I adjusted to my new life rather quickly. After all, I was but a baby. When I was hungry I would cry. When I relieved myself I would cry. When someone did something I didn’t like I would cry. All in all, it was a rather simple life now. I didn’t mind it though, for I had something I’d only experienced within game worlds before: working legs. It took me a while, but eventually I could even wiggle my toes! I wasn’t born crippled!

I don’t know why, but I was able to learn the language of this world absurdly fast. Perhaps it was due to the malleable mind of an infant. I could only look at it favorably. My name now was Samuel Telven. I had apparently been named after some legendary wizard who lived a hundred years ago.

At first I thought it was just a mere coincidence that Samuel’s name as a famous wizard came up, but I soon learned different rather quick. My new parents, my first family in a long time, told me stories often to try and coerce me to sleep. Within those stories I quickly identified numerous adventures my old Guild and I had gone on.

It was a strange thought, but I came to accept it in time. I had been reborn into the world of Heroes and Magic, the VRMMO. This, again, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, no such thing as a status screen popped up for me. While this may be the same world, it seems to have lost some of the conveniences of the game days.

Time passed agonizingly slowly for me. Being too young to do much was an awful detriment. Perhaps, if I ever am given the chance to reincarnate again, I’d ask to not regain my memories until I was about five years old. Still, there wasn’t much I could do about it. I could only suffer in silence.

My new home was a small farming village on the Southern end of the Elderon Continent. My father worked the fields and my mother sewed hemp for the village. Together they didn’t have much time for me so the midwife was the one who essentially took care of my day to day needs. I was ‘weaned’ rather early and took to the offered bottles without trouble. The eagerness, it seems, surprised the midwife Matilda. While I was a mostly healthy male adult in my past life, I had no interest in an ancient woman’s teat. It would have been much better if the midwife wasn’t in her 40’s. I could even settle for a 30 year old, but 40 was just too much for me to bear.

Around after a year I had begun walking on my own. I was watched constantly and wasn’t allowed to explore much, though. That didn’t stop me from trying.

I began talking around 14 months or so. I never used complex words or sentences. I just stuck to simple words like “Hungry” or “Sleepy”. Being able to communicate aided in the comfort levels severely. I no longer had a reason to cry either, so I stopped with that nonsense. All in all, I was a rather normal healthy baby.

The only times I would see my parents were dinner and bedtime. They both worked long days. My mother was blond haired and beautiful. She looked to be in her late twenties but she had an honest face and blue eyes. My father was vastly different from her. He was short, standing at only about 5’ 5’’, but he was stout and strong. His hair was black and his skin was darkly tanned. He was an honest man and a hard worker, and he was incredibly proud of having a son. He would often talk to me in spare moments about how I inherited his dad’s features among other things. He was exceedingly gentle as well. He wasn’t like most fathers who’d throw their children as high as they could. Instead he was careful around me, as if he were afraid to hurt me.

It turns out the reason he was always so gentle with me was due to his own strength. My father was so starkly different looking from the rest of the villagers I had seen because his ancestry carried mixed blood. He was one quarter beastman. Thankfully there was no such thing as discrimination here. In Farfield Village, the only measures of a man were how hard he worked and the honesty of his tongue.

On my second birthday, my family packed a carriage and prepared for a trip. I was old enough to ask “Where going?” without arousing suspicion. It seemed even Matilda was coming with us.

“Little Sammy, it’s your second birthday. We’re taking you to Caltross City to have your aptitudes measured. It’s something every child must have done when they turn two!” Replied my father as he rubbed my hair. “It’s also a good excuse for your mother and I to take a few days off work. After all, we never did get to enjoy a honeymoon~”

I wanted to gag as he made googoo eyes with mom. Though I was also excited. I had been wondering how I would live this new life in this new world. While I would have been fine becoming a farmer or tailor like my parents, inwardly I held a hope that my status would reflect a more adventurous occupation. This was the world of Heroes and Magic, after all. It would be a downright shame if I couldn’t enjoy it to its fullest… Though I’d still be happy. Whatever God or Gods there are, they have given me a new life and a new family. They had answered my greatest wish, and so if I was destined to be nothing more than a farmer, I was fine with that. A farmer’s life wasn’t that bad either.

This world wasn’t much different from the VRMMO that I knew. All the events in Heroes and Magic happened here 100 years in the past. With the Demon King defeated, most of the heroes and magicians of the world vanished. It is assumed that, with their purpose done, they returned from whence they were summoned. It was strange to think about, but also a bit invigorating. My friends and I hadn’t just beaten a video game, we had saved a very real world. We had become true heroes without even knowing it.

The trip to Caltross City only took a few days. It seems Farfield Village wasn’t all that far from the rest of civilization after all. Caltross, however, was a place I recognized. In the game days it was called Albatross City. It was renowned for its large gray colored ramparts and massive reservoir nearby. There was a rumor during the game days that a massive sea monster lived in the reservoir’s depths. I spent three days diving in that lake searching to no avail. I even invented water breathing spells just to do it.

My family checked into a small Inn just outside the city walls. It was apparently much cheaper than staying inside the city. Plus this inn had the best horse stable, according to my father. He really did care for our old horse Sheila. I never much cared for the beast, though. She once bit my hand hard enough to draw blood when I was feeding her a carrot. Stupid horse. In my last life I thought they were majestic creatures, but now I knew the truth. They were just as smelly and mean as any other animal.

In the end, I could only really get along with cats. They understood. They ignored me and I ignored them. It was truly the best relationship to have with any animal. Though I do think some goofy dogs are cute, I still think they’re too much work. I couldn’t handle having to raise one. I just don’t have that kind of energy. Not to mention I’ve never been able to take one for a walk in my past life… Perhaps my opinion of dogs will change now that I can actually play with them? I’ll leave that up for the future.

Because it was late when we arrived, we stayed the night in the Inn. My parents stayed in a separate room while I slept in a room with the Midwife Matilda. In my heart I thanked the carpenters who built this inn for the walls were very thick, and not a sound leaked in. I was able to sleep comfortably.

We left in the late morning the next day and crossed the city gates after a quick inspection from a guard. He was wearing leather armor, but not a lot of it. Despite the lack of thick armor, he still looked exhausted in the nearly noon heat.

My mother took the midwife and went shopping. My father picked me up and put me on his shoulders. He wasn’t very tall, so I didn’t exactly get a great view of the city as we walked… But I’d never tell him that. This was the first time I’d ever ridden on someone's shoulders and it was rather enjoyable, to say the least.

Together, dad and I made our way to a large castle near the center of the town. This was Caltross City’s biggest attraction: The Heaven’s Academy. A boarding school for nobles and the gifted. It was also the only location for 100 miles with a “status stone”.

My father walked through the winding halls as if he’d traveled this way hundreds of times before. Eventually we found a small line of other children who, like me, appeared to be only two years of age. Each of them was accompanied by their fathers as well, though a few were accompanied by servants instead.

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A kind man wearing thick blue-gray robes took the children and their guardians in the room one by one. The groups would then leave and he’d take the next group in.

The line quickly faded down until it was our turn. My father and I walked into the room and he handed the robed man a card. I quickly realized that the card was actually my citizenship record: my birth certificate.

The inside of the room resembled a doctor’s office from my previous life. There was a large stone bed in the middle surrounded by gadgets and other paraphernalia. Dad lifted me up and placed me on the bed while the robed man walked over with several objects in hand. One of which was a needle. Thankfully in my past life I had been subjected to enough blood tests to not scare at the sight or pain of the needle.

“Wow, he’s a tough one isn’t he. He didn’t even flinch when we drew blood.” Remarked the gray robed man. Now that he was so close I was able to get a better look at him. His nose was a bit crooked and he looked to be in his 40’s. His hair was a faded brown and the backs of his hands were covered in hair. Despite all that he had a rather gentle air about him. He seemed to be very kind.

After administering several tests, the young man finally brought out the “Status Stone”. It was a small rock, resembling a magic eight ball from my past life.

The robed man then began to glow blue. I could tell immediately it was magical energy. The same appearance, the blue glow, existed in the game days too.

“Blue!” I couldn’t help but remarking. At that, the gray robed man stopped what he was doing with a look of shock on his face.

“This child, can he see my magical energy?”

“What are you talking about?” Asked my father.

“Little one, what did you see just now?” Asked the robed man as he looked at me.

“Glowing blue.” I replied, doing my best to keep my speech segmented like a child’s even now.

“Mr. Telven, I think your child can see my mana aura.”

“Is that a good thing?” Asked my father in a nervous voice. It was strange hearing him speak without confidence.

“A good thing? That’s a fantastic thing! It means his magical talent is, most likely, absurdly high. Come, let’s use the status stone and see.”

The magic eight ball was pressed into my hands and the robed man started glowing again. Then, all at once, I felt it. The feeling of magic power bubbled up within me. It was the same as during the game. It was that same tingling sensation from the pit of your stomach. My magical power had finally been awakened.

I immediately circulated the little magic power through my body and the eight ball went crazy.

“Your son’s status records him possessing the class of mage, wizard, and elementalist! His magical power is already at eight Degrees! Mr Telven, you must immediately enroll him in our academy. In fact, if you’re willing, sell him to me and I’ll raise him here.”

“I’m not selling my son!” My dad objected loudly.

“Ah, I’m terribly sorry. I got a bit carried away,” replied the robed man as he took the eight ball from me and set it on a desk nearby. “Let me rephrase that. Let me sponsor your son here at our academy. He has almost matched a level 1 mage in power at the age of two. Your small village doesn’t have the resources necessary to bring out his latent talents, but here at Heaven’s Academy we can easily train him and raise him to be an excellent mage.”

“Are his magical prospects really that good?” Asked my father.

“Yes. Exceedingly so. If I had to give an estimation for it, he’d be in the top 1% of children his age easily. I’ve only ever seen one surpass him in my lifetime, and that child went on to become an S rank adventurer by the age of sixteen.”

The two continued their conversation for a while, and I used that time to ponder on what was happening. My magic, something I had been trying to reach for the last two years, had suddenly ignited within me. I could feel it. It was a terribly small pool compared to my time as a legendary wizard in the game world, but I knew magical power could grow through continual use. I continued to circulate the mana in my body. The feeling was like a euphoric rush to me. It was something I had been longing for while trapped in that small body for a long time.

“Come come, we must go meet the Headmaster Salza. She will want to see this for herself.”

It seems the conversation between my father and the robed man, whose name I still hadn’t learned yet, finished. My dad didn’t look overly convinced, but at the prospect of meeting the Headmaster a veil of sweat formed on his brow. This was the first time I’d ever seen him nervous before. He hefted me onto his shoulders as we walked, in order to keep pace with the robed man who was nearly running in front of us.

It took about ten minutes traversing the massive castle-like campus before we arrived at the Headmaster’s office. Along the way we passed several hundred blue robed youngsters and a few gray robed elders. It seems the uniform for the school was rather simple, but that wasn’t a bad thing.

We were led into the Headmaster’s office. The room was rather robust and filled with bookshelves. Two huge arching windows were on the far end, letting an abundance of light in. Sitting behind a large mahogany desk in the center of the room was a white haired elderly woman.

“This had better be good, Bruce,” snapped the woman as she put down the ledger she was writing in.

“It is Ma’am. This child here has been tested by the status stone and has three classes: Mage, wizard, and elementalist already. Not to mention his magical power is at 8 Degrees and he can see mana auras.” Replied the robed man who I now knew was named Bruce.

The old woman took her glasses off her face for a moment and rubbed them on her shirt. She seemed to be in shock at what was reported.

“There must be come kind of mistake with the stone,” replied the Headmaster. “This level of statistics and such, we’d surely have heard of any child born with these kinds of gifts from the soothsayers.”

“Test him yourself, Ma’am. He clearly saw my magical aura earlier. Even now I can feel him circulating his magical power. If you were to try, I’m certain you could even have him demonstrate up to a rank 2 spell immediately,” said Bruce.

“Child, come here.” Called the old woman. I complied with her demands. She picked me up from my armpits and set me on her desk, letting my legs swing over the side. Despite how she looked, her hands were filled with an incredible strength. This woman was high leveled… Well, assuming levels even exist. Perhaps they were just a construct for the players in the old game. I surely didn’t remember any NPC speaking about levels during my time exploring.

The Headmaster placed her hand on my forehead for a moment and I felt her magic power begin to penetrate me. Then she started chanting a spell…

This was where things truly took a strange turn. Her chant wasn’t in some strange ancient language, it was in English. It was entirely in English.

“Oh spirits that be, grant me the power to see this child’s STATUS!” Cried the woman.

It was a chant I recognized. It was a chant from the game era… This meant… That the chants would undoubtedly be the same as from the game era to now! That meant my entire library of memorized spells could be used!

“Goodness, this child is the genuine article!” Cried the old woman as she looked down at me with a smile. Then she pointed to my father. “You, your child will be staying here at our academy from now on. We will be giving him a full scholarship. Be proud. We will also be sending a stipend to you and your wife every month to use to come visit him.”

My father had a look of bewilderment on his face. He clearly didn’t know what to do or say. Eventually he gave a small bow and replied, “Thank you, Ma’am.”

Just like that, I had become a student at a prestigious magic academy.