It's been 3 months since I arrived in this new world, and I've started to understand it.
"Emrys you need to stop reading!" my mother in this world stated, Yelaina was her name, a druid woman adept and Intune with magic, she was a rare talent, even among the so-called "prodigies". She had silky straight jet black hair, kind grey eyes, soft pink lips and to be fair quite the beauty of a woman. Her soft, warm hands tugged against my cheeks, her grey eyes met my similarly coloured one's before she pulled the book out of my hands with ferocious animal like strength, or perhaps it was my bodies physical state.
Nevertheless, I had learned quite a lot about this world. Unlike my old world who utilized chi, this world uses something known as mana, unlike chi however which must be mined and incorporated in the making of weapons and daily materials, mana was something natural to everyone. The brightness of their mana showed the general amount of mana they had, though it didn't necessarily mean that they were stronger, rather the strength of one was classed by its density.
Light stage- mana free-flowing and loose no control over it
Solid stage- control over mana powerful attacks now possible.
Dark stage- mana manipulation now possible with the additions of telekinesis. Within this stage, strength varied, and most adventurers were considered to be within the dark stage.
The colour of their mana however encompassed their personality, behaviour and general thought process, it can often be sensed when one achieved high enough mastery within the sensory world.
… What in the world is going on… To think this would be happening to me.
My lack of control over my bodily functions had led to quite a mess.
"You've made quite a mess" my mother said, mirroring my thoughts as she began changing my diapers. My face flushed.
Haha… I cannot wait till I'm older.
The days flowed by and my understanding and knowledge of the world grew more. Elves, dwarves, monsters, all things that never resided within my world of course but something I had planned on checking when the time came. I leaned against the open window, my arms firmly placed upon the table like space that separated me from the outside world. The sky remained clear, the cool summer breeze blew against my face as I yawned softly, my mind wandering off.
That was… Until my excitement rose.
My father Tristan was a goofy person, a former noble, from the info I've gathered, one who ran away to live with Yelaina. His blonde hair shifted rhythmically as though in tune with the wind and all living things around it, his emerald eyes didn't once dilate and his retinas made no movement, simply focused upon one spot.
My mother, a druid, was a mage a master one at that, but my father on the other hand…
Bang!
Was an enhancer,
The tree had completely burst under the intense power and strength my father had used upon it, remnants of his earth magic being used were clear, and he seemed to be forgetting my mother wouldn't be too excited about his noon practice.
Enhancers were gifted with mana but weren't as Intune with it as emitters/mages, but they were compensated with far greater physical movement and agility.
"TRISTANNN!" a loud yell quickly caught the man's attention, his body quivered in fear beneath her as she pulled him back inside, tightly holding his ear.
Time flies.
You never really think about it, at least not when you're a kid but… With this being my second life, four years seemed… Short.
Time with my family.
Was that what it was?
The thing I needed?
The thing that was robbed from me?
My birthright?
A family who cherished me. But my old family died before I could even speak or make noises that actually had meaning.
I lost them.
I was alone.
But now I'm not.
"Happy birthday Emrys!" my mother said wholeheartedly pulling me into a hug, my father smile warmly at me ruffling my dirt blonde hair.
The party lasted several hours and I made sure not to let it go to waste.
But It did leave me with questions, though.
I was four years old, yet I hadn't interacted with anyone but my parents. I occasionally snuck out past the yard only to find a dense populous of trees and forest. Maybe it was due to my father's shortcomings as a former noble, after all he didn't want to be seen. But still, to go this far just to hide was beyond me.
My mother, as all mothers usually are, was quite perceptive of me and my father seemed to catch on to my daily ventures beyond the yard. I had been training of course, my mana was colourless, almost completely white and its density wasn't the best, but with my current state it would do.
Still though, regardless of age there was one thing I hadn't learned yet, and it was worrying. My element. Being able to conjure and manipulate one of the four main elements or possibly manipulate something similar to it such as ice was something that I couldn't achieve, and it was frustrating.
I grabbed hold of a wooden stick, infusing it with my white mana attempting to at least scratch the tree, only for nothing to occur. A long sigh of disappointment followed by a voice.
"So this is what you've been doing all this time Emrys?" my mother said with a smile as she picked me up, her eyes examined my features.
"The village elders talked of you… I'm sorry we're living this life but… It's for your own good" she said warmly once again hugging me, sniffles that came from extensive crying became audible to me as I hugged her back.
Village elders?
What does all this mean?
She wiped the tears from her eyes, glancing at the mana infused stick before chuckling at the sight.
"You're still just a child after all… Emrys you've been reading my books haven't you" she said glancing up at me.
"noooo…" I replied in a blatantly obvious tone, eliciting a laugh once more.
"You should know infusing mana comes after the second stage after you've condensed your mana to a certain point." she said with a heartwarming smile.
"HAHAHA, I'VE DONE IT!" the loud yell of a man pulled our attentions away from the topic we were discussing and moreover towards the loud "bang" that had occurred before the man's victorious shouts.
"He must've broke something" Mother stated with a smile, her eyes remained closed but the hostility that was emitted from her was no joke.
Poor dad.
Well, at least it confirmed one thing.
Infusions, a total fail, at least at this level.
Moving on next was… sword training
Sword training was my forte… But I dreaded it in this world.
Well, one thing I'll never get used too. The lack of restraint this man puts upon me during sword training, despite me being only 4 years old.
Once again like the usual days I put my guard up, my tiny body still not used to the flow of mana. Most children awakened mana at the age of 10, elves and dwarfs possibly even earlier, but I awakened at the age of 4.
Which might've been one of the reasons for his lack of restraint. Perhaps my intuition was right, something's going on here.
I charged my father quickly making a vertical swing in hopes of loosening defence around his chest though it quickly proved ineffective, and my little to no range due to my much shorter limbs meant I had to go in close, which was bad for me when it came time for him to counter-attack.
My eyes quickly caught sight of his fist that was currently hurling towards me, with me quickly dropping low attempting to take his legs out instead, but a some kick to the chest was all it took to take me out.
"You're going to be a sword King in no time Rys" he stated calmly, his eyes serious.
I scoffed, getting up once more. "Let's take a break, dad"
"Once more and you can use magic" he said with a smile, despite me possibly being older than Tristan(adding my old life), a large toothy grin appeared on my face at his words.
"What about you?" I inquired, practising swings.
"Your Old man doesn't need magic" he said confidently.
I sighed amped up my legs with mana and bursted towards him with great speeds, he swung at me carelessly most likely expecting a careless counter-attack only to be met with dust in his eyes and several quick blunt blows to his legs by my wooden sword.
He quickly gathered himself charging at me full-speed, his attack pattern quickly changing up after each set of swing keeping me despite my heavy mana advantage on the defensive. He swept me by my feet, causing me to fall backwards.
Expertly done, if I wasn't in such a weak body I'd take him on no problem.
"You're incredible…!" he exclaimed, grabbing me by my arms and throwing me into the air before catching me once more.
"Your movements were perfect, barely any wasted movements, you were using the momentum you had well and overall maximizing use of your space and surroundings" his excitement reminded me off someone's else. I pondered for a moment, what would my old life have been like without Ran's support.
"Emrys?" Tristan said, shaking me carefully, he looked at me with an inquisitive look.
"Sorry dad, spaced out" I said nervously laughing.
"I wanted to ask… Why are we here?" he looked at me curiously, his brows furrowed as he hummed a melody I didn't recognize. One native to this world.
"It's not the right time… At least not yet" he stated, and I took notice of his eyes, behind them was uncertainty.
He was young, far from home, and far from the comfort of a noble's home. My eyes subconsciously softened as I stood up.
"It's alright, you don't have to tell me" I said calmly, he looked up at me a smile plastered on his face as he pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry." he said.
"it's alright just less sword practice" I stated, my father took a deep breath his hold on me tightened.
"I want you to know… Even if the entire world hates you… Even if they despise your existence…. Your mother and I will always be by your side".