Chapter 16

I woke up early in the morning, even before Delmore. I took a quick shower and got dressed by the time he woke up.

"Ah, Balere... Let me get dressed and then we can start heading over there." I nodded as I looked outside. I've only been to this city once, so its beauty still amazes me. Hills surrounded the city, and a tall castle rested on the tallest one.

After he got dressed, Delmor and I got into a cart that began driving. "We're going to the castle, so there might be a chance we see King Vito. If we do, you have to be pristine and proper." I nodded. "Have you met him before?" He sighed, "Once when he was a prince. He was a total party animal then."

The cart drove for several more minutes before we stopped. My door opened for me, and I saw the face of a guard. I got out and followed Delmor to the main gate, where guards opened it to let us inside the castle.

The first thing I saw was a throne, and above it was a tapestry of an old man with a great white beard and purple robes. Purple represents royalty, so of course, he'd be wearing those. Soon, a short man ran in. "Greetings, Mr. Delmor, I am Adsignatos, the main advisor of King Vito. Who is this with you?"

I bowed deeply. "I am Balere Lowell. It's a pleasure to meet you." He smiled. "Mature for your age. Please, follow me."

I followed the two adults down a long hallway, with tapestries lining them. They stopped at a young man with long, deep, violet curls with sharp features. His hand was blocking most of his face, but his brown eyes screamed that he knew he was better than everyone else.

We were soon brought into a room, which only had a table with chairs lining it. In those chairs, a noble sat in each one, except for an empty one. "I can bring you one more if you need it," Adsignatos said. "it's fine, I can stand," I said.

Delmor sat in the chair before clearing his throat. "Good morning everyone. I understand you all and the king have had the idea to get rid of the city of Salwar." My eyes widened. They can just get rid of an entire city? That's total— I was beginning to get mad, but I could feel hands land on my cheeks. "Calm yourself, Balere. Don't get too mad or your [Aura Pressure] will begin to leak," The voice from last night told me. I looked around, and no one else heard it. I have to be going crazy...

I wasn't listening much, mostly because when I did, I would get angrier. Finally, I perked up whenever Delmor turned to me. "The city also houses Tugrose Academy, the best school for up-and-coming mages. My nephew here is a part of the school. Isn't that right?" I nodded. "How old are you, son?" An old man asked. "I'm seven, almost eight."

"He's learned multiple spells and the basics of mana theory, at the school. Can you show off one?" I nodded. I flourished my hand, and a large, black cloud appeared. I made it fly across the room before it turned to steam. "Incredible mana manipulation. You didn't even need to use the chant!"

I heard walking down the hall behind us. "It seems King Vito has taken an interest in the conversation..." The old man said. I stood next to Delmor as the door opened. The man on the tapestry opened the door. He was wearing a black dress shirt and black slacks. Man is black the only color he can wear? The crown upon his head was gold with jewels bedazzled on it.

I kneeled, along with everyone else, before he motioned for us to rise. "Tugrose Academy may be the only good reason to keep the city," He said. His voice was a clear baritone, and there wasn't very much emotion in it. "If we need to, we can move it with the help of magic."

He walked down the table and sat at the very end. "Your highness, it is also the home of a large community of supporters, including a blacksmith who makes most of your guard's armor." Vito scoffed. "Communities aren't all that important, and besides, we can easily replace blacksmiths." I could feel the anger bubbling within me, but I managed to somehow keep my cool.

[Aura Pressure}

Progression: 10%

"Boy. You surely must be able to do more than make a simple cloud, no? Please, do something that can dazzle me." I sighed. I raised my hand, and a large, black bubble of water appeared in my hand. It slowly turned into black ice, cooling off the entire room. It turned into steam as I could feel my mana on low levels.

All of the nobles were whispering amongst themselves. "Anything else?" I growled internally before refilling my mana. I snapped my fingers, and a large, black flame appeared in my hand.

"That's what I like to see," He said, leaning back and putting his feet on the table. "I'll have to think about your side of the story. You are excused," He said, waving us off. Adsignatos came in and walked us out. "That was strange behavior for him. He has never actually listened to anyone's requests." Delmor sighed in relief.

As we were about to leave the castle, the main gate shut. "Before you go, I must insist we talk." We turned to see King Vito. "Of course your highness. What is it that you need?" Delmor asked.

He raised his hand and pointed at me. "I want the boy." The room went silent. "Sorry? I must have heard you wrong, but did you say you wanted me?" He nodded. "You have extraordinary talents for someone your age. Please, follow me."

We were pushed to follow him. he led us to a part of the castle where the sun shone through, and there was marble flooring. Along the marble floor, dummies were in a row.

I turned to see King Vito handing me a sword. "Please, execute everything you know how to do." I took the sword and stood in front of the dummy. I started by allowing my pent-up [Aura Pressure] to release. I saw the straw on the dummy begin to bend downward.

I shifted my foot, and a black spike shot up from the ground and impaled the dummy. Fire shot from my hands and began burning it, and the water vapor from the air landed on the dummy, extinguishing it before freezing. I swung my sword once, and a black blade of wind cut it in half. But before it could fall, I used Columpio Velocidad.

I bent over breathing deeply. "Even more amazing than previously thought. Before anything else happens, may I ask who your mother is?" I cocked an eyebrow. "Adeline Lowell..." He nodded and his grin widened.

He turned to Delmor. "Brother-in-law?' My uncle nodded. "You can leave. Balere will be staying with me." What?

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that, his parents..." A sword was suddenly put to his neck. "I am the king. Do you realize how little your words mean to me?" He said, walking toward him before their faces were almost touching. "Sire, please..."

"Get him out of here. Your town will be spared, and I will keep the child." Two guards picked him up by his armpits and drug him out of the castle. I was scared and angry, and I was about to lash out, but I remembered the woman's words. he walked toward me and looked down at me.

"Balere Angelo is your new name, son." He put his hand on my shoulder. "Come with me." I begrudgingly followed him down a different hallway.

"Rexana~!" I heard stomping, and then out from the door in front of us came a girl a few years older than me. She had matching violet hair and brown eyes. her hair was up in a ponytail, and it looked like she was just working out. "Hi, Daddy. Who's this?" Her eyes drifted down to me. "This is your new brother, Balere. Say hello."

"Hello, Rexana..." She squealed. "My own little brother!" She fell to her knees and pulled me into a hug. "Wait, does this mean I'm no longer first in line for the throne?" She asked. "Yes, but if something happens to him before I pass, then you will be Queen, but don't even think about hurting him," He threatened.

"Now, then, show him around. I have some matters to attend to," He said with a wink. He walked into a room a the very end of the hallway.

"Let me guess, you don't want to be here?" She asked. "Aren't you a genius?" I asked sarcastically. "Sure am! I suppose since we'll be living together for at least a while, we should become acquainted. Follow me to your room."

I heard Vito's bed squeaking as we entered a room. He is so gross... "This is your room. If you need anything like if you need it decorated, ring this bell." She rang a bell that was right next to the door, and a butler came. "Yes, Lady Rexana?' He asked. The only hair he had was around his head, and his mustache.

"This is Father's new 'son', Balere..." She looked at me to finish her sentence. "Lowell." He bowed to me. "Master Balere. It is very nice to meet you."

"Can you get us a small table and some pillows?' He nodded before leaving. I looked around my room. The walls were a light red, and my bed was small with a pink cover. "Did a girl live in here before me?" I asked. "I lived in here for a couple of years, but then he suddenly decided to have me live in my current room."

The butler came back in, and he placed the table in the middle of the room, and put two pillows on both sides. I sat on one crisscrossed.

"So, tell me about yourself," She said. "I'm almost eight, I know a little magic, and I have horns growing out of my head." The butler bent down to look at my head. "Indeed you do. Would the two of you like some tea?" I nodded and he exited the room. "My turn. I'm 13, I also know a little magic, and I have a few friends."

The butler came back and placed my tea on the table. "That'll be all, Servus." He bowed before exiting the room. "Do you have a status plate?" She asked. I nodded and took it out, placing it on the table for her to see.

I heard her mumbling all of the skill under her breath before whistling. "You're pretty good for your age. Although, I am level six and almost double your age." I rubbed the back of my head and sipped my tea. "So, how did you get your horns?" She asked me. "I'm not sure. I had a dream where people talked to me, and I think the horns were mentioned... it was probably just a weird nightmare..."

The door opened, and Vito walked in without a shirt, revealing his abs. I saw his eyes immediately go to my status plate. "Well, that makes things easier. I was going to have us go and get one, but since you already have one..." He walked over and took the metal sheet out of his daughter's hands.

His eyes scanned over it before looking confused. "You have a few interesting skills here. You can only get [Beastman's Blessing] from a beastman, and I'm not exactly sure what [Mana Absorption], [], or [Reincarnate] is."

I stayed silent. "No matter. I'll assume your [Beginner Swordsmanship] goes with that filthy beastman skill..." He slowly looked up. "You wouldn't happen t have horns, would you?" I cocked an eyebrow and felt the top of my head. "I do. Why do you ask?"

He stepped toward me. "Tell me, Balere, do you know of the gods in this world?" He asked me. I merely shook my head. "I thought as much. Rexana, stay here, I have something I need to speak with Balere about." I stood up and followed him out of the room, and out of the hallway into a room at the other end of the hallway. There, bathed in the sunlight, was his throne. It was gold, and the cushion was red.

He moved over to the chair, and put his crown, bejeweled with diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, and he put it on the left corner of his throne.

I heard something move, so I turned to m right and saw a passageway that hadn't been there before. "This is a secret that has been kept in my family for generations. Come." He flapped his cloak as he entered the dark room. I followed right after him, and I could only see what the torches illuminated, which wasn't much. I've been oddly calm throughout this entire thing...

"If this has been a secret in your family, why are you showing me?" I asked. "You're family now. I couldn't ever show this to Rexana, so I have to show you. Maybe this will make you understand why you have to be here."

After a few more minutes, we walked into a room lit up by the sun. It was more orange than before, but what I saw in front of me shocked me to my very core. I had never been to Greece, but I would recognize a temple to the Greek Parthenon anywhere.

Pillars lined the cave, and in the middle, there was marble flooring. The floor was dirty and had vines covering it and the pillars, but there were weird particles surrounding it.

"You seem to recognize this." I nod. "I'm not sure how, though," I lied. I went up to the pillar and touched one of the particles floating off of i. It stayed on my finger, even when I tried to swat it away. "That's Holy Mana you have there. It sticks to you until you use mana."

I moved the ground a little, and the particle seeped into my hand. "So, why did you take me here again?" He shuffled past me and went up to a large painting. On it was a man with dark violet hair and forest-green eyes. The background was a barren battlefield, with only the man remaining. He was bet over with tears in his eyes, his hands on a sword that was plunged into the ground, and his crown draped over both. The most intriguing part, though, was the horns sprouting out of the man's head. They came out and rounded around his head. I wasn't sure if Vito could see it, but in the background, there was a cloud of holy mana forming a man who held a lightning bolt in his hands.

"Zeus.." I said, barely a whisper. "This painting was made generations ago when the gods still roamed the world. My family was royal, even then. One day, all of the gods and goddesses disappeared. When my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather sent someone up to The High Mountain, all that was left was this."

"What happened to them?" I asked. "No clue. They disappeared, leaving only this painting and the holy mana that spawns around it. On the back of the painting is a prophecy." He picked up the painting and turned it around.

'Man from a world gone, what will become of you? Will you change your ways of addiction and sadness and turn into a man of power and fame?'

A man from a world gone? What happened to Earth after I left? "It speaks of a man reincarnated from a different world by the goddess Proserpina. Although, I don't know if you know who she is... I'll have someone teach you."

"Am I being privately tutored?" I asked. "Of course. You're now the prince, so we can't have you meddling with the commoners. You seem to not be bothered being taken away from your family. Why is that?" I stood still. "I don't think I ever saw them as family. I hardly lived with them, so it was more like they were roommates."

"I'm guessing this has to do with your beastman skill. Nevertheless, welcome to the family," He said, extending his hand out to me. I shook his hand and immediately felt holy mana attach to me. It didn't attach to my clothes, but it instead went through them and attached itself to my skin.

"We should get going now. It's turning dark." He turned and began to leave. I took a deep breath and soon followed him.

When we got back to the main castle it was dark. "Servus!" The butler appeared from the darkness holding a candle and in his pajamas. "Yes, your highness?" Vito put his hand on my back. "Please escort my son back to his room." he nodded and began walking me to my room. "It seems Master Vito has taken a liking to you," Servus said. "I'm not sure why..."

When I opened my door, my cup of tea was still on the table. "Let me take that to the kitchen for you," he said, going for the cold cup. "It's fine. You should get some sleep." He retracted his hand before bowing and exiting the room. I picked up the cup of tea and downed it in one gulp.

I got into my new bed and curled up. "I guess this is my life now."