpectedly told my father that she wanted him to take me with him today.

    So I guess that meant I could now enter the Ocean, if I understand correctly? Yes? I hoped ?

    Even my father was surprised for a moment, but he accepted straight away.

    And right now, after breakfast, father, me and Nazir, we got into my father''s carriage and left the house. At first I thought we were going to Ocean and my father was going to show me around and introduce me to the people he does business with, but when we started heading to a different area instead of going to the main gate of the city, I looked out the window in surprise.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± I asked, looking at my father.

    ¡°I have something to do.¡±

    Something to do?

    I hoped this doesn''t turn into the classic unskippable father side quest.

    **

    WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS TORTURE!?

    We came to a place like a shipyard and from the moment we arrived, my father kept talking to different people.

    Since morning, we have been going left and right, sometimes sitting and sometimes standing, and my father was always talking to someone. I''ve already forgotten how many people he''s introduced me to. And the conversations he had weren''t like business conversations, they were just chatting.

    It was afternoon, I was extremely tired and if I hadn''t trained myself physically in the last months, I would probably have fainted by now. If we talked about mental fatigue instead of physical, I think I was going to kill myself.

    As we were walking somewhere again, I finally couldn''t resist and asked my father, ¡°I thought you didn''t like talking to people.¡±

    He looked at me and smiled, ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then what was all this time we spent?¡±

    ¡°Business.¡±

    ¡°You were chatting.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t understand-¡±

    He interrupted me by putting his hand on my head, stroking my hair and continued walking with a smile.

    I sighed and continued to follow him. We came to a giant hexagonal structure, the big metal doors were opened by 2 people who noticed us and we went inside and I saw that there was a very large ship, half of which had been built and the rest was still being built.

    The middle of the place was connected to the sea, and there were dozens of different races of people inside. Some were transporting materials, others were manufacturing the necessary parts for the ship. My father and I started moving towards the ship and people who saw us were bowing their heads to my father.

    When we came to 2 men, one with orange hair and the other with black, who were on the stairs leaning against the stern of the ship, we stopped and my father looked up and played a whistle. The two, who looked like they were in their twenties, looked down and smiled when they saw my father and the one with black hair called out, ¡°Uncle, how are you?!¡±

    ¡°How is the work going?¡± When my father asked this, the one with the black hair said, ¡°Well, it''s going¡­¡± then he was saying, ¡°It would be going better if he-¡±, and the one with the orange hair interrupted him, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Father asked curiously, and the one with the black hair continued, ¡°This idiot ordered the wrong tree.¡±

    ¡°Solonius said-¡±

    ¡°Did I tell you to ask Solonius or Yunus?¡±

    The one with the orange hair frowned and my father asked, ¡°Is there any ¡®big¡¯ problem?¡±

    ¡°No problem, we still have what we need in stock. I just wanted to replenish the stock before we run out...¡± As the one with black hair said this, he raised his hammer as if to hit the one with orange hair and the other one flinched.

    ¡°Is that Altevia?¡± He asked as my father giggled and my father put his hand on my shoulder and pointed to the one with the black hair, ¡°Altevia, Leonida.¡± Then he pointed to the one with the orange hair, ¡°Altevia, Albert.¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Julian told me I had cousins who helped you build your ships, but I didn''t know they worked directly in the field.¡±

    Albert smiled after I said that, ¡°Letting someone built your ships is like letting someone fuck your wife, after the job¡¯s done, all you can do is hoping that she¡¯ll stay loyal to you.

    Your uncle¡¯s words.¡±

    Leonida raised one eyebrow and looked at Albert, ¡°Did he really say that?¡± and Albert nodded.

    ¡°Father is getting more creative every day.¡±

    Father chuckled again and asked, ¡°Do you need anything?¡± Leonida looked at Albert, then at my father and shook his head ¡°No, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Alright, be careful.¡±

    After this little chat, we finally left the shipyard and came to the city. And this time we finally came to the Ocean. One thing I couldn''t understand about this place, all the signs around said Northside, but people called it the Ocean.

    As we passed through the street of bars I came to last night, a lot of people greeted my father. I thought my dad was going to talk with lots of people for hours again, but luckily we didn''t stop to chat with anyone except for small greetings and we came to the harbor. After we got off the carriage, many people nodded to us again. Everyone who saw my father had a smile on their face.

    We went on board and my father asked where Yunus was, and one of the men said he didn''t know and called someone to him, and after whispering something, the person he had called started to run somewhere. Then my father went to his office and when he opened the door we saw a tall, orange-haired elf man, who looked to be in his late twenties, sitting in my father''s chair with his legs stretched out on the desk. The guy had a smile on his face as we walked in and he said, ¡°I heard you missed me a lot.¡±

    My father looked at him for a while, chuckled and asked, ¡°How long have you been sitting like that?¡± and the man said, ¡°Would you believe me if I told you I woke up when you opened the door?¡±

    ¡°Get your ass off my chair.¡±

    The man jumped up from his seat and quickly tilted his head as if in mockery and cleared the table with his hand.

    ¡°Is he?!¡± The man quickly walked up to me, picked me up as if I were a puppy and called out excitedly, ¡°When did you get so big!¡±

    It wasn''t hard to guess who this man was because of the orange hair and the way he was comfortable with my father: It had to be Sergius.

    ¡°Are you my cousin?¡±

    My father looked at us and introduced him to me, saying, ¡°Altevia, Sergius.¡±

    ¡°Have you seen your family? Leo and Albert don''t seem to know you''re here.¡±

    ¡°I haven''t seen anyone yet, I arrived last night and not even Neptune can make me walk across the Ocean right now.¡±

    After my father chuckled, Sergius looked at me sitting on his arm and said, ¡°He''s not resisting at all! Julian would have started pushing me by now,¡± and my father replied, ¡±He is like a cat sometimes and, he likes to be held.¡±

    What?

    ¡°By the way, speaking of cats, I saw Rat King in the city last night, is he getting better?¡±

    ¡°Rat King? In the city?¡±

    ¡°I mean, not in the city but he was pretty close.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nice, I¡¯ll see him tomorrow.

    It¡¯s been a while since I last visited him.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know who this Rat King was, but, ¡°Father, do you need anything from me today?¡± My father turned to me and a sneer appeared on his face, ¡°What''s wrong? Are you bored already?¡± and I nodded.

    He came to me, and when Sergius put me down, he straightened my clothes and said, ¡°Ask Nazir to take you to your uncle''s house, you met Julian, right?¡± When I nodded to him again, he patted my head and opened the door. Nazir was waiting by the door and when Sergius saw him, the whistle blew and Nazir looked at him and smiled, ¡°You''ll be coming to Callieri''s tomorrow.¡±

    After Nazir nodded, my father walked us out of the ship and then Nazir and I went to my uncle''s house.

    Home would be a fragile word for this place. It was a mansion, to say the least. It was surrounded on 4 sides by a wall of red-orange fences. The walls of the house were light gray, but the roof and many columns on the sides were made of wood. There was a huge garden at the back and a large balcony overlooking the garden. When we arrived at the gate of the mansion 2 demons met us and when they saw Nazir they nodded and opened the gate. Once inside we followed the stone path to the mansion and finally came to the gate.

    We hadn''t even knocked when a young, pretty girl with long orange hair opened the door.

    ¡°Mom, my cousin is here!¡± Shouted Orea. Unlike my other cousins, I saw Orea almost every few months, I think she must have been about 20 years old, she was beautiful and as sweet as ever. I think she was extra happy that I was coming here for the first time. She immediately approached me and picked me up like a puppy, just like Sergius did, and hugged me.

    ¡°I thought you''d never come here and, look at you, getting bigger every day!¡±

    You know what my father said, he likes to be held, that''s not really true. I gave up would be more accurate.

    ¡°I''ll show you around,¡± when my cousin said that and started to walk inside, I said, ¡°No need, I''m actually here for Julian,¡± and she stopped.

    ¡°Julian? I think he was in his room.¡±

    As Orea led us to Julian''s room, I looked around. Compared to our house, it was much more opulent, full of gold-framed paintings, vases and sculptures that were clearly expensive. A different maid came out from each corner.

    We stood in the middle of a long, wide corridor and Orea knocked on the door and suddenly there was a tiny explosion and something hit the door. Nazir immediately opened the door and we saw Julian lying on the floor with a big shield in his hand. He had obviously been thrown here, but fortunately he was not hurt.

    Nazir immediately helped him up and I looked curiously into his room while he looked curiously at us. The wall directly opposite us was a long wall of made out of hard glass, to the left was a twin sized bed, and to the right was a L-shape marble table against the glass. The table was covered with tons of runestone and you could see many burn marks.

    Please don''t tell me you''re going to be some kind of mad scientist or something in the future.

    ¡°Julian!¡± Orea yelled and Julian stood up saying, ¡°I''m fine.¡±

    ¡°Let me look,¡± Orea leaned over, checked Julian''s whole body for injuries and there didn''t seem to be any.

    ¡°I told you to be careful playing with those things! What if you got hurt?!¡±

    ¡°I was protecting myself, and it wouldn''t have been a problem if I hadn''t been distracted,¡± after Julian said that, he noticed me, ¡°You... Altevia?¡± I nodded and asked, ¡°What were you doing?¡±

    I think he said he was interested in runestones, but I had no idea what exactly he was doing. Julian was approaching me when Orea grabbed him by the arm, shook off his clothes and let him go. Then she went into her room and opened one of the glass walls and let the air in.

    ¡°It stinks in here, clean up your room and that table before father sees you.¡±

    ¡°Alright...¡± Julian looked down and silently watched his sister tidy up her room. Orea did everything she told Julian to do, checked and organized everything, then patted my head and said, ¡°I''ll be in the garden if you need anything,¡± and left the room.

    ¡°Did you need something?¡± After Julian said that, I went into his room and looked at his desk, ¡°No, I came to see you.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡±

    I nodded, ¡°What were you doing?¡± As I asked that, Julian walked over to his desk and asked, ¡°Have you ever worked with runestones?¡± I shook my head and he said, ¡°No problem, I''ll explain,¡± and picked up a stone with a green scribble on it. When I looked carefully at the sketch, it looked like an L-shaped wind drawing that resembled an arrow coming from above and turning to the left.

    ¡°This is a wind stone, if you transfer your mana to this-¡± A gentle gust of wind hit me in the face and my hair fell out. ¡°See?!¡±

    ¡°Felt.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry.

    And, this is a firestone,¡± as he picked up the stone with the glowing red scribbles on it, I put my hand out towards it and said, ¡°Okay, I understand,¡± and had him put it on the table.

    A long time after that Julian spent telling me about his runestones. In the simplest logic, a mage can sacrifice a portion of his mana to create a magic stone that can be used for a single use, or more precisely, until the mana he transfers to the stone is consumed. The stones were not different from ordinary stones that you can find anywhere, but the stone needs to be a bit large because the runes scribbled on it have a meaning. By combining different elements, like combining wind and ice to make a small air conditioner, you could create things as far as your imagination goes.

    While we were playing with the runes, my Uncle Pedro came into the room and grabbed Julian and me by the shoulders and squeezed hard.

    ¡°You come to my house without telling anything !?¡± He was laughing as he squeezed my shoulder so hard that it hurt, and when I said, ¡°Hello, Uncle,¡± he stopped and tapped me once on the shoulder.

    ¡°Look at those muscles! What are they feeding you?!¡±

    I laughed, bowed my head without saying anything to my uncle and, he played with Julian''s hair and looked at the table, ¡°What were you guys doing?¡±

    I saw Julian gulped, he handed his father the runestone he had made, which worked like an air conditioner, and said, ¡°I thought it might help you in the heat.¡±

    Pedro took the runestone, activated it and when the cold wind hit his face he smiled and tapped Julian twice on the shoulder, ¡°This is great!

    I heard Sergius came yesterday, did he show you this?¡±

    At that moment I noticed Julian paused for a moment, he lowered his head without saying anything and I jumped in, ¡°No, he just did it, isn''t it really great?¡±

    Pedro was surprised, I saw his eyebrows furrow for a moment, but he immediately started smiling again and said, ¡°Really? Well done.¡± Then he played with Julian''s hair one more time and stood up with his runestone. ¡°Okay, you guys hang out, I have work to do,¡± he said and left the room.

    I realized that Julian was looking at me in silence and surprise, so I tapped him on the arm with the back of my hand and said, ¡°What else can you show me?¡± and took one of the stones. And then we excitedly went back to playing with the runestones again.

 B1 C22

    He was even worse than me.

    It''s been hours since we started practicing with the sword.

    As interesting as the runestones were, after a while I started to get bored and we went out into the garden to practice. It was hard to convince Julian to leave his room, and I could understand why. Just like me, he gets scared and panics when someone attacks him. It was hard to believe that my uncle or anyone in the family hasn''t trained him, but he was very bad at footwork, perception and everything.

    ¡°I don''t want to fight, but if I have to, I want to be a long-distance mage.

    A lot of people say it''s normal to be afraid of getting hurt, and most of the mages are  cowards like me.¡±

    Even though it bothered me a bit that he calls himself a coward without any hesitation, it wouldn''t be right to force him. But just because it wouldn''t be right doesn''t mean I wouldn''t force him. I also had problems with fear, even though I''ve been training for many months, my body still shudders when someone attacks me, so we were actually a good pair for training. One of my problems was that the person I was training with was a giant like Nazir, and no matter how much I got hurt, even if I know I could use my ability to heal to my advantage, pain was still not something I could get used to. It was also not something I want to get used to.

    As he was defending himself, I pretended to swing my wooden sword at his left arm and stabbed him in the leg, and my eyes widened for a moment as he panickedly swung his sword at my neck. He had such a weak grip on his sword that it slipped out of his hand and I stared for a brief moment at his fist, which he stopped at the last moment. The fist of a little boy gave me goosebumps for a moment.

    At that moment a little memory came to me.

    He took two steps back and sat down on the floor, holding the place where I hit his leg.

    ¡°You really hit me!¡±

    I got a surprised look on my face, ¡°Don''t they ever hit you in training?¡±

    When Julian shook his head, I said, ¡°You''re kidding me, right?¡±, and he reproached, ¡°Who can hit a lord that hard!?¡± I slowly turned my head towards Nazir and he looked away.

    I sighed, ¡°I think that''s enough.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    I handed Nazir my wooden sword and shook myself off, ¡°Let''s go to the Ocean, you can go there, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°It''s late.¡±

    It was dark, yes, but not that late. And also, ¡°We have Nazir with us.¡±

    Nazir clasped his hands behind his back and looked at me, ¡°It would be best to ask Lord Pedro''s permission before you leave, my lord,¡± he said, and I nodded, ¡±I will speak to my uncle.¡±

    Julian looked worried but didn''t say anything and when we went inside to look for Lord Pedro we met Orea and when I told her we were looking for my uncle she said we could go and she could inform him and we left my uncle''s house.

    The Ocean was a really ''welcoming'' place, most- or maybe all of the people on the streets seemed to know each other. I could see them chatting with each other from the balconies of the apartment buildings across from each other. And the apartment buildings were no more than 3 stories high, so there was no stifled look, on the contrary, whoever designed the houses had done a tremendous job. The walls were in shades of yellow, white and light gray, each apartment had a small balcony, and most of the houses had flowers and plants in the windows.

    But it didn''t take long to realize that this was a ghetto, albeit a pleasant one. Although I didn¡¯t know if ghetto would be the right term. It was a ¡°business area¡±, it had an incredible network, everywhere I looked I saw people whispering, shaking hands or having fun.

    And another thing I saw was a strange logo...

    On the walls, on the fronts of some places, as tattoos on people... It looked like a handwritten M, or more like 3 successive waves. I didn''t know what it meant or why it was everywhere, but it wasn''t hard to understand that it was something important.

    As I was looking around, I heard Nazir say, ¡°Do you like it here?¡± and I nodded.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°It''s a nice place, especially the people seem very friendly.¡±

    Nazir laughed and I asked, ¡°My father does business here, doesn''t he? Do you know where he owns?¡± looking around at the restaurants. We were on a wide, long street and there were dozens of all kinds of places on the left and right sides of the road and we were not even halfway down the street.

    Nazir raised his head, looked around and pointed first to the restaurant with a big crab in front of it, ¡°This...¡± then to the caf¨¦ on the left opposite it, with black walls and a design a bit reminiscent of modern cafes from my world, ¡°...This...¡± then to the one next to it, with a similar design but more like an inn than a caf¨¦, ¡°...And this.¡±

    I looked at the places one by one and they were very busy and popular. Maybe I could do business in the future without much struggle-

    ¡°All but those three, and the houses on the side streets, belong to Lord Eliar.

    And those three places, they pay your father a protection fee, so it''s not wrong to say they''re his.¡±

    I paused... I had a hard time understanding.

    ¡°You''re kidding, right?¡±

    Nazir chuckled, ¡°Why do you think Lord Eliar hates talking business when he''s at home?¡±

    How could one person own so many properties, in a time, city like this? How to manage all of this... The people who will take care of these places, the people who will work in these places, the safe flow of money... Well done to my father.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Julian looked at me.

    ¡°Yeah... Yeah I''m fine.¡±

    As we kept walking I looked at Julian, ¡°What do you usually do here?¡±

    Julian looked around, then stopped and said, ¡°I hang out with my brother.¡±

    ¡°Which one?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry, I usually hang out with Sergius.

    He¡¯s usually at that place over there, but I don''t know if he''s there right now.¡±

    I looked at the place Julian showed me. It was a place with red walls and stairs going down and two tall demon guards. It must be a pub or something.

    ¡°Let''s go check it out.¡±

    After I said that, we started to walk and a group of dwarves, elves, demons, something out of a dnd party came up to us and grabbed Nazir''s arm. They seemed drunk and they seemed to know Nazir. Nazir declined their invitation to hang out but they insisted and I said, ¡°You can chat with them if you want, we''re going to check if Sergius is in,¡± and Nazir was about to decline me too when I looked at him with a frown. Slowly, I don''t know if it was because he trusted me now or he didn''t want to get on my bad side, he just stayed silent and nodded. Me and Julian went to the pub while he was talking to his old friends a little further away.

    I was walking towards the stairs when the demon at the door put his hand on my shoulder and said, ¡°I''m sorry, I can''t let you in by yourselves.¡± I rolled my eyes, did this stupid rule existed even in this world?

    I looked at Julian and said, ¡°You don''t know them?¡± and he shook his head.

    I sighed, walked into the street and saw two beautiful girls, one half elf and the other demon. I grabbed the elf''s hand and forced Julian to hold the demon''s hand while he looked at me in surprise. I went back to the pub with the girls and as I was heading for the stairs, the guard stopped me again and said, ¡°I meant I can''t let you in without a family member.¡±

    I took a deep breath and then I heard a voice that sounded familiar, ¡°Captain?¡±

    I turned around and saw Yunus. His beard had grown a little longer and his hair was tied in a ponytail, he was wearing brown pants and a white shirt. He came up to us and asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    The guard at the door looked at Yunus in surprise, ¡°Do you know them?¡±

    Yunus gently tapped the guard on the neck twice with his hand, ¡°Of course I know Eliar and Pedro''s sons,¡± and as the guard''s eyes widened, he said, ¡°I''m sorry, my lord!¡± and bowed his head.

    ¡°Do you want to go in?¡± As soon as Yunus said this, he took us by the shoulders and we started down the stairs.

    ¡°Is Sergius here?¡±

    Yunus looked at me, ¡°He wasn''t on the ship, so he could be here, or he could be somewhere else in the Ocean.¡±

    ¡°I remember him saying something about not wanting to go to Ocean.¡±

    ¡°He always says that.¡±

    When we opened the door of the place, I saw that it resembled a pub with dark brown, black and red colors. On the right side, there were tables for 4 people against the wall, while on the left there were long tables for larger groups. In the middle was a long bar and a wall full of drinks and glassware. From the second step we saw a table with dozen of people on the left and Sergius sitting in the center. In between the laughter I heard a man with long horns start a conversation.

    ¡°Hey, all right. Would you rather stuck on an island with a monkey that you can talk or someone from the Ocean?¡±

    Sergius took a sip of his drink and said, ¡°Depends, maybe Alicia ? Otherwise monkey,¡± and the others at the table joined in.

    ¡°Monkey.¡±

    ¡°Monkey.¡±

    ¡°Definately monkey, you guys probably fuck me in the ass when I sleeping.¡±

    ¡°Why did you say Alicia?¡± The man who asked the question asked again.

    ¡°She''s a walking survival kit, also beautiful,¡± Sergius replied.

    ¡°Right...¡±

    Then suddenly a half-elf brown-haired man at the table asked, ¡°Speaking of beautiful, objectively, is there a model of a girl that everyone would fall in love with?¡± and there was silence.

    ¡°Redheads?¡± There was another silence and then ¡°Yeah¡­¡± said Sergius, followed by a halfling with short blond hair, wearing a long robe, ¡°Redhead and an hourglass body.¡±

    I noticed Yunus walking towards the table, he chuckled and said, ¡°Vampire and I have a special place in my heart for black lipstick.¡± After that there were a lot of ¡°Oooooooooooooooooo!¡± from many people at the table.

    ¡°Where have you been!?¡± Sergius shouted instantly, looking at Yunus, and then he looked at us and shouted, ¡°Cousin, Julian!¡±

    When Sergius saw Julian looking at him, he said, ¡°Come!¡± with a big smile and Julian smiled and walked under the table and sat next to Sergius. While Sergius was playing with Julian''s hair, I saw Julian with a smile on his face that I had never seen before, Sergius gave him some of his drink and Julian drank it like water without any reaction.

    A beautiful half-elf woman who looked like a waitress, with a white apron and long pink hair, brought a chair for me and Yunus. She looked at Yunus and said, ¡°Vampire? You know that she can suck you dry, right?¡± Then Yunus answered without hesitation, ¡°What other advantages does she have?¡± The table erupted in laughter and... I laughed too. They were bullshitting and having fun, and the best thing was that I had no problem joining them.

 B1 C23

    Julian Cornetia

    After the passing hours, the night was getting late, but Sergius and his friends seemed to be spending more time at the pub. As much fun as Julian and Altevia were having, they also had to leave the place as they were getting a little tired, and their parents could get worried. Of course, this was also the time when the ''girls'' started to arrive.

    After Nazir and Altevia left through the back door of the place, they looked at each other with smiles in a small area lit by light stones.

    ¡°Why aren''t you always like this?¡± When Altevia asked Julian this, Julian was surprised, he could only say, ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°You said you were scared when someone attacked you, right?¡± Altevia said all of a sudden and then he jumped twice.

    ¡°Hit me,¡± said Altevia, shaking his head from side to side, while Julian frowned, looking at him curiously.

    Julian took a step back and his eyes slowly widened as he said, ¡°What? No!¡±

    Altevia had a different expression on his face, this boy never broke eye contact when he spoke anyway, and Julian had never said anything before even though it sometimes made him uncomfortable, but now there was a strange, frightening determination in those eyes. ¡°Have you ever been in a fight?¡± Altevia asked as he continued to look into Julian''s eyes with a smile on his face and Julian reacted ¡°Of course not, that''s wrong!¡± and Altevia replied without waiting, ¡°How do you know it''s wrong then? Come on hit me!¡±

    ¡°My lord-¡± Nazir was about to say something, but Altevia quickly turned to him and pointed his index finger at him, and he fell silent.

    Julian didn''t understand what was happening, but he took a step to the left, looked down and said, ¡°This is weird... What, you want me to hit you in the face?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know, just hit me.¡±

    ¡°I shouldn''t be doing this...¡± Julian took another step back, looked down and looked around, ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    Altevia took a deep breath and nodded, inviting Julian.

    Altevia had closed his eyes as Julian looked at him for a very short time and then suddenly swung his fist and struck him in the area between his nose and eye.

    Altevia had closed his eyes as the punch came at him, but it must have hurt anyway, because he bent over, took two steps backwards and moved his head, saying, ¡°Jesus! Oh, my eye!¡± he shouted some weird nonsense words.

    Julian was anxiously and fearfully reaching out his hand towards Altevia and asking, ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± when Altevia quickly replied, ¡°Absolutely, it was perfect,¡± and Julian suddenly felt a pain in his chest that made him lean forward and take two steps back. Altevia was punching well for a little kid.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    As much as Julian was hurting, he had a very strange feeling. As he continued to stare at the ground, he heard Altevia say, ¡°Hey, how do you feel?¡±

    He slowly got up, ¡°G- Great... Do it again.¡±

    The smile on Altevia''s face grew wider, ¡°No, you do it!¡±

    From then on, they kept fighting until Nazir stopped them, each punch giving them a different kind of... pleasure. Then these little fights became weekly, then every three days.

    They were always in the same place, after a while a group of other kids who saw them joined, then the older kids started to join, and over time this ''event'' moved from the back door of the pub to a large space downstairs in one of Lord Eliar''s places. As the number of members grew, it went from being a small event to a kind of club.

    **

    Tonight the club was meeting again, there were more than thirty people and the numbers were slowly growing, which meant that one of Altevia''s rules had been broken.

    As everyone gathered and started to look at Altevia curiously, Nazir put a square wooden box on the floor and helped Altevia to climb on top of it. Altevia looked around, eye to eye with everyone.

    ¡°Gentleman, welcome to Mage Club.

    I see there are some new faces here, which means we need a little reminder.¡±

    He tilted his head a little, looked at the people in the back, and continued.

    ¡°First rule of Mage Club is : You do not talk about Mage Club.

    Second rule of Mage Club is : You do not talk about Mage Club!

    Third rule of Mage Club :  Someone yells stop, goes limp or taps out, the fight is over.

    Fourth rule : Only two guys to a fight.

    Fifth rule : One fight at a time, brothers.

    Sixth rule : No shirts, no shoes, no magic.

    Seventh rule : Fight will go on as long as they have to.

    And the eighth and final rule : If this is your first night at Mage Club, you have to fight.

    Every night at the Mage Club ended with all sorts of body pains and laughter. For a club of men that came there only for fight, it was a very respectful community. And this community was growing like an avalanche, and people who previously avoided looking at Julian when he passed by were now greeting him, just as they had done with his brother Sergius. But most importantly, Julian no longer felt the slightest fear during combat training.

    But of course, the club did Julian as much harm as good. The scars he carried with pleasure bothered his family, especially his mother. His mother''s discomfort meant his father''s discomfort. And the father''s discomfort meant a lecture in private. His brothers were always fighting and hanging out with the commoners, why was Julian always the problematic one?

    Was he going to spend his life at home just because his mother was upset? Julian loved his mother, perhaps more than anything else in this life, but he couldn''t always be there for her.

    ¡°If you keep this nonsense up, I''ll put new scars on your face.¡±

    Those were his father''s last words, and Julian could only bow his head. ''Act like a man,'' he had told him years ago, but just when Julian was beginning to think he could live up to his expectations, his actions were called ''nonsense''. Sergius usually supported him, but this time neither he nor his sister Orea could say anything, because his father''s tone was too harsh, for everyone but one person...

    It only took Julian skipping one club night for Altevia to show up at their house. As soon as he found out what had happened, Julian tried to stop him, but Altevia found Pedro and after a brief argument he simply said ¡°He will do, whatever he wants to do,¡± and refused to listen to Pedro.

    A mistake was a mistake that has to be done, we were carrying the scars anyways.

    Julian knew the look in his father''s eyes. His father was looking at Altevia the way he always wanted him to look at him. With admiration. While Julian had been trying for years, Altevia had only been worthy of that look in a few conversations. Julian felt jealousy, but he couldn''t get angry, because he was admired too, and happy.

    His father was less involved with Julian now, the club, runestone works and sword training...

    And after a week, for the first time in years, Julian saw his father waiting in the garden with a wooden sword.

 B1 C24

    Altevia Aulus Cornetia

    Did he really pull his sword just because of a small argument? And I thought I was in another world, isn¡¯t this just a rainy day in London?

    ¡°We need to get you out of here, my lord.¡±

    Nazir grabbed me by the shoulder and led me towards the exit, catching a sword swung by a man with a goatee in mid-air and shattering it in his hand, and we kept moving. This was one of the dozens of bars my father owned, and I was bored, so I decided to go for a night out, and unluckily I got caught in the middle of a fight.

    While dozens of people inside were still attacking each other, I deflected a vertical sword strike with my dagger and grabbed the man by the wrist and pulled him down, leaving a small cut on his arm. As the man fell to the ground from the paralyzing poison, I passed over him without stepping on him. I was calm, too calm actually, because I was used to this kind of situations. And also because of my training with both Mage Club and Nazir, I could rarely feel fear anymore.

    ¡°I finally found you,¡± Julian said. I think he was like 13 years old now, he was getting taller, he was going to be very tall for sure. I was in the middle of my 9th year, it had been a long time since I came into this world, and I felt like a part of it now.

    After we left the place, I saw a look on Julian''s face that I would say was worried and nervous. His eyebrows were furrowed and he looked sad.

    I said, ¡°What happened?¡± and he answered instantly, ¡°I had an argument with my father, he''s sending me to Secily.¡±

    ¡°Secily?¡±

    ¡°The southernmost city in the region.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah I know. Why are you upset?¡±

    Julian''s eyebrows furrowed a little more, ¡°What do you mean why?

    He thinks I''ve been spending too much time with the commoners, I need to get an education and get engaged.

    And my mother said I''d be the laughing stock of the other nobles.

    I don''t care what the others think, I want to stay here.¡±

    ¡°That was a great sentence.¡± Julian got a surprised look on his face when I said that, and I continued, ¡°But I think I would have enjoyed going to Secily.¡±

    His surprise grew.

    ¡°I don''t know about the engagement, but I don''t think it would be wise to miss the opportunity for an education.

    Are you going to college?¡±

    ¡°No and yes, I''m going to a college prep class or something. I''m too young for college.¡±

    ¡°Prep school? How many years?¡±

    ¡°Three.¡±

    I looked at him in silence for a while, three years was a long time. As much as it was a good opportunity for Julian, I was going to lose one of my very few friends here. I could convince him to stay here if I wanted to, and I know that''s what he wanted, but I won''t. He had his own life to develop.

    I looked at Nazir, ¡°Can I join the preparatory class?¡± and Nazir shook his head. ¡°My lord, first you are too young, and second there is no need for you to join the preparatory class. You are already better than most college students in terms of knowledge, strength and magic.¡± My eyes widened and I folded my arms, ¡°Really?¡± and Nazir nodded, ¡°Really, your talent still amazes me even after all these years.¡±

    I turned to Julian, ¡°Don''t be sad or angry, just go to Secily and make new friends. I wanted to travel anyway, you can show me around when I come there.¡±

    Julian looked at me silently, waited for a while and then said in a low voice, ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°There''s a feast tonight,¡± he looked at me and continued, ¡°It''s going to be crowded, will you come?¡±

    ¡°I don''t think so.¡±

    ¡°That''s what I thought.

    Okay, see you later.¡±

    Julian turned round, and before he started walking I said, ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    He turned to me again, ¡°I''m going to talk to my dad,¡± and, after I said, ¡°See you,¡± he smiled and went home.

    Now that I think about it, I haven''t been going to feasts for a long time. My mother used to force me to go, but recently, I think because I started going out, she no longer insisted when I refused. It was fine from my point of view, in fact it was better for me. We did nothing but stand in the middle of dozens of people I didn''t know, eating desserts and listening to classical and jazz music. By the way, if they could play rock, I would have gone with pleasure without my mom having to ask. Drums, saxophone, piano, acoustic guitar, harp, all excellent instruments, but none of them could replace electric and bass guitar. Recently I managed to play some of my favourites like Hendrix, Cem Karaca, Yavuz Cetin, Buckethead, Aerosmith, etc. at low volume in my room using illusion stones, but it was really hard to remember the sounds and lyrics. You know when a piece of music starts playing in your head in a way you can''t control, imagine if you could transfer it to a speaker, that''s how it worked in the simplest logic and it was hard, really hard. If one day in the future I build a cabin in the woods far away from people, I can listen to it at full volume with great pleasure, but until then I hope I will not forget these beautiful pieces.

    As I looked around a little, a slightly overweight, old demon aunty with long brown hair came up to me. ¡°You are Lord Altevia, aren''t you?¡± She asked, and when I nodded in surprise, she handed me a glass cup.

    ¡®¡¯Here, it''s hot today,¡®¡¯ she said, and when I picked up the glass, she smiled and walked away.

    I looked curiously at Nazir and saw him chuckling, ¡°People are starting to recognise you, my lord,¡± he said, and after looking at the glass in my hand for a while, I took a sip of the orange coloured drink. It tasted a little strange, but I knew what it was. It was made from a fruit called ¡®tanned¡¯, which grew on a tree unique to this world and resembled a mango in appearance. In terms of flavour, I think the closest thing I could remember from my old world was iced cherry drinks mixed with sugar. You know, the kind sold at the stands in front of small restaurants on the streets.

    I looked up at the sky and hid my eyes from the sun with my hand, it was really hot and there was nothing I could do. I guess the best thing to do was to go home.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    I took another sip of my drink and as I was heading for home, I saw a familiar but unexpected face walking quickly and hurriedly.

    ¡°Lady Mira?¡±

    As soon as she heard my voice, she stopped and lowered her hood. She looked at me with her purple hair falling over her shoulders, she looked incredible.

    ¡°Altevia?¡±

    ¡°You''ve grown so much.¡± - ¡°You''ve grown so much.¡±

    When we said that at the same time, she giggled and looked at me with a smile. But her eyes looked tired and she looked around when she finished.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Nothing very important, your dad''s in the harbour, right?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know, probably.¡±

    ¡°Alright¡­ I need to go, see you.¡±

    She raised her hood again and continued walking at a fast pace. Her movements were very strange, I think something was wrong. After she walked a little further, I decided to follow her and Nazir followed me without saying anything. After a while I realised that there were 2 other people following her. They were actually well hidden, they guessed the direction Mira was going and they were hiding by going through different streets, sometimes passing her and chatting with other people on the street. And because they usually had their backs to the street, they were able to hide from Mira.

    How did I spot them? The Ocean''s men liked to wear the waves, the symbol of this place, as tattoos or on their clothes, and people who didn¡¯t have that symbol were easily recognizable when you look around a little. When I saw the same people in a row, I could easily figure out what they were up to. Anyway, enough chasing, I grabbed the arm of one of our men and pointed to the guys following Mira, ¡°Can you catch these guys?¡± I said and he looked at me for a moment, realised who I was, and immediately nodded and started to smirk. He put his fingers in his mouth and played a loud whistle, and suddenly dozens of people on the street looked at us, he pointed to the guys with his head, and dozens of people nodded without saying anything, and within seconds they grabbed the guys who started to look around in surprise, and put them on the ground.

    I saw Mira stop and look at us, I smiled and waved my hand at her, she smiled and bowed her head and kept going.

    Ocean''s men brought the two who had been following Mira in front of me, and asked, ¡®What shall we do with these two, my lord?¡¯ I looked at the pair very briefly and then looked at the questioner and said, ¡°Can you take them to my father?¡± The man looked down and one of the pair shouted, ¡°Wait, there''s been a misunderstanding!¡± and was knocked unconscious by a blow to the back of the neck.

    I didn''t know what these men had against Lady Mira, maybe Lady Mira had done something bad, but it didn''t matter now. My father would take care of the rest.

    Should I go to the harbour or home? Things seemed to be getting interesting, but that didn''t change the fact that it was suffocatingly hot.

    Oh, wait a minute... If Lady Mira was here, did that mean Rea was here too? There had been no letters or books this month, perhaps she wanted to give the new book by hand? Then she could be at home.

    I hurried up the path to the house and Nazir followed me. As we walked, two people called out to us at a light jog and Nazir grabbed me and helped me onto the horse that had been brought to us.

    ¡°Oh, thank you, but-¡±

    ¡°I asked for it, my lord, no need to worry,¡± Nazir interrupted me and mounted the horse that had been brought to him. I think that after the years we had spent together, he now understood my behaviour and way of thinking, it was good.

    We arrived home after a half-hour journey, but unfortunately the guards at the gate told us that no one was home except my mother. Rea was staying somewhere else then, or maybe she had stayed at Mirstone while Mira was here. It would have been good to see her after so long, we had exchanged many letters and she was really fun to talk to.

    Maybe it sounds strange, maybe it sounds normal, but it''s really hard to say, but over the years I''ve come to see Aurelia and Eliar as my real family. They were not comparable to my mother in my old world, that was a very separate and complicated subject, but they were definitely close to that level, because I felt and still feel that I was their child for many years. And although it was very difficult for me to weigh this at first, there was a very big factor that made me feel like their child, whenever I thought about the age of both of them, I was very young in their eyes. Aurelia in particular, I didn''t think she would probably have a problem if I told her about my past, apart from a little shock. She would certainly look at me differently, but in a world like this, with all the fantastic events and things, I was sure that Aurelia, given her age and experience, had experienced stranger and more inconceivable things than this. But would I tell her about my past? Absolutely not. They were my new family, I was used to this reality and I wanted to continue living in it.

    I poked my head out of the door of my father''s office and saw my mother at his desk, looking at the caerrum dagger in her hand. She was beautiful as always, her grey hair pulled up in a bun and she was wearing a white tunic.

    She smiled when she saw me and I walked over and hugged her.

    She put the dagger in a grey box on the table with gold scribbles like those on runes and placed it in the second drawer.

    ¡°What were you doing?¡± I asked and she got up from the chair and reached out and kissed me on the head, ¡°It''s nothing important, were you in the Ocean?¡±

    I nodded and she took my shoulder and walked with me to the balcony. She loved sitting on the balcony, especially the view. Even though my mum was more social than my dad, it was nice to see her seeking peace from time to time.

    I was about to sit next to her and focus on the view when I saw a cut on her finger, yes, I really saw a cut. When I put my hand to the cut, she looked at me silently and I asked, ¡°Why are you not healing that?¡± She looked at the wound on her finger, there was a little bit of blood running down her palm, ¡°It''s nothing important, I''ll heal it later,¡± she said with a smile, and I asked, ¡®Doesn''t it hurt?

    ¡°No, don''t worry.¡±

    There was no way it couldn''t hurt, but I guess she wanted to feel something once in a while, it was her decision. I kissed her hand, smiled at her and she caressed my cheek.

    ¡°Oh, and there''s a feast tonight, you''re attending.¡±

    ¡°I don''t want to.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember asking your opinion, I''ll get your clothes ready.¡±

    ¡°Do I really have to?¡±

    ¡°This one''s organised by the empress. Senators, kings, dozens of nobles, and of course their children will be there.

    You''ve been spending too much time in the Ocean, if you''re going to take over your father''s business, and you will, you need to meet the next generation.¡±

    ¡°Who said I wanted to take over my father''s business?¡±

    ¡°It''s your inheritance, you''re gonna leave it all to your cousins?¡±

    ¡°My father-¡±

    ¡°Altevia, your father can''t do this job forever.¡±

    I paused, I felt like my throat was in a knot. Mother stroked my hair and kissed my forehead.

    ¡°I''m sorry, sometimes I forget that you can understand a lot of things.

    I mean, both he and the people who live in the Ocean will want you to take over in the future, and I think you fit in well.

    And don''t worry, your father is still young, and elves don''t usually die unless they get sick or injured. Half-elves'' bodies get weaker, and their appearance ages a bit, but I know I''ll have Eliar by my side forever.

    Just like I''ll have you. You''re everything to me.¡±

    It was impossible to explain how she looked at me and I could only think of one thing.

    ¡°Where''s my sister?¡±

    She put her hand on my chair, pulled me slightly towards her and said, ¡°Come, let''s see,¡± and put her hand on my shoulder.

    For a moment my vision went black, then a red light turned into a white ball, and I saw a red-eyed girl with short grey hair and red eyes walking in the darkness. She was holding a dark green short sword, and a creature resembling a giant dog, but with fur that was too fluffy, was walking with her. The vision continued for a little while longer, and then I noticed the bodies of countless creatures behind her, and very shortly afterwards I heard my mother say, ¡°She''s getting stronger now that she''s cleaning dungeons on her own,¡± and the vision disappeared.

    ¡°So that''s why you''re not worried at all! Can you watch me like this?!¡±

    Mother didn''t say anything, she just smiled and I got my answer straight away.

    ¡°How do you do it, I thought magic was limited to the elements, time, telepathy and telekinesis?¡±

    ¡°Magic is far more varied than that but, I use a element, light.¡±

    ¡°Light?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know if you can understand, but the way your eyes work has to do with the reflection of light.

    Lucretia has a seal I placed on her, and through it I can see what she sees, and from what she sees I can see the surroundings, and from the reflections of the surroundings I can see everything.

    You can think of it like a ball bouncing off the walls.¡±

    I was surprised. It was science, very close to modern times. She was talking about a law of physics, to be precise. Her explanation was a bit incomplete, but I could understand what she was trying to say.

    ¡°The thought of you watching us all the time is a little frightening, but it''s really amazing that you invented such a spell.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I didn''t invent this spell.

    Lady Aurelia, you are Lady Aurelia, Rat King, Rat King I am.¡±

    When I looked at her in confusion she chuckled, ¡°You haven''t met him yet have you?¡± she said and got up from her chair taking a deep breath and smiling, ¡°Come on, you''ll have a shower and get ready.¡±

 B1 C25

    These clothes were incredibly uncomfortable.

    My mother made me wear a white shirt, black pants, and a separate black and yellow coloured dress in two pieces, one that was tied around my stomach like a corset and the other was like a little jacket. She also gave me a small black cloth starting from my waist and falling down to my knee level behind my leg and a long cloak with black furs on the shoulders because the weather was getting colder towards night. Lastly, she put two long silver necklaces around my neck and a black ring on my index finger, and sprayed a strange smelling perfume on my neck and armpits. And all the time she was dressing me, I stood expressionlessly staring at the wall like a shop mannequin.

    ¡°You are so cute that I can''t stop!¡± After my mother said this, she put her hands on my cheeks, squeezed them and kissed my right cheek repeatedly within seconds.

    ¡°Are you ready to go?¡± As soon as we heard my father''s voice we looked at the door to my room and my mother looked my father up and down and raised one eyebrow, ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    My father was dressed in a long thin black jacket with black trousers and a black tunic underneath, ¡°Yes?¡± he said and my mother got up, grabbed my father by the wrist and they left my room. It shouldn''t be too hard to guess what happened next.

    Mama dressed Papa just as she had dressed me. Papa''s new clothes were a long brown coat and black trousers. My mother wore a white short-sleeved shirt with a grey thin jacket and black tight pants underneath, with a lot of bracelets and jewellery on the exposed part of her left arm.

    And finally, after a journey in which I almost fainted from the smell of perfume in the carriage, we arrived at the palace at the very centre of the Rosarium. It was on top of a huge stone structure that could be seen from all sides of the huge city, and as we went up for a while in a stone, huge, circular elevator, I was able to look at the city from a very different perspective. It was a beautiful view, but it seemed like it was getting colder as we went up, so I quickly wrapped my fur coat around me.

    When we finally reached the top, we saw an amazing garden with hundreds of roses in different colours everywhere. They were around the paths we travelled, in the gazebos, in the columns, everywhere. The gardeners here must make good money because apart from the roses, there were also many shrubs with special designs.

    As we were heading towards the palace, I think we were passing by the statues made for the deceased members of the imperial family.

    Maximillian ¡®The Lawgiver¡¯ Pollius Summus Augustus

    Marcus ¡®The Fair¡¯ Vibenius Summus Augustus

    Viria ¡®The Unforgetteable¡¯ Summus Augusta

    Quintus ¡®The Lazy¡¯ Acilius Summus Augustus

    Rose ¡®The Unifier, Dread and Terror, Rose of the Empire, Empress of the Dragons¡¯ Luciana Incekan Augusta

    That¡¯s a lot of titles, and also ¡°Surname changed.¡±

    When my mom heard me, she stopped and looked at the statue and said, ¡°Yes, it''s her husband''s surname.¡±

    ¡®¡¯Unexpected move from a woman called Dread and Terror.¡®¡¯

    Mom chuckled at my words, ¡®Still the best duel I''ve ever watched.¡±

    ¡°Where is her husband?¡± I looked around and mother pointed to the statue opposite.

    Felix Incekan

    It was a statue of a man with long hair and a bird on his shoulder resembling a phoenix. Only the man''s name was inscribed, there was no title.

    As I continued onwards I saw 8 more statues, the rosarians seemed to love this title thing, they managed to give every emperor a title of some sort. I wondered what they called the current empress. As we approached the palace, a huge mansion surrounded by white pillars, the crowd grew. There were dozens of nobles here, each dressed in their finery. Purple coloured furs, monster patterned jewellery and so on, everyone had their own style.

    After a few steps, my mother stopped and whispered in my ear, ¡°I don''t know why, but you have a habit of hanging with older women, I will not interfere, but I want you to know that there is a culture, especially among elven women, of seducing young noble boys and raising them to be suitable husbands for themselves. Be careful who you talk to and how you talk to them, and again, stick to people your own age.¡±

    Rich and influential people turned grooming into a culture?! Wow!This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°And get that smirk off your face, I know you''re too smart for them, but be careful.¡±

    After my mother said that, she pushed my shoulder and while I looked around, she and my father went over to a group of nobles who were calling out to them.

    I looked around at the tables, each with a variety of desserts and drinks. My parents were against me drinking alcohol, at least for the time being, but I wondered how my mother would react if she knew I regularly drank poison. I had the chance to taste wine and beer a few times, but I never had the chance to drink it completely.

    I approached the table and managed to get a glass with a yellow liquid in it, and as I was about to drink it, someone took it from me.

    ¡°Does your dad know about this?¡±

    I turned around and saw a stunningly beautiful girl with short purple hair, wearing a long, loose dress in purple and white. She had purple nail polish on her nails.

    ¡°Rea?¡± Her name came out of my mouth.

    ¡°You remember me.¡±

    ¡°We exchange letters every month, of course I remember you.¡±

    ¡°I meant my looks.¡±

    ¡°You''re prettier than I remember.¡±

    Rea paused for a moment, then giggled and petted my head.

    ¡°What are you doing here all alone?¡± She said, and another familiar voice answered her, ¡°Isn''t it obvious? Aurelia wants to see how much attention her son is getting.¡±

    I looked in the direction of the voice and saw Mira and she continued, ¡°And the first girl has already appeared.¡±

    Rea looked at her mother and me, then suddenly said ¡°Me?¡± and laughed.

    Worst she can say is ¡®No¡¯.

    Meh, ¡°She doesn''t have to worry, I''m attracted to older women anyways."

    Mira paused for a moment, ¡°Oh, really?¡± She said and I took her hand and kissed it. ¡°I may be older, but I''m old enough to be your mother, Altevia,¡± she giggled and I replied instantly, ¡°I assure you, you''re not.¡±

    ¡°How old do you think I am?¡± She smiled.

    I said ¡°100?¡± and her smile got wider, I said ¡°200?¡± and she tilted her head slightly, finally I said ¡°300?¡± and she replied ¡°314.¡±

    She thought I was going to take a step back, but I smirked and said ¡°I can make you feel like 100 again.¡± Mira suddenly laughed ¡®AHAH!¡¯ and asked ¡°Look at this little monster, who taught you how to talk like that?¡±

    ¡°Lady Eralith said, ¡®I like a man who respects my time. Women can see your intentions, so just be honest, and know you should back off when you heard ¡®no¡¯¡¯¡± I bowed my head and let go of her hand.

    I realised that Rea was looking at me with a strange expression and I I scratched the back of my head and smiled, then turned to Mira.

    ¡°But I''m curious, what was that a few hours ago?¡±

    As Rea looked at her mom, Mira smiled and said, ¡°It''s nothing important, your dad helped me,¡± and added, ¡°I have to go, you guys enjoy yourselves.¡± She walked away as she heard someone calling her.

    After she walked away, Rea patted my head again and said, ¡°I have to go too, I just came to say hi, see you later,¡± and she walked towards a group of girls looking in her direction.

    And I was all alone again.

    What should I do now? Should I talk to girls around my age like my mother said? Romance was a big part of life, but the whole reincarnation thing was just a morale test.

    I''ve never been lucky with love life, and now I had zero chance.

    ¡°Where did you get that?¡¯ A delicate hand took the drink from me and put it on the table. I turned round and saw my cousin Orea.

    ¡°Oh, cousin.¡±

    ¡°Yes, cousin, how handsome you look. Every girl around here is staring at you.¡±

    I chuckled, and she frowned.

    ¡°What, you don''t believe me?¡±

    I smiled and glanced down at my glass that she had left on the table.

    ¡°I mostly don''t believe that anyone can love me.¡±

    She was surprised, ¡°Why is that?¡± and I answered,¡±I''m just a kid, I''m not that interesting, I don''t understand what girls want and I''m weird.¡±

    ¡°Who told you that?¡± When I looked at her carefully, it didn''t take me long to realise the expression on her face, she was angry, I couldn''t understand why she cared so much, but I chuckled, ¡°It was a joke.¡± It wasn''t a joke, but she seemed to take what I said too seriously, so I took a step back.

    She caressed my head and cheek with her hand, ¡°I don''t know exactly what you think, but you are cute, I am pretty sure someday love will find you-

    ¡°Break those chains that bind you-¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°What?

    Anyways, thank you.¡±

    Wow, it rhymed even in rosarish.

    ¡°You''re weird Altevia, Julian says that all the time, but it''s not a bad thing, have fun.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Orea hugged me and she went to her friends and I was alone again.

    I reached for my drink and was about to take it when someone tapped me on the shoulder and I don''t know what expression I had on my face but I turned round and saw Julian jumping back in fright.

    ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡±

    I nodded and put the drink on the table, ¡°I''m great.¡±

    ¡°I thought you weren''t coming,¡± he said, and I replied, ¡°Mother forced me.¡±

    ¡°So your parents can make you do things.¡±

    ¡°Did you forget the day we met?

    But, normally she only asks once, but this time she didn''t give me a choice, what''s so important about this event?

    Apart from the fact that the Empress is organising it.¡±

    Julian''s eyes widened, he looked around and a puzzled expression came over his face.

    ¡°You really don''t know why you''re here?¡±

    I shook my head and he said, ¡°Look around at all the boys,¡± I looked around, there were a lot of people my age and even older, looking at me, some of them had disgusted expressions on their faces, some of them angry, I could easily notice the ones who were looking at me out of the corner of their eyes. I looked at each of them one by one and frowned and shook my head and they looked away in surprise.

    ¡°You don''t have to be so threatening, they''re just jealous.¡±

    ¡°Jealous? Why?¡±

    Julian took me by the shoulders and led me towards a girl with long red hair, a little taller than me, and when we made eye contact she blushed and averted her gaze.

    Ooooh, that''s why. Sometimes I forget I''m a sweet little boy, and my father is Lord Eliar. Though I suppose the nobles here think he''s just a simple count.

    ¡°Your mother wants to use your attention to show off to the other noblewomen, and find someone who''s interested in you for the engagement.¡±

    ¡°Oh- Wait, what?¡±

    I turned to look at my mom and she took a sip of her wine and winked at me. I quickly turned to Julian, ¡°You''ve been coming here for a few years and you still don''t have a fianc¨¦, right? How do you do it?!¡±

    Julian''s eyebrows furrowed.

    ¡°I''m sorry.¡±

 B1 C26

    As the night progressed, as I feared, there were some girls who tried to talk to me, but I somehow managed to avoid them all and direct some of them to Julian.

    Many noble boys, who noticed the interest in Julian, also came to us and tried to chat with me, inevitably I met a lot of new people. I would probably never meet these guys again.

    But apart from that, the most important event here was the scary creature standing in front of me. When the dragon, whose snow-white wings were bigger than the palace, whose huge skin did not show even the slightest wound, and whose eyes were as white and frightening as its body, landed next to the palace, everyone realised that the imperial family had come. Before, I wondered how such a huge empire could stand without war and rebellion, but now I know. If there were more than one of these things, I didn''t know who, besides the dwarves, could fight it.

    After the dragon landed in the huge empty space next to the palace, first, the empress with jet-black short hair and violet eyes, whose figure could not be concealed by the dark purple and black dress she was wearing, then the emperor with white hair and bright yellow eyes, like the dragon, holding the hand of his long-haired daughter that has the same colors with him, descended into the palace. She looked a little older than me, and the whole family had a confident and radiant smile on their faces.

    I didn''t get a chance to meet the imperial family, but I saw my parents having a little chat with them in the crowd, and after that not much happened, about 10 more dragons landed in the palace garden, not as big as the dragon the emperor came with. Most of them looked like young, and the emperor fed them for fun by throwing lambs at them in front of the people. Yes, he grabbed a couple of lambs, lifted them up and threw them at the dragons, and the dragons caught the lambs in mid-air and ate them in one bite. It was fun to watch.

    ¡°I''m wondering,¡± the words escaped my mouth and Julian looked at me.

    ¡°The conquests of the empire have been mainly with the help of dragons, and the empire still has dragons. Why don''t they conquer the countries across the sea ?¡±

    ¡°Because dragons are sworn to protect the realm, not to be soldiers. There are only 2 emperors in the empire who could use dragons for war, firstly Rose, secondly his son Alp Vatinius. You know what they have in common ?¡±

    I shook my head, looking at Julian, and he replied, ¡°They both slayed a dragon.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Actually, Empress Rose killed a lot of dragons, but you get the point.¡±

    ¡°Oh, alright.¡±

    As the night progressed, of course, one of the most important events finally came: dancing. Normally I wouldn''t mind, but since my mother came up to me and told me that she will take my alchemy set if I didn''t dance with someone, I had to choose one of the dozens of girls looking at me, I was about to walk towards Rea, she didn''t seem to have a partner, but I had to stop when my mother grabbed my shoulder in a delicate place and squeezed it so hard that it hurt.

    I looked around, Julian had found himself a cute blonde girl and was already dancing with her, and most of the girls who were looking at me had accepted the invitations and started dancing. I guess I should have picked one of them and danced, it didn''t seem to be a big deal as long as I didn''t make a big deal out of it, maybe I was just too concerned about this subject.

    When I looked around a bit, I saw someone, a chubby girl with blue hair, who looked about my age, sitting in a chair watching the others dancing. To cut a long story short, she reminded me of myself at my middle school graduation, when everyone was dancing with the pretty girls at school and I was sitting in the corner making excuses to myself to cover up my pathetic self, it was one of the worst days of my life.

    If I went to her now, I would be dancing with that girl just because I felt sorry for her and that was incredibly wrong, but if she accepted my proposal, I would be making her happy. I also realized that if a beautiful girl came and danced with me that night, it would be a good memory and not one of the worst days of my life, so I stopped thinking too much and went up to her. I held out my hand to her as she looked at me in amazement, and as her eyes, as blue as her hair, grew wide, she held out her hand to me without saying anything.

    I saw Julian and a lot of the kids who had just been hanging out with us looking at me in confusion, but I ignored them. I kept eye contact with the girl, and as we continued to dance through the crowd, I noticed that she took a deep breath.

    ¡°My mom said there are boys who like girls like me.¡±

    ¡°You mean, fat? No.¡± I didn''t hesitate to say it.

    The girl averted her eyes and tilted her head, ¡°Why did you ask me to dance then, because you pitied me?¡±

    ¡°You looked like you wanted to dance.¡± I kept looking at her, even though she was averting her eyes, and when she finally made eye contact with me I smiled.

    When she looked at me for the last time, she didn''t break eye contact and we continued dancing, her eyes got bigger, she was obviously happy. Pity or not, it was actually like I was giving a gift to my old self. Ever since I came into this world, and even before that, I was aware of something, it was more about what I really wanted to do than how things looked from the outside. I danced with the girl to the end, I had fun, and most importantly I stopped my mother from taking my alchemy set.

    And even though the night felt like it had gone too far, in reality it had only gone too far for the kids. The adults'' night was just beginning, and we kids were directed to the carriages prepared by our parents to go home.