Leaving the Village, Start of the Journey

It was not the same thing after his father and brother left. Kai stayed most of the time with Jane because his mother was focused on helping Lily, and did not have enough time to take care of him.

Kai had the feeling he wasn't loved as he used to be by his parents, and eventually, Seneca left with Lily.

The villagers of Silka felt bad for Kai, and they always went to this house or to Jane's house to bring him food or other gifts as a way to cheer him up. None of them could understand how Kai's parents could abandon him like that.

But Kai still had Jane. If she hadn't been there, he had no idea how his life would be.

"This pocket-watch your father gave you is pretty beautiful. It will help you during your time in the magic academy. Managing time is an important aspect of an Arcanist's life," Jane said as she prepared lunch for them.

The pocket-watch Zerin gave him was still a mystery. Kai had felt the connection with the watch, and he was always carrying it with him, but Kai never found why the connection was there, or if the pocket-watch was special.

He tried to channel his mana into it somehow, but found no success. It was still a good-looking watch, though, and it reminded Kai of his father.

"Yes, I am always carrying it around. Speaking of the magic academy, when will we be going there?" Kai asked.

The idea of going to the magic academy was something that helped him forget all the hardships happening in his life. He wanted to go there to learn magic with the best tutors, speak with other fellow Arcanists who are pursuing a similar path, and unravel the mysteries of the world.

"You are 13 now, right? So you start in two years, but I am thinking we should go to the city six months earlier so that you can get accustomed to it. It is a whole different place to live. Also, did you know your father got you access to the best magic academy in the kingdom? That is the one I will be teaching at too," Jane said.

"Wait, what?"

Kai knew little about the school he was heading to. Jane felt like telling him too many things would only confuse his mind, and his father barely talked to him about that, and Zerin was gone now, so even if he wanted to say a few more things, that would not be possible.

"Yes, it is the best academy in the kingdom. Well, one of the best. But Kai, this might sound like good news to you, and although it is a fact that you will have access to the best teachers and the best resources, most of the students there are rich folks who will make fun of you if they know you are from a small village like Silka. Also, it is not like you can hide this type of thing from them either."

'Of course there would be assholes in the magic academy,' thought Kai.

That was something he already knew, so he only acted surprised, "Really? Does this type of thing exist?"

"It does, and it is pretty common. Also, what is up with you Gary and Nila?"

Gary and Nila were two other kids from the village who also got the mana-infused class, meaning they could follow the path of magic.

It was rare for a mana-infused person to be born of two parents who did not use mana, but that happened to the two of them! The villagers of Silka did not understand how that was happening.

Kai was starting to suspect something else was going on in Silka. The first strange thing was the fact he got reincarnated there, and the strange catacombs near the village were mysterious too.

Anyway, Gary and Nila both became friends with Kai, and everyone was doing pretty well. Gary would go to a magic academy who focused on body enhancing magic because he wanted to join the army, and Nila would go to a magic academy in the same city Kai was going, but it was not the same magic academy.

But something had happened recently. Gary had a crush on Nila, but she did not correspond. They were just friends. Nila did not have a crush on anyone, but Gary thought she had a crush on Kai for some reason, and he stopped talking with both Kai and Nila.

Kai explained that to Jane, who could only laugh, "Kids. Don't mind this. I am sure Gary will talk to you again in the future, and laugh about this. You two are good friends," Jane said.

"Yes, I hope so."

The lunch Jane prepared consisted of rice and deer meat. It was a common thing they ate in the Silka village. Kai liked it.

"You progressed well in these past years. How do you feel about your own progress?" Jane asked him.

Kai had been practicing the basics of magic during the years, which was something not common for the Arcanists. Most of them took a longer time to access their sea of consciousness, and when they did, they spent years trying to master a few basic spells due to their lack of mana and control.

But Jane insisted on Kai learning the basics, as that would improve his future accomplishments by a lot. One of the first things Kai learned was how to enter his sea of consciousness during battle without losing focus. It was common for newer mages to access it only when closing their eyes, and then eventually access while doing other things, but their concentration was still compromised.

Well, that was not the case for Kai. He could utilize his sea of consciousness very well while doing other things, and he was starting to see the benefits of practicing the basics.

Not only that, but he felt like his control over his own mana was much better when compared to when he started. Jane made him do control exercises which consisted of him trying to do things while using his own hands as mana channelers. Arcanists utilized wands as channelers because it was much easier and much more powerful, so no one knew how to cast spells while using their hands. Kai knew how. The first spell he cast without using a wand was the candlelight, the same spell he had seen his father use a long time ago.

"I believe you made the right call when you made me practice the basics. There's no reason to use my time trying to learn spells that I will be learning in the magic academy anyway," Kai said.

Jane nodded, happy with Kai's progress.

*

The next one year and a half passed quickly, and it was time for Kai to finally leave the village with Jane. The villagers were not sad because of his departure, and in fact, they were happy that Kai was finally going to study magic. Everyone knew Kai wanted that.

Also, they believed that if Kai moved out of the village, he would think less of his parents and think about other things that might bring him more joy.

A carriage came to get them in the village. Jane paid for a carriage with her own money, as she had a pretty good saving.

It was finally time for Kai to start his journey in becoming an Arcanist, and start his studies in a magic academy.