(Author: Hello all! Sorry for the short prologue, but I wanted to get the reincarnation out of the way. This is the third story I am writing. I decided this is no longer a side project and will write it along with my other story. My first story was horrible but my second story is a success so far. Hope you enjoy the chapter.)
Chapter 1: Child of a Merchant
A small, ten year old boy with light brown hair and blue eyes sat among a big pile of books.
He was a peculiar boy to the members of the Raid House. He had inherited the eyes of his mother and the hair of his father. As soon as he could talk, he asked to learn how to read. As soon as he could walk, he had begun exercising. At first, Gaius Raid thought his son was an immortal warrior in his previous life.
The boy didn't care that his father constantly took him along while doing trades. He was actually interested in discovering new things and learning about the world and learning new languages and cultures. Unfortunately, his son had no talent for mana and couldn't go to a magic academy like his elder sisters.
Children are tested when they are six for their capacity to control mana. Arthur's twin elder sister, Alice, was the most gifted of his daughters. His twelve year old daughter, Amber, and his eleven year old daughter, Ashley, had left to join one of the biggest magic academies in the country of Yason. Alice would be leaving to join her two sisters when she turned eleven and had been studying magic from his wife, Snow.
Gaius was secretly happy his son had no talent at magic as Arthur could inherit his trade and become the next master of his merchant business. Gaius was the proud owner of ten trading caravans that traveled all over the known world. His headquarters was in the capital city of Yason, Torque. This was so he and his wife could visit his daughters and check their progress. The Raid House may not be nobles but they were one of the twenty richest and most influential families in the continent of Veylon.
Arthur Raid was currently reading a book about famous warriors in Yason's history. He was sad as most famous people were mages, kings, and nobles. People who practiced martial arts and could cultivate qi were rare. He had seen a few martial sects, but he couldn't get his hands on their qi condensation manuals to read their mnemonics and practice qi circulation techniques. He could not sense spiritual energy, qi, without having a foundation to learn from.
"I can't be epic like Lu Bu until I begin meditating qi and walking the path of an immortal," Arthur sighed inwardly as he put down the book and left his room. Money? Magic? He didn't care about any of that in his previous life. He wanted to be a great martial artist and become a martial arts movie star some day.
He didn't regret dying in a attempt to avenge his friend and stop the robbers. He felt sorry for his dad but he was reincarnated on a different planet. He didn't even know if his father was alive or how much time passed while he was reincarnating before his soul became conscious of his surroundings.
"I'm heading out to the market father," Arthur said as he put a silver dagger in his belt. The new world did not have halberds and his new body hadn't enter its juvenile state of growth.
"I'll have three guards and a mage accompany you as usual," Gaius Raid nodded and whistled. Three guards in black metal and tanned fur armor with two scimitars on both sides of their belts saluted the young master as Arthur left the house. One middle-aged man in an entirely white robe greeted the young master. Mages were very respected in the country of Yason and having a mage guard you meant status and power. Arthur would not be attacked in Yason as the crime of murdering a mage was especially severe in Torque, the capital city of Yason.
The mage's name was Garret and Arthur frequently asked Garret about the difference between mana and qi. Garret said that mana was a pure energy of sorts and depended on borrowing the powers of an elemental to cast spells while the mage supplied his mana to the elemental to live. Amber had contracted to a fire elemental while Ashley had a water elemental. Alice had the coveted light elemental and was sure to be a prodigy when she went to the magic academy in a year.
Arthur seldom knew his sisters as his mother strictly forbade him from disturbing their training. Arthur was only close to his father and he accepted that. He had never known his mother in his past life and was an only child.
Many people on the streets would get out of Arthur's way as soon as Garret came into view. Many would politely bow to Arthur before bowing to Garret. His father planned on trading silk from Yason in other countries so Arthur decided to buy some silk as well as find anything interesting in the market. As a merchant's son, he had learned that even the shabbiest shop could contain an unknown treasure.
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Arthur was pleased as he had bought fifty bundles of silk for half the price. Apparently business for silk had become too competitive and had forced shops to lower the price in order to make sales and recover some losses.
"Hey young man," a beggar called as he saw Arthur. "Come check my goods. I guarantee you'll find something you like."
Arthur stared silently at the beggar's stall and noticed a few odd trinkets and a worn book. His eyes narrowed as he picked up the book. It was in an ancient language he had learned called Salvara, the language of a once powerful nation that had been destroyed and forced its people to become nomads. His father dealt with ancient treasures with the Salvaran nomads once in a while if he came across them.
"Nine Heavens Sundering Manual?" Arthur thought as he tried to keep his face calm. He pretended not to know the language as he flipped the pages.
"Mnemonics and qi circulation!" Arthur thought, shocked as he never expected such a great find. He stared around and noticed an ancient copper mirror made of obsidian glass and made an educated guess. He had seen a wuxai series about an ancient copper mirror that was considered a rare treasure to martial experts. This copper mirror might be one of them.
"How much for the book and the mirror?" Arthur asked.
"Thirty gold. The manual and mirror are both treasures of my ancestors. Thirty gold. No less than thirty gold," the beggar grinned and the guards and Garret were outraged. The mirror would sell in the market for a dozen silvers and a few coppers at best. One silver was worth one hundred copper while one gold was worth one hundred silvers. The highest currency was mithril and it was worth a fifty gold. This price was outrageous.
"Young master! This beggar is trying to rob you for asking for over half the price of a mithril coin," the guards cried but Garret wasn't so sure as he thought about the boy's behavior. If Arthur had found his long sought treasure of a manual for qi condensation, then the manual's true worth was hundreds of mithril coins and was quite a bargain. The copper mirror he wasn't sure about but his master would have seen something important.
"I'll take it," Arthur said and tossed a mithril coin at the beggar. He had a large grin on his face as he held the manual and the mirror in his hands.
"Let's return home. I must report to father about the silk bundles," Arthur said. He couldn't wait to begin sensing qi and finally walk the path of an immortal.
Young master?" the guards asked, confused why Arthur gave an entire mithril coin to the beggar and quickly followed him. Garret chuckled as he discovered he was right and nodded at the beggar in gratitude and followed them.
"That brat's got a good eye," the beggar murmured a he put the mithril coin in his pocket. The beggar abandoned his stall and headed washed his face and took off the rags. He donned pure white robes and combed his hair.
"Lord Immortal," three men clad in white cried as they appeared behind him. "Will you be returning to the sect or ascend into one of the Immortal Realms?"
"I have decided to stay," the immortal grinned. "I handed out the five manuals of my five seniors to five mortals. One of them is even a boy. The five will become the eye of the storm in the Mortal Realm. I will teach at the sect. Keep an eye on the five and have them join the sect in the future. I will not see my seniors' legacies wasted. They ascended and journeyed into the Mortal Realm after they helped me become an immortal. This is my way of thanks for their teachings."
The immortal and the three men disappeared in a flash of light. People would walk past the abandoned beggar stall and wonder where he went before it was replaced by another stall.
Prologue: Death by Gun Fire Main Page Chapter 2: Path to Immortality