A FEW DAYS AFTER THE INCIDENT

I have gotten used to living with Aine-san but as expected it is still hard to control myself when living with alone with a girl under the same roof. I mean when you first look at her you'd think she's a regular female, and of course she'd show her charms every now and then which is really tempting. After all even if I have the body of a 10 year old I was only 20 years old before. She has been training me in the ways of [Support] magic and taught me [Utility] magic that even she has an advantage against gramps on. Gramps is apparently called an attack mage, he is stronger in terms of power but in terms of support he is at a disadvantage. Although I have grasped the basic part of [Support] magic I can't quite get [Utility] magic properly.

It includes stuff like [Telepathy] which is the one of the very few [Utility] magic that gramps knows. In case any of you are wondering, the level system on magic isn't based on knowledge but rather based on use. Even if you only have 1 type of that magic it is still possible to max the level on it so that the amount of mana used and the effectiveness would increase.

"Kai-sama, wake up."

Eh? Is that Aine-san? Guess it must be morning I should probably wake up. I try to open my eyelids but I can't and just decided to sleep a little more. I then heard Aine-san's voice again.

"How long are you gonna sleep? Wake up."

Is she coming in my room to wake me up? No no she's probably at the door, but her voice is heard loud and clear? Don't tell me she's personally waking me up?! I open my eyes and see that she wasn't there. Figures.

"Are you awake yet?"

Hm? Ah, I get it, she's speaking to me via [Telepathy]. I guess I'd better answer her the same way. I cast [Telepathy] using the basic image I have of it and then respond.

"Yeah."

"Okay good."

She isn't as emotionless as before and rather she started showing a bit of emotion like joy.

"We are not gonna talk using our mouths for the whole day and instead talk using [Telepathy] so that you can get used to it."

"I see. I guess this kind of training is also effective."

She really has some efficient training methods. To make the user experienced with it instead of just teaching it. I can tell that she has taught more people than gramps. I mean gramps is the strongest person in the continent so it would be more surprising if he had a lot of pupils. Although training my [Support] and [Utility] isn't bad I still have to make sure to train my attack power, seeing as how I couldn't even damage that Dark Guild member all that much.

"Kai-sama, we will soon test your [Support] and [Utility] training. Since you are progressing this fast, maybe a week? I will give you scenarios and you have to manually solve them."

"Like?"

"Like me giving you a wound while your goal is to heal it within the alloted time."

"I see."

Although I am familiar with healing magic it looks like she doesn't know I can instantly heal wounds.

"How long does it take for you to cure a minor wound? A scratch for instance."

"I'd say 5 minutes."

"Is that good?"

"Of course it is! The average time is 10!"

She said that with confidence, should I teach her how to heal wounds instantly?

"Hey, can I tell you something?"

"What is it?"

Well I'm gonna get prepared for the overreaction. If it was her before I'm sure she would just say 'amazing!' with a blank face.

"I can heal wounds instantly."

".."

"Hello? Is this transmitting correctly?"

"Ah, yes it is. I'm sorry but can you repeat that, I thought I misheard something about you healing wounds instantly."

"You didn't hear wrong, I can heal wounds instantly."

"Eh..?!"

And there it is, I mean I'm used to gramps overreacting to my magic but since this is the first time that another person has overreacted I can tell I really am abnormal. She instantly barges into my room and took my hand and took a knife out and slashed her palm. I was surprised at first but she said: "Heal it with your magic."

I then do as she had instructed and casted [Heal]. My right hand glew green and as my hand neared hers, the wound was cured. She had a blank look on her face and her eyes looked dead inside.

{Aine's point of view}

His hand is glowing green, I guess that means he cast the magic. He then placed his hand near mine and the wound suddenly vanished. I tried to feel for pain but to no avail. He wasn't lying.. That means all my hard work and boasting about being a fast healer was all for nothing when he can heal wounds like this instantly. It would've taken me 5 minutes at the least. This is simply unbelievable, I knew he was gifted with magic since Shiro-sama told me but to this extent I never knew. Okay I can't talk not talking anymore when this just happened.

"Kai-sama, you are a monster at magic."

"Eh? Are we gonna speak now? Okay."

{Kai's point of view}

Calling me a monster at magic isn't very flattering but I guess it means that I'm very good with it which I can take as a compliment. Gramps should be sending a message back in a week or two. It has been a month and a week since gramps left with his party members. I miss gramps but I can see that he needs to do this important task or else the Dark Guild will keep fighting us. Now that I think about it, I can ask Aine-san about the Dark Guild. I look at her with a serious atmosphere and ask.

"Aine-san, can you tell me anything about the Dark Guild that gramps is facing right now?"

"I have encountered a few Dark Guild members but I have not faced the elite ones that your grandfather and his party members are fighting with currently."

"Do you believe that there is a Dark Guild member as storng as gramps?"

"I can not say for sure but I think there is."

"How can you say that?"

I look at her anxiously as she clears her throat and answers.

"Your grandfather is the strongest attack mage in the continent on official records."

"Official records? Wait that means.."

If she means what I think she does then this is bad.

"There may be enemies that are as strong or stronger than your grandfather off-record. There is also the possibility of other races allying themselves with the Dark Guild for profit."

She really has thought this through, nobody would say all this without thinking about it properly.

"But nevertheless your grandfather is still a very formidable foe. You should put more trust in him and wait until he comes back safely."

"You're right."

Yeah, I just have to trust him or else I'd just end up feeling depressed about it. I can't hope too much or else my expectations will be crushed but I guess this much is fine. In preparation of gramps' return I decided to train my attack power after I complete Aine-san's exam.

"Aine-san I would like to do the exam now."

"Hm? Are you sure? I haven't seen you thoroughly practice the other types of [Utility] magic."

"It's okay I can handle it."

"Hm okay."

Even if I can't master it I still have the basic idea of each and every one of [Utility] magic that she taught me. I can just change it a little bit to fit my standards.

"Cast [Strength]."

I cast it a swiftly and her strength increased by several folds. I did it but I changed the concept a little, this time there will be a longer time limit.

"Cast [Speed]."

I cast it and she had her speed increased several folds just like the first one. I copied the concept of the other one so that it also lasts as long as that one.

"Alright, I've seen enough."

"Eh?"

"Your magic ability is too monstrous. Normally it would only enhance twofold but I can see that it enhanced more than tenfold. What kind of enhancement is this?"

"Eh? Did I go too far?"

"Of course you did, you even surpassed me."

That was a bit anticlimactic but I guess it is acceptable.

"You have passed my exam and are now very proficient in [Support] and [Utility] I bestow upon you the support medal."

"Eh? Support medal? Why do you have that?"

"Oh you didn't know? I'm a professor at a magic school. I teach students [Support] magic."

"Eh?!"

I mean I expected her to be a tutor or something since she teaches so efficiently but I never would've guessed she's a magic academy professor at such a young age!

"By the way, if you ever wanna attend the academy I am currently working in, just show them this medal and you'll immediately be let in. This medal symbolizes that you have been recognized by a professor from the academy."

"There are no other procedures?"

"Well of course they will have to call the professor in question and also test your aptitude for magic but you won't have to take written exams."

"That really is handy."

Guess I basically got a free entrance to a magic academy. I have no intention of attending one as of the moment but I may go there in the future.

After the conversation I head back to my room and practice [Destruction] magic. I saw gramps' list of magic having that, but I think it includes magic like [Combustion] or [Detonate]. It can be the same and different from [Elemental] magic. I practice magic by using a new technique which I thought of when I saw gramps' lightning cage combination.

My magic swells outside my body and I use all my might to keep it from spreading, this will help me improve my mastery of controlling magic. I think I'll call it, [Enclosing Mana Cage Technique], I'll just call it [EMC] for short.

This is at least twice as fast as my previous technique which I just improvised using gramps' old technique of channeling our mana and spreading it throughout our body through the 36 points in the body that is responsible for the flow of mana. Disrupting it will cause major damage to mages but it requires full mastery of mana to even sense it. The very few people who can sense and disrupt the 36 points are called [Druids], [Assassins], and [Monks]. [Monks] and [Assassins] are sub-classes below [Druid]. [Druids] live in the forest but [Assassins] and [Monks] don't. They are sub-classes because they are derived from the same origins, [Druids] use poison and long range attacks. [Assassins] are the ones nearest to [Druid] because they have the gift of poison magic from [Druids]. [Monks] gained the [Druid's] mastery of the 36 mana points.

Maybe I should try and figure out the 36 mana points? If I do get enough mastery then that means I can be one of the most formidable opponents, I've heard that even if it is known only for those classes, anyone can learn them since classes are not limited and only show what you are. A person can use a mix of classes and train, although you are only considered genuine once you pass the exams. A righteous swordsman is only a vigilante if he does not receive certification from a Knight school. I heard that there are less [Knights] than [Magicians] but they need to cooperate during fighting. A full party in this world has a [Knight], [Mage], [Druid], [Healer], and [Assassin]. Since [Assassins] are rare, they have changed the [Assassin] role into a free slot, most parties add another [Knight] with a sub-class for this slot so that they will have 2 people who can tank damage.

I go to gramps' library and open the door, the library is located in our basement with a door sealed with enchantments. I then find a book about [Destruction] magic. The library is pretty old, I think it has been here for 6 decades at the least. There are huge shelves twice the size of people and there are 5 rows with 6 columns, all arranged according to the subject. All of the shelves are so dusty that you can mistake it as a cave abandoned for years. It is also very dark considering it is a basement, there are no lights here. I always cast [Flare] before going down here. [Flare] is a light type magic that creates light on my surroundings, I plan to upgrade it in the future seeing as the range is really low. It illuminates at the reach of my arm but any further than that won't be affected.Gramps' library is full of mysterious stuff, from magic books to dark magic books. It also has recipes for various amount of potions. I guess this is where gramps keeps his recipe for alchemy. Gramps is an [Alchemist] on top of being an attack mage. An [Alchemist] is an existence highly praised by a lot of people, their potions could save lives and are sold for high prices.

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There are very few [Alchemists] in the world, I think I read once that there are only 10,000 [Alchemists] and among those, 100 are considered the best. The rest are inexperienced in being an [Alchemist]. Now that I think about it, since it is highly revered I should learn it too. If I become a great [Alchemist] I will gain a lot of fame and fortune which I can eventually use while travelling. Being an [Alchemist] is difficult or so I've heard, there are over thousands of recipes that you need to know in order to become a full fledged [Alchemist]. I should start on that another day, I still need to improve my attack power. I take gramps' book of [Destruction] and head back upstairs. Now that I take a good look at it, it looks more like a dark magic book than the other dark magic books. It was a rather average-sized book, it had a purple cover with a skull in the middle. The texture is a bit rough, most likely due to age. When you look at it, you can't help but think it is a dark magic book. It gave off a really chilling aura, like it could stare right into your soul. I am not all that affected because I have already experienced death, but the real deal is even more terrifying, I can't

help but shiver when I remember what happened to me the moment I died.

I haven't thought about it before but did my body disappear? Or was it still lying there when I got here? Did I get buried? I will never know the answers to these questions but all I know is that I must face forward and do all I can to not let such a thing happen a second time.

"I should get started on the book."

It gave off a basic introduction to [Destruction] magic. I got hung up on words written on second page at the middle it says 'Without destruction there would be nothing to create, without creation there will be nothing to destroy. Creation is destruction, destruction is creation.' It sounds kind of weird but I kind of guess what it means, without the other the world won't be balanced. Whoever wrote this must be very knowledgeable. I turn the pages of the book and I scan for anything that would look useful. Hm? There are no skills here? Only procedures? Does that mean there is no fixed spell and will continue changing? [Destruction] is really weird. I then try one of the first procedures.

'Imagine a blank space.' I imagine myself inside a never ending place with nothing there but darkness. 'Now add an object.' I imagine stars and the universe thoroughly being made. To do this you need a vast amount of imagination or else this will not work properly. 'Imagine a power greater than that of creation but can not destroy.' Hm? What? I don't get it? I scan my mind for a few minutes then I remember something. The sun! Its power is destructive yet it does not destroy those around it, it helps them. I try to imagine a huge round ball farming in the middle of a galaxy. It slowly takes shape then turns larger and larger. After a few moments, the sun was created. 'Imagine that power being too great that it destroys everything you created.' I decide to implode the sun, it grows larger and larger until its main body can't take it anymore. It grew to the size of 10 galaxies. After a few seconds, it exploded den all converged back in the middle until it formed into a black hole. It took everything I shaped pulling them in, becoming larger and larger. This continued for a few minutes until nothing was left. 'Whatever you imagined is now the form of [Destruction] you made.' Eh? That means

I just created a spell by imagining?! That seems a little too easy.

I heard a sound. It sounded like a ding? Suddenly information just flashed in my head. I screamed in pain at the fast speed it was transmitting information in my head. I could feel my head splitting as something was forcing its way to enter. Then it was gone. No trace of the pain. I looked at my status immediately as I remembered the information forcing its way into my head at a fast speed. It may have given me a new spell!

"STATUS!"

==========================================

Name: Kuroshi Kai

Race: Human (?)

Age: 9

Level: 112

Health: 575/575

Magic: 25000/25000

Strength: 2000

Speed: 3700

Stamina: 1850

Will power: 5000

Defense: 1150

Special Skill: [Memory] [Time] [Curse] [Seal][Logical Thinking]

Skills: [Double Experience][Double Status]

Magic: [Elemental Magic] Level: MAX

[Enchantment] Level: MAX

[Nullification] Level: MAX

[Creation] Level: MAX

[Support] Level: MAX

[Transference] Level: 4

[Destruction] Level: 1

[Time Stop] Level: 4 {20s}

[Mana Surge] Level: MAX {1 mp per 10 seconds}

Titles: [God of Time] [Prodigy] [Wise] [??][Milestone 1][Magician]

==========================================

My stats are pretty high. My mastery of the magic has also reached maximum. I should use more [Transference] and [Destruction] magic. I cast [Observe] on [Destruction].

[Destruction]

Level: 1

Magic: [Black Hole]

[Black Hole]?! I can't believe I have that strong a skill right off the bat. It should probably have a bit of backlash or would cost a lot right? [Observe]

[Black Hole]

A type of [Destruction] magic forged by 'Kuroshi Kai'. Its power is inhumane and can take anything and everything into a bottomless abyss who nobody knows goes where. Costs 5000 mana, cannot differentiate friend from foe.

As I look at it, it does cost a lot and that backlash is a real pain. If it can't differentiate friend from foe then does that mean it will suck me in too? I guess I won't know until I use it. I shouldn't use it right now since it is very dangerous, I'll try it some other day but for now I should keep making more [Destruction] magic. Hours passed by as I kept making more and more [Destruction] magic. I have gotten used to the pain being felt as it was not really pain and more like mental overload. I made more magic like [Spacial Explosion] which opened up a new type of magic. [Spacial] magic, it also had [Black Hole] but for the reason why it didn't appear the first time is uknown. There are also magic like [Detonation] which can make an area explode instead of just disrupting the space around it like [Spacial Explosion].

I open my eyes and see my room. It was mostly the same but a carving was marked on the floor where I was sitting and the book was placed in front of me. I should repair that but I may use it in the future so I'll just cover it up for now. I get a rug and place it on top of the carving so I can remove it for future purposes. I haven't gone outside my room for a few hours, I wonder if Aine-san is worried about me. I stand up and stretch a bit since my muscles weren't moved for a period of time. I walk towards the door and as I near the door I reach for the doorknob. I turned it halfway before stopping. Something is wrong. I immediately open it and run towards Aine-san's room. After I opened the door to her room the scene before me shocked me in words I can't describe. There was blood everywhere and bodies in the middle of the room. Aine-san was leaning on the wall with blood flowing from her mouth and stomach. I paused for a moment before running towards her and casting [Heal]. She passed out due to the loss of blood but she will be fine in a few minutes. I helped her recover some of the lost blood but she will still feel faint when she wakes up. I cast [Recovery] to quicken the pace her blood will regenerate.

I look towards the bodies with disdain as I approach them slowly. They were all wearing black cloaks and it looks like they got past the barrier with difficulties as I see marks of burns on their cloaks. They wore masks that covered the top part of their faces and only revealed their face below the nose. It looks like they are from the Dark Guild. I look at their shoulders through the ripped cloaks and it confirmed my theory. They were here for me. The Dark Guild sent a couple of people over to attack me and Aine-san got dragged into it. The rage I felt in that moment was insane I felt like charging through the Dark Guild and attacking everyone in my sight. I gain my rationality after a few moments as I dispose of their bodies using magic. I am still human enough to bury them properly. Who knows what kind of fate heaven has given them to join the Dark Guild, their families might be held captive or even they could not work and were only given money by the Dark Guild for completing all sorts of evils deeds.

I go back to Aine-san's room and look at her if there are any more wounds. I lift her up and place her on her bed. I cast [Sweep], a type of water magic that gently releases water with high heat and cleans the area. I aim it at the floor where the bodies laid before. Hot water releases from my hand and turns to smoke before dissipating. I do the same thing for the wall which she leaned on and the rest of the room. I cast [Surveillance], a type of [Support] magic that lets me see an area inside a certain range. I chose Aine-san's room as the area and head outside the room. I walk to the path of the entrance and see a lot of scratches on the walls. I repair them as I walk by using magic but there was too much even for a fight. How did Aine-san hold up against this? I clench my teeth as anger consumes me but I calm down after a few steps. I fixed the whole house and see as they didn't steal anything, I head towards the magic stone. It was the size of a small boulder. It was gray in color but emitted a faint blue-ish aura. It had a mark in the middle and the mark seemed to be slowly glowing dimmer and dimmer. I place my hand on top of the rock and focus my mana on to the rock. The light was glowing more than before. I inject more mana and the light is glowing brighter and brighter until a magic barrier suddenly burst from the rock and enveloped the house area.

This barrier was made by gramps to protect the house from intruders and monsters. How strong would they have to be to break this? Gramps told me it can withstand blows from an SS-Class monster. That amounts to an army of magicians and knights, how were they able to do it? I got immersed in thought as I sensed something in Aine-san's room. She woke up as she held her head. I walk back inside the house and head towards her room.

"Aine-san how are you doing?"

"Kai? I'm..fine but where are the Dark Guild members?"

"You took care of them and I cleaned up the house."

"I see.. I'm glad."

Her expression looked very joyful since she found out she protected the house and me.

"Thank you, Aine-san."

"It's fine, but what were you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't wake up to the sound of fighting in the house so I thought they got you first and I was really worried."

Tears started to form in her eyes as she remembered the scene from before, although I do not know exactly what happened I know it was horrifying to even get her to cry.

"I was practicing some magic in a nearly unconscious state."

"I see."

"You should go rest for now I cast some healing magic on you but you still haven't regained all your lost blood."

"I do feel a little light headed."

"Then go rest."

"Nn."

She slowly lies down as I turn off the lights and close the door. I then head back into my room and jump on the bed laying down. I think to myself: 'Why is the Dark Guild targetting us?' over and over in my mind but I can't think of a valid excuse other than gramps. Could it be someone noticed that gramps was living in solitary here?

I think of these thoughts repeatedly as I slowly drift away into sleep.

My thoughts transferred to me in my sleep. Anxiety, stress, and other uncomfortable emotions lingered in my mind as I was sleeping. I had a nightmare, it was pitch black, I could only see myself. I walked and walked for countless hours then I saw a light at the end of the darkness. I ran closer and closer with an excited expression, 'I could finally see the light!' That's what I was thinking. As I went through the light, it was too bright that I had to shut my eyes. As I opened my eyes there were no signs of light. Only corpses, these corpses were stabbed with many holes in their body. I look at them with pity, they ended up like that without nobody knowing their names. I decided to step through the corpses. As I was walking, suddenly a hand grabbed my right leg and I immediately turned to face it. One of the bodies moved and touched me. I felt fear. The corpse raised its head and when I saw it I screamed. It was gramps' corpse. He was in the mountain of corpses with multiple wounds and then some other corpses also stepped up. It was gramps' party! Gai-san, Aine-san, Kinshi-san, and Sai-san. I turned around and ran as fast as I could, I didn't even look at where I was running until I tripped.

I turned around and saw everything was gone. I was in a flowery field. It was too beautiful that it could make one forget the scene shown before if given enough time. It had a tree with stunning features as it glistened under the sun. The flowers all arranged in colors similar to a rainbow. You could call it heaven. The clouds were drifting slowly with the blue sky as everything seemed to have calmed down. I take a second to regain my thoughts and look up at the sky.

"Not a care in the world.. I wish."

I couldn't forget about everything, not when people's lives are in danger. My gramps who went to the base of the Dark Guild, his party who went along with him. I was extremely frightened as to what I'd do without gramps. I calmed myself as I closed my eyes leaning on the tree.

"Hey, how are you doing there?!"

I immediately open my eyes and jump up. A voice surprised me, it sounded like a mad man.

"Me? I'm fine! Listen, kid, how are you? I'm fine, very fine."

This guy was talking to me as he talked to himself. Anybody would know he's crazy when they hear his way of speaking.

"Listen, I got a.. what do you call that? I know! Massage! No, wait.. a message! Yeah that's it."

He said that as he looked through his pockets with an excited smile on his face.

"Ah! Here it is."

He found an envelope in his pocket with a seal. The seal was a skull? Could he be from the Dark Guild? I'm getting too paranoid.

"I'm from the Dark Guild and found this on your grandfather's body. I decided to give it to you cause why the heck not?!"

Gramps? I stare at him with a blank face before opening the letter with shivering hands. As I open the seal the guy suddenly jumped in front of me and stared down into my eyes. This feeling, I can't grasp it. It feels like I'm dying..

"Wake..up!"

I suddenly open my eyes and sit up straight on my bed sweating. I looked at my surroundings and see Aine-san shocked. She had been watching me in my sleep, I guess she saw me having a nightmare. I held my head as I looked down on the bed.

"Kai are you okay?"

She asked me with a worried look. Did I really look that bad? I guess I should when I just went through that.

"Your grandfather had delivered a message. I thought you should be the first one to see it."

I looked at her for a few seconds before she raised her hand and showed me the letter. She handed it over to me as I stare down at it. After a moment I regained my composure and opened the letter. Tears started to form as I was reading the letter which my hands grasped tightly.

'Kai, I know that you are worried about me. I am sorry to disappoint you but I have failed my mission. I couldn't wipe out the Dark Guild. The Dark Guild themselves weren't the problem rather, it was the person who formed an alliance with them. A [God]. I have suffered grave injuries but do not worry, I am still alive and will not die anytime soon. You need to get stronger, first of all you have to leave the forest. Give the second letter at the back to Aine. Remember, you are strong. You will not disappoint me, I know you are stronger than anyone in this world given the time. I have nurtured you for quite awhile but I'm afraid I cannot do that for a bit. I'm sorry Kai. I have to leave you for awhile, it may be years or even decades, I will not go near you as I attract danger. You need to introduce yourself to everyone as Kuroshi Kai, the Dark Guild know of your name as Chikara Kai. I have only told trusted people about your real name. You will leave the forest and it is up for you to decide what to do next. Aine will keep guarding you until you reach 15. She cannot stay any longer than that because I also need her for my plans. Remember Kai, live well and do not worry about me.'

Gramps..

"Kai.."

My tears fell one after another as I grasped the letter tightly as Aine-san tried to comfort me by holding my hand. The letter meant he needs to leave me and will not meet with me until a certain period of time. My heart ached as I recalled all my past memories with gramps. All of a sudden a person attacked us and now

we're being separated? Ridiculous! I will defeat that Dark Guild if it's the last thing I do!

It took me awhile to gain some composure as I put the letter back and give the second letter to Aine-san. As she looked at it her expression revealed shock. I looked at her for a few seconds before feeling something solid from the envelope. It was a symbol carved in gold? This was the symbol that gramps told me he'd

send when he failed the mission. There are no instructions on how to use it or what to do with it but I'll find information for it later.

A [God] huh? Who's gonna turn my fate? A [God]? No! I'll definitely defeat that [God] if it is the last thing I do!