Chapter 4

When Tiberius finally regained conciseness, he discovered that he was back in his family's garden surrounded by cherry blossoms and covered in sweat. As he righted himself back into his sitting position, after having collapsed, he held his head that was still throbbing in intense pain. It took almost an hour to steady his breathing and cause the pain to lessen to a dull throbbing sensation.

Now that the pain had lessened by a considerable degree, he found that the knowledge that had been implanted into his mind came with a smithing technique that would allow him to forge unique arms and armaments. But before studying the information in detail, he decided to leave and go for a walk around town first to help soothe his still aching head. After all, one must have a balance in one's life. If you spent all your time training, then that becomes all your life is about, and you will eventually hit a bottleneck that you can't be breakthrough. Training is essential, there is no denying it, but must be done in moderation like all other things in life.

As he walked towards the front gate of his family's estate to head out for a walk but was stopped by a guard saying "I'm sorry young master, but we've been ordered by your parents not the let you go out without proper supervision that has been assigned by them."

Once he finished listening to what the guard had to say, thinking, "That's right, I am only ten years old at the moment. So, it makes sense that I wouldn't be allowed out alone." Releasing a deep sigh to relieve some of the annoyance of this situation.

Gave the guard a smile saying, "Very well, I shall go speak with them then" as he turned and made his way back into the compound.

Making his way to see his mother, Tiberius started thinking, "This is going to be rather troublesome. I was originally planning on going out myself to find someone to 'teach me how to forge weapons and armor and slowly reveal my skill a little at a time. After all, even though I was a blacksmith in my previous life, it would be strange if I started displaying knowledge your typical ten year wouldn't have. But now, instead of a casual stroll through town, where I find someone to teach me at my leisure, I have to get my parents involved, which complicates matters."

After several minutes of walking down corridors, Tiberius found himself in the area of the house where he can usually find his mother. As his mother was fond of sewing, almost the entire right wing of the main manor was filled with bolts of all different fabrics and many other supplies, including the hides of both magical and mundane beasts.

Seeing her son approaching, Azura gave a loving smile as she set down the clothes she was working on and embraced Tiberius saying, "Oh, what a treat for my darling boy to come and visit me."

Tiberius returned the embrace, smiling as he enjoyed the warmth of a mother's love, something he sorely missed from his previous life. After a couple of moments passed, he left her to hug, saying to his mother, "I was wondering if we can go for a walk around town."

Azura looked at her son with a gentle smile, seeing the gleam in his eyes as she nodded "Of course, my darling son, I would never miss out on the chance to spend time with you. Let me get ready. I'll meet you at the front gate." Towards the end of her words, she nudged Tiberius towards the door before setting off the get ready to head out with him.

While Tiberius was making his way towards the front gate, he ran into his father, who stopped him before saying, "Oh, there you are, I was looking for you. I went to the garden to talk to you, but you weren't there. Come with me."

Looking a bit awkward, Tiberius said: "But father, I am supposed to be meeting mother at the front gate to go into town."

"Don't worry. This talk shouldn't take very long. It's more of a short lesson that I want to impart to you before you get any older because it's important to start considering once a child gets to about your age."

Inwardly giving a wry smile, Tiberius thought, "If only you knew that my mental age is of a thirty-six-year-old" while asking, "What is the lesson?"

Rexar was silent for several moments as he thought of the best way to approach the subject before asking, "Do you know why your mother spends time sewing, and I spend time learning about and growing various medicinal herbs?"

Tilting his head, Tiberius answered, "Isn't it so you have a productive way to relax instead of cultivating and training nonstop" unsure as to why his father would bring this subject up.

"Yes, that is correct," Rexar replied, slightly surprised at his sons' answer, continuing "We found productive activities that we each enjoy that, not only, help us relax but also help up cope with the brutality of the world. You see, son, being a cultivator, throws you into a harsh world where there will be many times that you will be forced to kill to protect yourself and others. Remember this Tiberius because it is imperative, you must NEVER kill someone without good reason. Ideally, you should only take a life to save another. When you get older and have more experience in the world, you may think these are foolish, idealistic, and naive words, but it is still important to do everything in your power to live by this belief. I'm not saying you have to be some sort of saint or even a hero, but it is important to have a code of ethics that you live by, a bottom line if you will. Once you set this bottom line and once you find a code or creed to live by, you must live by it no matter what and never cross the line you put down."

Tiberius patiently listened to his fathers' lecture, slowly digesting what he said. Only after several minutes did he come back from being lost in his thoughts and look at his father, stating, "I understand father. I must remain strong to my beliefs and never compromise on my bottom line."

Hearing his son's reply, Rexar could only shake his head in exasperation thinking, "I worry about this boy, he acts like someone so much older than he is and can grasp such a concept at such a young age. Despite it sounding simple to someone like himself, it was a profound lesson to someone of ten years old."

With a simple smile, Rexar continued his explanation with a stern expression. "Now, the reason I mention all this is because it is intrinsically connected to what I wanted to talk to you about. You see, as you get older and experience more, fighting countless life and death battles that bottom line that you set down slowly begins to blur. Then, in time, It will fade away completely if you're not careful. That is why you should have a hobby, or even better, a profession that you can use to stay connected with who you are. Something that you truly enjoy doing so that, when that line begins to blur, you can revitalize yourself and remember who you are. To remind yourself that you're not a killing machine, that your not a monster but a person. We have these hobbies so that we have something that can ground us. The purpose is with the idea that we never get used to killing because the moment you feel that you're used to it and it doesn't bother you anymore is the point that you need to retire and stop cultivating. Once you get used to taking others' life, then the very value of life itself loses all value. When that happens, you no longer look for any other ways to resolve a problem, jumping straight to killing whoever is causing the problem without a second thought of whether a person deserves to die for their crime or not. At that point, are you even still human?"

Nodding his head, Tiberius replied, "So you want me to choose a profession that I enjoy doing so that I don't get lost in a sea of blood and forget who I am. Then once I begin to study it, I am to use the said profession as an anchor for my ego and my heart so that I don't become corrupted by my actions no matter how necessary they may be."

"It's good that you understand. Do you have any ideas as to what to study? If not, then I would suggest music, calligraphy, or art," Rexar said, looking at his son with concern glinting in his eyes while he thought in his heart, "I truly hope he will choose something that would require him to socialize more with people his age. Maybe even make some friends, I worry that he will have a long, lonely life if he doesn't learn to be more open with people."

Noticing the concern in his fathers' eyes, Tiberius shook his head, stating, "I don't have any ideas at the moment. But I will use this opportunity while I'm in town with my mother to look at and observe some professions and see if I find one that I like.

With a light chuckle, Rexar ruffled his hair saying, "As long as you understand, it's fine if you don't find anything immediately. Don't be in too much of a hurry. You're still young, after all. So, enjoy your youth while you still can. Just keep in mind what I said, now run along. I'm sure your mother is waiting for you."

Giving a small smile, Tiberius nodded as he turned and ran off to meet his mother at the front gate.