Chapter 2: Death and Rebirth 2

Magic's Real.

 

The notion blew his fucking mind once he realised that dying never made him delirious, and that the light trick he seen the midwife doing wasn't a mere illusion.

 

Fuck that threw him for a loop.

 

It was difficult for an earth born man like him to process the fact that magic was real in this world/universe/reality, whatever you want to call it.

 

Magic was a real wonder. Ever since he was brought back to a small cottage his mother called home, he'd watch her as she performed nonsensical feats with nothing but a wave of a hand or the flick of a finger.

 

The effects varied as well, sometimes she'd conjure gusts of wind to clean a wooden table top. Other times it'd be a small speck of light she would use to look for something in the dark when the candle was out of oil.

 

He was enraptured in something mundane as basic household chores, just because his mother was performing them with magic. It was truly a sight to behold for the ex-snipers battle hardened eyes.

 

The name of the woman who Murdoch had quickly come to recognize as mother, was Willow. She was tall for a lady, 5'9 if he had to guess and had a pretty face that went well with her long, black hair that had streaks of yellow dotted throughout.

 

The unconditional love Willow showered him with healed his broken heart faster than he thought was possible. It was a long forgotten feeling for Murdoch who hadn't felt anything similar since his real mother passed, but a welcome one nonetheless.

 

Well, she managed to take the edge off his pain. A large part of it was still stubbornly lingering in his subconscious, but even that would fade with time.

 

Time heals all wounds.

 

The deeper the damage, the longer the process. At least that was what his therapist used to say.

 

She also said a lot of things that would've been useful for his self-healing process, too bad Murdoch never cared to listen at the time and stuffed it all in the back of his mind.

 

Being a human, or at least something damn near it helps as well. He wasn't sure how he'd be coping if he was stuck with a fish body for the rest of his life.

 

The only real noticeable difference with people here is that some of them have colourful streaks in their hair. His knowledge on the topics is spotty at best since he's not seen that many people, but the colour streaks seem to be more common for women.

 

Being a baby did have its perks though, he could cry all he wanted without looking out of place, and he slept next to his mother, making waking up from his blood and gore filled dreams substantially more bearable.

 

On the other hand, having zero control over his bowels and bladder was horrible. There's only so many times a man can piss and shit himself before it starts to take a toll, and having his arse wiped for him was fucking humilliating.

 

The language barriers are a pain as well, but he was able to pick out a few recurring words and make sense of them. Not like it was a problem for now, his vocal cords weren't needed for anything other than baby babble, and even if they were he wouldn't be able to speak for another few months without looking suspect.

 

Hearing Willow read him a story was disappointing, he could understand a word she spoke. So what should've been an escape from the neverending cycle of eating, shitting and sleeping managed to be a dud.

 

Especially since he was an avid reader in his previous life, it was one of his few hobbies he enjoyed doing on the rare days off.

 

It was a shame to have his hopes of sampling another world's literature dashed due to a communication error. Even if said story was probably a children's story, or a cautionary tale, he'd take what he got at this point.

 

The only other time he'd get to hear more of this world's language is when people came to visit his mother to bring her food and the like. They'd normally have a short chat while Willow got everything in order.

 

So it's safe to say the biggest hurdle for Lux at the moment is the language barrier. He wasn't worried about it though, he was already versed in learning foregin languages because his mother was an immigrant.

 

In the small windows of time where he was left alone Murdoch would try to cast spells using the magic words he collected so far.

 

But no matter how Lux tried, he just couldn't quite seem to do it. Nor did he manage to grasp that invigorating feeling he previously felt when the midwife cast a spell on him.

 

A truly tragic endeavour for the aspiring mage.

 

Multiple failed attempts later his annoyance was rapidly building, and if there's one lesson he's learned from his tenure as a sniper, it's that you should never make decisions with a hot head.

 

To calm himself down, put into practice the breathing technique he used  to steady himself before taking a shot.

 

Shutting his eyelids, he took a deep inhale through the diaphragm which filled his lungs with oxygen, then came a slow exhale to completely empty them. Now with his lungs completely devoid of air, he held his breath.

 

Normally this would be when you'd pull the trigger and blast a hole in someone, or get caught trying. Right now his mind was clear, and his body at its steadiest.

 

Breaking his hold, he sucked in another deep breath. What took him by surprise was the faint rush of energy that he felt, making his body tingle all over, especially his abdomen, where it felt like something was being filled.

 

Mana, possibly? Magic energy? Just energy?

 

Whatever it was called here, he visualised a core of sorts filling up with mana according to the mythical feeling that permeated his being. He imagined a spherical core of mana residing within his solar plexus and pictured the world's energy being drawn inside with every breath.

 

A few breaths later and Murdoch/Lux was positively brimming with energy. Hopeful, he tried once more to cast a spell.

 

Pointing his little finger to the roof he commanded "Vinire", and sure enough, a small orb of light shot off his finger according to his will.

 

It floated about a ruler's length away before crumbling away into tiny specs of light and disappearing, but the small display was enough to put a wide grin on his face.

 

'Magic's awesome!' he thought before succumbing to the overwhelming tiredness that took over, almost immediately after casting.

 

Doing anything other than eating made his baby body lethargic. Falling prey to the allure of sleep, Lux passed out on his blanket and awaited his mothers return.

 

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A month quickly passed in Lux's home.

 

Between being taken care of and practicing magic, the time flew in for Lux. Having something else to do, other than attempting to learn the language, really took the edge off the boredom.

 

Granted, he was still subtle about it. He never wanted his mother to catch him in the act, he was still new to the whole magic schtick, but he'd bet money that people would be chasing him with pitchforks and torches if he were to be caught playing with little balls of light.

 

Everything around him screams medieval Europe, and if there was one thing he learned from History Class at school, it was they loved witch hunts back in the day.

 

Though there wasn't magic on earth, at least to his knowledge, compared to here where everyone seems to be able to use it. So the likelihood of being burned at the stake for witchcraft here is unlikely.

 

Still, he doubts that baby's should be able to throw around fireballs and fart out tornadoes considering his mother hasn't been throwing him any expectant gazes.

 

If his mother was nearby, he practiced with small stuff such as miniature balls of light, that could be hidden by his tiny hand, or creating weak, barely, noticeable gusts of wind that weren't strong enough for his carrier to notice.

 

Light and wind were the two elements that had the most practice with. Light because it was deceptively easy to conjure secretly, it was totally silent and never produced any physical disturbance.

 

All he had to do was cover up the glow and he could practice wherever and whenever.

 

Lux may have been imagining it, but for some reason light magic seemed to be easier to control compared to the other elements. It may have been nothing but the result of training it more than the others, but he'd keep an eye on it for now.

 

Wind on the other hand was an indoor friendly element, so far he hasn't produced gusts more powerful that a brisk breeze. Even if he wanted to, he wasn't sure if he could up the output enough to actually do damage to something.

 

Because of this wind magic was an exceptionally good element for Lux's indoor training regiment.

 

He dabbled with the elements of water, earth and fire as well, but so far he hasn't made much progress with them. Water was just too much of a mess to practice since the water doesn't just magically disappear once the spell ends.

 

It either goes on the floor, or on his clothes. When the latter happens the state he's left in makes it look like he's pissed buckets, forcing his mother to change him into a new set of wraps.

 

Earth is a no-go most of the time as well, all he's been able to do is shift about some dirt and on occasion the ood pebble that makes its way into the house. Ninety percent of the time though, he's got nothing to practice on, since his mother cleans the house expertly.

 

Lastly, fire, beyond the odd spark or candle flame, Lux hasn't made any advancements. For one, generating anything other than a spark uses a lot of mana, which his lousy reserves struggle to supply enough off.

 

Secondly, he's terrified of accidentally setting something on fire and torching the place. Most of the house was made out of wood, and he doesn't want to burn the house to ashes just because he was fucking around with fire magic.

 

He especially didn't want to destroy his parent's livelihood. She seemed to be struggling quite a bit, and being a single mother never helped either.

 

Lux is taking shots in the dark at this point, as even with his improved understanding of the language, he can't understand something that's never been said.

 

He could read between the lines though.

 

Unless 'dad's' on a long ass trip somewhere, he's either ran away or died. He's not sure which one's the right answer, each one is as likely as the other if his mother's late night sobs are anything to go by.

 

He was praying it was the latter of the guesses, as at least that way the man has a proper excuse for leaving his wife.

 

The parallels between this life and his first were becoming more significant the more he learned.

 

Back on earth, he was raised by a single parent. His dad had gone and walked out before he was even able to walk, leaving mum to look after him herself.

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Looking at Willow, he couldn't help but be reminded of his departed parent. While he wouldn't call their resemblance uncanny, their respectives situations certainly were.

 

Anyway, that's why he's extremely careful about fire magic.

 

The only complication that comes with all the training he's been doing is that his hunger becomes more apparent. If Lux normally fed ten times a day, more or less, now it's shot up to fifthteen sessions a day at the minimum.

 

Feeding's weird as fuck thought.

 

Going to town on a pair of tits is normally something to get excited about. That all goes out the window when it's you're mothers pair though.

 

It's a truly awkward experience, but an awkward experience beats hunger any day.

 

Whenever he wasn't fucking around with magic, or tanning tit milk, Lux was messing with his breathing technique.

 

Due to blind experimentation, he discovered that by changing the rhythm, depth and intent he could make his breathing technique perform different actions. It was able to do things such as invigorating his body to ridiculous degrees, allowing him to stay constantly energized if he thinks it's necessary.

 

He hasn't checked out its limits yet, but he will get to it at some point. A good night's rest was just too enticing for him.

 

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It was a warm spring evening, the sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon and the hot air slowly started to cool, bringing a slight chill to the village air..

 

Cradled in his mothers arms, was Lux. He was wrapped in a cheap cover that kept him comfortable as Willow walked down the village road to a mass gathering.

 

She trodded alongside a bunch of other people for the commute, farmers to be exact. To be even more specific, farmhands. Including his mother, they all worked on the farms day in, day out to keep everything ticking over.

 

However, Willow hadn't been at work for a while due to taking care of Lux.

 

Lux came to know of his mothers job when she took him outside the hour for the first time since he was reborn. Well second time, if the medieval hospital thing counts.

 

After she had fully recovered from her physically and emotionally demanding childbirth, Willow went round to visit the other farm hands with Lux in tow. They even went to greet the main farmer, otherwise known as the land owner whom they all toil away for.

 

Contrary to Lux's initial beliefs, the land owner seemed to be a fair, bubbly middle aged man who treated the farm hands with respect.

 

He also came to find out that the farm hands can purchase unused parts of his land to develop their own crops and so forth. If the farm hands buy their own land, he'd buy whatever they 're willing to sell for a fair price to add to his own harvest.

 

All in all, it was a decent system that kept the farm hands motivated and boosted the amount of money they all made. Of course, the largest portion of that went to the land owner, but it was negligible compared to what they'd earn working somewhere else.

 

Lux also came to learn the fate of his absent father.

 

Apparently he passed away during the months of his mother's pregnacy from a sudden illness that the village healers couldn't seem to treat. Lux never reacted much to the information, he never knew the man, so he wasn't going to grieve over his death.

 

Though he was grateful for what he left behind.

 

Having worked on the farm for a long part of his life, he was able to acquire a decent sized piece of land to work on. What was being kept there was what allowed Willow to abstain from working for so long to look after Lux.

 

Using the very small fortune he managed to amass over his lifespan, Willow paid the other farm hands to look after the fields and animals until she was ready to return to work.

This did eat away at her savings, but it all worked out in the end.

 

Right now however, all of the farmhands and thereby Lux were walking to the main area of the village to attend the annual spring festival. One of the two yearly festivals in Salix.

 

From the chatter going on around him, Lux gleaned plenty of information about the festival. Free food, free drink, performances and some sort of beauty pageant?

 

The last two aren't that important to everyone, they're all about the free food and drinks. A commodity for all commoners, and one they're willing to exploit to its fullest.

 

With a few months to learn the language, it's far easier for Lux to learn more about the world around him. He's sure to find out much more at the festival.

 

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Half an hour later, they arrived at the festival. The village house and streets were all decorated with cheap trinkets that mostly consisted of different types of floral bunches, and the villagers were dressed in their best clothes - which meant that the clothes were washed.

 

They passed by merchant run stalls that sold all sorts of different commodities that you would usually find in the village, and also the food stalls that were filled to the brim with hungry men, women and children vying for calories.

 

"Pastries! Get your freshly baked pastries!"

 

"Fabrics from Kandria! Two for the price of one!"

 

"Farming tools from Lutia!"

 

"Fine bronze utensils from Pabia!"

 

Merchants were chanting about their goods, and how affordable their prices were all around. The sound was quite deafening to be honest, and all of them shouting in unison made it difficult to work out who was selling what.

 

Though the snippets Lux managed to hear properly annoyed him to no end. It was like he's heard some of these places before but couldn;t seem to put his finger on it.

 

After breaking away from the other farm hands and filling her bags up with food that would suffice as breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next few days. Willow looked around before stopping at one of the fabric stalls.

 

"Like what you're seeing? Let me tell you lady, you won't find a better deal than this in the entire Distar region!" The merchant enthusiastically babbled.

 

There it was again. Distar. Lux was positive he'd heard of that place somewhere before. Did he go there on a mission at some point? Did he hear it while watching the news one day?

 

Giving the seller a grunt of acknowledgement, Willow continued to browse through the merchandise.

 

Not giving up in his sales pitch, the merchant continued, gesticulating wildly in the process, " I'm not joking, even Marchioness Distar once bought fabrics from my father. This stuff is top quality, the linen here can last for years after being woven into clothing."

 

While Willow began inspecting the line of linen that the merchant was advertising, a bomb went off in Lux's head.

 

Marchioness Distar, Distar region. Kandria. Lutia. Magic.

 

It all made sense now.

 

'Holy fuck, I think I'm on Mogar!'

 

In his mind Lux started rapidly comparing all of the similarities between what he knew of this world, and the world - Mogar - that the Webnovel Supreme Magus was based in.

 

And so far things were looking pretty fucking similar.

 

The time period seems to be similar, the location names are the same, the festivals are the same as well, even the way the main character reincarnated from earth was similar to his own experience.

 

Shit, the magic should be the same as well. Awakening as well, it would explain why he can do amazing things with the breathing technique he performs, and it would explain why he was able to sense his mana core after practising it.

 

All in all, it seemed more and more likely that his suspicions were true.

 

'If I'm in the Supreme Magus universe-galaxy-whatever it is. I'm almost positive that I ended up awakening myself. If my current line of thinking is correct, I should be able to use spirit magic.'

 

Darting his eyes around to find something to attempt spirit magic on, he locked on to the merchant's blue feathered hat that was perched atop his bald head.

 

The only problem is he's not really have a clue how to use spirit magic. From what he read, the basics of spirit magic relied on intent of some shit, nothing in detail beyond that.

 

Luc doesn't know the first thing about using intent for anything. It's not like he could use his intent to put a bullet through someone's skull! Magic wasn't a thing on earth, you aimed and pulled the trigger to get the job done.

 

Throwing logic to the wind, Lux tried his best to use spirit magic to knock off the Merchant's hat.

 

'Think man, think!'

 

Before the blood vessels going to his head burst, the mix of mana and overwhelming 'intent' directed at the hat forced a change in the world. Lux could feel the area surrounding the hat coming under his control, and with a final urging the hat was knocked off the merchant's head, revealing his bald scalp to everyone nearby.

 

While the merchant scrambled for his hat and the villagers nearby shielded their eyes from the sun rays reflecting off his head, Lux jumped for joy as his theory was looking more possible with every discovery he made.

 

Well, he tried, but all his weak body could give him was a wiggle.

 

At least ninety five percent sure that he was on Mogar, Lux sank deeper into his cover and mulled over the insane implications this would have for his future.