by V. A. Lewis
What was mana? It was supposedly the fundamental building block of… everything. When the Goddess created this world, she used mana as the base of all things, living and nonliving. It permeated throughout the air we breathed, the food we ate, and the body we lived in. Whether it be Humans, Elves, Dwarves, or even Monsters, every living being needed mana to live— to simply exist.
And yet, the Demons defiled mana, and thus creation itself. They took the creations of the Goddess and defaced it, desecrating the world, and destroying its mana. They went against the Goddess of Light, and spat on Her face. They took her gifts from her, just to throw it away. And for what?
What could they possibly gain from committing such blasphemy? Why would they take Her grace, and drag it over the ground?
Why?
The answer was simple: for magic, of course.
Several thousand years ago, the first magic was performed. A Demon, learned to take mana— the very essence of this world— and used it for his own purposes. At first, it was seen as a miracle. A power bestowed upon this Demon by the Goddess Herself. He used this power to start fires, to build shelter, and to gather food. Demons looked to him for protection, and he provided it. Because of his power, every Demon saw him as special, and eventually made him their lord. But, the Demon Lord did not think his powers were special. And one day, he finally proved it.
The Demon Lord began teaching magic to all Demons, believing that this power could change the world; to him, it was a universal gift of the Goddess, and he wanted everyone to learn about this… magic.
The Demon Lord first invited the Dwarves and showed them his magic, but they dismissed it as easily replaceable through their technology; then he sent for the Humans, and even though they were interested in it, they did not stay to learn; and when he called for the Elves, they never came. The Demon Lord was dejected, he wanted to show them this power, but they did not want to see it.
But the Demon Lord thought magic to be good, so he sent his people out to spread it far and wide. And as his people began teaching their ways to all the peoples of the world, he learned more about it. He slowed his aging, sustained himself without food, and forwent all manners of rest. It was a life free from suffering, one which he taught his people how to live.
Without the need for food, they neglected their crops; without the need to rest, they travelled the world; without the fear of old age, they enjoyed mundane lives. As they became more carefree with this power— as their cities and farms fell into disrepair— it was not surprising that they never once realized what was happening to their lands: that they were destroying their home.
It was then unfortunate timing that only at this point, did other species’ begin to take interest in this magic, and so a delegation of all the great powers in the world were sent to Hell to meet the Demon Lord. But when they arrived, they did not see a gift of the Goddess, but a perversion of it.
They saw a land blighted over and cursed by darkness. Food could barely grow from the dead earth, and what few animals that remained were pale and thin— even the Monsters fled, seeking more mana-rich lands.
So instead of finally accepting their magic, the peoples of the world decried it as blasphemy. As heresy. They demanded that the Demons stopped defiling the Goddess’ gifts, but the Demons who grew dependent on it refused. So, to protect the sanctity of the Goddess— to protect Her light— thus began the Holy Wars that raged on for millennia. With that, magic became outlawed, and the practitioners of magic were deemed heretics. Which leads us to now.
A hundred years ago, the Demon Lord was finally killed and his forces defeated; the few allies he had in the form of Goblins and Orcs, all fled Hell, seeking shelter or a place to hide. With that, ended the era of the Demons, starting anew with the ones who brought about their destruction— the Holy Xan Empire.
Named after the Great Hero Xander himself. Formed by him too. And with the support of the Church, they maintained world peace by… hunting down every magic-user in the world, and killing them for heresy.
And isn’t that just great?
I asked for the potential to become the world’s most powerful magic-user, but coincidentally, it’s illegal!
It was definitely this way because of pure happenstance, and definitely not the work of some jerk fake-god who just wanted to mess with me even more after he killed me. I really hate that guy, I sighed as I uncrossed my legs. I finally stood up, getting ready to leave—
Only to be met with a pair of hazel eyes, staring down at me.
Adrian was standing next to me, looking like he wanted to say something. I hoped he hadn't been standing there the entire time. Because that would’ve been really awkward if he was just waiting for me while I sat there thinking for the past ten minutes. Who am I kidding, I am awkward. I don’t know how to act like a normal kid!
Not knowing about my internal monologue, Adrian finally found the courage to speak. "You heading home, Melas?" he asked, quickly averting his eyes from me. As I nodded my head in response, he continued. "Can I walk with you for a bit?"
"Sure," I said simply, and began walking.
I didn’t want to seem rude, but I honestly did not know what else to say to him. It was so obvious he liked me, and that he worked up a lot of courage to simply talk to me. But unlike him, I am not a kid!
Adrian was only a year older than me. Which— because of my past life— still made him a kid in my book. Even if he suddenly doubled in age and grew up to be extremely handsome, I would not be interested in him by the sheer fact that I knew him since he was a little kid!
So we walked in awkward silence as I headed out of the village., Adrian’s eyes darted around between me and the houses surrounding us. His eyes never lingered on me for more than a second, always seeming to rest on the single storey wood buildings that we passed by.
But in spite of his nervousness, Adrian was generally a sociable person. The boy waved a hand at a burly middle-aged shopkeep, as we passed by his shop. I, on the other hand, had no idea who that was, so I kept my face straight and continued walking.
We arrived at the wooden palisade’s that surrounding the perimeter of the small village after a bit. It was a short walk. Not long at all. Because this village, Villamcreek, was in the outskirts of the Rem Republic, and barely even housed a couple hundred people.
I turned to face Adrian, and he quickly looked away. After a moment of fidgeting, he finally spoke, still facing the gate.
"I hear you’ve been helping out your mom— Ms Aria— these days. You’ve been heading into the woods alone and gathering herbs?"
The question came out more as a statement rather than a question, so I gave him a curt nod.
"I see," that was all he said for a bit.
He faced me after a moment, deciding to finally speak up again.
"I hear from my dad that more and more monsters have been showing up— that the woods aren’t as safe anymore."
As he paused for a second, I tilted my head to the side, unsure where he was going with this.
"I know Ms Aria needs the herbs. I know you need to help her out. So, I’ve been thinking. I’ve been learning to use dad’s pistol— to work its mana crystal. I was thinking that maybe I should go with you, next time you go out. Keep you safe, you know?"
Ah, I see how it is. Sure, I did not mind his company to be honest. Going into the woods by myself to gather medicinal plants was quite boring. Plus, he was offering to protect me, which had no downsides.
And, the fact that he could work a pistol was actually quite impressive; mana crystal were supposed to be quite difficult to use. Most only learned how to properly use one in their teens, and only the simple ones at that. The mana crystal of a pistol may not be the most advanced, but it certainly was not the most basic either.
"Sure," I said. "Thank you, Adrian."
Upon hearing my response, his face turned a shade pinker, before managing to mumble out a response.
"No problem."
Adrian quickly turned and stalked bac
k the way we came, while I left the gates of Villamcreek, to head back home.
The walk home took no more than 20 minutes. The sun was still high in the sky, although it was beginning to head down. As I approached my house, I stopped at the sight of a woman. The woman stood at the front of the house, her back turned to me as she tended to some flowers. She was not just any old gardener however, she was the village’s Herbalist— or, my mom.
A quick glance at her would tell you that she and I were related. She looked just like me, except if I were a decade older. We both had long black hair— although mine only went down to my shoulderblades, while hers went down to her torso. And as she heard my approach, she slowly turned around, our silver eyes meeting as she did.
There stood my mom. My beautiful mom. She was not my mom from Earth, nor does she know that I was reincarnated from another world. But that did not matter, because she was my mom. She was as real as my mom from Earth, and I loved her just as much.
Since I was reborn, this woman was there for me. When I first saw her, I did not like her. I did not want her to be my mom, because I already had a mom back on Earth. I was lost and confused in this new world, and threw tantrums over every little thing. Yet she was patient with me. She fed me, taught me, and loved me.
She loved me simply because I was her daughter, and when I realized that, I felt so ashamed. I acted worse than a child, worse than a rebellious teenager, and worse than an estranged daughter. She was my mom, and when I saw her standing there, I felt a tingling sensation in my heart.
My chest felt warm, my cheeks loosened up, and for the first time that day, I smiled.
Chapter 3: First Step
"Mommy!" exclaimed the girl, running up to the woman with open arms.
Aria accepted her daughter’s affectionate hug, wrapping a hand around the girl’s back, and using the other to gently stroke her head. The two lovingly held onto each other for a moment, before Aria spoke.
"How was your day, dear?"
"It was good! I went gathering this morning, and was at Mr Walden’s lesson since noon. I was going to tend to the garden when I got back, but I didn’t know you would be home so early today!"
Aria felt herself smile at her daughter’s excited chattering. She knew for a fact that this was the most the girl had spoken today. Her daughter never usually spoke much to others. In fact, she only ever acted this way towards Aria. The young woman had seen her daughter interact with both other children her age and the adults of the village— to say that it was tedious to watch, was a complete understatement. She only ever spoke when spoken to, barring some exceptions such as asking questions when in Walden’s lesson. And even then, she never minced words, always direct and to the point.
So, as Aria stood there, she allowed herself to tease her daughter.
"Would you have preferred me to not be home, my dear?" said Aria, hiding a hint of a smile.
"Wha— no!" sputtered Melas, quickly letting go of her mother and looking up. Upon noticing Aria’s smile however, she pouted. "You know that’s not what I meant!"
"I know, I know."
Aria was aware that she had not been home as often these days. Because of the recent surge of Monster activity, she was out from dawn to dusk, working to gather more herbs than normal. And when she was home, she was also busy brewing up new medicine for the village. Knowing this, her daughter had been going on gathering trips on her own, to help lessen Aria’s workload. She knew that her daughter did that so they could spend more time together, which was why she came home early this day.
After the two finally separated from their hug, Aria took her daughter’s hand, leading her inside the small cabin.
"How was Mr Walden’s lesson today?" asked Aria, as they entered the house.
"Not good. Your lessons are so much better!"
The door closed behind them, as Aria let go of her smiling daughter’s hand and turned to face her.
"Melas," said the mother in a stern voice.
The little girl protested. "But it's true!"
"I know, but..." sighed Aria. She knew her daughter was right. Walden might have been smart, smart enough to have been sent by the village to be educated at the country’s Capital of Remheart, but he just did not know how to teach children.
Even so, Aria also knew that Walden did not have to hold his lessons. He did not make any money from teaching the village children four times a week. He did it because he believed that knowledge was important in a child’s growth, and he wanted to give the village children the chance to learn from a young age. That was why Aria had to be stern.
"But Walden is still teaching you things that are important for your future. So whatever you may think of his lessons, it is important that you listen."
Upon hearing that, Melas opened her mouth to say something, then hesitated. After what was clearly some internal conflict where her better judgement lost, the little girl decided to continue.
"But it’s obviously not true! He keeps telling us the fake Demon Lord story! He keeps going on about how all Demons are bad, how magic is bad, and how the Godd—"
"Melas!"
Aria interrupted her before she could continue, this time taking on a horrified tone. She knew what her daughter was about to say if she let her continue, and she would not let her say it, even if no one was around to hear it. Implying that Demons and magic were actually good was bad enough, but whatever she was going to imply about the Goddess would have been full-on blasphemy. She did not want her daughter to get into the habit of saying such things.
"Melas, my daughter, please do not say such things. The story I told you about the Demon Lord is what the Demons claimed to have happened. It is not any more true than what the Church claims in their history books."
Aria paused, eyeing her daughter to see if she would drop the subject. When it was clear that she would not, the young mother continued.
"When you asked me for the truth behind Demons and magic, I believed that you would understand that neither side held the truth. You are a very smart girl, Melas, that is why I told you what I knew. And I still believe you are, so why are you acting like you are not?"
Aria knew that Melas would be hurt by that, but it needed to be said. She needed Melas to know that the way she was thinking was extremely dangerous, and she had to know the reasoning behind her daughter’s thoughts. Aria however, was not prepared for what was said next.
"B-because, I want to learn magic!"
Aria was speechless. She stood there, mouth agape, and eyes open wide. Melas saw this, and took the opportunity to continue as quickly as she could.
"Adrian told me that it has been dangerous lately. There are more Monsters appearing nearby— he offered to protect me. He knows how to use a mana crystal already and can use his dad’s pistol! But what if he isn’t around? What if I get attacked by a monster? I can’t protect myself. I can’t even use a mana crystal— I’ll just die! Magic is, uhm, pretty much the same thing as working a mana crystal, right? So please teach me magic!"
Melas knew that she was just rambling. She was listing off any possible reasons why she should learn magic, even ones that didn’t make sense. She just needed to make up a good enough reason to not get scolded. All Melas could do now was give her mom the best puppy dog eyes she could give. Seeing that, Aria sighed.
"Fine."
"I’m sor— wait… fine?" Melas blinked in surprise, "You’ll teach me magic?"
Aria sighed again.
"No, I will not teach you magic, Melas. But you are right, you are not safe."
Melas immediately slumped her shoulders in disappointment, though she was clearly relieved that at least her mother wasn’t mad at her.
"You rely on others, because you are not safe. You are not safe, because you can not protect yourself. You can not protect yourself, because you rely on others. But what can others do that you can not?"
Melas did not answer because she knew it was a rhetorical question, instead she let her mom continue.<
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"Others can use mana crystals," Aria said matter-of-factly. "Mana crystals are the gifts of the Goddess that allow normal people to face Monsters far stronger than them."
Melas groaned upon hearing the Goddess mentioned, getting a glare from Aria.
Aria knew why her daughter reacted that way. Mana crystals were made from pure mana sources like mana stone mines or liquid mana wells. They always existed deep underground, but were never used until the Great Hero Xander came along, and used it to end the stalemate against the Demon Lord. Unlike manipulating the mana around you which used ambient mana, manipulating a mana crystal only used the mana inside of it. It allowed the Great Hero’s forces to use the same power that the Demons had, without violating Holy Law. That was why mana tools were sometimes called the gifts of the Goddess.
Aria ignored her daughter, and walked towards the kitchen in the corner of the room. It wasn’t very big, in fact it could hardly be called a kitchen. Cooking area was a more apt description in the young woman’s opinion.
She walked towards the stone fireplace. It had a cauldron dangling on top of some unlit firewood, but that was not where she was going. She walked slightly past it, towards a part of the back wall covered in shelves that were filled with jars.
The jars all contained different medicinal herbs, sorted by the type, and arranged neatly according to their effects. Aria reached for a shelf below that, aiming for the long wooden table that ran the length of the shelf wall.
There, she picked up a small rectangular prism, one that barely fit the palm of her hand. In one of its faces was a metallic tube protruding out a couple of inches. Its edges were made of metal, with the rest of its body seemingly made from clay. In the center of it, a fiery red mana crystal was embedded, alongside simple runes that engraved all throughout the object.
It was a lighter. A basic tool most adults used to start a fire. Though this one was a bit more fancy and lasted longer than normal ones.
Holding the lighter in her hand, Aria turned to her daughter, who followed her across the room.