I’ve been in this new life for five years and I’ve never stopped practicing during the night, Leonore told me how the Magus who tried to kidnap me was sentence to death after a trial, he kept claiming how I was a Magus too and he did all of that because someone would pay a lot of money if he exchange me for it. Nobody believe him and I’m thankful for that, from the Viscount to the servants no one believe that the child who’s always sick and in the verge of death can perform magic and manage to be a Magus at the age of one year old.

  I never considered how other Magus could discover me, it was only a struck of luck that nobody in the family can perform magic, which it’s probably related to how my body couldn’t manage mana before I change it through a painful process since I woke up in this life.

  During my night training the thing that I like the most it’s to perform magic, even if it’s only silent spells, because my mouth don’t produce the correct sounds yet, and if I do a spell with the incorrect pronunciation it would end with a backlash in my mana network, before I start a proper spell casting I need to improve my language. That doesn’t mean I don’t practice spell pronunciation, I do it every day when I’m alone.

  Leonore’s been happy for a long time, now that I don’t collapse and fall into a coma, and since I stop producing hideous poop full of poison, she thinks that I’m finally cured for whatever disease it was plaguing me, and I don’t have the heart to tell her how I was never sick and all of that symptoms were a product of my training.

  Some interesting thing that I’ve been noticing it’s how little money the house have. If you don’t pay attention to detail you would miss it but after five years I’ve seen how they kept well maintained the public areas or where people who are strangers may see, but if you start opening rooms or going to the servants areas you would see the little amount of things they have are really old and out of fashion. Another thing it’s how the guards are only there for the people who visit to see, but on important points of security there’s no one.

  For some reason they keep having children, all the wives give birth from two to three children at a time, even now there’s two wives pregnant, one of them it’s my mother. When I went with Leonore and questioned her about it, she kept talking in circles just to avoid giving me an answer, like she was embarrass to talk about it.

  I’ve met all the other four wives and they always put the same smile and with their eyes I know that they are judging me, there have been multiple occasions that I’ve been walking for the house and I heard them talk to the servants about me, and how I’m a defect girl, even to this day the servants keep saying that I’m a cursed child.

  All of my brothers avoid me when they see me approaching them, like they don’t want to have contact with me at all cost. I wish the children of the other wives do the same, but they enjoy throwing rocks at me if they find me in the garden or push me in the halls when they come close to me. Even if I’m with Leonore, they decide to ignore her and she cannot do anything to them, several times I’ve considered using some magic to teach them a lesson but I know it’s not worth it, I would lose more than what I gain.

  Today it’s a special day, in this family every child start their official training at the age of five, and they call it a preparation for the test.

  Leonore appears at the entrance of my room and examines me with her eyes.

  “Hello little Lady, I come to see you before you begin your training with the rest of the family.”

  “Hell Leono, yu don nee tu worry, I have eveythin eady. (Hello Leonore, you don’t need to worry, I have everything ready.)” My pronunciation still continues to be terrible.

  “I’m glad I came, please tell me you are not wearing that today.”

  Leonore seems worried for my fashion sense, but I think this isn’t my fault, it’s not like I ask the servants to give me a dress, on the contrary I ask for something different considering the kind of activity I would be doing all day, even if it’s a beautiful white dress with the garment that permit to see my ankles, a pink lace that decorates my waist, and with a strapless design that allow me to move my arms freely.

  “I only have desess ly this one (I only have dresses like this one).”

  “You could tell the servants you need more variety for your clothes my Grace.” Leonore tries to remind me something that I already know and try.

  “They tol me I shu wea my des. (They told me I should wear my dress.)” I explain the reason that was given to me by the servants.

  “What is happening here?” Leonore talks to one of the servants in my room.

  “We were told that we don’t have permission to commission more clothes for the little Lady.” One servant responds to Leonore without looking at her eyes, surely they were told more information but with me here, they don’t want to discuss it.

  “Haa… I understand, please come with me my Grace, when I have the time I would bring the topic up with Lady Audrey.” I’m sure that won’t solve anything, but I appreciate the thought of Leonore in order to help me.

  We exit the room while I’m dressed with clothes that are not the best for what I’m about to do today, I’m sure about how everybody it’s going to judge me and make fun of me but I cannot care less about them.

  Leonore takes my hand and we walk through the corridor, what at first I thought it was a beautiful space really well decorated now I see that it’s only a facade for the persons who visit the house, the servants who pass us greet Leonore but they ignore me, with the pass of time everyone has come to an understanding and it’s that my value in this house is low, so they assume that they have the right to disrespect me.

  We exit the house from the back and venture towards a road that lead us to an open area where all the other children are gathered.

  “This is where we should depart, I cannot be in here during the training sessions, neither Lady Audrey nor the other wives, and the only people who are permitted are the trainees and the instructors.” Leonore explains me and depart, returning to our house.

  The state it’s pretty big, even if they don’t have a lot of money, it’s composed of five main buildings and in each of them resides one of the wives.

  I’ve never seen the Viscount in person but I’ve seen paints of him hung up in the walls of our house, he looks old with his gray hair, a mustache and in his formal clothes, always carrying a sword with him, I suppose women can find him attractive especially because he’s still in the army and his body is full of muscles.

  “What are you doing here? This place is only for family members.” One fat boy gets in my way before I get too close to the other ones, he appears to be around six years old, and he looks at my eyes with disgust.

  “I am par of the family, my mode is lay Audy (I am part of the family, my mother is Lady Audrey).” I explain before trying to pass by his side, only for him to push to the ground.

  “You aren’t, you are just the cursed child, and my mother told me how nobody care if you live or die.” He said while I’m on the ground trying to get on my feet.

  “Thas becas shes stupi. (That’s because she’s stupid)” I mumble to myself but he manages to hear me out.

  “What did you say?!” The boy push me to the ground once again and jumps on top of me. “Say it again cursed child!” He punch me in the face before an adult freed me.

  “Wha a bis, thas no how you teat a lady. (What a beast, that’s not how you treat a lady)”

  I’m not surprise how no one of the other children came to my recue, not even my own brothers. That’s just great, we haven’t started and I already ruin my dress and I’m going to have a bruise in my eye.

  “Enough! You come to this place to train, not to be acting like some slaves who need their master to be good.” The man who separate us reprimand the both of us, even when I was the one who got assaulted by an older boy.

  “He was the one who assaul me, you shoul punish him, I’m a young Lay an he’s al oler boy (He was the one who assault me, you should punish him, I’m a young Lady and he’s an older boy)” I try to defend myself in this ridiculous situation, they shouldn’t be this partial against me.

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  “I recommend you to guard silence, this isn’t the place where you rein over everybody.” The knight talks to me with a frown in his face.

  “You should respect this place, even if some of you come thinking that this area it’s only to have a good time and come with fancy clothes.” Another man approach saying all of that and I know he’s talking about me, I notice how this one looks scarier with a patch in his eye, if it wasn’t for that, he would be really handsome with his brown hair and green eyes.

  “We have new children today, the kids of Lady Audrey are turning five years old today and all of you here know for a fact that they need to join us, so stop making trouble.”

  The knight who cut the arm of the man who was trying to kidnap me appear without anyone noticing.

  “For the new people, you are here to train and prepare for the test that it’s held every ten years, if you don’t become stronger when it’s your turn you’ll end up dead.”

  “For those that are new in this training, the test consist on us leaving you in the Duskbriar Hollow, the closest forest to us where a lot of monsters habit. The ones who manage to come back alive will be rewarded handsomely, with honor, elixirs and artifacts from the vault of the family, besides the opportunity to continue their training with whatever master you choose.” The man with eye patch informs us.

  “What would happen if someone don’t come out of the forest?” The one who ask it’s my brother Liam, who still refuses to talk to me, if I approach him in the house he pretends that I’m invisible.

  “Don’t interrupt me, in this place the one in charge it’s me.” The knight set free his power and everyone can feel it in their bodies, a pressure that doesn’t get away not matter what you do. I try to sustain it but my body it’s too weak, and I end up kneeling in front of everyone, others are better than me, Liam and Mateo who also join today last five seconds more than me before they too are kneeling. The others are better prepared for this and it shows when they can sustain it for ten seconds, but from there, one by one collapse in the floor, it isn’t until the last trainee is in his knees that the knight hides his power, and I can breathe normally again.

  “I’m sorry, sir.” Liam apologies recognizing it’s the best course of action.

  “Very well, let me continue with the explanation then.” He looks at us and appears to be happy about the situation. “If someone don’t come out of the forest that means they are dead, if you think for a second that since you are children of the Viscount, he or any of us will rescue you, let me tell you something, a dead child it’s better than a waste child, we don’t want any of you who are too weak to pass the test.”

  Mateo raise his hand, maybe he’s afraid to provoke the knight the same way Liam did.

  “What is it child?”

  “Why do we need to do it?” He asks something that I’m hoping it’s not only family traditions.

  “It’s family traditions, without our traditions we lose our honor.”

  I can only think on how stupid some nobles are, how can you put in risk your own children for a weak reason like that, no wonder this house it’s in decay.

  “You have the three of us as instructors, master Rod specialties resides in the arch, master Julius would teach you the art of the sword, and I’m master Nolan who would supervise all of your matches against other trainees.”

  “Remember that everyone it’s obliged to take the test if they are older than ten years old, the next one would be held in seven years.” Master Julius provide with important information, what luck do we have that the moment Liam, Mateo and I turn ten years old it’s time for the next test.

  “That’s everything you need to know about the test you will need to surpass, we should commence.” The man with the eye patch says and now I know that his name is Rod.

  “We need you to run until we tell you to stop, for those who have time with us this should be like a walk in the park.” Master Nolan gives his instructions and expect us to follow them.

  Some of the older trainees start running, and we follow behind, I begin to hate the servants who make wear my clothes, specially my shoes, for exercise you definitely need another type of footwear, even if I love the way my shoes are shiny and cute.

  I follow behind them and run, but my small legs don’t allow me to be fast, it’s impossible for me to be at their pace, I’m the last person in the exercise, we need to run in circles for a path they have previously marked. When I’m in my second lap I want to quit but I don’t know what kind of consequences that would bring me.

  For the third lap I’m covered in sweat and my feet hurt, my dress doesn’t allow me to move correctly my legs and I want to tore it apart.

  I need to remind myself that this training would permit me to become stronger, I refuse to throw away my second chance with another life, with every step I take I think in my head ‘I’ll become stronger’.

  In the seventh lap I’m no longer following them, the rest of the children have already make another lap, the moment they passed by my side, some of them make fun of me, I want to prove them how I’m stronger than them but then the pain in my body reminds me how weak I am actually.

  I push with pure willpower, in my last life all my practice consisted on magical training, I’ve never had the necessity to train my body and it shows, a lot of people think that physical exercise it’s really easy comparing to magical exercise, I know that because I used to be one of them.

  The more I run, the more my legs start to hurt, it’s no longer only my feet, my breathing is out of control, the sweat makes difficult to see and it hurts my eyes when it’s close to them. I activate my skill resistance to physical pain and that’s the only reason that I’m able to last this long.

  [New skill acquired]

  [Running Lv1]

  When I’m about to finish my twentieth lap and close to give up the instructor permit a break, I succumb to the floor without looking at the others. I’m sure the people who have years in training are better off, but I’m sure Mateo and Liam should be the same as me, or at least I hope so, if I cannot even be on par with the children of my age that just be depressing.

  Taking the opportunity of the small break I check my status page to see my newest skill.

  Name: Dalia Davenport.

  Age: 5 years.

  Race: Human.

  Level: 56 [Exp: 658/1115]

  Health: 10

  Stamina: 20

  Intelligence: 60 + [100]

  Agility: 10

  Strength: 5

  Luck: 30

  Available points: 531

  Skills: [Mana sense Lv45] [Mana manipulation Lv49] [Mana absorption Lv45] [Poisonous poop Lv15] [Poison resistance Lv15] [Body Coordination Lv25] [Mental resistance Lv25] [Physical Pain Resistance Lv10] [Silent Spell Casting Lv35] [Amplified voice Lv5] [Running Lv1]

  Title: [Youngest Magus alive: Bestow to the entity who manages to have a mana network and a mana core before everybody else of their own race, it gives you one hundred points in intelligence and a better mana control.]

  Magic Attributes: [Holy Magic] [Fire Magic] [Water Magic] [Earth Magic] [Air Magic]

  For the past years I’ve been keeping with my training, I know that it doesn’t compare with my first year in this new life, and maybe I’ll become a little complacent enjoying too much the company of Leonore.

  What I have practiced with my silent spell casting are different types of basic spells, and whatever spell I try, in the end I do it, it doesn’t matter their attribute, after changing my body through pain and effort, it become part of my reward, including holy magic, the one that it’s the more rare to obtain if you don’t form part of the church, with silent spell I cannot advance too much and that’s one of the reason why every night I practice my pronunciation in order to become proficient, sadly I haven’t been successful.

  Taking deep breaths I manage to recover a little of energy, I get on my feet and see how everybody it’s looking at me with ridicule in their eyes.

  “She can’t even run and we are just getting started.”

  “Maybe if she puts herself too much she die.”

  “Yeah, my mother said how she needed to take medicine to stay alive when she was younger.”

  “If she takes the test, she would die for sure.”

  “Maybe that’s what the adults want.”

  “Enough!” The instructor finally interrupt them with their rambling.

  How can they expect a little girl to be at the same physical level as them, that doesn’t make sense.

  “You should worry about your own training instead of someone else, pick one of the wooden swords arrange at the side and go the area next to it, today we’ll focus on the sword.”

  “Understood.” Some of the boys answer and follow his instructions.

  I hurry myself to not be left behind, when I arrive I notice a stand with a lot wooden swords, I select one randomly and it’s heavy, if I’m not careful I’ll end up in the floor.

  With sword in hand I come with everybody else in front of the three instructors.

  “First things first, boys over ten years old will form one group, from eight to ten another one and from five to seven years old it’s the last one, by now you should already notice how the people who are older and have been attending the training grounds for years are better prepare than you.” Master Julius says the last part with his eyes direct at me.

  I don’t have any stamina left and the training it’s only starting, I can only prepare myself for what it’s about to come.