"Hmm…"

"What?"

"I do not understand. Why would, um, she push you down the stairs?"

"Her brother doesn't like me."

"Yeah, but umm, she is a noble wouldn't that be uh, you know uh…"

"Dishonourable?" I flexed my big boy language.

"Y-yeah, that."

"Maybe, but they seemed to get a real talking, Erick looked really down when they came back."

"Oh. That's good."

Me and Rohan were sitting down, our backs propped up against a wall and our bottoms on the hard stone of the courtyard.

"Sh-she didn't come in the past few days."

"Hmm?" I turned to him, wondering why he would keep track, but decided to ignore it. "Yeah, she looked a little pale." I said remembering her pale complexion as she sneered at me.

"That's w-weird. They don't get sick often."

"Maybe she got it from all that shit she was rambling about."

Rohan stiffled a laugh at my use of rude language.

I chuckled a bit as well. It was nice to be back to school, even if I only missed a few days. I, and Mum, decided I should stay at home for a few days, considering it was Thursday when it happened I managed to make it to the weekend. Right now, a week has passed since the incident, and I managed to extend my small break all the way to now. Apparently, I somehow caught a cold. I scratched my neck, the itchiness that lasted a week fading, before stopping quickly to not make it worse.

I couldn't wait to go home. School had become dull again, as we didn't learn anything particularly new. That spell lesson seemed to be a one off thing, and was the only time we were taught something directly magic related. Sure, we were told about magic, but not anything that helped with practical application. The lack of magic in teaching, however, didn't seem to carry over to the questions where we were asked about magic quite a fair bit. It seemed that in the noble class, tests were taken every week to see how we were doing. Sure, they were a page or 2 but they were still annoying.

I bid goodbye to Rohan and made my way back to class. What happened with Erick seemed to really knock some sense into the rest of the aristocracy in my class; they stopped pouring or spreading stuff on my chair, which was a pleasant surprise. I'm guessing no one else wanted a stern reminder to act like a respectable person from their parents. The looks, however, only increased. There was also a lot of chatter going on about me being a 'snitch', so I guess some things never change, no matter the universe. But I didn't mind; the more reason they have to stay away, the better for me.

I entered my classroom and sat down, ignoring the stares, and waited for the teacher. When she arrived the lesson had begun. I thought that maths will stop being taught, considering that the nobles already had some education, but I guess this was their education, for some of them. I tuned out the equations which I have learnt many years ago and thought about going home. To mum. After I showed her I'm proficient in magic, as much as a 5 year old should be, she decided I needed a little more training. Yes, I was a little sick and decided I had to stay home. But the real reason was that I could train with mum the entire day. Well, while she wasn't working with (or for) Ferrar. The things I learnt were more practical, unlike the theory I learnt; mum told me how a spell was cast. Apparently, I was correct, kind of. There were special 'veins' for mana where mana liked to go through, but they didn't have to be carved out like I thought. Instead, they got expanded the more use it took. Mum said that the more mana I use, not only will I get macially stronger, but physically as well. I'm guessing this was from the fact mana from the 'mana veins' diffuse off into the muscle, making it magic. Mum said that through magic we can get as strong as '****s'.

It has been a while since I didn't understand what a word was, but it seemed to be a name of something. It was like the goblin situation. I clenched my fist, refocusing on the maths, seeing it was still addition up to the tens, and went back to day dreaming. I had no idea what ****s were, but they must have been physically strong. Mum didn't give me a chance to question her and continued. My training shall consist of mainly casting so that it expands these mana veins. Now, my ones were already expanded quite a bit, except they weren't even; my right arm had larger mama veins than my left due to me drawing with that arm. I decided that I could use my left one for charging and casting the spell, but mum had said mana veins expand differently depending on what the mana does. Casting made mana move differently than when charging. When charging mana just went from point a to point back, while casting it moved around more and- wait.

More movement makes the mana veins grow? That sounds familiar… its the same as the mana core!

"Arret?"

"17."

"Well done!"

I ignored the stares once again. I had been paying little attention, but the question was on the board. I was woken up by my revelation. Alright, I had to test this somehow. I had to do the same thing I do in my core, but inside of my mana veins. Seemed simple enough. I focused on my core, staring intensely at the board. I washed it move around continuously for a bit before moving my focus to my left mana vein. I then willed the mana to move from the core. It slowly flowed onwards, towards the mana vein, and began to flow down. However, only a little of the amount I took actually moved down at a time, restricted by the circumference of the mana vein. I decided to let go of some of the mana, letting it go back to washing around in the core.

My left mana vein was full of mana, and it took some effort to not let it out. I realised that my left arm was getting tired after about 5 minutes. I couldn't let up on the mana or it'll all leave the mana vein, but because of that I couldn't do anything else. I decided to slowly let my mana defuse off into my muscles. It seemed that my method of training my muscles also pumped them full of mana each time. That's why I felt stronger than the average person; I had magic muscles.

…

"Uncles Septim?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you come with me to the park?"

"You can go yourself." He said as he dismissed my presence.

"But mum said-"

"Ask her then."

I walked away. I couldn't ask my mum; she needs to work right now and I want to keep my powers a secret. I reached for the handle and opened the door after I put on my shoes and closed it behind me as I ran. It was sunny outside, but still a little chilly. The usual April weather. West Utsa City was a generic medieval city; many streets lined with wooden houses, sometimes cobblestone, a wooden fortification embracing it, a few open spaces scattered around, such as the park, and an inner wall made of stone. I guess that's where the nobles live. The city wasn't on high ground and seemed to have been built on pretty even terrain. The Utsa river ran through it, bisecting the city into 2 with a very squiggly line.

I ran past some people walking, some talking about the day or their shop. K ignore the conversations, I had to make it to the park quickly so I could get enough training time before mum returned from her work, and I couldn't waste time listening to peopl-

"Goblins?"

I stopped in my tracks.

"Yeah, spotted to the west, said they're heading towards Stonehill."

"Ha! Wait till those bastards meet them walls."

"Haha! Well, I wouldn't underestimate them. They had to send some Origo Royal corps up north."

"Shit, what division?"

"4th. They lost 20 soldiers."

The woman begun to swear enough it took me aback.

"They ain't coming here?" She asked. The man looked around, noticing but ignoring me, before leaning closer to her.

"Heard they gonna pass about 8 kilometers away."

"Are the guards ready for them?"

"Accoridng to Ryan, they've been training harder, got some of the corps coming as well."

"What division?"

"4th or 3rd."

"Shit, that serious?"

"Apparently so; I'm staying inside tonight, probably tomorrow too."

"Yeah..."

I slowly walked away. Goblins... they're usually weak and stay in tribes in books and the like. However, I saw what goblins can do; they're almost equivalent to a person and they're much more savage. They can also wield weapons and... fire. A flash of memory passed through me. I clenched my fists hard enough for my nails to sting. I didn't turn to go to the park, instead heading forwards. Towards the shopping district. I took a left and found myself in an alleyway. Crossing through I arrived at another street. This one I saw the quantity of passerby increased. Going in the right direction then. I followed a large group of people for a bit, before spotting another alleyway and walking through it. A woman in skimpy clothing giggled and sent me a wave as I brushed past. I ignored her. On the other side the street was paved with cobblestone and the sizes of the houses considerably grew. I again followed the majority. Taking a look around I realised something; there weren't any other races around. Its either they're really similar to humans, West Utsa City is a place in the middle of nowhere, or there is racial discrimination. Was it too much to ask for the third one to not exist? I stopped as I looked in front of me. There was a large group, or queue, of people standing before an arch in a stone wall, guards posted next to it and above it. The noble inner circle. Yeah, it was probably too much to ask for equality between races. I took a left down the most popular street. Of course, I moved haphazardly. If there was one thing I didn't want to go through, a kidnapping was it. Hopefully, no one would be able to track me through the ground the way I was moving, and even then I could cause a commotion. I shivered when a hand went on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. I almost shouted before realising they weren't pulling and looked towards them. A woman stood over me.

"Hello tiny boy, what are you doing here alone?"

"I'm here looking for a map store!"

"Why's that, want to go on adventures?"

"Yeah! Dad said to get one to go on a biiig adventure!"

She chuckled in the way you do when you talk to an over ambitious child.

"Well let me help you."

She kept her hand on my shoulder as she led me onwards. I would have been concerned if not for the fact we were still in the middle of the road. Eventually she showed me the cartographer. I thanked her and went towards it. Of course, I didn't enter, instead I waited until a group of 3 people entered. I walked in after them. The wood was dark and there were maps lining the wall, showing the world. Or known world. That wasn't what I was looking for. I found the map that detailed the surroundings of the city and looked under it. Scrolls were placed there and I opened some a bit. I found one that had a much more zoomed out view. Right, so it seemed there was a wood to the west of the city, West Woods to be precise. Using the very rudimentary measurement scales that were apparently equivalent to a kilometer, I saw the goblins were moving around a km into the woods. Looking around I saw that the woods also expanded north, towards my old village. I did remember going through a forest when I was coming here all those years ago. I closed the scroll and waited. The door opened and I left. I was going to return but then I saw something out of the corner of my eye and looked. There was a magic shop.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

I walked quickly and entered it, not having to wait for someone due to the high traffic to it. The inside was made of a light coloured wood, books lined behind the counter while the walls of the shop consisted mostly of paintings. I also saw what looked like potions, one red and one blue. Huh, I wonder what those do. I stood in a corner and listened. Information, sometimes, had too high a price, and now I get it for free.

A certain conversation caught my interest.

"Yeah, the tattoo's help ya draw it on you and then you can cast a spell easily."

"That's sick!"

"You can also do this."

The woman opened her hand, palm up, and showed the magic circle enshrined onto it. It suddenly jumped off her skin, floating, leaving a black tattoo to be shown.

"Holy moly. You can just store spells like that?"

"Yup! Marvels of Spellgraving."

"Hey! No casting in-shop!" Yelled the clerk, lifting their hand menacingly. The women lowered their eyes and the tattooed one re-attached the spell. It lost all its glow as it ingrained itself in the skin. My eyes sparkled before I left, returning to my original task.

I needed to do something.

...

Night befell the city, lamps lit via a guard's long fire sticks illuminated the entire settlement. I let the wind hit my face, making my hair wave around. The city was cold at night, and colder than you'd expect it to be. It was kind of like New York City in that sense. Not that I've been there. Or will ever be. I clenched the wooden window sill, returning to my original train of thought. Yeah, beautiful view, not as good as it was during winter, but still amazing. I looked around, spotting the walls of the fortification embracing the settlement, and planning a route. I had watched the sunset and now knew which way was west. Staring at the sun for an hour to see if it moved the same way as on Earth payed off, even if only a little. I looked at my hands. To be honest, I thought that engraving myself with magic would be hard, but it only took a day of practice to be able to get the Gust spell engraved on my palms. Or tattooed? Spellgraved? Pretty sure that was the name the woman gave it. Doesn't matter, I just have to hope it was enough to stop me from breaking my legs. Of course, I had a backup plan if tha failed but I have hope flying is possible. I just had to put enough power into the spell to make it hold me. Easy.

Wait, how do I put more power into a spell? OK, OK quick rest session. I took out the spellgraved construct from my left palm to make it float above my hand. I then drew another one with my other hand, but condensed or concentrated the mana. One seemed to create more light than the other. I then began pumping them full of mana. The left one cracked first, after 4 seconds, while the other lasted to 8. Impressive, even if I didn't reach the maximum rate I could output. I made sure to absorb my mana back, taking another 5 minutes , but then reapplied both constructs back knto my palms, with a small improvement. OK, no more distractions. I pulled myself up on the window, suppressing a trembling coming from my innate phobia of heights as I pulled my knees of to my chin, preparing to jump. I heard squeaks and I silently but swiftly got out of my position. The door opened.

"Bloody breeze."

Ferrar closed my window, taking a small glance at me, before leaving and shutting the door. I waited until there was a lack of movement in the house before moving again. As much as Ferrar wasn't the best of people, I had to give it to them that their house was well made; the floor didn't squeak at all. I quickly bundled up some spare clothes and a blanket to make it look like me under the covers before slowly opening the window again. I pulled myself up onto the window sill, knees at my chin before I took a quick breath.

Alright, time to go. I looked down and gulped. Maybe... no! I'll never do it if I don't do it now. I fell. I couldn't jump due to the window being in the way. I held on to the window sill, enhancing my arm with mana. I safely landed on top of the roof of the forge behind the house. The ceramic roof barely clanked as I landed on it. Looking up I could see the window, just barely out of reach. I just hope it was open when I came back. I walked sidelong to the house to disturb the least amount of ceramic tiles before reaching the edge of the roof. I looked down at the 2 and a bit meter drop. I hope this worked. I enabled the spells, making them shine. The problem with spellgraving was that the spells remained the size of the spellgraving, so the place where the air was coming from was smaller for me. I pointed my arms towards the ground, putting mana into them and my legs, and leaned off. I activated the spell and felt it push back against me and it slowed me down considerably. But I couldn't hold the same positions long and my right arm was moved backwards. This made me spin and I hit the ground rolling. I deactivated the spells. They were a little smaller in size due to their use but they'll have to do. I spellgraved them back on and proceeded to wipe myself down before standing and heading out of the alley. I looked both ways for a sign of a guard and then leaped forwards to a dark spot. Alright, just a few more hundred to go.

...

I looked up at the wooden outer wall. The gate was closed and heavily guarded, so going through there was a no go. I had to choose another place, and this seemed like the best place. I stood in a dark corner of a street surrounded by houses taller than average. Perfect. I waited and waited until finally a guard not only passed the street, but on top of the wall as well. I had to act quickly. I put mana in my legs and activated the spellgravings as I jumped, before quickly deactivatikng them and grabbing onto the wooden roof. I put mana into my arms before lifting myself on top of it, carefully making my way up the sloped side to the top. I turned to look at the wallz only a meter higher now. I prepared myself, the spells causing light around me. I leaped.

I managed to clear the wall and was now on the other side. I deactivated the spell gravings and moved my arms in position before activating them again. My descend slowed and I wanted to wipe the sweat from my brow before the spells finished and I plummeted 3 meters. I fell on my feet and managed to roll. My legs were tired for the constant use and as I stood they buckled, letting me lay in cold grass and mud. I eventually managed to stand and walked around to the direction of the gate. When I saw it I immediately turned and headed west, towards the forest.

The wind took the body heat away like a knife cutting through bread and I shivered before sneezing. I immediately covered my mouth and forced the next sneeze to a stop. I moved faster. It took me 10 minutes to reach the tree line. In total, I made it out of the city and to the forest in around an hour. Now time to head towards the goblins. I had to see what I was up against. I decided I was far enough away and cast Candle with the most mana I could muster. I realised I had used around a third of it from prolonged use. I had used a lot of it to maneuver around the city. My legs had given out around 4 times including the wall landing. I cast the spell and a small flame burnt away floating atop my palm. It was surprisingly warm, though I doubted it'll catch anything around here on fire considering how wet everything was. I leaned against a tree and embraced the small flame as I looked up to the moon, my head resting against the trunk.

...

...

...

It was time to go.

...

Trekking through the woods was challenging. The ground was slippery and the roots seemed to want to trip me at every chance they got. Having a light would make this easier but I decided that it might lead to me dying, even if it led to me dropping in multiple puddles and almost breaking a bone from a stray root. I had considered using a light after a few but then I heard them. Thousands of feet marching, no it was more like a hoard. Since then I slowed myself down and listened closely. I was close. Very close. My heart almost stopped when I stepped forwards and slipped. I had never gripped nothing harder I my life than I did that tree trunk. I gripped it so hard I left a mark. It seemd I instinctively used mana to buff myself. That was good but something to think about later. I approached once again. I parted a branch and my eyes widened. Like a river, thousands of goblins gushed onwards, so much so there was nothing in their way, no trees, no rocks. They all seem to hold something, a stick, a club, a flint axe, pickaxe, sword. I saw one that was shouting in full metal armour and a shiver went down my spine. I definitely couldn't handle this. Yet. But I needed to.

I picked up a rock and threw it weakly. It knocked a goblin on the head and it immediately swung in the direction I threw from with its stick. It advanced to look at the weird tree and was about to leave when another rock was thrown, missing but knocking against the wood. The goblin was interested now, but didn't call for help. It advanced into the wood. I led it deeper and deeper until we were around a 100 meters from the hoarde. That's when I attacked. I swung my improvised axe at its head, made from a piece of rock I created using Create Earth mixed with a little Mould Earth. I hadn't used that spell yet and it was weird. I then found a stick wide enough to place it into, being a young tree. I then made a hole into it using another rock and the Heat spell to burn the hole so the axe head fit, making sure to not set anything on fire. Heat was one of the spells I could actually use in combat, and I wasn't gonna risk anything with it. I also decided not to use it to heat myself up, even if Iwas cold and it barely gave off light. It wasn't a perfect fit, but Earth Mould fixed that.

The goblin reacted extremely fast, parrying my blow and making it fly over its head. With one move it broke my guard wide open. It quickly pointed the stick at me and proceeded to thrust. What I seemed to overlook was the sharpened end of the stick. It was headed right for my ribs. I decided to let go of the axe with one hand and try to grab the stick. With my mana enhanced body, I managed. It was only now I realised the goblin, a creature smaller than the average human, was taller than me. I was still a 5 year old, and I was trying to kill a goblin. I grit my teeth. Like the goblins are gonna care what age someone is before tracking them and burning their home. I split its stick in 2, ignoring the splinters entering my hand, before I punched the goblin, or tried to. It was surprisingly agile and moved back, dodging. I moved both the axe and the spike in front of me. I adjusted my grip on the axe to be closer to its center of mass so I could swing better. We both looked at each other, waiting for the next move. It seemed to be impatient and charged me, preparing to swing the stick from the right. I would have to shift my entire body to block it using the axe. I did so but also threw the spike at its face. It flinched and I managed to catch the stick. This time I held on. The axe dug into it's ribs, my aim being off from its neck. It scraped along them before getting stuck in between the bones. The goblin screamed, and my ears were assaulting by its ungodly sound, made worse by the gurgling as blood flowed into its lungs. I guess I got a good hit in. The goblin let go of the stick and pulled with both hands on the axe, managing to take it out of my grip. I stumbled forwards but was quickly on guard. I held the stick up. It now had my weapon. The goblin coughed out black blood, which might have been red in better lighting, before reaching for the axe handle. I slowly kneeled down, breathing hard. I hope this works

It touched the handle and screamed as it slowly began to pull it out. I focused and looked within, seeing my core, my mana veins. Then I turned around. Without seeing, I sent mana out from my left hand, pointed towards the goblin. Then focused on the red circle. I opened my eyes refocusing on the battle. I activated it. A red circle shone on the axe head, half buried into the goblin, before it pulsed and activated. The goblin screamed louder than before and fell onto its knees, scratching at the wound and flesh that was now searing from the heat. I didn't miss the chance. I stood up from my kneeling position, grabbing my goal for the action and put mana into my arm and leg. I leapd forward and stabbed the goblin through the eye with the spike. It's eye sent a small shiver as it burst and its skull made my hand tremble as it cracked. Its body shook as its brain was pierced. I kicked it and it fell onto its back. I took the axe out, putting one foot onto its chest and heaving. A rib flew off as it emerged and blood smoked.

The Heat spell had seemed to wear off by now, since I gave it little mana to burn. I did strengthen it a little, but not enough to set the goblin on fire. I lifted it using my trembling hands and looked at the goblins neck, hard to see through the tears. I swung down and missed, widening it's chest. I swing down and missed, taking off half its jaw. I swung again and missed, hitting the wood under it. J then just placed the axe on its neck and my foot on the head. I put mana into my leg and pushed. The axe dug into the root below as the head rolled. I breathed hard and sat down, not minding it was a puddle. I trembled, from adrenaline, from the fear, from the anger. I remember how these bastards burnt my home, attacked the village. How they made Otto and Olivia cry and hug for hours after while we were in the carriage. I looked at it once more, and vomited. I stumbled away and kept walking. I reached the horde, the sound almost like a buzzing. I moved a branch away slowly, and looked. Thousands of goblins still flowed, and I didn't see an end. But my eyes widened by what I did see. This must be the last of the horde, or near the end, because there were carriages.

Filled with people.

Mostly women. I realised something then. The reason this society had more women be in charge was because of a simple thing; there were more female mages. The magic shop had some for sale and it reminded me. I returned to my kill. I closed my eyes and reached for my axe. It took a great deal of effort to take it out. I then put it on the goblins chest and pressed down hard, using some mana. It cut and I pulled, bisecting the creature. I then stuck my hand in the middle, vomiting again, this time mostly on myself,and focusing on my mana core. I then turn so I can look around me and find it. The tears in my eyes stopped me from seeing it properly but it was definitely there. Around the size of a small seed of wheat was a small crystalline structure. The reason people were being taken.

A mana core