Chapter 1 - New World

Somewhere In the Middle East

Heavy gunfire and explosions erupt as a group of soldiers return fire on an ambush by insurgents.

"Get on that .50 light them up!" The captain shouted.

A young lieutenant rushes to the JTLV and mans the .50 opening fire on the incoming enemy. Bullets rip through the enemy filling them full of holes.

"RPG!" A soldier yells.

The lieutenant whips the gun around a fires upon the threat but it is too late as the enemy manages to pull the trigger just before his body is riddled with bullets. The RPG streaks toward the JTLV and strikes the vehicle in a fiery explosion. That was the last thing that Lieutenant Alex Blackfield saw before his world went black.

—

Alex's eyes fluttered and opened to the blindingly white room. He groans and sits up.

"You're finally awake," a soft female voice says.

Alex focuses his attention on the direction of the voice. His vision became clearer and before him, a beautiful busty blonde woman with soft blue eyes in a short white flowing dress sat on a throne.

He snaps to attention. "Who are you? Where am I?" he asks carefully.

She smiles softly and says, "My name is Artemisia. I guess you could consider me a Goddess. As for where you are...well this is neither Heaven nor Hell. I suppose you could call it Limbo."

"So I died huh?" Alex concluded.

"Precisely but fret not Alex for you have won the lottery for a second chance at life"

"A second chance? As in reincarnation?" he asked.

She nods. "You have 2 options," she says holding up two fingers. You can be reborn on Earth but only as an animal of your choosing or you can be reborn in another world similar to Earth." she explains.

Alex didn't need to think twice. "Tell me more about this other world."

She holds out the palm of her hand and a miniature Earth appears. "This is the world of Gaia or Earth that I oversee. It is one of magic. It is very much like Earth but unlike Earth."

Alex comes over for a closer look. It did look like Earth but the shapes of continents looked different from what he knew. Artemisia closes her hand and the miniature Earth disappears.

"Since you are not born of this new world I will grant you anything you want or wish to take with you in this new world."

Alex thinks for a moment. She had told him that this world was full of swords, magic, and monsters. Then perhaps knowledge of his previous life would help in this one. "Then I'd like access to knowledge. Knowledge of everything and anything pertaining to my world. The keys to the universe if you will"

Artemisia's face flashed with a look of surprise and then smiled. "Oh, that's quite interesting. Although because you are basically asking to be all-knowing this will come with a severe consequence. Do you accept that?" She asks.

"I do," he replies firmly.

"Then it shall be done," she says standing up.

With a wave of her hand, Alex begins to fall down a dark hole.

"Try not to die," she said as he fell. It wasn't what she had said that bothered him the face she made.

"Oh well, he thought, Nothing can be done about it now."

Eventually, he is blinded by yet another source of light accompanied by the sound of a baby's cry. Unfamiliar faces looking down on him. The baby's cries he realized were his and the faces looking down at him were his parents. The father was a brown-haired brown-eyed man with the muscles of a man who worked out regularly but not enough to be considered a bodybuilder. The mother the definition of beautiful in his opinion a blonde-haired-haired blue-eyed elf looked down at him with a look of pure happiness and joy.

"Look at our son Cassius. Isn't he handsome?" his mother says.

Cassius touches his newborn's face, "Yes, Vaeria he is. Just like his father" he says proudly.

The two chuckle at that. "Welcome home Nico" Vaeria snuggling him close to her chest.

—

3 Years Later

Perhaps it was due to his old-world knowledge but at age 3 Nico could already read and write. Today he was learning about this world's history.

Nico opens the book in front of him. To start with planet is also called Earth. Just his old world this world has 1 moon, 1 sun, 4 seasons, 7 days in a week, and 365 days in a year. There are 4 major races. The book talks vaguely of a 5th but it's said to be long extinct due to a great war that was fought centuries ago. Humans are the most populus race. They are also the weakest in physical strength compared to the other races but make up for it in their clever use of magic and the use of tamed creatures. That isn't to say other races cannot tame creatures it was humans who utilized them first. They also make up the majority of the world's nations. Their magical aptitude fluctuates but can be argued to be the second or third most mana-rich race but have the shortest lifespan living up to 150 years as the oldest recorded human. The next race is Elves while not as many as humans they are the most mana-rich out of all the other races. Their beauty is said to be unparalleled and their life spans upwards of 1000 years. Their physical ability is second to last after humans but they too make up for it with their proficient use of magic. The third race, known as Beastmen, the 3rd most populous race are humanoids with animal-like features. Their race is physically the strongest out of the 4 races however they possess little to no mana to speak of. They are capable of living up to 300 years. The 4th race is Dwarves said to be a race of expert craftsmen. Their strength is second to the Beastman. They possess more mana than the typical human but less than Elves. Dwarves are the second most populous race. Their lifespan can be anywhere from 250 to 500 years. Long life can be a luxury because as with any world, it has its fair share of perils. War, disease, and monsters.

This world had 5 major continents. The Artic in the North. The Central Continent or Europos the Western Continent or Amenia, the Eastern Continent or Xan, and the Southern Continent or Wana. He resides on the Central Continent in the Rotalia Empire. The strongest nation in Europos. It controls the most territory and is currently at war with a neighboring country. The book boasts more about the Empire but Nico didn't care much for that. So he closes the book. Seeing as there was only so much he could glean from books. He needed to explore this world and all it had to offer. That is why he wished to become an adventurer one day just like his parents were.

2 Years Later

Nico was declared an academic prodigy at age 3 due to his seemingly genius ability to read and write at what would be considered college level in his world. He could hold conversations with adults at 2 and could walk before he turned 1. However, all this is due to his old-world knowledge. Today however is a different day. In this world where magic exists while academics are important magic is revered. Those who could wield magic were on track for the easy life. Nico through the books he had read learned that while magic is commonplace not everyone could use it. When a child turns 5 years old in this world they all take a magic aptitude test. This test gauges how much mana one has and what magic one will specialize in.

"Nico Genovese! Please step forward." the village chief calls out.

Nico steps up to the table where two crystal balls sit in front of him. Nico looks at the village chief an old man but still full of life. He smiled as Nico stepped forward. "Please place your hand on the ball. We will now assess your mana capacity," he explained.

Nico nods and does as he is told. He places his hand on the ball. "Now close your eyes and release your mana into it. It is okay if you cannot control it the crystal ball will absorb any excess mana" he tells him.

"I believe in you, Nico!" Vaeria shouts as encouragement.

Nico cringed at that a little embarrassed. There were several other kids his age this year so the village had gathered to observe the aptitude test. He closed his eyes and poured his mana into the ball. After a few seconds, the ball began to glow brightly which brought about gasps of shock. The village chief was stunned. This boy had an unprecedented amount of magic. Far more than any child his age should have. He quickly composes himself.

"That is enough. Let us move on to the affinity test. Please place your hand on the other crystal ball and repeat the process."

Nico places his hands on the second crystal ball and closes his eyes. He pours some mana into it. This elicits another round of shocked gasps. Nico opens his eyes. This time the ball changes colors at about 1-second intervals. Blue, green, red and white. Each color corresponds to 1 of the 4 core magics.

"A prodigy indeed," the village chief says incredulously. "You have a bright future ahead of you. Perhaps you will be the pride of this village nay the Empire." he proclaimed smiling proudly.

Nico could feel everyone looking at him in awe. He walks back over to his parents and his father puts his hand on his head and proudly goes "That's my boy!"

His mother hugs him but doesn't say anything. Her warm embrace says it all.

While Nico was certainly the highlight he was most certainly not the only gifted one.

—

The Next Day

After finding out his magical aptitude Nico was eager to put his magic into practice, which is why today he is sitting on his mother's lesson on magic. She taught the village kids all about magic due to being a mage during her time as an Adventurer.

"Who can tell me the 4 core magics?" she asks her class.

A young girl raises her hand.

"Yes, Canette?"

Canette a girl with silver hair and purple eyes answers with the utmost confidence in her voice. "Water, Earth, Fire, and Wind. There are two other magics as well Light and Dark however these two are less common than the other which is why they are not core magics," she responded.

"Very good" Vearia confirmed. She holds out the palm of her hand and a small rock appears. "Magic is the application of mana within our bodies. There are various ways magic can be used. The utilization of magic requires a proficient degree of mana control." she explains.

She closes her palm and the rock crumbles to dust. "Today you are going to learn about mana control and a simple manifestation of each of your magic attributes. The trick to magic is imagination and concentration."  She holds out her hand and this time a shield appears in front of her. It was not a shield in the traditional sense but a wall of physical mana.

"This is just simple defensive magic. One of the first that all magic users learn. It is also one of the best ways to learn mana control. Now I want all of you to stand up and close your eyes and concentrate and guide your mana"

Nico stands up and does as his mother instructs. Nico feels the mana swirl inside of him he guides it to the palm of his hand. He can manifest a small shield but only about the size of his hand. The other kids produced ones bigger than his. Some of them smirked at his size compared to theirs. This did make Nico feel a type of way. Didn't he possess a vast amount of magic?

"Very good everyone. Now comes the hard part: Attribute manifestation. It requires more control and concentration. Just as you did before focus your mana to the palm of your hand and imagine your attribute in whatever form you wish to manifest it in."

Nico does the same thing but this time nothing comes out. He tries several more times but still nothing. He looks at the other kids in particular Cannette who was able to produce a large ball of water. She smiles proudly at her work. So he tries again this time putting in more effort than before. The other kids begin to notice him struggling and one in particular makes a snarky comment.

"Looks like our genius isn't such a genius after all"

"Leave him alone. At least he can read unlike you. You can't even write your own name!" she retorts coming to Nico's defense.

The boy clicks his tongue and backs down. Canette turns to Nico and smiles.

"Thanks" he replied softly thanking her.

Canette was the second highlight during the aptitude test that day. She had a high amount of mana for a human and a proficient affinity for water magic. This was demonstrated by the amount of water generated during practice just now. He closes his eyes once again this time breathing slower, calmer, and concentrates. Finally, a small flame appears in the palm of his hand. A smile of satisfaction spreads across his face but his victory is short-lived as his vision goes blurry and then blacks out.

He awakes a few hours later in his bed looking at the ceiling. His mother coincidentally walks into the room as he is waking up.

"Nico! You're awake I was worried" she exclaims in relief rushing over to hug him.

"What happened asks" his voice muffled by her chest.

She pulls away and says "Huh?"

"What happened" he repeated.

"You collapsed from mana exhaustion," she explains.

"Mana exhaustion?" he asks.

"Yes, it is when you use up all your mana at once to the point your body cannot move. Though considering the amount of mana you have it is quite strange," she said with a hint of curiosity and concern in her voice.

Nico recalls Artemisia's warning. This must be the price of knowledge.

"So I have no talent for magic?" he says his voice disappointed.

His mother places her hand on his. "I would not say that. You have excellent mana control. If you train properly you'll be able to produce small-scale magic. There are many paths to greatness magic is just one. For example with your mana control you could become a blacksmith" she suggested. "In fact, there's a blacksmith in the village. Perhaps you can visit him tomorrow?"

"A blacksmith huh?" He thought. Since he wasn't gonna be parting seas any time soon he might as well look into it. Maybe he could put his old-world knowledge to use.

Giving up this early was unbecoming of the soldier he had become in his old world. So he looks at his mother dead in the eyes and says "Thank you mother" he says sincerely. "I appreciate it"

"Of course. Now your father will be back soon. And you've been out for a while so I will go get dinner ready"

Ah, his father had been a swordsman as an adventurer. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to get some training from him after all his dream was to become an adventurer as well. That and this body was lacking. He should have been working out anyway.

Later that evening

The food in this world was just okay so far. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. They ate what his father brought back from his hunts. Without seasoning and proper cooking techniques, the food always tasted how it looked so to speak. Plain if he were to describe it. He would have to start cooking his own meals soon and obtain some salt at the very least. These meals were a disgrace to the American that he was.

"Hey Dad I would like to you train me to use a sword," Nico says bluntly.

"A sword? What happened to learning magic?" he asks.

"I will still be learning magic but it would not hurt to learn other skills"

His father makes a face. Almost as if he were about to cry. "Finally the day has come. I've been waiting for this day to come. Of course, son I will train you to be strong and handsome like me!"

"Uh I didn't say handsome"

"Your training starts tomorrow morning," his father says seriously. "I hope you're ready"

"He ignored me," Nico thought. "Okay," he says awkwardly. His father must have really been waiting for this day.

—

The next day

The next day, Nico is awakened by his father in the early hours of the morning. His father yanks the covers off his body. "Time for your training. Hurry up and get dressed!"

Nico groans groggily and reluctantly rolls out of bed. As he sheepishly puts on his clothes he couldn't help be find this situation familiar. It reminded him of his days in boot camp. Being woken up at the crack of dawn by the drill sergeant. A few minutes later he is outside where his father awaited him holding two wooden swords. His father hands him one of them and walks a short distance away before facing him.

"Get ready," he says getting into a combat stance.

Nico gets into his own stance. His former training as a soldier kicking in. However this unbeknownst to him unnerved his father.

Suddenly his father had closed the distance between them swinging for Nico's neck. Caught by surprise he ducks but his chin is met by his father's knee which causes his vision to go blurry and then he blacks out. He wakes up not long after with a slap across the face. Pain from the slap and his chin rushes at him all at once.

"Oww," he says in pain rubbing his face and chin.

His father chuckles, "Hmmn perhaps I was a little too serious."

"What was that just now? That aura when he took his stance. It wasn't one of an amateur. Rather than a beginner who has never wielded a sword, it felt like was facing a veteran who has seen countless battles." Cassius thought.

Cassius felt a wave of excitement at the infinite potential his son seemed to have.

"Okay, I've gauged your potential as a swordsman. We are going to start with bodybuilding. The foundation of a swordsman is strength and endurance. So every morning for the next few months you are to do 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 squats, and 10 laps from the entrance of the village back here a day. I do not care how you do them that's up to you. You will need a period of rest so the weekends shall be your rest days understood?"

Nico nods. The workout plan reminded him of a certain bald character from his world.

"Now give me 100 push-ups right now. Then go inside for breakfast."

—

Several hours Later

After breakfast, Nico decided to take his mother's suggestion and check out the blacksmith.

"What brings you here Nico?" asks the older man named Pietro banging away on hot metal.

"My mother said I might have the potential to be a blacksmith since I'm no good with magic"

Pietro rubs his beard and looks Nico up and down.

"You have quite the mana pool. Perhaps you'll be able to use THAT" he says.

"Use what?"  Nico asks curious.

"You see that barrel over there? He says pointing to a wooden barrel.

Nico walks over to the barrel takes the top off and looks inside.

"What is this?" he asks looking at the metal liquid. "Mercury?" He wonders.

"It's called metamorphium. It's a liquid metal that can mold into any shape that the person desires. However, it isn't a popular method to making weapons because it requires precise mana control, and once you've made a shape you cannot reshape it." He explained.

Nico puts his hand into the shiny liquid. It feels oddly warm and cold as he was expecting. He closes his eyes imagining a basic shape before pouring mana into his hand. He could feel the liquid molding into his desired shape. Once done he takes it out and inspects it. It was a rectangle but it was lumpy instead of smooth. But at least he understood the principle. He smiles with practice anything could possible.Somewhere In the Middle East

Heavy gunfire and explosions erupt as a group of soldiers return fire on an ambush by insurgents.

"Get on that .50 light them up!" The captain shouted.

A young lieutenant rushes to the JTLV and mans the .50 opening fire on the incoming enemy. Bullets rip through the enemy filling them full of holes.

"RPG!" A soldier yells.

The lieutenant whips the gun around a fires upon the threat but it is too late as the enemy manages to pull the trigger just before his body is riddled with bullets. The RPG streaks toward the JTLV and strikes the vehicle in a fiery explosion. That was the last thing that Lieutenant Alex Blackfield saw before his world went black.

—

Alex's eyes fluttered and opened to the blindingly white room. He groans and sits up.

"You're finally awake," a soft female voice says.

Alex focuses his attention on the direction of the voice. His vision became clearer and before him, a beautiful busty blonde woman with soft blue eyes in a short white flowing dress sat on a throne.

He snaps to attention. "Who are you? Where am I?" he asks carefully.

She smiles softly and says, "My name is Artemisia. I guess you could consider me a Goddess. As for where you are...well this is neither Heaven nor Hell. I suppose you could call it Limbo."

"So I died huh?" Alex concluded.

"Precisely but fret not Alex for you have won the lottery for a second chance at life"

"A second chance? As in reincarnation?" he asked.

She nods. "You have 2 options," she says holding up two fingers. You can be reborn on Earth but only as an animal of your choosing or you can be reborn in another world similar to Earth." she explains.

Alex didn't need to think twice. "Tell me more about this other world."

She holds out the palm of her hand and a miniature Earth appears. "This is the world of Gaia or Earth that I oversee. It is one of magic. It is very much like Earth but unlike Earth."

Alex comes over for a closer look. It did look like Earth but the shapes of continents looked different from what he knew. Artemisia closes her hand and the miniature Earth disappears.

"Since you are not born of this new world I will grant you anything you want or wish to take with you in this new world."

Alex thinks for a moment. She had told him that this world was full of swords, magic, and monsters. Then perhaps knowledge of his previous life would help in this one. "Then I'd like access to knowledge. Knowledge of everything and anything pertaining to my world. The keys to the universe if you will"

Artemisia's face flashed with a look of surprise and then smiled. "Oh, that's quite interesting. Although because you are basically asking to be all-knowing this will come with a severe consequence. Do you accept that?" She asks.

"I do," he replies firmly.

"Then it shall be done," she says standing up.

With a wave of her hand, Alex begins to fall down a dark hole.

"Try not to die," she said as he fell. It wasn't what she had said that bothered him the face she made.

"Oh well, he thought, Nothing can be done about it now."

Eventually, he is blinded by yet another source of light accompanied by the sound of a baby's cry. Unfamiliar faces looking down on him. The baby's cries he realized were his and the faces looking down at him were his parents. The father was a brown-haired brown-eyed man with the muscles of a man who worked out regularly but not enough to be considered a bodybuilder. The mother the definition of beautiful in his opinion a blonde-haired-haired blue-eyed elf looked down at him with a look of pure happiness and joy.

"Look at our son Cassius. Isn't he handsome?" his mother says.

Cassius touches his newborn's face, "Yes, Vaeria he is. Just like his father" he says proudly.

The two chuckle at that. "Welcome home Nico" Vaeria snuggling him close to her chest.

—

3 Years Later

Perhaps it was due to his old-world knowledge but at age 3 Nico could already read and write. Today he was learning about this world's history.

Nico opens the book in front of him. To start with planet is also called Earth. Just his old world this world has 1 moon, 1 sun, 4 seasons, 7 days in a week, and 365 days in a year. There are 4 major races. The book talks vaguely of a 5th but it's said to be long extinct due to a great war that was fought centuries ago. Humans are the most populus race. They are also the weakest in physical strength compared to the other races but make up for it in their clever use of magic and the use of tamed creatures. That isn't to say other races cannot tame creatures it was humans who utilized them first. They also make up the majority of the world's nations. Their magical aptitude fluctuates but can be argued to be the second or third most mana-rich race but have the shortest lifespan living up to 150 years as the oldest recorded human. The next race is Elves while not as many as humans they are the most mana-rich out of all the other races. Their beauty is said to be unparalleled and their life spans upwards of 1000 years. Their physical ability is second to last after humans but they too make up for it with their proficient use of magic. The third race, known as Beastmen, the 3rd most populous race are humanoids with animal-like features. Their race is physically the strongest out of the 4 races however they possess little to no mana to speak of. They are capable of living up to 300 years. The 4th race is Dwarves said to be a race of expert craftsmen. Their strength is second to the Beastman. They possess more mana than the typical human but less than Elves. Dwarves are the second most populous race. Their lifespan can be anywhere from 250 to 500 years. Long life can be a luxury because as with any world, it has its fair share of perils. War, disease, and monsters.

This world had 5 major continents. The Artic in the North. The Central Continent or Europos the Western Continent or Amenia, the Eastern Continent or Xan, and the Southern Continent or Wana. He resides on the Central Continent in the Rotalia Empire. The strongest nation in Europos. It controls the most territory and is currently at war with a neighboring country. The book boasts more about the Empire but Nico didn't care much for that. So he closes the book. Seeing as there was only so much he could glean from books. He needed to explore this world and all it had to offer. That is why he wished to become an adventurer one day just like his parents were.

2 Years Later

Nico was declared an academic prodigy at age 3 due to his seemingly genius ability to read and write at what would be considered college level in his world. He could hold conversations with adults at 2 and could walk before he turned 1. However, all this is due to his old-world knowledge. Today however is a different day. In this world where magic exists while academics are important magic is revered. Those who could wield magic were on track for the easy life. Nico through the books he had read learned that while magic is commonplace not everyone could use it. When a child turns 5 years old in this world they all take a magic aptitude test. This test gauges how much mana one has and what magic one will specialize in.

"Nico Genovese! Please step forward." the village chief calls out.

Nico steps up to the table where two crystal balls sit in front of him. Nico looks at the village chief an old man but still full of life. He smiled as Nico stepped forward. "Please place your hand on the ball. We will now assess your mana capacity," he explained.

Nico nods and does as he is told. He places his hand on the ball. "Now close your eyes and release your mana into it. It is okay if you cannot control it the crystal ball will absorb any excess mana" he tells him.

"I believe in you, Nico!" Vaeria shouts as encouragement.

Nico cringed at that a little embarrassed. There were several other kids his age this year so the village had gathered to observe the aptitude test. He closed his eyes and poured his mana into the ball. After a few seconds, the ball began to glow brightly which brought about gasps of shock. The village chief was stunned. This boy had an unprecedented amount of magic. Far more than any child his age should have. He quickly composes himself.

"That is enough. Let us move on to the affinity test. Please place your hand on the other crystal ball and repeat the process."

Nico places his hands on the second crystal ball and closes his eyes. He pours some mana into it. This elicits another round of shocked gasps. Nico opens his eyes. This time the ball changes colors at about 1-second intervals. Blue, green, red and white. Each color corresponds to 1 of the 4 core magics.

"A prodigy indeed," the village chief says incredulously. "You have a bright future ahead of you. Perhaps you will be the pride of this village nay the Empire." he proclaimed smiling proudly.

Nico could feel everyone looking at him in awe. He walks back over to his parents and his father puts his hand on his head and proudly goes "That's my boy!"

His mother hugs him but doesn't say anything. Her warm embrace says it all.

While Nico was certainly the highlight he was most certainly not the only gifted one.

—

The Next Day

After finding out his magical aptitude Nico was eager to put his magic into practice, which is why today he is sitting on his mother's lesson on magic. She taught the village kids all about magic due to being a mage during her time as an Adventurer.

"Who can tell me the 4 core magics?" she asks her class.

A young girl raises her hand.

"Yes, Canette?"

Canette a girl with silver hair and purple eyes answers with the utmost confidence in her voice. "Water, Earth, Fire, and Wind. There are two other magics as well Light and Dark however these two are less common than the other which is why they are not core magics," she responded.

"Very good" Vearia confirmed. She holds out the palm of her hand and a small rock appears. "Magic is the application of mana within our bodies. There are various ways magic can be used. The utilization of magic requires a proficient degree of mana control." she explains.

She closes her palm and the rock crumbles to dust. "Today you are going to learn about mana control and a simple manifestation of each of your magic attributes. The trick to magic is imagination and concentration."  She holds out her hand and this time a shield appears in front of her. It was not a shield in the traditional sense but a wall of physical mana.

"This is just simple defensive magic. One of the first that all magic users learn. It is also one of the best ways to learn mana control. Now I want all of you to stand up and close your eyes and concentrate and guide your mana"

Nico stands up and does as his mother instructs. Nico feels the mana swirl inside of him he guides it to the palm of his hand. He can manifest a small shield but only about the size of his hand. The other kids produced ones bigger than his. Some of them smirked at his size compared to theirs. This did make Nico feel a type of way. Didn't he possess a vast amount of magic?

"Very good everyone. Now comes the hard part: Attribute manifestation. It requires more control and concentration. Just as you did before focus your mana to the palm of your hand and imagine your attribute in whatever form you wish to manifest it in."

Nico does the same thing but this time nothing comes out. He tries several more times but still nothing. He looks at the other kids in particular Cannette who was able to produce a large ball of water. She smiles proudly at her work. So he tries again this time putting in more effort than before. The other kids begin to notice him struggling and one in particular makes a snarky comment.

"Looks like our genius isn't such a genius after all"

"Leave him alone. At least he can read unlike you. You can't even write your own name!" she retorts coming to Nico's defense.

The boy clicks his tongue and backs down. Canette turns to Nico and smiles.

"Thanks" he replied softly thanking her.

Canette was the second highlight during the aptitude test that day. She had a high amount of mana for a human and a proficient affinity for water magic. This was demonstrated by the amount of water generated during practice just now. He closes his eyes once again this time breathing slower, calmer, and concentrates. Finally, a small flame appears in the palm of his hand. A smile of satisfaction spreads across his face but his victory is short-lived as his vision goes blurry and then blacks out.

He awakes a few hours later in his bed looking at the ceiling. His mother coincidentally walks into the room as he is waking up.

"Nico! You're awake I was worried" she exclaims in relief rushing over to hug him.

"What happened asks" his voice muffled by her chest.

She pulls away and says "Huh?"

"What happened" he repeated.

"You collapsed from mana exhaustion," she explains.

"Mana exhaustion?" he asks.

"Yes, it is when you use up all your mana at once to the point your body cannot move. Though considering the amount of mana you have it is quite strange," she said with a hint of curiosity and concern in her voice.

Nico recalls Artemisia's warning. This must be the price of knowledge.

"So I have no talent for magic?" he says his voice disappointed.

His mother places her hand on his. "I would not say that. You have excellent mana control. If you train properly you'll be able to produce small-scale magic. There are many paths to greatness magic is just one. For example with your mana control you could become a blacksmith" she suggested. "In fact, there's a blacksmith in the village. Perhaps you can visit him tomorrow?"

"A blacksmith huh?" He thought. Since he wasn't gonna be parting seas any time soon he might as well look into it. Maybe he could put his old-world knowledge to use.

Giving up this early was unbecoming of the soldier he had become in his old world. So he looks at his mother dead in the eyes and says "Thank you mother" he says sincerely. "I appreciate it"

"Of course. Now your father will be back soon. And you've been out for a while so I will go get dinner ready"

Ah, his father had been a swordsman as an adventurer. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to get some training from him after all his dream was to become an adventurer as well. That and this body was lacking. He should have been working out anyway.

Later that evening

The food in this world was just okay so far. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. They ate what his father brought back from his hunts. Without seasoning and proper cooking techniques, the food always tasted how it looked so to speak. Plain if he were to describe it. He would have to start cooking his own meals soon and obtain some salt at the very least. These meals were a disgrace to the American that he was.

"Hey Dad I would like to you train me to use a sword," Nico says bluntly.

"A sword? What happened to learning magic?" he asks.

"I will still be learning magic but it would not hurt to learn other skills"

His father makes a face. Almost as if he were about to cry. "Finally the day has come. I've been waiting for this day to come. Of course, son I will train you to be strong and handsome like me!"

"Uh I didn't say handsome"

"Your training starts tomorrow morning," his father says seriously. "I hope you're ready"

"He ignored me," Nico thought. "Okay," he says awkwardly. His father must have really been waiting for this day.

—

The next day

The next day, Nico is awakened by his father in the early hours of the morning. His father yanks the covers off his body. "Time for your training. Hurry up and get dressed!"

Nico groans groggily and reluctantly rolls out of bed. As he sheepishly puts on his clothes he couldn't help be find this situation familiar. It reminded him of his days in boot camp. Being woken up at the crack of dawn by the drill sergeant. A few minutes later he is outside where his father awaited him holding two wooden swords. His father hands him one of them and walks a short distance away before facing him.

"Get ready," he says getting into a combat stance.

Nico gets into his own stance. His former training as a soldier kicking in. However this unbeknownst to him unnerved his father.

Suddenly his father had closed the distance between them swinging for Nico's neck. Caught by surprise he ducks but his chin is met by his father's knee which causes his vision to go blurry and then he blacks out. He wakes up not long after with a slap across the face. Pain from the slap and his chin rushes at him all at once.

"Oww," he says in pain rubbing his face and chin.

His father chuckles, "Hmmn perhaps I was a little too serious."

"What was that just now? That aura when he took his stance. It wasn't one of an amateur. Rather than a beginner who has never wielded a sword, it felt like was facing a veteran who has seen countless battles." Cassius thought.

Cassius felt a wave of excitement at the infinite potential his son seemed to have.

"Okay, I've gauged your potential as a swordsman. We are going to start with bodybuilding. The foundation of a swordsman is strength and endurance. So every morning for the next few months you are to do 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 squats, and 10 laps from the entrance of the village back here a day. I do not care how you do them that's up to you. You will need a period of rest so the weekends shall be your rest days understood?"

Nico nods. The workout plan reminded him of a certain bald character from his world.

"Now give me 100 push-ups right now. Then go inside for breakfast."

—

Several hours Later

After breakfast, Nico decided to take his mother's suggestion and check out the blacksmith.

"What brings you here Nico?" asks the older man named Pietro banging away on hot metal.

"My mother said I might have the potential to be a blacksmith since I'm no good with magic"

Pietro rubs his beard and looks Nico up and down.

"You have quite the mana pool. Perhaps you'll be able to use THAT" he says.

"Use what?"  Nico asks curious.

"You see that barrel over there? He says pointing to a wooden barrel.

Nico walks over to the barrel takes the top off and looks inside.

"What is this?" he asks looking at the metal liquid. "Mercury?" He wonders.

"It's called metamorphium. It's a liquid metal that can mold into any shape that the person desires. However, it isn't a popular method to making weapons because it requires precise mana control, and once you've made a shape you cannot reshape it." He explained.

Nico puts his hand into the shiny liquid. It feels oddly warm and cold as he was expecting. He closes his eyes imagining a basic shape before pouring mana into his hand. He could feel the liquid molding into his desired shape. Once done he takes it out and inspects it. It was a rectangle but it was lumpy instead of smooth. But at least he understood the principle. He smiles with practice anything could possible.