ã€ŠThe End of the Abyssã€‹


 A new Beginning

    I never understood why people would sacrifice themselves for strangers? But some people say, "it''s a nice thing to do."

    But here, I am doing the same thing I hated about people. I had pushed two kids away from a speeding bus.

    I was hit instead and died instantaneously. What a fitting way to go out.

    At that time, I still wanted to do so much with my life as a man, to find a wife and start a family. At least that''s how I''ll be remembered. Hopefully, the two kids will live on and remember the man who saved them.

    Anyway,

    I can''t do anything about it now. What¡¯s done is done. I might as well see what the afterlife has in store for me.

    Or so I thought... When I awoke, I was floating in a place I didn''t recognize.

    It was a place full of darkness. Is this what they call the abyss? But strangely enough, I could see things.

    I didn''t feel hunger, and there was no pain or suffering. I was numb to everything.

    I was merely the drifting existence of my old life.

    And then I saw a dimmed light that seemed to get brighter and brighter, too bright for my eyes to handle. Then everything went blank.

    When my eyes had adjusted, I looked at my surroundings. I heard muffled voices saying, "Congratulations, he''s a healthy baby boy."At least I can understand the language. That''s a good sign, but where am I, and what happened?

    Once I started to focus more, I could make out three figures: a doctor with a tired-looking face with gray hair, black eyes, and glasses that went over his face. The sweat is coming down on both sides of his face, and a small beard is coming in.

    It seems I have been reborn in a different part of the world or something. I wondered how that worked. Are there people in hooded robes that sit in a circle with candles lit and chant words? Then, POW, you''ve been reborn.

    It seemed as if I was born inside a house and not a hospital. That''s strange. In what part of the world are you not in a hospital? Oh, well. The house was made of brick with a few windows with no glass, also strange. I must be in the northeastern part of the world since there are no windows.

    As I focused on the other two figures before me, I looked at the one cradling me and saw a female saying she was my mother would be fair, taking a few moments to take in what she looked like, I would be lying if I said she wasn''t beautiful, but that might be because of my half-blurry eyes. Rather than beauty, I''d better describe her as lovely in a very gentle and kind sense, with dark black hair and deep purple eyes. I couldn''t help but notice her short eyelashes and perked-up nose. That made me want to hang an ornament from it. She releases a kind of warmth of motherly love.

    I upturned my eyes to look at the figure behind her that could just make out the person I would assume to be my father by the teary-eyed gaze and cheerful grin he was wearing. He said, ¡°Hey Quintan, nice to finally meet you and welcome home.¡± I adjusted myself to get my mother, father, and the house doctor in view (For all authorization he had.), my mother looked at me, then my father, ¡°we are so happy you were born.¡± I got a closer look at my father, and I could see why my mother fell for him. Other than the overjoy face he was wearing by expecting a newborn, he was a very charismatic-looking man with a clear, sharp jawline that complemented his features. His hair, a very dark deep black like my mother, flowed long down to his shoulders that can be kept in a ponytail, while his eyebrows were strong and fierce, extending in a sword-like manner. Yet his eyes had a gentle quality, whether it was from the way his eyes dropped a bit at the end or from the deep gray, a hue that radiated from his irises.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Hmm, is there something wrong, doctor? He isn¡¯t crying. I thought newborns were supposed to cry when they¡¯re born.¡± My mother said.

    ¡°There are some rare cases where infants do not cry. Please rest for a couple of days, Mrs. Whitlock, and let me know if anything happens to Quintan, Mr. Whitlock.¡±

    A couple of weeks after my journey out of the Abyss was something unspeakable, I forgot how to move my limbs except being able to move my body, and barely able to do that.

    I had realized that babies can¡¯t control their fingers all that much.

    I don¡¯t know if parents know this but when you place your finger on a baby¡¯s body they don¡¯t grab it because they like it, they do it because you¡¯re crushing their little tiny bones, it''s a reflex it¡¯s like getting hit by a mosquito and smacking it.

    Not only that, but I had no control over my body, I couldn¡¯t even control my bladder. It just¡­ flowed out.

    But other than that, some of the perks that I became happily accustomed to are my mother''s warmth.

    The place of my summoning seemed to be my parent¡¯s room from the objects inside I could assume

    The place that I¡¯m stuck in was, hopefully, a place in my old world from the past, where lights have been developed

    But that hope was quickly destroyed by my mother as one day, my undeveloped hands grabbed a chair, but they were unable to support my body, and the heavier back of my head hit the ground.

    My mother healed the bump on my head from the fall. And no¡­ not like, Band-aid or kiss heals a full-blown, bright shining light with a hum from her hands sort of healing.

    It seems we¡¯re not in the northeastern part of the world, so where the hell am I?

    My mother, Rebecca Whitlock, and my father, Ryan Whitlock, were good people, maybe even the best people I ever met. My mother had to have been a priest because I¡¯ve never met such a kindhearted, and warm person. Being carried on her back we went down to the town she called. The town of Athephis was a town on the outskirts but wasn¡¯t dried out or a ghost town. We walked on the main trail where there were merchants and salesmen on both sides selling all sorts of things like weapons, armor, gems, and potions.

    One thing I couldn¡¯t wrap my head around was the people who were carrying their weapons like a backpack or handbag. A man was carrying a gigantic hammer bigger than himself! Meanwhile, my mother would talk to me to get me to learn the language faster (even though I already knew it).

    Sitting beside my mother while she caresses me with her bosom, I was focused on my father who was practicing his swordsmanship, which was doing a set of different forms. I leaned in closer and closer, almost falling out the window when I noticed the air around my father seemed to be moving around him. When I focused a bit more I could see that the air was moving with him with his movements, NO!. It wasn¡¯t moving with him he was moving he was controlling it himself. He struck a nearby tree with a clean-cut the tree toppled over.

    What was that?

    I threw my arms up in admiration, my father waved with a smile on his face saying ¡°Your dad is amazing right?¡±

    Yes, my father was a good fighter even with just his sword. When he would use the sword I felt a sense of admiration or something as if wanting to lay down my life just to follow the man in front of me. With the smooth and fluid movements that didn¡¯t match his size, his strikes would carry enough power to break the sound barrier itself but would leave no openings for attacks from enemies.

    From what I learned, this world is filled with magic and all sorts of different things from my previous word; power and wealth ould decide your rank in one¡¯s society. In that sense, it was far from the same as my old world, except for the lack of technology.

    In my old world, wars would be the obsolete form of settling a dispute between countries. Don¡¯t misjudge thorough armies were still needed for the protection of the citizens of said country. But things that involved the wellbeing of a country were settled by war.

    Therefore, armies still needed people to fight in them so they had to be fit and could handle certain things.

 Mana utilization

    I was a regular office worker. I worked overtime for my entire life. Not only that, but I made a salary that most people would kill for. Yet, I couldn¡¯t think of a happier moment in my two lives than now.

    I can crawl, baby.

    Being able to move is a great thing, and you should cherish it.

    I had never felt such greatness for being able to move.

    Even though I could crawl, I did so, and I understood a lot of things.

    Foremost, this family was relatively well off.

    The building was a two-story stone house, and there were three rooms.

    Until now, I had to make do with the stories my mother would tell me while trying to get me to fall asleep. I would make noises when she would stop in the middle. My father would sometimes come and lay next to me listening to the stories my mother would read, also telling me stories from his old days, which gave me some hints as to what kind of world this was and what it was filled with.

    Mr. Whitlock is also known as Ryan Whitlock. My father, adventure (apparently that¡¯s a job here) had a lot of experience in this field. He was a leader of several parties that went on expeditions to search for lost treasure and fulfilled missions. He decided to stop being an adventure once he met my mother. Not only that, but he would tell me repeatedly about how it was love at first sight when he visited her.

    My name, my new name, Quintan Whitlock, now, after getting a glimpse of myself with a glass shard we would use as some sort of mirror, I got my father¡¯s deep black hair and my purple amethyst eyes from my mother. In my past life, you could say I had an average build or size; as long as I don¡¯t turn out fat, I¡¯ll be okay.

    After weeks of crawling, but only accomplishing uncoordinated movements, I had finally succeeded in escaping my crib and managed to sneak into my mother¡¯s and Father''s workplace which was filled with books and papers while they were busy doing various things like cooking, laundry, and training. Mom protested the day I learned how to move, sighing. ¡°He¡¯ll move somewhere else when I don¡¯t keep my eyes on him. You¡¯re going to be hard to manage, just like your father.¡±

    I closed the book and adjusted myself to be more comfortable while sitting on a pillow that was on the ground¡­ so I was just on the ground reading books, even though I may be an infant I still have the mentality of a 20-year-old.

    Thinking over what I had just read, this world is severely underdeveloped. From what I could take from the book, there wasn¡¯t much technological advancement. The only real transportation was horse-pulled things like carriages and carts, as well as ships with sails for rivers.

    Weapons were allowed to be freely worn, not regulated unless you were visiting the royal family (wow, there are nobles in this world) or people that held authority. For Christ''s sake, it¡¯s still unbelievable that people carry weapons while shopping.

    When mom and I went down to town and saw him running off with stolen goods, he was cut down by a guy with a long sword. The weird thing about the situation was that the bystanders were upholding instead of screaming or running while the thief lay there dying. A similarity is that both this world and mine have been monarchy in some parts of my past world. The continent of Atlas has kingdoms, each ruled by a King and Queen. The king is chosen based on lineage; passed down from son to King, etc.

    After reading through the book, there wasn¡¯t much information on other continents and kingdoms other than the one we were in. That was a bit strange considering there were ships carrying goods and passengers across the continental seas. I imagined that maybe the technology on the ships isn¡¯t developed enough to sail across seas.

    The thing that was going to be hard for me to get used to was the premise of magic in this world. If we¡¯re considering superhuman abilities, sure, the people on Earth relied on them, people.

    In this world, instead of training and muscle building, There was something called mana and the more strange thing was that it existed in the atmosphere. Thus, mages would draw the surrounding mana and draw it into their mana core. In this world, mana exists and is formed inside the body.

    Even though I¡¯m an infant, I have the mentality of a 20-year-old. I wonder if there was a way for me to open my mana core up at this age.

    The next page had answered the questions I had been asking.

    While the power to manage/control mana is genetic. There are a lot of cases where kids of magic like me come out, unable to sense the surrounding mana. Everyone has a mana core, but you can only utilize it if you can break through the mana circuits to draw the mana into your mana core. Roughly 1 out of 10 kids can sense mana. A child is tested when their mana core is fully developed as early as an adolescent to late teen years. When a mana core is manifested mana will draw near then be pushed back, this will last a couple of seconds.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    The next few pages had something that caught my eyes

    ¡°Mana is split into two different ways, The two most common methods of using mana are: reinforcing the body with mana and using the elements (elemental mage), And the use of magic revolves around spirits (spirit/spiritual mage)...¡± ¡°Elemental mages are most common in warriors who utilize mana, channeling it through their body to reinforce themselves and their attacks.¡±

    ¡°... The performance of spiritual magic is seen in mages, who, after utilizing their mana, can summon elemental spirits who would then fight for them and or fight with them, they can also cast spells on the surrounding area or directly at the target.¡±

    Weakness and restrictions

    ¡°While elemental mages possess incredible strength, defense, agility, and power, their weakness lies in their limited range and the number of spells they can use at once."

    ¡°Spirit mages possess unspeakable powers, being able to bend nature to their will because of the spirit¡¯s connection. But with great power comes restrictions. Unlike elemental mages who draw mana from their mana cores, spirit mages have to draw mana from the outside and their cores as well to then supply the spirit (also consumes more mana).

    While both mages or mana users for a more accurate term depend on

    And are separated by their mana core, elemental and spirit mages also have different ways of measuring their aptitude.¡±

    ¡°Flip¡±

    ¡°Elemental powers are measured by how strong the mana circuits are in their body, which measures the speed and efficiency of how the mana flows throughout their body.¡±

    ¡°A spirit mage¡¯s power is measured by the number of spirits they can summon and maintain at a time and the amount of mana they can draw into through mana cores.¡±

    ¡°Mages are separated into one of these two divisions since attempting to be proficient in both would be time-consuming and inefficient. Most mages are born into one of two.¡±

    ¡°Elemental mages don¡¯t need very strong mana circuits because they use the mana from their mana cores, while spirit mages do, since they have to draw mana in from the outside and use it for the spirit.¡±

    ¡°As the proficiency level rises, the gap between elemental and spirit mages lessens naturally, but only at an advanced level, while elemental mages might have higher potential at first spirit mages have higher raw power because the spirit is the living embodiment of said element.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ so the father is an excellent elemental mage and not so good spirit mage.¡±

    That bright healing light¡­ What was it that mother used?

    ¡°Flip¡±

    ¡°THERE¡±

    ¡°There are a few, rare cases where two of the four elements will combine into what you would call a primordial element; the two combined elements mother used were Earth and Water.¡±

    ¡°Wow¡­ Is mother stronger than father?¡±

    ¡°The steps of using mana for spirit mages are gathering mana from the surrounding area, drawing it into your body after forming with the mana core to purify the atmosphere diluted mana, you then channel it into the conductor (spirit, wand, staff, or something) with incantations as the guide or control you will then shape the mana into whatever spell you want.¡±

    ¡°The stronger the spell, the more mana it takes and the longer it takes to draw in, store in your mana core where it can be purified and used.¡±

    ¡°Flip¡±

    ¡°Because spirit magic involves exerting focused mana into a particular spirit, spirit mages will notice they have a special aptitude for certain elements (Air, Water, Fire, Air), but with training, can become adequate in the basics of all elements.¡±

    ¡°Flip¡±

    Basics of elemental mages

    ¡°Unlike spirit mages, elemental mages don¡¯t need to spend that much time gathering mana. What¡¯s considered being a good elemental mage requires speed and precision in the use of mana from your core and less from the mana outside.¡±

    That¡¯s when I had a thought¡­ Mom and dad are elemental mages. Father has an affinity for Air magic and mother has an affinity for Water and Earth magic, she can also use a primordial element healing magic. Then that would make me a child of magic and my mana circuits should be naturally made. With that, I should be able to natural sense the surrounding mana, so I should be able to open up my mana circuits (perks of having the mind of a 20-year-old).

    My gazed focused upon reading

    ¡°... Elementals (elemental mages) need proper distribution of mana throughout the body, however, the user sees fit. This is by no means easy, elementals need to have great insight into one''s body. Being able to use the mana circuits properly could take years of both mental and physical practice.¡±

    ¡°Flip¡±

    ¡°Elementals have to extract mana in its purest form from their mana cores there are no notable distinctions in the sense of an element at an early age, but elementals have more control over their mana more freely, resulting in different forms of fighting with the elements.¡±

    ¡°Repercussion occurs in both mages. For elementals, it happens when the mana core is depleted, causing body pain, mana core aches, and depending on how strenuous the damage to the mana core is. For spirit mages, the repercussions occur from overfilling the mana core. This is caused by using too many spirits at once beyond the mage¡¯s ability or using too advanced spells for his or her mana core to handle.¡±

    After finishing the book. I sat myself up, trying to understand all the information that I had just read.

    Testing my theory, I started meditating, trying to feel the surrounding mana in my 10-month-old body.

    ¡°Quintan I¡¯ve been looking everywhere for you, you had me worried sick, I just your crib and you weren¡¯t there.¡±

    NO STOP! I¡¯m on my journey to become the greatest mage this world has ever seen.

 Anticipate

    Rebecca Whitlock POV:

    Out of all the babies I¡¯ve seen, I just have to say Quintan is the most adorable baby ever, and I¡¯m not saying this because I¡¯m biased.

    No.

    His scruffy little patches of deep dark black hair and his dazzling eyes, which almost radiate an amethyst purple with his gazes, at times seemed...intelligent.

    I am not a doting mother. I plan to be strict and just a mother. It¡¯s not like I can rely on his father to do all the hard work to discipline Quin. I already caught him teaching Quin how to walk.

    I know he¡¯ll turn out like his father if I left him to do everything. As soon as he started crawling, I was screaming and jumping with tears, but I didn¡¯t know how much trouble he would be when he became mobile.

    I swear if I move my eyes for a single moment, he would crawl into the study. I wonder why that is? Not only that, but I made sure to buy lots of toys and animals, but he never plays with them and ends up going to study instead. Just like his father, always training and studying magic. I love to see how excited Quin gets when we go down to town, so we go 4 times a week instead of only going shopping.

    Quin seemed quite fond of a lot of things. I will never get enough of seeing his head moving left and right while trying to take in everything around him. He also seemed intrigued by his father¡¯s practices.

    Ryan was a capable adventurer. Being an A-class adventure and leading parties. I¡¯ve only ever seen E through B ranks in my life until I met Ryan. As for higher ranks, I''ve met a couple including Ryan, but I¡¯ve never seen S-class adventures, assuming they''re real.

    While I was working, I saw many eager and arrogant teens, way too many to count.

    At least their confidant.

    One time, I was an assistant for an evaluation exam, the examined only had to prove basic control over mana utilization, but before we could start the exam, he started panicking and crying, then fell face first coming down the stairs like an airhead.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    If we¡¯re talking about airheads, Ryan sure was one back in the day. The moment he saw me at work his face went blank, I swore I could see hearts in his eyes, he stood there with a blank face until somebody nudged him. He looked around and got himself together to finally speak,¡° h¡­ hey¡­ what¡¯s your name?¡± I laughed as he turned red and almost exploded from the embarrassment (I guess it was love at first sight). He finally had the courage to ask me out, and guess we just clicked from there.

    Quin somehow inherited both of are traits, making him the most adorable baby ever.

    Quintan Whitlock POV:

    It¡¯s been about three years since my journey to Dad¡¯s study.

    Since then, I had been gathering little pieces of mana to spread out into my body in an attempt at forming a mana core. This was the least bit easy. It was a slow and mind-breaking task, but the anticipation of using magic kept me going. It was easier learning how to walk and talk than forcing my mana core to condense.

    I could see why it would take until adolescent years for a person to break through or ¡®awaken.¡¯ If I had just left it to create naturally, it would have taken decades and there would still be a small chance I wouldn¡¯t be able to use magic at all.

    Instead¡­ A perk in working in an office for hours a day with no breaks, I had the cognitive ability to undergo this process. Essentially what I¡¯m doing is grabbing smaller mana particles and forcing them to bind together into creating one big one which would be the mana core. If left alone, they would naturally gravitate toward each other and wait for it to form.

    The daily agenda was me trying to spend as much time as I possibly could to gather mana while avoiding mother and father suspicion. There would from time to time come ad play while using mana.

    My mother had a good handle on my father, not to overwork me when just a baby. But she can be scary at times

    I started to adapt to my new body pretty well, walking and talking become easier. When I had said ¡°Mama¡± for the first time to hug mother, she screamed and jumped with joy. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve felt this kind of affection, I kind of miss and like it. So now, and then I would call to her and sorts of things

    Other than that, my mana core process has been going smoothly, slowly but smoothly. This was a big head start compared to the rest of the kids my age.

    The past three years haven¡¯t been in vain though, I have finally gathered enough mana particles into my solar plexus and am in the middle of condensing them.

    Finally, I now have enough mana to create my mana core but nothing happened if I read right there should have been¡­

    *BOOM*

 The Life Iâ€™ve Chosen

    In Atlas, magic comes from within. Mana powers connect everything to everything, but only a select few can tap into those energies. For better or worse, life has changed drastically as a result of all these magical energies, and the limits are far from discovered. It is unclear how exactly magic works and little research is being done to find out, many see it as sacrilege to do so.

    Ryan Whitlock POV:

    BOOM!

    I turned my head and saw a bright orange and red fire that was our house torn to bits. I drop my sword and start running towards the burning house that my wife and son were in. Furthermore, I use air magic to propel myself even faster, even if I couldn¡¯t probably control where I went. It didn¡¯t matter, all I needed to do was get there.

    I finally manage to get to the front door. Rebecca¡¯s face was half-covered in blood half-covered with wounds as I saw my wife¡¯s face go blank, eyes wide in disbelief and worry.

    ¡°QUINTAN¡±

    I had completely forgotten. I ran towards the door, covering my body with air magic from the smoke. The wreckage was everywhere and being thrown at me as I reached the center of the house. After forcing my way through the debris that was left of my house, I finally saw it.

    My son had a white, translucent aura surrounding him. This is the result of his awakened powers that caused the explosion. He was levitating off of the ground, there was a crater just under him, it cleared 3/4 of the house as well as the surrounding area.

    Amazing.

    I could only look in amazement and disbelief that my son who had only just turned three a week ago had a breakthrough.

    I have no clue as to what was happening right in front of me. What I was seeing was breathtaking, it was like I had been hypnotized, and I couldn¡¯t escape.

    ¡°Ryan! What happened?¡±

    All I could do was look back at my wife and smile. She slowly made her way up towards me after the fire calmed down.

    She was taking half steps while covering her mouth, so she could push through the smoke. ¡°Ryan, is everything ok? Where''s Quintan?¡±

    Still being mute, all I could do was point and smile to where our son was.

    She was confused and didn¡¯t know what was going on, but her eyes drifted to where I was pointing and all she could mutter was ¡°The fuck.¡±

    Quintan Whitlock POV:

    It feels strange.

    The feeling of my Breakthrough. I closed my eyes and focused on my mana core¡¯s energy inside me.

    ¡°Quin! You¡¯re alright! Did you get hurt?¡±

    I saw my mother and father running towards me.

    I wonder what happened to them both running after I felt fine. No, I feel better than fine. I feel great.

    Mother fell and embarrassed me with her arms, while father wrapped his around her. Even though I couldn''t breathe, I didn¡¯t care, I could never resist this feeling of family.

    This lasted for a minute until I was able to spill out.

    ¡°What happened?¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    After a brief moment of silence and confusion, I drifted my eyes from my mother and father to the house, the roof had been blown off and the walls were blown to pieces.

    WOW.

    What happened?

    ¡°Quintan you just formed your mana core. Congrats you¡¯ve awakened.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Did I cause this?

    ¡°Sorry Mom, Dad. I didn¡¯t mean to do it.¡±

    ¡°We know honey. We were just worried. I¡¯m glad you''re alright.¡± Mother managed to laugh in the midst of her panicking.

    Father came over and placed a hand on her back to support her.

    "I always knew you would be different the moment you were born,  already awakened at the age of three, this has never been done before."

    Minutes went by with nothing but the wind for sound when a neighbor walked past screaming, ¡°What happened here?¡± We all just looked at each other and laughed.

    ¡°We better get to work if we want a place to sleep tonight,¡± Father said while using wind magic to pick up large wooden planks and stones.

    Weeks had passed since the incident had happened. We kept my awakening a secret except for a few close people. Father contacted some old buddies of his to help us rebuild the house while we stayed in the neighboring town. While the spirit mages worked on the base the Elementalist did all the heavy lifting. The house was done surprisingly fast. Nobody had asked what had happened to the house in the first place, guess they just decided not to ask.

    They seemed to have a lot to say about dad and how good he was at magic.

    During the time of rebuilding father had gotten me a carefully carved wooden sword.

    While we were staying in a different town I took an interest in noticing children as well as teens working on farms with their families or in blacksmiths shops as an apprentice this also made me realize there was no solid structure for an education system. Any sort of education was provided by the parents or family (just reading and writing).

    When I turned three mothers immediately started giving me lessons for set times, teaching me reading and writing. All I had to do was play the role of the genius son. Father offered to help but mother insisted she did it herself. I pretended to pick it up fast so I would be apple to read harder books without drawing suspicion she was delighted.

    After father would teach me the basics of mana utilization and how to start training in it as best as he could. He tried to simplify it as much as he could for a toddler to understand.

    The Basics:

    An easy way to measure your strength lies in the stage of your mana core. Starting, the mana core would Breakthrough due to the newly formed mana core. As the mana inside the person''s body becomes purer and the impurities get filtered out over time, it¡¯ll change into the Novice stage. From there the stages would only progress from novice 1, 2, and 3.

    The order is Breakthrough, Novice, Radiant, Advanced, Mastery, Adcendcy, and Arcane.

    From Novice to Mastery the stages are split into three stages themselves (stage 1 stage 2 stage 3). The higher the number, the purer one''s mana is and the more power they have access to.

    The lessons with father proved to use full, I couldn''t stand the pace we were going at I asked mother a few days later, ¡°Mom is there a way you can get me a book on magic?¡±

    Mother still had connections with the Guildhall or (Adventures Guild), so she managed to acquire quite a few books on mana manipulation, as well as fighting with different weapons. Some were beginner books with just pictures on how mana is condensed I pushed those aside and others were more advanced ones I stuck with the advanced ones. Mom would give me a strange look every time she would see me reading them. She assumed I wouldn¡¯t be able to understand them and would try to persuade me into reading the simpler ones saying it would be easier to understand, eventually giving up.

    The day would consist of reading and writing lessons from mother and manipulation training from father. After he would cover basic theory and mana manipulation, we started physical training. This reminded me of something father had said while training ¡°Match the flow of your mana with your breathing just like your heart or lungs, your core is just another organ.¡± Which had me thinking the mana core is just another organ like the heart no matter what you do the heart will stay beating through moving and fighting. If I could meditate and absorb mana while moving, and perhaps fighting. I would first start with absorbing mana regularly then start with little mindless movements and work my way up from there. Easier said than done. Training this skill meant being able to fight and move proficiently while still maintaining a steady inward flow of mana.

    When I¡¯m not taking lessons with mom or training with dad I spend most of my time in the steady reading and meditating to further condense and purify my mana core.

    As the year had passed not much has happened outside of my typical day, Father had spoken up during dinner.

    ¡°I think Quin needs a proper teacher?¡±

 The Journey begins

    A *Thump*  was all that was heard as my mother put down her cup onto the table.

    ¡°Why¡¯s that, he isn¡¯t even four, and I call you saying if he awakens you would teach him.¡±

    ¡°I never imagined our son being a prodigy in mana utilization. There''s never been a case of awakening at the age of three.¡± Father responded more calmly than I had expected.

    ¡°That would mean he would have to leave home. He''s only four, Ryan! He''s just a baby, we can''t have our baby leave home at this age.¡±

    ¡°I know honey it¡¯s not like I  want to send our son away, but you don¡¯t get it when I watch him as he meditates and the way he uses mana, I can''t help but feel like he has a deeper understanding of mana than I could help him with. Rebecca, sweetheart, I¡¯m holding my son back by teaching him things he can do in his sleep.¡±

    Thus began the fight between my parents.

    They went back and forth, with good points on each side. Mother said I was too young, father said that they were holding me back from reaching my full potential.

    Mom and Dad finally settled down and they both turned to me.

    ¡°Quin, this is about you, what do you have to say? What do you want to do?¡±

    Great ¡­

    Now I have to choose between two parents without hurting one of their feelings.

    Trying to think of something, I suggested, ¡°Can¡¯t we all try meeting some tutors to see if I need one or not?¡±

    *Silence,* Did I say something wrong? Was my sentence too complex for a kid of my age?

    I couldn¡¯t stand the loo they were giving me, so I looked down and waited for a response, but I could still feel their burning eyes on me.

    Thankfully, it didn¡¯t seem like my fears would come true today. Mother finally spoke, ¡°Well, I suppose we do have to have his mana core and channels tested. We can decide what to do after.¡±

    We nodded in agreement, and we started packing the next day. When I said what I did last night, I thought we''d only be traveling to a different town a day¡¯s worth of travel to be tested by an official mage, but I was wrong.

    We were preparing for a three-week-long journey. We would be taking a Horse-drawn carriage through mountain peaks to something called teleportation gates, which would get us to a city called Ozryn.

    I remember reading it from a book. I recalled reading about an enchanted piece of land built by ancient mages just for the sole purpose of housing and the bringing up of the most prestigious mage academy. A city was later built around the academy; both the city and academy were named after the leader of the organization- Ozryn.

    How were they able to keep a piece of land, hundreds of kilometers long, and what was so enchanted about it. The surrounding area would have to be affected too. Did the city have its magic field?

    Regardless!

    The journey was going to belong. For moments like these, I¡¯d wish modern technology had been invented. To get to the city, we needed to go through one of the designated teleportation gates in the mountains, if we didn¡¯t, it would take 3 months just to reach the gate''s town which was near the border of the kingdom of Velaris and Dwarven.

    While Mother and Father did all the packing and all the necessities. I packed my wooden sword and a few books (The tales of Velaris the human kingdom and Vital Fundamentals of Mana manipulation) for the journey.

    We set out by mid-morning

    After tying my bag, containing books and a couple of snacks, to my back with my wooden sword at my waist, I grasped my mother''s hand and followed my parents to an inn we would be staying in a day before the meeting of some of my father''s ex-party members.

    I¡¯d only heard a few things about them from my father when he was an adventurer, while they were helping rebuild our house, which I never visited. Mom said it would be too dangerous, so meeting them would be my first time. The information I got from my father about a select few members he trusted enough to tell them I had awakened consisted of the following:This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    Ivy Underwood: Female Spirit mage, specializing in Air mage, Air spirit user.

    Luke Gray: Male Elementalist, main weapon dual axes.

    Jade Ambers: Female Elementalist, specializing in Fire magic.

    Jace Thorn: Male Elementalist, specializing in Water mater magic.

    We had reached the inn we would be staying at for the night. It was already the middle of the night and mother wanted me to go to sleep early, so I did.

    It was the middle of the night when the door to our inn room was blasted off. I hurried outside to see what was happening and what I saw had to be the worst thing I¡¯ve seen since coming to this world.

    It was my father fighting off five mages by himself, and three of them had elemental affinities. I knew father was strong, but there was no way he could fight all of them himself. I looked over to see what mom had been doing and saw her laying down bleeding. Furthermore, I ran over to help or at least see what I could do.

    ¡°Mom, what happened, why is dad fighting?¡±

    ¡°We don''t know, they just came and blew the door off. But what¡¯s important is that you get out of here, run.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m staying and helping.¡±

    ¡°I know you want to help, but you have to get to safety.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to help dad.¡±

    ¡°Quin-,¡±

    I ran off towards dad after and couldn¡¯t hear what she was saying but I didn¡¯t care I was gonna help dad one way or another. That was when dad came flying towards me covered in wounds and bleeding from his mouth. He had managed to stop three of them; there was only one with an elemental affinity and one without left. Mom and I came running to Dad''s aid.

    ¡°Dad!!¡± ¡°Honey!¡±

    I could see the panic on my mother''s face as she nervously tried to think of what she could do.

    ¡°Cough! Rebecca, I need you to listen to me. I''m fine, don''t worry about me. If they catch you healing they¡¯ll try that much harder to get you and Quintan. They¡¯ll sacrifice a lot more if they know.¡±

    After a brief moment of hesitation, my mother began to chant. I assumed her hesitation was caused by seeing her husband injured, but it felt as if she was afraid of using her magic.

    Father looked towards me after giving up on persuading his wife.

    ¡°Quin, Listen carefully. After your mom is finished, there going to try and take your mother

    No matter the cost. After I''m healed I''m going to fight them and buy more time. I think I can beat them but not if I have to worry about protecting you guys. Take your mother and run down the hall and get as far away as you can.¡±

    ¡°No dad, I¡¯m staying with you. I can fight! You''ve seen what I can do, I can help!¡± It seemed at this moment I was truly acting like a four-year-old. I knew my father was right but I still wanted to help. But I didn¡¯t care I wasn''t going to leave the family I¡¯d grown to love.

    ¡°LISTEN TO ME, QUINTAN WHITLOCK!¡± This was the first time hearing his voice like this; the kind of voice you only do in dire situations.

    ¡°I know you can fight! That¡¯s why I¡¯m entrusting your mother to you to protect her. I¡¯ll catch up to you after this is all over.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll protect mom. ¡°Atta boy. That¡¯s my son.¡±

    I quickly grabbed mothers arm and tugged her to move while reinforcing myself with mana.

    That¡¯s weird.

    Currently, dad was only fighting the non-mage.

    Wasn''t there five in total and dad took care of three?

    ¡°Josh, now they''re open! Do the spell!¡± The other barked out

    Who was he ordering?

    ¡°... Soothing waves, distant thunder; sandman cometh, he bids thee slumber.¡±

    {Sleep]

    From the end of the hallway, the mage had his wand aimed at mother and me. He hid himself during the chaos.

    Fuck!

    I didn''t have much time to react to a huge sphere. Whatever I couldn¡¯t make out the spell he used, at least three meters in diameter, rushed towards us, increasing in size as it neared.

    My mind raced. I couldn''t think of what to do.

    ¡°Dammit.¡± I roared out for a four-year-old.

    Willing all of the mana left in my body I tackled mother propelling her back into the room where a father had just got done taking care of the other man.

    I quickly realized my forty-pound body didn''t have enough weight to push us both out of the way.

    No choice!

    I took the full blow of the spell. I had expected it to kill me but it didn''t. When I had realized what it had been doing it was too late. My body began to get heavier and before I realized my body had hit the ground I was falling asleep. Before I lost consciousness I saw dad running towards me but I knew by the time he got here I would be Long gone.

 Inquiry

    When I awakened, I found myself inside a small and dirty carriage or some type of transport with a cloth draped over the top.

    The sunlight was pouring through the tears and rips of the cloth that covered the carriage.

    My entire body ached, and after I verified there were no broken bones, I started looking for things on the outside, anything that could help me to tell me where I¡¯m at.

    My hands were tied, this wasn''t any trouble for me.

    I needed to find an opportunity to escape and get back to my mother and father and let them know I¡¯m alright.

    From the landscape, I could guess we were somewhere in between the kingdom of Alylenore (Elf Kingdom) and the wastelands.

    I couldn¡¯t come up with anything to help my chances of escape, and I knew the longer I took, the farther away we got from home.

    After 10 minutes of pondering what to do, the carriage came to a sudden stop. I could hear voices coming from the front from the sound of it. There were four guys. I could only catch pieces and bits of what they were saying.

    ¡°Did you get the kid?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s in the back asleep?¡±

    ¡°And what about the mother, did you get her?¡±

    ¡°No. The kid pushed her out the way and sacrificed himself.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s four, couldn¡¯t you just hit him in the back of the head and take the lady?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but by the time we got to them, the dad had already taken care of the rest of the guys.¡±

    ¡°Ok. At least we got the kid, we''ll still get paid either way.¡±

    ¡°By the way, who is the employer?¡±

    ¡°If I remember, his name was Jace¡­ Jace thorn.¡±

    ¡° If we get the kid, they will be paid extra, so let¡¯s camp for tonight and leave at dawn.¡±

    I heard of that name before, where have I heard it from. He was one of my father¡¯s party members who helped with the house and were supposed to be on the journey with us. But why would he want to kidnap a mother and me? If I recall correctly, he was one of the people dad trusted enough to tell them about my awakening. Did he betray dad after finding out, and if he did, and if he was responsible for the events that had happened? I would be coming for him for revenge for what he did to my family.

    I didn¡¯t have much time to ponder on what I was going to do. This was my opportunity to escape.

    I waited until nightfall to take my plan into action. Regardless of their appearance, the guys were surprisingly vigilant; they never built a fire to attract attention and there were always two people on guard at all times.

    After surveying the area, I realized the carriage was being pulled by some hounds. I needed a distraction to separate the two guards, and I had an idea. I took a piece of broken wood, throwing the broken piece of wood, startling the hounds. Likewise, I decided to make my move once one of the two guards had separated from each other to the other side of the camp.

    The guard that stayed sat on a broken tree branch, drawing something on the ground with a stick, while the other two were sleeping inside the tent. Carefully adjusting my body to not draw attention. I prepared for my attack.

    My first target would be the guard that separated from the group to check on the hounds.

    I quickly moved out of the carriage and behind one of the men. The man had an average build. He didn''t seem to be strong and was only equipped with a knife. Startled by the sound of snapped branches, the man turned around and was expecting a rabbit or bunny. His face was a mix of surprise and amusement when he saw me as a four-year-old in ragged clothes.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Before he could react, I took a lunge towards his neck. I tried something similar to what I had seen my father do. I infused mana into the blade of my hand, turning it into a sharp edge. Not only that, but I called it mana sword, but it would be more accurate to call it a wind attribute technique.

    He flinched back reflexively, his hands trying to reach where his face was to guard against the boy shooting towards him with the mana blade.

    It was too late.

    I took a quick slice at his neck, removing his vocal cords. A stream of blood sprayed from his neck immediately as I appeared behind him. Catching the lifeless body and placing him down to avoid making noise. As I expected, the hounds that had been called down awake from the smell of blood caused them to howl and bark.

    ¡°Huh, man! Can¡¯t, you, do something about the hounds¡­the fuck?¡±

    By that time, I had already picked up the man¡¯s knife and was waiting for him at the back of the carriage.

    While the other men were distracted by the corpse of one of their guys, who was being devoured by the hounds, I leaped out from behind and stabbed the side of his neck with the knife.

    The hounds calmed down while devouring the two corpses. As I headed toward the tent to take care of the remaining tent in their sleep, a mere branch crushed under my foot ruined my plans.

    ¡°Shit.¡±

    On cue, I heard the rustle of the tent as the two guys that were left came out. ¡°Jack! Dom! You out here¡­¡± he barked, still half asleep.

    I hid behind a tree next to the carriage while infusing mana into Jack¡¯s knife.

    Noticing something wrong, the remaining two men carefully stepped around to the other side of the carriage, where their eyes widened upon viewing their former companions being eaten by the hounds.

    ¡°Check on the kid.¡±

    Using this chance, I attacked the one heading towards the carriage opening when his gaze whips back at me and instantly swings his dagger at my face.

    Avoiding the slash, I dropped and dashed towards him, trying to get in the rage of the knife. I slashed, reinforcing more mana into the knife, landing a clean cut through his right leg¡¯s ankle.

    ¡°Ahh,¡± he let out a pained howl as he dove desperately out of my range before I could do any more damage.

    ¡°Fuck, Ace be careful the brats, a mage.¡± the fighter, whose ankle I served, cried out.

    I turned my attention towards Ace as he pulled out his sword from its sheath and got into a defensive stance.

    ¡°You see all kinds of things these days! Looks like a huge sack of gold appeared in front of us, Kevin, he might get us more if we just sell him instead.¡± he let out a giggle.

    They didn¡¯t even care that I killed their companions.

    Ace¡¯s body glowed as he reinforced his body with mana. As he came towards me, his lips curved into a confident smirk on his face.

    Kevin was out of the fight with the crippled leg I gave him, but the Elementalist was going to be trouble.

    Ace suddenly jumped above me, his right arm in the form of a punch. I could only guess that he didn¡¯t use his sword to not damage the ¡°product.¡±

    I jumped back in time to avoid the blow strong enough to leave a small crater in the ground as I threw my knife at him.

    Shit.

    Furthermore, I was in a bad position right now. He wasn¡¯t tall, but his reach was still a good amount larger than mine. He also had the sword, which now he deemed necessary to use, which increased his range.

    Losing no time, Ace dashed towards me, throwing his sword. I easily dodged but not fast enough to react to the next move, he swiped my ankle with his sheath. I stumbled to gain my balance, he used the chance to grab my ankle and turn me upside down.

    His confident look disappeared as I hit the hand that was holding me as I concentrated mana. I used a fire attribute skill, releasing all the mana I had at once, and aimed for the joint of his wrist.

    A crack followed by a howl of cursed words indicating the attack worked.

    He released my ankle with his broken wrist, and I landed awkwardly on my back. Jumping up to my feet, I picked up Jack''s knife and used the one chance to charge towards the wounded Ace. While he was still occupied by the pain from his wrist, he angrily cursed, ¡°Fuck the gold! I¡¯m going to kill you myself!¡±

    His wrist was wounded, so that left an opening in his defense. I willed mana into my feet and arrived in range, hoping to land a solid hit when he furiously came swinging with his sword.

    He fell for it!

    I quickly pivoted my left foot, spinning to my right. Avoiding the swing by a hairline, I enter into my knife range to his right, open for his last desperate swing.

    He quickly tried to jump, but I placed my foot behind him, making him lose his balance. In one quick slash, I rammed my knife below his armpit, through the gap between his ribs and lungs.

    He was easy to finish after his breath was collapsing from the wound.

 Road Ahead

    ¡°Oh, You¡¯ve survived!¡±

    I instantly got into a fighting stance, ignoring the pain from the sudden movement, with my knife in hand, turning to face the dead carcasses.

    I promise to God if these corpses are the ones talking¡­

    A grunting noise was made that gave off the feeling like the person talking was displeased that I had survived. I looked around to find the source of the mysterious voice.

    ¡°Worry not. You won''t have to worry about the corpses anymore, as you are the one who killed them.¡±

    The voice that seemed to come out of nowhere had a majestic, yet harsh quality, emanating a sense of nobility. It was powerful and vibrant, yet irregular and agitated, making you want to run from it.

    Still, on guard, I finally managed to mutter a less than elegant response.

    ¡°Who are you? And what do you want?¡±

    ¡°Mhmm, For me to answer thoughts questions, you would first have to find me at my dwelling.¡±

    This voice seemed sure I would try and find it.

    As if knowing my thoughts, the voice continued, ¡°If you ever want to get home I am the only one that will be able to from this place, so I encourage you to make haste.

    That jerked my memory back to me. That¡¯s right! I had to get back home! Mother! Father! Dad''s party! And most of all, JACE! Are they alright? Did they reach Ozryn safely?

    If the vice really could take me back home, I had no choice but to listen and trust it.¡± Cough, dear uhh¡­ Mr. Voice. May I have the directions to your location so that you may accompany me in your presence?

    The voice let out another grunting that gave off a displeasing feeling before replying with, ¡°Don''t you think it''s a little rude to talk formally with someone of higher status? And very well, I¡¯ll show you the way.¡±

    Higher status? Who the hell are you?

    Instantly, my vision shifted into a bird''s eye view. Zooming out, a location that would be about a day¡¯s trip to the east came into view and lit up before my vision shifted back to normal.

    ¡°I suggest you leave immediately. It would be better to travel during the day than when it''s dark.¡± Unkindly chided the voice.

    ¡°If you insist.¡± I collected a few supplies from the carriage and tents before trotting towards my destination.

    With each step, it became less painful and, by dawn, I was left with only aches here and there. Whatever that voice did was some powerful magic. I''ve heard of the long-range spell, but never of that distance. Maybe the voice knew I would arrive here? But how could it have known I would be kidnapped? Why did it choose to help me? And why now?  If it could cast magic from that distance, why not just kill the men from the start? The more I tried to solve the mystery, the more questions I ended up with.

    WHOOSH.

    Hearing a faint whoosh sound, I headed in the direction, spotting a narrow stream.

    ¡°YES!¡± I exclaimed.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    I was utterly filthy. My face and neck had a stench that made me want to throw up, while it was torn and caked with blood and other substances. Almost sprinting. I cannonballed into the stream, washing off every speck of dirt and blood I could find. Taking off my clothes to wash them, I laid them on a nearby rock that was in the sunlight to dry. After finishing, I walked over to the damped clothes when¡­

    ¡°Kukuku¡­ how nonchalant, I can see the dangers of this world do not frighten you.¡±

    This world?

    Unintentionally, Both my hands shot down to cover my most precious area while hunching my back while trying to make my body as small as possible.

    ¡°Worry not,  there isn''t much to see.¡±

    How rude! My pride!

    Groaning, I wanted to tell the voice my body was developed, good if not better for this age but chose to ignore the voice and put my clothes on. I got the feeling the voice would hardly care anyway, but something I couldn¡¯t shake off was the feeling of joy from the mysterious voice despite all the other comments.

    ¡°Mhmm¡­ my apologies. Don''t be saddened, you still have a little way to go.¡± the voice said with a stifled laugh.

    Calm down, Quin. You''re just a boy, and it¡¯s just a voice.

    After I put on my clothes, the mysterious voice seemed to go silent. Didn''t matter. I scavenged through the bag from the carriage for the last of my ration. Water wouldn''t be a problem since I had just refilled my water sack, But I would eventually need food; hopefully, I make it before that time comes or the voice will provide me with something.

    Looking around, I started to wonder where I was. Since I was taken from the Inn towards the east, I must be near the elves¡¯ territory. I don''t think I¡¯m in the Nelin because I¡¯m not surrounded by fog and the mana here seems normal. Am I in the wastelands? No. There weren''t any mana beasts and the terrain is normal. There were a few bunnies and birds, I have yet to see anything else. Something I noticed that was even stranger was the abundance of mana in the area. It was probably due to the richness of that mana that I was able to recover from my initial state so quickly. Also, the mana was unusually pure that you could see the mana particles floating around.

    I should hurry.

    Apart from there being no road, it ended up being an uneventful trip, with the slightest obstacles and terrains I had to go through. As I got closer to the location of the voice, the density of the mana became richer and thicker. Disregard the temptation to stop and absorb the surrounding mana, I processed. The training wasn''t important right now. I needed to get home.

    Since Mother and Father assumed I was dead and assuming they still met up with dad''s party they all must assume I¡¯m dead, I couldn''t help but worry about mom and dad. I¡¯m concerned Mother and Father wouldn''t forgive themselves for my death especially Father since he wanted to protect me at all cost.

    I reached where the voice had led me towards, but I was unable to see anything besides a cluster of rocks and trees surrounding the area.

    ¡°It seems you made it here with no problems.¡± The voice echoed confidently as if it knew I already would.

    ¡°It''s an honor to finally meet you uhh¡­ sir rocks?¡±

    ¡°I can assure you that I am not some mere rock. There is a crevice between the back of the adjacent rocks. That''s where I¡¯ll be.¡± The voice muttered.

    Looking around I managed to spot the small gap, about the size of an adult, between two larger rocks that were leaning against each other making a Teepee. The slight breeze that came from the opening told me I found what I was looking for. If it weren''t for the voice guiding me to the exact location, I would have never even found or noticed it was there.

    ¡°Proceed child through the crevice, but reinforce yourself with mana before you do.¡±

    I will finally be able to meet Mother and Father soon!

    Without hesitation, I slipped in through the gap easily while willing the mana to strengthen my body.

    I expected to land on top of a platform but instead, I plummeted down the dark hole.

    The voice didn''t even try to warn me it would be a vertical fall.

    I guess that''s why it wanted me to use mana¡¯ was the thought that ran through my head as I descended the tunnel screaming my lungs off.

    Rubbing my butt, groaning, I slowly supported myself.

    ¡°We finally meet child.¡±

    I felt the blood drain from my face as my mouth gaped open and my eyes widened. Feeling lightheaded as my legs failed to hold me up, I stumbled onto my aching butt, staring at the one who had been helping me the whole time.

 Ones Held Dear

    ¡°What are you?¡± I managed to mutter out.

    Even though having lived two lives, what I saw with my very own two eyes, my brain refused to believe. A monster, in simpler terms, which was easily 10 feet tall, cross-legged, on a rocked carved throne of jagged stones with an arm lazily supporting its head. With paralyzing red eyes that gazed down at me, while terrifying, carried an oddly tranquil quality. Two small horns protruded out of the sides of its head, while some kind of ring floated above its head. It had a mouth with two fangs peeking out of its lips and while its body was adorned in a sleek black armor that had neither decorations nor embellishments, it still glowed with the quality of a priceless treasure.

    Here it is in all of its prestige¡­ with its head resting on its arm, while its other hand nonchalantly scratched its nose. Compared to it I felt like an insignificant being.

    What I failed to notice until now, because of the dim lighting in the cave and its body is completely black, was the cloth wrapped around its body covering some bird-like feathers on its back and a gaping hole on its chest, blood oozing out.

    I tried getting up, but failed and ended up back on my butt, my face still slack from the shock which my eyes were witnessing.

    ¡°Creatures will fly into your mouth if you leave it open that long and wide.¡±

    Great. At least it had humor.

    ¡°As for what I am, I won''t say anything unnecessary more than what you can see from looking.¡± The humanoid monster said with its eyes seeming to gaze straight through me.

    ¡°Are you a monster?¡± I said

    ¡°Are you a monster because you are different?¡±

    ¡°Monsters do bad things.¡±

    ¡°Humans do bad things to everybody.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    He was right, humans had the power to evolve in my old world. To think for themselves, to be stronger, to be above the rest. I can only imagine what they have caused with the power of magic at their hands.

    ¡°It will take me some time before I can open up a dimensional vortex that will send you home, so up until then, I advise you to tolerate it and remain here for the time being. There are magical plants that are produced here. You will be able to sustain off of those until I finish.¡± it sighed.

    That¡¯s right. That''s what I came here to do. I managed to regain some of my composure and stood up, walking a little closer to the being.

    Giving a gracious bow, I replied, ¡°Thank you for the overall things you¡¯ve done for me and in the future. I am in your debt. If for that reason there is anything I can do to repay you, I will do for you whatever I can within my power.¡±

    ¡°Well mannered for a child. Do not fret: I did this not for a favor or your gratitude. I am simply doing this to cure my boredom. Come! Sit here closer to me and keep me entertained. I haven''t talked to anyone in some time.¡± The being laughed, pointing to an area of its throne for me to sit on.

    I climbed up the throne rather clumsily, forgetting that I could use mana to simply jump up, and I propped myself on the throne next to the being.

    ¡°Umm¡­ pardon me for being rude, but what exactly are you. How should I exactly address you?¡± I said while making eye contact with the being.

    ¡°I suppose you''re right. I don''t look like a man, now do I? I¡¯m surprised as to why I said that. My name is Silas.¡± He replied, slipping out a chuckle.

    This goliath-like demon monster looked like anything but a Silas to me, but I kept it to myself. ¡°Sir Silas, do you mind if I ask a few questions?¡±

    ¡°Go ahead child, beware I may not be able to answer everything.¡±

    I instantly trailed off all the questions that had been on my mind ever since entering this place and meeting Silas. ¡°Where is this place? Where is everyone at? Where did you come from? Why do you have that cloak on and what happened to your chest?... Why did you save me?¡±

    He quietly listened and waited for me to finish before replying.

    ¡°You must have many things on your mind. The first question is simple to answer. This place is between the Wastelands and the forest of Nelin. No one knows this place exists because I¡¯ve been warding anyone or thing who comes close, although the cases are uncommon in the first place. You, child, are the first to enter this domain.¡± He easily explained as if he already knew the questions I would ask.

    ¡°Call me Quintan or Quin for short. My name is Quintan Whitlock but everyone calls me Quin! You can too! I blurted out before realizing what I had said, shutting my mouth with both my hands, confused as to why I was acting like a child.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ very well-child, I shall call you Quin!¡± His blood-red eyes, looking afar while answering my next question.

    ¡°As for your second question. I am here alone simply because I have no one left. While I do not think telling you everything would be wise I¡¯ll tell you what I can. I have many enemies that wish for something I have; my last battle with my enemies left me in this state and with this wound. For where I come from¡­ far away, haha.¡±

    In that moment of pause before Silas continued, this time his eyes were looking straight at me, almost studying me.

    ¡°As for why I saved you¡­ even I do not fully understand why I did. Perhaps I have been isolated for too long and yearned for a companion. I first noticed you when you and your family stayed at the Inn and were attacked. You sacrificed yourself to save your mother despite not knowing what the spell was, I felt obligated to save you, pondering what a waste it would be for such a good child to die. You are very brave. It is rare for even adults to be able to do what you did.

    I denied what he had said. ¡°I was just as scared too and I didn''t have much of a choice. I just wanted to save my mother.¡± I didn¡¯t know if it was the way he talked or because of how big and powerful he seems but in front of him, I turned into a child. No, I was a child in front of him.

    ¡°You must miss them quite a bit. Rest assured, your family has met up with the rest of the party and they are safe. As for where they have gone, I¡¯m afraid my sight does not reach far enough to tell anymore.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    A rush of reassurance washed over me as I had to do my uttermost to keep tears from overwhelming me.

    I see they¡¯re safe. This new life brought emotions I had thought I got rid of in my old life.

    ¡°Thank you. They¡¯re alive¡­they¡¯re okay¡­¡± I let out a sniffle.

    Silas''s enormous hand reached down and gently patted me on the back with a finger.

    The day went by with me conversing with Silas, picking up some of the magical fruit in between that looked and tasted very similar to peaches but were blue in color.

    We would talk about all sorts of things as Silas prepared the vortex. At one point, he asked me how I was able to use mana so well at my age.

    ¡°To my awareness of humans, even the earliest mage to have awakened so far was the age of ten, even then, the child couldn''t grasp how to use it, there was very little he could do with it. Yet, not only have you formed your mana core, nonetheless, by the way, you use mana, you seem to be more efficient than most full-fledged mages.¡± I just shrugged, feeling oddly proud by his praise. ¡°Let''s just say¡­ I¡¯m a different kind of case. I can read well and I get what the pictures in the books are saying.¡±

    Days trickled by as Silas continued preparing the portal.

    In a guilty tone, he explained one day, ¡°The spell will take a while to be completely safe. You do not wish to land in a destination you are not familiar with, right? Even one inconsistently can lead to you being transported a couple of hundred meters off the ground. So until then tolerate it for the time being; you will be able to see your loved one soon.¡±

    I replied with silence. I was fine with waiting. It beat trying to navigate my way back home.

    I noticed a few things. These past couple of days while I trained my mana core and chatted with Silas.

    Silas was the definition of, ¡°Appearances are often misleading.¡± Despite his appearance, he was gentle, patient, and kind but could also be harsh, mean, and terrifying when needed to be. In one way or another, he reminded me of my father and mother, in a way they would all scold me while being gentle when I did something wrong. I once stated how I would take revenge on the one who caused this and how he deserved worse than death when he suddenly flicked my forehead¡­

    Even though it was gentle, a flick from someone 10 meters high was nothing to laugh about. I was sent barrel-rolling before spouting, ¡°What was that for?¡±

    Picking me up by the shirt so I was eye level, he said in an emotionless tone ¡°Quin. Perhaps you are not wrong for wishing death upon the one who has wronged you. However,  do not let your heart be corrupted with thoughts of revenge. If you seek revenge do it in a way you will not regret in the future. Continue proudly with your life to gain strength so that you may protect your loved one from harm. In your journey, you will face many situations like before, maybe even worse, but do not succumb to that evil that is dwelling inside of you, learn to better yourself from those experiences so it won''t happen again.¡±

    I blinked,  stunned by the fact I was lectured on morals by a being who seemed to be the embodiment of evil. Strangely, it stuck with me. I just responded with a nod.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Another thing I noticed was that his wound would worsen. I found it odd that he was even alive with a gaping hole in his chest and all the feathers everywhere must be caused by the wound deepening. I grew numb to the fact that the wound was there. That is¡­ until a couple of days ago, the wound seemed to be bleeding more wildly. Silas tried to hide it with his cloak but it grew more and more as the days passed.

    Silas, noticing my worrying gaze said, ¡°Do not fret, I wouldn''t die from a wound like this.¡±

    For some reason, I found that hard to believe.

    Sometimes, while I was meditating and using strict movement techniques I had learned from my father to better control my mana, Silas suddenly broke in. ¡°Quin. let me speak with you. I am nearly complete with the porta, but let me ask you this: if you were to return right now what would change? What would prevent the same thing from happening again? I can''t possibly fathom how much you miss your mother and father, but if you were to return right now you''ll still be a scared, powerless boy who couldn''t even protect himself from real dangers better yet his family. But if you were to stay here a little longer I could teach you some techniques I have acquired throughout my life?¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to admit it but he was right. I was weak and powerless and I would still be powerless if I¡¯d returned. No matter how much I wanted to see my mother and father I wanted to protect them even more than before. If I were to say I could at least become stronger than before I had already noticed my body changing from just staying here with Silas. My senses have become more enhanced.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll stay. I only have one question?¡±

    ¡°That is?¡±

    ¡°When do we start?¡±

    ¡°First, try drawing a mana barrier around yourself. Once that is done, I want you to draw the mana away while keeping the barrier up.¡±

    ¡°That''s impossible!¡±

    ¡°Impossible you say? Watch as I form the barrier using mana while also drawing the mana away but the barrier is still intact. Now I want you to walk in it.¡±

    Shoosh

    ¡°Wow! What is this?¡± As soon as I walked into the barrier there was a teal color and all my scratches went away instantly.

    ¡°What did you do?¡±

    ¡°I did simply as I told you I removed the mana and only left the barrier. As you master this technique I will teach you another. You''ll be able to eventually expand the barrier and cast it without having to use mana; it will come naturally. Now hurry time is limited, no more questions.¡±

    ¡°But how did you make such a skill? I''ve never heard of anything like it in any of the books I read or from mother or father?¡±

    ¡°What did I say? Now begin.¡±

    ¡°Let me try,¡± I nodded

    I had to admit that, like many of my other theories, it was extremely difficult at first.

    Practicing it repeatedly meant being able to fight pro proficiently without having to waste mana on a barrier that would get destroyed over and over while being able to heal others. I found it strange that it couldn''t heal the user itself. Silas''s only advice was, a mage must be able to construct, then deconstruct or take the pieces out. Like building a building and then undoing it. Even though I thought that was a terrible analogy he seemed to think it fit. I had never been hit so many times in this life of my previous combined to see if it worked.

    This at least seemed to entertain Silas as he watched.

    One year passed since I met Silas and became his amity. I would tell him stories of me and my family, while he would teach me new skills and I would improve them thanks to Silas''s patience and diligence. Silas hadn''t told me the name of this skill, so I named it myself. Ethos. He also taught me a new skill that was way more complicated than the other; it allowed me to diffuse my consciousness so that I was able to completely hide my mana presence. It was balancing my output of mana from my core through my mana circuits and my mana intake from the atmosphere through my mana veins rendering me invisible to people and animals trying to sense me via mana fluctuations. I named it Ignis fatuus or ghosting for short but I like Ignis.

    Over the time I spent with Silas it would be an understatement to say I have merely gotten close with him. He treated me like his own blood Godson and, in response, I''ve grown attached to this demon lord GodFather. It was merely because of this relationship that I was able to ignore what was happening to him.

    It was frustratingly clear that his wound was getting worse with each passing day.

    ¡°Silas, tell me what''s happening to your wound, please? Why is it getting worse? It was never like this before! You say you won''t die from it but that was clearly a lie! This won''t go away on its own, will it? It''s getting worse! I frustratingly expressed my concern one especially bad day after working on the portal he vomited a pool of blood.

    I paused for an instant, struck with realization¡­

    How come I hadn¡¯t noticed before?

    He had been getting worse because of the portal.

    In order to send me home¡­

    Silas let out a deep breath, knowing that I had finally realized what was going on. Managing a sheepish grin, Silas muttered, ¡°Quin, yes I am dying. But not because of the portal. I was already fated to die once I was struck with this wound. I will get angry if you blame yourself, thinking you are causing this. I have been like this for quite a while. You''re doing a great service allowing me to leave this forsaken cave a bit faster.

    Instantly as I finished speaking, Silas'' cloak fell from him and what I saw was profound. There was a golden ring above his head and his wings sprouted. ¡°There''s a ring floating above your head and you have wings. You''re an angel!¡± What I had just witnessed was nothing compared to what was awaiting me. A bright golden light radiated from his body. Shielding my eyes from the light to prevent going blind, I tried on what was forming before me where Silas once sat. In place of the ten-meter giant, the figure was an even larger dragon. From his snout to his tail, he was clad in an obsidian black coat of shimmering scales with a white highlight. Beneath his rouge pink eyes were glowing sigil marks that marked his body and neck and ran down his tail like lotus engravings. The dragon''s wings were black with white highlights adorned with black-bladed feathers.

    The golden light radiating the dragon dimmed until there was nothing left of the once titan-shaped being.

    ¡°How about now¡­ Do I look more like Silas?¡± letting out a toothy smile.

    ¡°Silas?? Y¡­You''re a dragon?¡± I said.

    ¡°Yes, the child I am. But now That I am in this form,  time is very limited. I am something you humans refer to as ¡®a dragon¡¯. The reason for my state is that I had been dealt this wound from narrowly escaping my captors. I had felt one of them nearing dangerously close a few days ago. So I regret that my time of hiding has come to an end. This form will alert them of my location, Which is why I will only tell you what is needed. I am giving you this to help you on your journey.¡±

    One of his bladed wings lifted revealing the black cloak he would wear to hide his wings but it was smaller than what it had been.,

    Without hesitation, he continued, ¡°everything will reveal itself when the time comes but for I have a few three more things to give you. The last for you to find. Most will not know what it is but will be attracted to the aura it emits.¡±

    Silas then proceeded to pluck off a feather from his wings with his claw and handed it to me. ¡°You will also need this. You will know what to do with it when the time comes. I know you will.¡±

    As I studied the feather Silas'' beak suddenly brushed against my chest where my mana core was.

    Astonished, I met Silas'' pink eyes and the gold markings blazed brighter than they had when he had transformed. As the markings grew dimmer and disappeared, Silas penetrated his tongue into my core and whispered golden smoke that crackled in sparks of pink.

    An excruciating yelp escaped my lips as I blinked, confused and surprised. I continued to watch Silas as he moved his head, leaving a trail of blood from the hole in my shirt. But my chest had been pierced by a dragon''s tongue and bled, but when I ran my fingers through it there was no wound.

    Silas'' appearance had grown weak and pained; it was apparent for even a mighty dragon that was even bigger than his previous form. What I was focused on was that his once shimmering pink irises were now just a dim yellow with beautiful markings that ran through his body and his face was now gone.

    ¡°Do you see the mana anymore?¡± Silas said.

    ¡°Now that you mention it, no,¡± I said.

    ¡°Exactly hide!¡±

    ¡°Wait why?¡±

    ¡°It''s too late their here run now!¡±

    Before I had the chance to, a giant explosion interrupted me.

    I whipped my head to see that the roof of the ceiling had been blown off and what came to view was a figure that reminded me of Silas¡¯s previous form.

    Clad in dark black armor and a blood-red cape that matched its eyes. The figure''s black skin matched its aura emitting off of him. The horns were different, though, as the being had two horns that curled down and under its ears, lining its chin. It also had black wings instead of white and had no ring above its head.

    Silas instantly covered me with his wing in time to protect me from the falling rubble and likely from keeping me hidden from our visitor.

    ¡°Sir Silas! I recommend you stop this little goose chase of yours and tell us where to find it. You''ve already caused quite the scene by hiding yourself! If you submit, the lord might be willing to that wound of yours,¡± the entity reasoned impatiently.

    ¡°Who sent you here?¡±

    ¡°Where do you think you came from? Where you were born, And your creator wants you back. We all answer to someone.¡±

    ¡°I left of my own accord.¡±

    ¡°To do what? To protect these lessers?¡±

    ¡°Humans don''t deserve to live.¡±

    ¡°They deserve to choose for themselves,¡± Silas said.

    Instantly after he had finished speaking, the world around me seemed to stop. Everything but Silas and myself, the colors of the world were as though they had been stripped of their purpose. What surprised me the most was that everything was still as if we had been the only ones allowed to move. The entity, the clouds behind him, his aura, and even the fallen rubble of the roof of the cave.

    Disregarding the enemy, Silas carelessly peeked underneath his wing. ¡°I¡¯ll open the portal now. I didn¡¯t have the energy to make it send you straight home but it should take you someplace with humans nearby. Do not let him catch you and don''t come back!¡± he muttered, his eyes solemn.

    I ignored what Silas had said after I heard what the entity had proposed. ¡°Silas is that true? If you give yourself over, will you be able to live?¡±

    ¡°Do not trust his sugar-coated words. It would be worse for you if you were to be found right now. As for me, I would only leave this place if I were to die, than to go back willing to where he is.¡± Silas said mixed with anger and impatience.

    ¡°No! I refuse to let you die here. If you won''t go with him then at least, please, come with me!¡± I begged.

    ¡°Sadly I cannot accompany you. You will be in constant danger if they were to find out you have come into contact with me. I must stay here.¡±

    Silas wiped my cheek with his talon, his draconic eyes lined up with what was a tear.

    ¡°You once asked me why''d I''d saved you, why I chose to save you. The truth was to please my own greed. I wanted to keep you as my own child even if it was just for a little bit. I purposely prolonged the transportation spell because I hoped to spend more time together, but it seems fate had a different path for the both of us. I¡¯m sorry, little Quin, for my selfishness but I have one last request to make¡­ can you be my son and call me Godfather just this once?¡±

    ¡°NOO! I don''t care about that stuff! I¡¯ll do it as much as you want if you come with me! Godfather! Godfather! You cant! Not like this!¡±

    ¡°Please I¡¯m begging you, just come with me. I don''t know what happened or what you did but everything is frozen right now; we can leave! Please, Godfather, don''t go. At least not like this.¡± I held on to one of Silas'' talons, desperately trying to pull him away with me.

    In my last moments with him, Silas in such a beautiful grin that I swear I thought I saw a human.

    I could barely make out the words he said, before tossing me into the portal.

    ¡°Thank you, my child.¡±

 Update

    Hey, guys just wanted to give you guys quick updates I¡¯ve made to the story and what''s going on, and if the story is still happening.

    First, I haven''t posted chapters these past weeks or months because I recently have had final Exams for school and PSAT. That doesn''t mean I have forgotten to believe me the entire time I wasn''t writing. I was thinking of new ideas for the story and how to make it better.

    Second, I have made changes to the chapters so far and will show them. First, the mana core system has changed so it will be better to understand and easier to say.

    Breakthrough-Novice-Radiant-Advanced-Mastery-Ascendancy-Arcane was the original way it was; the new form will be Black-Red-Orange-Ivory-Yellow-Sliver-White. With that being said this is only temporary for now until I can focus more on it and finalize it and so it better. There will still be between each color or stage like red stage 1-2-3, etc except instead it will be Dark Solid Light stage. I will fix the colors so they match up from dark to light as you up each stage color.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Thirdly, I have made changes to the names of the continents. The new ones are Aerilon, which is the name of the continent. Dwarven is the dwarf kingdom. Alylenore the elf kingdom. Velaris the human kingdom. I will be making more changes and names to certain things. I would like it if you guys could come up with some names and suggestions I could use.

    Fourth, The story will continue next week so be ready. I will try to post every Friday as usual and continue to make changes to the story so it gets better. Another thing I wanted to address was Silas in the recent chapter. No, he is not an actual angel, his kind is similar to what I based them on. You will find more about them as the story continues.

    Finally, I am a young writer that is still attending high school therefore I will be starting things soon like driver training so I will be writing, school, drivers training, and working so I¡¯m sorry if the chapters are late or shorter than usual.

    Thank you all for staying and reading the story!!!

    A new chapter is next Friday.