A GUARDIAN'S LEGACY

The first try

Raizel woke to the sunlight streaming through the window in his room. He was still in his crib. It has been several months since the day he was 'born' and now he had learnt a new skill.

Yes! he could walk.

It was awkward getting treated like a child at first but somehow, he had got used it as time passed. Previously he had to do with sitting in his father's lap listening to his boring stories over and over of his adventures when he used to be a member of the hunter's guild. A guild that specializes in hunting down beasts. he boasted of how he used to be the best of the best by taking A-rank missions alone, and how Emphilia fell head over heels for him when he saved her from a bunch of rogue bandits. A heavy smack landed on his head, making Raizel know that those were nothing but a bunch of lies. Now he could finally escape from his father when he wanted to hold him and go to his mother. he took special care not to land in Granda hands, whom he found out to be a member of the household, as she would force him to drink her smelly breastmilk. 

'gaaah.' Raizel shuddered at the thought of it

giggling in his crib, his baby face suddenly turned solemn. He would never let these moments and it's been quite some time since he enjoyed living with his family. As far as he knew it, Zavator had already become a guardian before he was born. but he was going to be cast away, some five years to come. he began his revenge when Raizel was twenty-six years old, a new teacher in Dristan. so, the only way to stop him was before he started his revenge which meant that Raizel had to become very strong in a very little time.

Calming his mind, he started digging through his past years of knowledge. There were two categories of people in the world, those with a soul core and those without. with a soul core, one could manipulate the energy or as others call it, mana, around him into magic.

While the ability to control mana is largely genetic, multiple cases have shown that some descendants of powerful mages are unable to sense their soul sea. 

People are born with fragments of soul core which start to develop and it awakens in children as early as ten years old. this results in a translucent barrier formed around the awakened that last for a couple of minutes. soul core develops in as early as nine years old. mana could be used it multiple ways but the three most common ways of using it are: channelling it through your body to enhance your body, weapon and attacks. this method or class was known as the Knights' path and it was the same path Raizel used in his past life. while the knights can possess incredible strength, agility and defence, they still lack in the field long-range combat.

The second common class were the mages. they could utilize mana to cast spells that can affect a certain area or directly affect a single target, while mages may seem to have monstrous abilities, being able to bend their surroundings at will, they have weak combat prowess. besides unlike the knights, mages require more time gathering the surrounding mana before using it.

The third common class were the beast tamers. These are the people who formed a bond or contract with a type of beast, once bonded, the person can command the beast to do whatever he wants. Raizel even remembered a unique man who reached a level where he could actually merge into with his beast and turn into a hideous form. the amount of beasts one can bond with remains unknown but many guess that it couldn't be more than three as managing beasts require a vast amount of mana. 

As Raizel pondered in his mind, he decided that if he were to defeat Zavator, he would need to have every powerful ability in his arsenal. He might know what's going to happen in the future but It didn't mean he knew everything. after all, a human mind had its limits. Besides, he also didn't know if the power of time was still with him. He had never felt its power from the moment he chose to be its guardian wondering if it had abandoned him. Still, who would have thought everything he learnt would come in handy.

 Glancing around from his crib, he noticed that no one was in the room. From his knowledge, if one had to awaken his soul core his body had to unconsciously absorb mana that's near them for years to form anything remotely close to a soul core. By having the mental capacity of an adult meant that he had the ability to consciously will mana particles together. Slowly descending from his crib, he sneakily made his way past the kitchen into the garden in the backyard. An immense bulky tree stood in front of him, green with moss, its branches protrude like vines up towards the sky as its roots spread into an embrace of the earth.

Sitting his tiny butt beneath its mighty trunk, he closed his eyes and began meditating, trying to sense mana. 

whew... it's weak, but I can feel it...the bits of mana that are spread out around me. Raizel exclaimed

Sitting beneath the tree will allow me to absorb its energy and am not just taking its life force, only borrowing it. what the tree exhales, I inhale.

 Mana doesn't just exist in people only, but in plants, animals and in the atmosphere. it's only right that living organisms live and breathe it. even those without the ability to manipulate still have a little of it in them. 

"The problematic limited speed and capacity are increased and expanded! I can surpass others with this."

" There you are little Ray! Your mother is worried sick looking for you. Come now, let's go inside and am going to let you taste my sweet milk."

Granda no!  you will kill me before Zavator does. please anything else but the milk.! Raizel hollered but all that came out from his mouth was, " guuuu gaaaaa guguuuu"

Picking him up and gently placing him in her arms, Granda carried the wailing Ray back inside the manor.