Foreboding
1266 Words
[A Month Later]
‘It’s been almost two months since I was born, and now it seems something spectacular is about to happen…’
Kai was wrapped around in cloth and being carried carefully by his mother as they stood at the entrance of the village.
All the other villagers—a few hundred people—were standing right behind her.
They were mostly women and children. The elderly were also among them.
Only a handful of men were present—ten at most.
‘It seems everyone showed up.’ Kai thought to himself.
It just went to show how important this event was for them.
As he took a good look at the face of his mother—who was dressed in a very long and baggy outfit—with her robe covering nearly all of her body. She had a scarf wrapped around her head, and overall she was modest.
Similar attires were worn by the rest of the women in the village.
‘I guess it’s a cultural thing…’
He was initially surprised when he heard about what was about to happen to his mother—who had made it a habit to talk to him, even though he never responded.
‘We’re currently waiting to welcome the men who went on the expedition. They haven’t been home in over two months.’
This village, despite being a plain, was situated very close to the Iron Mountains, as they were called.
It was a perfect place for bandits and criminals to use as their domains, and neighboring countries could also use it to infiltrate the Empire.
That was why the men had to go on these expeditions every once in a year to ensure nothing of the sort happened.
They would cut down anyone who dared make use of the Mountains, and by doing this, ensured the safety of this village and the ones behind it.
‘It’s a pretty important job. Fitting for someone like Chiron, my father.’
Kai had only heard this from his mother, but apparently his father was a very important man in the Empire.
He was a retired war general, and after his years of service, he was finally allowed an early retirement.
His only obligation to the Empire was to go on these two-month expeditions once a year.
Other than that, he was a free man.
‘Apparently, he and mother moved here because of that, and they soon became one of the villagers.’
About a hundred of Chiron’s most loyal men decided to come with him and relocate to the village, and they brought their wives as well.
The ones who didn’t have wives soon found them in the place that they chose to settle in.
As a result, the village was flourishing more than it had been in the past.
‘Father is seen as a Hero to these people. He’s also considered very strong. I wonder what Class of Mage he is. What Tier of Magic can he use…?’
There were a lot of strange things in this new world that Kai hadn’t fully wrapped his head around.
One of them was their metric for strength or what kind of Spells they used.
He was still yet to see any display.
When Kai tried sneaking out one time, to see what mom did outside that ended up making her so sweaty every morning, he was greeted with the most absurd sight.
She was… swinging a sword.
‘I still don’t know if it was a Sword with Magical properties, since those exist in my time too.’
Due to his distance, and the fact that he was yet to properly cultivate his Magic Sense to a high degree, he couldn’t confirm his suspicions.
‘But she was making strange movements… like she was dancing…’
Kai couldn’t understand it—at least, not yet.
He knew there were more important things to focus on—like developing his foundation.
‘I’ll be done with my second Mana Circle in a few months. I’ll only get a little at ease and begin satiating my curiosity about this place once I’ve reached the Third Circle at least.’
At that point, Kai knew he would be able to use Tier 3 Magic, so his foundations were pretty set at that point.
‘It’ll take me a few years to get to that point, though. Once I’m three, maybe four, I should be done.’
The first and third Mana Circles were the easiest. The problem happened with the third and above.
‘Well, in my last life, I only started making Mana Circles when I was a teenager.’
Compared to that, this was much faster.
“A-ahh!”
“Is that them?”
“They’re here!”
The voices of the villagers caused Kai to snap out of his thoughts and look onward.
Sure enough, he could see clouds of dust rising, and a group of horsemen charging towards the village.
They were so far away, though, so he couldn’t get a clear image.
‘It should be safe to use a little Spell to improve my sight…’
Kai took a deep breath and began to spin his Mana Circle.
At that moment, the energy around the world responded to his call and particles began gathering around his eyes.
‘[Open Eyes].’
It was a Tier 1 Spell with one simple purpose.
Enhancing the sight.
The moment Kai cast this spell, his purple eyes glowed a little brighter, and he was suddenly able to see a lot clearer.
‘Aha!’
He grinned as his vision zoomed in on the approaching horsemen.
‘They’re all wearing scarfs. What’s that all about?’ Kai wondered to himself.
The horses also had some sort of decorations on them, but it was difficult to figure out even with his current heightened vision.
‘Must be a cultural thing…’ Kai finally shrugged and settled for that as an answer.
He focused on the man riding at the forefront, who was clearly their leader.
‘I guess that must be my father…’
He was a bit disappointed that his father—someone proclaimed to be very strong—was riding a horse and not using the [Flight] Spell.
Kai didn’t expect to see a Broomstick or some other Enchanted Mechanism since he considered this to be the past, but a [Flight] Spell had to be the bare minimum.
‘He’s also not with any Staff or Item that seems grand for a Mage…’
The only things he could see were swords and spears.
‘These again? What about staffs? Staves? What’s going on here?!’
Kai couldn’t make an excuse this time.
‘Even in the past, they had these things. It’s been used almost since the very discovery of Magic!’
‘Are these guys really Mages?’ He began to ask himself in genuine confusion.
Kai couldn’t properly see the man’s face, but he could vaguely see the color of his glowing eyes.
‘It’s… crimson?’
That wasn’t right.
‘My father’s eyes are blue, though. That’s what mother said.’ As soon as he had this thought, he felt his mother clutch him tightly.
“Something is wrong…” He heard her whisper.
He looked at her face and saw unease and a slight hint of fear—emotions he had never seen on her face before.
He glanced at the few men in the village, and it seemed like they too had this look on their faces.
The air of anticipation slowly devolved into that of tension.
… Of unease.
Kai couldn’t understand why.
‘What is going on…?!
- Writer
