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Date: 7th day of the 6th Arc
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The day begins anew, focusing on the fact that Xion was forced to bathe with his big brother; surprisingly, the bathroom was a bit bigger than he thought.
"Hold still!"
"No!"
Xion squirmed. He was scared of taking off his rugged, tattered clothing. He was too fast for a 6-year-old to catch him. Luckily, Xion cornered himself with no means of escaping.
"I got you now~" Dolan slowly approached the scared child. He leaped towards Xion as he let out a faint scream, removing his clothes, and was shocked to see what state his body was in. Scars of all kinds were engraved on his light beige skin, dried-up blood still stained the body from front to back — awfully, Xion looked away, waiting for Dolan to laugh.
"Mom! Xion is hurt!" Dolan shouted anxiously. Soon, footprints hurried to the bathroom where Lucy and Marcus burst in on the naked boys.
"Marcus!"
"On it." He quickly held out his hand. A holy green aura emerged from the particles in the air. Xion looked to see his wounds being closed and cured. The scars remained due to already being healed, but it was better than having blood trickling out of his body.
"Wow..." Said Xion. He was shocked to see such power. That green mist transformed into a green aura around Xion, but the aura changed from a life green to a blood-red color, negating most of the healing effects.
"What was that?" Xion and Dolan asked. Stars sparkled in their eyes, curious about that strange power Marcus has.
"It's my magic, Healing. It's one of the common abilities of magic."
Dolan then asked, tilting his head slightly to the right, "What is Magic?"
"I will teach you two, after your bath."
After their bath, the two kids made their way downstairs to the backyard. The backyard was very small but big enough for training; it was mostly dirt, with hardly any grass visible except for the plants Lucy cared about.
Marcus waited on the porch; he held a wooden stick wrapped in white bandages to show where to hold the training weapon. The aura around him was so calm and peaceful; the life essence, a green color, slowly radiated from his body. He opened his eyes, showing his silver gaze, looking into the corner to see the two boys watching in awe.
Marcus then stood up. "Hello, boys. It's just about time for training before school."
Xion asked, confused. "What's school?"
Dolan and Marcus looked at Xion with such a shocking expression that it was really hard to explain, since it was different from where his soul came from.
"Let's see, how can I explain this? Think of it as a religious cult where we learn about the mighty Gods who protect peace. We also cover the basics of education. What's even better is that we get to learn how to strengthen our mana core to its limits. Of course, the Astral Institute enacted the 'Rapture,' the central principle of magic. They are also more widely distributed than laws, since many people, especially witches, can use them and are not limited to one group. People with enough magic experience and potential can unlock them through consistent training. The Lesser God of Knowledge, Archives, the smartest and wisest lesser god from the Dark Age Era, founded the School and the Domain of Omniscient Gods on the Astra Continent. He even created a barrier to protect us from attacks, and they say he left an avatar to remain in his place. For about 10 years, the Kingdom has followed a policy that the three major schools should strictly maintain religious neutrality," Marcus explained.
Perfect! So that means if I can achieve the highest level. The only thing stopping me from getting into the Astral Institute is the ability to use magic.
"Then again, you still have to pass the entrance tests. I'll train your body to handle your power and make sure you get passing results. Dolan is already ahead of you in terms of knowledge and training, so I'll have you watch for today." Marcus continued.
Xion's expression remained neutral; he wasn't happy or sad. His goal was the same: to find the truth about the world and its false reality.
"That reminds me, Xion. Do you know what today is?"
Xion nodded. "It's Wednesday, the 6th Arc of the Industrial Era."
Arcs are basically like months in this world. No matter how it looks, the date is the same, just with different words.
Just a minute later, Xion sat on the porch watching the blood father and blood son spar; their strikes were perfectly in sync. Xion studied the fighting without showing any signs of awe or even amazement. Marcus swings his sword as if he's using a knife to stab his son, and Dolan dodges and counters with fast momentum.
Tick!
Tock!
What the hell is that sound? This is the first time I've heard that sound in this body. He tried to find the source of it, but it wasn't coming from the huge clock above the golden barrier. He looked behind him to see Lucy handing him a white plate. He grabbed and thanked her. The plate held freshly baked bread, a slab of ham covered in thick honey, and a scoop of green peas. The smell of it was exquisite; it made his mouth water just from a whiff.
This would put me back on track. Now that I think about it, Marcus is using Martial skills; he must have been part of an organization of the War God. Martial Skills, also known as Combat Skills, are any skills involving martial arts or the optimization and enhancement of the human body. While martial skills normally don't require mechanical Prana or any form of energy other than the user's natural stamina (passive prana use), prana can be used to enhance the strength of physical techniques. Most non-magical adventurers and a majority of the Knights of Selene primarily use Martial Skills. Martial Skills can be infused with mana to create Magic Martial Skills.
With each bite he took, he felt his taste bud exploding with happiness. Tears flowed down his face; he had never had a good meal in a while. He mostly picked up what people left behind and ate it. He was surprised he wasn't dead yet.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asked, sitting next to the boy.
"Yes. I'm alright. I've never been able to eat something this good since... I don't even know for how long." Xion wiped his tears away. Lucy wrapped her arms around the boy to comfort him.
"HIYA!" Marcus disarmed Dolan and pinned him to the ground with his knee on his backside.
"You keep leaving yourself open to blind attacks. Keep this up, and you can never reach the Sword Saint level." He looked down at the white-haired kid who continued to struggle.
"Now, for you, Xion, to find your magic power by meditating." Xion quickly nodded. Crossing his legs together and closing his eyes. All he could hear was a clock ticking; it was as if a timer was counting down. He opened his eyes to see he was completely in a different realm, another spiritual plane with a broken crystal. He noticed something off about this.
He noticed damaged mana channels lying on the stone ground, and the sound of a beast roaring in the distance, not sure if it was a monster or something bigger than he imagined.
"So this is where the core of the mana flows out of?" He said, wandering why he couldn't use magic, that it was because the core was damaged by something or someone.
He closed his eyes to see the darkness, only to open them again to see the morning day, with Dolan panting heavily. And Marcus wiped the
small drop of sweat off his cheek. "Oh, that was quick. Did you see what kind of magical power you have?"
"… I'm magicless…"
Xion frowned in disappointment. He explained to them that his mana channels were destroyed.
Marcus and Lucy looked at each other and patted the boy on his head. He was shocked that he wasn't thrown out. "Cheer up, Kiddo, it's not the end of the world. Magic may be a common ability that most humans can use. I mean, look on the bright side, there might come a time when you won't worry about having magic."
"Yo Xion, if you want, Father can help train you."
"You sure I won't be a burden…"
Xion felt a hand caressing his hair; it was motherly love that he had never felt in his meaningless life. This was the start of a new beginning.