Chapter 7: Core Development

My second birthday had just passed, marking two years of living in my new life. In the past year, I have developed significantly, having grown into a healthy young boy, able to converse well with my parents, with whom I was forming a close relationship. Rubbing my eyes, yawning, and getting out of my bed, I looked at the artefact that lay on the stand next to me and around at my bedroom, which was now located on the first floor. It was sparsely decorated, with nothing on the plain oak walls, including only the single bed, dresser, and bedside table as furniture. I stretched; yawned; proceeded to stagger, half asleep, through the door; down the stairs, and across the hall to the washroom. The distance to the bathroom wasn't far; my little legs however, made it quite a task so early in the morning. Stepping onto a stool to reach the sink, I Rinsed my face and looked at myself in the mirror, the pale blue light of dawn illuminated my face well enough for me to observe my features.

My eyes were like my mother's, soft and warm, with hints of light green sprinkled among the darker hazel that made up the base of their colour. I had a few very light freckles around my cheeks, which were a shade brighter than the deeper colour of my brown hair that lay in a messy heap on the top of my head. My features overall resembled my father's, which I guess made sense, being male after all. I also had the beginnings of his sharp jawline and athletic build coming to fruition despite being so young. I don't know if it's just good genetics, but my baby fat was lessening by the day, perhaps due to my active lifestyle.

While brushing my teeth, a call came from the other room. "Kharl, breakfast is ready!" I hurriedly spat out what was in my mouth, rinsed, and ran through into the kitchen. The floorboards creaked as I made my way along the short corridor; what awaited me, was a steaming plate of breakfast, and my parents. I felt their warm gaze as I clambered up onto my chair that sat to the side of the tall stonework surface, jutting out like an island in the centre of the room. "Mornin, thank you for breakfast," I said with a cheeky smile, before digging into my plate of sausage, bacon, and eggs. Unlike my previous life, in this world, items like this were luxuries, especially bacon and sausages. Spending time at the markets with my parents had given me a good idea for the economy. Most things were worth only a few copper pieces, such as bread and simple veg, whereas fresh meats could go for upto or over a gold coin in price depending on the quality. Luckily for me though, money wasn't a problem mum and dad were quite well off, having made enough to live on for the rest of their lives at a young age. I was often told stories of great opponents Great 'Arthur' had faced in battles during his time governing the king's guard; he always told these tales seriously. I could see the sparks of fire in his eyes as he described his heroic acts in such vivid detail, smiling at me as I listened in fascination. My mother also had a fair few stories of her own. Times as an adventurer, ranging from long quests and missions around the continent to her time teaching magic and swordsmanship to the children of a duke in Igris. The way in which she described these events was a little less charismatic than dad's way of doing so, and she often forgot parts of the tales, leaving me to fill in the gaps with my imagination in place of the information I didn't have.

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Coming back to reality from my thoughts, I asked my parents, "what are your plans for the day?"

"Not much, your father is planning on going into town to buy some fish, before training in the evening. I will just be gardening and hanging out the laundry while it's still sunny."

"I should be back around about four-ish," said my father, "Would you like to train with me around five?", came the question immediately after. My father looked at me sternly. I'm not sure why, but he struggled to convey emotions, they only seemed to expose themselves when either people weren't looking or if he was caught in the moment. "Sure! I'd love to" I smiled back. "Five o'clock it is then," said dad, before getting up and taking his plate over to the sink. I saw him smiling to himself as he rinsed and scrubbed the plate, putting it onto the drying rack.

My parents had gotten quite used to the fact that I'm overly mature for my age, taking it in their stride. We had full-blown conversations quite a lot and got on very well. I truly love them and view them as my family. This feeling was completely new to me, filling me with unexpected happiness I never knew existed, slowly repairing the hole that my heart had in it before.

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After finishing up my breakfast I hugged my parents tightly before they went outside. After closing the door behind them, I swiftly returned to my room, in order to continue tutoring myself on the arts of mana and core development. Since my discovery of magic in this world, I'd made massive amounts of progress through my training despite it only being a year and a half since. The extent of my abilities included skills to fully control my body's mana content, as well as to draw in and expel this from my core.

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-Long story short: I could perform magic.

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The feeling at first was surreal; the sensation of coolness, like drinking ice water, flowed through my mana veins beneath my skin, deep into my body, sending shivers down my spine as it was being drawn into my sternum. I closed my eyes, feeling the weight and density of mana particles around me, and how they interacted with the atoms that flew around in the air. Reaching out with imaginary hands, I drew this into my palms, arms, legs, and feet; feeling every available pore of my skin tingle with the energy passing through them, eventually filling my core to its maximum capacity. I then focused on purifying and imbuing my being with even more particles. I struggled with the physical strain my body was under. When it became unbearable, I began to release mana from my core, sending a tidal wave of warmth back into my output mana veins. I focused on the feeling and forced this into every cell, neuron and crevice my body had to offer.

As the effects of magic filled me, I began to hear individual leaves rustling in the trees outside, the crashing water of the sea down far below the cliffs roaring; my heightened senses picked up on every tiny noise and twinge in the atmosphere. Opening my eyes, everything presented itself to me, Individual dust particles danced, as if time had slowed down, before my eyes.

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This was the power of magic.

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I released the imbued state and sunk into and felt for my core. I was already at the Third (or pale orange) stage. This was leaps and bounds ahead of anyone my age. Mana cores normally formed at a much later age in childhood, between seven at the earliest and twelve years of age at the latest. Fortunately for me, through good genetics, training, natural skill, a brilliant master, and lots of books, I had already progressed this far. Not to mention the Artifact I've been using.

Speaking of the artifact, it was the catalyst that began this process of learning, giving me a few extra perks as a bonus. The artefact I'm talking about is ofcourse the one I obtained from my mentor. The Amazing Sangris Olsted.

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