The Beginning After The End (Early Years Book 1) (7 page)

I can finally meet Mother and
Father soon!

Without a second’s hesitation, I
slipped in through the gap easily while willing the mana to strengthen my body.

“AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” *CRASH*

The voice failed to warn me that I
was going to be doing a vertical fall.  I guess that’s why she mentioned
using mana to me.

Rubbing my butt, I groaned as I
slowly supported myself up.

“We finally meet child.”

I felt the color drain from my face
as my mouth gaped open and eyes bulged.  Feeling lightheaded and my legs
failing to support me, I crumbled back to my aching butt as I just stared at
the one who’s been helping me this whole time.

 
“W…what are you?” I managed to stammer
out.

What
my eyes saw, my brain didn’t want to believe.  A monster, for a lack of a
better word, which easily towered over 10 meters tall, was seated cross-legged,
on a crudely carved platform of stone with an arm lazily supporting its head.
 With beaming red eyes that gazed down at me, while menacing, carried an
oddly tranquil quality.  Two massive horns protruded out the of sides of
its head, arched down and around it’s skull, curving up to a point near the
front, reminding me of something almost akin to a crown.  With a mouth
that had two fangs peeking out of its lips. Its body from the neck down was
adorned in a sleek black armor with no decorations or embellishments, yet still
emitting a presence of priceless treasure.

Although
I was once a King, this being made me embarrassed of even having the nerve to
call myself one.  No. The one sitting on that giant platform was a being
that would make even the most unfaithful heretic bow down in submission.

Yet
here it was… with its head being supported by its arm, the other hand
nonchalantly scratching its nose.

What
I failed to notice until now though, because of how dark the cave was and him
being in all black, was that this being had a gaping hole in the side of it’s
chest, blood faintly oozing out.

“
We
finally meet
.” It repeated with a lazy half smile showing more of its sharp
teeth.

I
try getting up but fail halfway and end up back on my butt, my face still slack
from the shock of what my eyes are seeing.

“
Bugs
will fly into your mouth if you keep it open that wide.
”

Great.
At least it has a sense of humor.

“
As
for what I am, I won’t say anything more than what you can see from looking.
”
The horned humanoid monster says with its eyes seeming to look straight through
me.

“…”

*Sigh*
… “
It is going to take to a while for me to open a dimensional rift that
will transport you to your house, so until then, just be patient and wait here.
 There are special roots that grow here.  You will be able to live
off those until I finish
.”

That’s
right.  That’s what I’m here to do.  I manage to regain a bit of my
composure and I stand up, walking a little closer to the being.

Giving
a deep bow, I say, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and what you
will do.  If there is any way I can repay you, I will do for you whatever
is in my power.”

“
HAHAHAHA,
such good manners for a child.  Don’t worry; I am neither expecting a
favor nor your gratitude.  I am simply doing this for my own amusement.
Come! Sit here closer to me and keep me company.  I haven’t talked to
anyone in a while.”

I
climbed up the platform rather awkwardly, forgetting to use mana to just jump
up, and I propped myself in front of the being.

“Uhh…
excuse me for being rude, but you don’t exactly look like a lady.  How
should I exactly address you as?”  I said while looking straight up to
make eye contact with the being.

*Chuckle*
“
You’re right.  I don’t exactly look like a lady, now do I?  I
wonder why I said that.  Kukuku my name is Sylvia
.”

This
giant demon lord-like monster looked like anything but a Sylvia to me.

“Elder
Sylvia, do you mind if I ask a few questions?”

“
Go
ahead young one, although I may not be able to answer everything
.”

I
suddenly rattled on all of the questions that have been on my mind ever since
waking up and after meeting Sylvia.  “Where is this place? Why are you
here all alone?  Where did you come from?  Why do you have that huge
wound? … Why did you save me?

*Chuckle*

“
You
must have had a lot on your mind.  The first question is easy to answer.
 This place is a narrow zone that is between the Beast Glades and the
Forest of Elshire.  No one knows of this place because I’ve been warding
off anyone who comes close, although the cases are rare in the first place.
 You, young child, are the first to enter into this domain.
”

“Please
call me Art! My name is Arthur Leywin but everyone calls me Art! You can too!”
I interrupt before shutting my mouth with my tiny hands.  Why am I acting
like an excited child? Control yourself!

“
Kukuku…
Very well child, I will call you Art!
”  Her red eyes glazed, looking
afar while answering my next questions.

“
Continuing
on to your second question.  I am here alone simply because I have no one
left to be with. While I do not think telling you everything would be wise, I
will tell you that I have many enemies that desperately wish for something that
I have; my last battle with my enemies left this wound.  As for where I
come from… very far away haha.
”

There
was a moment of pause before Sylvia continued on, this time her eyes looking
straight at me, almost studying me.

“
As
for why I saved you…even I do not fully know the answer to that question.
 Perhaps I have been alone for far too long and I simply wished to have
someone to talk to.  I first noticed you when your party was engaged in
battle with the bandits.  When you fell off the cliff to save your mother,
I felt compelled to save you, thinking it was a waste for such a good child to
die.   You are very brave.  It is rare for even an adult to be able
to do that.
”

I
shook my head. “I was scared too and I didn’t know what to do.  I just
wanted to save my mother and my baby sibling inside her.”  I don’t know if
it’s from the gentle way she talked or because of how big and powerful she
seems but in front of her, I seemed to turn into a child.  No, I was a
child in front of her.

“
I
see… Your mother was pregnant.  You must miss them dearly.  Rest
assure, your family and party are safe.  As for where they have gone, my
senses cannot reach far enough to tell anymore.
”

“…”

I
felt my cheeks get warm as tears unconsciously rolled down.  I see.
 They’re safe.  This new life that I've been given has allowed me to
express emotions I thought I never would in my previous life.

*Sniff*
“Thank God” *Sniff* “Th…they’re alive…they’re okay...” I say half mumbled
through my hands that covered my face.

Sylvia’s
giant hand reached down and she softly patted my head with a finger.

The
day passed on with me conversing with Sylvia, picking up some roots that looked
and tasted very similarly to potatoes but were black in color in between to
eat, before conversing again.

We
talked about all sorts of things to pass the time as she prepared to open a
portal.  She asked me how I was able to use mana so well at my age.

“I
was under the impression that amongst humans, the earliest mage to have
awakened so far was the age of 10, and even then, because the child couldn’t
grasp how to use it, there was very little he could do.  Yet, not only
have you already formed your mana core, but, by the way you use your mana, you
seem to be more efficient than most adults.
”

I
just shrugged, feeling oddly proud by her compliment. “My parents say I’m a
genius or something.  I can read really well and I get what the pictures
and words in the books are saying.”

A
few more days went by quickly as Sylvia continued preparing the portal.

In
a regretful tone, she says one day, “
The spell will take some time in order
for it to be completely safe.  I do not wish for you to land in a
destination you are not familiar with.  Even one inconsistency can lead to
you being transported a couple hundred meters off the ground.  Please be
patient; you will be able to see your loved ones soon
.”

I
nodded and said that as long as I know they’re alive, I am fine with waiting.
 It beats trying to climb back up the mountain.

These
past couple of days, while I trained my mana core and chatted with Sylvia, I
noticed a few things.

Sylvia
really made me think of the cliché, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
 Unlike her less than friendly appearance, she was kind, gentle, patient,
and warm.  She reminded me of mother, in the way that they both scolded me
while being tender when I did something wrong.  I was mentioning about how
the mage that I fought, as well as the other bandits, deserved worse deaths
than they had when she suddenly flicked my forehead!

Even
though she was gentle, a flick of a finger from someone over 10 meters high was
nothing to make light of.  I rolled a little bit before angrily shouting,
“What was THAT for
?!
”

Picking
me up and setting me on her armored knee, she said in a soft but pained tone.
 “
Art.  Perhaps you are not wrong in that those bandits did
deserve death.  Even I chose not to save that mage you fell with because
of the same reasons.  However, do not let your heart be clouded with
continuous thoughts of hatred and the sort.  Continue on proudly with your
life and gain the strength to protect your loved ones from harm.  Along
the way, you will come to face situations like before, maybe even worse, but don’t
let the grief and rage corrode your heart but move on and learn to better
yourself from those experiences so it won’t happen again.
”

I
blinked, stunned at the fact that I was getting lectured on my morals from
someone that looked like the epitome of evil herself.  Strangely, it stuck
with me and I just nodded blankly.

Another
thing I noticed was that her wound seemed to be getting bigger.  I found
it somewhat odd at first that she could still be alive with a gaping whole in
the side of her chest, but I got used to it until a couple days after I met
her, the wound seemed to be bleeding a lot more.  Sylvia tried to hide it
at first with her hand, but it was growing more and more obvious.

Noticing
my concerned gaze towards the wound, Sylvia gave me a weak smile, saying “
Do
not worry little one, this wound festers from time to time
.”

One
day, while I was meditating and using various exercises to better control my
mana, Sylvia suddenly spoke, saying, “
Art.  Try absorbing mana while
you are making movements.  Ideally you should be able to absorb at least a
fraction of the mana you would during meditation while you are fighting.
 Although you would be spending mana faster than you can absorb mana, you
will be able to prolong the usage of your mana
.”

That’s
right! I totally forgot about testing that hypothesis.  I was so used to
having absorption of mana and the manipulation of mana as two separate things
that I didn’t stop to think about the possibilities in this new world.

“Okay!
I’ll try!”

“
Kuku,
humans have a very linear mindset in regards to mana and find it hard to
deviate from anything that already works.  Practice hard now though,
because you can only learn this skill while both your body and mana core are
immature.  Mana beasts learn to do this naturally, but because humans
awaken too late and in most cases, their bodies are not adept for this ability
when they first awaken.  Considering you are so young, there shouldn’t be
a problem if you practice
.” Continues Sylvia with a proud puff from her
nose.

I
have to admit it was extremely confusing at first.  Have you ever tried
those exercises where you try to make each of your arms do something different?
 Think of it as that but multiple times harder.  You had to be able
to fight well while still trying to focus your mind on absorbing mana.
 I’ve never tripped over my own body so many times in this and my previous
life put together.

This
seemed to get a couple of laughs of amusement from Sylvia.

Two
months passed by keeping Sylvia company with stories of my family and the town
I was born in, with me getting better and better at the technique thanks to
Sylvia giving me a couple of pointers along the way.

I
proudly named this technique Mana Rotation.