Part 1

Being five opens a lot more doors, or at least it did in my case.

With both my growing power and the confidence coming along with age I started going out of the house.

The first time I went outside was with the Evergard family, after that I was too focused on my training to even consider the possibility of exploring.

Now that I was five and I had finished my training I decided that was time to get to know the city I lived in.

The idea came to me while training on earth spells control.

I was still thinking about the fact that my knowledge on defensive magic and boost magic was very poor, if not even absent. That thought was really bugging me. That’s when I remembered that the only library I have ever been to was my father’s library, but there could be at least one public library in the city.

I rushed inside where mother was cleaning.

“Mother, can I ask you something about this city?”

“Yes Raph, what is it?”

“Since you go outside very often do you know if there is a library? I want to read more magic books but I already finished the ones in father's library.”

She was shocked.

Well figures! I’ve never been outside by my own will or even expressed the wish to visit the city. She immediately stopped doing what she was doing and turned her head towards me. I was expecting some kind of reaction, maybe a surprised look, but I did not expect that she would fall on her knees and hug me while shedding a couple of tears.

“Yes yes! I will tell you anything you want to know! Kyaah finally my little Raphael wants to go outside!”

“Oh, mhh, yes thank you”

I was really embarrassed. I didn't think that not going outside was such an important thing, I simply had nothing to gain from going outside.

We sat on the table with a map laid flat on it.

“Ok so you are interested in books right?”

“Yes exactly. I’ve reached a point where if I want to continue learning magic I will need more books”

“Ohh so my little Raph is really interested in becoming a mage!”

“Well, Elodor san told me that I have talent so I think it would be a waste not to train. Also magic is very interesting, it’s awesome!”

“Haha I see, I see. Having an interest is very important, as much as having goals and ideals! Now, if you want to buy books there are a couple of shops in the shopping district that I really recommend. This little one at the end of the district is probably the one that you visited with Elodor san, it’s very stocked with books and has good prices but magic books are very requested so you may find it difficult to buy the book you want. If that's the case then you should visit this other bookshop, it’s a little further away from the other but it has mostly magic books so most likely you’ll find a book there, but prices are high so this should be your last option. Lastly there is a public library near the city square. You see? Here, to the right of the fountain, but of course here you can only read and not bring home the book. ”

[Well then, I would really like to buy books but I don't wanna act spoiled...mmmhh well I’ll just go to the library and take notes!]

Taking notes was actually what I have been doing since now. The information contained in the spell books was overwhelmingly useless. Of course useless for me since I already knew how physics and science worked. In order to use a spell the caster needs to have a mental image of what he is going to create and how it works.

For example, in order to use the spell “stone pillar” the caster has to imagine the shape, structure and location of where the pillar will appear. Once he has done that he needs to manipulate his mana in order to “send” the manipulated mana outside his body to form the stone pillar.

Since I already knew my share of since from my previous world I had no use of the detailed information on what the stone pillar was. What I studied was how to manipulate mana and give it a form. It took me a year to thoroughly understand that concept. That’s when my spells really became complete.

So taking notes was not such a big loss, it could be considered a method to not waste time on useless information.

“Thanks mother! Is it ok for me to take some of father's papers and a pen? I want to go to the library and take notes on the useful books”

“Oh well yes it’s fine, I don't think your father would care if you did, but are you sure you don't want some coins ?”

“It’s fine mother, thank you, but I still don't know what books I want to buy so I think I’ll spend some time in the library before going shopping”

“Oh yes ok, mhh it does seem like the most obvious solution, why didn't I think about it?Well anyway Raph, whenever you want to buy the books just come ask, me and father are more than happy to help you with your studies!”

“Thanks mother, you are the best!”

“Ohhh my sweet Raph!”

I didn't know why but ever since that dinner with the Evergard family mother has been a lot more clingy. I received a lot more hugs and attention than before. Not that I didn't appreciate it of course, but it happened out of nowhere so it had me very shocked at first.

After the conversation with mother I asked her to help me prepare a little bag to carry papers, ink, a pen and she even put some snacks in it, it really felt like I travelled back in time when I used to go to school and my mom prepared my bento.

As soon as the bag was filled I kissed mother on the cheek and crossed the front door.

Part 2

The city was just as I remembered it from last time.

It was wednesday so there weren't many people going around, the majority were in the square or in the shopping center. Some soldiers were patrolling the city. I previously found out that the duties covered by the police in my past world were now covered by the military itself.

Only a few adventurers could be seen around, the majority was probably out on mission or sleeping in an inn.

The library was close to the city square, on the other side of the adventurers guild. I was really curious about the guild so I really wanted to visit it, but I was warned by father years before that the guild could be a dangerous place if one did not know how to move. Inexperienced adventurers were often scammed or made fun of.

[This time I’ll pass]

The building that hosted the library had an antique like theme. The walls were made of a material similar to white marble but more opaque. It was a two story building with a beautiful white colonnade on its front side. Big rectangular vertical windows covered the majority of the walls, through them the interiors of the library could be seen. Huge bookcases two floor high were separated from each other by a gap that could easily fit three people. This sequence was interrupted here and there by bigger spaces where tables and chairs were placed. The entrance door was simple but impressive at the same time. It was a huge dark wood double door that made contrast with the white marble-like walls. One guard clad in armor was standing outside that door with a lazy look on his face.

There weren’t many people inside so I was greeted by the librarian at the front desk. At best only ten people were in the library at the moment, myself included.

“Good morning young man, welcome to Migur public library, can I be of any help?”

A young girl, probably in her twenties, with short blonde hair worn to the side and dark brown eyes spoke. She was behind the front desk managing through some papers and files, she was a librarian.

“Good morning to you too. It’s my first time here in the library and I was looking for magic books, could you please recommend me some?”

“Aren't you a little young to be studying magic?”

“Yes I am indeed, but there is no demerit in studying beforehand isn’t there?”

“That’s true. What readings are you interested in?”

“I was looking for a basic tier defense magic book and a beginner tier utility magic book”

“Do you have any preferences on the author?”

“No but if possible I would appreciate if you could show me the most complete books”

“Mhh yes, I know the right books. Please let me check...ok, follow me please”

I silently nodded.

While walking towards the library I thought that something like that would have happened, the fact that I was only five and already able to perform beginner tier magic was not totally normal so lying to the librarian was the best option to look less suspicious as possible.

I followed her through the bookshelves and watched her take two books out of them.

“Please enjoy your reading and as soon as you are done you can bring the books to me. If you need any help please don't hesitate to ask!”

Said the girl while handing me the books.

“Yes thank you”

I proceeded to sit on the nearest table.

The books looked really much like the ones I had at home. They had the same structure, useless information on how the spell worked and then some good information on how to cast the spell, quantity of mana necessary and common uses of that spell.

I decided to start studying defensive magic first since it was basic level.

I took out of my backpack some papers, ink and a quill and started my first library study session.

Part 3

After the first day of studying in the library was successful I decided to make a habit of it.

Every morning I would go to the library as soon as I finished breakfast and go back home at lunchtime.

The time I spent on the library was mostly spent on studying the magic books but, sometimes, when I felt tired of studying I would entertain myself with some light readings such as stories of the past and biography of famous warriors and mages.

It only took me a little bit more than two weeks to finish my notes on basic tier defense magic and beginner tier boost.

Next up on my list of things to do I had three focal points: buying a practitioner tier attack magic book, studying beginner tier defense magic and finding a place to try out my spells without ruining the garden.

The new training place was the first on the list. Since the beginning of my training I focused mostly on how to increase control over my mana flow. Now that I had attained a good amount of control over it I was able to execute the spells efficiently. I decided not to train on proper spells in my family’s garden since I would probably end up ruining it. The best option would be an open space far away from everything.

The two other books could wait for a bit since I had a decent amount of knowledge to test out. Also I decided to buy the attack magic book since I thought that attack spells were the most versatile and important in magic combat.

I tried looking around through the city in search of an open space but other than the square and a public park(where obviously I couldn't practice magic that might end up ruining it) I had no luck whatsoever.

My only two options left were to ask father if I could practice on the military training grounds or to check the outskirts of the city. The latter seemed better since I didn't want to bother father and end up causing trouble with his superiors.

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[Oh well outside the city it is then!]

The first time I saw the world outside of the walls of the city was when I was eight months old and was about to fall from the window. Other than that, only a couple of times I went somewhere high enough to see outside. Once was with the Evergard family when we visited the outsides of the castle and a couple of times when I accompanied father to drink on the roof, well he was the one drinking, I was enjoying the scenery and the conversation.

[It’s difficult to believe that almost five years have already passed...have I...changed? Well no use thinking about it now hahaha! I decided to live in this world and I have to ace it! I have no time thinking of the past...but boy am I glad those thoughts haven't touched my mind again!]

It was morning when I was sitting on the window looking at the sun shyly shining upon the rooftops while having those thoughts. Since that morning my routine changed once again. As usual I would wake up early, have breakfast then go to the library. I liked going to the library early in the morning since it was quieter and I was able to concentrate on my studies even better.

After two to three hours spent on the books I would take my leave and travel outside the city walls to explore the nearby land in search of a quiet and isolated place to practice.

The city had three entrances : north, east and west. All the entrances had their own names but I didn't bother to remember them. Useless information was only bothersome and annoying.

I started from the east entrance since it was closer to my house. I didn't expect to find much on the east side since in that direction was the closest city to Migur Ovest : Migur East.

[Can’t say this people have fantasy when giving names…]

I was completely on my own.

I decided not to tell my parents about it since they would probably end up forbidding me to go outside without someone. The less they knew the better I guess.

Being completely on my own for the first time in five years was a little bit disturbing. I did have confidence that with the level of magic I knew, in case of emergency, I would be able to run. I had studied a boost spell called “lesser speed boost” which, as the name suggests, had the effect of increasing the caster’s physical speed. The process behind it was very easy, at first when hearing “speed boost” I thought that this boost would empower the caster’s leg muscles. Turns out the spell just decreases by a small percentage the weight of the legs. The more mana used in the casting the more weight would be decreased.

It was a very easy spell and the effect was nothing spectacular but it was useful nonetheless.

The land outside the city was beautiful in it’s own simplicity.

While walking out of the city east gate the scene that unfolded in front of my eyes was that of a seemingly never ending expanse of gold wheat fields. Wherever I laid my eyes on I could only see wheat fields. Little canals surrounded by wheat fields, low hills surrounded by wheat fields, farmer’s houses surrounded by wheat fields. Everything was covered by those goldish plants. Only here and there a couple of trees could be seen providing shade for the farmers’ children to play under.

[Definitely not enough space for me to practice! And what if something goes wrong? I'm gonna be chased by city guards and farmers because I ruined the fields! No no no, absolutely not happening!]

Already after the first ten minutes of exploring the east entrance seemed a lost cause.

Just in case I stopped a guard idly patrolling around a small village to ask for information.

“Excuse me guard san, may I have a minute of your time?”

“Oh a kid from the city! Fancy seeing you here boy, got lost?”

“No no, nothing like that. I'm here just exploring the land. I'm looking for some kind of peaceful places, perhaps guard san may know of some places since he sure knows this land better than this uncultured me”

“Oh yes! You have a good eye boy! I’ve been here for ten years now and I know this place like the back of my hand haha!”

[So gullible, I can change world but it looks like people don't change that much huh? Just a couple of compliments and this guy is already full of himself! Ha the human pride! As if being stationed here was something to boast about]

I tried to cover my smug look as best as I could and show this man the best hopeful face I could fake.

“So does really guard san know a place such as that? Would he be willing to show me the way to it?”

“Oh boy but of course I can. How could I not help someone who looks at me in need? You see that big tree in the distance, twenty minute on foot from here? After that tree go south towards the sea, after another twenty minutes or so there is a place where kids from here go to play”

“Thank you very much guard san, you helped me a lot here!”

“It’s my duty to serve civilians my boy! Have fun and be safe!”

I started walking following the directions that the guard just gave me.

[Uhh, I don't expect much from this place since the guard just said “kids play there”, but I guess since I'm here i’ll at least go check it out]

During the whole time of my walk all my eyes saw were wheat fields. It was beautiful in his own way but rather monotone. I started to wonder if those wheat fields extended from city to city. A sea of wheat.

As I reached my destination it turned out that my expectations for this place were not wrong. It was sure larger than the others since it was an agglomerate of a dozen trees all close to each other, but it was far from being useful for magic practice.

“*sigh* Failure. I guess I can't really find a suitable place on the east side. Oh well nothing I can do about that, might as well enjoy the breeze for a while!”

The wind was a little stronger here than it was in the city. A pleasant cooling breeze.

I took advantage of the peaceful and chilling atmosphere to review my notes. I had no rush whatsoever.

The time passed fast. The more I studied the more I could feel myself enjoying it, but it was almost lunchtime and if I was late I would have had to deal with mothers scolding.

The walk back took less time and, while immersing myself in my own thoughts, I found myself in front of my house’s door.

Part 4

Father came earlier than usual and while mother was still cooking, me and father were setting the table while having a casual conversation.

“So Raph, how is your training going?”

“Mhh I would say good, but without having someone to compare to it’s difficult to say if I'm doing good or not”

“Mhh yeah I guess that's true...what tiers have you reached? I know a couple of mages, it would be a good comparison!”

“Ok so I’m beginner tier in attack magic, beginner tier in utility magic and I should be basic tier in defense magic but I have yet to fully test out the spells”

“...”

Father fell silent and had a dumbfounded look on his face.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No no absolutely not, it's just that it’s hard to believe in such incredible results!”

“Wait wait don't get me wrong, just by being able to cast a beginner spell one is considered a beginner tier magician. I know how to cast a couple of spells in the beginner tier but I'm far from mastering it”

“Oh yeah, right. I kinda forgot about that haha”

“Boys it’s ready!”

Mother's voice interrupted us. I think it came at a good time, the conversation was starting to die out. Maybe because of my father’s inability to cast magic he was always on guard when talking about it.

Lunch went smoothly as always. Conversations went from father’s complaints about new recruits being total dumbasses to mother’s wish to take in a stray cat.

Just a normal day.

Once everyone finished eating I stood up, ready to clear the table as always, but father grabbed my wrist.

“Sit please Raph”

The mood shifted from light and chill to a somewhat feeling of suspense.

[What is up with that face? Feels like I’ve done something bad...have I? No no no there’s no way he found out that I got outside the city, right?]

“Me and your mother have been thinking-”

[Damn! That phrase never means anything good!”

“-since you have talent with magic it’s ok to train hard on it, but magic is not omnipotent. There are swordsmen capable of evading magic and bring a mage into a close-quarter fight where he is bound to lose”

[Uh?]

“So we thought that, since it’s important to be able to defend against any type of enemy, you should at least learn the basics of swordsmanship. Don’t worry, I won't take away time from your magic training but you should learn how a swordsman thinks so that, if you ever find yourself fighting one, you will be able to, if not win, get out safely!”

[Ah that’s what it is...I’m kinda disappointed, I thought I was gonna get yelled at. You really don't know how to express yourself father!”

I had been worrying for nothing.

I didn't know much about this world since I spent most of my time inside the house but it’s probably dangerous out there. Bandits, thieves or I other kinds of “bad guys” could have been out there. It is only natural for parents to be worried about their child.

“You know way more than me father so I won't complain about your decisions, but wasn't it already decided a couple years ago that I would learn the sword?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I remember correctly you said something like ‘I will train you so you can become strong like me’, am I mistaken ?”

Father looked away and scratched his beard while mother was lightly laughing at him.

“True I did say that but I didn't think that you would still remember. Also after learning of your magic talent training you in the sword would be a total waste”

“Well it’s said that having a strong body increases the mana flow, also as you said it’s useful knowing how my enemies think so being trained in the sword should prove beneficial in the end!”

Father’s face was that of a child receiving the toy he was noted for his birthday.

“Honey have you heard? He also wants to learn swordsmanship! I thought he was going to hate me!”

“Ara- do you really think he would do that? It’s true that he liked to bully you since he first learned how to speak but to hate you..”

I silently nodded and laughed it off.

[I really thought that sword training would begin after I formed my body a little more. No wait it’s actually better to start early, just like with athletics! If I’m able to form an athletic body it will surely benefit me in the future. Yes this was really a good idea, gotta give it to you father haha!]

The image of a swordsman with a fire-like magic sword came to mind. It was a silly idea inspired by manga and anime from my past life, but who as a kid never thought of swinging a fire sword? As silly as it was that little image in my mind got me really fired up.

“Soo, when do we start?”

I couldn't contain my smug look and my father seemed to catch my eagerness to start training and replied with a big satisfied smile. He crossed his arms and said:

“Today! When I go out in the garden you follow me. Today it’ll be your first lesson son!”

“Looking forward to it!”

A new big chance happened to me that day.

Swords and magic. This world had yet to stop surprising me!

Part 5

Swordsmanship.

The one most practiced art in the whole world.

If one doesn't have the abilities for magic he focuses on the sword. Since the people that have the ability to use magic are only 40% the remaining 60%, if they wish to learn how to fight, begin to study the sword.

Because of this swordsmanship is practiced to the point where if an adventurer is not a magician he knows the sword at least a little.

Of course the majority of people like these barely scratch the surface of the teaching of swordsmanship, but it’s enough to make a living out of it.

There are four sword schools : the North sword style, the Beast sword style, the South sword style and the Demon sword style.

Every school has its own way of teaching, fighting style and skills.

Usually, due to the differences in the fighting style, one chooses a school and sticks with it, if the school’s style doesn't suit him he may change. However since there aren't many dojos other than in the big cities swordsmanship is hereditary. Parents teach their children the style they learned, the children teach their children and so on.

It’s very unlikely for a swordsman to be able to learn two different sword styles due to their difference in fighting style and skills needed, but not impossible. There are exceptional people who are able to mix the teaching from two or more schools and use the skills acquired from the different schools depending on the occasion. Those people did not surpass the three digits.

Swordsmanship, just like magic, is divided in tiers depending on the swordsman ability:1st tier or basic, 2nd tier or beginner, 3rd tier or practitioner, 4th tier or advanced(same as magic this tier draws the line from talented to common), 5th tier or adept, 6th tier or saint, 7th tier or master and 8th tier or king.

The only difference between magic and swordsmanship tiers lies in the king tier.

In magic a king tier is so rare that the number of kings could be counted on the hands while sword kings are always four at any time in history.

There can only be one sword king for every sword style and the sword king is the head of the main dojo.

The only way to gain the title of sword king is to kill the current sword king. In case that there is no one able to kill the sword king and the current king dies of age or retires a competition between the sword masters takes place.

This is the basic knowledge father taught me during the first lesson before starting the real training.

I expected his training to be very difficult and tiring but I had my expectations way too high. I was still a five years old boy, of course physical training wouldn’t be of a high level.

Until father decided I was ready we only focused on increasing my physical capabilities. Stamina, strength, resistance, all of those needed to be increased in order to perform any type of skill. Father was not expecting me to learn any sword skill since my main focus was on magic, but having a stronger body had no demerits so even if I didn't learn any skill it wasn’t time wasted.

To increase my physique father came up with a sort of training program. It was just the normal training routine I had done thousands of times in my previous life. Push ups and sit ups were the main core, their number started slow and steadily increased, by the time father decided that my body was ready we were already past the hundreds. Running was also a big part of the training, not only in swordsmanship but even in other fields stamina was something very useful so father put particular attention to that. We ran around the neighborhood, I never reached his number of laps, the difference in abilities between me and father was huge. Yes I was still only a child but his capabilities seemed inhuman.

Father was strong. I respected that.

Not only physically but also mentally. His whole personality changed while he was training me. From the goofy but trusty man I knew to a rigorous and majestic teacher.

I started to fear the sight of him angered, it never happened before but knowing what he is like when he is serious I doubted it would be a pleasant experience seeing him angry.

Other than running father made me do a lot of sprints. If running around the neighborhood had the goal to increase my stamina, sprinting was needed in order to increase my speed. Making dashes and dodges was a very important part of swordsmanship and, to increase their efficiency, a high speed was very much needed.

This was basically everything that a normal training had, even in my past life.The change came with the main training exercise. Sword swings.

I would spend hours standing in front of a straw mannequin swinging a little wooden sword.

This was very new to me but I got the point of it.

What was needed most to be a strong swordsman? Powerful swings.

How to achieve powerful swings? A hellish repetition.

I repeated so many swings that some days after training I would just lay in bed with my arms hanging from it’s sides just to feel them a little less heavy.

I got yelled at so many times by father because of my bad form. I never practiced sword in my past life so I had no idea of how to swing a sword, so I got hit on the head pretty often!

I was not mad about it. I understood what father was aiming at. If a bad form was not corrected now it would haunt me for the rest of my life. It is difficult to correct a bad form when it was repeated over and over through the years.

With time the hit decreased and both my form and my arms got slightly better and stronger.

Truth to be told it wasn't really a training for a five years old boy of my previous life but I now understood what was behind my father’s strength.

I grew to respect that man’s strength the more I trained with him. Also having those father-son kind of moments was really enjoyable...even though my muscles were all sore in the end.

After a year father decided that I was finally ready to get serious with the sword and start the real training...but before that time many other things happened in my life.