The morning after the entire village was murdered, Nazeel helped me bury mom. i never thought this would have happened, I'm still hoping that i'll wake up and realize it was just a dream. once she was buried, i gave a prayer, in my previous life, i was an atheist, i didn't believe in the existence of gods. but in this world, apparently gods actually exist. I want to blame them for not protecting her, but...it's not the gods that are at fault...I'm the one at fault... if i didn't involve myself with Emma's son then maybe.... Maybe my mom would still be alive...once i was done praying, nazeel used magic to create a large hole and put all the bodies to rest, giving a short prayer each time, a body was covered with dirt.

once everything was set, we left for the city of krosstoen. It wasn't a very long walk, a few hours at most. Once we arrived, we went to the guards. Nazeel went up to the guard.

{good morning sir, we come from the city of beaverwood bearing terrible news. our entire village was murdered by the former guard and two of the villagers, we were the only survivors}

the guard looks at him, I think he's shocked.

{i... i see...Bernard, get the captain.}

one of the guards left and went inside a nearby building connected to the wall. I think it's a guard house.

a few seconds later, the same guard and another guard came out, the new guard was wearing the same armor as the other's but was wielding a battle-axe had a beard and black hair, he had blue eyes and looked to be about 35.

{so,what's this about}

he sounds worried.

nazeel told him the gist of the story and the captain stood still, hishand touching his chin.

{isee, this is indeed terrible news, are the bodies still laying around?}

"we buried them"

the captain looks at me, he looks sad.

{and what's your story?}

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i look down

"i...i lost my mom...everything."

i look back up, tears in my eyes.

{i see, I'm sorry you had to live through that. What about the culprits?}

the captain was looking at nazeel

{this child killed them in self-defense using his magic, when he came to me his house was on fire and he had blisters all over his body. All of them were disintegrated}

the captain looks at me, eyes wide open

{this child can use magic so powerful it disintegrated grown men?}

nazeel sighed.

{indeed. He has the most potent magic I've ever seen in any mage.}

the captain sighs and looks past us with his hand on his chin, I think he's thinking about what to do with us.

{very well, I'll grant you passage, I'd suggest both of you to figure out what to do now that your village has been decimated.}

with that we entered the city, we went to a nearby inn and sat down.

{what do you wish to do, corvo?}

i look at him for a second and then look at the inn keeper.

what do i want to do?

at first i wanted to learn magic and swordsmanship, but now...i... I'm not sure...maybe i should just join the knight's order...I'll be fed and trained, maybe even paid.

"i..i think I'll join the order of the knights of the 6, i'll be fed, trained and maybe even paid."

{that's an option, honestly i think it's the best option for you, you are still only a child, having to worry about food and shelter would be too much, even if you're a reincarnation.}

with that, we ate and went to the capital. It took a total of 8 days of walking to reach the capital, stawford.

once we arrived, we went to a big building with drapery displaying six swords and a shield.

{this is it, youngcorvo. once you enter, I will be leaving and returning to beaverwood}

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"ah..."

i look at nazeel

"thank you nazeel,i hope we meet again, you've been kind to me"

nazeel smiles and pats me on the head.

{good luck}

with that, I went inside.

this building seemed big outside, but it's so open that it just seems huge inside, not to mention everything looks incredibly fancy.

a woman, probably in her fifties, was behind a desk.

{excuse me, cani help you?}

"uh, yes, my entire village was slaughtered and i have no one left, id like to join the order, I can use dark magic."

she stopped smiling, I think she's surprised.

{you... can use dark magic? what is your name?}

"yes, Ican, my name is corvo of beaverwood."

{how old are you, corvo?}

"I'm 6 years old"

{i see, are you sure you want to join the knight order? Usually, parents are the ones to conscript their children}

"yes, I'm sure, as for my parents.... both of them are dead. My mother was murdered and my father died in the line of duty a few months ago..."

{i see, im sorry for your loss, verywell, take the stairs to the right and enter the second room to the right.}

"thank you"

man, these stairs are nice, I think they're made of marble

okay, this is the room. i open the door and look inside.

it's a small-ishroom, there's nothing inside.

"uh, this is weird, is this the right room?"

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i feel a hand touch my shoulder, I look up and see a man, clad in armor.

{so, you must the corvo}

"y..yes"

{come in.}

i enter the room with him, he goes to the middle of the room.

{i was told you can wield dark magic. Show me.}

"oh, sure, but first, can you use healing magic? i only just recently started using magic so my hands still aren't used to using it."

{yes, allknights can use healing magic.}

thank god

okay, let's see, how about i summon a ball of flame in the palm of my hand, i just have to visualize it.

i push the magic out and open my eyes. The knight looked at my palm, impressed.

{how does it feel?}

"painful, although its less painful then the first time i tried."

i make the flame disappear and the knight kneeled down and healed my hand.

{dark magic is incredibly rare; we would be honored to have you join our ranks.I'm sorry for what happened to your parents. Truly}

the knight stood up.

{i am the knight engeramus of bardul. i will be your mentor until the day you graduate and become a knight. now, follow me}

engeramus starts walking towards the door and i follow him. We walk from corridor to corridor and eventually enter a room.

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{this is where you'll be sleeping, try to get along with the others. You'll be taking the bed at the far right.}

after that, he brought me to the bath's, the cafeteria and eventually we went to my classroom. A class was in session and when the other students saw me, they all started staring at me.

{this is where you'll be learning how to control your magic. Please behave.}

"thank you sir engeramus" i bow my head slightly.

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engeramus leaves the room. What i assume to be a teacher then looks at me, I think he's disgusted, probably because im a commoner. I stay silent and look at the other students' all seem to think the same thing. great, guess I'mgonna get bullied.

the teacher finally speaks up.

{take the seat at the far end of the class.}

i look around and find it, this dude really doesn't like me, its a good 10 feet away from everyone.

after a few hours

{alright, this concludes the lesson for today, you may go to the cafeteria to eat.}

he looks at me

{but you, you shall stay here.}

then he leaves the classroom

"what...what just happened???"

did this guy just abandon me in the classroom????

20 minutes pass and no one returned.

jesuschrist and here i thought that id learn something other than "commoner bad ehehehehehehe"

i wonder if i could figure out how to use healing magic...

if the process of using a spell just came from how you visualized it, then i could use healing magic right off the bat, but it has to be more complex than that, otherwise more people would know healing magic, right? maybe i have to temper the magicka that flows through my body, something like a nozzle that controls the flow. but how do i do that?

"well, I have time, might as well see if i can control the amount of magic that flows."

as i concentrate like i did the other day, I start seeing the lines again, this time they are thicker and seem to radiate darkness.

i go to the big orb near my heart and notice that it now looks like a blackhole but inversed, instead of sucking in, it pushes out.

okay, let's see... nazeel told me to instruct the orb to allow my magic to go to my arms, but what about limiting the amount of magic that flows? would i need to tell the orb or would i need to tell the lines? Maybe i should call the lines "veins" as that would be an accurate description of what they are. Let's start with the veins,i guess.

i look at the veins touching the orb and direct my thoughts to them

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hey magic veins, I need you to constrict to reduce the amount of mana that gets outputted to my two arms.

as i said those words i could visibly see the magic veins constrict and felt the inner flow of magic slow down.

okay, thatworked, now to see if i can use healing magic.

hey magic veins, stop reducing power to my left arm.

it obeyed.

alright, let's see.

i visualize fire coating my left hand and immediately after my hand starts burning. I put out the flames and concentrated on my right hand, visualizing it healing my hand and put it near my left hand. my left hand was then engulfed in darkness and a moment later, my hand was back to normal and the pain stopped.

"ha.hahaha! i did it! i figured out how to use healing magic!!" as i said so, the teacher entered the room and looked at me.

{what are you ranting about?}

he said this in a clearly cold voice.

"oh, uh,i just figured out how to use healing magic on my own."

he scoffed.

{a child such as you, from the middle of nowhere, suddenly manages to use healing magic? i think not, stop lying.}

so i was right, he's one of THOSE people. alright, challenge accepted.

i light my entire left arm in black flames and turn my arm into charred meat, then remove the flames. the teacher looks at me, he's visibly shocked. Theni imagine the same healing spell and heal my left arm.

silence.

{how... how is this possible? WHY DOES A COMMONER LIKE YOU HAVE DARK MAGIC??!}

welll, he's obviously pissed.

"yeah, I'm not answering that"

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he looked at me, he looks like he's going to explode, holy shit. he speed walked towards me and smacked me across the face, sending me flying off the chair.

{HOW DARE YOU! YOU WRETCHED COMMONER}

{ahem}

someone came inside the classroom just as he smacked me.

it was engeramus.

i think he's pissed that i was treated this way.

{Godafre, what is the meaning of this?}

godafre? that's his name?

{i.. this wretched child dared to insult me, i was merely.}

he was cut short by engeramus.

{idont want to hear your bullshit, godafre. you broke the order's code. Follow me, corvo.}

fine by me, serves you right.

{have you eaten yet?}

"no ihaven't, godafre told me to stay in class and left with the others."

he looked at me, he's obviously angry.

{follow me, I'll get you something to eat.}

"thank you, sir."

once we got to the cafeteria, my mentor brought me some food and sat with me while i ate.

"oh, by the way sir engeramus,i figured out how to use healing magic when i was in the classroom alone."

he looked at me,i think he's impressed.

{wow, that's impressive, most people only figure it out when they get to advanced stages of learning.}

oh, i was right. Then that was the reason why godafre reacted like that. He was probably jealous.

he looked at me for a bit

{try moving this without touching it}

he was gesturing to a cup in his hand. He wants me to use telekinesis.

okay, constrict my right hand, visualizean invisible hand made of magic...

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i move my hand and visualized the invisible hand grabbing the cup.

i moved my arm and as my arm moved so did the cup.

this is easier then iwould've thought.

i look at engeramus, and his eyes are wide, he's surprised.

{this is something beginner's take weeks to figure out, yet you immediately figure it out? this is incredible....}

he goes silent for a few minutes.

i keep eating, I'm not a fan of the main course but the beef soup is good, regardless, I'm hungry.

{i just got permission from the knight order's commander to judge your magical capabilities. Once you finish eating i'll bring you to have you evaluated.}

huh, ok. i nod.

well, I'm done eating now.

"I'm done eating, where do i put this stuff?"

{leave it, the servants are the ones that take care of that}

"oh okay"

i guess that makes sense.

we leave and go towards the building's rear, eventually stopping in a large room. the room has no door, in the middle of the room is a white pedestal with an orb that changes colors all the time, it makes me think of the RGB lightbulbs i had installed in my room back on earth. around the room's edges are seats and end tables. some plants are scattered here and there. It's a nice-looking room.

{touch the orb}

i go to the orb with engeramus right beside me.

"here we go"

when i touch the orb, the light becomes much brighter and a transparent wall appears about 5 feet from the orb, there's writing on it, the letters are black and have somewhat of a glow.

{let's see... dark magic...} he stop's talking, he opens his mouth wide and his eyebrows are lowered, I look at the wall.

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the wall says my name, age, race, magicka, magicka regeneration, magic affinity, magic type, passive effects (the only one that's written is "quick learn" as well as abilities (the only one there is soul absorption). wait, it says soul absorption, what is that?

{do you know, what soul absorption is?}

he said this in a low tone, without looking at me.

"uh, I'm not sure, i can guess but this is the first time i look at this."

he still isn't looking at me.

{how many people have you killed}

Huh? Well, let’s see, there was the guy in the woods, the two guards and the two remaining murderers, so that would be 5 people.

"about a week ago, my entire village was murdered by the former guard and two of the villagers, my mother was the last one to be murdered by them...when i saw them kill her, i.."

ican't believe she died...why...i loved her.....

tears are running down my face

"i.. i killed 5 men..."

i look up at his face, tears in my eyes.

he finally looks at me.

{i see, iwasn't aware of that... how did you feel when you killed them?}

what did i feel when i killed them?

"i... don't know..i felt grief but not for them..."

i pause

"right now, I'm angry at them."

{ i understand. regardless, we'll need to investigate your ability. But regarding the rest of your stats, your total magicka is slightly above average, how long have you used magic for?}

"the day before my mother was killed"

{i... i see....}

he pauses

Page 26

{your magicka regeneration rate is incredible... it's not even near the highest anyone in the order's history managed to attain...this...this is ridiculous....}

"how do you increase total magicka?"

{by using your magic as often as possible, it’s like a muscle, the more you use it the bigger it gets.}

"how do you increase your magicka recovery rate?"

{you dont. the one you get at birth is the one you get for the rest of your life. But..}

he pauses

{with your ability,its possible that your magicka regeneration was increased when you killed those men...}

huh, i guess that's cool.

"isee..."

{as for how you were able to learn healing magic so quickly, I'm guessing it's because of your quick learn effect.}

he sighs.

{okay, let’s go, i need to make a report.}

we go to the lobby and go down the stairs and go through a large wooden door. we eventually get to another large door.my mentor knocks.

the door opens.

{come in}

we sit at the chairs in front of a desk, a knight with encrusted armor sitting on the other side.

{so, Is this about your youngling?}

{yes, we went to the orb}

he takes a paper out of his satchel and gives it to the knight.

he looks at it, then makes a frown, then looks at me.

{i see.}

he gets up and puts the paper on his desk.

{young one, come here and put your hand on this cube.}

Page 27

it's just a metal cube.

i get up and put my hand on the cube.

nothing seems to be happening.

{isee...you may sit back down}

i sit down at the chair i was on previously.

{it seems that you possess a unique ability that allows you to absorb the souls of enemies that are stronger than you, allowing you to increase your abilities. Looking at your history, your strength and magicka regeneration was increased, but your strength was only marginally increased.my guess is because you haven't had to use your muscles much.it could also be how you kill your enemy. how did you kill your enemies?}

"um, the first one i killed had gotten physical with me but i didn't use physical attacks, i killed him with magic, the rest were all killed with magic, also i had ran from them originally, so that might be it"

{ah, yes that would make sense.it seems you have a very interesting ability, not to mention the fact that you possess dark magic. engeramus, teach him swordsmanship, teaching him magic isntimportant, i have the feeling he'll learn everything himself gradually.}

{understood, grandmaster.}

wait this dude’s the grandmaster? well, didnt expect that.

we leave the room and go towards the middle of the building, eventually coming to what looks like a training area. Engeramus grabs two wooden swords and passes me one.

its long enough that i can put 2 hands on the hilt.

i take a stance that I've seen in both video games, movies and online videos.

he looks at me, smiles, and takes a similar stance.

{you seem to know a bit, where did you learn this stance?}

"I'm a reincarnation, believe it or not."

{oh, isee, so its previous knowledge.}

"i know basic swordsmanship theory, but I've never actually used a sword."

{i see, then come at me, I'll simply block and tell you what to improve}

"okay"

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i move two steps forward, keeping the same stance, go for a stab attack, engeramus moves to the side, i then turn on myself, bringing my sword up behind my head in a sweeping motion and then lower myself slightly and sweep the sword towards his throat. i had originally seen this type of move from a movie i saw, Star Wars to be specific. Engeramuswasn't expecting this and jumped back.

I'm fairly sure i wasn't capable of this in my previous life, am i no longer mentally disabled?i quickly move towards him, sword raised in both hands, try hitting him from the top, he deflects it, sending my sword back, I try using the momentum to hit him on the side, he goes to intercept, so i turn that attack into a feint and stab him instead of hitting his side, he moves to the side but it grazes him.

{enough.}

he starts laughing.

{i was not expecting such swordsmanship, you have talent seeing this is the first time you've ever picked up a sword. i didn't expect anything you did. I severely underestimated you, you were able to use strategy, momentum and feints to try and hit me, you have potential. alright, i want to see how you block attacks, I won't go hard on you as you don't have much physical strength.}

"okay"

iget in the stance i previously took.

"ready"

he brings his sword to his left shoulder and sweeps his sword from left to right, i bring my sword to my bottom right and sweep it at an angle to my top left, hitting his sword. he then brings his sword to his bottom right and starts sweeping, so i bring mine to my top left at an angle and sweep, hitting his sword, he starts moving his left hand, he's trying to backhand me! i step back and sweep my sword in his hand's direction, missing his backhand. He then moves in my direction and starts sweeping his sword faster and faster, I'm starting to have issues keeping up. Ifidon't go on the offensive ill just get overwhelmed!!!

he moves forward another step, so i move forward, he sweeps from his top right so i move my sword from my top right, to my bottom right then up to my top left, hitting his sword, then use the momentum to turn around, remove the grip on my left hand and hit him on the neck.

he brings his hand to his throat and starts coughing after a few seconds of not breathing.

{iwasn't expecting that} he starts laughing, tears in his eyes.

{your impressive, considering its a technique I've never seen anyone fight with before. you seem to have issues with your footwork though, mainly getting your feet to lineup with the attacks you want to do, but you’ll get used to it and ill help you correct that.}

I'm happy "thanks, I'll try to improve on that."