NEW WORLD 

I sat in my mother's lap, studying my surroundings. The sky stretched wide, tinted in a hue of blue and gold. I listened to the soft hum of my mother and the whisper of the wind against my ears.  It had been a month since I was reincarnated into this world. I learned a few things about this place; it was not a dream. But what really excited me was that this world has mana!  

 And it is way more potent and rich than Earth's mana. I could tell by feeling it in the air.  What’s more is that I have had a mana core since birth. I remember my father telling my mother, This is not a common thing, Their faces held concern and a hint of pride, too.  Although I had a mana core, I couldn’t chant a spell; I didn’t know how to draw it out of my core yet, or my core was empty. 

I glanced around, and my eyes stopped on my father. He was working in his field, watering the crops, not through a water hose, but through magic. He raised his hand, forming a ball of water that flowed between rows of crops. My father works as a farmer, and my mother often helps him out.  We live in a village called Greyfen, an ideal land for farmers, according to my father.  The population of Greyfen wasn’t much, seven to five houses and a small market-like place—the market was a bit further away though. 

 leaned back against my mother, getting comfortable. I saw a small frown on her face when I glanced up. She stood up, picking me up along with her. Tch, just when I got comfortable, I thought, slightly annoyed.  She walked towards my father, and the ground beneath her feet gave a slight crunch. My eyes darted towards my father; he was still using his magic. 

 We stopped a few feet away from him. “Rendal, stop using your magic so much. You’ve been using it since the evening started.” Said my mother, her voice was soft yet firm. 

 Father chuckled in response, “It’s fine, Amilia. This much is nothing for me.” He said, still using his magic to water the crops, his deep voice was laced with amusement. 

 I glanced at my mother; her frown seemed to be a little deeper now. “No! You’re going to run out of arcis if you keep this up!” she said, concerned and frustrated that father won’t listen. 

 People of this world referred to mana as arcis. 

 Father shook his head, “Alright, alright. I’ll stop after a bit.” He said, giving up on resistance. 

 Mother huffed, “You'd better stop, it’s best for you that way.” She said while walking back with me in her arms. I could hear Dad chuckling. He went back to watering the crops after that. 

I was resting in my crib, staring at the wooden ceiling. It had gotten dark outside, the moon cast soft light on the surface, and silence was wrapped up in the air; occasionally broken by the soft sizzling of the food Mom was cooking. Dad was sitting on a couch, eyes closed—probably asleep. I remember how he used magic earlier; it was almost clear to me how he did it. 

 I sat up, my attention now drawn towards my core; it pulsed in a silvery glow, but its structure was unclear to me. I felt the urge to try what father did earlier, I hesitated—but the urge only grew stronger. Slowly, I raised one hand, palm facing the ceiling. I focused on drawing the arcis from my core. I closed my eyes tightly, a bead of sweat forming on my forehead as I tried hard to cast a simple spell.  I failed. Then I tried again, almost forcing it out this time. I failed again. 

 After a few failed tries, I managed to conjure a tiny spark of flame. All of that effort for a small spark, annoyance bubbled up in me. I took in a breath and lay back, the sheets ruffled slightly.  Well, I’m still an infant. It’s not like I’m in any rush or anything, I thought. My eyelids grew heavy, but not heavy enough for me to fall asleep.  

 I wanted to learn more about this world, and I learned some things from observing my surroundings. I tried to learn from a book, but I wasn’t able to read; the alphabet was completely different. It was hard for me to learn something from it.  I could understand the words spoken around me, but reading them felt like trying to read an ancient language. I’m still an infant, so that’s probably why I couldn’t understand the alphabet—yeah, that would be the case.  

I can’t even control my poop-hole; reading a book is on a different level. I felt laziness seeping into me. Might as well sleep, I’ve got nothing else to do anyway.  My previous life was filled with battle and books—I barely knew peace or sleep. But this life, as Kairon, feels different… peaceful, like a dream finally came true.  

 The whisper of the wind against my ears made me fall asleep—but I was woken up. I found myself being carried by my mom, just when I got comfortable, I rolled my eyes.  She walked towards the couch; her steps made the wooden floor screech a tiny bit.  She sat down on the couch, placing me in her lap.  

 In front of me was a hot, steaming bowl of soup. Mom picked up the spoon and scooped some of the soup with the spoon. She gently blew on it to make it cool enough for me to eat. 

 I ate blissfully, savouring the flavour. “Is it yummy?” Mom asked, feeding me another spoonful of soup. 

 I nodded, gulping the soup down. 

 She patted my head. It was quiet for a moment, and the wind made the curtains flow in a gentle rhythm. 

 She broke the silence. “Kairon,” she said softly, before continuing, “You’re born with a core. That makes you rare, very, very rare—no human has ever been born with a core, not until you showed up.” 

 I know that much, I thought. 

 She paused for a moment before letting out a shaky breath. Then, she spoke again. “The only being that was ever born with a core was an elf; he was considered the strongest among all races—his tales are still told to this day." She paused, considering her words. "But the rulers of all the races took him away and used him as a weapon.” Her voice was soft, laced with concern. 

 Someone else like me existed, huh? I mused. 

 Suddenly, mom held my face in her hands, looking into my eyes as if she could see the real me. “Kairon, I fear that my child will face the same fate as that elf.” She paused before continuing, “But don’t worry! Your dad and I will never let that happen. No one will take our baby boy away from us.” Her gaze held affection in it, her voice soft yet full of determination. 

 My heart swelled up with emotions, and I wrapped my small arms around her, burying my face in her clothes. I couldn’t stop the tears that started to fall freely, and the sobs. I felt at peace in her embrace, protected and valued. In that moment, I remembered the words of my comrades, those same words that they said to me when I was trapped in that dark abyss. 

 The soup had gone cold, and I was slowly starting to drift off to sleep. I felt my eyelids grow heavier. 

Morning light filtered through the windows, casting soft light on the surface and a warmth that spread around the house.  I sat on the floor, I had found a book; unlike other books, this book had pictures—as if it were made for kids to understand.  

 I studied the pictures, and it surprised me a little bit. I found out that this world has five races: humans, elves, dwarves, demi-humans, and goblins. There was another race that had gone extinct; they called it Varneth—that’s if what I read is correct—there was nothing else besides these Varneth beings except their name. That’s disappointing.  

I flipped the page, and on the other page, there was a map, taking over the entire page.  The elves and the humans shared a border, separated only by a thick horde of trees. The dwarves shared a border with the demi-humans. An ocean separated the two continents, but the goblins resided in between the two continents, on a small island.  

 This book is gold! I was feeling excited to learn more. I flipped the pages back and forth—it was a little hard for my small hands, but I managed.  I saw another drawing, which looked a lot like the atomic structure of Earth. At that moment, my attention went towards my core, and for the first time, I saw its structure.