Shio Alazar was the most pitiable kind of child, the sort without parents. As such, when his adopted father found him, he could not help but feel empathy for this child. And so, Shio was raised by the leader of a Goodwill Church.

This church wasn’t as most churches were, which praised a god or pantheon of gods. It was simply a church to express good will towards others. Members of this church were not unlike a large family which shared meals with each other and supported one another during hardships. It was such a popular idea that it was used by many like-minded commoners, though the idea usually only took root in more peaceful areas such as the small town of Newleaf.

Although Shio was an orphan he never really saw this as a disadvantage as the church members provided all the familial affection he needed. And as this child was the lively and outgoing sort, there was no shortage of friends among the children of the church members and the other town children.

If not for Shio’s overbearing imagination and curiosity, perhaps he would be content to remain in this town, living out the rest of his life in peace.

But in Shio’s heart was a deep yearning for adventure.

This is a result of his adopted father introducing him to the town library which Shio often frequented.

As Shio continued to read he discovered stories of martial artists shattering boulders with just their fists, magic that change water into solid gold, and rare and mysterious treasures in the form of plants that could give one the ability to fly. He was simply amazed, and when he inquired his father of these matters his father simply said, “Shio, in this world, all these things are possible.”

These calm and sure words birthed a great shock and a new and unwavering determination to see the world and all of its wonders. Wait for me, world. I, Shio Alazar, will surely come, he thought to himself with excitement in his eyes.

In the following days afterwards, Shio spent all his time researching these wonders thoroughly. Martial arts, magic, alchemy, and many wondrous subjects were sought out by Shio, but unfortunately he could only find general information on them. As this was only a small remote town there was basically no need for martial arts or magic. Aside from the local healer who had knowledge of some healing herbs and the town guards who only knew basic martial arts, Shio could find no one to learn these wonders from.

As such, that day when Shio came to realize these things he walked back home disappointed and dejected.

When Shio’s adopted father, Rio Alazar, noticed his son’s state as he walked in the door his brows furrowed and he said, “Shio, sit. Tell your father what’s on your mind.”

As Shio sat at the dining table he started to express his worries, “Dad, how come no one in this town cares for the wonders of the world?”

“Hmm.” Rio responded. So this is about his recent interests? “Shio,” His dad started slowly, with a grin on his face. “Do you want to learn magic?”

Shio’s mouth opened slightly and his eyebrow raised. “Dad, you know magic?” Shio asked, doubt on his face.

Rio simply chuckled at his son’s doubting face. “Of course. You wouldn’t think that this old man would start his own Goodwill Church without some insurance do you? I’ll tell you something Shio, in this world, the only thing people will truly respond to is strength! In fact there are many hidden experts in this town. How do you think this town has remained peaceful all these years with all the mercenaries and bandits in the mountains?”

When asked with this question, Shio was simply dumbstruck and his eyes opened wide with shock. “So Dad, how strong are you?” Shio asked excitedly, his curiosity overwhelming him.

“Hmm? Oh, pretty strong, I guess. But I’m nothing compared to a true expert. Where I grew up, I was simply average. A 44 Star Earth Elementalist wasn’t much.” Rio replied in a self-deprecating manner.

“Wow! You’re a 44 Star Earth Elementalist? That’s amazing! You have to teach me magic!” Shio responded in an uncontrolled manner, not quite sure of the meaning behind those terms.

“Hmn.” Rio nodded. “That’s fine, as long as you have talent for Earth Magic. But if you don’t I won’t be able to teach you. But that’s fine too. I can get someone else in town to teach you something else.”

A wide grin instantly grew on Shio’s face. He was so excited he could barely contain it. “OK!” Shio responded.

“Alright, but eat your dinner first. We’ll get up early to test you tomorrow.” Rio replied, pouring some cold water on Shio’s enthusiasm. But this didn’t dampen Shio’s spirit as he ate his dinner then went off to bed. As long as he had the opportunity Shio didn’t care if he had to wait even longer.

Late in the night.

Shio hasn’t slept a wink since he first went to bed. As he thought of how he would be a powerful mage in the future his hands would start to shake. His unbearable excitement made it impossible for him to sleep.

I’ll just run around the house a few times and when I get tired all go back to bed, Shio thought to himself.

After running around the house a few times, Shio couldn’t help himself and started to pretend to shoot rock missiles out of his palms.

“Ptchh!” Shio exclaimed, imitating the sound of a rock missile shooting out of his palm as he raised his hand to the tree ahead of him. “Shhhhhh… Boom!” Shio exclaimed as he imagined the rock missile whistling through the air and exploding on the tree ahead.

“This kid…” Shio’s father said, shaking his head as he looked out of a window at Shio playing. “You could be the strongest person in the world right now but you’ll still be a child in my eyes.” Rio chuckled before going back to bed.

Shio continued to play into the night, till he started feeling rain drops.

Shio looked into the sky. It was almost morning, so the sun should have started to rise by now, but all Shio could see were dark clouds covering the sky. Were those always there? Shio thought before he heard a thunderous boom and he saw electrical currents traveling in the clouds. Then, rain seemed to suddenly pour down all at once like a flood from the sky.

Crap! Shio thought before running towards his house.

But half-way there Shio suddenly heard an earth shattering explosion from the sky.

BOOOOOM!!!

The last thing Shio remembered was looking up to see a blinding light before a god-like lightning bolt shot out of the sky and engulfed Shio’s entire body.

In an unknown realm…

“Mnnn….” Shio involuntarily let out as he gradually became conscious. He struggled to open his eyes and saw that he was lying on a large bed in a room that Shio thought should belong to a king.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Where is this grand place? What happened?

Shio thought for a moment and he suddenly remembered that he was in the middle of a thunderstorm and saw a blinding light. Did I get struck by lightning? Then how did I get here?

Shio removed the blanket off his body and crawled to edge of the way-too large bed before walking to a door in order to look for the owner of this grand room, but after opening the door all he saw was a grand library. The room was huge and it all filled with countless books.

Shio started looking through the book titles. It seemed to be history books but Shio has never heard of the places referenced here before.

Shio looked down the incredible length of the aisle. Are these all on history? Shio wondered. I wonder if there’s any books here on magic? Shio suddenly felt the space around him warp and looked around to see what happened. At first he thought his mind was playing tricks on him, but when he noticed the titles of the books around him changed, he became shocked. It seems as if he has been teleported, and the books around him were all on magic. As Shio read through some titles, awe appeared on his face. Demon Shapeshifting, Alchemy: From Copper to Gold, Seeing Beyond the Surface: Aura Reading, A Comprehensive Guide to the World of Magic: Beginner’s Edition. The last title peaked Shio’s interest and he pulled it out.

It read: Theoretically it is possible to practice all types of magic, but as it is impossible to master these arts within one lifespan one would usually follow down the path of two or three branches of magic. This is not only practical but choosing which few paths to take is extremely beneficial if you know how to make the choice, as ones affinity in death magic may be extremely poor in comparison to his affinity for the healing arts. This book is a guide to making this difficult choice.

“Hmm…” Shio wondered as he continued to sit and read. So that’s how it works, Shio thought. Different magical arts are attracted to different personalities.

As Shio continued to read he discovered that these personality descriptions were quite detailed and there were varying levels of affinity for each type of magic.

Shio continued to read and read, until, without knowing exactly how, he had read the whole book. What? It’s over? It felt like not even a minute has passed. As Shio tried to recall the contents of the book, to his amazement, he realized that he had memorized everything. What!? Am I actually way smarter than dad always tells me? Shio thought. No, that can’t be it. It must be this place. As Shio thought of this he realized that as he was reading, it was if he had entered a Zen-like state where it felt like the contents of the whole book was transported into his mind as if it was a river of knowledge, directly leading to the ocean that was his mind.

This place is weird, Shio thought, as started to grow worried. When will I go home?

As Shio thought this he once again felt the space around him warp. He suddenly felt the familiar feeling of grass on his hands, and when he looked up Shio realized he was behind his house where he saw that blinding light.

Shio looked at the sky and saw that it was dawn. Hmm, this should be when I saw that light. But where are the storm clouds? As he gazed at the clear sky that was slowly getting brighter with the rising sun, Shio felt slightly troubled. What a weird day. Was it all a dream? Shio wondered, but as he recalled the book he read he felt that all the information was still there, as clear as day.

Then, as Shio thought that he must have spent a whole day reading that book yet it seemed it was still the same time here, he grew troubled again. And I don’t even feel tired!

Shio decided to go find his father and see if he says anything about him being missing. If he doesn’t say anything it will mean that the place Shio was recently in was a place where time didn’t work like it did in this world. Also he didn’t eat or drink anything, yet Shio felt fine. Weird, so very weird, Shio thought before walking into his house.

When Shio walked into the house he saw his father was already up, making breakfast.

“Oh good, you’re up. Come, eat.” Shio’s father said casually.

He didn’t notice anything? Shio was quite perturbed by his father’s response. “I’ll eat later, dad. I don’t feel too well. I think I’ll go back to sleep for a little longer.” Shio replied in an aloof manner as he was feeling quite confused.

Rio was quite startled by this. What happened? Wasn’t this kid too excited to sleep at the thought of learning magic just a couple hours ago? “Okay,” Rio replied in a stunned manner. “Get some rest.” Maybe he’s tired himself out from all that playing. When Shio’s father thought this he chuckled lightly.

Shio went back to his room and lied on his bed. I’m sure I just had a really intense dream. I’ll go back to sleep and tomorrow I’ll forget all about this strange occurrence.

As Shio slept his consciousness retreated to the depths of his mind as if attracted by something. Shio’s consciousness passed by many fleeting thoughts. The library, his friends, and deeper in his mind were his earliest memories of his father. Shio remembered all these things, but he could sense that beneath these memories was something else, as if his very being goes much deeper than what he knows. And even further in this place he saw a familiar figure. It was a jade-white face and white hair. As this goddess-like face came into Shio’s view, his heart immediately felt a deep longing.

“We have to part here, little one.” She said, tears flowing from her face. “Don’t doubt your mother’s heart, little one; she truly can’t bear to part with you. But you’re surely destined to find me again; your eyes tell me so.”

She closes her eyes in a struggle before leaning in to give a soft kiss. “Bye-bye, little one.”

She leaves and the memory fades.

Shio stands there in silence. Mother… I will surely find you.

The thought came and passed, before Shio continued onward, seeing a light in the distance. The closer he got, the more he realized it was bright white light in the shape of a door.

Shio felt a familiar feeling as he got closer. It’s that place.

Shio questioned whether he should go in, but at this moment his rationality wasn’t in a proper state. He was practically half-conscious, and all he could feel right now was the overwhelming desire to read.

So without thinking longer, Shio went toward the white light.

“Ughhh…” Shio’s eyes once again struggled open. As he looked around at familiar king-like room, Shio suddenly felt helpless. “Not again.”