Part 1

Two weeks have passed.

"Fwoom" , "Fwoom"

The sound of fire spells being shot off in different directions dominates our yard, leaving naught but charred spots in the patches of dirt and grass.

For the past two weeks I have been training day in and day out with Cynthia..

So far we've solely focused on fire magic and nothing else, I can use most of the beginner spells now..

She says I might even reach intermediate rank soon.

I wasn't sure how the ranks went exactly but when I asked she diligently explained them to me;

First their are six ranks:

• Emperor

• King

• Saint

• Advanced

• Intermediate

• Beginner

Emperor: country level

King: army level

Saint: several dozen

Advanced: high-skill, good understanding of combat.

Intermediate: capable of basic combat

Beginner: basic understanding and self defense

Each rank signifies a level in skill and power, they all represent the users precision and level of output together as one. It's a pretty convenient system, but it seems the emperor rank is kind of uneven, as it is the top rank not only is it hard to reach but not one emperor is equal to another, it's just the peak not the limit..

In other words.. the sky is the limit I guess?

As for how you rank up, magic users called "mages" and the physical fighters or "warriors" are ranked slightly differently.

Mages rank up by performing one spell in the next rank showing that their level of mana manipulation matches up.

Warriors rank up by performing one technique of the next rank showing their skill level matches up.

I'm told warriors use mana too but in a different way..

I don't really understand but maybe I can ask about it later.

"Allen.."

"Yes?"

"You did good today, we should take a break"

"Yes ma'am"

Cynthia is only 15 but I've already gotten into the habit of calling her ma'am, it's probably because she's such a good teacher.

Also 15 is supposedly the age of an adult in this world.

Seems relatively simple for a fantasy world like this I'd say, I do happen to know a little about the tropes from when I was a shut-in who only played games, watched anime, and read manga all day…

Cynthia already walked back into the house and soon I follow suit.

The next night.

My mother announced her pregnancy today, my father was overjoyed but I had already noticed or at least I had the idea.

Cynthia just gave a simple "congratulations" and nodded her head, seems she figured it out too.

That means the only idiot is… Ralph.

"That's great honey!, good job!"

He kept saying stuff like that too her until she finally hugged him and he shut up.

In a couple months I have a littler brother or sister.. scary, I had a sibling in my previous life but they were older, I don't really know how to be a role model for someone younger than me..

I guess I'll just figure out as I go.

It's not really like there's any training for this anyways, or so I thought…

Part 2

The next day.

My father woke me up early today, he told me to come out into the yard with him..

Doing as I was told I couldn't really come up with an idea why, but I followed anyways.

When I get out into the yard there he is, standing there with two wooden swords, once in each hand, one clearly smaller than the other.

"Al.."

"Father?"

"Cynthia tells me you've been advancing in magic rather well.."

He seems awfully formal today, could this be? ..sword training?

"Mhm, it seems I even may reach intermediate rank soon"

"That's good, but.."

"But?"

"Magic isn't almighty Al, ..it has its weaknesses, a mage usually needs to rely on their allies for a lot and can't fight well up close, while the party relies on them too, when times are fought or during an arduous journey the average mage can't keep up with the rest of party because they lack physical power."

In other words… fitness.

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Learn swordsmanship, the three most common weapons among warriors is the sword, spear, and the axe, parties usually have an archer too. Beyond that even if you don't use it, just learning the sword should be enough to know how to counter it."

"Counter it?"

"Arts.."

"Father.. what are, Arts?"

"Mages have their spells, so Warriors have their Arts"

"How do they work"

"Arts use mana just like spells, but they don't have normally elements or rules tied to them so they don't need a chant, Arts are used with the body and the weapon that person is holding, think of them like spells but for close combat"

"So what kind of things can they do?"

"The most basic things is stuff like strengthening your weapon or body, and hiding your presence"

"Hiding.. your presence?"

"Yes, some monsters are head to face head on, some are vigilant against stealth, but those that are hard head on and not very observant can be snuck up on if you hide your aura"

Aura… hmm.

It sounds like something a fantasy world would have.. guess it might be useful and besides it's not like I can say no now.

"So how can I learn to do those kinds of things?"

"I'll teach you, your mother can't bare the thought of you going out into the world one day, i on the hand can accept it, at least that is, if I can first teach you to properly defend yourself.."

He's probably doing this because I'm going to have a little brother or sister soon… he wants to finish his work with me in time to help that one with learning what they need to know.

Or at least it's definitely something along those lines…

"I understand father"

He threw me a wooden sword, it was shorter than his, likely to fit my smaller body and weight.

And with that I began my swordsmanship training as my father's pupil…