“The Continent of Dicathen comprises three major Kingdoms: The Forest Kingdom of Elenoir in the North, The Underground Kingdom of Darv nearing the southern border, and The Kingdom of Sapin, located on the eastern border of the continent. There also exists the Beast Glades, of which a large percentile remains a mystery. Not much of the Beast Glades have been traversed due to the abundance of beasts hostile to travelers as well as each other. Yet, every year, countless expeditions have been made due to the tempting riches one could reap…….”

“flip”

“….The Kingdom of Elenoir is the homeland of the Elf race, located deep in the Forest of Elshire where thick mist naturally forms deterring all but the elves, who, with their acute senses, can navigate freely…”

“flip”

“…The Kingdom of Darv is a network of underground passages and enormous caves that can span up to several kilometers, whereupon the Dwarvin race reside.”

“flip”

“….The Kingdom of Sapin is easily the largest and most populated region in the continent. While this Kingdom is primarily composed of humans, there are also many merchants from the Dwarvin race, trading commodities of many…”

“flip”

“…While the Beast Glades house countless monsters and creatures, they also contain wondrous treasures with long forgotten origins, obtainable by those who dare to seek them. There are records, written by adventurers and mercenaries, about dungeons and lairs of powerful entities that can make even the most generous priest into a greedy…”

“flip”

“….Between the Forest of Elshire and the Kingdom of Sapin lies the Grand Mountain range which spans across roughly 90% of the continent, separating the North and East from the West and South …”

“flip”

“While the Kingdom of Darv and Sapin hold a symbiotic relationship for resources, the Elves seclude themselves and act aggressively towards every other…”

“flip”

Closing the worn covers of what seemed to be an encyclopedia of this world, Arthur rubbed the bridge of his nose with his pudgy fingers, downcast, while emanating a gloom that was almost tangible. He let out an audible half-sigh that only seemed appropriate with his toothless mouth…

“PHUUUUUK…”

I never believed in the whole “light at the end of the tunnel” folly where people, after experiencing near-death experiences, would startle awake in a cold sweat exclaiming, “I saw the light!”

But here I am currently at this so-called “tunnel” facing a glaring light, when the last thing I remember was sleeping in my room (others call it the royal chamber).

Did I die? If so, how? Was I assassinated?

I don’t remember wronging anyone, but then again, being a powerful public figure gave others all sorts of reasons to want me dead.

Anyway…

Since it didn’t seem like I was going to wake up anytime soon, while I slowly gravitated towards this bright light, I might as well go along with it.

The journey seemed to take an eternity; I half expected a choir of children to be singing an angelic hymn, beckoning me towards what I hoped would be heaven.

Instead, my vision of everything around me turned into a blur of bright red as sounds assaulted my ears. When I tried to say something, the only sound that came out seemed to be a cry.

The muffled voices became clearer and I made out a: “Congratulations Sir and Madam, he’s a healthy boy.”

…Wait

I guess normally, I should be thinking along the lines of “Shit, was I just born? Am I a baby now?”

But strangely, the only thought that seemed to pop up in my mind was, ‘So the bright light at the end of the tunnel is the light coming through into the female vag…’

Haha… let’s not think about it anymore.

Assessing my situation in rational king-like manner, I noticed, first of all, that wherever this place was, I understood the language. That’s always a good sign.

Next, after slowly and painfully opening my eyes, my retinas were bombarded with different colors and figures. It took a bit of time for my infant eyes to get used to the light. The doctor, or so it seemed, in front of me had a not-so-appealing face with long, greying hair on both head and chin. I swear his glasses were thick enough to be bulletproof. The strange thing was, he wasn’t wearing a doctor’s gown nor were we even in a hospital room.

I seemed to have been born from some satanic summoning ritual because this room was lit only by a couple of candles and we were on the floor over a bed of straw.

I looked around and saw the female who pushed me out of her tunnel. Calling her mother should be fair. Taking a few more seconds to see what she looked like, I’d have to admit she’s a beauty, but that might have been caused by my half blurry eyes. Rather than a glamorous beauty, I would better describe her as lovely, in a very kind and gentle sense, with distinct auburn hair and brown eyes. I couldn’t help but notice her long eyelashes and perky nose that made me want to just cling to her. She just permeated this motherly feel. Is this why babies were attracted to their mothers?

I peeled my face away and turned right to barely make out the person who I assumed was my father by the idiotic grin and teary eyes he gazed at me with. Immediately he said, “Hi little Art, I’m your daddy, can you say dada?” I glanced around to see both my mother and the house doctor (for all the certification he seemed to have), roll their eyes as my mother managed to scoff, “Honey, he was just born.”

I took a closer look at my father and I can see why my lovely mother was attracted to him. Besides the few loose screws he seemed to have by expecting a newborn to articulate a two-syllable word (I’m just going to give him the benefit of the doubt and think he said that out of the joy of becoming a father), he was a very charismatic-looking man with a cleanly shaven square jaw line that complimented his features. His hair, a very ashy brown color, seemed to be kept trim, while his eyebrows were strong and fierce, extending in a sword-like fashion meeting to a V shape. Yet, his eyes held a gentle quality, whether it was from the way his eyes drooped a bit at the end or from the deep blue, almost sapphire, hue that radiated from his irises.

“Hmm, he isn’t crying. Doctor, I thought newborns were supposed to cry when they are born.” I heard my mother’s voice.

By the time I finished checking ou… I mean observing my parents; the wannabe doctor simply excused himself saying, “There are cases where the infant does not cry. Please continue resting for a couple of days Mrs. Leywin, and let me know if anything happens to Arthur, Mr. Leywin.”

The following couple of weeks after my journey out of the tunnel was a new kind of torture for me. I had little to no motor control over my limbs except being able to wave them around, and even that got tiring quickly. I realized all too grudgingly that babies don’t really get to control their fingers all that much.

I don’t know how to break it to you guys, but when you place your finger on a baby’s palm, they don’t grab it because they like you, they grab it because it’s like getting hit in the funny bone; it’s a reflex. Forget motor control, I can’t even excrete my wastes at my discretion. I was not yet the master of my own bladder. It just… came out. Haa…

On the bright side, one of the few perks that I became happily accustomed to was being breastfed by my mother.

Don’t get me wrong, I had no ulterior motives whatsoever. It’s just that ****** milk tasted a lot better than baby formula and has better nutritional value, okay? Er… please believe me.

The Satanic demon-summoning place seemed to be my parent’s room and from what I figured, the place that I was currently stuck in was, hopefully, a place in my world from the past, when electricity hadn’t yet been invented.

My mother quickly proved my hopes wrong as, one day, she healed a scratch on my leg from when my idiotic father bumped me against a drawer while swinging me around.

No…Not like, band-aid and a kiss heal, but a full blown, shining light with a faint hum from her freaking hands type of healing.

Where the hell am I?

My mother, named Alice Leywin, and my father, named Reynolds Leywin, at least seemed to be good people, hell if not the best. I suspected my mother was an angel because I’ve never met such a kindhearted, warm person. While being carried on her back by a baby cradle-strap of some sort, I went with her to what she called a town. This town of Ashber was more of a glorified outpost, seeing that there were no roads or buildings. We walked on the main dirt trail where there were tents on both sides with various merchants and salesmen selling all sorts of things—from common, everyday necessities to things I couldn’t help but raise a brow at, like weapons, armor, and rocks… shining rocks!

The strangest thing that I couldn’t seem to get used to was the people carrying weapons like it was a luxury designer bag. I witnessed a man of around 170cm carrying a gigantic war axe that was larger than him! Anyway, mother kept talking to me, probably to try to get me to learn the language faster, while shopping for the day’s groceries, exchanging pleasantries with various people passing by or working in the booths. Meanwhile, my body turned against me once again, and I fell asleep… Damn this useless body.

Sitting on the lap of my mother who was caressing me in her bosom, I was intently focused on my dad who was currently reciting a chant, which sounded like a prayer to the earth, for close to a good minute. I leaned in closer and closer, almost falling off my human seat while expecting some magical phenomenon, like an earthquake splitting the ground or a giant stone golem emerging. After what seemed like an eternity (trust me, for an infant who has the attention span of a goldfish, it was.) Three adult, human-sized boulders emerged from the ground and slammed against a nearby tree.

What in the name of…that was it?

I flailed my arms in anger, but my idiot father interpreted that into a “WOW” and had a big grin on his face saying, “Your daddy is awesome huh!”

No, my father was a much better fighter. When he put on his two iron gauntlets, even I felt compelled to drop my underwear (or diaper) for him. With quick and firm movements that were surprising for his build, his fists carried enough force to break the sound barrier, but were fluid enough to not leave an opening. In my world, he would have been classed as a high-tier fighter, leading a squad of soldiers, but to me, he was my idiot father.

For what I learned, this world seemed to be a fairly straightforward on filled with magic and warriors; where power and wealth decided one’s rank in society. In that sense, it wasn’t too different from my old world, except for the lack of technology and the slight difference between magic and ki.

In my old world, wars had become an almost obsolete form of settling disputes between countries. Don’t get me wrong, of course there were still smaller scale battles and armies were still needed for the safety of the citizens. However, disputes concerning the wellbeing of a country were based on either a duel between the rulers of the their country, limited to making use of ki and close combat weapons, or a mock battle between platoons, where limited firearms were allowed, for smaller disputes.

Therefore, Kings weren’t the typical fat man sitting on the throne ignorantly commanding others, but had to be the strongest fighter to represent his or her country.

Enough about that though.

The currency in this new world seemed pretty straightforward from the exchanges my mother had with the merchants.

Copper was the lowest form of currency, then silver, followed by gold. While I had yet to see anything costing as much as a gold coin, normal families seemed to be able to live off of a couple copper coins a day just fine.

100 Copper \= 1 Silver

100 Silver \= 1 Gold

Everyday involved honing my new body, mastering the motor functions residing deep within me.

That comfortable regimen soon changed.

I was a king. I could have my country’s army assemble at my feet, kneeling down with the snap of a finger. I’ve outdueled my competitors from different countries as well as my own people to settle disputes and maintain my position. In terms of swordsmanship and controlling ki, I was second to none, for having personal strength was essential to becoming a ruler in my past world on Earth. Kings weren’t born, but raised. Yet, I couldn’t think of a prouder moment in my two lives than now.

I can crawl baby!

‘Till now, I had to make do with the stories mother would tell me while trying to make me fall asleep. I grumbled out noises of complaint when she stopped too early. My father would sometimes sit me on his lap while idly talking to me about his old days, which gave me some hints as to what kind of world this was and what it was filled with.

Reynolds Leywin, former adventurer, (apparently that’s a viable occupation in this world) had quite a lot of experience in this field. He was a part of several parties that went on expeditions to search for treasure and fulfill missions they acquired from the Adventurer Guild. He eventually settled down when he met my mother at the Kingdom’s border in a city called Valden. He proudly told me how my mother fell head over heels for him at first sight when he visited the town’s Adventurer Guild hall that she had been working at at that time, but I suspected it was the exact opposite from how my mother slapped him across the back of the head and told him to stop telling me lies.

My name was Arthur Leywin now, by the way. Art for short, which, as a former King, sounded a little too cute, but hey, after getting a glimpse of myself in the metal sheet they used as a mirror in the washroom, I looked absolutely adorable. I got my mother’s glowing auburn hair while my eyes were a bright azure color, inherited from my father. I don’t know how my facial features are going to turn out as I mature, but as long as I don’t turn out fat, it’ll be okay.

Watch out future ladies! Prepare to be heartbroken!

After weeks of attempting to crawl, yet only achieving an uncoordinated scuffle in place, I had finally succeeded; even managing to sneak into the family’s library/study room while my mother was hanging the laundry out to dry. Mother rued the day I started to become mobile, sighing, “I swear, you’re going to become as hard to manage as your father.”

______________________________________________

I closed the encyclopedia and situated myself more comfortably on the ground… basically I just laid on my belly because crawling and sitting upright was so damn tiring.

Pondering over what I had just read, this world seemed pretty underdeveloped. From what I could infer, there didn’t seem to be much technological advancement. The only source of transportation appeared to be horse-driven carriages, that varied in size for overland use, and ships with sails for rivers.

Weapons were freely allowed and not really regulated unless you were visiting the royal family or people that held authority. For God’s sake, it continues to baffle me every time I see people carrying weapons while shopping for groceries.

Sure, in my previous world, Earth, there were soldiers and guards who carried concealed weapons, despite that, they weren’t for the purpose of killing, but to deter crimes from happening.

Here, though, I witnessed a thief who stole a couple of items from the armory store the other day get slashed in the back by a large, bald mercenary carrying a polearm. Moreover, the bystanders even went as far as to applaud that oversized monk as the thief laid there dying.

A similarity that both this world and my previous world shared was the system of monarchy. The continent of Dicathen had Kingdoms, each ruled by a king and his royal family. Unlike Earth though, the king was chosen based on lineage; the title passed down from the son of the King, to his son and so on.

After scanning through the encyclopedia, there didn’t seem to be much information on other continents besides the one we were currently in. I found this a bit odd since there were ships that carried goods and passengers across the continent by river. I just assumed that maybe the technology on ships haven’t been developed enough to sail across oceans.

One thing that was going to be hard to get used to was the whole premise of magic in this world. If we were talking about superhuman powers, sure, the countries on Earth relied on such people.

On Earth, practitioners learned how to condense and utilize the innate ki that they had in their body. Think of it as a muscle if you will. Repeatedly breaking the ki center down through exhaustion followed by rest would cause the ki center to grow stronger, allowing access to a bigger pool of ki. The ki would then be channeled throughout the body via special veins or meridians and utilized for the strengthening of the body and weapon.

In this world, instead of ki, it seemed to be called mana and the more surprising thing was that it existed in the atmosphere. Thus, Practitioners, or Mages, would use the surrounding mana and draw it into their bodies, ultimately condensing it in their mana core. In my old world, ki only existed and formed inside the body. Whether ki had never existed in Earth’s atmosphere in the first place or ceased to exist because of the pollution caused by humans, we’d never know.

On Earth, while practice was incredibly important, the size of a user’s innate ki center was even more important because the limited amount of ki one had in his body was all one could work with. Did that mean that one’s innate mana core size wouldn’t matter as much because of the available mana in the atmosphere?

The bigger the cup, the more you can hold, right?

In my old world, even though my ki center wasn’t that large, I was considered a prodigy at channeling and utilizing my ki effectively to make up for my not so sufficiently large ki center. With the way I utilized every bit of my ki, I was able to become the strongest of the elite division of Duelists, earning the right to become King.

Now, if I could still practice the way ki practitioners used their ki, but with mana that was both present inside the mana core and in the surrounding atmosphere, couldn’t I essentially double… no… triple the strength that I had before?

The next book that I managed to pull from the bottom shelf, explained a couple of questions for me.

“Beginner’s Guide for the Privileged Mage”

“While the power to control mana is largely genetic, there are many cases where children of Magi come out unable to sense the mana around them. A recent census showed that roughly 1 in a 100 children are able to sense mana, but the extent of which could only be tested when their mana core first completely developed—anywhere from their early adolescence to late teen years. It will be apparent when a mage first awakens by the initial repellence of the surrounding mana when their mana core manifests . This results in a translucent barrier forming around the awakened that lasts a couple of minutes.”

Flipping through the pages, I found something that caught my attention.

“…Mana can be used in a couple of ways. The two most common methods of utilizing mana are: enhancement of the body with mana (augmenter), and emission of mana to the outside world (conjurer)…”

“…. augmenters are most commonly seen amongst warriors who utilize mana, channeling it through their body to strengthen themselves and their attacks.”

“… The practice of conjuring is seen in Mages, who, after utilizing their mana, can cast spells to give off a certain effect on the surrounding area or directly at a target.”

Weaknesses and Limitations

“While augmenters can possess incredible strength, defense and agility, their weakness lies in their limited range…”

“conjurers possess unfathomable powers, being able to bend their surroundings to their will. However, such powers come with limits. Unlike augmenters, who utilize most of the mana in their own mana cores, conjurers need to borrow mana from the outside world, in addition to their own mana core, to exert mana into their surroundings in the form of a spell.”

“While both types of Mages, or Mana Manipulators, for the more scientifically accurate term, depend on and are categorized by their mana core, augmenters and conjurers also have different ways of measuring their aptitude.”

“flip”

“An augmenter’s prowess or talent is measured by the strength of the mana channels in their body, which measures the speed and efficiency in relocating their mana from their mana core into various parts of their bodies…”

“…A conjurer’s power and talent, comparatively, is measured by the power of their mana veins, which indicates the speed and effectiveness of absorbing mana from the outside world to cast a spell.”

“flip”

“…Mages (Mana Manipulators) are typically categorized into one of these two divisions since attempting to be proficient in both from an early stage is incredibly time consuming and inefficient. Most are born with a skewed difference in their mana channels and mana veins…”

“…augmenters do not need very strong mana veins because they mostly utilize the mana from their cores, while conjurers do not need very powerful mana channels because they do not release their mana into their own bodies.”

“As proficiency level rises, the distinction between augmenters and conjurers lessens naturally, but that is only so at an advanced level…”

Hmm… So my idiot father seems to be a decently competent augmenter and a less than average conjurer.

That healing light though… What was my mother?

“flip, flip, flip”

AHA!

“There are a few, rare deviants. The two most well-known types of deviants are elemental deviants and Emitters. While there are still some undiscovered, ones that are highly sought after are the Emitters, more commonly known as healers. Healers possess the rare ability to cast their unique restorative mana unto others, directly, recovering injuries and impairments.”

Wow… mother is the best.

Fundamentals of Conjuring

“The proper steps of utilizing mana for conjurers is to gather the surrounding mana in the area, drawing it into your body, then, after circulating it into your mana core to stabilize and purify the atmosphere’s diluted mana, you channel it into an appropriate conductor (a staff, wand, ring, of some sort) with the incantations as a mental controller for your will into shaping the mana into whatever spell you want…”

“flip”

“…The more powerful the spell, the longer it will take to draw in surrounding mana, store it in your mana core, where it is condensed and purified, and finally channel and release…”

“flip”

“Because conjuring involves exerting focused mana into a particular spell, conjurers will notice that they have a special aptitude of certain elements (Air, Water, Fire, Earth), but with proper training, can become adequate in the basics of all elements.

“flip, flip”

Fundamentals of Augmenting

“Unlike conjuring, much less time can be spent gathering the surrounding mana. Efficient use of augmenting requires speed and precision in the use of the mana from your core and less from the mana in the atmosphere..”

This was where it clicked…. augmenting was very close to using ki, except you could also draw mana in from your surroundings. The reason why there weren’t any kinds of conjurers in my old world of Earth was because there was no mana in the atmosphere to draw from and create a phenomenon.

My gaze tensed as I read on.

“…augmenting requires proper distribution of mana into different parts of the body, depending on how the user sees fit. While it seems simple at a glance, augmenting requires much insight into the individual’s own body. Being able to utilize the mana channels efficiently requires years of both mental and physical practice.”

“flip”

“Because augmenting involves extracting mana in its purest form from the user’s mana core, there are no highly notable distinctions in an elemental sense at an early stage. However, augmenters are able to control their mana more freely, resulting in vastly different forms of fighting through augmentation.”

“flip”

“The phenomenon called ‘Backlash’ occurs in both types of practitioners. For augmenters, it occurs from depletion of the mana core, causing extreme bodily pain, depending on how strenuous the damage to the mana core is. For conjurers, backlash occurs from overfilling of the mana core. This is caused by overuse of spells beyond the practitioner’s capacity, or using a spell too powerful for his or her mana core to handle.”

Closing the book, I propped myself up on my butt, digesting the overload of information that I had just read.

Because of the uncanny similarities between the ki center from my old world and the mana core in this world, I found it hard to believe that you needed to be a young adolescent to manipulate mana. In my old world, children could already meditate and sense the ki scattered inside their bodies. Once the ki migrated into a single place, the ki center would form.

Testing my hypothesis, I began meditating, trying to sense the mana in my 7 month old body when…

“There you are! Art, honey, are you having trouble taking a poopy?”

Mother! I’m about to begin my journey to become the greatest mage in the world! Do not make me out to be a constipated infant!

Picking me up and gently placing me in her arms, I was forcibly taken away to have my diaper changed, which, surprisingly, was full by the time I noticed