Memoirs of A Second Life

First Friend

My days training with Master Teo were often exciting, but not always easy. There were times when I nearly depleted all of my mana and lost consciousness, and there were even some days when I was nearly killed.

Master Teo was a strict instructor, but under her tutelage, I had learned how to control the light element for offensive, support, and trap spells. It had been a month since we started training, but I have yet to master bodily enhancement magic.

I was saddened that I was unable to use it again, but Master theorized that it may be my body's way of telling me that it wasn't ready to handle that kind of mana output.

Fortunately, I have learned how to conjure barriers, similar to Master Teo's. The spell was called "Escudo". She said that mages like us must learn how to subconsciously activate Escudo at all times, to protect ourselves from all forms of attacks.

It took me weeks to learn how to do it, but after a month, it was now as easy as breathing for me.

One fine Saturday afternoon, I was finally permitted to walk around the town. Azlan gave me the day off, and Master Teo wasn't around either. Lianna wanted to come with me, but I told her that I wanted to discover our town myself.

While I was strolling across the fields, greeting some of the locals and enjoying the scenery, I happened to pass by a group of children playing among themselves—or at least, I thought they were. Upon taking a closer look, I noticed that three boys older than myself were bullying a meek little girl.

She was begging them to stop harassing her, but they kept telling her that it was her duty to do as they say because they were nobles and she was just a peasant girl.

I couldn't just stand around and let it happen, so I grabbed my wooden sword and sprang into action. I managed to strike the biggest boy out of the three, and knocked him away. The two others were visibly shaken by what happened, but the larger kid was enraged by my insolence.

"Tch! Asshole! Why did you do that?" the kid growled while rubbing his aching head.

I shrugged and replied, "I just felt like it. I mean, if you can do whatever you want just because you feel like it, that means I can, too, right?" Then, I pointed my wooden sword forward, and added, "What are you going to do about it?"

I didn't notice it at first, but I soon regretted picking a fight when I saw that this bully of a boy had a rapier at his side. God, these pompous nobles really just arm their kids recklessly, huh?

Not to be outdone, the boy propped himself up and readied himself to fight. The two other boys hid behind a three, while the little girl sat in place, dumbfounded by this turn of events.

"You'll regret ever crossing the great Marlowe Hoover, peasant!" the boy declared.

But before he could even form a proper stance, I took a deep breath, gathered my mana and transferred it two my wooden sword. Then, I swung it into a diagonal arc, deliberately missing Marlowe by an inch.

Marlowe was too frozen to move from his place, but then he heard the sound of a falling tree that made him look back. His friends began to cry beside the fallen tree, scared out of their wits. Even Marlowe, himself, broke into cold sweat.

I looked down at him as I dabbed my sword repeatedly over my right shoulder. "Want to go again?" I asked him.

Instead of receiving a proper response, Marlowe peed in his pants, dropped to his knees, and began to cry.

While he and the other boys were realizing the harsh lesson I had taught them, I grabbed the girl's hand and ran away with her.

We kept on running for a few minutes until we finally reached the area where me and Master Teo would often train. There, we caught our breaths, and fell to the ground while breaking into laughter.

"Did you see how much they were crying? You have to teach me how to do that!" the girl remarked.

"Do what?" I asked.

"The thing you did earlier. Was that magic or something else?" she replied.

I propped myself up and looked at her. "I could, but I don't even know your name."

The girl giggled and sprang to her feet, and then she reached her hand out to me. "I'm Farina, what's your name?"

"Altair. Altair van Astrea," I responded as I took her hand and stood up as well.

Farina began to start walking and I followed her along. When we arrived at the flower field, she plucked one and gave it to me. "This is for earlier. Thank you for saving me. But I still hope you'd teach me how to do that move! It would be great if I could learn how to protect myself and my mom!"

I nodded at her and responded, "It's actually a combination of both martial skill and magic. I learned how to fight in the discipline of the Sword Saint's Dance of Blades from my father, and I learned how to use spells from my tutor, Master Teofila Ludica. She's really great! Honestly, I'm not that good yet, but if you still want to learn from me, I'd be glad to teach you."

"Wait, why didn't you praise your dad?" Farina asked curiously.

I began to giggle at her question. "Oh, he's okay, too."

Then, Farina started laughing along with me. It seemed that she understood what I was implying. For some reason, the sound of her voice felt soothing to my ears. It was as if I had heard music for the first time, and my heart felt warm. I could not interpret this as love, for we are but children, and yet I could not say that it isn't either.

Perhaps I'll find out someday... but that's a day far off from today.

Days went by swiftly, and they quickly turned into weeks. I have befriended Farina, and we grew closer together. Every time I finished training with Master Teo and my father, Azlan, Farina would be at the gate of our house, patiently waiting for me. We would then go to the place Master Teo and I usually train, and there, I would teach her how to wield a sword and even basic magic.

Surprisingly, Farina was remarkably skilled with the use of a sword, and she was learning faster, if not as fast as I did in the past. She said that it was because I was a good teacher, but I told her that it was because she was a talented student. However, she was having a hard time learning how to use magic. It had been a week, but she still hadn't successfully emulated my combined use of magic and swordsmanship.

This did not stop her from wanting to learn how to use the move that I displayed when we first met, however. She had claimed that a month from now, she would be able to hold her own against me in a fight.

Weeks went by, and it soon turned into a month. Farina was making good on her promise that she could match me in a duel. It surprised me that she was now able to use basic wind and earth spells in coordination with the Dance of the Sword Saint attacks.

It was quite entrancing to see her able to perform remarkably, and I felt proud to be the one who taught her how to fight.

However, I was not one to be outdone. I was still her master, and she, my student, so I wanted to show her that she still had a lot to learn. With a flick of my wooden sword, I disarmed her within the split second she lagged behind my movement. Then, I swept her leg from beneath her, causing her to fall face first. But before her face could hit the ground, I caught her with both arms and kept her steady.

With that, our duel concluded, and she accepted her defeat gracefully.

"You really show no mercy, even to a lady!" Farina remarked.

"A lady? Where?" I bantered. "Out here, you and I are neither boy nor girl. We're warriors. That's what my father always says, at least."

Farina giggled at my remark. "Sometimes, I can't tell if you admire him or not. You always quote him, and yet you always disdain some of his more disappointing characteristics."

This time, I was the one who laughed. A wide grin was planted on my lips, and I couldn't hold back my laughter. "You're right. He's reliable sometimes, but I do imagine my mother always has her hands full keeping him out of trouble! But if I'm being honest, he's a good father. At least, from what I've seen so far!"