At first it was only minor things, like which football team I liked or details about a cartoon I watched when I was younger, so I had thought nothing of it.

I didn’t even overthink it when I was unsure whether or not I had lost my virginity in my past life.

But it worsened; before long I was unable to remember how my father sounded. When I tried, I felt an avalanche of dread and sickness wash over me.

“It kinda just started…I began feeling almost sick”, I said while shuddering.

The spiritual hamster looked back at me, a tad bit of confusion and worry etched in his eyes.

“I see…that is rather concerning, but you still have to try”.

“Not to mention that for a reincarnation, you give off a rather relaxed energy a-“, his words cut off as I got up.

“Hey, where are you going?!”.

“To the Diner, I’m done talking”.

“But there’s still so much I need to tell you!”

I ignored the waking spirit, washed my hands and left the bathroom. Gathering myself before walking in.

The two families had waited patiently for my arrival, almost like I was a reverend guest and not just a classy toddler.

I sat with them as the maids plated the food and we dug in; the delicious assortment of foods finally managed to lift my mood.

It would be better if I could get some of the fine red wine the adults dined with instead of the usual fruit juice.

As we ate, conversations began to flow, and before you know it, my father and Hume began talking about the spoils of their spoils of war.

It almost reminded me of how it was when he was in the military, but way less depressing.

“Your father here has gone up against a thousand Centurians, and he won!!”

“Woahh, really?!”, Lucia bellowed.

“Of course, it was during the Blockade war”.

My father laughed, “If you’re gonna talk about my achievements though, how about you who killed a Wyvern all by himself?”

“Oh, that much is nothing; you’re the one who had a one-on-one fight with Larix Jouan”.

“What?! Why did no one tell me this?!”, Lucia said while standing up.

He sent shocked gazes at both men, then at both women, then even at us toddlers too.

“Relax, Lucia, it’s not like I won the battle or anything. I barely even managed to get a hit on him, and that still didn't do anything”.

“I was just lucky to find him in the woods; he was there swinging his blade by himself, then he asked me to have a light spar”.

“Dad, that's still very impressive”.

Lucia may sound over the top, but he may not be doing enough; Larix Jouan is the current Human Lord.

He has been for the past fifty-six years, since the age of only thirty. He has spearheaded humanity through numerous wars and is widely considered the strongest human lord to ever exist.

His power, even at the age of eighty-six, is still considered insurmountable, so for Dad to fight him and even land a hit, it tells a lot.

A hit against the strongest man to ever live.

“I may need the help of Larix’s old sparring partner though”, Hume said while looking over at my father.

“What may that be?”

“It’s my Golem; I need someone to test its combat prowess”.

“Oh, so you finally made one?! I’d be more than glad to”.

“Well then let’s get it done”, he said while they stood up.

“Kids, follow if you wanna watch”.

“Let’s go, Damian!”, Lucia said before taking off before me.

I carefully got out of my chair and began walking to them, but then their daughter, Flower, came up to me.

“H-hello”, I said weakly.

She looked at me for a moment, then pushed a sweet pastry towards me and ran behind her mother.

“Awww, Flower has a new friend”, my mom said.

“Damian, be sure to treat her well, okay?” Jina remarked.

I gave her a flat nod before putting the pasture in my mouth and jogging off to watch what was going on.

I don't particularly blame her for acting this way; I'm probably the first boy she's met that's her age. Empires tend to actively shield their kids against anyone who isn't a close enough ally.

I followed Lucia out the window and out of the mansion to one of the arenas. My father was already out there holding a double-edged sword; he was naked from the waist upwards, allowing a heavily built physique out in the open.

If he was back in the real world, his ripped physique would be more than good enough to head for a body building competition. 

The slight stretches he did only highlighted his muscles, but something else caught my eye. Hume stood outside the large arena; beside him, towering about six feet higher stood a large golem clad in giant armour.

It seemed like it was made out of dirt, or should I say sand; it possessed four heavy arms,  and its armour was intricately designed with sharp spikes on its shoulder blades and knees.

There was a small red gem at the centre of its breastplate; looking through its hollow body, there were various connected sigils ingrained in it.

“You ready?” Hume asked.

My father gave him a slight nod, then looked at us, who were now sitting on benches a few metres away.

Hume’s magic surged; a small portion of it rose from his soul and entered the red gem. A soft glow came from it, then two crimson eyes pierced from its head plate and a bountiful amount of magic brimmed from around it; the sigils inside it glowed dimly.

“Start!!”

As soon as the voice sounded, my eyes temporarily lost sight of them. After a second of nothing, though, their bodies finally came into view.

My father clashed against the golem, a newly formed long sword of sand now in its grasp. Its blade was held tightly together by condensed mana particles, which not only gave it shape but also resounding force.

The two swords clashed a few more times, then the golem forced a particularly hard blow which my father swiftly blocked.

The impact, however, sent him flying a few meters back, but before he could even land, it was on him again.

Its long sword swiftly changed shape, stretching out longer and thinner before forming a point of contact. Before you knew it, a long spear was made.

The giant golem thrusted his new spear at my father, once, twice, then a barrage of times. Each was swiftly dodged by nothing more than a shift in his step or abdomen.

Then the top of the golem's spear’s tip enlarged and rounded, turning into a giant hammer which he used to swing down at his foe.

The hammer made contact with him, attempting to squash him like a bug; the floor under his feet broke, his hands shook, and he dropped to one knee.

But unluckily for the golem, my father had been fighting while only augmenting his sword with mana. The large hammer slowly began to rise; the man under it, now back on his feet, was radiating with strongly condensed mana.

His body, fueled by this, pushed the hammer off, causing the golem to stagger back; this opportunity didn’t go to waste, though. 

My father darted towards it, stopping right in front of it and landing a powerful blow at the underside of its chest plate.

The golems flew back, crashing onto the floor once before sliding on and stabilizing itself. There was a very visible dent where it was punched, but it slowly began filling it back with the sand around it, repairing itself.

My father grinned, “Ohhh, I see why you chose to make it with sand, but do you think your little friend can handle another punch?”

“You’ll see”, Hume responded tauntingly.

That's when I noticed the sigils on the palms and under its feet light up, mana propelled from under its feet boosting it and allowing it to slightly hover in the air.

My father’s smile got wider, then he began to slightly levitate into the air. Since when could he fly??

My eyes told me how, though; with this form of flight, he’s not using his wind attribute. He’s simply standing on top of his own condensed mana particles.

My voice let out shallowly, “What the fuck?”

I may not have been properly taught mana, and I may just be new to this world, but upon all my studies and all the people I’ve used as a base for my research on it, using my eyes.

I’ve never seen anyone do anything like it, and he isn’t even considered a sorcerer.

The golem fired hot blasts at him at lightning speed, but they were all swiftly and sharply dodged. As my father got closer, a particularly powerful blast came out of the brute golem, causing him to try to parry it.

The blast bounced off the heavily mana-fortified blade and ricocheted off; time seemed to move in slow motion as my eyes told me where that blast would hit.

Far off to my right, standing slightly too close to the arena, Flower was enjoying one of the sweet pastries while watching the battle; unbeknownst to her, death was already rushing in.

I saw the facial expressions of both fathers change slightly, a grim sense of realization landing on their shoulders and onto mine. 

A sense of dread washed over me.

She was close enough to me for me to use my wind magic and save her, but…

Doing such would basically be opening me up.

“…Don’t even think about it…”, the voice pierced my mind.

My blood ran colder by the second.

Was I just gonna let her die??

Am I that much of a coward??

Although I had just met her today, would I be able to bear seeing her parents mourn her when I know for a fact I can save her?

Am I so wrong for wanting to be selfish, even if it’s just this once?

And if I’m somehow not fast enough…No, I can’t think about that now.

I raised my hands quickly and sent a gust of wind at her, the breeze managing to push her petite frame off her feet. 

Her body fell onto the soft grass as a deadly ball of death swung past her, striking the ground a few metres away.

The whole ordeal from the point of deflection to now was only about two seconds, but everyone’s eyes had managed to go from the battlefield to the ricocheted mana ball and now…

Me.

Fuck my life.

End of chapter 10